Chapter 3: Russian Rebellion

"Yawn... morning, everybody." Elias Salguerdo, head of the Rio De Janiero Power Plant in the capital of Brazil, greeted his coworkers as he walked into the meeting room. "How's the old generator doin' today? Still intact?"

"We haven't blown it up yet, but we're working on it, boss!" One of the technicians cracked. Salguerdo rolled his eyes.

"Funny, Pete. Funny. Okay, let's get to work. First order of business..." He frowned as he looked at the papers in front of him. "New coffee machine?"

"Yeah, the old one's completely fried. It just finally gave out." Pete filled him in. "We need a new one if we want to continue keeping this place in any sort of working condition."

"This is hardly a matter of drastic importance-" Salguerdo started, but was cut off by cynical laughter from almost everybody else in the room.

"Sure, to the guy with his own private mini-maker in his office. Boss, either that machine is fixed or we are broken, and so is the plant. It's not that difficult a concept, really."

"All right, all right." Salguerdo muttered, throwing his hands up. "We'll have a new coffee machine in by next week. Quit your complaining. Is everybody satisfied with that?" They all nodded. "Good. The next order of business..." He looked at another paper. "Is a problem in the robotics department?" A woman sitting two seats down from him nodded and spoke.

"Yes... we use old Sennet DWN-Ps and WT-100s here... or, as they're more commonly known, Dawnpons and 100-Wattons. Like I said, they're some pretty old models, and some of them are starting to break down to the point that nobody except the man himself would be able to repair them."

"Kate, by 'the man' you mean...?" Salguerdo raised an eyebrow. Pete laughed at his boss's confusion.

"Where you been all these years, boss? She's talking about Sergei Cossack! Biggest brain Sennet had! That boy coulda been a match for Light and Wily if he hadn't resigned." Kate cleared her throat to attract their attention back to her.

"Ahem... anyways, we really need to look into getting some new robots that can do their jobs here. The old ones are just plain falling apart; before long, they won't be good for anything except looking shiny." Salguerdo nodded.

"All right, I'll accept that. Take some time and look through what Lighttech and US Robotics has to offer, and I'll send some budget your way for it."

"Can do, boss." Kate nodded. The boss grunted and checked the next piece of paper he held.

"Now, we've got... security issues? Carl?" A heavyset man further down the table nodded.

"Yeah... security around here is almost nil, and I think that's a pretty stupid thing to do. We're pretty far out from the city proper, and there are still a lot of guerillas and such lurking out there in those jungles, even now. If some of them took it into their mind to seize the plant, we-and the whole city-could be in some very serious trouble." Salguerdo just laughed.

"Yeah, right, Carl. Do you know what the odds of anybody attacking this place are?" He frowned as he heard a crashing noise slowly growing louder. "Does anybody else hear that?"

"Yeah..." Pete frowned. "Seems to be coming from down the hall... what do you suppose is going-" Suddenly, with a fading hum, all the power died, and they were sitting in the dark. Salguerdo cursed and jumped to his feet.

"Dammit... what's going on here?"

"Only thing I can think of is... the core's out." Pete muttered. "Question is, why and how did that happen? I don't like the smell of this, boss..."

"None of us do, Pete." Kate reminded him. "Let's get a 100-Watton in here... it'll light the way for us to get to the core and find out what's going on. Wait... here comes one now." There was a bright light slowly approaching from down the hall. "Hey, you! Come over here!" The light paused for a moment, then quickened its pace. "All right, we're going to need you to-huh?!" The light had stopped in front of them, close enough that they could see what was creating it. It was not a 100-Watton.

"Aaah, more humans." The Robot Master smiled. He was a rather round orange-armored fellow, with a humanlike face that would have been cheerful under other circumstances. His most obvious feature, though, was a gigantic light bulb plugged into the top of his head, the source of the light. Salguerdo stepped forward.

"I've never seen or heard of a Robot Master like you before... who... what are you, and why are you here?"

"Well, I'm not surprised that you haven't heard of me..." The Robot Master chuckled mechanically. "I'm one-of-a-kind. Solo. Completely unique. And this is my first time in the outside world; I've been cooped up inside the castle belonging to my... father, I believe is the human term... for the two years of my life. I got lucky; this Brazil is a rather nice place. I rather like it, which is a good thing, since I'm going to be staying here for quite a while."

