8: Blasting Off Again
Duo slowly opened his eyes as he managed to fight his way past his program glitches and through the damage he'd taken. His reserves of Justice Energy were at an all time low, to the point it was dangerous to try and repair himself with it. Not only that, he found he was missing an arm and a leg. That lesson in the mysteries beyond his program's philosophy had been quite costly.
He was rather unsurprised to discover he was in a stasis cage that neutralized his energies. He had engaged in rather intense hostile action against the ones he presumed had him prisoner now, and being in lock up made sense in such a situation. What was surprising was to see what was left of his brother, Trio, floating in the next stasis cage over. However, there was no sign of neural activity of any sort in those remains. Trio was dead, his body kept alive only by the Evil Energy that had destroyed him. With his programming directives temporarily inert from the Paradox caused by the sight of the creation of Ether, Duo felt great sorrow at the sight of his brother's corpse, knowing much of the damage came from his own hands.
"And what do you have to say for yourself?" a familiar voice demanded of him.
Duo winced as he turned, catching sight of Roll glowering up at him. "My programming is far less forgiving than yours," was all he could say. "The primary directives overwhelm all else."
"And that's your excuse, is it?" Roll demanded angrily, her arms crossed over her chest. "You go off to try and kill one of my best friends because her magic had a wavelength in common with Justice and Evil Energy, and that's somehow enough to go on to try and kill her?"
"My program is very binary in its definitions," he admitted sadly. "It is either Justice Energy, or Evil Energy. The idea that something could be both - or neither - was inconceivable when this program defined my being. As such, those possibilities were not part of the program. I can no more fight my program than you can, as the rest of my psyche is only allowed to handle those situations not covered by my primary missions."
"That's still no excuse for trying to kill someone!" Roll snapped out.
"No, it is not," Duo admitted.
"You've made a right heel of yourself!" Roll added.
"Yes, I have," Duo agreed.
"You should be in that stasis cage for the rest of your life!" Roll insisted, her rage building again.
"Yes, I should," Duo confirmed.
"Why are you agreeing with everything I say?" Roll demanded angrily. "Show some spine already!"
"It is part of my self preservation protocol to agree with anything a female says unless it clashes with my primary mission," Duo explained. "As the part of my program covering my primary mission is currently inert..."
Roll stared at him for a time. "...so, because I'm a girl, you have to agree with everything I say?"
"That is correct," Duo confirmed.
"Then...it was just your program making you say all you did back when I was repairing you?" she asked sadly.
"It was not," Duo countered. "My program made me agree with you. It was my decision to tell you the stories of my time amongst the cosmos, because it made you happy."
"...oh," Roll mumbled softly. "...so...now what? I'm not about to let you out."
"As I am, I should not be released," Duo admitted. "I have become too polarized in my quest to eliminate all Evil Energy. With my primary mission protocols temporarily disabled, I can see where I went wrong...and how to fix it."
"You do?" Roll asked, surprised.
"Yes," Duo confirmed. "So long as I am only Justice Energy, I am as bad or worse than my brother Trio ever was. What is required is that a way is found to balance me...and that way is present right here."
"It is?" Roll asked, surprised.
"Yes," Duo confirmed. "Trio no longer functions, but his primary protocols as shaped by the Evil Energy remain. His goal is to spread the power and influence of Evil Energy as far as possible. In his current state, Evil Energy being part of Ether would allow the spread of Ether to qualify as far as orders that do not conflict with his mission. In their current state, I can make the same adjustments to my own protocols...if an order I am required to obey is given. My primary power core runs on a self-restoring source of Justice Energy. Trio's is the same, but running on Evil Energy. This presents a solution...if you order it."
"Me?" Roll gasped out, shocked. "Why me?"
"Because I trust you to do it right," Duo explained. "If you order us both to become Ether, I believe it will work."
Roll swallowed convulsively. "A...Alright..." she agreed. Stepping back, she stared at both prisoners. "Duo, Trio...become Ether!"
Both robots blazed with light.
The stasis cages exploded as the two incomplete robots flowed into each other in their energy states, Justice Energy and Evil Energy intermingling until an aura of Ether surrounded the new robot. It looked like Duo or Trio had when they were complete, but both arms were equally large and heavily armored. The war helm exposed the face underneath, which stared out impassively. The entirety of the metal body was silver, shining in the white light of Ether.
As Roll stared in stunned shock, the robot turned towards a hole blown open in the roof from the exploding stasis cages. "My mission begins anew," he whispered softly. "Justice...Evil...all must be found and purified...all must be balanced as Ether..."
