A dark Navi growled to himself, hiding in the darkness. A spasm of pain traveled through his lean frame, leaving him shaking.

Why did I do this? Cursing quietly, he lowered himself gingerly to the floor, letting himself slump down. It was a posture that would have astonished any of his underlings. To them, he was death incarnate.

It was a stupid question, though. He knew exactly why he was doing this… to ensure the existence of his kind. He was determined that, if he was deleted, he would not be the last Super Navi.

Whether it was wise was another question entirely, but it was far too late to consider that. Forte gritted his teeth as another spasm shook him, resting his head in his hands. He hadn't realized it would be this painful.

Spawning his program had been easy enough. It had taken a great deal of energy, siphoned out of the surroundings and stolen from deleted viruses. Not that anyone would notice… and if they did, he could delete them easily enough.

But now, the new pattern was breaking free, pulling away from him. That was what caused the pain. Forte grit his teeth, and concentrated, focusing all of his attention to the matrix of the new program. It was time to customize it, force it to conform to what HE wanted. And it was resisting; he could feel that. Still, it would only take a little more time and-

"Hey!"

The shout shattered his concentration like a piece of fragile crystal. Forte's head jerked upwards, and he stared at the intruding Navis. Netbattlers, he noted absently… and started to shake with rage.

"You…" That was the only word the second Netbattler got out, before his voice turned into a scream. Primal power washed over both of them, searing their data into nothingless in a split second. But it was long enough for them to feel the pain.

Damn them damn them DAMN THEM! Lips pulled away from teeth, as Forte raged silently. It was too late, his chance was gone. As the final pain of seperation seized him, he spared a brief moment to wish he had deleted them more slowly.

Then his world was nothing but pain.

hr

When Forte finally opened his eyes again, things had changed.

It was a change within him, an immediately obvious one. He felt… hollowed out, empty and drained. Also slightly bereft. Forte frowned slightly at that, as he sat up. He hadn't expected he would miss the teasing awareness of the new program, hiding within himself.

Forte stood, floating slowly over to that new program, regarding it with empty red eyes.

The new program was lying on his back, sleeping peacefully. The face was almost a perfect copy of his own, but somehow… finer. More delicate. Forte frowned, as he examined the features. Perhaps they were… younger? That wasn't quite right. He seemed almost-

He?

Forte glanced down sharply as the thought occurred to him, and he saw what the poncho had momentarily concealed. Shapely breasts that rose and fell with the deep, slow breathes the new Navi took. He glanced back up at the face, and took a deep breath, as he understood the difference. Feminized. These were his features, refined to look female. And it was quite a beautiful effect. Forte felt faintly uneasy about that, and shook his head. This was an unexpected development, certainly nothing he wanted… but not necessarily damning. If this was the worst effect of the break in his concentration, the new Navi would be adequate.

There was a soft sigh as the new Navi stirred, and slowly opened her red eyes. She stared up at him, then slowly sat up, looking around curiously. To her, everything was new. She finally turned her gaze back to the dark Navi floating before her.

"Hello?" She said softly, her voice soft and low, for a female. She stood, and slowly floated off her feet… Forte blinked, then smiled slightly to himself as he noticed another difference. She was tiny. Barely five feet high, she just barely reached the middle of his chest. "Who are you?"

That startled him, although Forte gave no obvious sign beside a narrowing of the eyes. She should have had his memories… she should know everything. Apparently, the changes had been more than merely cosmetic. Still…

"I am Forte.EXE. You are my creation." He said, matter of factly, as she gazed at him curiously.

"Oh." There was a momentary pause for deep thought, then the new Navi spoke up again. "What's my name?"

Forte blinked, then stared at her. He'd never considered that. She stared back, her softer, feminized face confused and wondering. She knew nothing, none of the things he'd wanted to give her. No preconceptions, nothing to guide her but her own experiences. Forte gazed at her, and tried to think of a name. Right now, she seemed dazed and uncertain, almost as if she was in a…

"Dream. You are Dream.EXE." He stated, on a sudden impulse. The new Navi nodded slowly, her wide red eyes fixed on his face.

"Dream." She repeated, testing the name. "That's nice. I think I like it." Then she hesitated. "What… should I do now?"

"Follow me." And Forte turned away, floating deeper into the Undernet. The new Navi floated silently behind him, gazing around wonderingly at the world she was now a part of…