Chapter Fifteen: In Bad Dreams
Mega Man had a plan. As the day of his brother's impending permanent shutdown approached, it came together in bits and pieces. More panic than thought, there were countless ways it could've failed—many more than it had a chance to succeed—but it was something he could cling to, something that gave him hope after every failed attempt to prevent the inevitable.
When Dr. Wily came to rescue Proto Man, he was going to let him.
Mega had it all worked out. He would put up a good show (he would have to, in order to keep the human authorities present safe) but no matter what, he was going to let Proto go. It was a decision he told no one, not even Roll. He was fully prepared to deal with the consequences if and when he was confronted about it. But no matter what, he was going to do it. He was going to make sure his brother lived. Letting Proto Man return to Wily was the worst option possible—but it was the only option he had left.
So why, when the moment of his brother's freedom had come, had he tried to stop it?
When he learned his brother had killed Kalinka Cossack, his fury had burned for weeks. He'd never been that angry before. Angry that Proto Man had crossed a line Mega never expected him to cross. Angry that he never thought his brother even capable of that, angry that he hadn't been there to prevent it. But as weeks passed into months and Proto Man stayed silent, his anger faded into cinders. He was still mad, but he was more confused. If Proto had meant to kill Kalinka, why had he rushed her to the hospital and begged for help? Why had he let the hospital drones capture him? Why didn't he say anything during his interrogations, not even to defend himself?
The more time ticked down, the more Mega became convinced Proto Man hadn't meant to kill Kalinka, if only because he wasn't sure he could face his brother again otherwise. And if that was the case, then his brother deserved to be punished, but he didn't deserve to die. But then—what? They couldn't reprogram him. Though Mega Man threatened it a few times, mostly out of anger, he knew it wasn't that simple. Dr. Light had explained—when it had been one of the ways to save his brother—that attempting to reprogram Proto Man could have devastating effects on his mind. As a prototype, his coding was delicate, and Dr. Light refused to risk destroying it.
But that left little other option. Permanent imprisonment was not a viable option under the constant threat of Wily attack. Since losing Proto Man, Wily's attacks had been erratic and desperate in their execution. He was clearly trying to find where Proto was being held, and the government would not tolerate that forever. Dr. Light's counter of keeping Proto Man under house arrest at the lab had been rejected along the same lines, no matter how strong his argument had been. Governor Deacon wanted Proto Man gone, and Deacon had powerful allies. He also had an election coming up, possibly presidential ambitions. What was a better path to victory than a solid blow against Wily by destroying his Second-in-Command?
Mega turns over in the bed, toward the wall, and tries to let the bitter thought go. To Deacon, Proto wasn't a person who deserved a chance to defend himself in a trial—he was merely a robot, and a murderous one at that. Most people would think that way, no matter how much work Dr. Light did to counter it.
He knew all that. That's why he was going to let Proto Man escape. He was supposed to let him go. So why…?
The robot who implored Mega Man to kill him wasn't the brother he was expecting. Even in his moments of defeat, Proto Man had held himself strong, stubbornly clinging to his claimed superiority no matter how many times his brother proved him a liar. He wasn't the weak, defeated figure Mega had confronted, despair in his voice and a tremble in his limbs. What had they done to his brother?
What had he let them do, thinking it was right?
The gentle knock on the door belongs to Dr. Light. Roll's is always firm, more of a warning that she's about to burst in rather than a request. Rock says nothing, but he's not surprised when Dr. Light enters anyway. His father silently sits down on the bed and sets a gentle hand on Rock's shoulder.
"Am I a bad person?" Mega asks.
"Because you let your brother escape?" Dr. Light asks, confused.
"Because I wasn't going to."
Dr. Light rubs his back gently. "It's not wrong to feel conflicted over the actions of someone you love," he says. "Especially someone like Proto Man."
Rock is silent for a while, but Dr. Light does not push, his touch still gentle and comforting.
