New Megaman Battle Network
A complete reimagining of the universe and stories of Megaman Battle Network.
Side Story: The History of Forte
Chapter 1: Genesis
"...appears to have failed. The network's construction hasn't changed in any way our computers can measure."
"EM waves have evaporated, as far as we can tell. Ah well, next time we'll... wait, hold on..."
"What the devil? Is that a Navi in there?"
"Hey, you! What are you doing here? Don't you know this is restricted Net space?"
In a research computer several floors above the lobby of SciLab, a Navi opened his eyes. He looked around, trying to discern where he was, not recognizing his surroundings.
"Look at his design. He's got fins on his head, he's all in black... he doesn't look like any SciLab Navi I've ever seen."
"How on Earth did he even get here? This whole Net space was cleared before the experiment began. There was no way he could have gotten in."
"Look at where he's standing. He's located right at the synthesis point. That's impossible..."
"Wait... you mean after our experiment, he was... Dr. Doppler! Come over here, quickly!"
The Navi could hear voices around him, but he tuned them out, focusing on the question of how he had arrived in this place. Before he woke up here, he was… he rubbed his head, oddly unsure of where he had been before now. Racking his brain curiously, he was mildly surprised to find that he had no memories of any kind. He knew nothing about where he had been, what he had done, or even who he was. He shrugged this off, looking back up and starting to walk around, exploring his surroundings with a childish curiosity and naiveté. The voices resumed their conversation, with a third voice now added to the mix.
"Good Lord... that Navi was found at the synthesis point?"
"Yes sir, just as he is now."
"That's impossible... no part of this experiment should have resulted in a Navi being created. I wonder if EM waves are part of its construction..."
"Hey, you! You, down there, in the black!"
The Navi stopped for a minute and looked down; as it turns out, he was colored in black. He looked up, toward where the voice was coming from.
"Who are you?"
"I don't know," the Navi responded.
"You... what? How did you get here?"
"I don't know that either." The Navi started to walk around again, exploring his surroundings. "Don't ask me any more questions." The voices resumed their discussion, one which the Navi selectively ignored.
"How could he not know? He's a Navi. He's programmed with a set of instructions. It's not like he's got a mind of his own, right?"
"What do you think we should do, Dr. Doppler?"
"This is definitely not any normal Navi... if this is the result of EM wave synthesis, then we should stop immediately and begin studying this Navi."
"I'll go and report this. We can get some Official Navis to subdue him..."
The Navi finished walking in his circle and thought to himself. He wasn't exactly an expert in the field, but the controls and processors surrounding him appeared to be research devices, as far as he could tell. Was he being studied? No, that didn't seem likely. From what he could gather of the talking voices, his presence was a complete accident by all accounts. They didn't exactly seem pleased, moreso confused, just like himself.
Whatever the case, he decided that he wasn't going to get anything done just standing arounds. As he began searching for an exit to the computer system, a flash of light appeared in front of him, one that quickly changed into an orange Navi. Looking around, he found that other, similar orange Navis were appearing around him in a circle, five of them in total.
"You're going to have to come with us," one Navi declared, walking forward.
The black Navi's eyes narrowed. "Am I now?"
"Do not try to resist, or we are going to have to use force." The orange Navi grabbed his wrist tightly, attempting to pull him along. The black Navi grabbed his handler's wrist in response, and tore off the entire arm in one smooth motion. Before the Official could even respond, his adversary outstretched his hand and drove it cleanly through the Official's chest; the orange Navi quickly dissolved away, deleted.
"He has grown hostile!" one of the other Officials reported, and the ring of orange Navis quickly closed in. The black Navi turned and delivered a powerful uppercut to the nearest enemy; in the same motion, he turned his fist and slammed the Official directly into another one. As the two tumbled backwards, he fired a powerful energy blast from his hand, destroying them both. Continuing his spin, he lifted his leg and drove his foot straight through a fourth Navi's torso; pulling it out, he dashed forward and grabbed the final Official by the throat. As the Official gasped, the black Navi's hand began to glow, until an explosion engulfed the final enemy. Having finished his battle, he looked around, as the final remains of the Navis he had fought were dissolving away.
"What the hell... what kind of power does this Navi have? He just took out five of our strongest Officials!"
