Chapter 21: Dr. Light's Past

"I stand before you today, not just as your mayor, but as citizen of this fine city who owes his thanks to this fine robot you see with me. I and my colleagues would still be in the clutches of that mad man if not for the heroics of this amazing hero in blue armor. I could go on and on but this fine fellow asked me to keep things simple and so I'll simply say thank you Mega Man!"

"Thank you Mega Man!" the crowds roared in response as Mega Man himself smiled and waved sheepishly. He was standing next to Mayor Leonardo Dorado in a large banquet hall all prepared and decked out for him. He rather wished they hadn't gone to all the trouble but he also appreciated the gesture. Standing not far from him at the Mayor's own table were Dr. Light and Roll both dressed in their very best. Mega Man himself was obviously in his armor but was buffed and freshly shined up for the occasion. He was very happy when we as allowed to go sit with his family and simply enjoy the party.

"You look great Mega Man" his sister beamed

"My name is Rock and you're the one who looks great Roll."

"Well I never said you looked as good as me, the very idea."

Dr. Light chuckled and said "You both look wonderful and I'm very proud of both of you."

"Thanks Dr. Light" Rock grinned and said "I'm so glad you're off the hook."

"Yes, Agent Stern didn't seem completely satisfied but he couldn't say much Mayor Dorado himself gave me a full pardon alongside the entire City Council. Still, I don't suspect he wanted to put up much of a fight deep down. He's not really so bad."

"Oh let's not talk about him and just enjoy the party" Roll chimed in

"I'd enjoy things a lot more if Dr. Wily was behind bars" Rock responded.

"Don't worry about it kid" Mayor Dorado said as he joined them "The hunt for Wily is enormous, we'll have him soon enough."

"I hope so" Dr. Light said with slight frown "I certainly hope so, for his sake."

"Lighten up Dr. Light. Hey, get it guys? Lighten up Dr. LIGHT? I kill myself sometimes."

The Light family chuckled politely at the pun and quickly turned the talk to other matters.

"Home sweet home" Roll said several hours later as they entered the police free lab.

"Indeed and it's finally just ours again" Dr. Light said

"Dr. Light" Rock spoke up hesitantly "Can we talk?"

"Of course, my boy. We can talk about anything you want."

"Well…who is Dr. Noele Lalinde?"

Dr. Light sighed heavily and said "Meet me in the living room, kids. I need to get something."

Soon they were all sitting on the couch and Dr. Light was holding the photo that Roll had discovered under the bed. He was gazing at it sadly and seemed to be thinking of what to say. "You once asked me if I had ever been married. The answer is yes, yes I have. The woman in this picture was Noele Light but her maiden name was Lalinde."

"Oh my gosh" Roll said as she looked from the picture to her father "What…I mean…how…"

It's ok Roll, it's okay. You can ask me what happened. In fact, I'm going to tell you everything. Noele was the only woman I ever loved. I met her in college and was instantly smitten. Unfortunately, so was Albert."

"You're kidding" Rock said while he and Roll exchanged looks of disgust "Dr. Wily was in love once?"

"Yes he was. He courted her just as fiercely as I did, if not more so but in the end her heart chose me. We married soon after college and spent many blissful years together. I don't think Albert ever forgave me for 'stealing her' from him but that's life. He was never very good at letting go."

"You could have fooled me" Roll muttered sarcastically

"Quite. Noele was a brilliant scientist and a wonderful robot designer although we did occasionally clash on certain ideas. The one problem our marriage had was that we…" he wiped his eyes and his children cuddled in closer "We never had children and we so wanted them."

"What happened to her?" Rock asked in a quiet voice

"She is dead" Dr. Light choked up very suddenly and almost dropped the picture. Rock took it from him and set it on the coffee table while Roll handed him some tissues. "Thank you. It was so sudden, so random. One day she went out to do the shopping. We usually went together but I was behind on a project and she insisted I keep working. As she was nearing the store a drunk driver came out of nowhere. Those who saw it say the wreck was awful and yet he was almost unharmed while Noele…well at least the paramedics said she didn't feel any pain. I hope she didn't." By this point Dr. Light was crying in earnest but his words were composed and clear. "You know, it never occurred to me until now but Albert's truly dangerous inventions didn't start up until after that day. He didn't attend the funeral but every once in a while a rose shows up at her grave that I didn't put there. Grief can do strange things to people."

"Dr. Light please…you don't have to say anymore" Roll said as she put her arms around him. Rock had snuggled right up against his father and honestly wished he could cry as he felt Dr. Light's arm encircle his shoulders. His head was full of Dr. Wily's expressions and words during the fight on top of the factory. Was this a glimpse into the madness of Albert Wily? Had he lost his mind not out of jealousy but grief? Or was it both? Despite the fact that robots had computers for brains, it seemed to him that humans were much more complicated.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you two sooner. I suppose I was waiting for the right time. I suppose this was as good a time as any." He blew his nose and smiled "Do you know what? I am a very happy man."

"How can you say that?" Rock asked in surprise

"Because I have the two of you and I know Noele would have loved you as much as I do."

"I love you too" Roll said

"Ditto…Dad."

Dr. Light looked at Rock in amazement and said "I don't know if I'll ever get used to that title but I will try to live up to it. Now enough tears, this is supposed to be a happy night. Tomorrow we're going to keep right on celebrating by doing whatever Rock wants to do."

"I want to start repairing the Robot Masters right away. I want to try to make them good guys again."

"In that case, it's off to bed. We have a lot of work to do and I have a feeling that it will only be the beginning."

And so it ends, Faithful Readers. I do hope you guys enjoyed the ride and aren't too angry at my slow pace. I'm trying to do better. I very much enjoyed writing this and plan to do continue the Mega Man series as soon as I can. This last chapter was something I had in my mind for a long time. At one point, Dr. Light was going to tell the story earlier on but I feel this is the proper place for it. I want Mega Man to be a story not just about robot battles (and not just because I still have a hard time writing fight scenes lol) but I want it to have heart and depth as well.

Until next time!