"BULLHOCKEY!"
Such a rather bizarre exclamation would seldom be heard these days, were it not for the existence of alcohol. Light and the others had just arrived home at the peak of twilight, along with a seemingly rather inebriated Wily. Rock had been using his relatively low level of robotic strength to haul in him over his shoulder like a sack of meat, as what was low level for a robot still surpassed even the best of body builders. And as they passed by the cleaning bots, now slowly wandering the mansion with their chores done for the day, Wily in his drunken stupor couldn't help but embarrasses himself.
"I tells you!", he stammered, 'I's tell yous, I could've been somebody! I could've been a contender! Everybody should be working for me! Hey Santa," he said to Light, "go up to the North pole and get me a coffee! And get the elves to bring me coffee! Everybody should be getting me coffee! "
"I suppose Albert had just one too many," said Light, chuckling as he closed the door to the house behind him.
"More like ten!", said Roll.
"Hey," said Rock, grunting as he laid Wily down on the couch in the living room, "don't be too hard on him. He's had a rough last few years."
"Indeed," said Light. "Never mind what he may have done. He's suffered enough."
"Santa," said Wily, "go out and buy me a new pair of shoes! Shoes are my life's work! Well, next to robots anyway."
"I suppose the least we can do is leave him here until morning," said Light. "In the meantime, they should have sent the Robot Masters back home by now. Rock?"
"Uh," said Rock, a tad startled, "yes sir?"
"I'm going to need to get some last minute diagnostics on the Robot Masters before they're fully activated tomorrow. Care to give me a hand?"
"Sure!", said Rock, practically ecstatic. "No problem!"
"How about you Roll?", said Light. "Care for a trip into the laboratory?"
"Do I have to?", said Roll, pouting.
"Not if you don't want to," said Light. "I swear, if it weren't for the potential risks or official regulations or problems with data storage, I'd have removed all of your programming restrictions in a heartbeat. But no, you don't have to Roll. That wasn't an order."
"Oh!", said Roll, clasping her hands together. "Thanks! Like I said, that sort of stuff just isn't really my thing. You two can go handle it if you want to. I'll go check on the cleaning bots and then I'm going to watch some TV. I think My Biggest Horsey is going to be on tonight!"
"Ick," said Rock. "No offense Roll, I'll take anything else over that. Give me some Mega Boy any day of the week!"
"Bleh!", said Roll. "Superheroes are for losers! It's all just punchy punchy fight fight nonsense."
"Well," said Rock, "I'm not going to say it's Shakespeare. Not that I've read Shakespeare or really want to, but you know what I mean. And I probably wouldn't stand for how he shoots first and asks questions later. But he's got such a strong, burning sense of justice! It makes you feel like, like you can do anything! And that buster of his is just so cool!"
"Says you!", said Roll. "So is Flutterbye!"
"Alright," said Light, chuckling again, "alright children. You two can really be a handful. But I wouldn't have it any other way."
"He started it," said Roll, turning aside and folding her arms.
"Hey," said Rock, "no need to get so worked up about it Roll. I didn't mean anything by it, really."
"I know," said Roll, sighing in aspiration before smiling and reaching out her fist. "You know what? They're both pretty awesome."
"Right!" Rock reached out his fist and lightly bumped it against Roll's knuckles.
"Ah, children," said Light, muttering under his breath. "Well Rock? Shall we be going?"
"Sure!", said Rock. "Have fun watching your show, Roll!"
"And you have fun with, uh, whatever it is you're doing!"
"Thanks," said Rock, and he and Light made their way towards the lab, with Roll proceeding to turn on the TV. Neither of them noticed Wily taking a small pill out of his pocket and popping it in his mouth before seemingly passing back out on the couch. Perhaps they should have been paying better attention.
As Light had thought, the Robot Masters had already been delivered back to the lab while they had been out. They were all standing on a platformin the middle of the room, encased in their containment capsules, as if they were just waiting for the big day. The lab itself was pristine and orderly, if somewhat spacious. "There they are," said Light. "Ready to meet your new brothers Rock?"
