Chapter 1: Labward Bound
"After his second Robot Rebellion was thwarted by Mega Man, Doctor Albert Wily was committed to an asylum under the care of Dr. Cedric Froid. Eventually, Dr. Froid claimed to have cured the madman's insanity, and wished to have him freed..." -Dr. James Cain, Reploids And Their Place In Society
"It's funny." Roll muttered. Her brother, Rock, looked up from the Tv.
"Eh?"
"It's funny... one of the things he himself said before he went bonkers applies perfectly here." She explained. Rock thought for a moment, remembering his early months.
"The one about the limitless ability of humans to commit mass stupidity?"
"Bingo." Roll sighed, watching the politician on the screen give his speech-in-a-can. From this conversation, an unknowing bystander would think these two were just normal adolescents at the age of around 13 or 14. Indeed, they looked perfectly human; Rock sat on the couch in shorts and a t-shirt, his black hair uncombed; Roll wore a red dress and blond hair tied back. However, Rock and Roll were not human at all; they were both highly advanced robots, almost capable of complete self-will. Created by Dr. Albert Light and Dr. Albert Wily, the two were members of a breed of robot known as Robot Masters, and unlike most of those, they were completely human to the eye. Although their bodies were of steel and their minds of circuitry, they were akin to humans in every way, save the restraining force of the Three Laws of Robotics. And when danger threatened to bind the world, Rock strode forth as Mega Man, the robotic savior of the world. But for now, they were just two more teenaged kids, watching the television on yet another lazy Sunday afternoon. But where normal teenagers would watch MTV, Rock and Roll observes a far more important display.
"Dr. Albert William Wily is cured! I have seen it with my own eyes!" Donald Richolds preached on the television. "Professor Froid has cured him of his insanity!"
"Idiot." Rock spat bitterly. "Remember the last time they said Wily had been cured or something? He just went and tried to conquer the world again." Roll nodded, then got to her feet.
"Well, sitting around watching this isn't getting anything done. I might as well get back to work. You should too, Rock."
"I will in a moment. I want to see how this plays out." Roll spun, ready to deliver an acidic reply, but stopped it on her lips at the last second. If anyone deserves to watch Wily's fate, it's him. She realized. After those two robot rebellions... ACK! Not watching where she was going, Roll had tripped over Eddie, the loyal little suitcase robot who carried tools and paperwork for the family. Rock turned his head around at the noise, saw what had happened, and began laughing hysterically-a rarity among these gloomy days. Roll groaned and got back up from her tumble.
"Okay, Eddie. Waddaya got for us?" The little robot turned the crank that opened his storage compartment. Inside was a note addressed to them from their father, the world-renowned robotics genius, Doctor Thomas Light. Roll sat back down on the couch and began reading through it, with her brother scanning it over her shoulder. Normally, this would have annoyed the female robot to no end, but at the moment she was too preoccupied to clear him off.
Rock, Roll
I suppose there's no more beating around the bush with all that's going on. I'm going to go visit Al and see for myself if this is true-if he really is cured. I know you'd try to stop me-probably say it's too dangerous, or insist on coming along. But I need to do this, and I need to do it alone. Which is why I told Eddie to wait at least half an hour after I left before delivering this. I'll see you when I get back. And Roll, please try not to scream TOO loud.
Thomas Light
"He's good." Rock observed as his sister howled with rage.
"Of all the stupid, moronic, irresponsible-ARRRRRGH!" Roll screeched and began cursing in binary, then fell silent. "...Okay, I've got it all out of my system now. I'm going to go work on that new project."
"The secret one?" Rock rolled his eyes. "The one you and Dr. Light refuse to tell me about?"
"That's the one!" She grinned. "When Dr. Light gets back, tell him to come up. I'd like to discuss this note with him... at some length." With that, she stomped upstairs. Rock watched her go and rolled his eye again.
"Robotic or not... WOMEN!"
"Hello, Cedric. How are you doing?" Dr. Light smiled as he greeted his colleague. Thomas Light was a friendly, somewhat portly man in his fifties; his hair and beard were both prematurely a silver-white, although his eyebrows remained inexplicably black. He was widely known as the greatest genius ever to grace the field of robotics, with his invention of the Robot Masters.
"Fine, thank you." The other man, Dr. Cedric Froid, said calmly. "It's been a while. I assume you're here to see... him?" The smile faded from Thomas Light's face.
