Master Albert

"I don't think I'm a god---I AM A GOD"

- Albert as he Megamerges

"I wanted to know be the ultimate...To be at evolution's extreme...as one of the Sage Trinity, but of above all, as a scientist. At evolution's extreme, there is emptiness and misery."

- Albert

Master Albert (マスター・アルバート) is the main antagonist of Mega Man ZX Advent. He was formerly one of the Sage Trinity, the proclaimed masters of the world in charge of the most powerful corporation, Legion, but betrayed them as he begun to speed up his centuries-long plan by collecting all of the fragments of Biometal Model W to "reset the world".

What appears to be a member of the Sage Trinity is actually a decoy, as revealed when Pandora and Prometheus turn on him and destroy his body.

It is possible that he has a connection to Serpent and, indirectly, Ciel or Doctor Weil, considering the numerous Model W are actually pieces of Ragnarok infused with the evil soul of Doctor Weil, the fact that it was Ciel who found Model W and created Models Z, X, H, L, F and P to counter it, and also the fact that Serpent was not only the first victim of Model W's evil influence but also its nature (as well as the fact that Aeolus's cipher stated a little-known code made by Albert that Maverick survivors were to report to Legion to get a blood donation from him, which also implies that Serpent was a Maverick survivor, as he was seen in the cipher).

Personality
Albert usually tends to be gentle, mature, and relaxed, but has a desire to recreate the world so humans and Reploids may limitlessly evolve; however, he comes to understand that the world must be cleansed of its deficiencies by destroying all life on it, or being "reset", in order to restore balance to its imperfect state. He is a smart, calm, and intelligent man, but at the same time, insanely evil. He was the "certain man who created Model W" that Prairie mentioned. He acts rather indifferent to his "son" Grey, constantly calling him a "defective," whilst he is more sympathetic towards Ashe, showing her far more respect (even expressing some regret towards having to kill Ashe prior to their battle).

History
It is unknown when Albert was born, but it was most likely that he may have been born during or after the Ragnarok incident. At some point in his life he met up with two other revolutionary scientists, Thomas and Mikhail, and formed the Sage Trinity and had their bodies enhanced with cybernetic implants to further increase their lifespans; however, he may have sealed himself away and used an older, taller-looking version of himself in his place. It was revealed by Thomas that Albert had already been creating Model W when the Trinity was just formed. Albert most likely created Model W for the sole purpose of bringing flesh and machine together to reach a higher existence as had Weil did when he fused himself with the core of Ragnarok, and thus influenced him into his villainous role. Ciel somehow knew of Model W and created six Biometals to counteract against Model W. Albert may have predicted this and infused his blood with 8 Reploids and Humans as part of his planned 'Game of Destiny'. To ensure that his Game of Destiny would be played out, he created the Reploid siblings Prometheus and Pandora in order to identify the strongest Mega Man and drag them into the fight as their one commandment. This probably means that there were either past Biometals that were created or Pseudoroids created before the 16 seen in the games. According to the Death and Witch track of ZX Gigamix, the two appeared to have been trying to escape Albert's control for a while until their bodies were supposedly permanently fused with Model W. In order to ensue that his plan wouldn't fail, he created a spare Ultimate Mega Man: Grey, whom he refers to him as the "other him," and his Biometal, Model A, whose powers were styled after Model W's, but supposedly incomplete.

In Mega Man ZX, Albert is not named or seen though in Aile's storyline, but Serpent mentions that all Mega Men are infused with his blood.

