Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a nice, normal day in Silicon City, or so it seemed. Everyone was doing the normal things, up until the mad scientist, Dr. Wily, decides he's had enough. After fourteen years of failure, he's decided to do the unthinkable... Collapse their entire world on itself...

Meanwhile, Rock is hanging out with his brothers and sisters at Light Labs, everyone is happy and calm, unaware of what will take place soon...

"How is everyone?" Asks the now fourteen year old android, known as Rock Light, but to the world as Mega Man. Roll smiles at him from where she is with Splash Woman and the other female Robot Masters.

"Just peachy," she smiles, which never falters on her face. Splash Woman happily waves at her brother before going back to swimming in the pool with her robotic tail.

"Everything is going well, Rock," says an old man from their home. This man is Dr. Thomas Light, their creator and surrogate father. He's a bit rough around the edges, but is ultimately a kind soul.

"Great!" Rock enthusiastically yells. He jumps over to Blues, who had finally come home, "What about you?"

"None of your concern," Blues says, smirking and ruffling Rock's hair before getting smacked in the back of the head by Guts Man.

"Knock off," Guts Man says in a Russian accent. He doesn't normally talk that way, but is suffering from a glitch in his systems right now, one that he actually likes since he always thought a Russian accent fit him.

"Watch it there, Guts. Ah reckon you almost knocked his noggin off!" Fire Man shouts at Guts Man. Guts Man nervously chuckles as Blues glares at him and puts on his black helmet that's supposed to resemble Batman.

"Run like teh wind, Guts Man!" Fire Man yells as Blues begins chasing the bulky robot. It all stops when the sky suddenly darkens, though...

"WHAT IN TARNATION!?" Fire Man exclaims, receptors wide.

"That's what I'd like to know!" Shouts Rock and Dr. Light at the same time.

The sky begins to warp and take on other colors before tearing apart, making the Light Family scared as they realized what was going on too late... Everything went black.

Chapter Text

Lewis was just calmly floating around Tempo. Everything was good with the other Mystery Skulls now. He had apoligized to Arthur, made up with Vivi and Mystery, and even got to tell Arthur's uncle the truth!

Lewis had thought he'd have a normal night, but no... He had to see something fall from the sky and investigate... What he found was nerve-racking. It looked a human kid, but with exposed wires!? Who on earth makes a robot look so... So human!?

Lewis was freaking out. What should he do? Should he take this obviously a child robot to a mechanic? Or leave it here to rust? No... He can't do that... He tries to pick up the robot, only to get a few bolts of electricity delivered into his anchor from the exposed wires. He winces, but keeps going.

By the time Lewis gets to Kingsmen Mechanics, he feels weird and... Tired? Since when do ghosts need sleep? Whatever... He'll leave the bot kid for Arthur and go lay down...

Arthur had arrived in time for Lewis to leave, finding the robot kid. As he watched Lewis leave, he looked concerned. Is Lewis finally fading? Man... That's rough... Then Arthur looked at the robot kid. The design was so... Futuristic... Like something out of a sci-fi movie! Arthur's eyes lit up as he took the challenge, trying to patch up the robot kid.

A few hours later, Lewis woke up from napping. He had forgotten what sleeping had felt like and now he's happy to experience it again... But it's weird. He's a ghost... Why did he suddenly need to sleep? Lewis shrugged it off and went to freshen up, only to scream at his reflection when he went to brush his teeth.

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Vivi was just watching a horror movie with Mystery when she heard Lewis scream. She ran to the bathroom, Mystery in tow, and they both froze. Standing before them, was a human Lewis, no black sclera with fuchsia eyes and fiery hair.

"L-Lewis!?" Vivi asked, confused. What was happening right now!?

"Vivi... I... I... I don't know! I got zapped by that robot kid and now I'm-" He's cut off by Vivi putting a finger to his lips.

"What robot kid?" She glares at him as she asks. She knows Lewis has a tendency to "adopt" kids, and robot ones are no exception.

"I found him while floating around. Fell from the sky and had exposed wires from his neck... Which zapped my anchor..." His eyes widened. Mystery had once said that a zap to his anchor/ghost core could have serious effects...

