Chapter 1: Download
I was taking a walk home after spending most of the day at the library with my brother and my two best friends, the library for us isn't just a place to read and go on the internet, it's a place to get away from the troubles at home and relax...at least, that's the way we see it.
"Hey bro!" my brother, DJ, calls, "Wanna battle with our PET's?"
"Now?" one of my best friends, Lee, asked, "It's getting kinda late, don't you think?"
"I agree with her," my other best friend, Drew, added, "We should head on home. There're muggers around here at this time of day."
"Ah, don't be a bunch of party poopers!" DJ dismisses them with a wave of his hand as he whipped out his blue MegaMan PET, "Besides, this'll be quick, right Vin?"
Yeah, my full name was Vinnie, nicknamed Vin to my friends and family. And my brother knows one of my biggest weaknesses: I can't resist a challenge. With a smirk, I pulled out my red ProtoMan PET, I've always valued it and ProtoMan within it as my friend, with no more hesitation, I grabbed an Atk+10 chip from my pocket.
I got you this time I thought, I lost to you every time, bro, but not this time.
"Ready?" DJ asked.
"Let's do this!" I shout.
"Sword Battle Chip in, download!"
"Attack +10 Battle Chip in, downlo--"
A loud bang resounded in the area and my vision went black.
...Did I just get shot?
I started to wake up only to be greeted by frigid cold air and blustering, snowy winds, almost like I was in the arctic in a snowstorm.
Is this...purgatory? I thought as I groan in pain from the massive headache I have.
I try to stand up, but I lack the strength to do so and plop back down into the snow, waiting for the cold to take my life like whoever did before I wound up here. I heard galloping of horses, but it stopped in front of me, I heard talking as I began to lose unconsciousness again.
"What is that thing?"
Three of the ponies of the Royal Guard were out in the snow of the Frozen North scouting for any enemy troops that may approach the army camp, they began to get bored and got ready to return to base, but a groan nearby stopped them and they carefully went to investigate. What they had found shocked them, a being they have never seen before: a bipedal creature with long white hair on the back of its head wearing a red, purple, and black bodysuit with red and black gauntlet-like gloves, red, white, and black boots, and a red helmet with a white ring around the cranium area, a red fin sticking out at the top, and a shaded visor that covers its eyes, along with a device that looked similar to it next to him. It struggled for a bit before submitting to the cold of the snowstorm when the commanding officer spoke.
"What is that thing?"
"Be careful! We don't know if this is one of Sombra's tricks!" one of the guards said.
"Well, whatever is it, it's freezing! I say we take it back to camp and keep it under tight surveillance until we can deduce it's not a threat." the third guard suggested.
"And if it is?" the commanding officer asked.
"Then we'll have it terminated, but if we just leave it here, we'll betray everything the princesses have taught us. Everything."
The commanding officer looked like he was going to refuse, but he had the facial expression that the gears in his head were turning and he relented with a deep sigh, "Fine...but if this thing is really a threat and/or one of Sombra's agents, the princesses will have your head."
"Fine, I'll take the fall! Let's just get this thing out of the weather!"
The guards surrounded the creature and lifted it up to bring it back to camp with the creature itself completely unaware of what was happening around it.
My vision begins to return again as I groan once more from another forced sleep, I raised my head up to see where I was; it looked like I was in some sort of infirmary, but it was in a tent that appeared to be slightly moving to and fro from the wind outside.
Was that...a dream? I raise my hand to rub my head only to be shocked when a red gauntlet-like glove with a familiar symbol on the back was in the place of a normal hand.
I tried to contain my shock when a horse with a short pink mane, dark blue coat, green eyes, two bandages in a plus mark tattoo on its flanks, and a glowing horn walked in the tent and sounded like it was talking with a feminine voice as a clipboard and pencil was floating in front of it, "Okay...unknown specimen...armored, irremovable...bipedal, and--" she stopped when she saw me, "...Awake?"
"Um...hello?" I greet nervously.
She was silent for a time, "...I'll be right back."
She quickly left the tent, leaving me confused, but it made sense when she came back, two more white horses wearing roman-like armor walked in with her as she observed me.
"I see...that the patient is awake." she chuckles nervously, making me feel a weird aura around her.
"May I ask where I am? Because it certainly doesn't seem like I'm in Kansas anymore." I ask.
