Note: Hello everyone! Sorry, this is more of a set-up chapter, but the things that are mentioned here WILL be addressed later or lead up to something. I know I asked once already, but does page length matter to you (as this one is currently recorded at 9-10 pages long on Word)? I personally don't, yet I'll admit that I don't like to keep you guys waiting too long as I am afraid of boring you already. I just want all of my stories to be as perfect as I can make them, even if perfection is technically unobtainable. Also, though it's somewhat useless information, I have art related to this thing on Deviantart (RockmanGurl is where to find me) if you need a better visual representation of what everyone looks like. Anyway, I hope you enjoy at least partially!
Chapter 26: Ninety-One Days to Take Off Part 4
Mega Man © of Capcom
July 23rd 200X
12:45 PM
With as much time as Time Man spent in this cramped space, one could've very well assumed that he actually LIVED in here. Not that he was willing to go anywhere else save for the mandatory fill ups he required. Though even that he seemed to wonder why the old man even bothered, the most energy that he had used being mainly for the small paces he made around the cramped space, equipment and boxes upon boxes of spare parts and scrap metal making his little 'strolls' all the more short. Not that it mattered much to him that he held little free area for himself here. If anything, he found nothing really mattering much to him anymore.
"Hello?" Time Man knew he had heard that high-pitched voice before, in fact he had heard him a good number of times since he had decided to take to residing in the tightly packed supply closet. "Eddy said hello!" the small, armless android squeaked again, disgruntled that the larger Robot Master hadn't responded to his greeting.
Time Man found his small, azure irises rolling in their expansive, ivory sockets to give the lime green energy dispenser as look of acknowledgement, though that was all that he extended. He immediately went back to staring blankly at nothing, head resting in the crook of his folded arms with his knees brought up to his chest. The sensation of what lie in his now repaired chest cavity being extracted having since long passed…though he hypothesized that it would be a sensation he would never look at as just another record in his memory bank, the pressure of them being stretched and flung around with such carelessness just about enough to make his entire form shudder, though he was puzzled as to why.
"Why is you staying in here?" Eddy questioned. "Glasses bot gone. No tinker with you."
It seemed like there was only one way to get the little nuisance to leave him be. "…I'm more than aware of that, you…"
"Eddy!" the green robot chirped enthusiastically. "Me named Eddy! What you name?"
Good God, was this speech pattern a trait that his creator had intentionally left in the little android's programing? It must've been considering that if not for a personal preference, he knew of no one that could stand such a gross misuse of even just basic language!
"Why you not say you name?" the smaller robot then loudly gasped. "Maybe you do not have one? Huh? Huh?"
"I assume that if I tell you, you'll stop pointlessly asking?" it was far from anything endearing, yet the large-eyed android only giddily nodded his large head in response. "Very well. DLN-00A. Or for your more simplistic mind, Time Man."
"Oooohhh, 'Man'?!" Eddy chirped excitably. "That mean you Robot Master!"
Time Man shifted his eyes away, trying to signal to the smaller droid that he was far from being in any sort of mood fit for conversation.
"But if you Robot Master, then what your job?"
His job, his function, his very purpose of living…now, wasn't THAT the million dollar question? Time Man only responded with a rough sigh, now turning his entire body away from the prying, curious energy dispenser.
"Hello?" the small green droid continued to question, merely trotting over in the direction the far larger, arm-bearing automaton had shifted. "What your job?" it was then that Eddy noticed the large clock stationed on his chest. "Your job be a clock?"
"What?!" he was still far from willing to engage with the tiny robot, yet such a gross misunderstanding would not go uncorrected. "Why would Dr. Light, let alone ANYONE just construct a robot with the only purpose being to tell time?! That's just a complete and utter waste of resources and equipment! Not to mention valuable hours that could've been spent far better on something at least halfway decent!"
Eddy however was completely unfazed by such a harsh response. "Your job be a walking clock then?"
He was nearly rendered speechless by that statement. Whilst the violet robot didn't hold the highest expectations for the smaller android's intelligence, the very notion of being able to hear a statement such as that come out of an creation that was constructed by the very same hands that gave him life as well…he was almost certain that the time he spent in that small space had caused some wires in his compact dome to loosen, let alone maybe become completely jostled from their rightful places.
BEEP! BEEP!
Though apparently his com-link was still in good shape. Yet who in the world would be trying to contact him?
