For Everlasting Peace
Mega Man stepped out of the transporter for the last time, then stood for a moment, collecting himself. He had just fought four Robot Master clones in a row, but with the two he'd encountered earlier, that was all of them. Maybe Dr. Wily was finally out of the things to throw at him.
Yeah, right. Why should he believe that now? He hadn't expected to deal with the Robot Masters a second time either—although, thinking about it, perhaps he should have expected something like that. After all, Dr. Wily had originally been hired to mass produce copies of them all, once it was proven to the world how well they worked. That was how he'd gotten hold of them to begin with. He was supposed to have been studying them for the purpose.
Mega Man clenched a fist. Instead, he'd warped Dr. Light's creations into instruments of destruction. Dr. Light's and his own, in a sense, since Mega Man had not so long ago been the lab assistant who helped Dr. Light build them. He remembered the day they had completed that work.
"All systems look good," Rock confirmed to his creator. "Ready for activation."
"Right, then." Dr. Light glanced at the readout once more himself, then reached for the switch. "No matter how many times I do this, it never stops seeming wondrous," he murmured. He pulled the switch down, releasing the energy surge that would awaken the six robots they'd recently finished building.
After a few seconds, one set of eyes slowly opened, followed by another and another. Soon, all six of them were looking at their creator, or around at the lab, with various degrees of interest and curiosity.
"Hello, Cut Man, Guts Man, Ice Man, Bomb Man, Fire Man, Elec Man. So happy to have all of you join us. I have the highest hopes for you."
"You… created us?" Fire Man was the first to speak.
"I am Dr. Light, your creator," the man confirmed. "This is Rock, my assistant."
Rock waved briefly at them. "Hi. Welcome to the world."
Cut Man considered him. "You are a robot, like us." Rock nodded.
"You can tell he's the sharp one," Dr. Light commented, grinning faintly. Cut Man looked at him quizzically.
"He calls it humor. You'll get used to it," Rock whispered.
Bomb Man was looking around. "Is there anyone else here? I believe I hear movement from somewhere beyond the walls."
"That would be Roll, my other creation," Dr. Light explained. "She's looking after the house – the other part of the building – but I'm sure you'll have a chance to meet her soon."
"Very soon: She'll be in to remind you that it's lunch time any time now," Rock pointed out.
"Oh, is it that late already?" Dr. Light asked, mildly surprised. "Well, anyway. That's everyone here, but there's a whole world, full of people, beyond this place, and you'll have plenty of opportunity to experience it. All of you have been designed with unique abilities, and it's my hope that you can successfully use them to make this world a better place for everyone."
"If that's what you want, we'll be happy to try," Fire Man promised.
"But, will we know the best way to do that?" Ice Man asked, a bit nervously. "We aren't familiar with this world, not yet."
"Don't worry," Rock assured him. "You were made and programmed by the best. You'll do fine, you'll see."
It would have all been fine, Mega Man reflected, as he cautiously advanced forward. Would have been, if not for Dr. Wily's cruel machinations. But he'd vowed to stop him, and now, he felt, he'd finally tracked him down. From what he could analyze of this fortress and its systems, the control room should be a very short distance ahead. Dr. Wily would surely be there.
The hallway around Mega Man abruptly opened into a large, dimly lit space. Suddenly, he heard the unmistakable hum of Dr. Wily's personal little aircraft. A moment later, the thing flew out of the shadows to hover in the air before him. So, the scientist had decided to intercept him here, in this empty area, rather than allow him to invade the actual control room where their struggle could damage something important.
"You've caused me a lot of trouble, little robot," Dr. Wily called angrily down to him. "That was my army you've destroyed!"
"They weren't yours," Mega Man answered, quietly but furiously. "You've caused enough damage. I'm here to stop you."
