Somewhere out there, a doggy is chasing his little tail...right into traffic.
Beneath this great big sky, an idiot is burning himself with a nice warm cup of McDonald's watered - down coffee.
But none of those happy things are happening here...because it's Auntie Draco's story time!! Huzzah!
Yes, I know we just recently gathered to hear the heartwarming tale of Zero Tolerance. But this 'ere's a new tale! It's fresh! It's 100% Uh - Huh! It's the PREQUEL to ZT! Yee haa! So break out the apple juice (yes, apple juice; when I served you children ale last time, yer parents gave me hell), and listen as I spin my yarn....(Hey! I see you sneaking out! Get back in here! Suffer and perish like a good little child.)
Somewhere on this planet of monkeys and apes, a sleek black and yellow robot wanders, looking for blood. His eyes mean death. His hands could choke you like a chicken. And he has a funky cool helmet. He's an infamous bugger who goes by the name of Bass. Of course, many of you know him deep down inside yourselves. It's an icky, bloody place, somewhere close to your bowels. That's where you know him.
You may be thinking..."Who is this 'Bass'? What does he want? And whatever happened to Pez candy?"
Heh..I assure you, my little hatchlings, that there are logical answers to these questions. Bass is indeed Wily's robot, and he plays an integral role in the creation of....Oops, there I go again, blowing the plot in an intro. So, little uns, buckle your seatbelts, man the lifeboats and pray to your God. Because this is where I take you far away on a journey where we will come to the shocking realization that.....
by Red Draco
The wind wailed like a tormented banshee as it wove eerily between the black
branches of
the skeletal trees. Joining in on the terrible sound, a family of wolves,
silhouetted against the
huge platinum disc of the moon, raised their noses and howled. Not too far
off was the far
deeper, more awful howl of a werewolf. Bats twittered and flitted about on
the cool night air.
"What a nice day," Bass thought to himself as he took all this in. "It's
the kind of day that
makes life worth living."
Bass heard heavy, bestial breathing not too far behind him. He was being
pursued.
Bass, however, did not turn around to challenge his new shadow. He didn't
have the time to stop
if he was to meet Shade Man that night. It was Gospel's fault; the dratted
dog had insisted on
bounding from dead tree to tree to smell all the new scents. (We interrupt
this story to bring you
an important message: I call 'Treble' by his Japanese name; 'Gospel'. Why?
Because I gotta!)
Now the metallic canine loped obediently beside his master. When he became
aware of the fact
that they were being followed, he whined and growled fiercely; however, he
still kept up the brisk
pace that Bass was setting.
Suddenly, a huge human/lupine form leapt at Bass from behind. Its eyes were
lit like
green
lamps, and its maw of razor edged teeth was aimed right for the back of the
black robot's neck.
Not even bothering to turn around, Bass simply pointed his charged cannon
behind him
and fired the blast. The lycanthrope yelped like a puppy, and collapsed to
the ground in a heap of
smoking brown fur.
"Now where was I...? Oh yeah. What a nice day..."
Bass noted with a great deal of satisfaction that he was very close to his
destination...Shade Man's cathedral. Bass passed through the crumbling stone
arch that marked
the final stretch to the robotic vampire's hideout. Here, several ravens
perched like black spirits.
Seeing movement below him, the lead raven unfolded his wings and screeched at
Bass. Bass
merely turned around and waved at the huge bird.
"Hey Flagg! Kick - butt weather we're having, eh? Do me a favour and don't
try to peck
my eyes out today, 'kay? I haven't the time." Bass resumed his trot towards
the cathedral.
At the entrance to the old church, Bass stopped to admire the two stone
dragons that
'guarded' the place. They were forever perched, one on each side of the
giant wooden double
doors, on huge blocks of stone. Their petrified heads were craned back
towards the sky. Their
mouths were wide open, screaming a silent warning to anyone who dared to pass
them. Their
stiff batlike wings were furled, as if they were testing the wind. Bass gave
one of the dragon
statues a little pat on the neck as he brought his fist down on the
cathedral's door. His summons
were answered quickly by a small green and grey robot knight that moved about
on one wheel.
"Welcome to the abode of the Damned." The knight rasped. "Do you have an
appointment?"
"To hell with the appointments! I'm Bass!" The sleek robot snarled.
The knight threw open the door all the way, and bowed his head. "Lord Bass!
I'm
sorry..the light was bad, and I didn't recognize you. It's truly a pleasure
to have you with us...I am
honoured to..."
"That's nice, but I really don't care. I just want to see Shade."
The robot knight bowed over and over again. "I shall summon master Shade.
Please,
come in and make yourself at home."
Bass allowed himself to be lead into a shabby foyer. There was nothing much
to look at.
Just the same old decaying stone that the rest of Shade's murky territory
seemed to be made of.
The knight wheeled over to the door that lead to the rest of the cathedral
and Shade Man's
chamber. Here the knight was presented with a small problem; he had to open
the door using a
doorknob, but he didn't have any hands. Just two lances at the end of his
arms. The knight
frowned as he fumbled with the doorknob over and over again.
"Oh dear..."
Bass smirked. "Here, let me help ya." Bass opened the door quite easily.
The knight
gave his superior a look of gratitude as he wheeled off to search for Shade
Man.
Bass leaned against one of the walls and drummed out a little beat on it
with his fingers
while he went over his plans for the twentieth time. He was feeling very
happy with himself; surely
his plot would work. Bass seated himself on the dirty stone floor. Gospel
came up to him and
wordlessly nudged his head between Bass' body and arm, asking for his ears to
be rubbed.
Bass looked at the canine sternly. "Stop that. You're supposed to be a
fierce attack
dog! Sit down."
Gospel cocked his head at Bass and panted.
"Sit!"
Gospel wagged his tail.
"SIT!"
Gospel yawned.
"C'mon...sit! Pretty please?"
Gospel rolled over to have his tummy scratched.
Bass sighed and slumped against the wall again. While Gospel could probably
rip out the
throat of an elephant, there were also times when he could act like an
idiotic puppy. That always
drove Bass nuts.
Bass' mental griping was interrupted by the sound of leathery wings creaking
above him.
Bass glanced up in alarm, and sure enough, there was Shade Man wheeling above
him and
coming in for a landing. Bass quickly scrambled to his feet to properly meet
the vampire. Shade
and Bass were very good friends.
"Hey, Shade!"
Shade Man grinned. His fangs gleamed horribly in the moonlight that
filtered through the
small windows in the foyer. "Good evening Bass," Shade said as he performed
his custom little
bow. "nice to have you with us today. Did Flagg give you any troubles on
your way to see me?"
"Nah, Flagg's a good bird. Usually. So what's new?"
"Oh, nothing's new." Shade said with a shrug of leathery wings. He
absently pet Gospel
who had come up to greet the vampire. "Seducing women, biting necks,
midnight snacks...the
usual schlepps that come with commanding an Unholy Army of the Night. Never
mind me, how
have you been? How's Doc Wily?"
Bass' face fell. " The Doc's not that good, I'm afraid."
"Really?"
"Yeah. This seventh Robot Rebellion is going pretty well for him...the
robots he had put
into hibernation in case of his capture had activated and broken him out of
jail, just like he had
planned. Now he has you, Slash Man, Spring Man and Turbo Man working in
addition to those
four. Yet, he just doesn't seem to...well, care! He had always been so
eager during a robot
rebellion. But it looks like he's lost his passion for the game. His
attempts at attacking Mega Man
seem pretty feeble."
Shade Man frowned. "Ah. That's too bad. Perhaps it is his age?"
Bass shrugged. "I'm sure I don't know. You know how humans are always
going through
mood swings. But I have a plan that might cheer him up. I'll need a bit of
your help, though."
Shade Man considered this. "Tell me your plan first."
Bass nodded. Fair enough. "As it stands, Mega Man doesn't know I'm a bad
boy. He
thinks I'm fighting Wily, like him. I'm sure he suspects deep down that I'm
not a good fellow, but
he's not doing anything about it. Sooo....I'm gonna pretend I'm hurt. Mega
Man will spot me, and,
being the compassionate idiot that he is, offer to teleport me to Light's
stinking lab for repairs. I'll
accept, and when I'm there, I'll find something of value to steal. Maybe
some plans for an
upgrade, or something. I don't know. Just a little nick - knack that might
make the Doc more
cheerful. What do you think?"
Shade grinned again. "I like, I like. What do you want me to do?"
"Oh, that's easy. Shoot me."
Shade raised a questioning eyebrow. "Shoot you?"
"Yeah. Just give me a small shot on my shoulder."
"All right. You're da boss." Shade agreed reluctantly. He raised his arm
cannon and
released a small plasma charge at Bass' shoulder blade. The shot couldn't
have made a
kindergarten student stagger. But Bass reeled dramatically, holding his
shoulder which was
bleeding very slightly.
"Oh! You nasty old robot! How dare you? Mega Man's gonna get you for that
one!"
Both the evil bots shared a laugh.
"Well, I'm off to meet Mega Man!" Bass said, once he had calmed down.
"Thanks,
Shade."
"Not a problem. By the way...."
"Yeah?"
"How do you know where to meet Mega Man?"
"Oh. I know for a fact that he's on his way to meet you." Bass said
airily. "I had a bit of
a rough time trying to keep ahead of him."
Shade's normally bleached face went paler still. "What?"
"Thanks a million Shade! Byes!" Bass said briskly, as he teleported out of
Shade's foyer
in a shiny black beam.
A few minutes later, Bass kneeled by the dark steps of Shade Man's
cathedral, trying his
level best to look like he was mortally wounded. Gospel ran in circles
around his master, worried
that the sleek robot might really be hurt. Gospel was fierce and loyal, but
his IQ was that of stale
bread.
"Beat it, Gospel." Bass hissed at his companion through clenched teeth.
Gospel paid no
heed as he lay by Bass and whined. Suddenly the purple and silver robodog
leapt to his paws and
growled at something in the darkness. Bass grinned; he was almost certain
that he knew what
Gospel was upset at. Sure enough, as he strained to see further in the
darkness, he could see a
small blue form making its way towards the two.
"Lights, camera, action!" Bass thought to himself.
As soon as he was in striking distance, Gospel launched himself at Mega Man
with a
tremendous howl.
"Yikes! Down, Lassie!" Bass heard the blue bomber yelp.
"Gospel! Come here!" Bass commanded. The dog reluctantly bounded back to
his
master's side. Once Gospel was out of the way, Bass could see Mega Man
looking down at him
with a questioning expression. Bass recited his lines.
"Damn. I got careless." Bass muttered, clutching his shoulder. "Maybe I
should give up
and leave Wily to you."
Bass' heart gave a wild leap of excitement when Mega answered him.
"No. We're a team. Dr. Light would be glad to fix you up."
Bass bowed his head so that Mega wouldn't be able to see his wry smile.
"Thanks. I'm
glad I have a friend like you...."
"It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day to be
neighbors..."
"Hey Proto,"
"Yeah?"
"Would you mind shutting up? Your singing leaves much to be desired."
"We - ll....okay. But only 'cause you're my sis."
Protoman and Roll sat on the porch of Light's lab, soaking in a beautiful
spring day. Mr.
Sun was smiling, birds wheeled and circled in the azure sky, and flowers
bloomed (along with
some weeds). It was the sort of weather that made one want to jump and turn
cartwheels.
However, neither of the bots felt like doing this. They preferred to sit and
stare off into the
distance, hoping for something interesting to happen.
"You know," Protoman said suddenly in a lazy tone, "Mr. Rogers is one messed
up
individual. He gets undressed in front of little children."
Roll frowned. "I don't think that taking off your shoes in front of a TV
camera counts as
getting undressed, Proto."
Protoman shrugged his plated shoulders. "Whatever. Shoes or no, Mr. Rogers
still
scares me."
Although Roll couldn't disagree with that remark, she decided to change the
uneasy topic.
"Isn't it a beautiful day?"
Proto took a halfhearted glance at the nature surrounding him, and shrugged
again. "I
suppose so. It's not that big of a deal to me."
"I'm not surprised, since you can't see any of it with that visor in front
of your eyes."
Proto became offended. "Hey. Don't dis the visor. It's my friend."
Roll grinned. "But how can you SEE anything?"
Proto stood up. "I can see just fine!" He said haughtily. He tried to
reenter the lab, but
was stopped short when he bashed into the doorframe.
"Ouch." He whined.
Roll fought back the urge to say "I told you so". Instead, she tapped Proto
on his metallic
leg. "Sit down for a sec. I want to talk to you."
Proto frowned. The heat of the sun was causing him to slowly to cook alive
in his heavy
silver and maroon armour, but he obeyed. Taking his place next to Roll
again, he removed his
scarf in an effort to cool off a bit.
"What's on your mind?"
Roll's expression became serious. "I just want to know why you don't seem
to hang
around the lab that much. True, I see you often, but what about Rock? He'd
really like to see
more of you."
Proto's face darkened like a thundercloud. "Rock's my brother, and he's a
good fellah,
but to be perfectly honest with you Roll, I don't need to hear his preaching
on what a good team
we could be if we joined up and fought together. He doesn't seem to respect
the fact that I work
best when I'm alone. Everytime I meet up with him, he tries to persuade me
to work with him.
I've told him as nicely as possible to bugger off and let me do things at my
own pace, but no
matter how many times I repeat this, he always confronts me with the same
question; 'When are
you going to stop skulking around on your own? Why don't you stay and help
me fight Wily'?
And good golly miss Molly, it DOES get tiring to hear that over and over
again."
Roll nodded a bit sadly. "Maybe I could have a talk with him."
"Don't bother. It probably won't work." Proto said heavily. Then he sighed
and said, "I
suppose Rock is still off fighting Wily right now?"
"Uh huh." Muttered Roll while she traced some lines in the dirt in front of
her with a
broken twig. "Man, that guy is getting on my nerves. Rock's, too, I'm
sure."
"I don't see why they don't just give that guy the Chair." Proto remarked
as he
unconsciously wove a noose out of his removed scarf.
Roll nodded in agreement. "I don't see why Rock just doesn't kill him."
Proto stopped fiddling with his scarf. He dropped it in surprise. He
dropped his jaw as
well. Proto grabbed Roll by her shoulders and shook her wildly.
"Don't ever....ever....EVER SAY THAT!" He hissed frantically.
Roll seemed confused, and with good reason. "Why...? What did I say?"
