Chapter 16: Part of this world

Rockman - I'm tired of him calling me BOY!

Rock smashes the lab table to splinters. He held nothing back. Scissors, pens, and paper, fragment and float along before finding their resting places.

Dr. Light - Please Rock, calm down.

Rock - NO! I'm not a boy! Hes driving me insane! I want to kill him! I want too so bad!

Dr. Light - My son, never have I wanted or wished for that mans death. Yet, I feel that you are still a better person than any of us. I truly believe that. When will you?

Rock - I've never sensed anything like hate in you. How can you say i'm a better person? Its just not true. If there is a perfect sentient being its you.

Dr. Light - Your...your wrong. Albert has certain rights to be angry with me. In truth, you just don't understand. I don't understand. Albert does not understand. Yet each of us I think holds a valuable piece to the puzzle. Out of all of us, it is you Rock that represents the best of us.

Rock - I look into the future, and I see the probability of me killing in cold blood to be 98%. Doctor.

Dr. Light - Wily is suffering and you know that. I'm on the verge of curing his condition. It wont be but another few months Rock and you will see the real Albert. Not a man you will want to kill.

Rock - The probability of me killing Wily in cold blood was 32% when I was at my closest. That number is now 12%. With the likelihood of it falling further if he is cured, no. Its not him i'm scared of killing. Its someone I don't care about that gets to be the punching bag or scapegoat that gets slaughtered that is responsible for the number.

Dr. Light - If you become a monster then its the will of nature Rock. You are not outside this world, you are part of it. You claim space in the universe, your mass demands it claim this volume of space/time. You have the right to become whatever you want, just know the world will give and it will take along with you. You are not the only random chaotic element running on instinct in this universe. You will be ok as long as you have a strong heart Rock. But if you are certain you will become a threat to humanity itself there is a project ive been working on...

X wakes up.

Mr. Famous(Meiji) - Wow that was wild! Accessing your memory files isn't possible without the help of that little blue guy in your matrix. Did you dream? I saw the whole thing! Of course you did. Amazing! I'm going to be even more FAMOUS.

X is looking a bit disturbed and Meiji catches it.

Meiji - Whats up? Kinda weird seeing a past you huh? I get it.

X - No, its what Light said. It made me feel strangely connected to him and my former self at the same time. What he said before I woke up was part of the answer i've been looking for. Wily...Zero...Rush... suddenly I feel like my time here is finished Meiji. Its time for me to go back.

Meiji - Killer! Lets do it!

X is surprised and shows it.

X - Thank you, Meiji.

Meiji - Dude, studying your quantum network, the ever changing program that makes up languages and evolves itself every nanosecond , the AI backup of your old self Rock as an inner guide during system emergency's and navigation of that massive matrix, the matrix itself, its all so killer! Some parts are outdated compared to us but some of this stuff is other worldly, god like thinking ! Who built you? This guy Light? Man id love to scan his brain!

X has his brain scans in his database but doesn't feel it appropriate to offer them for a few reasons, one of which being hes already probably altered enough culture and society for one dimension. He should return home with his friends. They don't belong here. He has a place. Light has given him a clue. The next piece of the puzzle is now back at home.

Meiji - Before you go, maybe you should try finding someone first. I think they can help. But finding him is going to be hard. Hes a very isolated program that only cares about absorbing skills he finds to be useful or powerful. He used to be attached to a certain scientist in Russia before he betrayed him and tried to have him deleted based on the simple fact that his powers were possibly unlimited. He still bears the wound on his chest as a reminder not to forget what humans are capable of. Even the ones you call family. His name is Forte. Forte Kosakku. I try to keep an eye on him anytime he surfaces because there is always something cool going on around that guy! The last I saw him, he had this black cat on top of his head and he seemed strangely happy. Even though he wasn't smiling. My spy program somehow got confused with the black cat, going through its deleted data I noticed the sea gull couldn't scan the cats data to confirm what kind of program it was and it substituted the closest image to the dimensions of the cat. A black sea bass. The cat apparently jumped on the back of the gull and the gull took off. I can give you the approximate direction they were moving and the gulls last location. That should be enough for you to find them. I did say it was going to be hard though didn't I? I could give you his exact location and finding him is still going to be partly up to Forte allowing you to see him. Be respectful if you see him outside a computer network. IF he is in a copybot he can be far more powerful than you think. And DO not let him into your matrix. With his ability to absorb things there is no telling how much power he could gain from you by just being there and touching the network beneath his feet.

X - Thank you! I will trade you the gulls data for the doctors brain scans.

Meiji - Totally AWESOME!

The trade is completed and X walks out the door of Sci labs. He turns back one last time to wave goodbye to everyone. The entire front reception area waves together. X jogs out to the street, heading west, toward the coordinates of the dead sea gull..