Chapter Eleven: Perfect Machine
"BLUE!" I screamed. Bass was now to his feet and charging his plasma cannon as it was pointed a foot away from the red and grey robot's chest.
"BASS! STOP!"
***
I heard the command and I obeyed, leaving Protoman and Mega Man forgotten on the floor. I turned to my creator, who appeared to be in a weakened state. Afraid that she was in some danger I rushed to her side, throwing Wily away from her as I did so.
"Watch what you're doing, damn robot!" the old man cursed, earning him a glare from me.
"Shut up, you old fool," I told him dangerously. "Can you not see that my creator has been harmed? I do not take orders from you, only her."
"Why you miserable piece of scrap wiring and circuits--"
Wrong move, Wily. I picked him up by the collar of his lab coat before he could finish insulting me. "Do not talk to me like that, old man, or I will destroy you. I won't hesitate to do it, so DO NOT TEST MY PATIENCE. HELP SIERRA, AND DO IT NOW!"
Before the quivering coward could croak out a reply Sierra began screaming again, and I dropped Wily so that I could help her.
"Sierra! What's the matter? Speak to me! What can I do to help you?!"
"Bass..." she sobbed. "Don't hurt them... don't kill them!"
I was shocked. What was so wrong that she was telling me to not destroy our enemies? "What are you saying? They're our adversaries! We have to kill them!"
"No, Bass..." she cried softly. "I was... wrong... they're not bad... Wily is the evil one..."
"WHAT?" I whirled around to face the mad scientist, who was at first white as a sheet but now blossoming bright red in fury.
"Damn you, girl!" he shouted. "How could you resist my mind-control chip!? It was flawless!"
"Mind-control?" I asked, unbelieving. "You mean..."
"Yes, Bass," Wily sneered. "I told this little girl to build you against her will. She was to fulfill my every command; your only purpose was to destroy Mega Man and Zero... but somehow she has overridden the commands I had input into the chip..." he trailed off as he mused to himself.
I was beside myself, using the human term. Okay, that was a severe understatement. I was infuriated beyond anything else! How DARE he control my creator's actions! Even if I was a product of his villainous acts against Sierra, she was still my creator and it was my duty to defend her!
But my first priority was to get her some help...I could deal with Wily later. I spotted the aircraft that Mega Man and Zero had flown in here with, and I picked up my creator to place her safely inside. She did not struggle, but when I began to take my place at the pilot's seat she stopped me. I turned to look at her in concern and felt my robotic heart break at the pain in her eyes. It was truly the first emotion I had ever felt aside from a cold desire to kill...
"Bass..." she murmured almost incoherently. "We have to help them..."
'Them' most likely meant Mega Man, Protoman, and Zero. I growled to myself silently, trying to figure out if I really wanted to follow her wish. I mean, hell, I was programmed from the very start to destroy them!
But then I remembered Protoman's betrayal against Wily. How he had defied his programming to follow... what? His heart...? No... that couldn't be. Robots don't have emotions... or did they? My memory shifted to the look on Zero's face when he saw Sierra. There was definitely some emotion there, which probably explained why he fought so hard against me even though all odds were in my favor! It seemed that every robotic philosophy I had picked up on was being outdone and proven wrong in every sense.
Jealousy set in. Could I ever be as free as those three? I looked again to Sierra, and decided that it could be so. She was a compassionate person, I could see that now... Wily had only wiped her mind so that her body was a lifeless shell... and she seemed to care for those robots a lot... and, I think, she cared for me too...
"All right," I said, and jumped out of the plane to retrieve the 'bots. I reached Zero first, who was thrown over my shoulder still unconscious. I then moved over to where Protoman lay in at least three pieces, picked them all up and walked back to the aircraft. From the look of it, the ride to wherever we were going was gonna be a tight fit... I put Zero in next to Sierra, who appeared greatly relieved. As for Protoman, his parts went into the cargo space. There was no other way to put him elsewhere. At last I went to retrieve Mega Man, who was slowly regaining mobility in his limbs. I applauded silently his efforts to destroy me... the guy really had spunk... and maybe 'spirit', too, as the humans would apply it.