"I think not." Dr. Wily considered him for a moment. "I recognize you. You were that absurdly human-looking tech-bot in Thomas's lab. Rock, he called you, I believe. So he modified you for battle, did he? Well, I'm not out of tricks yet, either." The scientist hit a button on his control panel, and a much larger machine appeared out of the surrounding shadows, quickly attaching itself to his little saucer. Mega Man could hear Dr. Wily's laughter as the thing closed up around it, merging into a fortified aircraft. It promptly opened fire on the floor below, forcing Mega Man to dodge.
He quickly reviewed his own collected arsenal and prepared to counterattack. He hadn't expected Dr. Wily to come quietly, but he was determined to put a stop to his reign of terror. He had been since the beginning.
Dr. Light sat in front of the television, his hand on his forehead, his face bowed in despair. The newscaster was carrying on about the attack on the city by Dr. Wily's robot army, with scenes of the destruction in the background. Dr. Light looked up to the feel of a cold hand on his shoulder.
Rock stood next to him, also looking grimly at the screen. "He needs to be stopped."
"Yes, he does, but I don't know that anyone has the power to do it," Dr. Light said sadly. "The Robot Masters are too strong. I should know: I built them." He added bitterly.
"Can't you build someone else, someone stronger?" Roll asked from behind them. She was standing worriedly in the doorway.
"I suppose I could, but it takes time to build a robot, especially one so powerful. But that time, there could be nothing left to save."
"It wouldn't take nearly as long to modify an existing one," Rock suggested slowly.
"No, I suppose not, but…"
"Send me."
Dr. Light looked at him in surprise. "What are you saying? You're not a fighter."
"No, but you can fix that. Give me weapons, armor, whatever I need, and I'll stop Dr. Wily, and the Robot Masters, myself," Rock promised. His expression was hard with determination.
"Rock, what are you doing? You could be killed!" Roll protested.
"So could a lot of innocent people, if I don't do something," he pointed out.
"He's right," Dr. Light told her. "This may be the only way. If you're sure you can handle this," he said seriously. "Something has to be done, but… You're like my son, Rock, and I don't want to lose you."
"I'll handle it," he promised.
"Why you?" Roll was still uncertain.
"Don't you see?" Rock asked both of them. "It wasn't just you who built them," he reminded his creator, "it was both of us. In a way, I'm just as responsible for this as you are—and I know you're blaming yourself," he said to Dr. Light. "So, it's our responsibility to fix it, however we can. It's my responsibility. That's all."
Dr. Light nodded slowly. "You're right. We both need to do our part." He got up and headed for the lab. "Basic armor shouldn't be hard. Now, versatility is in the basic programming, so maybe that could be adapted into…" His muttering slowly faded out of earshot.
Rock turned back to Roll. "You understand?"
"I understand," Roll answered. "I don't have to like it, but I understand."
"I'll come back in one piece," he promised.
"You'd better. We were meant to divide the tasks around here, after all. You better not leave me to pick up your end, too." She waved in the direction of the lab, where Dr. Light had disappeared.
"Don't worry." He turned to follow their creator, but glanced back once more, to see her smiling at him, if weakly.
"Good luck, brother."
Mega Man continued to dodge Dr. Wily's barrage as he raked the front of the aircraft with flames. He'd come this far, and he wasn't about to give up now.
Finally, part of the war machine came apart under the attack. A sizable chunk of the front, including the weapon that had been shooting at him up to now, fell away. Dr. Wily, now visible behind his protective plas-glass shield, glared at him.
"My old friend Thomas put some effort into upgrading you, didn't he?" He smirked. "If I'd realized his little fetch-bot had such potential, maybe I'd have snatched you for my army, too. In a way, I suppose it's a waste."
"I'd sooner be destroyed than serve the likes of you," Mega Man gritted.
"That can be arranged!" Dr. Wily fired a large blast from some secondary weapon. Mega Man barely evaded it as it traced an erratic, spiralling path through the air.
Bringing his own blaster back up to bear, Mega Man narrowed his eyes at his adversary. "The others would have felt the same—if they'd been given a choice. You destroyed them. You will answer for it."
