12 year old Bailey Anderson watched shyly from a far corner of the auditorium as all the other kids at the Keystone Hospital were given gifts and their very own PET's with custom NetNavis from the mysterious donor who had visited the hospital. The doctors had encouraged them all to be on their best behavior since the donor was covering the cost of upgrading all the computers and network systems at the hospital in Netopia.
Bailey wanted nothing more than to be given his own PET with a custom NetNavi, but he was too afraid and shy to approach the man. He had lived at this hospital since he was 5 when his parents found he was unable to socially function in school. While Bailey was academically gifted, he had trouble with social interactions and often engaged in repetitive stimming of his hands, which he found comforting. Due to his condition, he had no friends, even among the staff. His parents seldom visited, having long given up hope for improvement of his condition.
Finally all the kids streamed out with the teacher, nurses and all their cool gadgets and gifts and only three people remained in the room. One was Dr. Drew, the hospital's superintendent and the other two were the older mysterious donor himself, and what appeared to be his research assistant who looked to be in his early 20s. The three shook hands and began to exit the auditorium. Bailey was relieved it was all almost over and was stimming rapidly until he heard what sounded like a NetNavi.
"Lan, someone is still here, over in the far corner by the sound booth."
The research assistant looked over in Bailey's direction for a moment. Bailey tried to hide, but was spotted by the young man who's name was Lan just as he ducked under the back row seats. He was able to hide there because of his small size and malnourished body.
"Dad, there's another kid here. He wasn't with the others." Lan said, concerned. "He didn't get a gift or PET."
Dr. Drew looked over concerned and then sighed, "Oh that's Bailey, probably our shyest and loneliest resident. I'm not surprised he avoided you. Large groups and social interactions make him very upset. If you manage to get him to come to you that would be an achievement in itself. Quite frankly, many of the staff have given up hope for him, sadly."
The older donor spoke quietly "If I may ask, what is his condition?"
"Autism, about one in forty-four kids in Netopia have it, but with therapy and technological integration, most of these kids learn to adapt and cope with it successfully. I think Bailey is a classical example of failure to thrive in an older child with autism. I think if he had just one solid friend, we would see improvement."
Lane spoke up quickly, "Dr. Drew, my father and I came here not only to fund and oversee these network upgrades in this facility, but also to make a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of the residents. I consider this entire endeavor a failure if the most vulnerable patient in this hospital is excluded."
"What are you proposing then, Mr. Hikari? It's very difficult to even get Bailey to meet with longtime staff who have worked with him. I don't know how you'll have any more success than we have tried here for the last 7 years of his life."
The donor spoke, "My son has befriended a wide range of people over the years, including a boy during his youth who had a very grave condition. I'd like you to just give him a chance, Dr. Drew."
"How?" Dr. Drew asked exasperated.
"With my NetNavi, MegaMan!" Lan exclaimed.
"We have tried using a variety of NetNavis, including a custom one to help him in the past, but they all failed." Drew said.
"One chance, Dr. Drew." Lan pleaded.
Drew shrugged in defeat "Ok. We'll wait outside. Do your thing Mr. Hikari, but I remain skeptical."
Drew and Lan's dad left the auditorium. Lan asked "MegaMan, there's a dimensional area in this entire hospital, right?"
"Yes, It was one of the most touted features of the upgrade project." MegaMan said from the PET.
"You think you can talk to Bailey and befriend him, maybe get him comfortable enough to talk to at least you and I?"
"Of course, I'm always up for a challenge. Making new friends is fun, but this time it's especially important." MegaMan replied.
"Awesome! Jack-in! MegaMan! Power up into the dimensional area."
MegaMan materialized before Lan, "I'm going to wait on the other side of the auditorium, MegaMan."
"You got it, Lan. I'll check back in when I have gotten to know Bailey."
MegaMan ducked under the seats of the auditorium. As part of the technology upgrades, the movement of certain staff and all hospital patients could be tracked via staff and family PET's. Bailey did not know this though and remained hidden behind the row of seats near the soundbooth.
MegaMan didn't want to scare Bailey or hurt him, but he certainly didn't want him to be able to avoid talking to him entirely. MegaMan approached Bailey's location and began to crawl out from under the seats. Bailey saw MegaMan emerging and began shaking uncontrollably. MegaMan saw the tears in his eyes.
MegaMan immediately stopped and sat down next to Bailey quietly. "Hey, Bailey, my name is MegaMan. It's nice to meet ya."
Bailey stuttered, "Meg-ga-Man?"
MegaMan grinned "Yeah, exactly!"
Bailey seemed unsure of what to say and avoided eye contact before shyly asking "You're a NetNavi?"
"Yes, I'm Lan's NetNavi, but he asked me to talk to you since it might be more comfortable for you?"
Bailey nodded and gave a weak smile "Yes."
"Awesome. So what do you like to do for fun, Bailey?" MegaMan asked.
"Oh my interests are pretty boring." he said robotically.
"That's not true, and I'd really be interested in hearing about them!" MegaMan grinned.
"Really?" Bailey asked wide eyed.
"You bet, bud." MegaMan said with a laugh.
"Well I like collecting postage stamps. I know snail mail isn't that popular anymore, but I have stamps from around the world!" Bailey said shyly.
"That's awesome. Thanks for sharing that with me, I appreciate it. Tell me something, if there was one thing you could do or have right now, what would it be?"
Bailey looked right at MegaMan, who could tell this was not easy for him to say.
"My own PET and personal NetNavi who will be my best friend and buddy. Someone who truly cares, looks out for me, and wants what's best for his operator."
MegaMan smiled "I think I'd be able to help you out with that! Would you be okay coming over with me to see Lan? He's the one with the PET's and I'm sure he would love nothing more than to give you one."
"Yes, I can." Bailey smiled.
"Great. One more thing, Bailey."
"Yeah?"
"Can I hug you?"
"Yes."
MegaMan opened his arms and Bailey slowly got up and walked over to embrace MegaMan. MegaMan slowly encircled his arms around Bailey, "Atta Boy."
When the embrace was over, MegaMan took Bailey over to meet Lan.
They made small talk for a minute before Lan said to Bailey, "I was originally going to give you one of the gift PET's we brought, but seeing how you were able to build such a genuine connection with MegaMan, it's clear you need him more than I do anymore. Bailey, I'm going to give you my PET and make you the operator of MegaMan. It's something we both want to do for you."
Bailey's eyes went wide and he stuttered "You're giving me MegaMan?"
Lan grinned "That's right, MegaMan and I have had so many wonderful adventures and battles over the last decade, but we both think you need him more than I do at this point." Lan nodded.
MegaMan wrapped an arm around Bailey "I'm so happy to be your NetNavi, Bailey. Most importantly, I want to be your first and best friend. I'll always be here for you."
"Really?" Bailey asked with a grin.
"Really, just ask for me on the PET anytime or jack-in to the network to bring me up in the dimensional field."
"Here's the PET, Bailey. I've programmed a change of ownership, and you are now the operator of MegaMan. Here are some chips as well that will come in handy in a pinch." Lan said with a smile.
"Thank you. What's next?"
"Why don't you show me your room and that stamp collection you were talking about!" MegaMan laughed as he guided Bailey towards the exit with Lan.
As Bailey and MegaMan walked past Dr. Drew and Lan's father, the elder Hikari said to a bewildered Drew, "I suppose my son's gifting his own PET and NetNavi to Bailey is going to be the start of a dramatic recovery for Bailey."
Lan nodded "Exactly, there's infinite power in friendship."