Hello there! Time to continue the ongoing saga of the Blue Bomber. Mega Man 3 is a pretty significant game in the series and I hope I can do it justice. Happy reading!
Chapter 1: A Day at the Park
"See if you can catch this one!" Rock said with a grin as he flung a Frisbee across the park. The plastic disk flew fast and far but a red robot dog was hot on the chase. He leapt high into the air, caught the disc in his mouth, and touched back down.
"Way to go Rush!" Rock shouted as the dog's eyes sparkled and his tail wagged. Instead of simply bringing the Frisbee back, Rush spun on the spot and tried to throw it to his master. Rock ran after the disc and tripped as he caught it with fumbling fingers. "You're better at this than I am Rush" he said with a laugh and the dog barked happily.
"Hey there Rock!" a voice called.
He turned to see a group of children running towards him while enthusiastically waving and smiling. He waved back and replied to the boy who had shouted "Hi Bobby, good to see you!"
"Same to you Rock."
"Hey is that your dog?" a girl in the group asked
"He sure is Lisa" Rock answered with a smile while Rush happily chased a squirrel up a tree. "His name is Rush. Dr. Light built him for me."
"Wow" said yet another child "I'm surprised he has time with all he's up to these days."
"He does like to tinker in his spare time, Joe" Rock explained "And he thought Rush would be more useful than the support items."
"Useful?" Bobby asked "What do you mean?"
"Watch this" Rock replied as his smile grew wider "Hey Rush, let's show them jet mode."
Rush abandoned the squirrel somewhat reluctantly and began running back toward the kids. Suddenly, the robot dog jumped up from the ground and tucked his legs up under his body. Within seconds, he had further morphed until he was less of a dog and more of a jet powered hover board with a dog's head. He soared over the grass towards the slack jawed human children and the grinning robot boy.
Rock leapt onto Rush's back and soared up into the air. Bobby, Lisa, and Joe gasped in awe as the robotic pair sailed above the trees and kept climbing. Rock circled around and made like he was going to dive bomb his friends. Joe actually threw his hands over his head and missed the part where Rock pulled up at the last minute causing Lisa and Bobby to cheer wildly. Encouraged by their reaction, he dropped to one knee and held on to Rush's body as they did a loop to loop.
"Yeah go Rock!" Bobby shouted
Up above Rock whispered something into Rush's ear. He then straightened up and jumped. Rush meanwhile rocketed to the ground and turned back into a dog. The instant all four paws were on the ground a small platform on a spring popped out of his back. Rock dropped right towards his dog, landed squarely on the spring board, and popped back into the air. He did a somersault and landed feet first on the grass. Sadly, he forgot about the effect a metal body can have on soft ground and left quiet a dent.
"Oops, the groundskeeper won't like that."
"That was amazing!" Bobby said "I wish I had a robot dog. All I've got is a silly old fish."
"Fish are cool"
"Not as cool as Rush; can I go for a ride?"
"Ah it might not be safe. He can go really fast."
"Cool"
"Maybe some time soon if you promise to wear a helmet."
"Yes Mom" Bobby sarcastically replied
"A spring and a jet" Lisa said "Can he do anything else?"
"Yeah actually; in water he can turn into a submarine. It's a bit cramped but it gets the job done."
"Astounding" Joe remarked "Dr. Light sure is a genius."
"Well we've learned quite a few things…yes, yes boy you were amazing up there" Rock said as the dog butted against him looking for attention. Rock knelt down and hugged Rush before continuing "As I was saying, we've learned a few things from examining the alien tech we've excavated. We didn't get to keep everything but Dr. Light did get to look some stuff over including the remains of the Asteroid Guardians."
"And all that tech is going to help you in the battles to come" Bobby said as he pointed his fist straight forward and pretended to fire on invisible enemies.
"I'm not planning on doing any more fighting" Rock said as he stood up but kept one hand on Rush's head
"Then why did Dr. Light not just make you a dog" Bobby asked "Why did he give him upgrades of the Support Items if not for use in battle?"
"Well to be honest I'm not sure a spring is really an upgrade. Also I do other things like there was that fire and not to mention those criminals I helped stop the other day. I simply try to help where I can."
