Chapter 16: The Real Folk Blues

"We, the jury, find Blues 'Proto Man' Light… innocent of all charges." The juror on the television declared, followed by a rousing cheer from the spectators. Blues Light sat on the hotel room's couch, casually sipping from a L-Tank as he gazed upon the almighty tube of media glorification.

"Hey, Blues." Rock walked in. "Still watching that? What is this, the fiftieth time?"

"Hundredth." Blues corrected with a shrug. "It never gets old. Nothing in the world quite like freedom, bro." Both of the sons of Light had ditched their battle armor, reverting to jeans and t-shirts, although Blues still wore his shades and the banana-yellow scarf. Rock raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing quite like freedom? Blues, you weren't even locked up overnight."

"It's the thought that counts." Blues shrugged again. "And I was doing a LOT of thinking about life without parole, IF I was lucky, towards the end there. I suppose I should watch more current news, really, but with everything you guys told me about the anti-robot issue that happened while I was, ah, indisposed, I haven't been able to bring myself to look."

"Don't worry about it." Rock flopped down next to him. "When it came out that Wily really WAS pulling all the strings-again-the movement pretty much fell flat on its face. For now, anyways. The issue's still there, and it'll probably come back up sooner or later… but for the moment, we're safe. Even that dumb-as-hell registration act has been pulled… which is good, since we never DID send ours in."

"Really? Cool." Blues tossed the empty L-Tank canister towards a trash can. It missed and bounced off Rush's head, prompting a confused yip. "Whoops, sorry." Beat chirped and correctly disposed of the can, then perched on Rush's head. To his credit, the robotic canine had taken to the new family member's arrival much better than when he had met Eddie. Glancing up at the round blue bird for a moment, he yawned and lay back down, closing his eyes.

"All right, you two, get off your behinds." Roll ordered as she walked in. "We're going down to have a look at the new house. It's just about finished."

"Really? That was fast." Rock commented as he and Blues stood up.

"Well, they weren't building it from scratch." His sister reminded him. "Just modifying an existing one. Add to that the fact that Mr. X is paying for it, and that he tends to offer bonuses for fast quality work-BIG bonuses-and there you go."

"True enough." Dr. Light agreed with her as he joined his family. "Let's go, then." Leaving the hotel and piling into Light's old green pickup truck, they drove off.

"Aren't you ever going to trade this junker in, dad?" Blues inquired. "It was already ancient and beat-up back when you first built me."

"This car has history." Dr. Light protested. "You just don't properly appreciate antiques… just like Rock doesn't with music." Blues lowered his shades to stare incredulously over them at his brother.

"You don't like the Runaway Five?"

"I just don't like my music depressing, is all." Rock defended himself. "Is that too much to ask?"

"Apparently, five minutes without an argument is." Roll muttered. The younger of her brothers snorted.

"This from the girl who complains at least fifty times about every single little scratch I bring back."

"That's BECAUSE this girl has had to REPAIR every single little scratch five HUNDRED times!" Roll shot back.

"Enough, children." Dr. Light told them wearily. "We're here." He parked the truck in front of the house, and they all looked at it. It was a large, pleasant three-story building, fitting right in with the other similarly built domiciles around the neighborhood; the model home for a well-off retiree and his children (or grandchildren, most would guess from the visible age differential). The one large, visible difference was the oddly egg-shaped structure bulging from the east side. Wisely, Dr. Light had chosen to locate his laboratory separate from the main house this time (the previous lab's location on the second floor had had more than a few near-disastrous repercussions when an experiment went badly). Three men, ages ranging from almost fifty to almost seventy, were watching the construction with interest.

"X, Trenton." Dr. Light greeted them happily. "And Darwin! I didn't know you were here."

"I came by for a look." Vinkus explained. "It really looks quite nice, I think… you should be happy here."

"Yeah." Blues sighed. "I do miss the old place, though."

"So do I." Roll admitted. "But it was too far away from anybody else… this new house isn't exactly in a fortified compound, but Wily won't be able to hide a robot army HERE without people noticing from miles off. Come on, let's go take a look around back!" The robot girl ran off, followed by Blues, Dr. Light, Corbun and X. Rock was about to go as well when he saw Vinkus walking towards him.

"Actually, Rock, I also came because I thought you might be here before long… there was a matter I wish to talk with you of." The UN Councilor admitted. Rock nodded respectfully.

"Yes?"