"That's right..." The two men began walking down the halls. "I hope that your analysis hasn't been influenced in any way by..."
"...by how Albert's an old family friend like you?" Cedric asked. "Don't worry. I can assure you that has no effect on my analysis. I think Dr. Wily really is cured this time."
"Hmm... we'll see." Light mumbled, and Froid smiled.
"Trust me." The two doctors began walking down the halls. "So... how's Rock doing?"
"He's... not doing too well." Light admitted. "He doesn't approve of releasing Wily... all of his remaining feelings for him were burnt away by the Second Robot Rebellion. He thinks this is just another play along the same lines... that Wily's just trying to get out so he can do it all again."
"But you have to remember, Tom," Froid argued. "It's not his fault. He was insane, thanks to that teleporter accident. And I've cured that. He's back to the way he was before-the way you've known him for most of your lives."
"I know that, and you know that." The older scientest agreed. "But neither of us had to face him down twice, putting our lives on the line. Rock's very skeptical, and I can't really blame him for it."
"You did your share of things like that too, you know; albeit in a much different way." Froid reminded him. "I know more than anybody else... I'll never forget when you..." Light paused in his walking and looked at his colleague, his face pained.
"Please, Cedric... don't bring that up. I've forgotten that time of my life... it's gone. I was another person then."
"If you insist." The two men did not speak again until they reached Wily's cell. "Here we are. Albert... you have a visitor." Inside the cell, the form lying on a dirty cot stirred and rose, and Doctor Light looked into the eyes of his friend, Doctor Albert Wily.
"Hello, Tom." Wily said softly. "It's been a while."
"Yes it has, Al." Light agreed. "How are you doing?"
"Oh, it's a blast." Wily smiled sardonically. "When I'm not wondering whether I want to die from starvation or prison food poisoning, or trying to count how many deadly bacteria there are on the bed and toilet, I like to spend hours on end mentally pummeling myself for trying to bend the world into slavery-twice." He laughed. "Who could ask for anything more?"
"Well, you've still got your sense of humor." Light noted.
"It's my greatest attribute." The criminal doctor agreed, then sobered. "All right, Tom. Enough clever wordplay. I assume you're here about the possibility of me being freed?"
"That's one reason, yes..." Light said slowly. Wily groaned.
"Please, Tom, don't do that. We both know it's the only reason; your friend was the sane Dr. Wily and your enemy the insane one. You're here to discover which I am now."
"Well? Which are you?"
"You're asking me? Ha. Haven't you heard? The crazy people never think they're crazy."
"Answer it, Al. Do you think you should be freed?" Light asked.
"Bag of worms, Tom. If I'm freed, I think I can stop myself from going cuckoo again; but if I'm not, I probably deserve it. And even if I was, there are thousands out there who want me dead just for the hell of it." Wily shook his head. "Either way, I don't think life has much in store for me that's good. I'm screwed if I do, and I'm screwed if I don't. And after what I've done, I'd say it's pretty justified."
"I'm sorry, gentlemen, but you'll have to wrap it up." Dr. Froid informed them. "I had a hard enough time getting the higher-ups to agree to this meeting as is; I couldn't get much time."
"All right." Light sighed. "So, Al... what'll you do if you're freed?"
"What will I do?" His former partner wondered. "I'm not sure... probably go to some deserted place and be a hermit. Although I wish I could continue in robotics... so I could build a robot that would keep the world safe from people like me." He turned away from the door. "Goodbye, Tom."
"Is this on EVERY channel?" Rock complained. No matter which one he chose, it was always the same thing; Donald Richolds yapping.
"-a contributing member of society!" The politician finished his speech. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, I present Dr. Cedric Froid, the man who has cured Dr. Albert Wily!" Rock frowned as the psychologist walked onscreen; he had thought Dr. Froid would be supervising-
"Rock! Roll! I'm home!" Ahh, that explains it; they were finished already. Rock looked up at his father as the doctor entered.
"Hey. How'd it go?"
"You're not angry?" The doctor asked, surprised. Rock smiled.
"No, that's Roll's job. She's been working on it pretty hard; I think she's invented a few new curses just for you."
"Great." Light groaned. "I guess I'll go on up and get that out of the way before we talk." The scientest went into the laboratory, and Rock smiled as he heard his sister release her storm of temper.
"I wonder how long she'll go on." Rock thought. After about five minutes, Roll and Light came back out into the living room, trailed by Eddie. Rock turned off the television.
