Well, this is my Mega Man fanfic. Before you groan, rest assured that not only are all the characters original, but so is the setting. These characters are not cliches, recolours, or overly powerful.

And when I say this fic is popular, I do mean it. It has recieved very good reviews everywhere and I have yet to meet someone who was disapointed.

Before I post chapter one, I want to make one last thing clear. This is my re-write, meaning that it is top-quality and some of my best. Also, the Neo Star Forums are so far only the second forums in existence that have access to this version. I'm still re-writing (slowly but surely), so it'll be a while between chapters.

Enough talk though, I'm going to put my keyboard where my mouth is.

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Author’s introduction
These events take place in year 2XXX, and, while during the events of the Mega man Zero series, it has little to do with it at all. All events are set in a settlement far from Neo Arcadia, and is composed entirely of Reploids left behind after the Maverick and Elf wars. These Reploids have started a new life for themselves, and have no idea as to what is going on around the rest of the world; most have forgotten their own pasts and the various parts they played in the two aft-mentioned wars.



Chapter One

The sun reached it’s apex in the sky, shimmering and scorching the hot, sandy desert below. The desert was full of dunes and cliffs, with large open areas littered with shrubs and a few native animals. A large, striped lizard poked his head out from his hole, looking cautiously for danger. Seeing nothing, he crawled slowly onto a nearby boulder to bask in the summer sun.

There was a loud noise, and the lizard looked over to see two large objects speeding towards him. It extended its head, looking intently at them, and in just an instant, they zoomed by, knocking him off his rock with their tailwinds. The lizard hissed, and turned back to his hole.

Kroy saw the lizard fall off the rock, his sandy blonde hair rustling in the wind. He wore a faded green jacket underneath his sand cloak, which was trailing behind him, picked up and flapping in the gust. As he looked back he saw the other Ride Chaser, only yards away.

“Heh, that’s too close! I’ve gotta get further ahead!”

Throttling the accelerator, his jet bike started to pull ahead a bit. There were a lot of stone pillars and boulders up ahead; he had to pay careful attention so he wouldn’t crash. Weaving in and out between the sandy rocks skillfully, he was almost out of the thick of it when he heard a loud crash behind him.

Looking behind him, he saw plumes of smoke and sand flying everywhere, his fears had been realized.

“NO!” Kroy shouted, turning his bike around and speeding back. As he pulled up to the wreckage, he looked around and saw his friend a short distance away, collapsed under a small outcropping.

“Deyl! Deyl!” He jumped off his Ride Chaser and ran over to his friend. “Deyl, are you alright? Please, answer me!”

As he approached, he could easily tell that things were pretty bad. Deyl’s left leg and hip were shattered, and Deyl was unconscious.

“Oh no, please Deyl, please be alive!” he muttered feverously as he knelt by the body.

Kroy lifted off his goggles, leaving behind dusty smudges around his bright blue eyes. Looking his friend over, Kroy was relieved to find that somehow, his friend was still alive, despite his massive injuries. Quickly but carefully, he cleaned the wounds and did his best to cover them so that sand wouldn’t get in. That would be one of the last things they needed.

Looking back at his Ride Chaser, he realized that it would be difficult to get his friend back on it, as it was only built for one person. Looking around, he decided it would be best to tie his friend onto his back and use the Chaser to get to the settlement.

Kroy lifted up his friend, slowly but carefully. Deyl was not especially heavy, but moving slowly and smoothly enough was very difficult, not to mention that due to Deyl’s injuries, it was quite awkward trying to find a way to carry him without making things worse.

Once back to his rusty blue Chaser, he took off his cloak and wrapped it around himself and his friend. He went slowly, and it was a long ride. Deyl would occasionally drift back to consciousness only to be yanked back into his bitter coma by the nagging pain.

Hours later, Kroy saw the outline of several tents, and knew he was almost home. As he got closer, others started to notice him and some ran out to him to see what was the matter.

Among them was Dente, the doctor and unofficial leader of the group. He was not short, but neither was he tall. Dente was a little bit on the pudgy side, and had curly hair about a medium length. As the real leader of the settlement had died in a raid long ago, the settlers had chose Dente.

