DHC: Can it be? Can it BE? CAN IT BE?! CAN. IT. BE? Yes, yes it can! -choir forms, angels sing, and divine light shines down on all- Your prayers are answered, loyal fans! It took some time, but yes, I have finally updated. I hope you all enjoy this, I've been up nearly two and a half days straight writing this all for you!

There was a long moment of silence before the Sharroian snorted, eyes narrowed even farther. “I’m not entirely surprised. He goes rushing into danger the moment it rears its ugly head. He’s an idiot and doesn’t bother to think things through.” He answered honestly, crossing his arms. Enzan’s eyes snapped over to the taller teen and narrowed into a glare. But before he could open his mouth to speak, Rockman’s voice cut in.

“Laika-san, Blues kidnapped Netto… And he’s been gone for three weeks. We can’t find a trace of him and we’ve combed and picked apart every area we could think of to find him. We need you and Searchman.” The screen to the left of them on Enzan’s side lit up and Rock’s worried, kind face appeared on it. Laika briefly glanced over to it, before scoffing again, uncrossing his arms. Next to Rockman, Searchman appeared, looking out at his operator. “Laika-san?”

The Sharroian sighed heavily, shaking his head for a minute, before looking back to Enzan. “Tell me details,” He requested slowly. The dual-haired teen nodded and visibly relaxed a little before he spoke and began to recant everything to the aqua-haired boy.

Once finished, Laika’s expression had morphed, he looked contemplative brows furrowed as he glanced out the window of the limo, not really watching the scenery pass by. “…I see.” He replied after a long time. “The best place to start would be to go back to the start. Show me where he he’d gone to fight Dark Blues.” His eyes met Enzan’s and there was a tense moment between them, as if they were gauging one another’s authority before Enzan nodded, breaking the stare and directed the driver to head that way.

Rockman was fidgeting, wringing his hands together as he rocked back and forth on his heels—a habit he’d picked up during his time with Enzan. Searchman stared for a long moment at the oddity before reaching a hand out and set it on the blue navi’s shoulder. The poor program nearly jumped through the roof at the touch.

“You’re very upset about this, aren’t you, Rockman?” The army navi asked quietly.

Rock’s shoulder was tense under Search’s hand and the orange-haired navi could feel the shaking from the stress. “You…could say that.” The other replied, giving the other a weak, but slightly cheeky grin. The army-clad navi didn’t reply verbally for a moment, silently looking over Rockman, analyzing the algorithms and functioning state the smaller was in before speaking.

“You’re on the verge of crashing,”

The blue haired navi looked away, the slightest look of shame and child-like shyness had crossed over his face. Searchman frowned. “Why?”

“Because… I want to be of use. I can’t recharge, or rest, knowing Enzan’s still working. He hasn’t slept or rested, either. I refuse to leave him to search alone. I care too much; Netto’s out there, and as long as he is, neither Enzan nor I will stop, as long as Blues is... We have to get them back.” Rockman replied.

His voice had lost plenty of its usual bounce and cheeriness, he sounded exhausted, fatigued. He looked it, too, with the way his body shook every so often and the way his shoulders slumped and how he dragged himself a little as he walked closer.

The only thing that didn’t look worn, were his eyes. They still glinted with light, a fierce determination there. The stubborn refusal to give in was clearly there. Searchman wasn’t sure what he could say or do to sway that; he’d come up against the navi’s will several times and lost. There was no getting around it, unless—

“What good would it do you if you found where Netto was and were too weak to do anything for him? In your state, you have no chance against...” He said sharply, praying silently that he words would work, because it was true. Rockman was in no state to fight or do anything major.

The blue navi looked down towards the ground, biting his lip. “I know, but—I don’t… I don’t want to miss anything. If I rest, I’ll be useless if something happens.”

Searchman sighed heavily. There was no real reasoning with the other. He looked helplessly out the visual screen, frowning at the scene at hand.

Enzan and Laika were glaring at one another, neither saying a word nor moving. It almost looked as if neither were breathing, as their chests barely moved they were so concentrated.

Enzan’s jaw was clenched in a set fashion, his fists clenched at his sides in determination, glaring defiantly, his eyes darker from behind narrowed lids. It made his face look even gaunter and worn, his exhaustion showed like a bruise on pale skin.

Laika had his arms crossed, though one could see one hand fisted tightly into the material of his coat as if in restraint. His eyes were talons of a hawk, searing and sharp. They bore accusingly into Enzan’s and neither wavered.

“You’re weak, Ijuuin.” Laika hissed lowly. “Your body will not function much longer. You’ll get in my way.”

Enzan’s jaw clenched farther, knuckles whiter than a ghost. “I’ve pushed myself farther; if I must push myself to the breaking point—so be it, I’ll go farther than that, if I have to. If anything, you’ll be in my way.”

