2.1
"Hey, bro, haven't seen you in a while," Rock greeted his older brother at the meeting spot they'd arranged. If everything went as typical, Dr. Wily would be launching his first invasion about this time next week.
"It's only the third Loop since we beat Metal Wily," Blues observed.
"For you, maybe," Rock informed him. "Roll and I have had a couple dozen by now. Usually it's both of us, but sometimes, like this Loop in fact, it's just one of us Awake. But enough of that, what have you been up to?"
"Well, my first Loop had me as a police robot," Blues told his brother. "I even had to give the 'welcome to the multiverse' speech. Heck, the guy's admin hadn't even bothered to come tell him about the Crash when it happened."
"Ouch," Rock winced. "What about the other one? You said this was your third."
"Superheroes," Blues told his younger brother with a smirk. "Didn't look like any native loopers, and I never identified who was serving as Anchor, but I met an interesting lady. I was a superhero robot called 'Prototype' and she was a half-asian, half-cherokee superhero known as 'The Shifter'. We fought alongside the heroes 'Mr. Fixer', 'Setback', and 'Chrono Ranger' against a storm of supervillains. It was pretty cool."
2.2
Roll wasn't entirely sure where the urge to say 'meep, meep' to Dr. Wily's face came from.
She was even less sure of how some business known as ACME Industries became a literal overnight success immediately afterwards.
2.3
Roll hadn't been expecting this when she told her brother she wanted a Loop off from doing the hero thing. Though, in retrospect, perhaps she should have.
"Don't you worry!" the robot wearing her face said cheerfully from outside the high tech cell Dr. Wily was holding her captive in. "I'll take real good care of your brother! Teehee!"
Rock formed his arm into the Mega Buster and pointed it at the head of the robot impersonating his sister. "Who are you, and what have you done with Roll?" he demanded.
Fake-Roll stared for a second before she started giggling. "Cheater," she accused dementedly. "You're all cheaters. Heeheehee!"
"Answer the question," Rock ordered.
Fake-Roll's form wavered as she brought her arm up to point at Rock. "Cheaters should know their plac–"
*BLAM*
Rock had recognized the robot as her disguise fell. Waltz. The murderously insane future-clone of his sister, and who had been lining up her own shot at him before he pulled the trigger first.
"WHAT IS IT WITH YOU ALL AND SHOOTING ME IN THE FACE?!" came the enraged screech from where Waltz was getting back on her feet.
'Damn,' Rock thought to himself as he opened fire again, trying to put Waltz down as quickly as possible. 'Roll was right. She is looping.'
2.4
If Megatron ever wanted to try and prove that the Loops had a warped sense of humor, this iteration would be Exhibit... J or K. There had been a lot of strange Loops after all.
As it was, he was the head of the Inspecticon Detective Agency in a Loop setting a human might have called the illegitimate offspring of film noir and steampunk. Where he and all other machine lifeforms were of comparable size to humans.
"Well, Mr. Light," he told the figure on the other side of his desk, "it seems you are indeed quite qualified for the position."
Oh, and had he mentioned that he was in the middle of a job interview?
"Thank you," the very human-like robot replied.
"I am concerned with this list of additional skills however," he continued. "They are, shall we say, rather improbably long for someone of your age."
"Let's just say I spend a fair amount of time Awake," the potential hire told him.
Megatron blinked at the inflection. So, the prospective hire was a looper, eh?
"Megatron, sir!" Starscream burst into the office, frantic but respectful.
There was another big, but not unpleasant, difference. The local, and Unawake, version of Starscream still coveted Megatron's position. But the agency's rules and position on the side of the law meant that he did this by making himself the most indispensible member of the agency. Loyal, competent, able, and most of all no backstabbing. Just the occasional hint that Megatron should think about retirement. Even the local Soundwave, elite information hound that he was, had proven less useful in their investigations.
And for Starscream to be this frantic, it could only mean one thing. The one mobster who Megatron's Loop memories told him he'd dedicated his life to putting behind bars, and sworn not to retire until successful. The local mob boss version of his oldest enemy.
"We just got a new case! High profile murder, and it looks like the work of Optimus Crime's gang!"
"Get Shrapnel, Bombshell, and Kickback from forensics together Starscream," he ordered calmly. "Have them ready to leave in five minutes."
Starscream saluted and left the office, allowing him to turn back to the prospective hire. "It looks like you're in luck Mr. Light. I'm prepared to hire you provisionally for the duration of this new case. If your work on it is acceptable then I will hire you to a permanent position. Is this acceptable?"
"Quite," the new hire agreed.
"Then," Megatron stood up and held out his hand, "allow me to welcome you to the Inspecticons Mr. Light."
"Please," the shades-and-scarf-wearing individual replied as he shook Megatron's hand, "call me Blues."