“Dente! Dente, please help! Deyl…Deyl and I were racing…and…he…”

Dente raced over a little faster, and looked over Deyl with a grimace on his face.

“Oh my…he’s in bad shape…I’ll see what I can do.”

“Will…will he be alright?”

Dente bit his tongue. Things didn’t look good, Deyl had too many things factoring against him.

Kroy was distraught; he couldn’t stand to lose Deyl, his friend for as long as he could remember. He, like many, had stumbled along the settlement a long time ago, and Deyl had been the first to find and greet him.

Dente sighed. “I can get his wounds sealed up, but he’s lost a lot of fluid, and there’s no way to tell how much sand got in there.”

Kroy understood this well, as did every other settlement reploid. Sand was one of their most dangerous enemies right now. Even small amounts of it could wreak havoc if it got into their bodies, ruining their delicate systems, wearing them out faster, and causing great pain as well. Sometimes, the pain got so bad it could drive them mad.

“I cleaned him up as best as I could before I started back, but I couldn’t tell how extensive the damage was. I hope nothing vital was destroyed, we could never hope to replace an internal reactor.”

Dente nodded. Another thing in a long list of items that that settlement had going against them, part shortage. A lack of raw materials and ways to mine them made technological progress next to impossible, and simply being able to make replacement parts was a difficult thing indeed. Some things, like movement motors and positronic connectors were impossible to recreate. Everything that could be had to be recycled, and if a reploid were to die, they were forced out of necessity to scavenge what they could to survive. They hated it, it was a hard thing to do, but if they didn’t they would all be dead very quickly.

Kroy carried Deyl to Dente’s tent, where Dente inspected the wounds. Deyl’s leg was crushed beyond repair, and his metallic skin was ripped almost up to his arm. Much to their relief, it seemed like nothing vital was damaged. It was not too long before they had him stabilized.

“He…he’ll be alright”, breathed Kroy as they finished up, “Thank heavens”.

Dente sat down, sighing. “Yes, he will survive. However, he won’t be able to use that leg anymore; it’ll probably be a while before we can…”

Dente was cut off by a reploid running into the room.

“They’re coming! They found us and they’re coming fast, we’ve gotta move!”

Kroy and Dente were shocked; the mavericks had not attacked since they’d moved the settlement. They thought they were finally safe.

“Get everyone out, now!” ordered Dente, “And remind everyone fighting must only be used as a last resort, we can’t afford anymore injuries!”

There was a loud explosion. The attack had started.

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So yeah, not the most epic chapter, but I hope that's established the feel well. Comments, and critism, are both welcome. While I do think highly of my fic, I know that I as a human are capable of making mistakes and I also don't know everything about writing.

Chapter 2

A bird flew overhead, casting a shadow on the brush below. Underneath it was a cliff, a steep drop-off of almost two hundred feet. It landed on the edge, and hopped under a small bush as a large object came close.
A tall reploid heavily armored with several areas reinforced with solid metal strips walked by. He looked like walking tank, his tan armor matching with the colour of the sand. His helmet, like the rest of his armor, had very little in the way of aesthetics, designed for war and practicality alone.

Lagnas looked out over the scene before him. Below his outcropping on the cliff, the settlement was being destroyed, and panicked reploids ran from the carnage.

Yes, they ran, but they would not escape.

“Kendal, get over here,” he barked at his underling standing behind him.

Kendal took a step forward, his face showing nothing except the wear of time, his dull brown eyes concentrating on his commander.
“Yes, sir?” asked the lieutenant.

“How are things progressing?” Lagnas spoke in a deep voice, with a slightly raspy hint. The tone of his voice was commanding, and showed no hint of what is commonly known as care. Indeed, Lagnas cared nothing for his men, he ruled through fear and power alone.

Kendal bit his lip. He didn’t dare tell him that most seemed to have disappeared. “We are searching for them, sir; they are good hiders.”
Lagnas said nothing. Two black tubes pumped plasma from a generator on his back to a magazine storage on his chest; charging up for Lagnas’ fearsome weapons. To Kendal, he was the meaning of fear.