"Okay. How'd it go?" Light passed a weary hand over his face.
"Sigh... look, Rock..."
"I'm not asking you to try and convince me." The robot growled, dropping his indifferent air. "I want you to tell me what YOU think."
"Fine." Light snapped back, equally angry. "He looked... well, he looked sane. That's not very descriptive, but it'll have to do. The last time, it was fairly obvious that it hadn't worked. This time, though... he was aware of the things he had done and seemed to understand how horrible they were. A lot of guilt, although he tried to hide it. You know Al."
"You mean, I know WILY." Rock corrected.
"No, Rock. He was a lot more like himself before the accident. He's even regained that sardonic attitude of his that he passed on to Roll."
"That just struck up a funny thought." Roll grinned. "Me and Rock. We don't have a mother, but we have two fathers."
"HEY!" Light spluttered as Rock nearly busted a gut. "Roll, you had better not be suggesting what I think you are."
"What if I am?" She shot back. An evil grin crept across Dr. Light's face.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe I'll switch your brain with Eddie's. You might find it fun being the size of a soccer ball for a while." The little suitcase robot glanced up at the mention of his name, and Roll went white.
"You WOULDN'T!"
"Try me."
"Okay, okay." Rock waved further conversation aside. "That was a nice little moment of joking to let up on the tension, but let's return to the topic at hand. What about this doctor, Cedric Froid? Is he trustworthy?"
"Oh, yes." Light nodded. "The Froids are very long friends of mine, since I was ten or so. His father was in the Second Rainbow; the oldest member; he was at least 90. The elder Dr. Froid was the chief designer of the Water Purification Plant at New Shirewick. I'm sure you remember that place, Rock."
"Yes." The robot said glumly, pushing back memories of his battle with Ice Man.
"At any rate, Cedric was never that good with science... he preferred psychology. Even after his father passed away, both Al and I were welcome in their house; we had visited a lot during the days of the Second Rainbow and we knew the whole family. But Cedric's a very good man; his judgement isn't affected by this, Roll, so don't even bother asking."
"How'd you know I was going to ask that?" Roll demanded. Light chuckled.
"I know you. Besides, I already asked him the same thing!"
"So you think it's for real." Rock concluded. "You think he's really sane again."
"Well... yes." Light sighed. "I'm still not completely convinced, but I'm leaning towards it."
"And how are his chances of actually being released?" Roll asked her brother. "You've been watching the television."
"Well, whoever's writing those speeches for that idiot Richolds is very good." Rock reported. "He's falling back on the Second Rainbow, on how much Wily did then, as well as how it was a teleporter accident that caused all this; how Wily's deeds were a result of insanity, that he wasn't truly evil. He's also bringing up Froid's record, saying that of all the psychologists in the world, Froid has the best chance of fixing him, and did it." The robot snorted. "Personally, I think it's all hogwash, but the people are buying it. Currently, I'd put his chance at being released at... about 63." Nobody responded.
"Well, standing around here all day won't get anything done." Roll decided finally. "I'm going back to work on you-know-what. Coming, dad?"
"Sure." Light smiled. "Rock, that means you have to stay out of the lab for a while. Why don't you go down to the newstand and see what the papers are saying?"
"All right." Rock walked out, and his father and sister went into the lab.
"Welding torch."
"Welding torch!"
"Wrench."
"Wrench!"
"Toilet plunger."
"Toilet plun-hey!" Roll yelled. Dr. Light stood up, chucking.
"I was wondering if you'd notice."
"You're an absolute laugh riot." Roll said sarcastically, pretending to chuck the instrument at his head. Light ducked, then sat back down and bent over the project again.
"Roll, you can be a marvel of ill temper. It almost reminds me of..." He stopped. Roll raised an eyebrow.
"Of what?"
"Of when Al and I were building you, Rock and the others."
"Oooooohh..."
"Back then, all we saw was hope and dreams for the future. We never thought the robot masters could be used for evil. Sometimes I think that maybe we should never have..."
"Are you saying your regret building me and Rock?" Roll asked angrily, and a little hurt. Light waved her down.
"No, no, no. The two of you are the family I never had. But the others... sometimes I think the world would be better if mass-produced Robot Masters never existed... it would cut down on the death rate, at least."
"And Blues? Where does he fit in?" Roll pressed. She was always eager to learn more about the mysterious older brother she had never known.
