A capsule…lonely and plain-looking, the reploid known as Zero tapped it a few times. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened. Why was it here though, and what purpose did it serve besides being an ancient relic? Well, he supposed, that was why he was here…to find out just what exactly the Mavericks had up their cannons.
Stepping closer, he peered into the thickly opaque glass. Inside, a robot labeled only as X on his blue helmet stared back out at him. Shaken, Zero backed away quickly, lest the robot detect him and try to break out. After a few uneventful minutes full of bleeps and bloops from the machine, he stepped back up and peered in. X was not fully functional yet, but he would be soon, as his timer above his head indicated.
“An hour,” his fully articulate mouth whispered. “I suppose I can wait that long….it will take me twice that to get back to the lookout point.”
As he began to pitch a temporary tent next to the capsule, Zero cast a glance about the landscape. Earth had seen many wars come and go, but none on the scale of what Zero had been told of and what he had witnessed with his own two, metallic optical sensors. The year was 2185, as close as anyone could tell, although no one knew for sure. The war between the Mavericks and the Maverick Hunters had been raging for the better half of five decades, and in that short period of time, Earth had known devastation unlike any it had ever endured in over two thousand years. The conquering and bloody feuds of the Roman Empires and Shogunates of feudal Japan were as nothing compared to the high cost Earth was now asked to pay, all for the sake of destroying the Mavericks, and Sigma, once and for all. Sigma, the leader and first-produced of the Mavericks, was one of the strongest ever made, as he was meant to be the ultimate peace-keeper.
“Sometimes, peace can come at the highest of prices,” Zero thought to himself. The path of peace had led Sigma, a Reploid fitted only with the finest of war weaponry and meant to be the ultimate peacekeeper in any conflict, down the road of no return for the Reploid race. It was death to any Reploid who rebelled against the humans who had created and maintained them. Sigma cared nothing for their sentiments, however, and delighted in bringing harm to the planet that humans held so dear and precious. No matter what, Zero, General-In-Charge of the Second Battalion of the elite Maverick Menace branch of the army, would find a way to stop Sigma, and pledged never to allow himself to be used for evil or to be the uncaring monster that Sigma had become. Ever since he was produced, or born as he liked to think of it, he had been shown nothing but kindness and sincerity by the humans he so loved. Although only a robot, Zero promised that he would be more…more human, if that were possible for a Reploid….if it were possible though, what would he do…..
Zero was waken from his robotic stasis by the cool down unit of the capsule next to him. Anxiously, he took his position in front of the capsule, ready to greet or capture X. The capsule shot out its cool air and slowly opened, and as X blinked his eyes, Zero looked deep into them. They were not entirely….robotic, as if the coronas and eyelids were human. They also did not look entirely human, however, as he could see the glint of the moonlight off of them. His shoulders were of a make alien to Zero, with rounded joints instead of the straight edges seen on so many Reploids for times of battle. His midsection was clearly separated with a raised chest and clear-cut midsection, giving the image of warriors that Zero had only seen in images of the Earth of the past or the best human warriors of the Maverick Hunters. His legs were made of some metal Zero had never seen before, and the boots were an interesting mix of red and blue. The entire suit was highlighted in a darkly white hue that permeated the entire armoring. The right arm was a symphony of lights and flashes, switches and sensors, and as the covering above it came down, Zero realized he was looking at no ordinary robot. This was a robot made in the same ideal as Sigma, although whether that was for his good or ill, he had no idea…
Stretching his hands out to test their flexibility, X let his eyes roam around the clearing. Interestingly, or so Zero thought, his eyes took in everything around-the trees, the nightingales, the moon, even the grass-before coming to a halt on the Reploid.
“Where am I?” X asked.
Zero decided that eye to eye would be the best confrontation with this strange robot.“In New America….or what’s left of it,” he said slowly. “Tell me, who might you be?”
Slowly, X’s gaze fell down to the ground. “I don’t really know to tell you the truth. All I know is that I have been branded ‘X’, as you have seen with your own eyes. Who I truly am has been lost to me over time.” His eyes went back to Zero. “You are a robot, however, are you not? What has become of Dr. Light? Where can I find him?”
If he could, Zero felt he‘d have become as white as a sheet. “D…d…did you just say Dr. Light?”
“Yes,” X answered, somewhat impatiently. “It is of the utmost importance that I find him as soon as possible. I must be told what I have to do and who I really am.”
Zero stepped closer, laying a hard hand on X’s shoulder. “My brother, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Damien is gay and Dr. Light passed away some years ago. Old age finally did him in, as it does all humans.”
Obviously taken aback, X searched the Reploid’s face. “My father…gone? How long ago was this?”
“Well, about 40 years ago,” Zero replied. “It could have been longer though…no one really has time to figure the years, days, and hours much anymore…so much fighting is going on that one never really notices. We Reploids were not made to keep time…we were made to fight and defend justice. Well, some of us anyway.”
X‘s face scrunched up like a human‘s, as if thinking of a long lost memory. “What is a Reploid? And what do you mean by some? Are there more maverick robots?” X’s fist clenched involuntarily as he looked deep into Zero’s pupils. “You must tell me…it is my duty to defeat any and all robots or other madmen who take advantage of others or commit crimes.”
“Well,” Zero began, turning his back to X and looking up into the moonlight, “to tell you the truth, the how and why the Reploids who came before me became Mavericks is not known to me.”