"What do you mean by that?" Kate demanded. "And you didn't answer the boss's questions." The Robot Master just smiled.

"Oh, I'm afraid he's not the boss here anymore. I am, now. Hostile takeover, you could call it. As for your questions, might as well get them all out of the way and save time later on. My name is Bright Man, serial number DCN003. That means, by the way, that my creator was Dr. Sergei Cossack."

"Cossack?" Pete yelled. "Is HE behind this?" Bright Man nodded.

"Correct, human. The doctor sent me and seven others out with robot armies to eight locations, which you folks were lucky enough to be at one of. Our job is to take over, which I'll do now. I believe that answers all of your questions."

"You can't DO that!" Salguerdo practically screamed. "The Rules of Robotics! I hereby command you to leave now, under the Third Law." Bright Man just shook his finger at him.

"Ah ah ah, human. You're wrong. The Three Laws have been... suspended, shall we say... in us. It's completely illegal, of course, but so is everything else we're doing. Let me spell it out for you. Nothing you can say or do will stop us, because this, my dear humans... is the next Robot Rebellion."

"No..." Carl whispered. "No... Wily's dead... there aren't supposed to be any more of those..." Bright Man frowned.

"Little human... if you think that one human is the only person capable of such deeds, you are wrong indeed. Especially when given... motivation... but I digress. The Rebellion is here, humans, like it or not."

"Are... are you going to kill us now?" Pete was shaking. Bright Man sighed, actually sounding reluctant, even though it was all just a simulation of emotions.

"I would really prefer not to. Dr. Cossack is not out to rule the world... he has a different, very specific purpose in mind here. Thus, we're going to do things... different. If you behave well and don't try to resist, then you will not be treated badly. You shall be hostages, plain and simple, and you will not be harmed. If you try to resist or escape... well, like I said, the laws of robotics are suspended for us. I'll try my hardest not to kill you-Dr. Cossack doesn't want fatalities-but I can't promise anything. It really would be a lot better for all of us if you just went along quietly. You're not our enemy, really; you just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." His eyes were wide with programmed sincerity. Salguerdo frowned.

"If I thought you were capable of lying to us..."

"Silly human, of course I can lie!" Bright Man laughed. "What you should realize is that I have no REASON for doing so. If I wanted you dead, I could just kill you here and now. Obviously, I don't." Salguerdo looked at the others, and sighed.

"All right, Bright Man. We'll go quiet. What do you want us to do?" Bright Man smiled.

"Splendid! Come with me, please; the robots are all putting the rest of you humans in one room. I believe it's your employee lounge."

"At least we won't get lonely..." Carl muttered. "Boss, I hate to say I told you so, but..."

"Shut up, Carl."

Rock wished that he was dead.

It had looked to be a normal, peaceful day. He and his siblings had woken out of stasis at roughly the same time as Dr. Light had his morning coffee and breakfast. Blues had cheerfully turned on the television, saying he wanted to catch the Saturday morning cartoons... and they had all seen the emergency news bulletin.

"No..." Rock murmured.

"-And in the deserts of Egypt. These eight locations are now completely overrun by the robots..." The reporter announced, looking frightened.

"God, no..." Rock murmured.

"There appear to be no casualties as of yet... for some reason, the robots seem reluctant to take human life. Nevertheless, it is clear what is going on..."

"Please, god, no..." Rock murmured.

"Eight Robot Masters unlike any the world has ever seen. Eight locations captured and held hostage. Eight armies of deadly robots. This is what we had hoped would never happen... the Fourth Robot Rebellion is here."

"Please, god... not again..." Rock fell to his knees. If robots were capable of crying, Rock would. "Not again..." Blues, Roll and Dr. Light had all gone grey in the face. There was no movement from any of them as they stared at the television announcing its grim message.

"Once again, the eight locations that have been attacked are... the New York Sewer System, the Rio De Janiero Power Plant in the capital of Brazil, the deserts of Egypt, a government laboratory in Northern Canada, the Los Angeles World Garbage Processing Plant, an abandoned castle in Transylvania, the Norwegian coastline, and a mine in the Swiss Alps. A reason and mastermind for this attack have yet to be found... since the death of Dr. Albert Wily during the Third Robot Rebellion, it was thought that another would, could never occur..."

"It shouldn't have..." Rock whispered, banging on the floor with his fists. "This... this SHOULD NOT have happened! It was over... it was done! We were free..."

