Disclaimer: All copyrighted characters in Rockman.EXE and its American version, Mega Man Battle Network, are owned by Capcom, the original creators and their distributors. No infringement of any of the rights of the aforementioned creators or distributors is intended. This is a fan-created story for the enjoyment of other fans only, and it may not be distributed for profit in any way. No money is being made by me in any form from this fanfic or any others I have written.

New Author's Notes at the bottom of the file. ^_^

Pushing the Limits

a Rockman.EXE fanfic

by Hoshikage

Chapter 4

Rockman gave a choking gasp as the point of the scepter pierced through his chest, impaling him on the thin spike of silver metal. The skin around the scepter immediately dissolved into pixels that fluttered briefly around the scepter and then disappeared. His sword arm dropped, his knees buckling as the blade disappeared, reforming into his hand. As he collapsed limply, Netto caught him, sinking down to the floor so he held Rock cradled in his arms.

Rock gasped painfully, looking down at his chest where it was swiftly disintegrating into tiny glittering sparks. He realized belatedly that nothing had prevented the movement, and he looked up at Netto in confusion. "Netto...kun..." he gasped weakly.

Netto just smiled at him, though it looked more than a little strained. "It's gonna be okay, Rock," he whispered. "Trust Papa."

Rock's eyes widened, and as he looked back at the scepter piercing through him, he saw for the first time that as the pixels tore away from his body, they were actually being sucked into the scepter itself instead of fading into nothingness.

"What do you think you're doing?" Honemura's voice yelled in mingled anger and surprise.

Netto looked up at the screen. "Like I'd let you have Rockman!" he yelled. "I'd delete him myself first before I let you use him for one more minute!"

Rock could feel the pulling now, as more and more of him melted away and was sucked up into the scepter. Instinctively he fought it for a moment, trembling on the brink of disappearing completely. "Netto-kun..." he gasped softly. "I... I'm sorry..."

"It's okay," Netto whispered in reassurance, holding him tight.

Rock smiled weakly, and then he relaxed and let himself go, his body disappearing completely as he fell into darkness.

-----------

Rockman dissolved in Netto's arms, the pixels immediately vanishing into the scepter and leaving Netto clutching only the silver metal. The blue globe on the top of the scepter lit with a faint, pulsing glow. It was barely noticeable, except that Netto had been watching for exactly that.

I did it!

"You wretched little brat!" Honemura yelled. "I hope you're ready to share his fate! Boneman, delete him!"

A huge white-armored Navi appeared in front of Netto, raising one huge fist.

"I don't think so," Netto snapped. "Log-out!"

And Boneman's fist went right through him as he dissolved into pixels and disappeared.

-----------

Honemura slammed his hands down on the table, making the keyboard jump and rattle. "Boneman!" he yelled. "You were supposed to delete him! You worthless pile of junk data!"

Boneman looked cowed. "I'm sorry, Master..."

Honemura waved a hand savagely, cutting off the apology. "Damn it!" he snarled, throwing himself back into his chair. "Who was that Navi? And how did he get through the barrier?"

"It's easy if you know how," said a new voice.

Honemura sat up straight as Boneman whirled around. There was a flicker of red light, and Boneman's arm fell off, neatly sheared off at the shoulder, and shattered into pixels. Boneman roared, and then exploded into shining bits as a gleaming red blade materialized where he had just been, attached to the arm of a red-suited Navi with long silver hair.

The Navi smirked at Honemura as he stared at the screen in shock. "Don't mind me," the Navi said. "I'll just let myself out. Oh, and I'll be taking this too," he added, holding up a familiar data cube.

He disappeared as there came a sudden pounding at the door.

"Honemura Saizo!" a voice yelled. "You're under arrest by order of the NetPolice! Open this door!"

Honemura stared at the empty screen.

"I had it..." he said numbly. "I had it all..."

-----------

"Papa..."

Yuuichirou looked at his screen as Netto appeared, his image confusingly appearing on the screen right next to the chair in which his body lay unconscious. Netto clutched the scepter-shaped data transfer device in his hands, the globe pulsing with faint blue light. "I did it," Netto said, looking tired. He held the device up, and Yuuichirou quickly keyed the command to transfer Rockman's data to a more permanent location, a command he'd already set up in advance knowing he would need it. The scepter rotated in the top corner of the screen, glittering bits of data streaming from the globe into a secured area of the drive.

