MM Special - Mega X
By Gauntlet
Long has it been wondered what transpired during the gulf between Megaman the original series and Megaman X. Long have debates raged the community! "Is MM X?" "Did Wily build Zero?" " What happened to Protoman!?"
There HAVE been answers ..... and assumptions. While the powers-that-be at Capcom have remained tight-lipped on the details of, what some call, "The Cataclysm" there have also been many theories passed off as fact. Many of these theories have gained widespread support and, while they are not really true, people assume they to be so because so many support them.
This is a story based on said theories. It will contradict nothing that has been said officially thus far. Mixed with facts, it's a story of which may never happen, but then again may.
It is morning at Dr. Light's Lab ..... the air is most and there is not a cloud in the sky. All seems right in the world, yet ..... for Megaman ...... Things are about to go horribly wrong.
*DUM DUM DUM!*
Carefree and unsuspecting of the danger looming ahead, Megaman teleports into his creator's lab, fresh with tales of battle and victory.
Megaman: Doctor Light, Doctor Light! I finally beat Wily!
Dr. Light: You did? Oh, that's good.
Megaman: Yeah! He was in this big mech-thing, but I blasted it! And then he did the capsule thing again -
Dr. Light: Mmmmmmm Hmmmmmmmmm.....
Megaman: But I blasted that too! I dunno why Doctor Wily would keep on doing that 'ol saucer trick, but he never -
Dr. Light: So, did Wily get away again?
Megaman: Oh, well, you see after I blasted the saucer into smithereens he started to beg saying how much he'd change. Like I'd believe that again! But last time I pointed my gun at him and threatened to, y'know, kill him, you got really mad, so I didn't this time.
Dr. Light: Mmmmmmmm Hmmmmmmmm.
Megaman: But then that jerk Bass came in and told me I'd never win because I was weak! And then he 'ported off with Wily, Doctor Light! I don't understand how HE could call ME weak. I DID beat him just about every time we fight each other. Why, even pumped on Evil Energy I -
Dr. Light: So, you let Wily get away again, hm?
Taken aback by this sudden shift in mood, Megaman looses some of his happy demeanor.
Megaman: Well ..... I didn't "let" him get away...
Dr. Light: Megaman, walk with me.
The two begin to walk down, deeper into Dr. Light's lab.
Megaman: Wow, it sure is dark in here, Doctor Light!
Dr. Light: Yes, well, I find it adds to the mystery of my projects!
Megaman: I wish Rush was here to -
Dr. Light: Mega ...... how long have we known each other?
Megaman: Why all my life! What a silly question.
Dr. Light: Hm, yes. All your life you say?
Megaman: Doctor Light, where are we going?
Dr. Light: Megaman, I'll be blunt here ...... I just don't think it's working out.
Megaman blinks in surprise. Hadn't he done well against Wily and his creations so far?
Dr. Light: Megaman, I want you to meet somebody. I've been working on him since that King fiasco proved you needed to rely on one of Doctor Wily's pieces of junk to win a fight.
An overhead light spotlights on a small capsule Slowly the lid opens to reveal a new robot. Clad in blue armor similar to Megaman, this robot was adult sized, towering over the child. His face held a good natured grin as he briskly stepped out of his capsule to greet his visitors.
Megaman: Who is he?
Dr. Light: He is the first in a new generation of robots. The most advanced robot I've ever built. He has the innovative feature to think, feel, and make his own decision! I call him ....... "Megaman X"!
Megaman X: Hello!
Megaman X waves casually at his new visitor.
Megaman: "Megaman ....... X?"
Dr. Light: Yes, Megaman X. He is much more sophisticated than you are, Mega .... or should I simply call you "Rock" now? No, no, "Mega" will do. I added the "X" at the end because I think anything with an "X" sounds more cool, don't you? "Planet X" ...... "Chemical X" .......
Megaman: But ..... why "Megaman"?
Dr. Light: I didn't build your logic circuits to be slow, Megaman. He's meant to replace you of course!
Megaman: Re ...... Replace me?
