Megaman and all related characters are property of Capcom.

Relic from the seas

By

Dr Facer

-1-

Tsunami Mako, a well-respected ocean explorer, found the object far in the north seas, deep in the freezing waters of the Siberian Ocean, in the middle of what was later confirmed to be the remains of a sunken ship over a century old. People from Cossack Laboratories were brought in to supervise extraction of the finding. The human archeologist in charge of the procedures deemed it the most valuable object in the underwater wreckage and one of the most amazing discoveries in decades.

Three days later, the object had been moved to a warehouse in Kovalyov Harbor, and there it remained untouched. The Cossack Laboratories personnel insisted on waiting until two people of particular interest arrived. One was Viktor Cossack, current president of the company and expert in the fields of ancient robotics, the other was the Maverick Hunter known as X.

The object remained there for two additional days before Viktor and X were both able to arrive.

=0=

Viktor Cossack was in his early forties, and possessor of both a gifted intellect and a cunning business sense. He had taken charge of his family's company after his father was murdered by Sigma during the fifth Maverick uprising, and under his guidance the company had tripled its value in a matter of years. A tall and slim man, he was not as interested in politics as his father had been, and saw his permanent position in the High Command, an international organization which oversaw different political aspects, as a necessary hindrance. He was also a devoted family man, just like his ancestors had been.

His specialty in robotics, however, was why he was here in Kovalyov Harbor, waiting and enduring the freezing cold.

"Temperature here is only three degrees Celsius, darling. You will get sick unless you wear a coat. You are more susceptible to it than I am."

Viktor looked back and smiled at his wife. He had married her several years ago and of course she hadn't aged a single day since. She was a female reploid, after all, and a very attractive human looking one at that, or at least that's what he believed. He recalled how much his father had opposed his marriage, but when they installed the artificial womb on his wife and they had their first son, his parents had finally warmed up to the idea. Viktor grinned discreetly as he recalled his father claiming falling in love with machines was something that, for better or for worse, did run in the family. His father had obviously referenced the old family history of Kalinka Cossack's lifelong infatuation with Robot Master DLN-000, the fabled and legendary Proto Man.

"My smart-suit regulates my body temperature well enough," the scientist argued, putting aside his recollection of old family tales for the time being. "Don't forget it has that function included."

"I still think you should wear a coat," she said as she followed him into the pier's landing platform while looking at the information relayed by her data pad. "Our guests from Maverick Hunter HQ will arrive here in five minutes. Oh, this is interesting; my sister is coming as well."

"I imagined she would. She has been staying close to X ever since the Jakob project failed last year."

"I knew that," Nina Cossack said. "She told us as much the last time she visited."

"Hmm… from a family history point of view, it would be interesting if they…"

Viktor Cossack fell silent as two beams of light hit ground in front of him, revealing Maverick Hunter X and Navigator Alia appearing before him. This was surprising, since he had expected them to arrive on the transport he had sent for them.

"I see you were not able to wait until the helicopter got you here," Nina observed with a grin aimed at her younger sister. "It is risky teleporting from one of those vehicles, you know?"

"Apologies for that, we simply couldn't wait," Alia said. "But X traced our course efficiently; we didn't put anyone at risk by beaming down here."

"You could have called to let us know," Nina sighed. "Unimportant now, I guess. But I am glad that you got here unharmed."

"It is nice seeing you both again," Viktor said, reaching out to take X's hand in his. "You in particular, X. Are you as excited as I am about the discovery?"

"Perhaps even more than you, Doctor Cossack," X stated with an enthusiastic grin. "If what you said over the commlink is true…"

"It may be the most important finding in a decade!" Viktor completed.

X and Viktor, both almost unable to contain their excitement, entered the warehouse without looking back. They weren't followed by Nina and Alia, who while feeling great interest about the discovery, were truly nowhere near as energized as their men and had instead decided to stay behind for a bit and talk a little.

"When are you marrying X, sister?" Nina asked once the men were out of earshot. "Reploid marriage has been legal for many years now and my son would gladly welcome a cousin to play with."

"Not the time to talk about that," Alia answered, her systems relaying that her inner servomotors had slightly overheated due to emotional response the idea of marriage and building a reploid child with X had triggered, which meant, much to her dismay, that she had flushed at her sister's comment. "And he… he doesn't even know what I feel for him yet."

"He hasn't even expressed interest in the cosmetic changes that you came to us for?" Nina said as she appreciated her younger sister's improved figure and hair, a courtesy she had given Alia a few weeks prior the Jakob disaster. "Typical male, more fascinated by his job than by any attracted woman. You will have to tell him, then."

