Yume to Akumu

by Sailor Shadow

What is real... and what is just a dream... If you can't tell... how well do you think Netto and Enzan will do?

3. Akumu no Yume

.-Yume to Akumu-.

Part III: "Akumu no Yume" ("Dream's Nightmares")

---

A question began to haunt both boys' minds... It was a simple question, but it hadn't occurred to either of them before; there was no point... No reason to ask. But now...

...with no contact available between Navi and Operator...

It was becoming an almost necessary question to ask.

Aside from worrying about the ability to power up the PETs being gone...

"Do Navi dream...? If they do... what is it they dream of...?"

Yuuichirou shifted his position, and sat beside Netto. The brunette boy immediately clutched his father, crying...

But Enzan was alone. He could only comfort himself. He didn't even have his PET for the remote feeling of familiarity. His tears were silent. Everything felt like a strange place. A strange world. It took him too long to realize he couldn't keep going. The only way to get back what was rightfully his was to do what he was supposed to do... While he figured out a way to get the red device back no matter what it took...

----------xXx----------

Netto insisted on going home. He hoped that charging the PET would allow him to power it up in a little. He knew he'd be counting the minutes until the PET would hit full charge, but it would be best for Rockman that way. As they passed the cafe he usually saw Enzan at, he found the boy was missing from his usual seat... and it bugged him a little. However, his focuse went right back to his PET and his Navi. His friend was pushed to the back of his mind, but not forgotten. True to his word, the second they were inside the house, the boy ran upstairs to his room and put the blue PET on its charger. But he felt like he couldn't take his hands away from it... If he did, it might vanish. The 'Charging' light came on, and that still didn't change his mind.

Still... it was stupid to stand here for an hour and stare at the blank PET... it would make him feel worse than he already did.

"Rockman... I promise... I'll make this up to you... somehow..." Netto slowly removed his fingers; one by one; until both hands had left the PET. It didn't disappear on him. Honestly, he knew it wouldn't, but he was afraid this was worse than a bad dream... It had begun to even surpass the definition of a 'nightmare'. He closed his eyes and turned, running back downstairs.

"Netto, I'm sure Rockman will be fine after the PET has been charged," Yuuichirou said, as he saw Netto slow to barely a walk, approaching the table. The boy sat at the table and lay his head on his arms.

"I hope so, Papa. I never meant to do this to Rockman... I didn't mean to let him get that low on--"

"It's alright, Netto. I know you didn't. Mama has told me how tired you've been the last two days. Has anything been happening that you haven't told us about?" Netto's head looked at his father, and blinked.

"What do you mean, Papa?"

"This isn't like you, Netto," Haruka replied, drawing Netto's attention to her. "You went off this morning without even taking toast before I could tell you that you need to actually eat breakfast more than once in a while... That's unusual for you."

"I'm sorry, Mama... I was later than usual this morning," Netto looked from his mother back to his father after a moment. "Papa...?"

"Yes?"

"Is it possible," Netto trailed off and looked at the table, shifting his position in his seat. "Do... Can... Nn... I don't know how to ask," Netto's cheeks tinged pink as he felt sort of stupid.

"What is it you want, Netto? I can't tell you if it's doable if you don't ask... right?"

"Right... but... I was meaning more along the lines of... Well," he bit his lip, and looked up, taking a breath to ask the question he thought was sort of stupid to ask his father, "Can Rockman dream?" However, his question was met with two strange looks from his parents, and silence. The brunette boy then blushed a bit brighter, but looked just slightly annoyed. "What?"

"Netto, that's... That's not really a question I thought I'd ever have to answer... The truth is; I don't know. It's never been brought up until now. I think that it would be theoretically possible, but..."

"...But?"

"But no matter how human they seem, Net Navi are still; deep down, and based upon; data and code. I really don't know if it's possible for them to dream in the same way that we do if they would be able to at all," Yuuichirou explained; as gently, but 'thoroughly explained' as he could. Netto returned a sad smile to him. It was very close to being rueful...

"I never asked if he could dream the same way as I do... I only asked if he could at all..."

"Then your answer would be... 'It's possible', Netto..."

"Thank you, Papa..."

----------xXx----------

Two hours had passed, and even with a Full Charge, the PET was not powering up. Yuuichirou offered to check the PET itself at the Labs, and Netto insisted he come with. Once more, they passed a place Netto usually found Enzan at... and found him missing. He began to wonder if he wasn't dreaming... since this wasn't anything like Enzan... not both places.

Unless something was wrong...

But while Netto headed to the Labs with his father, Enzan had gotten to work on trying to satiate his. He felt completely numb, nearly everything he did for the last two hours was by automation, and anything that required serious concentration was put aside into a pile for when the rest was completed. That particular pile was only full of perhaps 4 items. The young Ijuuin took absolutely no notes of time. He only paid attention to the amount of things he had left to do. His original plan had failed. He could think of no way to find and retrieve the red PET that would not be caught onto by his father before he could finish it. It had also been about that time that he realized there wasn't one person at IPC except for Blues that Ijuuin Enzan knew he could fully trust. Everyone answered to his father. Asking anyone in this building about Blues' PET would be as dangerous as asking Ijuuin Shuuseki himself to hand it over. If his father was in the wrong mood, Blues could wind up damaged... and that was not a risk Enzan was openly willing to take...

...Well... more like... it wouldn't be the path he would willingly choose.

It was this almost bullet train of thought that led Enzan to realize he was getting nowhere, very fast. He began making himself do the work he knew took little to know thought. Before long, he was moving at a decent speed, his mind still working; but only enough to focus on the work in front of him. If he allowed a thought of Blues or his PET, he'd never get anywhere and he was already stuck in plans to retrieve it. He hadn't forgotten the PET nor his Navi. In fact, it's Blues that made him decide to start this in the first place. He could truly argue with his father if he did what was asked of him to regain the PET. If his father refused to keep his word, he would be able to say he did what was asked and have more ground to demand Blues' return.

