Episode 17, Chapter 4: Best Laid Plans
Skull Fortress.
In his workshop, Dr. Wily is still grinning ear-to-ear with sinister delight. In fact, he has been smiling so much that his face feels sore. But, the mad doctor has good reason to smile, for the day has finally come.
After numerous redesigns and delays over the past year, Dr. Wily's ultimate robot is finally complete and today is the day he will be brought online and take his first steps in this world, which Wily aims to conquer.
And in one week, this new robot will be the focal point of Dr. Wily's next attack, which is expected to take place at the venue of the Presidential Debate. He had wanted his mole on this inside to find them a way to sneak inside the venue for a surprise attack, but he has not heard from the robot yet. But, with a robot as overwhelmingly powerful as this new one is, it will not matter. This is the only robot Dr. Wily will ever need. This will be the robot to end the war.
None of his other robots even know about this debate attack yet. Not even Bass.
Dr. Wily stands before his ultimate robot and proclaims, "Finished at last."
With a dramatic pull, Wily removes the white sheet covering the ultimate robot and marvels at what lays on the table in front of him.
The robot's extremely durable litanium armor is red, black and white and is punctuated by the deep green shade of Wily's two replica spheres built into the torso armor.
The helmet of the robot matches that of his armor, and is accentuated by a blue triangular jewel at the center of it. And both of his rounded shoulder joints bare Dr. Wily's familiar 'Dr. W' logo.
The robot has a decidedly male physique, but the facial features are somewhat softer then any male robot he has ever created, and a long ponytail of blonde hair protrudes from the back of the robot's helmet.
Given this robot's physical features, it could be easy for some to be unsure precisely what gender it would be at first glance.
And attached to the robot's right hip is a sheath for the robot's deadly Jadous Saber, the weapon so powerful that managed to strike fear into the heart of Bass.
"Yes... truly magnificent," Wily says aloud, grinning from ear-to-ear, rubbing his hands together, "There are only two things left to do now: his programming and his name. And my new boy must have a name befitting of a robot of his caliber..."
Wily begins rattling off potential names for the new robot... "Ultimate Man! Yes, Ultimate Man! ... No, that sounds far too heroic... Final Man! ... or, Doom Man! ... No, no, no! None of these names are fitting! This robot deserves a name that perfectly reflects the chances Mega Man and his pitiful family have at ever defeating him: no chance at all!"
After a moment of thinking, Dr. Wily's eyes caught the temporary registry number, which he had not yet set to it's proper number in the series... 'DWN-000'
Albert then grinned as an idea for a unique name popped into his mind. It was an unconventional one, but one that he thinks will work quite well.
He then approaches his lab equipment and types this prospective name into a keypad. Wily then entered the usual "Man" suffix at the end, but Wily then deleted it, leaving this robot with a single name. Bass did not need the "Man" suffix attached to his name, and neither does this robot. It was just right.
And come to think of it, there was no need to change the registry number either. So, he leaves it be.
Once Dr. Wily christens the new robot with its new name, there is only one thing left to do now. The robot's programming and directives must be uploaded into his complex systems, which are far more advanced than any A.I. construct Dr. Wily has ever built for any of his robots, even more than that of any robot ever built thus far.
This is a robot this was built for the next century, but is about to come to life in this one, and Dr. Wily is sure it will catch all of civilization off guard and seal their doom once and for all.
Once the robot's name is entered, Dr. Wily grabs a data pad and connects a cable from the pad into a port on the access panel of the ultimate robot. This data pad has the robot's programing and directives, including his loyalty to Dr. Wily himself. And there will not be any errors or corruption like there was with Nomad/Soprano. This programming process will surely go smoothly. How could it possibly go wrong?
Dr. Wily enters a command to begin the upload of the programming to the robot's systems and he watches with a smile on his face, waiting to see how long the upload will take before his new boy can enter this world.
After a few moments, the data pad reads, 'Beginning program upload' followed by, 'calculating time to completion...'
Dr. Wily slowly rubs his hands together as he awaits the estimated upload time. He then sees the data pad read, 'Estimated upload time: 10 hours'
"Ten hours?... that's much longer than I expected," he says, concerned about the excessive installation time before shrugging it off. "No matter! By tomorrow morning, the robot who will slay Mega Man will arrive at long last! Then, when it's time for our windbag politicians to run their mouths next Sunday night, America and the rest of the world will watch in terror is my new robot makes his grand debut and cuts down their hero Mega Man, leaving him in a pool of his own oil! The rest will be easy. The others will fall just as quickly, and Proto will be brought home at last, and the world will be mine at last."
'Recalculating' the data pad then reads, replacing the estimated time which was just there. It then read, 'Estimated upload time: 21 hours'
"Twenty-one hours now? ... That is fine. This robot's systems are more complex than any of the others, so it will probably take longer."