2.5
'...hguoht pu s'gnihtemos taht gnileef taht ekahs t'nac llitS' .flesmih ot thguoht kcoR ',lausu sa emaS'
.yawa detropelet yeht ,taht htiw dnA
"...pleh ruo deen t'nod uoy won ees nac I ...devirra uoy elihw yliW .rD pots ot gniyrt neeb evah eW" .edis sih yb flow tobor eht detacidni lavir erutuf-dna-ecno sih ",elberT s'eh dna ssaB m'I"
.pooL eht htiw pu saw tahw tuo derugif eh litnu dluoc eh sa stneve dna egdelwonk enilesab ot esolc sa kcits ot denimreted ,deksa eh "?uoy era ohW"
.layarteb won-yb-elbativeni-yllaer-tub-neddus sih litnu pu naretev eht tset ot gnikool oreh eikoor eht deyalp ssaB llew woh tsuj gnitseretni tahwemos saw tI .rednirG daM eht fo mrof degamad eht detaefed d'eh ecno 'hctam gnirraps' rieht retfa redluohs sih dehctulc eh sa deralced ssaB fo mrof railimaf eht ",naM ageM ,yas yeht sa doog sa era uoY"
.stniop yek wef a rof evas elbaellam ytterp demees taht tsap stneve ,revewoH .elpmaxe rof nooM aR fo taefed eht ot pu stneve eht sa hcus ,dilos ytterp erew enilemit eht fo strap emoS .tog reve yeht sa esolc sa ro ,enilesab ot gnidrocca enog dah stneve lla ,revewoH
.tnereffid yrev saw gnihtemos niatrec saw eh tub ,ti no regnif sih tup t'ndluoc eH .pooL siht tuoba ffo yllaer saw gnihtemos taht thguoht kcoR
2.6
"But I'm really not Mega Man!" the robot pleaded.
"You can't fool me Mega Man!" Dr. Wily jeered at his captured foe. "Such a pathetic disguise and name change can't fool me! I mean, anagramming it to Game Man?! Really?"
"But that really is my name!" the robot wailed.
"Hey Dr. Wily," a familiar voice called out from behind the scientist. "Who are you kidnapping this time?"
"Why, I'm kidnapping you, Mega Ma–" Dr. Wily stopped, blinked, and turned around.
"Hooray!" the captive robot cheered. "Mega Man is here to save me!"
"Wha–?" Dr. Wily sputtered in shock. "Bu–? Him–? You–?"
Rock grinned as he prepared to rescue the robot that had been mistaken for him. Dr. Wily's expression was so priceless, he almost wished he'd actually planned this himself.
2.7
Rock sweatdropped as he looked upon the... thing being shown to him.
'I am never letting Auto design my armor ever again,' he told himself.
2.8
Roll grinned to herself. Her brother was taking the Loop off from heroing like she'd done, and as a result Dr. Wily had begun fielding female versions of many of his robot masters.
And since this was the beginning of his 'seventh' invasion, she'd get the chance to see a female version of Bass.
She was so caught up in anticipation that she almost didn't dodge the shot aimed at her head.
"Aw..." a disturbingly familiar voice rang out. "Why'd you have to go and do that?"
"Who are you?" Roll called out, hoping that it wasn't who she thought it was.
"I'm Waltz!" her female opponent chirped pleasantly as she came into view. "And you're Mega Woman! I was told to test you and help out so I could betray you later, but I thought it'd just be more fun to kill you!"
'Damn it...' Roll swore silently as she engaged her insane counterpart.
2.9
Roll glared at her opponent and initiated her super adaptor with Tango.
"You're going down, nya!" she hissed as she brandished her current form's claws.
'Damnit dad,' she chided mentally at the familiar feline personality drift, 'you said you fixed that...'
2.10
"Think we can pull it off?" Roll asked her brother.
"Most likely," Rock replied. "We're both Awake, Blues is here instead of bouncing around the multiverse, and we've spent a lot of time gauging reactions to the kind of concepts we're going to be introducing to others. It should work long enough for what we want to do."
Wood Man stared at what his enemy had given him. It was an engraved invitation to a candlelight vigil to be held in a few years.
"Have you gone mad?" he asked the questionably sane robot.
"Possibly," Rock, aka, Mega Man answered. "But I'm also serious. I have... information regarding how our continued existence; yours, mine, Dr. Wily's, and everyone else's; is owed to the sacrifice of another. I think we should be able to put aside our differences long enough to honor that."
"Let's say I believe you..." Wood Man examined possible escape routes from the clearly insane robot. "Where's the proof? And why so far in the future?"
"Well..." Mega Man started, before displaying a hologram with a list of names. Mostly robots. Many of whom were built by his creator Dr. Wily. And didn't exist yet. "I have a guest list. And if you don't agree to stand down until the specified date, Wily may never build your later brothers."
