Chapter Twenty: Light at the End of the Tunnel

"Greetings…"

X studied their unexpected host. He was about a head shorter than X himself and obviously a robot, with comically large, round red eyes mounted to a proportionally small head, and a jutting jaw that made the robot appear as though he had a severe underbite. His main body reminded X of the Maverick he'd had to battle in Sting Chameleon's area for the body upgrade from Dr. Light, though this one was not as rotund and had a pair of red gems in his chest that resembled his eyes. Gunmetal-grey arms extended from yellow shoulders and ended in what appeared to be a welding tool at the end of his left arm, while his right arm had a more normal white-colored hand. His legs started grey from the body, much like his arms, and ended with green lower legs and white feet, similar in design to Reploid legs and feet.

"We've been expecting you, X," the green robot continued, surprising both of his guests with his display of knowledge of at least one of his visitors. "Dr. Light told us that you would be coming, and that's why I'm here."

Internally, X breathed a sigh of relief; at least the robot wasn't likely an enemy, though from all appearances any conflict between the two would likely be one-sided given the green robot's apparent lack of combat capabilities.

"Wh-Who are you?" Shortwave asked, daring to peek out from behind her hunter's torso.

Both visitors jerked back in surprise as the green robot whipped his hand upward while pointing his welding tool at them; their initial shock was mitigated, however, by the sight of a fan in his hand. The fan displayed a red dot in the middle of a white field, and X recognized it as the symbol for the former country of Japan. "I'm Auto," the robot announced, "and it's a pleasure to finally meet you!"

"Um… It's nice to meet you as well," X managed; even though Auto would have to have been in service during his creation X had no memory of the robot. "How long have you been waiting?"

"Oh, not long," Auto replied as he dropped his pose. "Dr. Light programmed my capsule to awaken me when you arrived."

"I…see."

"Come on in," their host prompted with a wave of his arm. "Let's get you two inside; it's time for a reunion."

X glanced down at Shortwave with a puzzled look, but the smile she gave in return encouraged him to follow the portly robot across the room and through the door.

Remarkably, the hallway on the other side was in noticeably better condition than the room they had just come from; while the walls were still dirty and damaged in some places, they overall appeared to be more structurally sound. "What room were we in just now?" Shortwave timidly asked their host.

"Hm? Oh!" Auto briefly glanced over his shoulder before replying. "That was where Dr. Light put X for his thirty-year diagnostic."

"So that's where Dr. Cain found him?"

"I'm sorry; I don't know who Dr. Cain is, so I can't help you there," Auto replied apologetically. "I can tell you that the pod you saw in there was where Dr. Light put him, but I was put into my own pod not too long after that."

X wanted to say something, anything, but the idea of being in his creator's home had him feeling more than a little overwhelmed.

Shortwave, on the other hand, had no problem with asking questions, her curiosity having overcome her previous anxiety. "Mr. Auto? You spoke of a 'reunion' but I'm not sensing anyone else here."

"'Sensing'?" Auto stopped short, bringing the other two to an abrupt stop. "I see! You're an android, aren't you?"

"S-Sort of, sir," she answered cautiously yet respectfully. "I'm an android, but my design is a derivative of X's; Dr. Cain reverse-engineered X's design and created what we call 'Reploids'."

"Because he replicated X's technology…" Auto realized. "Ingenious. I'd like to meet him someday; to be able to understand and duplicate Dr. Light's work…"

"Unfortunately, Dr. Cain died a few years ago," X replied, having finally reclaimed his voice. "He died of what the humans call 'natural causes'."

"Old age…" Auto grunted as they turned a corner, stopping about halfway down the new hallway. "The bane of humanity."

"Yes, sir."

"Um, Mr. Auto?" Shortwave chimed in. "Why are we looking at a blank wall?"

The ancient robot didn't reply, but the back of his oversized jaw angled upward in an approximation of a smile before he placed his hand against the wall. A panel slid open to his left, revealing a small hole, into which he inserted the welding tool at the end of his left arm, and the visiting pair stepped back in surprise as the wall directly before them opened up to reveal a set of stairs leading downward. "This way, please," he said as he began to descend the stairs, lights illuminating in sequence as though to show the way.