"Yeah," said Rock, looking in awe at the Robot Masters, like a kid waiting for the birth of his baby brother. "I can't wait to meet them. I mean, I love Roll, but she's the only robot like me I've ever really met."
"It does get lonely, doesn't it?", said Light. "I can relate."
"You can?", asked Rock.
"Of course," said Light. "There aren't that many who know or appreciate Robots the same way I do. Oh, there's and ; two of the best friends a man's ever had, next to Albert anyhow. Well, the old Albert anyway. But there just isn't anyone else, or at least anyone on our level who cares about Robotics so much. I suppose that's why Albert and I became such good friends, even though we're as different as night and day. And perhaps part of why I made you."
"But Doctor Light," said Rock, "I mean, I'm not a genius or a scientist like you are."
"No," said Light, gently putting his hand on Rock's shoulder, "nor do you need to be. What matters is that you are you. That you are you what want to be. And that makes you better than a million geniuses.
"Really?
Light nodded in affirmation. "Though I must say, you're not too shabby yourself."
"Seriously?", said Rock.
"Why else do you think I asked you to help me with the finishing touches? Both you and Roll have a fair amount of engineering knowhow thanks to yours truly, but you've actually got a natural knack for it. And that is one oversight I don't mind at all."
"Thanks!", said Rock. "To be honest, I actually kind of like it."
"You've got a fine career ahead of you," said Light, "if that's what you want of course."
"Well," said Rock, "I don't know. What I do know is, I want to help people. Isn't that part of what was I made to do?"
"Well," said Light, "if I may be brutally honest, you were made in part to help out around the house…"
"I know that," said Rock.
"…but you were also built to help others in need. And, this is most important Rock, I also gave you plenty of leeway in how you go about achieving those goals. The same with Roll. If she wanted to become, let's say, a nursing robot someday, or perhaps reality turned upon itself and she decided to become a mechanic, I wouldn't stop her. The unfortunate realities of our current limitations and restrictions in robotics may prevent you from having complete and total free will, but I've done my best to give the both of you the closest thing to it. Remember Rock. Robots are more than the sum of their parts."
"And what about the Robot Masters?", said Rock. "I know they're all got their own jobs and duties and whatever else, but that's not all there is to them, is there?"
Light couldn't help but laugh. "Of course not! Their programming may be more specific, but I can assure you, within those parameters, they may think and act as they see fit. Though again," he said, now with a tinge of of regret, "not as much as I'd hope."
"Oh," said Rock, still not quite understanding everything, but slowly and surely coming closer to doing so nonetheless. "Well, either way, I'm still going to be happy to meet them."
"I feel the same way," said Light. "Now, it's getting late, and we need to make sure that everything's accounted for. Care to start us off Rock?"
"No problem!" Rock gladly hurried over to the central computer, beginning the logistics and diagnostics programs as the fading sun continued to dwindle over the horizon.
"Now," said Light, "make sure you run the proper logistics. The robots are currently placed within their proper containment pods, which themselves are connected directly to the central computer. With that, you can issue whatever orders you like."
"Really?", asked Rock.
"Of course,' said Light. "You could even transport them to another location, providing you had the proper coordinates."
"You mean, as in matter transference?"
"Precisely,' said Light. "Handy tool in a pinch, though it is also used to transport larger objects as a matter of course. Now, if you'll notice this menu here…
Twas the night before Tuesday, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Well, mostly. One creature in particular was doing more than stirring. Slowly opening his eyes, Wily, still laying down on the couch, looked at his wristwatch to see that it was indeed 12:00 AM. Midnight. He took a quick look around. As he thought, Roll, Rock, and Light were nowhere to be seen. The former were no doubt resting in their containment pods, and the latter was likely sound asleep in his bed. But even if he wasn't, he couldn't afford to check. It was now or never.
