First of all if you haven't heard The Protomen's Album yet, you need to. I've always liked the Megaman series but nothing of this caliber has ever come of it (and that's saying ALOT), but perhaps I hype it up to much. Try them out at least... Free demo on their site: www.protomen.com/breaking%20out/ The song in particular that caught my interest in them was The Stand(man or machine).
Now to what I really wanted to do. Detail in Text from their albums the story of The protomen. These lyrics can be found on lyricwiki.org/the_protomen
Chapter I: Hope Rides AloneNarrator: No one was left who could remember how it had happened,
how the world had fallen under darkness.
At least no one who would do anything.
No one who would oppose the robots.
No one who would challenge their power,
or so Dr. Wily believed...
Twenty floors above the dark streets of the city, Dr. Light lived in a run-down tenement.
An eccentric and brilliant man.
Light was a loner, a thinker, a man of ideas.
Ideas forbidden in Wily's society.
The society for which he worked.
The society in which he lived.
The society that he would set free.
And so Light worked, far into the night, when the watchful eyes of Wily's robots weren't upon him.
He'd set his skillful hands to the task of creating a device to bring about a change, to create a machine to bring freedom, to create a man to save the world.
Twelve years Light worked and on a cold night in the year 200X, Protoman was born.
A perfect man, an unbeatable machine, hell-bent on destroying every evil standing between man and freedom, built for one purpose, to destroy Wily's army of evil robots. Ready, willing, prepared to fight.
Cutman
Gutsman
Elecman
Bombman
Fireman
Iceman
Proto
Fireman: Attack!
Narrator: And as the smoke cleared!
Wily rose above the countless robots remaining. Protoman was wounded, low on energy, struggling to remain standing as Wily ordered the final attack.
The death of Protoman.
The crowd had gathered there to watch him fall, to watch their hopes destroyed.
They watched them beat him, they watched them break him, they watched his last defense deployed.
There was not a man among them who would let himself be heard.
But from the crowd, from thier collective fear, arose these broken words:
We are the dead
We are the dead
Human Choir: What have we done?
Narrator: We are the dead
Human Choir: What will we do?
Narrator: We are the dead
Human Choir: Where will we turn?
Narrator: We are the dead
Human Choir: Is there nothing we can do?
Narrator: We are the dead
Human Choir: How did it come to this?
Narrator: We are the dead
Human Choir: How did we go so wrong?
Narrator: We are the dead
Human Choir: We are the dead
Chapter II, Part I: Funeral For A SonBetween the gaps in the trembling and calloused fingers that cradle his heavy head, Light watches the mob of cowards carry Protoman's scarred helmet -- all that was left of the Man Machine who would have been their savior. As the crowd marches somberly back -- some to their homes, some to the makeshift grave where Protoman's helmet would remain, all to slavery -- Light notices a tear streaming down the dorsum of his hand and feels a breathtaking weight in his chest. What is this? Frustration? Humiliation? Hatred? Certainly, these are there too. But no, this is more than that. These emotions are his life. He has lived with them for so long that they no longer affect him. Over the years he has learned to fight them, then ignore them, and finally channel them into his work, his creation, his machine, his son.So that was it. The source of tears and the pain that caused them. This time he had built more than a machine. He had sent more than a robot to battle. He had sent a man, his own son, to do the impossible, to save those who could not be saved, to die.There was the hatred again, the rage, welling inside of him. No more, he thought, as he tore down the tools and parts that framed his apartment workshop. Never again. "Mankind deserves the hell that they have brought upon themselves" He smashed and cut, metal against metal, metal against flesh, in an effort to destroy his own means of creation. He allowed the tears to pour from his cheeks and mingle with the blood seeping from the cuts in his torn and battered hands. He had set out to use these hands to destroy his workshop but he now watched as they seemed to be creating of their own accord. Pieces of machine from the floor were seized and fused. They began to take form - the form of Light's anger, the form of his guilt, the form of his grief, the form of his love, the form of a son.Years passed. Nothing changed. The human race seemed weary but content to suffer under Dr. Wily and the robot army. In whispers, they still spoke of Protoman. Eventually, Megaman would find out the truth. Dr. Light knew this.When Megaman was old enough, Light called him into the workshop and began to explain...Chapter II, Part II: Unrest In The House of LightYou have heard me tell this story
Many times before you sleep
This time listen carefully
And I will tell you once again
But this time understand that what I'm telling you.
Every single word is true.
You need to know.
There was another who came before you
He was a hero and your brother and my son.
He fought the darkness, the darkness won.
And he fought bravely, and he died bravely
But he was forsaken by the ones he wished to save.
And when he died he died in vain.
You need to know.
You are not him.
That time is coming, and I must warn you
Though it's something that you may not understand
They can be saved by just one man.
And I am sorry, cause I was wrong
And I'd take away the weight his shoulders had to bear.
Cause when he fell I was the only one who cared.
You need to know.
You are not him.
His fight's not yours.