Proto regained his composure. "Sorry Roll. It's just that...well...I don't
want you saying
anything that will give Rock any ideas, although killing Wily is a damned
good one. I'm scared
that Rock might try it one day. Do you understand what problems would arise
then? It would
make our lives a living hell."
Roll looked at her brother dumbly. "But why?"
"I take it you don't know too much about the Rules of Robotics?"
Roll had to admit that she did not know very much.
"Well, it's a sort of Ten Commandments for robots." Proto educated her.
"Except I don't
think that there are ten rules of robotics. Still, there are quite a few,
and the first one is to be
obeyed without fail: 'A robot is never to harm a human being'. Could you
imagine what would
happen if Rock killed Wily? He'd be deactivated for sure. Like a dog that
bites, a robot that kills
humans is bound to do it again. And that is a very dangerous thing. Could
you think of Rock on
a killing spree? You'd need a bloody army to stop the guy!"
"Oh." Roll said. She seemed to be feeling a bit guilty about bringing up
the whole topic.
Proto read her mind. "That's all right." He sighed. "It's just something
I don't really like
to think about. I'm just worried sick that Rock is gonna lose it one day and
blast a hole through
Wily. A robot is programmed to follow the rules as closely as possible, but
you know how
humanlike Rock can be at times. His emotions can sometimes get the best of
him. I think he'd
try taking a shot at Wily. Then he would be killed, and we'd be surrounded
by the media...Oy
gavalt, I get such a headache just thinking about it!!"
An uneasy silence was the only answer from Roll. Proto shifted
uncomfortably.
"Roll..."
"Yeah?"
"If I told you a secret...would you swear to keep it under your hood? I
mean, don't even
tell it to Rock? I don't want him to start worrying over stupid things."
Roll's mechanical heart skipped a beat. She wondered if her brother was
going to reveal
himself to be an alien. That would explain an awful lot. "I swear."
"All right. I trust you. Light told me that he's working on some plans for
a new robot."
Roll seemed disappointed. "That's not so unusual."
"No, my ignorant little sibling. Not just ANY robot!"
Roll's interest sparked again. "Go on."
Proto looked at her sternly from behind his visor. "If Light's plans
translate into actions,
we're going to see a robot that is radically different from any bot you and I
have ever known. This
robot will have tremendous strength..."
"So?" Roll interrupted again. "A strong robot is nothing to write home to
mother about."
"Roll, will you be a dear and let me TALK for ten seconds without being
stopped? Thank
you. Like I was saying, this robot will also possess emotions that are
almost identical to those of
humans. It will be able to choose its own path in life, as its programming
won't restrain it from
doing anything it wants to do. That means that this robot could break the
rules of robotics with
ease, if he chose to do so."
Roll still did not seem too impressed. "A robot with emotions? Big deal.
We have
emotions, right?"
"Yes," agreed Protoman, "but our emotions are somewhat primitive. We're
still enslaved
by our programming quite a bit. What we possess is really nothing compared
to what a human
can feel. But this mystery 'bot will have the thoughts and feelings of a
human. Think of it, Roll. A
robot that can love, hate, feel anger, etc. A robot that follows its
thoughts and emotions, not its
programming."
"I think that sounds wonderful," Roll said as she took all this in.
Protoman got to his feet. "No, it's NOT wonderful." He said in an annoyed
tone. "Don't
you see the point I'm trying to get across? Would you like me to use sign
language? Let me sum
this up for you. A robot that can think, feel, and break the laws of
robotics is a dangerous thing!
What if this robot DOES decide to kill humans. Do you think anyone could
stop it? It would be
exactly like an angry human that is almost indestructible. It's bad news.
I've told Light that he's
sowing dragon's teeth with this whole idea. He just laughed and told me to
relax, because he has
only made the plans for this robot and he hasn't really had any thoughts of
carrying out the
instructions for some time, if ever." Proto sighed and slumped down again.
"I guess he's right.
Maybe I should lighten up. I'm just really worried about those plans falling
into the wrong hands,
i.e. Wily." Proto paused and cocked his head to one side. "'Worry'.
THERE'S an emotion we
posses! Pretty funky, huh? Maybe we're not so primitive as I originally
thought."
Roll smiled and patted her brother on his arm. "There now. There's no
reason to worry
about phantom robots. We'll see what happens. Just quit living in the
future. We have bigger
things to worry about in the present."
Proto gazed off into the distance again and frowned suddenly.
"Yeah. And here comes one of those problems."
Roll whisked around to see what Proto was so upset about. She could see a
small black
and yellow form making staggering towards the duo. A purple and silver four
- footed figure
trotted alongside the robot.
"Isn't that....?"
"Bass." Proto growled. "And that miserable mutt of his. I really don't
trust that guy, and I
only put up with him for Light's sake."
"My, you're so trusting. No wonder you have so many friends." Roll teased
him. "I
personally think that Bass is all right. Besides, it looks like he's hurt or
something."
"Well then, you just have a yabba - dabba - do time with Mr. Bass." Proto
told her while
getting to his feet. He retrieved the precious scarf that he had dropped
earlier. "I don't want to
even look that guy in the face. I'll see you later, 'kay? If Bass tries
anything smart, just kick him
in the groin. That always works for me when I have a pesky human reporter
chasing me down for
an interview.
G'bye!"
Proto was engulfed by a red beam, then gone.
Sometime later in Dr. Light's oh - so - famous lab, Bass skipped about as
merrily as a
drunk dwarf. He had been admitted to the lab and repaired with no problems.
That took care of
part one of his plan. Now it was time for phase two. Bass tagged at Light's
heels, pestering the
old scientest just for the fun of it. Suddenly, Bass stopped and tapped
Light on the shoulder while
pointing to a curious object that lay on a nearby shelf.
"Hey Doc, what's that?"
"Oh, that's my new invention. It's called the Energy Balancer, and it's
function is to --"
"'Energy Balancer'? That's a stupid name. What's that?" Bass pointed to
another
object.
"That's my laser cannon. It's very handy for --"
"Oh never mind. What's that?"
Dr. Light rubbed his eyes with one hand. "Bass, could you please give it a
rest for a
minute? I never knew that any robot was capable of asking so many stupid
questions."
Bass became offended. "Sorry. I can't help it if I'm inquisitive."
Dr. Light clearly felt bad about telling off the robot. "I'm sorry, Bass.
It's just that your
questions have given me a migraine."
The corners of Bass' mouth twitched ever so slightly. "Gee. Isn't that a
shame?" He
patted his newly - patched shoulder, where Shade Man had previously shot him.
"By the way,
thanks for the repairs."
"No thanks needed. It was a simple procedure."
"Well, thanks just the same." Bass suddenly lunged at a table and grabbed a
half
completed fragile construction that rested upon it. The creation promptly
slipped out of his eager
grasp, and shattered to bits on the tiled floor.
"Oh well. You can't win 'em all." Bass remarked with a casual shrug. He
swept up the
debris with his foot and kicked it under a table.
Light involuntarily winced at the sight of his hard work splattered all over
the floor.
"No...and sometimes you can't win AT all..."
Bass looked up. "Hm? What was that you said?"
"Nothing."
Before Light could even stop him, Bass sprung towards a storage shelf that
rested in the
far side of the lab. As quick as a squirrel, Bass hauled himself to the top
of the shelf. His eye fell
on a thick notebook that resided there. Bass grabbed it and began to flip
through it without
hesitation.
"Wow!" The sleek bot called down to Light. "Are these plans for upgrades
to Mega and
Rush? They're the creamiest! You should....aurgh!"
Bass' last word was uttered in surprise as he began to notice that the shelf
was
falling...with him on it! Bass went 'el splatto' as the structure tipped
over with him beneath it.
Light hurried over to make sure that the bot was all right.
Bass managed to lift up the fallen shelf and squirm out from under it.
"I'm alright. Really, I am..."
Light frowned. "Bass, it would please me if you kept your paws off of my
stuff." He
glanced with alarm at the notebook that Bass clutched. "In fact, give me
back that book."
Bass grinned hellishly. "I'm sorry Hal. I can't do that." Bass grabbed a
table and lifted it
above his head with no problem whatsoever. "Here! CATCH!" He bellowed as
the heaved the
object towards Light. The table hit Light square and true, knocking him over
and pinning him
down to the floor.
"Bass...WHAT is...going...on?" Light demanded.
In answer, Bass simply extracted a small bomb with one hand, and waved the
thick
notebook with the other.
"I said I liked your plans for this little upgrade! So I'm ripping them off
for Wily! Isn't that
nice of me?" Bass swept over the room with a glance. "I just wonder if
there's anything else of
value to steal..." Bass walked away from Light and over to the back of the
lab, where there was a
vault, and a small window. "Well lookie here, Pard! A vault! Gee, I wonder
what's inside?"
Dr. Light frantically renewed his struggle to get out from under the table.
"Get away from
there!"
Bass simply tossed the bomb he was holding up and down like a black
baseball.
"I like bombs. Don't you? Bomb Man gave me this one for a Christmas gift.
I felt sorta
bad about receiving it...after all, all I got Bomb Man was a lousy pair of
dollar socks. Now, if I
were you, I'd get down low to the ground. You don't want any shrapnel in
your eye!" Bass hurled
the bomb at the safe and dove to the ground in one smooth motion. Sure
enough, the bomb
exploded on contact. It blew the door off of the safe in addition to blowing
up a good quarter
section of the lab. Light was not hurt, but he became utterly terrified to
see Bass rummage
through the safe's contents. Bass eventually pulled out some materials that
interested him.
"Well, isn't this interesting!" The black bot remarked as he shuffled
through a bunch of
papers and computer disks that he had taken out of the safe. "These look
like plans of some
sort...." Bass took a closer look at the papers. "Plans for...a 'reploid'.
Now what in the sam hill is
a 'reploid'? Oh well, whatever it is, I'm sure Wily will be interested in
it." Bass collected the
papers along with the notebook he had snatched earlier.
"Give those plans back to me!" Dr. Light cried desperately.
Bass snickered. "Okay. Let me get this straight. Here in my hand, I have
something
that is obviously of great value. In fact, it might even help Wily take over
the world. And you, my
enemy, is laying there as helpless as a kitten. So you want ME to just GIVE
you back the plans?
As if I'm just gonna walk over to you and say, 'Here you go Dr. Light. I was
just kidding'? I
REALLY don't think so! Sorry old chap. It's like those horror movies where
the heroine is being
pursued by a nasty monster, so she goes upstairs and locks the door. Like a
locked door is really
gonna stop Satan?"
Bass' fun was interrupted by the sound of the lab door crashing open. There
stood Mega
Man, his mouth sagging open in disbelief. His gaze went from the destroyed
lab to Dr. Light
pinned under the heavy table to Bass and back to the destroyed lab again.
"Holy Queen Mother! What's been going on here!?" He demanded angrily.
Bass waved at the blue bomber. "Too late, Mega Man! He who hesitates
is...oh, screw it.
See you around!"
With that, Bass whistled to Gospel who instantly bounded to his master's
side. Bass
threw himself out the window that was positioned beside the destroyed safe.
Unfortunately for the
sleek bot, the window was closed, and jumping through the thick glass caused
him a wee bit of
pain. Light and Mega could hear Bass' rapidly receding voice float back up
to them from below.
"OUCH! Damn, that hurt! Don't you idiots ever open your windows? Let some
fresh air
in! It'll do ya good!"
As Skull Castle grew larger and larger on the horizon, Bass stopped his brisk
pace to take a moment to congratulate himself. Everything had gone peachy.
Now all that remained was to take those curious plans he had obtained to
Wily. Bass glanced at the papers he held. He was sadly confused about
exactly what they were, but they seemed important. However, when he had
tried to read them, they were nothing more than jargon to him. It was
probably only stuff that Wily could really understand. Bass shrugged and
approached the forbidding maw of his master's castle.
"STOP RIGHT THERE, PRETTY BOY!" Two identical voices boomed in unison. Two
small look alike figures suddenly jumped in Bass' path. One raised its arm
cannon at the sleek bot and fired a shiny, aqua blue beam. Bass yelped and
threw himself upon the ground. The beam whizzed over his head and smacked
into a rock with an exploding sound, where it ricocheted at a 45 degree angle
and smashed one of the upper level windows of Skull Castle. Another shot
promptly followed the first one. This one bounced off of a tree and fried a
squirrel. Still, Bass cowered in the dust while opening one eye to try to
get an idea of who these new threats were. Bass caught a glimpse of the
midday sun flashing off of the rough, crystal surface of his attackers' blade
- edged armour. The rain of laserfire still flew thick, but none of it
touched Bass. Then Bass understood just who he was up against. He hauled
himself to his feet.
"CASTOR! POLLUX! STOP IT, YOU BLOODY IDIOTS!"
Sure enough, the Gemini Men withheld their fire and trembled in fear as Bass
towered over them. Bass' face was one gigantic frown. He didn't appreciate
it when people attempted to murder him.
"B...B....Bass...sss....ss...I...didn't know it was....you..." One of the
Gemini Men stammered. The other one looked like he wished he could sink into
the ground.
The Gemini Men were robotic twins, and, as a result, you couldn't tell one
apart from the other if your life depended on it. To try to lessen the
massive cases of mistaken identity that came with the twins, they were
actually named after the famous twins in the constellation of Gemini. One
robot was Castor. His brother was Pollux. To attempt to lessen confusion
even further, Wily imposed a strict rule on the twins: They each must wear a
name tag at all times. Thus, since then, Castor has sported a large red
sticker that read "HELLO, MY NAME IS CASTOR!" on the left side of his
breastplate, while Pollux bore a sticker in the same area that screamed,
"GOOD DAY, MY NAME IS POLLUX!". Neither of the bots wore their name tags
with a great deal of pride. Still, the twins would never disobey Wily, even
if the evil scientist ordered them to stick a screwdriver in their eyes.
" Bass, I didn't know it was you!" Castor repeated pathetically. "That's
why Pollux and I took a shot at you. You can't be too careful when Mega Man
is wandering the streets, you know..."
"Who did you think I was? The Easter Bunny?" Bass rumbled. "I take it that
you did. In that case, I forgot to bring you some cheap chocolate eggs, but
I brought you something MUCH better, Castor..."
