Mega Man was again slammed mercilessly against a wall. It was all he could do to stay standing. His right eye refused to open, circulatory fluid leaked from a scalp wound into his left eye, stinging like nothing else, his whole body was a mass of cuts, scrapes, and black, oily, fluids, and his helmet was now several useless pieces scattered around the room. Vile laughed as he launched another barrage of missiles at Rock.
The little blue robot did a set of backflips and handsprings that belied the exhausted state his body was in, dodging all the projectiles. Vile used the smoke cover to attack again, catching Mega Man with a massive uppercut that knocked the Blue Bomber head first into the ceiling. He fell again as a limp doll. He no longer had the energy to stand up.
Mega Man could hear the thuds of Vile's feet as it came closer. The evil Reploid used the huge hand of his mech to scoop his prey up as easily as he might have a doll. "Bed time, Rocky," Vile said tauntingly. "Time to tuck you in and say good night." Vile pointed his rocket launcher right at Rock's head. He didn't even flinch. "Impressive," Vile said with a touch of surprise. "Not flinching away from death is a sign of a true warrior indeed. But it ain't gonna make a difference!" Mega Man stared down the barrel of the gun, determined not to back down, when the explosion sounded-from BEHIND Vile.
"Rock, get out of there, now!" Dr. Light pleaded.
"Not 'till I get this thing fixed!" came the reply from the next room. One of Dr. Light's experiments had gone awry, forcing him and Dr. Wily to evacuate. Rock was certain he could get the electrical surge under control and had his arms elbow deep in the wiring. Being a mere robot, Rock couldn't feel any pain as the energy coursed through and around him, causing his hair to stand on end.
"Now what are we going to do!?" Dr. Wily asked, despairingly.
"Roll," Dr. Light responded. "She's the only one who can get in there without sustaining permanent damage."
The blonde robot-built a few weeks after Rock for the purpose of housekeeping-nodded briskly before charging into the electrical storm that was the lab. "C'mon Rock!" she called grabbing hold of his shoulder. As she did so, the energy coursed through her body as well.
"No!" Rock replied stubbornly. He was programmed to fix any problems with the machines around the house and lab, and it seemed those protocols were even stronger than that of obeying one's creator. "I have to get this fixed!"
"Sorry, Rock," Roll muttered as she opened a panel in her brother's back. She reached in and fiddled with a few of the systems inside, causing Rock to slump over almost immediately. She propped him over her shoulder and ran toward the door, but she didn't make it before the explosion.
Smoke filtered out into the hall where Dr. Light and Dr. Wily were waiting. Coughing and gasping for air, the two men retreated further into the hallway. Dr. Light hit a button on the wall, and the air filtering system kicked in. When the smoke cleared, Roll could be seen carrying her brother over her shoulder. She dropped him a moment before she fell over herself.
The scene then faded before X's eyes.
"That was what began the transformation in the two of you from mere robot to Bioroid," Dr. Light's hologram explained. "Protoman's change came from the accident that caused me to lose him for that year."
X shook his head. "If you know what it takes to make a Bioroid, why didn't you just make more like them?"
Dr. Light shook his own head. "You can't simply build a Bioroid. It just happens on accident. The fact that three of my creations should become living machines-the odds against even one more being created are astronomic. That's part of the reason I began researching how to make a robot that has it's own emotions and thought process. Come on, X. This is still only the beginning."
"Doppler, what is X's status?"
The tall Reploid scientist turned to Sigma. "H-he's gone into Stasis Lock! It seems Zero was right. X's conscious mind seems to be extracting the data from his subconscious. In effect, he's regaining his memories."
Sigma nodded, smiling inwardly to himself. Almost everything was going according to plan-Zero was seething, and it was when he was in an extreme state of anger that he was at his closest to turning over to the Mavericks. Sigma turned to the caged Iris. "Doppler," he demanded. "Turn off the female's cage."
"Yes, sir," Doppler replied as he tapped some keys on another keyboard. The energy bars around Iris' cage instantly disintegrated. Sigma grinned.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Attack me."
Iris glared at Sigma for a moment, all her systems screaming that it was a trap. Still, he had her against a wall, and if she was going do die again, she might as well do so fighting. With a primal cry, she leapt at the Maverick leader hand pulled back, palm flat, in preparation for a technique that would snap Sigma's neck. Sigma dodged easily.