The tension had risen even higher when the dual-haired teen’s lips quirked into a mocking smirk—a remnant of his former self. The aqua-haired teen’s lips tightened, gloved hand shaking from contained rage. How dare he—that arrogant—did he not know his own limit?!

“You’ll be of no use to Hikari in the state you are,” He stated coldly. Enzan’s eyes narrowed farther if possible, and there was a long, heavy silence between them. Moments later, everything came crashing down.

“You think I don’t know that?” Enzan’s voice was quiet, sounding lost. It took Laika by surprised. The dual-haired prodigy broke the stare, looking out the window. He looked open and vulnerable with the way his eyes looked helpless as he sat back against the limo’s seat, the large space of it swallowing him and making him look even smaller.

“You think I don’t know what I’m doing to myself? That I’m at my limit? I know; I know I am. But I can’t—no—won’t stop. As long as Blues and Netto are out there, I refuse to stop. I realize I’m not in the best of conditions, but so long as I can do something—anything—I will.” His voice had raised several notes as he turned his eyes back to the Sharroian’s, they were cold, filled with more determination.

“Whether you realize it, or understand, I care. Netto’s the first person to make me feel like I’m something other than my father’s tool. He made me realize my real self. And I refuse to give up on him, or Blues, because they never gave up on me. I will get them both back, and if I must tear apart the cyber and real world to do it, I will. You won’t stop me.”

There was silence.

Laika stared hard at the Ijuuin heir, unspeaking. He received the same stare back at him, the dual-haired teen’s eyes set, and there was no compromising or arguing. He broke the silence with a soft snort before averting his eyes. “Weak,” He murmured again, though he didn’t say anything else.

Several moments later, the limo pulled to a stop.

Getting out, Enzan looked around for a moment. “This is where the Dimensional Area was set,” He said quietly as Laika stepped out behind him. The prodigy pulled Rockman’s PET out of the holster at his side and flicked the screen up, checking it before looking around again before walking slowly over to a spot in the middle of the large area with Laika watching him.

“This is where I found Netto’s vest, headband, and Rock’s PET,” He motioned to the ground next to him before looking around. “Here,” He pushed a few buttons on the PET and the Sharroian took Searchman’s PET out, opening his to look at what the other teen had sent him. “This is the battle data and the coordination movement of Netto from what we recorded at Sci-Lab. Blues appeared there, basing by Netto’s reaction.” He pointed up to a high rafter to the slight northeast.

Silence followed as Searchman and the aqua-haired soldier analyzed the data, moving slowly about as if following the movements themselves before coming to a halt beside Enzan. “The battle ended prematurely,” Search’s voice broke out after a moment. “The data is incomplete, so that means—“

“Yes, Blues threatened Netto with this,” Enzan said, holding up Rock’s PET and replaying the video Blues had sent.

“I see… That fool, of course Hikari would give up.” Laika interjected with a snort. Blue eyes glared at him, but he ignored Enzan for the moment. “And you say the Dimensional Area did not shut down immediately?”

“Yes, which is strange considering they’re made to deactivate the moment a Navi is dispelled…” The prodigy replied softly, looking around again.

“How large was the Dimensional Area?”

Enzan’s eyes widened. “You don’t think…”

“There’s always a possibility,”

The teen’s features were grim but he nodded and gave the other the area width and range coordination he’d logged into Rockman’s PET.

“Searchman, perform a scan from the satellite, gather all the details you can on the area and the time between the battle’s end to the time the dimensional area activated and calculate the closest areas one could walk to within that time,” Laika ordered sharply.

“Hai, Laika-san.” Search replied before beginning the scan.

Enzan’s fingers tightened just a little around the PET. Why had he not thought of this? Surely, the possibility had been there within his mind, but he believed he knew well enough that it wouldn’t have been needed, but… He frowned. He supposed that was what made Laika and Searchman better for this job and why he’d contacted them in the first place. They could overlook the situation with an emotional detachment to see the full situation and leave no possibility left.

“Enzan-kun…” Rockman’s voice started timidly. The Ijuuin sighed heavily before bringing the device up and looked at the screen, seeing Rock’s innocent face on the screen, looking tired and worn just as much as he felt—and probably looked, too. “Yes, Rockman?” He asked quietly. The small navi looked hesitant, but smiled slowly. “I know this is hard for you… Having to ask for help from Laika-san… But… I think—I mean, I know Netto would be proud of you. And I’m proud, too. You’ve…come far, Enzan-kun. From being so cold and withdrawn when we first met you… Look at where you are now.”