Before Rock and Roll were created, there had been Blues; the first, prototype self-aware robot. Dr. Light didn't talk much about him, and most of his story was a mystery to Rock and Roll, a mystery Roll was determined to unlock. He had vanished forever in a teleporter accident before Rock and Roll were built; the same accident that had eventually diven Dr. Wily to insanity and led him to attempting takeovers of the world with his robotic armies. Light frowned, thinking about the question.
"Blues... I don't know, Roll. He was always an enigma... kept secrets. And he disappeared long before any of you were made. And it's been several years since he disappeared... I can't really hope for his survival any more." The doctor cursed as he slipped, twisting a circuit. "Damn!"
"But why do you regret the Robot Masters now?" The female robot asked. "You think Wily's sane. And if he is, there won't be any more problems with the Robot Masters, will there?"
"Do you think he's the only man in the world with insane ambitions?" Light demanded. "The only person with mad dreams of death and destruction, and the skills to make them come true? No, Roll. More Robot Rebellions will come. Maybe not by his hands, but they will come." Roll frowned.
"So we'll..." Light cut her off in mid-sentence.
"Roll, Rock's been put through that ordeal twice already! We can't ask him to fight forever!"
"So what do we do?" Roll shouted. "Build a new robot! Make a machine that CAN do it all and save the world as many times as are needed!"
"No sentient robot would agree to that, Roll." Light reminded her. "And if it did-if it WANTED to keep fighting and fighting and fighting more-then it would be just as great a threat as the Robot Masters!"
Roll didn't respond, and silence reigned in the lab for a great time after that as the scientest and his robotic daughter worked diligently on what was soon to become the next member of their family.
"Hey, everybody! Big news!" Rock called as he returned to the house. Roll and Dr. Light came out of the lab.
"What is it?" Roll asked. In reply, Rock gave her the newspaper. Screaming across the headlines was "DR. WILY HEARING SCHEDULED!"
"So they're giving him a hearing..." She muttered grimly, reading on. "It's scheduled for one week from now. Froid and Richolds will be doing all they can to make it succeed. And they've got influence; there's no doubt about that. They may just be able to pull it off."
"I believe we've already discussed this subject." Dr. Light said wearily. "I don't want to talk about this any more. Is there anything else interesting in the news, Rock?"
"Yup." Rock nodded. "It seems Sennet Robotics is still dropping." Sennet Robotics was the main competitor of Lighttech in the field of robotics. However, they really hadn't been matching up since their equivalent to Dr. Light, Dr. Sergei Cossack, had resigned in protest to the manufacture of Warbots. They had a total of eight Robot Master designs, but none were selling very well; the public was still quite leery on the concept of Robot Masters after two Rebellions. Thus, Sennet Robotics was steadily slipping closer and closer to bankruptcy.
"So their newest model of Robot Master was as unsuccessful as the others?" Light asked. Sennet Robotics' newest Robot Master was the Spinstrike Model, a yellow-orange robot capable of intense speeds. The others were the Magnus Model, a pink robot that used magentic forces to rip valuable metals from out of the ground; the Ripwood Model, a lumberjack robot originally designed to compete with Lighttech's Achilles Model; the Gemini Model, which could fire intense laser beams and synthesize a temporary duplicate of itself; the Zapplug Model, which absorbed and redirected intense amounts of electricity; the Smashbody Model, which crushed mass amounts into slag quickly with its powerful frame; the Serpos model, which created and controlled complex miniature search-and-retrieve robots at a moment's notice; and the humerously-named Pinhead Model, a Warbot who fired machine-gun-like projectiles which could impale targets many times over in just a few seconds.
"Yeah," Rock replied, reading on about the Spinstrike Model. "Says here there was a flaw in their programming... they're too erratic." He frowned. "They don't seem worried about their dropping sales, though... it's almost as if they've got some secret plan or something."
"The hearing for the release of Doctor Albert Wily is now in session." The bailiff announced. "All rise for the honorable Judge Arvis." The judge took his seat, and the others in the courthouse followed.
"Mister Stravinsky, I believe you may go first." The judge said, and the lawyer he was addressing stood up. He was a large, solid man with dark brown hair and a bullying attitude. Clearing his throat once, he began to speak.