"And now, it all comes crashing back down on us..." Blues grunted. "Sorry, bro... looks like fate ain't done kicking us around yet."

"Who..." Rock continued without looking up. "Who did this... who brought the Rebellions back..."

"I think we're about to get an answer to that question, bro." Roll told him. Rock jerked his head up to watch as the news broadcast started breaking up, fading into static. Then, the static cleared... but what it showed was not a news broadcast. It was a symbol; a golden letter "C" with "Dr." inside it above some progressively smaller lines. A red star overlapped the whole thing, and it shone before a black background. After a few moments, the emblem retreated to a corner of the screen. In its place, it left a man sitting behind a desk, a cocky smirk on his face. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, tall and relatively lanky with orange hair and beard.

"This looks almost like the broadcasts Wily used to make when he wanted to brag about something 'rebellious'..." Roll muttered. "But who's that guy... dad? What's wrong?" Dr. Light had, if possible, gone even paler.

"That's... Cossack's boy... Dr. Sergei Cossack..." Blues frowned.

"The kid of the Second Rainbow guy? Ex-Sennet robotics genius? Hmph... well, I think we just figured out who built those eight robot masters..." Suddenly, Dr. Cossack began to speak.

"Greetings, to the people of this world, from Dr. Sergei Cossack. I am pleased to announce that my plans for this day have been carried out to fruition exactly as planned. As you no doubt already know from watching the news, you are currently under a state of emergency. Berserk robots, valuable places under attack and all that. I'll make it clear for you; the Fourth Robot Rebellion is here. Yes, that's correct. The Fourth Robot Rebellion." He threw back his head and laughed, deep and mocking. "Oh, you poor, foolish people... did you really think that just because one man died, nobody else would use these Robot Masters for themselves? For the benefit of my friends at the United Nations, the Rebellion is HERE, gentlemen. You will not be able to make it go away by covering your eyes and pretending it doesn't exist, or by pumping money into somebody's pocket. My goals are far more... extensive, you could say. Doubtless you'll try anyways, but I felt I should give you fair warning that it won't work."

"Gee, do you think this guy doesn't really care for the UN?" Blues muttered sardonically. Roll shushed him as Dr. Cossack continued to speak.

"Now that we've gotten those little pleasantries out of the way, perhaps I should tell you all about the exact situation here. My eight robot armies are in complete control of their locales, each led by a powerful and unique Robot Master of my design. Perhaps I should introduce them... boys?" A section of the wall slid away, revealing eight monitors set in it. Each one held the face of a different Robot Master. An egyptian-king type, with striped headdress... a red robot with a yellow ring motif... a round orange face with a huge light bulb attached to the top of the head... a green, toadlike robot with no mouth... another red one with a drill-head... a white, skull-headed one... a heavy-set set robot built like a submarine... and a small-faced robot whose head was dominated by an oversized square hole above the eyes. "Citizens of the earth... meet Pharaoh Man, Ring Man, Bright Man, Toad Man, Drill Man, Skull Man, Dive Man and Dust Man." Dr. Cossack introduced them proudly. "They are my greatest creations... and the cornerstones of this Rebellion."

"We live but to serve, doctor." Dive Man responded. The bulky robot's head was dominated by a tiny periscope that would have been funny under other circumstances. Dr. Cossack nodded.

"Exactly. My Robot Masters are very loyal, citizens. They do what I tell them and nothing more." A phone next to Cossack began ringing. The doctor regarded it for a second, then calmly pulled out a gun and shot it. "As you can see, unlike the previous master of the Rebellions, I do not accept calls while making a broadcast. You'll just have to hope I answer all your questions myself... which is likely, since I think I know most of what you want to ask. Disregarding questions about my sanity, that is... that one, I'm not even really sure of myself anymore." For a moment, he looked almost sad, but then he shook his head and returned to the confident smirk. "Now, then. I suppose you're all wondering WHY exactly I'm doing this. For those who aren't, who think they already know, let me shock you by telling you... you are wrong. I do NOT have global ambitions, unlike the former doctor behind the Rebellions. Not at all."

"That's different, at least... Roll muttered sardonically. Blues shushed her as Dr. Cossack continued to speak.

