Road of the Warrior, Part Nine
Part Nine-The Coming Storm

"Here you go, Wily." Break Sigma said, handing the circuit to the doctor. He smiled, and quickly connected the circuit to the panel in front of him.
"Excellent work Sigma." Wily said. "Now, all we need is an appropriate power source, and everything will be ready."
"Don't you need the component from Sigma's master systems?" Guts Man asked.
"Of course I do. But it's already in place."
"You mean..."
"Exactly." Wily said with a grin. "Sigma's master computer is inside..."
"Arrgghhhh..." Sigma said suddenly, doubling over. "Break Man...somehow, he's fighting back!"
"That's impossible!" Vile cried.
"Very possible. In fact, I expected as much." Wily said. "Break Man is a living machine. Unlike anything Sigma was designed to inhabit. But we have the chip now, and that is the most important thing."
"Get...out...of...me!" Break Man screamed. He reached over and ripped away the sword that Sigma had installed on one of his hands. He then lurched forward, almost crashing into the console Wily was assembling.
"Vile! Teleport them out of here!" Wily said. "Before they can do any more damage!"
Vile nodded, then ran behind Break Man and grabbed his shoulder. The two then teleported out of the lab.
"Interesting reaction." Guts Man noted as he walked beside his master.
"Very. I didn't expect Sigma to be able to inhabit Break Man for long, as I said. However, he will soon have an even more effective host." Wily replied. "Is everything ready?"
"Very nearly. We have almost pinpointed the exact location."
"Excellent. Soon, very soon, this entire pitiful little planet will be ours."

The lense of Kor's exposed eye tightened as he tried to make sure what was on the video Surgeon was showing him. They were unmistakable-Several of Doctor Wily's old robots. Quick Man, Guts Man, Bright Man, Flash Man, Turbo Man-All of them exactly as he remembered them. He looked to the sky, and noticed it almost immediately-too small for the human eye to detect, but a distortion around the clouds in an all-too familiar cigar shape.
"Wily's saucer." he said simply.
"Kor, Wily's dead." Surgeon said. "You told us you saw Mega Man blast a hole through him."
"I saw Bass trick him into doing it," Kor corrected, "And Wily was resourceful enough to find some way around death. By all rights, I shouldn't be alive either."
"Perhaps so." Shadoo said, walking into the room, "But you're a robot. Wily's a human. It's impossible. It has to be."
"Nothing is impossible." Kor said with a smile. "Beta, my dear, what do you think?"
Beta walked into the room, wearing her new battle armor. "If this Wily person is as clever as you claim, I don't doubt he found some way to escape death."
"He won't escape it a second time." Kor said, then clenched his fist.
"Didn't Wily create you, Kor? Or us, for that matter?" Surgeon asked.
"You forget, Wily discarded Doc Robot and Dark Man as soon as he was through with them. Just as he did with me."
"You sound a little bitter, chief." Shadoo said.
"Being trapped at the bottom of a pit while you're regenerating, with only a human skeleton for company for five hundred years tends to help you put things in perspective. In addition, in the act of cloning Mega Man, Wily gave me some of that sickening code of ethics he followed. And, over time, the bitter hatred he had for Wily-without the control he had over it in his life."
"So, what do we do?" Surgeon asked. "Take out Wily?"
"Yes, but there is a certain way we must go about it. The four of us alone are not enough. Wily presents a great threat to everyone on this planet."
"You better watch it boss," Shadoo warned, "You're starting to sound like a hero."
"A momentary lapse." Kor said, but sounded unsure.

"Alright," Vector Phi said, "Let me get this straight. Five hundred years ago, Mega Man blasted "me" and you rebuilt me into my current form, hiding my memories from me and transforming me into some kind of..."
"Living machine, that's right." the hologram of Light explained, "You see, simple robots with emotional programming are far too dangerous. Without life, all emotions can be are preprogrammed standards. There is no self control or moderation. The emotions can dominate the robot and send them into a flurry of actions that must be fulfilled, according to the programs."
"So, Bass doesn't exist any more?" Mega Man asked.
"He does, actually. Vector retains Bass's shape shifting abilities. We discovered-quite by accident-that Bass's program is still within Vector. From time to time, it takes over and Bass is able to transform into his original form. With some work, I might be able to allow you and Bass to communicate with you, Vector. It was Bass that saved you...or Mega Man X...from Doctor Wily."
"Now," Mega Man said, sitting in the chair behind him, "Explain to me how Wily is back."
"Wily's accident-the one that transformed him into the monster we now know-was caused by an experiment he dubbed Lazarus. It could cure any disease, heal any injury, and reverse the aging process. However, depending on the severity of the injuries, it would take great amounts of time. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that Wily was able to perfect Lazarus and had been inside of it."
"So, Wily and his robots are back, and he's got allies in this time." Mega Man said. "This doesn't sound very good."
"Well, if you and Bass team up..."
"Forgive me if I don't trust Bass."
"He saved your life, Mega Man!" Phaelin exclaimed. "He was an imperfect machine back then."
"That doesn't make him any less guilty of his crimes."
"Mega...Rock, please." Vector said, walking over to him. "I know Bass has done some terrible things, but he's different now. You have to trust him."
"The last time I trusted him," Mega Man shot back, "He destroyed the lab and almost killed Doctor Light."
"Then maybe," Vector said, and suddenly transformed into Bass, "You should use this." With that, Bass lifted Mega Man's cannon arm up against his chest.
"You've got to be kidding me."
"The last time we met, you didn't hesitate to do what it took. You shouldn't do it now, either. I don't have any problem if you blast me-I deserve it, more than anyone else. But no matter what, you have to fight Wily. You can do it with me or without me. I'd just as soon we do it together."
Mega Man slowly lowered his cannon. "Fine, but don't expect me to bail you out if you get in trouble." He continued to glare at his old enemy. "And if you make even the slightest move Bass, I won't hesitate to destroy you."
"Fair enough." Bass replied, then held out his hand. "Partners?" Mega Man pushed his hand away.
"Unwilling allies." Mega Man said, then walked away.

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