"Doc Man." Vinkus frowned seriously. "In his initial rampage, five years ago… you told me, and the world, that he was simply another dupe of Albert Wily. That he was operating on my mad former friend's wishes the entire time." Rock nodded slowly, dreading what he knew was coming. "And yet… when he sent out that television broadcast of his final fight with you, in order to clear Blues' name… I noticed something. Most people probably didn't pick up on the meaning of this, but Doc Man stated then… that his actions during the Third were caused by his insanity, and that he was actually trying to kill both you and Albert. That Albert had no control over him in the Third at all. Rock… was he telling the truth?"

"…Yes." Rock lowered his eyes. There was no way around it. "Yes, he was. I'm sorry, Councilor… we were afraid the world would react the way… well, the way it did when those two faked my brother's control for the Fifth. Nobody outside of our family, and the Cossacks, knew. And please… I'd like to keep it that way, as much as possible. This recent scare was bad enough."

"So that's the way it is…" Vinkus murmured, a bit distantly. "Yes, of course… that is indeed the best course of action. Very well then… now come, let us join the others around back. I believe there is quite a large amount of garden space…" Walking around the house and dodging a construction worker with a jackhammer, they met the others. Vinkus was right; the garden space WAS quite large.

"Not as big as the forest, but I can manage…" Dr. Light mused. "And we won't have any problems with deer coming by for a snack here."

"There's plenty of rooms… looks like we'll each have our own stasis capsule room with plenty of guest chambers, and a lot of space for other things like a library and an office." Roll guessed. "Plus with the lab on the side like that, no more mess spilling out into the halls."

"Does that door lead right out onto the roof? Pretty nice." Blues shaded his eyes. "View's great here, too… you can see the entire city down there. Well, maybe not the ENTIRE city, but you know what I mean."

"Lots of space for Rush and Eddie-and Beat now-to run around." Rock smiled. "And great atmosphere… homey. Yes sir… I think we're going to do just fine here for a long time."

"Indeed." Dr. Light looked at the house once more with a strange gleam in his eye. "The cabin was nice, but this… this feels like home."

"Ah… that's today's work finished." Dr. Cossack stretched and yawned. "Can you clean up in here, Dust Man?"

"Affirmative, sir." The Robot Master nodded, though it was hard to tell with his head shape. "Although, with all due respect, over reliance on our kind for everyday chores has shown to create laxness in humans."

"I normally do it myself." Dr. Cossack defended himself. "Just this once, Dust."

"Very well, Doctor." Dust Man agreed. Turning, he began tidying up the Russian robotocist's workbench. Cossack left the lab and walked down the hall towards the living room; for some reason, he felt like watching the television, whatever was on, although he normally didn't hold much with the box. Upon entering, however, he discovered that Kalinka had beat him to it; his daughter was flopped on the couch, idly watching some bizarre cartoon involving a muscular man and a Jack Russell terrier, both wearing Mexican wrestling masks, pile driving a pair of cowboys.

"I will never understand the things you kids watch today." Cossack complained, relaxing in an armchair. "Besides, watching too much of this isn't healthy to do."

"There isn't much else to do around here with Blues and his family gone." Kalinka muttered, not looking up. Cossack couldn't dispute the point. "He could have stayed longer."

"They wished to return to their home… it is a new house in the city, so it will take some getting used to." Cossack shrugged. "Doubtless they will visit again before long… they do quite often."

"True…" Kalinka admitted. "But they could have stayed one more day, at least…"

"And for every day they did, you would be asking for one more." Dr. Cossack smiled lightly. "They had to leave some time, Kalinka… that is simply the way it goes. Their place is in Tokyo… and ours is here."

"Does it have to be?" Kalinka wondered. "Father… will we always stay here, in this empty castle? With nobody else around, especially the people we care for most? Why don't we go to Tokyo as well… or at least Moscow? Or someplace else?"

"I have considered it before." Cossack admitted. "But… no. Not as long as he remains."

"Dr. Albert Wily?" Pharaoh Man walked into the room. Cossack nodded somberly.

"Yes… that madman's evil deeds grow more and more atrocious with each Rebellion. Even the Lights were not safe… now they have moved into a well-off neighborhood, where Wily will hopefully not be able to strike against them without being noticed. But I… I cannot do the same. Here… we are safe here, and here alone. As long as Wily is a threat to the world… a threat to you, Kalinka… we shall not leave these castle walls."