'recalculating'
Dr. Wily's joy slowly begins to fade as he sees another new upload time... 'estimated upload time: 30 hours' ... 'estimated upload time: 35 hours' ... 'estimated upload time: 50 hours, 30 minutes'
Dr. Wily's frustration begins to show as the wait for his ultimate robot grows longer and longer every few seconds. But, he does his best to try and stifle that.
"It's alright," he says, "This is a robot like the world has never seen. It is only natural for it to take time to install the programming. Besides, we as long as he is on his feet by the night of the debate, everything will go just fine."
Albert loos away from the data pad, hoping that the installation process will not take any longer, but he knows that counter is still going up. He shouldn't bother looking at it and should just leave well enough alone, but the curiosity is too much. He looks at the pad again and sees the new total had climbed to an outrageous ninety hours... then, just a second later, it climbs to one-hundred hours!
"Come on!" he finally complains angrily, "It's just programming! Why is it taking this long?"
After a few more seconds of being angry, Dr. Wily watches the data pad counter, now stuck at ninety-five hours for the estimated upload time. Several more second tick by, and the total does not change, keeping the estimate on the counter for a longer time then any of the earlier ones. Dr. Wily lets out a sigh of relief, figuring that the process will not take any longer than this and that the worst is over.
"There. It's a long time, but I can live with it. The worst part is over."
Then, just a few short seconds later, the estimated time disappears from the data pad screen, replaced with text that reads, 'Error. Failed to upload.'
"Error?!" Dr. Wily erupts, snatching the data pad and angrily looking at it. "What do you mean, ERROR?! I need this robot on his feet in one week, damn you!"
Dr. Wily enters a command into the data pad to attempt an upload one more time. Once again, the calculation is an outrageously long amount of time, now estimated at over eight days until completion, which would not leave Dr. Wily enough time to get his new robot prepared for his mission next weekend.
Again, the data pad reads an outrageously lengthy amount of time, this time bigger than all the others. 'estimated upload time: 189.5 hours'
Growing angry, Dr. Wily snatches the plans and blueprints for the robot, trying to find some explanation for why it will take an figurative eternity for this robot to work instead of the usual few minutes. Dr. Wily runs his fingers over the screen, navigating around menus and trying to figure out why the robot will not accept his programming.
"There has to be something causing the hang-up! A slow data portal; a processor glitch; a frayed wire in the data pad cable, even electromagnetic interference! Something!"
The pad's screen now displays a message reading 'Running diagnostic' followed by a percentage figure... 25%... 45%... 60%...
"Come on, you worthless piece of junk!" Wily growls.
... 85%... 90%... 95%... 96%... 98%... 99%... 100%... and that is where the percentage counter stays for at least two minutes.
"Ugh! If I didn't need this data pad, I would have already destroyed it," Wily complains.
Finally, the data pad reads, "No known issues with system hardware. Main programming not yet installed."
Dr. Wily sighs, attempting again to upload the programming to the new robot. Again, the pad reads, 'estimated upload time: 189.5 hours' ... then it climbs again to '190 hours'
At the peak of his frustration, Dr. Wily tosses the data pad on top of the still-lifeless body of the ultimate robot and then throws a stack of hand drawn blueprints for the new robot all over the workshop floor. He than grabs a cable to the workshop's main computer station and plugs it into another port in the robot's chest.
"There is no way it will take a hundred and ninety hours! I'll find out what's wrong and fix it myself, if I have to take all night!" he snaps.
Cossack Citadel.
Dr. Cossack is in his laboratory at the Citadel, on the telephone with somebody regarding some of his robots. We hear Cossack's side of the conversation...
"Yes, Slash Man and Turbo Man are prime robots. They are two of my finest... well, yes, they were both damaged at some point in their service, but they have been repaired since and are in top shape... (sigh) Yes, it was Mega Man who bested them in combat, but that was only a misunderstanding... Excuse me? ... My daughter's private life had nothing to do with that... I am no longer interested in discussing this with you. Goodbye."
Cossack puts the phone down on the desk next to a group of folders he had spread out on his desk. Two of them contain the schematics for the aforementioned Slash Man and Turbo Man.
"This is going to be harder than I realized" he grumbles.
"Dr. Cossack, Miss Kalinka wanted to speak with you," says the voice of one of Cossack's robot assistants on a loudspeaker.
"Tell her she can come in," Mikhail answers, taking a moment to close the few opened folders on the desk.
Afterwards, the Russian scientist waits for his daughter to arrive, and reflects on the disastrous outcome of the meeting with his President the other day. He feels awful for allowing himself to be backed into a corner and forced into building this abominable Ra-Moon project. He is supposed to be hard at work on developing it already, but he desperately does not want to.
He is certain, though, that Malenko will surely be sending someone to check on the project frequently, so he has little time to sulk. Which is why he needs to make a few arrangements for Kalinka's future before he can take the plunge on this doomed project.
