Welcome to Gaia! ::

Light nodded and quickly opened the panel at the back of Proto's head. Fishing inside with a pair of plastic tweezers, he gently extracted the damaged chip. "Now give me a few moments." Taking the chip to his nearby work station, he pulled over a magnifying lamp and began the delicate repairs.

A quick glance back at Proto stilled Light's working hands. He turned to fully face his son, eyes wide as his own visions of the past threatened to overwhelm the present. His boy looked just as he had the day he was first activated. The shadows of his troubled past no longer seemed to furrow his brow. He looked...happy. The doctor sat back heavily in his chair as he realized the cause for Blues' fresh new attitude. By removing the memory chip, it had temporarily removed all recollection of his past. Light should have realized this would happen, should have prepared for it and for what he would have to do once he finished his work. A single tear slid down his grizzled cheek as he stood and moved to hug the innocent young bot.

True he could erase the past from Proto's mind, erase the memory of Light's own terrible sin, but that would be the easy way out. Although it may mean harming his son again to return the memories, it was what Proto would want. He deserved to know the story of his life and, no matter how painful, the good doctor would not take that away from him. He had already done more than enough.

"It's nothing to worry about, my boy," Light rasped before clearing his throat. He pulled away from the embrace and stepped back to look at Blues, etching the image of his smiling face into memory. All too soon the smile would fade and a frown would return.

With a weary sigh, Light settled back into the chair at his work desk, leaving Proto to wander and explore the lab anew. He bent back over the small damaged chip and resumed his efforts to repair it.

The blueprints which had caught Proto's attention displayed a heavily armored suit with a small, slightly plump looking figure at it's core. Sitting next to them was an aged piece of parchment with several such suits sketched out, displaying various abilities such as lifting and digging. Although the idea had been formed many years ago, the prototype itself was still very much a work in progress, perhaps only recently begun. A few core pieces perched on a metal form holding it securely in place. It was little more than a chest piece and arm. A small control unit sat on the table with the blueprints, wires running from it to the suit. It's current function entailed a a thrilling finger flex but more was certainly to come.

Light put aside the delicate equipment to give his son his full attention. "Yes, Blues?" The sadness and worry melted from the doctor's expression as his face lit up at the boy's response. He smiled broadly at Proto. Raising from the chair, he walked over to stand next to the boy. "Ah, you've found my suit," Light chuckled. Running a hand over the yellowed parchment of sketches on the table, he asked "Do you know what I originally made this for?"

Light chuckled again. "Yes it could! Once, the citizens of this city worked very hard. They dug rocks from the mines and hauled them to the surface. But the work was difficult and often dangerous," he paused, eyes growing distant a moment as he recalled the father he barely remembered. The man who had died in the mines all those years ago. "I wanted to create these suits to help the people with their work. With the power of human and robot combined, they could do any task they set their minds to." If only he hadn't listened to Wily. If you replace the working parts, you get a different machine, he'd said, encouraging the good doctor to build full robots rather than the suits he'd planned. How different would things have been if he'd stuck to his original designs?

Light smiled slightly, the sadness returning to his gaze, though a spark of happiness remained. "I hope you will one day, Blues. I hope you will." It would take a lot of work, but Light felt that perhaps Proto's faith in the citizens could one day be restored. Returning to his seat, he finished the repairs on Proto's memory chip. "Have a seat, my boy." He patted the table. As wonderful as it was to have his innocent little boy back, Light knew it was only living a lie. He could not erase the past, so there was little use dwelling in it. If he wished to redeem himself, he must look to the future.

Light carried the small chip over and with a quiet sigh, reinserted it into Proto's memory banks. Taking a step back, he waited to watch the change come over his son as memories of his dark past were restored.