Zero watched in horror as Iris tried several other techniques to get Sigma, all of which met with similar results. Sigma finally retaliated with an uppercut that sent her flying across the room. "IRIS!!!" Zero yelled despairingly.
Sigma smirked and held Iris's face in his hand, forcing her to look at him. "She's a good fighter, I must admit. She's pretty, too. Almost a shame that I'll have to deface her..."
Zero had nearly reached that most deadly point in his anger that Sigma was aiming for. "Sigma, you hurt one hair on her head, and I'll personally rip your stinkin' heart out!"
Sigma's grin grew just a touch wider.
Wily studied his group of robots with an evil grin. Cut Man, Guts Man, Elec Man, Bomb Man, Ice Man, Fire Man, Rock, and Roll all reprogrammed to serve his purposes. Okay, so maybe he didn't originally plan on getting Rock and Roll, but hey, it was their own fault for barging in on him. What he didn't see was Rock counting down on his fingers to roll. Five...four...three...two...one!
Rock tackled Wily. As he pinned the old man's hands to the ground he yelled to his sister, "Roll! Get Dr. Light!"
"What's going on here!" Wily cried. "I reprogrammed you! I know I did!!!"
Rock grinned. "We resisted."
Wily's jaw dropped. "Impossible! You're robots! Walking, talking computers! You don't have the free will to resist a reprogramming!"
"Seems we do, so what are you gonna do about it?"
Wily stared hard into Rock's blue eyes. Then he grinned smugly. "Guts Man...?"
Rock felt a large hand close around the back of his neck for just a second before he found himself flying across the room. He hit a table with a bunch of supplies on it hard enough to break the table in half. His head hurt-pain? Since when could he feel pain?-but he was determined to stop Wily. He picked a wrench up from the mess he created and leaped at Guts Man. Guts Man met his leap with a simple punch to the face that sent Rock flying against the wall again. He didn't get up this time.
Wily burst into maniacal laughter. "I'd love to stick around, but I have a world to take over! Guts Man, exit!" Guts man punched a hole in the side of the wall, and the last thing Rock heard before losing consciousness was Wily's laugh echoing through the several square acres of Dr. Light's property.
The scene faded before X's stunned eyes, but before he could speak to his creator another one faded in.
"You're sure you want to do this?" Dr. Light asked Rock with concern.
Rock nodded. "Of course! I couldn't stop the nutcase from wrecking the lab and escaping, but I'm sure as heck gonna stop him from doing something even worse!"
Dr. Light nodded himself. "Of course. You do realize that this change I'm about to make in you is very dangerous, what with the changes your systems seem to be going though. There's no way I can guarantee that they won't reject the new equipment."
Rock nodded again, a grim look on his face. "I understand, but I don't see any other choice."
The scene faded again, only to phase in again. Rock was now standing tall (well, as tall as his four foot frame would let him, anyway) in a new set of blue armor complete with a helmet.
"Y'know," Roll said thoughtfully. "You need a new name."
Rock raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
Roll smiled. "You know, like in the comics. How 'bout 'Rock Man?'"
Rock made a face and gave his sister a thumbs down. "It was only a suggestion," she huffed.
Dr. Light scratched his chin in thought. "'Megabyte Man?'"
"Close, doc, but no cigar."
Roll's face split in a grin. "How 'bout 'Mega Man?'"
Rock grinned, too. "'Mega Man,' I like it..."
And the scene faded before X's eyes.
"Viiiiiiiiiiile!!!!!!"
Vile had to take a step back. Hovering above him was Bass. But there was something about him-he seemed to be ignited in deep violet flames, his eyes glowing a purple that was only a notch in the spectrum away from being white. Those eyes showed such a cold fury that Vile had to take another step backwards.
Before Vile realized it, Bass was right in front of him. "I'll take that," he said with a cold grin, just before ripping the mech's arm off that held Mega Man. Mega Man managed to break out of it's now weak grip before crashing to the ground. He didn't have the strength to get up again.
Vile and Bass, however, were completely ignoring him, now. Vile kept getting Bass in his rocket launcher's sights, but every time he did, Bass seemed to "vanish" to another spot. Finally, he disappeared from Vile's view. Vile swore. "Bass, stop skipping around like a coward and FIGHT!!!"
Vile felt a tapping on his shoulder. He looked behind himself to find Bass's cold grin filling his view. "If you insist," the black robot said before punching Vile in the face.