And Enzan was determined to do it before 10 o'clock tonight. That was the time he last remembered seeing the clock the night before when he fell asleep; the night before. As he flipped through a folder, he was snapped from his nearly-automatic mode when something read completely wrong on the pages within.

"This is...?" Enzan blinked, staring at the paper for a minute, before he flipped to the next page to find a rather well-; but obviously 'swiftly'; -drawn floor plan/layout. It detailed his father's office, for one. But though he knew what the office looked like, the small, red marking on the quick floor plan drew his attention. It was Blues' symbol in red ink. As he stared at the symbol, he realized his earlier; rather firm; belief that no one could be trusted because of his father... was just shattered. He flipped back to the note, and couldn't figure out why this snapped him out of his half-trance state. Then he realized. A business document written in red ink, and used more like a scrap paper versus black or blue ink and filled in remotely correctly. And he thought he saw what had kept him from setting it aside with the other items that required more concentration.

'Blues' was written bigger than everything else on the sheet and seemed to have been gone over and over with the pen about 60 times. That's hard for anyone that looks at the page to have missed. But getting back on track... Enzan pulled the floor plan of his father's office, and stared once more at the symbol drawn on it. It didn't look traced. It was obviously quick, but too well-drawn to have been done while standing in the office with his father. It also seemed like whoever drew the symbol was sure of where to draw it without thinking about it; as well as having been done nearly perfect with how it looked.

Only two people would have the knowledge of the floor plans of the building, be able to access his father's office, and knew Blues' symbol well enough to have no hesitation in drawing the symbol even as simple as it was.

The two Security Guards that had come with his father into this office earlier...

But were they both in on this...? Or had one seen just enough to decide to help?

And would he dare ask the question to either of them?

"Blues..." Enzan whispered, lightly running a fingertip over the spot on the layout where his Navi was marked as residing. He memorized it rather swiftly... and in a moment, he shoved the entire thing through a paper shredder...

...twice.

Then calmly left the office in search of Blues and his PET. Hoping that knowing his father left early today to be somewhere important that he'd left his office unattended completely...

A figure watched Enzan head quietly; but swiftly; down the hallway, and smiled. The kind of smile that looked rather proud... or satisfied... but not really evil.

----------xXx----------

At the Labs, Yuuichirou ran every test he could think of. However, nothing was coming back unusual. The only thing that remained constant was... no matter the method of doing it, the PET refused to power on at all. It was as if it just didn't want to come on.

But that was impossible...

...right?

"Netto... Nothing is wrong with the PET... The batteries are fine. The circuitry is intact and working perfectly. The buttons are not broken," Yuuichirou began to go through the list of tests he'd run, but Netto interrupted him.

"Is Rockman alright?"

"Well... from what I can tell in all this data, Rockman is also fine."

"Inside the PET...?"

"Inside the PET."

"Tr...Trapped inside the PET...?"

"Netto... Rockman is just fine. He's simply been put into Suspension until the PET is able to be powered back up. His data is intact, he's still functional..." Yuuichirou looked at the face Netto was giving the PET... and felt a twinge of guilt... He then added, "And he feels nothing, Netto. I promise." Netto closed his eyes and nodded. He said nothing in reply to his father's words.. though it did appear to relieve some of the tension on his face...

"Rockman... I'm... sorry..."

----------xXx----------

Enzan had come up with something in his walk. He'd knock on his father's office door, and if the man answered, he had a simple question he could ask and get back to his own office without worry. But he if didn't... he would enter and look as fast as he could. He felt fortunate, however, as he did not receive an answer to his knock. He opened the door himself, to find that the room looked empty aside from normal furniture, and darkness from lack of lighting or windows.

'Where are you... Blues...?' Enzan thought, and looked around the room, recalling the small mark's location on the floor plan... But matching that up to what was actually there seemed harder than he thought it should be. He recalled the plan, and tried to position himself on that image, then moved himself to where he thought he remembered the mark being at. If he'd gotten it right, Blues' PET was in his father's desk.

And this just added a whole new problem he hadn't thought of.

"Damnit..." Enzan clenched his fists, and looked to the drawers of the large, black desk that stood before him. If the PET was on, it wouldn't be much trouble to find it... but he knew his father would never bother powering it up... However, there had to be security on the drawers. The man kept too much within his desk for there not to be any kind of protection; even just a simple, locked drawer. Still... he came this far...

Opening drawers wasn't going to make it any worse than it already would be. He silently apologized as he prayed that he could get the PET and leave as fast as possible. The first three drawers yielded nothing more than IPC-related work or information. The next two were locked... and the last one on the right side seemed jammed more than locked. He could open it about an inch, but no farther. He could barely see by the light from the hall, and cursed himself for being stupid enough to not bring any source of light.

But he'd know his own PET if he were blind. He chanced the reach into the space with his fingers, and bumped into an object about the right size... He then felt for distinguishing characteristics, and found it easily... The very tip of his longest finger was able to feel the slightly raised Navi Emblem on the end of the PET. A small smile appeared on his face, but it wasn't a full one yet... That would come when he was holding the device in his palm again. Because at least then he could work on the next problem of powering the PET up.