Megaman took a step back, stunned. How could he have expected THIS?? Sure, the Doctor made other androids .... he himself was meant to be an advance on his brother, Protoman. But he didn't make him into "Protoman MK-2". And he fixed up Rush all the time ..... he didn't make Rushes anytime the dog needed advancement! And even himself. He was upgraded into the fighting robot he was today, Light didn't have to build a new one! It made no sense to the boy.
Megaman: But, I'm one of a kind! I'm your "Rock"!
Doctor Light nods quickly, the point already decided in his mind.
Dr. Light: And now he is!You see ..... you are like a car, Megaman. There's the original, obsolete version ..... that's *ahem* you. And then there's the new series. That's X! Why ..... I may build MANY Megamen! Maybe I'll make a clone of X and call him ..... iX or something! Oh, and maybe one day I'll create an angelic version of X and call him Omega!But, you see, it's all about advancement. You simply aren't capable of thinking and feeling like X is.
Megaman: But robots think and feel already! Look at Bass, he goes against Wily all the time! He wasn't programmed to do that! He's ..... alive!
Dr. Light: Ho ho ho! Hardly. Bass is programmed to be stubborn and arrogant. This overrides Wily's control. But .... alive. And making actual decisions. Honestly.
Megaman: But if he didn't have the ability to think then he'd never be able to fathom even disobeying Wily! He'd have to stick to what he was told in programming!
Dr. Light: Well, obviously that's not true since X here is the first robot to be able to REALLY make decisions!
Megaman X: Hello!
Megaman: But .... what about Sunstar! He rebelled against Wily! And Ra Moon and Ra Tor and - and Shadowman when that copy of me came back to life!
Dr. Light: PLEASE! Wily didn't make ANY of those! Aliens did! They don't count!
Megaman: But ..... But what about Ballade!? He saved me! Wily would make the first rule of robotics "never save Megaman", ..... right? And King! He -
Dr. Light: Noooooope. Since X is the first with free will, Ballade and King didn't have it. Here I will explain - they have what I now call "programmed will"! You see, unlike free will, "programed will"-
Megaman: QUICKMAN! He took a Shadowblade for me! And the clone me, and Protoman ditching you and not letting you repair him .... and what about -
Dr. Light: Mega ...
Megaman: AND ROLL! She wasn't programmed to fight - she CHOSE to fight with me against that Onslaught guy because she wanted to prove she could! That's a choice! And me! I threatened to kill Wily! That wasn't programmed into me! And fighting for justice wasn't either! You didn't program me to want to do that! I was made as a lab assistant. That was a CHOICE.
Dr. Light: Megaman, those weren't choices! They were programming. See, you are stuck at 10 years old. And, after the eighth time you let Wily go, I knew I could build a robot who could learn! Who could grow!
Megaman: But ...... I can grow! Really! Just give me an upgrade and I'll be ready to kick Wily butt!
Dr. Light: Oh, Mega. If I upgraded you, you'd be SO different you'd basically be a completely new robot anyway. Best build a new robot from scratch!
Megaman: BUT MY MIND WOULD BE THE SAME! See, I would evolve from the original! I'd grow up!
Dr. Light: Oh, no, I'd have to dump all your memory for THAT to work. Then your mind would be completely different too!
Megaman: Not true! I'd be like .... like a kid with amnesia! Yeah! I'd still have the same skills, interests .... the same personality! Sure it would change, but humans do it all the time! Was the kid you a totally different person than the you now? No .... you just grew up! You don't even remember your childhood like I wouldn't. Your body changed .... and your mind changed ..... but you were still YOU! And ..... if you'd upgrade me ...... maybe a small bit of me would stay ..... even if all the rest changes around me ......
Dr. Light: Megaman ..... I never thought ...... never considered .......
Silence follow as Megaman and Doctor Light embrace. If tears could flow, they would surely flow down the face of Megaman. Tears of relief, for after his long years of service Megaman could not fathom how his father would simply replace him. If Roll was his sister and Proto was his brother, then Light was surely his father. And how could a father ignore such a plea?
Promptly Light flicks off a switch and Megaman falls unceremoniously to the floor, deactivated.