"Let's get you out of there, Netto," he said.

Netto was giving him an odd look, reaching out to touch the screen. "This is so weird.." he mumbled. "Now I know how Rock feels..."

"I'm not used to seeing you look like you're only ten centimeters tall either," Yuuichirou replied with a smile as he fiddled with the controls.

Netto chuckled a little at that. "Okay," he said. "I'm ready."

His image disappeared from the screen as Yuuichirou initiated the transfer back to his body.

Distracted with that, Yuuichirou didn't notice of another window popping open in the background, this one showing a graph of squares through which a flat line slowly scrolled.

-----------

Netto opened his eyes, blinking as he tried to get used to his body again. He felt heavy and tired, as though he'd been gone for a long time, even though he hadn't thought it had been that long. "Papa?" he asked, turning his head to see his father sitting at the computer.

His father smiled at him. "Welcome back, sleepyhead," he said. "You dozed off there for about a half hour."

"I fell asleep?" Netto gasped, and pushed himself upright. "Is Rockman okay?"

"Yes, he's all right," Yuuichirou replied with a nod. "Though it looks like parts of his data are damaged, nothing's actually missing... I can reconstruct the damaged portions while I'm undoing all the tampering." He made a face. "Whoever did this knew quite a lot about Navi programming. I'll have to rewrite almost a quarter of the code."

Netto looked at the screen, but all he saw was a window of meaningless, jumbled text and an empty graph, neither of which were things he understood. "Can I talk to him?" he asked. "I can't feel him right now..."

His father shook his head. "He isn't awake right now... and he isn't really a Navi at the moment, just a collection of data, so he doesn't have the same interface with the world that he used to. He won't be able to see or hear us for a while, while I get everything sorted out."

"Oh." Netto sighed. Somehow he'd thought it would be simpler than that... that he could just download Rock back into the PET, and things would go back to normal.

His father patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Netto. I know what I'm doing. Just give me some time to work, and he'll be as good as new."

"You won't change anything, right?" Netto asked in sudden desperation. "You'll leave everything just the way it was?"

Yuuichirou gave him a solemn look, obviously thinking about what that meant. Netto just stared at him. He'd gotten a feeling like his father didn't entirely approve of the link... and if Honemura could partly block it, Netto was sure his father could get rid of it entirely if he wanted to.

But Netto didn't want him to get rid of it.

Then his father smiled slightly. "Of course," he said firmly. "I'll put everything back just the way it was. I'm not the kind of person who'd change his programming without asking, Netto."

Netto didn't back down. "Even if you thought it was for my - our - own good?"

His father reached out and ruffled his hair. "Of course not. I'd try and explain why it would be best, and if that didn't work, I'd get your mother to help argue my case."

Netto smiled a little, reassured. "Thanks, Papa," he said, and hugged his father again.

Yuuichirou chuckled. "You're welcome. Now why don't you go get some rest? I'm sure you could use it, as you've had a very long day."

Netto yawned. He couldn't deny that he was tired. "Why'm I so sleepy, anyway?" he complained, though, as he turned toward the door.

"Well, it is almost 11 P.M.," his father replied wryly. "And you've been running all day, and then going into the Net and back again, which isn't exactly something you're used to."

"Wow," Netto said in surprise as he left the room that his father had taken over for his laboratory. He really hadn't thought it was so late. He must have spent longer in the Net than he'd thought... it was so hard to tell time in there if you didn't have a clock programmed into you.

He moved up the stairs by the dim light coming from the open door to his bedroom, automatically glancing at the empty PET where it sat in its recharging station on his desk. He reached out and pressed the button to shut it down, and then flopped facefirst onto his bed. He was asleep before he could even reach out to turn off the light.

-----------

Netto-kun...

A small spike floated across the graph.

Netto-kun?

Another.

-----------

Netto-kun!

"Mmph," Netto mumbled in his sleep. "Five more minutes, Rock..."

Netto-kun! Where are you? Netto-kun!

"Hrm? I'm right here..."

Netto-kun! Where are you? Help me!

