Chapter Text
He remembered the very first time that he held his invitation to stay at the Smash Manor...
The wax seal of the envelope had already been open. The paper it was printed on was silky smooth, with an S in place of a signature and the sport's insignia right next to it. His creator had read it before telling him the news, and he had just completed reading it for himself. (Supposedly, it was to keep the entire family's excitement at bay, but looking back on it, they couldn't contain their own excitement for long; the surprise came out almost immediately.)
Mega Man glanced over at his sister, Roll, who stood next to him in excitement. Her wide, cerulean eyes beamed with delight, and her hands were held close to her chest.
"Aren't you excited, Rock?" She asked, referring to Mega Man by his real name. "Super Smash Brothers wants you to join them! Don't you know how rarely that happens?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Rock smiled at Roll weakly and glanced back down at the letter in his hands.
Rock had always been a fan of the sport. Similar to the robotics competitions that took place in his universe, Super Smash Brothers focused on peaceful fighting. Both were meant to bring fighters from various countries – and in Smash's case, universes too – together so that they could compete against each-other for a common glory.
At first, it seemed like a fantastic idea for him to join Smash and compete against the best as Mega Man. However, one issue arose as soon as that thought occurred to Rock; one that he didn't realize was a problem until he imagined himself standing on the same battlefield as the other combatants.
He lifted his chin away from the letter, and stared distantly at his creator, Doctor Thomas Light. The roboticist was hard at work at a nearby table, surrounded by the paperwork that came with the invitation and signing forms that Rock never had a chance to see for himself.
Hoping that Dr. Light could see him, Rock tried to force another grin on his face. Yet, between how shaky his nerves had become, and the fact that his creator hadn't even looked up from his work, that smile faded away faster than it grew. Holding in his hesitation, Rock realized that he needed to get his creator’s attention directly if he was ever going to have a chance to express his worries.
"Is everything going alright?" Dr. Light raised his head away from the table as he heard Rock approach him.
"I'm..." Rock blinked. The pictures in his head were crystal clear even when his eyelids were closed. "...Not sure."
"You seem pretty excited about it just a few minutes ago," Dr. Light observed. "I take it you must be rather nervous about joining Smash?"
Rock nodded silently and leaned in closer to the papers on the table in front of him. Dr. Light wasn't bothered at all by his presence, which allowed Rock to get a good look at what was in store for them both. Policy handbooks, "parent/guardian approval" waivers, and sponsorship deals from tech companies he had never heard of were neatly stacked according to what they were.
"I'm already signing the wavers so that you could get into Smash," Dr. Light looked up at Rock. "Or should I say, so "Mega Man' could get into Smash? I have a feeling you might not want your real identity to be--"
"But why?" Rock carefully leaned away from the table and looked back at his creator. Although he was concerned, it wasn't about which name he wanted to go under.
Dr. Light smiled back at him, "You see, if you join Smash, your presence could help advance robotics across not only our world, but countless others! Not only will people see what you're capable of, but we'll be receiving funding from a variety of sponsors; it would be extremely helpful with both upgrades and maintenance, as well as other projects I'll be working on in the future."
Rock held his arm against his chest. His armor's casing was inactive, and having one arm exposed made him feel more vulnerable rather than less. Wasn't it a bit early to think about upgrades and repairs already?
"Think about it, Rock," Dr. Light squirmed in his chair as he struggled to contain his excitement. "We could even get started on your successor if you perform well enough."
"Project X?" Rock tilted his head, surprised to hear him mentioned so soon.
"Yeah, him!" Dr. Light nodded. "If we can get enough funding to start him early, you might never need to face Wily again yourself."
"Yeah, and you can relax here while also honing your skills at their mansion," Roll added as she passed by the table and glanced happily at Dr. Light.
Rock didn't like what he was hearing, with the least of his worries being 'Project X' itself. As easy as it was to feel jealous of a robot that would have "major improvements in independent thought", Rock wasn't worried about being replaced. He was far more worried about the present.
"I'm just wondering if joining Smash is a good idea, or even the right thing to do," Rock's voice trembled.
"What do you mean by that?" Dr. Light shifted upwards as he returned his attention to Rock.
"I'm just... You know how robots can't harm human beings?" Rock asked in an attempt to buy time for the rest of his words to come out. "I'm worried about joining it, and going up against the competitors that, you know, aren't robots."
Dr. Light lowered his pencil while he blankly stared at Rock. His shoulders slumped down as he returned his attention to the wavers he was still working in. From what Rock could see, it seemed like he wasn't the only one who thought it through entirely.
