Posts

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  Dead Ringer
  S saviior_exe

  Netto furrowed his brow at the snippets of conversation he heard- he couldn't see very well, because his glasses were perfectly askew from his position. He spied the blurry frame of someone with...pink, probably, hair. They seemed sort of young, too, but maybe not that-

  "Do NOT just mute me for no reason!" Suddenly his PET was screeching, which made him scramble and drop the whole thing with an extremely obvious clatter. Rockman continued as he scrambled to pick it up, "You're at a DARK CHIP MEETUP and you just THROW ME IN YOUR POCKET?!"

  "Oh my god shut up shut up shut up-" Netto hushed, slamming the volume down button on the PET, in an arms race with his own Navi on who could get the volume controlled first. Of course he was losing, and Rockman just carried on, the PET's speakers echoing around the warehouse. "What if someone had jumped you! What if someone kidnapped you for the millionth time! It's not the same as when we were-"

  Over Netto's shoulder, the PET had just the faintest view of their visitor, which made Rockman immediately button up. Earning a glare from his operator, Netto gave up the ghost and turned to address the other figure in the room. (Boy, why does she look so familiar...?) "Ignore that," he said, stupidly. He jabbed an accusatory finger at the visitor. "What are YOU doing here, huh?!"

  This was why he was never picked for field work.

  Open Threads cr-s kq-i

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  Dead Ringer
  S saviior_exe

  @snoruntpyro

  Rockman had spent the better part of a week trying to talk Netto out of what he'd coined as a "secret mission". They'd only just started Netto's first semester, and now he was already finding a convenient little distraction. No amount of you know Enzan is going to kill you if he finds out, or Laika will do even worse than that could get him to let it go.

  The school's BBS was extremely busy, and Netto checked it enough to catch a post before it was drowned out: DRN DATA MEETUP – WAREHOUSE 8 @ 9:45PM X/X/XXXX. While he'd very recently left the Official life behind, he still recognized a pseudo-syndicate meetup post. They started calling it DRN instead of DRK for some reason– no one said they were very smart or clever– and they were sloppy to boot. College student message boards was a place they'd gotten hits, and he'd even heard that from Pen.

  Rockman had tried to convince him it was just a stupid prank post. It didn't mean anything, and they had no reason to be involved, anyway. Netto wasn't an official anymore. Unfortunately, all of his argument was met with the same response: That never really stopped us before, now did it?

  Never mind the fact they were out of practice, and Rockman had negative desire to break up a dark chip exchange, and he and Netto still hadn't even tried Netbattling in months— nah, damn all of that. Netto was still too optimistic, even with a fresh scar to prove against it. (Unwillingly, it made Rockman optimistic too.)

  So here they were; Netto pressed through a thin opening in an empty warehouse building about three miles out from campus. The clock had not yet hit the witching hour, but he thought it probably made sense to get there early, right? No one else seemed to be nearby, so he grabbed his PET from his pocket, and used the screen to illuminate his immediate area.

  "There's no one here," muttered the voice from his PET, still immensely reluctant. "Can we just go home? You know Dad is going to—"

  The door on the opposite end of the warehouse began to creep open, which made Netto quickly silence his PET and press against the back of a stack of empty storage containers. Too bad he couldn't get a witty quip back in to Rockman, because he had a good one locked and loaded.

  He leaned over, probably too obviously, to spy who had entered. It wasn't even close to the posted time…?

  Open Threads cr-s kq-i

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  and it's simply irrational weather
  S saviior_exe

  "If you exist at all?!" Netto looked shocked, but it was evident it was in jest. "Of course you do! You're a big researcher in China!"

  He pointed at the collection of memorabilia beside the couch - there were quite a few photos of his friend group, in various stages of their lives. A graduation photo, then beside it was Mayl and him having a tearful goodbye at the airport. "We video call frequently- she's doing um, like, therapy research in China. With her music! Important stuff."

  Netto seemed very proud of this fact- he was beaming, even though she was far. He didn't even notice she was lingering on his burn scar- unbeknownst to her, it had been there for months, and had nothing to do with Via Iracunda. "You're like, an official, huh? Well- whatever the equivalent is in your world. I mean- obviously you're different from her." He gestured at the photo again. "Call me naive, but I feel like it's just- stuff to pick up. I don't feel intimidated talking to you. You remind me too much of someone I like!"