"Where are we going?" Shortwave asked, unable to control the combination of anxiety and curiosity.

"Just wait and see," Auto replied in a gentle and amused tone that seemed to be requesting patience.

"Is… Was X's room behind a false wall like this?"

Auto chuckled quietly. "You're sure full of questions, aren't you? Well, I guess it's understandable. Yes, X's pod room is behind a false wall; at the time, Dr. Wily was still on the loose, and Dr. Light didn't want him to find out about X, so…" He briefly waved his hands. "Be patient, miss: I think a lot of your questions will be answered soon."

"Okay. I'm sorry, sir."

"Don't worry about it; I love answering questions, but I think you'll enjoy the discovery more," the older robot replied as they reached the bottom of the staircase, which ended at another door. This one opened automatically upon their approach and he led the pair into a large room, not quite warehouse-sized but spacious enough. Pods similar to X's lined the walls, some large but most of them small, and all of them with small viewing windows about one-third the way down the front, allowing a limited view of the occupants.

X and Shortwave watched as the ancient robot made his way over to a console set in the floor and facing the central pod. He then began pressing buttons in quick succession, and something about his movements reminded X of how smoothly and efficiently Douglas worked in his department back at Maverick Hunter Headquarters.

"It's finally time to wake up…" Auto announced, and with a flourish he pressed one more button.

The cover over the central pod began to slide open, and X's and Shortwave's eyes widened at nearly the same time. "X…" she managed in spite of her shock. "That's…"

"Yeah…" X breathed, unable to believe what his optics were registering as the cover locked in the open position, fully revealing its occupant. "It's…him." He took several hesitant steps toward the newly-opened pod, his expression a mask of disbelief. "He… He looks like…me."

Indeed, the robot within the pod looked very much like X, with dark, wavy hair and a very similar facial structure. Unlike X, however, the pod's occupant was noticeably shorter, about the size of an average ten-year-old boy. Instead of armor, he was clad in a dark-blue sleeveless vest over a white T-shirt with black sleeves. Brown cargo-length shorts covered his legs to the knees, and white-and-blue high-top shoes covered his feet. To the casual observer, he looked like a boy who had just come in from playing outdoors. In spite of his appearance, however, he seemed to radiate overwhelming power.

As everyone watched, he opened his eyes, blinking several times as his optics adjusted to the new light level. Of course the first thing he saw was the tall, blue-armored young man staring wide-eyed at him. "Who…?"

"Welcome back, Rock," Auto said, moving to stand at X's side. "It's been a long time."

"Auto!" Rock cried happily as he hopped out of his pod to throw his arms around his old comrade, the unfamiliar figure temporarily forgotten. "You're still alive!"

"Of course!" the engineering robot laughed as he returned the embrace. "Light's finest engineering isn't going to break down that easily!"

The small robot laughed along with him until he noticed the ruined surroundings. "What happened here…?" His expression abruptly shifted to one of concern. "Is… Is everyone else all right?"

"They're fine," Auto replied. "I'll be waking them up shortly."

"All right." Rock then looked up into the face of the visitor who closely resembled himself. "You're…X, aren't you?"

X exchanged a glance with Shortwave as the latter joined him. "That's right."

"Then your diagnostic must be complete!" the Blue Bomber exclaimed while driving a fist into the other hand. "So, it's been thirty years, huh…"

X glanced down at Auto, who somehow managed an awkward expression before answering on his guest's behalf. "Uh, Rock? I don't know how to tell you this, but it's been, uh…longer than thirty years."

Rock's gave his comrade a wary look. "Auto? H-… How long has it been?"

Auto shifted uncomfortably. "It's been about…well, about a hundred years."

Rock's eyes widened. "One… One hundred years?"

Auto could only nod sadly.

Rock's eyes lost focus as his friend's words sunk in. "So Doctor Light is really gone…"

"I'm so sorry for your loss," Shortwave said compassionately.

The unfamiliar voice jarred Rock from his thoughts. "Thanks, but…who are you?"

X managed a smile as he rested a hand on his companion's shoulder. "This is Shortwave; she's my navigator."

"And a Reploid," she added with an eager nod.

