Note: I'll admit I'm a little dry on A/Ns right now, but I've got some ideas that don't stray too far from the original outline, but I'm still kind of iffy about. Either way, hope you enjoy!

Channel

You frightened her.

She has no idea what she's talking about.

Did you see the fear in her eyes?

She's a fool!

She might not be malicious like him or her creator, but she suffers from the same naivety. Still, she's afraid of you now.

Does she really think that things will just go back to normal?! Does she really believe it's that simple?!

It was still not a reason to lose control.

How could she say that?! Dr. Light did nothing to me?! Does she have any idea what that span of time between then and now was like?!

Is that why you reacted as such? Because you didn't like what she had to say?

He stopped pacing, the single question bringing him to a grinding halt.

Was it to silence her?

He didn't respond, the inner voice, the secondary voice having rendered him speechless and without a rebuttal. And yet he wanted to immediately protest. To tell his only invisible company that they were wrong, how that wasn't his intention. He wanted to argue that she was the one pushing boundaries, that she was delving into topics he didn't wish to. How she had only given him worthless answers based on the false hope that her creator saw her as a living thing.

…but…he wasn't going to hurt her. If he had wanted to, then…

She'll remember that for next time.

…but…he didn't.

Again, why did you do it?

He didn't hurt her.

And yet…she looked at him as if he was going to strike her instead of another portrait or the wall.

To get your way? Because violence has proven to be the easy solution for everything?

He stood in place, the downpour that had arrived not a few minutes ago continuing to soak his worn metal body, his scarf practically drenched in rainwater.

"I…I didn't…mean…to.." he stammered. "If I did, then…then she would be…" the attempts to rationalize it only served to make him feel more sick. "I…I wasn't…going to…I just…"

Like how you attacked Light's other children using violence? To get your way?

He said nothing.

To be the only one he would love?

Blues swiftly turned his head with an indignant hiss, the dripping cloth wrapped around his shoulders sending droplets of fresh water to the side in a wave-like pattern from the speed of his reaction. "He DOESN'T love me," he muttered. "He never has."

Nothing but the rain filled his audio receptors, the machine feeling moisture dripping into his inner components. He had to find shelter soon, yet the place he was just at was out of the question.

She's never going to talk to me again.

…then what now?

He said nothing, only continuing until, eventually, he found shelter in a nearby cavern located in the forest. Ironically enough, he hadn't gone too far from the LaLinde residence. Finally having some relief from the rain that didn't involve holding his shield above his head, yet he found the solace of the cave to be far from inviting, let alone comforting.

In fact, it very much looked like the very same dark, dismal place he had gone to die before Wily found him before he then happened to discover Ra Moon. Before Blues was reborn as Break Man.

Before he found that his replacement was having a celebration held in his honor.

Before he shot his own…

"There you are."

Immediately lifting his head up, Blues drew out his shield as well as his buster, yet found himself looking only at the entrance to his temporary haven, the rain still continuing to pour outside.

"I will say, you're not the absolute easiest to track down," the voice spoke again, Blues turned to see, to his initial shock yet eventual relief, someone rather familiar. "It's not impossible."

Break Man sighed beneath his helmet, the striking, indigo android lurking in the darkness one of the few allies he had at this very moment. Perhaps even a friend. "I could've killed you, you know." the red and grey machine chided the other Robot Master, Shadow Man only giving a dismissive shrug.

"You wouldn't be fast enough," the modified Kiperoid replied. "Even Quick Man has difficulty keeping up with me."

"That doesn't translate to you being able to outrun him," Break Man retorted. "The only one that has the slightest chance against him is Flash Man. I think that's why Wily still hasn't fixed that glitch in his system."

"Or you, should you acquire Flash Man's ability," Shadow Man said, red eyes centering on the other robot's weapon. "You're built with the same capabilities of duplication as-"

"Don't compare me to him," Blues cut Shadow Man off, balling his fists. "He and I are NOTHING to each other."

"That's odd," the reformatted Kiperoid spoke, as if he didn't even register Blue's anger at the mention of Mega Man. Rock Light. His brother. Or, in his eyes, his replacement. "From what I've seen, he's been curious about you."

Blues raised a brow from behind his darkened visor. "How do you know this?"

"You're the one that asked me to see if DLN-002 was functioning again," Shadow Man answered. "Of which, she is," he then gave a small smile. "She knows of your contribution to defeat Ra Moon and gave you her regards."

The red and grey machine felt his already unstable core clench in utter guilt. And after her came the remembrance of what occurred not too long ago.

