Note: Special thanks to Fox McCloude for offering to translate this story into Spanish! Give him some love!

This is sort of a "part 1" for an introduction to an important character in this AU of mine. And it's basically in the title of the chapter. Granted, it'll be explained better later, but this is sort of both a canon character and not at the same time. It's a little confusing at first, yes, but I hope to explain it better as the story goes along.

Plus, be on the lookout for some hints for some future appearances!

Roll 2.5

X knew he had to think long and hard about this.

When he had heard the news from Cain and Fujiwara, he was thrilled. Finally, at long last, someone like himself was going to be made! But when the two humans said that he would have a "friend", the blue robot already had someone in mind. The only problem was how would he go about this? Was what he was wanting even possible?

As he entered through the automated door, he went over an improv speech he had going on in his mind, most of it formed on the spot. He had both thought long and hard about this, and yet not at all. For when he saw the two men standing by the door, clearly waiting for him, X wondered whether or not he should've even come at all.

"Ah, have you reached a decision?" Cain asked, more enthusiastic than Fujiwara, who retained a professional demeanor.

"Well, yes." X answered. "But,"

"But what?" Fujiwara questioned, raising a brow.

X looked at the Asian man's central computer. "You know those memory files from that robot? Roll?"

"DLN-002?" Fujiwara asked, X, nodding in response. "What of her?"

"I know you can't get her body back," the blue robot said. "And, I'll admit, I don't exactly know how to do it,"

"Just say it, my boy. What do you want?" Cain asked.

X hesitated for a moment, knowing that what he wanted was perhaps nothing more than a fantasy. But still, if there was a sliver of a chance, then at least he wanted to know that he didn't let the opportunity slip away. "I want her." he said.

Neither Fujiwara nor Cain knew what he meant at first, but it didn't take long to figure it out. "You want her? As in, you want her to be the robot we build?"

"I guess so," X answered. True, it was a little more complicated on his end, but ultimately, it seemed he got his message across. "Or rather, I guess I want you to make her a new body and place what you have of her in it." both men looked at the robot in confusion. "I know, it doesn't sound…plausible. And I know machines aren't programmed like that-"

"No, they are not." Fujiwara interrupted. "And what you're asking is impossible."

"I know, some of it can't be done, but-"

"Those memory files were the only thing we managed to recover from her." the Japanese man continued. "Her reactor core was completely obliterated, so there would be no way for her just to be placed in a new body. Most of her CPU was a scrambled mess, and what footage we do have are little more than clips of domestic life that went on at Light's home. What could be done with that?"

"Not much, but-"

"Not to mention that things such as basic personality traits would have to be programmed in, as you're only taking the memory files, not the CPU itself, which is no good anymore."

"So ultimately, you couldn't get that robot back, no matter what you or anyone else did."

"But can't we do that?" X questioned. "After all, Dr. Cain has trust in you for a reason. Wouldn't it be doable?"

Fujiwara adjusted his spectacles while Cain took over. "What he means, X, is that those memory files are all that's left of her," he explained. "The only thing that she would have would be those recordings. Her personality, her likes, her dislikes, they're all gone." he sighed when he saw the robot's expression grow sad. "Your efforts would be in vain."

X stared at Cain for a short while, then looked to the floor. He was silent, Fujiwara silently sighing in relief. The older man felt horrible in having to deliver this news. Yet what they heard next took them both by surprise.

"I…I don't care."

Both men looked at each other to confirm that was what they had just heard. "What do you mean?" Cain asked, puzzled but also taken aback by the sudden firmness in the robot's voice.

"I said I don't care," X repeated. "I want her."

Fujiwara raised a brow. "You do realize that you're making it sound like everything I said just flew over your head."

"No, I heard you," X responded. "And I want to go through with it." he continued. "I can help in making her." the Japanese scientist didn't seem convinced. "I can take notes and watch those files to get her general personality down!" the change in the tone of the robot's voice indicated that he was trying to negotiate instead of demand. "You have the scans of my CPU and basic blueprints! Wouldn't that be enough?" he then began bargaining. "Though, if you need more, I can provide more. How many would you need?"