"Hello? Time Man, do you read me?"
Well, there WAS the spectacled co-worker of sorts…
"Brain Bot." Time Man dully noted, Eddy's attention now derived from his previous 'interrogation' to the conversation presently going on.
"Ah, yes. Good afternoon to you too."
"That's a rather individualized assumption." It was then that the violet Robot Master took notice of the energy dispenser's eavesdropping, Eddy in turn only responding with an apologetic, sheepish grin. Time Man oddly enough found himself unable to become completely enraged with the smaller robot, only greatly annoyed. Whether it was due to his high-pitched voice, or just general, almost insultingly unintelligent demeanor altogether…yes. Perhaps it was the latter. It far from meant he held positive reservations for the green flat-headed droid, yet he found that responding to the urge to fume at a machine that bore far less of a complicated system (along with any usable arms) was quite a useless and, by his conclusion, one of the few conclusions that mattered to him, a waste of time.
Besides, just simply lowering the volume to a level only he could register was a far more efficient option, yet he still wished for this surprise call to end soon as he was still far from wishing to speak to anyone…let alone hear anything related to where he was technically supposed to be.
"What do you want?"
Brain Bot held in a woeful sigh. He expected such a reaction, yes, though even then, it was far from the one that he was willing to readily welcome. Yet he could at least be thankful for the Robot Master's insistence on keeping things short and concise, ridding him of the obligatory politeness he had to present on a daily basis whenever on the job anywhere he was needed. This wasn't to say that Brain Bot held any issues with his colleagues, both human and machine alike, far from it, yet it seemed that more often than not that whatever exchange that occurred seemed to be mostly nothing but useless, idle chat. Idle chat was fine and harmless…yet it did little to speed up progress.
"Well, I supposed that you'd be curious about the latest here at the institute." The spectacled robot explained. "Business is back on track and nearly everything is back on scheduele."
"Nearly?"
"Well, you must understand, Time Man, even now, there's only so much that humans can do. Plus, while our numbers here have increased since…well, since then, there's still only such much to go around."
Time Man deepened his frown. While he wouldn't lie in saying that the news that an update was appreciated, he found it to be of little use, information wise.
"I should also let you know that Dr. Kobayashi is very interested in meeting you."
Though Eddy was unable to hear Brain Bot's voice from the other line, the small robot knew well that even despite his less complicated structure (though he absolutely refused to be addressed as stupid or unintelligent), whatever had been relayed to Time Man must've been rather tremendous news given his reaction. Both of his golden bells jingled lightly upon his body jerking upward into a evener, more upright position, back straight and bearing little curve save for the position of his metallic spine that forced him to creature a small curve inwards. Perhaps is anything, Eddy considered as he continued to observe the larger android, it was fortunate that Dr. Light had their communication links installed inside their bodies as from the way that Time Man began to slightly tremble, it would've been nearly impossible for him to keep a steady grip on a mobile device, let alone a standard phone.
'What…what is this?' the machine found such alien yet horrid sensations and signals plaguing his body, though he couldn't discern of any potential malfunctions or glitches. 'What's…happening…to me?!' What was triggering this?! Nothing mentioned had been input in him to react to with considerable amount of distress. All Brain Bot was even mentioning was what currently happening at the institute! The institute…his institute…and that name, Kobayashi…he had heard that name before. His cousin…yes…even before he was…he had told him that he wanted to invite him over to the States. They would show him his project…THEIR project…
"Time Man? Time Man, do you read me?"
CLICK!
Chronos Institute
"Time Man? Time Man?!" No luck, the connection had just died. 'Damn…' Brain Bot cursed to himself, daring not to let such a…while considerably far less offensive and colorful than some of the other swears stored in his vocabulary, it was still unseemly to unleash it in the open to possibly prying ears. A creation such as he built solely FOR environments such as these, along with being a registered DLN? That simply wouldn't do.
Though his suspected fears of possibly being heard were taken into consideration, ultimately, lost the battle to the installed drive to continue with his assigned work. Yet even if the unseen party meant the shamrock green robot no harm, that particular party was rather thankful for his tendency to become immersed into his tasks, both present and planned to come, as while he knew that he was hypocritical due to his current desire for privacy, he was certain that the android his cousin was closely associated with would understand. After all, all that mattered in the end was the end result.
Another pang of guilt came over his gratefulness of the lower number of staff, both human and machine, being present at the premises…yet he had an update to give as well, though his contact was stationed at a far greater distance.