The only thing was, he couldn't un-jam the drawer... and he couldn't reach any farther in without basically allowing himself to get stuck that way. There was no guarantee he could reach what was jamming the drawer, and he couldn't pull the PET out with his hand even if he could manage a good grip on it. While trying to decide, he heard footsteps in the hall, and jerked, slipping his hand; up to the palm; into the drawer. Enzan winced, feeling a sharp pain on the back of his hand. He felt like a complete idiot...but he was almost there now. He pushed forward, ignoring the burning feeling from the back of his hand, and felt around as best he could. He then felt lucky... as he found the edge of a file folder that was way out of place, and seemed too tight to be laying in there wrong. He'd probably wind up ripping it, but the footsteps were getting louder, he could feel his PET, and his hand hurt like hell.

'C'mon...' Enzan thought, and pulled at the folder repeatedly. He heard paper tear, then felt the folder come loose, and the drawer that bound his hand at the wrist now slid open. The boy grabbed the PET; that sat as if it had been thrown; and moved to close the drawer. However, he stopped when he saw a reflection of the hallway light hit the metal of a rather small picture frame. It too appeared to have been haphazardly tossed into this drawer. It wasn't much bigger than the PET was. The footsteps were almost at the door to Shuuseki's office now... Enzan made a quick decision. He took both the frame and the PET, closed the drawer, and bolted to the only part of the office that usually isn't looked into... so far as he knew. The closet on the far side of the office. One which Shuuseki apparently rarely used for anything but sparse storage.

'There's no reason for me to be in Otousan's office at this hour. Especially in the dark... with my hand in one of his desk drawers... I don't know who's coming. I'm guessing Security. They saw the open door,' Enzan had to shake his head hard to try and stop his rather swift train of thought. He clutched both items to his chest, and carefully peeked through a crack in the door... He saw a rather tall figure checking the office carefully, and when Enzan saw him heading over towards where he was, he shifted to be hidden behind as much as possible, clutching the PET against his chest, and the frame he'd taken beside him. He didn't think he could fit in such a small space, but he was sure he wouldn't be seen if the door was opened.

And he was right.

Though he forgot he had held his breath when the door was opened swiftly. But he never heard the door shut... and was too afraid to try and take a breath. The sound might be too loud in the silence that hung in the small space.

In truth, the guard that had been sent up the hall to check the open door was the one that put the marked floor plan into Enzan's work pile. He knew it would be strange enough to make Enzan pay attention no matter what. What he was looking for now was a sign that it was indeed Enzan in the room, and not anyone else. Enzan had hidden himself too well; but if it wasn't the boy, he didn't want to let anyone else off the hook so easily.

The answer came when Enzan's brain needed to get oxygen to his lungs. He'd held his breath too long. The boy coughed, but tried to keep it as silent as possible when he released what he'd been holding, and took another; deep; breath in.

'Damnit,' Enzan cursed silently to himself. The guard shut the door behind him, and cautiously approached the source of the cough. He spied just a piece of white hair, and took the chance that he'd been right.

"Vice President?" His reply; initially; was to see said hair jerk lightly as the body attached to it did the same. Enzan realized he wasn't getting out of this, and composed himself. Enough to glance up without emotion in his blue eyes. But that was unnecessary... "Vice President... I hope you managed to find Blues..." This was said with a small smile, that made Enzan blink in confusion. The boy looked to the PET in his hands as he pulled it away from his chest.

"You...? You're the one...? But..." Enzan looked at the poor man almost suspiciously, "Why?"

"Because I saw what the President did, and I know how he can be. However, you took a chance leaving that door open, Vice President," the guard replied, smiling lightly... up until he told Enzan he took a chance.

"I hadn't expected to run into any trouble getting Blues back," Enzan admitted.

"That's not like you..."

"I... I know... Being unprepared isn't something I do... hiding isn't something I usually do... But then... Otousan's never taken Blues from me before... I don't understand it, but I'm sorry I got anyone else involved," Enzan's voice slowly lost its emotion, but never went completely cold.

"I got myself involved. Too many others are simply scared of the President. If no one is willing to go against him, there's no point to half of the system," the guard explained. He smiled again as Enzan looked at him strangely. "After all. I'm sure he doesn't want a company full of Yes-Men... He doesn't seem the type that would want no challenges in business." Enzan blinked again, then looked down to his PET. His voice seemed half the volume and completely different tone than it had been a moment ago.

"It all depends on who's challenging him... and for what..."

----------xXx----------

Enzan feared going home that night. After leaving his father's office, and working just a bit more on the pile he had waiting in his own, he left the IPC building via the route that would let him see the least amount of people. His destination was clearer than 'anywhere but home'. His only thought was to see Hikari Netto. As much as he hated the thought of trying to explain why his PET wouldn't come on... if anyone could figure out the answer, it was Netto's father; Hikari Yuuichirou. And to see him usually meant seeing Netto. However... a block away from IPC, Enzan realized he wasn't sure where Netto and or Yuuichirou would be. At home, or the Science Labs. He looked down to the screen of his PET, and found it was still off. He closed his eyes, and thought for a moment...

'If Hikari-hakase is at the Labs, that doesn't mean that Netto would be with him... And if Netto isn't with him, it's late, and Netto should be at home... However if he's having trouble as well and it isn't just Blues that can't be powered up, he'd be with his father at the Labs. Still... there's the fact he could have let Hikari-hakase take Rockman to the Labs to test by himself and he stayed at home...' Enzan stopped thinking and opened his eyes; letting out a sigh. "I have a better chance of finding him at home than I do at the Labs. Even if it is just Blues... My best chance is to contact Hikari-hakase... even if it means going through Netto," Enzan looked up, trying to orient himself enough to figure the shortest path to Netto's.

It took him a good 15 minutes to do so. Something he didn't realize... since there was no way of telling time without the PET, nor from his position on the street. He took off towards the Hikari residence as fast as he could, once he managed to figure the route.