As I approached he sat up almost groggily, inching away from me.
"I can still kill you, man..." he warned.
"Cool it, Blue Bomber," I said, putting my hands up in defense as my black eyes widened. "I'm not planning to hurt ya any more."
"Oh? Why is that?"
I rolled my eyes. "Where've you been, dope? My creator was controlled by Wily and used me to try and kill you. She's back to normal now, so I'm helping her get you back you wherever you all came from!"
"Sierra? She was under mind-control?"
"Didn't I just say that?" I exclaimed in exasperation. "YES! Jeez, Protoman musta beaten you up more than I thought if you're this out of it... what a wimp..."
"Hey, shut up! I managed to dent you up pretty well, didn't I?"
I looked myself over. "Yeah, guess so... now come on! We have to get out of here before Wily does something..."
"Too late."
***
Mind control, huh? That made sense... it would explain why Sierra didn't recognize Zero and me before... however I was hesitant to let Bass help me... it all seemed too easy.
"Come on! We have to go!" he said again, "Before Wily does something..."
"Too late..." called a voice.
"Oh, shit..." I cursed. Why couldn't I learn to expect these things? Bass and I turned around to see Wily back on his feet, and now he had some sort of device in one hand.
"Did you really think I'd let you go that easily, Bass?" he asked the black robot maniacally. "I made sure that Sierra built a failsafe control remote when she built you... and look! She seems to have dropped it..."
"Wily! Stop!" I heard Sierra call from the plane. I finally saw how thin she had become, and how pale she was. What the heck had Wily done to her? But when I saw the rebellious gleam in her eye I knew she was herself again.
"Stop this!" she repeated. "I won't let you take Bass, or hurt any of my friends again!"
Author's Note: Uh-oh... looks like Bass is in big trouble! Will he be reacquired by Wily? REVIEW!!!!
"BLUE!" I screamed. Bass was now to his feet and charging his plasma cannon as it was pointed a foot away from the red and grey robot's chest.
"BASS! STOP!"
***
I heard the command and I obeyed, leaving Protoman and Mega Man forgotten on the floor. I turned to my creator, who appeared to be in a weakened state. Afraid that she was in some danger I rushed to her side, throwing Wily away from her as I did so.
"Watch what you're doing, damn robot!" the old man cursed, earning him a glare from me.
"Shut up, you old fool," I told him dangerously. "Can you not see that my creator has been harmed? I do not take orders from you, only her."
"Why you miserable piece of scrap wiring and circuits--"
Wrong move, Wily. I picked him up by the collar of his lab coat before he could finish insulting me. "Do not talk to me like that, old man, or I will destroy you. I won't hesitate to do it, so DO NOT TEST MY PATIENCE. HELP SIERRA, AND DO IT NOW!"
Before the quivering coward could croak out a reply Sierra began screaming again, and I dropped Wily so that I could help her.
"Sierra! What's the matter? Speak to me! What can I do to help you?!"
"Bass..." she sobbed. "Don't hurt them... don't kill them!"
I was shocked. What was so wrong that she was telling me to not destroy our enemies? "What are you saying? They're our adversaries! We have to kill them!"
"No, Bass..." she cried softly. "I was... wrong... they're not bad... Wily is the evil one..."
"WHAT?" I whirled around to face the mad scientist, who was at first white as a sheet but now blossoming bright red in fury.
"Damn you, girl!" he shouted. "How could you resist my mind-control chip!? It was flawless!"
"Mind-control?" I asked, unbelieving. "You mean..."
"Yes, Bass," Wily sneered. "I told this little girl to build you against her will. She was to fulfill my every command; your only purpose was to destroy Mega Man and Zero... but somehow she has overridden the commands I had input into the chip..." he trailed off as he mused to himself.