Cain was taken aback by the range of emotions he had just witnessed in the span of a short time, and from a machine of all things! Fujiwara, on the other hand, was pondering this. Yes, what the robot wanted couldn't be done, yet he had presented, ironically enough, that he was the one willing to compromise despite being the one with the buster. And technically, the scientist would get an opportunity to make a prototype, and X would finally have a companion. Finally, both of them would get what they wanted.

"We shall see," Fujiwara answered X's question. "But as for your contribution, I'm relying on you to make sure that you get her personality down. Programming in that field is a very complex process."

"Yeah, sure. No problem." X immediately agreed to do whatever the Japanese man wanted of him.

While Cain was pleased with this development, he knew that this was just being done because it also benefited the scientist. Nevertheless, he thought this would be good for the blue robot. And while he knew next to nothing of robotics, he would provide whatever service he could. Still, they were all stepping into unknown territory, so those steps would have to be made carefully. Otherwise, they would unleash a sea of chaos. Or perhaps such a thing was inevitable; no one knew exactly.

But whatever the case, they were going to find out very soon.

May 30th 21XX

Dr. Fujiwara's Lab

X sat in his room, going over every memory file recovered from the helper bot. He was making mental notes (quite literally) as he watched the footage, analyzing how the girl interacted with those around her. But, of course, the robot watched everything from her point of view, so X was thankful that he had seen her before himself. Otherwise, he would've had to find specific shots where he could see her appearance.

"Rock!" she shouted, the blue robot he had seen enter the doorway looking at her, having just taken off his helmet. "Don't you take another step!"

Mega Man, or rather, Rock, looked confused. "What?"

"Don't 'what' me, mister! Look at your boots!" the helper robot, Roll, said, pointing to the Blue Bomber's boots. They were coated in mud and dirt. Come to think of it, all of him had been covered in mud and dirt. "You're not setting foot in this house until you get yourself spotless!"

"But Roll! I was going to wipe-"

"Uh uh! No buts!" she then pointed towards the door. After that, the footage became nearly indistinguishable from jumbled-up sounds and static, but eventually, everything became clear again (well, clear enough). "Ho-bzz-ld still!" X heard Roll say, the sight of Rock being sprayed with water coming to be seen.

"Roll-blurb! I can-blurgh! Wash my own face-blugh!" Mega Man tried to protest but kept getting water in his mouth.

Well, she's rather fussy, I'll give her that. Still, as the robot watched her clean her brother off, X couldn't help but wonder a few things. If Dr. Light had constructed him, along with Rock and Roll, did that make her and Rock X's siblings? The blue robot pondered this, yet if this was the case, when was he, well, "born" in comparison to them? Dr. Light appeared far healthier in most of the files he had watched, so it must've been a few years. A decade? Maybe two? If that was the case, then he had missed out on at least maybe seeing the other robots face to face. If not to just have a coherent memory of them.

He then saw Roll scrubbing Rock down with a sponge, the Blue Bomber barely blue at all at most of him was consumed by soapy suds. Then he was hosed off again and dried with a towel. "Come on," the blonde housekeeper said, dragging her brother in the house with the towel wrapped around his head. "I still have to do your hair. Maybe we'll actually be able to keep it neat and straight this time!"

"Roll, there's nothing wrong with my hair!" Rock complained as the girl dragged him up the stairs.

"It's always got knots! Probably from all the time you wear that helmet." she went on and on as she led her brother to the bathroom. That was the end of that file, dated August 15th, 200X.

It was perhaps considered "homework" in a sense, but X made sure to take note of everything. Even traits that, if he had to be honest, he didn't exactly "like" in the robotic girl. But he had to get everything if he wanted to get this right. This all hinged on how accurate he was regarding what Fujiwara was going to put in her.

Suddenly, X felt a hand on his shoulder. Dr. Cain stood over him, also watching the screen of the computer in the robot's "room." "How's it going?" the older man asked.