"You seem like your rather busy lately." The voice from Kobayashi's mobile device humorously jested.
"Apologies about that." The Asian scientist uneasily chuckled. He knew that while he was far from having to fear for his life, he was still beginning to tread on thin ice as his 'contribution' was already pushed behind scheduele…for the third time. Yet while he knew that pushing it back would do him little good to remedy it, this ultimately came first. "It's a little tense here. People keep looking over their shoulders, and being the cousin of the one heading over the project would look even more suspicious if he gets caught making 'private' calls at certain hours of the day."
"Hmmm…granted." Well, at least they weren't going to haggle him for this. "What have you learned so far?"
"Not too much yet. I only just as much as you and your country's government know, but I suspect that given how Light's present creation has been trying to contact that particular Robot Master, I imagine that he fits somewhere into this."
"How so?"
"Again, I'm unsure. Though I still have to keep my cover for now, I'll try and perhaps contact Dr. Light on this matter."
"Probably the best and most feasible move you can make at the given time. We're all waiting to hear from you again soon, Kobayashi."
"Oh, wait a moment!" it was far from an appropriate demeanor, yet he didn't wish for what he had to say to wait. "When do you intend to alert Dr. Light of our existence?"
The other line went silent for a moment, yet the unseen figure couldn't deny that despite not only their own, but everyone else's uncertainty on that matter, the Japanese man's question was indeed something in need of discussion.
"While we would all wish to do it on our own terms and conditions…I don't think I need to tell anyone in our little circle that our introduction to him and his prized creation will ultimately happen out of necessity."
New York City
1:25 PM
Somebody had to have caught him taking off, he knew it, yet it then lead to him lecturing himself on not actually savoring the ambient silence that had been so generously graced to him in the Big Apple of all places. Mega Man wasn't too sure whether or not his absence would be that much of a cause for alarm, as hopefully the general population (media not withstanding as he knew well by now) wouldn't take this as too much of an offense.
He just needed to get away. As cowardly and pathetic as it sounded, he just desperately needed to separate himself from the situation.
This place wasn't for public use, not even the overgrown, patch of grass that lay flattened by his weight wasn't open for others, yet the Blue Bomber couldn't really think of anywhere else to retreat to. They would probably be aiming for his residence and having a plethora of demanding, ravenous media hounds at his creator's door was out of the question. No…here, they couldn't reach him even if they wanted to. Here, he was at least partially protected, save if they were desperate enough to try and fly here to chase him down.
Mega Man couldn't deny the pang of guilt that assaulted his systems upon allowing himself to steadily become entranced by the surrounding, silent ambience as he knew that his first visit here was far from anything positive. Poor Alan…so close to freedom, yet so far. He could've possibly swam to the Bronx, yet given the teenaged boy's rather thin and, for lack of a better term, scrawny frame (especially compared to Mega Man himself), his chances of being able to swim the entire length of the East River were definitely not in his favor. He wasn't even sure that Alan COULD swim to begin with. Yet even with the hectic events of that day and Wily's contribution to them, being the very cause of a majority of them, the Blue Bomber found himself somewhat thankful for that day.
He was far from wishing to repeat those, oh dear God, no. The discovery of these small patches of land however, isolated and cut off from the roaring city, he couldn't deny that he was more than elated at the moment he had been given a chance to visit them and become acquainted with them in turn. Odd and, the more he considered it, downright morbid being that the history of the two islands was far from anything pleasant. If anything, they were rooted both in the cruel waiting for death to come claim those sentenced to it before they had even passed as well as the attempt to wrangle one's own life out of the clutches of addictive substances. Though perhaps that was why there was a strange attraction to the areas. It was just a speculation…perhaps even an incredibly fanciful thought, yet Mega Man theorized that here, in this moment at this very given time…there was a odd sense of understanding. A life that couldn't be saved…very much like the many shipped off to Riverside Hospital…there was a grim, yet shared understanding between them.
"Mega?" a light prodding to his side shifted his attention out of his immersed state, Rush gazing down at his 'master' with wide and curious, yet obviously concerned eyes.
"It's nothing, boy." Mega Man assured. Whilst he was given the privilege to not be required to speak the truth to fellow machines, the Blue Bomber wasn't one that was willing to take full advantage of that, along with the ruby canine's own programmed naivety. That and while the dog's displayed consideration for his well being, while appreciated, ultimately was sadly a waste. He couldn't help him…he wasn't too sure than anyone could.