I was beside myself, using the human term. Okay, that was a severe understatement. I was infuriated beyond anything else! How DARE he control my creator's actions! Even if I was a product of his villainous acts against Sierra, she was still my creator and it was my duty to defend her!
But my first priority was to get her some help...I could deal with Wily later. I spotted the aircraft that Mega Man and Zero had flown in here with, and I picked up my creator to place her safely inside. She did not struggle, but when I began to take my place at the pilot's seat she stopped me. I turned to look at her in concern and felt my robotic heart break at the pain in her eyes. It was truly the first emotion I had ever felt aside from a cold desire to kill...
"Bass..." she murmured almost incoherently. "We have to help them..."
'Them' most likely meant Mega Man, Protoman, and Zero. I growled to myself silently, trying to figure out if I really wanted to follow her wish. I mean, hell, I was programmed from the very start to destroy them!
But then I remembered Protoman's betrayal against Wily. How he had defied his programming to follow... what? His heart...? No... that couldn't be. Robots don't have emotions... or did they? My memory shifted to the look on Zero's face when he saw Sierra. There was definitely some emotion there, which probably explained why he fought so hard against me even though all odds were in my favor! It seemed that every robotic philosophy I had picked up on was being outdone and proven wrong in every sense.
Jealousy set in. Could I ever be as free as those three? I looked again to Sierra, and decided that it could be so. She was a compassionate person, I could see that now... Wily had only wiped her mind so that her body was a lifeless shell... and she seemed to care for those robots a lot... and, I think, she cared for me too...
"All right," I said, and jumped out of the plane to retrieve the 'bots. I reached Zero first, who was thrown over my shoulder still unconscious. I then moved over to where Protoman lay in at least three pieces, picked them all up and walked back to the aircraft. From the look of it, the ride to wherever we were going was gonna be a tight fit... I put Zero in next to Sierra, who appeared greatly relieved. As for Protoman, his parts went into the cargo space. There was no other way to put him elsewhere. At last I went to retrieve Mega Man, who was slowly regaining mobility in his limbs. I applauded silently his efforts to destroy me... the guy really had spunk... and maybe 'spirit', too, as the humans would apply it.
As I approached he sat up almost groggily, inching away from me.
"I can still kill you, man..." he warned.
"Cool it, Blue Bomber," I said, putting my hands up in defense as my black eyes widened. "I'm not planning to hurt ya any more."
"Oh? Why is that?"
I rolled my eyes. "Where've you been, dope? My creator was controlled by Wily and used me to try and kill you. She's back to normal now, so I'm helping her get you back you wherever you all came from!"
"Sierra? She was under mind-control?"
"Didn't I just say that?" I exclaimed in exasperation. "YES! Jeez, Protoman musta beaten you up more than I thought if you're this out of it... what a wimp..."
"Hey, shut up! I managed to dent you up pretty well, didn't I?"
I looked myself over. "Yeah, guess so... now come on! We have to get out of here before Wily does something..."
"Too late."
***
Mind control, huh? That made sense... it would explain why Sierra didn't recognize Zero and me before... however I was hesitant to let Bass help me... it all seemed too easy.
"Come on! We have to go!" he said again, "Before Wily does something..."
"Too late..." called a voice.
"Oh, shit..." I cursed. Why couldn't I learn to expect these things? Bass and I turned around to see Wily back on his feet, and now he had some sort of device in one hand.
"Did you really think I'd let you go that easily, Bass?" he asked the black robot maniacally. "I made sure that Sierra built a failsafe control remote when she built you... and look! She seems to have dropped it..."
"Wily! Stop!" I heard Sierra call from the plane. I finally saw how thin she had become, and how pale she was. What the heck had Wily done to her? But when I saw the rebellious gleam in her eye I knew she was herself again.
"Stop this!" she repeated. "I won't let you take Bass, or hurt any of my friends again!"
Author's Note: Uh-oh... looks like Bass is in big trouble! Will he be reacquired by Wily? REVIEW!!!!