Understandably, Rock was puzzled. "Navigator? Reploid? I don't understand."

Any further discussion was interrupted by Auto's chuckle. "We all have a lot of questions," he said as he made his way back to his console. "But before we start answering them, how about we wake everyone else up?"

While X appeared more reserved, even guarded, Rock and Shortwave turned excited eyes on the pods as they began to slowly open one by one.

The first two to be opened contained a young girl and - to X's and Shortwave's surprise – a dog. The girl was slightly shorter than Rock and had long, golden hair tied in a high ponytail with a green ribbon. The sleeves of a black shirt poked out from under an otherwise sleeveless dress that covered her from her neck to just above her knees and was mostly red with a white collar featuring two large, black buttons, while red-and-white sneakers covered her feet.

The dog sat up and yawned, drawing the visiting pair's attention to its light-brown muzzle and darker-brown nose. When it had finished yawning, blue eyes regarded them sleepily before it rose to all fours to stretch, and X and Shortwave could see the rest of the dog's obviously robotic body, consisting of mostly red and white colorings, with hints of pink here and there.

The dog seemed to suddenly realize that X and Shortwave were strangers, and he quickly leaped from his pod to stand before them and growl threateningly.

"Down, Rush!" Rock called as he hurried over to wrap his arms around the robotic canine's neck. "They're guests!"

Shortwave crouched down and turned slightly sideways so as to not appear challenging. "I'm Shortwave," she greeted. "Your name's 'Rush'? It's nice to meet you! You're so adorable!"

Rush squirmed, and Rock took that as his cue to let go of his companion. He slowly approached the redheaded visitor, who carefully extended a hand for him to sniff, which he did. A moment later, his white tail began to wag and a long, pink tongue lolled from his mouth as he began to pant happily.

"I think he likes you, Shortwave," X remarked though he remained upright, uncertain as to whether he would be as warmly received by the artificial dog.

Shortwave looked up to the warrior's face and smiled as she reached up to tug on his hand. "It's fine, X; he's friendly, see?"

It took a bit of coaxing, but as a smiling Rock watched, the mighty warrior eventually allowed himself to be pulled down to join her in getting acquainted with the ancient canine. For his part, Rush looked from the kneeling X to Rock and back before his eyes brightened as he recognized the family resemblance.

"ROCK!" a tiny voice cried out, startling all but Auto as the blonde-haired girl launched herself from her pod and latched onto Rock. "It's been too long!"

"R-Roll!" Rock laughed as he returned the girl's excited embrace. "It hasn't been that long to us! Did you notice time passing or something?"

She drew away far enough to shake her head, sending her high ponytail waving. "No, but you know how I hate it when you're not around. All those missions and the times you had to e-teleport back…?" She gave him another squeeze. "I don't like being away from you."

"Um, thanks," Rock replied with a blush as Shortwave smiled at them.

"Rock."

Rock froze at the familiar voice, and he looked over his shoulder to a very familiar face. "Blues…" he breathed, releasing his sister at the sight of his older brother. "So you let Dr. Light put you in…"

"Obviously," Dr. Light's prototype snorted as he made his way up to the group and crossed his arms. "Someone has to keep an eye on you, keep you from getting into trouble."

"Blues!" Roll cried, surprising the red-armored robot as she released Rock to throw her arms around him. "I'm so glad! Thank you for not dying!"

"Uh, y-you're welcome?" X and Shortwave watched as the others tried to hold back expressions of mirth at the sight of the stoic warrior trying to pry the excited blonde loose. "I'm not gonna kick the bucket that easily, you know?"

She released him with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Blues; it's just that I've been so worried about you, and when-"

"ROCK!" Everyone jerked at the suddenness of the new voice, a loud voice that radiated hostility and arrogance. "It's finally time!"

"Wh-Who is that?" Shortwave squeaked, quickly hiding behind X as the newcomer approached the group; this one was clad in mostly-black armor with what appeared to be gold-lined fins on his helmet, which looked remarkably like the hood of a cobra.

To X's surprise, the cobra-hooded robot approached him and looked up into his face with a sneer. "Oh, so Doctor Light gave you a height upgrade or something?" He clicked his tongue. "Well, it doesn't matter; it still won't be enough to defeat me!" He leaped back, shifting his arm into a cannon form and leveling it at X.