“Am I dismissed, sir?”

“Go back to the command post. I will join the party below” replied Lagnas.

As Kendal scurried off, Lagnas took a mighty leap off the cliff, anticipating the destruction and carnage to come.

As Lagnas fell, his forearm folded inside out and expanded into a drill. When he landed, it sent rocks and dust flying all around him. With his weapon ready, he rushed forwards into a small group of fleeing reploids, piercing them all through with his Drill Crusher.

Pain shot through his arm, Lagnas had been hit in his unarmored elbow joint. He turned to see a reploid holding a gun.

As the reploid was captured by troops, Lagnas stepped forwards and addressed him.

“Who do you think you are, to try and destroy me?”

The reploid said nothing, his blue eyes shining with defiance, his lightly armored clothing faded with wear. Lagnas noted that this was not from fear, but from the courage one can muster when faced with death.
“There are motivators stronger than death. I have no problems with having you pulled apart piece by piece.”
At this, the reploid started in anger.

“I’ll never tell you anything, I don’t care what you do to me. Every minute I spend holding you up here is another minute they live free.”
The tan reploid burst into laughter.

“Holding me up? You think that your lucky shot has me at a disadvantage? Worthless bug. I have the parts I need to repair right here.”

Just as the reploid realized what Lagnas meant, the tan reploid lunged forward and clutched his arm tightly. He tried to pull free, but Lagnas just strengthened his grip with a maniacal grin on his face. With a slow, agonizing motion, Lagnas ripped the reploids arm off his body, shredding the wires and tearing the reploids skin.

“G-g-gaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” The reploid screamed loudly, and earsplitting noise reaching far out into the desert.

Lagnas’ expression changed to a much darker look. “This is nothing compared to what is to come.”

“Sir what do we do with him?” asked a soldier, motioning to the settler, who was writhing in agony on the ground.

“Keep him so that we can use his parts later on, but make sure he lives as long as possible.” He walked slowly over to the settler, still writhing on the ground. “So, was it worth it, bug? Standing up to me to save your friends?”

The reploid could not speak, but anyone looking could see him slowly nod his head.

As the mavericks picked up their new prize, Lagnas turned to look at the smoldering remains of the settlement. Dead reploids were strewn about, and his men were scavenging what usable parts they could find. The tan reploid turned away from the wreckage and began walking. It had been a wonderful day.

Oh-Oh! I see that you've brought your famous Diminishing Existence fan story to Neo Star, haven't you, ZTH?

Man, i love that story. I remember when you started that one in Age's forums, and then finished it at our former forum, Neo Tavern. Everyone should definitely read that one. I know they'll love it (i still do for sure, man).

Whew, I almost forgot I was posting this here.

Anyways, Eric, you'll probably want to read through my fic again. I've been going through and re-writing it, and some parts of the story have changed considerably. It's also much better written, so you should enjoy it even more man.

That said, here's chapter three!

Chapter 3

A week after the attack by the mavericks, the settlers had set up a new camp in the mountains, and as very few people had been there, they hoped it would be safer.

Kroy looked out over the vast desert. It was as if he could see forever. The sun was low, causing the sky to be coloured with vibrant shades of orange and pink. There were several hills and valleys, and a small amount of various plants. He heard footsteps behind him, and turned.

“Deyl! You’ve recovered!”

“Yeah, mostly” Said Deyl, motioning towards his injured leg. “I doubt this will get fixed anytime soon though.”

“I’m glad you’re up. You were less injured than you looked, it’s good you weren’t caught by Lagnas’ men.”

“I have you and Dente to thank for that.”

Kroy turned, and looked out over the desert again.

“It is so frustrating, though. Lagnas and his men can attack us at any moment, and we can’t do anything to fight back. Any attack would be worse for us in the long run.”

Kroy paused for a moment. Deyl, taking advantage of this silence, spoke up.

“Cheer up; they can’t keep this up forever. They’ll all do themselves in, eventually. We just have to be better runners than they are fighters. Takes less work, no?”

“We don’t have that long. They’re getting better at tracking us, while we just run out of places to hide. They may eventually end up destroying themselves, but they don’t have someone attacking them and making it harder to survive.”

