Categories > Games > Mega Man > Enigma
Enigma
Puzzle 05: Possibilities
It was cold on the way back to the hide out so Blues let you borrow his scarf. You were still wearing it as you made your way down the halls of the underground hideout in the remote little island, cuddled close to Blues.
Footsteps approached from the opposite direction, they were rather slower than Cutman and lighter than Gutsman. "That has to be Wily," Blues concluded, "I don't feel like reporting to him right now," he quickly made up an excuse and opened the door to a nearby utility closet.
"I might as well face him now, he's probably too sleepy to rant," you stood in the hall while blues closed the door and hid in the utility closet. If Wily saw him, he might say too much, then his identity would be revealed.
Dr. Wily slowly made his way down the hall as if every step further tired him out. "Name? Where did you disappear to?"
You placed your left hand on your hip, raising your right index finger in accusation, "it's your fault I nearly died! Why didn't you tell me you planned to attack the clock tower? If I knew, I wouldn't have been caught in the middle of that!"
Dr. Wily raised an eyebrow suspiciously, "you didn't know about that? I didn't tell you because Protoman said he told you so I didn't think it was necessary to repeat the warning."
You felt your eye twitch in anger. "That incompetent machine didn't tell me anything! Maybe it's about time he was scrapped, even if he has been upgraded to the top of the latest technology, a faulty heap of metal if still exactly that in the end!"
Dr. Wily shook his head at your outburst, "he's the only one who can measure up to Megaman. Besides, I can't scrap him or reprogram him. I lost control of him years ago. Actually, I don't think I ever had any control over him at all. He upgrades himself and does what he wants, he's completely independent."
"That doesn't make him any less infuriating," you argued.
"You'll have to learn to live with him," Dr. Wily concluded with displeasure. His tone indicated the verbal exchange was over.
Dr. Wily walked away leaving you to grumble under your breath in frustration, "stupid machine doesn't know his place."
After Wily was gone, Blues emerged from the closet looking displeased. Before you could say anything to him, he spoke, "I have to go," then swiftly went away without waiting for your reply, he even forgot his scarf.
You thought the way Blues left was odd but decided not to over analyze it. He was probably just tired and Wily must have reminded him of why he didn't feel like reporting. He might have some important unfinished work to tend to. You returned to your room and got ready for bed.
xoxox xox xoxox
The next morning you woke up to the sound of your alarm clock. You got up feeling as if something was out of place. Once you were ready for the day the answer came to you. You fell asleep with Blues' scarf and woke up without it. You searched for the scarf on your bed but didn't find it.
Soon your mind began to form a theory. Protoman must have taken it. You slept like a rock more often than not and he had proven to be quite capable of unlocking your door without permission. With a furious battle cry of "Protoman!" you dashed out of your room to search for the main suspect in the case of the stolen scarf.
xoxox xox xoxox
You found the bane of your existence sitting at the kitchen table with an energy can in his hand. Wily was once again immersed in reading the newspaper as he did every morning, slowly drinking his coffee while Gutsman prepared the rest of his breakfast wearing a silly apron. "You took it didn't you?" You slammed your fist against the kitchen table, making the surface tremble. "Why did you take it? You already had your own scarf, why did you steal it? It wasn't even mine, what if he wants it back?"
Protoman nonchalantly took another sip of his energy can, "looks like she finally went insane."
"You know very well what I'm talking about," you insisted, "the scarf you stole from me last night, give it back. This is definitely crossing the line. I'm warning you, if you don't give me that scarf I'll find a way to wipe your hard drive clean!"
Proto slammed the mostly empty energy can on the table. "If you want to fight me that badly, I can grant your wish, but you know as well as I do that you won't last."
"That's enough!" Wily finally lowered his newspaper, unable to ignore the bickering any longer. "Name, you are disappointing me as an assistant."