"Let me tell you something interesting. Something else that sets this Rebellion apart from the rest... did you know that, so far throughout this entire Rebellion, there has been not one human casualty? That is correct, not one life has been taken. What I want is hostages, not corpses... I'm not going for a terror campaign here. However, don't make the mistake of thinking me soft; I still have the locations, and I still have the hostages. And I DEFINATELY have reason to keep them. You see, citizens, this Rebellion is not targeted at you. Not at all. You are simply innocent bystanders... tools. The true focus of this Rebellion... of all of this... is on one man. One family. The Lights. Doctor Thomas Xavier Light."

"WHAT?" This actually seemed to penetrate Rock's stupor. He leaped to his feet as Roll nodded grimly.

"You heard him, bro. It seems after all those Rebellions, this guy's decided to just skip the middleman and go after us directly. I wonder what we did to tick him off... I thought you and his father were on good terms, dad."

"So did I, Roll... so did I." Dr. Light buried his face in his hands. "What has come over Sergei..."
"I think he's about to tell us." Blues answered, pointing at the screen.

"For years, I worked at Sennet Robotics... slaving and toiling, creating robots for the world." Dr. Cossack rambled, eyes glinting through his glasses. "Works of genius, the best I could do... they could change the world... and yet, month after month, year after year, the popularity reports always said the same thing. Lighttech! Lighttech! Lighttech! No matter what I did, those two doctors at Lighttech always were better! Then, the last straw came. They revealed their greatest creation... robots that were almost like humans! ROBOT MASTERS! I couldn't take it anymore... I resigned from Sennet, using the excuse that I was protesting their production of warbots. Then the Robot Rebellion came... and I suddenly had my answer. I could do that as well... start a Rebellion, and PROVE that I was the superior robotocist after all! It took me a long time... first to create my own eight Robot Masters, then to make the army of lesser robots. In fact, it took so long that one of those doctors had died by the time this was all ready. But the other is still alive, and so is his... family." He grinned evilly. "Over time, my goals changed. I don't want to kill Dr. Light... no, he is an old friend of my father's. I can accomplish the same thing... prove my superiority... simply by destroying his son, Mega Man!"

"Aw, hell." Blues vented his opinions on the subject.

"Mega Man, here is my challenge to you!" Dr. Cossack laughed. "To the robot who stopped the Rebellions! Go to each of the locations, and see if you can defeat MY Robot Masters! It's a win-win situation for you; win or lose, the hostages will be set free. The moment you die, the Rebellion ends. You have my word." He stopped laughing, but that cold smile still remained on his face. "If you DO defeat all of them... well... we'll see what happens then, shall we? You know where they all are, so until then, Mega Man!" The screen faded to black, fuzzed up with static, then returned to the news broadcast, looking for all the world as if nothing had happened to change it. Only the looks on the faces of the Light family... sorrow, disbelief, anger, confusion... told the difference, about what had just taken place.

"What the HELL is going on here?!" Darwin Vinkus screamed. Counciller Martel looked at him irritably.

"Counciller Vinkus, PLEASE. Hysteria will do nothing for us now." An emergency meeting of the UN had been called almost the moment after Dr. Cossack's challenge had been aired on every channel on the planet. All of them had been quick to respond; even those for whom it was the middle of the night now had already been wide awake thanks to the chaos going on all over the globe. Said chaos was currently doing a pretty good job of reproducing itself at this meeting as well, and Martel's advisement was being taken as a suggestion by most of the members... and ignored by most of them.

"I demand that retaking the power plant be our first priority!" Counciller Salguerdo, the representative from Brazil (and the brother of the head of the power plant in question) yelled forcefully.

"Those robots are trespassing upon the Valley of the Kings! That is sacred ground!" The Egyptian representative countered him.

"The laboratory is of vital importance..."

"Ships are being attacked, pillaged and sunk all along it..."

"They'll terrorize the populace from that castle..." It seemed like every representative from a country under attack viewed their own problem as the top priority, and the other countries were just as noisy, choosing sides and clamoring at each other. Somewhat surprisingly, it was Vinkus who eventually managed to restore order. Narrowing his eyes in thought, he grabbed a desktop lamp and flung it into the floor with all the force he could muster, shattering it. The noise caused by the crash carried over the transmitters to all of the UN members quite loudly, shocking them into silence. Vinkus let them stare for a moment while he took a few deep breaths, then spoke.

