Notes: The is the prequel to my first story "He Still Lives In the Cyber World" where the events that occurred before and led up to that will be told. Most of the canons I used are heavily based on the Rockman. exe Battle Network Japanese manga by Ryo Takamisaki, with a bit taken from the original Japanese anime "Rockman. exe" (Axess, Stream, Beast Beast+).
Warnings: Yaoi/Shounen-ai, Twincest (?), Canon with Headcanons.
Cast: Yuichiro Hikari, Netto Hikari, Rockman. exe (Saito Hikari), Eguchi Meijin, Enzan Ijyuin, Blues (more to be added later)
Disclaimer: Rockman. exe "Battle Network" belongs to Capcom & Ryo Takamisaki. I own nothing except this derivative fanwork that I don't profit from.
Story #03:
"The Secret of the Ultimate Program"
"The thing that makes Rockman so special… the Ultimate Program…"
Yuichiro Hikari knew this day would come.
He knew Netto would grow up and eventually ask questions children who haven't grown up don't.
"Tell me, Papa.What is it really?"
And he had prepared for this day. Except that, he didn't expect this day to come so soon.
It was hard to believe, but Netto Hikari was suddenly a grown up in the body of a fourteen-year-old.
Of course, it wasn't the first time that he was probed about what could be considered his most controversial, if not greatest invention. Answering the people who had the authority to pry was one thing. But answering the same question from his own son was another thing altogether.
Yuichiro Hikari has always defended his top secret "Ultimate Program" by not keeping it a secret at all. He believed that the best way to keep something a secret was to put it out in the open.
Every conference that demanded him to explain it, he would always give a very simple, straightforward answer:
"Rockman's Ultimate Program is exactly that; a Navi's heart. I simply programmed it to bond with a human."
"Then why can't you make more of it? We need more Navis with this program."
"I agree. I think every Net Police Battler should have it. If the Net Police gained any knowledge from what Netto Hikari and Rockman has displayed in the battlefield, it's that this Ultimate Program they have could be a boon to the force when it comes to fighting criminals operating in the Cyber World."
"Or, adversely, a weapon in the wrong hands. That is why we need to know everything about it. How to make it work for us, and how to stop it in the event that it is used against us."
"It isn't really all that complicated. Yet, it isn't simple, either." Yuichiro would calmly reply to the queries thrown his way. "It isn't complicated to understand its core. Rockman grew up with Netto and this is why their bond is strong. The Ultimate Program is a learning program, a highly adaptive and interactive type of artificial intelligence that feeds off of its experiences and interactions with everything, especially its NetOp. If you take Rockman. exe away from Netto, with time, there's a possibility that he may lose the ability to function like a real human. The same concepts apply to Blues. exe and the renegade Forte. exe who have similar prototype versions of what we now know as the Ultimate Program. They have formed a very special bond with their NetOps, understanding and learning everything through their eyes, and it is their NetOps investment in their NetNavi that allowed the optimization of the Ultimate Program to begin with."
"So, what you're saying is, that there would be no Ultimate Program if there was no 'ultimate' NetOp?"
"Precisely."
"Take Searchman. exe, as an example. Laika is undoubtedly one of the most competent NetOps on the planet, but his interactions with his NetNavi are limited to Net Battling as an elite Net Police of Sharro. Therefore, Searchman. exe's Ultimate Program is customized to those specific functions and his attitude is a reflection of his NetOp, nothing more and nothing less, which is why they were initially referred to as 'alter-egos'. As it is with Princess Pride's Knightman. exe. Knightman's primary objective is the princess' safety and security. The Ultimate Program responds accordingly to the needs and falls within the demands of its real world counterpart."
"But even so, Rockman. exe has distinct advantages that have never manifested in all the others fitted with the program. How do you explain that? Surely, this was not entirely spurred by his NetOp?"
"The Ultimate Program, as I have stated before, is not perfected yet. Rockman. exe is a happy fluke. And my theory is that Netto Hikari's very unique demands and needs, or should I say, 'relationship' with Rockman is what quite possibly triggered his Ultimate Program to 'evolve' beyond the mold. Netto Hikari has always treated Rockman as… well, as his own brother, never even once thinking that his NetNavi could be anything less. Even the closest NetOps and NetNavis in history hardly ever achieved that kind of intimacy, mutual respect, and love. I'm inclined to believe that somehow, this unconventional and very intimate bond between them is why Rockman's Ultimate Program was able to reach revolutionary heights that continue to exceed even my own very optimistic initial projections."
This was perhaps the only lie in everything Yuichiro Hikari had put forth for his audience to dissect. The truth of the matter was that he had expectations beyond that -"optimistic" being a grave understatement, expectations far too unrealistic and indecent for one who has allied himself with science. If the world knew what Yuichiro Hikari was truly trying to achieve, many would unquestionably label him mad. But he was a man who inherited not only the anachronistic genius but also the boundless vision of the legendary Tadashi Hikari; if Yuichiro Hikari wanted to use science to do magic and make miracles happen, he may very well be gifted with all the talent and tools he will ever need to pull it off. In a way, he was far more dangerous than Regal and Wily combined.