X didn't expect the human to come in, yet nevertheless, he welcomed any visit he could get from the other doctor. "There's a lot to go through," he admitted. "I'm not even halfway done yet."

"Have you been doing this since I last came here?" Cain questioned, quite surprised at how much time the robot had spent going over static-ridden recordings.

"Fujiwara says that the faster I can give him information, the faster he can put in what needs to be," X explained. "He said that since these memory files are the only things we have, her personality has to be programmed from scratch. Although," he bit his lip. "From what I've seen, she's a bit…demanding."

Cain appeared to be amused. "Not a fan of her?"

"No, it's nothing like that! It's just, well," he was wondering how to phrase this. "I guess I'll just come out and say it: I don't want to be bossed around like some kid."

Cain chuckled at that. "You don't want to be the younger sibling in this case."

"Well, yeah. I guess you can say that's what it is." X responded. "Though wasn't Rock or Mega Man made before Roll? That'd make him 'older,' right?"

"Hm," Cain thought for a moment. "Honestly, I don't know. And given how the two were constructed together, you could technically call them twins." Cain continued to observe the recordings with X. "Though I suppose he did that because of what happened with his first robot."

"First robot?" X asked. "But isn't Rock listed as DLN-001?"

"Yes, but he's doing what you and Fujiwara are doing at the moment. First, Dr. Light needed to build a prototype to see if his research had been correct. A prototype must always be made and presented before any advanced robot line is released."

"And was it?" X further pried.

"Not long after his creation, the prototype ran away, never to be seen again." Cain told X, the blue robot was surprised to hear this.

"He left? Why?"

Cain shrugged. "No one knows precisely why. Dr. Light, of course, thought that perhaps one of the main reasons was that he didn't have a companion with him. So when Rock was created, Roll was as well." he explained. "Granted, both were initially made to be helper bots, but then Light's other robots were stolen and, well, Rock volunteered to undergo the operation needed to convert him into a fighting machine."

X knew of that particular bit of history, as well as several other magnificent feats the Blue Bomber had performed, but Roll's files presented a much different picture of the Super Fighting Robot than what had been presented to the world. He knew that he should probably get back to doing his "part" of the project, but he had one more question.

"Did the prototype ever come back?" the blue robot asked. "Did that robot ever know that he, well, had a brother or sister?"

Cain pondered this for a moment. "It's hard to say."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there are theories that a robot previously working with Wily was the escaped prototype. Or some theories say he assisted Mega Man against Wily in ways that wouldn't draw any attention to himself." Cain told X. "Whatever the case, that robot disappeared and hasn't been seen since. So even now, no one knows who the prototype was."

X absorbed all this, processing it along with the other pieces of information he knew. This was the first time he had heard of Dr. Light's prototype, yet he had no idea that such a turn of events would happen involving the robot. Where did he go? Did he work with Wily at one point? And if so, why?

And again, did he ever know he had a family?

X pondered all this, reflecting on his own situation and the numerous scenarios involving the prototype. However, at least the blue robot knew of his…family. Who knew if that prototype did? How lonely was he? Did he wander the earth until he fell apart? So many things could've happened, and so many of them ended with him being alone.

How sad.

Seeing he was deep in thought, Cain decided to leave X to his "work" though he noticed the robot had grown quiet after hearing the older man's tale. He began to wonder whether or not he should've told X that, and he was curious as to whether or not this information would influence his "work" in any way. Regardless, the process was underway, and he could only do so much.

So for now, he would have to wait and see. And wonder. And hope.

July 19th 21XX

Fujiwara's Lab

X was no expert in fashion (not precisely seeing the purpose of clothes, if he had to be honest), but Roll appeared to have many outfits she wore. So many that he had a significant amount of difficulty in deciding just how her new body would look. True, traits such as hair and eye color would be simple enough, but the young (or old) housekeeper bot had so much in her wardrobe! It took him a good few weeks to even get a sliver of an idea of how her body would look, yet over time, he was able to give Fujiwara some details.