Darkness. Panic.

Netto awoke with a start. "Rock!" he gasped, sitting bolt upright.

Netto-kun! Rockman cried inside his head. Netto-kun!

I'm here! Netto sent hastily, hurrying through the door and feeling his way down the darkened stairs.

Netto-kun! Rockman's voice in his head was growing increasingly frantic. Netto-kun!

I'm right here! Netto repeated, though he could tell it was useless. I'm coming! He hurried to the door to his father's lab and shoved it open, almost tripping over the computer cords bundled neatly along the floor in his hurry to get inside.

His father looked at him quizzically. "I thought you went to bed."

Netto-kun!

Netto blurted out, "I've got to talk to Rock!"

Yuuichirou blinked. "But I'm still coding, I haven't repaired all the damage yet..."

Netto-kun! Netto-kun! Where are you?

"Please, Papa!" Netto cried. "Can't you put him back? Or download him into the PET or something? I can hear him--" He broke off, wincing as he felt another flare of panic over the link.

His father glanced at another window, frowning at the erratic spikes fluttering across the graph. "I see," he sighed, and then he got up, disconnecting wires from the chair apparatus and hooking them to a round platform instead. "All right, you would have found out about this sooner or later anyway..."

Netto looked on in confusion as his father returned to the computer. "I'll download Rockman into this device, but he can't stay there for long," he warned. "It's too dangerous until I've repaired the damage."

Netto just nodded, having no real idea what his father was talking about, but willing to agree to anything to reassure Rock. He was too distracted by the sensations over the link to pay much attention to what his father was doing, until he gasped in surprise as pixels fountained into existence on top of the platform, slowly solidifying into Rockman's form.

He lay sprawled limply on the platform, breathing in gasps, pixels still fizzling away from the edges of the cuts and burns he'd sustained. Netto rushed forward without thinking, dropping to his knees beside the platform as he reached out, expecting his hands to be stopped at the edge of the cylinder of soft white light shining from the platform. Instead, his hands and arms went right through, and he stared for a moment before dropping his hand tentatively, curling it around Rock's fingers.

They felt solid, and real.

Rock blinked at him, staring in surprise. "Netto-kun...?" he murmured, then focused on Netto's hand holding his. "It's... not a dream...?"

Netto shook his head mutely, then whispered, "Rock... I'm so glad you're back... I thought I'd lost you..."

Rockman pushed himself up. "Netto-kun... I... I thought I'd lost you, too..."

Netto impulsively lunged forward and hugged his brother. Rock started in surprise, and then he gave a soft, gasping cry and flung his arms around Netto, clinging to him tightly.

Netto-kun...

It's okay... it's over...

-----------

Rockman had returned to the computer, and Netto had gone back to bed. Yuuichirou typed in silence for some time, glad that he was in the habit of preserving detailed logs of Rockman's unique program. Without them, he might actually have been hard pressed to remember every detail of the program, and something inside him rebelled at the thought of changing anything about Rockman's personality, even accidentally.

The graph had gone quiet again, only a few small fluctuations going through the smooth line. Rockman was apparently "asleep" again - which was probably the best thing for him right now, anyway. Yuuichirou kept an eye on the graph anyway as he worked, but it remained quiet, and before much longer he found himself yawning. Finished or not, he was going to have to get some sleep.

He considered, then pushed the button to download the data back into the projector, without yet compiling the changes he'd made. He turned to look as Rockman's image flickered back into existence, lying curled on his side with his eyes closed just like a sleeping boy. Rockman shifted, a slight frown crossing his face as though he registered the change, but he didn't wake, just burrowed his face into his arms and sighed in his sleep.

Yuuichirou smiled a bit sadly, looking at the still-visible signs of damage. Then he reached down and shook Rockman's shoulder just as he would have with Netto. "Rockman, can you wake up for a bit?"

"Hmm?" Rockman's eyes fluttered open and he blinked sleepily up at Yuuichirou. "Oh... Doctor Hikari? What is it?"

Yuuichirou smiled at him. "I've repaired some of your code, and I wanted to recompile it before going to bed."

"Okay," Rockman said, rubbing his eyes and yawning as he slowly stood up. He winced and rubbed absently at a burn on his arm as he got back to his feet. "Do I need to do anything?"