Vile's visor shattered and as he flew backward into the far wall. He retaliated immediately by firing off all the missiles in his mech's remaining arm. All of them hit dead on. Vile allowed himself a small grin as Bass and the rest of the room disappeared in a mass of explosions and smoke. Then he heard the distinct sound of metallic footsteps. Bass emerged from the smoke, still alight with purple flames, eyes still glowing that eerie shade, totally unharmed.
Vile had time for a startled "urk" before Bass as on him again. This time he grabbed the mech by its huge shoulders and threw it into the air. He followed up his attack with a blast of purple energy that caused the entire mech to explode. Vile flew from the new smoke and haze and hit Bass in the head with a perfect flying kick. He followed up with a blast from his shoulder cannon.
The shot hit Bass in the chest, and the debilitating energy surrounded him. Vile's eyes widened slightly in surprise as Bass remained standing. Then he grinned. "Seems my weapon doesn't fully affect you anymore," he said to Bass. "Still, it's enough for me to finish you off!"
Before Vile could carry out his threat, he was blindsided by a large bolt of hot plasma that hit him in the side of the head. The blast totally disintegrated Vile's helmet, revealing his true face for all the world to see. It would not have been all that spectacular, had his eyes not been glowing red much as Bass's were going purple. He did have a scar on his cheek and another over one eye from his many battles, and he had shoulder length black hair. Pretty standard humanoid, in point of fact.
Vile spun to face whatever had attacked him, and found himself looking at Mega Man. He was lying on his stomach and still had his arm formed into a cannon, with smoke wafting from the tip of it. Rock gave Vile a sardonic grin. "You're dead, Vile."
Vile spun again at the scream of primal rage behind him. Bass had fully regained use of his body, and he formed both hands into cannons and aimed them at Vile. "'Night, Vile," he said, imitating Vile's earlier words. "Time to tuck you in, and say goodnight!" With that, Bass let loose with a huge beam of purple energy that hit Vile full in the chest and sent him flying to the opposite wall. When he hit the wall he exploded in a spectacular display of pyrotechnics. Small bits of metal, plastic and silicone rained on the battlefield for a moment as the fiery energy surrounding Bass slowly subsided.
Bass had a look of shock on his face. Woah, he thought. I had no idea that alien energy could do that! He cried out as the systems in his chest seemed to bunch up in a knot. Come's with a price, though. Bass grimly took one of his two remaining E-Tanks from within his armor and drained it. The cooling energy made him instantly feel better.
Moments later, Mega Man was similarly treated, and was running at full operating capacity, though much of his exterior wounds still showed and he was still missing his helmet. Still, none of the wounds were bleeding and he had full use of both eyes again. No sooner had Mega Man drained Bass's last E-Tank then some of the debris along the wall shifted. The rocks fell away to reveal the white and red Protoshield, which shifted to show Protoman, scratched and dented but otherwise okay. "Woah, Rock," he gasped in shock at the sight of his brother. "You look awful!"
Mega Man laughed. "Well, Proto, you're no prize yourself!"
Bass grinned slightly at the exchange, but got back to business. Walking over to a gate on the opposite side of the one they came in from. "Come on, Mega Man. The main lab is just a stone's throw away now."
Mega Man nodded. "Sure, sure. But Bass..." Mega Man extended a hand to the black robot. "Call me Rock," he said with a smile.
Bass looked at the hand in surprise for a second and smiled himself. "Deal," he said as he grasped it firmly.
X's eyes widened as the memories flashed back before him faster and faster. One second he saw himself as Rock tackled by a red and white robotic dog, as the voices of Roll and Dr. Light cheered, "Happy Birthday!" The next second, he saw Mega Man in a mineshaft facing off with a red and white robot with a yellow scarf and a visor. "You're good, Mega Man. I will admit that. Now I guess I'll let you continue on your way."
"Wait!" Mega Man cried. "Who are you?"
The red robot grinned. "Call me Break Man."
The scene shifted again, to Mega Man awakening in the lab of Dr. Light after getting crushed by tons of rock. Dr. Light was fussing about him, wondering who would have brought Mega Man to the lab. His musings were interrupted by a whistling. "It must have been Protoman!" Dr. Light breathed.
X smiled as he witnessed the battle between Mega Man and Dr. Cossack getting cut short by Protoman, as he teleported down with Cossack's young daughter, Kalinka. The influx of memories was overwhelming X, but he was exhilarated at the same time. He was remembering!