Chapter Text
Blues's operator has been missing for 6 months, 12 days, 23 hours, and 57 minutes. In exactly 3 minutes time, it will have been 6 months and 13 days.
For the first few days, Blues held out the hope that his operator would come back. That he hadn't just been abandoned or somehow forgotten. Of course almost everyone in the country knew within that short timeframe, too - his operator is famous after all, though not really for any . . . good reasons. Rumours flew here and there, new theories popped up almost every few minutes, and there were whispers of foul play or cowardice.
Worst of all were the whispers of suicide. Blues tried his best to block those out.
As time went on, not a single trace of his operator could be found. Footage from his office revealed that there may have been tampering - it cut out for a solid minute before turning back on, showing nothing but an empty room with a knocked-over chair. Aside from that, there was nothing. No signs of a struggle, the windows weren't even open, and no amount of forensics or the latest cyberworld technology could detect a single thing out of place. It was as if Blues's operator had just vanished into thin air.
The excitement about his operator's disappearance - because there's really no other way to describe all the online discussions or the media reports or the Unsolved Mysteries two-part special - carried on for a full month before eventually dying down. No one really cared about his operator except to complain about him or insult him, or to spread malicious (and probably true) rumours about him, so it's no surprise really.
Blues spent that time sitting in his PET, having been brought to SciLab when no one claimed responsibility for him. He'd get regular visits from his friends - both Navis and humans - but he couldn't bring up the will to leave. Maybe a part of him hoped that, if he stayed in his PET, his operator would come back and everything would go back to normal.
That never happened. He kept an eye on news feeds and everything he could, accessing the internet via SciLab's network to look for any potential leads or sightings, but there was nothing except false claims and rumours.
Half a month later, Netto convinced him to let him carry his PET so he could at least go outside sometimes. Navis may not need sunlight like humans, Netto had said, but seeing him hiding away like this was just painful. So Blues kept up his search, though it didn't consume all of his time like before, as he allowed himself occasional breaks to spend time with his friends and just rest.
Two months after his operator's disappearance, he agreed to become Netto's secondary Navi until a lead could be found.
Three months later, his searching became less of a priority as his new (temporary) life took up most of his attention.
Four months later, he lost any hope of finding his operator.
Ijuuin Enzan would never come home.
(And yet Blues is still counting even now.)
"Netto-kun! Netto-kun, wake up! You're gonna be late!"
There's no response from the pile of blankets on the bed. Rockman waits a full five seconds - a new record - before trying again, turning up his PET's volume by 5%. But aside from a shift in the blankets as Netto turns over, there's still nothing.
" . . . Do you want me to get breakfast ready?" Blues asks.
"Please," Rockman sighs. "I'll keep trying here."
Nodding, Blues activates the home system link and follows it through to the Copyroid's charging station in the main room, then plugs himself in. He's given control of it almost immediately, though it takes a few seconds for the systems to properly initialise and the robot to take on his form.
Once he has proper fingers, he heads into the kitchen area and begins making a simple breakfast. It'll probably take anywhere between five and ten minutes for Rockman to get Netto out of bed, so he makes a simple egg-fried rice and adds in two eggs because Netto doesn't like dry food. Something about it sticking in his throat or feeling weird in his mouth.
He's just getting the coffee started when Netto finally stumbles into the room like one of those zombies from those horror movies Rockman refuses to watch (even though they're completely unrealistic and not at all scary once you realise that).The smell of food is enough to make Netto turn toward the kitchen area, and the moment he's sat at the table, he digs in.
Blues smiles a little and finishes making the coffee. Netto is about halfway through the rice when he's done, and he sets it down on a coaster with a cute cartoon Mettaur wielding a mop instead of a pickaxe. Some cute little souvenir gift from one of Tohru's many onsen trips.
"You are a lifesaver, Blues," Netto mumbles through the rice.
"Don't speak with your mouth full!" Rockman scolds him. "Honestly, how old are you?"
"M' nearly nineteen!"
"Exactly! Far too old to be doing that! Swallow first and then speak."
Netto pointedly swallows and then says, clear as day, "You're such a nagger."
"Netto-kun!"
Laughing, Netto takes a careful sip of the coffee. The way he likes his coffee is very different to how Enzan-sama liked it, and Blues often catches himself about to add in several spoonfuls of sugar before he remembers that Netto doesn't actually like sweetened coffee.