"Yeah but what if more alien robots show up?" Joe asked "What if good robots are reprogrammed again or someone like Dr. Wily builds more evil ones? Senator Camp has been going on and on about how robots are dangerous and we need to stop…oh well that doesn't include you of course" he added quickly when Rock gave him a look
"Oh Joe you're such a worry wart, not to mention a nerd" Bobby said "What kid cares what some senator is saying?"
"It's good to stay informed on world events" Joe said as he straightened his glasses in a dignified fashion
"And he does have a point" Lisa cut in "Bad things happen all the time, even if they aren't evil robots."
"If they do, I'll be ready to step in. I just hope the current peace lasts and I'm dealing with minor issues at best."
"The news says there's a lot going on at Light Labs these days" Joe said
"And Rock told us about all that anyway" Bobby said with an eyeroll "Like all the new robots they're making."
"Yeah those guys" Rock said with a smile "They've been great in helping with the clean up, rebuilding, excavating of ruins…all of it."
"The news also said that you guys are working on a secret extra project" Joe said "Something to really help if trouble comes along."
"I'm not really supposed to talk about it" Rock said looking a bit uncomfortable
"So there is a top secret project" Bobby replied with a gleam in his eye "Come on, we're you're friends, give us a hint."
"I don't know…"
"Please" Lisa said and all three of them looked eager and curious
"Let's just say that it's a big undertaking and it could do a lot of good."
"That doesn't really tell us anything" Bobby whined
"I told you it's a secret. Dr. Wily thinks that it's best."
The kids shivered when they heard this and Bobby said "I still can't believe he's living with you."
"He seems to have really changed. Think of all the good he was responsible for in the asteroid crisis. That's one reason he was granted parole so early as well as his very good behavior. He's a real help around the lab and had some really good ideas for the new robots."
"Yeah let's let the maniac…ok the ex-maniac work on robots" Bobby said
"As I said, he's much better now. Everything is going smoothly."
"Well I think that's great" Lisa said
"It certainly does act as a glimmer of hope in a bleak world" Joe added
"Wow are you sure you're really a kid" Bobby asked Joe while giving him a weird look
"Well I agree" Rock said "I think it's very encouraging to see someone like Dr. Wily making such an honest effort to change and so far he's succeeding."
"Yeah so far" Bobby said under his breath
"I would probably find it weird to live with a guy who tried to kill me" Lisa observed
"Well he doesn't have a home anymore and he is still technically on probation. It's really just the best situation for the time being. However, yeah it can be a little weird" Rock confessed.
"I bet" Bobby said "Anyway, enough talk, let's do something!"
Everyone else agreed and soon a nice game of Frisbee was going. Rock intended to hold back a bit so as not to give his friends too hard a time but they were actually challenging him a bit. Bobby hurled the disc with his powerful arm and it actually sailed right through Rock's hands despite his robot reflexes and vision.
"Oh yeah, who's the greatest?"
"Everyone gets lucky now and then" Rock said as he retrieved the disc
"It's pure skill, no luck involved."
"Oh yeah, then catch this."
Rock intended to really put some speed on that thing but Rush snatched it out of the air before it had even gone a few yards.
"Rush, we're trying to play now" Rock said as he tried to wrench the Frisbee from his dog's mouth. Rush on the other hand, seemed to think they were now playing tug of war
"Let him play if he wants" Lisa said and the boys voiced their agreement
"I still think you should let us ride him" Bobby said
"Catch is more traditional for dogs" Joe said nervously with a glance at the sky
"You're just a chicken" Bobby countered
"I am not"
"Guys" Rock said as he finally reclaimed the Frisbee and threw it for Rush to chase "I thought we wanted to have fun and arguing isn't very fun."
"It can be" Bobby said
Before Rock could say anything, Rush came bounding back with the Frisbee in his mouth and bowled Rock over in a playful tackle. Everyone, Rock included, laughed at this turn of events. He managed to get the dog to get off of him and soon the multi-way game of catch was underway again. Rock smiled as he simply enjoyed the time with his friends. Inwardly, he repeated his wish that peace would last for a long time but another part of his mind knew that trouble never seemed to be far away from him.