Chapter 18: The Solution

"Netto kun"

It was only the next day after Rockman discovered the depth of the wound Saito Hikari left behind in the delicate heart of the boy. The blue navi called on his operator as he was freed from the last class of the day, during which he could not concentrate at all. The day had been an uncomfortable one for Netto; no, it was not due to the embarrassment of having cried and broken down before his own navi. Of that development, Netto had accepted it as a rather thankful development, for now he could confidently say that he would miss Rockman as much as he would miss Saito, but not because he overlapped the two in his heart. It was just as his navi admonished him: Saito was no longer here, but 'he was still here.' Whether or not the double dose of the sorrow of losing the most cherished companion of life would be fatal to him was of no concern to him—in this clarity, he was determined to descend into the darkness of the Earth while knowing he had two loves in his life, and that he had wronged neither. He even felt lighter, somehow, in his heart as he embraced the 'carpe diem' philosophy of Rockman. However, also knowing that his navi was not the one to suggest such a mode of life out of denial, and also remembering how he rejected the offer of learning what happened between Rockman and Iceman, he knew an unpleasant announcement was coming. A lesson, perhaps, of things he needed to know but avoided yesterday, and then a plan, perhaps, of how to spend the remaining time together. He was still not ready for them. Therefore, for the entire day he suffered from a low-intensity suspense: every time Rockman called his name, Netto's heart skipped a beat or two out of anguish.

"Mou, you don't have to be so surprised every time I call your name..."

"Who-who is surprised?"

Netto had been, since this morning. It was a strange day. Rockman woke him in the usual manner, at the precise time, full of vigor and positivity, as if nothing had happened to him or between them. So much so, Netto almost confessed to Rockman that he had a strange nightmare in which the navi was going to leave him behind, asked the navi to tell him that it was not real, and then received kind consolations, a salve to his soul. However, as Netto stared at Rockman dumbfoundedly, caught up in somnolent calculations such as trying to convince himself that the upcoming tragedy was indeed real, the navi cheerfully nudged him into the brave new morning with a remark 'Ready to have the best day ever?' It was a reference to yesterday's conversation and a harsh reminder of their future. So this morning, Netto ended up staring at Rockman blankly for some time, trying to burn this blissful image into his retina; a scene that would sustain him during his last days along with what memory he had of Saito.

"You are! Well, I hope our battle against Gutsman was a good warm-up for you." In Rockman's eyes, as he was speaking, there was unfiltered warmth that showed his hope of Netto having had some fun in the process.

They had that—a series of netbattle matches—today. Rockman said it was going to be fun. Well, fun they had, but at the expense of Dekao, who, at the end of their netbattle session, looked at Netto as if he had been betrayed. It was true that Netto got carried away in the excitement; it had been a while since he had a proper netbattle, and also given the uncertain future in which he did not know how many more times they would have such fun, he pulled out every chips and combos in his arsenal. In particular, he might have gone a bit overboard with the use of 'Invisible' battle chip, which Dekao still had not found a solution against. Not wanting to scare Dekao away, Netto in the past refrained from abusing this tactic, which was the reason for that swarthy boy's sense of betrayal: the unspoken pact (that only existed in Dekao's head) was broken.

"Heh, it's been a while since we had so much fun...so it's a warmup to what?"

"To the best adventure we are going to have!" Rockman made a wide grin.

"...Which is?" Here, Netto naively assumed that the adventure would be something traditional, within the realm of reason, like going to places of mesmerizing panorama, playing with fireworks at the beach, rediscovering little joys in life...or maybe they were going to visit tech events and collect stamps, or...

"Busting WWW base!"

It dawned on Netto that he had grossly underestimated the zeal of his navi. As outlandish as the suggestion was, the boy found himself being drawn to the idea. The pure recklessness embedded in the idea was exactly the kind Netto yearned in his daydreamings, saving or changing the world just as in the tales of heroes of old. Rockman did say that they were going to make the best memory, and he delivered.

"Cool! But, Rockman, that WWW? The one that was featured on the television?

"Yes!"

By the briskness of the response and the casual tone that delivered it, one would imagine that Rockman was talking about a daily routine as trivial as brushing one's teeth.

"The guys who sent Fireman to Mayl's oven and kidnapped Iceman?"

"Uh-huh!"