It's odd. He never actually made Enzan-sama any coffee before, and yet it's still instinct to try and make it exactly how his operator would like it. Maybe it's because sweetened coffee seemed to be the one and only thing Enzan-sama actually liked? It was almost like a comfort drink for him, as useful as it was for keeping him awake.
Enzan-sama certainly never had egg-fried rice for breakfast, either. He rarely ever had breakfast, but when he did, it was always one of those small cereal bars, something he could chew on while working. Apparently they're supposed to be good for humans, but they never really made Enzan-sama any healthier - not that he was healthy to begin with. Maybe if he'd had proper breakfast every day, he would've been less frail-bodied.
" . . . Blues?"
Blues jumps, biting down a squeak, and looks up. Netto is looking at him, coffee cup halfway to his lips, and Rockman is also watching him from his perch on the tabletop. It was Rockman who spoke.
"Are you okay?" the blue Navi asks, voice gentle. "You kinda looked like you were spacing out for a minute."
"I'm . . . fine," Blues replies. He tries a smile. "I was just thinking about something."
"About Ijuuin?" Netto boldly asks.
"Netto-kun!" Rockman hisses.
"What? It's not like his name is taboo!"
Before Rockman can protest or scold his operator, Blues decides to respond. "You're right, it was Enzan-sama. I was just . . . comparing his morning routine to yours, is all."
Netto looks like he's about to say something unkind - most likely about Enzan-sama - but a sharp look from Rockman makes him swallow those words and get back to eating. He really should finish up soon, or else he actually will be late. Again.
"It's best not to dwell on things like that for too long," Rockman advises Blues, still gentle for him. "I know you miss him, but we don't wanna see you shut yourself away like before. Though if you need to talk about anything, even him . . ."
Blues's smile feels more genuine now. "I-I know. Thank you, Rockman."
Rockman nods, then turns back to Netto. "As for you, you'd better hurry up and finish breakfast! Papa's not gonna be happy if we're late again!"
"What do you mean again, I haven't been late for two whole weeks!"
"No, but you almost were multiple times, and you actually will be if you don't get a move on soon!"
"Can I just eat in peace for one day, seriously . . ."
As the pair continue arguing, Blues leans against the low wall separating the kitchen area from the rest of the room and can't help but allow his thoughts to drift back to his operator. Is Enzan-sama alive right now? Where is he? What's he doing?
He gave up on finding the answers to those questions a while ago, and yet he still sometimes wonders. He can't really help it.
Netto technically has two jobs. The first is one he's had since he was 11 years old, working to keep the city, country, and often the world safe from strange and sometimes unknown threats as a Net Saver, sometimes using Cross Fusion to fight cyberworld battles in the real world. The second is one he managed to get not long after he turned eighteen - an internship at SciLab, allowing him to work as an assistant and learn directly from Hikari Yuuichirou-hakase, Meijin, and other important scientists.
To be honest, working at SciLab wasn't something Blues ever thought Netto would want to do. It seemed more like he was gonna make a proper career out of being a Net Saver, like Laika has - but instead, it remains as a side-job he does because he enjoys it, while he's putting his main efforts into his internship.
The workload is hard on him, though. Even with Rockman's help, he struggled to keep up at first. Rockman said they managed to find a sort of rhythm eventually, and once Blues managed to settle into his new (temporary) life as Netto's secondary Navi, that rhythm got a lot easier.
It's fun though. Not every project in SciLab is world-changing like the Synchro Chips were and are, but there's rarely ever a dull day.
Unsurprisingly, Netto often ends up helping out in the Battle Chip Development lab. He's even coded and created some Battle Chips that have gone on to be officially listed and ranked in the Net Battling community, and both Blues and Rockman helped to test and troubleshoot them. Sometimes the tests were boring, but other times they were exciting or, very occasionally, absolutely hilarious as some random bug made itself known in the weirdest or most ridiculous manner possible.
That one time Rockman got turned an obnoxious shade of yellow because of an ink-based Battle Chip comes to mind. It took Netto an entire hour to figure out why that happened, but it was funny enough that it got made into a Gag Chip, much to Rockman's immediate despair.
Which sort of brings them to their current little predicament.
"Netto-kun . . ." Rockman groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This is why I told you to analyse the data properly before implementing it."
"I'm sorry!" Netto looks torn between panicking and laughing. "I didn't think it would be this strong!"
"Please tell me this isn't permanent-nya," Blues begs, tail twitching from side-to-side in anxiety.