"WHAT!?" Mystery exclaimed, "Your anchor got hit with electricity!? As in, Living Realm electricity!?"

"Yeah..." Lewis winced at the kitsune, disguised as a dog's, tone.

"You are so double dead," Vivi says. Lewis looks at her with a deadpan expression, "You think?"

Just then, Arthur runs up to them, "You guys won't believe it!!!"

"What?" Lewis asks Arthur, which causes the blonde to freeze. His ghost friend... Isn't a ghost anymore. He looks perfectly human!!!

"Arthur! What aren't we going to believe?" Lewis asks.

"Oh yeah. I fixed the robot kid! Bad news... He won't get off of me because of my robotic arm. Says I'm danger prone..." Arthur turns around to reveal the kid on his back. The kid has glowing blue eyes that look like concentric circles of ocean blue and electric blue, his hair is black, and obviously has the body of a built fourteen year old.

Lewis is breathless. This is the robot kid he found!? The kid looks like he could easily bench Mystery's true form!!! Vivi and Mystery also look startled, until Lewis picks the kid off of Arthur and hugs him, to which the kid looks surprised.

"Welcome to the Mystery Skulls, kid. We're paranormal investigators. I'm Lewis Pepper, that's Vivi Yukino, the blonde is Arthur Kingsmen, and the dog is Mystery," Lewis tells the kid, who looks at them each as they're mentioned.

Rock was confused. Mystery Skulls? Paranormal investigators? He's stuck with some wackjobs? Well... He should at least be respectful...

"I'm Rock Light... Nice to meet you..." Rock shyly explains, "I was built by Dr. Thomas Light as DLN-001."

"He's my kid now," Lewis says, hugging onto Rock again, who has wide eyes once more.

"You can't just do that, Lewis! What if this 'Doctor Light" is looking for him?" Vivi crosses her arms and deadpans at Lewis.

"Dr. Light cannot," Mystery looks at Rock with pity, his ears drooping, "This is a survivor of a fallen world, one that has fallen in on itself... No one but the strongest can get out of that..."

Rock wants to cry from hearing that. He looks at the not-dog before burying his face into Lewis's chest and crying.

Lewis is surprised at how life-like Rock is. He had thought robots couldn't cry or feel emotions... This "Dr. Light" clearly knew what he was doing... Lewis hugs the boy tighter, "Shh... It's okay... You've got us now... And we won't let you down..."

Mystery looks at Lewis, "Now to address the other issue..."

"Not now... The kid needs to calm down," Lewis looks at Mystery pleadingly. Lewis hates seeing a crying child, let alone a teenager that's actually a robot...

"Fine. We'll discuss it later. Just don't feel like it's over," The kitsune walks off, leaving the humans with the young android.

"So... You adopted a kid. Congrats, Lew," Arthur teases. Lewis glares at him, purple eyes turning glowing fuchsia in a heartbeat, "Don't you dare compare me to that Bat guy again..."

Arthur yelped and jumped back as Rock looked at Lewis with surprise. Rock then made his eyes glow brighter, imitating the glow of Lewis's eyes. Lewis chuckled at the robot's response to it, "Cheeky little bugger..."

Chapter Text

It's a calm day in Amity Park. The sun is shining, birds are singing... And then there's the fact the mayor is a crummy old man with issues.

Danny us trying to have a normaly day when he sees an orange van with "Mystery Skulls" on the sides of it parked next to a house and a trailer behind it. He sighs as he watches the group get out and start moving into the house.

Jazz walks up beside her brother and sighs, "New neighbors... More problems for keeping your secret now..." Danny glares at her, "You think I don't know that, Jazz? Especially since their youngest feels off..." Danny looks at the youngest member with confusion. Something felt off about that kid... And then there's the dog, girl and purple ascot dude. Who even WEARS ascots anymore!?

Jazz shakes her head, "Stop being so paranoid, Danny. You and him could become good friends." Danny looked at her, "And how is that supposed to happen?"

