Hey everybody. Sorry if I've not posted in forever (if anybody even checks this anyway). College's got me slammed. I won't be able to finish my fanfic... any time soon. But I WILL finish it at some time. I'm so sick of starting something and never finishing. I will finish this story, but it'll be a while. And if you think it's anywhere near done, think again. It's only just started to get intiresting. In the meantime, please feel free to check out my website and please do leave a comment. Thanks for your time. Peace.
Chapter 6: Year C. 110XX, Two weeks ago...
Zero entered the large metal building. There were quite a few people inside, all huddled in the middle of the large room that made up most of the building. They all seemed to be focused on something on the floor. He thought he recognized some of them, but others were twisted versions of the people he remembered. "What's going on?" he asked himself: about the mumbling mob in the center of the room and also all these strange events. A familiar figure looked up and locked eyes with Zero. "X! What's going on?" Everyone else looked up and gasped at the newcomer. A surprised and confused look came upon X's face. He lifted his buster threateningly even with Zero's head. "Don't come any closer... Whoever you are." "X. It's me, Zero." X hesitated. "Then who's that?" X nodded his head to the figure on the ground. Zero looked down. He was shocked to see himself, lying there, chained on the ground with a crazed look of evil in his eyes. "What the..." The figure began to laugh maniacally. Everyone stood silently, not knowing what to think as Zero watched himself fall into hysterity. Zero drew his saber. X began charging his buster. "X, give me a chance to prove to you who the real Zero is." X lowered his buster. A young human in blue armor that looked somewhat similar to X said, "What are you doing? It took all our strength to pin him down and now your just going to let this guy set him free? I don't think so." As the youth raised the cannon on his arm a calm voice came from one corner of the room. "Trigger, give the newcomer a shot." Trigger lowered his arm discontentedly. Everyone stepped back. It took Zero no time to cut the captive loose. Zero sheathed his sword, and then the two began to fight.
The fight went back and forth. First Zero would have the upper hand, soon after he would find himself slipping behind whomever it was he was fighting against. When all seemed lost and his opponent was about to deal the final blow, Zero whipped out his buster and fired right into the core of his enemy. The mostly lifeless body dropped to the floor. Zero walked over and grabbed the figure by the neck. "Who are you?" As their eyes locked a deluge of forgotten memories surged into his mind. He saw a black figure arguing with an old man. He saw himself on a table, being created. He saw himself being sealed away. His memory then jumped to the time when he awoke from his sleep. He saw himself as a maverick, destroying everything in sight. This is the "Imposter" he had just fought: an earlier incarnation of himself. The rest of the vision was blurred in shades of red. He finally snapped out of it. The pieces of what was left of his earlier self began to evaporate; leaving only the jewel that had adorned his forehead.
"Nice job." The voice came out of the shadowy recesses of the room and began clapping. "I was just beginning to doubt that you could actually beat him. Welcome to the madhouse." "What's happening here?" "I'll fill you in on the details." X came over and put his arm around his friend. "Roll, bring me one of those E-Tanks. My friend here looks like he could use one."
Chapter 7: C. 110XX, Two weeks ago
After a night's rest, X told Zero about how each of their allies had come to this place. He also remarked that, apparently, there are more than one Mega Man. Here's the short version:
X had been the first to arrive at the building. He gave a short account of his fight with Vile and the red flash of light that transported him here.
Next to arrive were Mega Man Trigger, his friend Roll Casket and their pet robo-monkey, Data. They had arrived from a time thousands of years after X and Zero had lived, apparently a few thousand years before the current time. They had been flying their airship, the Flutter, when they too were blinded by a red flash of light and transported here.
After them, the next to arrive were Roll.EXE, Proto Man.EXE and Guts Man.EXE. Though they were quite familiar, they came here from another dimension. X couldn't really comprehend the terminology they used, so he wasn't sure exactly what had happened (they said something about a computer network and how they used to be programs, but were somehow humanized), but they had also been transported here by a blinding red light. Proto.EXE was somehow badly injured in the process. He was being rested in one of the other rooms of the building.
Soon after came Omega-Xis (another professed "Mega Man") and Lyra; weird, ghost-like creatures they were. They seemed to have come from the same dimension as Roll.EXE and them, but from a later time. Their speech was also riddled with jargon, but again, they were transported by a bright red light.
