Chapter 14
Zero stares into Wily's face , looking for some kind of hint of whats going on with the doctor. Stay here? We don't even know anything about this world.
Zero - I don't know whats wrong. But your not staying behind. I wont let you.
Wily smiles and then meets the gaze of his creation with warmth.
Wily - You can stay here too. I'm not a fool. I have been thinking about this a lot. I just, I think i'm getting tired Zero. Its as if i'm suddenly drained of my desire to really push forward. Suddenly , my son. I'm just a normal old man...can you understand?
Zero looks down at the floor and processes his fathers information carefully and for many moments. He flashes through as much history of their time together as he can, mounting every instance of either physical or emotional damage inflicted on the aging genius. Suddenly he feels a drop of his stomach. He didn't have to run very far into his memory to realize that Wily , his creator, has been through a nightmarish reality. Before he met his father, Wily had fought wars. Long wars. Emotional wars. Mental wars. And more often than not, he lost those wars. Somehow, he and Zero are together now after all those odds were overcome. After all those wars Zero himself has fought, he was at a place in his existence that felt normal. X, Wily, Rush, and even Serges all feel like parts of his family. A feeling he never knew , even when he was working with the Hunters, and X and the gang would laugh and hang out at Maverick Hunter HQ; he never felt like this. Zero and X were always great pals but Zero always felt a little empty. With his father and his creation understood, even the unleashing of his mind and the consequent loss, has left Zero feeling more complete and whole than ever before. Now, all that, is back in chaos. Zero feels very uneasy. The anxiety of possibly losing Wily, or the anxiety of understanding the scope of Wily's lifelong struggle; he feels just as sad over the pain being suffered by this man he loves, as he does over the prospect of losing him.
Zero - Life can be cruel. Sometimes, i'm not sure if it even knows just how utterly relentless it can be to its own creations.
Wily - I see myself in you...
Zero suddenly looks up from the floor to meet the eyes of an old man holding back tears. Zero sees a face on Wily hes never seen before. His face is contorted in a way hes only seen when X has his breakdowns. Wilys heart is breaking and now the scope of his pain reaches an even deeper part of Zero's humanity.
Wily - I do... I see myself in you as if i'm looking back in time. No, no that's not even right. I see, i see ...
Wily starts to cry. Zero walks over and kneels down in front of the bed, on one knee, as if waiting to be knighted. He closes his eyes out of respect, aims his head down at the floor and waits. He heightens the sensitivity and volume of hearing to capture every vibration of air.
After Wily takes 30 seconds to clear his face of various dripping liquids he continues.
Wily - I see myself in that , if I were to be me back in the past without ANY of my flaws, I would be you. You are me without the weakness of my humanity but along the way, gained a humanity of your own that I think Thomas would be moved by. I am proud son. I cry now because I am proud of you and see you as the future. My work. My work is complete.
Wily lays back against his pillow and looks over his right shoulder through the partially closed blinds that slightly obscure his vision through the window of his quarters. He doesn't seem to be thinking but rather, sitting idle with his mind. Zero feels that maybe he wants to be alone now after that. He turns to leave but looks at his creator one more time. He burns the image of Wilys trademark hair spikes, that now droop down as if soaked in rain, into his eyes. Strange, Zero thought, how that mans hair seems to have a mind of its own that mimics the mood of its master.
Zero walks through the doorway but stops halfway. His body half in the room, half in the hallway.
Zero - I ... I love you ..
Zero strides into the hallway, the very tip of his long blonde ponytail catches Wily's eye as he looks to the doorway only catching the final glimpse of its bouncing, dynamic exit. A tear forms in the right eye of the former mad scientist;a tear that rolls down the cheek but around the edge of the lip of a smile.
Rush , who has been such a well mannered dog the whole time, wags his tail at the end of the bed where he still lay curled. His nose picked up Wily's change in pheromones not to mention he understands English and thought Zeros use of the L word was moving. Rush loves that word. He suddenly has a memory of Roll who used to say that to him every day. His tail couldn't help but wag.+
Zero passes Serges in the hallway. The colorful robotic version of his father unsettles Zero every time. Zero avoids eye contact and passes Serges with a brisk stride. Somehow he knows hes got to talk to him eventually but hes had enough heart to hearts and needs to process this development. Somehow, he feels the company of his best friend would help. Then he reminds himself of the state that X has been in lately. Great, he thinks, another piece of bad news that X will probably blame on himself. Wily is giving up and its all my fault! He can see it now. Wait. Hes not 100 percent sure about anything right now. He can put off telling him... Zero goes to his own quarters and lays down in his transerver unit to regenerate and enter a dream sequence designed to explore his emotions and make sense of his reality...
