Archive of Our Own

Part 1: (Instrumental)

(The storyboard starts with a slow pan through a shady alleyway at night, in the rain. The street seems mostly deserted, with a few people hurrying by to get out of the rain. The shot eventually stops at the entrance to an alley)

Part 2: Tell me once again

(Top man slowly walks out of the alleyway entrance, looking around nervously, as if trying to avoid someone)

Part 3: I could have been anyone, anyone else 

(Top man darts through the street, ducking around a few disgruntled but uninterested people, before finally ducking into another alleyway. It seems like he's being overly cautious, and is clearly hiding)

Part 4: Before you made that choice for me

(As he catches his breath, Top man looks into a puddle on the ground. The perspective changes to show Top man staring at his reflection in the puddle. In the background of the puddle, the clouds are slightly parted, partially revealing a crescent moon. Top man looks tired)

Part 5: My feet knew the path

(The shot suddenly changes to show Top man when he was still working for the syndicate, practicing ballet with some other humans. He seems cold, and although his movements are very skillful, he appears detached)

Part 6: We walked in the dark, in the dark

(Top man is seen talking to Ballade, in a backroom, with both standing in the shadows. He nods at something Ballade says, before walking away. Top man doesn't seem bothered by what he is here to accomplish)

Part 7: I never gave a single thought 

(As Top man walks away from his conversation with Ballade, he sees another performer practicing, but it's clear they are struggling to execute the movements. Compared to Top man's own performance earlier, it's clear this dancer is much less skilled. The human seems discouraged)

Part 8: To where it might lead

(Top man approaches the human, looking annoyed, and the human looks surprised to see him approach them)

Part 9: (Instrumental)

(Top man corrects the humans' form, showing them what they were not getting right. As the human successfully pulls off the correct form, they beam at Top man, clearly thankful. Top man looks startled, but after a moment gives a small smile back, his more stoic mask slipping)

Part 10: All those empty rooms

(The shot cuts to show Top man hanging out with the human he helped, the two hanging out in a backroom by themselves)

Part 11: We could have been anywhere, anywhere else

(As the human says something to Top man, he bursts out laughing, to the surprise of both of them. They both shyly look away from each other, blushing)

Part 12: Instead I made a bed with apathy

(As Top man looks away, his head looks upwards, and his expression suddenly blanks. The shot suddenly changes perspective to show Top man is looking through a window, having spotted the crescent moon in the sky)

Part 13: My heart knew the weight

(The shot cuts to show Top man approaching Ballade, who is waiting for him in the shadows of a back room. Unlike last time, Top man is standing in the light, and looks uncomfortable)

Part 14: Ten years worth of dust and neglect

(Top man tries to tell Ballade he wants out of the mission, but Ballade only responds with a bored sort of annoyance)

Part 15: We made our peace with weariness

(Ballade suddenly lunges, grabbing Top man and slamming him against a wall)

Part 16: And let it be

(The two stare each other down, Ballade looking cold but threatening and Top man looking terrified. Ballade suddenly drops Top man and walks away, leaving Top man shaking on the floor)

Part 17: (Instrumental)

(Top man and some humans wait behind a curtain, waiting for the show to begin. Top man looks miserable, but the humans around him give him encouragement, believing that he's simply nervous about the performance. The human he's especially close with squeezes his hand reassuringly before walking off to prepare. Top man sighs and closes his eyes, looking extremely conflicted)

Part 18: The moon will sing a song for me

(When he opens his eyes, the scene suddenly changes around Top man, showing everything in chaos as the stage has been blown up by Ballade. Top man stands still with shock in horror at the fire around him. Near the end of the shot, he finally starts looking around, easing out of the shock to finally move)

Part 19: I loved you like the sun

(The humans around Top man are all gone, and Top man fixates on a pile of rubble that has a ribbon that his friend wore sticking out from it. Assuming the worst, Top man almost collapses from grief)

Part 20: Bore the shadows that you made

(As another explosion shakes the stage, Top man turns to see Ballade grinning sinisterly, his weapon pointed at Top man)

Part 21: With no light of my own

(Several emotions flash across Top man's face, rage, despair, hysteria, and finally a look of fear as he runs away)

Part 22: I shine only with the light you gave me

(The shot cuts to show Top man running through a street, sticking to the shadows, but not stopping to rest. He finally stops before a house)

Part 23: I shine only with the light you gave me

(The shot cuts to show Top man altering his appearance so that he's less recognizable. He touches his face as he stands in the mirror, as if not sure how he feels about his new appearance, or maybe just the circumstances around the new look)