"If I were to hurt another robot, that would be one thing. I never wanted to do that either, but I'm at least used to it; I never had a choice in it," Rock continued. "The problem is, there's a lot of humans and beings like them competing in Smash already. What if I were to hurt one of them? I don’t think I could live with myself..."
"Now, Rock, nobody truly gets hurt in Smash Brothers, " Dr. Light tried to reassure him. "I know there's both firepower and sharp weapons involved, but the handbooks all say that its for show. Nothing would happen, and anything you do against them would all be a spectacle. It's all in good sportsmanship. And fun too, probably."
Rock felt his eyelids sink as he glanced at Dr. Light. "I'm sorry, but I can't see my involvement in it as anything other than a violation of Asimov's laws."
"...Oh, right, the first one," Dr. Light's voice trailed off as his gaze wandered onto the covers of the handbooks. His arm pressed itself against the table's edge, and his hand pressed his chin back up.
"Couldn't the First Law’ be overridden by just sending him into the fight?" Roll chimed in from the other side of the table. "You're approving him to join Smash, which is technically a command, isn't it? Might as well go the next step after that."
Dr. Light shook his head sideways, "I can't override Mega Man's programming by merely telling him to go fight somebody else. That would be a violation of the law after it."
Rock wanted to sigh in relief; his programming seemed hard-coded against the very idea in the first place. However, he knew better than to celebrate too early. If there was one roboticist, one person who knew a way around the rules of robotics in the name of peace, it was Dr. Light.
And if Dr. Light found a way around that rule in order to let him compete in Smash with no worries at all? Then... It wouldn't have been too bad, actually.
"At the end of day, Super Smash Brothers in only a tournament," Dr. Light said to Rock and Roll. "Robots being allowed to fight against a human isn't unheard of. I've even heard that the World Robot Championships allow their competitors to practice alongside human athletes before they go up against other robots in the tournaments themselves. Just think of it as a way that they could test their true potential."
To say that Rock was confused would have been an understatement. He was left speechless, mentally processing lines of broken code and conflicting lines of code. Although it appeared that everyone else around him believed in his ability to compete, all Rock could see was himself stopping at the manor's door, unable to do anything else when he arrived.
Were the humans willing, somehow? How would they stay safe? Is it really "harm"? Is it "harm" if they agree to it to begin with? Did Asimov's laws even cover situations where a human wanted to "self-harm?" What if a human willingly jumped off of a building and towards their death, and he was standing nearby when it happened? Would he not supposed to be able to save them at that point?
Dr. Light moved in closer to his paperwork and turned to face Rock and Roll once again. "Speaking of the World Robotics Championship, there's an expo nearby where some of their combatants will be visiting our city."
The news caught both Rock and Roll off-guard. While Roll While Roll first gave out a slight squeak of surprise, it wasn't long before she grinned wildly instead. Rock, meanwhile, felt his core race harder within his chest as the room around him seemingly became colder.
"Wait, really?" Roll chirped.
Dr. Light nodded, "I was planning on going there alone for work-related duties, but given that Rock has been... Feeling rather doubtful about sporting competitions as a whole, I'll look into setting up an hour or two for us to speak with one of the teams there."
"Which one? Is Greece's team going to be there?" Roll swayed in place. "That's the one Centaur Man's in; it'd be so cool to see him in person! Who are you looking for to seeing, Rock?"
"I'm not sure," Rock rubbed his arm and looked away from his sister. "I'm not sure talking with one of them would help me either..."
Roll silently tilted her head blinked back at Rock. It was clear that she was expecting an answer of some kind.
Rock quietly gulped, and looked back up at Roll. "...But if I had to, I guess I'd want it to be one of the more 'honorable' ones."
Those were words that Rock didn't have the time to truly process. Before he knew it, he was at a corner of the expo and face-to-face with the most 'honorable' one of all.
In other words, wording it like that was a surefire way to end up meeting Japan's team in particular.
Yamato Man, the team's robot, had a certain sharpness in his eyes. A glare that could pierce through the insecurities of whoever was in front of him. The rest of Yamato Man's face – if he even had one – was obscured by a purple helmet and the contrasting armor he wore around his mouth. Similar armor covered his body.
Rock tugged on the collar of his t-shirt. He never realized how cold his fingers usually felt. His eyes wandered off to the side, only to see that Roll was next to him; silent and baffled by the silence between him and Yamato Man. Unwilling to look at and disappoint his sister, Rock glanced in the opposite direction instead. Dr. Light was nearby, engaged in conversation with a woman clad in purple; undoubtedly a member of Yamato Man's team. (Although perhaps not a mechanic or other operator, as her uniform was a formal suit that was decorated with the same yellow edges as their robot's armor.)