"Wait, Bass!" Rock cried out as the stranger fired a volley at the taller robot. "That's-"

"NO!" Shortwave cried, moving impossibly fast to throw herself in the projectile's path as X reflexively crossed his arms; normally he would have dodged the shot, but that would have left his navigator and friend in the projectile's path. Or so he thought.

A stunned silence, then… "Hey, what gives?" X slowly lowered his arms to find his attacker studying his arm cannon with an annoyed expression. "I shot at least five times, and no damage?!"

"Wait, Bass!" Rock yelled as he moved to stand before his successor. "That's not Rock, I am! I'm the one you-"

"X, what are you doing?!" Shortwave suddenly cried out, and everyone looked to find her holding onto the taller robot's arm cannon, which was aimed at his attacker; energy could be seen coalescing at the end of the barrel.

"He tried to hurt you!" X snarled, trying to move her behind him as his charge reached Stage Two. "I won't let him do it again!"

"Wait, X!" Rock cried, sliding to put himself in front of Bass with his arms stretched out to the sides. "He didn't know! Hold your fire, please!"

Bass stared wide-eyed at his rival's back, surprised that his nemesis would try to shield him with his own body, especially without armor. He also realized that it would have been so easy to raise his arm cannon and erase the bane of his existence, but he knew that defeating an unarmored Mega Man wouldn't be anywhere near as satisfying as defeating him at full power. He also couldn't help but notice that the charge from the bigger Mega Man's arm cannon looked as though it would vaporize him if it hit.

"X…" Shortwave said softly as she moved to stand before the barrel and rest a hand on the charge meter of the X-Buster. "Please don't do this; I'm okay."

"He only damaged the back of her shirt," Rock offered.

Everyone watched, Bass included, as X took a deep breath, his jaw working furiously. He then dropped his Buster arm, allowing the energy to harmlessly dissipate and his X-Buster to revert back to a normal arm. "All right…" he grumbled, and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

Rock turned to face his rival. "Bass, that's X; he's much more powerful than I am, so don't challenge him." He then gave Dr. Wily's second-greatest creation an uncharacteristically lopsided grin. "Well, not yet at least."

Bass stared at him for several seconds before reverting his cannon back to a regular arm. "Fine; I'll take your word for it. This time."

X continued to glare at the cobra-hooded robot until he felt a tug on his arm, and when he looked down into Shortwave's smiling face his scowl unconsciously relaxed into a smile as well. They then watched as the rest of the pods opened, revealing faces and forms from an era long past, and they watched as Rock excitedly welcomed Guts Man, Shadow Man, Quick Man, Stone Man, Turbo Man, Comet Woman…

"X…"

X had been watching as Bass introduced the wolf-like Treble – apparently Dr. Wily's counter to Rock's canine sidekick – when a familiar voice startled him. "Dr. Light?"

"Did you say something, X?" Shortwave asked, her attention momentarily drawn from the mass reunion.

X stared at her for a moment before answering; apparently she hadn't heard the voice. "S-Sorry, I thought I heard Dr. Light calling me."

She smiled impishly up at him and gave him a nudge and a knowing wink. "You did, but no one else did. Go ahead and see what he wants; if anyone asks, I'll tell them that you had to step out for a minute."

X looked back to the family reunion, where Dr. Light's and Dr. Wily's creations were either clapping each other on the shoulders or hugging. "All right; I'll see you later." With one last glance at Bass he then left through a nearby door.

The signal led him out of the room through a door other than the one through which they had entered, and several turns later he found himself approaching a set of double-doors at the end of a long hallway. "Right through here, X," Dr. Light's voice told him as the doors opened on their own.

X stepped through the doors into a small room with a pod, similar to the one that he and Shortwave had found themselves in upon their arrival. "I'm here, Doctor. You wanted to show me something?"

"Indeed," Dr. Light's voice echoed throughout the room as his hologram shimmered into existence next to the pod and rested a hand upon it. "There's someone I'd like you to take back with you."

"A new robot?" X puzzled. "How are you able to create a new robot in your…you know..." he trailed off while lamely gesturing at the hologram.

