Chapter 25: The Filthy Kiss
Abandoned and forgotten Scilab outpost! Reached first by taking the metro, in this case the ACDC station, going northwestward in the direction of [redacted], until one arrives at the station of [redacted]. This station, in particular, was an unexpectedly treacherous one, having a very slightly wider gap between the train and the platform compared to the average—not wide enough to warrant a corrective construction, but just wide enough to force people to make uncomfortable strides—, through which many miscellaneous objects had been lost over time, some even critically valuable, like phones and PETs of unfortunate and absent-minded ones (one could argue that they deserved the misfortunes that befell on them on this station). This obstacle was a trivial one for energetic Netto, as he casually jumped over it in one swift motion; one should've seen how this boy habitually managed to navigate through the city space on his roller-blades—like a goat on a cliffside!
It was not so for a tired, tired lady, clad in a formal suit, who was lined up closely behind the boy intending to get off at the station (with all probability a commuter). She stepped forward while texting on her phone with unrestrained irritation and haste, then, in her lack of attention on her footings, found herself stepping precisely at the aforementioned gap. Air could not support her weight; her foot quickly plunged and then got stuck somewhere between the train and the station, while her body began to fall forward in the resultant imbalance. In an animalistic instinct of self-preservation, she used both hands to pull out the foot in haste while simultaneously falling onto the platform. A miracle? Her foot came out in time and unscathed. A misfortune? The phone that was in her hand a moment ago, released in her reflex, fell smoothly into the gap, onto the train track, as if the laws of the universe demanded a replacement of equal value be made, if one can accept the analysis that the foot of this highly replaceable worker was roughly of the same value as the brand new cellphone.
Aie! The lady then made the most helpless yet devasted cry upon the realization of what had happened, as if she had forgotten that her foot was to be there instead had not been for the series of serendipitous occurrences, or as if she had calculated that her phone was, actually, of more value than her own foot. Could it be true? That the phone was actually more important? At any rate, the train left the station, and the lady looked over at the train track with teary yet hopeful eyes, trying to get a glimpse of her object.
Netto saw it all, and it—the expression of the lady, and in extension, the state of the lady—resonated with him. Why it did so, he did not understand, but because he was somehow moved, he-
"Netto kun, no!"
"It won't take more than 10 seconds. I'll be fine."
Netto jumped down onto the track. The reason he was so moved into action was because he saw, in the face of that lady, a panicked anguish arising from the loss of a treasure, which he was also undergoing, and therefore knew so well; he could not endure the sight of another human being suffering from the same hopelessness, even as the case of this lady was so much more trivial compared to his case, for in his soul he knew that no one was capable of bearing it.
"Ne- next train scheduled to arrive in 3 minutes and 43 seconds-" Rockman announced with a terrorized voice.
"That's plenty, Rockman. It's okay. Oh, look, I have already found it."
The lost cellphone was there, between two sleepers (wooden ribs supporting the rail), under a fishplate connecting two rail sections, somehow spared of the worst fate. Netto retrieved the object and then climbed out. The object was returned to the owner, and the boy left the scene in haste, even as the lady thanked him to no end. In the entirety of the boy's actions, there was a distinct lack of nonchalance to life; the considerations of dangers did not exist in his mind. To Rockman's chastisement, he simply remarked, "It was all fine in the end, so it's all good."
"Netto kun, you know very well that is not the problem!"
"You are right, it's not."
Despite the curt answers the boy was putting forth, and the general dismissal of Rockman's sensible opinions, there was a very subtle smile on him. Was he enjoying the chastisements?
"It was dangerous!"
"Maybe."
"I, I was worried!"
"...Rockman." Netto stopped momentarily and their eyes met. "I'll miss you, you know."
"-!" Rockman made a face. It is difficult to describe the exact expression he made; it was one that indicated he was partially pleased and partially shocked, as if he was flustered because a great shameful secret about himself had been publicized. Pleased, because it was exactly what he wanted to hear; ashamed, because the pleasure was derived from the sadness of Netto, which he had been working to prevent. Rockman wanted to say 'I'll miss you too, Netto kun!' but he swallowed the words. To say so seemed to him, somehow, as becoming shameless, succumbing to the pleasure of occupying the entirety of Netto's heart despite knowing what was right to do, which was to decrease his importance.
"I'll miss your naggings too." said Netto.
Strike two! Rockman hid his face from Netto, unable to bear the fluctuations of his heart that Netto's words so violently caused. When he calmed down and came back, the boy was already on the move again.
Netto continued towards the destination on his rollers. When the morning transitioned into the day proper, with the sun running high in one of the bluest skies Netto had seen this year, they arrived at the entrance of the destination, or to be more precise, the outer parameter of it. The facility, situated at a slope, curtained from the public by layers of trees and rocks, was enveloped with a steel wire-mesh fence and a gate that was similarly constructed. On the fences were powerful verdure of ivies. The unchecked growth of the plant matter was beginning to cause bends on some sections through sheer weight; a decade more and the fence was sure to be lying on the ground, finally dismissed from its endless and meaningless duty, rest at last.
There were no guards at the entrance, and in general, the place appeared to be in the process of being reclaimed by nature, making it almost impossible to believe that the facility was still in use. In contrast to the general appearance, however, when looked carefully, there were alarming signs of human activities: ground that had fresh markings of gate movements, the screen of the gate control panel that had no dirt on it, parts of the facility that had some sort of brush-marks imprinted on the dust, as if someone's pants had been unfortunate enough to make contact with the decades worth of grime accumulation.
"Power seems to be still supplied to the plant. Jack me in, Netto kun. There should be a slot near the control panel."
"Right...here it is. I wonder if the port will be compatible" Netto drew out the cable. "Well, what do you know? It does! Jack in, ...are you not going?"
"Sorry. Old model. Not enough netspace to accommodate me. Don't worry, I can still access the system from the PET. Give me a sec..." A hologram interface popped up in front of Rockman and he vigorously applied himself to it. Different windows constantly appeared and then disappeared with equally hectic movements of Rockman's hands, and his eyes blitzed to all directions, processing the data at an exceptional speed, even for a netnavi.
"Maybe you should lose some weight, Rockman. Then you should be able to fit in..."
"...Netto kun."
There was a mild disappointment in Rockman's look as he briefly paused. It was as if he was asking 'Really? Stupid joke? Now?'
"...Yep. That's what I needed."