Part 24: (Instrumental)

(A montage shows Top man as he joins Wily, with Proto man watching him distrustfully, and then Top man meeting Roll, then meeting Elec man, and finally ends with Proto man leading Top man to the manufactory. Proto man is oddly stoick as Top man tries to make small talk)  

Part 25: Name your courage now

(As Top man enters the manufactory, he looks around curiously, but Proto man suddenly strikes him)

Part 26: We could have had anything, anything else

(Top man tries to escape, but Proto man drags Top man back, flinging him towards the hatch of a furnace)

Part 27: Instead you hoarded all that's left of me

(Top man looks fearfully towards the furnace before looking back at Proto man, who's coldly aiming a blaster at him. Faced with few options, Top man begins to explain his story)

Part 28: Swallowing your doubts

(A few speech bubbles appear above Top man as he talks, showing scenes from previous shots that showcase his backstory. At the end of the shot, the perspective moves to show Proto man, who lowers his blaster slightly, before bringing it back up again. There's a slightly conflicted expression on his face)

Part 28: Like swords in the pit of my belly

(With a somewhat resigned sigh, Proto man lowers his blaster, gesturing that Top man can leave)

Part 29: I want to feel the fire that you kept from me

(Top man shoots Proto man a surprised, but somewhat puzzled smile before darting off. Top man stops to look back once he's out the door, and sees Proto thinking to himself. There's something a little more vulnerable about Proto man when he thinks that he's alone, as he sighs and slumps against a railing in the room. The shot cuts back to Top man, who doesn't seem to understand Proto man, but smiles softly knowing that Proto man seems to be putting something on the line for him, even if it might not be entirely selfless)

Part 30: (instrumental)

(The shot cuts to show Proto man and Top man in California, outside of Rojenko's house, around sunset. Although Proto hands Top man a gun, the latter stays outside looking anxious. The shot cuts to when its darker, with the sun now fully set to indicate time has passed. Although nervous, Top man finally decides to follow Proto man and see what happened to him. The shot cuts to show Top man quietly approaching a vault, following the noise from within. As he peeks in, his eyes widen with horror as he sees members of the Syndicate standing around an unconscious Proto man)

Part 31: The moon will sing a song for me

(Top man briefly hesitates before darting out and yelling at the syndicate to stop, catching their attention. The syndicate robots are surprised to see Top man, but look up, waiting for something. Top man looks up to see what they're looking at)

Part 32: I loved you like the sun

(The shot pans out to show Centum's orb hovering slightly above everyone. The shot is split into two to show a close up of Centum and Top man, who looks torn between uncertain and angry)

Part 33: Bore the shadows that you made

(Centum explains that nobody died the night of Ballade's attack, and Top man looks shocked)

Part 34: With no light of my own

(Top man briefly is still in shock and looks down as Centum tries to convince Top man to return home. As Top man sees Proto man's body on the floor, something in his expression becomes steely)

Part 35: I shine only with the light you gave me

(Top man looks back up at Centum and says this line with a firm, cold expression, rejecting his way of life. At the end of the line, Top man's expression does become slightly more sad, but with a twist of anger. The syndicate robots look restless, as if they want to step in, but Centum doesn't give them any orders)

Part 36: I shine only with the light you gave me

(Top man suddenly uses the gun Proto man gave him earlier to shoot at the orb, shattering it. The syndicate robots are so distracted by this, Top man is able to grab Proto man, and holds the gun towards the other robots)

Part 37: I shine only with the light you gave me

(Seeing that the robots are not intimidated by the gun, Top man turns Proto man into a hostage, knowing they want him in a good enough condition. As he shoots Proto man's leg, the robots back off)

Part 38: I could have been anyone, anyone

(Top man has Shade man bring Proto man's scarf towards him, but as Shade man tries to make a last minute petrifying attack, Top man drops the gun, grabs the scarf, uses Proto man to block the attack, and runs)

Part 39: I shine only with the light you gave me

(Top man darts around the other robots, closing the vault behind him before continuing to escape with Proto man)

Part 40: I could have been anyone, anyone

(The shot cuts to show Top man stuffing Proto into the passenger seat, although he hasn't gotten into the car himself yet)

Part 41: (Instrumental)

(Top man leans against the car, panting. He looks both overwhelmed and unsure how to feel after the recent turn of events. Looking up, he sees a sky full of stars, but no moon in sight. As the stars reflect in his eyes, Top man gives a soft but shaky smile, before getting into the car. The last shot shows the car driving away, and the shot panning up to the starry sky)