~Chapter 7~
As she was floating outside NetCity, Lei sunk deep into thought.
All the things MegaMan had told her kept running through her head.
'To think that Bass was once a normal NetNavi just like everyone else.. That's amazing on its own'
She blinked.
'I wonder if that's what Serenade meant when he said there were things better not getting into.' She thought to herself.
'But what exactly happened?' She couldn't help but be interested.
Suddenly she stopped.
Why was this making her so curious anyways?
Her brow furrowed.
She thought about it for a few more moments, but she just couldn't think of any special reason behind her interest.
'I guess it just does.' She concluded to herself, as she continued moving.
Before she noticed, she had already reached the familiar square arch marking the entrance to the UnderNet.
Lei stopped and looked at the old, messed up relics before her.
She did her usual ritual to calm herself down before making any big steps or decisions, as she stretched out her arms, and clapped her hands together, then flew in right through the gate.
She floated for a good while not even sure where she should look for Bass this time, due to the simple fact that the only reason she found him on her previous visit was thanks to the screams of his enemies.
Lei decided her best option was to just continue moving, and enjoy the scenery while she's at it.
Somehow, being back in the UnderNet with all its odd colors and features had a strange effect on her.
She felt free.
The whole place was just so different from what she was used to, it was like a completely different universe, as if there were no rules, nothing to tie her down.
Without noticing, Lei suddenly found herself arriving at a rather rocky area.
She stopped and looked all around her, trying to make out some sort of a path, but with no luck.
Lei simply crossed her arms, and nodded,
"Yup, I'm lost." She said to herself.
She then noticed the sky suddenly changed into a completely different color; it was a mix of bright pink, dark blue and some light mint green, all fading into each other like nothing she had ever seen before, and it was just so captivating that she couldn't take her eyes off it.
"Beautiful." She said to herself, while looking up in every direction, completely forgetting her problem.
She didn't even notice another NetNavi watching her for quite some time now.
"What are you doing" A familiar firm voice demanded to know.
Lei perked up, surprised.
She knew exactly who it was, as she turned and noticed the cloaked Navi sitting on top of a high, big rock not far from her.
Luckily for her – it was him who found her this time.
"Oh, hi Bass!" She called smiling, and waved to him, as she lowered herself to the ground.
He glared at her.
"How about you keep it down already? You've already attracted enough attention last time you were here, Now I have to hear stupid shits blabbering everywhere about 'The Navi delivery girl.'" He said, irritated, as he floated down until the soles of his boots touched the surface.
"Me?" She asked, as she pointed to herself, her blue eyes wide with surprise.
Bass stepped closer, until he was right in front of her.
"This is the UnderNet, you know." He said with malice in his voice, his red eyes glaring down at her, "How naive are you to go around this place all alone, with zero defense, for the second time already? Or are you just an idiot." The last part didn't even sound like a question.
Lei stared up at him for a few moments.
"Is this your awkward way of worrying about me?" She asked as she smiled softly and cocked her head to the side.
His eyes widened in shock.
"Why would I waste my time worrying over a useless girl like you!" He suddenly raised his voice, his expression was pure anger.
Lei giggled at him.
"You're awfully loud for someone who had just told me to keep it down" She teased.
Bass just let out a growl, and said nothing, as he narrowed his eyes at her.
Lei narrowed her eyes right back at him, jokingly.
She then took out MegaMan's chip from inside her bag and held it in her open hand at his direction.
"I have MegaMan's reply to you" She said.
He just stared at her gesture, still silent.
"You still don't trust me?" She asked, surprised, her blue eyes trying to figure out what on earth was he thinking.
He didn't answer her, just shifted his eyes to her for a moment, and back to the chip, then lifted his hand out of his cloak to take it out of hers.
Lei watched him closely as he successfully activated it without needing her help, and MegaMan's face appeared before him, once again.
"Glad to hear, Bass! We'll be happy to take you down anytime, just say when and we'll be there!"
With that, the message ended.
"'We'?" Bass asked himself, "Does he mean him and that idiot human of his? How pathetic." He scoffed.
Lei noticed his expression suddenly turned cold.
She remembered what MegaMan had said.
"Why is it pathetic?" She asked him, watching him closely.
Bass lifted his gaze to her, and kept silent for the longest time.
"Bonds between humans and Navis are meant to fail" he suddenly spoke with a firm voice, as he watched her.
She didn't say anything for a few seconds.
"Why is that?" She asked him, her large eyes fixed on him.
Bass went silent again, as he just stared at the girl in front of him, expressionless.
She couldn't tell what he was thinking, and it bothered her.
Then, his mouth broke into a sardonic smile.
"Hmph, someone like you will never understand." He determined so easily, as if it was a known fact.
Lei was silent.
He expected her to start protesting and try to forcibly make him tell her, yet she didn't.
Instead, she just stared up at him with her large blue eyes and a sad expression.
'Why the hell is she so quiet?' He thought to himself.
"What is it?" He finally asked, when he couldn't take the silence anymore, irritated.