Dr. Light: No, I still think you'd be a totally different robot. Time for a change! THE FUTURE IS NOW! HO HO HO!
Megaman X: Wow .... that was pretty cold, Doctor Light.
Doctor Light makes a sound of dismissal.
Dr. Light: Perhaps if he were capable of thought like you are, X! Besides, You are "the first of a new generation of robot" and that implies an entirely new robot! People would be disappointed if I just modified him to make you. Besides, then I wouldn't be able to call him "X"!
Megaman X: But ..... surely the "X" could indicate a level of advancement. Besides, Megaman's name changed before! First he was called "Rock", right? Then, after you upgraded him he became "Megaman"! So a name change isn't unheard of.
Doctor Light chuckled to himself. X was thinking for himself already. Marvelous!
Megaman X: It just doesn't feel right. Rock faced Wily for years ...... served you loyally and without question ......only to be replaced. I feel for ....... my brother. Can't we find some use for him ....... Father?
Anger suddenly blazed through the old man. He shot X a quick glance.
Dr. Light: Don't call me "Father," boy! It's "Thomas" to you! No ........ best make that "Doctor Light". And don't you disagree with me! Now come!
X gulped down hard, chilled at his creator's sudden shift in mood. If he could simply replace his most loyal creation when something more advanced came along then what would become of X? Certainly it did not show the compassionate mental state someone would expect from a person who resembled Santa Clause.
Megaman X: I am coming, Doctor Light.
Dr. Light: Now, then ..... time to find Rush!
Elsewhere, outside Monsteropolis, Wily is already scheming and ranting about new plans. Bass patiently listens. What does he have better to do anyway? Although Wily's schemes were repetitive and predictable, they always gave his greatest creation cause to laugh. Wily'd get nowhere without him and they both knew it.
Wily: Curses, Bass, CURSES! I thought for SURE this plan would work!
Bass: Riiiiiiiight.
Wily: Sending eight robots to take over eight industrial areas and leaving me free to take over Monseropolis' computer core seemed like a brilliant plan! But Megaman ruined it!
Bass: Uh-hunh. Don't suppose it had anything to do with the fact that you make your robots have a weakness to each other? I mean ..... making a robot out of wood and another robot to control flame ..... what the Hell did you expect to happen!?
Wily: ...... I don't follow.
Bass: You don't follow!? Lemme spell it out for you: Stop with the weaknesses! You're practically defeating yourself, man. If it wasn't bad enough that Megaman has all those items, you give him a helping hand by programing your robots with faults!
Wily chuckles to himself. He's had this argument with Bass many times already.
Wily: He he he he heeeee. Oh, Bass, there is SO MUCH you do not understand. You see, if one robot thought he was "all that" how would I keep him in line? This way, I can easily use one robot to crush the ego of another!
Bass: UGH!
Wily: Anyway, it doesn't matter. My greatest creation is finally finished! He he heeeeee!
Bass: "Greatest", eh?
Wily: Behold ....... Zero!
Zero: Hey, there.
Bass: Zeroman, eh?
Zero: No, just Zero.
Bass: I see. What, does that mean you count down to Zero and explode or something?
Zero: No.
Bass: Then you shoot little Zeros?
Zero: No.
Bass: Is it the number of times you're planning on winning?
Zero: NO!
Bass: Well, I gotta tell you ...... most of the time it's pretty obvious why you name your robots the way you do, but I'm drawing a blank.
Wily: Zero was named "Zero" because old Japanese kamikaze fighters used to call themselves Zero! Because they went on suicide missions!
Bass shook his head in frustration. Wily was getting more insane every day.
Bass: That makes no sense at all. You're basically admitting defeat now. I mean, I know all your robots die trying to kill the blue dweeb, but you could at least show a little optimism!
Wily: Ah, optimism...... I've been at this a LOT longer than you, Bass. I'm an optimist, but a realist. However, the natrure of Zero's mission is entirely different from anything I have previously planned!
Bass: Oh, really? What the Hell kind of suicide mission will "Zero" go on?