Yep, you read that right. He currently has a tail.
"The good news is, it's not permanent," Netto tells him.
" . . . And what's the bad news-nya?"
Netto presses his lips together.
"Just tell him," Rockman sighs. Blues trills in worry.
"Uh . . . you're gonna have to wait for it to wear off, which could take anywhere between an hour and a whole day."
Blues yowls in dismay, pressing his hands - paws? - against his head. The ears on his helmet lie flat and his whiskers twitch and droop.
It's like he's been infected with that ridiculous Cat Virus all over again. Which he may as well have been, since the Battle Chip data Netto was trying to code uses that exact virus as a base. Thank the makers there's no danger of actually turning into a full cat like there was last time, though. That would have made this absolutely unbearable.
"I wonder if the coding still worked," Netto muses, peering at Blues with considering eyes.
"Netto-kun, he's literally a cat, I'm pretty sure it worked," Rockman deadpans.
"Physically, yeah! But this Battle Chip was meant to give the user cat-like abilities, so I'm wondering if it still worked, and if it did, how I can tweak the code to make it work the way I want it to."
" . . . I guess there's no harm in giving it a few tests. What do you think, Blues?"
Blues trills again. "It'd be nice to do something other than sit and wait for this to wear off . . ."
"Then it's decided!" Netto cheerfully declares, clapping his hands together. "Lemme boot up the testing area's obstacle course and some Dummy Navis. We'll start easy and work our way up to the higher levels so we can figure out the limits, okay?"
"Okay!"
As it turns out, the whole thing is a lot more fun than Blues was expecting. He's more agile and nimble than normal - which really says something considering he's agile and nimble to start off with - and so flexible he can actually get through some obstacles that even child-sized Navis wouldn't be able to get through without blasting something.
Thanks to his big, clumsy paws, he can't actually use any weapon-class Chips, nor can he use his standard Blues Sword, but his claws do some damage on their own and are strong enough to let him climb walls with relative ease. Netto immediately takes note of that specific ability, since it wasn't one he expected and it's pretty interesting, and they spend a good half hour exploring its limits and potential uses both in and out of battle.
It takes about two hours for the transformation to wear off, but that time practically flew by and Blues is a little surprised to discover that he didn't really mind it all that much. Not even when he finds out that Netto took a whole bunch of pictures and videos and is gonna send them to all his friends.
Blues goes into sleep-mode that night feeling accomplished and happy. After all, he did more than usual today, and almost everything he did was helpful to Netto. Being able to do stuff to help his operator is all he's ever wanted.
And then he wakes up in a pale and featureless void.
He stares at the seemingly-infinite plane, logic processor trying to make sense of it. The fact that he knows he wasn't here when he went into sleep-mode doesn't help - nor does the fact that a quick system check reveals that he's almost certainly still in sleep-mode. So he's either somehow awake and not awake at the same time, or there's something else going on and he has no idea what that could be.
Did his memory data get corrupted somehow? Sleep-mode is one of the easiest ways for Navis to shut down and process the day's data, so maybe that Cat Virus Battle Chip messed up his program.
Suddenly, without any warning whatsoever, he realises he's not alone.
It's not like he sees anything - it's just a feeling, one so strong it can't be anything but true. So he takes a deep breath to steel himself, then slowly turns around.
There's someone sitting nearby, their back to him. A human. An achingly-familiar human.
He recognises those clothes instantly. The red jacket. The green pants. Even if the clothes were different, he'd know that hair anywhere - white on black, the white sort of shaped like an eggshell, and cut short despite a silent wish to grow it out.
" . . . Enzan-sama?" Blues breathes, clutching his hands to his chest.
His operator - his real operator, because who else could it be? - twitches and looks over his shoulder. Those eyes confirm it; he's never seen any other human with such brilliant blue eyes.
"Hi rahhe munax," Enzan-sama says, in a weary and shaky voice. "What kind of . . . What sick joke is this, to make me see him of all people? Haven't you tormented me enough?"
Blues blinks, confused, and then his operator turns away and curls in on himself, gripping his hair. He's . . . trembling.
"Stop it," Enzan-sama whispers. He sounds almost broken. "Please. Just- just give me one dreamless sleep. Is that too much to ask?"
This is . . . Well. Blues isn't sure what this is, whether this is a dream - which should be impossible for a Navi - or something else entirely. But here's his operator, after just over six months of not seeing him, and even though all this stuff Enzan-sama is saying is really, really worrying, a big part of him just wants to grab him and never let him go ever again.