Soon, Kalinka enters her father's lab and approaches him. "You've been holed up in here so much I haven't seen very much of you lately."
"Yes, I'm sorry. I've been busy on this project of theirs since the meeting. I'm not ready to talk about it at length, however. I may not even be able to. There could be a non-disclosure clause that I was unaware of when I was drafted into this project."
Confused, Kalinka asks, "Drafted?"
"Figuratively speaking," Mikhail says, trying to cover up for his slip of the tongue. "It is... not what I was expecting to find myself involved in. At least I'm being compensated well for it."
"Is it so important that you really can't tell me?"
"You could say that," Mikhail admits, though that is only a half-truth. He might not be able to discuss it, but he also does not want to tell her what it is, and for good reason. "It's not that I wouldn't trust you with it. I'm sure you would not go telling anyone at university."
Kalinka slowly rubs her hands with a hint of anxiousness when the subject of school comes up. "Yes... about that."
Dr. Cossack tilts his head slightly after his daughter spoke just then. He had a feeling that she is having another issue at school.
"Is there a problem at university?"
Kalinka explains, "I know we discussed it a few months ago, after I told you about Rock Light and me. I know you want me to stay, and I promised you I would. But, I do not want to do this anymore."
Dr. Cossack sighs raggedly, removing his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose between his eyes. This is not the kind of news he wanted to hear right after being hired to create a doomsday machine by the name of Ra-Moon.
Likewise, Kalinka sees this is not going over so well with her father, unlike the news of her dating Mega Man.
"Why?" he asks.
"The studying is too complex, much more than high school. I'm devoting almost all of my time as it is to keep up, but I can't keep up anymore. And I am starting to hate it there. Many of the other students are nosey, specially after they all learned about who I'm dating. I just want to leave there."
Mikhail shakes his head from side to side. "I cannot accept this, Kalinka."
"Why? It's just college."
"Because you are a member of the Cossack family legacy," he states, "For four generations, we have been the pride of the Russian science community, from the Cosmonaut program to modern advanced robotics. And we have all done so through the same educational institution. I wanted you to follow in my and your grandfather's footsteps. It cannot just end with sudden a dropout. It would be a failure."
"It was your destiny to be the next great Cossack scientist, father. It's not mine," Kalinka pleas her case.
"Nonsense! You've lived around science your whole life, Kalinka. Why, you knew the intricacies of basic robot programming more than any of the other students in school."
"Just because I know a lot about a subject doesn't mean I enjoy it," Kalinka says, "I want to do something with my life that makes me happy, not what someone else wants me to do with it. I was told that no matter I did with my future, I need to do what makes my heart sing. Science doesn't make it sing."
"I assume Mega Man gave you that advice."
"No. Mom told me that, right before she passed," Kalinka reveals.
"Oh... I should have figured," Dr. Cossack nods understandably. "Kalinka, I understand college life can be daunting. Perhaps you just need a hiatus or an alternate course. But, I do not want you to just drop out like this. You can't."
Kalinka sighs, "And what if I fail miserably? Would that not be worse?"
"Kalinka… I know where you have been, and it is not fun. I almost gave up on academia more than once. I had wanted to be a medical doctor instead of having a PHD as a scientist. But I kept with my studies and it was worth it in the end... I'm sure of it..."
Dr. Cossack, for the first time in his life, had doubts about his path in life he chose to take, which was what his father had wanted. While he is one of the greatest minds in the field of science, this line of work is also what got him lassoed into developing Ra-Moon. Maybe it could have been different if he had made his own heart sing and traveled a different path than his father and grandfather. Maybe Ra-Moon would never have happened. Or, maybe it still would have happened without him, and maybe he is meant to be the one who can rein in Ra-Moon so that he can prevent it from being a threat to the future.
Mikhail continues, "Kalinka, just try to keep at it. You may hate it all now, but after it is over, you will be glad you finished. Besides, you only have a few weeks remaining in your semester. Your mind may change. If not... then, we'll get to that when we get there."
"I'll try, then," Kalinka says, not sounding very committed.
Kalinka begins to leave her father's lab when she spots the files on her father's table. She can see from the words written on them that inside the folders are the original designs and schematics for her father's inventions, like his series of robots and the Obliterator Armor mech suit, and its unfinished second version nicknamed the 'Ride Armor.'
On two of the robot folders which have been cast to the right side, there are notes which have the word 'Sold' adhered to them. This is very puzzling to her.
"Papa. Are you selling the plans for your inventions?"
"I am looking for any potential buyers for some of my old works, yes," Mikhail admits, "Most of these are of no further use to me. Besides, I want to have some extra financial security for future endeavors."
"I thought you said you were being well compensated for this new project," Kalinka points out, astutely.