It was certainly awkward to be there. Rock's eyes returned towards the center, and back towards Yamato Man. *There had to be something that he could say to him... Sone sort of ice-breaker! Anything!*
“...Hello?" Rock raised his hand onto his collarbone. His voice box was static-y, and if he had a real throat, he certainly would have felt something in it.
"I already recognize you," Yamato Man replied bluntly.
That response caught Rock completely off guard. He even took a few steps back, unsure how to answer it. "But how-- How do you know who I am?"
"You fought me twice," Yamato Man nodded. "Both times against my will."
"I... You have me mistaken for someone else," Rock tugged on the neckline of his t-shirt. Did Yamato Man hold a grudge against him for what happened?
"I have not," Yamato Man corrected him. "You were the one who saved the last tournament. I respect you more than you can imagine, Mega Man."
Rock shuddered at the sound of his other name. If he had ever wondered how Dr. Light got their meeting set up in the first place, the fact that his alternate alias was very well-known probably had something to do with it.
"Hey, Roll," Rock turned away from Yamato Man for a brief moment. "Do you know who else is here?"
Roll looked up from the brochure she was reading, "Sadly, not Centaur Man. There's one other team from Belgium, and a few of the teams in the stateside league, but aside from that... It's pretty much only Yamato Man, out of the ones we're familiar with."
Rock gulped. Great. The one they ended up with had to be someone who knew who he was already.
He hurriedly cast his eyes away from the other two robots and toward the side of the room where Dr. Light stood. He was still chatting to the same woman as before, but their discussion appeared to be coming to an end. Most unnervingly, the woman's head had turned towards Rock himself, fully aware that he was there. Rock blushed as he turned away from there, only to have Yamato Man's unwavering stare welcome him again.
"I'm surprised that I would ever see you again." Yamato Man said to him.
"Me too, I guess," Rock slowly nodded in agreement. "...Although I can't say it's on my free will, or something like that."
Rock looked downwards at the tile floor in shame, fully aware that what he said sounded disingenuous. Being stolen and reprogrammed by Dr. Wily wasn't equivalent to a kid being dragged to an expo that they didn't want to attend by their parent. But at least it was a good ice-beaker, if nothing else.
The silence between him and Yamato Man was becoming tense. Rock's eyes darted around for another chance to escape; there was no way out of their meeting. In fact, Dr. Light and the woman he was chatting with were both walking to where they were.
"You see, Miss Fujihashi, we've received an invitation to a fighting tournament and I was hoping that Mega Man could join them," Dr. Light began. "However, it appears that he is rather worried about it."
The woman, Chie Fujihashi, nodded silently to what he said. The straight blunt cut of her fringe emphasized the sharpness of her eyes in a similar way to that of her team's own robot.
Dr. Light looked over at Chie, who didn't seem to react to his presence, "Certainly you must know how to reason with a robot that doesn't want to fight their competitors, right?"
"I have," Chie nodded.
"In that case, I'm sure you and Yamato Man together could give him the pep talk he needs to compete," Dr. Light swung his arm with a wavering smile on his face.
"I'll see what I can do."
Chie disengaged from Dr. Light and made her way over next to where Yamato Man stood. The sight of both of them, clad in matching colors and trim, intimidated Rock further. Yamato Man and Chie were soon talking among themselves, with the latter translating everything that was said back to him in Japanese. With each sentence came a silent nod from him in response. Even Rock had to admit that it was impressive that they were on the same wavelength.
Yamato Man turned away from Chie and returned towards Rock. "Congratulations. A robot as worthy as you deserves to be in one."
"Wait, it's not what you think!" Rock exclaimed. "I've only been invited to one so far."
"That tournament is Smash Brothers, if that means anything," Roll sang as she leaned to the side, intruding Rock's personal space as well as their conversation.
Yamato Man and Chie turned towards each-other in confusion. But soon an enthusiastic smile appeared on Chie's face, and a few seconds later, she began to explain what the sport was to her teammate. Or, at least, that's what Rock thought they were talking about. Contrary to what the most popular movies about robots liked to say, most robots did not know six million different forms of communication. At most, they only knew two or three other languages; often of the programming or Morse variety.
With a final nod, Yamato Man and Chie both turned to face Rock again. It was clear that they both wanted to talk to him, which was a surprise in and of itself. Nobody said that there was going to be a translator involved at the time.