"How long has he been like that?" Mega Man asks. He never saw Proto Man during his imprisonment. He didn't want to at first, and by the time he did, Deacon's cronies were firmly in control, and they wouldn't allow it. Despite Dr. Light's argument that Mega Man could get the truth out of his brother, they were spun excuses about how he was needed to watch out for Dr. Wily instead.
They never wanted the truth.
Dr. Light's hand stills, and he sighs deeply. "I wish I could tell you," he says, sounding sad. "He barely spoke to me. I have my regrets, and—well. I should have pushed harder to have him treated more humanely. I should have foreseen how strongly Governor Deacon would push for his shutdown. I should have done a lot more."
Mega sits up. "You did everything you could," he protests.
"I didn't, but thank you." Dr. Light gives him a tired smile. "We all have regrets, Rock. You would not be as human as you are if you didn't. Wherever your brother is now, I only hope he can—"
Roll bursts through the door and comes to a stop, looking flustered. "I—sorry, it's just Dr. Cossack is here, and you really, really need to hear what he has to say."
#
The last time Mega Man had seen Dr. Cossack, he had been frantic with worry, flanked by a young blond man Mega belatedly realized was Ring Man without his armor, and a white-haired mid-thirties man he could not place at all, though he was sure the man was another Robot Master. Dr. Cossack introduced them as Ivan and Alexei. Alexei had a severe face but a kind voice, and both he and Ivan were just as worried as Dr. Cossack about Kalinka. Forced to rely on what little Ivan had known about Kalinka's whereabouts, they'd searched frantically, but had made little progress before tragedy struck. The shock and horror on all three of their faces still haunts Mega, another complicated factor in his turmoil over Proto Man.
The Dr. Cossack they face now is a man aged. There are white streaks running through his hair from his temples, a look that would make him seem distinguished if not for the dark circles under his eyes.
"Mikhael!" Dr. Light exclaims, clasping him on the shoulders. He's gentle about it, Mega Man notices. "Come, sit, please! I thought you were back in Russia…?"
Dr. Cossack allows himself to be guided to a chair in the dining room, sighing as he sits down. They join him around the table. "No," he says. "I only meant for it to seem that way. I wanted to stay off Wily's radar."
Roll squeezes her hands together. "We're so sorry for your loss, Dr. Cossack."
Dr Cossack looks conflicted. "That is what I've come to talk to you about," he says. "My daughter isn't dead."
"What?" Mega says, standing up straight.
Dr. Light sighs. He does not look surprised. "I wondered," he says. "Grief makes strange animals of us all, but your actions seemed purposeful, if nothing else."
Mega stays rigid. "Kalinka's been alive this whole time?"
Dr. Light frowns at his tone, but Dr. Cossack lifts a hand. "This is a mess of my own making, Thomas. I've earned your son's anger. Yes, my daughter is alive. I'm sorry for deceiving you. She was gravely injured, and at the time, I only meant to prevent Dr. Wily from finishing his revenge."
"What about Proto Man?" Mega Man demands, his voice hard. "He could have died because you lied."
"Mega," Roll hisses, but Dr. Cossack is still shaking his head.
"It's all right, the criticism is entirely fair," he says. "Mitchell Deacon talked me into faking her death. I knew he had ulterior motives. I knew he was manipulating me. I did not care. The only thing that mattered to me was Kalinka. I paid attention to nothing else—not the numerous messages Thomas sent me, not what was happening to her attacker. For that, I apologize."
"You're not the only one who's been used, I suspect," Dr. Light says grimly.
"Where is Kalinka now?" Roll asks. "Is she safe?"
"Those questions are far more complicated than you realize," Dr. Cossack says with a sigh. He pulls his cell phone out of his pocket and sets it on the table. "Let me start with this. I received this recording shortly after Proto Man's escape. It… may be difficult to listen to."
He set the phone down and started the audio file. It takes some time to finish. Proto Man's confession is slow and halting, clearly as painful for him to tell as it is to hear. Mega does not sit down until it's done, reeling. Roll has her hands pressed over her mouth, eyes wide.