"Not funny. Done, access granted. Barely any firewall, and encryption is still in the government pattern. Low security, but could be an intentional omission for a camouflage...WWW is either extremely smart or extremely dumb, which I don't like because both are unpredictable...We can go in now. Netto kun...are you okay?"
Netto unplugged the PET and pushed the gate. It swung open.
"...Yeah, I'm fine." Then he mumbled, as he traversed the space between the gate and the facility front door, now covered with overgrown weeds that were beginning to dislodge the tiles that once demarcated the main path, "Maybe I'm just trying to see all of your expressions today..." But this, Rockman did not hear.
The facility gate was opened in a similar fashion. The inside was equally derelict, save the dusty floor that had many recently made footprints. Rockman noticed them. The sudden realization that he had truly dragged Netto into a serious danger made his blood grow cold (if he had any). 'What have I done?' and 'I want Netto to be with me' repelled inside his heart, like the same poles of two magnets. His desire split into two.
"Footprints...what have I done? Should we...should I? No, but..." Rockman mumbled in hurried confusion, and then said, "Netto kun, let's look for a security department. I want to access cameras and logs if they are still active."
Netto also noticed the footprints. The sudden realization that he had entered a serious danger made him mildly excited. 'I don't want to be left behind,' and 'Even if I die, that means I'll be together with Rockman and Saito niisan forever...right? That means...no goodbyes, right?' collided inside the heart, like the opposite poles of two magnets. The collision did not result in a sort of breakage, but by the inelastic nature of the different emotional vectors they formed an amalgam, which culminated in intentional recklessness.
"Sure, let's do that."
Having agreed on the immediate course of action, Netto enabled the rollers on his shoes and began to skate down the corridors, making random turns in search of the security room. To be exact, he did not pay much attention to the general direction markers on the walls or his surroundings, for he was sure that Rockman would notify him in the event of visual acquisition. Instead, his attention was on making inappropriately loud noises in his navigation. The rollerblades running across the smoothly tiled floor made a sound that was like a strong current of water, with clackings at regular intervals caused by the wheels going over the minuscule gaps between tiles. Indeed, like water the boy flowed through the facility.
"Wait, Netto kun! Stop! Stop! This is too loud!" Rockman remarked, terror apparent.
"I don't see or hear anyone. We will be fine as long as we find the place quickly."
"Someone's going to hear this from a mile away and come!"
Which was what exactly Netto wanted, for then there was a great chance that he wouldn't have to say farewell to Rockman.
"Well, all the more reason to find the place quickly, then, isn't it?"
"Wha- okay, fine, fine, fine! Just hold the PET so I can see better- ahh! Aren't we going too fast? Shi- turn right! Right, here! Yes, and then- right! Then left, I think! Yes! Left here! There, see the sign? 'Securities' that has to be it!"
It was the first time Netto heard Rockman (almost) swearing. Truly, a full range of expressions of his navi he was witnessing today! 'Well, it's your fault for being so upright all the time...makes me want to see your other side on our last day...heh' thought Netto. He then engaged the breaks, which resulted in a loud, sharp squeaking sound (which caused Rockman to fearfully shudder), and then entered the security room; the door was not locked.
"Quick! Jack me in!"
"Where?"
"Anywhere!"
Netto precisely did that, to the largest and most important-looking terminal. It had many plug-in slots, and one of them was compatible with his PET. Before the boy could give out the order, Rockman jumped into the facility network, like a flashing katana unsheathed through a masterful Batto-jutsu, except that in this case the katana was moving on its own.
The network was empty, and Rockman had no trouble overtaking the operation of the entire facility from this vantage point. Whatever authorization requirements he encountered were of no problem, as he found them still in the governmental pattern, untempered by WWW. Had he had more time, he surely would've observed this as a peculiar detail that insinuated many things about the current state of this crime organization—that they were either severely understaffed as to be unable to update and maintain the surveillance on-site, or completely uninterested in the general protection—and then came up with ways to exploit this perceived weakness. In the urgency of the moment, believing that Netto was in imminent danger of being attacked, Rockman failed to detect this strangeness. He simply sprinted through the system in search of internal camera access and door controls.
Rockman achieved exactly what he wanted, and very quickly, when he finally found a point of access. However, the grossly outdated system of the facility meant that Rockman had to make a direct coupling with each and every compartment at once, instead of doing so through a centralized command console. Was it the right decision? It seemed to him, at the time, that it was the only decision available...In the process, he felt as if he was being violently stretched, like a silicone rubber doll abused in the hands of malicious children, through an axis he could not define, yet he did not abort the effort firmly believing that it was to be endured for the sake of Netto. His consciousness was forcefully molded into the shape of the facility itself, even though his cyber body was precisely localized in the security compartment. He was present everywhere and nowhere simultaneously. He was the facility, and his body was like nothing more than an appendix to the whole. The fact that it was where his identity originated did not matter; suddenly the body felt irrelevant to his existence as a sentient being. If he disconnected the body now, where would he remain? Sucked back into the body or stuck in the facility? Would the body still retain its consciousness? What would it mean to the soul and the existence? Rockman sensed that his humanity seeping away in this new experience.
"Netto kun-" said Rockman through the PET that was still connected. His voice had acquired a strange reverberation and a chorus-like quality.
"Rockman! You okay?"
"I- am- fine- Netto kun-." It sounded as if there were multiple Rockmen speaking, each slightly out of sync. "It- is- done-. I- am- in- control-"
There was a hint of both suffering and joy in the Rockman's voice. The transformation was indeed too much to handle for the consciousness of Saito, who was just a boy, even as he had a year of existence as a netnavi.
"...What's up with your voice?"
"I- am- one- and- many-!"
"...Rockman?"
"I- hear- light-! I- feel- doors-!"
After the initial nonphysical pain of transformation was over (which is difficult to explain in human terms, for human consciousness is firmly secured in the brain and never leaves it or changes the vessel), a sense of immense disorientation poured into Rockman. There were only so many sensory outputs Rockman could offer, yet the facility demanded more inputs to be mapped. So it was done: skin for doors, eyes for general management, ears for light commands, toes for electrical circuit controls...to elaborate fully, the list goes on ad infinitum, but it was true that he reserved his fingers for the camera control, which he was yet to obtain. The stretched mind, as a curious byproduct, made Rockman operate on different thought processes. There was a marked excitement in the voices of Rockman.
"...Rockman, I don't like this."
