Elsewhere, at exactly the same time...

"I was glad you could come, Rock." Roll said with a warm smile, that Rock returned. She was his sister, of course... but only after a fashion, and it was easy to ignore. He felt so... so... Rock struggled for a word. He felt like he belonged here. Even with another version of himself, it was easy to joke with Roll, talk to Dr. Light.

And apparently, they felt the same way, since they'd invited him over. He suddenly frowned just a little in worry.

He hadn't wanted to suggest they invite Bane, too, but he worried. This was the first time they'd been apart for Christmas, and usually, they had gone to a very expensive restaurant, then spent the night listening to Christmas carols, having fun with the presents they'd gotten each other and from "Santa", and drunk eggnog. Basically the same thing he was doing here.

He suddenly bit his lip. Bane had cheerfully said it was fine, he should go, but now that he thought back on it, that cheer hadn't been quite... genuine.

"Roll... is there a computer anywhere? I'd like to check Bane's website." He finally said, anxiously. Roll looked up from where she was cuddled beside him.

"What? Why?" She asked, confused. Rock smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, I just want to see if he's added anything..." He glanced over to Dr. Light and Mega Man. They were talking and laughing, Mega Man examining the handbook for a remote control car. Roll frowned just a little, but nodded.

"Sure, right over here..." Rock accessed the website as soon as he could, and breathed a small sigh of relief. It looked just the same.

"Unh?" He was on the website account... and there were signs that a new website, from the same account, had been set up. "He's done something..." He quickly entered the new website. "GAH!"

The video feed was all too clear. Bane was stripped down to the tasteful undies, and stretched out on the couch in a state of extreme drunkeness. There was no sound feed, but Rock thought that was probably a good thing, as Bane stretched in what could only be a deliberate pose.

"Oh my." Roll said breathlessly as she stared, eyes wide. Rock finally got together enough of his concentration to slap a hand over her eyes.

"That... that... that idiot! I'll be just fine, he says. No, I won't be lonely at all..." Working furiously, Rock deleted the new website. But not before he noticed the subliminal messages. "Buy Bre-X stocks and N'Sync CD's?!? Bane!"

"Oh... oh my... he doesn't do that often, does he?" Roll said weakly as Rock dropped his hand. The image was imprinted in her memory. It actually wasn't a bad image at all, when she thought about it...

"No, he's drunk. Why doesn't he ever say anything to me?" Rock fumed. But he could guess why. Bane didn't want to be a burden, didn't want to voice his dependance... but Rock was painfully aware that Bane did depend on him for most of his stability. It was often difficult, and Rock knew he was sometimes a little too short with Bane because of it.

"Should you go home?" Roll said, a touch sadly. She didn't want him to leave so soon. Rock hesitated.

"...No. He's too drunk to have a rational conversation, and he probably won't check to see if his website is working. I'll go back in the morning." For now, he'd just have some more eggnog and enjoy the time with Roll... how he had missed her...

hr

When Rock finally did arrive back at the underground lab, the couch was deserted. That surprised him a little. He'd expected to find Bane passed out on it. Instead, there was just detritus from last night, in the form of bottles and some black, filmy pants.

Rock picked his way through that, going to peer into Bane's bedroom. What he could see there made him sigh.

Bane was lying, nude, half covered by blankets. It looked like he had just dragged himself onto the bed, and made some effort to pull them up, but had been too drunk. Rock shook his head, weary and angry, and walked in.

His eye was caught by a soft, blue thing, and he blinked in surprise. Bane was cuddling that Megachibi he'd bought at the Megacon. An unwilling smile tugged Rock's lips, and he reached down to straighten the blanket. He was startled when his hand touched something cool, hard, rectangular.

Rock fished it out. A picture. He lifted it up, staring at it.

It was a posed picture, but a happy scene... Rush, Tango and Beat in the foreground, himself and Roll kneeling behind them... Eddie, Dr. Light and Proto man in the back. Everyone happy, everyone smiling. A corner of the picture was burned, torn, but hadn't obscured anything.

Rock felt his eyes burn. It was so hard to remember Dr. Light was inside Bane... but he was. And he'd lost more than anyone that day, when Bass had destroyed so much and the government goons had destroyed the rest. And then he'd become one with Bass to make Bane... but the pain still survived.

"I'm sorry, Bane." He whispered, and gently, tenderly tucked him in. Bane just sighed, cuddling the Megachibi closer, looking so relaxed asleep.... Rock got out some asprin, and set them on the nightstand beside him with a glass of water.

"I need to take better care of him." Rock said to himself, just a bit sadly. Bane needed care...

hr

Elsewhere, a little later...

"What issss with all the Cssse-D'ssss?" Snake man asked, lifting one up. "Why N'Ssssssync? And why all the Bre-Xssss ssssstock?" Piles of papers everywhere....

"I don't know, and I don't want to know." Elec-man said mournfully, regarding the CD's.

"If thissss isss part of a new plot to take over the world, it issss truly evil."

"You said it."