For one, while she certainly had more clothes than her brother or even Dr. Light for that matter, she seemed to fancy the color red. And she seemed pretty fond of having a green ribbon in her hair, almost always tied up in a long, high ponytail. And while it wasn't as frequent as red, Roll had a good amount of dark colors and white. So, using the gathered details, X, Fujiwara, and Cain were able to construct an image in their heads of what appearance would fit her best.

And finally, after a couple of months, all three of them had come up with something.

On the table rested the form of an android modeled after X, yet this one was female. As she had with her older body, this model had long, blond hair tied up in a long ponytail. Instead of a ribbon, she had a green metal bow that clipped around the collection of hair and kept the ponytail in place. Two long stranges of hair rested over white audio receptors similar to X's aside from their dark color and the yellow glass covering inside. She had a black covering from her neck down to her pelvis and wrists, resembling a long-sleeved leotard or swimsuit. A top of white metal covered the undersection with a white collar that covered the robot's throat, two small darkly-colored circles on the collar. In between rested a line that went down vertically, from the collar down to the end of her chest. Instead of a young girl, the robot resembled a young woman, her chest shaped and defined and her figure womanly.

She "wore" a red skirt fashioned after a pleated skirt with a white section in the middle, red boots with dark linings tops (or collars) and white sections for toe caps. Her shoulders were more round than X's and somewhat more pronounced, yet unlike her chest, her shoulders were dark in color and had yellow glass that dipped inward to cover her shoulder joint. Her forearms were red and from the lower part of them to her wrists were gold, four dark orbs located in a ring around the section, grooves set in between each. A white belt with a dark sphere in the center was around her waist, holding her skirt in place. Her hands were white, the same as X's, yet were more feminine, and the digits were attached at the hand instead of being built-in with the rest of it.

The three that had helped design her looked her over, her eyes closed as if she were in a peaceful sleep. Just as he was when he was first found, X thought. But now, they would see what would happen when she "woke" up.

"I trust you're satisfied?" Fujiwara asked X.

"Yes." the robot said. I just wonder whether or not she'll like it. He thought.

"Her body was made cheaply and fairly quickly, as the meaning of this test is to see if your systems can be duplicated." Fujiwara explained. "And, bear in mind, while I put the memory files in, the rest of her is completely new. So how she will process them has yet to be seen."

X nodded, understanding. "I know that what might happen might be…" he paused. "Well, I don't know what might happen," he admitted. He looked down at the female android, the "older" (or maybe younger) form for the robot on those files to inhabit. At least, that's what a small part of him was hoping for.

"Shall we get started then?" Cain asked.

Neither X or Fujiwara had any objections. Thus, Fujiwara input a command into his computer, and with a few quick presses on the keyboard, the process had begun.

The machine was activated.

A low humming was heard from within the newly constructed (albeit cheaply) body, and after a few moments, the humming stopped, and the machine opened her eyes. Her irises were a teal color, and though they looked glassy and lifeless at first, they immediately lit up when she laid her eyes on X. Fujiwara and Cain observed this change, noting that, whatever was happening, X's being here had stirred something in her.

She slowly rose from the table and stood, her legs unsteady as if she were just learning to walk. And in a way, she was. Then, she spoke. "Rock?"

X froze, the robot staring at him as if his presence transfixed her. Her voice was that of the girl he had heard on the files, but it was more mature and had lost its resemblance to that of a child.

"Sho, what's going on?" Cain asked quietly. While he wouldn't say he was "afraid," he was still entirely on edge given what was happening. Fujiwara was left speechless, yet urged Cain to stay back and see what would happen.

"Rock!" the robot exclaimed, completely delighted to see the blue robot she believed to be the Blue Bomber. Before X could do or say anything, she ran forward and embraced him, burying her face in the crook of his neck. "I knew it!" she continued, X surprised at the sudden strength of her hold. It was as if she was afraid that he'd slip away if she didn't hold him tight. "I knew that you could beat him!"