With that, Bass drew back his fist and gave Castor the finest uppercut you
ever saw. The poor Gemini Man literally flew a good metre before splattering
on the grass, where he lay splayed out like roadkill. Pollux quickly dropped
to his twin brother's side and desperately tried to get him breathing again.
Bass simply stepped over the mess he had created, and walked over to the
small intercom system that was positioned outside of the massive main doors
of the fortress. Bass skilfully punched in the code on the number panel that
would allow him to talk directly to Wily himself.
As Bass had expected, a heavy German voice floated through the intercom's
speaker. "Vhat? Who is zere? Go avay. It'z nap time."
Bass gave a wry grin. "It's only me, Doc. Bass. So you can knock off that
kooky German accent."
There was a small pause from the other end.
"Really?"
Bass nodded, although he knew full well that Wily couldn't see his actions
from the other end of the 'com. "Yep."
"Oh, that's a relief." Wily sighed. His voice had smoothed out to a typical
Joe - Schmoe accent. "It's really a pain when I have to use that German
voice. But it seems to be effective when I'm trying to strike fear into the
hearts of..."
"Doc, can you let me in already?" Bass interrupted rudely. "I've returned
from ransacking Light's lab, and I have a few things that you might wanna
see."
"Oh certainly. Just a sec."
"By the way, Doc," Bass remarked suddenly. "I'm afraid I just whupped
Castor's pathetic behind again. I think he might need some major repairs."
"Again? This is the third time this month! Bass, you have to learn to
tolerate idiots more."
"I try, Doc. Really, I do. "
"Well, at any rate come in." Wily grumbled in a static - drowned voice. The
gates to the entrance of the fortress slowly swung open. Before entering ,
Bass glanced behind him and saw Pollux gawking vacantly at him in fear and
awe. Bass decided to have a little more fun. He pointed at the Gemini twin
and barked in a commanding voice:
"Gospel! Go kill!"
Gospel liked nothing better than this command. He charged at Pollux with his
great mouth wide open in a frightful roar. Pollux turned around and fled,
screaming for his mother (obviously forgetting in his frenzy that he didn't
HAVE one). He wasn't paying attention to where he was going, and as a
result, tripped over the motionless body of his brother. Pollux tumbled
clumsily to the grass just as Gospel pounced. Since Bass didn't care much
for the sight of robotic blood, he turned around and entered the castle.
Gospel could let himself in through the doggy - door when he was finished
with his sport.
Bass' good cheer began to diminish as he toiled up the winding stone
staircase that snaked around the inside of Wily's tower. The tremendous set
of stairs led towards the top of the fortress and Wily's chambers. Climbing
them was always an adventure, not to mention a pain in the neck.
"Why can't Wily just put in an elevator?" Bass grumbled to no one in
particular. "And for that matter, why are his chambers at the top of the
bloody castle? Couldn't he put his rooms on the main floor? No, wait...that
would make too much sense for a human."
The last stair was ascended, and Bass found himself in the mouth of a long
hallway. It was only a bit further now. He started down the passageway,
and almost immediately he met Snake Man, who was coming down the hall from
the opposite direction. Bass smiled when he saw the reptilian robot. Snake
Man was one of Wily's smarter robots, and, as a result, he had Bass' respect
and friendship.
"Ah, hello Bass!" Snake hissed. He approached Bass with a graceful sort of
slither in his step. "What's up?"
Bass grinned. "The sky."
Snake rolled his slit - like eyes at the black bot. "That's very funny,
Bass. I'm dying of laughter. You should write that up and send it to
Seinfeld."
"Hey!" Bass cried out suddenly.
Snake looked at Bass in amusement. "Is something the matter?"
Bass' eye fell on Snake Man's neck. There, draped in massive scaly coils,
rested a python. It lifted its head and studied Bass with cold, beadlike
eyes.
"Cool! A real python!" Bass remarked.
Snake nodded and grinned with pride. "Yes. He's my new pet."
"What's his name?" Bass inquired as he (carefully) pet the triangular head
of the python.
"Monty."
Bass chewed over this. "Monty...Python. Sort of has a nice ring to it.
Well, I'm off to see the Doc. See you later!" Bass sprinted down the hall.
Dr. Wily, an evil scientist we all know and love was in his main surveillance
chamber with his feet up, dully watching a small TV. Behind him stood Smoky
the Bear's worst nightmare... Fire Man. Wily usually spent all day in the
surveillance chamber, watching the ongoings around the city. But today, he
just wasn't in the mood. He stared silently at the television, bathed in its
faint glow. Fire Man faithfully waited for any orders that his creator might
give him, while wondering what kind of entertainment humans get from staring
at images on a small black box.
A sudden, jarring crash of the room's main doors being flung open announced
Bass' arrival. Fire Man whipped around in alarm at the discord, but Wily
didn't even twitch.
"Have no fear, Bass is here!" Sang the ebony bot.
Wily didn't even turn around. "Bass, how many times have I asked you not to
slam doors around?" He droned.
Bass frowned. "Wily, what IS it with you!? Do you want me to bring you some
orange juice and prozac? Lighten up!"
Fire Man approached his superior and lowered his voice, which sounded like a
cross between a 20 year old furnace and the infamous cartoon pyro, Butthead.
"Uh, Bass...The Doc's like...really...uh, bummed out or something. I wish
there was something that could, uh, like, cheer him up. huh huh..."
Bass shoved Fire Man to one side. "I have just the thing!" Bass rattled the
plans in his hand. "Look, Wily! Lookit what I found! I think you might
like this...!"
Wily still stared at the TV like a zombie. "Will I, Bass? That's nice."
Bass' rage began to mount. He felt the urge to throw a hyper spaz. "You
didn't even LOOK! You don't even CARE!"
"Wow, you know what Bass? You're right! Now leave me alone. Go water the
plants."
"TURN AROUND, DAMN YOUR SOUL!" Bass snarled as he stomped over to the
television that had captivated Wily. The sleek bot easily grasped the TV
and, with one mighty jerk, tore its plug right out of the socket. Bass then
drop - kicked the box out the open door of the chamber. Bass could hear a
muffled curse as the contraption hit someone outside of the room.
Dr. Wily frowned. "Well now, Bass. That wasn't very nice."
"I have nothing to do with nice!" The bot snapped. "You know that, Doc!"
Wily smiled weakly as he sunk back into the wings of his overstuffed chair.
"Ah, Bass. My last and greatest creation. I really outdid myself with you.
You're so humanlike.."
"Hold IT!" Bass said sharply. "What do you mean 'last' creation...?"
Wily stirred uncomfortably. "I've made a decision, Bass. I'm old, and I'm
tired of trying to take over the world when I really haven't gotten anywhere
close to doing so for the past six attempts! I'm not creating anymore
robots. I just want to live the rest of my years in a little bit of peace."
"No! No no no a thousand times NO!" Bass cried in horror while jumping in
one spot.
Wily spoke loudly in an effort to be heard over the din that his assistant
was creating. "It's finished, Bass! Done! Over! Finito! Now, here's a
little secret; Although you don't know it, there is a tiny chip inside of you
and all your brothers that will automatically shut you all down almost as
soon as I've bought the farm. You'll never reactivate. None of you. Isn't
that a comforting thought?"
Bass stood stock still. "But why?" He finally squeaked. " Why do you want
to do away with us? Don't you want us to live on and destroy mankind? Huh?
Don't you?"
Wily shook his bald head. "No. I've thought it over. Any way you look at
it, I've been a bad boy almost all my life. Right from the time I
reprogrammed Light's bots when we were partners!" Wily chuckled at the evil
memory.
"Yeah. Those were like, uh, the golden times Doc." Fire Man grunted from
behind.
"Yes." Wily sighed. "I need some rest from evil. Sort of a change, if you
will. Something GOOD to look at when they check out the records of my life
at the big computer in the sky. No need to check them, really. We all know
where I'M going once I've left this mortal coil."
"Peace?" Bass gasped. "Doc, watch your mouth! Please, look at what I've
ripped off for you! It has to do with...fun!"
"Gee, what could be more fun than eternal damnation?"
"Well, not much." Bass admitted. "But put it this way. If you don't turn
around right now and look at what I worked hard to obtain for you, I'll just
stand right here and pester you until you do."
"Do your worst." Wily challenged his creation in a growl.
Bass pounced on that gladly. "Very well then. Doc, will you look at these
sheets?"
"No."
"Doc, will you look at these sheets?"
"No!"
"Doc, will you look at these sheets?"
"No!!"
"Doc, will you look at these sheets?"
"No!!!"
"Doc, will you look at these sheets?"
"NO!!!!"
"Doc, will you..."
"STOP! STOP IT! A human can only take so much, you know!"
Bass beamed with triumph. "So, you'll look at what I brought you?"
Wily grunted a response as he snatched the papers out of Bass' outstretched
hand. "What are these?"
Bass shrugged. "I know that the notebook you're holding has something to do
with upgrades to Rush and Mega...but those stray papers...well, I have no
idea what they are, but they seem to be very important. Ol' doc Light nearly
had a heart attack when I started to handle them..."
Wily's head jerked up. "You took these away in front of Light?"
Bass nodded with a touch of pride. "Yep. He was pinned under a table that I
- ahem! - threw at him. I daresay he was pretty helpless."
A tiny hint of a smile crept up to the corners of Wily's mouth. "Well, isn't
that nice?" Wily proceeded to study the papers Bass had nicked for him.
Bass watched with a great deal of interest as Wily's eyes got larger and
larger as he viewed what was before them. The black bot got quite a start
when Wily suddenly jumped out of his overstuffed chair and began to run in
small circles around the room with more energy then Bass could ever remember
seeing in the scientist in a long, long time. Fire Man became spooked and
hid under a table.
"BASS!"
"Whuuut?"
"Do you have ANY idea what these plans are?"
"Ah...no. I honestly have no idea what they are."
"These are Light's best kept secrets!" Wily was now panting with exhaustion.
He was forced to stop his mad whirlabout and breathe. "Plans for a
robot...with emotions and free will!"
"Is that good?"
Wily regarded Bass with a vexed look on his anchient face. "Is that GOOD?"
He echoed in disbelief. "Bass, it's amazing! Think of all the
possibilities, the power..."
Bass smiled wryly. Wily seemed to be getting back to his old, scheming self
again.
Wily's huge grin twisted to a frown as he looked at the crinkled plans again.
"That idiot, Light, has already come up with a name for this 'creation' of
his. Listen to this name, Bass! 'X'. What kind of name is that? I had a
hamster named 'X' when I was a boy!"
Bass pretended to be interested in the old human's ramblings. "What happened
to him, Doc?"
"Oh, I got bored with X, so I fed him to my pet alligator." Wily said
absently.
Bass grinned. "You're a good man, Doc. You have quite a heart."
"Yes. Well, take my advice, Bass. Never get a hamster for a pet. They do
nothing but chew paper at every waking moment, then they run on those little
exercise wheels all night. The squeaking can drive you mad. I think that's
how I got the way I am today."
"Doc, you mean that you blame your unstable mind and violent nature on a
harmless little hamster?" Bass inquired.
"Yes." Wily said solemnly. "And it wasn't an 'innocent little hamster'! It
was a MEAN hamster! It wanted to kill me! Every night it would plot my
death and scurry out of its cage, wielding a butcher knife...it would climb
up my bedsheets while I was asleep, and..and..." Wily's voice trailed off
and he began to tremble at the disturbing memory.
Bass was used to this sort of thing from Wily. "There now, Doc. The hamster
won't bother you anymore."
Wily's voice began to rise in volume as he continued to rave. "The hamster
was AGAINST ME! I bet HE was the one who also turned my GOLDFISH against me!
The goldfish tried to DROWN me! DROWN ME, I TELL YA! But I got the best of
little furry X, Bass! I fed him to my alligator! SNAP!" - Here Wily
mimicked an alligator's snapping jaws using him arms - "No more X! I could
sleep at night again...until my German Shepherd found out where my parents
kept the revolver..."
Bass rubbed his eyes in frustration. The doc got more and more unstable as
the days went on. Would he really be able to build one of these mysterious
'reploids'?
"Doc..."
Wily paused in his raving. "Yes Bass?"
"Are you gonna use those plans or what? Are you gonna create a 'reploid'?"
Wily cast his eyes down to the mysterious sheets. "I don't...know if I
could, Bass. Remember, I said that I just wanted peace for the next little
while. Besides, It would be too difficult for me to do on my own."
"But Doc," Bass pleaded. "I'm sure that Light's gonna build this 'X'
character if he hasn't started already. Look deep in your black soul. You
don't want 'peace', certainly not in the future. You want death and
destruction. Peace is for wusses. You know it and I know it. If you used
these plans to your advantage, you could build your own little reploid to
wreak havoc and destruction while you're gone. I mean, I'll admit it.
Myself and my brothers wouldn't be much match for a robot like this strange
'X' fellow. I could tell by your reactions to those plans. But if you used
these plans to build a 'reploid' of your own to rival this 'X' and to carry
on your dirty work...well then...life would be good for future generations!"
Bass elbowed Wily in his fragile ribs. "Am I right? Huh? Am I?"
Wily had his chin resting in one hand, a sure sign that the old scientist was
thinking. Bass had a chance to topple the balance towards his favour. "Of
course, if you don't WANT to build this advanced robot...I'm sure that Light
will be known forever as the scientist who built the most amazing machine in
existence, and you'll just be known as Dr. Wily, the wuss scientist who
couldn't compare to Light even though he had a chance to do so. Or, maybe
you'll just be known as Dr. Wily, the scientist who couldn't win a bloody war
to save his life, so he deactivated his miserable robots and just crawled
quietly under the table, like the defeated dog he was..."
"That's ENOUGH, Bass!" Wily roared. "I'm ten times the scientist Light is
or will be! I'll build your miserable reploid! But you'll have to help
me!!"
Bass smirked and removed his helmet with a sweeping mock bow. "Anything you
say, mein Wily!"
"Hey! Hey dad!"
24 year - old Alex Wells had just enough time to turn 180 degrees before his
young son
tackled him affectionately in the stomach, throwing his small arms around his
father. Alex
beamed at the embrace. "Hey there, Paul. How's it going?"
In response, Paul merely buried his face deeper into his father's stomach.
"Okay, I
guess. I just wanna know why you always have to go off to work."
Alex chuckled softly as he ruffled his son's scruffy blonde hair, which was
very much like
his own long, light ponytail that hung nearly all the way down his back like
molten gold. "Sorry
m'boy, but I have to work a lot."