"No- anomalies- detected-. I- will- run- diagnostics- first-"
"...Alright, but promise to tell me if you don't feel right?"
"I- have- never- fe- fe- fe- fe- felt- better-, Netto- kun-!" Rockman stammered as his efforts, draining his processing power to the absolute limit, took resources from the speech cortex. Of course, it is an intellectually meaningful question to ask whether Rockman was reporting better health because his tactile senses (skin) were rechanneled to door controls, and doors were not undergoing any malfunctions, or because his slow transformation into the operating system of the facility was objectively relieving him of the unbearable fatigue of the body, for he was transcending from it. The answer, sadly, remains unknown to this day. "Diagnostics- within- acceptable- range-. Need- access- to- camera- network-. Expanding- connectiooo- o- oo- oooo- o-ns-"
Rockman's voice broke up and then trailed off. Silence filled the room.
"Rockman!"
No answer.
"Rockman!"
Netto's voice aimlessly echoed in the room. There was no response.
"Shit! Ro-"
"I- am- the- facility-!" Rockman suddenly came back, and now his voice was even more multiplied, like a legion. It was apparent that he had tried connecting to all possible compartments and functions, including the cameras. The voices then diverged: some laughed, some giggled, some groaned, and some streamed monotonous 'Aaaaahhhh,' but the majority continued to speak. "I- am- everywhere-! Fingers- see- everything-! Ha- haha- ha- ha-! Two- individuals- detected-. Positions-: experimental- chamber- 02-. No- other- dangers- present-. We- remain- undetected-."
"Well...that's a good news, right?"
"Better- news- : I- can-"
"Rockman, come on, this is enough." Netto cut off impatiently. Impatient? For what? It was simply a mistranslated form of a certain insecurity. "Log out. Let's go. This place is doing things to you. We will figure something out together on what to do about them..."
"Negative-. Netto- kun-. You- must- be- safe-."
"I am safe! And what if I am not? No adventure can be perfectly safe!"
"Must- be- safe-"
Rockman repeated, like a broken toy. Toy he was, for one could argue that all netnavis were overengineered toys; broken he was, for the qualities that uniquely defined Rockman—mind and body—were becoming more insignificant every second.
"Rockman!"
"Must- be- safe-"
"We promised to do this together! Don't tell me you forgot!"
"Must- mu- mu- mus- must- be- safe-"
"Come on, Rockman, listen to yourself. You are scaring me... Can you come out now?"
"Ne- ne- ne- nett- negative-. Oo- oo- o- o- obtaining- solution-. Ku- uu- u- u- u- understanding- parameters-"
Laughter. Terrifying. First, by the main voice, and then the diverging voices joined one by one until it was in unison. When the full unity was achieved, the laughter stopped, as abruptly as it began. But before the laughter and the ensuing unison, was Rockman trying to say 'Netto kun?.' Was Rockman calling for help? If the one speaking was not Rockman, then what was he?
"Proposing- solution-. Emergency- power- source- found-. It- runs- on- fossil- fuel-. Couple- with- ventilation- control- and- facility- lockdown- protocol-. Prediction- : carbon- monoxide- poisoning- of- individuals-."
Was Netto going to lose Rockman? Like this? Like a drop of paint fallen into a river, dispersed and then never to be seen again?
"Stop. Voice command, logout."
Speaking firmly did not help.
"Now-, Ne- nett- nett- nett- [static sound] negative-, I- will- handle- things- from- here-. Please-, return-"
"No! Rockman, we, we, promised to do this together! I'm not leaving without you!"
"Your- presence- unnecessary-." Rockman paused. He meant to say 'it's too dangerous!' but the streaming awareness from the interior of the facility forbade him from saying that, for that assessment turned out to be potentially untrue, and his diluted personality made it impossible to intentionally lie. With his stretching continually, the loss of control over his own thoughts and behaviors expanded. "Apologies- detected-. Playing- apology- audio- : I- am- sorry- [statics] I- never- intended- to- take- you- with- me- all- the- way-. Live- on- Ne- Nett- [statics]. End- of- apology-. Adventure- concluded-. WWW- must- be- destroyed-. Another- definitive- solution- found-. Analyzing- main- reactor- overload- sequence-. Calculating- the- power- output-. Proposing- the- self- destruction- of- the- facility-. Please- evacuate- the- area-."
"Ro...Rockman...you are scaring...me..."
"Please- evacuate- the- area-"
"What about you?!"
"All- will- be- fine-"
Rockman had been transforming into the system itself since the coupling, and it was now clear to Netto that the original personality of the navi was being drowned out. He also conjectured that Rockman's effort to say 'Netto kun' was being suppressed into statics. However, it was not all bad news; the dilution of Rockman's personality seemed to have rendered the navi exceptionally honest, and the boy finally understood what had been hidden in the heart of the navi all this while—the intention to leave him behind. Liar! His navi was a liar, just like Saito! The day of passing, Saito lied that he was fine, and Netto believed that lie. As a consequence, he was robbed of farewell in the brother's kindness. Now, the navi was also robbing him of farewell in his version of the kindness.
"Heh...I guess I always suspected that you were never intending to take me all the way...I mean, you would never expose me to danger. Maybe I am partially at fault; I've been reckless today, I know, and you probably picked up some cues... But, Rockman, I thought that you would give me, you know, at least a proper farewell. You always told me that I should become a decent adult, and you always have been an example of decency yourself...like Saito niisan. So, no. I'm not allowing this. I won't let you leave me, not like this. I'm not letting you go without facing me, hearing what I have to tell you..."
"Only- two- more- individuals- detected- inside-, in- the- experimental- chamber- 02-. Danger- level- evaluated- moderate. Risk- low-. Risk- unacceptable-. Value- of- Ne- Ne- Neeee- [static] imperative-. Ooo- operator- must- leave-"
"Last one week...it's been...not fun. I'm sure you know that. I'm also sure that you thought it was a good way of making me get accustomed to your absence... Ha! Rockman, when the room is silent, and the clock heartlessly ticks in the lazy afternoon sunlight...I had nothing to do but to think, so I thought a lot, about many things. I- I-, well, better to say them all once I get you back, so you can hear it as a Rockman, not a system... Don't worry, Rockman. I'm still here. Just, just hang in there, alright? I'll see what I can do..."
