History Fanfic / LegacyOfMetal

* AscendedExtra: The Green Biker Dude goes by the name Gearloose and has his character established a bit (he plays a {{Lancer}}[=/=]SmartGuy mix in Zero's absence) before he bites the dust.

* WorldOfCardboardSpeech: Of all people, Bass gets one of the best. Maybe it runs in the family?

* {{Jossed}}: Some aspects, especially the whole "Zero killed em all" thing. Erico seems to think ''Maverick Hunter X'' did this to a lot of the verse, but then, nobody's quite sure how much of that counts...

!! These stories provide examples of:

And, of course, all applicable ''Mega Man'' tropes whenever they turn up.

** In ''Demons of the Past'', Signas (who up to this point has been presented as the Hunter HQ's ObstructiveBureaucrat and ReplacementScrappy) comes up with a strategy that ''inverts'' this at last, challenging Sigma and his current band of Mavericks to a confrontation at the Hokkaido cliffs (also the site where Sigma's fortress was built in ''An Uncertain Future'') first. X, Zero, and the other Hunters use this advantage to set up an ambush with a delayed attack force that catches most of the Mavericks off guard. In no small way a {{Crowning Moment of Awesome}} for the Hunters.

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: ''X'' delivers these when he gets really angry.

* TheObiWan: Zero, for most of ''Island Of Awakening.''

** Also, when you realize the relation between [[spoiler:The copy Mega Man, Docman, and Dark Man.]]

* WhamEpisode: ''Guiding Rainbow's Light'' has one practically every other chapter. And it ''works''.

As of October 2010, four other authors have been [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3387678/20/Mega_Man_Guiding_Rainbows_Light credited]] as co-authors within the Legacy of Metal: [[http://www.fanfiction.net/u/152431/ Magus]], [[http://www.fanfiction.net/u/97007/Maelgrim Maelgrim]], [[http://www.fanfiction.net/u/160827/Revokov Revokov]], and [[http://www.fanfiction.net/u/660113/Roy_Fokker_99th RoyFokker99]].

* AlternateUniverse: In which Light wins the Contest, [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3387678/3/Mega_Man_Guiding_Rainbows_Light leading]] to the setting of ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork''.

* ShoutOut: One of the three major robot contractors is [[IsaacAsimov US Robotics.]]

* [=~Chekhov's Gunman~=]: Dr. Cossack, and to a greater extent his robot masters.

''Legacy of Metal'' is the collective name for the ''MegaMan'' fan fiction of [[http://www.fanfiction.net/u/55667/ Eric Lawson]] and the common continuity that it shares. Many elements are based on ''[[FanFic/RockmanTheRobotWar Rockman: the Robot War]]'', which the author cites as one of his major inspirations, though it has a markedly different style. The first stories starring X were written in the late 1990s, with Lawson later expanding the setting both backwards and forwards in time.

[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5353667/2/Mega_Man_X_From_The_Sidelines The timeline]] sets ''MegaMan'' 1-8 and ''Mega Man and Bass'' in the late 21st century, with Mega Man himself born in 2070 and dying in 2085, and ''MegaManX'' in the early 22nd, X himself being discovered in 2117. ''An Uncertain Future'' used "20XX" and "21XX," but this was abandoned in favor of the more precise timeline.

* AbortedArc: Erico's livejournal shows pieces of a continuation of ''Shadows of a Hunter'' (the ''MegaManZero'' adaptation), but he seems content to keep the story at its current ending.

* AlternateUniverse: In which Light wins the Contest, [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3387678/3/Mega_Man_Guiding_Rainbows_Light leading]] to the setting of ''MegaManBattleNetwork''.

* FandomSpecificPlot: The recurring ''MegaManX'' story of Cain's final case rears its head.

* {{Novelization}}: ''An Uncertain Future'' and ''Island Of Awakening'', of ''MegaManX'' and ''X2'' respectively.
** ''Shadows of a Hunter'' is this for the early stages of ''MegaManZero'', with a quick-and-dirty run through ''X5'' as well.

And, of course, all applicable ''MegaMan'' tropes whenever they turn up.

* HealingFactor: X and Zero (and by extension most reploids) have one of these thanks to {{Nanomachines}}. [[{{Understatement}} This is a problem for the original cast when fighting the latter,]] nearly but not quite reducing two characters' final moments to a SenselessSacrifice.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Seeing as the Mega Man series is awash in this stuff, some useful notes:
** Wily and Light are old partners, as in the US manuals. Wily's FallenHero status is a major force in their characterization, as Wily wasn't always evil. A lab accident made him insane.
** Mr. X is not Dr. Wily in a PaperThinDisguise at first; there is a real Mr. X (not his actual name, mind) who is a shady character before aiding the Second Rainbow. [[spoiler:Wily kills him and takes up the identity to further his plan.]]
** Rock deals with minor levels of the FantasticRacism which will only get worse until the Zero series. He's not quite a full android, but he's the closest robot to one throughout his existence (Zero notwithstanding, and he's just a puppet of TheVirus at this point).
** X sticks mostly to the "noble warrior hamstrung by his doubts" interpretation, with forays into the "macho killer" whenever his hand is forced. These are half CMOA and half NightmareFuel; the characters, including X himself, treat it as such.
** Zero starts off as a hardass and mellows out over time, although it's not so much that he's changing as he needs to be less and less a mentor to X - the rest of his character emerges as they start to interact as equals. He will drink and joke around but is not irresponsible out of battle. He CanNotSpitItOut with regards to Ciel; Iris doesn't play much of a role.
** Roll does not use her broom to fight and cannot beat down Zero all by her lonesome.