"The guys that the law enforcement still has not found?"

"Precisely!"

"...Why?"

"Because they are the ones responsible for this entire mess!"

Netto briefly contemplated, and it partly made sense. Fireman triggered some kind of aberration in Rockman, and that walking flamethrower turned out to be in service of WWW. Iceman was surely collected and then tempered by WWW, and it apparently worsened something in Rockman.

"So, Rockman, you are saying we should get rid of WWW? But you were like this-" Netto pointed and waved at Rockman with his palm as if trying to remind the navi of his own body "-before we had anything to do with them?"

"Yes, Netto kun, that is correct, but I wanted to...I wanted to..." Ten sentences were trying to come out of Rockman at the same time—some trying to explain his condition to the extent of his understanding, some trying to explain his motivations for this uncharacteristically daring ambition—competing for his voicebox. In order to remedy the congestion, he had to briefly stop and reorganize his response. He returned momentarily: "Netto kun, you are kind. The navi before me, you called friend, and me you treated like-"

Like what? Rockman rapidly engaged his dictionary to find the suitable word. As he settled on the word 'brother' and tried to continue, Netto interjected with "soulmate," after which he appeared mildly flustered as if what he said was indecent. The impression was probably originating from his recent witnessing of Dekao sending a message to Mayl, claiming they were soulmates according to the day's horoscope, published on the second to last page of the ACDC Daily.

"-soulmate." Rockman continued with Netto's suggestion, but with his face also growing ever so slightly pinkish, as he found the mood of his operator contagious. The term, as much as it was inexplicably embarrassing to say, also touched a cord in his heart. "So, I do not want your kind heart to be hurt anymore. I know you will be kind to the next navi you will have. I know you two will grow old together. I do not want you to go through the loss for the third time. To make sure you will never be sad again like this, I decided that WWW has to be taken care of. And...and...it's selfish of me, but...I wanted to do it together, with you."

"Rockman..." called Netto, hesitantly, featuring a complicated expression, finding his feeling to be a mix of equal part of sadness and happiness. Sadness was that Rockman did not believe his resolve of not getting another navi after Rockman; happiness was that Rockman was inviting him to a dangerous uncertainty, showing that his need for the presence of the other was reciprocal in the navi as well.

"Alright, I'm in," continued Netto. "So what was it that you discovered in Iceman?"

"Ah, that..."

It was Rockman's turn to be surprised. He had already planned what to say should such an occasion arise, but the knowledge did not equate to fluency. It was a hefty topic, riddled with speculations and mysteries, the truth of which he only just began to grasp.

"Netto kun, my condition and Iceman's condition...the mechanism is the same, and I suspect it was also the same for all navis in the report that papa showed you...it's because we dream. Navis are not meant to dream. In dreaming, every navi is inevitably engulfed by dysfunctional madness. It seems WWW has developed a way of making navis dream...for what purpose, we do not know. I don't think anyone knows, really. So, Iceman dreamed and went mad, speaking about god and religion like all other netnavis, but that you already know based on what Tory said."

"Yeah, go on."

"I...dream, which you also already know, and it was...at least I imagine it was an unintentional part of my design. Papa, too, thought my case was different as I never reported seeing 'a god of netnavis' or became suddenly interested in religions..."

"Right, we knew you've been dreaming, something about ACDC town."

"Anyways, in the last part of the waterworks server, Iceman was...he became strange, as if... ... ..."

Rockman had only one word to accurately describe what he witnessed, but speaking it out as is seemed unwise, somehow, as he feared giving a wrong impression to his operator that he was mad beyond reason, that he was considering supernatural possiblities, despite the fact that by design he, a netnavi, should be the last entity to do so. He paused and tried to find an acceptable synonym, which was an impossible task and lengthened the pause to the point of Netto's concern.

"Is it difficult to speak, Rockman? I hope you can tell me, because, you know, we are in it together."

Together. Netto kun just called him a soulmate. What was he even troubled over? Rockman dismissed all of his previous worries and resolved.

"...Possessed. Iceman even knew that it was going to happen, acting like he was living on a borrowed time. And then, afterwards...I remembered what I had been forgetting...as if something inside me resonated with the 'possession' of Iceman. In the end, it turns out that I have been seeing 'it' too. I simply did not remember after waking up."