Wily: He he heh ....... I implanted in him a powerful computer virus which I call ..... THE MAVERICK VIRUS! It will infect all Reploids and turn them over to MY WILL!! And then eight of them will take over eight worlds in order to spread CHAOS! And then I will rule THE WORLD! HE HE HE HE HEEEE!
Bass: Wha?? What's a Reploid?
Wily furrowed his brows, his mind bending over the question. Finally a look of anger crossed the doctors' face.
Wily: FOILED AGAIN! I'll get you yet, Megaman!
Wily always does this to himself. Defeats himself right before he begins. Bass chuckled without Wily seeing.
Bass: HAW! So much for you're all new "origional" plan! It looks like another one of yer robots is ready for the scrap-heap Wily! Took less time than usual!
Bass is suddenly knocked across the room. It takes him a moment to realize that this new robot had the gall to hit him.
Zero: So, I'M junk now? Feh. Wily built me to replace you, you pompous windbag!
Bass: HEY! Why I oughta ...
Zero: In fact...
With unimaginable speed Zero blasts Bass into vapor!
Zero: I'll just get you out of the way right now!
Wily: He he he he he .... Zero, I'll bet you'll kill EVERYBODY!
Zero: Yep.
Zero promptly kills Dr. Wily.
Zero: That's why I'm called Zero. Zero survivors!
Zero spots movement behind a computer console. It's Wily's little sidekicks, Reggae and Treble. The pitiful animals were cowering in fear. They really weren't any good without Bass to support, were they? With a fluid motion, Zero blasts them into scrap metal.
Zero: That'll teach you to ruin my monologue. Hm ..... what's that sound? Maybe it'll go away if I kill some more stuff......
Zero then sees Wily's saucer Surely a little devastation would bring his target to him. Still ...... that would have to wait until he made sure everything in the castle was good and dead.
Back at Doctor Light's lab, Doctor Light has come to an awkward moment. How to introduce X to the rest of the Light robots? They've been working with Rock for years, so they may reject X. Still they were robots so they would, naturally, have to accept the situation or be replaced.
Dr. Light: All of you, I would like you to meet ...... Megaman X!
Megaman X: Hello!
......
Roll: What?
Elecman: Megaman ...... X?
Cutman: WOAH! I thought that slide thing was really something, but this takes the cake! How do you feel, Mega 'ol buddy?
Megaman X: Ummmmm......
Dr. Light: Oh, no, this isn't Megaman. I've thrown that outdated model away. This is Megaman X (please, note that little letter after the name). He is the first robot to actually think, feel and make decisions. He is wholly more advanced than the first Megaman.
......
Bombman: So ........ if that's true, why did you name him "Megaman"?
Dr. Light: Well, Megaman is a lot like a car. You see, he LOOKS like Megaman a little, he has a slide-like feature, he can't shoot upwards and he has armors like Mega has and in this way he follows the Megaman model. But he can cling to walls now! And - WOAH! I've really upped the power! Why he can vaporize any robot of this era to dust!
Roll: So ..... nothing's left of my brother in that thing?
Dr. Light: I figured it'd be best to simply build a NEW robot. After all, Megaman would have been destroyed by SOMEBODY eventually.
Protoman: So, is that what you had in mind for ME, old man? Just to replace me the moment you could? Is that why you wanted to .... "fix" my artificial intelligence?
Dr. Light gave a start. He didn't see Protoman lurking in the shadows. He never did of course. If he ever caught that boy, he'd have to install a bell!
Dr. Light: Actually, I was hoping YOU would replace HIM. After all, you are much more cooler than Mega is. You have the scarf, the shield and those cool lookin' shades going for you. Heck, you even wear a belt where the fasionably-challenged Mega could never be parted from his underwear. But now that I have X, I'm afraid I don't need you anymore.
Protoman: So, you're gonna try to "replace" me too, eh?
Dr. Light: Well, I've thought about it. I figure you'll die on your own. Just be glad your name isn't "Proto-Megaman."
Megaman X: Hello!
Gutsman: Oh, shut up!