Netto began manipulating the PET to find a way to enforce the logout sequence to Rockman. He unlocked the admin privileges by punching in the password set by his father, which he knew only because he read the fingers of his father running on the keyboard during their previous maintenance sessions. His father had always been unwilling to tell him the password, saying that it would not be necessary, or that he did not want Netto to temper with the operating system that had been tailored to Rockman, and guarded the information with a series of excuses as if it was something as inappropriate as a pedophilic pornography, or even something worse. What could have been so terrifying? So shameful? The password turned out to be 'SaitoHouse.' Oh, the theories and imaginations that filled Netto's head when he learned it! The speculations were made worse by his awareness of the uncanny similarities between Rockman and Saito; however, in the end, there was such a disappointing yet realistic explanation, that Netto found himself laughing (laughing at himself) with immense disillusionment upon realizing it: his father had constructed Rockman in the image of Saito for himself, not for his remaining son, and therefore found his own motive deeply humiliating. Yet the act of the construction must have been irresistibly enticing, for the deed was done against all humiliations. Netto understood his father perfectly. He was his father's son, and knew he would've done the same had he had a choice.
"Evacuation- cannot- be- enforced-. Operator- still- on- site-. Compromise-. Course- of- action- : wait- for- Enzan- Ijuiin- and- reinforcements-"
"What do you mean by Enzan? We were supposed to do this together, only us two, not us plus that jerk, remember?"
Netto commented while still occupying himself with the diagnosis of the situation that his navi fell into. He also found that Rockman was still tethered to the PET. He immediately began the procedure of force recall. All warnings on the screen were dismissed or ignored.
"Override- denied-. Goal- acknowledged-. Promise- to- bust- WWW- found-. Executing- promise-. All- solutions- accepted-. Initiating- sabotage-. Power- supply- to- main- area- cut-. Switch- to- emergency- power- detected-. Ventillation- rerouted-. Raising- carbon- monoxide- level- in- the- target- chamber-. 40- minutes- 11- seconds- of- power- left-. Establishing- feedback- loop- to- main- reactor-"
"Override denied? Don't worry, Rockman. I think I am making some progress..."
"Target- chamber- locked-. Counterhack- detected-. Defense- failure-. Chamber- unlocked-. Two- unknown- individuals- exiting- chamber-. Operator- position- potentially- compromised-. Delay- needed-. Facility- lockdown- initiated-."
The illumination of the security headquarters, which was the room they were in, turned to deep red. The alarm blared through every speaker, and the automated message, spoken in the refreshing voice of Rockman, "Emergency lockdown in progress. All personnel are to remain on site until further notice. Security protocol 7." repeated, echoing throughout the building.
"Authorization- challenged-." announced Rockman through the PET in less than a minute. "Lockdown- level- three- lifted-. Lockdown- level- two- lifted-. Lockdown- level- one- lifted-. Lockdown- reauthorization- failed-. Override- order- cleared- by- chief- of- staff-. Clearance- level- higher- than- security-. Initiating-"
The automated repeat message ended with the lift of lockdown, but the alarm did not stop. On the other hand, the illumination did change, interestingly, into alternating flashings of orange and red. Another protocol had begun, but Rockman, who was supposed to make another announcement according to the system requirement, was-
"There! Rockman, logout!" Netto shouted triumphantly.
Rockman was forcibly decoupled from the security controls and then recalled to the device. In the execution of this command, Rockman's previous question of 'what will happen if I get decoupled in this state' was inadvertently answered: he found himself sucked back into the body, his mind contracting in a way that was equally painful to what he experienced during the stretch; however, in the end, there was familiar stability and the sense of identity, which made him comprehend that he was truly back. Inside the PET, the navi panted heavily with a shaken and exhausted look: hand on head, hunching forward, leaning on the screen. Powerlessness gripped him. His body was the facility only a moment ago; now he was a humanoid again, only having four limbs under his direct control. He had to relearn the command of his body, starting from standing.
"Haaa- haaa- haaa- Ne- Netto, kun! I- I was, was, stretched!" said Rockman, with his eyes focused somewhere far away, for even the immediate past was unreachably far away by the rules of Cronos. "And, and, I was, everywhere, and, everything! At the same time!"
"It's okay. I got you now."
"And I did not logout myself, because-, I, I was becoming-"
"Rockman! It's okay! So, what now?"
At the question, Rockman stared at the boy with deep confusion. Recentmost memories were in disarray due to what he just went through. What was now? What were they doing? What was the matter? These information were frustratingly elusive.
"What? Now? Now what? What was I doing? Where was I? I was fighting...there was, there was a counterhack and..." Rockman's mind spun in an overclock of the highest acheivable rate. The fragmented memories were slowly gathered, and he remembered details one by one. It was like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle; the progression made no sense until the threshold was reached and the larger image became recognizable. Likewise, after some effort, the moment of clarity came—the clarity of a terrifying, impending danger. "! Netto kun, to the door control, put me through, quickly! They are coming, and, and you will be in danger! I cannot protect you physically. I need to jam it shut, and we will have some time. Hurry, Netto kun, hurry!"
"...You really think I am going to let you jack in again after what just happened?"
"Netto kun!"
"We can face the danger together you know-"
"NO!" Rockman exclaimed quite forcefully, then, feeling regretful at having shouted so loudly at Netto, arrested himself for a moment. He continued in a suppressed, quick speech, which was the urgency brewing in his heart spilling over. "Netto kun, you said you had something to tell me! Well, if we are going to talk, then better secure the door and secure some time with it!"
"We can still talk, while I am looking for an object to swing at the people coming at us..."
"Netto kun!"
"I'm also equally serious, you know."
"...Please, Netto kun. I can't see you get hurt..."
A coincidence! A steel pipe of just right girth and length, situated at the just right place to be spotted! Netto found it, picked it up, and investigated it between his hands, feeling the center of gravity, and finding where he should grab it in order to maximize the momentum while not sacrificing the handling. Netto soon found it; the discovery was an instinctive one—the desire to hold and swing a good stick (especially the perfectly straight one) is a behavioral hallmark shared by all males of all ethnicities. The boy swung it around several times to test the balance. Satisfied, he then rested it on his shoulder.
"Rockman, my turn."
In a position to ambush, staring at the door, earphones plugged into the boy's ear to protect him from the never ending alarm, the two waited. The alarm that Rockman triggered went on, hitting Netto's ears like a hammer; the boy tried to find some joy in the situation by telling himself 'it's still better than Rockman shouting into my ears in the morning...' As the boy contemplated on many subjects in this fashion, each arguably an important topic to bring up, but somehow unable to decide with which one he should start the conversation, it was Rockman who broke the tension.
