Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The night skies blanket the fields, and stars shine across them. Two motorcycles zoom across them, their riders determined.

They pull on the brakes, arriving at their destination.

"This is where you felt the disturbance, Elf?" The man said as he took off his helmet.

Elf nods. "I'm sure. Sorry for bringing you into this, Nett."

Nett kisses her cheek. "Don't be. We promised to have each other's backs after we returned."

Elf blushes. "Stop doing that! You know I hate your sneak attacks!"

"And I always find your reactions cute," Nett giggles.

Elf pouts. "Mean."

"Only for you," Nett winks.

"Ugh! Stop teasing me! It's embarrassing! We are on an important mission!"

"Right, right," Nett chuckles.

It's been many years since Nett and Elf, the first users of Biometals Model X and Z, returned to reality. As the world changes, so do they.

The couple explored the ruins, they saw footprints leading into the ruins.

"Someone got here before us," Nett comments as he pulls out his modified Buster Shot.

Elf got out her custom Saber as well. "We should be careful."

The two Chosen Ones enter the ruins, carefully on guard.

Suddenly, screeches are heard in the distance, with blaster fire heard.

"There!" Elf says as she charges in.

"Elf! Wait up!" Nett shouts to his partner as he follows suit.

They arrive and see a grey-haired Reploid firing at a swarm of bat-shaped Mavericks with nothing but duel-wielded Buster Shots.

"Ha!" Elf leaps into the fray as she cuts down the swarm behind the Reploid.

"Charge Shot!" Nett fires as he obliterates a big chunk of the Swarm.

The remaining Bat Mavericks flee as the two lovers turn to the young Reploid, who points his two Buster Shots at them.

"W-Who are you?!" The grey-haired Reploid shouts.

Nett and Elf slowly put their weapons down, noticing his fear.

"I'm Nett. Long-time head of Giro Express."

"And you can call me Elf. What's your name?".

"...I'm... Grey," The Reploid answers. "At least, that is what she called me."

"She?" Elf asks.

"Yeah... called herself 'Pandora...'" Grey answers.

"PANDORA?!" Both Chosen Ones shout.

"You know her...?"

"We fought her and her brother," Nett sighs, remembering the duo and their allies who gave them much trouble.

"She has a brother?!" Grey shouts in alarm.

"We are getting sidetracked. Grey, why are you here?" Elf asks gently.

"...I'm trying to find out who I am," Grey answers. "I... came here because something was calling me."

"Calling...? Just like I did," Elf says.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Nett answers. "I doubt this is purely a coincidence."

"Then why don't you join us?" Elf asks. "We can find out what is going on together."

Grey looks at them and weighs his options. From what he is hearing, Pandora is their enemy, and the enemy of an enemy is a friend. On the other...

"...Alright," Grey agrees. "But for now."

The two Chosen Ones nod in agreement as they search the ruins.

After a bit of exploring, Grey calls for them. "Look! I found something!"

Elf and Nett join him as they see the capsule he was pointing at.

Elf puts a hand on the capsule. "There is someone in here."

Grey grunts as he tries to open the capsule. "It's stuck!"

Nett assists him in prying it open, to no avail, while Elf examines the pod.

"I think this needs more power..." Elf mumbles as she uses her powers to charge the pod.

Suddenly, the pod activates. "Power restored. Initiate Awakening Protocol."

The pod suddenly opens, throwing Nett and Grey off unintentionally.

"Ow! Huh...?" Nett says before seeing what was inside.

It was some Reploid(?) with a black body and a slim build, wearing a blue helmet with a cyan square in the middle and a cyan circle each on the top and where the ears are, a simple blue chest plate that ends with a cyan strip, cyan circular shoulder pads, blue gloves, and cyan boots.

Before they could question it, screeches echoed the ruins. The three explorers turn to find that the swarm of bats has returned, forming into a giant bat

"Look out!" Nett shouts.

The robot opens his eyes to find himself on a table.

"Dr. Light!" A feminine voice shouts as a robot girl with blonde hair and wearing a red dress, who strangely looks realistically human, checks on him. "The robot is awake!"

"Ah, thank you, Roll," A man with silver hair and a bushy beard in a lab coat arrives, joined by a realistically human boy robot with brown hair. "Hello, little one. I am Doctor Light. And these are my children, Rock and Roll. Who might you be?"

His... name? What is his name?

"Don't remember your name?" Rock asks. As the robot shakes his head, Rock thinks. "I got one! Let's call you...!"

The Robot Master opens his eyes to see a battle in front of him. Three people, one of them being an incredibly human-like robot, were fighting a giant bat-shaped one.

Putting two and two together, he points his fist at the enemy.

Elf slashes at the Maverick while Nett and Grey provide cover fire. The Maverick then sends a sonic wave that blasts Elf away.

"Elf!" Nett shouts before he pulls Grey away from another sonic blast. "Look out!"

Elf panics as the Maverick charges at her, only for a blue-gloved hand with rocket propulsion to punch it into more rock formations.

The three of them turn to see the unknown Reploid online. Its white lines for eyes stare the Maverick down as its hand returns to its left arm.

The Bat screeches and fires a sonic scream at the Reploid, only for the mysterious robot to suddenly switch to a purple-turquoise palette and seemingly absorb it.

