"Mega Man!" Dr. Light called out worriedly. "Mega Man! It's an emergency!"
"What is it, Doctor?" Mega Man asked, stepping out of his room.
"New Robot Masters are attacking different points across the world!" Dr. Light explained quickly. "I believe it's a cover for someone helping Wily escape from prison!"
"Who'd do that?" Mega Man asked, confused.
"Well, it might be Vinyl, so you'll have to inves-" Dr. Light cut himself off as he saw Mega Man's eyes go dark. "...damn it, Rock..."
Eight hours later, Dr. Light confronted Mega Man immediately. "You need to stop the Robot Masters before they destroy everything!"
"...why does it have to be me?" Mega Man asked. "Can't the military take care of this?"
"It's taking all the might of the militaries in the countries being attacked just to keep them contained!" Dr. Light snapped out.
"...how long can they keep them contained?" Mega Man inquired.
"Another day or two-" Dr. Light stared at Mega Man's darkened eyes. "...so this is what Albert was talking about..."
Another eight hours later, Dr. Light looked up at Mega Man as he came back online. "What happened to trying to save the world?" he asked softly. With no orders in queue, Mega Man could take his time responding.
Mega Man sighed as he leaned back against the wall. "I don't think I have it in me anymore," he stated finally. "I...don't feel like much of a hero...after what I would have done..."
Tom sighed as he glanced up at his broken son. "What then?" he asked. "Should I remove your weapons? Return you to simply being my lab assistant? Who, then, will go to fight this new threat? Who would stop the world from falling into ruin? Who will protect the innocent?"
Mega Man glanced away. "I...but I'm no hero..."
"Then don't be one," Tom replied. "Be a warrior instead."
"...huh?"
"'If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?'" Tom took a sip of his tea. "Rock...you volunteered to become Mega Man to become a warrior for justice. Those were your exact words. You didn't ask me to make you a hero...and I didn't. I made you a warrior. Now...the question is yours: what's left for a warrior who can no longer fight?"
Mega Man stared out the window. "I...I could still fight, couldn't I?" he asked softly. "But...is it right to do so?"
"Only you can answer that for yourself, Mega Man," Tom replied. "But also ask yourself this: is it right that the innocent suffer, because one good robot can't bring himself to do anything?" He smiled softly. "You question your heroism...but that was never an issue. What you really are afraid of...is that you are no longer 'good'. But Mega Man...if you weren't good at heart, then your fall from grace would not torture you so. The very pain and indecision it causes is proof that you are still who you always were."
Mega Man was silent for a long time. So long, in fact, that Tom was afraid he'd shut himself down again. Eventually, however, he lifted his head. "You're right," he said softly. "Someone has to do something...and that someone is me. And the time is now." He pushed himself off from the wall, walking to the front door.
Tom smiled softly. "I'm proud of you, son," he said softly.
When Mega Man stepped outside, he was unsurprised to find Skull Man waiting for him, leaning against the wall with his hood hanging back. "So you're going to do it all over again?" he asked. "Kill more robots just doing what their maker asked them to do? You really enjoy this, don't you...dirty brother killer?"
Mega Man turned to stare at him. "Do you have a point?" he asked calmly.
Skull Man chuckled as he pushed himself off the wall. "Guess you really haven't learned your lesson..."
"And what lesson is that, exactly?" Mega Man demanded. "Tell me, how should I have handled the Cossack situation?"
"You could have picked up Kalinka straight away-"
"And what would that have done to Mikhail?" Mega Man interrupted. "Once I knew Kalinka wasn't a hostage, if I'd brought her back right away, there would have been no way to conceal the fact that Mikhail set it all up with Wily for a field test of you and your brothers' combat capacity...and that he was the one who put those capabilities in them, especially since they would have been forced to undergo official examination. He would have faced criminal charges, if not worse! What would that have done to him and Kalinka?" When Skull Man was silent for a time, Mega Man continued. "My programming core made the decision to fight all of you before retrieving Kalinka. I didn't understand why...but I do now. In situations like that - like this - there is no right choice...only the best choice."
He took a deep breath, let it out, then continued. "Whatever I choose, I must do some sort of evil. And that torments me...because at heart, I just want to do good. I've killed so many of my brothers, whether actually built by my creators or just brother robots, and every day I mourn every last one of them...especially since meeting you." He squared his shoulders. "But I can't let grief crush me. If I do...then their deaths become meaningless."
Skull Man slowly brought his hands together in an excessively dramatic clap. "Well now...somebody finally put his big boy pants on...even if it does look like he's still wearing his underwear on the outside." Pushing off from the wall, he spread his hands wide. The pieces of the fallen rose to his command. "Let's see if you can back it up."
The 'bones' flew at Mega Man, and he dodged each incoming projectile as best he could, moving as little as possible in order to give himself maximum reaction time for each incoming piece. He saw some actual human bones amongst them, and knew they were to represent the humans who would suffer, no matter what choice was made. Steeling himself, he continued, at one point even vaulting over an incoming bone to land behind Skull Man.
Of course, this didn't do him much good as a small skull flame latched onto him and hurled him away. Skull man then pulled out the dragon skull shaped blasters, which hovered around the area and opened fire. Mega Man twisted, turned, and leapt to evade each one. The seemingly endless waves of attacks continued, but he refused to yield. He was strong...he was brave...he was determined.
Skull Man suddenly stepped up the assault. Patterns of attack shifted in the blink of an eye, barely giving Mega Man time to react. Still, he managed to evade, still never firing a single shot. He noticed that Skull Man was sparking oddly, apparently pushing himself too hard. If things kept going, Skull Man might overheat and self destruct.
Acting on instinct, Mega Man leapt onto one of the skull shaped blasters. Aiming it, he used the thrust to propel himself straight at Skull Man, leaping off it and over a skull flame at the last possible moment. Tackling Skull Man to the ground, he put his buster to his head.
Skull Man chuckled. "Go ahead," he replied. "Pull the trigger. I won't surrender."
Mega Man smiled softly. "Then I will," he replied, standing up. Switching back to his hand, he held it out to help Skull Man to his feet. "You're not my enemy. I have no desire to see you dead. And I certainly didn't win here."
Skull Man's skeletal grin widened. "No...you didn't." Taking the offered hand, he pulled himself to his feet. "But you did pass." Gripping Mega Man's hand tightly, he began the transfer.
Mega Man felt his buster twist and contort inside as new programming and new configurations were applied. At long last, a status update appeared in his mind.
Charge level 4 unlocked: Skull Blast
Skull Man stepped back and gave him a teasing salute. "Fight~o, Mega Man! For everlasting peace!"
Grinning widely, he turned to rush off into the sunset.
As he raced away, Dr. Light stepped out. "Thank you for helping him, Skull Man," he said softly.
Skull Man grinned as he watched Mega Man race away. "...he does remember he can teleport, right?"