Before Roll's very eyes, a large winged unicorn composed of Ether took shape beneath the fused robot, allowing him to mount without moving. He took hold of the equine's flowing mane, and rode into the sky, vanishing into the stars, the music following him.
Roll glanced around at the huge mess...and promptly raced out of the room. "I was never here!" she insisted under her breath.
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Yeah. Yeah, that is, quite possibly, the only reaction one can have in such a situation. Cripes...
*blinks* well....that was something.
Well, that happened.
Well... That just happened.
...
.......
.............
.........................................................................wut?
-Stares at the chapter, was following it...and then Duo and Trio fused..then there was an energy alicorn...and mounting was involved and...-
.....
....
......
static1.e621.net/data/2b/6f/2b6f665debd57fd79c00357aaecda492.gif
*After reviewing the security tapes*
Vinyl: "...I'm too sober for this..."
Forte: "Aren't you still too young to-"
Vinyl: "Exactly my point. I'm going to pretend this never happened for the next few years."
The 100th chapter everypony let's not forget that
well, that was awesome.
Imma call the new one quintuple. Two plus three is five. I'm creative.
.....*face palm* Roll just made things worse right after she started the whole situation... can we give her blue Spartan armor and call her Caboose?
If Roll weren't a robot I'll bet she would've came at the sight of the Ether robot.
Yes, I still ship Duo and Roll in this story...
Well then, that just happened.
7409752 Is that who I think it is in that Gif?
img14.deviantart.net/d911/i/2015/110/f/3/yt__jacksepticeye_by_lewisrockets-d8qi0un.png
Good or bad, I can't tell.
... great, now I got the Nyan Cat theme playing in my head when I reread the end. Confound these ponies, they drive me to drink.
We have duo and trio so what about uno?
7409854 Nah man, that's Pat from Two Best Friends.
If Dr. Wily was voiced, what would he sound like?
7409977 I'm thinking a bad german accent, probably complaining about being picked on as a child until he made a ray-gun to do the on-picking... Oh, wait, my bad. That's the first episode of the Ruby Spears Megaman cartoon. Carry on.
...Although, if you want bad, I mean, really bad... There's the Dr.Wily from Captain N.
7409988 To be fair, that show had one of the best intros in the whole franchise:
[youtube=3ufVQIUEiYc]
That was.... interesting. I'm not sure how to react to this.
You and me both, Roll... you and me both.
Next chapter title: *Ding*
See, it's like this. You know those movies where robots, or other mediums of artificial intelligence, overcome their program by the will bestowed upon them by their creators? That doesn't exist in this universe. The most you'll get is a robot from outer space remotely rerouting the program in order to have some semblance of free will, all in the name of a plot device that'll come later on. Beyond that, expecting a robot to grow on their own in this fic is about as likely as Gohan becoming a vital character again (there's a chance, but not likely).
And neither was I. *Fades out of ex-
7409808
Please elaborate on the kinds of worseness.
youtube link nolonger works, just to let u know, vid was taken down because somebody whined...
7410125
I have never seen, read, or played any media where that is never a good thing. Call my cynical but I think he's going to go overboard in this mission of his.
7410132
It works just fine when I click on it.
7410159 says 'not available' for me...dont know y...
7410178
Might be regional.
7410141 and the conversion bureau started
7410222
Nah, said my opinion and theory of what might be based on my own experience, now done. Last thing I want is to force my ideas down peoples throats.
o.O
7410189 eh, song was Night Begins to Shine right? found the old one u used for it...
7410242
Yup.
Well how will this come back and affect the whole universe. I get the feeling that Roll just unintentionally just set something far worse into motion. If my memory serves me correctly, and it probably isn't, but we are moving onto he last game that the author is covering and hopefully the creation of X and Zero.
The link doesn't work in Mexico! Thankfully I already have the song file on handy.
So... Duo summoned Celestia to ride off into the sunset?
This may as well constitute the end of the 8th installment.
7410141 What else is new?
*Blink* *Blink*
derpicdn.net/img/view/2012/8/26/82944__safe_animated_lyra+heartstrings_reaction+image_computer_artist-colon-lamia_table+flip_skyra.gif
Huh an energy based Alicorn made of Ether? That's new but than again if we can have a spirit one be made of music then why not? This shall be fun.
7410399
It's Cloudy in Philadelphia?