Dr. Cossack clarifies, "Well... yes. But, it's for the future, my dear."
Kalinka shrugs, "It must be some future."
"I hope it will be," Mikhail says.
Kalinka then leaves her father alone again. Afterwards, once she is gone, Dr. Cossack speaks as if she were still here. "It is for your future, Kalinka. I've made a horrible mistake... and I am selling my old designs so that you can have the financial security you need. So you don't have to worry about our power-thirsty government ruining your life... I just couldn't tell you while you were here. I only hope you can forgive me one day for what I'm about to give life to."
Dr. Cossack is clearly ashamed that he must design Ra-Moon and he fears not only that it will bring about the doom of his country, but that Kalinka may resent him for making it. But, he is trying to protect her from any more harm, whether it be from the greedy Malenko or even Dr. Wily. Once she has enough money to live on and completes her degree, she could go her own way in life, even if it means her going away to be with Mega Man.
Since he must begin work on the infernal Ra-Moon as son as he can, he must use what time he has left to sell the rest of these inventions and robots.
New York.
The next night.
In the skyway above New York City, and with peekaboo securely fastened to her, Roll drives her SkyCycle on her way back home after spending the weekend with her friends at Light University, and her secret talk with Bass just the night before.
She could have used the credentials that were granted to her and her brothers to fly directly home and bypass the skyway, but there was no need to since there was no emergency reason to use them. Besides, she was not in a hurry to get back.
Roll wanted the extra time to think about the brief amount of time she and Bass had together - time that she wishes she could have had more of - and her thoughts have dwelled on it for much of her trip back.
She had never heard Bass open up like he did the other night, and she is now certain that there is goodness in him, that he can be turned like ProtoMan was. Then, this war could finally come to an end once and for all.
But, another thing that stands out about her time with Bass was how close they came to sharing a kiss, the first either of them would have ever had.
Those feelings she has for him were flourishing the closer they got to one another. As she thinks about it, Roll gets frustrated with herself, thinking she should have just caved into her feelings and let that kiss happen. If she had, maybe it would have been that last push to break Bass away from Wily.
Maybe that kiss could have been followed by another, and maybe more.
But, as interesting - or perhaps enticing - as that could have been, Roll knows it was probably for the best that she did not lose herself in the moment. Even though those feelings for Bass are there and getting stronger, she knows it would be wise to not get too close to him just yet.
Though, that first kiss would have been nice.
Roll shrugs off those thoughts as she nears the last exit of the skyway that will take her back to the lab.
"We're almost home, Boo," she announces, which Peekaboo bleeps happily.
As Roll and Boo arrive to the lab, it all seemed quiet on this cool, starry night, as evidenced by the stillness in the area with the bustle of Manhattan barely audible off in the distance. There didn't appear to be any tabloid photographers snooping around the premises either.
After Roll landed the Skycycle in the garage area beside the lab, she and Boo walked around to the house on the other side. When she reaches the door and opens it, she sees Morris the robo butler standing there. He usually isn't here at the door unless he has to deliver a message.
Roll asks, "What's up, Morris?"
"Dr. Light, Rock and ProtoMan have informed me that they need to speak with you right away, Miss Light."
"What is it about?"
"No other details were given to me. They are waiting for you in the lab," Morris answers.
"Okay... thanks," Roll says as she enters the house with Peekaboo. "Boo, you can go to my room while I go talk with them. I'll be there when we're done."
Peekaboo beeps, asking what they want to talk about.
"I don't know, but I'm about to find out."
As Peekaboo heads off, Roll walks to the lab, wondering herself what her father and brothers want to tell her. Is it something involving Wily? ... what if, somehow, they found out about Bass?
Roll stops in her tracks as she ponders that. "There's no way they would have found out about Bass. They would've been detected, even if they were wearing the stealth suit."
Inside the lab.
Roll arrives to the lab and sees Mega Man, ProtoMan and Dr. Light all standing there, waiting for her. There is no sign of Rush or the other little robots in the family; Just her brothers and father. This is odd.
"Morris told me you needed me. So, what's going on?" She asks.
"Yes, actually, there is something we need to talk about," Dr. Light begins, not sounding like his usual kind ad cheerful self, but rather more unflappable, "While you were away, did you go anywhere outside of the campus?"
"Well, yeah. For a little while," Roll replies, already having a sinking feeling. They know.
Thomas asks, "Were you alone?"
Roll keeps silent for a moment. They know, alright. "Well, I... no. Not exactly."
"Who was with you?" immediately asks Dr. Light.
After a moment of awkward silence, Roll asks, "Why do you need to know?"
"Because we were told you were seen with Bass in Cincinnati, Ohio," Dr. Light replies.
Roll hangs her head down, realizing that the secret meeting with Bass has been exposed. She doesn't know how, because Bass and Treble did not notice anybody around.