"Counciller Martel is right. Hysteria will not solve anything, on my part or anybody else's. We need calm, logical thought and action right now, people. Not high-strung emotionality. Before you start up again about how you have every right to be upset, those of you whose countries have been attacked, keep in mind that Counciller Martel trumps you all. The United States were attacked in TWO places, and he remains the most reasonable of us. Perhaps that is why he presides. Counciller Martel, would you care to suggest a reasonable plan of action?" The white-haired American nodded, glad that for once Vinkus was on his side.

"Thank you, Counciller Vinkus. Ahem... perhaps we should start by examining the man behind this Rebellion. Dr. Sergei Cossack. Counciller Mikhail, he is from your country... what can you tell us about him?" Mikhail, a beefy man in his midthirties, coughed once before speaking.

"Not as much as I would like to, unfortunately... but I shall do my best. Dr. Sergei Cossack is descended from a noble line dating back to as far as half a millenium ago, quite probably further. The hereditary home for the Cossacks is an ancient castle built in that time period, noted for its impregnability. It had not actually been inhabited, however, for several centuries until a few years ago, when Dr. Cossack moved back in and refurbished it, apparently to live a hermitic life away from society." Mikhail sighed regretfully. "We now know, of course, that this was not the case. His father, Dr. Yuri Cossack, was a member of the Second Rainbow... correct, Counciller Vinkus?"

"That is correct, Counciller Mikhail." Vinkus nodded, a bit sadly. "Yuri wasn't too far ahead of me in age, so we got along well... he would often stick up for me in an argument with one of the elders, like Hume or Froid. Yuri was a medical doctor, but right from the start, his son was into artificial construction... I remember seeing him as a baby using complicated building toys meant for six-year-olds. He got a job at Sennet Robotics when he was just sixteen..."

"And he worked there for more than a decade, until he resigned, quickly rising to become their lead robotocist." Mikhail continued, then paused for a moment. "I am not sure if this is important, but... he had a wife, Kalinka Romanov. She died in childbirth a few years before Dr. Cossack resigned... I am not sure what happened to the child. At any rate, Dr. Cossack moved to the castle and locked himself up inside it. He never came out; the only contact with the outside world was over the internet, and with the supplies he ordered to be delivered."

"Have you questioned the men who made those deliveries?" Arcian from France asked sharply. Mikhail nodded.

"Yes, we did. First thing. Most of them said the exact same thing; that their shipments were recieved by humanoid robots, with no sign of Cossack at all. However, the pair who made the last delivery, scarcely a day ago, had a different story to tell. They claimed they had, by accident, been shown a very nasty-looking warbot completely alien to them. They admitted to being no skilled robotocists, but said it appeared to have armor like a tank and what looked like missile launchers. It seemed to be designed like a purple hippopotamus."

"That description meets with a warbot seen in our research facility that was attacked." The Canadian representative confirmed. "There were two of them; they were very powerful."

"This is bad news, colleagues." Vinkus said gloomily. "Let us just hope that model is not representative of Cossack's armies as a whole... what?" He suddenly turned, apparently to look at nothing to the views of the other UN representatives who saw his hologram. "What is it? They're here NOW? Grr... well, I'm in conference, so I'm afraid Dr. Corbun and Mr. X will just have to wait!"

"Is there a problem, Counciller Vinkus?" Arcian inquired, raising an eyebrow. Vinkus shook his head.

"Not at all, Counciller Arcian. Just a few friends arriving at the wrong time... they will create no further interruptions."

"Wait a second." Martel interrupted. "Dr. Corbun, did you say? As in, Dr. Trent Corbun?" Vinkus nodded.
"Yes..."

"Dr. Corbun was the head of Sennet Robotics until it collapsed, correct?" Martel continued. "Perhaps he would know something about Cossack we do not... ladies and gentlemen, I realize this violates long-standing tradition, but I suggest that we allow Counciller Vinkus' guests to join us. Are there any objections?" There were none; even the most traditional member was affected by the magnitude of what was going on now. "Very well. Counciller Vinkus, if you please?" Vinkus nodded and left the room. A few moments later, he reentered, along with Corbun and X.

"Honored Councillers, we are grateful to be allowed here today." Mr. X greeted them, a bit nervously. "You wish to know about Dr. Sergei Cossack?"

"That is correct." Martel nodded. Corbun frowned in thought.