"What...did you see? What is 'it?'"

"The 'god of navis.' It was...it was..."

Rockman trailed off to silence again as he remembered the questionable entanglement of Netto and Mayl in his recent dream. The scene purturbed him by its indecency, and confused him by evocation of debilitating feelings that he could not identify—it was not a simple anxiety that sprang forth from the prospect of being abandoned by that suggested version of the future Netto whose attention had migrated from him to Mayl. The boy, however, erroneously thinking that the navi wanted some privacy in their discussion, quickly slung on his backpack and roller-skated home, saying quick goodbyes to friends while declining invitations for afternoon activities from them with compressed responses. When he reached their room with speed, Rockman was still silent.

"Well? We are here, and no one is going to listen. What was it?" Netto asked as he placed the PET in its charger. Contrary to his expectations, Rockman only looked troubled.

Here, Rockman was at a loss on how to describe it. Based on the Scilab report, he was confident that each navi had a different vision, but ultimately encountered the same entity. He, however, could not describe his own experience, for he did not have the courage to explain what he saw—Netto and Mayl embracing in nakedness—nor why he found that shape so hideous instead of embarrassing.

"It was hideous, beyond reason. I cannot describe it, but can only say that I do not wish to see it again."

"Then...Do you think it will possess you also? Do you think it will how things will turn out to be? Maybe-"

Rockman gestured Netto to stop, showing his palm to the screen.

"Netto kun...it won't happen until we complete our adventure. What I am more worried about is our papa. We can't let him know...can we?"

"Searching and going into WWW base? Nah, probably not."

The proposed final adventure was beyond reckless even by Netto's crude standards. It seemed imperative, then, to hide this plan from their beloved father, who would surely put into effect some restrictions to stop them. In the worst case, a quarantine and analysis of Rockman might be prescribed should Dr. Yuichiro suspect that the plan stemmed from the navi's deterioration of reasoning capacity instead of accepting it as an expression of desperation. Netto knew he would not be able to endure their premature separation; his soul would be quenched only after claiming every second remaining in Rockman as his. Besides, an ulterior motive that he could not voice to Rockman strongly encouraged his decision for secrecy: in such a dangerous adventure, there was a great chance that both of them would be ended together. In such a conclusion, Netto optimistically pictured they would be together, forever, in the afterlife, perhaps with Saito, which would make them a happy group of three. Saito niisan would not be angry at him for this strange suicidal conjecture, would he? Ah, it did not matter, for what mattered was that he was not going to be left behind.

"Alright, Rockman, any ideas on where to begin today?"

"Homework!"

This navigator! Unbelievable! After promising to have some fun! Netto made a face like that of a puppy caught in the rain, trying to move the heart of the blue navi with an induced pity. Rockman was adamant.

"Uuu...Rockman...Really?"

"Really!"

Little did the boy know what Herculean nerves Rockman had to marshal in order to resist the pitifully adorable face of Netto. Well, it was for the good of the boy, for had he known, it was guaranteed that he would abuse it against his navi to no end...

That night, Netto could not help but notice that Rockman made no preparations to enter the sleep mode, but rather occupied himself heavily with rearranging files, using browsers, and taking memos of some sort. He also noticed that the information being collected pertained to the police network and court records based on the web pages he was accessing, which were those of the Den-city police department and the district court responsible for ACDC town. Rockman had only a moment ago waved at him with an affectionate 'Good night, Netto kun.' ; the navi's work was no doubt the first step in locating the WWW, but the night was not the time the boy imagined the effort would take place.

"Rockman, are you not going to sleep?" Netto called out from the bed.

"Ah, Netto kun, anything I can help?"

The navi paused his research, pushed aside all of his work away from the display, and his expression made a sudden transformation from cold lifeless neutrality to that of boundless warmth. In the way that the navi's eyes relaxed and corners of his mouth gently curved upwards, Netto understood that he was indeed the navi's highest priority, which filled him with a sense of superiority and delight.

"Well, if you are going to stay awake, then maybe you can sing me a lullaby...wait, wait, wait, WAIT, that was a joke! A joke!" Netto hurriedly stopped Rockman who was on the verge of complying with the request. "Don't you need to sleep? Besides, I don't want to get left out of our adventure..."