Paul looked sulky. "Why?"
"Because we need money to buy things."
"Why do we need money to buy things?"
"Because life's a You - Know - What, and then you marry one!" Alex pried
his reluctant
son off of his midsection. "Tell your ma that I'll be back later tonight."
"I will," Paul muttered, dejected.
Alex gave a satisfied nod, and resumed getting ready for his departure to
work for the
afternoon.
Unknown to Alex, a sleek, crested robot was perched on a nearby rooftop,
gazing at the
human with a steady stare, like a vulture watching its heat - parched prey
take its last gasp. Bass
observed the encounter between the young man and his son, while, in his
mind's eye, he recalled
the conversation he and ol' Doc Wily had had earlier that day....
"Bass, we have a slight problem with our 'reploid'.
Bass' heart sunk clear down into his armoured boots at the thought that
something might
be wrong with the plans he had worked so hard to obtain. "What's up, Doc?"
"It's complicated, but I'll give you the gist of it while you think up some
more hilarious
jokes. A reploid has emotions and thoughts. According to the plans I have,
the parts needed to
give a reploid those gifts are complicated and extremely hard to find. I
certainly don't have them
in this lab."
Frustration welled up in Bass. He leaned against the wall beside him and
drummed out
a little beat on the hard plaster with his fingers. "Well, that IS quite a
pickle. If you want me to,
I could ransack Light's lab again and try to rip off the parts. After all,
if he's building a reploid,
and those plans were his, I'm sure he has the accessories need."
Wily shook his head firmly. "No Bass, you said that Rock returned to the
lab just as
you were leaving. I don't doubt that he'll still be there, and the last
thing that I need at this point
is to lose you. Besides, I have an alternate plan, and you'll play a crucial
part in it."
Bass' interest flared up again. "What's the plan?"
Wily hesitated for a second. "I could probably turn a human into a
reploid."
The quizzical expression glued to Bass' face requested more info.
"If I turned a human into a reploid," Wily explained, "It would still have
the emotions of a
human and the strength of a robot, like any reploid. It wouldn't be totally
mechanical like Light's
reploid, but it would be my own special breed."
For the first time since he started service to Wily, Bass looked doubtful of
his master.
"You really think you can change a human into a reploid without killing the
fellow?"
Wily looked grim. "I may as well try. Creating my own breed of reploid
would certainly
be interesting. It would be a reploid that gets its emotions not from
mechanics, but from a real
human mind. If we DID carry this out, we would transform the human's body
into titanium, but
leave its mind intact, but it would still be more machine than man. It would
be dangerous and
painful for the human, but...golly gosh darn it, it would be a challenge!
And I'm up for a
challenge!"
"'More machine than man...'" Bass echoed. "Cool! Just like Darth Vader!"
"More or less." Wily said to shut him up. "Now Bass, I want you to go out
and nab a
human. Make it a strong one...the metamorphosis from man to machine will be
physically taxing
on the human, and we want it to survive. When you do your kidnapping, stick
to an area with
low traffic. We don't want to attract more attention than needed."
Flustered with the thrill of being permitted to hunt, Bass excitedly
prepared to teleport,
but Wily stopped him.
"Wait, Bass..." He said. "It's not bloody likely that the human is just
going to go with
you! Take a dart gun. If the human gives you any sort of a struggle, just
shoot him with this,
and I guarantee that it'll settle down in a real hurry." Wily held out a
small vial of a strange,
clear liquid in his gnarled hand.
Bass studied the liquid with interest. "What is this stuff?"
"One of my newer inventions. I call it 'Nullifier..'"
Bass' thoughts came crashing back into the present as he watched the young
man below
him separate with his son. The bot's eyes glittered hellishly as his
powerful mind devised a
somewhat diabolical plan. Like a sleek black adder, Bass waited silently
above, poised to make
his move. He had chosen his victim.
Alex grumbled as he started on the path to his work. It was a fairly nice
day, and work
wasn't far, but the wind was behind him and it whipped Alex's ponytail over
his shoulder as
carelessly as a cat's paw torments a mouse. Alex flipped his ponytail back
over his shoulder for
the twentieth time. "Stay there, damn you." He muttered. As much as Alex
took pride in his
tremendously long hair, it was beginning to become quite a pain. Some idiots
began to comment
on his looking like a girl. Perhaps he would cut off the ponytail this
weekend...or perhaps not...then
again, he had better things to worry about than hair problems...like when the
hell he was going to
be able to afford a car!?
A sudden, shrill scream from behind tore clean through Alex's mental moping.
Alex
recognized the owner of the cry right away:
"Paul!"
Alex spun around so quickly that his ponytail lashed him in the shoulder.
What he saw
made his stomach squirm violently.
There was his son, who had obviously been on his way back to the house, in
the fierce
clutches of a robot that was clad in ebony armour with gold trimmings. Paul
was crying, trying to
lunge towards his father, but the robot held him fast by one arm. What
really frightened Alex,
though, was the fact that the black demon had a strange looking gun pressed
against the back of
Paul's shaking head. Alex's throat went totally dry. Numbly, he followed
his protective instinct and
started back to his captive boy. Of course, he was not armed, but that
didn't matter to him; he
did not trust robots. They were becoming far too human, and there was no
telling what THIS
particular fellow wanted.
A sharklike grin rapidly spread across the robot's face as he watched Alex
lurch dumbly
towards him. "Hold it, human!" He snarled. "Don't come any further, or
you'll see the blood of
your pathetic offspring paint the sidewalk."
Alex's bloodshot eyes leapt back up to the gun pressed against his sobbing
son's head. He
slowed down to a complete stop.
"Attaboy!" The robot cheered as if he were praising a dog. "Don't make any
noise
either. We want to be as quiet as possible."
"What the hell do you want? Let him go NOW!"
Despite the forbidding tone in Alex's voice, the black robot respond airily.
"I don't want
to hurt the boy, and I won't on one condition. I want you to come with me
for a bit."
Alex's stomach wall became coated with ice and his feet were cemented in
place. He was
fairly certain that following this devil would mean death in one form or
another. "May I ask what
for?"
The robot's face lost its expressions of assurance and cunning. It just
became one
gigantic frown. "Don't give me any hassles! Remember who I've got!" At
these words, the robot
jostled Paul, who was silent but trembling. The cold, ominous black steel of
the gun that was
pressed hard against his head was not lowered for a second. Alex would have
to go with the robot
for the sake of his boy. What options did he have? None. Nada. Zippidy -
do - dah. Zero.
"I'll go," Alex grunted. "just leave him alone."
The robot nodded slightly. "Smart move." He threw the shocked bait away
from him.
Paul stumbled for a few steps then fell on a neighbour's lawn. Alex saw his
chance. He rushed
the robot, intending to tackle it. Alex was pretty sure that he could
overpower this freak with the
element of surprise. After all, this robot was smaller than him, but few
people were above Alex's
bestial height of 6"5. But even while Alex charged at the robot, panic
overwhelmed him; he could
tell by the robot's amused expression that it had been totally prepared for
this unruly behaviour.
Wordlessly, the grinning bot raised the gun and fired it in one fluid motion.
A small, streamlined
dart leapt from the short muzzle of the gun. Neatly, it sailed at Alex and
stuck fast in the human's
shoulder, stopping him in mid - charge. Crying out, Alex wheeled around
while he pulled the
poisonous object out of his shoulder, but it was too late. He began to feel
a warm tingling at the
base of his spine. The strange sensation slowly crawled up his back and
spread to his limbs. in
place of his fear and rage, Alex felt a sort of sleepy calmness creep over
him. He found that his
shaking legs could no longer support him as he wilted to the ground like a
dead flower. All the
frightening images of his son being held hostage by the black demon fled his
mind as he lost
consciousness.
Bass inwardly grinned as he watched the big human before him sink to the
ground,
unconscious. So THAT's what Nullifier did! Pretty handy stuff. Bass slung
the human's limp
body over his shoulder. The human was so tall and Bass was so short that the
humans' hands
dangled and actually touched the ground. Regardless of this comical sight,
Bass gave a fierce
glance up and down the street. To his relief, the street remained deserted.
The only spectator
present was the human's son, who silently watched in disbelief as his father
- the strongest and
bravest man in the world - was slung over some strange robot's shoulders like
a sack of grain.
Bass tried to harden his heart against the pitiful sight. Maybe he shouldn't
have chosen a family
man.
"Sorry kid." He mumbled awkwardly, trying to shake the unfamiliar feeling
of guilt that
gripped him. A black beam shot down from the sky. It swept up Bass, rapidly
taking him back to
the lab.
"Hey, Castor!!"
"Yeah?"
"Watch what happens when I stick my tongue in this electrical socket!"
"No Pollux, I really don't think you should --"
There was a sharp, crackling sound like bacon frying. With a strangled
yelp, Pollux was
thrown a good four feet back from the angry socket. As he lay there, with
his name tag now
charred and smoking, the faint, acrid smell of ozone began to fill the lab.
The robots who had
been present to watch Pollux's flight now cheered as if the Gemini Man had
done something
clever.
"All right Pollux, you da man!" Someone laughed.
Bass growled faintly as he watched these childish ongoings. Anyone who ever
said that
robots were supposed to have intelligence a hundredfold of humans would have
gotten a real shock if they
had been present at that moment.
Bass felt something paw at his leg. He looked down to see Gospel. The
robodog gazed
up at his god while wagging his stubby tail. He had not gone with Bass to
nab the human, and
Gospel did not like to be separated from his master for even a second.
Bass smiled as he kneeled to pet the dog. "Hey Gospel. You missed me, huh?
Let me
show you something."
Bass led his companion to the table situated in the middle of the lab. The
creature lying
there was quite a sight: It appeared to be a human, but it was under such a
tangled mass of
multicoloured wires that it was almost impossible to tell for sure. The
human was indeed Alex
undergoing the metamorphosis from a human to a reploid. The Doc and many of
the robots had
been working for days and nights on this project. So far, they were
succeeding. All the wires
attached to Alex were needed to keep his biological systems running while
vital organs were
altered or replaced. It was a very tricky process, and they had come close
to losing the victim
more than once. But for now, the human's breathing under the oxygen mask was
regular. Bass'
worst fear was that the human would suddenly awaken and begin to panic; but
Alex had remained
in a deep swamp of hibernation since Bass had shot him with the Nullifier.
The only other robot present at the table was Snake Man. Monty the python
still swarmed
over his shoulders. The reptilian bot was carefully observing the monitors
hooked up to Alex,
watching for any sudden and drastic change in the human's vital signs. Bass
and Gospel
approached him.
"Hey, Snakester. How's my baby brother doing?" Bass motioned towards Alex.
"So far he's fine. You said that his name was Alex?"
"Yep."
"How do you know that?"
Bass grinned a little sheepishly. "We found his wallet amoung his things.
It contained ID
that told us everything we need to know about him. Age, date of birth, blood
type, and so forth."
"So we know his name." Snake muttered. "But does he have a given name? I
mean,
what's he gonna be called when he turns into a robot...uh, I mean a reploid?"
Snake corrected
himself.
Bass grinned wryly. "The Doc and I already picked out a name. Did he ever
tell you the
name of his alligator? The one that ate his hamster, X?"
"Nope."
"Well, look at the monitor up there." Bass motioned to a radiant screen
hanging close to
Snake. "That'll tell ya the answer to your question."
Snake Man shuffled around to read the information behind him.
HUMAN NAME: Alex Wells
SEX: Male
D.O.B: 7/20/80
P.O.B: Toronto, Canada
GIVEN / REPLOID NAME: Zero
Bewildered, Bass stood stiffly in the middle of Wily's lab. The reploid
project was coming to a close, and final instructions and questions flew
thickly through the air.
"Robotic heart is functioning at 100%, and circulatory fluids are being
distributed as needed."
"Titanium X armour has been forged and donned."
"What colours were chosen for the armour?"
"Red and grey are the primary colours of the protective gear. It also
sports gold trimmings."
"Those colours suck."
"Hey listen me bucko, if you're so hot, why don't you haul butt down to
Robot Depot and pick out the colours yourself?"
"Don't tempt me."
"Okay! The arm cannon is in place. It should correspond with the
reploid's battle programs.
"Bass, Shadow Man just said that my mother was a tuna can. Do
somethiiiiing!"
In response to this desperate plea from his hassled underling, Bass merely
cracked his knuckles. The clamour that surrounded him was both terrible and
glorious. Terrible in the sense that it was annoying, but glorious in the
sense that, as every second flew past, Alex grew closer and closer to
becoming a reploid. Bass walked over to the construction table to see how
his baby brother was coming along. Fire Man was there, dully gawking at the
reploid before him. To the pyro, it was obviously little more than a heap of
metal and wires, while to Bass, it was life beyond his own , and for that
reason the crimson figure before him was more precious to him than anything
else in the world.
"Amazing, isn't he?" Bass whispered in an awed voice as he stood beside
Fire Man. His eyes were alight with admiration.
Fire Man jumped at the sudden sound of Bass' voice. He mumbled his
agreement as he gazed at the stoic face of the reploid beneath him. "Yeah,
he's okay, I guess." Fire Man paused. "Uh..can I like, set him on fire or
somethin'?"
Bass' jaw went slack. "No! Haven't you any idea what's lying here before
us? A reploid! A member of the perfect species! Evolution has crawled from
single - celled organisms in a prehistoric soup to THIS!!" Here Bass jabbed
a finger in the direction of the sleeping reploid. "It's only fitting that
the 'perfect race' should be a member of the robotic family!"
Fire Man's head cocked to one side as he listened with unwavering interest
to his superiors ranting. Then, he responded to Bass with a simple answer
that matched his simple mind:
"I like soup."
Bass beat Fire Man severely before he observed the phenotype of his brother.
Alex did not even resemble a human now. He was clad in stunning,
streamlined crimson - and - platinum armour. Large speed boots were bolted
firmly to his legs. These would allow the reploid to dash at high speeds
with the aid of rocket boosters. On the reploid's right hand was a top of
the line arm cannon that, when charged, would emit a huge blast of white
energy that would entwine around a victim like great serpents of power, and
fry the unfortunate individual. A crested helm rested on the reploid's head.
