Uncanny Loop
A classic megaman story
By Archaon
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The smallish figure entered his room stealthily, dismissing his jade armor and sighing, running a hand through his short black hair. It was quite hard to find privacy inside the Light household, but he could at least hope for some peace.
Or rather, he hoped for some trouble, anything to take his mind off the impending predicament. His wish remained unfulfilled, however. Dr. Wily had vanished some years back and was presumed dead as a doorknob. Society was peaceful, people were relatively happy, robots had stopped being a novelty and for the last week, the news agencies had been forced to talk extensively about the weather. That and skiing rabbits. You knew it was quiet when reporters occupied themselves with the marvels of skiing rabbits.
Quint let his gaze go blank for a while, staring at the ceiling and trying to clear his mind. Inevitably, however, his eyes were drawn to a nearby bookcase, which housed his collection of books and datapads. Most of them dealt with time theory, time paradox, time travel and just about anything having to do with the universe's elusive temporal aspects.
Not unexpected, if one knew of the robot's origins. In a harebrained scheme to destroy Megaman once and for all, Dr. Wily had traveled about 37 years in the future with a stolen time machine, had abducted that time's Megaman and had brainwashed him, giving him new programming, new weapons, new paintjob and a new name. Thus Quint had been born.
Said robot laughed bitterly at that. There was a chance that that same plan had backfired horribly for Wily, safeguarding Megaman's existence until the time of his future abduction. Or it might had not. No one was really sure how time-travel worked. Most didn't even believe it was possible. Quint both dreaded and yearned to learn.
It's not that he was not satisfied, even happy with his current life. The Light family had accepted him readily after Megaman helped him get rid of Wily's obedience programming. His memory was spotty at best, so he had only a little foreknowledge to offer, but he figured it would have been distressing to relive all of his old memories from merely another perspective.
A soft knock on his door halted his thoughts and he suppressed a sigh. "Come in, Roll", he murmured just loud enough to be heard. Nobody but her did she knock that gently or at all.
Almost soundlessly, the door opened and the girl that was technically his sister walked in, a tray with a glass full of water in her hands. "Hi Quint. I thought you'd be thirsty."
Megaman's future self couldn't help but smile at her cheerful greeting. "Thanks", he responded, accepting the drink. While there were more efficient ways to replenish his liquids, he enjoyed drinking water directly. "One of these days, I'm going to figure out how you always know when one of us returns home. I was quiet like a breeze."
Roll very maturely stuck her tongue out. "Not telling", she teased, absentmindedly stepping towards the window.
A flash of memory came to Quint and he sprang forward. "You'll need your broom. Broken glass is nasty to deal with. And you might want to stay away from there", he ordered, tugging her back anyway, before she could even think to ask, and shielding her a bit. A second later, a football exploded through that same window, glass erupting like a shotgun blast and peppering part of the room with shards.
Roll's expression went from astonishment, to puzzlement to realization. "Rock!" she shouted, sounding mightily miffed. "Watch where you kick that thing. You almost got us!"
"Sorry!" came a subdued apology from below, followed by poorly concealed laughter from many sources, both robot and canine.
Roll frowned, hands at her waist, although she seemed amused, too. "Who would have thought that Rock and Bass would get along so well. They haven't tried to kill each other for at least a month, but to play together like that…" Her thoughtful expression turned concerned as she eyed Quint. Her brother's lookalike was frozen in an expression of terror.
He quickly realized that, however, and schooled his visage back to a lazy smile. "Not that weird, sis", he replied casually, preventing her from inquiring whether something was wrong. "After all, finhead down there would do anything to have an excuse to be close to you", he quipped.
Roll flush crimson at that, almost rebooting from embarrassment. "I have no idea what you mean", she responded vehemently, ignoring Quint's knowing smile. "More importantly, how did you know what would happen?" she asked, eager for a change in subject.
The other robot's face sobered at that and he turned a bit to the side, refusing to face her. "I remembered it", he explained. "I remembered kicking the ball at Bass, but miscalculating a bit."
Roll nodded in understanding, extending a hand and grasping her brother's shoulder. "I know something's bothering you lately, Quint", she confessed. "You know you are my brother as much as Rock is. You know you can talk to me, to us. Dad might not be as healthy as he used to, but he is also here for us."
He was tempted then, really tempted to spill the beans, to reveal his worries. Instead, he shook his head and managed a smile. "Sorry Roll. That's one thing I have to deal with alone."
He could not tell her it was about 37 years since the time he had first fought Megaman. He could not tell her playing with Bass and breaking that window was one of his last memories as Megaman. He certainly would not tell her that tonight, Dr. Wily from the past would appear and try to capture and essentially kill Megaman.
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The blue-armored robot spared a glance to the room's other occupant, who was sleeping deeply and soundlessly. He then proceeded to activate the room's lockdown protocols, making sure none could get in or out without some serious, time-consuming effort. He had already hacked into the house's mainframe, making sure no alarms would sound.
