MEGAMAN BATTLE NETWORK PROJECT

Gate.EXE, Loading... Part 1

The Black Shadow drifts through the Undernet, a scowl hidden beneath a tattered cloak, partially covering his face. Viruses scatter from his baleful presence as he approaches the infamous Undernet Square. The cruel Navis that inhabit the place keep to themselves, avoiding his gaze. A low murmur is heard, “What is the Dark Messiah doing here?” The mentioned being shoots a glare towards to noise, instantly being rewarded with an audible gulp. He glances behind him and notes that he has arrived where he was summoned, in front of the strange statue in the center of the UnderSquare. He inhales to speak, his voice gruff. “WHEN DID THE MIGHTY KING OF THE UNDERNET GROW AS ARROGANT AS TO SEEK MY PRESENCE?” The UnderSquare fell dead silent; black merchants, virus battles, gambling, fights, and piracy all came to a dead halt. The same thought process, albeit in different ways, occupied each mind there. “S did WHAT? Does he have a death wish?”

The statue’s eyes glowed blue. It spoke, monotone and genderless, “Enter, O strongest of the ‘net.” The Shadow allowed himself a ghost of a smile before transferring into the guarded Secret Area of the Undernet. As he entered, a blue armored Navi with a spear to his side. “Welcome back, to our Sanctum.” The blue Navi bowed, confusing the dark visitor. “If you will follow me to the King, I shall lead you.” The dark Navi scoffed, “Why do you insist on these old mannerisms, Yamatoman?” The blue Navi rose from his bow, “Yes, I suppose we are familiar enough to be without such pleasantries, Bass. Lover of Serenade.” He chuckled lightly to himself, earning a groan from his companion. “No, she kept her promise, but I would be a terrible bodyguard if I hadn’t picked up on it before you two made it known to each other. And the threats you are about to give have no meaning, as I’ve already sworn to be silent to anyone but you two.” He almost grinned through his faceguard. Bass swore under his breath. “Fucking hell… Well, spit it out. Why has she asked me here? She never seeks me out during the day, so to speak.” The blue Navi stopped for a moment, almost scanning Bass. “You’ve changed Bass. You’re more controlled than you used to be, less violent, and less quick to a fight. I’m glad of it, as is she.” The resumed their walk deeper into the Secret Area, Bass stayed silent until Yamatoman spoke again. “Your friend was here a few days ago."

“Megaman?”

“Yes, again you impress me. You finally acknowledged someone as your friend and him no less.” Bass said nothing to confirm or deny it. “He and the Hikari boy were approached by their father. He found something in the SciLabs that he couldn’t permit and had them bring it here.”

“What is it?” His curiosity was getting the better of him, he thought to himself. ‘If the Hikari’s don’t like it, why bring it here? If they didn’t approve of it then why not destroy it?’ “Why keep it here?”

“To keep it safe, at least for now.” Bass blinked. “The Hikari twins’ words were ‘we couldn’t let anyone to go through what Bass did.” Bass stopped in his tracks; his feet touching the ground as he lost focus on floating above the ground.
The Black Shadow gazed into his surroundings, not focusing on anything in particular. “A solo Navi?” Yamatoman nodded.

“Why… why would they…”

“Serenade has the details, I was only granted the jist of it, and was told she’d elaborate with your arrival.” Bass nodded as they approached the highest point in the final part of the Secret Area, the proverbial throne of the King of the Undernet. There, stood the King herself, Serenade. “Lord Serenade,” Yamatoman bowed. Serenade smiled warmly, motioning for him to rise and walked to them, taking her self-appointed place next to Bass and in front of her guard. She stole a kiss from Bass, and led them down the winding road.

She spoke softly, as if not to disturb something. “Forte… Before you know the full account of events, you must promise me that you will not react unreasonably.”

Bass nodded, “I swear.”

Serenade smiled again, but it quickly faded. Yamatoman said nothing, and Bass became worried. ‘How bad is it? To anticipate that I will go berserk as I had?’ “Rock and Lan wouldn’t allow themselves to repeat it, so they gave a recording of what they were told from the good Dr Hikari. They had such a terrible look to them…” She gave them both a sad look as she broke from them, holding a colorless data crystal. She accessed it, allowing a video to play, seeming to be from Megaman’s point of view from his PET.

~“Boys… I need you to listen and not interrupt me, alright?” The older man smiled weakly, forced it seemed.
“Uh, sure dad.” “You’ve got it.”

