Mega Man 9: Dawn of X


 * This article is about the graphic novel; you may be looking for the game Mega Man 9.
 * Previous Volume: Mega Man Volume 8 - Redemption ←—
 * —→ Next Volume: Mega Man Volume 10 - Legends of the Blue Bomber
 * —→ Next Volume: Mega Man Volume 10 - Legends of the Blue Bomber

Mega Man Volume 9 - Dawn of X is the ninth Graphic Novel of the Mega Man comic book series by Archie Comics. It collects the stories "Secrets in the Deep", "The Hunters and the Hunted", "Out of Time", and "Inheritance", which serve as a crossover between the running Mega Man story and that of the Mega Man X series, as well as building up to the Worlds Unite crossover.

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Part 1: Secrets in the Deep
On 21XX, in Arcadia City, two Emerald Spears members recognize Mega Man X as being the first Reploid and the demon template, with one of them firing a launcher round at X on his partner's orders. However, he missed and ended up hitting a car instead. X then proceeded to Dash towards them as the black-haired Emerald Spears member told off his purple haired partner for missing despite being in close range while the purple haired human apologized. X then proceeded to yank the launcher from the black-haired human and chewed him out for endangering people. However, the purple haired member was about to fire at X with his launcher at point blank range. Zero, an elite Maverick Hunter, managed to teleport in from behind and grab him, telling him to cut it out. X then tried to tell Zero to be careful as while they are dangerous, they were still humans. Zero then assuaded X's fears by telling him that he wasn't going to come close to becoming Maverick, before preemptively returning the thanks.

X then apologized and thanked Zero for saving him, and decided to turn them in to the police. However, the black-haired human proceeded to loudly declare that they can kill him and his partner, but the cause of the Emerald Spears will not be broken, and declared loudly that humanity revolt against the machines. X then tried to tell him that no one is aiming to harm them, while Zero corrected him and stated that X and Zero won't, and implied that the owner of the car that the two humans destroyed might hurt them in revenge for destroying the car. X then asked what the Emerald Spears were, with Zero explaining that they were an ancient cult of robophobes, and their human-exclusive membership meant the Maverick Hunters generally don't get involved in their crimes, although the explosion caused by them required Zero to investigate while he was in the area, as they usually meant trouble.

Zero then commented to the soldier that he had good shooting skills for someone so opposed to advanced technology, and the soldier nervously retorted that they fight fire with fire. X then proceeded to tell Zero to be merciful as the guy wasn't well. X, however, was privately disturbed at his learning about the Emerald Spears and their history, as while he could understand why humans were nervous about Reploids going Maverick, the implications of the Emerald Spears' existence and motives would suggest something similar happened long in the past.

Meanwhile, in the badlands a century before, Mega Man, Bright Man, and Pharaoh Man teleported onto a mesa, with Mega Man reporting to the doctors that he arrived at the coordinates Dr. Wily gave them before remarking that everything seemed quiet. Mega Man then mentioned the entrance should be within the mesa, so far as what Wily remembers at least. Pharaoh Man then asked Mega Man whether Mega Man should let him go first this time around and complimenting his adaptive learning program is functioning well, especially when the last time Mega Man led them on a mission, he managed to shoot anything that moved in a site full of priceless relics, with Mega Man sheepishly acknowledging it.

After locating the door to the abandoned Wily Lab and opening it, Mega Man asked Wily whether there were any defenses in the lab. Wily stated that there shouldn't be any more, as they should be either broken or disabled. Mega Man then gave the all-clear, but then Pharaoh Man revealed that Wily is either becoming senile, or is lying as he rips out a panel that had a gun inside. Bright Man, after some shock, then commented that it may have had its power system drained, before Pharaoh Man confirmed that it actually had a backup generator, and that it had enough of a caliber to penetrate even the Robot Masters' armor. Mega Man then asked Wily if he heard this. Wily then claimed that the long period of time had caused him to forget. After signing off, Bright Man asked Mega Man if he is entirely sure that Wily's on their side. Mega Man then proceeded to state that they found plenty of evidence to back up his claims, and the judge had acquitted him, plus Wily was the one who revealed the location of the lab to them in the first place, meaning there was reason to trust him, and that if it was indeed one of Wily's tricks, Mega Man would get rid of the trap and deal with Wily himself. Suddenly, Pharaoh Man stops the other Robot Masters, as ahead of them was a trap floor and he starts to disable it. Bright Man then eyed Mega Man suspiciously, as if to say "I told you so!".

