Author's Notes:

Finally getting into the Duo part of the story. I've never read anything with him in it, so I have no choice but to portray him as I've envisioned him.

* * *

Chapter 3:

Recovering, Upgrading, and Revelations.


* * *

Rock didn't exactly wake up to a world of pain, nor did he wake up to a world of great comfort.

He woke up after sleeping for nearly a day. And that it enough to make someone wish they hadn't, as a person's body is so used to rest, it doesn't want to move. But, Rock had to figure out what was happening. His last conscious thought was of fighting Bass, and the other bioroid's buster exploding.

"I'm alive," he said, eyes still closed. His lungs weren't repaired completely, so he spoke with a raspy voice.

"No thanks to Bass."

He opened his eyes to stare up at his sister, who was standing over him with a concerned look on her face.

"What happened?" he asked her, and started to move, but Roll gently pushed him back down.

"You nearly got killed. Blues brought you back from the fight, and you're still under repairs. You've been resting for a day."

"Oh. Has the storm cleared?"

"What?" Roll cocked her head, confused, and then it hit her. "Oh, the thunder storm. Yeah, I guess. Why are you worried about that?"

"It . . . It didn't feel normal." He couldn't express why he thought that, but it had been an odd storm. It had been an odd night.

Roll shrugged, not understanding. "I'll go and get Doctor Light now."

Rock nodded, or tried to, but his body was too sore to let him do anything more than wag his head.

He slid his eyes closed, relaxing. He fell asleep before Light came back.

* * *

Bass sat, cross-legged, in front of a small computer terminal, looking from the screen to the device he held in his hand. Wily had designed the plans, but it was Bass's job to actually turn it into a reality.

"Besides," the old man had said, "it's an upgrade for your dog, you should do it."

Bass picked up a small screwdriver, and tightened one of the screws that the connector went into. Double checking how he had the chip boards set up, and the medium sized red power crystal that would generate the energy for the upgrade to be used.

"Everything seems okay . . ." He didn't know why the thing would react, but he knew how it did. Wily had said that the power crystals contained unlimited energy, and were used in both his and Mega Man's Busters, and anything else that needed a massive amount of energy. In fact, Bass had discovered through this conversation that he had a power crystal inside him, which created similar energies to what the one in his buster created. Some relation between the two, and his bioroid body, kept his own energy from damaging him. The power crystal also served as a way for his body to always get energy. The one inside him was small, and not potent, but it would probably keep him alive when his energy ran out.

"I wonder if Rock has something similar in him," he mused. Of course, if he had, then could Bass steal it and put it in himself, causing Rock's Buster to not damage him?

Power crystals were rare. Power crystals that emitted the similar energies were even rarer. The one he had just installed into the upgrade was taken out of another upgrade that had been damaged by Rock.

Bass ran a hand to his chest, then his forehead. Those were power crystals, too, used to increase the properties of his armor. Basically, it gave him better defense than he would have without them.

He patted the floor next to him. His robotic dog, Treble, stalked over to him, kneeling. Bass reached up, and reached to the dog's upper back, sliding a panel open. The dog didn't seem to react, but it seemed vaguely annoyed.

Bass slid the upgrade in, and made sure everything was connected. He took a handful of screws and the tiny screwdriver, securing the board into the dog's inside, so that it was steady.

Most of Trebles middle body was made up of things like the upgrades; little boxes with power crystals inside, and cables running into other boxes. All of this rested between normal robotic parts.

Once he was sure everything was in place, he closed the dog up, and stood.

"So, boy. Feel like testing out the new hardware?"

* * *

"Rock. Wake up, Rock."

Rock wanted to moan as a hand gently shook his shoulder, and his eyes flicked open. He stared up at the benevolent face of his creator, and blinked.

"Good, you're awake. You're healing fine, and I'm getting ready to reapply the skin. I just wanted to make sure you felt okay before I covered it up, incase there was something I forgot."

Rock nodded slightly. "I'm fine, just sore. Has everything been quiet?"

Light frowned. "Reasonably so. Neither Bass or Wily has been up to anything that we can tell, but I have a feeling that something is going to happen."

Rock nodded numbly. There wasn't anything he could do.

"Well, anyway. Go ahead and relax, I'll be done shortly."

As Light began to reapply the skin to Rock's damage body, Rock wondered if the doctor was keeping something from him. That frown hadn't been a good sign.

* * *

Somewhere in space, a battle was going on. More like a war, where, if the larger of the combatants lost, the other would be able to dominate the universe.

And the larger had no intention of loosing.

Hovering above a planet that was completely covered with sand, Duo glared at his opponent. Both were covered with auras of energy. Duo's was blue, his opponents, a smaller, green robot with a visor, was coated in a dark, oily purple aura.

"You're the strongest one yet," Duo commented. For the past several systems he had traveled through, robots with the evil energy in them were unusually numerous. And, also, they got steadily stronger, as if someone had was creating these robots, each stronger than the last.