"He's approaching right now. I'll leave you two at it," Jazz smokes as she walks away. Her brother had cut off ties with Sam and Tucker after they started showing signs of being toxic. He needs another friend.

"Wait, Jazz-!" He yelled before the kid cut him off.

"Hi. I'm Rockford Light-Pepper," the kid extended his hand to Danny and Danny looked at him. The kid's eyes glowed... And not in a ghostly way.

"Whoa... Are you a machine?" Danny asked in wonder. Rock chuckled, "Yep. Nice to meet you."

"Oh yeah, I'm Danny. And nice to meet you too," Danny shook Rock's hand. Rock looked at Danny for a moment longer, "You're like Dad."

"Huh?" Danny looked confused before Rock answered, "You're half ghost. Like Dad." Danny's eyes widened. The kid knew his secret...

"Don't worry... I know how valuable such information is, and how badly spouting it off can go. You can trust me, mainly because I have my own secrets to share, if it helps," Rock tried to calm Danny down, and succeeded. Danny looked at Rock, "You have a way with words..." Rock chuckled, "How else was I supposed to calm down the one who built me and calm down theone who's caring for me and even had a synthetic stomach and taste buds made for me?"

Danny smiled at that. Sounds like his adoptive dad is really caring, going out of his way to benefit his son... Danny wishes his father would do that sometimes... But he loves his dad anyway.

Rock waved at Danny as he left to help the other Mystery Skulls settle into their current residence. Danny smiled, looking forward to seeing Rock at school the next day.

Chapter Text

Rock and the gang were starting their investigations tonight. Rock was excited as he thought about it. After his first encounter with the supernatural, he's been wanting to learn more... It was like a whole new world opened up in front of him... And like his programming was thrown out the window, like the fact his world fell made it deteriorate into nothing, making him sentient and able to think for himself like a real human.

Lewis was proud of Rock. They'd only had the kid for a few months and the kid was full of energy and synthetic life. If he didn't know any better, Lewis would mistake him for a normal kid.

Arthur is doing maintenance on Rock, trying to make more of the copy chips the kid needs for powers. The kid already has fourteen of them, each with eight different weapons on them. Arthur takes pride in his work on Rock, and was even more delighted when Rock showed them his armor and Mega Busters. Arthur has also taken to the Double Gear system installed in Rock and how to make it able to be used any time Rock pleases. He also gave Rock the ability to use both busters at once with a Double Charged Shot without taking damage or passing out.

Vivi was doing research on the town for their investigation, Mystery in her lap. Mystery was watching Rock with interest, wondering if the robot teenager could handle magic as well as he's been handling the supernatural's existence...

"I'm so excited!" Rock exclaimed, "My first investigation with you guys!" Lewis chuckled, seeing Rock so happy is a nice change from how depressed he'd been... He was so upset, mourning over his lost family... And his excitement now? One of the sources was how they had found his brother Blues, but he wasn't in a good place... They had found Blues inside the very cave Lewis had originally died in... Impaled by a stalagmite and leaking oil everywhere... Arthur has been working on the poor bot for a while now, but they can't seem to find any Ceratanium to fix the bot's armor, so activating Blues will have to be put on hold until they do.

Rock was ecstatic when the investigation began. They had split up to look around, Lewis and Rock checking the North side while Arthur, Vivi and Mystery checked the South.

"What do you think we'll find?" Rock asked Lewis. Lewis smiled at him, "No idea, but I hope it's good."

Unfortunately, a black blur hit the ground in front of them, startling the pair. Rock felt a pit in his synthetic stomach, seeing a color inverted Danny in a black and white jumpsuit in a crater. Lewis's eyes widened as he looked up and saw a robot- looking ghost floating above the ghost kid that had just landed in front of them.

Rock gained a look of anger as he looked up at the robot ghost, "BIG mistake..." He armored up and jumped at the ghost, both busters out and ready to fire. Lewis was shocked, but went into ghost form, his hair turning to pink flame, his sclera turning black with pink, glowing pupils... The upper half of a skull acting like a mask on his face... His suit changes into a black shirt with white rib bone designs on the sides and a pink tie, his pants turning black and his shoes following suit... Gloves that look like Daft Punk's, but white where gold should be, adorn his hands.