Deyl paused, unsure of what to say.

“Deyl, do you remember the war?”

Deyl was surprised; Kroy had usually avoided that subject.

“I’ll never get those awful events out of my head.” The two stood there, silent for a few minutes. “You never brought this up before” Deyl continued, “Why now? What makes you ask?”

“I have been feeling something for a few days now. It seems like there’s something in the back of my mind, like a memory coming back to haunt me. I don’t feel it very often, but when I do it…gives me a very bad feeling..”

“What is it about this that makes you think of the wars?”

“It’s hard to explain. Each time, I remember just a few seconds. And each time, I get the feeling that this… thing is familiar.”

“You are probably just thinking about it too much. It is quite an easy thing to do, with Lagnas attacking us at every turn. It’s hard to think of anything else.”

Kroy sighed. “You’re probably right. I think this will send us all mad. I wish there was something we could do to stop him.”
“We could try fighting him.”

“Deyl! You know just as well as I that we can’t fight! We don’t have anything!”

“Then what is there to lose?”

“Nothing! I know that! I want to stop him just as much as you, but right now fighting him will only serve to make our end come sooner.”

“Then find a way, find something to…”

“This is getting us nowhere. I’ve got to go and help patrol the area, I’ll see you later.”

Kroy turned and walked away, and Deyl stood for a few minutes watching him go; then turned around and headed for camp.

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The last rays of sunlight shone through the window and onto the various parts strewn about a small table, crudely constructed out of wood and boulders. Dente reached over to grab a piece, and was about to continue his work when Deyl walked in.

Dente looked up when he heard Deyl enter. “Deyl. Can I help you with something? Is your leg giving you any problems?”

Deyl waved his hand dismissively. “No, it’s fine”

Dente nodded. “So… you had that talk with Kroy, huh? How’d it go?”

Deyl sighed as he leaned against one of the tent poles. “Good and bad. He has the will to fight, but he thinks it cannot be won.”

“Humph. Just like Kroy. He’s going to drive himself mad like this, you know.” Dente chuckled softly; “I have never seen a reploid so convinced he must do something.”

“So…” Deyl started, “Are you going to tell him about it?”

“Hmm…It is late. I’ll show him tomorrow. The last thing we need is him running off into the desert unprepared this late at night.”

Deyl left the room, and Dente went back to his work. Tomorrow He would show Kroy what he’d discovered. Maybe, just maybe, they would get the chance they needed to survive.



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And please, I ask that if you do read this story, please leave comments. At least drop a note saying you read it, and feel free to post any critique. I write to entertain, and knowing that I've succeeded in that is more than enough for me.

Lots of descriptives. Woot.

Chapter 4

The next morning, Kroy was on his way to see Dente. He’d been told that Dente had wanted to show him something, and he was curious since Dente never showed others what he was working on until it was done.

As he entered the small tent, Dente looked up at him from his makeshift desk, on which his small computer sat, surrounded by several small items strewn about. Indeed, Dente’s entire room reflected his curious and very creative nature.

“Ah, Kroy. Good to see you. You are just on time, as always.”

“Good morning. You wanted me?”

“Ah, yes. Sit and we can talk.”

Kroy was now very interested in this secret of Dente’s, and sat down eagerly.

Dente started. “The other day, one of the scouts came across the remains of something near a complex cave system just six miles west. It is very old, very worn down, and we can’t I.D. it.”

“What does this have to do with…?”

“Just listen; I’ll explain it in a moment” Dente said, cutting him off. “Anyway, we looked through the wreckage, and found an old silicon chip.

Kroy was astonished. “But, silicon hasn’t been used in computer chips for hundreds of years!”

“Exactly, this was very old, remember? Well, it took some time, but I managed to hook it up to the analyzer. It had a log of an old scientist, but I had trouble reading it.”

“Why would that be?” asked Kroy.

Dente quickly turned, grabbing his computer. “First, it was in an older dialect, our same language, but still… Also, the data was corrupted, as can be expected after all this time. But enough of that. I finally managed to load the data bits to my computer. Have a look.”

