Cast of Characters
Doctor Thomas Xavier Light-benevolent robot maker, creator of Rock and Roll
Doctor William Albert Wily-cousin and assistant to Dr. Light; cynic
Rockman-android 001, assistant to Dr. Light, champion against chaos
Roll-android 002, Rock's "female" counterpart, assistant to Dr. Light
Jason/Cut Man-androbot 003, timber felling robot
Tim/Guts Man-androbot 004, wilderness reclamation robot
Gary/Ice Man-androbot 005, Antarctic exploration robot
Scott/Bomb Man-androbot 006, ground disruption robot
IRA/Fire Man-androbot 007, waste disposal robot
Edward/Elec Man-androbot 008, atomic energy storage robot

Iceman's note: I did change the names from Maelgrim's original names...which he named the robots from ancient gods. The readers didn't understand this however so I decided to make it less confusing by Dr. Light giving the robots our human names rather than the god names. Be warned that this is the only thing I have changed in the story.

Setting: 20XX A.D.
Dr. Light's lab--Neo Tokyo, Japan
Skull Castle--Andes Mountain Range in Chile (South America)
Guts Man's Domain--Mining center in Nokaneng (Africa)
Fire Man's Domain--Waste disposal center in New Denver (North America)
Cut Man's Domain--Treeborg supply and processing plant in Sydney (Australia)
Ice Man's Domain--Water purification center in New Shirewick (Antarctica)
Bomb Man's Domain--Mining center in Chengdu, New China (Asia)
Elecman's Domain--World Power Plant in Keliva, Croatia (Central Europe)

Author's Note: This story is based on the FamiCom game Rockman, released by Capcom of Japan. It does not use the Captain N cartoons as reference, and it doesn't use the United States Mega Man cartoons as reference either. Rockman is not portrayed as a "living machine" in this story. He is an android, capable of thought, emotions, and pain.

This portrayal is not entirely consistent with the original video game, as Rockman as actually supposed to be a robot (and Rockman X is an android; all copies of him are replica-androids, hence "repliroids"). However, I felt it necessary to assign a somewhat more living term to Rockman as the character he is portrayed as in my own mind.

Another inconsistency, which will probably bother more people, is that Rockman is actually supposed to be a little-boy robot, with a voice that sounds suspiciously like it is supplied by a four-year old girl.

Tough. I never imagined him as such when I played Megaman 2 for the very first time, and I don't intend to write him that way. It's my story, dammit.

I once read the American Mega Man 2 novelization, and I can honestly say that I could have better spent that half hour by trying to poke out my own eyes with a banana. My story doesn't fit with that novelization, but I can justify that by saying that this is a tale of Rockman: not Megaman. I imagine the forces which push a simple tool-user robot into the role as the guardian of liberty and freedom as darker and more sinister than as portrayed in many Megaman fan fiction stories.

Oh, and Dr. Light and Dr. Wily's real Japanese names are Dr. Thomas Right and Dr. Albert W. Wily. I got confused. Sorry.

With those numerous disclaimers out of the way, I invite you to enter to world of Tokyo 20XX, in which a world war has left the ravaged planet vulnerable to the machinations of a madman. In this darkness, a champion against chaos arises.

This is his tale.

--Ben Roberts / Mælgrim Cedaur

The Prologue
Chapter 1: Awakenings
Chapter 2: Infamy
Chapter 3: Hunter
Chapter 4: First Encounter
Chapter 5: Reclamation
Chapter 6: Underworld
Chapter 7: Ground Zero
Chapter 8: Fire Storm
Chapter 9: Wax Wings
Chapter 10: League
Chapter 11: Skull Castle
Chapter 12: Last Encounter
Epilouge