Instead, he approaches and sits on Enzan-sama's left. He crosses his legs and places his hands in his lap, looking at them without speaking.
Somehow, this silence doesn't really feel . . . awkward. Maybe because it's a dream, even if Navis aren't supposed to be able to dream. He's not even sure if Enzan-sama is actually here - but he has a feeling this is his operator, in some form. Because there's no way he could have imagined Enzan-sama acting this way, even in his subconscious.
He also would never have been so calm if this was reality, but still.
" . . . You're not real," Enzan-sama finally says, after about a minute or so. He raises his head and stares into the endless void, eyes bleak. "You can't be."
"Why not?" Blues asks.
"Because he hates me."
Blues frowns a little. "Who hates you?"
The answer to that could be 'anyone' or even 'everyone', but this seems more specific. Enzan-sama has never cared about people hating him before. Or he's never been this obvious about it, if he did.
"Blues," Enzan-sama whispers, and it takes Blues a moment to realise he's not just saying his name.
"I . . . I don't hate you," he says softly.
"That's because you're not the real Blues. If you were, you would. But you're not real, so you don't hate me, because this is just- it's just . . . It's a way for the gods to torment me. To remind me that I deserve everything that's happened."
Blues's core sinks. "What happened?"
"Why are you bothering to ask? You already know."
"I don't, really. I'm . . . I'm real, I promise."
Enzan-sama buries his face in his arms. "Stop it. I've already fallen for that too much to be tricked again. The second I start to believe you, you'll just . . . You'll laugh at me for being so stupid and gullible and . . . and . . ."
"How do I prove I'm real?" Blues asks quietly.
" . . . You can't." Enzan-sama curls up more, gripping his upper arms with his hands. "Because you're not. You- if you were real, you wouldn't be able to recognise me."
That doesn't make much sense, but then again, neither does anything that's happening right now. Blues still isn't sure whether or not Enzan-sama is real, after all.
But something tells him this is important. That proving he's real is important.
"Why wouldn't I be able to recognise you?" he asks.
"I'm- I'm not human," Enzan-sama whispers. "A-and I'm a monster."
Something in Blues's core seizes up and his vision blurs with sudden tears.
He's heard what some humans - and Navis - have to say about his operator. The things they call him, both to his face and behind his back. A Navi-abuser, a spoiled brat, a bully, an idiot . . .
A monster.
And, again, none of that had ever bothered Enzan-sama before. Or he hadn't let on that it did. But whatever he's been doing for the last six months, wherever he's been, clearly it's affecting him now. And- and maybe some would say he deserves it, that Blues should think he deserves it, but how can anyone deserve to be called a monster? How can anyone deserve to believe that they are?
"Look at me," Enzan-sama goes on, unaware of Blues's despairing thoughts. "I'm- I have fur. I have a tail. I'm a cat, Blues."
And the despair cuts off and is immediately replaced with confusion.
"Um . . . you look like a human to me," he points out.
For the first time, that seems to make Enzan-sama pause. He looks up, brows furrowed, and actually meets Blues's eyes - or at least his shades. And then just as quickly looks away again, because Enzan-sama avoids eye contact as long as he can get away with it.
But upon looking away, Enzan-sama's eyes are drawn to his own hands, and he stares at them like he's never seen them before.
Then the void flickers. Becomes dark for a split second. Both Blues and Enzan-sama look up and around, puzzled, and then it flickers a second time.
"Enzan-sama-" Blues begins, turning to his operator, but that's when the void breaks apart.
Just before the dream, or whatever it is, ends, he sees a brief glimpse of dark fur and terrible scars. And then everything goes black.
"He's waking up!"
"He is!?"
"Blues? Hey, can you hear me?"
Neither of those voices belong to his operator. He keeps his eyes closed for a few moments, desperate to keep seeing that last image in order to make sense of it, but the memory data is oddly corrupted. Or it seems like it is, anyway. The images are fuzzy and he can barely make out any actual details aside from spoken words.
"Blues!"
Suppressing a sigh, he opens his eyes.
The first thing he sees is the lid of a recovery pod. The glass is transparent - beyond that, he's able to see one of the labs in SciLab, and also the faces of Rockman and Netto leaning over him. It looks like Rockman is using the Copyroid this time.
"Blues?" Netto asks softly, placing a hand onto the glass. "How're you feeling?"
