A/N: A new story, along the lines of: "What would it be like if Rockman lived through to X's time?"
Please do notice that I myself have never played any of the Rockman games. If you find anything unsatisfactory, or wrong, please do tell me. However, for the moment, enjoy this story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Rockman characters, nor any Rockman X characters.
Mirai no Tameni (1)
Prologue: An End to the World as We Know It
Rockman breathed heavily, as his fusion chamber felt crushed, but he couldn't distinguish whether it was or not. Too many alarms and warnings crowded his processor, his body begging for immediate attention. The Demon, Zero, had caused too much damage. There was no way Light-hakase (2) would be able to fix this amount of extensive damage.
Rockman felt someone hold his upper body up, cradling his head. Ignoring the warnings, Rockman reactivated his visual and sound systems. His auto-repair system couldn't possibly fix him anyways; he wouldn't bother to either. Rockman found himself staring up at his creator's face, staring into eyes so similar to his.
"Rock…." Light-hakase was crying.
"Fa…ther." Rock's voice crackled. Rock attempted a smile. "I wanted t…o see hi…m." Rock would have cried, had he been able to. "I wanted to see… him. X. Boku no otouotu (3)."
"You will, Rock, you will." Light promised.
"You promise?" Rock clung onto this fantasy childishly. His logic concluded he wouldn't. But he wished….
"I promise." Light's fate was sealed. Rock's face seemed to light up in happiness. Light couldn't refuse his, now, eldest living son. Such elation, thinking he might see his younger brother someday. No, he couldn't.
"Rest, Rock, rest." Light's voice allured. "I assure you, I will fix you… and you will get to see X, awake."
"…Duo? Zero?" Rock couldn't speak full sentences any more. Light looked on worriedly.
"Duo… took Zero back to Wily's… Albert's fortress. Don't worry, Rock. Everything's alright."
Rock finally gave in and fell into status. Light gently laid his bioroid son down and stood up, grimacing as his joints popped.
Bracing himself, Light picked Rock up and painfully dragged the robot into the house. Rock wouldn't make it if he left him in this condition any longer.
Light promised Rock he would get to meet X. He intended to keep his promise, no matter how impossible it seemed. Even at the cost of his own life.
Archeologist, Dr. James Cain, couldn't believe his luck when he uncovered the android, Rockman X. He listened with rapt attention to Light-hakase's recorded message, concerning how X was a new species of robot, years beyond current technology.
So caught up was he in Light's explanation and X's awakening that he didn't look around for anything else. He and the rest of the archeologists never noticed the smaller capsule resting in the far corner of the lab.
Sixteen years after X's awakening, the other capsule opened.
His head hurt.
… Was all that filled Rock's mind when he woke.
Rock realized he had fallen onto his forehead and quickly pushed himself up, looking wearily at his surroundings.
His initial thought was that he wasn't home. That was, until he recognized his surroundings as Light's lab. His next thought was that Roll really needed to come down here. The place was grimy beyond words.
Then he remembered Roll died protecting him.
Rock quickly scrambled off the door of his capsule and ran over to where he remembered X was.
Rock stopped dead in his tracks when he saw X's capsule empty.
His little brother was gone. X was gone.
"X, X?" Rock called out, hoping, by some chance, that X had only woken up recently. How long was he asleep for? Certainly it couldn't have been thirty years….
But X was gone. Light-hakase insured that, made sure that, X wouldn't wake up before his thirty year diagnostic period ended. Then how…?
"Rock." Rock recognized it as Light-hakase's voice.
"Father?" Rock turned around to meet face to face with… Light's hologram. "F-father?" He asked tentatively, unsure.
"Rock, if you're hearing his recorded message… you have awoken from your over thirty year slumber." Light's hologram smiled wryly. "I hadn't set a designated time for either your or X's status period, hoping that someone would wake you two instead. I didn't want either of you to wake alone, without guidance." Light sighed.
"Father…." So, Light was dead. Rock knew his human father would not live to see X's awakening (as Blues had so pointed out, much to Rock's dismay). If Rock had woken after X, it meant Light had most definitely passed away before. A wave of grief passed through Rock. Why was he alone?
"As seeing that I'm not telling you this in person, I have passed away, Rock. I want you to take care of X for me. For all of us." Meaning that Light wanted Rock to take care of X for Blues', Roll's, Light's, and the rest of his family's stead. "To… help you, I've upgraded your systems as much as I could without completely destroying your original body, as seeing that your core and memory systems were not compatible with ones like X's."
In other words, Rock was still bound by his original programming and the Three Laws of Robotics. He didn't mind, really. "I don't know what awaits you and X in the outside world. Who knows how many years have passed since I placed you in your capsule. However, I believe you two will do well. Rock, stay close to your brother, please…. And, I wish the two of you the best of luck. Good bye." Light's hologram phased out of existence.
Rock stared at the empty space where his creator's hologram once stood. He nodded his head. "I will Father, I will." He looked towards X's empty capsule. "But, I think I need to find X first." With that, Rock strode out of the lab and into the outside world… one-hundred-and-sixty years after his deactivation.
I'll try not to use so much Japanese words, considering that I'm not a native speaker, and nor am I learning this language, but I like to dabble a bit... and here you have the results.
(1) Mirai no Tameni - For the Future
(2) Hakase - is equivalent to doctor in Japanese; Rock will often refer to Light as such.
(3) Boku no otouotu - My younger brother
Um, review please?