Only one thing remained from Alex's human days: his long ponytail, which
hung over the side of the table like a golden relic of the past. The reploid
still slept peacefully in the untroubled world of his subconscious. Bass
regarded the creation with a strange feeling of protective love. The
creature would be powerful, but vulnerable. It would be up to Bass to teach
the newborn how to use the skills it possessed. This thought suddenly
spawned a concern in Bass' mind.
"Anyone seen the Doc? I want to ask him a few questions."
As if on cue, the massive doors to the lab yawned open and Wily staggered
through. He looked like a demon from the ninth ring of hell. He had not
slept for days, and his hair stuck out of his head like fine wisps of cloud.
A wry, eager smile was propped on his wrinkled face, and ambition burned
fiercely in his eyes. Bass involuntarily recoiled at the crazy sight.
"You called, Bass?"
"Uhm...yeah. I have a question. Two, actually. First of all, when the
reploid wakes up, will he have any memory of his past life as a human? And
secondly, how do we get this guy to hate humans and become the destructive,
violent little beastie that we want him to be? I mean, humans are generally
violent, but I don't think most of them kill each other for the sake of a
laugh."
Wily's eyes looked distant. "I'm two steps ahead of you, Bass. I've
thought ahead about those problems."
"Really?" Bass said, a trifle bitterly.
"Yes. I was thinking...a reploid is supposed to have a mind that is very
similar to a human's, right?"
"So far as I know."
"I want to test that theory. A human can be brainwashed, right? So, if a
reploid's thought process is almost exactly the same...could a reploid be
brainwashed to change its views on something? I want to try this on Alex.
We could get him to hate humans and to forget his past."
Bass' head was bowed in thought. "You know what, Doc? That's crazy enough
to work! It would be the perfect opportunity to test out how 'humanlike' a
reploid's mind really is."
"Brilliant idea, isn't it. It's like killing two birds with one stone. We
should start the brainwashing now, and continue it when the reploid wakes up,
which should be very soon. It will be difficult, and it will take time.
Now, one question remains: who's going to do the mind - altering?"
Bass grinned wickedly. "You leave that to me."
Night fell rapidly and silently, and the construction lab emptied in a
hurry. Once the last bot had left the large room, the doors swept open again
and Bass strode through like an ebony god. His devilish eyes fell on his
sleeping brother laid out on the table. Besides the monotone bleep of the
machines monitoring the reploid's lifesigns, the lab was dead silent. Bass
approached the table slowly and circled it once like a tiger shark preparing
to attack a helpless boat. Suddenly, Bass dove towards the reploid's
stationary head and whispered to it demonic stories of destruction, violence
and blood.
The twisted words penetrated the reploid's mind and seeped into his
subconscious like a deadly poison. His dreams shifted to those of violence
and greed. He could see himself on the streets of some city that his
subconscious had dreamed up, as Spartan - cloak coloured figure. He
destroyed and murdered any human unfortunate enough to cross his path. With
every life he took, his hatred for humans blossomed. Fond memories of his
wife, child and former life dissolved as he preformed these acts. He could
feel the peoples' fear: to them, he was the wind of death. A deep throated,
devilish chuckle sounded from above him. The reploid stopped in his tracks
and glanced upwards. There, blocking out most of the blood - hued sky was a
cat - eyed, shapeless shadow that was blacker than a starless night. It
regarded the reploid and its laugh boomed again.
"Well done! Well done! See the fear that surrounds you and smell the blood
that is puddled at your feet. Isn't it wonderful? Do not regret the killing
of all these humans: They're dirty creatures that...uh...carry all sorts of
diseases and such. But you are a reploid! A member of the greatest species
on earth! You were given life to conquer and rule over those big monkeys.
Do you understand? Come, awaken, and take your place in the REAL circle of
life!"
A huge, black hand groped out of the void above, snatched up the reploid and
yanked him from the depths of his subconscious like a fish on a line. The
reploid tried to cry out but his breath caught in his throat as he was pulled
into a crashing multitude of colours and sounds. All at once, his body and
mind became one, and his eyelids jerked open. The first thing the reploid's
maiden eyes focused on was a black figure standing above him with its mouth
wide open in astonishment. Then, the mouth snapped shut and formed the first
words that the reploid would ever hear:
"Zero."
Night silently swallowed up Skull Castle, and Wily grudgingly decided that he
had better tidy up a
bit around the fortress before turning in for the night. He was in the process
of discarding a half -
eaten box of stale donuts just as Bass burst into the room, his face wreathed in
smiles. Behind
the bot, a red and silver figure stumbled awkwardly, unsure of its steps. Bass
skidded to a stop,
spread out his arms and began to talk like a madman. "Doc! The reploid woke
up! Isn't this
amazing? Doc? Doc! Oh man, he fainted. I hate it when he does that. I'd
better get some
water...no, wait, he's coming to." Bass extended a hand to help the old
scientist back on his feet.
"Buh - Bass...the reploid...it's awake?"
"Appears so."
"Holy Mother Takhisis! I don't believe it!" Wily scrambled back to his feet
with the aid of
Bass. He regarded his creation with narrowed eyes. "Why won't it speak? And
why did it move
so clumsily when you busted in?"
Bass suddenly seemed proud of the fact that HE would actually be able to
explain
something to WILY for once. "I think that a newly - activated reploid is a lot
like a human infant.
It has to get used to its new body, and learn about the skills it possesses.
This fellow's
progressing
rapidly," - Here Bass jabbed a finger at Zero - "he's already walking. And
he's not talking,
because he's too busy thinking."
Wily's worn heart raced. Thinking? Could that be true? Sure enough, when he
looked at
Zero, the reploid was squinting at a contraption resting on a small table, as if
he were thinking
about what use that object might have. Wily slowly turned back around to Bass.
"Thinking?"
Bass nodded as a twisted grin worked its way to his face. "THINK - ING! And
who knows
what else he can do?"
Wily clutched his chest. "Okay, Wily!" He coached himself calmly. "No time
for a heart
attack now! We have a lot of work to do." He steadied himself. "Zero!" He
barked sharply.
The reploid suddenly snapped out of his trance and whipped around to face Wily.
"Sir?"
"Do you know who I am?"
"Yessir. You're the one who gave me life, or so my brother Bass told me. I
plan to serve
you in any way I can." The reploid punctuated the sentence by performing a
little bow.
Something else seemed to cross Zero's mind as he grimaced and said, "I plan to
serve you even
though you're a human. But since you created me, my loyalty is with you."
Wily hardly dared to hope. "Is something wrong with humans?"
"Well...yes. Shortly before I was pulled into birth, some sort of black entity
appeared to
me in my dreams and explained that all humans are evil, and need to be
destroyed." Zero raised
his arm cannon above his head for a dramatic effect. "I plan to do just that."
Wily's twisted grin seemed to reach from one end of the country to the other.
"Well, isn't
this a happy coincidence? That's the plan I had in mind for you! But don't
destroy ANYTHING
yet. Nothing. There's a time and a place for that, y'hear? Here's what my
immediate plans for
you consist of: You will remain awake for four months. During this time, Bass
will teach you what
kind of skills you posses." Wily helpfully pointed Zero in Bass' direction, who
waved at the reploid
with unworldly enthusiasm. "After those four months, you will be sealed in a
capsule where you
will become dormant for at least 30 years. When you wake up in the future,
nestle yourself in
society, then kill all you want once you're comfortable. Did you get that? Do
you want me to
write it down?"
The reploid's response was a flabbergasted stare. Another reflection of the
emotions he
was feeling. "Why does my future appear to be so odd?"
"I have my reasons. Now, listen: I hope your weapons work okay." Wily picked
up
Zero's right hand, the one containing the arm cannon. "This is a pretty damn
good shooter, if I
say so myself. Are you able to change between your cannon and your hand with
ease?"
Sure enough, Zero switched between his hand and his weapon with a fury that
would have
shamed Inspector Gadget. He felt a strong surge of pleasant energy flow through
him as he did
this, which would have been the human equivalent of a testosterone - rush. The
surge melted
away his bewildered feelings.
"Very good, very good." Wily cheered on the crimson reploid. "I hope your
emotions
work as effectively, too. Let's test." Wily's eye fell on Bass, who was
daydreaming while staring
at the ceiling, obviously entranced by the thought of what Zero could do to the
future world. Wily
snuck up behind the black robot and pushed him with youthful energy. Bass
screamed as he
toppled over like a stack of cans, and landed on the lab floor with a resounding
crash. Zero began
to laugh hysterically. Humour. Wily then swung a fist into the reploid's jaw.
Zero's grin
immediately flipped
over and became a grimace of anger. He remembered just in time not to retort
against his
master. Anger.
"Well Bass, what do you think?" Wily questioned of the black bot, who was
collecting
himself from the fall. "His weapons are fine, and his emotions are fully
functional."
Bass' pride was a bit hurt after having the experience of being the butt end of
one of Wily's jokes.
Nevertheless, he responded. "I think he's ready, Doc. It's just a
matter of keeping him convinced that humans are evil, and letting him know what
powers he
possesses. I'll take over from here on. You've done well."
Wily sighed deeply as he turned around. "We've done it. We have a reploid.
The future
is going to have some serious problems, as will Light's reploid. But that's not
my concern. My
work is done. I can rest...now."
And so, time passed as it had a funny habit of doing. Spring seamlessly melted
into summer and
Proto, Roll and Mega could be found on the steps of Light's lab. They'd just
been in the process
of a rousing game of indoor hide 'n seek, when Proto had accidentally knocked
over a few fragile
articles while trying to tag Mega 'out'. Light went slightly berserk, and
threatened to hang Proto
from the rafters by his scarf if he didn't go out to get some 'fresh air'.
Proto was upset that such
a good game had to be broken up, and when he got outside, he vented his anger by
throwing
stones at various things. He was still doing this when Roll brought up an
interesting question
beside him.
"We haven't had any trouble from Wily in the longest time. I wonder what he's
up to."
Proto's heart lurched. The very same question had been ripping around in his
mind for ages.
However, he had recently pushed it to the back of his mind; it would be a shame
to spoil such nice
weather by thinking of the evil scientist.
Mega piped up. "I don't know what he's up to. Maybe he's slowing down because
he's old. I'm
not going to bother him if he doesn't bother me first...it would be like
throwing rocks at a bee's
nest."
Proto grinned wickedly as he chucked another rock into the empty air. "I've
heard rumours about
why Wily has been so silent."
"So have I," Roll chimed in. "some of them are pretty wild."
"I heard he was abducted by a hoard of tentacled aliens."
"I heard that he was killed by the Mafia."
"I heard that he ran away to join the circus."
"I heard that he was ground up and served as hamburgers at McDonalds."
"I heard that he quit the crime game and became a male prostitute."
Roll gave her brother a sidelong glance. "Somehow I doubt that."
Proto shrugged off Roll's criticism. "Believe what you will, but I think we all
agree on this: I don't
like this silence. I don't like it at all. Wily could be up to something BIG,
providing that none of
those wonderful rumours are true. I think I'll scout around the city for a bit
and see what's up."
Now, fast forward a bit and cue in on Wilyland's famous Robosaur Park, headed
by the
infamous Slash Man. It was a huge tourist attraction, even if the dinosaurs
within were only
robotic. The park itself was large and roomy, a perfect dwelling place for the
mechanical T - Rex,
Stegosaurs, and Velociraptor pack that resided there. Above the park entrance
there hung a
crude, hand - painted sign that screamed 'Welcome to Robosaur Park!'. Beside
the gargantuan
wooden gates of the entrance there was a weathered, smaller sign that welcomed
visitors to the
park, and listed off several rules to make their stay more enjoyable. Slash Man
himself had
constructed the sign, and he was exceedingly proud of it:
Slash himself was parked up in a tower that loomed high above the park, where
he could
watch the ongoings below him with ease. The dinosaurs were his children, and he
watched over
them with his life. Today, the wild, spiky orange and grey clawed bot regarded
the park drowsily
while laying on his rope hammock. There were few spectators to marvel at the
wonders of the
place that day. Slash secretly didn't like to see the park so empty: he
enjoyed having people
around to gawk at his dinosaurs, and it was nice to have human company once in a
while.
Affected by the intense heat of the day, Slash began to drift into a light
sleep. He was violently
brought back to his senses when someone suddenly swung his hammock back and
forth with lust.
Slash was spilled to the ground with a hollow clang. Irritated, he glanced
upwards to see Bass
towering above him. His irritation was immediately replaced by icy terror.
"B...Bass! What's wrong?"
"Have you checked your e - mail lately, Slashy?!" Bass snarled viciously.
Slash was forced to admit that he hadn't. Bass picked up Slash by his scruffy
neck and
sat him down hard in the chair in front of his computer. "I recommend you check
your mail
NOW." Bass said in a monotone voice that still managed to be threatening.
Forcing himself to stay calm, Slash began to boot up his computer when his
massive
claws got in the way. With a mild curse, the orange robot sheathed the deadly
weapons and
guided his mouse to the email icon on his monitor, as Bass had clearly
instructed. Sure enough,
Slash had one email message for himself from Elecman, the electrifying robot
(bad pun again!)
who powered the nuclear power plant on the edge of the city. Bass still hovered
over Slash, his
eyes boring invisible holes in his back. Slash found it difficult to retain his
faux mask of calmness
as he read the email:
TO: Slash Man FROM: Elecman SUBJECT: Temporary Power Plant shut down..URGENT MAIL
Hey, Slashster!!
Some repairs in the power plant need to be made. As a result, I'm going to
have to shut
off the power supply to your park for a while. This means that there will be NO
electric current
running through the fences that outline your place. If you do not want your
dinosaurs to escape
and wreak havoc on the city, I strongly suggest that you turn on the emergency
power generator
in the park. I'll let you know as soon as the electricity is back on again.
Best Regards:
Elecman
Slash Man's insides quaked. No wonder the park had been so silent: all the
dinosaurs
had probably torn down the dormant fence and gone off for a walk in the city!
Bass appeared to be reading Slash's thoughts. "That's right, you idiot!
There's no
electric current running through your lovely fences, and because you were too
damn lazy to read
your mail once in a freakin' while, you missed Elecman's warning, and you didn't
have a chance to
turn on your independent emergency power supply! And you know what I saw on the
way here?"
Bass snatched up Slash by the collar of his armour and forced him to look
straight into his flaming
eyes. "TORN - DOWN - FENCES!! Your dinosaurs are having a field day out there!