Its left arm then turns into a kind of Buster pointed at the Maverick, as the robot says, "...Noise Crush."

The Reploid fires a strong sonic blast that crashes into the Bat. Before the Bat could recover, Grey and Nett pelted it with blaster fire.

Elf struggles to get up but sees the mysterious Reploid pick up her Saber and give it to her.

"Thank you..." Elf coughs.

The Reploid nods as it switches to a magenta and orange palette.

Elf charges at the Bat Maverick, Saber raised, only to be surprised that the Reploid is running towards it with her.

"Hah!" Elf shouted as she swung.

"...Flame Sword," The Reploid says as his Buster emits a blade of streaming fire.

The two cut off the Maverick's wings, causing it to fall on the ground, defenseless. They then slice it in two before it explodes.

Nett rushes to his partner. "You okay, Elf?"

Elf kisses her partner. "I'm fine, Nett."

Grey approaches the mysterious Reploid. "That was cool. Who are you?"

The Reploid looks at all of them, seemingly examining them out of curiosity, only for it to say...

"...Maestro."

Chapter Text

This is the weirdest day Nett has ever been on since he met Elf.

Grey, suffering from amnesia like Elf had years ago, had run into Pandora and lived. It was suspicious, but he couldn't fault the kid since he probably didn't know what happened himself.

Still, if Pandora were still alive, that meant trouble. Who knows what Pandora and Prometheus have been doing since the virus outbreak? Were they responsible for that giant machine in the sky?

He missed Prairie and Model X. He hadn't checked on them since he and Elf ran Giro Express together after the couple returned to reality. He didn't even get to see them after all this time before she died and Model X went missing...

Nett shakes his head. He needed to focus. Grey needed his help, and he still needed to keep an eye on the weird Reploid Maestro.

Speaking of which, he noticed the blue and cyan Reploid observing the scenery as Elf explained how the world worked now. Nett eyed the rust. Just how old and powerful was Maestro?

Hopefully, his Elf would tell him later about what she figured out.

"...And that's how Humanoids and Reploids lived together. Did you get that, Maestro?" Elf asks. As the Reploid nodded and looked around, Elf giggled at him.

Maestro was a strange one. One minute, he helped destroy the Maverick without hesitation; the next minute, he was distracted by everything around it.

Elf thought to herself. The pod Maestro came from was... ancient. Many centuries old, in fact. Yet the robot could function like a regular Reploid...

Elf had her suspicions. Perhaps Maestro was a Robot Master, the prototype of Reploids. The difference between the two was that while Reploids had free will, Robot Masters followed the old Three Laws of Robotics while retaining independent thought.

Elf looks at Grey. She can empathize with his amnesia. It was scary, not knowing who she was. She spent most of the time with Model Z trying to remember. 

Who knows where Grey came from? Was he a regular Reploid, or something greater like her? And did she feel a little threatened by his presence?

She can only hope that Grey finds the answer he seeks...

These people were the strangest Grey had ever met. They all act like finding a Reploid like himself was a typical day. They didn't ask intrusive questions, pity him, or wish to use him.

The man Nett seemed lost in thought, occasionally looking at Grey and the other Reploid. The weird girl Pandora fought him before? He must have been pretty strong. 

Elf, what Grey assumes is Nett's lover, is gentle to him. She always seemed empathetic, helpful, and kind. But Grey can't shake the feeling that she is something more than the pretty human he sees in front of him.

And Maestro. Grey didn't know how to feel. He was mostly silent, but not in a brooding way. He's like one of those silent, expressive protagonists in those manga books Grey read. Seeing someone like that in real life was a bit cool.

Can he trust these people, though? Grey was still frustrated and wanted to know who he was. Did he have a family, friends, or anything before he was supposed to be... brainwashed, Pandora said?

He doesn't know. He's scared on the inside and doesn't know if he will ever feel safe or happy.

To say Maestro was overwhelmed was an understatement.

Robots that have free will and lifespans are called Reploids? Humans who had natural cybernetic enhancements and life longevity called Humanoids?

Dr. Light would have loved this era. For, what the Doctor would say, humans and robots to be practically one and the same, treated as equals? He would be overjoyed.

Of course, there are still some rogue robots named Mavericks hanging around, but it wasn't as terrible as the Wily Wars incidents.

Maestro wonders what Mega Man, Roll, Proto Man, Bass, and Tempo would say to an era like this.

Maestro especially look at his present company.

Vent reminded him a lot of the Mega Man he knows, the look that wants him to save others, and the weight of fighting. Elf was reserved and friendly, though his scanners said she wasn't human, which made Maestro curious.

Grey felt off. Like his body is calling out for something it can't find anymore, a frequency that will never resonate. Maestro needed to find out more about this world.

"We're here," Nett says, snapping Maestro out of his thoughts.

Maestro looks to see a grand metropolis, humans and Reploids mingling with each other. It left the Robot Master awestruck. This was the type of city that would make Dr. Light shed a tear, that all his work meant something.

He then felt Elf pull him towards it. He looks to see Grey in similar awe.

"Come on, Grey. The Giro Express building isn't far," Nett politely said to him.

"Oh, right!" Grey said. "Wait, what's Giro Express again?"

Well, whatever awaits, Maestro can tell this would be a fun adventure with his new potential friends.