Opening comments:
This time, we're mostly just wrapping up the kitchen scene from the last chapter. I thought of a wonderful wrench to throw into the plot the other day, and I'm eager to hurry up and get to that part. :)


With everyone gathered around the table, Roll finally had an opportunity to observe each individual Robot Master more closely as they munched away happily at what was probably their first real, decent meal in ages. (Wily had already been delivered his portion, and Roll took his voracious mouthfuls as a 'thank you'.)

Metal Man, she had seen more than enough of for one day, though she did take a minute to note that he had removed his mask, revealing the lower half of his face. He has a strong, masculine jaw line with which he tore through his meal like a starved vulture.

Air Man ate more slowly, having trouble trying to get his fork past his fan and into his... mouth, if it could be called that. His upper body was large and bulky, and pretty much every move he made looked difficult and awkward. It was a wonder that he made such a formidable fighter.

Bubble Man also had a face mask removed. In drastic contrast to Metal, he carefully kept his elbows off the table, and seemed to put meticulous thought into eat bite he took. He almost looked suspicious of his fork, as though it would jump out of his hand to do harm at any moment. His eyes were calm and relaxed, and almost gave the effect of perpetual sadness.

Quick Man, in line with his name, was already nearing the completion of his meal. Roll wondered if he was even chewing. But as spastic and speedy his movements were, they were also very controlled. Rather than rushing, it looked more like a video in fast-forward. He was bright and alert, as though anticipating some kind of spontaneous marathon.

Flash Man seemed to be the most normal of the group. He simply ate and enjoyed, and he was the first one to remember to thank Roll for the meal (which was followed by a hurried chorus of thank you's from the rest, who didn't want to look ungrateful). His most noteworthy feature was his height. Roll estimated that he was about six feet or so tall.

Heat Man, on the other hand, was comedically short. His face was right at eye level with the table, and after a minute of struggling to see what his fork was stabbing, Roll found some old phone books to serve him as a booster seat (trying not to giggle at how cute his futile efforts were all the while).

Wood Man rivaled Air in bulkiness, but he at least had no trouble finding his mouth. He regarded his paper napkin with a strange expression, but otherwise did nothing out of the ordinary.

Sitting next to (and almost hiding behind) Wood Man was Crash Man. Roll watched him the most curiously. For a while, he just kept glancing around the table nervously. When he caught Roll watching, he quickly broke the eye contact and wrenched his eyes down to his plate. He lifted his 'hands' slowly and seemed to be considering his next course of action. After a few moments of idly fumbling to pick up a utensil, he opted to just use his drills as a fork. Stabbing his bacon and toast was mostly successful, but the eggs were only further scrambled, and he hadn't even bothered looking at his glass of orange juice yet.

The minutes ticked by painfully, and he continued to struggle with his meal. Roll could tell he was getting frustrated, and she felt bad for him, so she slid back her chair and walked around the table to stand next to him. Suddenly, everyone's attention was torn away from their food and fixed upon her. (Bass, who had not been particularly interested in joining the meal but took a small portion after Roll's desperate pleading, was trying very hard not to look as curious as all the other robots.)

"Can I help you?" she chirped courteously, motioning towards his plate. Crash looked up at her shyly, his face mostly obscured by his visor (but she could still see that his cheeks were red). He was very aware of his brothers' intense stares and seemed almost ashamed, but in the end, Crash gave up with a defeated nod.

Roll dragged an unoccupied chair over to the left of Crash's, and sat down. She then picked up the fork, scooped up some of the pummeled eggs, and held it up to Crash's mouth. Whether she said it intentionally or out of some kind of internal motherly habit, no one was sure, but she said it. "Say 'ahhh'!"

And just about everyone's jaws (or at least, those who had jaws) dropped. At that point, no one would have been surprised if she had started calling his fork a 'choo-choo train'. To their relief, she didn't, but stiff tension took a firm grasp over the room as everyone tried to go back to eating and not stare too much.

Crash's shame gradually dissipated, and he almost appeared to be enjoying the special treatment now. Roll just tried to look oblivious to the uneasy atmosphere.


After what felt like a long time, breakfast was over.

"Was it good?" Roll asked while she was cleaning dishes.

Everyone (except Bass, who remained at the table, waiting for Roll to finish) cheered "yes!" or some similar equivalent. Someone bravely added, "Except for the parts that Bass cooked", but there were so many of them talking at once that Bass couldn't figure out which one he was supposed to glare at.

With that, they all left, either to their respective rooms or to train more, leaving Bass and Roll alone again. The blonde wondered, as she scrubbed plates, if he would bother to comment on the previous happenings, but when he said nothing, she felt the need to fill the dead space with chitchat. "Umm, thanks again for helping me cook, Bass. I hope you enjoyed the food."

Bass shifted in his chair uncomfortably. "Yeah." Roll was unsure which part was 'yeah', but didn't ask him to elaborate. He paused for a moment before continuing, "How bad did you burn yourself?"

"Huh? Umm... not bad. I kind of made too big of a deal over it, to be honest, but it just surprised me... it's pretty superficial, though. Just a quick dermal repair." The question confused Roll. Why should he care?

"Ah."

Bass certainly didn't waste words.

Roll wished he'd waste at least a few more, though.