"No, I just didn't want to wake you while you were still in data storage," Yuuichirou replied, going back to the keyboard. "You didn't seem to like it last time."

Rockman flushed, looking away. "I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have..."

Yuuichirou turned the chair back to him. "And why not? I don't think I would have liked it either... though of course, I can't say I know firsthand what it's like."

Rockman looked down at the floor. "It's dark," he said, his voice barely more than a whisper. "I can't see or hear anything... I can't even feel my body..." He rubbed at his arm again, unthinkingly, as though reassured by the pain that he still existed.

Yuuichirou sighed as he thought about that. "Well, I'll put a trigger in," he said finally. "That way, if you wake up, you can download yourself out if you like. I can even keep the projector hooked up so you can use it."

Rockman's expression was a strange mixture of relief, gratitude, and embarrassment. "I'm sorry to be such a bother..."

"Nonsense," Yuuichirou responded, turning back to the computer. "It's the least I can do..."

"What do you mean?" Rockman asked.

Yuuichirou paused, looking at the screen and the window of code. Finally he sighed, "None of this would have happened, if it hadn't been for me. In my arrogance, there were so many things I overlooked..."

"But I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you," Rockman said softly.

Yuuichirou turned back to him. "Are you really happy, Rock?" he asked, shortening his name to the nickname Netto used for the first time. "A life of fighting battles that might get you destroyed? And now this..." he waved his hand at the window of code. "I'm the one who caused this, even if only indirectly..."

Rockman paused, looking at him seriously. Finally he smiled. "I am happy," he said. "It's what I want. I like being Netto-kun's Navi. Even though..." He hesitated, shuddering a little, then went on with difficulty. "Even though it was... horrible... going through all that... it's not your fault, and you shouldn't blame yourself."

Yuuichirou smiled a little, surprised despite himself by the statement. "You really think so?"

Rockman nodded, smiling. "Yeah. After all, I get to do things no other Navi can, thanks to you. I can touch the people who are close to me now... I can hug Netto-kun, just as if I was still his brother in the real world..."

Rockman trailed off, then held out his arms. Yuuichirou got up and moved past the border of the cylinder of light, and Rockman wrapped his arms around him in a hug without hesitation.

He felt solid and warm, just like a real boy.

"Thank you, Papa," Rockman whispered.

Yuuichirou looked down at him. "Papa?" he asked softly.

Rockman nodded against his chest. "It feels... it feels right this time."

Yuuichirou smiled more broadly than he had in a long time. "Thank you, Rock."

Rockman stayed still a moment longer, apparently treasuring the contact, and then he pulled away, looking a little embarrassed. "I forgot, it's nearly three in the morning, you should sleep..."

"I'll just recompile that code first," Yuuichirou replied with a smile, moving back to the computer. "Just relax, this shouldn't take a minute."

Rockman nodded trustingly and stood still as Yuuichirou pressed the keys. His form split into a snowfall of sparkling pixels, swirling within the cylinder until they reformed into his body again. Rockman lifted his hands, looking at the skin that was no longer marred by pixels bleeding from unhealed wounds.

"Ah, perfect," Yuuichirou said, and then he yawned again.

Rockman smiled at him. "Go to bed, Papa," he chided. "I can wait until morning for the rest."

Yuuichirou smiled and nodded, turning off the lights as Rockman dissolved into pixels again and left the projector, the cylinder of light immediately fading out.

Yuuichirou left the darkened laboratory, closing the door behind him.

-----------

Rockman woke again to silence and darkness.

Quickly, he downloaded himself out of the data storage area. He knew why he had to stay in there, at least when he was asleep... he knew that Dr. Hikari was just trying to protect him until he could get all the tampering and damage to his program repaired. But he just couldn't stand the feeling of being enclosed in emptiness, unable to move or even feel. It felt too much like what Rock had always imagined deletion to be like... just vanishing, leaving nothing...

He shuddered as he reformed in the computer's public zone, but he tried to cover it as he looked up at the scientist through the screen. "Good morning," he said, though technically it might as well have been called noon. Rockman's internal clock was completely off by now, as he kept waking up at seemingly random intervals. Once he had to go back to school with Netto, he was going to have to do something about that...

