A pair of robotic children, one boy and one girl, conversed and worked in front of the open access panel of a new specialized robot.
"Can you reach it if I hold it?"
"I should. Hang on…" The girl's hand opened at one of her fingertips, revealing a welding tip. The rest of her hand shifted around it to create its base. Using her free hand to keep the Light Labs insignia in place, she used the tool to solder the inner ID plate to the interior of the robot. "Okay, got it," she said, pulling away.
"That means we're done!" the boy declared, shutting the outer access panel. Like his sister's, his hand turned into a screwdriver, which he used to reseal the panel back in place. "That's everyone, Dr. Light."
A kind-looking old man with a full, soft white beard watched his children, the boy with blue eyes and brown hair in a blue t-shirt and shorts, and the blonde blue-eyed girl in a red dress, emerge from behind the line of new robots.
"Thank you, Rock and Roll," he said, watching Rock's arm shift back from the screwdriver head. When Rock and Roll approached, Dr. Thomas Xavier Light grabbed them affectionately by the shoulders. "The Robot Masters are finally ready. I couldn't have done this without you."
"But you built us on your own, Doctor," Rock pointed out.
"True, but six new robots from scratch, each with their own unique and specific functions, is an even more massive undertaking. Thank you both for helping me. Now, for tonight, at least, we can relax."
"Not quite," Roll insisted. "Look at this place! We've been so busy building the Robot Masters that the lab itself is a complete mess!"
Rock and Dr. Light glanced around the lab and found that the edges of worktables and the entirety of desktops were covered in spare parts, nuts and bolts, oil canisters, tools, and blueprints, all spread as if with no method whatsoever.
"Oh… I guess it is," Rock gingerly agreed.
"I appreciate your concern as always, Roll," Dr. Light said, "but we've all been working for so long. You two have earned a break just as much as I have—perhaps even more."
"Then Rock and I will clean and reorganize the lab while you get ready for bed," Roll decided.
"Wait, both of us?" Rock asked.
"It's only fair to Dr. Light, Rock!" Roll insisted. "We don't need to rest in the same way that Dr. Light does. And do you know exactly how many late nights he's had while doing this?"
"Eighty-seven?" Rock offered.
"Exactly," Roll deadpanned. She looked at Dr. Light. "You can go ahead, Doctor. We'll take care of this."
"Well, Roll, I think the mess can wait one more night—" Dr. Light started.
"Nope! I'm taking care of this now so you won't have to dig through everything," Roll said. "And I'll do it myself if I have to!" she added, looking at Rock.
"No, I'll help," Rock said. "I just think—"
"I know what you're going to say, and I don't want to hear it," Roll said, already making her way to a work table.
"But I didn't even—" Rock started, following her.
"You don't have to," Roll said.
Dr. Light chuckled. When he'd decided to build twin assistants, he'd never dreamed that all three of them would become this close. He watched in a mix of amusement and delight as Rock and Roll conversed and worked like a human brother and sister might.
He wished he'd done it sooner. Much, much sooner…
Then, pausing in her gathering of loose objects, Roll looked at him. "Dr. Light? Aren't you heading to bed?"
Dr. Light laughed. "I know I should be. But if it's all right with you, I'd like to spend a little more time here and keep you company."
"Dr. Light—"
"I know, Roll. But can you blame me for wanting to spend time with my children?"
Roll smiled. "All right. When you put it that way, I guess I can't. Just leave the heavy lifting to us. You've done enough for today."
Dr. Light sat in a chair by a worktable. "Thank you, Roll."
"So…" Rock started. "These Robot Masters. I've been wondering about them."
"Wondering what, my boy?" Dr. Light asked.
"I know why you designed and built them and what they can do, but I guess… I've been wondering about them. What they're like. But we're not really going to get to see much of them once they're shipped out and working, huh?"
"They'll be sending me data on an almost constant basis, which I'll have to analyze to help them refine and improve their abilities," Dr. Light said. "So I'll still be working with them for a long time."
"Well, I mean… we probably won't really have the chance to get to know them. We won't know what kinds of personalities they have, or what things about the world they like or don't like, or how they feel about us."
"Oh," Dr. Light realized. "I… I suppose not."
"I mean, you're their creator, just like you are with us, Dr. Light. And they have similar hardware and similar AI…" Rock continued. "That makes you their father, too, right?"