"Maybe if you people actually got yourselves into gear and started something like this a long time ago, you wouldn't have to shove everything on Mega's shoulders and actually take care of your own problems!"
"Perhaps we should have! Then we wouldn't have to worry about making anymore of you damned tin cans!"
A damned tin can…those few words kept reverberating repeatedly in his memory bank. Technically the proper term would've been a damned titanium can…but perhaps Roll's statement held a good point. It wasn't unreasonable for the police department, let alone humans in general to want better ways to arm themselves. Of course, while he struggled not to do so, that only brought one single, horrifying question to seep in and consume his mind.
'What of me then? What would I do?'
BEEP! BEEP!
It looked like he had just been saved once again from his dwelling once again, his com-link signaling a call that…oddly enough held a number that he hadn't had put into his database.
"Hello?"
"How's life on your own private island?" that voice…Agent Krantz!? "No, don't worry. The Doc gave me your number and I guess you could say I sort of had a hunch of where'd you be."
"Agent Krantz, I…I'm sorry! I'll get out of here-"
"Hey, it's fine! We'll let it slide this time. But here's the thing: you mind coming back here to the mainland?" the azure armored android lifted himself up from his spot, his equally cerulean eyes spotting a police vehicle with a tan, red haired woman waving at him, her phone still placed by her ear while an older, Caucasian, and far more surly man sitting in the driver's seat. "No, no. You're not in trouble…at least not this time. But we'd like to have a little word with you." her tone then grew less jovial. "We got ourselves a little souvenir from Moscow…"
"BEAT!"
"It's not my fault if it hurts! You're the one that can't keep still!"
Oh, he was FAR more than willing to give the blonde Russian a firm tug on one of her curled, golden locks of hair, yet the truth was that the small bird had no one to really blame but himself in this case. Beat, while he was far from confined and trapped as Kalinka droned on and on to him of how SHE felt so, her continuous insistence to vocally express her woes in that high-pitched tone she gained whenever she had been complaining too long beginning to grate on his gears. He had known her long enough to know that whenever her timbre had reached the pitch, the azure bird knew well that her babbling wasn't worth listening to. The spherical avian knew that whilst he was created for the purpose of meeting the comforts and emotional needs of his creator's only daughter, nothing in his programing said anything about having to sit and listen to her, as some of the figures on the ridiculously small television had been saying, 'bitch and moan'.
So he politely requested that he be let outside…at least HE thought he politely requested. It certainly wasn't HIS fault that pecking at the glass window and nipping at her always full, thick head of hair was the only way to get her attention! Yet he did get his wish, to allow the wind to blow and carry him on higher and higher…right into the plastic ivy that had managed to get snared in his metallic feathers, the frantic flapping he was doing in order to dislodge himself in turn attracting the attention of whomever owned the farce decoration to the balcony and hit him square on the head with some blunt object, the end of a broom he theorized. It was far from causing any damage to him, yet the shock of it sent him plummeting a good few feet before he caught the railing of his owner's balcony, Annina having been the one to see the blue bird all tangled up and holding on for assumedly dear life.
That pretty much explained his current position, and his owner was far from happy given by the roughness of her pulling on the winding material.
"Babushka gave me an earful, you know." Kalinka expressed, Beat's wings far more entangled than she initially suspected. "Gave me all that 'he's your responsibility so you're the one that has to make sure he doesn't get himself into trouble!'" Beat had long grown tired of her voice, though he was soon about ready to express to her that simple correction didn't immediately translate to her grandmother completely giving her a full-blown lecture. Regardless of whether or not he DID fly too high without looking, she DID bear some leverage in the situation, as she was the one who let him out. He was at least pleased to see her face contort in anger upon alerting her of the whack he received to his head. Even if her currently expressed frustration was mainly due to her grandmother's correction, it was obvious as well that she was possibly just as disgruntled at the treatment displayed to him.
Though when it came to her grandmother, it seemed like she was taking it as if she had just escaped some perilous endeavor when that was far from the case! Oddly enough, as Beat had observed throughout the Russian young woman's life, she held such caution and trepidation around very few. Whether due to her own inflated sense of self or general naivety (more likely than not both), Kalinka didn't share much of her father's apprehension when it came to contact with other people. If anything, she almost immediately began to try and appease and win them over…save if that person had previously done something to anger her. Nope, she held little trouble with conversing with those that were practically complete strangers to her, yet the bird came to see that when it came to own family…all of that was completely and utterly discarded. Especially around Babushka Annina.