Dr. Hikari smiled at him from the other side of the screen. "Hello, Rock. There's someone who's been waiting to see you."

"What? Who?" Rockman asked in surprise. In answer, Yuuichirou tapped a key, and Roll shimmered into existence in the computer next to Rock. The moment she solidified, she threw her arms around him as he gasped "Roll-chan!" in surprise.

"I'm so glad you're all right!" Roll cried. "I was worried..."

Dr. Hikari chuckled. "I'll leave you two alone for a while," he teased, getting up.

Rockman blushed furiously, sputtering an incoherent protest as Roll pulled away, blushing herself. "Sorry," Roll said. "I got carried away."

"It's - it's okay," Rockman stammered, then glanced at the now-empty screen, rubbing his helmet. "He just likes teasing me," he added, rolling his eyes. "I guess that's where Netto-kun gets it from."

Roll giggled, then smiled at him. "You're looking better," she said. "I was worried, after everything..."

Rock dropped his gaze. "Roll, I... I have to apologize, to everyone... especially Yaito-chan..."

Roll shook her head. "No, you don't. It's all right, everyone understands. And besides, Yaito-chan got the data back."

Rockman looked at her in confusion. "She did? You do? How?"

Roll cocked her head. "You didn't know? Honemura was arrested by the NetPolice. It's been all over the news. They said he's been reprogramming Navis and using them to steal data for years, but this time there was enough evidence to arrest him. Enzan was helping them, and he returned the data himself, with Blues..."

Rockman stared at her for a moment. So that's what Blues was doing there... he was investigating...

"Rockman?" she asked. "Are you all right?"

"I--" He shook his head. "Sorry, Roll-chan... I just..." He trailed off, unsure how to continue.

Roll smiled at him, a little bit sadly. "It's okay," she said. "I'm just glad you're all right." She squeezed his hand. "I shouldn't stay too long, Meiru-chan will need me..."

Rockman mustered up a genuine smile for her. "Thanks, Roll-chan... for coming to see me."

Roll smiled, and then dissolved into pixels as she logged out.

-----------

Rockman moved his hand experimentally toward the edge of the cylinder of light formed by the projector, and was unsurprised when he encountered a solid resistance just like a thick wall. Technically speaking, he actually had more room inside the computer or the PET than he did on the projector platform, but it was hard to resist using the machine that let him touch the real world, even in such a limited fashion.

The only light came from the projector, now; Netto had long since gone to bed, and even Dr. Hikari had quit for the night. Rock flexed his fingers and stretched, relieved at feeling... well, normal. The last of the programming changes were gone; he was back to his old self again, as if nothing had ever happened.

Except, of course, for the memory...

Rock sat down on the platform, curling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. Dr. Hikari had finished so late that Rockman hadn't wanted to disturb Netto just to download himself into the PET, so he'd agreed to stay in the lab for one more night. He would be glad to get back to where he belonged, though.

He wasn't used to being so alone, in a room where there was no sound of breathing, only the whirring of computer fans...

He grimaced at himself, faintly disgusted by the silliness of being lonely when his family were all just a room or two away. But to him, it might as well have been a thousand kilometers for all he could get to them, even now that he wasn't forced to stay on the inside of the computer screen. He dropped his chin onto his drawn-up knees with a sigh.

The door opened.

Rockman lifted his head. "Netto-kun?" he gasped in surprise.

Netto grinned at him, hauling in a prodigious pile of pillows, blankets, books, and snacks. "I've been waiting hours for Papa to go to sleep!" he whispered loudly.

"What are you doing?" Rockman asked.

Netto pulled everything over next to the projector. "It's the same thing as when I used to read with you with a flashlight under the covers," he said with a grin. "Here." He pushed a pillow at Rock, who took it with a smile.

"And I was always telling you to go to sleep because you'd be late for school the next day," Rock replied. "Don't you have school tomorrow?"

Netto shook his head. "Mama said I could have tomorrow off too. Besides, I've been sleeping practically all day every day since we got you back! Papa said it's because of going into the Net, he thinks. So I'm awake now."

Rockman gave him a worried look as Netto pulled the blankets apart and pushed one in his direction. "Are you all right?"