"I can't believe this... I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes!"
"Doctor, how are we supposed to capture him now?"
The black Navi looked up, no longer ignoring their conversation. Whoever these voices were, they were clearly a violent, controlling bunch. He turned away from them, looking back at some of the paths leading away, and dashed off, retreating into hiding in the depths of the computer system, as the observing humans were left gawking in amazement.
"This Navi is clearly dangerous! You saw how strong he was, how easily he took out our Official Navis! He needs to be eliminated, right away!"
In another room, close to where the black Navi had been discovered, a number of scientists were gathered around a table, discussing rather loudly what they were going to do about this development.
"Are you crazy?" Dr. Doppler exclaimed. "This is a massive research opportunity! Created through EM wave synthesis, incredibly strong, and with unknown, advanced cognitive abilities? He must be studied!"
"Well, whatever we end up doing, we can't just let this Navi run free. Who knows what sort of damage he'll do if he goes unchecked?"
"Agreed," responded someone else. "We're going to have to round up a powerful force, so that he can be incapacitated. I can go talk to the Net division of the armed forces, see what we can do."
"Once again, your plan has all the tact and finesse of a chainsaw." The room looked over toward the door, where a blond-haired, mustachioed scientist in a dark green suit was standing in the doorway. "Tell me, was this Navi violent in any way before you decided to spring an attack on him?"
"Well... no..." The scientist sat down, rubbing his chin, as another snorted derisively.
"You think you could have done better, Cossack? What's your big plan?"
"My plan?" the blond scientist, Dr. Cossack, reiterated. "I plan to study him as well, but I'll obtain his cooperation in a more sensible way. If his cognitive abilities are in any way similar to a human's, then we should be treating this Navi with something resembling human dignity."
"So what are you saying? You're going to go ask that freak nicely to come along?"
"Exactly," Cossack replied simply. Without another word, he turned and walked out of the room, approaching the machine where the black Navi appeared. He pulled out his PET and jacked in.
In a dark corner of the computer system, the black Navi plotted his next move to himself. He could not find any way out of this computer system, and his attackers surely would be returning with reinforcements. As best as he could figure, he would have to try and escape in the same manner as those orange beings were getting in, whatever that was.
He froze, listening carefully, as he heard the sound of footsteps coming his way, with no attempt being made to conceal them. He readied himself to attack, and was in this offensive stance when a figure appeared. It was a green Navi, highly customized, so that it resembled a blond man in a green suit.
"Who are you?" the black Navi demanded.
"My name is Dr. Mikhail Sergeyevich Cossack," the green Navi responded, repeating the words spoken by its owner, its hands in the air. "I mean you no harm, I assure you. I have a proposition for you, should you choose to accept it."
The other Navi snorted. "What is it you want?"
"I'll be frank. I would like to observe you and test your capabilities, both physical and mental. I'm not sure how you came to be here, but your abilities are far above that of Navis we can produce. You would reside in my computer system for the next several months, and together we would conduct some simple experiments to judge the extent of your abilities."
"Why should I come with you?" The Navi aimed his arm toward the scientist. "Your comrades tried to capture and destroy me. How do I know you won't just do the same thing?"
"I leave that up to your judgment," Cossack's Navi responded. "If you think I can be trusted, then come with me. If not, you can destroy my Navi here, and I won't try to contact you again. I'll even show you the way out."
The black Navi mused this over, keeping his arm raised and ready to attack. This person was different from the others, at least on the surface, but that was no guarantee that he would be any less hostile once these "experiments" began. His limited experience with these beings had been less than pleasant, to say the least. Then again, this person did act rather differently... not necessarily kinder, but he was certainly less condescending, and seemed sincere.
He eventually lowered his arm and walked forward. "Alright... I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. We'll see if you can be trusted once these experiments begin."
Cossack's Navi smiled, and the two began walking out. "They already have. And so far, you're doing quite well. Though if I'm going to be interacting with you regularly, I need something that I can call you by."
"Well, I don't have a name to give you," the black Navi responded. "Unless you can think of something, we're at an impasse."
Cossack smirked, as they approached the place where his PET connected to the system. "I had a couple of things in mind. We'll see how they grab you."