You scowled in disbelief. The old fossil was taking Protoman's side. After you learned he was to blame for not warning you about the clock tower attack you set aside all ideas of trying to be friendly to him, the jerk didn't deserve it. "It's not fair," you complained, "from the start Protoman has been picking a fight for no reason and you're taking his side? He's been a jerk ever since we first met. He consumed and destroyed my food, he didn't warn me about the clock tower and now he stole something very precious to me. That scarf belongs to someone dear to me, I'll get it back if it's the last thing I do." You stormed out of the kitchen.
xoxox xox xoxox
You observed the weapons and armed vehicles that were available at Wily's hideout. Most of them needed repairs from previous encounters with Megaman. Proto's design was quite similar to Mega so those vehicles wouldn't stand a chance. You shook your head; there was no need to use second hand weaponry when you could build your own. You hurried to your laboratory.
xoxox xox xoxox
You were focused on developing the schematics to a weapon that could measure up to Proto's plasma blaster when someone entered the lab. You looked up hearing the footsteps and found none other than, "Blues!" You also noticed that his yellow scarf was back around his neck. "You got your scarf back? I was trying to design a weapon to force Protoman to return it. I'm so fed up with him; he's mean to me for no reason!"
"I asked him nicely so he gave it back to me," Blues explained. "Maybe if you were nicer to him, he'd be nicer in return," you were still an enigma to him. You reacted so differently during your encounters with his alter-ego. He knew it was probably best to just leave you alone but his curiosity got the best of him. "I'll be away on a mission for a long time," he was tired of this game; he was getting dangerously attached to a lie that could never be true. In the end, it might be bad for both of you. "Try to make friends with Proto while I'm gone. He's no different from me, treat him how you treat me. You're much more pleasant when you're being nice."
You pouted, ignoring the part about Proto and focusing on the more important information. "You're going away," you hugged him. "I'll miss you. When are you coming back?"
"I don't know, it might be a while," never, Blues would never return. From that point on there would be no more pretending, no more lies. He didn't know why he did what he did next. He didn't fully understand what made him choose such a parting that would only make things harder.
He held you tightly for a moment longer; you could feel his warm breath on your neck. One of his hands caressed your hair traveling down to your back, his other arm wrapped around your waist. He moved his head back slightly, his face gently brushing on yours. Then he kissed you. You closed your eyes enjoying the moment, allowing the kiss to become deeper. It continued until your need for oxygen made you pull back to take a deep breath.
You could see his familiar cocky grin adorning his face as if he held a small victory in being able to go on for longer without air. Well, you'd just have to rise to the challenge and try again. Seeing that you had quickly recovered he searched for the same thing. The kiss lasted longer the second time and it was more passionate.
You didn't want to let him go and you were pretty sure that he didn't want to let you go either, but it had to end. He left you breathless and already longing for his return.
xoxox xox xoxox
The sun was setting when you went outside for some fresh air. You didn't expect to find anyone above ground until you saw him. Protoman stood at the beach, yellow scarf blowing in the wind, gray and red armor shining in the sun. He had his helmet on as always, his dark visor covering his face down to his nose.
"Um... Proto?" You might as well start keeping your word. You wanted to accomplish the impossible and make friends with this stubborn insufferable robot before your dear Blues returned from wherever his mission led him. He never talked about his job much, perhaps for your own protection or something like that.
As far as Proto knew you irreparably hated him for what he was. Or rather, you looked down on him, which was from his point of view even worse than hatred. He didn't expect you to even notice how much you were bothering him. "What do you want?" He asked roughly.
"I'm glad you returned Blues' scarf," you began with the first thing that popped into your head. You didn't have a peace offering or a written speech to give. You only went up to the island surface for some fresh air, not for this. "Can we be friends?" It was direct, it was blunt, it was probably stupid.
"Just like that?" Protoman sounded annoyed.
You sighed; putting up an act was hopeless. "look, it's obvious that you hate me and I'm not fond of you either. I'll even admit the fact that I'm only trying to be your friend because Blues asked me to. I'm completely lost here, I get along well enough with Gutsman and Cutman, why is it that you decided to hate me?"
"Gutsman and Cutman barely have any pride. They're not like me; they don't care too much if they're treated as things. It does bother them, but they hardly complain," you couldn't tell if he was glaring or not behind his dark visor. "Just so you know, they don't really like you all that much; they're just confused and give you the benefit of the doubt. You're an enigma. You can be nice sometimes and an idiot others. Blues was confused too."
