I just wanted to do more with robot

[awakeningwill]

Who: Zero and open to anyone???
What: Abusing holographic projectors
Where: The Stadium
When: Whenever in January
Warnings: Doing memory stuff is always relevant when your character has chronic amnesia

Zero, as far as he was aware, had lived with amnesia his whole life. The presence of that empty space where his memories should've been was so matter-of-fact that it ceased to bother him. In a way, it often made things simpler. Regret and what-ifs were things he disliked hanging onto more than necessary. All he had was what was right in front of him, and he'd just follow his gut on everything else.

But now? Well, outwardly, he continued to act unaffected by the gaping holes in his past. Courtesy of an infestation of parasitic plants, however, the short glimpses he'd been able to regain had begun to eat away at him. In the lull of night and morning, the reploid's mind would wander back to those fleeting images of the man he used to be.

There were times when one memory could resonate so strongly that another would be briefly awakened - usually just a look, a smile, a sword's stroke, faint like a dream, only to be forgotten moments later. But even that small ripple was more than nothing. And Zero couldn't help but realize... these were people he missed. He'd somehow outlived them all, only to forget what happened to them.

It felt like, at least for their sake, he needed to try and remember. And for the sake of the school, he had to know more about himself - and the dangers he posed.

So on his off hours, the reploid had privately taken to hooking himself up to the stadium's console. With his mind connected directly to the holographic projector, he could go through his memories and replay them, hoping that more would return in the process. If you were lucky, you might catch him in the act.

Comments

I just want to do more with robot too so this is great!

[monotreme_101]

In the matter of having missing memories, Knuckles felt like he was becoming something of an expert too. Not that he had amnesia - Even with the amount of times he tended to get hit in the head, his grey matter was apparently as hard to damage as the rest of him. But the many and varied reminders of the Other Him who was here tended to be a burr at times. He still heard a lot about what that guy used to get up to and it definitely felt kind of weird. From his friends to his enemies and everything in between, it was like there wasn't a square foot of the place that Other Guy hadn't left some kind of mark. And considering he didn't have a hand in any of that himself, it felt odd to him. Like an inheritance he hadn't expected or wanted.

Still, the stadium was different. When you were in the stadium, you could pick the places you wanted to train and you could make them feel pretty remote. Like you were the only guy there, fighting against immeasurable odds. And because it was all hard light projections and AI, you didn't have to hold back. There was no ecosystem to worry about destroying and no matter how hard you hit, you weren't going to kill anything. It was a great way to blow off steam and keep your skills sharp and he tried to go there pretty often.

He wandered in there with the intention of going to the snowy mountain spot again - it was one of his favorites. But when he went to approach the console, he noticed Zero was plugged in there and something was playing out in the main area.

"Oh, geeze, man - sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt."

[awakeningwill]

Rather than ice and snow, the stadium was filled with images of fire. Smoke rising in the blackened sky as bodies upon bodies littered the ruined landscape. At the center of it all was a giant reploid in white armour, towering over Zero at several times his size. His sword was just as absurdly large as he was, and an uncountable number of lumbering mech enforcers were his to command.

Another reploid, this time in blue armour, stood beside Zero in the playback. And rather than focusing on the hellscape all around, the blond's attention was focused on him. The memory was hazy though, and as a result, so were the holograms. They flickered, only able to replay a few seconds in loop.

Knuckles coming in had taken him by surprise, though. Zero mentally scolded himself for losing track of time, and paused the simulation. "Knuckles. I was just about done."

[monotreme_101]

"Don't mind me, man. If you're doin' something, I can wait."

He took a look at the memory on display and was sort of immediately mesmerized. Look at that giant battle robot! And all those mechanized enforcers! Imagine what it would be like to take all those guys on! He was so taken by them that it took him a second to realize the things they were standing on were bodies. A lot of them.

"Oh wow. Is this.... did this really happen?" he asked. So much destruction! It was like some sort of robot apocalypse. Eggman would probably have loved it.

[awakeningwill]

"It did." There was a somber note to Zero's voice. Even if he couldn't remember the Elf Wars in their entirety, he'd read up on the data that remained of the event a hundred years later. The destruction was so great that it rendered most of the Earth completely unlivable, with a bodycount higher than any time period in history.

"I've spent enough time in this memory already," he said. With a thought, Zero turned off the hologram and unplugged himself from the stadium's console. "There's nothing else I can remember."

[monotreme_101]

Knuckles wasn't even sure what to say to that. His first impulse was to comment on how lucky that potentially was - if Knuckles had personally lived through that kind of destruction without being able to stop it? Chances of dying out of sheer survivor's guilt were pretty high. And likely to be even higher with a fully functioning memory of the scene.

Then again, he wasn't Zero. He really didn't know much of anything about the Robot except he had been friends with the prior Him. Would that other Knuckles know what to say where he did not? (Probably. The guy had been married. He was probably way better at conflict resolution.) Still. He was who he was and he dealt with things in his own way and maybe that would be alright.