Enzan stared down at the screen, shock and surprise written across his face. The blue-clad navi’s gentle green eyes stared back at the other, a smile on their face, making some of the tiredness there lift a little. “I’m glad you and Netto-kun met, because if you hadn’t, you’d still be like that. And that would be sad. I’m glad I’ve got the opportunity to know you just as well as Netto-kun has, despite the situation it’s happened in.”

“Rockman…” The dual-haired prodigy’s lips slowly curled upwards, the barest hints of a real smile showing through. “Thank you. I’m glad I met Netto, too. And you as well, Rock.” The navi’s smile widened, but before he could say anything more, Searchman’s voice cut through.

“Scan complete.”

“Good work, Searchman.” Laika praised, looking over the data Search compiled. “According to the data… There are only three places one could get to before the Dimensional Area fell.” He replied after a moment, closing the top of his PET and sliding it into its holster before beginning to walk away. “Let’s go.”

Enzan frowned darkly at the Sharroian’s uncaring nature, but pushed it aside and followed after the other teen.

--

Netto woke up slowly, eyes fluttering weakly. He didn’t recognize where he was, but he expected that by now. He pushed himself into a sitting position, yawning a little. Resting in the Cyberworld was different than sleeping in the real one. He felt rested, yes, recharged, though that was from the data half. His physical, real self still was tired. He wanted sleep. The energy was enough, though.

He slowly got up and looked around. It was a cyber version of a house, he supposed. He’d been lying on a bed, the room was mostly bare. Just the fundamentals of the place: carpet, a table and a few chairs, and no decorations. He sighed heavily. He wanted to leave, but he knew better of it. He wasn’t even sure where he was; and if he did leave, how would he find his way around? He’d never been in the net before and what places he’d been to, Dark Blues had taken him there.

As it was, he never had a great sense of direction even in the real world. With another sigh, he let himself fall back onto the bed, staring bored-like up at the plain ceiling.

“Mama… Papa… Rock… Meiru-chan… Enzan-kun… Everyone…” He whispered softly, tears welling at the corners of his eyes again. He didn’t let them fall and blinked them away, using the back of his gloved hand to wipe them away. He let his hand rise farther up and ran it through his silvery-white locks of hair.

He sat up once more just as the door on the far side of the room opened. Netto stared back at Dark Blues as he stepped in before he averted his eyes again. “What now?” He asked in a tired voice. The teen was beyond exhausted mentally and emotionally. He didn’t have the strength to put up with the other navi at this moment.

“Get up, Netto-kun. We’re going.” Came the sharp response.

Netto glared for a moment, but complied and stood slowly, turning to the bedside table and picked up his helmet that laid there and put it on before facing the dark navi again and stepped forward slowly. Dark Blues turned wordlessly and started walking, knowing the teen was following him.

It didn’t take long to get to the destination the darkloid had in mind, and Netto had saw no real interesting things along the way. Just data, though it was a new experience as usually the other navi just linked them to other places instantly. He came to a stop behind Dark Blues when the other halted. He waited silently, though he wanted to know where they were and why.

The other turned to look at him and though he didn’t want to stare back, he did. “I want you to link out of the net and into the real world here. I believe you are ready enough should problems arise.” Dark Blues spoke, creating a window to the outside world. It was a place he recognized.

“That’s...”

“Yes, Sci-Lab. You’re to link out and infiltrate it. There is data in there that is essential to my plan. You’ve been in there plenty of times and you know all of your father’s passes. You are to get back to the servers where all the data is held and link me into it, as I cannot reach it remotely. And you, by any means necessary, are not to make contact with anyone, especially your father, understood?”

“I…”

Netto looked torn. He looked away from the screen that showed Sci-Lab and looked back at the Dark Navi, who only stared back. He looked back at the screen, chewing on his lip, his hands were clenched into fists. He was shaking a little.

“…Fine.” He said softly, sounding defeated.

Without another word, he closed his eyes and with a shower of pixels, disappeared from the net, reappearing in the real world. He was in an alley that hid him from public sight, but allowed him the ability to see out. In the three weeks he’d been missing, he’d had been forced to learn how to come and go between the cyberworld and the real one. As such, he’d also had to learn how to use his data altering to disguise himself.

…Actually, he was a little too happy to do so, as he hated the current outfit he wore. Instantly, the dark shorts he wore digitized and became long pants, and his sleeveless shirt changed down to a long sleeved, but stayed the same colour and style. He pulled the PET from his waist and watched the screen as Dark Blues appeared into it.

“Remember what I said, Netto-kun. No letting anyone know it’s you.”

Netto nodded slowly, his expression slightly disheartened, but he took some comfort in the fact he’d at least be visiting an area he was so familiar with; even if it did mean he was going to be stealing from it. With a sigh, he slid Dark Blues’ PET back into the holster at his waist and stepped out of the alleyway and started his trek over towards Sci-Lab.