You held your temper down, his voice was annoyed but there was no malice in it as if he was trying to control his hostility and suppress some unknown frustration. An idea occurred to you and you expressed your theory, "did you talk to Blues before I met him? He said something about me not knowing who he was. Did he mean to say he was a friend of yours and he expected you to have mentioned him? He did look angry at me at first. I don't think it was only because I bumped into him. Plus he sounded surprised that I apologize, as if he didn't think I was capable of that. You told him something, didn't you?"
"I suppose you could say that Blues already had begun to form an opinion of you when you ran into him," Proto admitted. "He didn't expect you to be nice to him. His impression was that you thought of yourself as better than others. You gave me that impression, Gutsman too, but he was more lenient in giving you the benefit of the doubt."
"I get it now, that's why he said he wasn't like me. That's why I had to tell him we're equals..." You thought back on it and weren't sure what to make of it. Blues certainly seemed to like you well enough now. Plus you didn't think you were coming off that egotistical when you first met Proto. Maybe the answer really was that you had insulted his sense of self. An imaginary light bulb appeared above your head, "he told me to treat you the same I treated him," you recalled, "did he mean, like an equal?"
"Maybe you're not so stupid after all," Proto commented. "I wouldn't mind being treated as superior though."
You glared, "you really enjoy insulting me, don't you? Hey, if I'm going to try to be your friend, you have to try too," you insisted. "Besides, how could I possibly treat you like Blues? He's unique and smart and cool and original and handsome..." and you were blushing just thinking about it, "really good kisser," you whispered under your breath.
"Is that all?" Protoman gave you a cocky smirk, but for once, you didn't feel like punching him. You were reminded of Blues. You found yourself wondering if their faces were similar at all, but you've never seen Proto without his helmet before. Proto moved forward as you stood in the sandy beach of the little island, with the ocean behind you. The waters were very calm as the tide lazily moved a little towards the beach and back again in slow motion. The sun reflected off his armor giving him a majestic look. He was coming closer...
To be Continued
Disclaimer, I don't own Megaman.
Puzzle 05: Possibilities
It was cold on the way back to the hide out so Blues let you borrow his scarf. You were still wearing it as you made your way down the halls of the underground hideout in the remote little island, cuddled close to Blues.
Footsteps approached from the opposite direction, they were rather slower than Cutman and lighter than Gutsman. "That has to be Wily," Blues concluded, "I don't feel like reporting to him right now," he quickly made up an excuse and opened the door to a nearby utility closet.
"I might as well face him now, he's probably too sleepy to rant," you stood in the hall while blues closed the door and hid in the utility closet. If Wily saw him, he might say too much, then his identity would be revealed.
Dr. Wily slowly made his way down the hall as if every step further tired him out. "Name? Where did you disappear to?"
You placed your left hand on your hip, raising your right index finger in accusation, "it's your fault I nearly died! Why didn't you tell me you planned to attack the clock tower? If I knew, I wouldn't have been caught in the middle of that!"
Dr. Wily raised an eyebrow suspiciously, "you didn't know about that? I didn't tell you because Protoman said he told you so I didn't think it was necessary to repeat the warning."
You felt your eye twitch in anger. "That incompetent machine didn't tell me anything! Maybe it's about time he was scrapped, even if he has been upgraded to the top of the latest technology, a faulty heap of metal if still exactly that in the end!"
Dr. Wily shook his head at your outburst, "he's the only one who can measure up to Megaman. Besides, I can't scrap him or reprogram him. I lost control of him years ago. Actually, I don't think I ever had any control over him at all. He upgrades himself and does what he wants, he's completely independent."
"That doesn't make him any less infuriating," you argued.
"You'll have to learn to live with him," Dr. Wily concluded with displeasure. His tone indicated the verbal exchange was over.
Dr. Wily walked away leaving you to grumble under your breath in frustration, "stupid machine doesn't know his place."
After Wily was gone, Blues emerged from the closet looking displeased. Before you could say anything to him, he spoke, "I have to go," then swiftly went away without waiting for your reply, he even forgot his scarf.