"When I first heard of this hearing, I thought somebody was playing a joke on me. A gag. After all, how could I honestly be expected to believe that Doctor Albert Wily, the madman who tried to enslave the world under his totalitarian armies of robotic death, might actually be released AGAIN? Need I remind you that this man has already been released from incarceration once, and that, in gratitude for this act of mercy, he constructed a second army of machines and attempted to bring about his reign of desruction once more? Had he succeeded, on either occasion, this courthouse would no longer exist. Nor, likely, would this entire city. Doctor Albert Wily's robots have commited many atrocities in his name. Many of us who are gathered here today have lost loved ones to the murderous machines commanded by him. The territories he had taken have still not completely recovered, and the numbers of the dead still not confirmed. And the sites of his two control centers of chaos, the twin Skull Fotresses, shall remain unhabitable by man for many centuries; for in order to destroy them, humanity was required to use nuclear weapons, a measure forbidden to us since the Third World War."
That's the only time we'll hear mention of the Third World War in his speech; Donald Richolds thought grimly. He wants to stay far away from what Wily did beforehand. Contrary to what many believed, Donald Richolds was not nearly as stupid as he acted. He had learned early on that a politician who could think for himself was not welcome, so he had played the fool, pretending to let his toadies and sycophants decide his actions, making sure to plant just enough seemingly dull ideas in order to steer their thoughts towards his, making them think they were manipulating him, and smiling like a cretin the whole while. Richolds knew that Dr. Froid thought him an imbecile, and he was able to use that well. That gross little display at the prison that had "convinced" him had undoubtably been worked out by the Froid & Wily beforehand. Richolds reluctantly concluded that he himself exaggerrated his part a little bit; it was a wonder Wily & Froid hadn't spotted it. In reality, Richolds had made up his mind on freeing Wily long before, based on some long-ago "contributions" by the good doctor, in exchange for some future favors, should the need ever arise. Albert Wily was no fool, and Richolds now intended to pay those debts. The politician cut short his rambling and returned his attention to his opponent's blathering.
" What of all those who were hurt, crippled, or worse as a result of this lunatic's ambitions? How, in good conscience, can we release a man who has done all this, and doubtless urges to do so again, and again, and again, as many times as we allow him to, like foolish sheep who invited a wolf in for tea and wonder where everybody keeps disappearing to? The answer: we cannot. I implore you, do not allow this to come to pass. Do not free Dr. Albert Wily. Do not bring death and destruction upon the heads of this world again." Stravinsky sat down, his speech done, and the crowds applauded.
Very nice, Richolds thought sardonically. He had almost believe that it had come straight from the heart, too, until he had seen the triumphant sneer upon Stravinsky's face directed at him during the applause. Unbeknownst to either of them, the judge also saw the expressions on their faces.
"Ahem... order in the court!" Judge Arvis banged his gavel until the crowds had settled down. "Good. Now... Mister Richolds, who will be representing your side?"
"I will be representing Dr. Wily." Richolds announced, and smiled inside at the gasps of surprise. "I was a lawyer before entering politics, and I was never removed from the bar."
"Very well then, Mister Richolds." The judge said with an odd gleam in his eye. "You may speak." The politician rose to his feet.
"My friends, you have all heard the spectacular and, of course, completely unbiased opinions of our friend, Mr. Stravinsky. However, by some oversight which was accidental, I'm sure, Mr. Stravinsky forgot to talk of the period of Dr. Wily's life before the teleporter accident which drove him to his actions. Let me take you back to a time when the world was in danger... not from hordes of robots, but from our own hands. Let me take you back to the year 2040. The time... of the Third World War. Nuclear weapons were used in horrendously stupid amounts, as every country in the world insanely attempted to stomp out all others. This continued, unabated, until the very end, at which point the world finally woke up, and everybody realzed exactly what they had unleashed... what they had almost done. As one, the countries of Earth immediately cancelled all hostilities, and bent all their resources to a new goal; to bring this world back from the brink of death. To this end, the leading scientests the world over were compiled into an organization whose name would forever reign through history... The Second Rainbow. Together, these scientests labeled nonstop to address the issues we had brought on ourselves. Many of them are still known today... Doctor Yuri Cossack, Doctor Felman Murges, Doctor Joseph Cain, Doctor Georges Shaler, Doctor Thomas Light... and Doctor Albert Wily. Doctors Light and Wily were a team beyond any others in the Second Rainbow; together, their genius in robotics was unmatched. Even after the Second Rainbow was disbanded, Light and Wily continued creating wonders of mechanics. Their ultimate product was the Robot Masters." Richolds paused for dramatic effect.
