Dreams into Nightmares

By Atreyu452

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character used in this fanfic besides Bentley and Smith. The characters, ideas, and concepts all belong to Capcom, may they not sue me for borrowing them.

Part Three

Netto lay on his back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling with such intensity, it changed the look of his face completely. For a moment, the excitable, thick eleven-year-old boy was gone, replaced by a mature one who resembled his father to such a degree it was startling.

To Enzan, it only meant trouble. He knew it was uncharacteristic of Netto to stay silent so long, especially to think about something, and he frantically wondered what would become of him. Would he be punished for blowing the netbattle? No, that was not Netto’s way of doing things. He insisted that navis were more than mere data—heck, he probably considered Rockman his friend! Enzan made a face. He was fortunate enough to have a navi who knew his place in the world.

“Rockman?” Netto got up and looked at the PET, which was sitting in its charger. “I need to talk to you about something.”

Enzan took a breath. Here it was. He had figured out how to phrase his words so that he could actually say them without them being garbled; now he only needed to put it into practice. “Netto-kun, I’m sorry—”

“Are you okay?” Netto interrupted, moving from his bed to his desk. “You’ve been acting a little funny all day, and that netbattle!”

“I’m sorry, Netto-kun,” Enzan said guiltily. To his surprise, he was sorry.

“Don’t apologize,” Netto replied. “You obviously aren’t functioning very well, and I pressured you into the battle to begin with.”

Enzan ogled at the boy. This was Hikari Netto, thoughtless and ignorant? Someone who probably blamed his navi if he forgot his homework assignments? No, something was wrong here. Maybe the boy was sick.

“Would you like to see Papa tomorrow?” Netto asked, his eyes full of an emotion Enzan didn’t recognize. “I mean, it’s okay if you don’t want to, but there could be something wrong with your programming—not anything like a personality glitch, or something like that…”

As the boy babbled, Enzan recognized the look in his eyes. It had been concern. Netto was acting this way because he was worried about his net navi, nothing more. Enzan tried to muster up some negative, sneering comment to add to the realization, but all he could feel was touched.

“I would like to see…” Enzan tried to say Hikari-san “…Papa tomorrow. You’re right, I haven’t been feeling like myself lately.” That was the understatement of the year.

Netto grinned, looking like his old self in an instant. “All right! We’ll go first thing in the morning!”

“You have school tomorrow,” Enzan replied in Rockman’s voice; he didn’t even have to think of the words.

“Oh,” Netto thought for a moment. “We could either skip school, or go after.”

“Netto-kun!” Enzan admonished. Now that he wasn’t fighting it, Rockman’s attitude and natural response came to him without thought, something he was grateful for.

Netto laughed and turned off the lights. “We’ll go after school if you insist,” he teased. “Good-night, Rockman.”

“Good-night, Netto-kun.”

Enzan stood for a while, watching the sleeping boy, and let his thoughts wander. Netto seemed so happy with his life, and his navi was obviously a big part of it. Enzan wondered how Blues would react if he suddenly started treating him like Netto treated Rockman. The red-toned navi would probably have a heart attack if it was possible, he thought with a smirk. Still, it would be interesting…

His head nodded forward, and Enzan realized he was sleepy. He didn’t think navis got sleepy, but this didn’t feel like an ordinary urge. It felt more like he was being drugged, and he fought it in a sudden panic. Netto-kun, help me! Enzan cried silently, his words refusing to form in his mouth. Netto-kun…

He was unconscious before he hit the ground.

-- -- --

Bentley stood over the body of Ijuuin Enzan, chewing on his lip. “We killed him,” he said uncertainly.

Smith had his head buried in his hands, and was pulling out the few strands of hair he had left. “We’re doomed,” he moaned. “They’ll arrest us for murder! I’ll never see my wife and kids again!”

“Your wife and kids are obnoxious,” Bentley replied calmly. “I never liked them.”

“Well, I like them a great deal, thank you very much!” Smith screamed at him. “And I would like to be able to go home to them!”

“Chill out, man,” Bentley said calmly. “We’ll figure this out. We can hide the body, if necessary.”

“Touch my operator and you will live to regret it,” Blues informed them. His PET had landed on the ground and slid a few feet away when Enzan had fallen out of the Dreammaster, but he was still operational and currently fuming at his helplessness. If Enzan was truly dead, then he had no reason to exist. However, he wasn’t willing to believe the words of those bumbling idiots just yet.