In Mega Man ZX Advent, Albert first appears to Grey/Ashe early in the game alongside his fellow Sage Trinity members, Thomas and Mikhail. Though appearing the most benevolent and concerned for Grey/Ashe, his true nature is first revealed to Thomas and Mikhail when he reveals his plan to create a new world based on the doctrine of the Sage Trinity, opting for a do-or-die situation. Before either can respond, Grey/Ashe appears and tries to apprehend him, but he brushes off their attacks with four Model W fragments and escapes, but not before assuring they will meet again, giving them the vague but morbid hint that they 'were made in his image'. He goes into hiding, ordering his Mega Men, Atlas, Thetis, Aeolus and Siarnaq to gather the rest of the Model W fragments scattered across the world. Grey and Ashe eventually find his hideout and prepares to confront them, but gets an unexpected visit from Prometheus and Pandora. Prometheus mocks him before striking him down. After the two Reploid siblings fight Grey/Ashe, their negative energies are suddenly extracted from their bodies, knocking them unconscious as the real Albert appears to Grey and Ashe, and promptly absorbs the data from Prometheus and Pandora. All of the fragments resonate together as they begin their final transformation into the ultimate Biometal, Ouroboros, shaped after the creature of legend that symbolizes the cycle of life and death and bearing a striking resemblance to Ragnarok.

As Grey/Ashe make their way through the Ouroboros, Albert appears in front of them and demonstrates to them the real A-Trans and the true power of Model W and leaves them to fight the regenerated Pseudoroids. He appears again in, supposedly outdoors in an Eden-style garden, sitting on his throne as he reveals to Grey/Ashe of their true lineage and connection to him. Grey was created by Albert as the 'spare Ultimate Mega Man' while Ashe is the only unaltered descendant of his bloodline (meaning, her genetic ties to Albert were legitimate, and not due to genetic tampering). His throne transforms to attack them but is destroyed after. Albert claims that he wants to create a new world by resetting everything and protect its future dismissing Grey/Ashe's claim that he wants to be a ruler (and in Ashe's case, her implication that Model W was controlling Albert.) before announcing himself as a god, Megamerging into Mega Man Model W as the garden around them literally shatters. Though possessing incredible and fearsome powers, Albert is soundly defeated once and for all, claiming that his research was correct, as well as asking Grey if what he just told him is what his non-amnesic self would have said. He berates the two before his body explodes. The Ouroboros soon follows, ending the Model W threat, possibly once and for all.

Although he as well as Model W may be destroyed, his legacy hasn't, since it is revealed in the completion of Expert Mode that Master Thomas intends to continue Albert's work to ensure the destiny of resetting the world (even though he didn't necessarily agree with how Albert tried to destroy existence). His reasonings are yet unknown.

Abilities and Bodies
Decoy body: The dummy body that Albert uses for his role as one of the Sage Trinity. In this form his hair is blue and he wears the Sage Trinity uniform, holding what appears to be a digital lexicon/book. His eyes are constantly closed until his true nature is revealed (this one seems to be the "real" Albert, but just in another body, as both act exactly the same and Albert implies he remembered what happened in his dummy body).

Original body: Also known as DAN-000, this is Albert's original body modified with cybernetics and the ability to use Model W. This form appears to be about Grey/Ashe's size and has red hair instead of blue. Like his decoy body he has black eyes with red irises, but with the addition of a monocle-like device covering his right eye. He constantly wears a restraining jacket which he only removes upon Megamerging (which even then, it's debatable if he actually was Megamerging though all Mega Men with the exception of Ashe, Aeolus, and Serpent either wear boots or other equipment that resembles their Megamerged forms. (See Mega Man Model W below for more details.)


 * MegaMerge: Albert is compatible with Model W, which comes as no surprise being that he is the creator of the original Biometal.


 * A-Trans: Albert is able to change his forms through the power of Model W using 'the real A-Trans' (Shin Trans-On in the Japanese version). In addition, he can also reincarnate/revive those who were absorbed into Model W. Albert can change himself into the forms of those whose souls and negative emotions were absorbed by Model W:
 * The 8 Pseudoroids, who were brought back by Model W's power.
 * Presumably Prometheus and Pandora since he copied them after Grey/Ashe defeated them.
 * Presumably Serpent, as Model W did absorb him as well.
 * Presumably Tom the Raider, as he was absorbed into Model W.

Perhaps Albert's most sinister attack in this form is the ability to tear a hole in space, creating both a black hole and white hole. Anything sucked into the black hole takes damage and returns to the normal dimension through the white hole. When the dragon has taken enough damage, all three heads will separate from the body and attack while the headless necks fire homing missiles.
 * Throne: Not a form he takes, per se, but rather his throne transforms into a three-headed dragon Mechaniloid. In this form, Albert attacks with a predominately ranged strategy, always starting off the battle with a ground-ripping energy sphere that lifts boulders from the ground and hurls them into the air. He also fires napalm rounds that only damage the enemy once making contact with the floor, and often ends the pattern by extending the middle head across the screen, dragging it back along the ground by the horn.