Gutsman shoves the new robot out of the way and confronts the mad doctor on his own. Doctor Light has a lot of gall at times. He took away the energy tanks because he felt Mega needed a challenge, he utterly refused to recreate the Magnet Beam for Wily's other rebellions, and he always downgrades Rush after every rebellion, but THIS takes the cake! How could he simply replace one of their friends with some copy?
Gutsman: So you just scrapped him to build X? You couldn't save any of his mind or anything?
Dr. Light: *humph* I knew this would be hard for you to accept. Still, you're just robots. Oh, I've replaced you too, Gutsman.
Gutsman: Wha-?
A door opens and in comes Gutsman 2.
Gutsman 2: Hello!
Gutsman: But that's a Wily design!
Dr. Light: A Wily MODIFICATION! And now that you are unnecessary .... X?
X shoots a powerful burst of plasma which utterly destroys Gutsman! Bits of the robot come down to the floor. Dr. Light watches casually. They are just robots after all, what does he care if they all die?
Dr. Light: Now, I do believe we understand each other.
Roll: So .... does this Gutsman have the same mind as the one you just....
Dr. Light: No no no. I never liked Gutsman's original personality at all. This one is much more cordial.
A collective chill ran down the spines of the entire room. First Megaman and now Gutsman. None of them were safe.
Iceman: So ...... what's the X stand for?
Dr. Light: I'm leaning towards "Xtreme"!
Megaman X: OH, GOD! Please don't name me "Xtreme"!
Suddenly, the alarms went on throughout the house. Someone was trying to break in!
Dr. Light: All of you - go! See who's trying to break in! If it's that Cossack fellow throw him out! We don't need another scientist around here!
The nine robots all went out to investigate. They weren't there alone, however. Duo was battling some red robot with long, luscious blond hair. Several bodies lay strewn about.
Megaman X: Who are these people?
Cutman: Our friend Duo! And ..... and the robot champions from the World tournament! They're all dead.
At that moment, Duo was struck a particularly vicious blow. A hole was left right through his torso and he was no more.
Zero: That's right. The World Tournament, Cossack's creations, Wily's junk .... Hell even Wily, Cossack and Kalinka are all dead!
Megaman X: Who's Wily?
Gutsman 2: I have no idea, buddy boy.
Zero: Who the Hell are you?
Megaman X: I'm Megaman X! Who the Hell are you?
Zero: Megaman? You mean the Megaman I've been created to kill? The Megaman who defeated my creator time and time again!? YOU MEAN YOUR THAT FREAKING MEGAMAN!?
Megaman X: Oh, no. I'm Megaman X! I replaced that Megaman.
Zero: Oh, I see. Well, my name's Zero. Well, could you bring him out here, please? I've got this little thing Wily programmed in me .... kinda like a buzzing sound. And the only way it'll go away is if I fulfill my objective and kill Megaman. And, oh...... while I've been busy killing everything it's been getting louder. It's really very annoying so I'd appreciate it if you could just bring out the original Megaman so I could kill him, clear my head, and then kill anything alive here with a clear mind.
Megaman X shrugs off the rather morbid request. It makes no difference to HIM who Zero kills .... all these people were strangers.
Megaman X: Actually, the original Megaman's already dead.
Zero: WHAT!?
Megaman X: Oh, yeah.
Zero: But ..... is there any of him left?
Megaman X: Well, Doctor Light didn't want to waste his parts. He used some to fix the light, some to fix the ventilation ...
Zero: BUT in you? Are you in any way related to Megaman in anything other than a superficial level? I mean..... you're a "Megaman" right? So, there must be something of him in you ..... right?
Megaman X: Oh, no. I'm a totally different robot than the original Megaman. Why, I'm the first robot that's able to -
Zero collapsed in disbelief. His entire creation had been leading up to this moment, but now in a horrible twist of fate Megaman was taken away from him!
Zero: But .... why? Why would Light DO that!? Isn't Megaman one of his most loyal creations? Doesn't he care at all about what he makes? Doesn't he realize that THERE ARE PEOPLE WITH BUZZING NOISES IN THERE HEAD THAT'LL ONLY GO AWAY IF THEY KILL MEGAMAN AND ANYTHING RELATING TO HIM!?
