Mega Man 5: Blood Among Brothers

by Magus523

Dr. Wily is still on the loose, and the Fifth Robot Rebellion is inevitable. But when it finally comes, its source is not Wily, but one whom Mega Man had thought he would never have to fight again... his own brother, Blues...

3. Chapter 2: Lights Between Darkness

Chapter 2: Lights Between Darkness

"Two years now, and no sign... nothing." Rock Light growled. His sister, Roll Light, nodded somberly.

"Well, not unless you count the tabloids."

"Somehow, I doubt 'Alien Elvis Man' is going to be Wily's next secret weapon." Rock half-smiled for a moment. The two younger Light siblings were sitting on the couch in their living room, nominally watching a cartoon on the television, though neither was really paying much attention to it. "He's insane, but those things are on an entirely different level."

"At least they're not as bad as they were during the Third..." Roll tried to cheer him up, a sign that she was definitely concerned. A blonde-haired, red-wearing robot who physically resembled a girl of around eleven or twelve, Roll normally had a caustic tongue that belied her demure exterior. "Back when every one of them ran a daily feature on..." She stopped, cursing herself, but it was too late.

"On Wily." Rock continued, not looking at her. "On how he was faking it, how we were idiots for believing him, for thinking he could change, that he was going to just pull the same thing over again. Heh... guess even a tabloid can be right once in a while. Heh heh heh." His chuckling held no trace of humor.

"Stop that." Roll snapped, resorting to bluntness. "Don't sink into depression. You're bad enough as is. The longer between Rebellions means the longer before more people are hurt, are killed... I'd think you'd be happy about that."

"It will come." Her brother shook his head. "How long makes no difference. Wily's out there... he got away scot free last time. Vinkus and the others at the UN haven't found a fifth Skull Fortress yet, but there's almost certainly one somewhere. Sooner or later, he'll start the next Rebellion... and more people will die, before I can stop him."

Rock, on the other hand, was more prone to gloominess these days. When he wasn't thinking about the Rebellions, he was cheerful and friendly, a boy who looked the same age as Roll and acted almost like a human. The problem was, he almost always WAS thinking about the Rebellions... and the four times past the persona of the peace-loving 'Rock' had been supplanted by 'Mega Man', who had killed numerous Robot Masters and brought every storm of chaos created by Wily and those like him to a screeching halt.

"That's not a given." Roll argued. "Remember the Fourth? They call it the 'Bloodless Rebellion', if you'll remember, because not a single human died."

"That was when he was hiding behind Cossack... making him do the dirty work and take the blame." Rock reminded her angrily. "And nobody may have died, but Kalinka Cossack came too damn close for my tastes. I doubt he'll pull the same act again anyways... he's not stupid. If somebody else claims to be behind the next Rebellion, I'll be watching for Einstein hair the whole time, up until Blues finds where he's hiding."

"Speaking of Blues..." His sister steered the conversation away. "Did you read the latest e-mail from him?"

"Of course." Rock shook his head, then turned to face her. "You been watching the news?"

"Of course." Roll echoed. "Both the incident in Sydney and the one in Moscow. What do you think?"

"I think some humans aren't worth the effort of us saving their butts from Wily." Rock replied coolly. "You?"

"I'm thinking more about our older brother, myself..." Roll shook her head. "I'm worried, to be honest. That last e-mail... it didn't sound like him. At all. Oh, he was trying to act normal, but something was different. That incident in Sydney hit him harder than he thinks... and that one in Moscow, after he sent the e-mail..."

"He never did send any more word after that, did he?" Her brother realized. Roll shook her head.

"Nope... and dad called the Cossacks yesterday. Blues left there over a week ago... hasn't sent word to them since."

"He hasn't?" Rock raised an eyebrow. Most of the conversation on their brother had been recycled multiple times over the past week, but this was new. "That IS odd... did he say where he was going?"

"Nada." His sister denied. "You know what Blues is like... tell people where he's going AFTER he gets there, not before. Remember the time he decided it would be fun to hike up to that place with the Dahli Camels?"

"It's Dahli lama, sis." Rock winced. "Dahli camel... I'm pretty sure that's sacrilegious in some country. But yeah, I remember. And of course, being Blues, he somehow managed to find the one travel station that had internet access available through satellite, and sent us all a 'Guess where I am!' message."

"As I recall, that was what prompted the incident that ended up with dad's medical doc telling him to ease up on the coffee." Roll recalled, ignoring the gibes. "Not that he listens... I swear, one of these days I'm going to have Rush go bury that one-gallon stein of his."

"He'll just make you dig it up with your hands." Rock joked, then turned serious. "Blues'll turn up, sis... he always does. He's the most erratic member of our little family, but he's still Blues... if nothing else, he'll be on hand for the next Rebellion."

"He did promise he would, didn't he?" His sister reminisced. "In that stupid note he left before he took off..."