"Now, who among you can honestly say that you have never made a mistake? That you have never erred, even once? True, you may say, that none of the errors were on such a grand scale as the Robot Rebellions. But that is not the only difference. The Robot Rebellions WERE NOT DR. WILY'S FAULT. They were not the result of conscious malice, but were instead spawned of an accident, beyond anybody's control. The first Robot Master was a prototype who the doctors named Blues. One day, Light, Wily and Blues were testing new technology... teleportation. This technology is unsafe for human usage; it affects the brain, bringing insanity to whoever uses it. Blues was meant to be teleported, but the safeuards failed, and Wily was caught in it as well. Blues was lost, never to be seen again, and Wily, although he did not know it, had been affected mentally by it. Slowly, he went insane and launched the Rebellions." He paused again.
"But now, friends, this machine-induced evil has been purged from the mind of Doctor Albert Wily! Dr. Cedric Froid, the renowned psychologist son of Dr. Seymour Froid of the Second Ranbow, has found a cure for Teleportation Insanity! Doctor Wily has been returned to sanity, and the evils of his madness are gone forever. He is aware of what he has done, and strives to make amends. But we must free him in order to allow him to do so! The Dr. Wily of the Rebellions is gone, and the Dr. Wily of the Second Rainbow has returned to us. This man is not the maniac who tried to rule the world; he is a savior, one of the blessed humans who rescued us from the hands of death which we inflicted on ourselves. Shall we reward his service to the globe with incarceration? The sacrifices he made with imprisonment? No! We cannot do this, for if we do, can we honestly say that we should not share his fate? In the Third World War humanity nearly destroyed our existence. Nay, we are not equals; we are worse, for while our destruction was fully conscious, Dr. Wily's evils were brought on by something beyond his control. Do not blame him for this. Do not persecute him for something he could not stop. I beg of you... release Dr. Albert Wily." He sat down, and after a moment's shocked silence, the croawd began cheering again, even louder than they had for Stravinsky (who looked unhealthily pale).
"Very well, then." Judge Arvis growled. "Do either of you have anything further to say?" Both shook their heads. "Very well. In that case, I shall now give my verdict on Dr. Albert Wily."
"Well, this is it." Dr. Light said softly. The family had refused to watch the courthouse proceedings, and instead opted to be part of the crowd outside the prison, waiting for the verdict. Many of the other humans in the crowd had pocket televisions and had watched the proceedings from there; however, the cameras had not recorded Judge Arvis's final decision. Nobody was speaking now, as everybody waited in eerie silence outside. The minutes seems to be hours, as no Wily emerged, and no verdict was announced. Finally, after an eternity of waiting, the doors opened, and two policemen came out, with Doctor Albert Wily between them in handcuffs. Behind them were Donald Richolds and Doctor Cedric Froid. All five faced the crowd, their faces blank. Would Dr. Wily be freed, or escorted back to the prison? Every face in the crowd asked the same question as the five stood, immobile. Then, in one movement, the policemen released the handcuffs on Wily and stepped back.
"Dr. Albert Wily is freed!" Donald Richolds shouted triumphantly, and the crowd gave a deafening cheer. The man who had been named looked upwards, with tears filling his aged eyes, thanking whatever god there was for forgiving his sins, and allowing him to set foot into the world once more and atone for his mistakes. Rock sighed bitterly.
"For better or for worse... it has come to pass. I hope that it is true, that he is sane, and that he can again be the friend that I knew long ago..." He turned to his father and his sister as Wily slowly walked down the steps towards them, and the crowd parted. "But somewhere... deep inside... I know that the ordeal is not over yet."
Dr. Light and Roll could not help but agree, but they put those thoughts aside for the moment as Wily reached them, and grabbed Light in a fierce, brotherly embrace. And the crowds cheered again. The partners were reunited.
But one face, out of all that were gathered, did not share in the jubilation of the freedom. As he watched the two doctors meet, this mind rose in glee... but this glee was dark, horrendous, twisted by madness.
Enjoy yourself for now, Wily... for soon, you won't be doing anything like that... you won't be doing anything at all, ever again! You, and that little blue interloper too! Both of you will die, die, DIE at my hands! Your blood shall stain my limbs, and your bones will crunch beneath my feet, and your flesh shall tear between my fingers and burn at my will, and your heads will hang on a wall!
Soon... very soon... very soon indeed...