He jumped up from the couch and sneaked his way to the laboratory. He was amazed at just how alert he was. That sobriety pill was worth more than he bargained for.
"Oh, Light," Wily muttered under his breath. "You really made this all too easy." He glanced at the six Robot Masters, all snug within their containment capsules. He creeped over to the Central Computer and began typing in commands at record speed, opening up the database entries for each of the Robot Masters before hacking into their systems. "You really shouldn't have given me the password Light," said Wily. "Truly, it's all thanks to you. And now for the finishing touch." After a few more minutes, all it would take would be a press of the button and all six robots would be transported in beams of light to a new location.
And yet. As his finger was placed just above the proper button, he couldn't help but wonder if perhaps there was some other way. If it was all truly worth it. He couldn't help but think back to his dinner with Light, just a few hours ago…
"Albert," said Thomas, mulling over his roasted salmon as he moved a piece around on the plate with his fork, his champagne glass just a tad empty. "Do you ever wonder if…"
"If what?", said Wily, rather enjoying his steak.
"You know," said Light. "If things could have been different."
Wily paused for a moment, before continuing on with his steak. "How so?", said Wily.
"Well," said Light, "I know that things have been somewhat difficult between us."
"Now what made you imagine that?", said Wily, as bluntly as he could.
"And acting that way doesn't help matters!", said Light, forcing his fork down on the table. "I just, I want to talk."
"We have been talking," said Wily, not even so much as looking up from his plate. "It seems to me that we've done so much talking, we've nothing left to talk about."
Light sighed, creasing his brow in frustration. "Do you remember, Albert?", said Light. "After I had lost, well, you know. To be honest, I wasn't quite sure what to do. But you. You were there to cheer me up. To help me move on."
Albert, right in the middle of cutting off another part of the steak, didn't say another word. Rather, whatever else he was doing, he simply stopped. It was only after a long, awkward silence that he made his voice heard.
"And when I lost, well, you know," said Albert. "You were there to do the same for me."
"Things used to be so different between us Albert," said Light. "For the life of me, I just can't understand how things got this way."
"And perhaps," said Wily, that's why they have."
"And indeed," said Wily, firmly pressing down on the button and sending the Robot Masters to their new location. "They have. Here's hoping that didn't wake them," muttered Wily. "Matter transportation is always a tricky business. Of course, with my recent adjustments to the system, I shouldn't have to worry about setting off any alarms. So much the better." He then logged out of the computer and proceeded to make his way out of the lab, doing his best not to disturb any restful of souls. He reached the door, which was easy enough to open with the security turned off. "And that," chuckled Wily, "should be that." He walked out of the door, called up a taxi, and was soon on his way.
"Oh yes," he muttered, looking out the taxi door on Light's humble abode. "They certainly have."
At the crack of dawn, Rock's capsule opened up wide in the middle of his room. He stretched out his arms and yawned, feeling truly rested. Not that he really needed sleep the same way humans did, but the simulation of it still wasn't a bad way to recharge his batteries. "Right," he said. "Time for the big day! Well, the other big day anyway." He reached into his drawers and threw on a new shirt and a pair of shorts. He would have loved to have any sort of pants other than shorts, but considering both his lower legs and feet were practically giant blue boots, there wasn't much he could really do. (How did he even manage to get them on anyway?)
Still, no time to worry about that now. He tossed his old clothes into the hamper next to his shelf of Mega Boy toys and dashed down the hallway, rushing straight past the living room and into the lab. He made his way past the empty containment capsules, turned on the central computer, and —
Wait a minute.
Rock slowly turned his head back towards the capsules. He crept up towards them, unable to believe that which he knew was no doubt true, until it stared him right in the face. There was no doubting it. All six Robot Masters had practically vanished off the face of the Earth.
Just as he was about to start to panic, he heard a shrill cry from the living room. "Roll!" He dashed back into the living room to see Roll in front of the TV set, seeming to have stumbled back after the cry. She was too stunned to notice Rock, nor Light as he rushed into the living room himself.