* CompleteMonster: Former Vice President Dran Grevis. [[spoiler:Wily: "He tried to kill us years ago...he killed Schroeder instead. Now, he nearly killed you just so I would make him ''more'' damned war robots. He won't stop, Tom. He's never stopped. It's been twelve Goddamn years, and he still insists on spreading misery and pain."]]
** Wily, [[FallenHero tragically]], becomes this.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome:
** Given the latter's eventual track record, Rock fighting Zero to defeat is definitely this.
** Any of X's {{Curbstomp Battle}}s, but especially [[SingleStrokeBattle one-shotting]] Vile with the Hadouken.
** Zero apparently went through the entirety of ''X5'' [[GameBreakingInjury with just one arm]] and no chance to rest.
** But Blues gets the big one - in the verse, teleportation is incredibly dangerous to humans. Which means that in the ''Mega Man 4'' endgame, he could not merely warp in with Kalinka in tow. No, he rescues Kalinka - a small, helpless child - and keeps them both alive on a weeks-long journey through the wilderness with Wily's forces pursuing all the while. He succeeds just in time to stop Mega Man and Dr. Cossack from killing each other. BigDamnHeroes indeed! The best part of it all is just how understated it is in his narration - Rock is utterly in awe of the feat, but Blues just glazes over it.

* HilariousInHindsight: Much of ''The Sound of Mavericks'' revolves around X's severe distrust in an easy, peaceful solution to the Maverick problem. Guess what he spends ''Mega Man X7'' doing?

* MissedMomentOfAwesome: ''Shadows of a Hunter'' suggests some epic action sequences throughout its summary of ''X5''; sadly none of them get much in the way of detail.
* MotiveDecay: By the end of his life, Wily doesn't care about anything but beating Mega Man. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] by his worsening brain damage due to constant use of warp and cloaking devices.

* RoboShip: Blues/Kalinka is teased, as is at least one-sided X/Kalinka. Zero and Ciel eventually seem to figure the whole thing out, as do a few minor couples.

* TearJerker: ''Whispers In Time''.
** How about the sacrifice of [[spoiler: RD-224]]?
** Blues's activation, [[spoiler:the second time]].
** If you've read some of Erico's previous works, almost ''all'' of Guiding Rainbow's Light, as events unfold despite everyone's efforts to stop them. In particular, the [[YouCantFightFate inevitability]] of Blues leaving and Wily getting brain damage.

** Roll does not use her broom to fight and cannot beat down Zero all by her lonesome. Arguable CharacterDerailment. (Kidding, people!)

* AwesomeButImpractical: The stories depict Zero's signature Buster combo as this; in [[http://ericosuperbard.livejournal.com/2009/06/04/ Working The Holidays]], he's only able to get it off by FakingTheDead as the charge time is just unworkable in actual combat.

As of October 2010, four other authors have been [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3387678/20/Mega_Man_Guiding_Rainbows_Light credited]] as writing within the Legacy of Metal as co-authors: [[http://www.fanfiction.net/u/152431/ Magus]], [[http://www.fanfiction.net/u/97007/Maelgrim Maelgrim]], [[http://www.fanfiction.net/u/160827/Revokov Revokov]], and [[http://www.fanfiction.net/u/660113/Roy_Fokker_99th RoyFokker99]].

** Chapter 17 of ''Guiding Rainbow's Light'' has a few. Vinkus talks about "everlasting peace", the final two words of the original Mega Man (as well as Rockman: The Robot War), while [[spoiler:the shadow organization Vinkus establishes is MI9-lasting through all of the Classic series and half of the X series before we get to ''A Sound of Mavericks'']]

* LongRunners: ''End of a Dream'' was written in April 2000, and he's still at it -- the ten-year mark will be reached this April.

* CreatorThumbprint: The author has a thing for snowflakes. Always has. They're used not only in Whispers In Time, but also Guiding Rainbow's Light (Though with different meanings). And probably in other stories too, if I remembered hard enough.

** If you've read some of Erico's previous works, almost ''all' of Guiding Rainbow's Light, as events unfold despite everyone's efforts to stop them. In particular, the [[YouCantFightFate inevitability]] of Blues leaving and Wily getting brain damage.

** X sticks mostly to the "noble warrior hamstrung by his doubts" interpretation, with forays into the "macho killer" whenever his hand is forced. These are half CMOA and half NightmareFuel; the characters, including himself, treat it as such.

* BadassNormal: Randolph "Bulldog" Hayes. To an extent, any MSWAT team - even the underfunded Maverick Hunters have high-level equipment and two of the three most powerful beings in existence on their side. (It is important to note that Hayes was the creation of Erico's protege Magus, and not Erico himself. Hayes was featured in a short story in the compilation [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5353667/5/Mega_Man_X_From_The_Sidelines From The Sidelines]])

* CompleteMonster: Former Vice President Dran Grevis. [[spoiler:As Wily himself put it, "He tried to kill us years ago...he killed Schroeder instead. Now, he nearly killed you just so I would make him ''more'' damned war robots. He won't stop, Tom. He's never stopped. It's been twelve Goddamn years, and he still insists on spreading misery and pain."]]

* MotiveDecay: By the end of his life, Wily doesn't care about anything but beating Mega Man. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] somewhat by his worsening brain damage.

* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Cristoph, ye gods...his motives in this essentially boil down to FantasticRacism.

** In ''Demons of the Past'', X and Zero come up with a strategy that ''inverts'' this at last, challenging Sigma and his current band of Mavericks to a confrontation at Hokkaido cliffs (also the sight where Sigma's fortress was built in ''An Uncertain Future'') first. They use this advantage to set up an ambush with a delayed attack force that catches most of the Mavericks off guard. In its own way a {{Crowning Moment of Awesome}}.