The other robot smirked. It had a human face below the visor, and looked similar to Mega Man. "Quint."

"What?" Duo stared at the green figure.

"My name." Quint's aura flared, and he dashed ahead, evil energy blazing. The two auras collided, causing a massive explosion that could be seen from many planets off.

"Ha!" Duo slashed with his right hand as their auras grappled. The figure was knocked back, and Duo quickly raised his normal sized hand, palm forward, and let loose a blast that sent Quint spinning.

Duo lifted his left hand, the one that had once been artificially put on by Doctor Light. His body had changed it to better fit his over all body, but it was still larger. And useful.

Duo flew ahead, swinging the massive fist into the still reeling Quint. The demonic robot flew backwards, toward the planet.

Duo almost thought Quint was beaten, and he would need to land to recover the energy. As he began to drift closer to the planet, Quint's aura blazed up, and the robot flew forward, slamming into Duo, despite their conflicting auras.

Duo clinched his left fist, three gems between the finger joints glowing. His aura surged up, nearly dispelling Quint's aura.

A look of confusion spread across Quint's visored face, and Duo kicked the smaller robot away, before letting out a cry as his body dissolved into the blue energy. Duo dashed forward, cutting through the startled Quint, severing him neatly in two. The green robot screamed, a curious thing, as normal robots didn't feel pain.

Was that a bioroid? Duo asked himself with a sigh. Pity, then.

Quint's cries died out after a moment, and the ruined body began to float closer to the planet. Duo took a moment to rest, and let his energy restore any damage to his body.

Duo mentally cursed himself as Quint's body began to move faster and faster towards the planet, caught in the gravity. Duo drifted after it, following it through reentry. The massive heat did nothing to Duo's body, but it turned Quint's into a melted mess.

They both landed on the planet at about the same time, Quint's body creating a creator, while Duo used his energy to slow himself down. Once the dust had cleared, he drifted down to sort through the wreckage.

He found Quint's upper torso, and bent over it, using his smaller hand to gently rip the "gut" part open, searching for the container of the evil energy. To his surprise, Quint's hands grabbed his wrist.

"N-no . . . Te . . . Tear a." The green robot's face was melted, artificial skin hanging in gobs where it hadn't been destroyed. The visor was shattered, revealing incomplete eyes. More of two clusters of glowing optical censors than eyes. Quint had, apparently, not been completed before sent on this mission.

"M-mine. Shay awa. Tear a." The arms, a melted mass with five small prongs sticking out of, began to push his hand back. The cable muscles were twitching in irregular patterns.

Duo raised his other hand to crush Quint's head, ending it, but he thought better of it. "Who sent you?"

"S-sent . . . ? Gah, code aftect Gernoxel.." One of the eyes sparked, and one of
the arms let go and began squirming from side to side. Apparently, Quint's internal systems had been damage.

"Who is your creator."

"W . . . why . . Why lee." Another nonsensical answer.

"Who sent you out here?"

"Tear a. Sun Skar. Skar drods."

Would Quint make sense.

"Tear a sent . . . Me." Duo looked at the working optical sensor, which was focused on him. "Tear a!"

Tear a . . . Terra. Sun Skar. That would mean, maybe, Sun Star? And the Star Droids?

They were still around? Hadn't the Doomsday Weapon been sealed away, with his nine servants?

"Be at rest." Duo swung his fist, crushing Quint's head quickly. The delirious robot didn't feel any pain, and he gave up what little soul he had.

Duo returned to searching for the energy, found it, and destroyed it. He rose up to his full height, and did a brief scan of the sky. The way the stars were . . . That was Earth, where the Star Droid's probably were.

Jumping into the air, aura blazing, he took off. This needed to be investigated.

* * *

Coming up, if the author can keep his mental momentum:

She stared at what she saw. The one in red was Proto Man, or at least, that's what the news called him. But that other one, the one in black, the one glowing so oddly, was unknown to her.

"Leave the human alone, Bass," Proto Man snarled, letting loose a blast at the black, winged robot, which dodged.

"Oooh, hit a nerve, have I? Both you and your brother have that sickening love of humans, then? Pity, I thought better of you." The robot, Bass, let loose a blast of energy that spiraled around, and got around Proto Man's shield, sending the red raider to the ground.

Bass jumped, wings stretching, and he flew backwards. Toward her, she realized.

She turned around, starting to run, but strong, cold hands grabbed her by the throat, pulling her around. Once she was reoriented, she saw Proto Man standing , aiming the end of his weapon at her. Or, rather, what was behind her.

Bass tightened his grip on her neck. "Go ahead, shoot me. Even if you hit me, I'll crush her neck."

Her eyes widened. Bass was using her as a shield. From somewhere behind her, she heard a whining sound.

Suddenly, her world shook. She was thrown forward, and Bass on top of her. The latter got up, spinning around.

"There you are . . . So happy you could join us."

She got up, staring at what had knocked Bass down as she backpedaled.

Mega Man stood there, Buster extended, looking pretty ragged in the face, but otherwise fine.