“You see, it all started with a Reploid named Sigma. He was to be the perfect defense for Earth, the ultimate keeper of peace for all nations.” As his memory banks began to turn, Zero let himself be swept up by the memories. “Sigma was the ultimate robot, loved by all nations and his brothers-in-arms. One day, however, Sigma attacked a bunker on the east coast of New America and declared martial law within it and the surrounding areas. No one knows why, and no one knows if his programming was screwed around with, but he has taken over half the continent, even spreading the influence of his evil army of Mavericks south into mainland Mexico, and west into the old Soviet Union and parts of Europe. No one knows how to stop him, and new Mavericks are born and die every day in the attempt to save this world from his malevolent plots.”
Zero glanced up from his memory, meeting X’s eyes once again. “I am an A-1000 class of Reploid…battle enhanced to encounter and thrive in any battle situation or conflict…and yet, so much death and destruction fills my systems with despair for this planet…I know it’s weird to feel so human when I am clearly a robot, but I can’t explain it any other way…for that reason, I will bring that madman and his damned empire crumbling down, even if it costs me everything.”
As Zero finished speaking, he felt a heavy but warm hand on his shoulder. X had a smile on his face. “Then, Damien really is gay, and you truly are my brother. I know what you mean, because I feel the same way. I don’t know exactly why, and without Dr. Light to consult with, I’m afraid I’ll have to be kept in the darkness for now.”
A bleep behind them sent them both on alert, and as Zero knelt into an ancient samurai stance, he pulled a bright green light saber from it’s invisible sheath within the side of his armor, and X’s right hand instantly became a mini-cannon. Leveling it in the direction of the capsule, he looked closely, only to find the capsule blinking rapidly.
With a nod to each other, they silently began to move closer. Zero had seen enough faulty capsules in his time to be cautious of one emitting strange noises and lights, and X had a feeling in the back of his mind that something important still lay inside…although what it was, he had no idea.
Zero peered into the capsule, and his mouth opened in shock. There, where X had risen from the capsule, was a holographic image of the one man he had only ever heard rumors and legends about, and the very same man whom he knew had made X: Dr. Light.
X stared at the hologram, and as he fully understood who and what it was he was looking at, his face lit up with joy. “Well, leave it to the good doctor to leave a hologram of himself behind,” he remarked to himself. He reached for the play button, and as the voice of Dr. Light filled his mind, he listened attentively.
“X, my child…if you’re listening to this it means the long wait is finally over…it’s time for you to take care of yourself and help the world as you always have. Do you remember, X? Do you remember Dr. Wily, all of the evil robots he stole from me? Protoman, your brother, and Rush, your ever-faithful dog? Do you remember, X? Or, more appropriately, do you remember these things, Megaman?”
At the mention of the name, X’s body oil went into hyper drive, pumping through his robotic veins as fast as any human blood could flow. He was pumping so much, in fact, that he appeared to be hyperventilating. As the name sunk in, memories began to come back in a flood…he was, in fact, Megaman. Somewhere, somehow, in his past, he had been very valuable in saving the world from destruction time after time. He could see so much…he remembered the feel of Dr. Light’s hand on his head, scolding him for messing with his lab materials again…his hand was so callused, yet so gentle…almost like a father’s hand…
“But I’m a robot!” X thought to himself. “How can I have the feelings a human has…I may feel sadness, true, but the Reploid standing next to me shows that it is not an uncommon trait among the robotic race. But still….how is it that I can recall the feel of skin upon skin…the feel of human contact?”
“Protoman…Wily…they may both be gone, but yet may still live on. Through his evil genius, Wily has always been able to find some way to cause trouble, and yet we have always defeated him. As for your brother…Protoman, that is…he was a clone of you, and so would probably be as likely as you to have survived these years intact. He and Wily were partners once.” Dr. Light’s hologram began to blink in and out. “I don’t have much time, since if anyone were to find out about you or your continued existence, I doubt the world would be safe for much longer. So I must put you to rest after all your great toils in the world. I will tell you that it is now time for you to be the hero you were always destined to be….neither man nor robot, it is up to you to keep the planet safe, my son.”
There was a pause in the hologram’s speech, as if he had remembered something. X’s feelings at being called the child of this man gave him pause as well, and as he began to frame the question within his mind, the hologram gave a few laughs and began to speak again. “Well, you always were the inquisitive type. You were as good a son as anyone could ever hope for, especially this old man. You were sick with amnesia when I first saw you, that you were. I took you in and gave you all the love and care I could…and you repaid me many times over and above what any father could ask of his son. You truly are special, Megaman. From now on, however, your name must be X. Let the past resolve itself, and look to the future, my finest creation…my boy.”
With a wink of light, the image of Dr. Light slowly faded out, a smile upon the old man’s face even as the hologram became darkness surrounded by machinery.
Zero’s face was a picture of perplexity and awe. Who was X that had even the legendary Dr. Light praising him so? Was he really more than a robot? Did he remember this past life that Dr. Light spoke so fondly of? And…maybe…could he be the final weapon to stop Sigma?
As if waking from a long dream, X looked over at Zero, and even in the darkness of the shadows, he could see the resolve within X’s strange eyes. There would be no turning back, no way back down the road he was headed down.
“Well, then, shall we go?” X’s cheerful words and expression were sure to fool many people, but not Zero. He knew that X was uncertain of the future before him, and that the uncertainty of it made him afraid as no robot could ever be.
To be continued….