"I was talking to Dr. Light earlier about your situation," Chie said. "What is bothering you about Smash Brothers in particular? Being even invited to a competition of that kind is an incredibly prestigious achievement."
"Everything," Rock answered.
Yamato Man echoed the words Rock said back to his translator. Chie tilted her head, visibly unsure what to make of the answer she had been given.
"Everything?" Chie repeated.
Rock nodded, "It's an inter-dimensional fighting competition. This wouldn't be a problem in and of itself, but because of the sheer amount of different fighters... It brings up a lot of issues I haven't really thought about before "
Yamato Man looked at Chie uncertainly. From how they were both reacting, it was clear to Rock that they weren't sure how to handle it either. Although, rather than the "fighting against humans", it seemed to be the concept of an inter-dimensional tournament itself. They must have pictured him going up against little green men instead of humans.
"There's only one reason I fight, and that's to secure world peace," Rock held his hand close to his core. "It's not easy, but I fight as hard as I can to keep it that way."
Yamato Man nodded slowly. Rock could see a glimmer of pride against the darkness surrounding his eyes. He couldn't focus on his pupils exactly, but it seemed like a safe guess as to where it was coming from.
"I only fight when I'm forced to protect the world from those who want to pit machines against mankind," Rock continued. "As much as I don't like having to do it, I have to admit the adrenaline that comes with it can be really exciting."
Chie raised an eyebrow as soon as the word "adrenaline" was brought up. Although she was merely supposed to be a representative – a translator – for Yamato Man, it was clear that her interest in the sport of fighting went well beyond that.
Rock quickly realized what he said and shrugged awkwardly, "Granted, I don't look forward to fighting people just to, well, fight them, but..."
Rock's voice trailed off, unable to explain his way out of the psychological corner he found himself in. He could only comfort himself by rubbing the back of his head as he listened to Chie and Yamato Man converse with each-other again. *Did they think he loved fighting? Adrenaline was a weird thing to say, wasn't it?*
One observation about Yamato Man that Rock found interesting that was that he seemed to understand and make simpler statements easily. Yet, as soon as either Yamato Man or him talked a lot, Chie needed to serve as their middle man. There was no doubt that he had a lot to say, but hearing it play out in front of him, albeit in another language, wasn't something Rock was used to. He had seen it a few times before when he tagged along with Dr. Light for work, but he had never heard it happen to anything he personally had ever said.
Chie bowed as she turned around towards Rock again, "I am sorry that took as long as it did to translate. Please, continue; we have only gotten the gist of your problems. We need more details in order to assist you."
"I'm worried that joining Smash might go against that 'not fighting unless I have to' thing," Rock glanced downward. "It's-- Well, I'm not really built for combat, you know. Just modified to be that way."
"But it is a sport, isn't it?" Yamato Man spoke up.
"...I guess so," Rock paused.
It was a question that genuinely caught Rock off-guard. The answer should have been obvious at that point, especially since he was being forced to speak with a robotic athlete. Yamato Man's intense stare didn't help matters either; it only confirmed Rock's suspicions that the question wasn't a joke meant to lighten the mood.
"It's-- It's a sport where they get the best fighters from multiple universes and have them go up against each-other," Rock nervously looked away from Yamato Man. "The problem I have is that anyone can join. You'd be amazed how many of those worlds have humans in them. And unfortunately, all of those humans are most of my competiton. I-- I might end up hurting them."
Chie stared at him blankly. She raised her hand towards her chin and slightly tilted her head to the right. It seemed like she was deep in thought; no words were coming out of her. Yamato Man had also gone silent, and Rock had to admit it was strange that they weren't talking to each other anymore. Wasn't that explanation straight-forward enough to translate?
What Rock found especially bizarre was that Yamato Man seemed to agree with her silence. It was clear that he already trusted her judgment, but his usual quietness was in perfect unison with his representative at that moment. They must have been on a closer wavelength than he thought they were. No wonder Yamato Man did so well in his own tournaments.
"Even by your own words, you admit that this 'Smash' competition is a sport itself," Chie observed.
"Yeah, I know..." Rock rubbed the back of his neck.
"There's more to competitive fighting than just 'it's a sport'," Chie added. "I'd like to explain what I mean from both my and Yamato Man's perspective. At least, if you don't mind me doing that anyways."
"You-- You guys can go ahead. I guess."
Chie bowed after Rock made his approval known. He would have objected more, but he was there to hear them both out. The least he was required to do was let them speak; it was the only way to know if his creator's judgment in trusting their word was even correct.
