Disclaimer: I do not own Rockman.EXE sadly.
The First Synchronizer
Thoughts "blah"
Chapter 2
The just a few days after Duo finally made an appearance to the NetSaviors Link is traveling through the net after having bought a few battlechips. "Thank God you get Zenny for deleting viruses. I'd be broke without them around.", the white navi thinks. "Maybe I should go keep an eye on those NetSaviors? At the very least it would give me something to do. This boredom is killing me.", Link said to himself before he spotted something that all teenagers love. "On second thought this is a much better place to go.", he said logging into an Arcade's mainframe.
In the very same Arcade is Chisao Oyama who was currently trying to beat his big brother's score on a Dance Revolution game. "NOOOOOO!", he shouted as he missed the desired score because his feet slipped, "I was so close...only twenty more points and I could've made it."
Nearby Link had watched the entire and couldn't help but laugh at the small boy's antics. "Poor kid. I can't really say much because I can't dance at all. Saddly even those really old styles like 'The Robot' are too difficult for me. Sucks having two left feet, but then again it spares me of embarassment like this.", he thought watching a small group of Chisao's so called friends laugh at him for his failure. "Yeah...some friends they are.", Link mutters as he glares at the young children.
"You don't even have a NetNavi Chisao.", one of the little boys said.
The young Oyama held his head down in shame as another boy spoke, "That's right. You can't even Netbattle without one of those."
"But I...I", Chisao began trailing off knowing that they were right. He lacked a navi and missed out on a lot of fun because of it. His older brother was always running off to help Rockman and the others while all he could do was watch from the sidelines. "I wish that I had a navi of my own.", he thought.
-Link's POV-
"How dare they treat their 'friend' like that!", I thought wishing that I had brought my robotic body with me. I tried to ignore them thinking that it just wasn't my problem to deal with, but they only increased the viciousness of their insults.
I can't stand it anymore. I've got to either do something or leave. "I'll leave and find a more hospitable environment to entertain myself in...but first...", I thought locating their connections to the arcade's mainframe. Standing in plain sight are the NetOp's NetNavis and they are watching the insults being flung at the helpless little boy.
One of the navi's was actually encouraging her NetOp. "Yeah, you tell him Kikyo.", the little yellow navi shouted before getting deleted. Thankfully the NetOp's were too focused on their attack on Chisao and they left their PETs on a nearby counter. "Now that was stupid of them.", I thought turning my attention to the other four navis.
The one that looks like a cheap knockoff of Gutsman.EXE with goth color scheme charges at my summoning his default weapon. "A weak CyberSword? Now I feel really insulted.", I thought catching the flimsy blade with my clawed hand and shattering the blade. As the fragments fell to the cyber floor I snatched one out of the air and drove it straight into the navi's heart.
"NetNavi...Deleted." came the computerized voice that I've rarely heard lately.
"Being a 'Synchronizer' has it's perks." I thought feeling a Hi-Cannon shoot me in the back. Thanks to whomever created this program the blast only felt like somebody slapping me in the back. It didn't do any real damage, it just popped my back which I had been trying to do all day.
"Aura Bombs!", I shouted showering the entire area we were in with one of my default attacks. As I stood now with the block in place I could easily delete weak navis like these, but against someone like Forte or Slur I was history. The blue orbs struck their targets deleting the remaining three navis, but it also got the attention of the area's Administrators. "Guess it's time to go." I thought logging out.
Once outside of the Arcade's site Link runs into a bulky navi, one that he immediately recognizes. "Sorry about that.", he says before trying to get away without making the navi suspicious. He just about made a clean getaway when the manager's navi comes rushing out of the Arcade shouting about a white navi deleting several 'innocent' navis. "Oh crap, you've gotta be kidding me.", he thought seeing both Blues and Rockman coming out of the site as well.
The navi quickly spots Link and points the NetSavior navis towards him. "It was that navi right there I tell ya. He deleted those poor guys without reason, our cameras caught the whole thing. Stop him, don't let him get away.", he shouts attracting the attention of all the nearby navis.
Gutsman to put his overly large hand on Link's should firmly stopping the navi from going any further. "You not going anywhere...Guts...Guts."