"And that's it?" Kalinka muttered, still watching the cartoon. "We just stay here, growing older, while the world is hit by Rebellions around us? That's all? There's got to be something else we can do…"

"There is, Mistress Kalinka." Pharaoh Man spoke again. "We help them. The Lights. Master Sergei aids Thomas Light in his experiments… you are always ready to help support Blues Light… even I and my brothers assisted Mega Man with his assault on Doc Man's fortress. We can help them, Mistress Kalinka… in whatever fashion we can. That is what we can do."

"That is what we WILL do." Cossack nodded. "And someday, Kalinka… someday, all this will end. One of these days, we will be able to put it all behind us."

"Someday…" Slowly, Kalinka Cossack smiled. "Yes. We will."

Laughter. Damage. Whistle. Damage. MEGA MAN. DAMAGE. Grinning face, demon's smile… pain. Masking sunglasses, twisted smirk… agony.

Blue armor… plasma burning… NO…

"AAAAAH!" Dr. Albert Wily shrieked, sitting bolt upright on the pitiful, ragged cot he slept on. Shaking violently, he ran his fingers through the twin mops of wild hair that covered the sides of his bald dome. "A dream… a nightmare. Nothing more… just a nightmare." But Wily knew it was more than that. It wouldn't have been the same one, over and over again, otherwise. It was a memory, one that would not leave his head. Before, every time he had fought Mega Man, he had lost in the end, yes. But he had always kept control of the fight up until that end… he had always been the one intimidating his enemy, the one causing fear and terror in the other. That had been good, yes… but this time… the fifth time… everything had changed. Mega Man had relentlessly, almost easily, destroyed his first two Wilymachines… and then, faced with the Wilyporter that had almost caused him to give in after the fourth, he had… he had…

"No…" Wily whispered hoarsely to himself. "Don't think about that…" He forced his thoughts away from the memory of the incident, of the battle. "Think about something else. Think about… the future. Plan for the future. Plan… for the next Rebellion." He paused for a moment, lost in the chaos of his own head.

Ever since the teleporter accident nine years ago, Albert Wily had been a insane shell of his former self. The accident had scrambled his brain, driven it into insanity and despair, and the condition only worsened as time went by. In many ways, the man who Albert Wily was before the accident had died on the day it occurred. The man who he was before then, had he known of the sins he would some day commit, would have taken his own life then and there to prevent them. It had begun as a desire to rule the world… to put an end to all the stupidity, all the foolishness, perpetuated by humanity and their robotic servants. But it had changed… Wily told himself that was still his purpose, but he knew in his heart that that was not true. That had slipped away… sometime after the Third, was it, or maybe after the Fourth… no, it was after the Third… it had gone, anyways, and had been replaced by a far more specific purpose. Mega Man. His nemesis, his adversary, the one grain of sand that always broke all the gears. Mega Man was the reason for his existence, the reason he kept going, the reason he brought one hell after another upon the world. Mega Man… was the one he would kill. If it was the last thing Dr. Albert Wily did… he would see Mega Man dead before him.

"The Lights have moved now… I will be unable to strike at them directly." Wily mused. "And the Cossacks remain in that dratted castle, making them an invalid target as well… but there are others." The insane old scientist chuckled. "There will always be others… always be somebody. As long as I am alive… as long as HE is alive… the Rebellions will continue." Lying back down on the cot, in a hidden underground lair far away from civilization where nobody would ever locate him, Dr. Albert Wily was soon asleep again, dreams of chaos and madness filling his mind once more.

"Eh?" Louis Arcian frowned as he heard rapping on his door, accompanied a moment later by the ringing of the doorbell. "Now I wonder who that could be?" Getting to his feet, the Councilor turned off the movie he had been watching and crossed the room. He lived in a posh penthouse apartment in Paris with an excellent view-one of the perks of his position-and so it was unlikely that it would be a door-to-door salesman or a girl scout or anything of the like. Growing up with rich parents before his career, Arcian had only a faint idea of what such people were like. They probably bit, he figured. The caller knocked again, and Arcian fought down a surge of anger.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." He growled, undoing the several locks on the door. Once couldn't be too careful these days with all the damned Robot Masters around, after all. A chilling thought struck him; what if the caller WAS a Robot Master? If it was… there was only one reason one of those abominations would be calling on HIM. Slowly peeking around the door as it opened, Arcian jumped back in fear as his guest knocked it irritably open. He sighed in relief as he saw who it was.

"Darwin… what are you doing here?" Darwin Vinkus stepped aside, shaking the rain off his gray raincoat and hat. He was not carrying an umbrella, apparently; instead, he was using a sapphire-handled walking stick.