At Light Labs, Dr. Light tells the three to take it slow. He then turns to Dr. Wily and asks if the current lab was the only location that the "rogue" Robot Masters could be hiding, which Wily responds by saying it's the only place he can think of, as all of his other assets were impounded, and this was the only one untouched. He backs up his reasoning with the fact that Ra Moon had access to all of his files, and the new Robot Masters were built by him, so the remaining lab could have potentially been programmed as a fall-back position. While Roll hands the doctors some coffee, he explains that it was too dangerous to disassemble, as this was the lab that got him banned for the "unethical robotic experiments". Dr. Cossack says that it was due to Wily building weapons of mass destruction, and the two glare each other. Dr. Light says that they all made some mistakes in the past, but right now they need to focus on the Robot Masters hiding in a dangerous stronghold. Wily says that it is only potentially dangerous, as the place is old and Mega Man can probably handle it, but he actually hopes that Mega Man is destroyed in his trap. Regardless, if Mega Man and Cossack's robots survive his Wily Walker, it will give his Robot Masters time to finish his new base and prepare a back-up plan. In the background, Auto can be seen working on Eddie.

Dr. Light thanks Cossack for lending his robots again, and Cossack says that not only is it a pleasure, it also gives exposure for the Stravinsky Science Academy, saying "Cossack-built Robot Masters--helping Mega Man clean up Dr. Wily's messes in 20XX." while looking to Wily. Dr. Wily says he is funny, and asks if Kalinka no longer having nightmares now that he helped destroy Ra Moon. The handle of Cossack's mug suddenly breaks as if it was a bad omen, but Roll takes it before it hits floor and says she will take another. Cossack thanks Roll and says he doesn't want more coffee, and tells Wily that she is sleeping better now that she doesn't have to worry about monsters or mad scientists.

In the Chronos Institute, Dr. Shou Kouin called agents Roslyn Krantz and Gilbert D. Stern about a fugitive hiding in a lab. While taking them to the room, he explains that they research time, how it works, how it affects others, and how it can be manipulated. Gil jokingly says to call him if he discovers how to stop it, as he has a backlog of paperwork. Dr. Kouin also notes that they are nearing completing a prototype "Time Skimmer", which allows one to move through time. He took in a man named Mr. Wells as his assistant, who said he lost everything after the blackout, but after seeing the news, he discovered that Mr. Wells is actually the terrorist leader Xander Payne. Surprised, Xander enters a firefight with the agents. He successfully managed to graze Gil in the arm, and then proceeded to rant about how he only wished to stem the tide of the robot revolution and prevent humanity's extinction, but he now realizes that they are already caught in the current, so he intends to go back before "the tide even rose". He then acknowledged that they most likely won't even know his sacrifice, and forgives them for not realizing it before stating he'll "see them in the history books," and goes into the temporal energies of the time machine.

Back in the hidden mesa lab, Mega Man, Pharaoh Man, and Bright Man are attacked by a few Battons, but besides them, they didn't found any other robots. After passing by a chasm,, they find a room with a large robot that is on stand-by. Wily says that's the Wily Walker, a walking weapons platform he created to get sponsorship from the military and got him sanctioned. When Wily explains what it can do, Cossack screams with Wily for adding chemical weapons to it. Wily says he only wanted to show its versatility and was going to disarm it for the final checks, but got arrested before he could. Wily gives the shutdown code, but instead it enables the robots, and he blames Cossack for distracting him. None of their weapons work on the Wily Walker, and when Bright Man is about to get crushed by it, Mega Man sacrifices himself to save him.

