Insanity Incarnate

Chapter 1

"Rock, would you help me with these?" Rockman, sitting at the table, looked up to see his sister, Roll, carrying two large boxes, the top one threatening to fall. He immediately stood up, walked to his sister, and gabbed the top box.

"Thanks." Roll said, walking toward the door. Rockman followed her.

He knew what was in the boxes. Dr. Light's long time hobby was toy making, and he usually gave the toys he made to various charities. In fact, it was toy making that had led the good doctor to robotics.

As they loaded the boxes into Auto's truck, he couldn't help but think of the irony of it.

Dr. Light studied the field of robotics to help mankind. Now, he spent the majority of his time creating weapons for Rock, because of that same intent. Although his creations had saved the world several times, Rock knew that it pained him to make weapons.

He was tired of fighting. He was tired of the weapons. But he still fought. He hoped that if he fought, maybe someday Dr. Light would be able to spend all his time making toys.

"Rock." Dr. Light called from the basement lab, breaking his thoughts. Rock walked down the stairs to find Dr. Light hunched over his workbench. He usually did his work at the lab in town. He must have been working on this for a while.

"Yes, Dr. Light?" Rockman asked. Dr. Light turned, a kind smile on his face.

"Would you put on your suit, please?" He asked. Rock nodded, and went to change into his blue battle suit.

"I've just finished an upgrade on your buster." Dr. Light explained. "I'd like to test it." Rock nodded, and his right hand transformed into a buster, a plasma cannon.

"Rock! Come quick!" Roll yelled above them. Doctor and creation hurried upstairs, finding Roll sitting next to the TV. On the screen, the robotics museum was shown, with the headline "Live! News Break!" scrolling across the screen. Roll turned up the volume to hear the reporter's narration.

"...have sprung to life, attacking several visitors and staff. There have been several no casualties so far, but seven people were rushed to the hospital with critical injuries. The police have the robots contained inside the museum as of now..."

"Rock." Dr. Light said gravely. Rock nodded, running out of the room.

"Rush!" Rock yelled as he tore out the door. The robotic dog, who was sleeping lazily near a solitary tree instantly sprung to life. With a howl, he transformed to a jet. Rockman leapt up, slamming his helmet on his head. Rush caught him, and tore through the sky.

***

As he neared the museum, he saw that the city had been evacuated for blocks, police surrounding the area. He leapt off Rush, landing in front of the museum doors. He heard some of the police shout in surprise, but none tried to stop him when they saw who he was. He ran inside, missing their triumphant cheers.

At first, he was struck at how silent it was. Usually, Wily's robots attacked him as soon as he entered the area. The stillness unnerved him.

His buster hummed as he charged it. He walked cautiously down the main hallway. He heard something behind him. He turned to see a piece of what was once the wall hurtling toward him. He leapt over it, and landed to see Gutsman tearing another piece of the wall out. Rockman let his charged shot lose. He was taken by surprise by the force of the blast. He lost his footing, and fell backwards. He had forgotten about Dr. Light's upgrade. The charged plasma hit Gutsman, knocking him to the ground. Even with the upgrade, it seemed far too easy.

Then, he saw that Gutsman had been blown to bits, but he was hollow inside. No wiring, nothing to activate him. He walked toward the shell of Gutsman when, a fraction too late, he heard someone come up behind him.

Before he could turn, a wave of electricity overcame him, frying his circuits. He hit the ground on his hands and knees, and turned to see his attacker. Elecman was standing there, his cannon extended. It was filled with another electric attack.

Rockman rolled out of the way, braced himself, and fired three rapid-fire shots. The first hit Elecman's left shoulder, blowing the arm off. The second hit his chest, creating a cavity, exposing the hollow shell. The last reached his head.

Robots began to come after Rockman from every corner. He dodged their attacks as best he could, buying time for his buster to charge. He braced himself and fired, creating an opening down the hallway. Rockman ran, the other robots in pursuit.

He needed to find someplace where they couldn't surround him...

Rock on an impulse, and broke open a door. Another hallway, laden with unmoving robots. He continued to run, even as the dormant robots came to life.

They're just shells, he thought, something must be controlling them. It made sense. That was why the robots didn't leave the museum; whatever was controlling them had limits. Rock turned right, still running. He was heading toward the center of the museum. It made the most sense that his true foe was there.