That story's finished. That story's ended.
Understand there's no more that we can do.
And I will not risk losing you.
For if you leave now, you will be fighting
for a people that refuse to comprehend
They have chosen their own end.
So you will stay here. You will obey me.
And I will keep grieving for the son I sent to death.
You are all I have left.
You need to know.
You are not him.
This fight's not yours.
You cannot win.
Chapter III: The Will of OneMegaman: I have seen this city a thousand times. Through the glass twenty stories high,
I have watched this city burn. If everything that you said is true,
there is no hope someday they will learn. But if I stay here with you, then I will never know the truth
Dr. Light: Do not say this is how it has to be.
Megaman: But as I walk through the city streets, these frightened people watching me pass;
there is an evil that holds them here, yet they won't try breaking its grasp.
But if I stay here with you, then I will leave them to their doom
Dr. Light: Do not say this is how it has to be.
Megaman: You do no better than the fools of this burning city.
Dr. Light: You have heard me tell this story
Many times before you sleep
No matter how dark it seems
Even now, there's hope for man
Megaman: Even here it is not safe
Even this grave has been defaced
Someone has written on this stone
In some angry hand
Hope rides alone.
Hope rides alone.
Hope rides alone.
The buildings fly past him now. Megaman rushes towards the east side of the city,towards the fortress, towards his fate. The rusting metal loudspeakers mounted at intervals on the side of the stone wall are humming, chanting now words to settle the stir created by a new hero. Words to quell a potential uprising. Words to inspire fear. Words to drive back the idea that freedom is within the grasp of one angry mob headed by one unstoppable leader. One perfect Machine.Megaman: Do not say this is how it has to be
You do no better than the fools of this burning city.
And as I live
There is no evil that will stand
I will finish
What was started: The fight of Protoman
Loudspeaker: We have control
We keep you safe
We are your hope.
We have control
We keep you safe
We are your hope
Human Choir: We have control
We keep you safe
We are your hope
Chapter IV: VenganceHuman Choir: We are in control.
The voices of the men and women carry him forward. Megaman has no fear now that freedom is near.Standing between the sea of men and Megaman's final purpose is an army of robots, commanded by one leader. This is not Dr. Wily. Wily has no power on a field of battle. This is Wily's second in command. His face is shrouded in the shadow of the fortress, his rough features and solid construction obscured by the void of light.The robots advance.One by one they will fall. No mercy will be shown. No hesitation. These are machines. They cannot feel pain. They cannot understand what drives Megaman onward. The rage is lost on these soldiers. Megaman has his target now. The Commander of this army will fall. All the wreckage he must wade through to get there is insignificant.Megaman: Send your armies.
There's no man or machine
who can stop me,
and you'll soon see.
I come for vengeance
for the first Son of Light, and I'm ready, and I'm willing, and I'm prepared to...
Send me the best you've got. Send me your strongest machines.
The fight my brother fought, here, now, will end with me.
All you wounded, those of you who can, pick yourselves off the ground,
Hurry back, tell your leader you'll need more men.
Send me the best you've got. Send me your strongest machines.
The fight my brother fought, here, now, will end with me.
Is this the best you've got? Is this your strongest machine?
Now with one powershot, you'll see what vengeance means.
Nearing the gate and the leader of the Robot Army, Megaman's fury yields to confusion. This Commander is not just a machine.The shadow, it covers your face but your eyes shine just like mine.
Step forward, step into the light if you're ready, and you're willing, and you're prepared to fight.
So be it, send your armies. There's no man or machine who can stop me, and you'll soon see.
I come for vengeance for the first Son of Light and I'm ready, and I'm willing, and I'm prepared to fight.
Send me the best you've got. Send me your strongest machines.
The fight my brother fought, here, now, will end with me.
Is this the best you've got? Is this your strongest machine?
Now with one powershot, you'll see what vengeance means.
Just before the shot rang out, the blast that would end this battle, the commander stepped out of the shadows and into the light. This was a face our Hero had seen before, in visions and dreams. This was not the face of evil. This was the face of a Hero, the face of a Son, the face of his Brother.This was Protoman.Chapter V: The Stand (Man or Machine)Megaman dropped to his knees and lowered his weapon. Dr. Light stepped quietly out of the crowd.Dr Light: You're trying to understand. I told you your brother had been killed.
Yet, here he stands in the very shadow of the man you came here to destroy.
You came here to avenge his death. You came here to save mankind. You see now, you cannot do both.
Megaman's eyes raised to meet his brother's. Protoman met his stare, held it for only a second and turned his attention to the bloodthirsty crowd.Protoman: Tell me now. Is there a man among you here?
Is there no one who will stand up and try to fight?
Tell me Man, is there not one in all your ranks? Is there not one who values courage over life?
Protoman turns his attention back to his brother.They looked to me once. Now they turn to you. Do you understand now?
Do you see that the truth is they don't want to change this?
They don't want a hero. They just want a martyr, a statue to raise.