A century later, in the same mesa, X goes to the area by Dr. Cain 's request. Cain's team discovered a hidden chasm with something that appears to be from Dr. Light's period. X is surprised to see a giant machine (the Wily Walker) partially buried under rubble, and Cain can't wait to discover what is it. Beneath the Wily Walker, Mega Man's helmet is broken under its leg, suggesting that he was destroyed by it.

Short Circuits: Dr. Cain dresses himself as a pirate.

Part 2: The Hunters and the Hunted
The story picks off where Issue 37 left off, where Dr. Cain and Mega Man X stumble upon the remains of the Wily Walker in the Mesa Dig Site. X and Dr. Cain initially speculate the downed mech was some sort of ancient Mechaniloid, although Dr. Cain stated they needed to unearth it first, being excited at the prospects of discovering all the contents under the Mesa. It then cuts to an area deep under the rubble showing Mega Man's broken helmet. X then noticed a shine underneath and determined that there's some part of the machine that was still active. When Dr. Cain sees it, he also determines, based on other samples from the dig site, that it was active for more than a hundred years, although X determined that it may run out of power soon. Dr. Cain then tries to remove the power cell in order to salvage any information from it. X then warns the archaeologist to be careful, as he might inadvertently wreck the device or otherwise inadvertently set off an ancient weapons system. Dr. Cain is certain the latter possibility isn't the case, as the Mesa was a research lab, and thus there wouldn't be much of a reason to leave a weapon there. He then removed the power source and stated they should return to the surface. However, rumbling is heard and the seemingly deactivated Wily Walker's eyes slowly open...

As the Wily Walker attacks, X gets Dr. Cain to safety, and the doctor is quick to blame himself for the incident, but X encourages him to contact the Maverick Hunters for help while he attempts to deal with the machine. Cain agrees, and adds that he'll search for a means of stopping the Walker amongst the artifacts while X works to protect the dig team and any nearby tourists. X soon reaches the upper levels, where he grabs a Reploid worker named Samantha. She informs him that most of the tourists should be evacuated, but the Wily Walker-some of its weapons still functional-blows out the side of the mesa in its attempts to get free. The Wily Walker ignores the tourists, and X informs Dr. Cain that it is going to the city. Dr. Cain calls Sigma, who orders Zero and Vile to assemble their units and rendezvous with X. X is having trouble with the Wily Walker when Zero, Vile and several other Maverick Hunters arrive to provide backup. Zero directs X to help Dr. Cain, who has unearthed a small capsule of some sort, to find a way to control the robot.

In the past, Mega Man has successfully avoid the Wily Walker's attack, though he lost his helmet in the process. He, Bright Man and Pharaoh Man continue to fight it while Wily pretends to help while secretly sending another wrong deactivation code for it, opening the facility doors to set the Walker free. He tells Mega Man to try other code, but the terminal is destroyed in the battle. In Light Labs, Dr. Light, Dr. Cossack, Roll, and Auto are working as fast as they can on a machine while Wily talks with Mega Man. Wily feels confident, musing that even if Mega Man survives the Wily Walker, he still has his Robot Masters to take care of him while his newest castle is finished, and Doc Robot if the Robot Masters fail him. Dr. Light tells Mega Man to hold on and buy time while they work to help him. As the Wily Walker prepares to leave, Mega Man destroys the entrance to keep it contained, leaving them trapped in the room with the dangerous machine.

Meanwhile, Xander Payne is in a time stream and sees several events in rapid succession, including Mega Man fighting Gamma and Quint, and an injured Wily talking with someone. Unable to handle it, he escapes through an opening and sees Mega Man talking with other robot and firing at a time anomaly (Issue 20), causing Xander to go to a time where Mega Man and a talking animal are fighting against a robot attacking the people (Worlds Collide). He than finally arrives dizzy in a tall highway from 21XX, seeing several cars in the streets below and the Maverick Hunters fighting the Wily Walker in the distance. By seeing the conflict, Xander believes it to be the time of the robot uprising.

Short Circuits: While X and Mega Man go out in an adventure, Zero invites Roll to go with him in an adventure too.

