Prelude – The Bleak Beginning
The blizzard enveloped the city, a tolling bell for the funeral dirge that echoed the tale of the fall of freedom, a fall caused by an old man’s naiveté coupled with his trust of another he once called friend. The old man Thomas Light stood there at the window gazing across the frozen and battered world he inadvertently brought to genesis, fury drowning his reason and leading his brilliant mind to one conclusion. He needed a champion, and with this single thought in his heart, soul, and mind he toiled through the nights, building his crimson mechanical hero from the memories of the blueprints the traitor Wily stole from him, from which sprung to being Proto Man. This vermillion clad and cloaked warrior of his was secretly raised as his son and trained in how to use his energy blade and buster in the depths of Dr. Light’s almost maze-like basement. Months passed and Proto Man’s prowess with his weapons grew alongside his fury as he learned of what that traitor Wily did to his father, the city, and his own kind, the wholesale slaughter and scrapping of those who bothered resisting, though there weren’t many that did; a fact that utterly baffled and slowly drove Proto Man mad. Despite the confusion, he was resolute in one thing, Wily’s murderous reign will end, and lo, his resolution was tested as Cut Man leading a small group of Wily’s steel soldiers stormed Light’s lab, wounding him badly before being driven off after a brief but violent skirmish. Despite the horrific damage Proto Man took, leaving his lifespan greatly decreased and his face ravaged by the battle he took care of Light’s wounds as best he could and set out toward the fortress to take his vengeance which is where this tale truly begins…
Chapter 1 – Vengeance
He was alone, he knew it from the moment he carved the shard of one of Cut Man’s stray blades into a mask and donned it. Despite that, he still found himself thinking about Dr. Light as he trudged through the freezing urban wasteland, people either avoiding him or just simply nowhere near this portion of the city, while the words, “Despite your metal body and inherent inhumanity, you are still human. You have a soul and consciousness, you grow old and you can die as well as feel pain, emotional or otherwise. Knowing this you should seek to avoid anything that might endanger a task you’ve set out to achieve. Strike quickly decisively and without hesitation or you shall surely die.” rang in his head, the word “Apt” forming at his lips before disappearing in the chattering of his ceramic teeth, the cold almost unbearable for him.