"It's true. Okay? ... How did you find out?"
After a second moment of silence, both Dr. Light and Mega Man look at ProtoMan, who sighs. He just knew he would be put into this position, after all he was the one who told them. If these were normal circumstances, (and it wasn't Bass,) he might have just kept it a secret. But, this is Bass who she was with. So, this situation is anything but normal.
Roll, meanwhile, looks dismayed. "You?!"
"I was passing through town and could help but notice your cycle there. Then, I saw them fly in," Proto states.
Dr. Light interjects, "He was only looking out for your own good. But, has nothing to do with Proto; this has everything to do with Bass. What were you doing with him?!"
"Look, nothing happened between us," an exasperated Roll insists, "And I promise I'm not turning against you. I wouldn't."
"No one said you were, Roll," Mega assures, being the 'good cop' here. "We're just... worried."
Roll explains, "I wanted to meet with Bass in person to try to convince him to leave Wily."
"Why would you even take such a risk?" Dr. Light asks, befuddled at his daughter's reasoning. "Bass is extremely dangerous. You could easily fallen back into Albert Wily's hands, and we would have never gotten you back!"
"I knew the risks. Okay? But, I can convince him to turn on that monster."
"I don't think anybody will ever convince Bass to leave Wily, Roll," Mega says.
"We're not gonna win this war just by blasting everything in sight. You've even said that yourself, Mega," Roll counters. "Proto walked away from Wily. Drill Man did too."
"Totally different situation," Proto says, "You guys took Drill Man and reprogrammed him after that fiasco at the tower. And I left because Wily screwed with my programming. Bass is probably programmed to stick with Wily no matter what. He wouldn't want to leave anyway."
Mega adds, "He's as evil as they get. He's a Wily."
"But, there's goodness in him! I know he can be saved," Roll emphatically stresses, "None of you have seen it, but I have! He's saved my skin more than once!"
"Your life is the only one he's ever saved. It is because he's obsessed with you," Dr. Light points out.
Roll asks, "Then, what about these crimes he's been breaking up lately? He's saved other people's lives too."
Proto assumes, "He's a psychopath and he needed to get his fix by hurting someone, doesn't matter if they're good or bad."
Mega adds, "And it those could all be a part of a Wily manipulation."
Nevertheless, Roll persists, "Well, I'm not the only one who believes Bass can be saved. Duo does too. He told Bass he saw justice within him."
"Bass told you that? You should know that's a lie," Proto says dismissively.
"But, robots can't lie," Roll argues.
"That's not entirely true," Mega Man says. (After all, he did tell a lie to help save Roll and himself from Dr. Wily's clutches before the war even began.)
"Last night I saw a side of him nobody else ever has. Even Wily," Roll says. "That side of him wouldn't even exist if he was truly evil. He only let his guard down around me because he doesn't think of me as an enemy. He doesn't even trust Wily like he does me. He cares about me!"
Having heard enough of his own daughter defending Bass, Dr. Light loses his patience and loudly protests, "He doesn't love you, Roll! He's lying to you!"
Dr. Light uncharacteristic outburst catches all three of his children off guard, not the least of which being Roll.
Thomas continues, "Bass cannot love you or anybody! He's incapable of love! He has no heart! Bass is a monster, just like Albert Wily is, and he should have never existed! And if you are foolish enough to fall for his lies, then... then..."
Dr. Light cannot bring himself to go on after realizing how he just acted towards Roll. This is the first time he has ever had this kind of a stern reaction to any of his children, let alone referred to any of them as 'foolish' as he just did.
Even if Thomas is only trying to protect his daughter from falling into a trap, he feels terrible for losing his temper at her. And the only reason it ever happened was because the war with Dr. Wily is still going on, and now this war is threatening to form a rift in his own family.
Dr. Light does not say another word and looks distraught and ashamed as he leaves the lab. Mega, Proto and Roll watch him leave, and afterwards things quickly go awry between Roll and Proto.
"I can't believe you! I kept your little secret with Soprano safe for months! But, you can't do the same for me?!" Roll argues.
"She's not a terrorist; Bass is," Proto counters. "Excuse me for trying to protect you."
"I can take care of myself just fine! I don't need you protecting me!"
"Guys, please," Mega Man urges, trying to keep things from falling apart even further.
Proto ignores his brother and counters, "When you start hanging but with bots no one can trust, you do need protecting."
"I trust him more than you!" Roll snaps before she storms off out of the lab, now leaving Mega Man and a visibly bothered ProtoMan.
Proto remains silent for a moment. "She's never really trusted me at all... Just like the humans."
"She's just angry right now, Proto. Don't let it get to you," Mega says. "Everybody's on edge right now because we just want the war to with Wily to end."
"It's never gonna end, Rock! Not until the old codger's dead! And thanks to your great Prime Directive, you can't kill him! Can you?"