It only took maybe 20 minutes at best... at a medium pace. Once there, however, he realized how out of breath he was, and wondered how. He wasn't out of shape, and that certainly wasn't half the city he just covered. He was also feeling hesitant about announcing his presence all of a sudden.

That was taken care of a moment later when Yuuichirou and Netto pulled up; having come home for the night. Enzan turned to find that Netto was completely dazed. He stared at something; possibly in his lap; and hadn't seen the white-haired boy in front of his door. Yuuichirou did, however. And drew Netto's attention momentarily... after he yelled for Enzan; as he got out of the car.

"Enzan-kun?"

"Hikari-hakase!" Enzan called in reply, knowing now that leaving wasn't on the list of options. Netto got out as well, rather dejectedly. The object he gave all of his attention to was his blue PET in his hands. Yuuichirou looked to his son; worry painted across his face the moment he did.

"Netto... I told you... Don't be so worried... Rockman is fine," Yuuichirou repeated the same thing he had told the boy the entire trip home. Netto's reply had always been the same, but had been slowly getting more and more upset. This time, he snapped his reply.

"But I can't get to him! You said it yourself! There's no way to power up the PET and Rockman is trapped in it!" Netto felt tears in his eyes once more, but his attention was drawn by a rather concerned Enzan breaking into the conversation. His voice showing more emotion than Netto was used to.

"Rockman... isn't waking up either...? Blues... Blues hasn't..."

"Enzan...?" Obviously, Netto was more distracted than it had looked if he hadn't heard his father yell for the other boy when he did...

"Blues is still off as well?" Yuuichirou sounded confused. This wasn't just a matter of Netto's PET malfunctioning or not charging right... not if Enzan was having the same problem. "Let me see the PETs...?" He held his hands out, and both boys willingly turned them over. Yuuichirou couldn't even get a beep from the PETs... He tried every button, and even gently shook both of them to hear if something was perhaps physically broken that couldn't be found with computer scans. He shook his head, and looked to the two blank PET screens. Then to the two boys. "Come on. I'll take a better look inside," Yuuichrou motioned for Enzan to enter first; and he obliged.

"Papa, you said there's nothing wrong with--"

"But if Blues is also unable to be powered up, it might have something to do with the two of them," Yuuichirou replied.

"Netto! Papa! Welcome home!" Haruka called. She looked to see the third person with them and blinked; then smiled happily. "Enzan-kun! Welcome! Get comfy, I was making a late meal for Papa and Netto! I'll add another setting for you."

"That's alright, Hikari-san... I don't-"

"Nonsense! You'll eat!" Haruka smiled and hurried did as she said she would... Without allowing Enzan a chance to argue with her... The boy sighed to himself, and leaned back in the chair.

'And so my crazy dream continues...' Enzan mused to himself.

"Papa? Do you think... Rockman and Blues... are dreaming?"

"Netto I answered that before we left and again at the Labs," Yuuichirou looked at his son oddly. Netto shook his head.

"I meant... together. Is it possible for them to dream the same thing?"

"Ne..tto...?" Enzan blinked. This wasn't the Netto he thought he knew...

"What's gotten into you?" Yuuichirou asked.

"Nothing!" Netto sounded upset, and stood up from the table. "Excuse me, I'm going to my room," Netto looked almost ready to cry, and bolted from the table. Enzan stood up, but that pulled his sleeve up from over his hand, and made Haruka grab his arm before he could follow.

"What happened to your hand, Enzan-kun?" Enzan froze, and looked back at the woman that held onto his arm.

"I..." He looked at his hand. It'd been dark all the times he looked at it since he retrieved Blues from his father's desk. Now that he could see it in the light, it really did look worse than it probably was. "It's nothing... Hikari-sa--"

"Nothing? It looks like someone tried to take your hand off! Come on, we'll clean this up first!"

"But--" Enzan's protest was cut short, as he found himself dragged over to the kitchen sink, and cold water was run over the back of his hand. He winced the second soap hit it, though. Haruka didn't seem to pay any attention to his bit of wriggling, and she was stronger than she looked. He couldn't get his hand free from the woman's grip even with soap helping him. A long gash was revealed on the back of his hand. It was rough and; due to the scrubbing; was once more bleeding. Yuuichirou appeared beside his wife with a blue first aid kit. Enzan sighed and stopped his protesting, but winced every time Haruka ran her hand over his wound.

"There," Haruka started to wrap a bandage around Enzan's hand, which worked almost identically to when the woman was running her hand over the back of his; cleaning his wound. "Stop fidgeting, it'll take less time that way!" Haruka scolded. Enzan blinked, freezing in place. He looked at Netto's mother... rather confused.

"I'm... sorry..."

"All finished," Haruka smiled at him. "No need to be, Enzan-kun," she ruffled his hair, which made him blush. He nodded, and pulled his bandaged hand from her grip.

"Thank you," Enzan made sure to say... before he hurried after Netto upstairs...

"I think you embarrassed him."

"Nonsense. He's fine." Haruka smiled, and went back to finishing her cooking. Yuuichirou blinked... and went back to trying to figure out the mystery of the PETs...

----------xXx----------

The sound of a light knocking echoed through a once silent room. No reply was given, though it didn't stop the door from opening. The light from a PET Screen worked as a nightlight to guide the figure that entered through the door that had been knocked upon. A figure that appeared to be dressed in a hospital gown and slippers crept quietly over to the lighted screen of the PET in its cradle... on a table beside another figure on a bed...

"Blues...?"

"Hikari Netto...?" The PET replied, quietly.

"Blues... are you alright?"

"You shouldn't be here... it's 3:25 AM."

"I know. That's exactly why I'm here. Is Enzan awake?"

