Archive of Our Own

An unstable core, much like a dying star. Glowing bright for all to see, a marvel for all until one night, years after it had died so far off into space, it’s no longer there. At that point, most would’ve forgotten where it even was in the first place.

“I give it about a year.” They said ten years ago. “Though it’s a marvel he’s gone on this long with little error. He could last ten more years, or he could shut down tomorrow.”

Protoman, or by his civilian name, Blues, had a ticking time bomb in the place humans would have a heart. He had a faulty core, thanks to his father, Dr. Light, being fairly new in making robots that actually worked and weren’t just toasters. He resented his creator for the first years of his life, to the point he sided with public enemy number one, Dr. Wily, for a good portion of his short life until he was to meet his newest model. His little brother.

Rock, or MegaMan.

Oh, his little brother. So innocent, so naïve, so…stupidly trusting. No matter how much he hated his father, he didn’t trust Rock on his own in this world. Even less so when he found out Rock had a twin sister, Roll. She was more responsible, more independent, but she was a service robot.

Only the Lord knew what was to happen to them the moment Dr. Light were to pass, and that day was slowly coming it’s way. He could tell, his father had a slight tremor to him now, there was more skin than fat in his wrinkles, harder to tan and growing more and more pallid. Didn’t help that he spent most his days in the lab but still, he was in his twilight years, maybe just months.

Which was why Blues agreed to the thing he hated the most.

“Upgrade me.”

“What?!”

Blues slammed his hand on his father’s desk, catching his attention. He didn’t care what he was working on at the time, it seemed too small and insignificant.

“I want you to repair my core.” Blues said. “Now.”

Dr. Light paused, placing his tools down on the table as he stared off at his eldest son in shock. He couldn’t entirely believe what he was thinking; the young man had initially fled away from home at the first mention of the procedure. Why did he insist on it now?

“You’re not going to live forever. That much is apparent.” Blues explained. “But me and my siblings will. As…much as I fear losing my current self…I don’t want them to go through more loss than they have to.”

Dr. Light was speechless, opening his mouth only to close it to rethink his already derailed train of thought. He shook his head, before walking around the side of the desk and towards his eldest robotic son. He placed a hand on his cheek, only for Blues to gently pull it away.

“Don’t.”

Don’t make this harder, Blues thought. He was already stressed to the max about this. His mind had been already racing hours before he made his decision.

“…are you sure about this?”

“What other choice do I have?” Blues asked. “I need to stay behind to protect them. I need to.”

Dr. Light looked at him with a shocked, saddened expression. Blues was too emotional to pay attention to his father’s hands cupping his face, focusing on not shedding a single tear or showing a crack in his cold and unfeeling façade.

“…you won’t lose much if it fails—”

“Don’t say that.” Dr. Light growled. “…let’s get you prepped.”

“Don’t look into it.” Blues told her weeks ago. “It’s not going to be a regular thing.”

She knew her brother was lying, but she went along with it. Blues wasn’t the type to speak his emotions, but Roll knew he still felt emotions. Maybe even more so than their robotic siblings. Perhaps that was why he hid them, maybe he was trying to trick himself not to feel at all, and the moment he’d let it slip, everything would come crashing down.

So it was weird when Blues moved back into the lab with her, Rock, and Dr. Light with little to no explanation as to why. Rock didn’t seem to mind—Dr. Wily had been long gone and now he had more time to spend with his sister and now older brother. They had time to be people, now, time to go shopping and picnic in the park…

Then Roll discovered why he came back.

When they’d walk, Blues would pause or twitch slightly, placing a soft hand on his chest, looking a bit worried before he’d pull his mask back on, hoping no one noticed. But she noticed.

He was dying.

“Roll?” She looked up from the broomstick as she was busy cleaning to catch her father’s eye, noticing he looked more serious and somber than usual.

“Yes, father?”

“…I need help to prepare the lab for an…operation.” Dr. Light said. “…for Protoman.”

Roll didn’t question further.

Until hours later when alarms blared, signifying that something had gone terribly wrong with the procedure, and her eyes met Rock’s.

This wasn’t what Blues expected when he’d die. He expected it to be…cathartic? Was that the right word? He thought it’d feel like a completion of sorts, but e felt now that nothing had been resolved.

But no. It just…happened. No fanfare, no crying sobbing masses, no one cheering happily after the fact. Just silence. But there was no peace to be found. There was nothing.

Nothing but him.

“Hey!”

Until they spoke up.