"You requested a private conference with me so often, I thought it would be best if we talked in person." The older man replied, the faintest flicker of sarcasm filling his tone. This, of course, was completely lost on Arcian.

"Ah yes, I have been." Arcian frowned, remembering. He shook his head and gave his colleague an oily smile. "We DO need to talk, Darwin… coat hanger's near the door. Can I offer you a drink?"

"I'm fine." Vinkus shook his head. "What exactly did you wish to speak of, Louis? I don't really see any problems between us…" Arcian's smile evaporated.

"Well, my friend… to be honest… some of us are starting to wonder about you."

"Is that so." Vinkus replied noncommittally. Arcian nodded.

"Yes, indeed. Oh, some of us say there's nothing to worry about, that you're the same old Darwin Vinkus the robots know and hate, but others… well, we look at the way you've been behaving recently. What with the opening we've been waiting for and all… and you coming down on the other side of it, much to the surprise of all of us…"

"So that's what this is about…" Vinkus murmured. "I see…"

"Yes, well, you can't blame us for worrying." Arcian continued, a nasty smile coming back to his features. "Just a little… we don't actually think you've really gone pro-robot… have you?"

"I remember my place… my beliefs." Vinkus answered shortly.

"Well, that's good to know." Arcian purred. "I'm sure we'll all be absolutely relieved to hear that from you, old friend. Especially continuing how much time you spend with Thomas Light…" Something flashed in Vinkus' eyes.

"I do not believe my contacts with the Light family are any of yours-or the UN's-business, Louis."

"Family?" Arcian scoffed. "Since when were robots family? Most worrisome, old friend. Of course it's our business… we do have to make sure we're all still committed to the same purpose, after all. And I do think you've been wavering a bit lately… getting a bit too close to that traitor to his species, Light. And his damned creations… you've been just a bit TOO chummy with them lately, Darwin. One might almost think you LIKE those mechanical bast-"

The blow to his head from Vinkus' cane stopped Arcian's speech immediately, and sent him spinning into a wall.

"Shut up." The older Councilor snarled, stepping up to the fallen Frenchman and laying into him viciously with the wooden stick. "YOU'RE the one who's a disgrace to your species… and your country, for that matter. How YOU made it onto the United Nations, even with the state it's in, I'll never know." Severely battered about the head and shoulder area, Arcian raised his arms to ward off further blows.

"Vinkus, you-"

"You singleminded, witch-hunting, prehistoric throwback." Vinkus sneered, dripping acid from every word. "THIS is why we all remain in constant contact with each other, even beyond the general meetings of the UN… so that those of us like ME can keep those of us like YOU from ruining it all. You never had much disguising your feelings already… and now you have nothing. EVERYBODY knows what you are NOW. Thank whatever gods there are that some of our other allies on that Council have more sense."

"You mean…" Arcian's eyes widened. "Then it was all a ruse?"

"No, you dolt." Vinkus shook his head despairingly. "It was real. ALL of it was real… on both sides of the issue. I support and aid my good friends, including the family of Light, but at the same time I have not forgotten my true beliefs. Which am I, you ask? The robot-hating Vinkus or the Vinkus who sees people for who they are, not what they're made of? The answer is so simple that only somebody with your level of ignorance could miss it. I'm BOTH, Louis. I'm a better politician than you could ever be. I can change my face and my emotions at a moment's notice. Oh, maybe it's true that the Light children are making me wonder. But you didn't see me step out to defend Blues Light, did you? No. Don't question me again, Louis. I don't need my choice in friends debated by YOU. I can choose my friends, yes, even robot masters, with absolute confidence. For I know that such friendships, even if they are real, will not affect my decisions in the slightest."

"You…" Arcian stumbled groggily to his feet. "I'll tell the other Councilors… you won't get… away with this…"

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" Vinkus remarked coldly, smashing the cane into his colleague's gut. As Arcian doubled over, the older Councilor grabbed him by the collar. "The other Councilors are smarter than you are. Not that that's saying much. And even if they weren't, it won't matter in the long term. The UN is doomed, Louis; it won't last two decades more. When people like YOU are getting elected, it's a sign of the times; the fact that we HAVE to depend on Rock Light to stop the Rebellions should prove that. And when the Council collapses, I'll never have to deal with any of you incompetents ever again. That's a day I'll look forward to. And Louis…" He drove the cane into the Frenchman's face one more time. "Don't you EVER malign the Light family again… I may have more than thirty years on you, but if I ever hear that kind of filth spewed from that orifice you call a mouth about my friends again, what I'll do to you will make today seem gentle by comparison. I'm going back to Japan… remember what I told you today." Kicking the fallen man in the side a few times for good measure, Darwin Vinkus turned and left, taking the elevator down.