"Yes, he did... and even if he hadn't, I'd know he would anyways." Rock said firmly, gazing out a window. "One thing I've learned from the past few Rebellions... when Blues is on your side... he may not show himself all the time, he may not seem like much is happening with him, but when the chips are down for you, he's there to bail you out... a safety net for when your parachute fails."

"That sounds like our big brother, all right..." Roll agreed, then sighed. "I just hope he's held onto that part of him through what's happened recently." Rock couldn't think of a response to that. Fortunately, he was saved from having to as Dr. Thomas Light, their creator and father, came walking down the stairs, trailed by Rush and Eddie. The former immediately barked and ran over to have his ears scratched, prompting the latter to roll his eyes and emit a sarcastic-sounding beep.

"Be nice, Eddie." Dr. Light said absently. A portly man in the beginnings of old age, his hair and beard were both a snowy white, making him look more like santa claus in a labcoat than the world's leading genius in robotics... which brought him unending grief every December with three robotic children possessing decidedly unorthodox senses of humor. "Rock, Roll... do you, ah... have anything planned for next week?" The two Robot Masters glanced at each other and shrugged.

"Ah... not really, to my knowledge." Roll spoke first. "Why?"

"Well, I was going through my planner... and there appears to be something I had forgotten." Dr. Light explained. "You remember Trent, correct?"

"Doc Corbun? Of course we do." Rock answered. Both the siblings strongly liked the wisecracking, sardonic British robotocist who visited their father several times a year. "He's working for U.S. Robotics now, isn't he?"

"That's correct." The doctor confirmed. "After he finished his duties cleaning up Sennet Robotics as its head prior to its collapse, he was hired by U.S. Robotics, in the United States of America. As a matter of fact, that's what I'm here to tell you about. We're going to be flying over to the U.S. in order to attend the unveiling of that company's new lines of Robot Masters... they're finally ready to make them visible to the public. We leave tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Roll's voice rose several octaves. "We leave TOMORROW? And you tell us NOW? Argh! This is going to be a nightmare, getting ready in time! Could you have made this any worse, dad?"

"Ah..." Dr. Light smiled nervously. "Would this be a bad time to tell you we'll be sharing the jet with Vinkus?" At that point, Roll's language became unrepeatable. Rock, however, was not paying attention. His mind was on other matters... on the matter of new Robot Masters, and what the likely result of them would be...

"You see, Roll?" Dr. Light remarked cheerfully as the Light family approached the jet the next morning. "We had no problems making it here on time at all."

"If you call running around until two AM packing and yelling at each other no problem." Roll carried two suitcases that, combined, were larger than her without a sign of discomfort. Robotic strength did come in handy. "We had to go on half stasis time, and we needed a gallon of coffee for YOU."

"Ease up on him, sis." Rock told her. Dr. Light smiled at him.

"Thank you, Rock."

"Just being honest." Rock continued with a straight face. "You need a gallon of coffee EVERY morning, so that wasn't out of the ordinary." Roll snickered, and Dr. Light groaned.

"On second thought, don't take my side from now on, Rock. Please." A couple crewmen took their luggage and loaded it as the Lights climbed aboard the small, four-passenger private jet that would be taking them to New York City in the United States. Of course, Rock could have just teleported there, but he preferred not to use any of the systems more commonly associated with 'Mega Man' during times of peace. As they entered the jet, the Lights saw that the fourth passenger was there ahead of them.

"Tom... glad you could make it." Darwin Vinkus smiled as the two men shook hands. Japan's representative at the United Nations, Vinkus was a portly, balding man in his mid-fifties. Like Light and Wily, he had been a member of the Second Rainbow, one of the younger scientists there, but just as valued as the rest. However, he held a deep distrust for advanced robotics, Robot Masters in particular. Fortunately, he was civilized enough to keep it under wraps most of the time, and seemed to be developing appreciation for Rock's role in stopping the Rebellions, even if he didn't personally approve of the robot boy. "Rock... Roll." He inclined his head politely.

"Councilor Vinkus." Roll nodded in response, and Rock echoed her. Roll privately disliked the councilor, but at Dr. Light's wishes, she remained polite whenever he did the same. "Well, we're all here... when are we leaving?" As if in response, the door sealed behind them, and the jet began moving. Rock frowned and glanced at the front, where the pilot was seated, a move that made Vinkus' eyebrows raise.

"Something the matter?"

"I didn't bother to look... this would be a perfect way for Wily to trap us, if he knows what's going on... which he almost certainly does."

"Please." Roll scoffed. "Now you're just getting paranoid, bro."

"Perhaps... and then perhaps not." Vinkus admitted with grudging approval. "I had the same thoughts, actually, and I checked... the pilot is fine. Still, it will likely be only a matter of time before that madman shows his face..."