Dr. Light smiled kindly. "The same way that I have been able to create upgrades for you, X."

"Oh." X had never given any thought to how the hologram of the good doctor had been able to create all of his upgrades over the years, so he felt a little foolish.

"Give yourself some grace," Dr. Light said. "You've been very busy since your awakening, so it's no surprise that you haven't thought about things like this before."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"That being said…" the doctor said as he stepped away from the pod, "…you ask a fair question. Rest assured, things will be made clear once you see who is in here." As though on cue, the pod started to open. "In fact, that's why I called you here by yourself; only you would understand the significance of who I'm about to show you."

The cover finished sliding open, and X's eyes widened at the sight of the pod's occupant. "Wh-…What…?"

Within the pod lay a young woman, tall but still noticeably shorter than X himself. Long, brown hair tied up in what appeared to be a high ponytail cascaded over one shoulder down to around her hips. A silver belt with a black buckle secured a red, military-style jacket with black trim that covered her to her knees, save for a large split in the front that revealed hips and legs clad in white, form-fitting pants. She had the oversized lower legs and feet typical of Reploids, though in her case the upper part was colored predominantly red from the knees to just above the ankles. Her boot-like feet were mostly black while white toes with a black border around the sole poked out from the front.

What struck X the most was her face; it looked to him so much like… "I-…Iris…?"

The Reploid's eyes opened, revealing a familiar shade of green; even though he had never worked much with her, X easily recognized her unique eye shape and color. "Who…?"

"It's okay, dear," Dr. Light said soothingly as she sat up in her pod. "You're with friends."

"Dr. Light…?" the young woman murmured as she held a hand to her head. "I was on Final Weapon, but…" Her eyes widened. "ZERO?!"

"Try to calm down…" Dr. Light said, moving to crouch before the distressed Reploid to gaze into her face. "You're not there anymore, remember? You're in my lab, and-"

"You saved us and restored me," she interrupted, though unintentionally. "We fought Zero and lost, and then…"

X could no longer contain his curiosity. "Doctor? What's going on? Is this really Iris?"

The holographic doctor straightened to face his greatest creation. "Yes, X, this is Iris. And Colonel."

"How…?" was all X could get out as he stared in disbelief at the still-disoriented Reploid. "I thought that Zero had…you know…"

Dr. Light smiled at X's understandable confusion. "He did. However, I was able to retrieve her and her brother from the satellite before it exploded and brought them here."

"But how did you…?" X started to ask but stopped himself. "Okay, at least that explains Iris," he conceded, "but…where's Colonel?"

The holographic doctor's smile wavered just noticeably. "He's…part of Iris, now."

"I still don't understand…"

"When I found out that Zero had killed my brother, it nearly killed me as well," the newly awakened Reploid managed to explain, and X noticed that her accent was even stronger than before, reminding him of her and her brother's Australian origin. "I found his core and tried to fuse with him to help him get revenge, but…failed." She raised her gaze to meet X's. "Then, like the good doctor here said, he pulled Colonel's core and me out of there and brought us here." She reached out a hand, and X reflexively took hold of it to help her out of her pod; as she emerged, he realized that she no longer wore her beret. "He's…part of me, now."

"I'm…sorry…" X managed, at a complete loss for words. "I don't know what to say."

"It's all right… Well, now," she replied as she found her footing on the laboratory floor. "I don't know if this'll make sense, but I feel closer to him now than ever before. At least now, we're the way we were meant to be in the first place."

"What do you mean?"

She smiled, and X noticed that her smile was…different than before; whereas her smile and eyes looked more…innocent, even naïve, the Iris standing before him appeared…wiser? More confident? "You didn't know? The eggheads that created us were trying to create a Reploid with a strong fighting spirit and a heart that desired peace." She blinked. "Now that I really think about it, they were trying to create a Reploid like you. Anyway, they blew that, so they made Brother as the fighting Reploid, and me – well, the old me – as the peace-loving Reploid."

X looked to his creator. "So you helped her – er, them – become what they were supposed to be in the first place?"

The holographic doctor nodded sagely. "I followed the events of the Repliforce War, and the very idea of them perishing without realizing their true purpose troubled me to no end, so I did what little I could."

