Chapter 9 : Best Friend

"Do you mean to tell me that I'm the only person you've ever seen who considers robots more than just machines?" Dr. Light asked David, surprised.

"Yes, that's just it…I'm so used to robots being treated like tools, I tend to correct people about it without thinking. Sorry…" David apologized.

"Ah, I see…anymore questions?"

"Just a few. What's your personal motivation for building robots?"

"Originally, I wanted to help people in ways they couldn't be helped before. But, later on, I wanted people to accept robots as people, as members of society."

David typed furiously, shooing off Rock, who was currently leaning over his back to see what he was typing.

"Go play video games or something, kid." he said, and Rock walked off to go find something to do. He decided to go visit Blues, and see if he wanted to go anywhere yet.

"What has been your biggest disappointment in your robot building career?"

Roll was in another room and could still hear them, but she wasn't really listening. She had found her mental sanctuary doing what she did best. Cleaning. Dusting and straightening. Somehow, that made her happy, but she had never understood why, as she had never really given it much thought.

But who did that David think he was? Talking about her as if she wasn't there…

"Wily betraying me has to be the worst thing that's ever happened to me, without a doubt," Dr. Light replied.

Roll sighed, trying to keep her mind off it. Somehow, what David had said and the way he had acted had triggered depressing thoughts in her…

If she was as human as she was supposed to be, she could cry.

Blues wasn't in the car when Rock went to it. He knew that Blues hadn't gone in the house either, and that meant only one thing…Blues had run away. This wasn't unusual, so Rock simply walked back in the house to go find something else to do. Maybe he'd go visit Roll instead.

He hated to leave, but the good Doctor had already told him he couldn't fix him, so he had decided it'd be pointless to stay. He didn't know where he wanted to go, but all he wanted now was something to do…Suddenly, he remembered. He had known for a while that there'd be a fair coming around town…and for some bizarre reason, he'd always wanted to go to one of those. But he never could before…

Well, it couldn't hurt now.

The only problem was finding a way to get there…he didn't even know where it was! He hated to ask for help, but he really didn't feel he had much of a choice…so he stopped a lady and a child that were passing by, and asked for directions.

"What kind of robots do you plan to build someday?" David asked.

"I plan to build a robot that's exactly like a person…one that is capable of making it's own decisions, and will learn from the world around it. My hope is that it will help seal the bond between robots and people." Dr. Light responded.

"A robot that can make it's own decisions? Interesting…but it sounds dangerous as well. If someone used the robot for other purposes, what will happen?"

"Don't worry. The robot would be given many years of ethical testing to make sure that nothing like that can possibly happen."

"How much progress have you made?"

"Not much, exactly, but some developments have come up that may help assist me in my research."

"Thanks, Dr. Light. That's all I need for my report." David said, clicking something and closing the laptop. He extended his hand and Dr. Light shook it.

"Do you think you can do me a favor, though?" Dr. Light asked.

"Sure, anything. What?"

"You owe someone an apology."

Roll was surprised when Mega Man came over to where she was and asked her if she was alright. She shook her head, the words that David had said still echoing within her mind. Mega Man did something unusual then.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed. She didn't understand the gesture, but Mega Man seemed sad. He was crying, and the tears hit her bright red dress one by one.

"I heard what he said, and it made you sad, and I don't like it when people are sad, especially you. You're my best friend." Mega Man babbled. Roll felt awkward, especially when David walked in the room.

When David entered, he was immediately greeted by Rock, who turned towards him and gave him a cold look. There were tears streaming down his face, and David felt shocked, realizing he had really hurt more than just the robot.

Feeling incredibly awkward, he walked over to Roll, bent down, and looked her in the eyes. He tried to give a friendly smile.

"I'm sorry…I shouldn't have acted the way I did," he tried to say. Unfortunately, before he could get a word out, someone had hit him on the back of the head. Hard.

Forte and Treble were trying to merge like they used to. Forte jumped into the air, and Treble jumped above him, trying to land on him as they focused. It ended with Treble knocking Forte onto the ground, practically crushing him.

Instead of getting angry, he felt sad. They couldn't merge like they used to anymore. Forte cursed silently, and Treble whimpered.

"Don't do that…it's not your fault." Forte said, patting Treble's head reassuringly. Treble barked happily, and Forte stood up.

Roll was shocked at what Rock had done, but she couldn't say she wasn't happy. David had kind of deserved it. She was silent for a while, and then David pulled himself together again and glared at Rock.

"Hey! I was trying to say sorry!" he yelled. Quickly, he turned back towards Roll, gave her a small hug, and finished what he had been trying to say earlier before leaving.

She could hear him telling Dr. Light what Rock had just done. So, quickly, Roll gave Rock a hug as well, and whispered "Thank you." Then she went into another room.

"You shouldn't hit people for no reason." Dr. Light scolded. "Even if they hurt your feelings, you're going to get into a lot of trouble at school if you do that."

"Sorry." Rock replied, suddenly feeling as if he had just swallowed a large rock. He waited for more, but Dr. Light didn't say anything.

"Just try not to do it again." Dr. Light finished, smiling. He looked at a nearby clock. It was now one in the afternoon. "Just four hours until it's time to go."

Not only did the woman know where the fair was, she was heading there. In fact, she was only walking there because it wasn't too far away!

Blue's sudden luck thrilled him. It looked like his last month of life was going to be a very enjoyable one after all.

Rock went to find something to do, and ran right into Rush, tripping over him. When Rock realized who it was, he was thrilled, but Rush was surprised by the sudden appearance of this person, especially since he didn't recognize him.

Fearing for his family's safety, he growled at the newcomer, and started barking loudly. Rock was surprised, and began to quickly back away. This wasn't like Rush at all!

Roll ran in only a few minutes later, and whistled. Rush stopped growling and ran after her happily, leaving Rock confused and lonely.

Forte stopped working on his robots and played with Treble instead, throwing things at him and watching him run off to catch them, then bring them back. Treble was a much better dog than Rush was, for sure. Mega Man should be jealous.

After a few more minutes of their game, they went to do all the other things they used to do. They explored the lab, bothered Wily, and even went to play with the old Robot Masters…

But when they went to do that last thing, they ran into something that surprised them.