Dr. Light didn't answer right away, but he knew his son was right, in a sense. He knew from the start that these robots would be sent to companies all around the world to aid in their dream projects and revolutionize human-robot relations. He designed and built them with the same care and attention to detail as he had for Rock and Roll, but he hadn't gotten attached to them in the same way. He realized now that Rock, at least, did.
"So they're like our younger brothers, too… right?" Rock finished, looking up. "Dr. Light?"
Light Labs was an isolated compound about half an hour's drive from the heart of the city, and it was directly attached to Dr. Light's house so he could live and work in the same area. He would never be too far from both his passions and his comforts, and he could raise Rock and Roll to see the world much like human children.
The compound was surrounded by forest, and it was there that Gancena and her friends appeared.
It was a much more stable landing than Kanto's had been, with everyone still standing. But Gancena still felt as if her insides had to set back into place, as if she'd just been riding an elevator.
"All right. Seems we're here," she declared. "How is everyone?"
"That was so weird!" Ash exclaimed from her shoulder.
"I'm okay," Biran added.
"Me, too," said Floss.
"I think it went smoothly," said Haunter, floating to Gancena's side. "So… ah," he said, his eyes landing on the only building in the area. "That's our destination, then."
Gancena looked. She saw a beige two-story house, and jutting off the side was a sleeker square-shaped building with its own door. The top read "Light Labs".
She swallowed. They'd made it. "It sure is."
"The immediate area is clear of Thoughtless," Mewtwo declared. "What will you do?"
"Oh. Well, uh…" Gancena started, trailing off into careful thought. Her end goal was to find the Runestone and purge the Thoughtless from this world. She knew that it would involve working together with Mega Man and his family.
Gancena then realized she had no idea where in the series' timeline she was. Was she really at the beginning? Did Mega Man even really exist yet? In any sense?
"It depends on a lot," Gancena said to herself. "Hang on." She took a seat and thought further. If Mega Man was around, then she could simply ask about the Thoughtless and go from there. But if he wasn't… well, she could ask about the Runestone.
It was unlikely that any of them had the Runestone, and really, it would be a disappointingly short journey if they did, but asking might just have been worth the try. If anything, that would open up the discussions between them.
Gancena nodded. That would be her opener.
But what was she to do with the Pokémon right then…? There were no creatures like them in this world. She didn't want to scare or alienate any of the Light family. She would have to ease them in to the details of her journey. Just like Red, and Rose, and everyone she had to tell her story to. But would it be good to start now, or to wait a moment? If anyone, she'd likely go with Ash... and if they asked, she could pass her off as a rare creature or… even her own advanced creation?
No, no, no, she didn't know enough about robotics to make that kind of pass.
"Okay, I'm going by myself," Gancena decided.
"Aw, why?" Ash asked immediately.
"Asking about the Thoughtless and the Runestone are going to be odd enough questions for them. I'll introduce you guys later. I gotta ease them into this. Much like you all and Red before, really. Come to think, that's pretty much how it's going to go, isn't it? Ask relevant people about the Thoughtless and the Rune and just work from there."
"If that's what you want," Mewtwo said. "But if you want to ease them in, as you say, you might want to remove your Super Scope and Power Pad."
Gancena looked down at herself. "Oh, whoops." She immediately removed her belt, deciding to tuck it into her backpack and take it up onto her back. She hoped she looked enough like a traveler. "All right."
Ash sighed behind her.
Gancena trotted out of the trees and towards the door, looking at all features of the building. The laboratory itself was put up front, with the house standing behind. There was a stark difference in architecture: The lab was sleek and stark white and efficiently placed while the two-story house was all weatherproof paneling and tempered brick. The lab would have fit well in Gancena's school, and the house in her own neighborhood.
She came to the door and paused, realizing that sitting above the doorbell—she assumed—was a speaker and a small screen. She should have guessed Dr. Light would have something like this. She tugged up her pants as much as she could, set her feet firmly in her shoes, tightened her ponytail, and stood up straight. This was it.
She pressed the button. A doorbell sound rang softly inside.
The Light family heard the doorbell go off, and Dr. Light's watch beeped. "Hm? Who could be at the door at this hour?"
"I can go get it if you'd like, Dr. Light," Rock offered.
"It's all right, Rock. You and Roll continue what you were doing. I'll see who it is from here." Dr. Light tapped the watch, showing the view from the doorbell's camera. Gancena's face appeared on the little screen, waiting. "Hello?"