"Roll!", he said, still in his pajamas. "What seems to to be the—?" He didn't even need to finish his sentence. All he and Rock needed was one good look at the TV screen to see just what frightened her so. And they were soon about to feel the same way.
"This is Argent Mackeroy from CNN News, here live to cover this Breaking story! I'm currently flying over the downtown district of Metropolis! As you can see, mass devastation has been wrecked upon the populace by robots gone amok! Serving bots, cleaning bots, robots of all sorts have somehow been hacked into or gone haywire and have been destroying the city! Cars have been smashed, lampposts and trees are being toppled, and buildings are just short of being totaled! No humans have directly harmed by these robots which suggests that that at least some of the Rules of Robots are still in place, but many have have still been injured as a result of the collateral damage caused by the Robots' rampage! But that isn't even the worst of it! If we zoom in on— ah, there he is! Bright red, some white, a giant scissors on his head! Ladies and gentlemen, this is unmistakable! Somehow, at least one of Light's robots has presumably been reprogrammed from its' original objective, and it or perhaps even they are instead leading these robots to unleash havoc upon the city! One can only wonder why these robots, supposedly designed for peace, are instead doing the opposite of what they were created for! This— hold on. We seem to be receiving a remote signal from… Hold on, we seem to be losing—"
Without any warning, static suddenly filled the TV screen until, in short order, all was clear once more. Perhaps in more ways than one.
"Greetings!", said none other than the man who nobody, especially Thomas Light, had expected to see; Doctor Albert Wily. He was surrounded by pitch darkness, only illuminated by a spotlight overhead. "By now, you may all be wondering just why so many robots have turned against their pathetic humans masters. Now, I could tell you this is all 's doing; that he in truth was designing these robots with the intent of world domination, and has now decided to make his move. But given the weak deluded flock that composes humanity, you might actually be stupid enough to believe it, and I wouldn't want my impending victory to be be attributed to a man who deserves far less than he has. No; it was I, Albert Wily, who is truly responsible! I stole 's Robot Masters in the dead of night and reprogrammed them to serve me! Not that I needed most of them, as all it took was to send one of his robots to the Robotics Control Center in the city, subdue it, and insert the proper command disk necessary to give new commands to all basic public service robots in Metropolis! The more advanced ones aren't subject to that same sort of control, but you know what they say; strength in numbers. "
Wily took a moment to straighten out his tie, doing everything in his power to look his absolute best.
"And this is far from the end. Once I've conquered Metropolis, I'll spread out to the rest of the world, hacking their systems and controlling their robots en masse! And I've got other plans in case that somehow doesn't work out. And the best part is, no-one knows where I am, and it won't be that easy to find me either, so it isn't like someone can just walk up and shoot me in the face. (Even though I am sure some of you are dying to do so; perhaps literally.) Face it! I have all the cards. Soon the entire world will know my name, and will worship it for decades to come as the name of the greatest genius that ever lived! And not even you can stop me Thomas. In fact, I am so confident in my complete and total victory that I'm not even going to lay so much as a finger on you! Consider it a parting gift for old times sake. Now, assuming that you all do not wish me to cause more devastation and destruction than I absolutely need to, here is a list of my demands…"
No words. There was nothing that could describe the sheer shock and horror felt throughout the room. Roll sat there, unable to believe just what she was seeing. Rock, somehow managing to keep himself standing, felt the same way. And as for Light, slumped down on the couch in a wide-eyed stupor, it was a wonder he hadn't been rendered completely catatonic.
" !", said Rock, finally pulling himself together and urging Light to do the same. " !"
"How?" muttered Light, still in shock. "Why? What? When? Where?"
" !"