He came to a wide display room, with the next few floors exposed above. He stopped for a moment, deciding where to go, when he saw the shapes of robots on the floor above him. He ran out of the way as they leapt at him. More were coming down the stairs. They had him surrounded.

Desperate, Rockman turned slowly, firing rapid-fire shots from his buster. The robots that were still functional grabbed the hollow bodies of the fallen, put them in front of them, and charged.

Rock had a moment to charge his buster, reasoning that such coordinated behavior was definitely proof they were being controlled. Then, they were upon him.

He was hit with fire, water, electric, and various attacks all at once. Screaming in agony, but still in control of his functions, he raised his charged buster and released. He ran toward the opening it created, but was quickly surrounded. He felt hands pulling him, tearing at him, pinning him to the ground.

He fired wildly, trying to release himself from their grasp. His arm was free! He reached upwards, toward the faces of his opponents, took a moment to charge his buster, and fired. The grouping hands fell.

He leapt up, only to find more robots in the room, ready to attack. A feeling of inevitability overtook him for a moment. But, his programming would see to it that he would fight to the very end.

Desperate, he leapt strait up. His fingers grazed the railings of the second floor. He missed, and for a moment hung in the air. He grabbed blindly at the air; the only other option was to fall into a seeming endless sea of murderous robots. His fingers found purchase on the carpeted cement of the floor on the second floor. He grabbed, slipped, and grabbed again, halting his descent.

Rock lifted himself to the floor, taking a moment to let the fear subside. He could here the footsteps of the robots hurrying up the stairs. He needed an escape route.

Rockman glanced behind him, to the floor below. He saw only Snakeman standing still, in front of a door. Almost as if he was guarding it...

What ever is controlling them is behind the door! Rock thought excitedly.

Just as the first wave of robots reached him, he leapt into the air. He hit the ground running, charging his buster immediately. Snakeman saw him, and aimed his own arm canon, and fired. A snake immerged, slithering toward Rock, its mouth agape. Waiting till the last instant, Rock leapt over the snake, and fired his buster. The hollow Snakeman crumbled easily under its force.

Rockman ran over the remains of Snakeman, and hurled himself at the door. It swung open, crashing into the wall. Rock found himself at the top of a dark set of stairs. A glance backwards at the oncoming robots was all he needed to begin running into the darkness.

He stumbled in the almost complete darkness, and slowed down. He listened for sounds of pursuers, but heard nothing. He cautiously made his way down the rest of the stairs, until he came to a door. He opened it tentatively, walking into another dark, wide room.

The room was incomplete. Rafters hung bare above him. He was unable to decipher how tall the room was, because there was no light past the first few rafters. He walked slowly toward the middle of the room. He found that he had been unconsciously charging his buster the entire time, and was comforted a little.

He heard a noise behind him, and snapped around, his buster in front of him.

"Who's there?" He demanded. A robot slowly walked into the light. He was slightly taller then Rockman. He seemed to be made of wood, with large splinters for fingers, a long pointed nose, and a cap on his head, with a feather in it. He held his hands slightly in front of him, exposing the fingers, which Rock assumed could probably pierce metal.

"You've done very well to come here." Said the robot in a high-pitched voice. He gave off a slight cackle that annoyed Rock.

"Who are you!?" Rock demanded, his buster still pointed at the robot.

"I am Puppetman." Said a voice behind him. Rock spun to find an identical robot behind him.

"We will tear you limb from limb!" Three more Puppetmen immerged from the shadows, forming a loose circle around Rock. Rockman felt his "heart" sink, but raised his buster anyway.

One of the robots charged him from behind, sharp fingers raised. Rock saw him coming, and leapt over his attack. His foot was jerked upward in mid- air, throwing him upside-down. It felt as if some invisible rope had wrapped around his foot. He looked up, but saw nothing in the darkness above him. He looked at his attacker below, to find that he was immobile, with his arm raised strait up, his hand hanging limp at his wrist. For a moment, Rock was utterly confused. Around him, the other four robots were advancing on him, their attack postures the same as the immobile one below him.

Slowly, the truth dawned on him. He understood...

He pointed his charged buster at an angle just above his suspended foot, and fired. He was immediately released, collapsing on the Puppetman below him. He heard the other threads snap under the added weight. It was a puppet, not a robot.