"When one's in a fighting competition of any kind, both humans and robots like agree to rules that keep them safe. Whether we're in separate sports, or in one that's hypothetically the same for both of us like this 'Smash Brothers', there is a safe-enough distance that keeps up from getting too close. It may not necessarily be an actual rule about distance, but it is an unwritten one about respect, and one that keeps us out of harm's way."
"How can you be sure of that?" Rock asked as Chie paused for a breath.
Chie smiled at his question. "Tell me, what are the other competitors in Smash like? Surely, you've seen them battle before, haven't you,"
Rock was stunned. His body quaked in place as he desperately tried to think of an answer. He had seen them regularly on television and on the internet before, but he never thought about the smaller, subtle details that happened within a battle.
...What were the humans in Smash like?
The humans that he had seen in the Super Smash Brothers tournaments before were nothing short of extraordinary. They could form fire from their hands. They could float in the air. They could wield weapons from obsolete eras against other humans from worlds that used weapons similar to his own. Most importantly, they were all brave and fearless in the face of extraordinary foes. Giant turtle monsters, warlocks with dark magic, lupine space pirates, lab experiments with dark, psychic powers... All of those could do more damage than one normal-sized robot from his world ever could.
"...They're superhuman," Rock mumbled, his voice soft from anxiety.
Both Chie and Yamato Man nodded in response to the answer they received. Surprisingly, Yamato Man was the one who spoke up afterwards, "Your battles might be more evenly matched than you think they are, Mega Man."
"Huh?" Rock felt his own face light up. He held his hand against his right cheek to feel how warm it had become. It had cooled down very quickly, but he was still able to feel the heat it had generated.
"Humans fighting robots isn't even out of the ordinary in the sport of combat robotics itself," Chie added. "Yamato Man and the others spar with our kind all of the time. It's a part of their practicing routine. We'd never allow it in an actual fight, but it is a way for them to work on their strengths and weaknesses before a battle."
"How do you guys stay safe, though?" Rock looked at Chie specifically. "We weigh twice as much as you guys do. We can we produce twice as much force with each move, and we could easily hurt you if we aren't careful."
"That is always a risk," Chie nodded. "But it's the same risk a human puts themselves under to participate in any other sport. A baseball player has to be aware that they could risk tearing their shoulder in a game, wouldn't they?"
Rock nodded slowly. Although Chie's words are comforting, he still wasn't sure what he was getting himself into. Humans injuring themselves in their own sports was something he had never thought about before, and he was confused how to feel about it as well.
"May I speak to Rock personally?" Yamato Man turned around and looked at Chie directly.
Chie stepped backwards without saying anything else. Yamato Man remained just as silent as he walked closer in front of Rock.
"Everything will be alright once you make it into the tournament," Yamato Man told him. "You might even befriend those same humans that you'll be fighting against."
"Even if I hurt them?" Rock softly bit his bottom lip.
Yamato Man closed his eyes and lowered his head. He raised his hand past it as he lowered his weak grip onto Rock's shoulder. The stinging coldness of another robot's touch frightened Rock little, but it was enough to get him to raise his head.
"A friend is someone that trusts and believes in you no matter what. Even if you were to harm them, even if they nearly were to die, they'd understand was truly an accident. Although they will not forget, you friends will at least forgive you for what happens."
Yamato Man turned his head past his shoulder and looked back at Chie. The two began to converse in Japanese again; from what Rock was able to make out, it seemed like Chie was very proud of Yamato Man for his speech. (Especially since it was in English, a language Rock hadn't heard him speak much while they were there.)
Rock felt his core become warmer and looked past his own shoulder. Roll and Dr. Light stood behind him. Both of them had warm grins on their faces, and it was no surprise that they had overheard everything.
"Are you feeling any better, Rock?" Roll sang as she swerved in place to the side.
"I noticed that you guys had a rather deep conversation," Dr. Light added. "It's pretty much what I expected to happen, but even I was surprised to see it play out so... Pleasantly. I would have expected one of you two to have less patience."
Rock lowered his gaze away from his family and looked down at the floor. As he held his hand against his core, he thought about what Yamato Man (and his human representative) had said to him. The words fluttered in his mind like a garden of butterflies that made their surroundings brighter just by existing. A newfound sense of confidence was growing within him. Anything that he lost had come back even stronger.
Rock looked back up at Roll and Dr. Light. Both of them were looking back at him, the worry, excitement, and uncertainty visible on both of their faces.
"Yes," Rock answered Roll's question from earlier. "I think I can handle it now."
He was finally sure that the humans were going to be alright against him.