Mega remains silent.
Proto continues, "Wily's not gonna come out of hiding unless he's got something big with him, like another Mad Grinder or another Gamma. So, why don't we storm the fortress and take him down?!"
"Have you forgotten how hard it is to even breach his security? The last time either of us was there, we almost didn't make it out!"
"We would've gone in together! But, now Roll is smitten with Bass and everybody is just sitting around waiting for somebody else to get killed before they do something about it!"
ProtoMan is the next to storm off in a huff, leaving Mega Man by his lonesome. Mega feels overwhelmed by how much things are rapidly falling apart all around him.
Not only is there heavy tension brewing within his own family, but his integrity as Defender of the Human Race is under scrutiny by some of the very humans he defends, (even by ProtoMan now too), his relationship with Kalinka Cossack has been thrust into the invasive public eye. And last but not least, Dr. Wily is still on the loose, and he is no closer to being apprehended now than he was three years ago.
Things are not getting better. They are only getting worse. And it causes Mega Man to doubt himself and even fate itself.
"What else is gonna go wrong?" he asks openly.
Sutherland Auditorium
New York City
As a group of worker robots arrive to the auditorium to continue construction on the stage setup for next week's debates, another group of worker bots and humans who were on duty have reached the end of their shift and are on their way out.
The robots on the previous shift are lead by the head supervisor who leads them to a van where they will be driven away for maintenance. Among those robots is the mole Dr. Wily has working on the inside incognito, the same one who observed Mega Man here the other day.
Wily's mole had been collecting as much intel about the operation here, including any structural weaknesses and every detail of the tight security. He had heard that the communication trackers covered three-hundred yards distance from the auditorium, thus making communication impossible without being caught. But, once the group is far enough away, the mole can send out a quick communication to Dr. Wily while there is a chance.
The human supervisor, wearing a suit, a semi-loose orange necktie and an I.D. card with the surname 'Cassidy' reaches the armored van and shepherds the worker robots in.
"All aboard, everybody. All aboard," he says.
Each robot steps into the van and takes a seat, with Dr. Wily's mole being the last one in line. Cassidy's mobile phone rings and he answers it while the mole eavesdrops on the conversation. It is not the first time he has listened in on Mr. Cassidy, either.
"Hello... Hey... Yeah, I'm almost done here. Just have to send away the worker bots away for maintenance. Did Jake do well? .. good, good. After next week, I won't have to miss any more of these tournament."
The mole robot keeps his gaze straight ahead at the group of worker robots directly across from him, not arousing any suspicion and continuing to listen to his human supervisor to gather any information he can.
"Tell them if they're good they can come over here, and maybe, just maybe, they'll see Mega Man... I know he'll be back this week... You too? ... You're making me jealous, you know... Okay, I'll see you... You too..."
Afterwards, Mr. Cassidy approaches a human member of the security staff and signs a document, signing off on the date and time these worker robots were off the clock, as it were.
"Tough job, huh?" jokes the security officer.
Cassidy quips, "If one of these guys break down, it is. Paperwork out the Waa-zoo."
Afterwards, the two humans go their separate ways and Cassidy shuts the van's back door, unaware that he has let a Wily robot slip through his fingers.
Meanwhile, at Skull Fortress
Dr. Wily has spent almost all of his time since last night's disaster here in the workshop, trying in vein to accelerate the time time it would take to program his ultimate robot. But, it hasn't gone well.
He tried everything he could to figure out how to get this robot's programing installed, and before the debate. But, every possible solution turned up empty. In fact, he encountered a few more error messages along the way, which only made the process even longer. The data pad remains connected to the robot, with nearly two-hundred hours left until the programming would be fully uploaded. Which means, there is no way he will be ready in time for a debate attack.
Dr. Wily simply made a robot that was too well, one that more suited for the next century rather than the current one. A robot for 21X4 instead of 20X4. And the technology Wily has at his disposal to bring his robots to life is too old and overused to accelerate the process.
Now, after enduring a disastrous day, Dr. Wily is in shambles as he lay flat on his back on the titanium floor, staring at the ceiling, his red necktie completely untied and his lab coat thrown away elsewhere on the floor.
Without his ultimate robot, Albert believes his grand plan to strike during the Presidential debate will be an abysmal failure, because security is heavy there, so heavy that his mole on the inside still has not contacted him.
They will be ready for a Robot Master attack, maybe more than ever. They may even be so prepared for such an attack that his forces may not even get close to New York, let alone the debate venue.
Thomas Light and Mega Man could even take even more of his robots away from him and reprogram them to serve the world rather than help Wily conquer it.
It could become the most embarrassing loss for Dr. Wily since this war began. And Albert fears that if he fails this badly, nobody will fear him anymore.
He would be an absolute failure. He would become the object of satire for the decades, or even centuries.