Dente turned his screen towards Kroy and accessed a document.


Fina* Log- year 2***

As I can not **** wit* much long**, I ** consciousness ** final ** caps**l*
Located ** moun** deser**, contains ** great **** angerous*** power** up*ra**es.
*********g *******file*****topo******

D*T*L**


Kroy read the document, and then turned to Dente. “From what I can make out, there’s something in that area that has great power, or at least, great for whenever this was written.”

Dente nodded. “There was also heavily corrupted map data, but I’m pretty sure the location is somewhere near these mountains.”

Kroy lit up. “Maybe I could find this great power? Maybe it could even help us with our troubles?” Suddenly, Kroy’s face expressed worry. “But wait. Didn’t say something about a great danger, too? If it’s something that could destroy us, I wouldn’t want to endanger anyone. Do you think it’s worth the risk?”

Dente’s reply was a wise one. “That’s the thing with power. When you take a gamble with it, you’ve got to be able to weigh out the costs of either outcome. Only if you have a strong motivation is it worth risking everything.”

Kroy thought about that for a while. “Well, I think given our situation we don’t have much to lose. If it’s something horrible, we’ll be in the same spot we are now. If it’s something that could help though, then we have a chance. I’ll go check it out.”

“Very well then.” Dente agreed, “I‘ll give you the co-ordinates expressed in the file. Remember though, the geological layout will have changed over the years, so finding this will not be easy.”

Kroy nodded as he walked out the door. As he headed to the bike hanger, he wondered what this power could be. Could it be a weapon, capable of mass destruction? Would it be a fierce beast? Or maybe, like in the stories of so long ago, it would be a hero, who would free them from their bondage.

Little did Kroy expect how much things would change.

Chapter 5

That night, Kroy set out under the cover of darkness to reduce the chance of being spotted by mavericks. Luckily, his destination was not very far from the encampment. Using the moon as his light, he wove in and out of the desert shrubs and the many boulders that littered his path.
His target was only 6 miles off, and looked like it was in a large mountain. Kroy looked at his scanner.

“1 mile to… Wait. What is that?” Kroy thought as a large blip appeared on his screen. “It looks like there is an underground tunnel.”

Kroy slowed, and hopped to the ground. “It looks big enough, and the coordinates could be a little off”

Kroy grabbed his shovel off the ride chaser and began to dig. Abruptly, his shovel broke through the roof of the darkness. And, after tying a safety line, he descended down into the cave.

He looked around at the magnificent cavern. Enormous, crystal-studded stalactites caught rays off the moon, lighting up the cave with the aura of dancing moonlight. The crystals themselves gave off a very faint blue light. The cavern floor was covered with stalagmites, unbroken and undisturbed over the many hundreds of years of seclusion. It was truly a wonderful sight to behold.

“Wow… Dente would love this place”

Looking further down the cave, he noticed a small opening, with a pink light dully shining through the gap.

As if in a trance, Kroy walked towards the light. Looking within the cavity, he saw a pink bubble surrounding a tall machine.

“Wha? A force field?” Kroy then stepped towards it, to see if he could find a way to shut it down. When he was so close he could touch the machine, (if not for the energy shield), a loud voice boomed out and echoed through the cave.

“You aren’t supposed to be here. You must leave immediately!”

Startled, Kroy stammered out a reply. “W-who’s there? I don’t mean any harm!”

There was silence for a moment, and then to force field deactivated. Kroy took a single step forward, but stopped short as the machine started to hum softly. A hologram of an old man in a white coat appeared. The man was a somewhat hefty man, and he had a long white beard which accented his friendly demeanor. Kroy was taken aback, he’d never seen a hologram so lifelike.

“You are not X, yet you very much resemble him. Who are you?”

“My name is Kroy, Who are you?”

“I’ll tell you that in a bit. Now then, Why are you here? What is it that you want?”

“I’m part of a village, and we are being attacked by a party of Mavericks. We don’t have the resources necessary to protect ourselves, so I came looking for the power I read about to see if it could help us.”

“How did you hear of this power?”

“We found an old data chip in the ruins of…something.”