"So...Netto kun."
"Yeah?"
"What...was it that you wanted to tell me? That I should hear as 'Rockman' and not 'System'?"
"...Oh, you heard that, huh."
Netto scratched his head. Readers, is it not amazing how the embarrassment of boys is seemingly located on top of their heads, somewhere in their hair, and how scratching that exact location disperses it? No? Oh, it's not true? Oops...
"I...um, just wanted to say, that...that...I really liked your company. Thank you for looking after me..."
"Netto kun!" greatly moved, Rockman gestured as if he was going to hold Netto's hands across the screen in happiness. "I...I really liked having you besides me! Thank you for having me...for everything...!"
"I've been nothing but trouble for you."
"That- that's not true! You've been the best bro-...operater I could ever get! I do not regret a moment!"
"Brother? You can say that if you want...you were like my second brother all this time. You don't have to feel sorry for Saito niisan...he will understand. He was a nice guy. In fact, I am sure that he will be happy to learn that I have found another companion. He might even find it hilarious that this other companion happens to be crumbling, just like him. Oh God, now I am not so sure if I want him to figure it out or not." Netto emitted a rather hollow, low-tone laughter. "...Damn it, Rockman. I thought I would be saying this at papa's lab or something, not here and now."
"Really?"
Netto paused and thought for a second. Rockman was right; it was not true. He dreamed, yes; he did not believe, no.
"...Fine, maybe I thought this would be a possibility, too. Going into a criminal base, one boy and a netnavi—can't end well, I suppose. But-"
"It's okay Netto kun. I also kind of knew...that you were hoping for something terrible to happen to both of us, and that you were imagining us saying farewell to each other with hand in hand, like an end to a movie. You probably thought there would be a credit roll after that, with fitting music beckoning you to the afterlife..."
"I- I did not!"
"Netto kun..." Rockman almost spat out 'Yes you did' and 'Last time I checked there were no credit rolls,' reminded himself at the last moment that he probably should not talk about those subjects, then did not know what to say, so pivoted to another subject: "Have you not found it strange that I even agreed to come here with you in the first place?"
"Well, maybe you agreed because you wanted to stay with me and I wanted to stay with you, no calculations, just us chasing after a dream... Sorry, Rockman, that's just my stupid idea. I know you actually calculated-"
"It is true."
It was as if a hammer had struck Netto in the head. Rockman, a netnavi, a construct, designed to be a perfect companion, forever rational, forever sacrificial, forever dependable, forever... To Netto it was as if he was forever chasing his netnavi, and Rockman seemed to not care about him in a way that he cared. This, he became certain during the last week, for Rockman was too considerate—inhumanely considerate—to even design a way to prepare for their eventual separation. Was it not more rational for them to spend more time together as the end approached? Was it not the basis of human sympathy? But, if Rockman was not behaving per the standard of human, but rather according to clinical and unrealistic guidelines implanted inside him since the beginning, then so what? What of it? Rockman was a netnavi; where was the reason for the navi to follow human behavior, thereby traumatizing his owner further? Indeed, Netto had no right to complain regarding this matter, and there was an even more curious question of why he cared so much. Was it because he was still chasing the ghost of Saito Hikari, and hoped to not repeat the same mistake of letting go of his treasure without his knowledge? Of this, he was not sure...and then now, somehow, Rockman admitted to his irrationality, to his humanity, that he had permitted Netto to follow him here because of the simple goal of prolonged companionship. Of course, the boy could not believe; so he asked.
"...What is?"
"...That I made many concessions because I wanted to stay with you longer..."
"!"
"...But I also calculated, and came to the conclusion that I could make it reasonably safe. Netto kun, don't worry, I've sent a message to Ijuiin kun this morning, and netpolice is bound to find us soon..."
"So you knew what I was planning way earlier...and you even arranged a way out for me?"
"Netto kun, just how long do you think I've known you?"
His entire life.
"Uh, one year?"
"Yes, one- no! You dummy! I've known you my entire life!"
Rockman covered his mouth.
"Yes, exactly, which is one year."
"No, I mean- yes, that is correct, but- it's... it's..."
"But what?"
Netto looked at him rather curiously. A studious and innocent curiosity it was, like that of an astrophysicist intensely concentrated on the faintest flickerings of stars, captivated by the wavelength of photons from eons away,
"It...it means..." Rockman fidgeted. "Netto kun..."
"Yeah?"
"Can I be...selfish?"
"...That would make me very happy."
The permission brought upon Rockman faintest smile. Perhaps this was what Netto was looking for, the faintest flickerings of stars for the astrophysicist.
"It means I have known you for more than one year. It means I need to break the promise I made to Dr. Yuichiro...papa. It means you will be happy and then be angry. It means... Nothing in life goes as planned, I guess... Netto kun, the truth is-"
What? Was the truth that he was Saito Hikari, just as Netto had mistaken the first time they met? It had been, for a while, his dream. His childish dream. His shameful dream. No one could fault him for having that dream, this he knew; everyone could fault him for not dropping that dream, this he also knew. Having been disappointed too many times in his life, Netto effortlessly formulated an alternative expectation before Rockman could spill the final words—the grand truth that the navi had been hiding. Netto reasoned that, based on the difficulty the blue navi was having on unwrapping all this, and based on the declaration that Rockman had known him for more than a year, Rockman must have been in development before the passing of his brother. There was even a distinct possibility that Saito himself had an input in that development, designing his own successor, hence the reason why Rockman was making a face of profound guilt.
'Damn it, you are overthinking this, Rockman. I'm sure it's nothing, and no matter what-'
However, the thought, which was his psychological defense mechanism prophylactically employed to ground his heart that was beginning to float (and therefore the fall would have hurt him greatly if it was left unchecked), could not continue as he saw the incomprehensible depth in Rockman's green eyes, which always looked bright and fathomable. How could such depth exist in those virtual eyes, in those imitations of organs? How?
"Ah, so here are the rats!"
A strange baritone voice. Netto and Rockman, entangled in the web of mutual emotions, busy reading each other's expressions, deafened by the perpetual ringing of alarms, had not noticed the entering of a new person into the room. In great horror, they looked at this new person: a tall man of brown skin who could pass as a monk rather than a criminal.
