Mega Man Ж: New Dawn
Prologue
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any character from the Battle Network franchise and make no claim of such.
A lone Navi peruses an archive of data files from the defunct company Interdyne Technologies when one catches his eye.
The year is 2048. In our world, the computer network known as 'the Net' is an integral part of life. Our lives are aided by artificially intelligent beings called 'NetNavis' that help us use the Net.
At least…they would have…
37 years ago, a major catastrophe happened in our world. When I was younger, a terror organization was causing chaos on the Net. They were known as the 'WWW', or 'World 3'. However, through the efforts of a talented and brave individual, the WWW was thwarted time and again. Eventually their leader was reformed and it seemed like the end…but it was not. 2 years later, when I was 13, the WWW reappeared under the command of 'Egen', a former lieutenant from the original WWW. This new WWW had considerably different motives than the original, the only thing being the same in the name. This WWW was focused on Net domination rather than eradication as Egen believed controlling the Net was the way to ensure a perfect future, not its destruction. Egen was a master NetNavi researcher and technician. He had an understanding of NetNavi technology that rivaled even Yuichiro Hikari, one of the most knowledgeable men on the subject of NetNavis in the world and…my father…
For years, Egen had been researching NetNavi duplication; the idea that a separate copy of the NetNavi with its own artificial intelligence could be created and used on the Net. Up to this point, the NetNavi system had been governed by an ID link to its operator in order to prevent the spread of unoperated Navis. Navis with IDs that were the same as other Navis would be declined access to the Net. Navis have their IDs assigned at creation and it cannot be changed as doing so would entirely destabilize the Navi and cause it to cease functioning. However, Egen was successful in circumventing the system, allowing him to create multiples of the same Navi which he would be able to operate all at once. This would lead to disaster when Egen finally unleashed his NetNavi army in a massive attack against the Net. Around the world, WWW operated Navis and their clones began pouring into the Net, attempting to overthrow every server they could.
By this point in my life I was accepted as an Official NetBattler in recognition of my unofficial service to the NetBattler cause. I was on the frontlines of this battle against this new WWW. It was my duty to protect the network that our daily lives relied on as it was my Navi's, . The struggle was long and difficult but eventually it looked like we had pushed back the WWW. We had reached the final battle with the remaining NetNavi forces of Egen and Egen himself. However, this would prove to be our greatest mistake.
During the struggle on the WWW server, Egen detonated a 'cyber bomb' that was designed to separate the Navis from their operators by severing the communication between the Navi and the interface device known as the 'PET'. In an instant, all communication I had with Megaman had ceased, as had everyone else who was present at the battle. After the first cyber bomb was detonated, several other cyber bombs went off across the Net, severing ties between the PET and their Navis across the board. With a single action, Egen had managed to isolate any and all resistance to his forces from their operators. Without operators, Navis cannot receive commands or use Battle Chips. This…is where we lost…
Egen's forces had shielded themselves from the effect of the bomb and went on to decimate the now–stranded Navi army with ease. Many Navis, including those of my friends, were callously deleted forever. Even Navis who were not involved in the conflict were deleted without care by Egen's squadrons. Those that remained never were able to jack out so they were lost in the vast reaches of the Net forever, permanently separated from their operators. I never saw Megaman after that day. I don't know what became of him during that battle, or if he even survived. 35 years later, the WWW is now the sole proprietor of the Net. Due to the world's reliance on the Net, the WWW has become a global superpower. The Navis and operators unaffected by the cyber bomb attacks attempted to strike back at the WWW but their efforts were met with defeat time and again. The WWW's control of the Net is unquestioned. All NetNavis now are required to register with the WWW's central server for permanent tracking both on the Net and inside the PET unit. Information flowing across the Net is carefully monitored by the WWW and censored where they deem appropriate. Heavy taxes are levied on all Net transactions in the cyber world and Battle Chips are regulated meticulously here in the real world. The rogue Navis who were not deleted following the cyber bomb incident are constantly being hunted by the WWW's extermination forces to ensure they are deleted. Their numbers are few now and they rarely travel over the open lines of the Net. Viruses are rampant, many of which were put there by the WWW, turning the Net into a veritable wasteland one cannot traverse without proper preparation. However, information still has to flow so Net usage remains a regular task for any NetNavi operator.
I am working as a network scientist these days. I despise the WWW and only work in the field to continue the progress of my father, Dr. Hikari. I still have the PET that I used to operate Megaman, as a sign of hope that someday we might finally be reunited. Every day I search for a sign that he is still intact and that someday we will fight together again. I know that he has not given up so easily and will continue to resist the WWW until the day he is deleted.
Lan Hikari, Networking Systems Researcher of Interdyne
"Lan…if you only knew…" the Navi said quietly after he had finished reading. He closed the data file and returned it to the archive.
To Be Continued…
(Author's Note: I don't exactly know how much of this I'll get written but I wanted to put down some ideas to kind of get the flow going. I wouldn't mind suggestions and also I'd like to know if I violated any major continuity issues as I have never actually finished a Battle Network game before.)