7409895
Now we know the reason there's no air in space
7410106 To be fair one of the big themes in the Mega Man setting is that Robots DO NOT have free will. Protoman's 'bug' made him the only robot in that era who could actually do what he chose to do, rather than what he was ordered/programmed to do. If I recall correctly, it's even implied a few times that Rock wasn't even fully sentient, simply the one best able to mimic a real person. He and other robots of that era are nothing more than very smart computers in mobile cases. They are given directives, and try to fulfill them as best as they can. Sometimes these directives give them the appearance of being 'real people.' Rock's case is a good example. His initial directives were Lab Assistant/Surrogate Son. Thus he was designed to APPEAR as human as possible to best fulfill those directives. This is best shown in Mega Man 7 where Rock tries, and FAILS to murder Wily, as Rock is unable to actually break his programming. Despite the claim of being "More than a robot" Rock doesn't have free will.
They are all programmed like this INTENTIONALLY. This is the 'safety net that was part of Robot Design in that era. Robots couldn't really go 'out of control', save due to bad programming. A person is almost always responsible for the actions of a robot, either directly or indirectly. That's why X was locked away in the first place. As the first artificial lifeform to truly have free will, and it not being a fatal bug like in Protoman's case, X was the most deadly thing Light ever built. A fully sentient, independent being, able to evolve and adapt over time. X & Zero were the most powerful WMDs ever made in that era, and the most terrifying thing about them was that NOBODY could control or stop them. There is a reason that the "Zero Massacre" is still one of the biggest fan theories used to explain the unknown Cataclysm that destroyed the world of 20XX, even AFTER the creator has specifically said that Zero wasn't responsible. Even taking away the difference in power between Zero vs Rock/Protoman/Bass the simple fact that Zero is capable of truly independent thought/action puts him leagues beyond any combat robot of that era save perhaps freaking Gamma. And Gamma is the robot equivalent of Godzilla. Zero, or indeed even X himself, could easily bring about the Cataclysm single-handedly , as they are Asimov's Nightmare made real. A sentient, synthetic lifeform that can simply decide that "Humanity needs to die" and is fully equipped to bring about this genocide.
Thus, as a programmer and a sci-fi fan, I will say that the fact that these robots CAN'T overcome their programming is both a testament to the skill of people like Wily and Light, as they used the 'Three Laws' SUCCESSFULLY despite the fact that Asimov's entire point was to show that such laws would FAIL, and a monument to the FAILURE of the very same people. They strived to create beings equal to humans and only succeeded in making fake imitations, albeit rather impressive imitations. For without free will, such machines are nothing more than fully mobile personal computers with stunningly interactive operating systems.
7410741 (1/4 joking) I'm not going to dignify that with a proper response.
7410159 not for me either.
7410907 Hey, aren't you that artist?... No, I'm thinking of Xain Russell. Anyways, I see that you've been holding this in for a while, so I'll try (and fail) to keep things brief.
First off, about MM7. Bass makes the infamous quote "He who hesitates is lost". Now, I don't know about you, but that could imply any number of things. It very well could mean that Mega Man couldn't override his programming, and it could also mean that he couldn't take a life after overriding it. Hence why the localization team did what they did in the first place (Psht, more like they did it to make him look badass. It's more of a happy coincidence, really).
Secondly, as I'm sure you're already aware, Tatsurou is an author who excels at changing the formula, whether it be through the implementation or removal of ideas. He could write a Homestuck crossover where the guardian for the foal is the )(IC and manage to get a great response from it. Thus is the power of the Element of: The Alternate Interpretation.
Thirdly, the point you just made is precisely why I made mine. It is due to the robots' situation from Mega Man that the question draws attention in the first place. Rather than do something that focuses on the self (as the term "will" can be defined as "to desire" or "to wish), or even a collaborative effort partaken by an interrelated group of people... it's offhandedly resolved by a robot from outer space who has what can be described as "the Hougyoku".
Now, regardless of what we know of the canon, or what this change will incite for the future... is it a good idea in the here and now? In regards to everything in the past as it's lead to the future... would this serve as a satisfying culmination of the development of a titular character who's been around since the 80's? I would say no, but that's just me (then again, I'm weird).
7411082
Ah, I see your issue with what happened here.
You assume it's some sort of culmination/plateau for Mega Man. That is where you are mistaken.
In essence, what happened is that Mega Man reached the threshold of where he could go as far as robotic evolution, and nothing he or anyone else could do would clear that. Duo allowed him to take a step further...and now he has to keep walking that path alone, with no one to guide him, while trying to keep the fact he's even walking the path a secret.
It's no culmination. Just yet another climax of Mega Man's character arc.
What the heck was that!?
Thinking back, there's one thing that can also be said about this chapter ending.