MegaMan NT Warrior (Rockman) Fan Fiction ❯ Past, Present and Future ❯ Look on Life ( Chapter 21 )

This chapter is dedicated to Vile/Bass, one of the coolest <well, actually, 2 of the coolest> robots/mavericks ever to walk this earth!

Past, Present, and Future

Chapter 21 - Look on Life

Vile watched in silence as X ran down the hall, and waited until he was out of sight.

"Fool.." Vile whispered hoarsely. He then raised his shoulder cannon to a certain spot on the wall and fired. It struck the wall, suddenly revealing a switch, which the blast triggered. Suddenly, the door separating Vile from the outside world opened. With trouble, Vile rolled onto his stomach and used his arms to crawl out of the fortress. His legs were limp, and they just dragged along behind him. Once outside, he pushed himself onto his back and stared at the star sprinkled sky.

He didn't understand the motive behind his actions, all he knew was that he enjoyed watching the stars. His hand absently strayed to his shoulder cannon. He could feel his strength waning and knew his wound was fatal. Everything faded to red and Vile eventually closed his eye. Surprisingly, despite his injuries Vile wasn't in much pain. Perhaps it was because the blast had destroyed his perception circuits, or maybe he was simply too tired to feel it. It was probably the latter, because he felt tired… so incredibly tired.

Although his eye was closed, Vile began to see something. He saw a lab...he saw himself lying on a table...but he looked a lot different. Instead of the T-shaped helmet, his helmet donned crests. He was moderately handsome and lacked the scars that he currently bore. An old man, whose eyes blazed with hatred and an abhorrence for all living things, was programming something into a nearby computer.

At this, Vile's memories rushed back to him in a wave…

"You have been built for the sole purpose of defeating Mega Man." He remembered a voice saying to him. "I built you to look, act, and to an extent feel like Mega Man. I even built you a mutt to go with it." He remembered an old man gesturing to a robot dog not yet activated...

He remembered the first time he fought Mega Man. To Vile's surprise, Mega Man's expression held no contempt. Instead, he looked hurt, betrayed yet nevertheless tried desperately to avoid the fight. Fortunately the fight was short-lived. He remembered under estimating him, and that was the source of his downfall. Vile remembered collapsing onto one knee, clutching his shoulder, waiting for Mega Man to finish him off...but he never did. Instead he just stood there and allowed him to escape...

Vile placed one hand on his forehead with a groan. He had an odd feeling, one unliked any he had never previously experienced. It wasn't fear, he's experienced that before, albeit not very often. It wasn't excitement, he never had anything to be excited about. It was a feeling that made him remember the sorrowful and betrayed look on the face of his adversary… the same look that he noticed time and time again during his youth. He never remembered noticing such an expression previously, but then again...he probably would have just ignored it or looked upon it with a sneer. Yet as that bereaved expression replayed in his mind over and over again, the funny yet awful feeling in the pit of his stomach grew...

Finally his consciousness replayed his last battle with Mega Man. He remembered asking his adversary to finish him, and seeing, surprisingly, a sad expression on his young face. Mega Man could have just left him there, left him to Wily's mercy, which would have been a fate worse then death. It was a fate he most likely deserved. But as a final act of mercy, his sworn enemy did finish him. What did he do in return? Kill his 'brother'.

His eye closed very tightly. What a monster he had been, his life had been nothing but death and destruction. Was there anything in his life that was meaningful? Suddenly, another memory manifested itself, this one much less haunting.

He could vaguely remember a large robot wolf, the creature always staying by his side. He remembered giving the wolf 'doggy treats' and playing 'fetch' with him while under Wily's training. Every battle he had with Mega Man, who was there? His faithful companion.

He absentmindedly stroked the shoulder cannon.

"Treble...." Vile said softly, opening his eye and gazing up at the blood-colored stars. "…always…you've always...stood by me… somehow… we always managed to…make …our way through it… but there doesn't seem…to.. be anyway out…of this, eh boy…? X...ah X... Finally I understand…what it was that you had…what it was…that prevented me from being able to defeat you…it was your heart…your care for all life, even the darkest… and the most vile of creatures… earn your sympathy… For so long…I thought… thought that was your weakness…but I was wrong…it…it was your strength… Forgive me, X… I'm sorry…I have caused…you nothing but pain. Good luck with Sigma…I…I know you can defeat him…you alone behold… the strength… to… take down… even… the… most savage of… enemies..." He closed his good eye and took a deep breath...it was the last breath he'd ever take....