He sighed heavily. “A team in SciLab created a Solo Navi, with the intent for this Navi to have access to EVERY Battlechip at any given time, even using multiple Giga-class chips rapidly, even copies.” Two gasps are heard, Bass assumed these to be from Lan and Megaman. “But, we found out that the Navi was constantly tortured by involved scientists. Any failed test resulted in extreme pain and bugs, either from intentional program glitches or viruses. That’s not even counting the unknown amount of strain from using so many chip attacks in rapid succession. The ability to use these chips came from copied data of Cossack’s Get Ability program he used for Bass. A week ago, something happened that resulted in a lab explosion, the team had been killed and the main console containing the Navi was the only thing that survived, if barely. I managed to speak to it, he sounded in pain. He asked for forgiveness, as the incident was caused by him, and to have his memories erased. I cannot blame him for not wanting to remember what he went through or the guilt of retaliating to his ‘creators’.” Dr. Hikari scowled at the last word, refusing to relate in any way to the team. “Please, I know you two can find somewhere safe for him…” Lan nodded, and Megaman agreed.

“Sure thing, I know a place. Can’t really blame him for what he went through”

“Yeah, leave it to us! Even Bass could be justified for what he did, if extreme.”~

Bass struggled with his thoughts, unsure what to think. ‘How could they… At least this one could react directly. Hmm…’
Yamatoman made a sound similar to clenching his jaw. “I can see why Dr. Hikari wanted him sent away… If he came across anyone that might’ve known about him, then there’s no telling their reaction. If the worst here to happen…” Bass hissed at the thought, wondering how much worse he could’ve handled what had happened to him, and that was without chips or knowing the capabilities of his Get Ability program.

Serenade grabbed Bass’s hands, “Forte, knowing this, do you agree that we should watch over this Navi?” Bass closed his eyes and sighed. “I agree.” Serenade smiled warmly. “Yamatoman, will you see that our guest be brought here after awakening him? He’s near where Darkman’s ghost data used to be.” The blue Navi nodded and went on his way. “Serenade… what does this Navi remember?” The holy Navi shook her head. “From what I’m told he will remember little. More than a newly programmed Navi would but less than a ‘Net savvy one. I’m worried.” Bass brought her under his cloak, bringing her closer to him. “As long as we are here for guidance, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” The dark Navi stared blankly ahead as she rested her head on his chest. Time passed before Bass spoke again, breaking the silence. “I guess I should stay with you now, I grow weary of wandering.” Serenade looked up to him, surprise evident in her features. This gradually changed to a wide, warm smile. “I’m glad you decided that.” The holy Navi brought down the dark one’s face to hers…
Yamatoman approached the morphing data; it altered between a sphere and Mystery Data rapidly. He held his hand out, “It is time to awaken, young one. The King wishes your presence amongst us in our Sanctuary.” The data morphed violently, before taking a humanoid form. ~Description~ “Welcome back to consciousness, and physical form. Massive compression like that cannot have been pleasant.” He bowed, leaning into his spear for support. “I am Yamatoman, guardian to the King of the Undernet and Secret Area.” The new Navi blinked, tilting his head. He reached out to touch the blue Navi’s crest, startling Yamatoman. The Navi flinched, and waved his hands formlessly. “I’m sorry! I needed to absorb a language program for you to be able to talk! I don’t know how it got deleted!” He dropped to his knees, bowing. To say Yamatoman was surprised would be an understatement. “Forgive my rudeness, I’m Gate.exe.” the Navi grinned.

The blue Navi could only stare blankly at Gate. He quickly looked over his own code, seeing that only his language data had been accessed and copied. ‘Wait… He can SEARCH for specific data? He’s not like Bass, who has to see if there is anything worth copying.’ “I see… That is all you did. Shall we be on our way?” He offered a hand to the newcomer, who took it with a smirk. “Thanks. Let’s go meet the royalty!” he calls out, absolutely beaming. Yamatoman tried not to groan. “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll be calm around the King!” Gate laughed.

As they approached the “throne,” Gate fidgeted a little. “Hey, Yamatoman? Those two look… like they’re having a private moment. Maybe we should come back?” He glanced towards the blue Navi, who scoffed a little in return. “It will be fine, the King sent me to get you. And the lover doesn’t visit vbery often, so they are enjoying each other’s company.” Gate nodded at this as they stood at the top of the staircase. Yamatoman spoke, “Lord Serenade, I have brought our guest.” Serenade turned to her bodyguard, opening her eyes. She smiled, “Thank you, Yamatoman.” He nodded and stood to the side. “I am Serenade, King of the Undernet. And this is Bass.” She moved her eyes upwards to indicate the dark Navi.