Outside, Gancena's heart jumped when she saw Dr. Light's face similarly come onto the screen above the doorbell, his greeting coming perfectly clearly through the speaker. She was briefly stricken by how… real he was. There were his soft blue eyes and full white beard, all on a properly proportioned face. "Hi," she finally started. "Hi, my name is Gancena and, uh, I know it's a really odd time, but I really need to ask about something."
"At this time?" Dr. Light asked.
"Yeah. …It's not too late, is it? I can come back tomorrow if—"
"No, it's all right. If you're coming here to ask questions, it must be important to you. Go on."
"Ah! Thank you. See, I'm looking for something. A golden stone…" she held her hands up in a circle once again, "about this big? By any chance?"
"No, I can't say I have," Dr. Light answered.
"Yeah, I knew it was unlikely, but I'm just going anywhere trying to find some kind of start," Gancena said, briefly scratching her head. "But also… you haven't seen anything else unusual, either? Like… like a moving… shadow? Moving on its own, I mean, not physically cast by anything."
"What do you mean?"
"Shadows are normally the result of something blocking the path of light, right? But these don't. They're just… there."
"I can't say I've seen anything like that, either."
"Okay, then. Again, sorry to come like this and ask about these things, but like I said: I'm going anywhere for a lead. Don't worry about them too much if you haven't."
"Why are you looking for these things?"
"Ah," Gancena started, "well, the stone… it's important to me. And the shadows..." Gancena paused. On one hand, the Light family needed to know what to do if Thoughtless did come by when she wasn't around. But on the other, she didn't want to scare them or have them think she was crazy enough to warrant calling the police or a mental institution. "…Just… if you see them, try not to be alone. Have someone with you, if you can. They can be… frightening when they catch someone alone."
Dr. Light's brow furrowed. "I'm not sure I understand."
Gancena was at a loss on how to continue. So she decided to say so. "It's… hard to explain unless it happens."
A long silence. Gancena began to worry, already thinking ahead to interrogations and hospitals—
"Are you all right?" Dr. Light asked softly.
"Physically, yes. I'm just… not sure what to do right now," she admitted.
"…If you'll give us a bit of time to prepare a room, you can stay here tonight."
Gancena's brows shot up. "Aaaah, no, that's all right, really—"
"It really is fine with me."
"I don't want to impose—" Again! She added to herself.
"You're not."
"Well, you see—I'm not alone," she blurted. "I'm the leader of a tiny group, but, you see, my friends—they're… neither human nor robot. They're not like anyone or anything else," she explained hastily, feeling her face heat up.
Dr. Light paused before asking, "…You have pets with you?"
"…Sort… of?" Gancena managed. "I mean… they're not animals. Some of them look like animals… ...It's weird to explain. …If you're really okay with me—with us—spending the night here, that's fine, but I think it's easier if I just show you my situation. Can you come out?"
"That's all right. Give us a moment. Take your time."
"Thank you."
Dr. Light ended the conversation, his watch returning to its default mode.
"Dr. Light," Roll asked, approaching him, "are you really going to let someone you don't know stay in the house?"
"Yes," Dr. Light answered. "People should help each other in any way they can. This young woman is looking for something but doesn't seem at all sure where to start. The least I can do is make sure she needn't worry about shelter tonight."
"But what was she talking about?" Rock asked. "A golden stone? Moving shadows? Her companions?"
"I can't say I quite understand it, either," Dr. Light said, "but I'd like to try to see where she's coming from."
Gancena felt her stomach sink.
So much for easing them in, kid!
She began screaming internally and looked over her shoulder, sending the thought in Mewtwo's direction.
Stop that, he said.
Gancena did.
You would have had to do it eventually.
Yes, but I didn't mean to like… dump it all this soon! But, uh, I'm gonna need you guys over here, yeah?
I'll let the others know.
Thank you.
Seconds later, Ash sped down to Gancena's side and immediately leaped on her to climb onto her shoulder, and Biran trotted after with Floss on his back and Shiimeji at his side. Mewtwo hovered slowly behind, but hung back significantly from the rest of the group.
What are you doing? Gancena asked.
Don't worry about me. Just handle the situation.
Gancena began to think of a response when the door opened. She whipped her attention back to it, feeling her stomach tingle.
There he was: Dr. Thomas Light, every bit the Good Doctor she'd imagined, still in his lab coat, smudged in places, and soft-looking pants and slippers. He opened the door with a kind smile, but immediately stopped upon seeing Gancena's companions.