Part 3: Out of Time
With the Wily Walker trapped inside the Mesa Lab, Mega Man and his two companions are left to fend off the machine until they can work out some sort of strategy to defeat it. Bright Man tells Mega Man to move so they can come up with a plan to defeat it, with Pharaoh Man's shot hitting the Wily Walker on the head. Mega Man then proceeded to use his Mega Buster on it while dodging a blow, while responding that they try to keep the Wily Walker off balance until they come up with a strategy, much to Bright Man's chagrin due to his not being built for fighting ("What am I supposed to do? Shine at it?!").

Meanwhile, at Light Labs, Dr. Wily secretly gloats for Mega Man to be destroyed, willing to overhaul his master plan if Mega Man ended up destroyed by the Wily Walker, although he snaps out of it when Dr. Light inquires the status of contacting the eight Light Robot Masters, with Wily responding he had no luck, noting that they either aren't available or won't pick up (the call history is shown to have lasted less than a minute, and as Wily is deleting the records, he obviously didn't attempt to call for help). Light then tells Mega Man that they are working on a countermeasure as fast as he can. He then notices that two devices don't look compatable, and requests from Roll a converter. She then managed to quickly find one in a box. Satisfied, Light then requests for her to find some bolts. She then goes to find the bolts and has Rush accompany her to find them, while privately remarking to herself that they are burning through bolts so fast that they will become more valuable than money. Meanwhile, Auto is looking at some cards and Dr. Cossack, while working on a cylindrical device, inquires Wily how he'll ever sleep at night when it is his inventions that are ruining the world, and his contemporaries have to clean up after him. Wily then counters Cossack should use his analytical mind to actually do something useful instead of nagging him, also inferring that Bright Man should be weaponized to be useful. Cossack then counters that Bright Man's fine the way he is, even if Wily doesn't think so due to him not being weaponized. Wily then countered by pointing out that Pharaoh Man was equipped with a flame launcher. Cossack then stammers and then claims it was different, with Wily also pointing out that it's not as it is self-preservation. Light then broke up the argument and agreed with Wily, citing that even if it's to defend the robot, it's not like they can't remove the modifications later. Cossack conferred, though he still felt weaponizing every robot they made is a bad idea, fearing for the future.

A century later in the badlands, Zero orders the Zero and Vile Companies to target the Wily Walker's right flank on his order. They then fired launchers onto the Wily Walker, and Zero and Vile proceeded to blast it with their weapons. Strangely, the Wily Walker initially ignores Zero (recognizing his signal) and targets its attacks elsewhere, but changes its mind after the red Reploid attacks it. As Zero, Vile, and their men continue to attack, X returns to Dr. Cain in the lab, where the doctor reveals that he's discovered an ancient module with information on the Walker. The device suddenly gives a damaged warning record, but it is enough for them to learn that the monstrous automaton carries chemical weapons. X immediately rushes to join the battle against it to ensure that the Maverick Hunters don't unwittingly detonate its payload. He and Zero are then horrified as Vile, in an effort to halt the Wily Walker's progress, blasts a nearby highway, threatening the lives of several humans. Zero yells "Have you gone Maverick?!" to Vile, and X heads to help with casualties while Zero and Vile continue their efforts, with both Zero and X accosting Vile's dangerous actions.

While helping injured humans and Reploids, X stumbles across a Reploid with a lost arm that warns him of a human about to fall. Unable to hold any longer, Xander Payne falls and X saves him. The rattled terrorist, still thinking that he's witnessing a robot uprising, mistakes X for Mega Man and can't believe that he survived, accusing him of leading the revolution. Noticing the insignia on Xander's eye patch, X realizes that he's a member of Emerald Spears, stunning Xander with the revelation that his organization still exists in the future. He is further alarmed to learn that the Reploids are doing battle with the Walker, as the idea of the machines fighting each other as well as humanity terrifies him. Realizing that Xander poses a problem, X turns him over to a rescue crew-who handcuff him-before returning to help Zero fight the Wily Walker and to keep an eye on Vile (with Vile spitefully telling him "Bite me, X." in response). Suddenly, inside a Bee Blader Xander starts to disapper due to the effects of his time travel. Feeling he has failed the humans of the future thus far, Xander promises other humans gathered by the rescue crew that he will do whatever it takes to stop the robots and redeem himself, even if he must sacrifice his ideals to do so. To their astonishment, he then disappears, drawn back into the time stream.

