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It was a fascinating thing to see Doctor Thomas Light completely in his element; hands alight on one of the most advanced robots the world had ever seen, surrounded by specialized equipment that would make entire universities blush, and yet somehow, the man was completely useless. If you were familiar only with the image he’d cultivated, if you’d never met the man himself, you’d be quite shocked.
Of course, Proto Man thought to himself, there wasn’t much anyone could do for a robot without an I.C. chip. Doctor Light could repair Mega Man’s body all he wanted; without an I.C. chip, everything that made the robot who he was would be gone. And, the mangled state of Mega Man’s head casing didn’t imply good things for the fragile circuits within.
But Doctor Light tried. It was almost inspiring; if one didn’t know any better, you might be led to believe he actually cared about the boy.
Pfft.
Proto Man did know better.
But then… well. Maybe not. He’d always tried to be aware of his flaws and shortcomings- one way he separated himself from his creator- and he had to admit, his judgment had been rather poor ever since he ran into Wily. By siding with Doctor Wily in his quest to take over the world, he’d put countless lives on the line for… he didn’t even know what. Anger, maybe. Revenge.
So, step back and reassess. Second guess your snap decisions. Do the right thing, even if you hate it. And Proto Man did really hate what he was about to do. But the more he examined it, the more he came to realize that it was a personal problem. He wanted to hold his creator accountable for the harm he caused; but he can’t do that at Mega Man’s expense, much less the world’s.
Proto Man whistled his familiar tune, revealing his position hanging from equipment in the labs’ ceiling. He whistled partially because it made him seem cool and mysterious, but mostly because he couldn’t start a conversation normally to save his life.
Or someone else’s life, as the case may be.
“Blues…?” Doctor Light looked distraught, his hair and beard a mess, work clothes rumpled and askew. His shock at seeing what he considered to be his firstborn son struggled to make headway against the torrent of emotions already occupying his face, but it was there.
“Proto Man,” he corrected firmly. He kept his arms crossed, discreetly hiding his right hand and its package behind his left arm. “‘Blues’ is for friends and family.”
They stared each other down for a moment. Doctor Light, loss and grief written over every line of his face; Proto Man, aloof, eyes hidden behind his mirrored visor.
The silence dragged on. Proto Man really should have been talking- he’d had a speech prepared and everything- but standing face to face with his creator for the first time in so long dried up any words.
It was easier, he realized, to be angry at him from a distance.
Doctor Light seemed just as conflicted, which was embarrassingly relieving. He had every right to be angry at Proto Man, considering the role he played in Mega Man’s apparent fate, but Light didn’t lash out. But then, with Mega Man gone, Doctor Light would need a new son, wouldn’t he? Taking Proto Man back would save him the trouble of building one.
Proto Man screwed his eyes shut and tried to focus. Just do the thing and leave.
“I still haven’t forgiven you for everything.” Which wasn’t the best way to start his spiel, but too late now. “But I realize that I can’t let my issues put other people at risk. Siding with Doctor Wily… it was a stupid move, and it made me reassess some things.”
Doctor Light looked like he desperately wanted to say something, but he kept his mouth shut; he was letting Proto Man say his piece.
Damn, maybe he was learning.
“I think I’m entitled to be angry at you. For everything. But even then, I don’t want to be the kind of person who does harm for harm’s sake. Doctor Wily taught me in detail where that road leads.”
A shaky breath. In, and out.
“I’m sorry.”
It was hard to say, to Doctor Light of all people. After all of the agonizing about whether or not he was right to be angry at his creator, whether he was right not to trust him…
But Proto Man had been responsible- directly or indirectly- for a lot of damage. He was in the wrong here, simple as. And while he may never get a proper apology from Doctor Light, he could certainly give one.
Another breath. He desperately wanted to leave this laboratory behind him for the foreseeable future, but there was more.
At least this was good news.
“Another thing Doctor Wily taught me, in detail, was how to keep a Robot Master under your heel. Safety Protocol overrides, directive corruption, all sorts of software and hardware exploits.”
At some point- Proto Man had had his eyes closed while he was speaking- Doctor Light had turned toward Proto Man fully. His hands fidgeted around the tools in his pockets, and he looked confused at the sudden shift in topic. Proto Man bit back a chuckle- maybe it was bad form to mess with the old man with so much on the line, but he just couldn’t help himself.
He still wasn’t talking. Proto Man was begrudgingly impressed by the man’s newfound self control; Doctor Light speaking over Proto Man had been a major source of friction before he left. Not the main issue, surely, but emblematic of it.
Proto Man felt something almost like relief coil through him. Maybe the new and improved Light family stood a better chance than he thought. Good for them.
Uncrossing his arms, Proto Man examined the small object in his right hand. A gray plastic box, about the size of two cell phones stacked together. The flat face plane was pressed against his palm, but he knew it would have a label; a serial number and a name. One long, narrow edge featured more connector pins than Proto Man bothered to count, and the opposite edge had a row of indicator lights relaying the status of the circuitry within.
And inside those circuits was something that Proto Man considered irreplaceable, something that actively made the world a better place. A safer place. Something the whole world cared about; something Proto Man couldn’t help but care about; something he could only hope that Doctor Light really, truly cared about.
Proto Man turned it around in his hand so he could show Doctor Light the label.
DLN - 001
MEGA MAN
INTEGRATED CIRCUIT MODULE
After just a moment of hesitation, Doctor Light approached. Proto Man handed him the I.C. chip without an argument. Doctor Light, disbelieving, checked over the indicator lights; all green.
Mega Man was alive. Once his body was rebuilt, he could be rebooted no worse for wear.
“I checked over everything. Every function, program, and protocol. Because I, for one, wouldn’t put it past you to use all the same tricks Wily does to keep his bots in line.” Proto Man bowed his head and sighed. “But I didn’t find anything. He really, honestly seems to love you. To trust you. And I still think he’s an idiot for it.”
Straightening, Proto Man turned to leave. “But I know it isn’t my place to make that choice for him. So long, Doctor Light.”
“Wait!”
Suppressing another sigh, Proto Man turned back; he really didn’t want to elongate this ‘discussion’. “What is it?”
Doctor Light gently set the I.C. chip down on his work table, next to Mega Man’s damaged head. “I can tell that you don’t want to work through any…” he averted his eyes for a moment, and his hands continued to fidget. “...Emotional issues, at the moment, and I can respect that. But I need to know what happened at Wily’s fortress.”
Oh. That made sense, he supposed. But Proto Man really did just want to leave…
“What do you need to know?” He asked. Maybe it would be possible to avoid telling the whole story, if Doctor Light only had a few questions.
His creator seemed to pick up on his restlessness, though, and mercifully kept his question simple. “What happened to Doctor Wily?”
“He was crushed under falling debris. I didn’t have time to verify whether it killed him or not, but considering what happened to Mega Man, I assume it did.”
“I see.”
Doctor Light looked as though he was about to cry. Did he really still care about Wily, despite everything…?
“Thank you, Proto Man. Thank you for everything. Of course, you’re free to contact me if you ever feel the need to do so.”
You can always come home, was the unspoken implication there. Shame that Doctor Light’s lab had never really been home to him.
“I’ll keep that in mind. So long, Doctor Light.”
“So long. And stay safe.”
There were no ‘I love you’s as he left.