People are
going to think that Wily's attacking, when he most certainly is not. If we -
nay, if YOU - don't get
those miserable reptiles back into the park, Light will deploy Mega - freakin' -
Man to go after
Wily. Then complications that we REALLY don't need will arise. Wily has far
too much on his
plate right now to worry about dealing with the Blue guy. Do you understand?"
Bass began to
shake Slash Man to get his point across and to emphasize each word. "Because -
of - your -
freakin' - carelessness - we've - got - ourselves - a - major - freakin' - pain
- in - the - butt! - if -
you - don't - get - out - there - NOW - and - get - those - freakin' - fancy -
animals - back - in -
this - freakin' - fancy - zoo, - I'll - personally - rearrange - your - freakin'
- FACE! Now - get -
going - , you - freakin' - FREAK!!" Bass dropped the nauseous Slash to the
ground. Wordlessly,
Slash scrambled out the door of his tower like a frightened puppy to carry out
what Bass had
ordered.
Like a maroon and silver mouse, Protoman impatiently scurried and jumped
between and around the towering building tops that dotted the city. He was
looking for something...ANYTHING...that would explain the reason for Wily's
uncanny silence. It was a wee bit irritating: he had turned over every rock
searching for an explanation, but had come up empty handed. Perched high
above the main street of the city, unseen to eyes, Proto gave the passing sea
of traffic and general hubabaloo below one last careful scan with visored
eyes. He was about ready to call it quits.
"Let's see here." he thought idly. "There's two disgruntled motorists down
there shouting murderous threats to each other....not like that's anything
new...oh, there's a colourful band of vandals spraypainting wonderful words
from the English language on that skyscraper wall. Maybe I should go and
stop...naw, nuts to that. There's some kids down there playing
ball...there's a bot cleaning up some rubbish from the streets...there's a
young human couple who are...uh...okay, that's none of my business. I don't
think they want an audience. There's a pack of raptors attacking a bus
filled with screaming passengers...there's...hey, waitaminute!"
Proto's alarmed glance swept back over to the bus that had occupied his last
thought. Making sure that no one was occupying the rooftop with him, he
lifted his trademark visor up a bit to get a more detailed look. Because his
eyes were so used to seeing in blue and black, the lights and colours of the
outside environment blinded him slightly. Ignoring the protest from his
optics, Proto leaned over to get a better look at the dormant bus.
Sure enough, a medium sized pack of robotic reptiles was circling the
vehicle, much to the displeasure of the panicked people inside. The raptors
came in a dazzling variety of colours, markings, and sizes, very much like a
box of assorted cookies. The heat and light of the midsummer sun reflected
on their pseudo - scales, causing a near - blinding glare.
"Well now. THERE'S something you don't see every day. Unless I miss my
guess, those little fellows are from the Wilyland Robosaur Park. But they
should be confined to the park. Who let them out like an idiot?"
The rapotrs had tired of the 'circle - around - the - bus - and - scare - the
- passengers - to - death' game that they had been playing, so they began to
start CHARGING into the vehicle. Some of the robotic reptiles pushed their
heads against the bus, rocking it back and forth like a pack of rioters.
Proto was about to leap down from his post to help the occupants of the bus
when another question crossed his mind. "Are there any more of these
dinosaurs?"
As if on cue, an earth - shattering roar sounded from behind the visored
bot. Terrified, Proto whipped around and gawked in disbelief at what he saw.
A mechanical T - Rex was lumbering around the streets about 10 blocks away
from him. Despite its distance, Proto got an excellent view of the behemoth
swaggering from side to side as it destroyed as it pleased. Proto valiantly
decided that NOW was a good time to help some of the panicked citizens
scattering below him.
"I'm pretty sure that this is the work of good 'ol Doc W." He muttered
grimly. "No wonder he was so silent. He was preparing to...release killer
robotic dinosaurs to terrorise the people in the city." Proto paused. "What
a stupid thing to do! Why not just come barrelling down the street in a two
- storey tank? It would be easier. I guess humans do dumb things as they
get older. I remember when Light's mother was still alive and used to reside
in the Old Folks Home, she used to do nothing but knit, even though no one
needed any clothes of any kind." Proto fondly touched the scarf that
encircled his neck like a friendly python. "Well, she was a good woman.
Thanks to her crazy obsession, my neck is always warm. Now, time to play
hero!"
Across the city, the famous scientist Dr. Cossack hummed contentedly, even
though he was swamped with work. It was such a nice day. Nothing was going
to spoil his mood! The red - haired man glanced idly out of the seventh -
story window that enclosed his office. He had always loved to look at the
city spread in front of him. Therefore, it is understandable why blanched a
bit when he saw a giant dinosaur taking up most of his beloved view.
The giant reptile locked its luminant, yellow eyes with the scientist's
terrified ones. Man and beast stared at each other for a full minute,
neither one moving. Finally, the leviathan lost interest in playing a
staring game with a red - haired Russian scientist, and bellowed off to
search elsewhere for dinner. When the animal was gone, Cossack removed a
fine hankerchief and a small card from one of his many lab coat pockets. He
mopped his sweaty forehead with the hanky. Then, shakily, he called:
"Kalinka! Kaliiiiinka! Come here, will you?"
Kalinka, Cossack's daughter, entered. She was a young thing, hardly over
ten years old. She was as inquisive as any girl her age could expect to be,
but to her life was to be taken seriously. "You called?"
"Yes. I don't mean to worry you, but your daddy has been...seeing things.
Yesterday, a carnivorous laptop computer chomped on my ankle, and the day
before that the flowers were talking to me. Today, I had a staring contest
with a dinosaur. If daddy starts to do something rash one day, like say, oh,
throwing bricks at pedestrians on the street below, call this number. I pray
you won't have to call it; hopefully, I've just been working too hard."
Cossack handed his worried daughter the card that he had extracted from his
lab coat earlier. Kalinka studied it with concerned interest.
"Hey dad...what's a 'mental institution'?
"I have a very bad feeling that you're going end up visiting me there soon
enough, dear."
"Get back! Back! Away from the bus, I say!"
The leader of the velociraptor pack whipped around to see what individual
dared challenged him. Finding nothing more interesting than a maroon robot
waving his arms at him like an idiot, the robotic reptile returned to
stalking the bus with his cohorts.
"No! Bad dinosaur! I told you to stop! No soup for you!"
Proto was about to learn a valuable lesson: velociraptors, robotic or not,
didn't care for discipline. The pack leader, a towering red - and - beige
beast, whipped around again with unearthly speed and raked its huge
foretalons in the air in front of Proto, missing the stunned bot by hardly
half an inch. Proto's heart lurched as he watched certain death pass him by
a hair's length. Before he could recover from the shock, he felt something
tighten around his neck like a noose. He managed to crane his neck around
just enough to see that the raptor had gripped his precious scarf in its
deadly jaws and was pulling at it with tremendous strength.
Needless to say, Proto began to feel a slight need for air about 30 seconds
after the raptor had tightened the scarf around his windpipe like a hangman.
Proto tried one desperate strategy: he pulled, trying to beat the dino in a
contest of brawn. In response to Proto's sudden struggle, the raptor emitted
a pleased squeak, and pulled back even harder. Tug of War. Proto became
enraged: the damnable lizard thought it was a game!! The rest of the raptor
pack had lost interest in the destruction of the bus and scattered here and
there to cause other mischief. The doors of the bus slid open with a hiss of
dragon's breath, and the terrified captives of the raptors surged out of
them.
Proto had one last option: He had to get out of his scarf, or die in it.
With an expression of utter defeat and regret, he managed to slip out of the
ever - tightening noose, then ran. He wanted to blast the raptor to retrieve
his trademark scrap of clothing, but then he knew that the rest of the pack
would come to the leader's aid. Then there would be big trouble.
The raptor fell back a bit when the other end of the 'rope' went slack.
Pleased that it had won the game, it began to shread up the scarf. The
creature found out quickly that the scarf wasn't edible: so, leaving the
yellow memento on the deserted street, it sprinted off to find something more
tasty than wool.
Slash Man ran like a man possessed. He leaped over rooftops on all fours,
an uncanny skill that only a jungle animal should have had. His breath
surged in and out of his systems rythymatically. Beneath the rasping, he
could hear Bass' frightful words echoing in his head: "if you don't get
those freakin' fancy animals back in this freakin' fancy zoo, I'll personally
rearrange your freakin' FACE!" Slash man paused in his mad sprint and sat
upright like a chipmunk. He closed his eyes and listened for an audio clue
as to where his children might be. Some twenty blocks away, Slash heard a
earth - trembling roar. The T Rex! Slash quivered with excitement.
"Hold on, Sarah! Daddy's coming!"
Slash lunged back into action. His feet barely touched the ground as he
sailed over rooftops and jumped over the gaps that yawned between the
structures. Very soon indeed, he saw Sarah. The behemoth had obviously just
snacked on something (or someone) and was preparing to swoop down on a little
child who stood dumbstruck before the beast. Just in time, however, Slash
landed on his pet's head with a hardy metallic thump. Sarah instantly reared
her giant head, and expressed her displeasure with a bellow. Slash talked
calmly to the T Rex:
"It's okay, Sarah...it's me. Now be a good dinosaur, and calm down."
Sarah recognised this soothing voice, and immediately carried out Slash's
request, for she loved him. When Sarah had cooled down enough, Slash turned
his attention to the frozen child before him.
"Listen kid, I'm sorry if Sarah scared you out of a year's growth. Here..."
Slash man dug into his pockets. "Three free passes to my park! Bring the
kids! Oh wait..you ARE a kid. Nevermind." The passes fluttered down from
Slash's clawed hand and came to rest on the sidewalk before the kid. The
child found his voice. He held up a navy blue leash that was frayed at the
very end, and stained with minute drops of blood. "Your dinosaur ate my
dog!"
Slash man shrugged. "Sorry, kid. They can't all be Barneys."
Proto swore bitterly as he watched a large pack of chicken - sized compies
leap and shriek as they closed in on him. Battling robotic dinosaurs was not
something one should do single - handedly. One of the tiny but deadly
lizards lunged at Proto with its maw open, sharp teeth on display. Proto
kicked the scavenger square in its chest. It tumbled backwards like a scaly
ball. The rest of the pack surged forward, hissing, claws unsheathed.
"This is it." Proto thought glumly. "I'm dead. It's all over. Killed by
a bunch of chicken - sized, robotic dinosaurs. Of all the ways to go!!"
The earth suddenly trembled, and a cheerful voice wafted above the rumbling
sound:
"Hullloooooooo!"
Proto couldn't believe his eyes. He watched as the pedestrians (the few
that were left on the dino - ravaged streets) flung themselves this way and
that to get out of the way of Slash Man, who was perched happily on the head
of a giant T Rex. The compies lost all interest in Proto, and surged around
Slash and Sarah, squeaking and jumping like children around their father who
had just returned from work. Proto hailed the orange - maned robot.
"Hey, Ace Ventura! We usually don't let two - ton pets wander the streets,
you know!" His visor flashed in annoyance.
"I know." Slash Man called down. "I'm sorry. These fellows escaped from my
park when Elecman shut off...oh, never mind...it's a long story."
Proto nodded in understanding. "Want me to help you take these critters
back to the park?"
Proto could see Slash Man's distant face light up. "Sure! That'd be great
of you. Climb aboard on Sarah." At a word from her god, Sarah offered
Protoman her tail to help the bot scale up her back. Proto hesitantly took
the Rex's generous offer, and scurried up to Sarah's head and seated himself
behind Slash. He looked down from a dizzying height. He could see the
compies swarming around Sarah's gargantuan hind paws. Slash grinned as he
saw Proto blanch in fear from the height of the drop. "Just hang on tight!
Away we go!" Sarah started forward. It was a jerky ride, like riding a ship
in a storm. The compies marched in military fashion far below. The whole
thing looked like a Jurassic parade. Proto hung on for dear life, but Slash
looked as comfortable as a man in an armchair. Proto cursed himself as dull
company: He decided to start up a conversation with Slash.
"So...all these dinos yours?"
Slash nodded with pride. "Yep. They're my children. I've named them all."
Proto was impressed. "Every single one?"
"Yes. This here's Sarah." Slash patted the T Rex's massive head. Sarah
purred in response. "As for those compies down there..." Slash jabbed a
finger towards the green swarm below. "Well, there's
Dennis...Brad...Mavis...Brad..."
It's narrator hour! Whee! Hey, I'm sitting here telling this story, I gave
life to the characters that you love so much (well, except for those that are
actually featured in the games. I had to say that so that Capcom wouldn't
sue my scaly hide off). Ya'll are never gonna guess what happened today! I
got my third - and last - Hepatitis B shot! This was the worst one of 'em
all. The culture that they inoculated us with was extremely strong.
Heh...you should've seen the girl who got her shot before me! The nurse
poked the needle into her arm, and as the vaccine was injected, the girl's
eyes got wider, and wider and finally she screamed, "AAAHHH, Goddammit that
HURTS!" Then my turn came around. As I rolled up my sleeve to take my shot
like a good hatchling, the nurse got all flustered and asked me if I was
pregnant (No, I'm not fat, they have to ask every female they inoculate). I
pointed to my male friend, who had come to get jabbed as well, and said "No,
but HE is."
Torontonian nurses have no sense of humour.
The good news is, I got a cute little keychain. It has a picture of a
cartoon virus on it, and under the disease in sprawled handwriting, there is
a slogan that states 'Get the Vax!' as if getting a Hepatitis B vaccine is as
thrilling as a roller coaster ride to hell and back. I say it would be more
accurate if the keychain stated 'I got jabbed three times and all I got was
this crappy keychain!'. My friend said it should say 'Bite me, I'm
vaccinated against Hepatitis'. In the same vein, I don't think that diseases
have googly - eyes like the one featured on the keychain. I'm under the
impression that you people don't care. On with the story! This is an
important chapter, and I'm only gonna write it once, so read it carefully!
The heavy titanium gates clattered loudly as Slash Man shut them behind the
compy pack he had ushered into the pen. He spoke to Proto in a loud voice in
an effort to be heard over the din.
"Thanks for your help, Proto. It's a good thing I got all the dinosaurs
back into the park, or I really would have been up a certain creek without a
paddle."
Proto stifled a yawn as he watched some mets repair the electric fence that
Slash's scaly friends had torn down. " 's no problem. So, what now?"
Slash offered Proto a puzzled glance. "What do you mean 'what now'?"