Back at the Mesa Lab, Dr. Cain and Sigma-whom X had contacted previously-investigate the module further, and before its power fails, it shows schematics of the ancient weapon, allowing Sigma to learn all he needed to stop it. He then joins X, Zero, and Vile at the site of the Walker's rampage, and orders them to distract it while he neutralizes it. Recognizing Sigma and the others as a major threat, however, the Wily Walker prepares to deploy its chemical weapons payload.

Short Circuits: Mega Man and Bass discuss who have the best robot dog.

Finale: Inheritance
In 21XX, Sigma coordinates Maverick Hunters, granting X permission to help to slate Vile's annoyance for his presence. Sigma orders them to distract the Wily Walker while he attacks its weak points, and in case it launches any chemical weapons, their priority is to stop them.

In 20XX, with the Wily Walker still rampaging, Dr. Wily begins instructing Mega Man on a makeshift weapon addition to Bright Man while Pharaoh Man fends off the machine. Dr. Light and Roll then teleport Rush in with a circuit board and the information module Dr. Cain would later uncover. Rush arrives as Mega Man finishes the modifications, granting Bright Man his Flash Stopper, which he uses to halt the Wily Walker. Mega Man hooks up the circuit board, disabling the Wily Walker for good. Part of the floor collapses and the Wily Walker falls in the chasm, Mega Man almost falling with it. Unable to destroy it, their only option is to cave in the area, leaving the module with a warning and information about the Wily Walker for future generations to finish their job with advanced technology.

In the Chronos Institute, Gilbert D. Stern and Roslyn Krantz try to figure out where, or when, Xander Payne went, when he suddenly returns from his time travel, and Gil points that he is conveniently handcuffed. Although Gil is wounded and the agents have to take Xander to the prison, Dr. Kouin wants to talk with him, as he is the first time traveler in history and wants to know what he saw in the past. Xander says he messed up and went to the future instead, where everything is wrong and he must stop it.

Back in 21XX, the battle continues. Sigma damages the Wily Walker's legs and is knocked down by a blow, forcing Zero to take up his saber and lop off another leg, causing it to fall. While Zero checks Sigma, the Wily Walker tries to attack them from behind and X protects them, with Sigma taking his saber and finishing it off by piercing its head. Sigma contacts the Hunter HQ to have Flame Mammoth and his unit manage the area, and asks for a toxins specialist to also come, the Hunters finding someone named Toxic Seahorse to go. Zero says X did well and should consider joining the Hunters, but he is not sure, and Vile disagrees with Zero. Sigma asks Vile what he was thinking when he destroyed the overpass, and he says that if he didn't do it, they would be fighting in the middle of the city and would need to worry with more humans. Dr. Cain arrives to see if everyone is alright, and Zero takes X away for repairs. Dr. Cain and Sigma have been keeping an eye on Zero, and they talk about him losing his memory. Dr. Cain is glad that Zero got a second chance while Sigma is a bit wary, given the unknowns within him and X, and he wonders if X's creator had any idea how he would influence the future.

Back in 20XX, Mega Man and the others are receiving repairs in Light Labs. Auto calls Dr. Light to take the phone, with Roslyn wanting to tell him that got a tip of the robots from four of the networked asteroids of a space station project went offline, and informs that Xander was arrested. In the prison, Xander's cell mate calls a guard complaining that he is locked with a lunatic, and Xander, now more deranged than before, is scratching plans into the cell walls with a sharpened toothbrush.

Short Circuits: Mega Man asks X about the future. When X decides to give some hints, Sigma and Dr. Wily interrupt ripping the page itself.

Trivia

 * Although labeled a crossover between Mega Man and Mega Man X, none of the principle cast members in either game directly interact with each other (besides X and Xander Payne).