"What's a 'Kansas'?" she asked.
I sigh, "It's a state where I come from, and 'not in Kansas anymore' is just a saying."
"Oh...it's kind of a strange word."
"I guess. Anyway, my question?"
"Oh, um, you're just outside the border of the Frozen North, where the Royal Guard's camp is."
"Okay...where exactly IS here outside the border?"
"Um, Equestria. Don't you know what Equestria is?"
"Nope, I guess I just got here." I sigh again, "This is getting too weird for me."
"Says the unknown creature."
I slightly jump at the new voice and another, much larger horse steps in: she was white with a rainbow ethereal mane, has pink eyes, a horn and wings, wearing golden regalia on her hooves, around her neck, and a crown on her head.
"If I may, I have some questions for you."
I wave a hand towards her, "By all means, go ahead."
"First off, what are you?"
"Before I answer that, can I have a mirror?" the larger horse looked confused, "I heard from your nurse that I was wearing irremovable armor, and I'm pretty sure that I wasn't wearing anything of the sort before I arrived here."
The large horse lit her horn like the small female horse did and lifted a hand mirror to me, what I saw really shocked me: I had become ProtoMan!
I deadpan, despite my visor blocking part of my facial expression, "...Yeah, that's logical." I say with sarcasm.
"What is it?" the large horse asked.
I sigh for umpteenth time today, "I used to be a being known as a 'human', but I got into an incident and now I'm what a lot of my people would call a 'NetNavi'."
"Net...Navi?"
"Basically I can explore hi-tech networks, gather information from them, and battle viruses or other NetNavis."
"Okay..." she says with a tone that I know means she hardly understood anything I just told her, "Now, what was the device my guards found with you?"
"Device?"
"This." she levitated my PET into view.
"My PET!" I snatched it out of the air.
"P-E-T?"
"Personal Exploration Terminal. It houses NetNavis."
"I see."
"My turn for questions: first, what is Equestria? Second, how long was I out in the snow? And third, who are you?"
"Hmm...one, it was once a place of peace and harmony, until the tyrant of the Crystal Empire returned and waged war on us, two, the scouts said you were out in the cold for twelve hours, and three, I am the ruler of Equestria, Princess Celestia, and my sister, Princess Luna is the co-ruler."
"Okay...wait, back to number one, what do you mean by, 'was'?"
Celestia sighs, "Sombra, the tyrant king of the Crystal Empire, was sealed away in the Frozen North for over a millennia until he broke free and took control of the Empire again and declared war on us, he managed to take pieces of our once peaceful land, slowly gaining ground. But, in the end, it takes everypony in Equestria, working day and night, to keep up the fight."
Okay, so they are called ponies, not horses, I make a mental note of that before I speak, "...Maybe there's something I can do to help."
"Hm?"
"I mean, I'm obviously not in my normal body and I know how NetNavis work. Since I've become one, I may be able to fight."
"Maybe so, but let us wait until you've regained your strength, everypony must be in tiptop shape if we're going to do battle with Sombra's forces. Also, I will need to see your capabilities."
I breathe deeply and lay back down, "Fine then, you're in charge."
Celestia turned to the nurse, "Tender Care, could watch over...what was your name again?"
I answer, "My body is now ProtoMan's body, but my name is Vinnie, Vin for short."
"Thank you. Watch over Mr. Vin while he recovers."
"Of course." Tender said with a bow.
Celestia left the tent, leaving me with Tender and the guards.
"Soooo...what do you guys do to pass time?" I ask.
"Patrol." one of the guards answer.
"I take care of sick or injured patients." Tender answers.
"Okay...you don't do anything fun?"
"Can't, have to be vigilant, you never know when the enemy will strike." the other guard answered.
"I follow you now, war is tough, isn't it?"
"It's more than that, right now, it's our lives, we need to take back our land and the Crystal Empire."
"So..." Tender looked hesitant, "If you don't wanna be a part of this--"
"I do." I say with a serious voice, quieting them, "I have many weaknesses, but I'll tell you guys one: I can't resist a challenge." I smirk, "When I'm back at full strength, I'll do everything in my power to help reclaim what you've lost."
They stood there, shocked at my determination and courage, when Tender smiled.
"You're not even from around here, and you wish to help us?" she asks rhetorically and giggles, "You really ARE strange."
