Symphony

The chill of October bit into the steel and plexiglass of city streets. A crisp breeze blew across the rooftops, carrying with it dirt, old papers, and a generous dose of pollution. A dash of the natural remained, however; the light scent of fall leaves from the drooping trees lining the concrete avenues below.

A silent figure monitored the humans walking along the sidewalk. It had been a mundane night. The disturbance he had been summoned to take care of was minor, and the culprits fled before dealing too much damage to nearby buildings. Really, Dr. Wily was getting lazy in his old age.

The figure sighed and removed his helmet, revealing messy black hair that, despite being confined in the blue helm for several hours of strenuous activity, carried no hint of sweat. Although he was humanlike in almost every respect, perspiration was one function that hadn't been adapted to a practical purpose in his body. Thus he could blink, breathe, eat, sleep, and even dream, but not sweat. He had never missed it much. It was a blessing in his line of work.

He lowered himself Indian-style onto the flat rooftop, the metallic blue material of his jumpsuit shifting as microscopic gears and couplings pulled titanium limbs into their new position. He idly rubbed a new scuff mark on the side of his right boot. He ought to polish his armor when he got home. It was getting a bit banged up lately, despite the recent lull in villainous activity. Of course, he knew this was only the eye of the hurricane; Wily was certainly off building eight more robot masters, part of yet another 'brilliant' scheme to take over the world. Right now, though, he didn't really care. Life was peaceful and he wanted to enjoy it while he could.

The little blue robot, known as Mega Man to the media and Rock to his family and friends, sat on a dingy rooftop in the middle of one of the world's greatest metropolises and smiled. It was a good night to be functioning. Certainly, the surroundings weren't perfect and he was a bit chilly and a bit tired and probably should just head home before his sister rebooted herself from worry but at the moment, he felt like doing nothing but sitting and staring at what stars were visible from amidst the light pollution of the city.

He was just managing to pick up the familiar pattern of Cassiopeia when a new sound reached his ears over the buzz of nighttime traffic. A melancholy, five note tune... Rock swiveled his head in the direction his auditory sensors indicated the noise was emanating from and quickly pinpointed the source. There was a person on the next roof over, whistling. Color was impossible to pick up in the darkness, but light would have revealed a crimson and gray figure with a yellow scarf whipping in the night breeze. Blues Light, dubbed Proto Man by humans, and Rock's older brother and prototype, sat on the roof in much the same fashion as his younger sibling, staring into the night.

Rock stood up. Was the red bot calling for him? But no... the song continued, past what he had ever heard in passing. It was a soft, clear, mournful tune, and it screamed "Blues" from every measure. Rock smiled. Who knew his older brother was a musician?

Suddenly seized with curiosity, the blue bomber decided to approach his mysterious sibling. Each encounter with the runaway robot left him with more questions than the last, and perhaps an unscheduled meeting would help to answer some of them. Stealthily, Mega Man crept from his rooftop and leapt to the adjacent one, landing behind a smokestack jutting from the surface. It was too much to hope that Proto Man wouldn't notice his approach, but it was amusing to try. Indeed, the whistling stopped, and when he rounded the concrete cylinder it was to find his brother waiting for him.

"...Mega Man." The elder bot relaxed, lowering the arm Rock suspected had been ready to form into a buster if the intruder on his solitude had not been friendly. "I didn't expect to meet you here."

"I didn't expect to meet you either, Blues," Rock replied. "What are you doing up here?"

"Just thinking."

"Do you come up here often?" Rock had very little idea of what his sibling did in his spare time, though from what he did know, brooding on rooftops seemed his kind of thing.

"Fairly. Though I'm going to have to change that now."

Rock frowned. "Why? Because of me?"

Blues smiled enigmatically, the visor preventing his emotions from being read. "I can't become too predictable. It's dangerous."

"Dangerous?"

The older robot did not answer. The lights of the city dimmed slightly as some of its inhabitants finally succumbed to sleep, and more stars twinkled into view overhead.