--

Laika came to a stop, looking around with narrowed eyes, analyzing and surveying the area for anything. This was the third point that Searchman had confirmed to be within distance before the Dimensional Area fell. He barely even looked back as he heard the Ijuuin teen walk up behind him.

The area was surrounded by old crates and what seemed to be an old worn warehouse-type place that held surplus and the like. Enzan looked around with a mixture of curiosity and surprise at such a place, nearly forgetting the entire reason they were there, if not for Laika’s voice cutting into his thoughts.

“Don’t just stand there and stare off into space, Ijuuin. Start looking for anything out of place.”

He glared over at the taller teen, biting back a remark as he heard the Sharroian mutter something along the lines of ‘useless Japan Net Saviors’ as he walked away to search the other side of the area. Tightening his jaw, the dual haired prodigy turned on his heel and started to walk, observing the area and looking for any signs of irregularity or off. He was fascinated by the older looking things that apparently had been long left abandoned.

“Such old history…” He murmured quietly. He knew now was not the time for such things, but it was hard to clear his mind from. He shook his head and sighed, once again beginning to look over the place, taking in the details and did his best not to get caught up in the history of it.

“Incompetent… How is he even considered a prodigy?” Laika muttered to himself as he scanned the area. Almost immediately, he’d honed in on several places that looked out of place and immediately went over each area to be sure.

“Laika-san, surely you must give him some credit… We’ve both noticed he’s not at his best.” Searchman’s voice said from the PET he had in his hand. With a scoff, the aqua-haired soldier bent down for a moment to check over a pile of crates. “Nevertheless, he is still as incompetent and useless as Hikari. It’s no wonder such things have happened: they’re both fools.”

The orange haired navi sighed, knowing there was no real arguing or changing his operator’s mind. “Hai, Laika-san…”

By this time, he’d made his way over to another pile of crates and knelt down, inspecting them. His eyes focused and narrowed on one that had its lid slightly open and looked slightly different from the rest around it. Sliding Searchman’s PET into its holder at his side, he pulled the crate over and pried the top off. His eyes widened briefly before narrowing once more.

He dumped the contents and with a soft flutter, black shorts and a white long sleeve shirt fell out. Picking the shirt up, he checked the sleeves. There were black patches where the elbows were. On the shorts, yellow stripes down the side. He picked up both articles and stood, turning. “Ijuuin,”

Enzan’s attention diverted from the place and looked back. His mouth opened slightly in agape when he noticed what the other Net Savior had in his hands. “That’s…”

“Hikari’s clothes, apparently,” Came the dry remark. “Which means he must have changed… That leaves many open possibilities as to what he could look like now.”

The red vested boy’s bangs shadowed over their eyes for a few moments before looking up. “Blues is smart; he knew I would try this. He must have thought all of this through—but how could he…? Perhaps…I never knew him as well as I thought…”

Rockman’s voice cut in. “Don’t think that, Enzan-kun. I know Blues well, too. It’s because he knows you know that he does this. He knows your mind as well as you know his and the only reason he’s one step ahead of you is because he’s expecting you to be stringed along by what he lays down for you.”

“You’re right,” Enzan agreed, “I’ve been foolish; letting him get to my mind.”

“Let’s go,” Laika replied sharply. He was already several feet away with his back turned. “We still have analyzing to do.”

With a nod of encouragement from Rock, the dual-haired heir to IPC nodded and walked after the Sharroian back to the limo.

--

“Sci-Lab… Papa…” Netto whispered under his breath, biting his lip as he slowly entered the large building. He did his best to keep his expression neutral as he walked past many of the people in the lobby and made himself look as if he belonged and knew what he was doing. He was not questioned at all.

It wasn’t until he got to the seventh floor via the stairs that his real work had begun. He took a fairly large breath, steeling his nerves and looked around the area he was all too familiar with. He swallowed and stepped forward hesitantly, before setting he jaw in a determined way. He wanted to get this over as quickly as possible.

He set forward down the hall, knowing full well what he was going to be doing and he prayed to any deity and his father that they forgive him for this.

DHC: There you go, people! This chapter wasn't meant to hold any action or too much emotional-ness since you had much of that the last chapter. Do you know how hard it is writing Axess!Laika and Enzan in the same scene without Netto around as a medium to keep them from being at one another's throat? It's a pain in the ass, seriously. Anyway, I hope I have them all in character, it has been so long since I've watched the series and done anything with EXE really, so I hope I'm not too out of it! Leave me a few lines of love if you enjoyed this chapter! I love it when you people review and have faith in me even though I've not updated in so long! Hopefully you can expect an update for Looking At Life In A New Perspective as well. Anyway, much love, people!