Rock looked into the mirror, and saw his face for the first time. Pale, pinkish-yellow skin held firm below a tangled mess of shoulder-length, fluffy, jet-black hair. He never noticed that he had green eyes until Blues, looking over his shoulder, pointed it out to him. "Is this what I looked like?" he asked.
"No, we had to reconstruct your face," Blues said, pushing his dark glasses further up his nose. "Those Virtuloids left your former self in quite a mess after they were through with you."
Rock's fingertips ran down his cheek, feeling the soft yet sturdy bend of something other than bone underneath. "Blues, I'm still a little lost," he said, still locking eyes with his reflection. "Can you explain what happened again?"
Just then, a high voice asked, "Hey Blues, done with him yet?"
Rock and Blues turned behind them to see a slender blonde woman leaning in the doorway. "Not yet, Roll," Blues said, "Rock's still sorting out an identity crisis."
"Well, I've got to hand it to Auto," Roll said, "He really did make an impressive-looking robot out of that body."
Blues saw Rock gazing dumbfoundedly at Roll. "Rock, let me introduce you to our scouter, Roll," said Blues, beckoning Roll to enter the room.
Roll was almost at tall as Rock, and Roll smiled welcomingly at Rock when she joined them. "So you're the new Megaman," Roll said, extending her hand to Rock, "Nice to meet you."
Rock hesitated a bit before he shook Roll's hand. Almost as soon as they touched, something flew past Rock's mind. A fragment of scrambled memory of his past life again flashed before him, this time showing a split-second glimpse of a woman, almost like Roll, with much longer blonde hair.
Roll unsteadily took her hand back when she saw Rock gazing emptily at her. "Something wrong?" She asked.
Rock blinked for two seconds before rubbing his eyes. "Nothing," he muttered, "Just some memories."
"Memories?" Roll asked.
"He's suffering from amnesia," Blues explained bluntly. "Most of the memory patterns in his brain were destroyed when he was killed. Apparently, a few of them are still there."
It was then that Rock noticed that all the rooms that he had been to were devoid of any lighting. "Why is it always so dark in here?" Rock asked, "Where are we anyways?"
Blues looked at Roll grimly, who returned his glance with a frown of her own. "Rock," said Blues, "I think I should start at the beginning."
******
Rock and Blues sat at the only table in the dark room, lit only by a light bulb hanging from the ceiling on a string. Rock sipped quietly on a hot mug of tea while Blues told him their story. "...And then someone thought it would be hilarious if he hacked into Masterframe and turned all of the Virtuloids against us humans," Blues muttered.
"Why would someone do that?" Rock asked.
"I don't know," Blues muttered, "But if he wanted to turn the Virtuloids against us, he did it the right way. Masterframe controls every Virtuloid's free-thought modules, and bypassing Masterframe would turn the Virtuloids into Reploids... and Mavericks."
"Now you're confusing me," Rock murmured. "What's the difference between a Virtuloid and a Reploid?"
"Reploids were robots based on Megaman X, capable of free thought and free will. They could break the three laws if they wanted, but they seldom did."
"Three laws?"
"One, a robot must never harm a human. Two, a robot must do what a human tells it to do, unless it interferes with the first law. Third, a robot must preserve itself, unless it conflicts with the first or second law."
"So if the Reploids were free-thinking like Virtuloids, what's the difference?"
"Virtuloids are Reploids," said Blues, "But whereas Reploids were free-thinking, Virtuloids are controlled by Masterframe."
"What is Masterframe?" Rock asked.
"Masterframe," Blues hummed to himself. "I'm not even completely sure what it is either. It was a computer developed by us humans to keep Reploids from going Maverick after the Maverick Wars. Neo Arcadia tried to destroy the Reploids instead of implementing Masterframe, but that backfired. So both sides agreed that Masterframe was the only solution to prevent Maverickism."
Rock took another long sip of his tea before he spoke again. "So let me get this straight," he said. "Reploids were put under control by Masterframe, turned into Virtuloids and then Masterframe broke down and turned every Virtuloid against humans."
"Exactly," said Blues. "They rule the surface now, and the rest of us humans have been hiding underground ever since. We knew the only way to fight back was to create another Megaman, but if we made him a Reploid, it would only be a matter of time before he went Virtuloid. That's why we searched the ruins of the surface regularily, looking for dead humans to try and partially convert into robots, because not only would they not give off biological life signs, they would be immune to Masterframe's control and able to fit in perfectly with other Virtuloids. We need someone to break through their defenses and destroy Masterframe, and without Masterframe, the Virtuloids will revert back to Reploids. Maybe then we can build a new Masterframe, one that won't be so easily hacked."
"Turning Virtuloids against humans," Rock muttered, "Why would anyone do such a thing?" he asked, apalled.
"That's not our concern right now, Rock," Blues said firmly. "Right now, our concern is getting enough power to our main generator. It's been offline for too long now, and we can't last much longer without it."