Light suddenly shot up in a burst of panic before resuming a veneer of his usual calm demeanor, if one still somewhat tarnished. "I, I'm sorry Rock. It's just…"
"I know," said Rock."I actually talked to Wily yesterday. I mean, I knew he was upset, but I thought, I thought I could reason with him, you know? Talk some sense into him. But now…"
"No Rock," said Light, "there's no need to blame yourself. I should have noticed. I should have seen this coming! But I failed to notice. Just like he said."
"Like who said?", said Roll, finally turning her eyes away from the TV screen.
"Wily told me. You two were waiting outside last night at the restaurant, drinking your E-Tanks. but he told me. I said that I couldn't understand how things could have possibly gotten this way between us. And he told me, 'perhaps that's why they have.' I knew things were rocky between us, but to think our relationship had gone that far south…"
" !," said Rock. "I understand, believe me, I do, but there are people out there getting hurt or worse and the police can't do a thing! You've built robots, I'm robot, we know what they're capable of and the police can't do do diddle squat! So we've got to do something or else, no; I don't even want to think of what else!"
"But what else is there to do?", said Light, looking down at this feet, his eye-lids half closed. "He's taken over the Robot Masters and done the same to the public service robots. He has a whole army at his disposal, with the generals to match. If I could get into the control center, I might be able to do something, but as is? If we worked with the police, we might have the manpower, but we wouldn't have the strength. If I could whip up, I don't know, a new Robot Master or something, we might have a chance, but I just don't have the time! I can't build a new Robot in one day."
Just then, an idea, a brilliant if somewhat reckless idea at that, hit Rock like a light bulb and a rocketing train combined. "You don't have to."
"Rock?" said Roll.
"I said," said Rock, who would be sweating right now if he could, "you don't have to."
"And why is that?" said Light, who somehow knew or at least had an idea of what Rock was going to say before he said it.
"Because you've already got one right here," said Rock, pounding his chest.
"Rock?!" said Roll, almost jumping to her feet.
"Do you know what you're saying Rock?", said Light.
"I know exactly what I'm saying!", shouted Rock. "And I know what you said! I was built to help others in need! And I can't think of any other need greater than this! You gave me the means to choose how I want to help people? Well, this is how I want to do it! Your best friend is terrorizing the city and no-one can stop him! No-one but me."
"But Rock," said Roll, "what can you do?"
"Right now?" said Rock, "Not much. But with some help from Light…"
"You want me to turn you into a weapon," said Light, crouched over, his hands folded over his mouth in contemplation.
"If I had a choice," said Rock, "I'd choose anything other than this. But there are countless people in trouble right now. If you died Light, I don't know if I'd be able to stay activated if I had a choice. And I know that everyone down there feels the same way about someone. So please. I've got to do this. For you. For me. For everyone."
Silence. Silence that was only broken after what seemed like an eternity. And after long last, , sighing like it was the last time he would ever do so, said…
"There might be a way.
"There isn't any other way!", said Rock, arguing with Roll in Light's workshop, the red robotic dog who Rock barely noticed given the situation moved to the corner.
"There has to be!" yelled Roll. "I want to help them just as much as you do, but this is YOU we're talking about!"
"ROLL!" Right then and there, with Rock's eyes as intense as ever, Roll finally, if suddenly, restrained herself. But that intensity was as such that Rock instantly regretted it, calming himself and breathing heavily as hepatted Roll on the shoulder. "Roll, honestly, I'm scared too. Maybe more than you. But don't you understand? I have to do this. For you. For Light. For everyone."
"And you really don't think the police can handle this?"
"Me and Light both know the Robot Masters are just too strong for them, never mind the other Robots. They need help."
"As much as I hate to admit it," said Light, stepping into the workshop, "I agree." He was carrying a set of blueprints and schematics, all of which seemed to be years old, all covered with dust.
"Wow!", said Rock. "Where'd you dig up these?"
"A story for another day," said Light. "What matters is that with these blueprints, as well as some old projects I have stored in the back, we may be able to accomplish our goal within the hour."
"But Light," said Roll, "I mean, even with all of this, how are we gonna' do it with just the two of us?"