"You think Albert will attempt something at the showing of the new Robot Masters, then." Dr. Light sighed as they took seats. The UN counciller nodded darkly.

"It is a certainty. Mega Man... sorry, Rock... was unable to prevent his escape at the end of the Fourth Robot Rebellion... which it has been two years since, with no sign of him. Now, here we have Robot Masters being debuted... and to make matters worse, there are eight of them... the same number as there were in the Second, Third, and Fourth. The First Rebellion aside, eight seems to be Albert's magic number."

"I trust that U.S. Robotics... and the local government... will make extensive preparations for such an occurrence." Dr. Light said cheerfully. "They are not so foolish as to not expect something of the sort, after all."

"I suppose..." Vinkus glanced out the window, watching Tokyo fall away below them. "But still... I cannot help but think something will happen there, no matter what precautions are taken... none of them have been able to stop Rebellions from happening in the first place... only Rock here has been able to halt them."

"Indeed... and this may surprise you, councilor, but I actually agree with you completely." Rock predicted. Dr. Light and Roll blinked in surprise, and Vinkus turned from the window to look at him, face blank.

"Oh?"

"Wily will try something." Rock continued bleakly. "He's insane... Rebellions are his obsession, they're all he lives for. Waiting two years has to have built his madness up... and there's no way he can't have heard of this event. It'll be irresistible to him... like a flame to a moth. A moth with a can of gasoline. No matter how heavy the security is, he'll be unable to stop himself from making an attempt... and considering his track record so far, I wouldn't bet the farm that he won't be able to find some way to succeed."

"So what will you do if he does?" Dr. Light asked softly.

"That's why I brought my armor." Rock shrugged. Vinkus jumped for a moment, causing the spectacles he wore to tumble off, but then his face changed to a small smile, unusual for the normally frowning councilor.

"I see... that was well thought-out. We may need you, if Albert does indeed invite himself to the proceedings..."

"And you'll take on all eight of those Robot Masters by yourself, since if Wily pops up he'll likely already have reprogrammed the prototypes that are there?" Roll told her brother scathingly. "Why don't you just open the door of our jet and step out now? It'll save time, and the end result will be the same."

"I'll be taking them on WITH the security they've got backing me." Rock corrected her. "If I'm in the fray myself, Wily may choose to fight it out there instead of running away. Robot Masters are tougher than humans, but even they can't win when they're grossly outnumbered... not when they're out in the open instead of barricaded in fortresslike stolen territories surrounded by robot armies. And if we can hold them down long enough for somebody to set up a EM shield around, none of them-Wily included-will be able to teleport out."

"It seems you have this well planned, but I still hope nothing of the sort happens." Dr. Light sighed. "And even if it does, we still have some time before the presentation... before we even arrive in the United States, for that matter. At least a day."

"Two." Roll corrected. "We stop in Hawaii tonight to rest and refuel, then continue to New York tomorrow. Well, technically Hawaii is the U.S., but you know what I mean. So we've got some time on our hands. What's the first in-flight movie they're showing us?" Vinkus made a face.

"Something from the U.S... Bambi III." Roll made a rude noise, and the councilor rolled his eyes. "My thoughts exactly." Rock sighed.

"Guess I'll catch up on my stasis, then..." Leaning back, he closed his eyes and shut down most of his systems, going into a state much like biological sleep to recharge his energy.

Unlike most robots, even Robot Masters, Rock had dreams while he was in stasis... nightmares, more often than not. To be expected, perhaps, after everything he had gone through, far too much of it experience that should have been the stuff of bad dreams, not reality. He had nightmares about the first, hellish Skull Fortress... he had nightmares about the twisted distortion of Dr. Wily that had been the Alien hologram-cloaked weapons pod... he had nightmares about the seemingly endless chase hunting the murderous Doc Man... he had nightmares about his impossible fight against Gamma, the Ultimate War Machine capable of destroying entire cities... he had nightmares about each and every one of the Robot Masters he had fought, the Robot Masters he had killed. But mostly now, he had nightmares about the moment in the Fourth Robot Rebellion, the terrible moment when he had realized that Wily's death at the end of the Third had just been another trick, that the mad doctor was still alive and had been pulling strings the entire time.

"If you will not die, then I will never STOP! Until you are dead, until your name has been wiped clean from this miserable woebegotten planet and the feeble minds of its fleshy hordes, I will NEVER STOP!" Wily leaned forward, behind the controls of his teleporting, impossible to peg Wilyporter capsule. The ancient scientist's teeth were bared in a manic grin as he loomed over his nearly fallen adversary. "Rebellion after Rebellion will be instilled, Rock. Innocents will suffer... like the Cossacks! Until I finally triumph! Cossack was a puppet, Kalinka was his strings! There will be OTHERS, Rock! I WILL NEVER STOP!" Screaming, Rock jerked upright.

"Rock, what is it?" Dr. Light demanded. Vinkus glared at him in mistrust, as Roll frowned.

