History FanFic / MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace

After [[LongRunners 178 Chapters across eight years]] and over 1,200,000 words, the author has announced that there are only two more episodes to go for the story's conclusion.

* DeconReconSwitch: Perhaps even more than the [[ComicBook/MegaMan comic book]], we see what the world is with the technology and characters of the Mega Man games. Battles are costly and destructive, and no punches are pulled in regards to the loss of life both human and robot. Wily's robot attacks are serious, major events as he's treated like the terrorist he is. The failures of his actions take a heavy toll on Mega Man as he sees what the war is costing. Society, politics, the criminal underworld and the economy are all affected by the prescene of what is essentially a burdgening new life form. The strain of a fighting a relative and turning them to your side is shown to pain both Mega Man and Proto Man. And yet, in the end, life goes on. Mega Man continues to find reasons to go on and be the hero who fights until his last breath. Wily still retains his quirks and themed robots with convienient weaknesses. As the difficulties are ironed out, people are shown to accept and even love robots as a part of life. And with time, love and persistence, all but the darkest souls are able to be given a new lease on life and turn to good.

* DespairEventHorizon: [=ProtoMan=] crosses this post Episode 10 [[spoiler: due to torture]], becoming a shell of his old self.
** Mega Man crosses it in Episode 11, chapter 8.

* YesMan: Scott Erickson, Vickers' second in command.
** Tiesel Bonne becomes this to the Conduit.

* FightingFromTheInside: Mega Man tries to resist Splash Woman's brainwashing by thinking of Kalinka.

* PrecisionFStrike: [=ProtoMan=] drops the fic's single f-bomb upon seeing Dark Man 2.

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: In Episode 9, Quick Man was still running when the black hole shut down, resulting in him crashing through a wall with EfficientDisplacement.

* DarkActionGirl: Wily brainwashes a cosmetics robot to attack and humiliate Roll, and sics Doris the maid on Dr. Light.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Than the show; Wily in particular is a much darker, twisted character, and the stakes of every battle are serious. The emotional toll war takes on people is also examined in detail.

** Episode 11, chapter 8, is one, as is most of Episode 11, chapter 9.
** Episode 11, chapter 12, is this as Mega Man is critically injured. The entire chapter is everyone reacting to it and trying to help.

* GloriousMotherRussia: Dr. Cossack believes this at first, but changes his tune when Mega helps save him and Kalinka.
* AGodAmI:
** In his ultimatum to Earth, Terra claims the Stardroids are gods.
** After being revealed, the Conduit describes himself to Tiesel as God.

* AGodAmI: In his ultimatum to Earth, Terra claims the Stardroids are gods.

* GenreSavvy: Roll becomes concerned when Plum starts hanging out with Splash, aware of the tendency of robots with names ending in "Man" or "Woman" to be Wily's robot masters.

* FandomSpecificPlot: It hits some of the common ones like introducing its own version of Bass, Wily treating Proto Man badly and [[spoiler:Proto Man leaving Wily.]]

** "Nomad" for the female Robot Master.

* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: The female Robot Master in the beginning of Episode 8 is activated by mistake, feels pain almost immediately upon waking, is unable to speak, overhears Wily talking about ''wiping her memory'', doesn't get a name before running off, and is later given the name Nomad as she's constantly in hiding. She also has a mean shockwave that demolishes parts of Skull Fortress.

** After the Episode 10 epilogue, it's frequently mentioned that [=ProtoMan=]'s pre-prgroammed obedience to Wily's orders isn't what's keeping him in line, but his own fear, [[spoiler:foreshadowing said obedience being erased]].

* CerebusSyndrome: Post Episode 5, the characters' morale and the tone of events in the story have taken an increasingly dark turn. This is best exemplified by the Episode 10 epilogue, which is a nonstop string of tragic events.
** Episode 11 is the darkest one yet, but has hopeful moments that become most prominent in chapter 11.

* CliffHanger: A lot of chapters end on this.

* CanonImmigrant: The leader of the Mega Crew is revealed to be Tiesel Bonne, from the ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends'' games. Later, his siblings appear, and the Bonnes become supporting characters.

* AmbiguousGender: Before the Conduit's gender was revealed, they were always referred to as 'he/she/it.'

* BadBoss: Wily. Also Vickers to a lesser extent.

* BenevolentBoss: The Conduit is surprisingly generous and willing to help out their employees with money and supplies when they need them. However, not following orders gets you taken care of very quickly.

* ClearMyName: Mega Man is framed for Kalinka's kidnapping in Episode 6, and at the end of Episode 13, [[spoiler:Chief Toombs is falsely accused of being a mole for the Conduit]].

* FromBadToWorse: Episodes 10 and 11 have this; just when you think things can't get any worse for the characters' morale, something bad happens.