"He'd have hit you with the bedside table by now if he was..."

"...Good point."

"Seriously... Why are you here?"

"I woke up 5 minutes ago."

"And...?"

"It took me 5 minutes to get to Enzan's room, damnit. It's a long hall when you're avoiding nurses!"

"Why did you bother?"

"Blues, please. This is serious. Enzan should be awake now and he's not. Doesn't this bother you?"

"Of course it bothers me that Enzan-sama hasn't woken up! What I don't understand is why you're here because of it!"

"Blues..." Netto picked up the PET from the cradle on the bedside table. Finally, both could see each other well enough. Netto's face was awash with concern and fear. Blues was refusing to look at the PET Screen... the moment he was removed from the cradle, he'd turned away. "You know something, don't you..."

"...I..."

"Blues... It might help Enzan..."

"I know... And I know how badly... Enzan-sama was hurt... It's just... It's worse than they think... To them, he's just an unusual case... But..."

"If it'll help them make him better... why won't you tell them what happened?"

"I can't!" Blues snapped his reply to the brunette that held his PET. He'd finally looked at the screen... Even with the visor covering his eyes, it was obvious whatever it was that Blues knew about Enzan's injuries upset him very much. Netto had never seen Blues act this way.

"...Why?" Netto's gentle; but firmly asked; question received no reply from the red PET. The Navi within it fell silent, and looked, once more, away from the screen. Netto saw him bite his lip as he did.

"It... I couldn't... I couldn't do a single thing... I just listened... I watched... I monitored. I couldn't stop it, I couldn't help Enzan-sama, and I couldn't get help for him. If I'd have left the PET to find help, Enzan-sama could have--" Blues stopped. His voice had cracked on the last word. Netto knew the one that would have followed it...

"Blues... I'm... I'm sorry..." He couldn't really say anything else. Blues' face showed more emotion than he was used to from the red Navi...

"I didn't..." Blues stammered. He had so much trouble trying to form words. It was starting to scare Netto. "I didn't think... the sight of blood would... would affect me so much... but... I honestly thought... I thought... E-Enzan...sama..."

"But... Blues... I thought--"

"Have you ever heard him scream?" Netto froze at the Navi's question. "Hikari Netto? Have you ever heard Enzan-sama scream?"

"I... think..."

"Can you sit still and let whatever has made him scream continue to go on?"

"No."

"That's because you're in the same reality as he is. You can help him if he's in danger. In pain. You're not confined to a small device without any way of assisting him. You...," he trailed off... and looked down. "You have no idea what it's like to hear him scream... hear him cry... watch things happen to him... and be unable to do anything about it... That... That Garauss..." He paused...and clenched his fists tightly, though Netto couldn't see that... "That virus attacked Enzan-sama. I saw fear in his eyes. If he hadn't made it to the IPC building when he did... no matter how he got inside... He... He..."

"Blues... I don't... understand..."

"I saw so much... blood... Enzan-sama... With nothing I could do... but watch..." He sounded as if he were trying not to cry... or holding back a fit of rage... "I can't leave him alone when he's hurt..."

"Blues..."

"Netto-kun?" Rockman appeared beside Blues in his PET, looking to find his Op staring back. The little blue Navi didn't seem all that surprised. Blues did, however, and shifted to step away from Rockman.

"Rockman!" Netto seemed surprised as well...

"Why did you leave the PET in your room? You scared me when I found you were missing!"

"I'm sorry... Rockman..." Netto looked away from the PET screen. The little blue Navi sighed, and looked to Blues beside him. It was only then he realized that the red Navi seemed to be trying to avoid him.

"Blues...? What's wrong...?"

"Nothing, Rockman..."

"Something is. You don't avoid me lik-"

"I'm not avoiding you!"

"Blues, you're on the other side of the screen from my position. Even I can tell you are," Netto interjected. Blues gave Netto a glare that he didn't need to see to feel. Netto blushed a little, but he looked over to his own Navi. "Rockman... I'm sure Blues will be fine; given a little time... With Enzan in the hospital, it's just gotten to him."

"Hikari!"

"Isn't it true, Blues?" Rockman asked... believing his Op's words over Blues' protest. Blues turned his head to look over at the blue Navi... who was patiently waiting on an answer.

"I..." Blues glanced quickly over to Netto; through the PET screen. His visor hiding his action... He then looked back to Rockman... "Y-Yes... Rockman..."

"Netto-kun, you should get back to your room before the nurses come hunting for you," Rockman sounded worried, thought he kept staring at Blues... something was off...

"I know, I know... I'm going," Netto grumbled, and put the red PET back into the cradle beside Enzan's bed. After doing that, he took a look at the figure on the bed. He could barely make out the other boy's features. The dim light in the room made it near impossible. And Netto's eyes hadn't adjusted to the darkness again yet since staring at the lighted PET screen. He didn't need to see clearly to be able to tell Enzan was hurt rather badly. He could see the color of the white bandages wrapped around different areas. But what stood out were the ones around his arm... They were wrapped from the boy's hand up to near his elbow... and it made Netto wince lightly. Even unconscious, the features of Enzan's face seemed to be speaking that he was in pain. The more his eyes adjusted to the darkness, the less he wanted to keep staring at the boy on the bed. It made him feel worse in the fact that he'd been sleeping at school when this all happened to his friend.

"Netto-kun?"

"I'm... going... Rockman..." Netto hurriedly turned his head, and moved towards the door, taking one last glace back to Enzan before slipping onto the darkened hallway.

Rockman turned to leave the PET, but Blues grabbed his arm before he could. The blue navi turned to look at the red one in confusion.

"Rockman, I want you to do one little favor for me."

"A... favor?"