"It was an accident," Mega Man says, still in shock. "But—why didn't he say so? They were going to shut him down!"
"It seems he blamed himself enough to think he deserved it," Dr. Cossack says quietly.
"And it may not have made a difference if he had," Dr. Light says, grim again. "It's clear to me that Governor Deacon did not want justice, he wanted revenge."
"And a boost in the polls," Dr. Cossack adds darkly. "I will not pretend I'm not still angry at your brother, Mega Man. Had he not made the choices he did, Kalinka would've been spared a great deal of pain. But I should have prevented what happened to him. It wasn't right."
Roll drops her hands, but she still looks shaken. "Okay, but… it's okay now, right? Kalinka is alive. Proto Man was rescued by Dr. Wily. What else can we do?"
"That's the thing," Dr. Cossack says, looking old and tired again. "Dr. Wily didn't break Proto Man out of jail. Kalinka did, with the help of her brothers. I will need your help to get her out of the danger they've put themselves in."
#
Mega Man has spent the last few months avoiding people—avoiding the press wanting to know how he felt about his brother's shocking crime, avoiding people who wanted to congratulate him on the defeat of his enemy, avoiding his family who just wanted to talk. He'd slipped away from Dr. Cossack and Dr. Light's urgent conversation on where Kalinka and her brothers had been seen last, and where they could be hiding. It wasn't right, but he couldn't take it anymore, seeking solace on the roof.
So naturally, Roll finds him there moments later. She hesitates on the edge, but he gestures her closer, sighing.
"You okay?" she asks, settling next to him and hooking her arms around her knees.
Mega shrugs. "I really thought he might have done it on purpose. Or—or it was an accident, but he just didn't care. I didn't think…"
"He cared," Roll finishes. "Yeah. Me neither. I mean, he never…"
"Never what?" Mega asks, when she doesn't finish.
"Never cared about me," she says, her voice hard.
Mega leans back, watching her carefully. "I always thought you hated Proto Man."
"I do. I did," she says. "I don't know. I don't understand how he could put up with Wily. I mean—you saw—"
Mega just nods. In all the terrible aftermath, the grief and anger, both public and private, it had taken them weeks to review the footage from the lab to find the truth—but it only left more questions. There was no sound to the tape. What happened was clear, just not why. Kalinka was with his brother, seemingly willingly. And then Dr. Wily had shown up, and the mood changed, and they were talking, and then—
He hit Proto Man.
It had never occurred to Mega Man that Wily would do that. He'd known Wily wouldn't have treated his brother like Dr. Light treated him and Roll, but that was… too far. Too cruel, he would've thought, even for Wily, but that isn't what haunts him about it. What haunts him is the look on Proto Man's face, part shock, part despair.
"I don't think either of us really know him," Mega says. "But if I were him, I would be much happier knowing you were as far from Wily as possible."
"He was fine with trying to convince you to join him," she says wryly.
"He called Kalinka his friend," he says softly. "I think he was just lonely."
Roll is silent for a while. "He looked that bad, huh?"
"I didn't recognize him," Mega says. "He looked broken, Roll. He asked me to kill him, and—and I think he meant it. I've never seen him like that before. I didn't think he could be like that."
They both fell silent at that. Dr. Cossack's news only made the problem worse. The authorities assumed Dr. Wily rescued Proto Man, and there was no use trying to recapture him. But Dr. Wily knows someone else has taken their brother, and he would tear the city apart to find him. They have to find Kalinka first.
But when they do, what will happen to Proto Man?
"Hear that?" Roll says suddenly, sitting up straight.
"Yeah," Mega Man says, standing. A vehicle, coming their way. Not Dr. Wily—it's too close to the ground, and too small. Without saying another word, the two jump to the ground, Mega Man summoning his armor just as the motorcycle turns the corner and comes to a stop in front of them.
The rider takes his helmet off, and Ivan—Ring Man—meets their astonished gazes.
"I know where they are," he says. "And I can take you to them."