I've finally finished this fanfic... Hope all of you enjoy the last remaining chapters!
The Healing of the Scarred One II: Search of Lost Memories
Chapter 14
"I can't believe this…" Bass shook his head back and forth. "This place… Those Navis… That was when we were in Oran Island!"
Naomi responded with a nod. She stared at her image that was walking with Bass' image. A moment later, the 2 began to splash each other until they tripped and Bass' image fell on top of her. Both were staring at each other for minutes. Bass stood speechless as he saw his image staring at Naomi. He immediately grabbed his companion's hand.
"L-let's go somewhere else," he stuttered.
Bass and Naomi continued to walk farther away from the group. His hand held firmly onto hers, making sure that he or Naomi wouldn't let go. After walking for a few minutes, Bass finally stopped walking and turned to Naomi.
"Naomi…" Bass spoke. "We're in some kind of place where a certain event is stored as memory data, right?"
Naomi blinked at him and gave him no response.
"Do you know exactly where we are? I know this is the place that we came before, but this is what we remembered."
Naomi didn't move for a minute. She then pointed at something behind Bass.
"Huh?" Bass turned around and saw that there was a door that seemed to be planted on the ground, but it had no walls or whatsoever. Bass and Naomi slowly approached the door.
"I guess this is the exit." Bass remarked. He grasped the knob and turned it to open the door. A gentle, white light engulfed them for a moment before they saw where they were.
They found themselves to be in a spacious, yet poorly lighted laboratory.
Wires crawled on the floor, connecting themselves to a tall, gigantic server and an enormous computer. The screen spilled with data as a 3-D model of a person was projected on the screen. In the center of the laboratory, there was a large pod filled with a translucent, blue fluid. More wires were connected onto this pod, with data streaming out from it.
Bass took a closer look into the pod. A figure seemed to be inside the pod, but Bass couldn't figure out who the masked person was. The figure wore white, skin-tight clothing and was strapped with a black vest, armlets, leggings, and a black strap that covered the person's eyes. A mask was over the person's mouth and nose for respiration. The black snakes were around the body with nodes stuck on various parts of the body, monitoring the figure's vitals. Bass took another look before he noticed the color of the figure's hair…
"Naomi!" Bass turned around to meet his friend's eyes, but her eyes were of fear and shock.
"What's wrong?" Bass asked with concern.
Naomi stood where she was, trembling. Her eyes were moist with tears as she bent down and held herself in her arms. Her head held down and shook side to side.
Bass came to her and helped her on her feet. He held the quivering body in his arms.
"It's something that you wished not to remember, isn't it…?" Bass asked.
Naomi sniffed and nodded.
"…I have that same wish, too."
From the corner of his eye, Bass noticed a ghostly image of a man going past a corridor that was a few yards away from the pod. He quickly sent Naomi behind him as he saw the ghost walk into the corridor.
"Stay close to me, Naomi." Bass cautioned.
The 2 Navis crept quietly in the dark hallway as they followed the figure. When they saw a light at the end of the hallway, the ghostly figure vanished. Bass and Naomi hesitantly walked at the end of the hallway and saw a blond man in a white suit sitting in front of his computer monitor.
"… Doctor…. Cossack…" Bass muttered. It had been years since he last saw his creator. Bass almost forgot whether he last saw his creator yesterday or 20 years ago. He then remembered that his creator no longer existed in the human world. This saddened a part of him.
Much to Bass' surprise, Dr. Cossack seemed to have heard Bass' utterance and turned around and looked at him. Dark, emerald eyes looked into the piercing, ruby eyes.
"Doctor…?" Bass called out.
"I never would've thought that I would be able to see you before I would disappear entirely…" Dr. Cossack spoke.
"You… You're alive in the cyberworld?!" Bass exclaimed.
"Not for much longer. I'm almost out of time." Dr. Cossack smiled softly. Though Dr. Cossack's face was the same as Bass saw 20 years ago, his worn smile seemed to be touched by the virtual time in the cyberworld. Dr. Cossack went toward his desk and opened a drawer. He took out a blue chip. He presented it to Naomi.
"Take it, Naomi. This belongs to you. It is the backup data that will restore the rest of your missing data." Dr. Cossack urged. Naomi reached out her hand to take it. As soon as she did, the chip floated in the air and glowed with a soft, blue light. It disintegrated and was absorbed into her body. Her crest slowly began to regenerate until the process was complete, the sapphire crest restored at last.
"Father-…!" Naomi touched her throat as her voice returned. She stared at her adoptive father before she embraced him. Dr. Cossack returned her hug.
"Thank you…" Naomi whispered before she let go.
