Author's Note: Woohoo, my RockMan.EXE fanfic is here! This fanfic doesn't involve RockMan or any characters (except Forte, but not much). I'm also going to try my best to stick to the game's mechanics rather than the anime or manga, so don't start saying "OMGWTF ROKCMAN CLON LOL" when a navi uses a buster. All navis use busters. Anyone who's ever played EXE5 and EXE6 would know that. So, here we go with the first arc of this story, the Black Shadow Virus arc!
Arc I: Black Shadow Virus
Prologue
August 28, 200X
Unknown Area of the Net
A navi opened a door and walked into a room. It had been a very long day, what with him observing the virus navi in his lab. He sat at his CyberDesk, grabbed a recorder, and began to speak into it.
"This is research navi leader Professor Xyan reporting on August 28, 200X," he began.
"The navi recovered remarkably fast after we found him in the Ura Net. I've been so busy observing him and seeing his abilities that I have had no chance to make a report until now.
"He has a powerful weapon arsenal. He has a sword, a laser, and seems very skilled in martial arts. It's incredible.
"However, he seems to have…" He paused at this, remembering what happened that day, "…violent tendencies. We put him up against a giant test navi today. A green dragon navi named Eregion. He obliterated it with complete ease. And then he destroyed what was left of it. Perhaps the bugs in him cause him to act that way. I do not know. But, I hope to find out soon. Xyan out."
He put down the recording device and put his hand on his head. There was far too much going on in his head to put in a single report. This navi, whoever he was, was incredible beyond belief.
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Xyan's lab was incredibly well hidden. It was in an area of the net that no navi had access to, or could even see without his explicit permission. It had links to each area of the net, including the Ura Net itself.
Xyan walked out of his room in the lab area. He was ready to observe the virus navi once again, to see what he did while undisturbed.
"Professor," said a beastly navi who walked up to him.
Xyan smiled. "Good morning, Beastleo," he said.
Beastleo was an incredibly strong, frightening looking beast-type navi. However, he was very human-like, rather than the instinctual animal one might expect him to be.
"We've been observing the navi since dawn," Beastleo told him, leading him to the virus navi's containment area. "He hasn't budged an inch this whole time.
Xyan looked into the containment area and at the virus navi. The navi was human shaped, and wore all red. He had yellow dots on him, signifying the enormous amount of bugs in him. He wore a facemask and a dark black visor, completely concealing his face. He sat cross-legged on the ground, not moving.
"He looks like he's meditating," Xyan said. "Interesting."
The navi sat there, completely oblivious to the scientist navis standing just a few yards away. Xyan knocked on the glass surrounding the containment area.
"Hello?" he said.
No response. Xyan tried again, to no avail.
"Well, for now we'll leave him," Xyan said. "Maybe later he'll be ready for tests."
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The next day, Xyan sat in front of the navi inside the containment cell. The navi looked at him emotionlessly, not saying a word.
Xyan cleared his throat.
"I am Professor Xyan," he said. "I'd like to ask you a few questions."
The navi said nothing. Xyan decided to continue.
"I'd like to know what your name is."
The navi stared hard at Xyan, or at least he seemed to be; his visor made it impossible to tell. But, he remained silent.
"I asked you a question," Xyan said. "What is your name?"
No response.
"Okay…" Xyan said, "then how about this: How did you come to be?"
The navi remained silent for a moment, and then finally spoke.
"Forte," he said simply.
"Forte?" Xyan asked. "The Black Shadow?"
The navi nodded.
"How did you come to be from him?" Xyan asked.
"Let's just say…we're brothers," the navi said.
Xyan shook his head.
"No, that's impossible," he said. "I was around during the Proto Incident; I know everything about Forte. He was a solo navi, and had no family other than Cossack, if you could consider them family."
"It's complicated," the navi responded. Then, he leaned towards Xyan. "I'm looking for him."
Xyan stared at the navi. "Looking for him? What for?"
The navi shook his head.
"That doesn't concern you," he responded.
"Well then," Xyan said, "how about all these bugs? How did you become so glitched?"
At that, the navi laughed. "Glitched? I'm not glitched. These bugs are a part of me. A part of who I am. They are me."
"What do you mean?" Xyan asked. "You're a navi created from bugs?"
"Not exactly," the navi said. "Like I said before, it's complicated."
Xyan stared hard at the navi for a few moments, and then stood up, sighing.
"Well, it's obvious that's all the information I'll get out of you for now," he said. "I'll leave you be."
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BZ-Z-Z-Z! BZ-Z-Z-Z!
"What!"
Xyan jumped out of sleep mode. The alarm? Why was it on? He grabbed his lab coat and ran into the lab area.