RING! RING!
Both Kalinka and Beat's attention was drawn away from the current predicament they had themselves in; more so Beat than his human owner, yet nevertheless, the sound of the doorbell drew their curiosity.
RING! RING!
"Yes, yes! I hear you well enough!" Annina's husky, heavily accented voice shouted, the sound of the door opening reaching both Kalinka and Beat, given that the small room that could hardly be considered a bedroom, let alone a room at all in Kalinka's opinion (closet not withstanding) was stationed right by the apartment's entrance.
"Kalinka!? There's someone here that wants to see you!"
"Can't say no to that, Ptichka." Kalinka sighed, signaling that his freedom from the plastic ivy would have to wait.
Exiting the room, the young blonde came face to face with a slightly portly, casually dressed man with a beige, collared t-shirt and simple, torn jeans with white tennis shoes. The most telling feature about him though was his large, full beard of vibrant, red fibers, it complimenting his short hair perfectly, a cigarette in his mouth. "Hey there, hun." He greeted, Kalinka gaining a sharp nudge in her side when she responded with a questioning look upon being addressed as 'hun'. No, he was FAR too old to be addressing her as 'hun'. "Sorry about this, but I think I might've had a little run in with your bird."
Bird? Wait…was he…"That was you?" she then darted a short distance back to her room, returning with the aforementioned bird cradled in her arms, he along with his owner bearing a rather offended glare. "YOU did that to Ptichka?"
"Well, no. I mean, he got himself sort of tangled up in my wife's-"
"I mean that YOU were the one that beat him on his poor little head?"
"Oh that. Uh…yeah. Really, it was just an involuntary response, really! When I saw him falling-"
"And he fell because YOU hit him!" Beat responded by presenting as best of a puppy dog pout he could muster. "Poor little thing could've fallen and smashed himself up! Or smash something important!"
"Kalinka, that's enough!" Annina cut in, the blonde going silent, yet she still communicated that she was still far from being on good terms with the one that had assaulted her bird.
"Yeah, really. I AM sorry. I hit him on the head, yeah, but the second he started falling, I tried to snag the ivy to try and lift him up, but it slipped out of my hands…"
Annina nodded. "Yes, well, I also apologize for my granddaughter's OBVIOUS lack of social graces. She's knows that you're sorry, don't you?" she sternly gazed down at the younger girl.
"Yes, Babushka."
"And?"
"And…sorry for overacting, Mister…"
"Mike." The red haired man chuckled. "Mister Michael Corlett." Though he knew that it was far from the most polite thing to do, yet he couldn't keep his prying eyes from looking in the…nearly empty living room that held only a medium sized television sitting atop a collection of folded, flattened, cardboard boxes with a couple of lawn chairs. "You…uh…you guys just move in or something?"
Annina immediately signaled to Kalinka to keep quiet. "Well…yes and no. Yes, we just 'moved in', but…I suppose you can say that we're having a small issue when it comes to furniture."
"Did it get stolen?" Mike questioned, he displaying a look of understanding. "You don't have to say, but I'm no stranger to that. Me and the misses had ours held up for a good few months after that damned company demanded more money than we initially agreed to. We won the case and got it back, but, pardon my French, but we've yet to see one dime from those bastards."
To his surprise, neither of the two women, both young or old, were too affected by the release of his vulgar spouts, both exchanging somewhat amused glances with each other.
"Young man, from what I've seen and experienced in my lifetime and probably have YET to experience yet, language is far from the worst that's come my way."
"Oh, well…uh, that good! I think…" Mike nervously laughed, completely unsure of how to even respond to the old woman's remark.
"And our furniture wasn't stolen, it…" Annina paused. "Well, let's just say that the situation's more complicated than either of us would've expected."
"Okay, okay, don't mean any offense. But…" he looked in again. "Wife just got back from the grocery and we usually have a lot let over on 'stew nights', so…" he was moving on too soon perhaps, yet continuing to look at the emptiness of the apartment clouded his judgment even more. "If she's okay with it, you care to join us tonight?"
Skull Fortress
Oh, this was beyond anything he could've imaged! Yet if he managed to keep himself on track and get this project done, then…oh then it truly WOULD be beyond anything he could've imaged!
