DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE MEGA MAN SERIES AND THEIR REPSEPCTIVE CHARACTER, BUT RATHER KEIJI INAFUNE AND CAPCOM DO.

Please note that this chapter has been partially rewritten as of October 7th, 2014.

Nathan "Nate" Figueroa was leisurely skateboarding home from Reseda High School on a cool and chilly December's day, completing yet another school day in life as junior. Being born and raised in the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, Nate is you typical Valley Kid, currently residing on the rolling foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains in the affluent south valleyneighborhood of Encino, California. Boarding along the partially uneven sidewalk of Reseda Boulevard in his red and yellow trimmed Hurley t-shirt, black American Apparel hoodie, faded stonewashed jeans, and black low-cut Vans, Nate let a grumble escape from his mouth as he held a piece of paper in his hand.

"Dude, seriously?!" Nate hissed as a pair of hazel colored eyes leered upon the piece of paper his hands held, the brisk wind blowing his brunette locks to the side that once covered his right eye and partially exposing the black ear gauges that pierced his earlobes. "How could I get a D on my Trig test?" The Figueroa let out a sigh as he continued to roll down the sidewalk. "Dude, there's no way I'll be able to explain this to mom and dad…"

As Nate continued to ride his board towards Ventura Boulevard where he would need to cross the street, he sighted a blonde and middle-aged woman just leaving a boutique with several shopping bags in her hands heading towards a parked Land Rover by the curb. Struggling to gain access the inside her purse, the blonde finally managed to pull out a shiny object into her hands.

CLING

"Oh, shoot!" she groaned as the keys slipped from her hand to the concrete ground due to the many bags she was carrying.

"Don't worry ma'am," a male's voice responded, seemingly from a figure hidden behind a stack of boxes it was holding alongside the woman. "I'll retrieve them for you." The individual transferred the weight of all the boxes to its left hand, letting the right one free. Whirring noises began to emit as the hand suddenly extended out towards the ground via a flexible metal cable that snaked out of its wrist.

"Heh, must be a robot…" Nate said to himself. "Must be nice to have one…"

Ever since the turn of the century, humanoid robots became the hottest technological must-haves in today's advanced world. With the ability to perform unlimited amount of tasks, such as complicated engineering construction, to the public safety duties, and to the simple personal assistant duties, these androids became immensely imperative to have…..

However, there was more than just the positive limelight that these robots were facing nowadays. There have been several incidents reported around the world dealing with crimes allegedly committed by robots. This has even been felt locally as many robot-connected incidents have been popping up in the eastern San Fernando Valley, especially in predominantly industrial and poor neighborhood of Pacoima. Despite such news, this hasn't diminished Nate's desire for a robot to call his own.

"Allow me to open the car for you, ma'am," the mysterious individual spoke as it began to open one of the doors. The Figueroa's initial thought was confirmed when the pile of boxes were being loaded into the SUV, exposing a gray and yellow cladded android.

"Thank heavens I have someone like you, Rudy," the woman happily patted the robot on the back after she finished putting the rest of her bags into the vehicle before driving off with her mechanical helper.

"Dude, lucky much? I mean, what are the odds that I'll run into a robot that no one wants?" Nate told himself as he pressed the crosswalk button on the traffic light pole. As soon as the pedestrian signal displayed the walking man symbol, the brunette ran onto the asphalt crosswalk before letting his board roll onto the ground and jumping onto it. Now skating eastbound along Ventura Boulevard, Nate kicked with his back foot with much more gusto, determined to sail on home sooner so that he could plop down on his bed and sleep, making up for the three hours of sleep he only received last night.

Dude, I need to get some more sle—

BEEP

BEEP

BEEP

"Dude!" Right before Nate's eyes, a delivery truck pulled up from the alley, nearly hitting the brunette. As though it looked like Nate nearly avoided the accident, the sudden jerk in movement that had to be made caused him to run into a raised curb, tossing his entire frame off of the board, landing belly flat onto the hard concrete and causing the skateboard to zip into the dark alley. "What the hell, brah?!"

"Hey kid! Watch where you're going, alright?!" an older man from the truck peered out and harshly ogled towards the fallen brunette. Aside from the very thick German accent, the driver of the delivery truck sported on a menacing facial expression, complete with two clumps of gray hair that stuck out from the side of his scalp and an extremely thick mustache. "Someday you'll run into trouble with the wrong people! Hahaha!" With that, the old man drove off onto Ventura, nearly hitting several automobiles and a Metro bus in the process.

Despite the hard landing, the Figueroa was able to get back up onto his two feet, straightening out his clothes in the process. Aside from the minor scrape on his left hand, which he'll need to attend to at home, Nate was all right.

"Dumb ass…" Nate began to search around for his missing skateboard. "Where the hell did it go?"

The brunette began to stroll down towards the alley from where the old man driver came from. Contrasting from the sun kissed surroundings of Ventura Boulevard, the alley was dark and small with a murky stream of water in the middle, flies, and a foul odor that lingered from the numerous dumpsters, piles of trash, and cardboard boxes on the side of the buildings.