“That’s right!” Smith gasped. “What about the navi? He’ll tell everything!”

Bentley snorted. “What’s he gonna do? Get up and walk to the police station? He’s a navi, stupid! We can just delete him!”

Smith stared at him in horror. “Delete the vice president of IPC’s navi?”

Bentley shrugged. “Why not? After that, we hide the body, make like a tree, and start up somewhere else.”

Smith was silent for a long moment. Then he did the only thing he could think of; he walked over to the red PET, picked it up, and calmly replied, “I am not a criminal. If you refuse to face the consequences of your actions, then I will.”

Bentley openly gaped at him. “Are you mad? Where would you be without me? You’re a nothing! You have no spine, no talent, and no ambition!”

“I have morals,” Smith replied, his voice shaking slightly. He had been pushed around all of his life; first by his parents, then his wife, and later, Bentley. He had never stood up for himself, but now he couldn’t take it anymore. He pulled out the plug-in cord and held it threateningly. “I’ll do it, I swear I will!”

“Don’t I have a say in this?” Blues snapped, his voice cracking slightly. From his upraised position he could see why Bentley had declared his operator dead. Enzan’s face was pale, his limbs were stretched out at awkward angles, and he didn’t seem to be breathing.

“I’ve had it with you and your sniveling!” Bentley snapped back, ignoring the navi. He grabbed a large wrench from a nearby table and took a step toward Smith, holding the wrench like a baseball bat. “If you don’t—”

A pale hand reached up and plucked the wrench from the man’s hand. As Bentley and Smith watched in astonishment, Ijuuin Enzan stood up, looked Bentley steadily in the eye, and slugged him in the jaw. The greasy-haired man crumbled, hitting the concrete floor hard.

“Mr. I-Ijuuin!” Smith gasped.

Enzan walked up to him and took his PET out of the man’s shaking hands. “I don’t believe my father will invest in this project anymore,” he said, his voice as calm as his expression. “It is unpractical and unsafe.”

“You… you're… I’m sorry…” Smith said weakly, unable to collect his words in his shock.

Enzan looked at him, disgusted. “Get out of here, you disgusting little man!” the boy snapped. “Do yourself a favor and get on the next plane back to Amerope.”

Smith stood frozen.

“Now!” Enzan barked. He watched in irritation as the man let out a yelp and ran for the nearest exit.

“Enzan-sama, are you well?” Blues asked quietly.

Enzan’s face twisted with several emotions, including disgust, anger, and (to Blues’ surprise) sadness before he answered. “I feel like I hit the ground head first, my back aches, and when Bentley awakes, I will make sure he is greeted by several policemen, but besides that, I will live.”

Blues was silent for a moment. “Why did you let Smith go?” he asked.

Enzan glared at the navi. “I was awake during his whole little speech. Irritating man that he is, at least he showed some character. Bentley is the one I hope will spend the next fifteen years in jail, not him.” He gave Blues a suspicious look. In his anger, he mistook the worried tone in Blues’ voice for defiance. “You’ve been acting weird all day long. Do I need to check over your data?”

“If that is what you wish, Enzan-sama,” Blues replied, his voice emotionless as always.

“I will then,” Enzan muttered, rubbing his head as he walked out of the building. It hurt a lot more than he was willing to admit. Fuming, he stalked toward the car that awaited him. I can’t believe I fell for it. That stupid machine’s access to my mind was so great it made me believe in things that don’t really exist! It created memories of people who don’t exist as if I actually knew them!

He was angry. Once he got into the car, he would send a message to the local police, but Bentley’s fate was not what had him so upset. How dare that machine play with my emotions? Enzan thought bitterly. How dare it do that to me? I’m Ijuuin Enzan! I don’t need anyone or anything. Not friendship, not love, not anything!

He was shaken by how easily he had believed in the Dreammaster’s lies. Everyone knew Dr. Hikari and his wife had died years ago in a plane crash. They never had a child named Netto, and there wasn’t any navi called Rockman. With a shake of his head, Enzan entered the car and went on with the rest of his life.

Author’s notes: I hope the ending was an interesting twist that no one was expecting. What would Enzan be like if Netto didn’t exist? Would he ever realize Blues was more than a piece of data if he didn’t witness the friendship between Rockman and Netto? Somehow I doubt it. I hope you enjoyed it, Marisa!