Press the Green Button

Chapter 3


"...aaaargh! Netto-kun!" Through the window, the young Navi finally observed what his Operator was up to. Rockman spun on his heel and materialized control panels in front of him, setting up a link to the mother computer almost without thought. "I can't turn my back on you for a minute!"

Netto, of course, could not answer--he was already unconscious as the machine did its magic. Angrily Rockman okayed the incoming transfer and stood with his arms crossed, plotting what he was going to do to Netto when he arrived.

If he arrived.

A transparent blue cylinder materialized at the coordinates in the Net that Rockman had specified and he watched, fascinated, as Netto's "data" was compiled within the tube. Rock had wondered how the machine dealt with such things as clothing and objects carried on the person, but it seemed the program replicated them perfectly. Netto's avatar hung a few inches above the ground as though manipulated by puppet strings, his face blissfully relaxed, his clothes settling as the lightened gravity took hold. Gradually he was lowered to the ground and the blue cylindrical field disapperated.

The Navi watched impatiently, arms still crossed and trying to look stern, until finally Netto opened his eyes. "Well. Somehow, you're alive."

"You're surprised?" Netto took a step forward and tripped, unused to his lighter weight. Rockman caught him easily. "Oof. Uh, thanks."

"You're welcome," the Navi replied tightly. "And yes, I suppose I am surprised, considering that machine has possibly killed Papa. Honestly, Netto-kun! You take too many risks!"

"I have you to get me out of them," Netto replied good-naturedly. He hugged Rockman with a grin. "Wow, I'm really in the Internet! How cool!"

Rockman could not prevent a small smile from quirking at the corner of his mouth. "Yeah, you are. I was about to head into the next Area--stick close in case anything happens, got that?"

"Okay, Saito-niisan," Netto replied in a sing-song voice.

Rockman stiffened. Netto gave Rockman a smile that the Navi already knew indicated something was up. He'd have to keep a close eye on Netto.

The blue Navi sighed. "All right, let's go."

---

"There's no doubt about it. The wire's been almost completely pulled out." Enzan's white hair was covered with a fine layer of dust and it hung irritatingly in his eyes, obstructing his view of the control panel. He shook his head to clear some of the mess away, coughed, and climbed out from behind the console.

"So it was Cossack after all?"

"Had to be. He'd be the only one who'd know exactly which wire would screw Hikari over. But I still don't know why...working with the professor was only going take him higher. Why try and get rid of him now, and have to hide that the experiment was successful? He'll have trouble getting anyone to sponsor the remainder of the project, knowing that it caused something like this."

Blues remained silent. Enzan continued to wonder aloud, shaking the dust from his white hair.

"Unfortunately, we still don't have concrete proof. Somebody must have seen this--one of the Navis maybe, or even Hikari himself. We'll need to talk to whomever we can get to."

"Emdee can be recalled. He is searching for Hikari-sensei in one of the nearby Areas."

"And Cossack's? What does he call it...Gamma?"

"Cossack's Navi hasn't been seen since the incident."

"I see." Enzan moved around to the front of the control panel, studying the levers and buttons with interest. Something white caught his eye on the far side of the console. "This wasn't here before..."

He approached a wire dangling from a large lever. The thick cord was wrapped twice around its handle, and the end, lying on the floor beside the converter, was clean-cut. He knelt and inspected the severed end, careful not to touch it. "This looks almost like the kind of USB cable you'd find in a PET."

He stood, following the cord with his eyes to the lever. A blue plug was tucked into the knot. "It is for a PET. How'd it get here?"

"Someone has clearly been tampering with the room since we left," Blues observed.

"But I left Hikari here to watch it...that couldn't be his PET's cord, could it?"

"It is the same colour."

"But where's the rest of the PET? For that matter, where is Hikari?"

"Enzan-sama..."

"More mystery." Enzan sighed. "Blast. Find Cossack's Navi, and contact Emdee and Rockman. Make sure he knows where his idiot Operator is."

---

Lab Area 2

"... Interesting."

"What?" Netto peered over his brother's shoulder, somewhat irked that he no longer had an aerial view. "Did you find something?"

"Yeah, something." Rockman was inspecting a data pathway lined with purple blocks. "This slipstream was left when you transferred into the Net. I was just thinking maybe Papa would have left a similar one. Unfortunately for you," he looked stern, "it seems to be damaged."

Worry was conspicuously absent from the youngest Hikari's face. "How can you tell?"

"The colour," Rockman replied, still peering at the bits of data. "and the pattern as well. This is a very unstable connection--probably the only reason you made it here was because I intercepted it. It seems to be filled with more static as it goes along, and starts breaking up. It might have even broken up your data if I hadn't been in such close proximity."

Netto paled slightly. "Could it have done that to Papa?"

"It's possible." The Navi's expression was grim as he took Netto's hand and linked to the next Area. As he had expected, purple traces of the data stream lingered here too, drawing a perfectly straight line through the sky of the cyberworld. "Come this way."

Netto did not speak, mutely letting his twin lead him through various bookmarks and areas. Rockman wondered if he was finally feeling the full implications of what he had done, not to mention what would happen if the condition wasn't reversible - surely there were great enough minds out there to rival their father's, but would any of them be able to repair the machine to bring Netto and Yuuichirou back to the real world? Rockman wasn't too sure. He considered opening up a connection to Blues or Emdee, but knew they would be able to do no more than he himself could, and Netto was safest right where he was.

Besides, Rockman reflected, no matter how much trouble they were in right now, it was comforting to know Netto was right by his side.

---

It was far less comforting to know that Netto was a long, long way away from his PET and his pouch full of battle chips. They discovered at a most inopportune time that the clothing, belt pouch, and PET case Netto wore were merely data bits that were part of the avatar program, there to keep up appearances but far from functional. There was also the misfortune of having brought Rockman's PET into the converter, rendering it useless to both them and anyone in the real world who might have been able to assist. At this grim realization, Netto offered up an apologetic smile and said, "Maybe we can live in Meiru-chan's PET?"

Rockman had yet to see any sort of humour in the situation, but that might have been because he was busily deleting viruses without any assistance from his Operator. The pair had traced the purple data stream back as far as the Science Labs' main computer area and were following an identical stream that had headed off in a different direction, ostensibly left by Yuuichirou. As they progressed deeper into the Internet more viruses ran wild, and Rockman had been forced to fight without the help of their collection of battle chips.

"And then, I can get somebody to program me a weapon," Netto decided aloud as Rockman took out the last Condor. "Maybe something with fire. I like fire."

Rockman rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "You're not old enough to play with a blowtorch yet."

"But, Saito-niisan"

"Wait." Rockman stopped suddenly as a soft tone rang out, raising an arm to halt Netto's step forward. "We just got an e-mail...it's Blues."

"Oh, great. Enzan probably went looking for me."

"Not quite." Rockman's mouth was set in a grim line. "It seems we've got even more trouble brewing in the real world...Bit Cossack is lobbying to have the Navi Converter disassembled."

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-to be continued...