Rockman and Blues start running over to where the strange white navi is being held by Gutsman. "Becareful Blues. We don't know who he is, what he wants, or who's navi he is.", Enzan cautioned.
"Rockman can handle this guy with no problem. If you're worried Enzan just leave him to us.", Netto Hikari boosted. The young Hikari was as prideful as ever and he really didn't think that thing new navi was anything to worry about. He finally got a good look at the strange navi and just kinda stared at him for a bit before ordering his older brother to detain the criminal navi.
"Man that Netto is even more arrogant than I ever thought that he was. Sad thing is that he was one of my favorite characters too...", Link thought hearing the younger Hikari speak. "Sorry about this but I don't have time to be arrested.", Link says cheerfully before flinging Gutsman into both Blues and Rockman. He quickly takes flight hoping to escape before they have a chance to recover. He takes off rushing through the net heading back towards the robotic body.
Blues and Rockman quickly catch up to the flying navi trying to bring him down. "Sonic Boom!", Blues shouts as he launches an attack at the navi's wings. Catching the white navi off guard the two NetSavior navi's surround him with their weapons drawn. "I would recommend that you don't try something like that again.", Blues says walking around to Link's face, "You're under arrest. Don't do anything foolish and you won't be deleted."
"Let's get him to NetSavior HQ.", called Enzan through his PET.
Link knows that at present he can't handle both navis and that really bothers him. "If they are allowed to get me back to their HQ they'll find out that I don't have a NetOp and probably delete me like they tried to do to Forte.", the white navi thought as Blues pulled him to his feet.
Rockman walks closer and for a brief second locks eyes with Link. "He feels so different from a normal navi...he feels like...like something that I should recognize.", Rockman thought before Link looked away and refused to meet eyes with Rockman again. The blue navi tried several times, but everytime Link would turn his head quickly.
Blues and the two NetOps had been watching the white navi's reactions which confused them. The navi was acting really weird, but familiar in a way. Blues turned the navi's face to him and asked, "How is it that a small navi like you is strong enough to toss Gutsman like he weighed nothing?"
Getting annoyed with constantly being reffered to as just 'small navi' or 'navi' in general Link snapped, "I have a name...It's Link. Use it."
The red navi chuckles at Link's teenager like behavior, "Well Link...How is it that you did that?"
"I don't really know.", Link replies. The other two navis look at him certain that he's lying when Gutsman manages to walk over to them. Link cheerfully asks, "What's up flubber gut?"
"G-U-T-S!", says the bulky navi through clenched teeth. "Gutsman delete puny white navi, Guts...Guts...Guts"
"Gutsman needs to grow a brain and stop referring to himself in the third person sense. That's seriously going to make people question your state of mind. Ya know I've always wondered if a navi could be insane.", countered Link knowing what was about to happen next.
As expected Gutsman was furious that this tiny white navi had just indicated that he thought Gutsman was stupid and possibly insane. "Gutsman will crush puny navi. Gutsman make cheeky navi beg for forgiveness.", the larger navi. He took a swing at Link connection knocking the cocky navi far into the air.
"GUTSMAN YOU IDIOT! NOW LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE! YOU LET HIM GET AWAY!", shouted Blues pointing up to Link. The Synchronizer did a mock salute and bowed before logging out into his robotic body.
"Don't worry about it.", said Meijin through his PET, "I've solved the problem. Netto and Enzan bring your navis to the southern exit of the mall."
"Right away Meijin.", answered Enzan, "When did he get here I wonder?"
"Don't know, but with Meijin Eguchi I've learned that you can't predict when or where he'll show up. It's also impossible to know when he's going to come up with some new invention or pull an insane stunt.", said Netto. He quickly logged his navi out and they ran to the southern exit.
At the exit they found Meijin standing next to a terminal with a teenager at it. When they got closer the NetSaviors saw that the boy had his hand placed on the terminal screen and had his eyes shut. Enzan looked to Meijin who had a pleased smile on his face and asked, "What's going on here? Is this the NetOp of that winged navi?"
The scientist nodded and said, "In a way yes. It would appear as though he's a solo navi and this 'boy'...is actually a robot. I've seen it before from data recovered from Wily's labs after the Gospel incident. It was rather wreckless of this navi to walk around without changing the appear of the robot more than he did, but it helped me spot him so I guess it works for us."