"Another bad dream?"

"Yeah..." Rock nodded, remembering where he was. They were on the second day of their trip, heading towards their destination in New York. After a stasisless night spent guarding the humans' rooms at the hotel they had stayed in overnight, he had chosen again to conk out on the jet. Now he was regretting it... no. The nightmares would have come wherever he had tuned out. "How long before we arrive?"

"Not long, actually." Vinkus looked away. "We were just about to wake you anyways. I wasn't aware that robots dreamed."

"Most of us don't." Roll shook her head. "I don't... can't speak for Blues, though. Rock, though..."

"I'm different." Rock finished shortly. "There's New York down below... will Dr. Corbun be waiting for us?" Dr. Light nodded.

"Most likely. We are his personal guests, after all. Wonder if Mr. X has arrived yet..." They all fell silent as the jet made its landing. As Dr. Light predicted, upon exiting the plane, they found a familiar face beaming up at them.

"Tom! Rock! Roll! Vinky! Glad you could make it!" Vinkus scowled, but did not return the greeting. Dr. Trenton Corbun was a tall, slim man in his forties with jet black hair and a trim mustache over an almost perpetual grin. A native of Great Britain, he had moved to the United States two years back. While not a robotocist on the same world-class level of Light, Cossack and Wily, his skills were still nothing to sneeze at. With him were two other people; a brown-haired woman who looked to be the same age as him, and a much older gentleman with a shock of white hair and a beard to match. He wore a slightly sinister trenchcoat and sunglasses, and carried a walking stick. "You're the last ones here... Mr. X beat you to it!"

"Please, Trent... this is not a race." Mr. X smiled gently. The old man was one of the world's most wealthy billionaires, a fortune gained in the Third World War as an arms dealer. In his old age he bitterly repented the means he had used to gain his riches, and spent it freely in funding worthy causes... such as those of his close friends.

"No, but it's fun to talk about it like it is." Corbun shrugged. "Come on down, guys. This is my wife, Sandra... Sandy, you've met Darwin and Thomas before... these are his children, Rock and Roll."

"It's nice to meet you both at last." Dr. Corbun's wife greeted them. "I've seen the news reports, but those don't really say much."

"We're happy to meet you too, Mrs. Corbun." Roll smiled back. "Are your children here? The Doctor's mentioned them before..."

"Oh, not yet." Mrs. Corbun laughed. "They were both grown before we moved to the U.S., and they stayed in England. They'll be arriving here tomorrow." She glanced at the four human men. "Why don't we go ahead to the car and let the guys talk for a moment?" Rock nodded.

"That sounds fine." The three of them departed, and the human males shook hands.

"So... the Gamma Team convenes for another big presentation in robotics." Dr. Light sighed.

"Let's hope this one goes better than the one before..." Mr. X added, all four of them remembering the past, and those who were no longer there.

The Gamma Team had been created during the Third Robot Rebellion, when Dr. Wily had feigned regaining his sanity, and together with Dr. Light, had created an "Ultimate Peacekeeper" to keep the world from harm. Hundreds of people had worked on Gamma, but at the top were seven adult human males, who all had vital roles in Gamma's completion. Light and Wily, of course, were the brains and lead designers... Vinkus was there to make sure it fit the UN's directives... Dr. Corbun arranged for labor from surviving Sennet employees... Mr. X had paid for the damn thing... and a politician named Donald Richolds and a psychologist named Cedric Froid handled the publicity and kept lynch mobs off Wily's back. Light alone knew that Froid had really been the psychotic Doc Man the whole time, the original Froid having been killed by him a good time earlier. As far as the other three-and the world-knew, Froid had been killed in the chaos involving Doc Man near the end of the Rebellion before the mad robot's own death, along with Richolds, a later victim of Doc Man's. Which left five surviving members of the Gamma Team, and only four of them on good terms, to say the least... Wily hadn't attempted to attend any of their get-togethers since their discovery of his survival, for obvious reasons. Now, though, he was on all of their minds... would this be the time he would, after two years of silence, violently renew his acquaintance with his former teammates as well as his now-hated 'family'?

"I want you all to know, we're taking the utmost precautions in security for this event." The normally jovial Dr. Corbun soberly assured them. "If Albert attempts to crash our little party, he may be in for a bit of a surprise."

"Not nearly as big of a surprise as we were in for when we all found out he had survived Gamma's destruction." Vinkus countered sourly. "Believe it or not, I'm glad Tom brought his... brought Mega Man along. If Albert does make a showing, he'll likely be the only thing that may work."

"Normally, I would urge us to turn to more pleasant manners, but in this case..." Mr. X sighed. The calm, courteous billionaire was often the peacekeeper between the sardonic British Doctor and the volatile Councilor. "Well, even I must admit that action from Albert is more than likely."