"So," Shadow Man's voice broke through Blues' musing. "How did your talk with LWN-001 fare?" the shinobi-based Robot Master questioned. "Considering your mood is a little more dower than usual, I take it not exactly in your favor?"

Blues didn't answer.

After a period of silence, Shadow Man spoke again. "In that case, what do you want me to do with the information gathered?"

"Get rid of it," Break Man told his companion. "Delete it, render it to nothing," he ordered. "Better yet," he continued. "Destory it entirely."

The indigo Robot Master raised a brow. "Why this sudden disregard for what took me a good amount of trouble to uncover?" he questioned.

"...I don't want Wily to see it."

This drew an even more curious response. "Why? What care do you have for that machine? From the looks of it, your little excursion has provided you with nothing."

Blues didn't speak at first, only responding with more silence. Yet, unlike before, Shadow Man found that it wasn't anger that radiated off the other machine. Rather, it was a hidden yet deeply profound sadness. "Very well," Shadow Man answered simply. "If that's what you wish," he then began walking toward the entrance of the cave. "Wily is still in recovery due to the malnutrition Ra Moon enforced on him, so he has no idea where you are at the moment."

"Keep it that way," Break Man told the ninja. "Although," he paused. "I assume you're going to tell him something."

"Correct," Shadow Man responded. "But I'll just say that you're still around," he said. "And that your core is stable for the time being."

Break Man's helmet shielded any and all forms of expression, save for his voice. "...thank you."

Shadow Man said nothing and, as quickly as he arrived, he made himself scarce, vanishing in mere seconds, leaving no trace of himself behind.

Present Time

He silently cursed for letting his processor wander yet again, but, ultimately, he found that he could do nothing else but that! Yes, he was currently completing his task of recording information from the damaged computer he managed to jumpstart (he would have to remember to thank Elec Man, he reminded himself), yet the process in itself was, for the most part, rather uneventful.

Daresay, it was almost unbearably dull.

While Ray B. (not exactly one of his grander-sounding titles, yet, given the man that came to his mind upon deciding it, perhaps it was somewhat fighting, ironically enough) was never one to mind silence, on the contrary, he found it far more preferable to the ever-present noise of the cities he trekked through, yet, silence in itself was a double-edged sword. For, with silence, came the realization that there were no outside distractions. And when those were gone, no matter how numerous or minimal, then he found another source of noise taking their place, even if it could only be described as an imaginary ringing in his ears.

Still, it was noise. Not entirely present, and only hearable in his mind. Yet, when they came, they always made themselves known, rendering anything else unimportant and not worth focusing on. He hated it, despised it always, even before the Recall, yet it seemed that it was a trait he couldn't shake, no matter how much he had "adjusted" in regards to both his physical form and mental state.

And, quite frankly, Sigma's uprising had brought forth several things he had been pushing back and suppressing for years.

Almost an entire century.

Ironic considering that the time I finally stop being a coward and go visit my sister, her body is missing, he thought. Along with the baby of the family.

When he had first discovered that X's capsule had been removed from the lab (or rather, the small tomb concealed underground), he had initially panicked. Even more so when he came to learn just who had taken him and to where. Granted, there was only one of the two humans that he had his eye on, the other, while not a potential threat, still held a good number of setbacks that would surely do no one any good in the long run.

Dr. Phillip Cain immediately reminded him of someone. Someone that, while his demise was inevitably, being human, he still wished he had more time with. He wished for many things, a lot of which, if he had the power, to erase from his own and everyone else's history. Still, regardless of Ray B.'s own sentiments (and there were several), Cain was a man who was much like the man who had created the mysterious robot he had unearthed, and yet there was an entire world of difference.

Aside from his lack of expertise in the field of robotics as a whole, Cain at least had the sense to treat X as if he were a living thing, although there appeared to be a certain boundary there in regards to just how much the blue robot (or Reploid if one used the more modern terminology) saw him as a parental figure. True, compared to the other only available human, Cain was infinitely the better choice, yet, unlike Dr. Light, he was still severely lacking in knowledge of just what, let alone who X was.

He didn't delve more into Sho Fujiwara until he, to his shock, saw another one such as X with the face of his dead sister.

He had seen the Japanese scientist stuff something in a mobile carrier that he pulled around from his laboratory to his home in Arcadia. Ray B. upon noticing the considerable amount of trouble he went through to conceal just what he was carrying, the robot took it upon himself to see just what this mysterious object was, only to find a full-fledged, walking, talking, and living machine the same as X.