The man was silent now, and Kroy was certain it was alive, for it was far too intelligent and perceptive to be anything else.

“I think you’re telling the truth, so I will try to help you.”

Kroy nodded in thanks.. He had not thought that the man would believe him.

“My name is Dr. Thomas Light. Several hundred years ago, I created the ultimate robot, so advanced he was like nothing else the world had ever seen.

“But the world was not ready for him, so I sealed him away and scattered upgrade capsules throughout the lands, to wait for X when he was revived, so he could better protect humanity.”

“Is this the X you mentioned earlier?’

“Yes. My second great achievement, Megaman X. He was of course found in due time, and judging by your own design, I can see that my technology has been duplicated, to an extent.

“After I had placed my capsules I uploaded my mind to the last one I hid, so as to preserve myself to be able to help mankind in the future. This is my legacy, and now you have found it.”

Kroy stood in wonder. That something so old could survive so long, without any decay, was miraculous. “Where would X be now?”

“I do not know. If he is not around to help you, I will give you a choice. You can leave here in search of X, which would be near impossible, or you can take a stand and fight for your own people.”

“I don’t think we have time to go on a search, I will fight for my people. This has gone on for too long already.”

Dr. Light smiled a bit. “Alright, then you can use this machine to gain the power you need. Step into this capsule, Kroy, and we’ll begin.”

Kroy nodded, and stepped into the machine. It started humming even louder than before, a bright blue light shining all over him, adding new pieces of armor to his body and changing his systems. It was a tough process, Kroy could tell that it was a strain for the capsule to try and interface with his body. Suddenly, his vision became blurry and he was filled with an extreme pain. Screaming, Kroy lost consciousness and fell out of the capsule, landing on the hard cavern floor below.

Okay, GT. I've given a really good read to your first five chapters. However, not to get anything on the wrong side of the tracks, but i don't see what was changed from the original version of your fanfic, man. It looks like the same story to me, as i've read a year ago...

...or is it? Anyway, you've done a really good job at re-writting this story. Keep up the good work, my friend.

It's a lot more descriptive and the dialog is less cheesy. Most of the beggining less different, but later on whole scenes will change and new ones will be added.

Aah! Okay! Well, anyway, even with the changes, it's still the same story to me, only now, as you said, it's a whole lot better. I kinda have forgotten about it, since it's been a long time that i last read the story, so i just wanted to be reminded about it.

I wonder if the editor (between you and me, you know who i'm referring to) kinda helped you out in the re-writting of this story. Just to help me keeping up-to-date on this re-edition of the Diminishing Existence story that you're doing right now, man.

Anyway, like i said in my previous post, it's even better than ever. Keep it up, GT.

Ah yes. My editor, All-Star Quint. He's like my writing idol. After I write a chapter, I always send it over to him to give it a look-over. If he sees anything out of place, he sends back a note and I re-write that section. It's truly an awesome learning experience, but it does take a bit longer than normal to get out a chapter. I still do all the writing though.

And...! Heeeeeere's the next chapter!

Chapter 6

Kroy blinked his eyes as he sat up off of the cavern floor, right by the capsule. What had happened? How long was he unconscious?

“Oh good. You’re awake. How are you feeling?”

Kroy turned his head towards the capsule. “Not good. What’s happened to me? How long was I unconscious?”

“You were only out for about half an hour. It would appear that you are not compatible with the capsule, and it was such a shock to your system that you blanked out.”

Kroy groaned, then dropped onto his back again. “What will I do now? I’m incompatible, and my friends lives are on the line.”

Dr. Light grinned. “I think I’ve got a solution that will work. We just need to keep at it.

Kroy stood up slowly, feet unsteady, and once again entered the capsule.

“Now then Kroy, I will have to put you under so that this will not affect your system so roughly.”

“All right. I’m ready.”

Once again, the ancient machine started up. A blue light washed over Kroy, holding him in place. He could feel pricks in his body as he started to interface, and he was slowly losing consciousness and the small room around him grew ever darker until finally he lost all senses and went into a sleep.