"What makes you so sure that I wouldn't understand you?" She asked him, her voice sincere.
He chuckled bitterly.
"Just go back to your happy little life and friends in NetCity, girl, my past is none of your concern" He shot at her, his expression cold, again.
Lei's eyes were fixed on the cloaked Navi's red ones.
"I want to know about you, Bass" she said, her voice didn't waver one bit.
His eyes widened at her sudden words.
He didn't say anything.
'What is she playing at?' he thought to himself, 'What does she gain out of this?'
"Why?" He demanded to know, looking down at her.
Lei was silent for a moment.
He watched her.
"I'm curious about you." She finally said, softly.
Neither of them spoke a word for the longest time, and they didn't break eye contact.
Suddenly, He lifted his hand up to his chest and grabbed his cloak.
"I was betrayed and abandoned by my human creator." He said, as he removed it away, revealing what was underneath.
Lei's eyes widened.
His Navi symbol and chest had a huge white scar on them.
She didn't say a word.
"I was created in a lab as the first ever independent NetNavi to not need an operator," He continued, "I was protecting the CyberNet by demonstrating how pathetic the security systems that were supposed to defend it are, but my strength caused some of the humans to fear me, and they wanted me deleted."
He lowered his hand back to his side and clenched it into a fist.
"My creator was the only one to defend me at the time, but he had grown tired of me as well while fooling me into believing that he still cares about my well being. It was obvious he didn't as he imprisoned me and made me wear ridiculous limiters on me to reduce my powers, yet I was too naive to see it."
Lei kept silent.
'They wanted to delete him for simply doing his job? And his creator's only solution was to imprison him?' She was shocked.
"While I was still imprisoned, I was blamed for disrupting the Net, and then ordered to be immediately deleted."
His face turned expressionless, as he continued;
"Shortly after that, a group of security Navis was sent to kill me. My creator was suddenly nowhere to be found, which finally made me realize that I've been completely abandoned. They thought those shitty limiters were enough to stop me, but the idiots had another thing coming, and I managed to destroy them all."
He smiled viciously.
"This scar on me keeps reminding me that humans can't be trusted, while it's also a proof of how strong I am, and I'm damn proud of it."
With that, he was finished, as he looked up at the female Navi.
She was speechless.
She couldn't believe Bass had been through so much, that his past was so hurtful to him, it had literally shattered his faith in humans and other Navis alike.
Lei finally understood.
'That was the reason he was always alone.'
She just felt so...
"What are you getting all sad for, you're the one who was 'curious about me'." He said as he laughed at her reaction, "That story is nothing, it only makes me feel better every time I remember those fucking losers."
Lei still didn't say a word.
Instead, she only stepped forward, closer to him, until there was little space left between them.
Her blue eyes closely examining the scarred Navi symbol in the middle of his chest.
It was diagonally sliced, right in the middle.
She couldn't even begin to imagine the pain.
He just watched her.
Neither of them spoke.
'Always fighting alone, Always surviving alone..
He wasn't evil from the start.. he was just hurt.' She thought to herself.
Then, she started lifting both of her hands to him.
"What are you doing?" Bass quickly protested, confused by her sudden actions and causing her to stop for moment.
"Could you stay still for a second?" She asked him with a quiet voice, and lifted her eyes to meet his.
Her gaze was so sincere that it paralyzed him for a moment, but he quickly recovered,
"Don't you dare try anything weird on m-"
He stopped talking all at once, as he felt her small hands slowly and gently make their way from under each of his arms, all the way to the center of his upper back, stopping right in-between his shoulder blades, her arms eventually enveloping both sides of him in a hug, drawing both of their bodies closer until there was no room between them, while resting her chin on his front shoulder against the fabric of his cloak.
Her touch sent shivers through his whole system, and he tensed up as his eyes went wide and his mind completely blank.
His arms and hands were left frozen above her gentle embrace.
'How can anyone deal with something like that on their own?' She thought.
Lei took in a deep breath.
"I'm sorry I made you remember this, I'm sorry you had to suffer through all that by yourself... Thank you for telling me, Bass." She almost whispered as she squeezed him tighter, her fingers gently pressing into his back.
Hearing her say that, he only exhaled silently,
And Lei could finally feel his body relax.
He then suddenly leaned forward a bit, as he buried his face into her shoulder while wrapping one arm around her waist, pulling her even closer and higher to him, forcing her to stand on her toes.
Lei closed her eyes as she returned his gesture and lowered her face as well, until it was buried into his cloaked shoulder.
Neither of them spoke.
They only lingered like that for a few more minutes.
A/N: Aww poor Bass.
Dont worry, that doesnt mean he's suddenly gonna go all soft ;)
This chapter was really fun to write, although quite hard. I hope did well there.
I got really addicted to Nathan Furst's song, 'Marshall Motors' After re-watching NfS with my friend the other day. It's such an amazingly heartfelt composed piece that it really made me want to write an emotional scene. ^^
As always, Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Please review and tell me what you think!