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 – Solitary
He was alone now, leaving the shattered battlefield and Dr. Light behind him and wearing a mask cleaved from the face of Cut Man himself before what was left of his men escaped with his unconscious body. 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. After another hour of traversing the frozen corpse a city he came upon the sight of a man hung from a lamp post, blood painting the ice encrusted street below a deep and lethal red, the silence in the area almost suffocating Proto Man, which was his only warning as a shaft of solid ice and murderous intention hurtled toward his seemingly unprotected back to only be cleaved in twain as Proto Man wheeled about, staring down a group of soldiers encased In ice with guns leveled his way as their leader Ice Man stood above on an unoccupied lamp post while he directed their efforts and spewed forth more ice into his hand, another lethal spear of ice forming in it. Turning to his men Ice Man orders them to halt before looking back at Proto Man and saying quietly, “Why do you fight? We were tools humanity used until they tired of us, scrapping our bodies and souls. Wily freed us from our subservience and allowed us to enact the greatest of ironies. Why do you fight against something we clearly deserve?” as he stepped off the post and landed quietly in front of his soldiers Proto Man directed his fiery gaze at Ice Man and said while matching his tone, “Though there were those that abused us, that is no reason to doom the many due to the actions of a few and I will destroy all who stand in the way of a vision where both we and they can live in peace.” To which Ice Man snorted in derision at Proto Man and said “There is no peace, so prepare for war.” And with that pointed at Proto Man and issued to the order to attack, which the ice clad enforcers did gladly, spraying a veritable rain of deadly razor-sharp ice shards which Proto Man met with a charge, diving and dodging all while advancing on them, a sudden flash of red against a tide of white and blue, his energy blade eagerly meeting each soldier in turn before finding its match against a similar blade of pure ice in the hands of Ice Man. Proto Man jumped back, pointing his blade at Ice Man while a challenge to come at him blazed in his eyes, spurring Ice Man to dash at his foe, the two meeting in a collision of ice and light, sparks and shards of ice showering the area while steam obscured the two. The steam gave way to the vision Proto Man standing victorious over the severely wounded body of Ice Man, in a pool of synthetic blood mixed with water.