"Of course I'm fine, I slept it all off," Netto replied. "Here, this one's new, I've been wanting to show you this!" He flopped into his nest of blankets and pillows and passed a comic book to Rockman. "It's really cool, it's about this guy who's got all these neat powers 'cause his great-grandfather or something was a demon. I bet if he was a Navi we could take him though."

Rock found himself a comfortable position curled up in the blankets as he looked at the book. "Demons don't exist, Netto-kun..."

"I know that! You're always so serious. Sheesh, it's just a story." Netto opened one of the bags of snacks and munched, and Rock threw him a wry look.

"Don't blame me if you have a stomachache in the morning, Netto-kun."

Netto whapped him over the head with his pillow.

"Ack!" Rockman yelped in protest.

"Go on, read it," Netto said, taking back his pillow and scooting a little further onto the platform so they could both read by the light of the cylinder. "It's cool. I bet they're gonna make it into a TV anime."

Rock put the book where they could both read it, holding down one side while Netto took the other. There was silence for a few minutes, and Rock relaxed, feeling Netto's familiar presence across the link as well as hearing his breathing next to him, knowing without words that his feeling of loneliness had been answered without his having to ask.

He turned his head to smile at his brother. "Thanks, Netto-kun."

Netto smiled back. "You're welcome."

-----------

When Hikari Yuuichirou opened the door into the lab the next morning, he found Netto curled up in a nest of blankets next to the projector. Rockman was similarly inside it, snuggled into a pillow, his outstretched hand touching Netto's where both hands rested on top of an open comic book.

Yuuichirou smiled and shut the door again, moving back toward the kitchen.

"So, how are the boys doing?" Haruka asked as she started the rice cooker.

Yuuichirou chuckled. "Sleeping like logs. It looks like they were having a slumber party." He raised an eyebrow. "You knew Netto was in there?"

"I heard him last night," Haruka said with a smile. "You know, we should probably rearrange things a little... give Netto the bigger room you're using for the computers. Especially if he's going to be sharing it with that projector machine!" she added with a giggle. "I'd say we should give Rock his own room, but he probably wouldn't want it..."

Yuuichirou gave her a curious look. "His own room?"

She gave him a mysterious smile. "Well, it's not fair to make siblings share the same room forever, now is it?"

Yuuichirou blinked. "You... you knew?" he said finally. He wasn't entirely sure why he was so surprised, but he'd never actually mentioned it, for fear of upsetting her...

She smiled again. "I always knew," she replied.

"And... you don't mind?"

"Not at all," Haruka said with a smile. Sitting down at the table, she added wistfully, "Though if he'll call you Papa, it would be nice if he'd call me Mama, too..."

Yuuichirou smiled. "I'm sure he will," he said, taking her hand in his.

-----------

"Aaaaagh! I'm late!" Netto cried as he raced for the school.

"Your first day back and you're late again!" Rockman chided from the PET. "Mama and I both tried three times to wake you up!"

Enzan watched from the next block down. "Looks like things are back to normal," he said with a snort of amusement.

"Indeed," Blues said. "By the way, you have a mail. Or rather, we both do."

"Really? Who's it from?"

"Rockman. It just says, 'Thank you.'"

Enzan smiled. "Well, at least one of them has some manners," he said, and turned and walked away.

"Shall I reply?" Blues asked.

"No..." Enzan replied with a smile. "I think we should just leave it at that."

--THE END--

Author's Notes: Well, yes, this is in fact the end. I wrote this story unusually fast, in a massive burst of inspiration. I am glad the results were pleasing to others as well as myself. ^_^ Someday, if the Muse is willing, perhaps there may be a sequel, but at the moment, I have no plans for one. And now, on to a couple more specific responses to reviewers...

Moonymonster: Yes. I am evil. Sorry, I feel no remorse for the cliffhangers. I like writing them too much. ;)

Marisa: 1) As far as Netto going into the Net (I'm assuming that was what you were referring to, that he did in a fanfic?), I actually got that from the manga. ^^;; 2) I guess I can't fool you now... and yes, I am working on the story which you mentioned. It will be finished. Someday. Honest. ^^;;

Thanks for reading, everyone. Until next time...