Only, it was her.

When Cain had called Fujiwara, Ray B. assumed that Roll's former form would be completely scrapped, which then went into delving into plans of how to retrieve it and give her a proper burial.

Right next to her father's grave.

Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for Rock. Unlike her or even Light, there was no trace of him left.

Up until now, he had believed that he was the only one out of the original three of them.

A brother and a sister…for me…

At first, he doubted and questioned whether or not the blonde robot, or newly dubbed prototype "Reploid" (he chuckled to himself as the word prototype came to him, ironic) was indeed the same individual as DLN-002, yet upon Fujiwara setting her up to see how well she would do in the role of her previous function, Ray B. began to see the young blonde girl from a century ago emerge yet again. Suffice to say, he was more than a little relieved, although he was unsure of whether or not to keep the news to himself. In a sense, it was somewhat selfish to not let this be known to the others, yet, then again, he and the rest of them weren't supposed to exist.

At least, not in this day and age.

Of course, as he continued to silently observe the remains of his family, as he always had, although they weren't initially for benevolent purposes, he soon found that, while it was positive that X and subsequently Roll fell into the hands of Dr. Cain, the other human in the situation was anything but.

To compare Sho Fujiwara to Albert Wily was perhaps an undeserved and maybe inaccurate comparison, seeing as, with Cain and Light, there were just as many similarities as there were differences. Still, to Ray B., it was clear that the younger of the two humans was the least desirable, a sentiment that didn't appear lost on either X or Roll themselves, yet neither dared vocalize it. Despite the freedom they had experienced in comparison to their predecessors, programming didn't account for the restrictions put in place.

Restrictions he unfortunately had a hand in making, even if he did everything to try and keep a future such as this from happening.

Regardless, both X and Roll fulfilled their respective purposes in the Japanese scientist's eyes: one to serve as the next evolution in machines and a grand step in the human's own career, and the other to serve as a housekeeper he didn't have to waste zenny on. When it became clear that Fujiwara intended to replace Cecilia with Roll in regards to caring for the home, mostly because she wasn't human, thus, not an employee, thus, technically not paid labor.

He felt a surge of fury when he put the pieces together that she was most likely the one to alert the authorities of X and Roll's existence, yet ultimately, her actions paled in comparison to his. If anything, he had come to empathize with the woman greatly, even if her argument with Fujiwara was the final time he had seen or heard of her. After it was decided that his siblings' lives wouldn't end, Ray B. managed to track the former housekeeper down, the woman having gone across the world to her native home in Brazil, back to whatever remains of a family that had survived the country's own individual hardships.

Still, despite the area she lived not being as lavish or even clean as Acadia, it was the first time he had perhaps seen her smile genuinely in the short time he had known her, aside from what little positivity Fujiwara's child brought to her. And it seemed that, in Cecila's place, she had to be the one to take the brunt of her father's general existence, all at the tender age of eight.

Truth be told, it really wasn't until recently that Ray B. himself had any interactions, let alone encounters with Fujiwara's only child, yet he was aware of her existence, if not just to keep track of any potential sources of danger regarding X and Roll's existence. Despite her promise to not say anything, the information got out anyway, which led to a small rift between her and the only other human present in her home at the time, although said rift didn't last long. Ray. B knew of Chiyo and Fumiko's existence, along with that of the latter's younger sibling, Kenichi, yet, ultimately, he kept tabs on them from the background.

It was a pity, considering that Dr. Cossack's status as a single father and widower didn't affect his relationship with his own child.

Regardless, what really garnered his attention and observation was the project the council set forth for Cain and Fujiwara to partake in, if either X and Roll were to have a chance. True, he had no intention of letting either of them perish, yet the process of escaping and relocating them would be an arduous task in itself. Thankfully (or perhaps it wasn't a good thing in the end), it never came to that. Thus, the age of Reploids began, and robotic life equipped with the most advanced and current AI was put both into production and on the market.

There was a small issue regarding the supposed spreading and manifestation of some sort of virus, yet those reports appeared to die down when a never-before-seen machine of red was brought to the city. And, at first, things seemed ok. Just as they did when he first was made. Everything appeared to be fine, his existence somewhat confusing but simple to understand, his purpose laid out, and while it in itself felt rather restricting and final without any regard for his own input, the man who constructed him was a good one. A flawed, but ultimately good man.