"....you wanna spar?"

If Zero wanted his memory jogged further, there was literally nothing Knuckles could do about that. But if he wanted to take his mind away from the frustration that was sure to be inherent in having a fractured memory in the first place? The Echidna could at least offer up a pleasant distraction.

[megabuster]

Rock hadn't seen Zero around in some time now. He'd spoken to him on the network, but it was like Zero had been keeping to himself more than usual. He stopped by the security office to no avail, and so set out to find his friend. He told himself, he should get Zero's comm signal. Or at least cell number. Or find out if he even had a cell phone.

His search eventually brought him to the stadium. But what he found there wasn't what he expected...

[awakeningwill]

The lights were dim, and holograms projected a lab aged beyond reckoning, rusted over and falling apart. The bodies of a murdered Hunter Unit littered the scene, painting the walls and floors with artificial blood - none of them had been clean deaths. Their bodies were utterly mutilated, like they'd been pulled apart by a frenzied beast.

And there was Zero, leaning against a console, watching a scene play out like an out of body experience. He forced himself to study his own hands as they tore the skin off a larger reploid's face - Sigma. He remembered that name now. Sigma was the one he'd tortured.

He'd written the memory off when it first came flooding back to him, but that wasn't an option anymore. This is what he was - what he used to be. If he really was the one who killed Mega Man back in 20XX...

Did Rock really die in such a horrifying, grotesque way?

He was so focused on trying to remember that Zero didn't even hear anyone enter the stadium.

[megabuster]

Rock... really wished he hadn't seen that. He really wished he could unsee the sight of one of his friends brutalizing another robot like that. If only he knew the truth about Sigma, he may not have been so shaken, but the sight of it...

"Zero...?" he called out weakly.

[awakeningwill]

Zero's eyes shot wide and immediately, the entire simulation disappeared. The stadium reverted back to being a plain stage, with only Rock and the red reploid standing upon it.

He looked... not shaken, like Rock. Nor was he visibly disgusted or pained or sad. But there was a fatigue in his eyes that could be seen past the stoic layers built up around himself - hardened to the point of becoming cold and brittle.

After a long, still silence, Zero slowly pulled out the cable connecting his brain to the stadium. "Rock," he greeted, voice flat. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

[megabuster]

"What... What were you doing?" Rock asked, approaching cautiously. Those disturbing images... Knowing what he knew about Zero's origins... Is this what Dr. Wily built him for? The culmination of Wily's ambitions?

[magicdancer]

When Shantae felt like dancing for a crowd, or felt like giving herself an actual stage to perform on for her rehearsal, she liked to go to the stadium. She could program herself up something familiar, to make her feel like home.

She wasn't used to anybody being in the stadium this time of day, though, and when she arrived to find a program running, her first thought was "What the heck is this...?" Without realizing she said it out loud.

[awakeningwill]

The long, almost endless descent of the Orbital Elevator greeted Shantae. It was serene, in a way, watching as the Earth ever-so-slowly grew closer beneath them while stars littered the sky.

Certainly a much nicer way re-enter the atmosphere than the last time Zero did it.

There was something on the tip of his tongue about this memory though, like there were other times he'd fought a battle in space that he still couldn't remember. His train of thought was interrupted when a purple haired girl walked in on him and--

He stared. Why was it that he rather expected to hear her navigate him through an enemy? She almost looked familiar, somehow.

Awkwardly, he caught himself. "I-it's nothing. If you need the stadium, I can go."

[magicdancer]

Unfortunately for him, she didn't quite hear what he said to her. Instead, she was drawn to the images below, generated by the program. She'd been high up in flight as a harpy before, but never this high. She'd never seen the world from the stars. And even if it was a simulation, it was an amazing sight.

"Wow... Incredible," she said quietly, just watching the majesty below.

[awakeningwill]

He was about to unplug himself from the system, but seeing how enraptured the girl was, Zero paused. Well... if she liked it that much, it didn't hurt to let her admire it for a bit. Even he found the sight calming. Seeing the Earth like this, it gave you perspective.

So he leaned against the elevator wall like a cool guy and waited. She could take her time.

[magicdancer]

She found it hard to peel herself away from the sight before her, but as the elevator vision started to reach the surface and the stars began to disappear from sight, it became easier. Quickly remembering she wasn't alone, she whirled around. "Oh! Sorry... It was just a really pretty sight," she said sheepishly, hand on the back of her head. "I didn't expect anyone but me to want to use the stadium around this time."

[pyroblasters]

Pyrrhon didn't currently have any real need of the stadium- he just happened to be passing by, when he heard noise on the other side of the door. So, Pyrrhon, being Pyrrhon and all, decided to completely disregard any sense of privacy and just barge right in with no warning.

"What's someone doing in here at this hour? Not up to anything nefarious, Pyrrhon hopes!" Seeking out evildoers was always a nice excuse.