"You have NO idea what you're missing, Thomas…" Albert Wily mused, thin, long fingers continuing to tinker and fasten several inner workings of the featureless, metal husk lying motionless on the operating table. "This one right here…oh, it already FAR surpasses what that stout idiot had done with you!"
It wasn't as if he were lying either, he had made SURE of that aspect! That prototype's schematics were nestled in the plethora of Kouin's files and in turn, more and more discoveries and experimenting came to fruition. Yes, there were some setbacks, yet Wily thought nothing of it. After all, even one of his brilliance was not exempt from the frustrating yet necessary process of trial and error…and now, those errors were gone. Errors that Kouin couldn't work around or resolve; yet he had done so in little to no time, and the method that worked was the first proposed theory that he thought up!
He had made it better, he had made it superior, something that Thomas could truly see and declare as a creative and, dare he say, genius idea! He couldn't ignore him now! No, this time, it would be impossible!
He had to momentarily set down the wrench that he held in his hand, the chill of the metal almost scorching hot thanks to both the intensity of his grip and length of time it was held. Damned restrictions…he had been working his body too hard again, his arm cramping up and his hankering for a good few painkillers very strong at that present moment.
The balding scientist could practically HEAR Proto Man's snide sarcastic statements going to work on making his body's conditions known to himself and everyone else within earshot. 'Oh, you WOULD do that, wouldn't you? Little shit…' the old man's left hand began to reach up his right sleeve, shortened, yet still present nails beginning to rake and graze against the hidden skin. The pressing became more and more forceful, he knowing well that he would be breaking the skin soon, yet he cared little for that fact. If anything, the rush that he gained upon fresh blood being released was far more of a benefit that allowed him to ignore the continuous sting that came with the self-inflicted injury. The scientist's blue eyes wandered towards his unfinished project (the one of many, yet it was the one he had a deadline put on himself for), the smooth, reflective surface drawing his already ignited fascination.
"You know, that thing down there is STILL keeping us all up at night."
Well, speak of the literal devil…
"You're a machine, boy." Wily dully retorted, the fingers of his left hand still going to work on the flesh of his right arm. "The most you or any other walking bucket of bolts need is just a hour or two recharge."
"Of course the same can't be said for you, can it, Doc?"
"Aren't you supposed to be getting energy for that thing? Sooner I get the materials I need to complete it, the sooner it can be allowed out without anymore test runs to see if it's still running, and that means the sooner YOU can stop bitching to me about your lack of sleep!" the balding, lab coat wearing human angrily turned away from the red armored android. "Besides, sleep in itself is more of a luxury than a necessity for you all, isn't it?"
Proto Man's smirk faltered for a moment, yet it just a few seconds, it returned to its former shape. "Just another perk of being made of metal, Doc." His concealed eyes then spotted his right sleeve apparently housing more than just his arm. "Ugh. And here I thought you would've tried to actually quit that nasty habit."
Though his patience was almost always running thin and far from lenient, Wily's had already spent his current supply of the valued virtue far long ago. "WOULD YOU JUST…GRAAHH!" he bellowed, throwing his hands up in frustration, the action of clutching and pulling at the greying fibers of his hair having lost its effect the last hundred times he had done it. "JUST GO OUT AND MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL OR SOMETHING!"
Well, since he was feeling so accommodating at the moment…"Go out and spy on little bro work for you?"
"YES! FINE! GO WATCH THAT BLUE BRAT ALL YOU WANT! HELL, TAKE A FEW PHOTOS OF HIM WHEN HE'S IN THE SHOWER! JUST GET OUT!"
He would've wanted nothing more than to stay longer as this was quite frankly both hilarious and excellent payback for the plethora of nights that damned mechanical beast had kept hollering its synthesized screeches and howls all because Wily decided that it testing its functions out in the middle of the night was an oh-so-excellent idea.
"Hey, whatever you say, Doc." It was far from the worst he could've responded with, yet the sheer amount of sarcasm oozing from every word of that short response was nearly enough to send Wily over the edge.
Yet nearly enough didn't translate to enough, as it meant that the robot would finally be leaving him alone and to his work. In fact, before the old man could even utter 'get out', he found himself once again deserted with the unfinished automaton as the only present company.