I've given every thing I can. There are no heroes left in man.
So it begins!
No matter which one of us lives, the ground we're standing on will crack and blow away.
You will fight. And when you fight, you'll fight alone. And in the end you'll see there was no other way.
I've been here before. I've stood where you stand.
They called me their hero, The Hero of Man. But why should we save them
when they stand for nothing? If they deserve life, LET THEM STAND FOR THEMSELVES.
We've given everything we can. There are no heroes left in man.
They'll watch you die to save their lives. They will not stand here by your side.
Suddenly Protoman stops. His eyes fall on his father. His face changes almost imperceptibly. Nothing changes but his eyes. Then, as quickly as he'd stopped, Protoman leaps off of the shattered robots and lands in the midst of the remaining army. Throwing his bare hand into the side of one robot, Protoman sends him flying into the ranks. Three, four robots fall under Protoman's powerful blow. He destroys his own legions as he makes his way to the front of the line. He stands alone in front of Megaman.Protoman: We've given everything we can. There are no heroes left in man. So let them watch as we decide the very fate of all mankind!
The air is thick with smoke. Protoman makes no move, but stands, still at some distance, at the ready. Megaman, still fighting to fully grasp the truth of the situation, raises from his knees. His weapon raised hesitantly, Megaman locks eyes with his brother but breaks free seconds later. His eyes dart over the crowd searching for Light. His father's eyes are on the ground.Dr. Light can watch no more. The crowd watches with fiery intensity.Megaman's eyes fix once again on Protoman. His weapon drops to his side.Chapter VI: The Son's of FateMegaman: I will not fight you. (Protoman: You have no choice.)
I'll stand beside you. (I stand alone.)
You're still their hero. (Then they are fools.)
This cannot be the only way! (You will see.)
They don't deserve this. (When this is through,)
Now more than ever, (Mankind will fall.)
We are their hope! (They would not stand.)
They know no better. (They would not fight.)
They are not ready. (They never will.)
Even now there is hope for man! (My father's words!)
Your father loved you. (He still believes?)
His heart was broken. (His only weakness.)
His greatest strength! (Now we shall see)
You are not evil. (if they will stand)
You are not broken. (beside their hero)
Megaman: We both know they'll never fight!
Protoman: You finally get it.
There are no heroes.
Mankind is doomed.
You will never have another Hero. You will never have another chance. You will fall because you never tried to stand for yourselves!
Human Choir: Destroy him!
You can save us!
Destroy him!
Do it for us!
Destroy him!
You're our only hope!
KILL PROTOMAN!!!
No man saw the blow. The light was blinding. The crash was deafening. The two brothers stood feet apart. Both in pain. Only Protoman fell. His knees hit the ground. His weapon followed. Before he could fall any further Megaman was at his side. The brothers, the Sons of Light, embraced. Protoman was dying. Nothing could stop that now. Protoman looked up through strained eyes and tried to speak. At first nothing came. Summoning all his remaining strength, Protoman whispered these words into his brother's ear:Protoman: If these people...tell this story...to their children...as they sleep...maybe someday...they'll see a Hero...is just a man...who knows he is free.
Protoman was dead.The crowd seemed pleased.Megaman finally understood.There are no Heroes left in Man.Human Choir: He could not save himself.
How could he save us?
For all the blood he shed, (Megaman: As I live)
Your brother failed us. (There is no evil that will stand.)
There's nothing you could do. (And I will finish)
You had no choice. (what was started:)
Why do you cry for him? (The fight of Protoman!)
You are our hero.
You are our hero!
Megaman: And you are the dead.
The fallen body of his brother at his feet, Megaman removed his helmet and began to walk away from the fortress. The remaining robots looked at their broken leader, then at Megaman. Without orders, they would neither advance nor retreat. With eyes full of rage, Megaman looked over the whole of Mankind, turned his eyes back to the robot army and lowered his head. Slowly, he loosened his grip on his battle-scarred helmet, letting is drop from his hand to the ground. The robots immediately turned from Megaman and cast their eyes towards the fortress. Dr. Wily stood high above the robots, high above the crowd of men, high above their broken heroes. With a wave of his hand, the robot army had their orders. They advanced on the crowd to punish them for their thoughts of rebellion. Men fell in waves. Those most eager to watch the bloodshed were the first victims of the slaughter. The sound of Machines marching into a screaming mass did not cause Megaman to turn. The sound of children crying for their mothers would not pull his gaze from the far edge of the city. The sound that finally caused Megaman to pause long enough to look back on the burning city was the voices raised over the din, chanting almost in unison:Human Choir: We are the dead.
We are the dead.
We are the dead.
There, That's all of it so far. The Protomen do however plan on finishing up ACT II, the prequel story to this one sometime this year.
I would also like to mention that I am in no way offiliated with The Protomen nor was I given anything to promote them, I am merely a fan and wanted to show my enthusiasm for such a great up-and-comming band.