"There is more I need to tell you."
Right after Dr. Cossack finished, 2 glowing doors appeared in before the 3 figures as Searchman, Megaman, and Protoman came out. The light then vanished, just as it whence came.
"Naomi!?" Megaman, Protoman, and Searchman exclaimed incredulously.
"I'm glad to see you again." Naomi greeted with a smile.
"You're back!" Megaman said joyfully. "How did you…?"
The eyes of the blue, red, and green Navis then looked toward the blond professor.
"Dr. Cossack, one of the former researchers of SciLab." Protoman remarked.
"Yes, and executed for the supposed attempt of breaking Bass' restraint programs and being involved in the collapse of the prototype of the Net." Dr. Cossack added solemnly.
"What? What do you mean by 'supposed'?" Bass questioned.
Dr. Cossack faced them and replied, "I was innocent of the crimes that I was charged with… However, I actually was guilty of exploiting Naomi's memories and herself."
Naomi stood quiet while the rest became wide-eyed.
"Care to explain to us, Doctor?" Searchman asked.
"Gladly."
Dr. Cossack then stood up and bid the 5 Navis to follow him back up to the dark laboratory. The sight of the laboratory was new to the 3 newcomers, while Bass held Naomi's trembling hand.
"This is the lab where I worked to digitize Naomi's mind… and her soul." Dr. Cossack explained as he turned on the computer. Everyone looked around. Dr. Cossack continued with his explanation.
"Naomi was struck with leukemia, and she wasn't able to recover. So, I decided to turn her into a Solo Navi in an effort to save her life… and to find you, Bass."
Megaman listened thoughtfully as he remembered how his father, Yuichiro, used his DNA to save his life.
Dr. Cossack continued explaining as he stared at the monitor where Naomi's vitals were being displayed.
"As for you, I remembered that you were held back by the restraint programs. You thought I was the one who destroyed the programs and then abandoned you, am I not correct?"
Bass responded quietly. "Yes, that's what I had believed and ran away into the shadows, despising humans for the past 20 years."
"Let me tell you that I wasn't the one who did that or betrayed you." Dr. Cossack turned and looked at Bass in the eye. "It was Wily who caused the collapse of the Net and unrestrained you."
"What?!" Bass exclaimed.
"I was in my laboratory doing my work and thinking about you when one of Wily's lackeys hacked into my computer. The Navi was searching for you and the Get Ability Program, which was integrated in your data. I ran down to the main laboratory where you were being held, but the security officers arrested me before I could get to the door."
Bass imagined a helpless scientist struggling desperately in the arms of the security guards as he cried out in panic. He looked down on the floor in a solemn silence for some time before he spoke.
"Shortly after my restraint programs were terminated and…"
At this, Bass thought about his crest that tasted pain of the guard Navi's cold blade. He remembered the distinct rage that engulfed his heart and thirsted for revenge. He remembered that those flames had once burned brightly. But now, he imagined his aching heart being carried in a basket that was floating down on a quiet river, lulled by the comforting waves of Naomi's kindness.
Bass continued speaking. "…Those scientists managed to integrate my data into the new Navi Pharaohman in order to stop me from causing any more problems. But even then, that Navi's personality was no different from mine. He thirsted for power as much as I did. As far as I can remember, my data was dormant within his. It was until when Dr. Wily separated Pharoahman's data apart that I was awakened and freed. From then on, I lived on my own… until Naomi found me."
Dr. Cossack nodded in response as he continued staring the monitor. "I see…"
"Wait," Protoman called out. "If you were arrested, how did you manage to digitize Naomi's mind and soul? She once said that she searched for Bass for 8 years."
"Ah, that was when I was sent to Prison Island. I begged for the doctors to cure Naomi's fatal condition. They tried, but failed. So, I asked that there be a lab built in an effort to save Naomi's life. I contacted Dr. Hikari to assist me in the project."
"You mean my father, Yuichiro Hikari?" Megaman asked.
"No," Dr. Cossack replied. "I meant your grandfather, Tadashi Hikari. He helped me set up the laboratory - which is where we are right now."
Everyone stared at the laboratory wholly, being in awe of the large room.
"So then, that means," Searchman commented. "That we're technically on Prison Island."
"Correct." Dr. Cossack answered. "Shortly after I succeeded in digitizing Naomi's mind and soul, I managed to digitize a part of my mind into Naomi's mind."
"What?" Bass said incredulously. Dr. Cossack turned to the group.
"From this very laboratory room… to the expanse hallways that had countless doors that you had seen when you first entered… This entire cyber network… is Naomi's digitized mind."