"Yes. When you go back to your PET I want you to monitor EVERYTHING from your Op. Watch Netto carefully. Pay attention to everything," Blues seemed very serious about this.

"I always watch-"

"EVERYTHING, Rockman. Extended Bio Readouts and Detailed Stats. By the time you get back, Netto will be tired again."

"I wish I knew why that was..."

"Watch him and you'll see exactly what it is."

"Blues...?"

"Enzan-sama has the same anomaly in his Bio Readouts. I found it when I brought up details. But the nurses and doctors would never believe me if I showed it to them. They keep saying they've looked at everything. They haven't," Blues half-trailed off. Rockman blinked.

"What am I looking for exactly with Netto-kun?"

"You'll know it when you see it, Rockman," Blues replied, "Trust me."

"Why haven't you made the doctors and nurses see it?"

"Because only someone who's seen normal Bios would know what's wrong. I can't compare these for them to see. To them... it is normal. But to me... Enzan-sama..."

"Is... Is it seri-"

"Not really, but it's affecting them both. I know you'll see something similar for Netto... It's the only explanation. Please hurry back to your PET... and monitor your Op closely. When he slips back into sleep, you'll see what it is that I found."

"Blues, I'm confused."

"Please, Rockman, just believe me and hurry," Blues lightly pushed Rock to the Link out of his PET. "Just Direct Link me when you see it... if you want to."

"...Right... Blues..." Rockman looked at the red Navi for a good minute before he left the PET, hurrying back over the hospital network to his own PET... sitting beside his Op; Netto...

----------xXx----------

The brunette boy, Hikari Netto... couldn't seem to sleep at all. Rockman waited patiently, but never found that his Op was restful enough to sleep at all. He'd given up, but never stopped monitoring the boy, regardless. He heard Netto moan and grumble something about the bed. Doubtful that was the reason, he finally spoke up.

"Netto-kun, the bed is fine. But if you can't relax, you won't sleep."

"Rockman... I already see sunlight. I know it's nearly morning. And this stupid bed isn't really all that comfortable. It's not 'fine'," Netto replied, staring at the ceiling.

"Maybe you should ask a nurse for something to help you calm down?"

"Why do I need to calm down? I'm not allowed to be worried at all?"

"I never said that..."

"Rockman," Netto said; as he sat up, placing his hands in his lap; staring at them.

"Netto-kun?"

"Blues is scared."

"Eh?"

"He saw something... horrible... happen to Enzan... Something he won't specify. I've never seen him act like he did."

"But he's always a bit avoidant..."

"No. He snapped at me."

"But Enzan does that...?" Rockman didn't understand what it was that Netto was trying to say. He could barely hear the boy's next words.

"Not like this..."

"Have you ever heard Enzan-sama scream?"
:I... think..."
"Can you sit still and let whatever has made him scream continue to go on?"
"No."

"I want to know exactly what happened to Enzan while I was at school..."

"I can look, but I don't think I'll find much more than you already know, Netto-kun," Rockman bit his lip as he offered. Netto shook his head, though... declining the offer.

"I want to hear it from them."

"Netto-kun..."

"It's always best to hear from the source. Who better to tell me what happened than Enzan or Blues?"

"But... I-It could be... days... before Enzan's... recovered enough... to tell you anything... Netto-kun," Rockman had heard the nurses speaking while Netto was asleep.

"Days? Rockman... Do... Do you know... exactly what happened?"

"Not... exactly... no... Just... that he'd already taken damage... during a battle with viruses. But the Dimensional Area was cut before he could finish... and he was attacked by a Garauss... Security at IPC managed to lure it into an empty; small Board Room until it could be dealt with. After which Enzan was rushed here. Did... Blues... tell you anything...?" The blue Navi looked at Netto... almost shyly. Netto took a deep breath, closing his eyes when he breathed in, the looking to his Navi after he breathed out.

"He said... he saw... a lot of blood. That it... bothered him more than he thought... Maybe there really isn't any more to it... but... it seems like Blues doesn't want to talk about it at all," Netto looked back to the bed; and his hands. "And that just makes me think there's something else to all this..."

mew

"Netto-kun?"

"Rockman?"

purr...

"Tell me that sound's from the PET?"

"I was hoping you were just being very strange, Netto-kun..."

"If I wanted to be strange, I'd probably moo, not meow, Rockman," Netto shifted, trying to look around his bed for the source of the noise. Though he could think of the obvious source... it just didn't make sense in a hospital. That was answered when a small, black shape leapt onto the bed from the foot, and walked up to Netto. "Well... um... hello...?" He blinked, and reached his hand out for the cat to sniff. It did so... and then it purred happily, nuzzling the boy's hand.

"Netto-kun... be careful..." Rockman bit his lip, and brought up another screen beside Netto's Vitals. Something didn't seem right, and he was going to find out what it was.

"It probably just snuck in when someone had a door open, Rockman," Netto smiled, lightly, and moved to pet the cat from head to tail. It meowed again, apparently happy. The Navi wasn't in agreement... it was now he started to notice something odd. Was this what Blues mentioned...?

...If that was so, why was he able to see and hear the cat as well?

'No... this... the readout... The cat...? But this doesn't make sense...' Rockman kept staring at the second screen he'd pulled up as he thought. He brought up another, sliding his fingertips over the surface swiftly and scanning through something.

"Hey now... What is it you smell? Quit it!" Netto sounded to be half giggling, and this pulled the blue Navi's attention over to his Op. The cat was standing on its back paws, the front ones on Netto's chest... and licking the boy's cheek; tail flicking madly. It was now; with a bit of sunlight entering the window; that Rockman noted a collar on the animal's neck.

"Netto-kun! The cat has a collar! Maybe you can see who it belongs to?"