"Albert does seem to know an opportunity when he sees it, unfortunately... that business with Sergei and Kalinka, and of course... Gamma..." Dr. Light's eyes grew distant. "It's been five years since the Gamma Project... and we've all grown a little older, a little wider, and a little more cynical about the world around us. Five years... time passes so fast, without us really knowing it..."

"Have to wonder if Don and Ced are still watching us... seeing what we do..." Dr. Corbun continued gloomily, then shook himself. "Ahh... sorry, guys... I know we don't normally get into anything even approaching religion. Guess it was just the mood... come on, let's cheer up. This isn't anywhere near how we should be acting for an occasion like this."

"I suppose you think we should be dancing around, wearing brightly colored cone hats and setting off fireworks that are likely illegal in this country." Vinkus responded acerbically. Dr. Corbun just smiled.

"I see you're keeping your rapier wit sharp as ever, Vinky. You know, there was this guy once who impaled himself on his. Lurched around bleeding his guts out-metaphorically speaking, of course-for a day before expiring. And the thing was, nobody noticed the difference from when he was waving the thing around like a fool. Come on, let's catch up with the others... there's this great bar and grill nearby we can go to for dinner..."

The room was almost pitch black... a lack of light that was echoed throughout the rest of the complex it lay at the bottom of. Nothing moved in that building, nothing stirred... nothing lived. Nothing outside of the one room at the very bottom of the fortress, where in one corner, a single, solitary light shone down on the operating table. It was fairly standard... ones similar to it existed in both Dr. Light's and Dr. Cossack's homes, and had in all four Skull Fortresses before their destruction, along with many other places around the world. Around the room in the dark were robotic parts, and machines associated with them... boxes of tools, file cabinets crammed with diagrams, a stasis capsule in one corner for robots to "sleep" in rather than just lying on the floor. It was messy, disorganized... both the room and the entire building it was built under were brand new, having only existed for a matter of days... obviously, most of the building was barely there, under heavy construction. But this room was complete, having been first priority for the robots that were building it.

On the bleak, standard operating table now... was a Robot Master. A Robot Master with the top half of his head removed. Circuits and component parts were hanging out, spread on the table to be worked on. The Robot Master, of course, was inactive... it would have been impossible to work had it been awake, akin to performing brain surgeon on a fully conscious human. This Robot Master, had been inactive for quite some time anyways, and only now was the other being in the room working on him. The hands that operated the tools moved somewhat sluggishly; they were tired, along with the rest of him. Dirty, broken-nailed, bleeding hands operated on the Robot Master's mechanical mind as he lay, silent and dead, on the table far below the earth.

"Well, that about does it." The worker grunted, carefully placing the circuitry back inside the skull. "All that messy damage has been fully fixed... your brain's in perfect physical shape again." Picking up an acetylene torch, he began welding the top of the Robot Master's skull back on. "You'll be a perfect servant for me now... obedient, unyielding, powerful and... of course... vicious." He chuckled darkly. "There's no way to tell until I see the finished result, of course... but based on what I know of you, you just may be the most vicious of all my servants. That, of course, is a very useful trait for me... that's why I selected you for this." The Robot Master remained silent. "What can I say? I've never been one to miss an opportunity when I see it." Pausing on a sudden thought, he stopped working and walked over to one file cabinet, which he dug through until he found the object of his search. A relatively recent newspaper clipping, ink still unfaded, from the front page.

"Opportunity... that's what I thought when I saw this. Of course, it wasn't a totally new concept to me... a little bit of the idea had always been sort of lurking around in the back of my head for a while now. But when I saw THIS on the television first, then the paper... everything sort of clicked in my head. I started making plans, steps in a chain, and that led me to... here. And you." Again, the Robot Master was silent as its master returned to the table to begin welding again. For a few moments, there was no more speech, the only sound in the darkness the hiss of the welding torch... and then, the one operating it spoke again.

"I have, of course, modified you... improved you... altered you extensively. Your weapons and armor systems, for one... before, your weapons were adequate, I suppose... but compared to you now, they were just a baseline for your current destructive powers, more varied and more powerful than what you had before. As for your armor, well... one of the others could hit you with a tank and you'd just get back up again. I daresay even HE will have trouble punching through that. Yes, you are now quite the splendid battle machine... like with your wonderfully brutal mind, possibly better than any of the others by leaps and bounds. It is fitting... after all, only the best have the right to serve me. I have no need for useless slag."