Mega Man watched warily as Bomb Man appeared before him. He'd fought his way through a whole construction site's worth of drones to get to him, but now he wasn't sure exactly what he was going to do. He didn't really want to kill him, but if he had no choice…?
"Did you come to be demolished, Rock?" Bomb Man asked. He was already reaching for one of his signature explosives.
"It's Mega Man now, and I came to put a stop to this destruction," he answered flatly.
"Our enemies will be destroyed!" Bomb Man declared. He threw the bomb. Mega Man darted across the room, and a moment later, the thing exploded, nearly where he'd been standing.
"Bomb Man, please!" Mega Man had his plasma blaster aimed, but didn't fire yet. "This isn't what Dr. Light built you for. You were meant to help people, not hurt them! Try to remember!" He dodged as another bomb was thrown. "Come on, we used to be comrades. I was built by Dr. Light, same as you were. I was there when you first woke up!" He jumped back as Bomb Man lunged at him. "I don't want to hurt you if I can help it, but this has to stop!" He scrambled out of the way as Bomb Man attacked him again. "Won't you answer me? You called me 'Rock' before; you must remember who I am!"
"There's nothing wrong with my memory," Bomb Man said coldly. "I know where I came from. But I serve Dr. Wily now. If you stand against him, you must die!"
"Dr. Light was the one who created you. He doesn't want this. Dr. Wily perverted you from what you were meant to be."
"It doesn't matter. My ties to Dr. Light, and to you, are no longer relevant." Bomb Man hefted another explosive. "Only Dr. Wily's objectives matter. You oppose them, so you are the enemy."
"It seems we are enemies then," Mega Man said softly. "I'm sorry." He raised his plasma blaster and fired.
His words had had no better luck with any of the others—but he'd soon given up trying. It was clear that Dr. Wily had done his work too well.
Now, the evil scientist laughed in triumph as one of his spiraling shots connected. Mega Man fell to his knees, grimacing in pain as the impact reverberated through his systems. Dr. Wily's hand was poised to fire again, but he paused, savoring the moment.
"Thomas really thought you, a repurposed lab drone, were going to get the better of me? I knew from the moment I first saw you in his lab that you were a waste of titanium. Oh, you had a good run, I'll give you that, but it's over. Prepare to be scrapped, Rock."
The robot suddenly jumped to his feet, firing a spinning blade right into the heart of the weapon array. "The name is Mega Man!" There was an explosion from among the severed wires, quickly followed by others, in other parts of the system.
Dr. Wily frantically pounded a button, causing the bottom of the cockpit to drop open. He fell to the floor as the aircraft drifted off to the side of the room, spinning slowly toward the floor as the chain reaction ripped it apart. Mega Man slowly stepped forward to stand over Dr. Wily, who cringed as he looked up at him fearfully. He raised his hands slightly, as if pleading for Mega Man to stay back.
Mega Man reached out and grabbed him by the back of his labcoat collar. "I'm taking you to the police. You will face justice for the damage you've done." Dr. Wily didn't resist as Mega Man started to drag him forward, but his hand slipped into his pocket. Mega Man barely had time to realize that the man was pressing the button of some small device in there, when there was a series of loud explosions from overhead. The building quaked.
As Mega Man looked up in surprise, Dr. Wily suddenly tore free and ran for the far side of the room. Mega Man started to go after him, but pieces of the ceiling were beginning to fall, hindering him. Dr. Wily ducked into a small doorway, then glared back once.
"This isn't over… Mega Man. Not nearly!" He slammed his fist into a panel next to him, and the door slid shut, blending into the wall. Cracks were beginning to appear in the floor.
Mega Man stared at the spot where he'd disappeared for a moment, then bowed his head. "I suppose it isn't. But when you try something else, I'll still be here. I'll fight you as often as it takes!" With a final determined glare, he teleported out of the collapsing fortress.