Netto instinctively knew that should the navi really sing him a lullaby, which was bound to be pleasant, powered with the infallible musical perfection of a netnavi, he would fall asleep uncontrollably, like a sailor under the spell of a Siren, rocked by sweet melodies of his favorite voice, even forgetting what his intention was in calling out to Rockman in the first place. He even knew what the navi was going to sing should the request be processed: 'Sleeping forest,' which their mother, Haruka, sang to them during the early days, and which Saito picked up and used on him afterwards. Rockman apparently inherited the tradition and applied it on him from time to time as well—probably learned from their mama, thought Netto—inducing a complete torpor in him like the one seen in an animal shot with a sedative.

"Ah, I am sorry Netto kun. This is some menial research, and I did not want to take up your time. Besides...I found that I had some time to spare since I was not going to sleep,"

"Not sleep? Why? I thought navis needed to sleep, too, in order to defragment memories. Will you be fine?"

"To not dream, Netto kun. I do not know what the next dream has in store for me, or if I will be able to resist it at all. So..."

"...but..."

"I'll be fine" Rockman said as he turned around and showed his operator his backpack, "...at least for a month. I have an extra storage unit here."

"..."

"...Netto kun."

"..."

"...Don't worry! I will be fine!"

"..."

"Alright, alright, if sleep has escaped you so much, then I'll tell you this, though I originally planned to tell you tomorrow: remember the boy clad in the parka whom we saw in the surveillance footage? I believe it is Iceman. Yes, really, Iceman! Whether it is a real materialization of him, or him somehow influencing the closed circuit of the camera is up for debate-"

"Materialization? Really?" Netto visibly perked up at the idea. "Now you are getting me all excited!"

The boy jumped out of the bed and paced around the room, pouring out his ideas of what he and the materialized Rockman could do together. The plans ranged from the typically boyish mischiefs to innocently romantic ones. Both of them were oblivious to, for example, how they would be perceived holding hands in a festival, clad in yukatas. However, Rockman, a mind more familiar with the thoughts and history of Netto, was quick to observe that most of them were activities that the boy hoped to do with Saito but never came to fruition. In an effort to mitigate the pang in his heart from this realization, and also practically driven to put Netto to sleep before too late, he broke the chain of speculative happiness endlessly springing forth from the mouth of the boy.

"...It's just a possibility. I, know, Netto kun...I, too...it would be very nice, won't it? At any rate, I hope to find a definite answer to our questions in WWW base. They surely will have some information on all this. Now, if you don't go to bed," Rockman put his hands on his waists, faking a mild displeasure, "you will have trouble in the morning, and I'll be angry!"

"Ack, alright, alright, I'm going. Good night!"

Netto could see that Rockman was not one bit annoyed as the navi's face betrayed his true mood, yet the boy, too, faked being mildly terrified by the prospects of Rockman's lectures and returned to his bed. Based on the frequent tossing and turning beneath the blanket, it was evident that the boy struggled to go to sleep, still elongating the to-do list should the materialization of Rockman come true. The frequency and magnitude of the movements gradually decreased, and in thirty minutes, the soft breathings of the boy to whom the blessings of Hypnos arrived were all that remained. Rockman smiled briefly, and then, in resuming his work, went back to the default neutral expression.

Based on the uncovered memories of his past dreams, Rockman noticed one peculiarity that revealed how his soul functioned: on days on which Netto cared enough about him, or he felt their interaction had been sufficient, he had better results in fending off the hostilities he faced in those crimson dreams, and consequently a better condition in the morning. Such results were achieved through the happiness that Netto gave him on that day, which equipped him with stronger determination and higher spirits that rallied him; his soul was like the trees of the woods, and Netto a strong wind blowing through the branches. Into whichever direction Netto blew, his soul swayed, and when Netto swayed him towards happiness, he was unbreakable.

Then, he would be lying if he did not admit that Netto's sudden fancies about his potential materialization, and Netto's fleeting fantasies about the anabasis into new heights of happiness they could achieve in such a case affected him greatly. When the boy was awake, he tried his best to not let the joy distract him from the task at hand, for it was important in his current endeavors, yet as the boy became sound asleep, and the solitude that was conducive to contemplations returned, he found himself unguarded to the influences of the ideas that Netto put forth earlier contaminating his current cogitative functions. The ideas were irresistibly sweet. In materializing into the real world, he would be able to touch Netto, hug Netto, hear Netto's heartbeats, and-

'Saito, don't get ahead of yourself. Netto always became embarrassed when I did that. And it's not yet determined that Iceman successfully materialized...though he confessed to me that that's how he drank the blood of those frogs. But I can't put my hope on the ramblings of a mad navi, however close to the truth he might have been.'