"STAY AWAY FROM MY SON!!" Lewis yelled as he delivered a fiery punch to Skulker's robotic face. Danny looked up from his spot on the ground in shock. Another halfa? And Rock is... Wow... Not what he expected at all, but he'll take it. Danny jumped into the fray after he recovered from his surprise.

Skulker was getting hit left and right, three people hitting him from all sides... He glared at Danny, "It seems your species is no longer so rare... They're popping out of the woodwork! I do NOT hunt what isn't rare or endangered! Consider yourself lucky..." Skulker then flew away, but not before Rock, as Mega Man, delivered a Double Charged Shot to the ghost for harming his newest friend. Skulker screamed as his robotic form was blasted away and revealed a tiny green blob. Lewis scowled and let his deadbeats form, letting the purple ghosts do what they pleased with the blob that is Skulker.

Danny looked surprised as he looked at Lewis. The dude was tall for a seemingly twenty-one year old man. Rock was standing beside his adoptive dad, looking at Danny with a smile, "Dad, meet Danny. Danny, this is my dad." Lewis smiled proudly at Rock, "I'm a proud adoptive father." Danny looked between the halfa adult and Rock before looking at Lewis, "Nice to meet you, Sir."

"Pleasure to meet you too, kid," Lewis shook Danny's hand, "Not everyday you meet a half ghost, or another of your own kind." Danny chuckled, "Yeah, we're a rare breed, but I don't think Skulker will think that anymore after your appearance."

"Heh, you got that right, kid," Lewis chuckled. Rock nodded, "And he'll think twice about trying to hurt you again thanks to us." Danny's heart warmed at hearing those words, "Thank you... I never thought I'd have a good friend again after my last ones turned toxic..." Rock scowled, "Then they never deserved you. But I'll try my best to make you feel like you're worth more than how they made you feel." Lewis smiled, "My son's first friendship... I'm so proud..." Lewis took off Rock's helmet and ruffled his hair, making Rock laugh, "Dad!!!"

Vivi, Arthur, and Mystery had just arrived and Vivi looked excited, seeing a ghost standing in front of Lewis and Rock. Arthur looked ready to pass out, and Mystery? Mystery glared at Lewis, "No, you cannot adopt the ghost child." Lewis shook his head, "What made you think I'd adopt him? He's already well off, it seems." Danny looked at Lewis, "Is that how Rock wound up with you? You adopted him?"

"More like his world fell and I found him, damaged, and then took him in once Artie fixed him," Lewis explained. Rock looked downcast, "I never got to say goodbye to Roll, Dad, and my many sisters and brothers..." Arthur sighed, "You still have 'Blues', as you called him." Danny looked shocked. Rock is from another world!? Explains why he's so... Advanced, for the time period...

Vivi chuckled, "Trust me, it was weird at first. Then we managed to make him even more advanced! He can now eat, drink, and is more human-like than any robot in our current time!" Mystery seemed to facepalm and then Danny remembered, "Why does your dog talk...?" Mystery chuckled before turning into his true form, a nine-tailed fox that Danny and Rock know as a kitsune. Rock looked awed, "Wow... So that's what your true form looks like... Awesome!!!"

Chapter Text

Danny had so many questions. What else existed besides ghosts, halfas, and kitsunes!? What even was his world anymore!? How much has been hidden from him his whole life!?

Rock caught onto Danny's confusion and chuckled, "I can both sympathize and emphasize with you. I felt the same way when I first encountered the crew and Dad turned out to be half ghost, originally full ghost, and his form as a ghost had apparently changed."

"Of course his form changed," Mystery started to explain, "It changed because his status as dead changed to something more alive... A being who walks the line between life and death and can be alive one minute and a ghost the next at will."