"The most extensive modifications, however, have not been applied to your body, but to your BRAIN. As I said before, I've completely repaired all that nasty damage to it from earlier that made you such a bother... but of course, that's not all. I've also got a wondrous little invention here... a memory inhibitor. It will block out parts of your brain, but only certain parts... you see, if I tried rewriting the data itself like is the norm in these situations, I might accidentally get rid of whatever it is that makes you so bloodthirsty, so driven, so blasted EFFECTIVE... the same if I just dumped your mind contents and reprogrammed from scratch, except no 'might.' So, I use this instead. My memory inhibitor, attached to your brain, will stop you from accessing any knowledge, recollection or stored data from your... let's call it a past life. Before I brought you here. BUT! It will ALLOW your mechanical mind to continue to draw upon the rest of you... upon that core of nastiness and love for killing that makes you... you. You won't remember WHY you're like that, but you'll know you are, and that's what I really need. Oh, and of course, there's the Three Laws... mustn't forget those... as a matter of fact, it would probably not be a bad idea to test that out once I reactivate you. Which I'll be doing momentarily... there, your head's back together. Just as soon as I make a few more last-minute additions..."

A few minutes later, the last-minute additions were complete. Cackling, the repairer fed power to his new servant. One second passed with no result... two... three... and then, with a hum, the Robot Master's eyes lit, glowing blood-red for a moment before fading to their normal hue. They glanced around the room with no shock or surprise, just taking it all in... and then they stopped on the one who had repaired him. As he saw the eyes fix on him, the worker took an involuntary step back. He knew his design was perfect, and yet... if he had made a mistake... no. He couldn't have. Slowly, the Robot Master rose to his feet, on wheels that would allow him fast movement... then bowed deeply.

"I am yours to command, master. Merely give me an order, and it shall be granted."

"We shall see about that..." The master muttered cynically, hiding his relief. "At any rate. State the First Law."

"I may not harm you or cause harm to come to you by my own inaction." The Robot Master intoned somberly. His master nodded in slight approval.

"Good, good... looks like that one's in there perfectly. State the Second Law, now."

"I must not disobey your orders unless doing so comes into conflict with the First Law."

"Again, good. And hopefully you won't bend your way around that one like HE does so often. And the Third Law?"

"I must act to preserve my own existence unless doing so comes into conflict with the First or Second Laws."

"That's all three. Excellent job. I did well with you." The robot's master congratulated himself. "Can't even tell what you were like before... anyways. Run a diagnostic on yourself... see if there are any errors." The Robot Master paused, then did so.

"No errors found. All systems functional."

"As they should be." The master nodded absently. "Very good. Wait for further orders, then." He paused at a sudden thought, then started giggling manically. "Hee hee hee... I wonder what my dear, dear family will think... of this?" Grinning wildly, he walked away, into the darkness of the building. The Robot Master, though, remained there... watching him, silent, unmoving... waiting for instructions.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the U.S. Robotics Robot Master Show!" A smarmy announcer in a neon green bowtie screamed. Roll winced, both at the tie and at the name.

"Couldn't Doctor Corbun have talked them into naming it better than that?"

"Shush." Rock hushed her. Around them, hordes of the paparazzi swarmed eagerly, bellowing questions. Rock had to grudgingly admire the grinning announcer for both being able to ignore every question perfectly and for being able to talk loud enough to be heard clearly over the noise. Here and there through the crowd were curious civilians, and in their reserved seats near the front along with the Lights were Vinkus, Mr. X, and the Corbuns, as well as Sergei and Kalinka Cossack, who had arrived that morning. Sergei had reported glumly that they had not heard from Blues since he had left following the Moscow incident either. Rock shook his head, jerking himself out of his gloom and resuming scanning every inch of the area. Hundreds of burly security guards were patrolling, but Rock didn't have too much faith in them. On center stage, the announcer seemed to be boring everybody but himself with U.S. Robotics' history.

"Despite the drop in robot popularity following the Robot Rebellions, U.S. Robotics remained alive, and still growing in the recent years. In particular, aiming to catch up with both their current competitor Lighttech and their past one of Sennet Robotics, U.S. Robotics had focused their efforts on constructing better, stronger, smarter Robot Master designs of their own!"

"This is beginning to sound disturbingly like a story my grandfather told me of something that happened a century ago." Dr. Light muttered. "What's next, Microsoft entering the field?" This garnered a snort of laughter from Mr. X and Vinkus, and puzzled shrugs from everybody else.

"It is these Robot Master designs that we are here to show you all today, finally complete and ready to begin mass production!" The announcer continued on. "First off, let me introduce a big friend of mine, who's going to use his strength to help our boys in mining jobs all over the world! He may look like he's made of rock, but this robot's heart is pure gold! World, meet the Rockyfella Model!" From behind a curtain walked a tall, brown robot who seemed to have been at least partially inspired by Lighttech's "Guts Man" model, with his muscular build and lantern jaw. There the similarities ended, however; this robot's outer shell was made of dirt-brown bricks.

"Hello, New York!" The Rockyfella raised his arms in response to the sudden cheers from the newsies. "Yeah... thank you!"