"Have you ever wondered why we all have musical names, Rock?"

"Hm?" The younger bot looked up and glanced across at his brother. The elder was only a shadowy silhouette, arms crossed and scarf whipping in the chill wind. "Once or twice... why?"

"It's because music is part of the heart and soul of humanity," Proto Man said. He turned his face towards his audience and the streetlamps of the avenue below glinted off his visor. "Every human being, no matter where they were born or what their life is like, understands the language of music... it's something mystical, a piece of their spirit. It can't truly be explained by scientific means. And that's what we are, too, Rock." He smirked, just barely visible in the darkness. "Music made tangible, an inanimate tangle of wires and metal that somehow gained consciousness and a will of its own. Even Dr. Light can't really explain it. We are alive... and so is music, Rock. That's why we're called what we are."

"...I thought Dr. Light just liked weird names," Rock said.

The red robot laughed. Mega Man couldn't remember if he'd ever heard him laugh before. It was a comforting sound, a gentle and calming ripple, like waves across a still pond. "Probably so. But I like to wax philosophical now and then. It's comforting to think that your creator had some greater plan in mind, even if he didn't. The religions of humanity are based on that..." His tone darkened, and his laughter was gone. "But unfortunately, we're not lucky as they are. We know exactly who built us, and for what reasons. And they're not that amazing."

Rock started. "Dr. Light is a great man!" he exclaimed.

The other nodded. "But just a man. And frankly, that frightens me."

"What?"

"We are creations of humans, and they are the creations of their god. But does that make us creations of God, as well? Or will we be shunted aside, to burn in Hell for daring to exist? Or even worse, cease to exist at all?"

Mega Man had never thought about this, and it was beginning to alarm him. "Blues..."

"Truthfully, Rock, I was a mistake," Proto Man said, shrugging. "Dr. Light himself has said so. He doesn't know what made me alive, or even if I am alive at all. To some extent the same is true with you, Rock. We may have souls, or we may not."

"But the same can be said for humans, can't it?" Rock asked, neural circuits buzzing as he considered his brother's words. "They have no way of knowing if they truly exist or not, if they go somewhere after they die. But they have faith."

Proto Man paused, and then nodded. "Faith... yes. That's the answer, or at least part of it." He broke off and gazed to the horizon. The moon was rising, round and red, an unusual and disquieting, yet somehow amazing sight. "Rock, do you have faith in me?"

The question was so soft, Rock's auditory sensors barely registered it. "What?"

"I've never really been there for you, Rock." The red robot bowed his head. "I've been around, and I've helped you a few times, but I haven't acted like a brother. The way a brother should. So... do you have faith in me?"

Rock hesitated for no more than the nanosecond it took to process the query. "Yes. I do," he answered firmly.

"And why is that?"

"Because you have faith in me." Mega Man smiled across at his sibling. Proto Man's face was unreadable for a moment. Then it softened into a small smirk.

"I don't deserve it, Rock..." His tone was wistful. "But for what it's worth... thank you."

"There's no need for that," Rock said. "But..."

"Hm?"

"You said you haven't really acted like a brother to me yet... Are you willing to try?"

Blues reached out a gloved hand and ruffled his sibling's hair. Rock blinked, realizing he had left his helmet on the other rooftop. "I can't promise anything, Rocky."

Mega Man looked up, startled by the nickname. "But..."

"I'm not ready to come back to Dr. Light's. I'm not sure I'll ever be ready. But..." He put up a finger to silence Rock's unvoiced protest. "I'll be around. You might not always see me, but if you need me..." He turned and walked towards the edge of the building, climbing onto the concrete rim. Turning back to his brother, the red robot smirked.

"If you need me, just whistle." Then he stepped backwards into space. Rock's power generator hummed slightly faster than usual as he dashed to the edge and peered down just in time to see a bolt of red teleportation energy flash away into the night halfway down the side of the building. He sighed. His brother may be eccentric, but at least he had style...