Gate bowed slightly, “I’m Gate.exe. I’m told you sent for me?” The holy Navi nodded, releasing herself from Bass’s cloak to approach him. The dark Navi drifted next to her. “Yes, I did. What do you know of yourself and the world around you?” Gate’s brow furrowed for a minute, before answering. “I was made to see how well a solo Navi could handle themselves with access to BattleChips without an Operator for the purpose of Virus-Busting. I’m unsure of why I have a “Get Ability” program, since it was supposed to be banned from what I can remember. I don’t remember the reason why, or why I can only recall basic Navi functions for now. And there seems to be a cut-off of data, showing evidence of deletion…” his eyes widened a moment, with realization. “Did I die or something and this me is a backup?”

Bass stifled a laugh. “No, you had your mind wiped.”

Gate froze, “I… what? Hmmm… I guess I shouldn’t worry about it then. So why call yourself a King instead of a Queen?” Bass raised an eyebrow, having never asked the about the mild curiosity.

Serenade gave the newcomer a strange looked, then laughed a little. “When I first came to the Undernet, I was looked down on and underestimated because I was a female Navi. In a way, it was to get back at those that disrespected me, although I suppose it’s a little childish.”

Gate grinned, “Hey we all gotta have our fun right? Otherwise we’d all go nuts!” He laughed manically, as if to drive his point home. “Wait a sec… If I was created for that, then shouldn’t I be in a laboratory or something?” ‘His mood switches quickly,’ Bass noted.

Yamatoman approached, “It likely may have to do with why you deleted your memories. It’s best not to worry about it. You were brought here by a friend of Lord Serenade, who didn’t want you to be near it anymore.” Gate took this is slowly, closing his eyes. After moment, he looked to Serenade, “I guess I’m in your care then? I can’t promise not to be a nuisance, since I don’t really know myself. But I’ll do as I’m asked.” He shrugged. “Within reason that is.”

Bass vanished appearing behind Gate. “And if you are asked to kill a Navi?” he questioned gravely. Gate didn’t even flinch. Instead he turned around facing the dark Navi, and grinned, “Then would like to be told why.” He vanished silently in front of the Black Shadow, who scowled. ‘An Invis chip. Crafty.’ He heard a raspy whisper behind him. “Then I shall judge whether he warrants death or not.” Bass swung around, firing his buster at nothing. “Oh, wow! Paranoid, much?” He turned around to see Gate standing next to the bodyguard.

Serenade clapped her hands together, more to get their attention than anything else. “I think that is enough for today. Gate, Forte has had to watch his back alone for a very long time, so try not to blame him.” ‘Forte? Must be a pet-name or something.’ Gate nodded. “Understandable, I guess. I’ll try not to ruffle the big guy’s feathers, at least too much.” The dark Navi shot him a dirty look as his lover giggled. “Oh, you’ll be fine, Forte. Let’s rest, Yamtoman will take it from here.” She winked to her guard as she dragged Bass, willingly, with her.

Yamatoman gestured to Gate. “Well, that was at least entertaining. Welcome to what we call the Sanctum, our home and castle so to speak. The residents of the Undernet net call it the Secret Area. I’ll take you to what will become your area, near the entrance. Do not worry about the viruses, they are friendly enough to us. Only the truly strong or guests ever come here, and there hasn’t been any challengers since Bass and his rival first showed up here.” Gate nodded and followed. After being shown around Gate just had to ask what was at the front of his mind. “I get that Serenade calls Bass “Forte,” but I’m guessing “Yamatoman” isn’t your given name.” His companion facepalmed, sighing. “My given name was Japanman.” Gate frowned, “Yeah, I’d have changed it too.” “Lord Serenade gave me my new name.” “She seems kind. Bass seems… High-strung?” “He’s had to fight to survive for a long time, only ever having felt at ease near her. And that was in the last couple years.” Gate smiled. “I’m glad. No one should have to live like they’re always being hunted. Can’t really enjoy life like that.” “You have a strange outlook on life for someone so young.” “What can I say? I’m a dreamer.”

END PART 1