Even so, his rational precautions could not put out the flickering ambers of hope in his heart. Rockman firmly decided that in his raid of WWW base, he would find answers to this most pressing problem, make sure that his final moments were spent in the real world with Netto, and that he would not stop until it was done.

Around 3 A.M., having accessed enough data for preliminary research, Rockman left a memo, put it on the display of the PET, opened the security lock in their PC homepage, and went forth into the internet that was sparsely populated in this late hour. The memo read:

-Netto kun, I'll be back before morning. If I am late, then please go to school without me. I'll meet you up there.

ACDC and Densan area, which were supposed to be high-security sectors, sank into the gloomy shades at this hour with almost all commercial interfaces turned off, save intermittent signs that had webpage addresses for their online stores for more traditional forms of remote shopping. Almost all shopkeeping netnavis were absent, as well as customer netnavis, retired to their masters' PET, except for the servants of those unfortunate few who still had works at this hour, or of masters who decided to take a network stroll using their navi in their sleeplessness. Some places that offered 24 hour services had netnavis at the receptions, but in most cases, such stores were run by generic Programs, the 'yellow-green adorable rabbit-like beings' that liked so much.

Rockman had no time to browse through the wares, even as some did catch his fancy because he knew they were to Netto's taste. He navigated through the system in one fluid motion, according to the map he had internalized before venturing out of Netto's PC, taking backdoor routes to avoid any possibilities of meeting familiar faces. The cleanliness of the main Densan area was only a facade; the back alleys were sorely in need of some cleanup efforts, littered with junk data, software traps aimed at unsuspecting scavengers, some netnavis and viruses waiting in ambush, et cetera. These threats were all easily visible to Rockman, whose scanning capabilities were far above the specifications of any civilian models—and also having had internalized the combat and espionage experiences he suffered unwillingly in the past dreams—, who navigated through this elementary level of hostile intentions without any problems. Before arriving at the destination, he ultimately made seven small detours in his efforts to avoid five clusters of viruses and two highly suspicious navis, whose exteriors clearly indicated that them noticing his presence would trigger trouble.

The place Rockman arrived at was the entrance to the police prefecture server. The server offered several entry points, according to his analysis, but only one for the visitors. Rockman bypassed the visitor's entry, beyond which was bound to be present a netnavi of an officer who was on the night shift duty, continuing along the server boundary to check other access points. Three candidates he found for his entry, out of which one he had to choose, which he did without much delay. The reasoning was simple: after probing all three of them with his decryptor, he chose the one with the lowest security, as he reasoned that breaking in through the high-security entry could trigger an aftermath that he was not willing to manage. To antagonize the law enforcement unnecessarily was like triggering a hornet's nest, and he had a convenient weakpoint—Netto—should they decide to come after him.

Once he entered with care and silence, he proceeded steadily towards the center, where he suspected his objective would be found, or at least a path towards it. The path from the entrance to the center—the server proper—was a linear one of some length. Almost nearing the end, Rockman heard two voices approaching him from the front. At this unforeseen event, he had no option but to backtrack along the path he took with two netnavis, conversing with each other, trailing behind him at a distance; then, in front of him, again, which was the direction of the exit, another two voices were detected. He was sandwiched! Rockman, in great alarm, scanned the walls of the corridor with all algorithms at his disposal. Nothing was here, nothing was there, the voices were closing in...Rockman began to formulate a contingency plan on how to take down four navis with the minimum amount of noise. No matter how generously he reset the parameters for his 'victory conditions' of this scenario, it seemed that the complete deletion of at least three navis was inevitable. This was not what he planned; retaliatory efforts from the netpolice would severely hinder his plans.

