Chapter Seventeen: Tangled Up
Mega Man arrives too late. Wily's destructive aftermath is evident from a distance—the gaping hole in the building's wall, the distant scream of the Skulker's engines, already too far on the horizon to give chase. Mega rushes into the half-constructed apartment, fearing the worst.
Instead, he finds the Cossacks safe. Dust Man is wide-eyed and trembling, but his arms are around Kalinka Cossack's shoulders. Alexei (Skull Man, Mega remembers, and tries not to shudder) is unarmored. He's kneeling next to Kalinka, tending to a superficial cut on her hand.
Proto Man is gone.
Mega exchanges a confused look with Rush. Before he can comment, Roll and Ring Man arrive on a hoverbike, adding to the chaos. Roll is asking questions, Ring Man is demanding answers, and Dr. Cossack and Dr. Light will be on their way. Mega needs answers now, before things get any messier.
"What happened," Mega asks sharply, cutting through the din.
Alexei does not look up from bandaging Kalinka's hand. "Dr. Wily has the GAMMA system. Father had enough farsight to create counter measures to that possibility, but it seems to have not slowed him down at all."
The Robot Master looks up, his eyes burning. "The oversight was mine, Mega Man. I underestimated your enemy, and I apologize for that."
Ivan makes a scoffing noise. "Your mistake was breaking Proto Man out in the first place—"
"Not now," Mega says, seeing Kalinka flinch. "Did Proto Man leave with Wily willingly?"
Alexei stands. He's taller than Mega recalls. Again his mind involuntarily flashes back to the frightening figure he made as Skull Man. But Alexei's expression is gentle, his eyes sad.
"You are both children," he says softly. "I should have realized that sooner."
Mega starts, taken aback. "I'm sorry?"
Alexei's eyes slide above him, to the hole in the wall. "Proto Man agreed to return with Dr. Wily if he promised to leave us in peace. Wily was unhappy with the arrangement, but he left without attacking us. I've no doubt such a truce is quite temporary."
"You say that as if Proto Man wasn't planning on returning to Dr. Wily all along," Ivan says harshly. "Just admit it, Sasha. He played all of us, even you."
Alexei glances at him, but says nothing.
"Great," Roll mutters. "What a mess. At least you're okay, Kalinka."
Kalinka studies the bandage on her hand and doesn't answer."
Mega's suspicions deepen. There is more going on here than what is being said.
"Roll, Ring Man—sorry, Ivan," Mega says. "Dr. Light and Dr. Cossack will need someone to tell them everyone's okay. Dust Man, I mean—"
Mega stops.
"Dimitri," Dust Man supplies. "I can go with Ivan. Kashenka will be safe with you and Sasha."
It takes Mega a second to recall how Russian nicknames work, and that he means Kalinka and Alexei. "Thank you," Mega says. "Roll, take Rush, will you? Dimitri will need room on the hoverbike."
Roll shoots him a questioning look, but she seems to have also picked up that something isn't quite right. "Okay," she says, turning to Ring Man. "You good?"
"Not remotely," he says, dismissing his armor to become the tousle-haired blond once again. His glare never leaves Alexei until the group of them leave.
Mega blinks, watching them go. "You don't think those two have a thing going on, do you?"
"I believe Ivan prefers men," Alexei replies. "The wrong men, typically, which explains some of his attitude problems."
That explains nothing to Mega, but it also sounds like something he would regret asking more questions about. He turns to respond and finds himself facing a clear-eyed Kalinka, her arms crossed.
"Can I trust you?" she asks sharply.
Mega takes a step back, on uncertain footing again. Kalinka may have been a victim in all of this, the center of a tragedy spun out of control, but she also apparently handled Proto Man just fine until Wily got involved. Mega had assumed Alexei had been the mastermind behind Proto's rescue.
Staring back at Kalinka, he's starting to wonder if he had it all wrong.
"I would like to think so," Mega says, uncertain.
"You nearly got Proto Man captured," Kalinka points out. "You could have got him killed."
An angry response is on the tip of his tongue, but Kalinka's gaze isn't judging—it's mistrustful but searching. She needs something from him.
"I regret that," he admits quietly. "You took me by surprise, and I—I'm sorry."
"Were you going to let him die?" she asks, arms crossed tight.
"I—" Mega blinks. "I don't know. I was banking on Wily rescuing, but I—no. I wouldn't let him die."