"Damn brat…" Wily snarled, his left hand wandering back inside his right sleeve. "Lucky I don't just take a drill and split your temple right open! That'll fix you! Yes…" he mused, flinching slightly upon his nails catching on the edges of newly formed scabs produced by their previous actions on his arm. "That'd do us both some REAL good…"
He knew that it would probably be best to get back to completing the motionless android stationed on the table, yet his current fixation on the lifeless, humanoid collection of metal and wires demanded that it be fed with just a few more moments of being allowed to gaze upon its object of interest…along with his nails continuing to ravage and tear the flesh of his arm until their hunger was temporarily satiated. Though the scientist was more than confident that his creation would be the ideal demonstration of whom the superior intellect belonged to, Wily couldn't help but find his mind reminiscing to only a couple of months ago, the sight of that prototype Light and that imbecile Kouin completely at his mercy…open and exposed for his eyes to examine and study…oh, the memories still remained with him even with the number of sleepless nights becoming more and more frequent.
'Alright, perhaps Proto complaints DO have some merit…though I'LL be the one to decide when to run test runs on whichever machine I choose AND whenever I choose! Damn machine…'
Damn machine indeed. Damned flawless, perfect, well crafted…beautiful collection of glistening, shimmering metal. Odd that Wily found himself pondering and dwelling back on the android that he was currently working to perfect and surpass with his own hands, yet the privilege that he had gained that day…
"Oh Thomas…indeed, even after all this time, you STILL haven't lost your touch…"
Time Man…it was evident from the second he laid his hands on him that he was a creation of Light's. Yes, Kouin might've had SOME contribution…whatever it was, yet the true craftsmanship, the true, technological wonder that the Robot Master presented, even if just registered as a prototype…no. ALL of that belonged to Thomas and Thomas alone.
So…why?
Even if he had run the entire string of possibilities through his brain again and again, possibly what he estimated to be just around hundreds, maybe even a million times…the answer never came to him.
'Why?' he asked each and every time. 'What could that pudgy little oaf provide for you that I couldn't?'
New York City
Undisclosed Location
2:15 PM
"Alright, you SURE you're okay with seeing this?" Roslyn Krantz questioned Mega Man for what he could've assumed to be the hundredth time.
"Yes, I'm fine." He answered her, also for the hundredth time. "Why are you so reluctant to let me see this?"
"Never thought I'd be one to say this, but I'm on the bolt bucket's side, Krantz." Gilbert Stern agreed, though the aforementioned 'bolt bucket' found himself more than a little hurt by the comment, even if he knew better than to show it openly. Especially in front of humans such as these two…defenders of the human race such as he was…right? "You're really making a fuss out of nothing, don't you think?"
The tan, red haired woman released a somewhat irritable sigh, though the frustration seemed to not be directly aimed at either of them. "I just don't want him to watch anything that could cause him to be uncomfortable, that's all." She stressed.
While he was more than receptive that at least ONE of them seemed to be taking him into consideration, the Blue Bomber couldn't keep himself from prying further. "Uncomfortable?"
"I mean..." Agent Krantz began to strain, her mind searching for the appropriate words to clearly explain herself…of which was becoming something of a harder task than she initially had hoped. "It's nothing too HORRIBLE or anything. I mean…it's not like it's a tape showing anybody getting killed, but for people-" the officer paused, biting her bottom lip and appearing as if she was mentally berating herself for an error she had made. "Well…for 'individuals' of your…'class'…" she found those terms oddly harder to expel than she had hoped…and the brief moments she swore she could've caught Mega Man's expression change didn't help matters for anyone present. "It contains some images that I suppose you could consider…upsetting."
"Upsetting…how?"
"Look Ros, YOU'RE the one that wanted to arrange this and if I recall, we don't have ourselves a 'all you can use' permit here." Gilbert reminded the younger woman.
"Okay, okay! Geez, don't have a fit, Gil." Taking a small flash drive out of her coat pocket, Roslyn inserted into the USB drive of the available computer stationed in the room, the single smart board positioned on the northern wall displaying that the device had successfully been read and was ready for use.
"Okay…" she uneasily stated, her bright, amber eyes traveling to the robot sitting in the chair that had been pulled away form the room's table and chair set, he in turn giving her the silent approval to begin. "While yes, this is for our benefit as well because of some of the later footage, yet…well, just let me know if it gets to be too much for you."
Note: One of the few 6,000 (even if it is 7,000 if you round up) I'll let slide by. Thank you all for your understanding.