"Oh," said the now grinning Light, "don't worry about that. I took the liberty of calling in an old friend. Your cousin in fact."
"Cousin?", said Roll, wondering just what Light mean until, as her eyes widened, it became as clear as day.
"You don't mean," said Rock, starting to catch on himself.
As if right on cue, a loud crash could be heard from the entranceway, setting everyone but Light on edge as the door slammed like a hammer once, then twice as it was closed, and the loud stomping of what sounded like giant metal was heard resounding from the hallway. "Ah," said Light. "That should be him now."
And sure enough, clamoring down the halls so fast that he nearly stumbled over his own feet and right past the entrance way to the workshop was none other than—
"AUTO?!", said Rock and Roll together in wide-eyed unison.
He was a rather large and even somewhat portly robot, colored mostly green with lines of red yellow thoughtfully placed here and there. His eyes looked like red taillights, and his arms and legs were like long gray vacuum tubes. If Rock and Roll could were the epitome of just how much robots could fit in with humans, Auto may well have been the exact opposite, or at least from a purely aesthetic viewpoint.
"Hey ya all, what's happening?!", said Auto, in his usual jovial manner. "I came as fast as I could from the shop, though let me tell ya, it was nearly murder trying to barrel through all of those bots in the Auto Mobile."
"Glad you could come Auto."
"No problem Doc!", said Auto. "Sides, I needed a break anyway. Managing a whole line of stores for robot parts is a lot of work!"
"Which is why I built the perfect robot to handle it," said Light. "Who better to sell robot parts than a robot?"
"Certainly helps make ends meet," said Auto, "for all of us. But that ain't why we're here, are we?"
"No," said Light. "And we'd better get started. We've already wasted enough time." He then suddenly turned to— "Rock. Are you ready."
"Honestly?", said Rock. "Not really. But I don't have much choice."
"You always have a choice" said Light. "It's just that this is a rather harsher one than most. Well, I suppose we had better get started."
"Rock? Rock?!"
Rock could hear Roll's voice, calling out to him. But for what?
He opened his eyes. He felt awful. He held up his arm to the light. He took a good long look.
And then it hit him like a ton of bricks.
"My arm," he said. "It's—"
"It's a buster," said Light, as Rock's vision began to clear. Roll and Auto were standing beside him, both wearing goggles and lab coats.
"Light? Roll? Auto?" Rock slowly got up, but it wasn't long before he took a good long look at himself. His entire body was now covered in blue armor, and his head (or so he thought anyway) adorned by an equally blue helmet. And his right arm had now been cannibalized into a—
"A buster?", said Rock.
"Yes," said Light matter-of-factly, adjusting his glasses. "Or an arm cannon, to be more precise. With that buster, you'll be able to fire off out blasts of energy more powerful than most robots can muster. I've also implemented you with an energy replication system, based off a prototype for one of my earlier projects. With it, you can directly hack into another robot's mainframe and replicate their own special abilities temporarily, though you must be in close proximity for it to work. You're also faster, stronger, and more agile than ever. You're more than a match for any of the Robot Masters.
Rock didn't say a word. Not at first anyway. No-one could. He slowly got up from the operating table, holding up his arm further into the light.
"Oh yes'" said Light. "You'll be able to change back and forth between this form and your old one at any moment. Matter replication and alteration and all that."
"Are you okay ,' said Roll.
"Yes," said Light, who was not OK at all. "I'll be fine. But in the meantime, Rock has work to do."
"Yeah,' said Rock, finally pulling himself together and aiming his blaster at an invisible horizon. 'Yeah, yeah I do. And Light?"
"Yes Rock?"
"It's not Rock anymore. Not as long as I'm like this anyway. It's Mega… no. Not Mega Boy. That's already taken."
"Then what, man?", asked Auto.
"That's it," said Rock, his frown turning upside down. "While I'm like this, you can call me… MEGA MAN!"