Kalinka's frown deepens. "Can I trust you?" she repeats, her eyes sharp again.
Mega returns her gaze. "Yes."
"Good," she says promptly, turning away. She nudges the debris on the floor, searching intently for something with her foot. Mega glances at Alexei, but the Cossack bot merely tilts his head, eyebrow raised in equal puzzlement.
"You always struck me as a good person," Kalinka continues. "Or at least a well-meaning one. Your brother certainly thinks so."
"Speaking of my brother," Mega says, but stops. He doesn't know how to end the question. He doesn't know what the question is. Kalinka's relationship with a robot who should have been her enemy was still a giant puzzle he did not know how to begin to solve.
Kalinka digs through a few chunks of wood until she finds one that resembles a baseball bat. She swings it experimentally, and seemingly satisfied with the result, leans it against her shoulder and meets his eyes again.
"Don't get me wrong, Mega Man," she says. "You may be considered trustworthy, you may regret your earlier actions, but that does not mean I trust you."
"I—" Mega blinks at her, bewildered. "I'm sorry, Kalinka, but do you have any idea how much trouble you're in?"
"Not as much trouble as you might think," she replies promptly. "One, neither Papa nor Dr. Light will confess the truth to the authorities. Doing so risks imprisonment for both me and Papa, as well as permanent deactivation for Alexei. Dr. Light would not risk that, and you won't either."
Mega grimaces. She has him there.
"Two, your brother was deliberately framed by Governor Deacon," Kalinka continues. "Perhaps for political—what's the word? Not cloud. Clout? Perhaps for other reasons. Proto Man is no angel, but he does not deserve to die. You know this."
"That doesn't mean breaking him out of federal custody won't have consequences," Mega says sharply.
"Oh, there will be consequences," Kalinka says, giving the piece of wood another swing. "My brothers will receive their scoldings, and my father will no doubt use this as an excuse to lock us away from the world again for our protection. He'll put me back in my ivory tower and take away all my toys until I can act like his good little princess again. A happy ending for all."
The bitterness in her voice is so sharp, she could stab someone with it. Mega suddenly worries about her plans for that chunk of wood.
"I understand your frustration," he says slowly. "And as much as I think following the law is important, turning you over to the government won't help anyone. It's not just Alexei that's in danger, Kalinka, it's all your father's robots. Exposing that Dr. Cossack not only illegally constructed a combat robot but also smuggled him into the country will get the rest of your brothers seized."
Kalinka's face falls at that, but she straightens, taking a deep breath. "I know. We—"
"Discussed it," Alexei says, eyeing Mega. "As you can see from Ivan's behavior, not all of us are thrilled with the results, but we were all aware of the risks."
"That makes you complicit," Mega points out.
"And ties your hands even more," he responds with a slight smile. "Kalinka was hesitant in proposing it, but you must admit, it was effective."
Mega looks back and forth between the two Cossacks. It's becoming increasingly clear none of his assumptions about Kalinka are correct.
"My brother had no idea what hit him, did he?" he asks, feeling dazed.
Kalinka grins at that, all teeth. "No, not really."
"And I'm beginning to suspect this isn't over, is it?" Mega crosses his arms. "You don't have to trust me, Kalinka, but I'd like you to. Maybe I can help."
"Very well," she says, hefting the bat and marching over to a dark hallway. "First thing, do not freak out."
Before Mega can say anything to that, Kalinka swings the bat as hard as she can into the shadows. A hand reaches out and catches it. Mega yelps with surprise as the figure emerges, pulling the makeshift weapon from Kalinka's grasp and tossing it to the side.
"Shadow Man!" He forms his buster. Alexei, just as alarmed, summons his armor, but Kalinka stops them both with a single glare.
"Stop that," she says, as if scolding children. "Shadow Man has been here the entire time. If he was going to attack someone, he would have done so already."
"Not the entire time," Shadow Man says, giving the chunk of wood a look of distaste. "Was that necessary?"
"Really, Kalinka, one Wilybot was enough," Skull Man says, his voice now an eerie echo in his armor. "Must you befriend all of them?"
"Shadow Man would come watch over me while I was recovering," Kalinka replies. "I got used to spotting how the shadows bent when he hid in them." She pauses. "He brought me flowers."
"Injured humans customarily receive flowers," Shadow Man replies, arms crossed.
