Dr. Wily's Space Node, in orbit around the Moon...
It was time. He had waited two weeks already, cursing that blasted human. Or at least he would be if he had a voice. The space he was confined in now was much smaller than what he was used to inhabiting. Still, at least he was able to infect this machine and keep his basic identity intact. Anyway, he had waited long enough. After all, even his considerable patience had its limits, and his current position was promising. Very promising indeed.
Dr. Wily's infamous blue and yellow escape pod sat, still and silent, in Dr. Wily's garage, for lack of a better term. The pod was one of several modes of vehicular transportation the mad robotiscist often liked to use. In one corner was the latest model of the "Wilymachine." It basically consisted of a flying tank adorned with a large skull decorating the front. He stuck with the classic design this time, rather than a ground based tank or "spider walker." As impressive as the Wilymachine was, though, the saucer was Wily's most often used transportation. After all, it was compact, easily hidden, and capable of long range flight. It had become as much a symbol of Dr. Wily as the skull or "Dr. W" symbol was. Now, though, it had an unintended passanger.
The hatch at the top of the pod popped open. A wire used for downloading information into the ship's computer slid out of the opening of its own power. It plugged itself into the terminal on one wall. This time it wasn't downloading. This time it was uploading. At last, he was free!
"RRRROOOOOCK!"
Rock slapped himself on the forehead again. "Oh, man..."
X stopped, too, a sudden feeling of dread coming over him. "Was that...?"
"Roll," Hadrian identified with a grin. He decided to stick around, since he'd revealed himself now anyways. "And it sounds like she's in one of her 'moods.'"
The doorway at the end of the hall the five robots were walking down burst open, and a furious Roll stood framed in it. She glared at Rock and the others, Hadrian included, backed away, despite the fact that they all individually were many times more powerful than the little housekeeper. "Rock," she managed through clenched teeth, "Would you be so kind as to explain this for me?"
"Explain what?" Rock asked with a shrug.
Roll grabbed her brother by his shirt collar and dragged him into the room. She shut the door with a bang! The others just stood there. "She didn't even see us!" Iris remarked, surprised.
"Trust me," X replied. "At the moment, that's a good thing."
Rock found himself in the living room of Dr. Light's apartmenthis home away from home when he had work to do. "Alright, buster, you've got a lot of explaining to do!" Roll demanded with a glare.
"Roll, what are you talkin' about?" Rock asked.
"This!" Roll cried as she used a remote to turn on the nearby television set. It showed the mock struggle Mega Man had with Bass the instant before they disappeared.
Rock groaned. "I was afraid of that..."
Roll tapped her foot impatiently. "Well...?"
Rock sighed. "All right, I ran into Bass today, obviously. And no, I didn't know he was out and about before today, and yes I do know he helped me defeat the Robot Masters, and yes I know I just made him look like the bad guy again."
Roll blinked. Her brother had answered just about every question she was going to ask before she even thought of them. "B-but why...?" she began.
Rock threw his arms up in frustration. "Roll, you remember how long it took for me to convince the world at large that Hade was a good guy after that whole Dark Man incident, don't you?" Roll nodded. "Well with Bass it'll be even more difficult as he actually was a bad guy at one point! I did what I did because it was the quickest, easiest way to get him outta there without anybody getting hurt! Understand?"
Roll nodded. "I guess...but why hasn't he come here?"
Rock cringed at the hurt in Roll's voice. Why couldn't his life ever be simple for a change? "Because, he needs some time to adjust. As big a jerk as Wily is, he was Bass's superior for his whole life. He needs some time to be his own robot. Like Hadrian. He'll come around when he's ready," Rock finished, repeating earlier words.
The door opened and Hadrian poked his head through the crack. "Is the storm over?" he asked cheerily.
"Sure, come on in," Rock replied.
The door opened and Hadrian led the three Reploids into the room. Roll looked at X. She looked at Zero. She looked at Iris. Then she fainted.
Wily was fuming as he was repairing the damaged Guts Man. "I don't believe you. It was three against two and you couldn't handle it?"
Snake Man stood tall. He had decided that honesty was a better reaction at the moment than fear. "That'sssss right ssssir. We were unable to finissssh our missssion."
"I don't see why I don't just melt the lot of you down to scrap metal. You'd be more useful to me that way." Wily responded.
A deep, hauntingly familiar voice chuckled, seeming to come from every direction at once. "Wily, Wily, Wily. That is no way to talk to a creature who outclasses you to such a degree."
Wily felt the cold touch of fear shoot down his spine. "No," he whispered. "It can't be..."
The largest monitor in the room activated, showing a bald, scarred face. "But it is," the face said.
Wily stood stock still in terror. "Sigma! It can't be! I killed you in the future!"
The wire frame image smiled. "Ah, but it is not so simple a matter to destroy me. I have
a special knack for keeping my essence alive, even though my body may be destroyed. Once I
even survived an attack from a program specially designed to erase me. And so it was a simple
matter for me to possess your little pod. And Wily..." several weapons unfolded themselves
from the walls. "No one betrays me and lives either." All at once, the weapons opened fire, all
aimed at one spot, the spot where Wily was standing. The assault lasted about a minute, and
when it was over, there was nothing there but a charred spot on the floor. Sigma laughed. "With
that worthless bag of worm food out of the way, it is only a matter of time before I reprogram his
robots and pave the way for the Reploid race!" Sigma erupted in his first evil laugh in days.