The others launched themselves at him. He rolled under their attacks, and fired above one. It fell to the floor as well.

He realized that fighting like this wouldn't get him anywhere. He needed to fight the puppeteer. He ran and leapt next to one of the remaining puppet, his hands blindly grasping at the air. He felt his fingers close around the thread, which was so thin it was nearly invisible. He grabbed it with both ands and pulled with all his might.

Puppetman let out a high shriek as he was pulled from his perch in the darkness. The three remaining puppets collapsed as the puppeteer hit the floor. He stood up, shakily, and faced Rockman. He looked just like his puppets, except his fingers were shaped like a human's, bundles of thread immerging from his palms.

"You figured me out quite a bit faster then I expected." Said Puppetman, his high, squeaky voice filled with utter confidence. "I hoped you might have taken a little more damage from my puppets. I suppose I alone will have the pleasure of taking you apart, piece by piece."

Faster then Rock could react, thread shot from the robot's hands, ensnaring him. Puppetman thrust his arm, knocking Rock into a wall. Rock screamed as he was bashed again and again into the walls, forming dents every time he made impact.

Puppetman was soon bored of this game, though. Throwing Rockman to the floor, he leapt upon a low rafter, pulling Rock with him, so that he was suspended in the air. The threads untangled themselves, leaving only one for each of his arms, legs, and head.

"You are my puppet now." Puppetman said maliciously. "And my puppets dance." Puppetman began to move his fingers wildly, tangling them within the thread. Rock's limbs began to move chaotically, in ways they were never meant to go. Mercifully, he had no bones; the wild thrashing would have snapped each in dozens of places. He almost gave up trying to break free from Puppetman's hold; it was unbelievably strong. He almost gave up... until he felt a thread graze his fingers. His hand, which still bent to his own will, snatched the thread. He found that he suddenly had control over his right arm. Before the thought of firing had even graced his mind, his hand instinctively transformed to the buster. Rock fired immediately, hitting Puppetman's face with several shots.

He was free! He fell to the floor, landing hard on the concrete. He rolled as threads shot from above with such force that they imbedded themselves in the floor. Puppetman was through playing. Now he was going for the kill.

The robot master leapt from his perch, eyeing Rock. He threw his hands foreword, sending the killing threads. Rock barely managed to avoid the attack. The threads intertwined, creating two long whips. Rock used his entire physical prowess to avoid the whips; dodging, sliding, jumping... he had no chance to take the offensive.

Suddenly, the whips stopped. Rockman looked at his foe, bent over from exertion. Rock was tired as well, both robots breathing deeply. It was not a necessity, as it is with humans, but simply in their programming to imitate human fatigue as a warning that they were pushing the limits of their bodies.

Their eyes met, and Puppetman began to attack as ferociously as before. But the lull in action had given Rock a chance to prepare himself, as well as charge his buster. He watched the threads come, waiting. Moments before they reached him, he spun so that they missed him by mere millimeters. He grabbed at the threads, capturing them in his hand. He braced himself, and pulled.

Puppetman had not anticipated the offensive, and was immediately pulled toward Rockman. Now that his opponent was open, he fired his buster. The newly enhanced plasma sent Puppetman hurtling into the wall, creating a sizeable dent. Rockman charged, and fired again. Puppetman was absorbed by the bright plasma, which charred his circuits milliseconds before he exploded.

Wearily, the victorious robot made his way back out of the museum. He was pleased to see that the robots inside were now what they were, motionless shells. Displays.

He walked through the entrance of the museum, finding the police still encircled around the building. They knew what his emergence meant, and began to cheer before he had even stepped onto the lawn.

He heard a howl, and looked upwards to see Rush flying toward him. He smiled at his companion, but instead of the usual wagging of the tail that Rush gave him, the robotic dog landed in front of his master. A panel in his back popped open, revealing a holographic projector. The aged and worried face of Dr. Light appeared above him.

"Rock, some... thing has destroyed the lab in the city. Please come back at once." The holograph disappeared, leaving a stunned Rock to comprehend the message.

"Rockman!" He saw a policeman running toward him. As the officer approached, Rock could here the radio on his shoulder come to life.

"...ackup required. Red robot attacki..." The voice stopped for a moment, then began to scream in agony as the radio was overcome by static, then went dead.

Within minutes, robot and dog had disappeared from the museum, flying toward the city.