Ragnaröck
At some point in time, a portion of Mega Man fans began to theorize about the connections between the original and X series. They believed that since the original Mega Man series (in both English and Japanese releases) used Roman numerals until Mega Man 7 (Japan) and Mega Man 8 (elsewhere), that Mega Man X was actually the tenth entry in the series ("X" is the Roman numeral for ten, after all), with the then-unreleased Mega Man 9 being a bridge of sorts between the two meta-series. It seemed somewhat plausible, but with the ninth classic Mega Man not being a bridge, it seems that the true connections between both series won't be revealed anytime soon. But what if Mega Man 9 was the bridge between the two series? My fan-fiction is an AU take on that theory.
About the Rating:
The story will be rated "T". There is violence, but it's pretty toned down (these are robots, after all). There also is a small amount of swearing from time to time, mostly on the parts of the less moral characters.
About the Story/Canon:
As I've said before, this story is an AU branch from the actual direction of the original Mega Man series. Ragnaröck takes place a few years after the events of Rockman & Forte Mirai kara no Chōsensha (Mega Man & Bass: Challenger from the Future) for the WonderSwan; original research on the part of other devoted fans places the aforementioned game at the year 2016 A.D., but I'm keeping the year at the ever-ambigious "20XX" anyway.
This fan-fiction does not include the retcons made by Mega Man Powered Up; there are only six original Robot Masters (not including Mega Man, Roll, and Proto Man) and they were all destroyed by the end of the first game. Because of that, the events of Super Adventure Rockman don't come into play (according to it, Dr. Light somehow repaired the original RMs and sent them out to help Mega Man on his quest). The China-only Rockman Strategy also has no influence on this story. Plot points from Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters, Mega Man: The Wily Wars, and the Game Boy (Rockman World) series are referenced.
About the "Cataclysm" Theory:
For those of you who are familiar with the Mega Man-based webcomic Bob and George, you might remember a sprite movie called The Cataclysm, based off of a common myth pertaining to what happened to the characters of the original series. Sadly, the final few story arcs are influenced by that movie. Keiji Inafune himself debunked that theory in a September blog at Capcom Unity, but luckily for me, I do have a few twists in store for you all... Plus, it's just a fan-fiction. It's not like any of this is canon anyways...
I do hope, however, that Inafune-san will clear up everything sometime in the future. His answer definitely was of little help.
About the Characters:
Most of the characters in this fan-fiction are true to their video game counterparts (i.e. Proto Man's a carefree loner, Bass is blindingly proud, ambitious, and self-loathing, etc.), but some characters will seem OOC at times. Especially Mega Man. Sorry, but I had to include some witty banter somewhere. For most part, Mega Man is true to his depiction in the games, so please don't go ballistic.
The main cast is made up of the familiar faces you've come to know and love, some with more importance than others. There are a few OCs, but few have any real bearings on the story. It should be noted that a portion of the new characters (mainly the new RMs) are "what-if" counterparts to Battle Network/Star Force's Net Navis.
Final Words:
Ok then, enough of my ramblings. Hope that you all enjoy Ragnaröck. Feel free to give me feedback as well. If you have any questions or suggestions (I am open to new ideas), don't hesitate to include them.