[awakeningwill]

The memory was extremely faint, barely holding itself together - X, an enemy in a ride armour, an explosion, followed by darkness - but for some reason, Zero couldn't place why it felt so significant. He'd been playing it over and over, trying to piece together more parts each time, but all it eventually reminded him of was how much he missed X.

Once Pyrrhon interrupted those contemplations, however, his face soured into an unwelcome frown. "Pyrrhon," he deadpanned as the playback was ended right there.

[pyroblasters]

Pyrrhon looks between the familiar and unfamiliar faces, taking in the scene before the unfamiliar ones quickly disappear.

"Ah, if it isn't our school's security chief! Zero, right?" Pyrrhon smiles, as he comes closer. Nope, not going to just leave now that he knows what's going on, that'd be too easy. "Pyrrhon would assume you're here practicing to keep your skills sharp, but I'm not sure if machines to do that. It sure doesn't look like you're practicing, either. Mind explaining what you've got going on here?"

[awakeningwill]

"No thanks," was Zero's blunt reply as he yanked the cord out from the side of his helmet. No warm feelings here, he was 100% prickly. In fact, he was just about ready to leave.

The reploid made his way towards the exit, even though he had a feeling Pyrrhon wasn't going to let him go without being his annoying, godly self first.

[pyroblasters]

Zero is proven correct, as Pyrrhon backs up again to stand in the way of the exit. "Hey, come on, Pyrrhon's trying to be friendly! Not to mention, Pyrrhon's kinda curious about what he saw. Especially that purple robot riding in an even bigger robot! Friend of yours, maybe? Either way, Pyrrhon liked his helmet."

HUFFHUFF

[thereyouare]

Vivian didn't trust him. He frightened her in a way that he was a danger to people she cared for, not so much a threat to her own well being. That part didn't matter so much.

She noticed he was disappearing eventually, and just to be sure everything was fine and everyone was safe, she followed him.

Needless to say the images that her eyes were suddenly met with came as a surprise to her. What exactly was he trying to do? There was a nagging sensation that he was experiencing something she had herself some time ago. Suddenly surrounded by the makings of her mind, of her memories. Had he forgotten something? She knew that feeling...

"...I understand," she whispered from a ways, forgetting that she can simply think rather than speak.

[awakeningwill]

Zero whipped around at the sound of her voice, faint though it was. (He was really letting his guard down far too often doing this - just how many people have managed to sneak up on him already?) Even though the sight of Vivian made his figurative hackles rise, he didn't move from his spot. He didn't even say anything, for the longest time. 

Maybe it wasn't a stretch for her to say she understood. After all, her mind had been touched by Eggman as well. And she wanted no less than to protect others, just as he did.

The only real difference was that they believed in different people. That was all. But it only took that small distinction to put them at odds.

"Maybe you do," he muttered, for once, his voice free of animosity. But that didn't change anything. It didn't mean they were suddenly going to be friends.

[thereyouare]

Mentally her guard was up, physically however, she was open. Weakened. Perhaps weighed down by empathy. Not looking away, she began to walk forward, arms loose at her sides to show no hostility. She had three eyes to watch the world with and each one was focused on what was around them.

Friends. It was still something she wanted, but not at the cost of her loved ones. Was balance possible? She simply didn't know. Maybe at least for a moment they could be friendly. It wasn't impossible, right?

"I do," she confirmed, a sense of not wanting her experience to be treated lightly.

She watched silently for a moment, then said, "I didn't know I was sad."

[awakeningwill]

At least Zero had no problems being civil with his opponents. Just like with the generals of Neo Arcadia, even if they were on different sides and fought on more than one occasion, he had no reason to incite their aggression. Not without good cause.

Was Vivian suggesting that Zero carried that same sadness without knowing it? Internally, he repelled the notion. He wasn't a child. He knew that sorrow was an emotion he couldn't afford to dwell on if he wanted his blade to stay sharp. That was the cost of a life as filled with battle as his had been. Regret was familiar to him, as was remorse, but even then he didn't allow them to hold him back.

This was just the way things were. There wasn't much to be done about it but accept it. Then again, it never occurred to him to consider that resignation itself could carry a kind of sadness as well.

But acknowledging his emotions was never Zero's strong suit. It was ironic, really - he was advanced enough that he had every capacity to feel, but war and an utter loss of self had hardened them out of necessity.

So as it was, he wasn't one to bring up his own feelings, if he could help it. Instead, he looked Vivian over and asked, "So... what do you feel now?"

[thereyouare]

Though Vivian had difficulty being able to convey her feelings beyond simple words and ideas, she never hid them away. Emotions to a once-machine like her were important. She wanted to feel them fully and completely, and often she felt sharing them showed she was actually alive. To be acknowledged as human was the dream, one she feared she would never achieve... but perhaps that was just simply part of the journey.

"Afraid," she whispered. "Sad. And afraid."