A/N: Here's an extra chapter with Forte's POV once more. It's difficult writing in his POV since his thoughts are that much more sophisticated and less impulsive that Rockman's, so I actually have to think things through before typing them all out. But here you go. This extra scene happens inbetween chapters 2 and 3. Enjoy.
EDIT: Oops, apparently it was just Chapter 3. Sorry about that.
FallenwaterTheFallen: In the original games and manga, Forte was on the verge of death when he escaped from SciLabs, but then not only managed to surive but also single-handedly become one of the most powerful NetNavies in the Undernet- So yeqh, Forte's completely OP. I like to imagine an AU where the Alpha Incident wasn't blamed on Forte and he continued to work as a SciLabs Navi net security would be so advanced by the time the events of the actual Battle Network series occured.
Forte was both incredibly annoyed and extremely amused at the same time. He'd forgotten how much time he had spent in the Undernet by now, but that little thing back from SciLabs was still following him closely.
He was incredibly annoyed, because he could feel clearly the tiredness, weariness and restlessness of the other Navi the entire time. Extremely amused, because despite all that, there was still the feeling of determination and hope that was being projected, even if it was buried underneath all of those previous emotions.
Birefly, Forte decided that he would see if he could draw out another emotion from the other Navi. Activating his levitation ability, he floated over a gap that he had determined would be too wide for the other Navi to reasonably leap across. He retreated from the area, and it wasn't long before he felt the other's realization, worry and distress began to bleed through at the back of his mind.
'I wonder what he's going to do, now.'
There was a brief moment of hesitation, before it was replaced with caution and a large amount of alertness, and Forte could only guess what the blue Navi was trying to do.
Then, a sudden wave of alarm and panic slammed into him, nearly knocking the air out of his lungs as it happened. Quickly, he circled back to where he came from before he had realized what he was doing. Peering over the edge, he saw that the other Navi climbing up the steep ledge of the cliff, before relief which he wasn't sure was completely his own flooded him.
'Shit. I probably shouldn't have done that.'
Sighing to himself, he turned back to the road ahead in case the other Navi caught up to him. While he was content with allowing the other to trail him, actually confronting the other Navi was a pandora's box in its own that he wasn't quite sure he was prepared to open- And he wasn't sure why.
Briefly, he considered the possibility that he'd permanently lost the ability to trust another being- be it human or Navi- in its entirety. After that clusterfuck of an ordeal he'd been through, he would have been perfectly content to never form another bond with anyone ever again, yet…
He twitched slightly as he felt those emotions that weren't his own beginning to bleed through to him once more as the other Navi got close- Forte could feel him just lurking around the corner, and when he stood there, unmoving for several moments, he could even feel the confusion, worry and concern seeping into the back of his mind.
It felt so genuine- It was as if this Navi had actual, human emotions instead of the basic range of emotions that were programmed into ordinary NetNavies, and at times, the other's second-hand emotions even overpowered his own; He still recalled how bitter and angry he had been just after that incident had just happened, but it was a bit difficult to stay angry when he was literally flooded with worry and concern from someone else, nearly constantly since he'd began wandering within the Undernet.
So there was that theory out of the window- If the Navi truly had malicious intent towards him, Forte would have felt it from a mile away. Forte frowned, annoyed with himself. 'What is it? It's not like me to be indecisive.'
He was brought out of his thoughts when the slight curiousness poked him at the back of his head, and Forte remembered he'd been standing there, deep in his own musings while the other Navi had been quietly observing him the entire time.
'...He's quite curious, huh.'
At least this Navi seemed genuinely kind-hearted in nature; Forte would've probably lost it ages ago if he had been subjected to the emotions of someone who wasn't as pure and perhaps more wicked than this NetNavi had been. He would've probably turned around and deleted that Navi in an instant. That blue Navi's emotions were a comfortable presence at the back of his mind, however, one that Forte didn't mind, and perhaps enjoyed, to a certain extent.
It was definitely interesting, the way how that Navi appeared to feel emotions more complex than he ever could, but he could experience now through the other NetNavi; He had been completely overwhelmed the first time he felt those emotions that were not his own- The mixture of shock, recognition, curiosity, timidness and relief had nearly knocked him off his feet, but he'd been more intrigued than anything after that first experience. Forte had wanted to see how many other emotions he could experience through the other, that he might have been unnecessarily ruthless when dealing with his enemies just to feel that mixture of awe, wonder and a hint of sadness that the other would project-
Wait a minute.
Had he just… admitted to himself that he cared what the other Navi thought about him?
Snapping to full alertness at his sudden realization, Forte began to trek forward once more, the other Navi projecting the feeling of brief surprise before he quickly followed closely after him, and Forte had to actively stop himself from running in order not to appear suspicious.
'This is ridiculous. I shouldn't give a shit what he thinks of me.' Forte told himself as he continued onwards. He'd never cared when all of those SciLab humans considered him a threat, and he definitely didn't care about how Undernet NetNavies would perceive him, with him being as ruthless as he was.
But it was a bit hard not to care, when he could literally feel what that NetNavi thought of him.
...Was this why he couldn't face the other NetNavi? Because he feared the possible negative emotions he would project if that were to happen?
'No. That's not it.' Forte reasoned to himself immediately. 'If he truly feared me, I would have known- There's no reason for me to avoid contact with him based on that. It's illogical.'
So why did he not want to initiate contact with that Navi- What did he say he was called again?- Mega?
'I'm just waiting to see if he's genuine about this.' Forte told himself, coming to a conclusion. 'I'll face him once I'm sure, but until then, I'll tolerate him, for now.'
And so, this continued on for a little while, until Mega had jumped in front of a laser beam for him.