An array of ten "Bits" form around Albert, forming six wings, a halo and a long blade-like 'tail', giving the impression of a Seraph (six Bits are used to form the wings, while two Bits each are used to form the halo and tail). The Bits also generate a protective forcefield around his body to shied him from damage. In addition to this, Albert uses the Bits in varying formations to perform a wide variety of attacks. Many of these are derivatives of the other Mega Men's signature attacks, during which the Bits glow with the corresponding color:
 * Mega Man Model W: It is debated that Albert may have already been in this form since the boots are the same in his normal form; though most Mega Men, with the exception of Ashe and Aeolus, wear similar boots both in and out of their Megamerged forms. Here, he dons yellow-colored armor (sharply contrasting Model A's navy-blue), large elf-like boots, and wears an inverted version of Model A's jumpsuit. Over his face is a blue semi-transparent helmet with piercing yellow eyes glowing from within.
 * Model H's Plasma Cyclone (Green)
 * Model P's Cross Star (Purple)
 * Model F's Ground Breaker (Orange)
 * Model L's Freezing Dragon (Blue)
 * Model ZX's Charge Saber (Light Blue)

His own attacks include using all ten Bits to simultaneously fire two massive energy blasts, and a rushing aerial attack using his tail as a blade. He also demonstrates the ability to use Chronoforce's Time Bomb (albeit only in order to cancel the effect if the player uses it against him), as well as the ability to use Model A's Homing Shots (noticeably his only attack which does not utilize the Bits, instead firing them from his hand).

While his shield is up, Albert uses Homing Shots and his tail rush attack, and uses the Bits that form his halo and tail to perform Plasma Cyclone and Cross Star. When his shield is down, he is free to use all ten Bits to perform his other more devastating attacks, as well as counter Time Bomb.

It should be noted that Albert can perform all of his attacks, both copied and original, in his own transformed state, whereas Mega Man Model A must take the form of the attack's original user. In this regard, Albert's abilities are more similar to those of Mega Man X, which gives another kind of significance to the title of "Ultimate Mega Man".

Trivia

 * Albert has the same first name as Dr. Wily. Like the other Sage Trinity members, this is most likely a homage to the classic series. However, several personality traits also mirror the Resident Evil villain Albert Wesker, of whom he also shares the same first name. Also, Wesker and Wily share the initials A.W.


 * Albert manipulates machinery in battle to attack his opponent, much like Dr. Wily, whereas most other Mega Men rely heavily on direct physical combat and more conventional weaponry like swords and guns.


 * Also, Albert has a serial number for his creations and himself, DAN-000, which is similar to Dr. Wily's robot codes, "DWN."


 * Albert is said to have been using Serpent during the first Mega Man ZX game. This gives further reference to Dr. Wily, who started off the running plotline of using another person to keep the main protagonist off his back. This also marks the first time in the robots continuity of Mega Man that a main villain who directly manipulates the events of the series doesn't appear in the game the fake villain appears in (as he was directly responsible for Serpent's conversion into a Mega Man, as well as the creation of Model W, which was a focus on The new era.)


 * A-Trans most likely stands for 'Albert-Transform'.


 * For a final boss, Albert has the lowest health bars compared to Omega (in fact, it's arguably even lower than Copy X). This is somewhat of moot point however, as the player has to repeatedly break down his barrier before they can hurt him.


 * He is one of the few main villains whose final death is that of a typical boss explosion instead of a cinematic death.


 * Albert is the second final boss to not have a health bar in one of his forms, the first being Sigma's viral form in Mega Man X2.


 * He is one of the few final bosses to have his own theme for both forms instead of just his final form. Both Weil and Serpent before him had the usual boss music as their first form, and only had their own exclusive theme music (Falling Down and Pallida Mors, respectively) in their final forms.