"See, rocky? Told you you'd be a big hit!" The announcer grinned and thumped the big robot on the back familiarly. "Why don't you show these folks your special ability?" The Rockyfella nodded, striking a pose like he was flexing his arms. The crowd gasped as three brown, spherical stones suddenly flew in and began rotating in the air around him. "As you can see, Rockyfellas can turn on a personal magnetic field that can literally pull lumps of metal ore right out of the ground! Of course, this is just a simulation of the ability; had he actually used it here, all your equipment would have smothered him." The crowds cheered again, and the Rockyfella held his arms up a second time, grinning, before standing back behind the announcer. "Next up, we've got an experiment in progress; a Robot Master using technology never dreamed of by anyone else! Come on out and say hello, Turntable Model!" The second Robot Master to emerge was a stranger-looking; top-heavy, his body was triangular, with wide shoulders and a narrow waist. A needle gauge covered most of his chest, and to complete the effect, his paint job was a ridiculous pink.

"Hello, everybody!" He smiled. "Pleased to meet you all. May I demonstrate the ability for which I was built?"

"Go ahead, Turntable, but just use it on me." The announcer grinned. "Don't think these folk are ready for it." The Turntable Model nodded, and as the needle on his gauge went active, the announcer suddenly flew into the air! The audience watched, struck dumb by shock, as he flipped himself around and stood on the ceiling, upside down, in absolute, blatant defiance of one of the law of gravity.

"...You can't be real." Rock had intended it to be a mutter, but he accidentally said it louder than he had meant to, and in the silence of the hall, it carried to every ear. The Turntable Model looked at him, smiling.

"You are... DLN001, Rock Light, correct? I assure you, on my word as one Robot Master to another, that my abilities are very real. I can indeed alter the effects of gravity on individual lifeforms and temporarily reverse them. I would explain further, but I am afraid I have been instructed not to do so, nor to extemporize on the purposes for which I was made. Instead, let us proceed." The needle gauge went active again, and the announcer flipped once more, landing firmly on his feet.

"Thank you, Turntable. Now then, our third model has been inspired by another existing Robot Master. Dr. Sergei Cossack's Skull Man, who was unfortunately forced to take part in the Fourth Robot Rebellion, utilized a powerful personal force field. Dr. Wily's Wood Man in the Second used a similar concept with heavy metal leaves. However, this concept is not only useful in war. Ladies and gentlemen, producing... the Starshine Model!" The third Robot Master was hilariously designed; his torso was covered in front by a huge, five-pointed iron star, and his forehead by a smaller second one, both a shining, almost golden orange like the rest of him.

"I must admit, I am a bit nervous." The Starshine smiled. A few of the reporters chuckled, relaxing from the surprise of the Turntable Model. "Anyways, I can produce a force field over myself and anybody close to me... like so." Around him, a shimmering globe of light appeared, one that looked all too familiar to Rock and the Cossacks. There were some differences; where Skull Man's force field had been white with skull-shapes vaguely visible in there, the Starshine's was as orange as his paint job with, of course, star-shapes swirling around. But the similarities were obvious.

"So is this guy just a knock-off of Skull Man?" Rock muttered, taking care to keep his voice low this time. Dr. Cossack slowly shook his head.

"It would look that way, perhaps... but Trent is more capable than that. Doubtless this Starshine Model has some advancements that are not being shown here." Onstage, the Starshine had stepped down, and the announcer was speaking again.

"The fourth Robot Master we've got for you today is a real treat, folks. Now, most of our planet is at peace now, thankfully... but from time to time, larger disturbances do still crop up. It's for that purpose that we at U.S. were regretfully commissioned to construct an airborne Robot Master designed for combat situations. I hope you won't hold any grudges against... the Greenhawk Model!" There was a buzzing from above, and through an open skylight, what sounded like a helicopter descended. In reality, it was a forest-green Robot Master whose entire body was held aloft by a whirling propeller blade. Making a perfect landing on the stage, he bowed deeply.

"Hello, everybody. I'm glad to meet you all." His voice was calm, friendly, a little joking; he didn't sound like a robot designed to kill. Rock's eyes narrowed slightly.

"That one's going to be trouble." He growled to Roll, who nodded in agreement. The Greenhawk, unnoticing, stood with the others.

"For number five, we've got a real treat for you, folks." The announcer pressed on. "Now, this guy here might look a little silly, but let me assure you, he's as honest and hardworking as they come. Made for the grand train system still present in our mighty country, it is my pleasure to introduce the Railroader model!"

"I knew a bar named Railroaders once." Vinkus muttered to the others as the Robot Master walked out. As the announcer had warned, his appearance was ludicrous; he resembled nothing more than a bright red locomotive with arms and legs attached, and a face on the front. He nodded brusquely before speaking.

"We Railroader Models will serve as both mascots and workers in our country's train network, and possibly with time, similar positions in other countries the world over. I am glad to be of service." Pumping his fist and releasing a whistle from his top, he moved back, allowing the announcer to speak again.