"What good -quit!- would that do, Rockman? They're not going to letme waltz out of here with -That tickles!- the cat no matter what my excuse. Oi!" Netto had to take hold of the animal; lightly; to calm it down from trying to climb up onto his shoulders.

"Still. You could tell them who it belongs to..."

"Fine, fine... I'll look," Netto shifted the animal, and tried to peek at the tag on the collar. The cat wriggled quite a bit when he touched the tag. "What's the matter, kitty?" Netto petted its head as he moved the collar to look at the tag better. All he found was a rather pretty little holographic image. No info on either side, however... Just the same 'picture' on both sides. A single kanji character done in a 3D Hologram.

'yume'

"Netto-kun? Find anything?"

"...'Yume'...? Is that your name?" the cat mewed softly in reply. Netto took it as a yes. Rockman wasn't so sure...

"So the cat's name means 'dream'?"

"I see you've found him for me, Hikari Netto," a female's voice softly called from the door. How she got in without Netto hearing wasn't exactly clear. But Rockman was confused why he also hadn't heard her. She seemed nice enough, though...

"Yume is your kitty? Why do you have him in a hospital?" Netto blinked... the cat hadn't budged from its new position of lying in the boy's lap.

"I snuck him in to visit my dad. He loves this cat and I thought a small visit with Yume might make him feel better even if it doesn't help him get better," the young woman replied. Netto looked at the pure, black cat curled up on his lap.

"Um... How exactly... do you know my name?"

"It's written on the door outside your room," she blushed as she replied. Netto did the same. He never really thought of that... after all, Enzan's name is outside of his... It's how he found the exact room the other boy was in...

"Netto-kun... Just let her have Yume and she can go visit her father," Rockman sounded... almost... eager... to get this animal away from his Op... He also remembered something and went back to the two screens he was working with before Netto had distracted him. He added one more to the equation... This one obviously meant to check out the girl with Netto. Though Rock managed to shove that one out of direct view of the PET screen...

"I thought Visiting Hours didn't start until mid-morning?" Netto watched the girl sit on the edge of his bed; staring at her cat in the boy's lap.

"My dad's terminally ill. I went home to get a change of clothes and something to eat... and to bring Yume back with me."

"I'm sorry... I didn't... mean to..."

"No. It's fine. You didn't know," she smiled at Netto, reassuringly. "But your Navi's right. I should probably get going," she reached to remove the cat from Netto's lap and it hissed at her.

"Yume!"

"Maybe she's just comfortable...?" Netto stared at the cat... Its claws were dug into the blanket that was over his bare legs. He could just barely feel the tips of them against his leg. "It's alright, calm down...?"

"Netto-kun?" Rockman asked, speeding his pace up a little... He wasn't liking this feeling he had... and he direct linked to Blues' PET; moving the screen aside. As soon as Blues accepted it, he found the blue Navi working faster than usual among three screens with a 4th obviously displaying Netto's vitals. The red Navi immediately knew something wasn't right.

"Rockman...? What's-"

"Blues, something's very off and I can't figure it out," Rockman replied, without looking to him. Blues blinked behind his visor...

"How do you mean?"

"Netto-kun couldn't sleep, and... this cat- ...the cat... that collar...?" Rockman had apparently lost it... Blues; obviously; didn't have a clue what he was talking about. That didn't make him want to kill the connection... not with how scared Rockman obviously looked. "There's a layer of something under the holographic sticker. That woman... isn't scanning right either."

"Aren't you a little overly paranoid about all this, Rockman?"

"No. Netto-kun's bio readouts aren't making any sense since she's walked in. They started acting a little strange when the cat showed up. I thought it was just a little fear from knowing nothing about where the animal came from, but they've gotten worse since... Blues... Netto-kun shouldn't even still be awake if this is accurate..."

"...I'm beginning to think something is affecting the PETs as well as our Ops, Rockman..."

"I'm inclined to agree... I-"

The sound of Netto crying out in pain interrupted the Navi's discussion. Rockman instantly turned to look out of the PET screen, and seemed shocked by what he saw. Blues, however, was hesitant to ask what made Rockman's face look the way it did... Was he sure he really wanted to know?

"Netto-kun?"

"I'm alright... Rockman... just an upset... cat... Ow..."

"I'm sorry! He didn't mean it! Did you, Yume-kun?" The woman's voice sounded sort of apologetic... but...

"Blues... there's... nothing wrong... with the PET... I was... scanning... for the wrong... thing..." Rockman stared at the second screen, having flipped it over accidentally when Netto had cried out. Blues started to ask what Rockman meant, but the blue Navi yelled to his Op and answered the question..."Netto-kun! Move away from her! She's a Navi!"

"A Navi...?" Blues mumbled, confused... Netto, however, froze, and looked at his PET.

"A Navi! Rockman, are you feeling alright?" The boy still cradled the hand that the cat had bitten. Said cat was on the windowsill, still growling and flipping its tail back and forth; highly annoyed.

"Your Navi takes after you in all your annoying traits as well, I see. Such as always poking your nose where it doesn't belong..."

"What...?" Netto shifted, pushing himself back on the bed; away from the 'girl'. Rockman noted the sudden racing in the boy's heart rate. The first normal reading he'd seen since the girl appeared. This explained why no one heard her come in the door.

...She didn't...

Netto yelped as she snatched and pulled his wrist; pushing against the animal's bite. Rockman once more called out; sounding scared, but was ignored; for the most part. Netto found himself now being held around the throat with the girl's other arm. That was his first priority. Release himself. He knew his Navi couldn't help him unless he could at least get to the PET itself first anyway.