"More like mice, them, a boy and a navi."
An old man wearing a dark fedora and an oilskin coat, which was hanging from his thin body like the branches of babylonica salix, the weeping willow tree, said as he came out from behind the tallness of the dark-skinned man. His voice was thin, hoarse, and tired, and the hat was tilted slightly forward, such that the eyes were barely made visible under the brim. The eyes glinted like polished obsidians. The overall impression was that of resigned powerlessness; it was as if the man was continually weeping without tears, a weeping soul stuck in a stoic body. On his hand was a cane with a bulbous end (that was shaped like a skull). He leaned onto it and studied the boy.
"My lord! We do not know what it could be. Please, wait outside—it could be too dangerous for you to be here!" The tall one protested.
"...Dangerous..." The old man repeated absent-mindedly, absorbed in his effort of studying the boy. His eyes then drifted to somewhere not Netto, something behind Netto. Rockman noticed it. It was a curious observation; there was nothing of interest behind them, except for some highly specialized electronics, dusty and inactive. However, the old man's attention singularly stayed there, somewhere behind Netto, whatever it was that caught his fancy.
"My lord!"
"...Dangerous... What a fascinating concept, Yahoot. Dangerous...them? But, I feel like...feel like I know that face...of that young man...no, I know I've seen it somewhere. I've..." As the old man continued, his tone changed progressively, from that of infinite contempt (not at the unwelcome guests, but at the idea of danger) to that of indescribable wonder. In the end, the wonder could not be contained.
"...Tadashi? Is that you? Tadashi?"
The old man raised his right hand and pointed at the boy, or at that general direction. His arm and index finger greatly trembled from a powerful emotion that was the combination of certain powerlessness that had been shrouding the old man from the beginning, complete disbelief, a little bit of denial, and a strong desire to accept his impression as the truth.
"Please, my lord! It is impossible! He must be-"
"Stop, Yahoot, Stop! Silence!" Roared the old man. The way he did it contained the authority of a male lion, the head of a pride, annoyance and threat delivered in a single action. For a moment all others—Yahoot, Rockman, and Netto—felt as if even the air itself became still in obedience.
"You do not say what is impossible or what is possible...both you and I have no right to such judgment." The voice of the old man, delivered in a low-pitched growl, somehow cut through the air so cleanly, that it reached the ears of all listeners through the alarm. "We've seen...yes, we've seen... Before such evidence what shall we say? What can we say? The signs, we were given; the proofs, we have seen: the collapse of dimensional boundaries, the towers, the glimpse of- the glimpse of eternal-!"
Just as the hint of passion began to emerge in the voice, the old man stopped, forcibly, swallowing the explosion of frenzy gushing forth from his heart. With much air he swallowed it. When the flame within was extinguished, he exhaled a great long sigh; if one looked carefully enough, he might have caught a glimpse of the smoke of that soul-flame in that sigh. The old man retracted his right hand, clenched it into a tight fist, such that the knuckles turned white, and pressed it close to his heart. Was it the case that the flame had incinerated his heart, and now it was causing immense pain?
"Tadashi, I...I saw it, your last...fragment. You said 'I am sorry, Wily.' It was the last thing you forgot, the last thing you held on to, the last thing that was weighed on the scale. And you have proven, through that scale of eternity, beyond all doubt, like you always did, that your guilt was honest, and it was heavy enough to produce another floor for you, another step of the ladder... What was the point? You knew you were never going to reach the sky. Or did you really believe that you could reach the stars? The stars beyond the clouds and the abyss? The divine- divine- fuCK! TADASHI! THERE IS NOTHING DIVINE IN THEM! WHAT WERE YOU SO SCARED OF? WHAT VISION COULD HAVE POSSIBLY PLOUGHED YOUR BRAIN THROUGH AND THROUGH UNTIL YOU THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA? WAS IT, WAS IT THAT STUPID DREAM OF YOURS THAT YOU USED TO BABBLE AT ME AGAIN AND AGAIN? DON'T TELL ME. DON'T SAY ANYTHING. I KNOW IT IS, AND DAMNED BE YOU AND YOUR E- E- ETE-."
Impassioned and red-faced, the old man entered a fit of cough from breathlessness. It went on for some time until Yahoot, unable to bear the distress of his master, ran to him, shouting "Lord Wily!," and percussed his back with cupped hands. When the fit ended, the old man pushed away Yahoot callously—in the most ungrateful way—and returned with a hoarse voice.
"...And if you were so sorry...so honestly sorry, then why could you not say it sooner? Why?! Had you said it sooner, none of this would have happened...well, impossible, wasn't it? God damn impossible...you never said 'sorry' ever. Never! You were simply biologically incapable of saying that word..."
Wily leaned heavily into his cane, such that the cane supported more of him than his own two legs. He struggled to stay upright.
"After...after I saw what you have left behind, or maybe I should say what was left of you...for a while I did not know what to do. I grasped the truth; I saw through everything. But I was surrounded by idiots—hopeless idiots. You know I don't do well with such people. Some were plain thoughtless. Their heads—so empty that we can probably host a World Cup in them. It is when interacting with likes of them that I lose all hopes for humanity... Some were naively clueless. They thought everything could be...managed, guided, used for benefit. They believed this 'god' you have found and now I have found is some kind of key to the future... Look, this servant of mine, Yahoot, is one of them. So disappointing...utter disappointment..."
Wily gestured for Yahoot to shut up before that dark-skinned man could respond in any way to this unrestrained smearing of his character and intelligence. Interestingly, Yahoot did not show any sign of discontent. Rather, he appeared pleased by Wily's assessment, showing his complete agreement through his subtle body language. This much was certain: the man was a disgusting yet unique specimen, born to be a perfect slave—a man and a livestock simultaneously.