'23 seconds until the initiation of the engagement becomes inevitable. I should charge one set of navis in ambush, neutralize them in 5.21 seconds maximum, turn around, and then counter-charge the other two who will run in to aid. Which side should be engaged first? The two navis coming in from the exit, as it will provide the maximum efficiency in my movements by involving a turnaround only once. The final destination is the center of the server. Re-evaluating the benefits and possibility of abandoning the mission. Declined: the importance—imperative. Must access investigation data of Mr. Higure Yamitaro in the archives, as well as the preliminary report of the Iceman incident before it becomes altered. Secondary objective: installing an algorithm to the communications server to tap into police communications in the future. Importance—not imperative. Abandoning the secondary objective after the engagement to minimize the time spent in the police server.

'Absolute time limit until the engagement is forced in 18 seconds. Initiating charge...wait, what is this? Potential alternative solution detected...spending 10 seconds to investigate.'

The scanning of the walls revealed, at the last second, a potential slide door, seamlessly matching the wall as to be almost invisible. Rockman put his hands on the suspected surface then pressed and pushed it sideways with some force. It opened! The blue navi lost no time in almost flying himself into the small dark room beyond it, and closed the door with equal care and silence with which he opened it. The 'room' was very small, almost the size of a fitting room, packed with inactive firewall programs that were to be activated and then deployed in cases of emergency. There was just enough space for one navi to stand upright. After 36 seconds, the two pairs of police netnavis met right in front of Rockman's hideout.

"Eh-hey! Going out for your patrols?" One of the voices coming from the entrance (Rockman labeled this voice signature E1) greeted.

"Yeah, it sucks. All crazy shit happens during the night shifts...day shift guys never understand..." Answered one of the voices that came from the interior (Rockman labeled this voice signature N1).

"Yup, tell me about it. Show me some love, man." said E1. Rockman heard a slapping noise, presumably a high-five, or a particularly strong version of a fist bump. "Yeap, solidarity for the night shift boys! Oh, by the way, the security lock at the entrance was open. Was it you again?"

"Oh, come on, man, it's the fifth time this month." Another voice that came from the interior (labaled N2) accused.

"I swear, it's not me!" This was N1. From the response, Rockman found to whom the N2's accusation was directed.

"That's what you said last time. Man, you gotta step it up!" N2 continued his accusation of N1. From the lack of comments by E1 and E2—the only entity that remained silent so far—Rockman deduced that such a mistake by N1 was a rather frequent occurrence. This was a very fortunate development to him, as these navis would go on to cover any and all evidence of his break-in, unknowingly of course...

"Oh fuck me, man, fuck me" said N1.

Then the navis parted, E1 and E2 towards the interior and N1 and N2 towards the outside for their patrol duty. When the coast was clear, Rockman slid out of his hiding and continued his exploration.

Once the main server was reached, Rockman found himself behind the main reception vestibulum, among the officers' quarters, a restricted area. First, he needed to find the part of the server that was connected to the communications center. Knowing that it was a department that was manned 24/7 as a part of larger emergency services, he only had to sneak around and take note of compartments that were manned at this hour. Soon, he was able to identify it as he found a place with a significant amount of data traffic, occupied by three police navis who tirelessly processed away the inflow. Seeing that they were practically glued to their posts with a workload that clearly chiseled away at their serviceable lifespans, Rockman took a bold approach: he entered the room discreetly. There were several extra terminals that were not occupied at the time; Rockman took one at the corner, furthest from the three navis who remained unaware of his trespass, accessed the police database, slid in his algorithm so that he would be included as one the recipients of the police broadcast in the future, took note of the police communications encryption pattern, and exited the place. The poor overworked netnavis never noticed his visit to the end.

The main objective—evidence archives—was at a predictable location. Rockman, with an educated guess, progressed into the inner parts of the server, going through three security blocks of moderate clearance levels. After the third breakthrough, he came across a section labeled 'Digital Forensics Unit,' inside which he found 'Digital Evidence and Retention' compartment. Inside here he was faced with a bifurcation of logic paths: one of 'Information Request' for individuals of lower clearance, requiring a filing of a set of questionnaires, and one of 'Archive Access' for individuals of higher clearance. Rockman broke through the high-clearance path. A customary warning message of disclosure agreements and potential penalties for violating the said agreements popped up; Rockman glanced at it and shoved it aside without checking the 'I agree' button, keeping a note at the corner of his mind that he should fix the security locks and scripts he just broke on his way out.