Rock finished the last of his tea. "So if I'm going to go and get fuel for your generator and destroy Masterframe, when do I leave?"
It took Blues only a split second to reply, "Now."
"No, we had to reconstruct your face," Blues said, pushing his dark glasses further up his nose. "Those Virtuloids left your former self in quite a mess after they were through with you."
Rock's fingertips ran down his cheek, feeling the soft yet sturdy bend of something other than bone underneath. "Blues, I'm still a little lost," he said, still locking eyes with his reflection. "Can you explain what happened again?"
Just then, a high voice asked, "Hey Blues, done with him yet?"
Rock and Blues turned behind them to see a slender blonde woman leaning in the doorway. "Not yet, Roll," Blues said, "Rock's still sorting out an identity crisis."
"Well, I've got to hand it to Auto," Roll said, "He really did make an impressive-looking robot out of that body."
Blues saw Rock gazing dumbfoundedly at Roll. "Rock, let me introduce you to our scouter, Roll," said Blues, beckoning Roll to enter the room.
Roll was almost at tall as Rock, and Roll smiled welcomingly at Rock when she joined them. "So you're the new Megaman," Roll said, extending her hand to Rock, "Nice to meet you."
Rock hesitated a bit before he shook Roll's hand. Almost as soon as they touched, something flew past Rock's mind. A fragment of scrambled memory of his past life again flashed before him, this time showing a split-second glimpse of a woman, almost like Roll, with much longer blonde hair.
Roll unsteadily took her hand back when she saw Rock gazing emptily at her. "Something wrong?" She asked.
Rock blinked for two seconds before rubbing his eyes. "Nothing," he muttered, "Just some memories."
"Memories?" Roll asked.
"He's suffering from amnesia," Blues explained bluntly. "Most of the memory patterns in his brain were destroyed when he was killed. Apparently, a few of them are still there."
It was then that Rock noticed that all the rooms that he had been to were devoid of any lighting. "Why is it always so dark in here?" Rock asked, "Where are we anyways?"
Blues looked at Roll grimly, who returned his glance with a frown of her own. "Rock," said Blues, "I think I should start at the beginning."
******
Rock and Blues sat at the only table in the dark room, lit only by a light bulb hanging from the ceiling on a string. Rock sipped quietly on a hot mug of tea while Blues told him their story. "...And then someone thought it would be hilarious if he hacked into Masterframe and turned all of the Virtuloids against us humans," Blues muttered.
"Why would someone do that?" Rock asked.
"I don't know," Blues muttered, "But if he wanted to turn the Virtuloids against us, he did it the right way. Masterframe controls every Virtuloid's free-thought modules, and bypassing Masterframe would turn the Virtuloids into Reploids... and Mavericks."
"Now you're confusing me," Rock murmured. "What's the difference between a Virtuloid and a Reploid?"
"Reploids were robots based on Megaman X, capable of free thought and free will. They could break the three laws if they wanted, but they seldom did."
"Three laws?"
"One, a robot must never harm a human. Two, a robot must do what a human tells it to do, unless it interferes with the first law. Third, a robot must preserve itself, unless it conflicts with the first or second law."
"So if the Reploids were free-thinking like Virtuloids, what's the difference?"
"Virtuloids are Reploids," said Blues, "But whereas Reploids were free-thinking, Virtuloids are controlled by Masterframe."
"What is Masterframe?" Rock asked.
"Masterframe," Blues hummed to himself. "I'm not even completely sure what it is either. It was a computer developed by us humans to keep Reploids from going Maverick after the Maverick Wars. Neo Arcadia tried to destroy the Reploids instead of implementing Masterframe, but that backfired. So both sides agreed that Masterframe was the only solution to prevent Maverickism."
Rock took another long sip of his tea before he spoke again. "So let me get this straight," he said. "Reploids were put under control by Masterframe, turned into Virtuloids and then Masterframe broke down and turned every Virtuloid against humans."
"Exactly," said Blues. "They rule the surface now, and the rest of us humans have been hiding underground ever since. We knew the only way to fight back was to create another Megaman, but if we made him a Reploid, it would only be a matter of time before he went Virtuloid. That's why we searched the ruins of the surface regularily, looking for dead humans to try and partially convert into robots, because not only would they not give off biological life signs, they would be immune to Masterframe's control and able to fit in perfectly with other Virtuloids. We need someone to break through their defenses and destroy Masterframe, and without Masterframe, the Virtuloids will revert back to Reploids. Maybe then we can build a new Masterframe, one that won't be so easily hacked."
"Turning Virtuloids against humans," Rock muttered, "Why would anyone do such a thing?" he asked, apalled.
"That's not our concern right now, Rock," Blues said firmly. "Right now, our concern is getting enough power to our main generator. It's been offline for too long now, and we can't last much longer without it."
Rock finished the last of his tea. "So if I'm going to go and get fuel for your generator and destroy Masterframe, when do I leave?"
It took Blues only a split second to reply, "Now."