  Tactfully, he dodged the question of what kind of person he was; it was weird to think of how he compared to the other-selves. He felt alien to them. They were all so much more like Rockman than they were like him, and Netto felt like they knew it.

  Open Threads fs-i kq-i

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  The First and Last of Their Kind
  S saviior_exe

  Well that was a lot of names. Not all he recognized. (What kind of name was Reg?) Some navis had histories implanted on them upon creation- it made them easier to work with, better tools. Rockman supposed Cometman could be this way, but- why? A video game character didn't really make anyone more useful. Maybe more confused, in this case.

  "It is weird that you think it's weird," Rockman said bluntly. It was strange that Cometman was so preoccupied with the circumstances of his creation. Why didn't he remember?

  Even Rockman remembered being created; against his will, but he remembered. Even the bleary memories of humanity clung to him. Waking and sleeping and waking and sleeping and sleeping sleeping- "It's also weird that you don't...remember. You don't remember being created???"

  Open Threads wm-i kq-i

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  if there's a way out of this, somebody tell me
  S saviior_exe

  Netto immediately took the affection; unlike Rockman, or Enzan, or Laika, he had not yet learned to be afraid of a kind hand. He wanted to make excuses for Cain. Cain was never openly cruel to him- maybe once, in a flash of anger, but not much more than that. Cain was dry, and Netto was always trying to get him to laugh at a joke or even just smile. Cain had some shitty past, and Netto felt empathetic to that.

  It was world shattering, to think he'd made the wrong call.

  "Dr. Cain - he's not like-" Netto winced, sitting up out of Pen's hold to voice an apology to Rockman. But Rockman cut him off, and spoke instead. "Cain is nothing like Regal. He's just a- worm."

  Netto sniffed, falling back into Pen's arms. "I think Dad mentioned something like, he's probably gonna get his license stripped too. It's bad enough...to him."

  Netto had voiced how much he thought this was overkill. He'd even said those words no one wanted to admit- why is Cain getting worse treatment than Regal? Sure, he'd had all his licensure stripped years ago- but they just shipped him off to a country that didn't care about his crimes. Cain was going to get punished in the only way that mattered to him; his work. But Yuuichiro had just given him a withered look, and he knew that they all wished more had been done about Regal.

  And more should have been done. More could have been done, if the Officials cared about this kind of crime. All they wanted to do was cover up their mistake, that leaving Regal to work in Scilabs was just a ticking time bomb, that all of their pain had been avoidable if they had just-- Netto sucked in a breath, realizing for a brief second he'd stopped breathing at all. He released his closed fists. A realization dawned on him and he stuttered out, "O-Oh. I- I can't go back to work. L-Like, ever."

  Open Threads kq-i

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  if there's a way out of this, somebody tell me
  S saviior_exe

  Stole was a new word for it. Rockman had said some choice things, some angry sentiment, but not stole. The time wasn't stolen to them, because- "Um, thank you."

  Tea. It was always tea. Netto expected coffee, the horrible instant stuff that Enzan only really pulled out when he wasn't expecting anyone. At the office. He stared down at the cup for a few moments. Rockman still inspected the table.

  "Um, yeah. Um- I guess that was low on the rung of crap that happened, but I thought it was- kinda the worst part." This, Rockman did react to- his hologram disappeared, but he was only returning to the PET. "Uh- the tech he was, working on, was also kinda bad too."

  He took a sip, and the sting on his tongue seemed to invigorate him to keep talking. "It was, like, a thing to make it easy to do full-synchro with any navi. A Link. Based on, like, the pulse transmission stuff. Just a lot safer. In theory."

  Maybe if he said it in a rush it wouldn't feel so bad. "It made me really sick, and uh-" He glanced at the PET, and went for it- "I think it's made me, um, unable to synch with Rock. At all."

  He said it, and it was a bygone conclusion, but soon after the words left his mouth there was a steady drip drip from his cheeks. He was crying. It was the absolute worst part. Damn the lost time, damn the pain, damn the sickness and the hallucinations, this was what was stolen from him. Netto blushed, as if ashamed of it, and looked away from Pen. "W-We just go fucking ballistic if we do. Can't control it anymore. W-Which sucks."

  Understatement. Netto pushed the heel of his free hand into his eye to stem the sudden flow of tears. He thought he'd already cried them all.