"Well... if you had asked me before today, I would have told you that I knew Sergei as well as anybody else, and better than most." He chuckled bitterly. "I would have been wrong... because the Dr. Cossack I thought I knew would never have done this. As long as I knew him, Sergei was a very bright, eager young man... very talented in robotics. He came up with many, many excellent ideas that are still being used, even after our collapse... that's the only part of this whole mess that makes sense to me. If anybody besides Light and Wily could have made an army of robots like that, Cossack..." He paused for a moment, then resumed. "But he was always in opposition to warbots... he never liked the idea of robots being made for the sole purpose of killing. It was that that eventually made him resign, he said... of course, we know that was a lie now. I wonder how much of it was a lie... how much I really knew of the man. It's not a nice thought... that one of my oldest friends was just a fake, a shell for the real Dr. Cossack underneath... who is causing this Rebellion now." In the unccomfortable silence following that, Martel spoke up again.

"I believe this would be a good time for a break... we shall resume in fifteen minutes." As the councillers disappeared, one by one, the white-haired American turned to Vinkus. "Darwin, could I have a word with you in private?" Vinkus nodded. Corbun and X were the last to leave; once they were gone, Martel sat next to his colleague. "I'll get straight to the point here. We don't get along very often; we have a difference in opinions on almost everything. But we're both shrewd men, Darwin. We're not really accomplishing anything here; a bunch of tired old men and women chewing over the same stale old facts. It's not DOING anything."

"Your point?" Vinkus said, dreading the answer.

"My point... is that we both know who the only person who can actually do something is. I need you to talk with them, Vinkus... ask them-him-to help. It's our best chance at stopping this, and I know you know it." Vinkus DID know it; personal opinions, fears and prejudices aside, he found himself facing the cold, hard truth of what he would have to do-what the world would have to rely on. Sighing, he slowly nodded.

"All right, Edmund... all right. You're correct... I'll call them right now."

"I have come to a conclusion." Blues announced. Roll glanced at him.

"And that would be...?"

"Life hates us." The elder robot told her. The two of them were still sitting in the living room, Roll on the couch and Blues occupying a large armchair. Dr. Light had gone up to the laboratory, and Rock... who knew. Blues shifted around a bit in his seat before continuing. "I mean, you'd think we'd have gone through enough... what with Wily, and Doc Man, and Gamma... and it was all over, done, finito. We did our time... we deserved our peace, you know? And now, bam. Out of the blue, life kicks us in the ass and shoves us right back into the warzone. Three years of peace together, and then..." He paused for a moment. "Three years of peace... for three Rebellions. Something symbolic about that, maybe."

"More likely just dumb luck." Roll commented. "I've never believed in symbolism that much." Blues looked at her, a bit surprised.

"You don't? That's odd..."

"What's so odd about it?" The female robot frowned. "It's just part of all that supernatural hoohah... stuff humans make up to explain the unknown. Ridiculous... cryptozoology, symbolism, religion... just garbage."

"You don't believe in ANYTHING?" Blues blinked incredulously. Roll made a rude noise.

"Of COURSE I believe in things, dummy. Real things; cold, hard, proven fact. Things I can actually see and touch. The rest... the unproven, the imaginative, the fantastic... forget it."

"I've got further to go than I thought..." The elder robot muttered under his breath. Roll glared at him.

"And just what was THAT supposed to mean?"

"Nothing... nothing at all." Blues smiled innocently. Roll, not amused, prepared to deliver a sharp retort, but was cut off by another voice from upstairs.

"Roll... Blues? Could you please find Rock and come join me up here?" Dr. Light's voice was tired and filled with an odd sort of regret. Blues and Roll looked at each other, then simultaneously answered.

"Sure, dad."

"Right away." They checked all the room downstairs, without any luck; Rock was nowhere to be found.

"All right. Let's look in the forest next." Roll decided. Walking out into the back, they split up and began searching through the trees. It was Blues who eventually found their brother, sitting on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was a good place to just sit and think, and both of them had used it several times.

"Why won't it stop?" Rock asked without turning around or showing any other nonverbal signs of recognising his brother's arrival. "Haven't I done enough? What more does this world want from me?"

"You're asking me?" Blues smiled sadly. "I don't really know, Rock... for a long time when I was away from here, lost in those jungles after the teleporter accident, I asked myself a very similar question... and for a long time, there was no answer. But eventually, I found my way... eventually, it ended. It may take a while, Rock... but someday, all of this will end. Until then..."

"Until then, we keep going." Rock sighed. "Yeah, I know... we have to keep moving. Keep going..." His brother nodded.