Inside the archive, he was inundated with the amount of information, all organized and stacked neatly along 'shelves.' Near the gateway, where he stood, was a console that displayed the catalog of cases in alphabetical order, with a search bar that offered advanced options. There was no end in sight to the grids after grids of shelves, each of which housed countless stacks of folders, inside of which were respective digitalized and archived evidence. He speculated that this department probably accounted for the use of the majority of the server storage capacity; images and video files in each case folder were all of the highest native resolutions, and it did not require a technologically savvy person to realize its burgeoning implications.

Rockman searched for the case of Iceman. The entry, having been created very recently, was an easy find, though the title was not Rockman expected, labeled with keywords of 'Waterworks, Dr. Seiji Froid, WWW, World Wide Net' but not Iceman. Upon the execution of the search function, the towering shelves rotated and moved rapidly, like a reorganization of colors on a Rubik's cube, truly a sight that would captivate the hearts of megalomaniacs, and at the end delivered a folder before him. The folder was surprisingly empty, and based on what few documents he procured, he saw that the investigation concerned itself not with anything related to Dr. Seiji Froid or the netnavi Iceman. Rockman found it difficult to understand; did not Blues, the netnavi of Enzan Ijuin, see and record the deviations and oddities of Dr. Froid and Iceman? How did it come to be that none of those facts were being considered? A document showed Dr. Yuichiro Hikari as an outside expert, consulted for the examination of the remains of Iceman. Apparently, his father had revealed that a WWW modification signature was present in the body of Iceman and signed the report.

'Papa, why did you not include anything regarding the possible effects the WWW modification had on the Iceman? Surely you already know everything I saw and heard based on my logs that I handed over to you that night...

'...

'...You are keeping it secret from others, that much is clear. Why? To keep yourself away from any possibilities of my truth being revealed? To prevent others from thinking that you are theorizing something with supernatural considerations? It is probably a mix of both...because...you are still looking for my cure. Papa...my poor papa...you are still clinging to the hope that I can be preserved. I have seen, I remember, and I understand. I have found my peace. I have found my solution. The threat is beyond us; the only thing we can do is to make sure to keep it away from this world, and terminate the works of WWW prematurely before the flame grows to engulf Netto...my Netto.

'Yet I cannot tell you everything I have come to realize the last two days, because I am a terrible liar. I will not know, in answering you, how far I can tell you without exposing my plans. I will not be able to hide it, and you will figure it out in an instant—that me and Netto are planning to search and raid WWW base on our own. It is one thing for you to not allow my passing...it is another thing for you to not allow me to take Netto with me. Don't worry, papa, I do not intend to take him all the way, though you will never believe me even if I tell you so. I, too, cannot say, in my good conscience, that going to WWW base with him is a decent option. But I promise you with my life that I will keep him safe- no, if I want to keep him safe, then I should not take him with me...

'...

'I'm sorry, it's just...just...I need him for a bit...for my soul...before I forget everything...'

Rockman made a copy of all data in the folder, including the WWW data signature, and called up the search function again. The finding of Higure Yamitaro's case, surprisingly, took him some time. It was as if some people wanted to bury the case beyond the bureaucratic and logistical obstacles.

'Hmm? What is this? Recently accessed...original contents on the lease. No copies are currently available. Signed, sergeant Enzan Ijuin, , date 20XX_MM_DD. From the ranks of an officer to a sergeant...Ijuin kun obtained a very quick promotion at the expense of Iceman, didn't he? Wait, this means-!'

Rockman hurriedly opened the folder of Higure incident and found it devoid of contents. It was as he feared, based on the records—on the lease without a copy!

'Ijuin kun must be up to something...something no good for me! He is apparently trying to dig up past clues, trying to make sense of everything Blues saw in the Waterworks server...but that means I have to return here at a later date, and...is it advisable? I had planned to confront Mr. Yamitaro, but without any lead, I don't believe I—or Netto—can coax anything out of that man. What to do...what to do...well, there is nothing to be gained here. I need to reformulate a plan. At worst, I'll have to bet on-'

"Looking for these?"

A voice came from behind him; it was a familiar one, though the circumstances meant that he could not be sure whether the speaker announced his presence with friendly intentions. Rockman could not have turned around faster. It was Blues, holding several folders.

"...Blues." Rockman's cold voice barely escaped through his teeth.