Most recently, Proto Man, Roll, a robo-dog named Rush and a robo-bird named Beat had shown up. They had come from the time of Thomas Light and the original Mega Man. Roll told X the whole story about the note, storming Wily's Castle, Mega's death and the mysterious voice and the blinding red light. "I asked her what the note said, but she said she never read it." X relayed to Zero.
But these hadn't been the only ones transported here; bad guys familiar to one group or another had also arrived. From some recon they had compiled a list of their foes:
Guts Man, Heat Man, Snake Man, Wave Man, Tengu Man and Shade Man were taking orders from Dr. Wily.
Storm Eagle, Bubble Crab, Magma Dragoon, Dark Dizzy, Blizzard Wolfang and Violen were under Sigma. Vile also joined them once they had agreed upon a payment.
Bubble Man.EXE, Slash Man.EXE, Napalm Man.EXE, Magic Man.EXE and TornadoMan.EXE from the other dimension were working with Wily and Sigma.
Also working with them from the other dimension were more ghastly creatures who called themselves Ophiuca, Taurus, Gemini and Cygnus. There were also a few others that had appeared, but were not aligned to either group: Bass and a giant robot named Duo.EXE. Though a few battles between the two camps, so far there were no casualties on either side.
When X had finished his story he said, "So now we have 3 completely different people claiming the title of Mega Man and..." "Make that 4." Proto Man walked into the building just behind a young human boy. "This one says he's one too. Or at least that he used to be. Has a similar story to the other guys." The newcomer reunited with his old friends. "What now?" Zero asked. "I don't know, Zero." X answered. "I guess we just keep it up." "But we can't do this forever. Not all of us are robots. We have humans to feed." "Unless some kind of breakthrough comes, the plan is to keep doing what we've been doing. We thought maybe we'd get a break with that crazed intruder..." That made Zero think. He pondered the gemstone in his hand; all that was left of the imposter. "Maybe we did," He finally said. "Though some of the visions I saw I am sure were the imposter's, the gemstone was also able to evoke some of my forgotten memories. When I met Thomas Light when he was repairing me, and when he told me 'don't give up,' he sounded like he wanted to say more, but vanished too quickly to do so." "Where are you going with that thought?" X asked. "It might be nothing, but we may be able to use this to find out what the Doctor was talking about if we use it on one of his robots." "That could be dangerous, Zero," X said in a serious tone, "plus, we don't know how to use it." "Still, it might be worth a shot. It could be the deciding factor of the war!"
The whole group gathered in the large room and Zero stated his idea. Some nodded their heads, some looked doubtful, and still others showed no expression at all. "I say we take it to a vote," Omega-Xis was very impatient and figured that if they were going to do something that it should be done before the enemy could act, and if they decided not to that they get on to thinking of a new plan. Proto Man spoke up: "All those for, raise your hand." 9 hands went up. "All those opposed." 1 hand went up. "I still don't think it's worth the risk," X said, "But I suppose it's ultimately up to Roll." "Yeah. You didn't vote, Roll. What do you think?" She was in deep thought. "I think... I think that if almost everyone thinks it's the best thing to do, I'm willing to do it." Zero handed over the artifact. "What now?" They all waited motionless. Nothing. Even Zero began to have doubts. "Maybe it was just a wild Ostrich chase." Then Roll began to feel it.
They all felt the surge of power released from the gem. They stared with a hypnotized look in their faces as their past lives all flashed before them: great victories as well as crushing defeats. Some of their greatest memories as well as deep, dark secrets they'd been trying to forget. Zero snapped awake. He could see a subconscious smile on some of his friends' faces and worried looks of despair on others. The gem was taking control of their minds. Maybe all of this was a mistake. He was about to slash it into pieces, but then he remembered what happened last time. Instead, he reached and grabbed it from Roll's hand.
He made a break toward the entrance to the building and bashed the door open. The stone was now searing his hand, as if it didn't like what he was doing and wanted him to stop. But he did not. He ran as far as he could until he could hardly bear the pain. He was on a beach. He thought for a split second as hard as he could. He then began to mach towards the sea and into it. He crawled his way outwards, steam rising from his hand. He could not stand it any longer. He jammed it into the sea sand. One of the memories he had seen moments before was that of a funny old painting he had seen years ago. What were the words inscribed in the corner... he thought. I'll give it a shot. I was willing to risk another's life. I must be willing to risk my own. I could never live with myself if someone was hurt because I was unwilling to sacrifice. He plunged his hand into the sand.