"And he's the one who gave me the location and the codes to the facility Proto Man was being held in," Kalinka adds. "Without him, our task would have been much more difficult."
"Back up, I'm confused," Mega says. "Why didn't you break Proto out of prison?"
Shadow Man's eyes slid over to meet his. "My shadows do not accommodate those other than myself well. He would have been gravely damaged if I attempted it."
"Why did you not tell Wily?" Skull Man questions. "You knew where he was, yet Wily clearly did not for the majority of Proto Man's imprisonment."
Shadow Man pauses, considering them both for a silent moment. "That action would've had far too many consequences," he says at last. "The facility was heavily defended, expecting an all-out assault. Wily would've undoubtedly lived up to such expectations. There would have been many casualties, on all sides. Kalinka's plan was the most viable one."
"You didn't tell Wily," Mega repeats, still confused.
"I do not tell Dr. Wily a lot of things," Shadow Man replies. "I may be compelled to follow his orders, but only if he is aware enough to give them. Wily ordered me to find Proto Man. He neglected to tell me to inform him of when I did so. That gave me leeway to tell Kalinka first."
He pauses, the trace of a smile crossing his lips. "I do much of my work in such leeways."
"You were not built by Dr. Wily," Skull Man notes, dismissing his armor and becoming Alexei again. Mega does the same with his buster, though more reluctantly. He's only encountered Shadow Man in combat a handful of times, and the Robot Master had not displayed any particular skill in it. Still, he has to keep himself from yanking Kalinka away from the strange ninja bot, for that would only make her mad.
"No," Shadow Man replies, and says nothing more.
"We are all caught up, wonderful," Kalinka says with a roll of her eyes. "Why didn't you do anything to stop Proto Man from leaving with Wily?"
"What would you have me do?" Shadow Man asks.
"Something! Anything! This was not the plan," Kalinka retorts, clenching her first. "The plan was to keep Proto away from Dr. Wily until we could work out a deal!"
"Had I revealed myself, Dr. Wily would have ordered me to renege on the deal Proto Man made for your safety the moment he was no longer involved," Shadow Man responds. "I can only bend his commands so far. I cannot break them, like Proto Man."
Kalinka bites her lip.
"I'm sorry, but I still don't understand," Mega says slowly. "Ivan said Proto wanted to go back to Wily."
"Proto Man is not known for making good decisions," Shadow Man says. "To all our misfortunes."
"But—"
"Your brother has been deeply traumatized, Mega Man," Alexei says. "It was the wrong decision, true, but I cannot blame him for wanting to go back to the only home he knows."
"Do you still think Wily's going to hurt him?" Kalinka asks quietly.
The air in the room suddenly feels still and heavy. Mega cannot hide the horror in his expression. "He wouldn't actually… Proto Man is his—"
"I cannot predict the future," Shadow Man says. "But Dr. Wily's confidence in Proto Man is shaken, and I do not think it can be repaired. That means nothing good for your brother."
"What can we do?" Kalinka demands.
"Your best option is to return to Russia immediately," Shadow Man says bluntly. "Had Proto Man fully rejected his affection for you, I would not be worried. But he did not. He offered himself in trade for your safety, and that will be a thorn in Dr. Wily's mind. He knows his right hand's loyalty will be forever split—and that, Wily will not abide. Distance will offer you some protection, at least."
"But it won't protect Proto Man," Mega says, his earlier horror solidifying into a heavy ball in his chest.
"Not Proto Man," Shadow Man agrees.
"Fine. What else can we do?" Kalinka snaps. "I'm not letting Proto just sit there and takes whatever Wily does to him, not after—" She chokes, swallowing hard. "I'm not abandoning him. I promised."
"What else can we do?" Mega asks. He's still missing several pieces of the puzzle, but several things are snapping into place. The tremble in Kalinka's voice when she talks about his brother. The instinctive way Proto put himself in front of her, right before Wily struck him.
Proto's look of blank despair in all the images from his imprisonment, when he thought Kalinka was dead.
"What are you willing to do, Mega Man?" Shadow Man asks sharply. "So far, your hands remain relatively clean, but your brother is a criminal, and the Cossacks have made themselves criminals to save him. What will you do?"
The eyes in the room turn to him—Kalinka's bright with tears she thinks she's hiding, Alexei's wary, Shadow Man's distrustful.
Mega takes a deep, steadying breath.
"The right thing," he says. "I'm going to do the right thing."