Loud ranting caught the two teenager's attention, "Let me the fuck out of here old man! You've got no right to hold me like this."
Netto stiffled a laugh and asked, "Is that what I think it is?"
Meijin nodded and said, "When he tried to download himself back into the robot I redirected the download into my PET. Mine is designed with a powerful lock that could even prevent Forte from escaping and I activated that lock as soon as I had this guy." He looks down at the PET's screen where Link is still fuming and clearly having homicidal thoughts about Meijin right now, "Are you ready to behave and talk? Or would you rather I keep here indefinitely?"
Enzan butted in saying, "We may have to do that anyway...supposedly he deleted a few navis at the arcade for no apparent reason."
Link scoffed just loud enough for them to notice. Netto asked, "So what really happened then?" Link folded his arms across his chest and ignored the younger Hikari twin. "Not going to talk here, huh? That's fine. We'll just take you back to HQ and hold you until we get some answers. After all you did just committ a serious netcrime and you don't have a NetOp."
The Synchronizer knew that solo navi's were all treated as criminals even if they did nothing wrong. He was likely to either be imprissoned or deleted and there was nothing that he could do about it.
Meijin took the navi to Sci-Labs with Netto and Enzan in tow. "Hi Papa.", greeted Netto as they entered Yuuichiro's lab. "Guess what we found today?"
Before Yuuichiro could ask Eguchi said, "We found a solo navi that's...different from any others that I've seen." He pulled the PET out and showed Yuuichiro the screen, but the navi contained inside was actually hiding from his view. Meijin noticed this and added, "He's a stubborn one I'll give him that. I believe you said that your name is Link, right?"
The said white navi knew that he was being baited into a conversation and decided to see where it got him. "Yes, it is."
"What did he do?", asked Yuuichiro Hikari knowing that the solo navi probably did something else other than wondering around the net without a NetOp.
"It seems that he...", Enzan began before getting cuttoff by the white navi.
"A group of kids were insulting that boy Chisao...I didn't like it. They had him almost in tears because of the fact that he didn't have a NetNavi. It was digusting that they treated him like that and yet still had the nerve to call themselves his friends. I evened the scrore by deleting their navis, so now they have no room to talk.", Link spat out. "Oh that was so stupid of me. Now they're probably going to give me Chisao or something lame like that. Uhhh...with me it's always mouth first, brain last. I've really gotta work on that.", the synchronizer thought to himself.
Yuuichiro smiled and said, "So you like humans...well that's good. I guess we can give you to Chisao and let him take care of you. Making you his responsibility in combination with what you've told us I'm sure that you'll get a light sentence. Probably just a little community service or something."
"I hate it when I'm right. Maybe there's another alternative...", Link thought hearing Yuuichiro. "Dr. Hikari perhaps there is another solution."
Rockman and Blues were both surprised at how...odd this navi was acting. "He doesn't act like a navi...he acts like a human actually. Wait a minute...he also reacted strangely whenever we had him at the mall. Could he really be like me?", Rockman thought based on what he'd seen so far.
"So what's your big idea?", asked Enzan not wanting to have another escape attempt.
"How about I stay with a more experienced NetOp that isn't a complete pain in the ass...not that Chisao is a pain, just...not my style.", answered Link noticing strange looks that Rockman kept giving him. "He couldn't...couldn't know that I was human...could he?"
Meijin laughed and said, "Well that's a good idea. I think I have the perfect candidate in mind...me."
"Did I just hear him right? No, he wouldn't, he couldn't...oh yes he has.", Link thought. "You're not serious are you?"
"Actually I am. It's been awhile since I had my own NetNavi. I could program one anytime that I want, but I've never taken the time to do so since my college years.", answered Meijin in a serious tone of voice, "Besides it's either me or Chisao. Which will it be?"
The navi didn't give it a second thought and shouted, "YOU! I can't really stand kids all that much."
Outside of the room a shadowy figure lurked. "So that's the first Synchronizer made by Dr. Tadashi? Not what I was expecting Blaze...very...very...um...odd."
The navi said, "He's one of a kind I'll give him that. Not completely in a good of course." A moment of silenced passed between the two and finally Blaze said, "What do you want to do?"
The girl sighed and answered, "We need him...even if it means kidnapping Meijin to do it."