Back on the shores, X had snapped out of his coma and followed his trail to the edge of the water. "What the..." A deafening BOOM hit his ears. Then he could see a larger-than-normal wave approaching from a distance. It got bigger and bigger the closer it got to shore. By the time it reached him it was a full tsunami. He braced himself before the wave struck. The last thing he saw was a red body carried by the wave just in front of him. The body crashed into him with the wave. After the wave retreated, he saw that it was a quite damaged Zero. He stood over his friend. "Zero! Would you stop trying to blow yourself up?" Zero looked up at his companion. "Only when it stops becoming necessary. Oh, and don't look up." Zero fell back unconscious. X was puzzled. A shadow befell him. He dared disobey. What he saw was a large, ugly, mutated fish falling toward him. FLOP-FLOP-FLOP-FLOP-FLOP-FLOP! The sound of fish carcasses slapping the beach was deafening. The largest one had just happened to fall on X.
Chapter 5: Past, C. 20XX
"I wonder where those two have gone. I have something important to tell him." Dr. Thomas Light and his robot creation, Roll, were sitting at the dinner table. Dr. Light's assistant, Mega Man, and his robot dog Rush were out once again searching for Dr. Wily's hidden base. "Sometimes I wonder how hard it is to find a humongous castle in the shape of a skull."
Then the door opened. "I'm home!" There stood Mega Man, Dr. Light's finest creation with a happy, albeit reluctant look on his face. "Sorry I'm late, Doctor, but I guess Rush decided he wanted a side of robotic kitten stew along with his dinner." Rush had a sad look on his face. The doctor couldn't help but laugh. "That's okay. It's not like an E-Tank will spoil. Sometimes I wonder if those two will ever get along." Mega sat down and drank his E-Tank quickly. "So doctor, what is it you wanted to tell us?" Mega and Roll listened intently.
"I've been meaning to tell you this for a while now. A long time ago, years before I built you two, I met..." Before he could finish talking red lights flashed and a siren sounded. The screen next to the table flickered and the picture of a familiar face showed up on the screen. "Dr. Light, Mega Man! I found it!" "What have you found, Concrete Man? We were afraid something had happened to you." "Sorry about the lack of communication, but I've been tracking Dr. Wily for the past few days, and I've finally found the location of his fortress." "Let me see if I can track your location," the Doctor said. "Got it. What's Wily up to this time." "I'm not exactly sure, but I've seen a lot of Wily's old robots around. Whatever it is he's planning, It's big."
"All right Concrete Man, just hang tight, I'll have Mega and Rush out there in a jiffy." "Come on Rush! Let's go!" Rush barked and ran to his partner's side. "What were you saying before, Doctor?" The man seemed hesitant. "Never mind. It can wait. I'll tell you once you get back." "All right, Doctor Light." The blue robot headed off towards the signal. But the Doctor had an uneasy feeling that Mega wouldn't be back. "Is something wrong, Doctor?" He was about to say no, but changed his mind. He scribbled on a piece of paper, folded it and handed it to Roll. "Go after Mega and give this to him. I have a feeling that he'll need help on this mission. Stay with him and make sure he comes back okay." She still had questions, but could hear the urgency in the Doctor's voice. "Yes Doctor. Take care of yourself." She ran off in pursuit of her brother.
Mega followed the signal to the location from which Concrete Man had been transmitting. The castle loomed in the distance. He ran towards it and entered the gaping mouth of the fortress. "Mega Man!" Roll ran towards him. "Roll? What are you doing here? How did you get here?" "Beat flew me over here. Here, Dr. Light told me to give you this." She handed him the note. "Roll, you must get out of here. It's dangerous." Something inside of her told her to stay. "No... Dr. Light told me to stay here with you and help." "But... Okay. I suppose the Doctor knows what he's doing." The four of them, Mega, Roll, Rush and Beat, solemnly walked into the castle.