"Haven't you ever noticed that dreams mirror reality...? Or that your deepest; most hidden desire is easily attainable while you sleep? Dreams are wonderful things to watch, you know..."

"Let... go...!"

"I will... As soon as I find what it is that you want the most... What is it you dream of... Hikari Netto...?"

"Stop it? Let go!" Netto sounded very close to terrified. Then again, he couldn't get free and this position was hardly unfamiliar...

"Netto-kun!"

"Rockman, what's happening?" Blues also sounded a bit scared. But that was because he could only see the blue Navi's reaction to something happening outside the PET... and wondered how he had looked when Enzan had been attacked...

"Stop it!" Rockman yelled; a bit high-pitched; from the PET. Blues only winced at the pitch, not what the Navi had done. Neither of them had to wait long before they heard Netto cry out again; along with a rather loud thump near the PET. Rockman looked to have jumped. Blues looked from the link screen to his own Op; biting his lip. He contemplated leaving his PET through the Hospital Network and getting to Rockman's PET. But that may take a few moments... After hearing Rockman once more beg this 'girl' Navi to stop and leave Netto alone, Blues'd had enough. He'd already been unable to do anything for Enzan... He may not be able to do anything for Netto, but he can damn well do something for Rockman. Two seconds later, he linked out to the network and headed for the other Navi as fast as he could.

----------xXx----------

The door opened slowly, the top of white hair peeked in to a dimly lit room. Finding the computer screen on, but no sound coming from the computer itself, the boy attached to said hair shifted to step into the room; carefully.

"Netto...?" Enzan asked, softly. He received no reply... though he could plainly see the boy lying face down on his bed. "Netto..." Finally he heard what sounded like a sniffle. "Netto, I'm... I'm sure Rockman and Blues...are fine..."

"You're scared too...Enzan," another sniffle followed his words. Enzan shifted, and put his hands in his jacket pockets. The moment he did, he bumped the small frame he'd taken along with the PET from his father's desk. But he didn't pull it out yet... right now he should get Netto calmed down...

"That doesn't mean I don't believe they'll be alright, Netto."

"Are you sure...?"

"I'm sure," Enzan replied, softly. To this, Netto shifted, and sat cross-legged on his bed; wiping at his eyes. He didn't look up to the other boy.

"Enzan... It's my fault... I didn't... I didn't charge the PET... I fell asleep... and now..."

"Netto..."

"I mean it!" Netto looked up at Enzan... to find the older boy biting his lip. "Enzan...?"

"I didn't charge Blues' PET either... but I don't believe that's what it is," Enzan trailed off... the boy looked tired. Netto shifted, and got up off the bed to stand in front of him.

"You haven't been sleeping that well, have you."

"What?"

"You look tired."

"And you look like hell, but I don't just blurt that out from nowhere," Enzan blushed, and took a step back.

"No... I mean... What's been going on with you, Enzan? How long... How long have you been able to sleep at night?"

"N-Not... lon- Netto, why does it matter!" Enzan's blush deepened, and he looked annoyed. Netto backed up a step.

"Because I haven't either, Enzan..."

"Eh?"

"I have trouble getting to sleep and when I do, I don't get to sleep that well... nor that long," Netto looked up to Enzan's face, curiously. "Do you think it might have a link to what's happened to the PETs?"

"I... I don't... know... Netto... Ow," Enzan winced... the frame poked the back of his hand, and it made him pull said hand from his pocket. The bandages were already tinted red; but he had assumed that would have been from when Netto's mother had wrapped it for him after making it do such a thing again.

"What happened?"

"I... hurt myself... at work... it's nothing, Netto."

"Nothing? You're still bleeding..."

"Your mother did that when she insisted she take care of it," Enzan grumbled, and held his hand against his chest with a little pressure on the back of it. He blinked, before he realized that Netto was all but holding him up now...

"You should sit down... I think it may be worse than you thought..."

"This... this is ridiculous...I-I'm fine..."

"You look pale, Enzan," Netto said, softly. He pulled gently, trying to get Enzan to sit on his bed. Despite attempts to protest, the boy found himself sitting on top of the the blue blanket there. Only once he sat did he feel a bit dizzy. did he really hurt himself that badly? Or... was the lack of sleep combined with the injury catching up with him...?

"Netto... I..."

"Stay here... I'll get a glass of water," Netto bit his lip and hurried from the room. Enzan could not figure out what water had to do with anything... but he decided now may be a good time to check that frame... and carefully removed it from his jacket pocket. Once he did, he froze upon seeing what picture was in it. A moment later, his face shifted from one of surprise to one of sadness.

"Okaasan...?" Why would his father have a picture of her in his desk drawer? And just tossed in there like that? Shown no more care than his son's PET and Navi? He'd almost completely forgotten what she looked like... it never really came up... But now? Seeingan image of her again...?

He couldn't cry here... Not in front of Netto. Seeing the other boy crying was one thing... he was used to that... but he'd be damned if he was going to let that boy see him cry.

The longer he stared at the woman in the picture, the more he noticed his vision started to blur. He heard Netto's voice, but it was distant... and growing farther away.

He also swore he could hear Blues' voice... had Yuuichirou repaired the PETs?

No... this was too near...

Enzan-sama? Mezamete!

Wake up...? But he wasn't asleep yet...? And he was far too tired to remain awake...

The room seemed to disappear around him, and he simply collapsed to the floor. Holding that small, metal framed image of the one he'd lost so long ago. The only one... aside from Blues... that ever really cared about what happened to him...

Okaasan...

...I miss you...

--------------------------------
I had a dream...
...of you and I...
A thousand stars...
...lit up the sky...
I touched your hand...
...and you were gone...
But memories...
...of you live on...
--------------------------------

-TBC- :3