I smile back, "Yeah, I get that a lot."
A couple days after my liberation from the cold, I made a healthy recovery; I was walking fine, moving fine, and discovered that I can use the Battle Chips from the Mega Man Battle Network games. Now I was heading to the training field for practice and to show Celestia what I can do, I couldn't help but smirk, she has no idea what I have in store for them.
"You seem happy."
I look to my right to see one of the two guards from my arrival that were escorting me to the field, I learned that the one on my left was named Silver Sword and the one on my right that was speaking to me was named Steel Shield.
"Yeah, sorry." I say, "I'm just a little excited, that's all."
"To show us what you've got?"
"Yeah."
"Can't wait to see how your species fights." Silver Sword said.
On our way to the training field, I noticed I was getting some strange looks from the ponies in camp, no doubt that I'm the weirdest thing these equines have seen in their lifetime, and vice versa. We arrived at the field to see some of the guards practicing and sparring with one another, it makes me glad to see that these guys are remaining focused on their goal. The three of us sat watched the guards for a while until Princess Celestia stepped in and called everyone's attention, making them salute instinctively.
"At ease." she said, allowing them to lower their hooves, "Now, as I'm sure you all know, we have new being who wishes to join our ranks. He may seem strange at first glance, but he means us no harm and only wants to fight the good fight. Mr. Vin, please step forward."
"That's my cue." I stood up and turn to Silver and Steel, "Wish me luck."
I walk next to Celestia as she spoke again, "I have already filled you all in on who and what he is, what he used to be, and that he wants to help us. I wish for somepony to spar with this individual to determine if he is fit to join the war against Sombra. Who would like the honor?"
"I'll take that challenge."
A gruff sounding pony walked out of the crowd of guards; he had a deep tan coat, black mane, grey eyes, like the rest of the Royal Guard, he wore similar armor, except his make him hold an air of authority somewhat, but the most distinguishing thing about him was the multiple scars all over his body, the most noticeable being the one going down his left eye.
"Scar Tissue," Celestia addressed the stallion, eyeing him as if he was a troublemaker, "may I ask why you wish to do battle with Vin?"
Scar turned to me, "I've faced many opponents; Sombra's troops, Royal Guards, minotaurs, chimeras, you name it. But I've never faced a 'NetNavi'. I wanna see what he's got."
Despite not being able to see most of my face, I narrow my eyes at him, something about this guy didn't seem right. Not like cocky or overconfident, more like...recklessness and dangerous. But nonetheless, it's clear that he wants to do battle with me, and I'll use this battle to knock him down a peg and teach him humility.
"...Alright, let's do this." I finally say.
Celestia whispers into my ear, "Are you sure? Scar Tissue is an extremely violent opponent, he shows no mercy to his enemies."
I whisper back, "All the more reason to fight him. He's needs to be taught a lesson."
Momentarily surprised by your determination, she nods and motions for another guard to stand in between me and him as we approach the center of the battlefield while a different guard rolls a cart with weapons over to us.
"Alright, I'll act as referee," the guard in the center said, "Private Iron Clad," he gestures to the pony with the weapons, "will be providing you two with weapons for this fight."
"We get it, Commander Drill Sergeant," Scar groaned, grabbing a sword from the cart with his hoof, "just let the kid take his weapon so we can try and smash each other's heads in already!"
Drill growled at Scar abrasiveness while I narrowed my eyes further, I knew this guy was trouble from the get-go.
Drill turned to me and spoke, "Well? Aren't you going to take a weapon?"
"No need for one. I have what I need."
Everyone looked shocked at my words, except for Scar as we stepped a few feet away from each other, "So you think you can beat me with your bare hooves?"
"Hands."
"Whatever. Well, I got news for you, kid...I've never been defeated, and I don't plan on starting now."
"Then you better bring it."
"If you two are finished..." Drill interjected, raising a hoof up and bringing it down, "You may begin!"
Scar sneered as he stuffed the sword's handle in his mouth and charged forward, ready to slice me in two, but I was prepared. I activated the AntiSwrd chip and caught the blade in both my hands, causing everybody, or everypony to gasp, even Scar. I pulled the sword out of his teeth and kicked him a back to his starting point as I tossed the sword outside of the field, glaring at him all the while.
"Let's dance, big boy."