You thought the way Blues left was odd but decided not to over analyze it. He was probably just tired and Wily must have reminded him of why he didn't feel like reporting. He might have some important unfinished work to tend to. You returned to your room and got ready for bed.
xoxox xox xoxox
The next morning you woke up to the sound of your alarm clock. You got up feeling as if something was out of place. Once you were ready for the day the answer came to you. You fell asleep with Blues' scarf and woke up without it. You searched for the scarf on your bed but didn't find it.
Soon your mind began to form a theory. Protoman must have taken it. You slept like a rock more often than not and he had proven to be quite capable of unlocking your door without permission. With a furious battle cry of "Protoman!" you dashed out of your room to search for the main suspect in the case of the stolen scarf.
xoxox xox xoxox
You found the bane of your existence sitting at the kitchen table with an energy can in his hand. Wily was once again immersed in reading the newspaper as he did every morning, slowly drinking his coffee while Gutsman prepared the rest of his breakfast wearing a silly apron. "You took it didn't you?" You slammed your fist against the kitchen table, making the surface tremble. "Why did you take it? You already had your own scarf, why did you steal it? It wasn't even mine, what if he wants it back?"
Protoman nonchalantly took another sip of his energy can, "looks like she finally went insane."
"You know very well what I'm talking about," you insisted, "the scarf you stole from me last night, give it back. This is definitely crossing the line. I'm warning you, if you don't give me that scarf I'll find a way to wipe your hard drive clean!"
Proto slammed the mostly empty energy can on the table. "If you want to fight me that badly, I can grant your wish, but you know as well as I do that you won't last."
"That's enough!" Wily finally lowered his newspaper, unable to ignore the bickering any longer. "Name, you are disappointing me as an assistant."
You scowled in disbelief. The old fossil was taking Protoman's side. After you learned he was to blame for not warning you about the clock tower attack you set aside all ideas of trying to be friendly to him, the jerk didn't deserve it. "It's not fair," you complained, "from the start Protoman has been picking a fight for no reason and you're taking his side? He's been a jerk ever since we first met. He consumed and destroyed my food, he didn't warn me about the clock tower and now he stole something very precious to me. That scarf belongs to someone dear to me, I'll get it back if it's the last thing I do." You stormed out of the kitchen.
xoxox xox xoxox
You observed the weapons and armed vehicles that were available at Wily's hideout. Most of them needed repairs from previous encounters with Megaman. Proto's design was quite similar to Mega so those vehicles wouldn't stand a chance. You shook your head; there was no need to use second hand weaponry when you could build your own. You hurried to your laboratory.
xoxox xox xoxox
You were focused on developing the schematics to a weapon that could measure up to Proto's plasma blaster when someone entered the lab. You looked up hearing the footsteps and found none other than, "Blues!" You also noticed that his yellow scarf was back around his neck. "You got your scarf back? I was trying to design a weapon to force Protoman to return it. I'm so fed up with him; he's mean to me for no reason!"
"I asked him nicely so he gave it back to me," Blues explained. "Maybe if you were nicer to him, he'd be nicer in return," you were still an enigma to him. You reacted so differently during your encounters with his alter-ego. He knew it was probably best to just leave you alone but his curiosity got the best of him. "I'll be away on a mission for a long time," he was tired of this game; he was getting dangerously attached to a lie that could never be true. In the end, it might be bad for both of you. "Try to make friends with Proto while I'm gone. He's no different from me, treat him how you treat me. You're much more pleasant when you're being nice."
You pouted, ignoring the part about Proto and focusing on the more important information. "You're going away," you hugged him. "I'll miss you. When are you coming back?"
"I don't know, it might be a while," never, Blues would never return. From that point on there would be no more pretending, no more lies. He didn't know why he did what he did next. He didn't fully understand what made him choose such a parting that would only make things harder.
He held you tightly for a moment longer; you could feel his warm breath on your neck. One of his hands caressed your hair traveling down to your back, his other arm wrapped around your waist. He moved his head back slightly, his face gently brushing on yours. Then he kissed you. You closed your eyes enjoying the moment, allowing the kiss to become deeper. It continued until your need for oxygen made you pull back to take a deep breath.