"Dude, gross! It stinks up in here! Effin' a, man!" Nate asserted as he covered his nose with his hand.

Waving his hand around to get the putrid stench away from his nose and eyes that were dearly overtaking his senses, the brunette began to scrutinize the area even more for the elusive skateboard. Favorably, it didn't take much longer as his hazel eyes locked in on the board a few feet away near a pile of garbage bags.

"Ah! There it i— uhh…" Nate indeed found his skateboard. However, there was something totally wrong with the scene that played out before him. "The hell is this?"

For one thing, someone, or rather, something, was gripping the board with its red-toned, metallic hands in the shadowy corner. Nate, still frozen from the sudden sight of the hands, decided to at least try to ask for his skateboard back, hoping the plan would be brilliant.

"Um… dude… uh… can I have my board back… please?" The Figueroa's voice nearly squeaked at the last word.

"Grrrr…" the figure in the shadow softly growled. In response, Nate only tilted his head sideways and narrowed his eyes before deciding to just forget about the skateboard. He had a couple more at home anyways, including a totally sick longboard he cruises on when at the beach in Santa Monica.

"Okay then, brah… you... can… keep it… okay?" Nate began to back away slowly out of the alley. In response, sounds of the mysterious being getting up from the dark corner began to creep into his ears.

Oh shit, that's not good…

Nate's dark chocolate eyes widened as he continued to retreat backwards out of the alley onto Ventura Boulevard.

Dude, why's he following me out?

Sounds of metal colliding with the asphalt began to saunter towards the brunet. As the figure finally came out of the shadows, Nate couldn't believe what he saw that was holding his skateboard. The blue-eyed thing was easily taller than the brunette, being cladded with red, black, and trims of yellow on its knees, waist, top wrists, and circular ears. In addition, a striking boomerang shaped crescent loomed on the forehead region of its helmet and armored chest cavity. Overall, a very dynamic looking figure indeed.

Holy shit dude… it's an effin' robot!

"Look brah," a sense of panic radiated in Nate's voice as he gazed at the vicious facial expression the robot had. The brunette's hands were raised in a defensive manner. "I said you can keep it, alright? Just don't come any closer… okay?"

Unfortunately, his words fell on deaf ears as the robot continued to stalk towards the now shaking teen.

"HELLO?! Can you hear me?! I SAID… don't come any clo—" and with that, Nate ran off like hell as soon as he was back onto Ventura Boulevard. He sprinted like there was no tomorrow. Striding his arms into the air while huffing and puffing the cool and smoggy air the Valley was known for. This was sure to be a workout for the usually lazy Figueroa, despite having a minor sports background.

"Ugh… this is… what I… get… for… quitting… track…" Nate managed to articulate in-between pants. "And… for being… so damn… lazy in… tennis…"

As the brunette persisted on with his sprinting down The Boulevard, he gazed back to see if the robot was still following him or if it was deemed safe to slow down.

"Pheww… that was clo— OH CRAP!" a pair of hazelnut eyes captured a fast moving object heading down the same direction in an extraordinarily rapid pace. Nate immediately returned back to sprinting like hell, if not faster than before. The high level of activity on the sidewalk proved to be a hindrance as he had to constantly dodge around and jump over other pedestrians, animals, newspaper and food stands, bus benches, and trash bins.

"Hey, watch it kid!"

"You slow down, young man!"

"Dude, chill out!"

"Watch where you're going, loser!"

"Um, like, look out!"

BARK, BARK!

"Dude, sorry everyone!" was all that Nate was able to say in apology as he desperately tried to get away from the red and black cladded android on his ass, board still in hand. "Jeez… he's freakin' quick! Like a quick man of sorts…"

Before he knew it, Nate saw that he was coming up towards the intersection with White Oak Avenue.

Yes! I'm almost home!

However, the light for Ventura was still green and Nate couldn't afford to wait for the green on White Oak.

Dude, I can't believe I'm gonna do this…

With a sudden change of direction to his right, Nate was now running in the middle of the busy traffic on the street.

SCREECH

BEEP

BEEP

Several cars slammed hard onto their brakes as they saw the brunette suddenly jump onto the street. Some yelled towards Nate, while others flipped him the bird.

"Sorry! I really am " Nate waved off apologetically towards the drivers as he continued to jaywalk, or rather, jayrun. Luckily, the LAPD wasn't around to stop the Figueroa, although he sorta wished they were present so that they could apprehend the robot that had been chasing him for miles.

As White Oak became more heavily residential and wooded with lots of old oak trees (after all, Encino does mean oak in English), Nate recognized the fact that he couldn't just run directly to his house so that the droid could just follow him inside.

Ugh, I need to hide somewhere just enough for him to completely pass me by. I mean… he's quick and all… but he can't be that smart of a robot… right?

Although inappropriate for the current dilemma he was facing, the Figueroa couldn't help but to relinquish a small chuckle at his next muse.

Heh, I can't believe that I haven't cramped up yet in my legs.

Hearing the sounds of cars screeching and honking, Nate knew that the robot was drawing near and that he had to do something fast. Gazing towards his right, he saw a parking lot of a private Catholic school full of parked cars.