"And Brother and I are very thankful to you for that," Iris said, and she turned to bow deeply toward her…their?…savior. "Even though my brother is little more than an influence on my thinking now, I know that he would also be thankful for what you've done for us."

"I'm just sorry that I couldn't restore him and integrate the two of you," the father of robotics said sadly.

"Please, Hakase; don't be," Iris replied. "Brother died as a warrior should; in battle against a powerful opponent."

X internally cringed at the knowledge of said opponent.

"He wouldn't have had it any other way," she continued. "Now that his thoughts and feelings are mine as well, I understand that he wouldn't have wanted me to take revenge." She held a hand to her chest and smiled awkwardly. "Even now, I feel a little of his disappointment in me."

X smiled in relief, happy that his old friend had found some form of resolution. "It's…good to see you again."

Iris twitched, apparently having forgotten that he was there. "Oh! Right! It's good to see you too, mate! How is Zero, by the way? Still blastin' Mavericks, I hope?"

'Mate'? That was different. "He's…doing fine, all things considered."

"Good," she replied with a sigh of relief. "I was worried that killing me would have…well, killed him."

"I…think he died that day. At least, in a way." X reached up to scratch his head before remembering that he still had his helmet on. "It took him a long time to…recover, though I'm not sure if he's ever really recovered. You two were really close, after all."

"I know." Iris briefly studied his face before casting her gaze to the floor, suddenly unable to maintain eye contact. "Do… Do you think he'll be okay with seeing me again? Especially like this?"

X opened his mouth, but no sound came out at first. "I…really don't know how he'd react. After all, he just had a situation with-" He cut himself off as he remembered Signas' 'gag order' regarding Layer's situation, even though she had used a copy of Iris' old body.

Iris looked back up at him and cocked her head ever so slightly. "A situation with what?"

It was X's turn to look to the floor. "Sorry, I'm not allowed to talk about it."

Iris studied his downturned face a moment longer before smiling and reaching out to clap a hand on his shoulder, surprising the ancient warrior. "All right, mate; I worked for Repliforce, I understand protocols." She jerked her head toward the door. "Well, how about we get out of here? If Hakase approves…?"

The hologram smiled warmly. "It is time for you to see this new world, Iris. But before you go, I do have a request."

"What is it?"

"There are many of my and Albert's creations several rooms away." Dr. Light explained. "I would appreciate it if you and X could be responsible for their acclimation to the modern world. After all, like X they've been hidden away for over a century."

"For you, Hakase? Anything!" she gushed with a clap of her hands. She then looked to X. "Of course, I'll need to follow your lead, mate; I haven't been out there in a while."

X chuckled. "It's not as different out there as you might think, but I'll do my best. I'm sure Shortwave would be happy to help as well."

"Who's Shortwave?" Iris asked, then waved her hands. "Never mind; I'm sure I'll be meeting a lot of new people soon."

"One last thing, Iris," Dr. Light interrupted, "I have something for you; a gift of sorts."

"Ooo, really?" she squealed, and the way she clapped her hands and hoped from foot to foot was a humorous contrast to her more serious, military appearance and reminded X of her 'old' self. "A prezzie for me?

The hologram looked to a section of wall, the upper part of which slid open to reveal a metal cylinder, and Iris gasped in recognition. "This is your weapon now; it is your brother's sword modified for your build and enhanced for your use." He turned to fully face his newest creation. "Use it to fight, Iris, for everlasting peace."

"Oh…" she breathed as she carefully – almost reverently - claimed her new weapon, holding it to her chest. "I will, Hakase, I promise."

Dr. Light smiled at his 'daughter' before looking over at X. "X, I expect you to take her under your wing as she finds her place in this world in her new body," he admonished firmly though gently. "She hasn't fully integrated Colonel into herself, but she won't be able to finish that process in my testing pod."

"Understood, doctor."

"And one more thing…" The holographic doctor added. "If you would, please inform Miss Alia that I will be visiting her at your headquarters the day after tomorrow with my answer to her request."

"Understood, doctor."

Dr. Light studied X for a moment before speaking again. "Iris, would you please wait outside for a minute? I'd like to speak with X privately."