Megaman X: Well, you see, Megaman is a lot like a car. While -
Zero: SHUT UP! You .... this is all your fault! Now ..... now I can never kill Megaman! And the buzzing noise will never go away!
Protoman: Looks like Zeroman's losing it.
Zero: SHUT UP! I'll just kill you all ..... and maybe my program will accept Megaman X as a substitute for Megaman regardless!
Megaman X: So, It's a fight you're looking for? Actually, I was hoping we could settle this sort of thing peacefully. You know ..... bake some cookies, sit down and draw out a plan that will leave both parties mutually -
Zero has had enough of this talk and promptly blasts the new blue robot into a wall. Megaman was already dead and all hope of the buzzing noise going away was gone for good. But if he had to suffer ..... he'll make everyone suffer WITH him! Maybe after the battle he'll erect a big sound system designed to broadcast buzzing all day and all night ...... But wait? was Megaman X NOT vaporized?
Megaman X: Well, well, well ...... Looks like you're not the ONLY robot to get a massive upgrade!
Zero: But how in the Hell did you survive!? My systems were meant to be 100 years ahead of our time!
Megaman X: Ditto! Hey, maybe this WILL be an interesting battle after all!
Megaman X and Zero parry each other with powerful solar blasts not realizing the damage they're doing. Within minutes, Gutsman 2, Rush and most of the others were already dead, blown to bits by stray blasts as they tried to flee the battle. The two opponents are hundreds of years ahead of their time using battle techniques that leave much of Lights lab in ruins. Finally Zero's mind cannot take the buzzing sound programmed into him. His robotic mind pulses and aches with pain every moment his mission lies uncompleted.
Zero: AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!! The damn buzzing! It just won't stop!!!!!!!!!
X stops as Zero clutches his head. A "W" sign appears on the red robot's crystal. Seeing his moment, X grabs a long piece of metal lying around and smashes the crystal into bits! Instantly Zero falls to the floor, deactivated.
......
Megaman X: What? That was it? All I had to do was break that crystal-thing? You mean all ..... this....
Megaman X surveys the ruins of the area outside the lab. All of Light's robots lay dead, destroyed in the battle. There was nothing left. As X walked back into the lab to report to his master, he didn't notice a heard of Battons lifting Zero's body and taking it into the sky......
Megaman X returns to find his master working on yet another pet project, oblivious to the battle that raged around him.
Megaman X: It's done..... that red robot is defeated ...... it's so senseless.....
Dr. Light: He is? Hm, that took longer than it should have X. Hmmmmmmm.
Megaman X: All the others ..... they didn't survive...... oh the carnage.....
Dr. Light: So, they didn't survive?
Megaman X: You'll rebuild them won't you? They can be revived, right?
Dr. Light: Of course they CAN be revived. Why I can't count how many times Megaman had to destroy each one of them, but I managed to save their consciousness. Still, I think I'll leave them all dead. They were outliving their usefulness. Why the Sparkman model robot can generate twice the electric power as my Elecman model ...... and there are plenty of more advanced bomb robots on the market to combat my Bombman model robot (like the Dynaman model for instance). No, forget it. Better off destroyed.
At the sound of this, Megaman X sunk to the floor. All he has known has been death and destruction all for an oblivious creator. There was nothing to be done, but ...... cry.
Dr. Light: X? What are you doing?
Megaman X: You ..... You don't care! They all die and .... you don't care!
Dr. Light: X, you big girl! I didn't create you to be soft! Get up! Stop this blubbering! They were only robots and couldn't think OR feel like you or me. Just soulless autonoma. So stop your whining!
But that only made X cry even harder! X wasn't designed to be such a sissy! What was the matter with him? Doctor Light brought X into his lab and began his analyses. It wasn't very long until he found the root cause of the problem.....
Dr. Light: No. Oh, no. The entire mainframe's been compromised! My new system is breaking down! NO!!!
Megaman X: You *sniff* you still love me, right Doctor?