"Beat him?" X asked, finally finding his voice. "Beat who?"

"Sho, what is going on?" Cain asked again, trying to voice his growing concern.

"Quiet." the Japanese man ordered, continuing to survey what was happening.

"Oh, it doesn't matter anymore!" the female robot said, then she released X from her embrace, putting her hands on his shoulders. "This just goes to show that, no matter what Wily throws at you, you can overcome anything!" she said. "And look at you!" she circled him. "Dr. Light fitted you with an upgraded body!" she then looked at herself. "Oh! And me too!" she then looked herself over. "Hmm…I like this," she said. She then turned away from X and looked at Dr. Cain. "Thank you for the…" her voice died down the moment her eyes met Cain's. "You…" she looked at the paleobotanist, then to the Japanese robotics expert. "You're not Light." she then looked around, taking in everything she could see. "This isn't the lab." and finally, her eyes fell on X. "And…you're not…"

She began to back away from the blue robot when he tried to reach out for her, yet upon seeing Cain and Fujiwara also approaching her, she went to X and hid behind him for protection. Even if she had misidentified him, she still seemed to regard her as someone who could help her. X was taken aback by this, yet the robot simply refused to let him go, even as the two humans continued to approach.

Then, something that no one could've predicted occurred.

A loud, popping sound was heard, X turning to see that it had come from the newly activated robot. She was holding her head, groaning as if she were experiencing an excruciating migraine. She huddled up in the corner and knelt, facing away from everyone. X was unsure of what to do, yet he found himself reaching out to her as if to either help her up or just to alert her of his presence.

It was then that the robot's eyes shot open, teal irises staring back into green. "Rock!" she exclaimed, taking the blue robot by the hand, clutching it tightly. "You need to leave! You need to get out of here, now!" she was panicked, terror filling her eyes, though it was not for herself.

Cain and Fujiwara looked at X, though the blue robot was just as clueless as they were. "What are you talking about-"

"He followed you from the lab!" she continued, interrupting X. "He followed you! He's not going to stop until you're dead!"

"Dead? What are you-"

"Guts Man is trying to hold him off, but I don't think he'll last much longer!" the robot went on; Fujiwara raced over to his computer. "C'mon! We've got to wake Dr. Light! Hurry!" she looked as if she would break out in tears any moment. "He's coming!"

Then, with the press of a key, X saw the robot's eyes lose their life, and she fell forward. X caught her before she hit the floor, Cain rushed over to the two machines. But then he looked at Fujiwara in confusion and frustration.

"What did you do?!" Cain questioned Fujiwara, thankful the chaos had stopped but wanted an explanation.

"I've merely input the command to send her back into stasis." the Japanese man answered, adjusting his glasses. "X, set her back on the table, would you?"

The blue robot was shocked at how calm the scientist was about what had just happened, but he nonetheless obeyed, placing the robot where she had risen from. "What was that?" he asked aloud, not exactly expecting an answer because he couldn't comprehend what had just happened either.

"Honestly, I have no idea." Fujiwara confessed. "What she was saying…" he went to scroll through the various memory files that had been input into her CPU. "It doesn't correlate with anything found in these." before anyone could ask anything else, Fujiwara continued. "Someone activate the restraints."

"What? But she didn't-" X began to protest, but before he could finish or Fujiwara could argue back, the robot in X's arms began to stir again.

Fujiwara looked at this in shock: her systems were fighting against his input command!? Still, he wondered. With another click of a key, he deactivated the command, the robot free from the control of his keyboard, for now.

She wriggled and squirmed, as if she weren't comfortable in her own skin (and that could've been a genuine possibility), then, slowly, her teal eyes opened again. They bore into X's, appearing glassy and "dead," but eventually, life began to return to them. "Wh-Who…" she stammered, blinking a few times as her vision adjusted. "Who are…you?" she asked; X looked at her, at a loss. "Who are you?" she repeated upon not getting an answer.