"I'll confess this much, Tadashi: after all of my skepticism has been disproven, I truly did not know what to do. What was I supposed to do with this god? Why is it real? What did it mean? I was terrified, almost like that time when we-, ehem, HM! I probably should not speak about that... So I might have slipped into...passivity for a while. Difficult to believe, eh? But it happened. I sat back and watched hopes of some bizarre ambition consuming the stupidity of Count Elecitel and Yahoot. I let them do everything they wanted, though it was clear that they themselves did not know what exactly they wanted. It was truly a shitshow, Tadashi, seeing them run the organization without any moderation. Now, look at me-: my organization gone, my reputation irrecoverably infernal, my project canned, my fund vaporized...because this fool and that count could not endure getting fucked in the arse by a politician! Revenge? Sure...but not like this! Not at this time! Was I foolish for permitting this? What do you think, Tadashi? Eh? But I was too busy thinking about what you've left behind...let's be honest, it was terrible of you to not leave all the clues behind...it probably means that you actually expected everything to go well, and only at the last moment found yourself waist deep in that cesspool you made. Ha! Fitting end, I say! That's what you get for being an...all-knowing pioneer. Dr. Tadashi Hikari, the all-knowing! Eh- he- he- he-. You know what was the worst part of it all? I was almost ready to forgive you. Almost! Me! You! Can you believe it? HAHAHAHAHA! Ahhhh...
"I know, Tadashi...you now appear to us in this hour to warn us...to stop, to turn back. You must arrogantly think that since you have failed so miserably, no one must be able to succeed. You probably want your humiliation buried in history, and this god to remain a secret to all eternity. You've lost everything...no, that's not correct. You've offered everything...oh, Tadashi, why did you not know? Why did you not know?! It could never go well! Or did you know, and that was the reason for pushing me off the stage? Why? Why, Tadashi, why? Has that dream of yours consumed you and you had to run towards it like a moth to a fire? In the end, you tried... Indeed, you tried...BUT!"
Wily struck the ground with his cane. The act created a thunderously resonating sound—metal against ceramic—like a hammer of judgment delivering a verdict.
"You always considered me a second-rate scientist. Everyone considered me inferior to you. I realized long ago, no matter what I do, I will never be able to prove myself to be above you. You've grown an apple; if I grow a pear, an orange, a fucking mango, they will all be incomparable, and I would not be able to expose you for who you are—a second-rate scientist! One inferior to me! So I've decided...don't try to stop me Tadashi. Rather, I reckon that you should be happy...because I, the great Dr. Wily, have decided to fulfill what you've dreamed all along! What you have failed, I shall succeed! Then, only then, no one will be able to question my superiority over you! Yes! You heard that right! I SHALL SOAR ABOVE THIS GOD AND REACH THE ETERNITY THAT RUINED YOU!"
Dr. Wily lifted his cane toward the ceiling like a shaman imploring for rain and thunder at the end of a frenzied and perverted ritual, shaking his body in a way that resembled electrification. No wonder, for this new idea gave him a renewed path of vengeance against Tadashi, thereby renewing his soul.
"T.H.E. W.O.R.L.D. S.H.A.L.L. S.E.E.! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA- HAAK!"
The unrestrained, furious laughter ended in another coughing fit; however, this time, Wily stubbornly rejected any help from Yahoot. He seemed deeply agitated by any physical contact with his aide, or with anyone for that matter, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was offended even by the very idea of it. Compassion and help were like venoms to him. When injected into his life, they boiled his blood and burned his heart. 'Such are for weaklings,' he instructed himself time and time again in the past, but it is needless to say that those were all lies—lies that were spoken without knowing that they were lies; lies spoken candidly. His avulsion towards humanity was simply a result of a denial, a reaction towards an event, that had been festering inside him for more than three decades, and his ungrateful behavior was pus of that wound leaking out of his heart. Ah, what was that, my dear readers? What was that event? In due course, it will be revealed, but that time is not now. Patience, I implore...
"The world...the world shall see..." panted Dr. Wily.
"Yes, lord Wily! The world! Indeed! The world will see your genius! Yes!"
Slavish Yahoot! What a specimen of Untermensch!
"I...I will expose you for who you are...Tadashi..."
"Expose him, yes! Yes! Expose him you will!
"And...and...fulfill your dirty dream..."
"Fulfill it! Fulfill it!"
"And you will, you will, not, be, able to, stop me-"
"My lord! You are inevitable!"
"And your dream, will, consume, everything...everything you have made...your proud legacy..."
"Oh, what irony! What justice! My lord!"
"Just...just you wait...and see..." Wily was almost out of breath, but he refused to stop. His eyes gleamed with the fire of determination.
"Yes, my lord! Tadashi won't be able to do anything! There will be reckoning!"
Yahoot was practically jumping up and down at this point in great, filthy excitement.
"Hah...ha...hah..." Something that was between heavy breathing and laughter came out of Wily. "hah... Yahoot, tell me...how many minutes are there left, until the emergency power ends? Until the final Dimension Area stops?"
"Ten minutes, my lord! D-Area... roughly two minutes!"
"Hmph...! Then go, we shall. I've had enough. Oh, Tadashi...don't worry. I won't touch them; this is between you and me. I'll leave them here, with you, so you can have them all by yourself...he- he- he- he-... Had I had more time, I would've asked why you care so much about them, and who they are, since you are not even a real Tadashi, but just a fragment of his dream. Or are you the real one and the fossil we found is the decoy of sacrifice offered to that god? Ah...no matter. What's important is that these two have done something cute, and it's evident that they don't know what they've done. Since I'm in a good mood, I'll tell you...don't make it your habit. I won't be this nice next time, if there will be one. Heh! See, the main reactor is getting overloaded. Even I did not know this was a possibility. Now, it means all of my traces here will go puff with the explosion! Less work for me! Well, who knows if they will be lucky and get demolished under the ceiling or something? That would certainly be the painless way to go! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Ah... Yahoot?"
"Yes, my lord!"
"Magicman is at the terminal stage, yes?"
"It is so, my lord!"
"Plug it into the door. Keep this place locked and shut. It shall be its last mission."
"As you wish!"
"Good! Good! Very good! Oh, and...goodbye, Tadashi."
Wily turned around and headed to the exit. Somehow, he seemed taller, exuberating confidence and life. The coat no longer gave the impression of a weeping soul, but moved in the air like a cape adorning the shoulders of a conqueror. He walked with a wide gait, the cane in hand, no longer depending on it. Yahoot followed with worship and reverence in his movements.
Two went out, and the door closed, and then there was the sound of lock.