Danny looked at Mystery, "I'm just surprised that more than just ghosts exist..." Mystery barked a laugh, "Of course there's more than ghosts. You have kitsunes, mermaids, sirens and so much more. We're under a special code to not reveal ourselves to normal humans. Of course, the Yukinos were never normal... Arthur affiliated himself with Vivi, making him not normal either, and Lewis? He did the same BEFORE becoming a half ghost such as yourself. Rock is an advanced android and will have to be hidden until the time of his kind of technology comes about."

"That's a lengthy explanation..." Danny looked bewildered. Did the kitsune even breath as he spoke? Rock laughed at Danny's confusion, "He does stuff like this all the time." Danny sighed, "And I have to deal with this for now?"

"Yep," Lewis chuckled as he put Rock's helmet back onto his head. Rock chuckled as he looked up at Lewis, "You need to quit that." Lewis smirked, "I'm your adoptive parent, am I not allowed to embarrass you a little?"

Just then, blue branches came out of the ground bearing pink flowers and Mystery swore under his breath, "Not here... Not now..." Danny sighed, "Again, Undergrowth?" Rock looked at Danny confused, "Who?"

"Undergrowth is the ancient ghost of plants. Fought him once or twice," Danny explained. Mystery growled, "This isn't Undergrowth, but a villain from my past... Shiromori." Danny looked stunned, "More intimidating name than Undergrowth." Rock's armor changed to orange and red in a heartbeat, "Fire beats plants, right Dad?"

"You bet," Lewis chuckled at Rock's enthusiasm as Danny prepared to use his ice powers. Vivi readied her bat, now glowing icy blue, and Arthur froze in place, not really having a weapon. Mystery growled at the branches as they came out of the ground, Shiromori appearing on top of them with... Plant Man!?

"Plant Man!?" Rock shouted. Plant Man looked down at Rock and immediately brightened up, "Rocky!!! Nice to see you again! This nice lady helped me find you!" Plant Man jumped down and enveloped Rock in a hug.

"She's not a nice lady, Plant Man... She wants Mystery's blood!!!" Rock exclaimed. Plant Man's eyes widened, "WHAT!?" He then turned to Shiromori, "How could you betray my trust!?"

"I helped you, didn't I?" Shiromori asked, like a bored teenage popular girl, "And you helped me find my pet..." No one liked how she said that word. Danny immediately jumped in, freezing her branches and making her jump down herself.

"You'll pay for that!!" She screeched, lunging for the young halfa. Mystery immediately barked and lunged at her, pinning her to the ground before she could reach Danny, "Not on my watch!" Plant Man summoned vines from the ground to tie her up, only for her twist it and hit Mystery with them.

"Plant Man, get Arthur to safety. You can't help us here," Rock explained before attacking Shiromori with Fire Tower, Fire Man's ability. Plant Man nodded and grabbed Arthur before running off with the one-armed mechanic. Lewis jumped in, helping Rock burn the vines Shiromori creates as Danny and Vivi freeze them. Mystery is allowed to go in for physical and fire-based attacks as they distract Shiromori.

"YOU WILL ALL PAY!!" Shiromori screeches as she tries to attack everyone at once, but can't focus on all of them at once because of the onslaught from the two heroes and the combined efforts of the three present Mystery Skulls members.

"Oh yeah? And who's losing right now?" Rock yelled as he uses the Speed Gear to avoid one the vines thrown at him. He then switches to the Power Gear and throws a HUGE Fire Tower at her, burning all of her vines at once, only for her to grow new ones and send them out.

"Geez lady... Stop this already!" Danny yelled as he noticed the Fenton GAV pulling up at the park entrance. Shiromori saw this and laughed, "More blood to be spilled and used to reclaim the Earth for plant life!!!"

"NO!!" Danny unleashed the final blow in a Ghostly Wail, disintegrating vines and disintegrating Shiromori's form, throwing her "heart" off into the sky and far away from the group as he falls to one knee. That power still wears him out... But not enough to make him revert to human form.

They all hear doors shut and look towards the GAV, where the Fenton matriarch and patriarch are coming out.

"We better scram," Rock realizes. Lewis nods and grabs Danny as they all flee the scene, not wanting to be caught by the ghost hunters.