"Hi," Gancena managed.
"My word!" he started. "These are your companions?"
"Yeah. I know they look strange—"
"Your horse!" called another voice, and Gancena's heart jumped when Rock approached the door and stood in front of Dr. Light. "It's—! …Not… burning?"
"That's Biran," Gancena said. "And, yeah, that fire is his mane. It's totally under his control." She began to pet his neck, letting the flames touch her hand. "He doesn't burn anything unless he really means to."
"Oh…" Rock tentatively raised his hand and glanced at Dr. Light.
Gancena noticed. "It's perfectly safe. I promise."
Dr. Light said, "Go on, Rock."
Rock laid his hand atop the flames on Biran's head, and while they were hot, they didn't sear or burn. He'd never felt anything like it. "That's amazing."
Roll approached. "Where did you find him? Or any of them?"
"That's the most unbelievable part of it all," Gancena started. "See, this is going to sound unbelievable, but… I'm on a journey between worlds. Everyone with me right now came from the first world I visited."
"Yeah! Gancena came to our world looking for the Runestone and now we're doing the same over here!" Ash blurted.
"Let me do it, Ash," Gancena said, flustering. "I'm trying not to overwhelm them…"
"Did that come from your…?" Dr. Light trailed, trying to decide what to call the small yellow creature.
"Yeah," Gancena answered, "They can't speak human languages without practice, so Mewtwo set it up so they could speak telepathically instead. Ah, let me introduce you all properly…"
"But I didn't hear anything…" Rock said.
"Me, neither," added Roll.
"Eh? Really?" Gancena asked. "Ash, can you say 'hello' for me?"
"Hello?" Ash asked.
"How many of you heard that?"
"I did," said Dr. Light.
"I didn't," said Roll.
"Me, neither…" said Rock.
"But why!?" Ash cried.
Gancena immediately wondered if it was because Rock and Roll were robotic, but she kept quiet. Dr. Light hadn't said anything about that, so if she mentioned it, it would bring up more questions.
She decided to change the subject. "Well, we'll worry about that later. I was about to introduce us," she reminded. "So on my shoulder," Gancena began, placing a hand on Ash's back, "is Ash."
"Hi!" Ash squeaked.
"And you've seen Biran up close already," she continued, patting Biran's shoulder.
Biran briefly lowered his head. "Nice to meet you all."
"On his back is Floss."
"Good evening!" she greeted, bowing gracefully.
"Hovering here is Shiimeji Haunter."
"But Shiimeji's a title, so you can simply call me Haunter," Haunter added.
"I thought they couldn't speak?" Dr. Light questioned.
"Most of them can't. Haunter's had plenty of time to practice. Oh, and…" Gancena briefly stepped aside to let Mewtwo be visible. "This is Mewtwo. He's psychic. Please don't be too bothered if he seems… aloof."
Mewtwo gave a small nod in acknowledgment.
"Well, then…" Dr. Light started. He paused and hummed briefly, deciding to approach this new strangeness like the scientist he was. "I admit there are some things about your companions that indeed need to be seen to be believed… Them being from another world, as you say, is a viable explanation. First, when you say that, do you mean they're alien? Or do you mean another dimension?"
"The latter."
"And what about you?"
"From another dimension still."
"And do you have any solid proof of this?" Dr. Light continued.
"I'm afraid I don't. Just them, my word, and the stone I previously found in their world."
"So there's another stone? May I see it?"
"Well, sure, but… I'm only meant to summon it when I need to, uh… use it."
"Use it how?"
"I… could show you, but it's an ability meant for combat, you see. I'd need something to aim at."
"You can summon a Rune without using it," Mewtwo clarified. "It's intent without action. If it's not followed upon, nothing happens."
"Oh. That's good to know," said Gancena. She glanced back at the Light family, and it was clear from their expressions that Rock and Roll hadn't heard a peep from Mewtwo, but Dr. Light had.
She called, "Rune Power!" The Pokémon Runestone appeared on Gancena's chest. "Here, take a look. This is about the size of the stone."
Dr. Light approached carefully and examined the Rune. When he finished, he said, "Well, all this proves that you're certainly an extraordinary group… for the moment, all I can really do is either assume what you're saying is true or conclude that I need more information."
"Fair enough," Gancena said. "So… what happens now?"