"I mean, what do you have planned for the rest of the day?"
Slash shifted his eyes nervously and stared at the grass that was stamped
with small dino - footprints . He extracted a rapidly melting chocolate bar
from one of his pockets, broke it into bite sized pieces and handed them one
by one to the eager tide of squeaking compies inside the den.
"Uhm...nothing...really...the park is closed to the public until those mets
finish that fence...maybe I'll do laundry and...and..stuff..." Slash's voice
trailed off pathetically. He did not want Proto to know what the rest of his
day consisted of. In truth, there was a wing - ding of sorts going on in
Skull Castle to honour the creation of the first member of a species that
would ultimately lead to the demise of the human race: A 'reploid' named
Zero. Slash had planned on attending the party. But the whole 'reploid'
business was to be kept under wraps. Slash had been forbidden to tell anyone
about it, least of all Mega's brother. "I...I'll catch you later, Proto!"
Slash finished up quickly and bounded out of sight on all fours. Proto
raised an inquisive eyebrow at the clumsy, hesitant speech and sudden
departure of the beast - bot, but he shrugged it off. He decided he would
make sure everything was secure in the park before he would head home.
"So Wily WASN'T really responsible for the dino - rampage." Proto muttered
thoughtfully. "Guess I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."
Although the weather was beautiful, a chill shuddered through the visored
bot. "Damn, I miss my scarf! I'm freezing!!"
"Proootooo!"
Mega's call drifted eerily through the rubble strewn on the abandoned street
before it bounced back to him in a hollow echo. He got no response. Not
discouraged, he took another deep breath:
"PRRROOOOOOTOOOOOOOOO! Come out, come out, where ever you are! Show your
ugly face!"
Still no response. A hint of fear and worry began to trickle into Mega's
heart. "Aw man! Something BIG has been happening here, and knowing Proto,
he got caught up in it when he went 'scouting'."
The wind sighed warmly, symthesizing with Mega's concern. It also bore a
bright yellow object, and dispensed it gently at Mega's feet. It appeared to
be a dirty article of clothing. It was tattered...it had obviously witnessed
a huge battle, and the victor had torn it to shreds. Despite this guise,
there was no mistaking the object for what it was:
"Proto's scarf?"
"A toast!" Cried Bass has he thrust his fine goblet of violet hued wine
into the air. "To Wily, the creator of the reploid species!"
The robots present responded to Bass in one resounding voice: "Aye!"
Bass clapped Wily on the back. "You're a genius, Doc!"
Wily did not answer. Indeed, he was turning an interesting shade of green.
He was on his fourth cup of wine, and the old fellow was zombied right out of
his mind. Still, he managed to offer the robots a weak, lopsided smile. The
cheering of the robots doubled, and turned into an all - out roar of joy.
Zero, who sat to the right of his creator, regarded his crazed brothers with
frightened eyes.
"Life goes on!" Bass remarked cheerfully as he quaffed back the drink.
Once their superior had finished his drink, the rest of the robots started on
theirs as if on a signal.
Slash jumped right on the table and actually lapped up his wine like a dog
drinking out of a toilet bowl, only much stranger.
Shade Man sat silently. There was a hint of disappointment in his eyes as
he stared at the wine before him. He would have preferred a drink more along
the lines of fresh virgin's blood, but he still sipped the wine without
complaint. He saved a wee bit for Flagg, who was perched happily on his
shoulder. The raven helped himself, then raised his grotesque head and
cocked a sharp eye at Bass. Bass merely glared back at Flagg with venomous
hate in his optics. No one was really sure what Flagg and Bass had against
each other.
There was an audible thump next to Bass. Wily had completely passed out.
Mega's thoughts whirred. The hand that clutched his sibling's tattered
scarf was hit with tremors. The markings on the scarf reported that Proto
had gone to that Great Big Robot Factory in the Sky, compliments of the
dinosaurs that had stormed the city. Mega just knew it. His next black
thought surfaced: Who had released the dinosaurs?
Wily. No doubt.
Wily had released the dinosaurs to destroy the city -
- and the dinosaurs had killed Proto.
Unbridled rage blossomed in Mega. "I'VE - HAD - ENOUGH!" He wistfully
looked down at his arm cannon. One single shot would put an end to the old
man. One shot...and it would be over. However, common sense suddenly
quenched Mega's thirst for revenge. He knew that killing Wily would be more
trouble than it was worth. Robots couldn't break the first rule of robotics,
yadda yadda yadda. If he were to kill Wily, he would probably be
deactivated. And even if he wasn't, the media would probably make his life a
living hell. Mega began to despair. He couldn't just let Wily walk away
with this. SOMETHING had to be done...
An idea lit up in Mega's eyes. "I know! I'm going to go to Wily's castle
and tell him off once and for all!"
"She's got a smiiiile that, it seems to me, reminds me of childhood
memorieeees, where every - thin' was as fresh as the bright blue
sky..sky...sky..."
Castor grimaced sourly at his twin's off - key caterwauling. But he did not
complain. The duo was situated outside, guarding the fortress as per usual.
As a result, the worst of the god awful sound was mercifully carried away by
the wind, far from Castor's ears.
"Now and theeeen when I see her face, it takes me away to that special
place, and if I stare to long, I'd prolly break down and CRY!"
Castor's patience had been stretched paper thin. Kindess only went so far.
"Hey Pollux.."
Pollux stopped his noise. Yeah?"
"You remind me of something."
Pollux puffed with pride. "A great opera singer?"
"No. A cat in heat."
"HEEEEY! That's so MEAN!"
"I'm just telling the truth." Castor stated mildly. "Now, if you had been
watching for intruders rather than singing dumb songs that date back to the
twentieth century, you would have noticed that someone is approaching the
castle." Castor pointed a lazy finger at an unidentified shadow that was
coming rapidly towards them. "Whoever it is seems pretty peeved. Wonder who
it is."
Silence followed Castor's inquiry as the shadow became more and more
recognizable. Pollux suddenly made a strangled, choking sound.
"It's...it'sssss...Mega Man...!"
The little blue bomber came striding down the path to the castle like a
king. He meant business, judging by his unwavering speed and focus on the
hateful structure that loomed before him. Both twins leapt to their feet in
unison. Completely forsaking his duties as a guard, Pollux dove into some
bushes beside him.
"POLLUX!" Screamed Castor hysterically. "Get back here! We have to keep
Mega out and guard Wily!"
"Screw that! Wily can defend his OWN blasted castle," was Pollux's
cowardly response from his sheath of leaves. "I quit!"
"You CAN'T quit, you IJIT!"
"JUST TRY TO BLOODY WELL STOP ME!!!"
Castor thrust his hand into the bushes and groped around until he found one
of his twin's gem - gilded boots. He began to pull it in a futile effort to
drag Pollux out. "Pollux! Get out NOW, or I'll...I'll...tell Wily that YOU
were the one who tried to shave Zero's head!"
Pollux blindly delivered a lovely kick to Castor's shin. "YOU DO THAT AND
I'LL RIP YOUR STINKING GUTS OUT!"
Castor cried out and doubled over as the kick found its mark. When he
regained his composure, he began to make up some great adjectives to describe
his brother using words that were certainly not suitable for table talk. The
Gemini Men were too busy bickering to notice that Mega Man had soared by them
and had entered the fortress a full two minutes ago.
Mega plowed relentlessly through the fortress, propelled by his animosity
for Wily. A batauntaun suddenly dove at him, fangs glistening. Mega blasted
it. A sniper joe leapt at him out of the shadows. Mega blasted it. A tour
- bot welcomed him warmly to Skull Fortress. Mega blasted it. Oops. Two
out of three ain't bad. When Mega reached the formidable but familiar
staircase that wove its way to Wily's chambers, he did not break his pace.
He shot up, skipping every other step. Now a tunnel - like hallway stretched
before him with massive steel doors at the tail. Mega was just about to
start down the hallway when something lupine, purple and silver casually
strolled across his path.
"Gospel?"
Devoid of his master, the robodog stood stock still and looked at his
nemesis with a perfect picture of terror in his eyes. He didn't want to
fight Mega without Bass there to instruct him. So, in hopes that Mega would
leave him alone, Gospel flipped on his back and played dead. Mega shook his
head, stepped over Gospel's faux corpse, and continued down the hall. He
crashed through the heavy steel doors to the chamber. There, he was met with
a pretty interesting sight. Several robot masters were in a small cluster
around a fine table, celebrating some sort of occasion. In Mega's fevered
mind, he thought they were celebrating the demise of his brother. Rage
boiled within him.
Upon hearing the door crash open and seeing Mega standing in the large
doorway like a small but deadly omen, the robots were a little slow to react.
The wine they had just consumed probably played a factor in that fact.
Suddenly, with a noble battle cry, Snake Man flung himself at his enemy.
Mega greeted the serpentine robot's onward rush by grabbing Snake's wrist,
twisting it, then flipping him on the ground with a hollow clang. Monty the
Python was flung from Snake's neck. The vile serpent lay in thick coils on
the floor, stunned for a bit. Now that he was deprived of his master's body
heat, he had adjust his own body temp to the cold stone he rested upon before
he could take off.
Several other bots surged forward to challenge Mega, but he fought them like
a berserker. His power seemed to have doubled in his wrath . One by one,
they all pretty much 'got theirs', as the expression went. Eventually, the
flood of warriors waned. Only Bass remained standing, seemingly undaunted by
Mega's inhuman acts of strength. He was Wily's last bodyguard, and he was
determined to let no harm come to his master. The intoxicated Wily was
shaking and shuddering like a wounded guppy. Mega got a perfect view of his
terrified, ages - old nemesis, but there was one thing he did NOT see.
Beside Wily, but shielded from Mega's sight courtesy of Bass' oily - black
body, was a certain crimson and gold figure who was watching the fun with
with quiet awe, his humanlike eyes taking in every detail of this blue
attacker...
Bass smirked diabolically. "Well, well WELL! If it isn't the tooth fairy!"
Mega's expression of anger melted into confusion. "What's THAT supposed to
mean?"
Bass shrugged his plated shoulders. "Well, I don't rightly know. But it
sounds good, don't you think?"
Without a pause, Bass delivered a jarring kick to Mega's stomach.
Unprepared for this action, Mega reeled backwards and doubled over. A split
second later, the happy end of Bass' arm cannon was aimed right at Mega's
face. It was all over. From miles away, Mega could hear Bass triumphantly
stating, "He who hesitates is...um...what's that word...lost! Yeah, that's
it!"
Suddenly, Bass' arm cannon jerked back with a curse and a scream. Mega
dared to open one eye. He couldn't believe the sight he was met with. There
was Flagg, Shade Man's infamous pet raven, hurling his body at Bass like a
missile of feathers and talons. Bass echoed Flagg's scream as he wildly
flailed his arms this way and that. Mega saw his chance. A sharp report
rang out as he fired two shots aimed at Bass. The first one quite
unexpectedly hit Bass' vital point, and felled the black bot instantly.
Flagg fluttered off and perched ominously on the rafters, unhurt. He set at
once to preening his ebony feathers. Mega's second plasma shot, however,
sailed right past Bass' collapsed body, and hit Wily in the chest square and
true. Wily sailed back in his chair a few feet, then toppled over. He was
dead before he even hit the ground.
The air around Mega seemed to crash. Everything was silent. Nothing moved.
Time was still. Only the grey ribbon of smoke that trailed lazily from
Mega's warm cannon was real. From Mega's feet, Bass' muffled voice parted
the curtain of silence with the awful truth:
"You've killed him, Mega."
These words hit Mega like an arrow. They snapped him out of his deep
trance. "But...I didn't mean to...he...I...you..."
"You've broken the first rule of robotics to do what you've always wanted to
do. You must be very proud." Bass' voice was devoid of emotion.
"But..."
The nearly forgotten pile of damaged robots that had made the mistake of
challenging Mega earlier untangled itself. Those robots that still had the
energy needed to stand up and walk began to lurch eerily like zombies, not
towards Mega, but towards their master, Wily, who lay weeping blood. Their
voices rose and twisted together into a quiet but terrible chant. "Killed
him...Killed him...Killer. Killer. Killer."
Mega tried to explain that the second shot had been meant for Bass, not
Wily, but the words died on his lips as he faced their accusing glares. No
one would believe him. It was a well known fact amoung humans and robots
alike that Mega had come close to expressing his venom for Wily with his arm
cannon more than once.
These thoughts wandered in Mega's mind, disturbing him greatly. So greatly,
in fact, that he hardly noticed the large, crimson and gold robot that
crouched by the still - warm body of Wily. The odd robot turned away from
Wily's sickening corpse with an expression of grief that none of the other
robots seemed to wear. The robot's expression of regret melted into hatred
as he turned his eyes on Mega. The eyes were incredible. They seemed to
have a humanlike glitter of intelligence and emotion in them. They searched
Mega, found him, and marked him...
The whole excitement and overall nuttiness of the day was too much for Mega
to handle. His confusion and fear merged into an immeasurable terror. He
backed up a step. Then another step. The robots were too concerned about
their master to worry about him.
The stricken Bass had a dull, knowing smile plastered to his face as he
looked at Mega freaked expression from his odd viewpoint on the floor. Mega
had killed a human, and if the authorities found him, it was over for the
blue guy. "Knowing Mega, he would turn himself into the authorities." Bass
thought with disgust. A robot that broke the first rule of robotics ('A
robot must never kill a human, no matter how big of a screwball that human
is'), ergo, he would have to suffer the consequences.
Mega continued to slowly back out of the near - silent room. Still no one
pursued him. Only Bass stared after him gleefully, and the odd crimson robot
still tacked his deadly eyes on Mega. Suddenly, the crimson robot took one
slow step towards Mega. It was at this point that Mega turned right around
and broke into a blind run like a child frightened by a stranger. He was
nearly halfway down the huge staircase he had ascended earlier when he
finally teleported to the temporary safety of Light's lab.
"I'm telling you! The ticket to world domination is to own the electric
company and the
railroads! After that, it's only a matter of time before I can take over the
prisons! Then, I shall be
unstoppable, and I will lord over every sorry creature on God's green earth
from my four - star
hotel on Boardwalk!!" Proto bashed his armoured fist on the shaky table to
underscore his point.
Roll calmly motioned for her brother to sit back down. "Proto, settle,
settle. Stop taking
this so seriously. It's only a Monopoly game."
