Hope Rides Alone
Walking slowly, in the middle of what was once a city, a procession continued on in somber silence. In the middle of it stood a man with shaggy gray and white hair wearing a lab coat. He was carrying a red, battle scarred helmet, with a shattered visor. This was all that remained of the once great Hero, Protoman.
Dr. Light was overcome with grief, but that was not all. With it had come a heavy, almost unbearable weight, into his heart. It was not sorrow, no it was something else, but what he could not tell. Was it frustration? Humiliation? Or was it the hatred that had built up over the years finally pouring out? Of course all of these were there, hidden deep within his heart. Dr. Light had learned during his years of solitude within his lab to ignore them, and to fight them when his emotions threatened to take over. But he also soon found he could channel them. To use them to create powerful Machines stronger than anything he had ever built before. It had ultimately resulted in his creation of Protoman his strongest invention yet. Then was this heaviness only the loss of his creation, his son?
It wasn't until it was too late that Dr. Light had come to think of his creation as his son. Before, as he was building him, Protoman had been nothing more than a weapon, a tool. A device to be used for the destruction of Wily's evil army of robots. It wasn't until he had seen Protoman's broken body- the parts too battered and broken to be used again- that he had realized his mistake. The professor thought he had sent nothing more than weapon of destruction. While creating him he had given it human-like emotions of hate and rage, both being directed at Dr. Wily and his minions. He created Protoman with the sole purpose to destroy Wily's army of robots, and even Wily himself.
But Protoman had been built with more than that. He had given his creation the ability to think for himself, and to learn. He had made him so much like a human, that Dr. Light had not realized until now that he had made so much more than a simple Machine. He had sent more than just a weapon, he had sent a Man, he had sent his son.
Perhaps this was it. His regret for not realizing any of this sooner. Yet there was more to it than just Protoman's death. He had seen the people's reaction to his son's death. They spoke of his death as if it was Protoman's own fault that he died. Blaming him for his own death. Of course Dr. Light was furious. How could these people say such things about the one whom they had praised only hours ago? They had been watching the battle the entire time. They knew Protoman was losing, that he would die, and yet they did nothing.
The procession had come to edge of the city now. The people stopped, they would go no further in fear of Wily's wrath should he find that they had dared to try and leave the city. Dr. Light turned to them, "You may leave me now." With that they turned back and began walking towards their homes.
In his thoughts Dr. Light came to the conclusion that his greatest mistake was not sending his son to fight, but sending him to fight for such heartless people.'I will never again use my talents to create anything for these people. They deserve to live this life of living hell. They have brought it upon themselves, because they were too cowardly to stand up for themselves.'
The scientist stood there for a while longer before walking off to find a final resting place for what was left of his son. He chose a place not far from the outside of the city. It was not much just a large rock which he used as a gravestone, placing Protoman's helmet upon it. He found a sharp piece of metal, and in a rough scrawl he carved:
Hope Rides Alone