The newly awakened Reploid blinked. "Uh, sure, Hakase. I'll wait right outside." She finger-waved at X as she made her way to the door.

As the door closed behind her. X addressed his creator. "That's… She's going to take some getting used to."

Dr. Light chuckled. "I can imagine; the headstrong and proud Colonel combined with the sweet and tender Iris?" He chuckled again. "For what it's worth, I believe that she'll be all right. After all, she has friends like you and, eventually, Shortwave and the others."

"Yeah…" X agreed as he stared at the door through which Iris had left.

The hologram turned his attention to his greatest creation. "X, are you happy?"

X blinked out of his reverie. "I'm sorry?"

"Are you happy, X?"

"Am I happy?" The warrior puzzled over the question. "I…don't know, I've never thought about it. Why do you ask, Doctor?"

Dr. Light folded his hands over his large abdomen. "You've been fighting for years now since your activation, and I've been worried about you."

X was still at a loss for an answer but wanted to give his creator one. "I guess I'm…happy. I haven't really thought about it, to be honest. I just want to protect the smiles of everyone else; I guess the idea of being happy never occurred to me."

The holographic doctor's expression faded to one of pain. "X, have you been denying yourself happiness for all these years?" he said with a hint of sadness. "Do you really think that the happiness that you've been protecting only belongs to others?"

X didn't have an answer to that.

"Young Shortwave has offered to be your companion in life," Dr. Light continued, drawing an expression of shock from the warrior. "What is holding you back, X?"

X suddenly experienced a wave of emotion unlike anything he had experienced before; it felt like sadness, but it had a tinge of guilt to it. "I…I…can't…" he managed to reply. "You made me to protect all of mankind; I can't just show preference to one person! That would be selfish of me!"

"It is true that I created you with the ability to love," the doctor conceded, "but it was never my intention for you to love all at the expense of yourself. Not to mention that if she's the kind of girl she appears to be, she wouldn't want to monopolize you." A pause. "How do you feel about her?"

X didn't have an answer to that, either.

"We can talk about this more at another time," Dr. Light offered. "Just know that I did not create you to give and give with no expectation of reward."

X's eyes lost focus as he considered the good doctor's words, and an odd thought came to mind. "You know, Doctor, I met Rock and Roll not long before you called me."

"I do know that, yes."

The ancient robot's eyes regained focus and he lifted them to his creator. "Even though you made me more advanced than them, I guess I…envy them in a way."

"How so?"

"They got to be with you when you were…well, alive," X explained. "They could see you and talk with you, and…well, touch you."

Dr. Light sighed sadly as he regarded his creation; it was true that he and X hadn't been able to interact much during the latter's creation, but it had never occurred to the father of robotics how much the lack of contact would affect his creation so. "I'm so sorry, X; I truly did not mean for you to feel neglected."

"It's okay, Doctor," X replied, though he couldn't stop a tear from forming. "I have Zero and Alia and Signas and the others, and I know you didn't mean to…well, neglect me or anything like that." He quickly brushed the tear away and straightened to face his creator. "Thank you for giving me life, Dr. Light; I can't tell you how grateful I am for how you made me, and I'm glad that I can use the abilities and upgrades that you've given me to help others."

Dr. Light's hologram blinked several times as he considered X's words. Then, he glanced over at another section of the wall.

X's artificial hair started to tingle as he could feel the room's power output begin to increase. "Doctor? Is something wrong?"

Dr. Light said nothing, but as the output continued to increase, X noticed that his projection had started to become less transparent, less grainy in appearance.

Finally, to X's utter shock, Dr. Light stepped forward and wrapped his arms around him, and X could feel pressure coming from the holographic arms.

"I'm so sorry for not being there for you, son," the doctor said as he held his creation for the first time. "I should have done this a long time ago."

Unable to contain his emotions any longer, X returned the embrace and finally grieved his losses.

A/N: My description of Rock is based on Mega Man 11 concept art: wiki/Mega_Man_(character)/Gallery

Another A/N: For those not in the know, Comet Woman is from 'Mega Man Unlimited', a fangame by MegaPhil X

One Last A/N: If anyone is knowledgeable and willing, I would welcome assistance with Iris' Australian manner of speech.