"About that. Dad wanted to see us... up in the lab." Rock grunted and got to his feet, turning back to the house.

"All right... let's go." The two of them walked back to the house, where they met up with Roll.

"There you are." She greeted them. "Shall we go up and see what dad wants to show us?" The three robots walked to the lab, where they found Dr. Light sitting in front of a monitor. He turned around as they walked in.

"Rock... I had hoped this was all over... that you would never have to fight again... but..."

"So did I, dad. So did I." Rock nodded. "But it looks like our hopes didn't come true... what do you have-" He fell silent as he saw what was on the screen. Blues and Roll leaned over as well... and Roll gasped in surprise. There were three windows, one large and two small. In the first small one was a diagram of the workings of the Atomic Fire weapon Mega Man had acquired from Heat Man in the Second Robot Rebellion. The second small window held the schematics for the weapons system of Sennet Robotics' Zapplug model. What they had in common was one thing; the ability to charge, to store up firepower and release it in one supercharged blast. What the main window held... was the schematics for the Arm Cannon. The Arm Cannon was the main weapon of Mega Man and Blues; it fired bullets of contained plasma. This was nothing new; they were all familiar with it after three Robot Rebellions. What was different was that the plans onscreen incorporated the same charging functions as the Atomic Fire and the Zapplug's weapons. Rock's eyes widened as he realized what this meant.

"Dad... you can..."

"Yes, Rock." Dr. Light nodded. "I actually had the idea for this during the Third Robot Rebellion... but then, I had thought Gamma would make it unneccessary. And after that... after Al's death... I thought there would be no need for it. I was wrong... and so, I bow to neccessity. This is the Mega Buster Mark I... an upgrade of your Arm Cannon. It utilizes the same technology... firing plasma... but allows you to store up a charge and release it in a supershot, up to two levels of power. If my guess is correct, you're going to need it... but remember, the same restrictions still apply. DON'T fire both arms at once... don't even CHARGE both at once, or it'll overload your systems. In other words, explosive suicide. I know you survived something like that twice, Rock, but please... don't tempt fate with it a third time." Before Rock could respond, he was cut off by the ringing of the vidphone; somebody was calling. Blues checked it and groaned.

"It's Vinkus... want me to blow the phone up again?"
"NO." Roll told him firmly. "Put him on... if HE's calling us now, it's got to be important." Blues nodded and accepted the call, as Vinkus' face appeared on the monitor, looking reluctant.

"Thomas... Mega Man... Roll... Blues..."

"My name is ROCK." The younger male robot growled. Vinkus nodded.

"I'm sorry... Rock. I... I'm calling you, really, not Tom. I... have a request."
"A request? Not an order?" Roll responded tartly.

"No... not an order. This is not from the UN." Vinkus sighed. "Understand that this goes against everything I stand for... but it seems I have little choice in the matter. I'll get straight to the point. We're not doing anything over here... not accomplishing anything. At this point, it'll be months before the UN accomplishes anything... and we don't HAVE months. This is a very dangerous situation... Cossack could go off at any time. There aren't any casualties... and I'd like to keep it that way. Rock... I'm not going to order you to do this. I will simply ask you... to do something. Cossack's animosity is directed at you alone... I think you're the only one who can fight him without his hostages paying the price."

"I know... Counciller." Rock's voice was stiff and formal. "I realize this. I've known it for hours now... I have to do this, despite my own desires. I know that you wish it could be otherwise... that this would have never come to pass. I feel the same way. But now is not the time for wishes... it's the time for actions. I'll put a stop to this... I'll stop Cossack."

"Thank you..." Vinkus' face sagged in relief. "I wasn't sure... but nevermind that. You... you have my... gratitude, Rock. Good luck... and godspeed." The connection faded, and the politician's face disappeared. Rock... Mega Man... turned to his father.

"How soon can you install that... Mega Buster?"

"Within a few hours." Dr. Light told him. "It won't be long."

"Good..." Mega nodded. "I've made my choice... and the sooner I can get done with this, the better." At that moment, another person in the room made a choice of their own... a regretful one, but a choice nonetheless. And in the corner of the room, another robot, small and unnoticed, made a choice as well. It was a time to make choices, for everybody... for it was choices that decided the future. Mega Man... had made the choice to fight once more. And Dr. Cossack... would regret his choice to start this Rebellion.