Still, the red Reploid that now seemed to be with X all the time made Ray B. pause, more than a few questions surrounding him coming to mind. But, ultimately, this figure, unknown and mysterious as he was, this "Zero" was also a defender and keeper of the peace, thus, for the time being, Ray B. saw no need to intervene.

But he still watched when he could.

As with Dr. Light and Mega Man, as well as his more wayward son, Blues, or by his later identity, Proto Man, despite their efforts to keep and maintain peace, it was not to last, as Operation Independence Day occurred, officially set off by the televised execution of Dr. Fujiwara, as well as the subsequent missile strike that befell Abel City, an event that he admittedly barely survived if not for some quick thinking and discovering a small underground storage in a nearby building he took shelter in before the explosives hit.

And now, here he was, involved in a war that he had been silently observing in its beginning stages for the past ten years. Even if he couldn't have predicted that things would turn out like this, and maybe his own strength wasn't sufficient anymore, he still pondered whether or not he could've potentially done something.

?

"What…is me?"

Sigma nodded, expression unchanging and firm. Had he been doing this months, perhaps even years earlier, he would've declared himself insane and in need of a system cleansing, yet upon realizing the enhancements his strange new "friend" provided, he found himself slowly backing away from the idea.

And making sure to keep his newest addition a secret from everyone else.

"Well…that's a peculiar question, isn't it?" the shifting, unstable figure observed. "What's brought this up all of the sudden?"

The taller Reploid narrowed his blue optics. "I've heard the humans patronize me enough throughout my short existence, I don't need the same from you."

"But why do you question this? Aren't you the one who wished to no longer live under their rule? You would have never gotten this far without me."

"Make no mistake, I regret nothing," Sigma clarified. No, he did not begin to have doubts as maybe some of the others had, although they knew better than to express this openly with him. This supposedly non-existent yet still prevalent sense of attachment to what was affected some of his troops more than others, thus, they would have to be weeded out to keep everyone else from second-guessing themselves.

It was for this very reason that the likes of Chill Penguin were deployed where he believed the Hunters would try to recapture first. It was unfortunate, yet ultimately necessary, as Sigma couldn't have any potential turncoats aiding in their cause. Of course, there were those such as Vile that were a different story entirely.

"He will be yours to deal with eventually," the unstable, seemingly vaporous manifestation alerted Sigma, once again delving into his mind as it saw fit. "But you can't allow Dr. Light's last creation to continue any further. He must be killed."

"Not yet," Sigma said. "In fact, while I can understand the others, why are you so insistent on X being the one that's a true danger?" he questioned. "If not for him, none of this would've been possible, I wouldn't have been possible," he then paused. "It would be such a waste to merely be rid of him," he then noticed a peculiar detail. "You've spoken nonstop of destroying the 'Children of Light' yet I see no complaint with you regarding allowing Zero to live."

The shape then went quiet for a few moments. "He is a…special case."

"That's what you always say whenever he's brought up," Sigma noted. "Why is that? Anything that has 'Light' attached to it in any way, you despise, yet with him, you appear to be unable to even entertain the idea of terminating him," he said. "Bear in mind, he interests me as well, yet you appear almost desperate for him to come here."

More silence.

"Anyway, I fail to understand your protests about X, yet as for the one currently spying around in our factory," he began, shutting his eyes, the red gem centered on his forehead beginning to emanate light. "I will take care of that. Although," then, just as it had been, his once blue optics had been dyed a blood red, the self-inflicted facial damage displaying the more inner wiring underneath his synthetic flesh that assisted in moving his features following the appropriate emotional stimuli. His eyes themselves appeared to be bleeding.

The color of organic blood.

"I may need your assistance in order to stretch my influence."

The shifting shape then took on the form of a figure far less human, resembling little more than a darkened sphere atop tendrils of rusted and broken down cables and cords, its unstable existence only allowing it to partially resemble the original form of the one it was based from memory. Yet the symbol of the eye emblazoned on the semi-obsidian surface of the glitching visage was almost perfectly exact.

"Anything for a friend."

Abandoned Factory

Light Labs

Outskirts of Mega City

September 28th, 200X

"All right, I assume you know what to do?" the balding scientist questioned the red and grey machine beside him, said robot much more resembling an older child or young teenager in comparison to the elderly Dr. Wily.

"Simple enough directions even some of your dimmer creations could follow them," Break Man huffed, his arms crossed and held tightly against his chest. "You don't need to remind me, I know what to do."