"Our sixth Robot Master here is designed for security in a specific area of vital importance... the water purification facilities and reservoirs our entire planet is dependant upon. With those in mind, we decided early on to help with the problem. One of our first concepts along with the Starshine Model, this is our prized Tsunami Model!" The Robot Master who walked out was blue and yellow, with a three-pronged headdress. A tube covered his mouth and connected it to his chest, obviously for show only; the other tube that connected one arm to a water tank on his back, however, was far more serious. On his other arm, Mega noted grimly, was a harpoon gun similar to the one on Dr. Wily's Bubble Man. The Tsunami didn't speak; he simply nodded and took his place with the others as the announcer went on. "Now, then. We've got two left, and while I COULD introduce them myself, I don't think I could really do them justice. So instead, let's let somebody who knows them better. He's our top robotocist here at U.S. Robotics, a genius who was the main designer on both the remaining models, particularly amazing considering he was once the head of one of our most powerful competitors. Former chief of Sennet Robotics, let's give it up for Doctor Trenton Corbun!" The newsies exploded into action as the British doctor walked onstage, grinning like a madman. The smarmy announcer stepped back with the Robot Masters already introduced as Dr. Corbun took center stage, waiting for the newsies to quiet down a bit before speaking.

"These two Robot Masters are the first I've created since Sennet... since the disaster of the Third Robot Rebellion. I've poured my heart and soul into both of them. The first is an experimental model, like the Turntable... a Robot Master designed for scientific work, using liquid crystal technology never incorporated into a robot before, let alone a Robot Master... one of my masterpieces, the Crystallus Model!" At first, the new Robot Master looked like another Greenhawk Model; he was the same size, the same build and the same shade of green. As he stepped out, though, the differences became apparent. Instead of the propeller on his back and the heavier military armor, the Crystallus Model had, true to its name, slightly glowing spheres of crystal adorning its knees, chest, elbows and forehead.

"As yet, there is no specific purpose for me in mind." The Crystallus explained. "I and my line were built as a test... a challenge, an exercise in science. We have no doubt, however, that a position will soon be open for our technology." Dr. Corbun sighed a bit sadly as he stepped back.

"Unlike the Crystallus, our last model's purpose is all too clear. Like the Greenhawk, this is a military Robot Master, ordered to be built by our government. While I mourn the reason, I nevertheless have done everything I can to make this model as effective as possible, with all my knowledge and skill. Ladies and gentlemen... the Warmonger Model." Several observers made noises of fear as the Robot Master walked out. Ever without Dr. Corbun's introduction, his purpose would have been apparent at a glimpse; twin cannons on each arm, an even larger cannon above his eyes which were set in his chest with no real head, missile packs on his shoulders, wheeled treads on his feet... under the purple and orange color scheme was a machine of death. Rock frowned; this one in particular had picked him out of the crowd and was looking at him oddly. Then, with a shrug, the Warmonger Model turned and joined the others. Bowing to the crowd, Dr. Corbun stepped back with him, and the announcer came forward again.

"And there you have it, folks! All eight models will begin mass production tomorrow, and many of them will even be available for individual purchase! We look forward to a great future for our Robot Masters! Thank you for coming today!" The Lights, Cossacks, and Corbuns as well as X and Vinkus drew back as the newsies, realizing nobody was going to answer their questions today, erupted in a concerted howl of rage. Dr. Corbun beat his own hasty retreat backstage, leaving the announcer to deal with them.

"Well, what did you all think?" The British Doctor smiled, wiping his brow as he met them outside. "Granted, the Warmonger and Greenhawk Models aren't exactly the most desirable, but..."

"They all look excellent, Trenton." Mr. X assured him. "I may even purchase a few myself, once they are available." Most of the others agreed, offering similar congratulations; even Roll admitted they looked very well-designed. Two faces, however, were not so happy.

"Yes, yes, very good, Trent." Vinkus admitted. "However... did you notice a certain absence of one guest whose presence we were all expecting?"

"You mean Albert?" Dr. Corbun raised an eyebrow. "Well, yes, I noticed that he was not crashing the party as we expected... however, I hardly think that could be seen as a bad thing... quite the opposite, really."

"It would seem so at first, maybe." Rock shook his head. "But think about it. There's no way Wily couldn't know about this... and his M.O. is all about making chaos apparent. Making sure the world knows about the Robot Rebellions, even if he's keeping his own role silent at the time. So... if he didn't take the opportunity to blow this ceremony to hell... it can only mean one thing."

"He's waiting for something else." Dr. Cossack guessed darkly. "He has something else in mind... something that's either distracted him from this ceremony, or that overrides making himself known here. But what? What could be THAT important?"

"That does seem to be the operative question..." Rock nodded. "Any ideas?" But there were none, from any of them, and all of them continued pondering the grim question, happiness forgotten for the moment.

What diabolical plan on Earth could Wily consider a more attractive prospect than this?