After four years, I'm giving this story a second chance at survival. Now that I'm powered up with more Mega Man geekery than ever, hopefully this time around the story should make more sense and work better in conjunction with the original cannon.
Now, keep in mind that this is based on the Mega Man Classic series. Don't expect X or Zero to show up unless I give them cameos at the very end. If there is a classic character you would like to see represented (particularly a Robot Master) speak up and you may be rewarded! In fact, I'm going to need a LOT of help from my readers in order to keep this fic moving.
With that in mind, lets bust out the story!
Chapter 1: Sunny D. Light
Sunny stared vacantly at the holo screen, watching the soccer world cup. It was neck and neck between Germany and the U.S., but her mind wasn't on the game.
Her eyes were fixed on the legs of the players. Running. Kicking. Moving. She maneuvered her hoverchair closer and watched muscles contract, flex, ripple, trying to conjure the sensation again in her head. If she closed her eyes, she could almost feel her cleats digging into the grass, the sun beaming down, but her legs…
Her open eyes were now fixed on her legs, dangling uselessly from the edge of her hoverchair. How long had it been since her ALS kicked in? Three years? At the age of seventeen everyone had said she was headed straight for the college teams, and then she had begun to stumble. She had become downright clumsy, to the point of even tripping over her own feet.
Her own father, Dr. Peter Light, a highly advanced neurologist, had given the diagnosis: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The disease would weaken her muscles, eventually causing paralysis and, when it reached those needed for breathing, death.
She sucked in a deep, grateful breath. The average life expectancy for someone once the disease set in was three to five years. She was beating the odds, for now.
She was about to switch to the news but her mother got there first, switching off the holo screen before Sunny could so much as catch a glimpse.
Sunny's hand twitched repeatedly, reaching for the remote even though it was gone now. She sighed in frustration as her mother closed her own hands over it.
"Honey, I know where your thoughts are going. It's not a good place to be."
"I know, Mom, I know. I just wish I could do something worthwhile with my life."
"And what makes you think it's not worthwhile now?"
Sunny made a gesture encompassing the hoverchair and her crippled body.
"Oh, honey. As long as you are moving forward and not back, your life IS worthwhile."
With that, she swept into the kitchen, taking the remote with her. Sunny was left to wonder just what she was moving toward.
Later at dinner that night, Sunny's fork and knife kept slipping from her fingers. As she sighed in defeat for the hundredth time, she saw her mother ask her father something. Suddenly he set down his cutlery with a nod and firmly declared, "It's time."
"Time for what, Dad?" she asked, startling both her parents. Her father stood and smiled. Oh please, not another lecture on how I should be enjoying the rest of my life, thought Sunny, and was surprised to hear him say, "I think it's time we all went to your Uncle Thomas's for a visit."
"Yes," interjected her mother, "you haven't seen your cousins in a while, have you?"
Her cousins…the thought made her smile. Few people in the world had such famous and unusual cousins. Cousins that weren't even human. Not that it made them any less a part of the family…
"Yeah," Sunny said. "I'd like to see Rock and Roll again."