The conference hall was all abuzz for a few minutes, discussing their options, after which the head of the committee finally spoke up.
"We need to do an extensive study on Rockman and Netto together then, as soon as possible. Now, would be preferable. If you could bring them-"
"I'm sorry," Yuichiro breathed out. "I'm afraid I can't."
"What? What do you mean?"
Some of the men in attendance, feeling threatened by his blunt riposte, have already gotten to their feet, promising verbal hostility.
"Gentlemen, please, calm down." Yuchiro pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with unfazed equanimity. "What I mean is, Rockman is not -and never was- my property, and it is not my position to bring them here upon your orders. He was a gift to my son, Netto, for his fourth birthday and I've never asserted any right over him since. Rockman. exe belongs to Netto Hikari now, and I'm afraid, you'll have to ask Netto for permission for what you want."
"Are you mocking us, Professor Hikari?" The leader spat, quite sufficiently outraged, as the rest of the congregation broke into both vehement protests and hushed objections. "He's a fourteen-year-old! He's not old enough to make such decisions, and you, as his father-"
"He was twelve years old when you appointed him Net Police and put him in the special Net Police force. He has also –and I am sure we will all agree on this- saved both our world and the Cyber World from apocalyptic disaster on more than one occasion, which is far more than any of us should have normally expected or burdened any twelve-year-old with. And yet, because only he and Rockman could achieve what we could not, we conveniently overlooked the fact that he was a mere child. Our only excuse is that we had no other choice in the matter. Netto Hikari and Rockman are fourteen-year-olds now and they have done their duty without complaint, in the process giving up more than just a life of normalcy that any child should be enjoying. They have -and continue to- risk their lives for the whole world. Are you suggesting that now, all of a sudden, it is the right thing to do to overlook everything that they've ever done and bypass everything they've ever proven and earned, just because Netto Hikari is only a boy of fourteen?"
The silence that rose up in response was deafening.
"With all due respect, gentlemen. If I may ask, to further drive my point- would you put forward the same argument if, in place of Netto Hikari, we were talking about, say… the vice-president of IPC instead, Enzan Ijyuin, who is only one year older than my son and yet assumed that position at age thirteen but has to this very day managed his father's company in a way that proves his worth as its successor, with no room for doubt?" When no one still dared speak, he continued. "These young boys, regardless of age, have proven themselves saviours and I believe that the least we can do to show our gratitude for everything they've done is to respect them and their rights. We owe them as much, if not so much more. Is there anyone here who disagrees?"
Yuichiro allowed the men gathered around the table to have their reluctant exchanges, tails between their legs. After some minutes they finally settled down albeit with somewhat begrudging looks on their faces.
"We've decided," Their leader declared, quite sourly, "that we have no problem doing it your way. We will ask the boy personally for his permission to conduct this study. I'm sure that being the sensible boy that he is, we'll have no problems and he'll concede in the name of science."
The corner of Yuichiro's lips tugged up ever so slightly at that. "Unfortunately, he won't. Or- I should say that… he can't."
"What?!" The other man sputtered. "W-what do you mean 'he can't'? Professor Hikari, we have no time for these games! If you would please, stop wasting our time and have someone contact the boy at SciLabs right now so that we can confer with him to-"
"I'm sorry, sir. As I've said-
"He can't…"
-x-
"Because-
"My son…"
The metronomic blips of the cardiac monitor, the faint rising and falling rib cage, and the steady passage of air through the nasal cannula and face mask of the resting patient are the only indications of life left offsetting the deathly stillness in the room as the nurse wheeled out her tray after her routine check.
Everything about the hospital room and the juxtaposed hospital beds gleaned nothing out of the ordinary. But upon closer observation, one would realize that the cardiac monitor's pulses and the sounds of rhythmic breathing were actually coming from two separate patients instead of one. Two perfectly synchronized heartbeats. Two perfectly synchronized breaths. Even their brain activity which was being monitored and recorded from a remote location was a perfect match down to every electrical impulse.
To any outsider made privy to the phenomenon, it would appear no less than remarkable if not downright freakish –impossible even.
But to the limited few who knew who they were, what they were… everything was as it should be. Nothing was amiss.
Nothing, except the tragic condition they were currently in, which even then, was shared break even between them.
"…Netto…
"…is in a coma."
To be continued...
Notes:
Something I drafted a long time ago and felt like fleshing out now. Expect updates to be slow, though, because I am working on a lot of GohanxPiccolo fics and buried underneath tons of schoolwork.
As always, updates may be sooner at AO3 than here.