Serges gets to the doorway of Wily's room. Wily saw him coming through the window. Rush perks his head up, his ears, pointed up for alert. His dog instincts tell him not to trust Serges yet. Even though all the others apply no friction with the reploid clone. Rush was programmed to protect human life much as Rock was. So he sort of takes sides with the real Wily and feels uncomfortable around the robot version. Especially because at first, they had the exact same voice and once, Serges played a prank on Rush and called him very excitedly and Rush turned a hallway corner at full speed only to find Serges waiting with open arms as if mocking his fear. That's a good boy! He said..right as Rush slams on the front paw brakes and skids right into him. Serges scooped him up and held him like a baby, and swung him around while singing rock a bye baby. Rush started to shake and Serges realized his mistake. He put him down and apologized but Rush trotted away from him and hasn't trusted him since. Zero was watching and found the whole thing hilarious. Zero thought to himself, that it was very much like the real Wily. It put him more at ease.
Serges - May i come in?
Rush growls low...
Wily chuckles a little. He finds it funny Rush doesnt like his robot alter ego.
Wily - Be nice.
Rush wags his tail.
Wily - Come in.
Serges walks through the door and immediately makes eye contact with Rush and stops dead in his tracks. Rush perks his head up too and now the two are locked in a strange bit of tension.
Serges - Rush. Would you mind leaving us?
Rush growls low again...
Wily - Its ok my friend. I think he just doesnt want anyone else to hear what he has to say am I right?
Serges - Great minds think alike.
Rush bends his head around to look at Wily and his mouth opens. His tongue is out and hes panting like a dog normally does. Hes waiting for one more command.
Wily - Please, Rush
Wily looks to the door and Rush hops down and walks out. The door closes behind him.
Serges - Computer seal quarters.
Computer - acknowledged.
Wily - Whats this?
Serges - This is going to end now. This human depression of yours. I will not tolerate it any longer!
Wily scoffs.
Wily - What ? is it such a damage to your own pride and ego that you cannot ALLOW an old man that looks and sounds like you to exist in a weaker state of mind? Am I, offensive to your eyes and ears? Come to silence me perhaps? You couldnt have come at a better time! Ive just made peace with everyone and everything. Go ahead!
Serges focuses his left green eye camera. Wily cannot tell but Serges is zooming in on Wilys face and studying it with computer assisted scans. His right eye, Wily can see and its clearly looking concerned. He doesn't say anything right away. Wily notices.
Wily - Well? what now?
Serges suddenly realizes the plan he spent the last hour forming, the speech, the actions, everything so carefully dramatized and calculated to manipulate Wily into remembering who he is, aimed at regaining his former presence;has suddenly dissolved. It wouldn't work. The speech was aimed at addressing a specific problem and that is clearly not the real problem. Something else is wrong. Something deeper with Wily. That last verbal attack on Serges left him feeling strangely confused. As if getting a glimpse of the real affliction within Wily revealed a deeper mystery. He was serious. Wily really would have been ok if Serges had killed him for no reason; as if he was ok that his story would end so, uneventfully. Serges knows or thought he knew, his creator. After all, his memorys are Wily's memories. Every single one, even memories personal and secret that he hasn't shared with anyone. He knew that Wily always dreamed of a death more glorious than any hero or anti hero in fiction or reality. At one time, his ego was so massive that his death was painted as a turning point for history in his own mind. What was truly scary about this man was his ability to turn all that fantasy into reality. Now, though, he sees a completely different man. Suddenly, Serges no longer feels that connection that he and Wily are the same and therefore Wily is no longer subjected to judgement as harsh as before. Its easy to hate yourself and therefor anyone who resembles yourself , you will also hate. This change in Wily's behavior has now forced Serges to change the way he also sees himself.
Wily - Are you just gonna stand there?
Serges - computer. unseal quarters.
Computer - acknowledged.
Serges - I'm... i'm sorry to disturb you .
Serges leaves the room with both hands clasped behind his back, in deep thought.
Wily doesn't have a puzzled look but rather a stoic featureless face. Hes not sure why Serges came or why he chose to be defeated so easily but after crying and all the emotion, hes tired and ready for another 12 hours of focused dreaming.
Wily - RUSH!
Rush comes through the door quickly and hops back on the end of the bed. Wily leans forward to grab the mutt and pull him over to the other side of his pillows.
Rush wags his tail making thumping sounds against the mattress while licking Wily's cheek. Wily smiles. Its exactly what he wanted and needed. But then. Wily gently pushes Rush away from his face and frowns. Rush notices and whimpers a little and curls up again to be quiet.
Wily - Oh ...boy. Don't be sad. Its not you. Its just, sometimes its hard to be happy even when you are happy. You know?
Rush doesn't answer.
Wily - i'm tired..
Wily closes his eyes and moments later, loses consciousness.
Serges walks back down to his own lab which doubles as his living quarters. He passes by Zeros quarters and goes to check on him and sees him regenerating.
Serges - Every body seems to want to sleep around here..
Serges exits and heads back down , this time X's quarters. He hasn't seen the blue bot in a few hours. I bet hes also sleeping right? He opens the door.
Serges - X. Knock knock.
He hears nothing.
Serges - Im coming in.
He walks in , looks around, finds no sign of X and walks back out. He must be outside or in the basement.
Serges - Computer locate X
Computer - X left base at 2132 hours and is currently outside sensor range. Location cannot be established.
Serges - WHAT!?
Computer - X left base at 21...
Serges - SHUT UP!