A face looking at him from behind, scaring him into turning around to behold a shifting form in the darkness. It seemed that every second it’s face would change, formless yet physical. It was like Blues knew this person from somewhere, but he couldn’t exactly remember them.

“I know you from somewhere!” The voice sounded young, almost childlike. Too childlike to wear the familiar armor of the Light robots. He wasn’t a child, but a robot. “Hello, mister!”

“Who…who are you?”

“I don’t know…who are you?” That one question scared the shit out of him. The one reason why he had prolonged this procedure for so long; he feared that he’d lose a big part of himself in the process. He was a robot, not a human. One wire crossed the right (or wrong way) could change him forever.

Maybe Dr. Light crossed too many wires this time.

“…Blues.” He finally spoke up. “Just…Blues. Now what are you doing here all by yourself?”

“I don’t know.” The faceless child asked. “I’ve been alone for a long time, but now you’re here! Now I’m not so alone.”

Blues smirked as the young child grabbed his hand, holding it. His tiny fingers felt soft and forgiving in his palm. He looked down, watching as the little child’s face began to stabilize.

Then he looked exactly like Rock. A younger Rock, yes, but still Rock.

He held his hand tightly, as the young child began to guide him to a place unknown.

“You’re following me so you don’t get lost, okay?”

“Alright, kiddo…” The older robot sighed, looking off into the great unknown, not knowing where’d he go, feeling little choice but to protect this child even if he was far from his goal.

Oh, how wrong he was.

Within a blink, the world faded away, as much as a dark void can disappear. Everything was darker than it already had been, the child echoing into the distance, distilling fear into him.

“Wait, where did you go?!”

“Blues..? Blues?!”

Pip…pip…pip…

Brrrhhhtt…brrrrhhht…

Blues woke up to the soft yet jarring sounds of the machinery around him, the harsh and cold metallic table beneath him and an unfeeling plastic sheet laid over him. All except for his face, which was…strange. Most the robots he saw after being worked on were covered entirely.

But then again, he struggled to see much now. Dr. Light fucked up his visual faculties, of course. Maybe he had been off for a long time, though. Or a factory reset? He wished he had someone to base his experience off of, then he’d know if it went well or not.

And what was that strange sound? Was that…Dr. Light?

Was he crying?

“…fa…ther…?”

“My son…” Dr. Light whimpered. “I…I’m so sorry, my son…”

“…wh-where…whe…re…is…Ro…ck…?” He said with instinct, yet so much effort. He could tell his battery was drained dramatically. It was hard to speak. “…my…bro…ther…sis…ter…?”

He heard a soft gasp coming from Dr. Light, as if he had caught him off guard.

“Blues…my son…!” He sounded more emotional by the second, the grip on his hand that he had just noticed growing tighter. His father had been holding onto his hand the entire time. “Oh, my son-!”

“…is…some…thing…wr…wrong…?”

“C…c-conserve your energy, my boy.” Dr. Light muttered through tears and shaky breaths. “You…you stopped responding. You…you d…” He couldn’t complete his sentence, but Blues could tell what had happened. He had died on the table, long enough to make Dr. Light think he was gone for good. But he came back, and presumably with a good portion of his memories still intact.

“My…m-my…core…” Blues muttered, growing more stressed as he came to. “My…bro…ther…sis…ter…my siblings…” Blues began to tremble. He couldn’t die, not without seeing his siblings. He couldn’t die. He had to see them. He had to see them. He had to see them.

As his emotions began to show, it bled through the cracks in his façade, showing Dr. Light his eldest son in the flesh. No longer was he the stoic young robot he had built so many years ago—now he was a scared, sniffling boy, staring back up at him.

“They’re okay, my son…” Dr. Light smiled through tears. “They should be outside waiting for you. Everyone is okay.” He whispered to him, growing closer until he was cradling the robot in his arms.

“…I…I…m…so..rr…y…so…rry…” Blues mumbled, so tired and weak yet feeling the brunt of his emotions. He survived. He survived despite his fears, so all had this had been for nothing? He was so scared and resentful for nothing?

“Shhh…” Dr. Light shushed him. “It’s okay, my boy…the procedure is over.”

“…I…I…am…okay…?” The young robot asked. “I…I…am…alive…” Were the last words he spoke before he fell back asleep, resting to fully charge up his battery for the night in his father’s arms as Dr. Light looked out at the window, watching the stars glimmering above them.

He found it hard to let go, fearing to lose him a third time.