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For the second time that morning, Kendal was sent to report the scout’s findings to Lagnas. Sidestepping a maverick as he went down the hall, images of the Maverick Commander rushed through his mind. He paused, and then knocked on the commander’s door.

“Enter”

Kendal walked in quietly; Lagnas was talking to someone on the radio. “You know that with your assistance, this could all be over much quicker.” He paused, only silence came from the speaker. “Come now, do you really think you can just run away forever? You’re going to have to face me at some point, it would be better for you not to be on my bad side.”

“I said no. Do your own dirty work” came the short, but firm reply from the other end. This enraged Lagnas, who shut off the radio; then turned his angered attention to the unfortunate lieutenant.

“What is it?”

“Commander, the Scouts have pinpointed the location of the group of reploids. They are in the mountains, at… these coordinates” Kendal said, pointing to a spot on the wall map.

Lagnas was silent for a minute, still frustrated by the radio ordeal. “Have the scouts return, then send Evlyn to me at once.”

“Yes sir!”

Kendal ran off, not wanting to be a target for Lagnas’ anger. He wondered, however, who it could have been that would talk back to Lagnas like that. Not even Evlyn would do that. He shivered at the thought of Evlyn, nervous about having to forward Lagnas’ summon. She was nearly as crazy and bloodthirsty as Lagnas was.

-------

Kroy woke up with a start, and a pain shivered through his body as his systems tried to re-orient themselves, trying to work with the new additions. It was an odd feeling alright, one he didn’t want to repeat.
Opening his eyes, he looked up and saw the cavern ceiling. He’d fallen out again, and immediately wondered if it had once again failed.

“Doctor, is it finished?” he asked.

“Yes, your modifications are now complete.”

Kroy looked him self over. He now was colored in dark greens and browns, and his plating was black, and he was also more heftily armored than before. He had green boots with brown rings around his ankles, green gloves, also sporting rings, and an armored jacket to protect his upper body better.

He then looked at his helmet. It was black, with green trim around the edges, and small finlets emerging from the side, connected to the trim.

“This-this is amazing! I don’t believe it!”

“Kroy, you are now much more powerful than before, and much better equipped to fight your enemies. The armor I’ve equipped you with gives you the ability to kick off walls, dash. You also have the Mega Buster, the signature weapon of Megaman, which can fire plasma bullets and charge up for a more powerful shot. Your rebuilding has brought back my memories of younger days. And so, you will now be dubbed…Megaman Zeta, the last Megaman!”

“Megaman…Zeta?” Kroy was overwhelmed, the title Mega Man seemed to hold so much importance to the man in front of him, and to be considered one of the Doctors Mega Men filled his heart with a sort of silent awe. “I won’t think of this lightly, doctor, I will use this power you have given me to fight for my village.”

“Wait! Zeta, before you go, there is something I must tell you.”

Zeta looked at the doctor, who had a very serious face.

“I was able to modify you, but there is a flaw. It is an unforeseeable fault that arose when I tried to tie your new systems into your reactor. It’s not a big problem now, but given time it will be and can most definitely kill you.”

“…” Kroy was silent, this was a lot to take in. Yes, he could now achieve his goal, but he didn’t want to die either. Before, he only had to worry about being killed, and now that his lifespan was considerably shortened he had a whole new set of worries.

Dr. Light cocked his head at him. “Kroy, are you alright?”

“…I’m not sure; this is not something I expected. But, the only thing I can do now is fight for my mission and hope to die free.” Kroy thought for a minute, and then asked “Is there anyway we can fix this flaw? Is there any hope for that?"

Dr. Light grimaced. “I’m sorry; I just don’t have the parts necessary. If you could get the right pieces, I might be able to save you. Here are the parts you’ll need to find” he said, proceeding then to name off a couple key pieces and elements. “Also, I estimate that you have roughly two years before the damage becomes critical; you should have sufficient time to find these things.”

Kroy was a little relieved; at least he knew now how long he had. “Okay. I’ll try and find something you can use. I have two years before I die, but there’s no way to tell how long the settlement has.”

“You truly are like my Mega Men; wear that title with pride, Zeta! Now go, and fight for your people!”

Zeta nodded, and ran out of the cavern.