A sheepish smile surfaced on Proto has he found his seat. "Sorry. I just
got caught up in
this." He picked up the game dice and rattled it in his hand. "C'mon, lucky
seven! Daddy needs
a new scarf! He lost his old one to rabid raptors!"
With a skilled flick of his wrist, Proto sent the dice tumbling across the
board. "Aw MAN!
Snake eyes! At any rate, I get to pick up a 'Chance' card!" Proto nicked
the first card off of the
orange pile and examined it. "All right! Second place in a beauty contest!
I guess no one can
resist my good looks!"
Roll muttered something under her breath about the beauty contest being
judged by a
bunch of jungle apes. Proto was to busy strutting up and down the playroom
like a stuck up
model to pay any heed.
When he had finally tired of showing off to no one in particular, Proto
returned to the
game and stayed in his amiable mood...until he landed on Park Place, which
was owned by Roll.
To make matters worse, the block of land sported the dreaded barn - red Hotel
game piece. Roll
saw Proto's awkward position and began to laugh cold - bloodedly.
"All right, Brad Pitt! Cough up the money!"
"Don't I get a discount for being family?" Proto pleaded.
"No. I hate freeloaders."
Proto shrugged. "Oh well. Can't win 'em all, I suppose!" He began to dig
around in the
mixed - up pile of play money beside him to pay for his stay. This was quite
unlike Roll, who had
her money set up all tidy and easy to access.
Suddenly, Proto stopped rummaging around. He gaped at Roll with a shocked
expression. "Roll! Look behind you! Isn't that Howard Stern?"
Roll looked about her frantically. "Where?!"
With his sister's eyes temporarily off the game, Proto casually sent a hand
sweeping over
the game board. Game pieces, houses, hotels and cards fell around them like
coloured rain. Roll
jerked back around and threw her sore - loser brother an angry glance.
"PROTO!"
"What?! My hand slipped! It's a nervous twitch, and I'm a little sensitive
about it if you
don't mind!"
The cozy room was suddenly filled with the characteristic hiss of a
teleportation beam.
Within seconds, a rather bewildered looking Mega Man materialized in front of
his siblings. Proto
broke out into a grin.
"Hey, Rocky Horror! Wassup?"
The instant that Mega's eyes swept over Proto, his face drained of all
colour. He pointed
to Proto with a trembling finger. "Yuh...uh...you're...suppos t'
be....duh...duh...."
Proto removed his helmet and clapped it against his chest with a mockingly
solemn
expression. "That's my brother speaking. What a way with words!"
"You...you're supposed to be DEAD!" Mega managed to spit out in a strangled
half -
scream.
Proto stole a sorrowful glance at the game board he had upset earlier. "Ah
yes, how I do
wish I was dead..I owe Roll quite a bit of money. Can you lend me five
thousand, Rock? I'll pay
you back tomorrow, I swear."
Mega lunged towards Proto and grabbed the startled bot by his shoulders. He
tried to
look directly into his brother's eyes, but all he saw beyond the visor was
his own terrified
expression.
Proto squirmed slightly under Mega's hold. "Uh...Rock? You're my brother
and all, but
you're invading my personal space, and I don't really care for that. What's
your problem? What
do you mean I'm supposed to be dead?"
Mega somehow regained enough of his composure to collapse into a chair and
tell his
brother about the torn - up scarf he had collected on the ruined city
streets, and about how he
had been worried sick that Proto had fallen victim to the dinosaur attack.
Proto beamed hugely
as he heard this.
"Awww...isn't that sweet? Rock was actually WORRIED 'bout me!" Now it was
Proto's
turn to invade Mega's 'personal space' as he swept his brother up into a bear
- hug.
Mega struggled to free himself from the affectionate clasp. "So then...what
HAPPENED?
Where's your scarf?!" Mega managed to croak.
Proto let Mega get a little air. "Well, it turns out that the dinosaurs
that had a walk
through the city were fugitives from Slash Man's Robosaur Park. The electric
fence had been
shut down, and Slash didn't monitor the activities of the dinosaurs close
enough. Ergo, the dinos
escaped. I met up with Slash Man. He's really sorry that he leveled the
city, and he gladly took
up my offer to help him put the dinos back. As for my scarf.." Proto's
voice became laced with
regret, "..well, before I met up with Slash, a nice little robotic
velociraptor decided to play 'Tug of
War' with me, which turned my scarf into the equivalent of a noose. I had to
give the raptor my
scarf. Unfortunately, air is a bit more precious than a scrap of clothing."
"Yeah, life's like that." Roll sighed.
Proto let go of Mega. To his surprise, his brother collapsed to the ground
like a blue sac
of potatoes. His eyes seemed vacant. "I haven't finished telling you what
happened after I found
your scarf." He said in a faint whisper that still succeeded in sending
uneasy chills up Proto's
spine.
"All right then...go on." Proto egged.
All energy seemed to be drained from Mega now. He leaned his head against
the table
leg situated conveniently beside him and quietly told his siblings about how
he had gone to Skull
Castle to tell off Wily for killing Proto, and ended up killing the old
fellow quite by accident. There
was a slight pause after Mega had finished. Proto and Roll exchanged
exasperated glances. This
whole awful situation seemed to echo the conversation they had had a while
back about Mega's
emotions taking control of him, resulting in Wily getting hurt.
"Rock...it WAS an accident that Wily died, right?" Roll tried to keep her
voice steady,
but there was a note of urgent terror in it.
Mega only nodded numbly. "What's gonna happen to me now? Will I be
deactivated?"
"I don't think it'll happen if it was an ACCIDENT." Proto tried to sound
hopeful, but he
knew it was useless. There was no proof that it had been an accident, and
Mega was not known
to love Wily. Some folks were certainly going to assume that he had killed
the old scientist on
purpose. And since Mega had assumed that Proto had been killed by
Wily...well, that was just the
final blow of the executioner's axe. Proto could hear the accusing voices
now: "Mega Man had
killed Wily to get revenge for his brother's death."
"Maybe Wily's robots who witnessed the death will confess that Rock hadn't
shot Wily on
purpose," he mused mentally, but he wisely ended up just chalking that
prospect under "Things
that probably wouldn't happen even if Hell froze over". Everything seemed to
be in a messy -
mushy - mix - up...a row of toppled dominos, all set off by Slash Man's
carelessness.
Roll's expression finally reflected her true feelings of fear for her
brother's future as she
sat down next to him and put an arm around his shaking shoulders in a
fruitless effort to comfort
him. "I'd be lying if I said that everything will be back to normal someday,
Rock."
Bass drifted in and out of consciousness as his systems attempted to repair
his extensive
damage caused by his short battle with Mega. He became quite awake, however,
when he heard
some dull clanks being emitted from the top of his helmet. He craned his
neck around just
enough to see that Flagg was pecking angrily at his gold - finned headpiece.
"Oh, get the hell away from me, you vulture! Go make life miserable for
someone else.
Here, eat Wily's corpse; he's dead anyway." Bass growled weakly.
With these words from his enemy, Flagg unfolded his grand wings a bit and
snapped his
beak open and shut just inches from Bass' nose.
"rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRUFFFF!" Bass barked.
Flagg disappeared in a frightened black whirlwind of feathers. Bass grinned
in spite of
himself. He slowly hauled his battered body up into a standing position. He
limped over to the
small cluster of robots that mused over Wily's fallen body. Slash Man saw
Bass standing over him
like a black entity favouring its right arm.
"Sooooo....now what?" The wild orange robot questioned of his superiour.
"What do you mean, 'now what'?"
"Are you sure that Wily's dead?"
"Well, he's stopped breathing and his body's gone cold! I think that makes
it a bit bleedin'
obvious!" Bass snarled.
Slash shrugged. "Well, maybe he's just holding his breath."
"Maybe he's....WHAT!? My God, you're IMPOSSIBLE!"
Unnoticed by his brothers, Zero sat huddled with his knees against his chest
in a dark
corner near Wily's still form, a victim to his superiour emotions. His
father was dead...what was
left for him?
Slash spoke up, temporarily renting the mist of gloom that surrounded Zero.
"Well, Bass, if you're so smart, tell us what to do with this body. If we
want to bury it,
there's a big rubber tree plant with a very large flower pot to it just
outside of this room...I think he
just MAY fit if we break a bone here and there...."
"Are you insane!?" Bass shrieked. "Don't you see an opportunity here?
Mega shot Wily,
and he may think that he's won. But all we have to do is show Wily's body to
the media and tell
them the truth....that Mega killed him. To put it bluntly, Mega is pretty
much screwed."
Slash Man sprang up and punched the air with his clawed fist. "Huzzah!
Bass, you're
brilliant! I think-- "
Slash never had a chance to tell Bass what he thought, for as soon as he had
uttered that
last phrase, his optics suddenly went dim and he pitched over and fell flat
on his face.
"Sir Slash! What in the order of the Kingfisher and the Rose has
happened!?" Knight
Man managed to spit out seconds before he crumpled to the ground in a
lifeless heap. He was
followed almost instantly by Cut Man.
"Oh no!" Bass groaned faintly. "Not now! Not NOW!"
Snake and Shade Man pounced on Bass immediately. "Bass, you know what's
going on!
Why are all the robots shutting down!?"
"A while ago, Wily told me that there's a chip of some sort in all of us
that would cause us
to shut down one by one when he died." Bass' voice was flat. "I don't know
how the chip would
work, but it seems to be doing its job with ease right now!" Bass finished
just as Toad Man
croaked at his black boots (Bad pun #3! I deserve to be shot!). Bass could
feel his own systems
begging to shut down under the sudden, sleepy lure that the mysterious chip
cast upon them.
Bass sympathized with his circuits, but he used all his will to sternly
command them to stay
functional. Snake Man and Shade Man were apparently doing the same judging
by the way they
swayed and blinked rapidly.
"I can't shut down now!" Shade Man wailed. "So much blood to drink! So
many humans
to assimilate into my Unholy Vampire Army of the Night! Besides, what will
Flagg do without
me!?"
"Get caught in some power lines, I should hope." Bass muttered under his
breath. He bit
his tongue as he felt himself nodding off.
"Never mind your bird!" Snake Man echoed Shade's pathetic whine. "What
about my
Monty?"
Bass waved his arms with the strength he had left. "What about Wily!? The
media! We
gotta...gotta...oh, who am I kidding?" Bass began to succumb to the will of
the chip, as did Snake
and Shade.
Zero, the only robot in the room who did not posses the chip, was suddenly
pulled out of
his grieving for Wily by a terror that was spawned while he watched his
brother and teacher,
Bass, sink to the ground like a wilted black weed.
"Bass!" He cried as he scrambled frantically to his brother's side. Bass
opened his eyes
slightly when he heard Zero's voice. He offered the crimson figure a weak
smile.
"Sorry, buddy....it's the end for me. I haven't taught you everything I
would have liked to.
I can only do one more thing before I go. Fetch me that phone over there."
Bass motioned
towards a cell phone that rested on a nearby table. Zero did as he was told.
Bass pulled up
enough strength to dial a number and hold the phone up to his ear.
"Hello? Is this the Daily Blah newspaper? Good...this is Bass. Yes, the
same Bass that
was created by Wily." There was a slight pause on Bass' end. "Well yeah,
it's probably the same
Bass who drove the tank through your living room window, too. What did you
say your last name
was? Winnik? Yes, I'm pretty sure that it was me who did that. No, don't
hang up on me, you
fool! Listen! Wily's been shot by none other than - get this! - Mega Man.
He's pretty much
sealed the fates of the rest of us robots, too. I figured that my last
action should be to bring this
event into the light.....yes, Wily's dead. Yes, I'm sure. No, he is NOT
holding his breath! Okay?
This is the story of the year! Are you gonna report it, or do I have to call
up the Weekly Star? I
bet they'd be interested!....Heh heh...I thought so! When you enter the
fortress, be careful of the
alligator pits, the killer bee nests, and the psycho robot guards that're
armed to the teeth. Okay
Mr. Winnik, you have yourself a nice day, you hear? Bye!"
Bass let the receiver slip out of his near - lifeless fingers. He turned
his head away from
Zero. He was actually getting a little emotional over leaving the reploid.
"Listen, Zero. Soon
enough, reporters are gonna be swarming here. You'd best not stay. They'll
ask you questions
that you won't be able to answer. Wily mentioned earlier that he planned to
shut you in a capsule
at the end of a period spanning four months, after which you'd shut down
automatically, much the
same way I am now. That capsule is hidden far, far downstairs, in storage
room 7-G, behind
some loose bricks in the north wall. I would tell you to enter it now, but
since you'd end up just
standing there until four months was up, you'd probably become bored out of
your skull.
Therefore, I think you should get out into the world and learn a bit more
about it. Learn what I
couldn't get a chance to teach you. You'll be fine...just remember..." At
this point, Bass' eyes
became quite alert as they locked with Zero's. "NEVER ever tell ANYONE that
Wily created you.
Do you understand? And until you wake up from your 30 year hibernation,
don't harm any
humans! No matter how much they sicken you. Don't do anything to arouse
suspicion, or you'll
blow the whole deal. Once four months are up, just come back to the
fortress...I pray that it'll still
be left intact. Then enter the capsule. If the fortress is destroyed and
you can't enter the
capsule, find somewhere else to hibernate. The only problem with that is I
don't know when you'll
wake up. The capsule is designed to pull you out of your sleep at an
appropriate time. Okay?"
Zero's body shuddered with sobs, but he managed to nod.
A grin played on Bass' mouth as he observed his brother's grief. "Just
remember,
Zero...you're a reploid. Superiour to humans in almost every way. Use that
knowledge and make
me proud." Bass ceased breathing as he submitted to the will of the chip.
A deathly silence settled over the room. Flagg perched on the immobile
chest of Shade
Man and mourned his master with a woebegone cry that would have shattered
anyone's heart.
Zero mimicked the bird's cry as he hunched over the body of his ebony
brother. While Bass'
directions were still fresh in his mind, Zero felt hopelessly lost in a dark
wood of confusion.
His weeping passed like a storm. He sat silently as the light of reason
began to penetrate
his dark clouds. The light touched Bass' last words and illuminated them
with startling brilliance.
Zero stood up and gave not a backward glance to his fallen brothers or father
as he headed
towards the entrance of Skull fortress. The training was over. His real
life was to begin now.
He was a reploid....
And he would make Bass proud.
Sweet Intoxications