The area was utter chaos. Scientist navis ran all over the place, screaming and running for cover. The area itself was on fire. Xyan saw Beastleo trying to direct everyone out.
"Beastleo!" Xyan said, running up to him. "What's going on?"
"The virus escaped!" Beastleo yelled. "He escaped from his cell and began to destroy the lab! He's already killed several of the scientists!"
Xyan's eyes widened. He had already seen some of the navi's power; if it were allowed to escape, the net would be doomed.
"I've got to stop him before he escapes!" Xyan yelled. "Get everyone out of here! I'll handle him!"
"No, professor!" Beastleo roared. "I'm coming with you."
Xyan turned around. "Thank you, my friend."
Beastleo and Xyan ran towards the containment area where the navi had been held. The glass was completely shattered, and fire and rubble were everywhere. Beastleo began to use his enormous strength to shift the rubble.
"Don't let him get away!"
In a hall in the distance, Xyan saw the virus navi run past the door at top speed, followed by two lasers, a feather, and a large icicle. An owl navi with a military-style hat, Fukuroul, flew past; followed by a human-shaped navi with peacock-like feathers, Kujacker; and finally, a very large, armored walrus navi, Kibatodos. They continued firing attacks at the virus navi, but from what Xyan could tell, it was to no avail.
Beastleo finished shifting the rubble, and began to run towards the door at top speed. Xyan ran after him, determined to stop the navi.
They finally cornered him at the end of Laboratory Area 3. The navi turned around to face the five navis, sword arm ready. Behind his visor, his eyes were glowing red. Xyan had seen that look before; it was the same look he had before he destroyed Eregion, the giant test navi.
"Stay focused!" Xyan yelled to his colleagues. "He's extremely dangerous!"
"I'm more than dangerous," the navi said. "I'm your death!"
He pointed his sword at Xyan, and charged at top speed. Not missing a beat, Kujacker warped out, and warped in front of Xyan.
"Stand back!" he yelled. The team did so, and Kujacker knelt down, shooting out five very sharp feathers in all directions. However, the virus navi jumped back, dodging the attack.
Beastleo held his claw over his shoulder, and did a backflip, sending a shockwave of energy at the navi. However, the navi slashed it with his sword, cutting the wave in half.
Fukuroul pointed his hand at the ground, and four tornadoes began to circle under the navi, who jumped out of the way before they could pick up.
Kibatodos slid on his stomach towards the navi, who jumped over the large walrus, landed on his back, jumped again, and landed in front of Xyan.
Xyan held his hands out to his sides, and two energy blades appeared from his wrists. The two navis began to hack and slash at each other with their swords, dodging and blocking the other's attacks. The virus navi jumped backwards away from Xyan, and Beastleo began to charge at him with a glowing claw extended. The navi held up his sword, blocking Beastleo, and threw him away. Kujacker began to shoot feather missiles at the navi, who jumped away and narrowly dodged the attacks. Fukuroul shot out four green balls of energy, which homed in on the virus and crossed where he had been just a split second before he dodged them as well.
"He's too fast!" Xyan said. "He keeps dodging all our attacks!"
CRASH!
Suddenly, a giant green dragon crashed into the area, flying towards the navi. Eregion. They had been working on repairing him and making him stronger, and it seemed to work.
The navi seemed to smirk as he jumped backwards, landed, and held his blade over the ground.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Xyan asked, alarmed. The navi ignored this and stabbed his blade into the ground.
The effect was instantaneous. The area began to crack around them, threatening to crumble underneath them. The virus navi jumped into the air and pointed his hand at the navi team. A laser came out, flying towards them at incredible speeds. They dodged the attack, but it hit the unstable ground, which began to fall to pieces. The navi escaped through the link.
"Quick! After him!" Xyan said, pointing towards the link. The navis all ran to it, attempting to keep their balance over the quickly crumbling ground.
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Xyan and his colleagues watched from the outside as the link to the lab disappeared completely, signaling that it was gone for good. Just like the hundreds of navis who worked there…
He turned to his colleagues.
"Okay, team," he started. "We're responsible for this mess. The virus is out there now, and we have to stop it."
"Wait till I get my claws on him…" Beastleo said, gritting his sharp teeth.
"He will be stopped," Kujacker said.
"Hoohoo! He got lucky this time!" Fukuroul stated proudly.
Kibatodos and Eregion both stayed silent. Kibatodos nodded, but Eregion didn't do anything. It was only programmed to follow its master.
"Let's stop that virus once and for all," Xyan said.
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Author's Note: Well, that's the prologue to the first arc. Hope you enjoyed it. So, read and review!