They would not fear him; they would all laugh at him, just like they did to when he was a child.
At the peak of his despair, Dr. Wily has an intrusive thought in his mind. One he has not had in many, many months... and he heard it in German...
"Sie haben mich enttäuscht! Du bist ein FEHLER!"
Albert could hear the voice of his long dead father in his head, and thinking about that inhumanely cruel man causes him to panic and feel like the walls are caving in on him.
He thought he had fought off the haunting memories of his father, but in his moment of weakness, those thoughts has returned.
"Look at you! Cowering like the little coward you are! You are just like your wench of a mother! That's what makes you an easy target, you little creep! You will never amount to anything! That's why nobody loves you! No one will care, just as no one cared for her! You are a MISTAKE! That is why Thomas was always better than you! He will always win!"
Once before when Albert had intrusive thoughts about his father, he was able to fight them off by channeling his anger and hatred. He tries doing so again, squeezing his eyelids shut and pressing his hands on his craniums, visualizing whatever violent, hateful, murderous things his diseased mind could conjure, and inflecting them all on his father, killing him all over again, and it felt so good do have a sliver of that feeling again.
Then, Dr. Wily could hear the other occupant in his head, that little whisper. Once he was beating back the thoughts of his father, Albert could hear that whisper saying one word over and over...
"Attack... Attack... ATTACK!"
Dr. Wily's eyes suddenly open and the intrusive, chaotic thoughts which he had just wrestled with were now gone. And in the distance, at the far end of the room right by the still unconscious new robot, he hears his computer station chirping.
Dr. Wily's brow furrows, wondering why he would be receiving a message there rather than thru a communication frequency. He pulls himself off the floor and approaches the computer to see what is the matter.
After a few seconds, Dr. Wily is pleasantly surprised to see that the mole robot infiltrating the construction team at the sit of the Presidential debate has finally managed to send a communication.
"My mole!," he says as he opens the test-based message. "This could be the break I need if next weekend's attack is to have a chance to succeed."
Dr. Wily reads the message on the monitor, and it is clear that the mole had very little time to compose the message because it is in fragments...
'Security tight. Mega Man running the team. Direct attack impossible without detection. Radar. Police and Federal guard. Holograph scanners and communication trackers in place.'
Dr. Wily frowns. A full-scale assault, no matter how large, could be spotted before they ever got close to the venue and potentially fought off, just as he feared. However, the other half of the mole's message give him the hook he needs for his contingency plan.
'Discovered human member of staff who could be compromised. Name: Philip Cassidy. High clearance. Observed talking to spouse via telephone. Multiple children. Prime target for coercion. Drives green sedan, license plate number DN38416.'
The message ends abruptly. It was all the undercover robot could send out before it would get caught. But, it was just enough for Dr. Wily to work with.
"Yes... If I can't get in by breaking the door down, I'll have someone open it for me" Dr. Wily says, momentarily looking excited that his master plan could be salvaged.
His grin then melts as he looks back at his ultimate robot, who is no closer to coming online than he was last night. The data pad makes that fact painfully clear: 'estimated upload time: 9 days, 10 hours, 24 minutes.'
Wily lets out a frustrated growl. "This whole plan was dependent on him! He was supposed to slay Mega Man as the whole world watched! What am I supposed to do without him?"
Dr. Wily sits there, frowning. Without this ultimate robot on his feet, the mad scientist must rely on what - and who - he has at his disposal. The Robot Masters have failed him so many times ever since this war begin, but when they are used in full force, they can overwhelm the opposition.
This plan sorely misses a robot like ProtoMan, who could have coordinated it and been a key figure in battle. But, he's gone.
However, Dr. Wily still has Bass.
Even though the robot warrior has been going through some strange quirks in his personality lately, including questioning Dr. Wily's decisions, he is still the strongest robot Wily has, (considering this new ultimate robot will not be upright for a while.)
If this plan has any hope of working, Dr. Wily needs Bass on board. All he has to do is give him what he wants.
Shortly Thereafter.
In the command center room within Skull Fortress, Dr. Wily has summoned Bass to discuss the plan for next Sunday's attack, almost all of which had to be scrapped and re-concocted by Dr. Wily, thanks to the absence of the new Ultimate Robot, who ultimately won't be doing anything any time soon.
"We will be using at least half of our Robot Masters for this strike, maybe more. And you will be part of the final phase of the attack, Bass," Wily says
Bass skeptically asks, "And where does your new long-haired toy robot into this?"
"He doesn't factor into this plan at all. He will be an instrument of fear and destruction to keep the humans and robots of the world in their place: stricken with fear and under my thumb. But, you Bass... you are the key to all this."
"How?"
"You will make the final blast," Wily says, laying out the plot. "The first squad of Robot Masters will strike from within and overwhelm everyone inside. For the past several days I have had a reprogrammed robot working on the inside, and he jut passed along some information which will be most helpful."