Maybe if I hide behind a car, he'll just keep running up the street and not even notice that I'm not there anymore since he's going too fast.

The brunette decided to go with the plan he had quickly crafted. He ran into the parking lot and decided to hide behind a red Infiniti G37 coupe, seeing that he would blend in more with his red shirt on and all.

I hope he doesn't see me here…

As Nate made sure he was well hidden, he heard heavy and rapid footsteps from the sidewalk on White Oak. He closed his eyes and cringed his face as he heard the steps pass by, sounding as if they were right next to him. After they faded away a few seconds later, Nate couldn't help but to exhale a long sigh of relief.

"Dude… that was effin' close… like, seriously!"

Heading back south on White Oak and making sure the robot was totally gone, Nate continued the journey on home towards Corinthian Drive, but not without caution and pace as he did not wanted to be seen outside anymore... as long as there was a robot was running around like a madman.

The last place I wanna see it is in my room, laying on my bed…

After a few more minutes of walking, Nate finally reached his one-story ranch style home at the end of the cul-de-sac on Corinthian. The front yard had very nice mature landscaping and a nice water fountain in the garden. He also saw that a red Nissan Rogue SUV was parked on the driveway.

Hmmm, mom must be home early from work…

As Nate reached the grand, oak-stained front double doors at the end of the porch, he reached inside his pockets for the lanyard that held his keys. Unlocking and opening the door, his senses were greeted with a wafting scent of freshly made pasta and breadsticks.

Niiiccceee… that's what I get for being half-Italian and half-Filipino…

It's true that Nate is indeed Filipino from his father's side and Italian from his mother's side. Although many say that it's indeed a very interesting and exotic (well, according to some of the girls that he has overheard from school) mix, Nate believes that the combination does bring indeed the best of both worlds when it came to… you've guessed it… food.

"Mom! I'm home!" Nate hollered out towards the kitchen as he kicked off his shoes at the foyer (the Asian side of him that was always done growing up) and let his backpack drop onto the black marble floor. Soon enough, a long and brunette headed, middle-aged woman that stood nearly the same height as Nate, with olive-skin complexion and blue eyes, emerged from the kitchen.

"Hi honey!" Nate's mom, Francesca, greeted her son with a Euro-style kiss on both cheeks. "How was school? You seem really tired."

Indeed his mom was correct. After all, he had been running all the way down on Ventura until his house… being chased by some crazed droid. "Yeah… Just a bit I guess because of school…"

"Aww, my poor baby," his mother gave him a hug, causing Nate to blush at being babied at the age of sixteen.

"Ugh, mom, really?" Nate tried to push her away, but to no avail. "Anyways, what brings you home so early?"

"Well, one of the other practitioners came in early and said that she would cover for me," Francesca replied. Being a nurse practitioner at Glendale Memorial Hospital in Glendale, Nate knew that his mom normally worked long hours, sometimes especially during the late night shifts. "Why don't you take a nap before you do your homework?" Francesca finally let her son go from her tight grip. "I'm making dinner for tonight right now."

Heh… homework… right…

Nate released a small sigh. "I guess…" He picked up his backpack off the floor before heading off into the hallway for his room. "So, dad isn't home yet?"

"Nope, not yet," Francesca headed back into the kitchen. Alexander, Nate's father, is a Civil Engineering Senior Designer for a small company in Thousand Oaks, located west of the San Fernando Valley in nearby Ventura County. "You know he has long hours, as well."

"And sis?" Nate inquired about his older sister, Claire, who worked as a Neonatal Intensive-Care Unit (NICU) nurse for Valley Presbyterian Hospital in the nearby valley neighborhood of Van Nuys.

"She'll be home tonight as well."

"Ah… I see…" Nate stretched his arms into the air, releasing a big yawn in the process. He then began to walk down the hallway. "Okay mom, I'm gonna take a nap for a bit."

"Okay Nate. Don't sleep too much though." Francesca replied.

"Yeah, yeah…" Nate grumbled as he reached the end of the hall where his room was. Opening the door, he blindly tossed his backpack onto the floor as the room was dark. Knowing where his bed is, he simply closed the door behind him and proceeded to plop down onto his bed, ready to take a long and rejuvenating nap.

CLANK

"Owww!"

"What the fu—" Nate immediately jumped out of his bed. He knew that he shouldn't be landing on anything metallic on his bed… let alone another voice being in the room. He frantically reached for the light switch and flicked it on.

"Dude, what the hell…" Nate's eyes widened as he saw the familiar red, black, and yellow cladded robot casually lying on his bed… with the same skateboard still gripped to his hand.

"You thought that you could get away from me now, could you?" the robot slowly drawled.

"OH… MY… G—" Nate was immediately muffled as the robot instantly came to his side, covered the brunet's mouth with its metallic red hands.

"Shhhh…" the robot quietly said, trying to get Nate to shut up. "Before you scream out in fear, let me at least introduce myself…" A smirk was now seen at the corner of the droid's mouth. "My name is... Quick Man."

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