* HiddenVillain[=/=]HiddenAgendaVillain: Mr. Black combines the tropes; he's initially seen as faceless, but eventually his face, backstory, and name are slowly revealed, as well as his motivations and target.
** Also, the Conduit, as well as his/her/its associates.

* TheMole: Metal Man in Episode 9 is this, spying on [=ProtoMan=] for Wily.

** Splash Woman brainwashes Plum and has her spy on Roll, Mega Man, and their friends.

* OddlySmallOrganization: The Conduit is never shown to have more than four field agents at a time. When this trope becomes enforced due to the FBI limiting their hiring options, Tiesel uses this on Miss T to gain some leverage in the organization, and [[spoiler:Tallarcio later considers making Ash Rose a new agent]].

** The Conduit initially played it straight, having a large number of supplies and cash, as well as access to high-profile events without any discernible source of income. Then this was subverted as constant setbacks and the loss of agents and robots took their toll on his finances, leaving him fairly desperate.

** Episode 15 reveals [[spoiler:the Conduit is a human man, his associate Mr. Wire is none other than Dick Ferguson, and Nomad's name is Soprano]].

* TheSpeechless: Nomad, due to botched programming.

* TabloidMelodrama: Mega Man has often been the subject of tabloid scrutiny, but this trope really takes effect in the interlude to Episode 14, where [[spoiler:Tiesel Bonne gives the Conduit footage of Mega and Kalinka's kiss, which could result in it being leaked to the public]].

* TreacherousAdvisor: Governor Deacon's adviser, Newkirk, didn't have well-laid plans. While not outright treacherous, he showed little to no concern for public safety. This got Newkirk fired.

* UnexpectedCharacter: Nobody expected the Mega Crew leader to be Tiesel Bonne.

** Episode 15's first chapters open with [[spoiler:Tron making good on her schemes to sell Mega and Kalinka's kiss to the tabloids, Proto giving an interview about how he feels about humans that just makes things worse, Chief Toombs being attacked and put into a coma, and the reveal that the Conduit appears to be a human man]]. The next chapters had even more shattering events, including [[spoiler: Nomad's name being revealed as Soprano, Dick Ferguson dying while passing on vital information, [=ProtoMan=] going berserk after Nomad is electrocuted attacking Tallarico and the corrupt Policebots, Nomad almost dying]], and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking ProtoMan finally getting Tango's name right]].

* AmbiguousGender: The Conduit's gender hasn't been revealed yet and they are always referred to as 'he/she/it.' It's implied that they may not even be human.
* AmplifierArtifact: Wily used his protocol disruptor's signal inducer for Splash Woman, enhancing her brainwashing powers.

** Episode 15's first chapters open with [[spoiler:Tron making good on her schemes to sell Mega and Kalinka's kiss to the tabloids, Proto giving an interview about how he feels about humans that just makes things worse, Chief Toombs being attacked and put into a coma, and the reveal that the Conduit appears to be a human man]]. The next chapters had even more shattering events, including [[spoiler: Nomad's name being revealed as Soprano, Dick Ferguson dying while passing on vital information, [=ProtoMan=] going berserk after Nomad is almost fatally electrocuted, Nomad herself almost dying while Tallarcio plans to arrest them]], and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking ProtoMan finally getting Tango's name right]].

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Captain Tallarico had a shady past with Governor Deacon.

** Episode 15's first chapters open with [[spoiler:Tron making good on her schemes to sell Mega and Kalinka's kiss to the tabloids, Proto giving an interview about how he feels about humans that just makes things worse, Chief Toombs being attacked and put into a coma, and the reveal that the Conduit appears to be a human man]]. Making it worse is that the next chapters promise even ''worse'' events.

** Episode 15 reveals [[spoiler:the Conduit is a human man, and his associate Mr. Wire is none other than Dick Ferguson]].
* {{Revenge}}: Roll wants revenge on Wily for killing Doc.

** [[spoiler:The Mad Grinder. In the games, it was just a mini-boss. Here, it can flatten whole armies and nearly kills Mega Man.]]

* BodyguardCrush: Captain Tallarico's bodyguard, Ash Rose, has an obvious crush on her. They hit it off quite well, though she's sometimes distracted due to her duties.
* BoldInflation: The usual "italics for emphasis" shows up here. Underlines are commonly used for important terms and names.

* OddlySmallOrganization: The Conduit is never shown to have more than four field agents at a time. It's implied at times we're only seeing part of the organization, but they rarely seem to send more than one or two guys to a job. When this trope becomes enforced due to the FBI limiting their hiring options, Tiesel uses this on Miss T to gain some leverage in the organization.

** In contrast, the Conduit plays it straight. They seem to have a large number of supplies and cash, as well as access to high-profile events without any discernible source of income. This includes acquiring a Jadous Sphere, on which there are only two and are kept under government lockdown.