"I… I don't think I'm ready for that. It feels odd, the only reason we reploids exist is X. Sometimes I feel like… like I have feelings for my own father and…"

The older sister leaned closer and stared at Alia right in the eyes. "Don't be an idiot. Your design is based on mine, and it is so far removed from X's that the only relation you or I have with him is that our I.C.s are based on his, same as all other reploids."

"And the way said I.C. works is what gives us independence and a sense of self, which is the most important aspect," Alia disputed.

"Not different than how all humans share a basic DNA structure," Nina contested. "You are only making excuses now."

Alia couldn't find an answer to that, as she knew her sister was fundamentally right.

"Aren't you girls coming?" Viktor Cossack called from inside the warehouse.

"We're going, just give us a minute!" Nina said then turned to look at her sister. "Alia, tell him soon, you never know when a rival for his affections may appear."

=0=

While the capsule was similar to the one X had been found within almost twenty years ago, the figure contained inside was decidedly different. The capsule had unfortunately been damaged, and sea water had filtered through the cracked duraglass. No attempts at opening it had been made yet, but the preliminary scans indicated that the parts stored with the robot which rested inside had been corroded and damaged by the cold, salty ocean waters beyond repair. The additional pieces of machinery inside the capsule were of no immediate importance, however, for the actual robot was apparently undamaged and that was all that truly mattered.

"I have never seen something like her before," Alia said once she and Nina caught up with X and Viktor, who were by then standing in front of the capsule; a capsule that had a now fading Light Labs logo.

"Neither have I," Nina agreed, looking attentively at the blue and white figure inside the capsule. It was a female Robot Master; and a very rare one as well since it was a marine model shaped after a mythical creature: a mermaid.

"I've seen her files in my family's records; I know who she is," Viktor intervened then, his voice overflowing with barely contained excitement. "I present to you DLN-067, her name was Splash Woman!"

"DLN? Does that mean she really is a Lightbot?" X asked, eyes never leaving the capsule, taking in every single detail of the mermaid like robot. "Will I be able to talk to her?"

"We can try to activate her if she's intact," Doctor Cossack said. "She is a marine robot and her inner systems should have been properly insulated, but we don't know if they still are. We also need to keep in mind that she may never be operational again since even if her body is in good condition, her I.C. might not be."

"Her I.C. and her body will be intact," X predicted, anxiousness creeping in his voice. "Let's open the capsule now, Doctor Cossack."

"We really should wait for the rest of the team for that, X," the scientist said. "I brought you here early to show you the capsule because, after all, it is related to you somehow, but we cannot open it carelessly. We will in a couple of hours, don't worry."

"I don't want to wait!" X challenged with an uncharacteristic frown. "I can't wait! Doctor Cossack, please open the capsule. I promise to take full responsibility for any eventuality, it's just that…"

"X, I understand how you feel, but this is a breach of protocol and…"

"It is a personal request, Viktor. From one friend to another," X pleaded. "I'll beg if you want to, but please… do me this one favor."

"From a friend to another, then," Viktor Cossack said after a moment of silent contemplation.

"Viktor, you can't…" Nina started.

"I own the company that salvaged the capsule and I'm also one of the few roboticists who still have knowledge on the Robot Masters. Hell, I could even build one if I wanted," Viktor interrupted. "I think I have the authority and the knowledge to do this."

"Is it possible to awaken her?" Alia asked.

"According to the readings I got she only has one power unit left. We could do it but I'd rather we simply open the capsule and wait until after we recharge her power core so that her electronic brain has a nice supply of energy to draw from during activation."

"How long will that take?" X was anxious.

"I estimate twenty four hours to make sure she's fully charged," Viktor calculated. "It is the best we can do, X."

Saying no more, the scientist approached the capsule and began working on the controls, happily surprised to discover they were operational enough to safely open it without causing any damage to the robot within.

Behind Viktor, Mega Man X observed the procedures with an expression of fretfulness so alien in him that Alia could do nothing but experience a fierce, irrational apprehension invade her.

Notes:

Thanks to Adam for beta reading this story.

I.C. stands for Intergrated Circuit, which is the source of a Robot Master's personality, and something that regular robots in the Mega Man universe lack. While there aren't many mentions on I.C.s on X's timeline, they are mentioned and shown in the Mega Man X manga as serving the same purpose as in the original series, therefore, I believe that X's (and Zero's) I.C. is an advanced or second generation one that allows him (and Zero) to be so unique, and this is the one that Dr. Cain had trouble with and only managed to duplicate to a certain extent which would in turn explain the possibility of irregular behavior that flaws regular reploids as well as their weakness to the Maverick virus.

Events from Mega Man X8 are of course referenced in the story, including the Jakob project and Alia's redesign fromX7 to X8 that made her body and hair more feminine looking and less 'blocky' in appearance.