"I…I'm…" X stammered, not knowing what to say.

"And…who are you?!" she said, looking at Cain, then Fujiwara. "What is this place?" she asked as she scanned the room she was in. "Where is the lab?!" she began to squirm in X's hold. "Where's Auto?! Eddie?!" she then looked up at him again. "And…and you're not Rock!"

She pushed herself away from X and scrambled to the other corner of the room when the two humans came closer. The blue robot got in front of the two of them and knelt down to the robot's level. Cain and Fujiwara watched, the two machines staring into each others' eyes in silence. The female was afraid and startled, little more than a cornered animal. Ironically enough, Fujiwara thought, she was behaving very much like Patarche when Chiyo first brought him home. He huddled in one corner of her bedroom and would not come out for about a week. Granted, he had told her to keep him in there until he was trained to go outside, but this robot was left with even less space than that.

X was about to say something but wondered whether or not it would do any good. Yet when he saw the other robot move away from Cain when he tried to reach for her, X knew what he had to do. "Can you leave us?" he asked.

Both humans looked at each other, then at the two robots. "X, are you sure?" Cain asked.

X nodded. "I think she needs to be alone with me. Is that all right?"

Both men looked at each other again, then at the two robots. "Very well." Fujiwara then said. "We shall leave you two be." he then grabbed Cain and pulled him along, dragging him out of the room.

X looked down at the female robot, who, while not precisely calm, was more assured by the fact that it was just the two of them now. "Who…" she began, voice uneasy. "Who are you?" she asked, then she looked at herself. "And what am I doing here?"

"I'll get to that in a minute," he told her. "First, I need to know if you-"

"I asked you first, so you have to answer first." she interrupted him. "Who are you, and what am I doing here?" X blinked, not exactly expecting to hear that. Was some of her personality showing through? Or was it still even "her?" "Hey, I asked you a question. Well, two questions, actually," she said. "But still, answer them first."

Well, she's beginning to convince me that her personality is intact. X thought. And seeing as he wasn't going to get anywhere unless he did so, he gave in to her demands. "My name is X."

"X?" she asked. "Is…that it?" she then covered her mouth. "Oh no, I'm sorry. That was rude of me." she then tilted her head as she studied the other robot. "But seriously, is that all?"

"No. My full title is Mega Man X," he explained. "And-"

"Mega Man?" she interrupted him again. "But you're not Rock." she slowly stood, X, rising to meet her. She began to look the blue robot over, studying him very much in the same manner Fujiwara had these past months. "Who are you?"

"Well, I told you. I'm X. Mega Man X." X told her.

"But you're not Rock." she said.

"No, I'm not." he confirmed.

She was quiet for a moment. "And…I'm also to assume that this isn't Dr. Light's lab."

"No, it's not." X sighed, knowing where this was going. "This lab belongs to Dr. Sho Fujiwara." he then decided that now was the time to make his move. "Now, can you answer a question of mine?" she seemed to ponder this for a moment before nodding. "What's your name?"

She looked at him as if he had just asked her something so rudimentary and elementary; it bordered on insulting. "My name? Of course, I know my name! It's…" she then stopped. It wasn't as if she didn't know it; it was quite literally pulled up for her in her memory bank! But still, it felt as if it were something she had to think about it at first. As if hearing it with this voice, a familiar but older voice, was unnatural. "My name…"

"Roll, right?" X said, curiosity winning over patience.

Roll. "Yes," she said. "Yes, that…that's it." she then touched her chest, feeling her core functioning again. Or was it for the first time? Nevertheless, her name was the same. "My title is Roll. Roll 2.5 technically."

Note: Don't spoil it, but if you spotted the references, good for you! I hope that this entices you to want to keep reading! I'll admit I'm kind of a slow writer, but I'm building a universe in a sense, so I want to make sure things work out believably enough.

Thanks again to Fox McCloude for translating my story! I'll try to not update too fast as I don't want to overwhelm you. That said, here's hoping my readers enjoyed it, and I hope to see you later!