I lied, He thought to himself as he stepped outside and hailed a taxi. Or did I? Now, yes, I can change myself, my outward appearance towards robots at a moment's notice… but could I before? During the Fifth… was I really just playing a part? Did I ever… truly… no. It matters not. The Fifth is past… and now… now I know. Rock… Mega Man. He lied. The best of the robots… and yet he lied to me, to all of us, about a robot who killed humans without another human behind him. Mega Man cannot be trusted… and if he can not, no robot can. I am still me… I will not become like that fool Arcian. Robot Masters are necessary… they are useful. They can be relied upon, they can be used for the benefit of humanity… but they cannot be trusted.

Never again.

The cliff was on the very edge of Japan, and of the forest; walking out of the trees and sitting on the edge, one could watch the sunset, spreading its vibrant color over the waves far below. At this moment, one individual was doing just that. Idly hucking rocks, he never took his eyes off of the beauty spread out before him. Not even when he heard footsteps behind him, followed by a familiar whistle.

"Thought I'd find you out here." Blues Light chuckled, sitting down beside his brother. "What gives? Isn't the disappearing act supposed to be my gig?"

"I just needed some time to think… this seemed like a good place for it." Rock answered. "It always was back when we lived near here."

"Yeah…" Blues made a face. "I really did like that house."

"So you've said before." Rock sighed. "So did we all… but times change. When you think about everything that really could have happened… a house isn't much of a price to pay on a personal level. That could easily have been one of us instead… any one of us."

"But it wasn't." Blues reminded him firmly. "People died, yes… Wily's robots killed a lot of people, like they always do. But our family… our friends… we all came out of it okay, didn't we?"

"This time." The younger son of Light admitted. "This time… but what about the next time? Wily's still out there, and you know he won't stop. It's only a matter of time before somebody we care about does die."

"If you start thinking like that, Wily's already won the next one." Blues told him. "We'll get him, Rock. Every time he comes, we'll stop him, until one time he doesn't get away… and we'll put him back behind bars, like you did after the first two Rebellions. This time for keeps."

"Maybe…" Rock sighed, thinking of Doc Man's prophecy again. "…Yeah. We will. And nobody else… no more friends, no more family… are going to die." Blues looked at him without speaking for a long moment.

"You're thinking of Doc Man, aren't you?"

"Kinda." Rock admitted. "Although… that wasn't SO bad. He did it himself, you know… he wanted to die. He said this world didn't have anything left for him… that he liked the next one better."

"So… he believed we Robot Masters DO have souls?" Blues wondered. "And that there's an afterlife… one we go to? I've always wondered about that…" Rock nodded.

"Yeah… he claimed to have memories of it. Said a lot of crazy stuff-no, not crazy like that. Just weird. I still dunno if he was telling the truth, or just faking… but whatever it was, he died happy this time."

"At the end of everything, I suppose that's all we really can ask for…" Blues mused. "Well, at least now we know-or at least suspect-that if and when we do pass on ourselves… there'll be somebody kindly disposed towards us waiting to show us around the place."

"Yeah." Rock sighed. "But for now… we still have things to do in this world. And a new home to break in."

"You know, dad used to live there. Before he built us." Blues remembered with a smile.

"Really?" Rock raised an eyebrow. "What happened? And why didn't he bring that up?"

"He blew a hole in it the size of the truck." Blues explained with a straight face.

"Ah. That would do it." Rock answered, equally straight. A moment passed, and then both brothers started laughing. "So… when will you be taking off again?"

"In a little while." Blues admitted. "I've still got my wanderlust… I won't be giving up my travels. But I think I've got a lot of family time built up right now… and a visit to somebody else too… and when I do start traveling again, I'll be making an effort to stay in touch with both a lot more. This isn't going to happen again."

"I'm glad." Rock smiled. "I missed ya, bro."

"Yeah, same to you, you big lunk." Blues chuckled. "And I mean it, too… look what you got into when I left you by yourself for just a little bit. What would you do without me, eh? Come on, let's go stop dad and Roll from panicking."

"Are they panicking?" Rock inquired, raising an eyebrow. Blues shrugged.

"Well, I don't know it for sure, but you know what they get like. Come on, let's hit it." As the last light from the sun faded, the brothers stood up and walked away, arm in arm.