Immediately, two things passed. Firstly, Netto looked back, behind him, to see that which Wily spoke to as Tadashi, his grandfather. During the encounter, Netto noticed too how that strange old man, whom he now knows as Dr. Wily, did not look at him exactly, but somewhere around him, maybe behind, while speaking with a definite conviction in his voice that was far from delirium. Of course, there was nothing. Behind him was an emptiness without even a trace of that which Wily possibly spoke to. The footprints left on the dusty floor were exactly as Netto made them earlier. Secondly, Netto rushed to the exit and jacked in Rockman to the nearby control panel. Inside the local network, they found a netnavi that was nothing more than a caricature of a wizard. This netnavi, Magicman, was forcing the lockdown protocol on the door, occupying himself to the control node, but there was a marked dissipation in its appearance: the constant murmuring, bloodshot eyes, intermittent barkings, irregular attempts at laughter, quaking 'hands' (the netnavi had orbs instaed of hands), and so on. It was the kind of somaticized madness that should it be present in a human being, a maximum dose of haloperidol would not be of any help. Magicman paid no attention to the intruder.
"I'm sorry Netto kun, for...for everything. I did not mean to put you in this danger." Rockman said, in a dry voice, but with utmost honesty, such that the regret was almost palpable. He equipped two sword chips, one on each hand.
"No, Rockman." Netto shook his head. "Thank you for everything. I'm sorry that I did not say this sooner."
Rockman put on the battle mask and nodded. Though his lower face became covered by it, Netto could know that under it was a smile of a sort. Was he certain? Yes. How did he know? Inexplicable, but he was absolutely certain of this fact.
Rockman charged forward, approaching vector set as the rear of Magicman. Magicman turned around. He did not mount any response. Did not in purpose? Could not do so, consumed in the madness? The two swords plunged into his chest like a pair of piledrivers, firmly impaling him to the control node that was now behind him.
"That's what you get for trying to touch my Netto kun." whispered Rockman to his victim.
...But what happened next...oh, what happened next!
Magicman trembled. Sure, he was quaking before, but now he did so like a rat undergoing an electrocution—violent, uncontrolled, irregular, almost self-destructive—until the beard-like module that covered the lower half of his face fell away on its own. Underneath it was an open mouth. He lifted his face towards the ceiling, or maybe even that was part of the violent tremor that grasped him, and his eyes almost rolled into the back of his head.
"OoooOOOOOooOOOOO!" shouted Magicman. It was unclear whether he did so reveling in unbearable pain or suffering from torturous ecstasy. "God! My god! The most hideous light! M-make me fo-forget or death! Death! No more! No more!"
Surprised Rockman tried to pull out his swords, but Magicman 'grabbed' those arms through a kind of telekinetic power—the way Magicman's orb-like hands operated—and stopped him. There was a supernatural strength in the grip, and Rockman found himself immobilized, like Prometheus on chains.
"I, I, I, do not want to seeeeeeEEE! MAAAAKE IT STOOOOOOP!"
Magicman's 'hands' crept upwards—forearm, arm, shoulder, clavicle, neck, jaw, cheeks. To Rockman, it somehow felt incredibly filthy, violating, and lascivious. He shuddered. He shook. He struggled. Just as Prometheus was never able to shake off the chains of Zeus, so could not Rockman, his sword arms still buried deep in the chest of Magicman. A strange embrace.
"A-, a-, a-, an-, an-, and-, a g-, g-, g-, g-, gift, f-, f-, f-, from, m-, g-, g-, g-, g-, gooood-!"
Magicman's eyes turned indescribably black—the unnatural, repulsive darkness that Rockman was very familiar with. Magicman's eyes bulged slightly outwards; Rockman could see them moving in a way that resembled the pulsating-squirming of leucochloridium paradoxum inside the eye stalks of affected snails. The slightly bulging eyes then moved to a certain orientation; it was difficult to say with objective confidence, but Rockman instinctively understood that they were now pointed at him, looking at him.
"Hrrkrkkak"
Magicman made the most unpleasant gurgling noises—the kind that can rob the most famished of all appetites. He retched; nothing came out. He retched again; nothing came out again. Beneath the retchings, Rockman could hear, by the pernicious proximity of his face to that of Magicman's, suppressed ululations of great fear.
Rockman successfully disarmed the swords but found his hands still stuck in the contracting wounds of Magicman.
'The core. I need to get the core and deactivate him.'
Having made the decision, Rockman explored the chest of Magicman. His fingers wildly tore through the tender insides like ten voracious maggots. His fingertips scooped out everything they touched; they were insatiable. Though Rockman could not see his own work, as his face was fixed towards that of Magicman by the strong grip on his cheeks, he could sense that the core was very near, and that he only had to dig through the 'flesh' a little more. Magicman, meanwhile, almost tenderly stroked Rockman's cheeks, and pulled down the battle mask in the process. Rockman was terribly disgusted, at the slimy sensation of the touch, at the malicious gentleness, at the indecipherable desire in those caterpillar-like eyes, at the...thing that was brought up to Magicman's mouth through that navi's constant dry heavings. The heavings were not dry, after all. What was coming out was simply too large and muculent, and it was coming out slowly yet unstoppably, like the birth of a mammal, like a fetus emerging from the womb.
Rockman's fingers finally reached and surrounded the core.
"Die already!" Rockman bellowed, squeezing at the core with all his might.
The core cracked. At this exact moment, when Rockman's tightly shut mouth opened with the scream that he had to let out, Magicman's face closed in rapidly. Magicman's mouth overlapped with Rockman's mouth. With one final heaving, the muculent mass was then gushed out, into the recipient's mouth.
It was now Rockman's turn to tremble in disgust. It was now Rockman's turn to heave in reflexive disgust. It was now Rockman's turn to squeeze his eyes shut in intolerable disgust. It was now Rockman's turn to produce an ululation in terrorizing disgust, which only came out weak and transiently, like the flight sound of a mosquito, suppressed firstly by the muculent mass and secondly by the Magicman's filthy kiss that connected two oral cavities. The muculent mass seemingly moved on its own. It explored every part of Rockman's orifice, as if trying to get a bearing, and then rapidly began to shove itself into Rockman's throat. He could feel it going down, to a place that should not be reached, to a place that he should not be capable of feeling yet could feel. Down down down down... The mass nested in some hollow space in his chest. This sensation was a physically impossible one; his chest was filled with core and algorithms, just as the bodies of other netnavis were. Astonishingly, the sensation was not a fictitious one. It was precise. It was true. It was the place of desynchronization between Saito's soul and Saito's new body—the heart. The place where the faulty HBD-afflicted heart of Saito should have been, but not made in Yuichiro's love for his son. The physical incompleteness that was designed by a complete love.
Rockman understood it.
'Netto...kun...'
Rockman's consciousness fell into the darkness.