Wood Man stared at the evidence before him. Wily had talked about a few of the designs mentioned on the list, but there was no way this blue robot could know, so how...?
"I-If you can convince the others..." Wood Man got his vocal processor working again, "I'll be there."
"Of course, Roll," Tempo smiled as she accepted the invitations for herself and her mother. She didn't know why, but she could tell this was very important to the other robot.
"I suppose I'd better get to work," Dr. Light said as he looked over a few names on the guest list he'd yet to finish building. Why his children were so adamant about this was a mystery, but he still couldn't bring himself to deny them.
"Get bent, robot," Xander Payne tore up the invitation and spat on it. "I'm not buying what you're selling."
"No," Ra Moon stated before attacking.
"Why the heck should we–" Needle Man started before being silenced by Shadow Man.
"It is only right to honor the fallen," the alien robot stated solemnly. "No matter if we knew them or not."
Rock let out a relieved breath. After Ra Moon's stubborn, and fatal (to itself) refusal, he was glad that Shadow Man was proving more amicable.
"Can you bring Ra Thor too?"
"We'll do our best," the ninja promised.
"Gya-ha-ha-ha-ha! Why the hell not?!" Doc Robot laughed in agreement as they dueled.
"NEVER!" Waltz yelled with the only moving part of her still operational, her intact limbs hanging limply from her frame. "I DON'T GIVE RESPECT TO NOTHI–MPHRNG!"
Quint looked grateful as Roll covered her insane clone's mouth with duct tape. "For that alone, I'll agree to this."
"Thanks," Rock smiled. "Though if you could bring the others on this list from the future with you, we'd appreciate it."
Quint raised an eyebrow behind his blue shades as he read over the short list of very specific robot master models.
"Please, Poppa?" Kalinka asked her father as she read her copy of the invitation Blues had given not only them, but her father's robot masters as well.
Reverend Dark hadn't extracted his brain to be put into Dark Man this time around. No, he'd only been another of the robot's hologram disguises all along.
"The Church of Robotic Superiority shall honor your request despite your misguided nature."
The restored contenders for the World Robot Tournament and their respective creators looked at each other in puzzlement, hoping that one of them could make sense of this strange invitation.
"I don't see any reason why not..." Centaur Man allowed.
"You are serious?" Sunstar gazed upon the earth robot who had come to him with the bizarre proposal. The earth robot who had disabled all of the Stardroids without killing them.
"Always," Mega Man told the living instrument of destruction.
"Very well," the absolute leader of the Stardroids agreed. "But our conflict shall resume in this place one week afterwards until a proper resolution is reached.
"If that's what it takes."
"And you agreed to this, why?!" Dr. Wily railed at the robot he'd built as his own son. The supreme fighting machine known as Bass.
"I lost a bet," Bass folded his arms defiantly.
"Well, I'm not agreeing to this!" Wily huffed.
"Roll told me you probably wouldn't," Bass smirked, causing his father to scowl at the reminder that he'd lost not to Mega Man, but his unweaponized sister. That girl was mean with a broom. "So, I'm going to make you a bet."
"Like what?" Wily asked irritably, interested despite himself. A set of pictures landed in front of him that caused his eyes to widen. How did anyone know about that unused plan?
"You build these guys and let me fight them instead of Mega Man," Bass grinned eagerly. "If I can beat them without destroying them, then you and them all agree to the deal. If I can't, then I tell the Lights no deal and it's back to business as usual."
"You're going to thr–" Wily started in disbelief.
"I. Don't. Throw. Fights," Bass growled fiercely. "No, this is my chance to prove that I'm the best robot you could ever build. I'm bringing my best game, and I expect you to bring yours."
"Prepare to eat those words!" Wily declared energetically. He'd show his uppity son. CRORQ and the nine robot masters he was to command would be victorious!
"I am uncertain of this," Duo told his friend. "I am glad to help you honor the fallen, but I doubt Slur will be so accommodating."
"Which is why I'm only restoring his voice," Rock replied. "I'm hopeful, not stupid."
"That remains to be seen," Slur shot as the avatar of Evil's vocals came online. "I heard your proposal to my immortal foe, and I wish no part of it. While I relish the continued opportunity to spread Evil, I care nothing for any whose loss has allowed me that chance. Such simpering weakness is not in my nature."
"Had to try," Rock shrugged as he disabled the naturally villainous robot's vocals again. "At least Sword Man and the others were receptive. Even if it Frost Man still doesn't get what's going on."
"I win, pops," Bass grinned.
"So you did," Dr. Wily slumped despondently.
"Dr. Light," the alien robots Apollo and Luna declared regally, "in return for the aid you and your family have rendered, the Constellation Droids would be honored to attend the event your son is hosting."
