A/N: Hello, readers. As mentioned on my profile for all my old readers, ReaperofNameless is back, with a new name and new drive to write. To all my new readers, I say—"Hello." Well, let's not waste time. Let's get started, shall we?

Disclaimer: I do not own Megaman or any of its related properties, as Capcom is the sole owner of the franchise.

Year 1225 A.E. (After Exodus): 26th Secondary Lunar Cycle, Harvest Season. Location: Apollo City Stadium, Planet Demeter.

"In the beginning, there was Light and Darkness."

Rocky yawned, covering his open maw with his fist and struggling to stay awake. He hated going to the Elder's recitations, they always bored him to no end. It didn't help that the Elder had his face up on the giant screens of the Apollo City stadium, his steely blue eyes staring down at the hundred thousand some-odd patrons who came to visit. He shifted uncomfortably in his plastic seat; he could tell from the opening lines that the Elder was going to be telling that story again—the Saga of Earth.

"It was the Time of New Gods, and the Light saw fit to create a new Life upon the bosom of his Holy Mother, Earth. He dug the metal from her body and from the flashes of her eye, he crafted the first Sentient Machine, a boy named for the rock and steel from which he was cast. The Light showed his son to the others living on the Holy Mother, and They saw that it was good."

Rocky snorted. Why did his high school have to pick today, of all days, to take a field trip to the stadium for the Elder's sermon? He was supposed to be taking his motorcycle driving test today, and he would be done by now had his school closed when it was supposed to. He looked around. All the instructors and even some of the other students stood at attention, enraptured by the Elder's words. Most others seemed really bored. Some had even fallen asleep in their seats, not wanting to listen to the giant old man that stood in front of them. Rocky wondered how it was that the instructors didn't notice, before turning again to the screen to at least look like he was paying attention, so as not to attract the dirty looks the sleeping students were getting from the instructors.

"As the Light pondered over what next to Create," continued the droning boom of the voice over the loudspeakers as the Elder stood at the epicenter of the grassy stadium's field, perusing the scrolls and religious texts hanging in front of him like a sheet, "He found that the Boy had become lonely, wanting for more of his kind. And so the Light looked down upon his Son and smiled as he gave him a companion, the second Sentient Machine, who was female in kind. The Light them gave his children the gift of Purpose, and put them to work in assisting his Creation. The Light saw that this was good and loved them as family."

Rocky slumped in his chair, the boredom rising to uncomfortable levels. He scanned his classmates for his friend Ian, and lo he found the head of dyed emerald hair sitting two rows down from him. He tore a piece of paper out of his notebook and crumpled it up.

"While the Light continued Creating more of the Boy's kind and generally forming the New Race, his Other—the Darkness—set about the beginnings of a plan. The Darkness was jealous of the Light's Creations and their love for him, and the adoration it brought him from all who lived upon the support of Earth, and so the Darkness stole the members of the New Race and corrupted them for His own devices. The original Boy and Girl, favored among the Light's children—escaped this fate."

Rocky wound his arm back and tossed the paper ball at Ian's head. The other boy turned around, his green eyes glaring up at the perpetrator, before catching Rocky, his scarred face contorting into a smile. Ian waved, before catching the reproachful glance of Instructor Wilson, their history teacher, forcing the boys to dutifully turn forward and endure the droning of the Elder's magnified voice.

"The Light became saddened, seeing that his Creations would be used against the world with the Darkness' corruption. So the Boy offered himself to be the Light's instrument, and the lo, so it was that the Light changed the Boy so that he may be reborn as the Mega, the First Warrior—sent on a holy quest to Cleanse the Dark Machines so that they may benefit Mankind once more. The Darkness saw the Mega, and so crafted the Second Warrior, the Proto, brother to the Mega and crafted from the ruins of Mega's discarded predecessor, the prototype.

The two Brothers fought fiercely, and eventually the Mega did succeed in his Holy Crusade, cleansing the Dark Machines and his brother, ending the First Robot War. But the Darkness unleashed another Dark Warrior upon the world to fight the Mega, known as the Bass. But the Darkness could not have foreseen that the Third Warrior would choose not to serve him but instead to destroy the Mega for his own purpose of fulfilling his pride in a quest for supremacy. This battle shook the Earth to Her core, awakening some of the Darkness' older and fouler Creations as they attempt to free their Dark Master and renew his conquest. This marked the beginning of the Second Robot War, which nearly brought Humanity to ruin."

Rocky could feel his eyelids begin to droop. I hope this ends soon, he thought to himself. In an attempt to keep himself occupied, he pulled out a sketchpad from his backpack and began to doodle. He drew a little mini Grim Reaper with two circles for eyes and no face under his hood, the scythe towering over the little guy. A piece of folded paper was thrown into his lap by someone sitting next to him. He looked at it curiously, and looked around quickly to make sure no one was watching as he opened it. Meanwhile, the Elder continued to speak:

"The Light took the Mega away from the conflict and improved him, putting the Mega into stasis so the machines could continue rebuilding the Android while the Light saw his own life fading away. The Darkness, sensing His own imminent demise, did the same for the Mega's darker twin the Proto, captured from the battlefield and rebuilt as an Android to serve His purposes once again after death. Both Warriors died the night of the Light and Darkness' passing, and were reborn anew as part of a new beginning, the New Mega taking on the name of X, and the New Proto beginning again from Zero.

And so the Fourth and Fifth Warriors were born, to fight together for a time before splitting the world into two once more. Thus ends the Saga of Light and Darkness, the first chapter of the Demeter Chronicles."

The Elder finally finished with his story, Rocky opened up his note to find "This is pretty lame. You wanna bail?" scrawled in Ian's sloppy handwriting. Before Rocky could scribble a reply, the Elder drew up his scrolls to loud applause throughout the stadium. Rocky quickly scratched out a "Yeah, definitely," and slid it down to Ian under the seats, gathering up his stuff to duck out quickly before people sat back down and the Elder started his speech about the significance of the holy texts. Rocky must have heard it a thousand times while attending Sanctuary with his parents. What could it possibly hurt to miss one?

They met towards the back of the seats, narrowly avoiding the eye of Instructor Wilson, and paused outside the stadium double doors. "So how long do you think before the Elder finishes his sermon?" asked Rocky.

"At least another hour," replied Ian. "Wanna grab something to eat?"

A/N: Sorry I didn't have a better opener, but I'm trying to be at least somewhat faithful to my original intention. This should be the last expository dump I have to make in this fashion (for now, anyway), so you shouldn't have to worry about such big, intrusive blocks of text in the future. Prepare for more updates come Sunday, April 14th.