"…Aren't…" Rock started.
"Yes, Rock?"
"Aren't you going to introduce us, Dr. Light?" he asked.
"Oh! Forgive me, everyone, but I've completely forgotten my manners."
"I understand," Gancena said, chuckling. "I know this is all so weird."
"And yet, here we are," Dr. Light said. "I am Doctor Thomas Light, and these are my children, Rock and Roll."
Haunter chortled immediately, trying to suppress it behind his hand.
"What can I say?" Dr. Light responded, smiling and shrugging. "I have a great love of many genres of music."
Rock extended his hand to Gancena. "It's nice to meet you."
Gancena glanced at Rock's big blue eyes and felt a cheerful thrill go up her spine. She took his hand. "Nice to meet you, too, Rock."
"And I'm Roll," Roll said, doing the same.
"Hello, Roll."
"Your name's Gancena, right?" Roll asked. "You said so when Dr. Light answered the doorbell."
"Ah, yes! I didn't introduce myself at all beyond that. My name's Gancena, yes. And, uh… thank you for letting us stay the night. …I suppose I was wrong about one thing during the call, though I didn't realize it."
"What's that?" Dr. Light asked.
"I am kind of lost."
Dr. Light smiled and chuckled. "Worry not. Though… I'm not entirely sure how we'll hold you all comfortably, particularly… Biran, was it?"
As Biran nodded in confirmation, Gancena explained, "If we need more room, we can make it." She shrugged her backpack off, crouched, and opened a pouch, partly pulling her belt out and plucking a Poké Ball off. "Everyone except Mewtwo has one of these Poké Balls," she explained, pressing the center to make it grow. "They can go in their own at any time. I just wanted to have them out with me at first."
Dr. Light's eyes widened one more time. "What marvels you carry with you…! Do come in, everyone. I have so many more questions…"
Absolutely none of them noticed the small spying robot that had a perfect view of Light Labs. Nor had it seen anything of Gancena or her group. The camera pointed towards the laboratory, but not the house. And even if they had seen it, not even Dr. Light would have been able to trace it back, far back, to a fortress on a small, private island somewhere in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Dr. Albert William Wily had covered his tracks with extreme care, and all his bided time was about to pay off.
The world would pay him all his due respect.
His dark, beady eyes stared tirelessly at the feed, just waiting for the lights to shut off. Work-worn hands folded under a bushy gray mustache. Though the top of Wily's head was bald, what hair remained was as wild as his mind was in that moment.
He glanced briefly at the little plastic case next to him, with eight chips emblazoned with a W, each perfectly in place in their own pocket, all practically glowing in anticipation. No, no, not glowing… the shadows subtly surrounding each of them could not glow. They pulsed. Yes, they pulsed as they waited to be installed into their intended places in Dr. Light's own Robot Masters.
It had been the perfect seed for a perfect plan, when Light mentioned he would begin making advanced specialized robots. They'd been in and out of touch for years, but that one project was a perfect ignition point. The address of Light Labs hadn't changed. Wily's spying drone was there quickly, and quite comfortably so.
It had been from there that he could see Light and his two helper bots assemble six of the intended eight Masters—two of them, Light admitted later, had functions so complicated and unique that they would require further research and development before they could even begin being built. Still, Wily had prepared protocol chips for them, just in case Light would announce some great breakthrough, as he often did. Such an announcement never came, but Wily didn't care. Six was more than enough.
In the present, he pondered one more time, as he often had, if he should bring along the most complex and powerful robot in his arsenal to the break-in. Wily was absolutely certain he would succeed either way. But would it be better to show off his own genius early on? Or to save it in case one of the Robot Masters couldn't quite hold out like he hoped?
Of course, there was also the issue of sentiment… sure, before the combat modifications, he'd pledged his life to Wily out of gratitude for the life-saving procedure he'd put into place. But, well… being from Light Labs originally, would that be enough to, say, break the deal?
Despite his concerns, Wily cackled to himself at that phrasing.
Then, the moment he waited for came.
The lights turned off.
Break Man was probably still resting.
That decided it. He'd do it himself. And just in case, he'd keep Light's involvement a tightly-locked secret.
Between the protocol chips, the endless drones produced by his Robot Factory, and the strange but helpful energy entities that had made their presence known, Wily knew that his victory was certain.
The world was his.
Additional Disclaimer: Mega Man and its characters, objects, locations, and scenarios belong to Capcom.