"And you're just telling me about this now," Bass says.
"Yes, because I did not know if this plan would be futile or not until tonight," Dr. Wily lies before explaining things to Bass. "Mega Man and ProtoMan will be too busy acting as watchdogs outside. Once they are inside, a second group of Robot Masters will strike. We will have to transport them in on the ground. They'll be looking for Skullkers and shuttles. While Mega Man and security forces will be dealing with the Robot Masters, you will move right in and make the final blast."
"On who?"
"One of the candidates, of course," Wily smiles. "Bright Man will blind the secret service and police detail closest to the candidates and anyone else trying to get them will run into stiff resistance. Amidst all the chaos of battle and hysteria of attendees trying to flee for their lives, surely one of those three pinheads will be vulnerable."
Bass asks, "You do realize what you're asking me to do, right?"
"Yes. I do," Wily snickers, "Now, a simple non-fatal stun blast will do just fine. The effect will still be the same: Not only will the country be in an uproar, but so will the entire world. That is when the last phase factors in: This act would surely spur the government to strike the fortress to take me down, and Mega Man will just as surely be with them."
"So, we lure him here one more time to finish him off before he can get you," Bass presumes.
"Yes! You will be the one who finally kills Mega Man!"
Bass stares back at Wily. He knows something is not adding up here. Wily went on for months about how his ultimate robot would be the crown jewel of his army, even gifting him the deadliest weapon imaginable: the Jadous Saber. Now, all of a sudden, this deadly new robot is being shelved, and Dr. Wily is taking a massive risk by goading Mega Man and the entire American military into attacking Skull Fortress.
Bass suspects that Dr. Wily is having problems with that new robot, which means he is only approaching Bass to take charge of this debate attack because Wily is vulnerable. But, Bass feels he can seize on this moment of weakness, because as long as Dr. Wily views him as his top robot, he will not be as likely to betray him.
"Even after I kill Mega Man and bring ProtoMan back to you, where will I stand when your new boy is finally on his feet?"
"While my new arrival will be a force to be reckoned with, you Bass will never lose your place in my army or my new Reich! You will not only be my right hand for the rest of my life, but if we succeed next week, Bass... you will be the king of Robotkind! I will anoint you with the honor personally!"
Bass listens intently as Wily continues, "Imagine the kind power you would yield, Bass. And you will have it! All robots, even Proto, even my next robot, will all answer to you! And if you want Mega Man's sister Roll as your queen, you can have her! Anything you want, it will be yours! You, Bass, will be the Defender of the Great Wily Empire! And nobody will ever replace you! And if the day comes that I leave my new world... it's all yours, my boy."
Dr. Wily's attempt to butter Bass ego and lust for power is working, and Bass can already feel himself being pulled back in Wily's direction, even though Roll's words and Duo's continue to pull him in the other direction. Roll told him to search his heart and do the right thing and Duo said there was justice within him, but this kind of absolute power is what Bass has always wanted, and the darkness within him lures him into going down the wrong path yet again. He cannot help himself.
Perhaps this is what is really in his heart. Perhaps he has misinterpreted what justice really is.
"How does that sound, Bass?"
Bass continues feeling an inner conflict, trying to choose what others have told him is right and his lust for power. The latter is too tempting to pass over, but he wants Wily to make a guarantee. "... Only as long as you never try to replace me. Not with ProtoMan, or the other robot. Nobody!"
"If you destroy Mega Man and rid the world of Thomas Light, I will never have any need to replace you. I will be forever grateful," Albert insists, still wearing that sinister grin.
Bass finally gives his reply, even though he feels like he could be making he wrong choice. "... I'll do it, then."
"Excellent," Dr. Wily approves, rubbing his hands together.
"I only have one question: You said we will strike from within. How will we even be able to breach security that tight?
"I have that all worked out already, Bass. And you will play a part in that as well," Dr. Wily assures, already plotting out what steps to take to get his robots inside that convention center. And this time, the mad doctor might stoop to a new low to get what he wants.
Author's notes:
Sorry for the delay, everyone. I intended for this chapter to be posted in January, but there were hurdles. This was a difficult chapter to figure out, as strange as that sounds. Also, there were nights I didn't have the tie and energy to write, and when I did, I didn't feel like writing the heavy, uncomfortable scenes like the ones we saw here.
This next chapter will be the halfway point in the penultimate episode. I hope to have it up quicker than this one was. (Just, don't hold me to that.)
Can you figure out what Cassidy's license plate is a reference to? (Without Googling it)
Also, with all the 24 references in this story, it was only a matter of time before I shoehorned the surname Sutherland in here, Jack.
Thank you for reading.
Please remember to leave or review or a comment. And if you see any typos, or any continuity errors so stinky it would make Pepé Le Pew turn his nose up at it, please DM me right away.