You could see his familiar cocky grin adorning his face as if he held a small victory in being able to go on for longer without air. Well, you'd just have to rise to the challenge and try again. Seeing that you had quickly recovered he searched for the same thing. The kiss lasted longer the second time and it was more passionate.
You didn't want to let him go and you were pretty sure that he didn't want to let you go either, but it had to end. He left you breathless and already longing for his return.
xoxox xox xoxox
The sun was setting when you went outside for some fresh air. You didn't expect to find anyone above ground until you saw him. Protoman stood at the beach, yellow scarf blowing in the wind, gray and red armor shining in the sun. He had his helmet on as always, his dark visor covering his face down to his nose.
"Um... Proto?" You might as well start keeping your word. You wanted to accomplish the impossible and make friends with this stubborn insufferable robot before your dear Blues returned from wherever his mission led him. He never talked about his job much, perhaps for your own protection or something like that.
As far as Proto knew you irreparably hated him for what he was. Or rather, you looked down on him, which was from his point of view even worse than hatred. He didn't expect you to even notice how much you were bothering him. "What do you want?" He asked roughly.
"I'm glad you returned Blues' scarf," you began with the first thing that popped into your head. You didn't have a peace offering or a written speech to give. You only went up to the island surface for some fresh air, not for this. "Can we be friends?" It was direct, it was blunt, it was probably stupid.
"Just like that?" Protoman sounded annoyed.
You sighed; putting up an act was hopeless. "look, it's obvious that you hate me and I'm not fond of you either. I'll even admit the fact that I'm only trying to be your friend because Blues asked me to. I'm completely lost here, I get along well enough with Gutsman and Cutman, why is it that you decided to hate me?"
"Gutsman and Cutman barely have any pride. They're not like me; they don't care too much if they're treated as things. It does bother them, but they hardly complain," you couldn't tell if he was glaring or not behind his dark visor. "Just so you know, they don't really like you all that much; they're just confused and give you the benefit of the doubt. You're an enigma. You can be nice sometimes and an idiot others. Blues was confused too."
You held your temper down, his voice was annoyed but there was no malice in it as if he was trying to control his hostility and suppress some unknown frustration. An idea occurred to you and you expressed your theory, "did you talk to Blues before I met him? He said something about me not knowing who he was. Did he mean to say he was a friend of yours and he expected you to have mentioned him? He did look angry at me at first. I don't think it was only because I bumped into him. Plus he sounded surprised that I apologize, as if he didn't think I was capable of that. You told him something, didn't you?"
"I suppose you could say that Blues already had begun to form an opinion of you when you ran into him," Proto admitted. "He didn't expect you to be nice to him. His impression was that you thought of yourself as better than others. You gave me that impression, Gutsman too, but he was more lenient in giving you the benefit of the doubt."
"I get it now, that's why he said he wasn't like me. That's why I had to tell him we're equals..." You thought back on it and weren't sure what to make of it. Blues certainly seemed to like you well enough now. Plus you didn't think you were coming off that egotistical when you first met Proto. Maybe the answer really was that you had insulted his sense of self. An imaginary light bulb appeared above your head, "he told me to treat you the same I treated him," you recalled, "did he mean, like an equal?"
"Maybe you're not so stupid after all," Proto commented. "I wouldn't mind being treated as superior though."
You glared, "you really enjoy insulting me, don't you? Hey, if I'm going to try to be your friend, you have to try too," you insisted. "Besides, how could I possibly treat you like Blues? He's unique and smart and cool and original and handsome..." and you were blushing just thinking about it, "really good kisser," you whispered under your breath.
"Is that all?" Protoman gave you a cocky smirk, but for once, you didn't feel like punching him. You were reminded of Blues. You found yourself wondering if their faces were similar at all, but you've never seen Proto without his helmet before. Proto moved forward as you stood in the sandy beach of the little island, with the ocean behind you. The waters were very calm as the tide lazily moved a little towards the beach and back again in slow motion. The sun reflected off his armor giving him a majestic look. He was coming closer...
To be Continued
Disclaimer, I don't own Megaman.
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