Dr. Light: All my calculations show that it will work, but ...... but they also show that it needs further testing. THIRTY YEARS of testing before it becomes practically applicable. No, no, no, no, no ......... I'll be dead before I can gloat to the science community by then! All a failure. A failure.
Megaman X: Doctor *sob* Light?
Dr. Light: I'll have to ..... erase your memory of this failure. Purge it all from your systems. I'll put you in a capsule for testing. Leave some notes. Then, perhaps someone will recognize my genius and you won't be such a crybaby! Maybe even a few more capsules when I make improvements ..... and holograms, so people will get my wonderfully fit physique right for the history books .....
Outside the lab, a long figure returns carrying bags upon bags of groceries.
Auto: I- like - to - buy - the - groceries! I - like - OH GEEZ!
Auto dropped all the groceries upon seeing the destroyed state of the lab.
Auto: Doctor Light ...... what happened? I go to get the groceries and everything went to Hell!
Dr. Light: Auto ..... you are the last. It is up to you to preserve my creations.
Auto: Whaaa? Me?
Back at the destroyed Skull Castle, automated units place Zero into a capsule and seal it up. The robot had proven to be too dangerous and unreliable.
A computer console lights up and on it is the face of Zero's creator - Doctor Wily!
Wily: Zero, you bad robot! You killed me, my robots, and everything else EXCEPT Megaman! Oh, I could KILL you ..... but you've seen to that, eh? Didn't suspect that I copied my mind into the computer did you? he he heeeeee.
Zero didn't respond.
Wily: Well, that old fool Light may be rid of me for now ..... but I'll be back. And so will you! And then you'll be back again and again and again .... UNTIL YOU FINALLY DESTROY MEGAMAN!
Elsewhere still ...... far away in a secret location ...... four robots remain from the battle with Zero and Megaman X.
Roll: Thanks for saving us, Proto. This is a nice place you got here.
Protoman: Thanks. It's like I always say ..... when the going gets tough, the handsome red robot gets goin'!
Roll: And you saved Tango and Beatty too! Still .... I'll miss the others.....
Protoman: Yeah, I - uuuggggghhhh...
Roll: Protoman, what's wrong?
Protoman: My systems .... they ..... they ..... AAHHHH!!!
The resulting explosion from Protoman's internal systems is greater than any could have expected. It consumes not only Protoman, but Roll, Beat, Tango and Protoman's secret base leaving nothing behind. Thusly ending the lives of the last robots of the first generation. Except for Auto.
And the rest, as they say, is history ......
As epilogue-cannon goes, this is not part of the Mechanical Maniacs' series. Merely a humorous aside based on several debates had by Gauntlet. And, while it isn't cannon, neither are many theories.
The moral of the story? It's makes much more sense for X to have some part of Megaman left in him! Heck, Light can rebuild any other robot .... Protoman was cut in HALF once! And he couldn't integrate ANY of MM's personality AT ALL into X? He'd have to be pretty cold hearted to not do anything like that! The only counter I couldn't add because of structure was the beleif that MM died before X was made. Which makes SOME sense (assuming Light couldn't salvage ANYTHING like he did for Guts or any other robot) however it's implied that X is in the planning stages since R&F (see his CD data) so Light was planning on building him regardless of MM's death. So either he planned on upgrading MM's systems or he was a heartless bastard who wanted to simply replace the poor robot. The epilogue also battles the popular "Zero killed everyone" theory as well as "X and Zero are way beyond anything else in the original series" theory. After all, it doesn't make sense that Wily went from Tenguman to something unbeatable, does it? Ditto Megaman. It also seems a little odd that Zero would kill EVERYBODY. I like to think that Light saves Roll, Proto and the rest and that they're all in capsules somewhere, just waiting to be reactivated. As unlikely as that scenario is. Lastly this theory combats the "original series robots never had free will" idea. Because they do. They get sad, mad, and exceed their programming. And while that MIGHT be explainable without giving them ANY will of their own ...... I find it much easier to swallow that they are, in fact, robots WITH free will. I don't claim that this story actually DID happen, but I think it does illustrate how unlikely some of the more popular theories are. Especially the "Megaman isn't X" one.