They were met with very little resistance. Then they came to a dark room. Mega stepped forward. "Okay, Wily. Show yourself!" BZZZZZT!! Mega was trapped inside a sphere of energy, paralyzed. "No! Mega!" Wily's saucer fell from the ceiling. Two big arms threw themselves around Roll. "No! Beat! Rush! It's a trap! RUN!" But she was too late. A gust of wind had knocked Beat to the ground and a small band of snakes had surrounded Rush. Wily's laughter filled the room. "I got five for the price of one! Haha!" "Fi... F... Fi-ive?" Mega managed to strain out. From behind Wily slumped forward what was left of an all-too familiar robot. "C-Concrete Man!" "I'm Sorry Mega. I..." "Mwaha! When I found this robot skulking around my property I figured that he might be of some use before I destroyed him. I found the location of one of my favorite toys that you took away from me in his circuitry. Gamma!" Lights shone on the giant figure behind Wily. It also shone on the captors of the group: Tengu Man, Snake Man, and now that she could see the arms holding her, Roll recognized her captor as Guts Man. "Now I'll make you suffer before you DIE Mega Man!" Roll couldn't watch. "N-n-noooo-ooo!" WHAM!! A giant arm swung by and decimated the damaged robot. Roll began to cry. "Now I've chosen the perfect form of execution for you, Mega Man!" 5 blue lights appeared on the walls of the room. "No Crash Bomber to save you now!" As Wily laughed maniacally, the lights began to flash blue and pink, slowly at first, but more rapidly as it went. Before the turrets fired Mega Man cried out, "W-Wily!" The turrets began to shut down. "Before I die, I have one requ-qu-qu-est." "Talk." "Dr. Light gave me a note, and I haven't read it yet." "Hmmmm. Okay." The energy sphere let up. Mega Man dropped to his knees and pulled out the note. He quietly read. He looked utterly shocked, but the closed his eyes in a calm smile. He took out his buster and fried the note. Then he turned to his sister. "It'll end up okay, Roll." He turned and faced his nemesis.
"Okay Wily. Finish me." Again the lights began to flicker pink. Faster and faster. Faster still, until... k-ZAAAAP!! 5 energy balls flew across the room. 5 energy balls hit their target. The Blue Bomber slumped to the floor. "No!" The voice came from a red and yellow figure coming into the room. He rushed to the body. "No. No no no no no no no NO!!!" "Haha! You're too late Proto Man!" "Mega. Mega, say something." The eyelids opened. One of Mega's arms reached up and grabbed Proto's head. He pulled it down, whispered a few words in his ears, then slumped into eternal darkness. "NOOOOOOOO!" Proto Man's unearthly scream surprised even Wily. "Wily, I'm gonna do what I should have done years ago!" Proto Man raised his buster and began to charge. Wily's henchmen began towards Proto Man. He didn't seem to care. "You forget, Proto Man, robots can't harm humans." "I'M MORE THAN A ROBOT!!" K-BOOOOOM!! The shot headed straight for Wily's scared eyes. He covered his head.
K-ping. The shot deflected off some unseen surface. "Dang. I was too late." Everyone in the room froze. Wily seemed as shocked as anyone. The robots after Proto Man had stopped by this time. "Show yourself! I'll blast you into the afterlife!" "There will come a time, Proto Man, when you and I will duel. But that's not today." Wily saw this moment as the time to split. But his "favorite toy" blocked his path. "I took the liberties of rewiring your machine to obey my commands. I hope you don't mind." "Tengu Man, Snake Man, Guts Man! Find whatever it is! Wave Man, Heat Man, Shade Man, Bass! Get in here!" The mysterious voice began again. "The more the merrier." The robots piled into the half-darkened room. The yellow lights from Shade Man's eyes searched for the source. "I suppose this will have to do." A red laser swept across the room. Roll watched in horror as all the other robots disappeared in the path of the laser. The laser then swept towards her.
After the room was clean besides the giant behind him and the body on the floor, the invisible figure deactivated his cloak. He chuckled to himself. He walked over to the body of the world's greatest savior. A sad look came to the figure's eyes. "It's a shame I cam too late. You would have completed my collection." The figure walked back to his new toy. He hesitated.
Back at the lab, Dr. Light couldn't sleep a wink. He wondered how Mega Man was doing. Then the doorbell rang. He quickly rushed to the door. When he opened it, all that was there was the body of what had been his most cherished possession. The Doctor brought it in and wept through the night.