" . . . What happened?" Blues wonders. Because, honestly, he doesn't actually know.
"You went into sleep-mode last night and then . . ." Rockman bites his lip. "In the morning, you just . . . You wouldn't wake up, no matter what we did. So we took you here, but even Papa and Meijin-san couldn't figure out what was wrong. We just had to wait . . ."
"Oh . . . What- what time is it?"
"It's afternoon," Netto replies.
"Two-seventeen PM," Rockman adds, more helpfully.
Blues blinks. "I . . . R-really? I was . . . It was that long? It only felt like a few minutes . . ."
"Uh . . . what did?" Netto asks, looking hopelessly confused. "Sleep-mode?"
Blues opens his mouth to explain, and then abruptly realises just how big this is. He gasps and tries to get up, slamming his hands into the glass and startling Rockman and Netto.
"Let- let me out, please!" he exclaims. "I-I need to tell you something and it's really, really, really important!"
Rockman and Netto exchange puzzled and worried glances, but they allow him out anyway - especially since, technically, there's nothing actually wrong with him.
He's back in his PET within a minute or so, and he quickly activates the hologram and lands on Netto's offered hand. Looking at them both while he's the only one this small would be intimidating any other time, but right now, he's too charged with energy from that . . . dream? To be bothered in the slightest.
"I saw Enzan-sama!" he tells them.
Neither of them look shocked. Or happy. Or unhappy, for that matter. Just more confused.
"What, like . . . while you were processing your memory data?" Rockman asks.
"No, it wasn't a memory! I- I had a dream, and I was-"
"A dream?" Netto interrupts, much to his frustration. "But NetNavis don't dream. Unless someone invented a dream program when I wasn't looking."
"N-no, wait-"
"Maybe the Cat Virus data messed with his program somehow," Rockman suggests.
Netto hums, frowning. "Papa said his systems were clean, though."
"That's not-"
"We might have missed something," Rockman points out. "We should run another scan and-"
Blues finally has enough.
"LISTEN TO ME!" he screams, making them both jump. "I know NetNavis don't dream, but I really did have a dream, and I saw Enzan-sama! We talked and he was really sad and he didn't think I was real and he called himself a m-monster and- a-and . . . and . . ."
"Blues-" Rockman begins, looking sad, but Blues interrupts because he's not done.
"And he's- he's not human anymore! He's some kinda- um- I-I dunno what, a cat maybe? That's what he said and I think I saw it, right before the dream ended, but he looked like a human before that, so I dunno what was going on there-"
"Blues!" Netto says loudly, and now he shuts up, nearly flinching. "Sorry, I didn't mean to . . . You were rambling and . . . Sorry."
" . . . You guys don't believe me, do you?" Blues asks, slumping. "Even- even after all the impossible things we've seen . . . All the impossible things you've done . . ."
"We have seen and done some impossible things," Rockman agrees, crouching so they're eye-level and sounding gentle like he's talking to a little kid. "But . . . I don't know if talking to a missing person in a dream is at all possible, even for us. Especially for a NetNavi. Maybe . . . I mean, you were thinking about him yesterday, and then Netto-kun used the Cat Virus Battle Chip on you, so . . ."
"You think that made him imagine the whole thing?" Netto guesses.
"Something like that. The fact that he wouldn't wake up is concerning, but that may have been a part of it too."
"B-but . . ." Blues tries, only to trail off when Rockman gives him a sympathetic smile.
"I know you feel like it was real," he says softly. "I . . . I guess a part of me wants it to be real too, because you miss him so much, even if he wasn't . . . a good person. I do kinda get how you feel, actually. One time I thought I had a dream too, and it was really scary, only it turned out it wasn't a dream, but a memory that someone else implanted into me to hurt me."
" . . . I know," Blues whispers, wrapping his arms around himself. "Y-you told me about it. But this . . . this isn't the same thing, I . . ."
"I'm sorry, Blues," Rockman sighs, giving him a gentle pat.
"How about we go to the arcade tomorrow?" Netto suggests, lifting him up so he's eye-level with him. Rockman straightens, leaning on Netto. "We'll get enough coins to go on every single Navi-assisted game and we'll completely demolish every single one of 'em. Sound good?"
" . . . Okay," Blues says quietly.
They didn't believe him. But . . . it had to be real, right? Even if it was a dream? He could never have imagined Enzan-sama acting like that, never in a million years.