"Rockman." Blues spoke his name in an acknowledgment, but in a rather casual tone that contrasted the tension in the blue navi. "Dr. Yuichiro is truly impatient."

Contrary to Rockman's expectations of apprehensions, Blues behaved as if he was foretold of his infiltration, somehow, while mentioning the name of Dr. Yuichiro, his father. It was an unambiguous fact, from the briefing the doctor gave before entering the Waterworks, that Yuichiro and Enzan had an agreement of some sort, in which the doctor was to retrieve information and Enzan was to receive an improvement of his standing in the netpolice organization.

'Initiating simulations...calculating...he thinks I am here on the request of Dr. Yuichiro. Does he and Enzan know that papa has no personal netnavi? But it's not an unheard case for a navi to be shared between several people, just as was the case for Iceman. From his demeanor, those folders must be the information papa was to get as per their agreement. Papa probably thought Blues was going to deliver it to him in a day or two...the best solution is to play along and pretend that their conjecture is true.'

Rockman put his hand forth, gesturing to Blues to hand over the documents.

"Tut, tut, tut, not so fast, Rockman." Blues kept the folders close to him. "Don't you have something for us as well?"

'Calculating...must bet on the most probable response from papa. Based on how he did not share his projected opinion of the possibility that the boy accompanying Tory Froid to the Waterworks could be Iceman...' Rockman returned, "Nothing else was found in Iceman. It is as reported by Dr. Yuichiro, through the official consultation."

"Really?"

Blues did not appear surprised, as if this response, too, was expected. It was good news to Rockman in the sense that his response was a correct one; it was bad news to Rockman in the sense that his chance of getting exposed as an independent agent in the subsequent interrogative queries was becoming higher. Rockman had no definitive knowledge of the specifics of the dealings.

"But I find this arrangement quite strange...we had not heard from Dr. Yuichiro of any rendezvous plan, and you casually stroll into here, clearly intending to access information without our cooperation, through illicit means...I think me and my master deserve some explanation, Rockman, because it is apparent that we are not on the same page."

"..."

Rockman had nothing to say. One wrong word and his cover would be blown, yet he had no acceptable explanation for his current intrusion. Blues studied him with an inquisitor's grievous gaze, trying to derive any hint, any fault in Rockman's motions, yet the blue navi stood perfectly motionless (to Rockman, the decision was made as in making even a minuscule movement, he was sure it would betray his impeachable intentions, as he was a very bad liar). Blues, failing to learn anything, continued.

"It seems I must apologize to Enzan-sama at sunrise. I truly did not believe you would come to this place, this day, at this hour. I thought he was overestimating Dr. Yuichiro and you when he told me to periodically check the archives, especially during the dawn."

"..."

"...Fine, you don't have to look at me like you are going to chew me alive at any moment." Blues sighed. "It's because we tried to investigate into Saito Hikari, isn't it?"

Rockman jolted the moment that name was spoken. It meant that Blues heard what possessed Iceman said, for that was the only link he could think of between the name Saito Hikari and Blues' awareness. Blues, of course, caught this body language and interpreted it according to his understanding of his situation.

"We knew it; however, it seems that through our actions we have lost more credibility before the doctor than we anticipated. Just how he knows all about this is beyond us...how many netpolice officers are under his thumb? Please relay to the doctor our apologies, that the warning is understood, and that...our future investigations will be more...discreet. Also, tell the doctor that we will be very delighted should he decide to tell us about Saito Hikari on his own terms."

With that, Blues handed over half the files—the copies—to Rockman. They were everything he could've ever asked for and then more—the reports of Mr. Yamitaro's case before being altered by the netpolice to suit their narrative, and everything about the Waterworks case so far, including Enzan's unofficial summary. Rockman placed them into his extra storage unit—the backpack—and headed out. Though he did not look back, he could sense the piercing gaze of Blues behind him, tracking him all the way.

Once outside the police server, Rockman breathed out heavily, finally released from the nerve-wracking predicament he found himself in back there. The tension almost broke him.

'Netto kun...going through two hundred viruses might be easier than this...'

Rockman found himself in dire need of recharging himself with a dose of Netto for peace of mind. Alas, he had a delivery to make, to his father, in order to complete his alibi. He began running towards the Scilab server, knowing that if he traveled at maximum velocity, he should be back to Netto for the morning routine just in time.