His chest which concealed the very thing that even convinced him to go through with what the human wanted of him. And it was still with the utmost reluctance. True, he still felt nothing but animosity toward Dr. Light, yet after the disaster that was the global blackout enacted by Ra Moon, Blues found his hatred to be somewhat…reeled in. He hated him and still had no desire to be back with him, yet what occurred during those few days of darkness that engulfed the Earth…needless to say, he found himself thinking.

And in that period of thought, he found himself even more confused and disoriented than when he was on the last ounces of his own life before Wily found him in Ra Moon's temple.

"Hmph, I don't need any sass from you, kid," Wily huffed. "Besides, need I remind you that you were so bent out of shape that I didn't even consider rebuilding you!" He hissed indignantly. "If I can give that blasted supercomputer one thing, Ra Moon certainly wasn't lying in that he deemed you potentially useful in the future."

"Don't count your blessings yet," Break Man remarked. "If Light no longer has any power over me, then what makes you think the same won't eventually happen to you? Mind you, he didn't build me with the more recent rules put in place for robotics."

Wily's brows furrowed. "Rules that your disappearance allowed to come to fruition," he said. "And, might I add, rules that'll probably be enforced and even tighter because of that blasted machine's betrayal?"

Break Man said nothing in return, another shape appearing alongside Wily, taller in scale than either of them and composed into a bipedal yet less humanoid appearance. At least, for the most part, the only portion of its anatomy that could be considered "human" was that of its dome, which resembled a golden skull stripped of its flesh, yet the eyeballs still remained intact and in place.

Dr. Wily's newest creation, all to show his former partner just how much better he was.

…why did that sound similar to what he was doing just now?

"Besides, even if you were to find someone who would be willing to help you, you still have this to worry about, boy," the old man slapped the grey and red machine's chest, earning a startled cry from the robot, the smaller android drawing out his shield in reflex. An action that Wily found apparently amusing from the small bout of laughter he released upon seeing Break Man's fearful retaliation. "Bear in mind, I can only do so much," he said. "I can keep you recharged, and repaired, should you behave," he continued. "But that, that is something I don't believe even Thomas can help you with."

"I don't NEED his help." Blues shot back, quite furious at the old man toying with him.

"No, of course not," Wily said. "But you need it to keep running, don't you?" he asked. "You need to keep what's inside of you burning, quite literally," he then sneered. "At least, until that fateful day when you go…boom."

The helmet-wearing robot bit his lip, brows narrowed down in fury. "...just…" he began. "Just…don't…involve Roll."

Wily scoffed. "She's practically useless as it is, so she's not worth the attention," he told him. "However, if she gets herself caught in the crossfires," he then grinned. "Well, that just can't be helped, can it?"

Blues was once again rendered silent, although he was mentally cursing Wily with every foul word and phrase he knew.

"Now, how about you let us into Tom's place, will you?" Wily mockingly asked. "Not that there is another option for you."

Lowering his head, Blues, no, Break Man, walked forward, Light Labs a short distance away, direct and firm in his motions, yet every fiber of his being was pleading with him to not do it.

"Sorry," he muttered to himself. "Looks like I'm too much of a coward."

Present Time

"...and, I think that's everything."

With that quiet declaration, Ray B. pulled the disc from the computer, holding it as if it were made of fine china, yet the surface in itself was that of aged plastic. It still functioned as needed, yes, yet he himself wasn't too certain if the disc itself would last for much longer. He needed to deliver this to the Hunters as swiftly as possible.

Huh, he thought. Perhaps he should've asked for Quick Man to accompany him, if not just for that.

"All right, fantastic!" Roll congratulated over the com-link. "If you've got no more business there, then maybe you should head on back to the city," she suggested. "That entire area is cut off from the sensors here, so we have no idea what's going on there-"

Suddenly, an ear-splitting, almost earth-shattering boom echoed throughout the entirety of the building, able to be heard by not just Ray B. and Roll, but everyone in the secondary HQ, causing everyone to pause or cease what they were doing entirely.

Roll wasn't sure if she could speak, let alone should speak, yet whether it was the growing curiosity or concern for her contact, she softly whispered "Wh-What was…that?"

Ray B. didn't answer at first, concealed eyes turned to another passageway that led further into the factory. Where the source of the noise must have rested.

"I don't know," he admitted. "However," he sighed, taking the disc with him and stick it in his pocket. "As much as you may hate to hear this," he closed his eyes, and a few more bangs and booms were heard, further cementing that he wasn't the only active thing in this complex. "For your sake, it may warrant some investigating."

Note: X and Zero will return next chapter. Alert me of any errors I may have missed, please!