Drawing a deep breath in an effort to calm himself, he silently left the house, sprinting down the empty roads and through the starless night. A combination of the new moon and a thick blanket of clouds made it ideal for him.
He stopped about an hour later, freezing in his steps and sending his senses into overdrive. Then, suddenly and without preamble, he spun on one foot as a top, delivering a powerful kick at the trunk of a large nearby tree and causing it to shake erratically.
A yelping figure fell from one of the higher braches, but the first robot hardly stopped moving, activating Oilman's Oil slider and making the ground extremely slippery. As the figure landed on the oil and vainly tried to gain a semblance of balance, its eyes grew wide at the sight of four very sharp rings heading his way. Instead of reducing him to ribbons, though, they waved erratically, trapping his arms and legs, then continuing to dig into the tree's trunk, effectively pinning him on it without hurting him. A second later, a swarm of green robot snakes climbed and wrapped on him, constricting him further but failing to detonate. Finally, a dozen shots from a Needle cannon followed, all raining around him, tracing his outline and rendering movement a faraway dream.
Despite being immobilized, Protoman chuckled. "Good evening to you too, bro. You look good in blue."
Quint, decked in Megaman's blue armor and looking indistinguishable from his younger self, shook his head. "Only you could make a joke out of this, Blues", he replied.
The red-armored robot raised a brow behind his visor. "Seeing as I'm not Swiss cheese, may I ask why you've seen fit to interrupted my nap, Quint?"
His brother sighed, chuckling a bit. "You might be the first true robot, but I'm technically older and more experienced than you. I first noticed you following ten minutes ago."
Protoman would have shaken his head if he could. "How you lost to Rock, I'll never figure out."
Quint glared at him. "Temporal providence, maybe. Now, how about you explain why you're stalking me?"
The other robot matched his glare. "How about you explain why you're going alone? Unlike the rest of our family, I'm perfectly able and willing to count 37 years. I've never forgotten an important date either." When Quint looked away instead of answering, Protoman's eyes went wide. "You don't intent to fight him! You intent to let yourself be captured", he realized. "Is that even possible?"
"To change history, you mean?" replied Quint, morbidly amused. "Don't know, I'll try." His eyes hardened at that. "I will not allow it to happen again. I will not allow Rock to become me."
"But the paradox…" tried Protoman, although he didn't sound convinced either.
"Screw paradox", cursed Quint, quite uncharacteristically. "Paradox has been the bane of my existence. Up until today, none of my old memories have helped me determine if I have changed something. They always return after events have gone in motion."
Protoman's face turned grim and he subtly tried to move. The explosive snakes hissed warningly in response. "What do you really intent to do?" he asked resigned.
Quint shook his head. "The right thing would be to kill Wily and end this nonsense. I'm sure I can easily defy the First law, knowing what he has done and will do. And yet, that would be too much of a change, too dangerous." His eyes hardened, mirroring his resolve. "I'll put up some token resistance, then let him catch me. I have installed a secret memory backup on myself, so this time I'll remember everything and I'll be able to shake his control at once. This timeline's Megaman will not turn into me. Other than that, I'll just have to play it by ear."
"It's still too dangerous, especially for you", tried Protoman, but Quint ignored him.
"Sakugarne!" he ordered, causing his drillbot partner to teleport in. "I need to leave, boy, this time for good", he muttered softly. To him, the little robot was as precious as Rush to his counterpart. Sakugarne made a series of sad sounding beeps, but nodded. "I want you to keep Blues from leaving this place until dawn. If he tries to free himself, bump him on the head a couple dozen times", he went on, amused at Protoman's incredulous expression. "Afterwards, you can stay with Rock."
"There is nothing I can say to stop you", stated more than asked his pinned brother, feeling impotent.
Quint shook his head. "This time's Wily is either gone or senile. You guys will be very safe here. As for me, I'll at first try causing small changes back in that past. Who knows, it might be fun."
Protoman nodded by only moving his eyes behind his visor. "You are way too much like him, after all. You really are Rock."
The other robot smirk. "You mean heroic and foolhardy?"
"That and also dumb as a rock", came the grumble.
"So long older-younger brother", he responded walking away and refraining from looking back. "Don't want to be late for my date with destiny."
"Brother's advice: If she orders caviar and the lobster, run away like Quickman."
"Sure I will!"
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The End.
Just the lovechild of a plotbunny and a teaser I had to get rid of. This story is inspired by fellow writer RandyPandy's work. In my eyes, she has turned Quint from some flat boss in an old game to an interesting character.
By the way, do you know how hard it is to find robot master weapons that can immobilize without hurting? The time-affecting techniques would have been a bit of an overkill and boring, so I had to get creative. And yes, in my stories Megaman and by extension Quint can use all the weapons from all the games. Losing these powers is just a game mechanic after all.
Be sure to review!