King stared at the one who'd made this... odd and intriguing offer. "Agreed. Hostilities will cease until one month after the event. The fallen should always be shown proper respect."
"Thank you," Blues bowed formally.
"You know what I'm thinking?" Mayor Leonardo Dorado grinned widely.
"Does it start with 'wow'?" Rock sweatdropped.
"Breaking news everyone!" Plum charged into the offices of the B&C Gazette.
The Emerald Spears, including their leader Xander Payne, had turned on the news to watch the proceedings. Officially it was just to keep tabs on what the robot and his supporters were up to.
At least that's what they'd told themselves.
What had been planned as a simple gathering of humans and robots both friendly and not to the Light family had somehow grown out of control. The gathered individuals in this area alone were impossible to count and the news cameras of every station on the planet were broadcasting the event worldwide.
It was with a supreme sense of nervousness that Rock stepped up to the microphone and began his speech.
"We are gathered here to honor an unknown existence," Rock spoke solemnly to the crowd before him. "We know not who they were. We do not even know what they were. For that is what our continued existence cost them, their identity."
"The ancient Norse believed that creation was a mighty tree that spanned all the dimensions, from below to above, from past to future, and from here to the hereafter. If that is true, if all of creation is a tree beyond any mortal comprehension, then our universe is no more than a mere branch upon its bough. A branch that at some point was in danger of being lost forever, erased from existence itself."
"But there are other branches upon this tree, and among them were those who saw our peril and stepped forth at great risk to make certain that ours did not fall from this great tree into the endless abyss of nothingness beyond. And one of them paid a price so ultimate that it is beyond comprehension."
"However their loss was not in vain, for it is thanks to them that we do still exist. From their tragedy, we have gained another chance to forge a better future for ourselves. A chance to fight for the shining promise of tomorrow, even if we can never agree on what that means. That is what has been given to us, and that is why we honor those whose sacrifice we can never remember."
"If you feel that your life has any worth at all, then please light a candle for our vigil and observe a moment of silence so that our gratitude can be known to all the heavens and beyond."
Everyone in the crowd and all across the world began to light their candles in memory of something whose loss they did not understand, but still somehow knew was of great importance. In one spot, the immobile figure of Waltz, propped up next to her brother and keeper Quint, shed a single tear of genuine sadness even as her mad viral mind railed silently and impotently behind her disabled vocals. The silence stretched for several minutes among the pinpricks of burning flame before Rock realized that the whole world was waiting for him to break the silence.
"If..." he choked on the palpable emotion in the air. "If there remains anything out there of those who were lost, any kind of existence at all, then I hope they can understand our sorrow for what was lost and our gratitude for what we still have."
"I... I hope they can hear me when I say: Thank you."
Scattered across the wide multiverse run by Yggdrasil, various beings of all shapes, sizes, and temperaments paused for no apparent reason.
Some were of significant importance to the chain of events that fueled the Loops in their universes, others were of little consequence at all in the grand scheme of things. Some lived so long before the events of the Loops that they were dead and dust by the time they happened, their names little more than legend if remembered at all. Others were set to exist so far into the future that their many times great-grandparents were yet to be born.
Some were in active Loops, some in yet-to-activate areas, others in stable branches, still others in unstable Read-Only portions, and a few in the dangerous quarantined areas of Yggdrasil.
But all stopped what they were doing at the same metaphysical moment within creation and, for reasons they would never truly grasp, said "You're welcome."
2.1) Sentinels of the Multiverse. And if anyone guessed that 'The Shifter' was the looper with no home Loop Jenny Everywhere, give yourself a cookie.
"The character of Jenny Everywhere is available for use by anyone, with only one condition. This paragraph must be included in any publication involving Jenny Everywhere, in order that others may use this property as they wish. All rights reversed."
2.2) I wonder if Dr. Wily has any coyote heritage...
2.3) Waltz is gonna a recurring problem I think...
2.4) "Larceny is the right of all sentient beings!" (Tagline by EdBecerra)
2.5) 'Online' does not equal 'fixed'.
2.6) Mistaken identity.
2.7) Sound advice.
2.8) Yep, definitely a recurring problem.
2.9) I still make no apologies for catgirl Roll.
2.10) Ideas are very difficult things to kill. They may fade with time or slip out of your mind as quickly as they slipped in, but they always seem to pop up again. Perhaps a bit different due to the passage of time or distance in space, and typically with no clue that they existed previously in any form, but still alive and well.
The Lost Loop, to us, is the Story Never Written. It does not exist and never will, for the writer who would have written it set it aside and moved on to other projects never to return. But the characters and ideas that made it up still exist. The characters from the Story Never Written were recycled and adapted for other stories, and the ideas reused in a new setting. The Story Never Written still exists in pieces, and those pieces can be found in other stories you are familiar with. You may never know which pieces those are, but they are there nonetheless.