  Open Threads kq-i

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  if there's a way out of this, somebody tell me
  S saviior_exe

  "Um," Netto stalled out, which was quite unusual of him. If there was anything he was known for it was his quick wit; but Pen's hands on his face made his eyes water. He quickly shook his head (a motion Rockman had done a thousand times before) as if to clear the emotion he was feeling. He'd already talked this out with Enzan and Laika. He could do this again.

  "I mean, I guess- I guess he did. I don't know what to think about it," and he was honest. Brutally so. Rockman looked at an interesting chunk of the table, as if he were tracing the wood grain, and did not chime in again. "Do- do you remember how, like, I like- showed up late?"

  (Netto remembered it and felt a pang in his chest; looking at Enzan's betrayal, all over his face, in that horrible hospital bed- oh, and Laika-)

  "A-After everything happened. W-Well, um. I guess- we were all kinda busy, right? Haha- um." The laughter was clearly nervous. He started to twirl a strand of hair near the burn scar. "I didn't. Know. I - I didn't know what was happening when it happened. Cain-" He loathed the name, it felt horrid in his mouth now- "He blocked my communication and didn't, tell me. Made it seem like everyone just stopped reaching out. He would- randomly let calls through, so I wouldn't get suspicious."

  Netto suddenly barked out a laugh louder than he meant to. "When I say it like that, it sounds- sounds like some real villain shit, ahaha."

  Rockman's little hologram glanced up at Netto, though didn't quite look at him. He'd seen it all already, known this part; but it didn't stop the ache. Didn't stop what they now shared.

  Open Threads kq-i

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  if there's a way out of this, somebody tell me
  S saviior_exe

  Netto opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. It just hung there, and the shock of what Pen had said made the fresh scar on his temple ache. She was supposed to get the next Link trial— of course, why wouldn't she? Enzan probably was too, though he'd had the good sense to shut up about it. Pen just didn't even know. What do you even say to that? He could think of a thousand things, but all of his defenses had made Enzan and Laika look at him in that way that made his chest ache. Some mix of shock, pity, horror, and anger. He didn't want to see it on Pen too, and certainly not because he was still sorting his feelings about all of it.

  Instead, he gave into temptation and placed his PET on the table. Rockman appeared a moment later, hologram sitting atop the device. Instead of Netto, he spoke what his operator was struggling to say. "Dr. Cain is getting fired. Soon. The ethics board review is in a few days. Dad is on it. That project is probably going to get scrapped."

  Netto wrung his wrists, and somewhat shamefully looked away from the table. Guilt was written all over his face, though for what it wasn't clear. There was too much to say, and that brand new pit of anxiety hadn't really left him yet. It would one day, that he was sure of– but all of these feelings were new to him.

  Open Threads kq-i

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  and it's simply irrational weather
  S saviior_exe

  Whatever Meiru was burdened by, Netto lacked the memory to fill in the gaps. His time at Via Iracunda was everything and nothing; flashes of anger, flashes of violence, and nothing.

  "Oh no no," he waved his hands, with a slight gesture to the window. "I've got folks to get me things, don't you concern yourself with that. Plenty of runners." Who those runners were didn't matter. He had connections!

  Netto shifted so he wasn't so languid. Really, he looked fine, save for the occasional bandage, and a re-opened burn that sliced his side burn near his temple. Where the Link had sat.

  "It's nice to meet you properly," he said with a winning smile. "Feel like every other time has been like, passing trains in the night." (Passing ships, but whatever.) "I'm Netto, but- I guess you knew that. Haha."

  Open Threads fs-i kq-i

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  if there's a way out of this, somebody tell me
  S saviior_exe

  He didn't mind the papers- it made him feel a little better about the somewhat constant mess his own apartment was in. Netto didn't fully realize just how early it was, as his days had been so upside-down.

  Netto blinked, and didn't quite respond to Pen right away. So Enzan didn't say anything to her? A crawling fear began in the pit of his stomach- Pen definitely didn't know, and that had to be that. "Um - yeah, I am up early."

  He felt the urge, but didn't yet dip for the PET in his pocket. It was a crutch. "Umm. No, I'm not on my way to work- um, did Enzan talk to you? Recently?" He laughed nervously, and remembered to take his place at the table. "I've been on leave, remember- um, I mean, it was gonna expire last week, but- I extended it. For a week."

  He giggled, though it was an anxious action. He didn't realize how suddenly awkward this would be. Would Pen lecture him, like Laika and Enzan had - would it be an interrogation? (It was necessary, and they were justified, but still...!)

  Open Threads kq-i