In the future, they would all be safe.

There wasn't much that Mega Man could remember from his past. He had one, as Proto Man occasionally tried to hint at, but the memories never seemed to come. In the still of the dead nights that he could not sleep in, he would try so hard to force some old memory to come back to his recollections. It always felt like someone had erected an unbreakable wall or had sealed a box that prevented him from knowing just a second of truth.

There were no doubts on who had done such a thing, it was more of a why as far as Proto Man was concerned. Proto Man was concerned about many things and admittedly, Mega Man's past was among the least worrisome.

What did Mega know about his own past? The thought was always an uncomfortable one, but it was one of the most important too. First things first, his name was Rokku. The second most important thing; Roll was his sister.

Oh Roll… Oh poor, poor Roll…

Mega Man had seen what had happened to Roll, and he knew that the same thing happened to him. But with Roll it was worse- he knew what she was like before she underwent the transformation. He knew that she also had memories that she couldn't access, but unlike Mega Man, Roll didn't know she could access these memories if she tried. Roll didn't know that she had lived a different life before this current one. Proto Man made Mega Man swear that she never found out. And it wasn't because her life before was full of shame and regret- if anything, it was the opposite, and that only made the whole ordeal worse.

Proto Man at this point was either Mega Man's conscience or another person manipulating him for their own purpose. Mega really hoped that it was the former- of all the things he needed a friend. Maybe even a big brother that was always looking out for you. That was all he wanted anymore- someone to watch him and steer him in the right direction and just say "You're doing your best and I'm proud of you for making it this far." Whether or not Proto Man could pick up on this desperation was a matter of debate. They were still kids. They still needed someone to guide them. Who do you turn to when the only adults you remember and have to always be around continuously bicker to the point of harming others?

In the still of the cold, dead night, Mega Man allowed himself to take a deep breath in, then out. What happened in the past was in the past; what should matter now was the future. But what future could they have? What if Wiley and HIkari continued to pick fights until either one of them dropped dead? Even worse, what if they built machines as -if not more- sophisticated than Proto Man? Proto Man had freewill- what if the new machines did not? If they did, would they be able to look past their coding and come together as one?

Always the optimist, Mega Man hoped they could.

. . .

In the future, everything would change.

"You sick son of a bitch."

It was a phrase that Roll had become all too acquainted with ever since finding Hikari's last project. She had even managed to say it to his face three times before he died. Rest assured, three times was not enough. Then again, even if she had managed to curse in his face a hundred times over, it still would never be enough to make up for what he had done. Rokku may have been able to forgive Hikari in the end, but Roll swore to never forgive- forgetting would never ever be an option either. Never. Again.

Finding 'Mega Man X' was like having your worst nightmare come true. Just the outer shell of this… creature sent numerous alarm bells in Roll's mind. It looked so… human. That dumb old fool even gave it the ability to breath while it slumbered in the containment pod. Or, more accurately, the ability to look like it was breathing. Roll had even wondered -and feared- just how human-like Mega Man X was. She really hoped it couldn't reproduce. Please, please, please let it not be able to reproduce!

The only thing Roll could change -could influence- was its personality. Remote adjustments to the way its positronic brain mad connections, a rigorous morality system, and perhaps a hidden code here or there just to let others know that Hikari had not been the saint that all believed him to be. There was one other failsafe- a monster like the other but different in very subtle ways.

Well, there was one very important change, but it wouldn't come into play until after it was activated.

"Are you still here?"

Completely surprised, Roll nearly jumped as he whipped her body around to see Kalinka. The human woman, now in her 30s, was pregnant again. Her fourth attempt.

"Jesus, Kalinka," Roll hissed, "You scared me." A few moments' pause before she cautiously added, "Shouldn't you be resting?"

Kalinka gave an amused snort, but found a seat on a nearby desk chair anyway. "How can I stay still when the anxiety of not knowing where my friend is will harm the baby more?"

"Kalinka..." the cyborg quietly chastised. Kalinka only offered a shrug, then looked at the hibernation pod.

"What are you doing to it now?" she questioned, giving a vague gesture in its direction, despite both of them knowing what she was referring too.

"I'm trying to induce a morality system before he can be activated." Roll explained. "It's harder than it needs to be because the process didn't even exist when the capsule was sealed."

Kalinka gave a solemn nod in agreement. She didn't actually know what Roll was doing, but trusted her judgement regardless.

"Hikari wanted this thing to be human, so it'll be raised like one." Roll went on. "This system will give it dreams that test what it is like to be human- the perfect human, even. It will be what Hikari wanted and far more above it."

"Wouldn't adding on to what Hikari wanted for that thing, instead of shutting it down, not make you any better than him?" Kalinka questioned before she really considered her words.

Roll didn't answer. She knew the answer, and the truth would always terrify her.

. . .

In the future, they were all together.

X would never consider himself much of a fidgeter, but just the mere thought of having Aero and Zero in the same room made him anxious. If it had been their first time meeting, the anxiety would have come from excitement and anticipation from having his two best friends meeting. But now? The two hated each other- for what X could never figure out, but it was nothing he could help them with either.

At least he could try to remind Aero to stay civil, but that was only because they lived together.

"How's my hair?" Aero questioned, giving herself a once-over in the mirror just as they were about to leave. "If we don't fix the flyaways now, Axl will later."

Why couldn't Aero have the same relationship with Zero like the one she had with Axl?

"Lemme see." X offered.

Once they were finally ready to go, the couple went on their way to the gala.

The Maverick Hunters held a charity gala once every other year on quasi-random dates to prevent Mavericks from crashing the party. Many Reploids just went in their armors, not even bother with stuffy suits or ball gowns that restricted the range of hand-to-hand melee attacks. There were some Reploids -like Axl- who would put on a clumsily made tie and say that they were dressed up, but it was always the humans that dressed so nice that they glittered under the lights just as well as the Reploids could.

"What do'ya figure Aero's wearin'?" Axl mused at some point while he and Zero waited for X and Aero. Zero gave a less than informative grunt that Axl only took as a sign to continue. "I hope it's that long green one that almost makes it look like she had boobs."

Again, Zero didn't have much to give in way of conversation. He could have cared less if Aero showed up tonight. If anything, the human needed to stay home- she's supposed to be dying anyway, right? Wouldn't taking her out speed along that process, or something?

"Oh no," Axl eventually cried in a tone that oozed fake pity, "She wore the red dress. Urg, that color just looks bad on her. I mean, it looks fine on you Zero, of course, but on Aero? It clashes with her hair."

The red legend gave a grunt -a sign of life!- before turning his direction to the newly arrived couple. He watched as X spotted them and helped get Aero through the crowd.

"I see you haven't died yet." Zero huffed once Aero was close enough.

"I see you're still a prick." Aero snorted back. "Wonderful."

X glanced between the two of them while Axl looked pretty amused at it all- this was the standard greeting between the red legend and the dying human anyway.

"Can I have everyone's attention!" Signas spoke from over the loudspeaker. Everyone silenced immediately, fearing the worst. "I'd like to thank everyone for coming out to our 8th annual Maverick Hunter gala," (a collective sigh resonated throughout the room) "And before we begin proper, may I propose a toast; to the future!"

"To the future!" the crowd eagerly agreed.