Roll spun around, buster armed, as the transport completed. The only things that greeted her were another transporter unit and an endless expanse of dusty red plains.
"Mars? I guess I should just be glad they didn't go even farther out. Dr. Light, can you read me?"
Static came in reply. Giving a short hum, Roll set out, Rush on her heels, keeping her eyes open for any sign of movement.
"Never thought we'd get to see another planet up-close, huh boy?"
Rush barked.
"Hehe...though, a lot of things have taken an unexpected turn lately."
She thought back to what Break Man had said. At first she had simply wanted to dismiss it as a misunderstanding—being weaponized had been her choice, and it was bizarre that he thought otherwise. The more she thought on it, however, she became curious as to why he was so sure Dr. Light would do such a thing on his own.
The way he talked about Dr. Light…it almost made it sound like he knows him personally. And now that I think about it, that would explain why Dr. Light wasn't expecting Break Man to just talk things through. But, if they do have some kind of history, why wouldn't Dr. Light have said so? No, more importantly…I'm positive Break Man is a Robot Master. I was sure that Tempo, Rock, and I were the first, so when could he have met Dr. Light without us knowing? Unless…
Glancing back, Roll suddenly realized that Rush had stopped following her. She turned to look at the dog, standing a few paces away with ears perked up, and prepared to call him. Before she could, he pounced on something.
"What've you got, boy?"
Rush pulled a small mechanical snake from the dirt. Roll tilted her head as she examined it, and then froze, spotting the dirt behind Rush shifting. She fired a shot, blasting out another robot snake.
"What are these things?"
"Oh, you're no fun…"
Whirling, Roll spotted a figure emerging from the surrounding dust cloud: a Robot Master with mostly green armor, his helmet styled to look like a large snake with its jaws around his head and tail hanging down his back. Keeping her eyes peeled for more snakes, Roll said, "I just want the Energy Element."
"So impatient. May I at least introduce myself?"
"I'm going to guess 'Snake Man'?"
The robot frowned. "No fun at all...regardless. If you are here, then I take it our comrades left on the moon have met their end?"
Roll didn't answer.
"Ah, what a shame. If you're capable of defeating them, then the rest of us certainly don't stand a chance." He began to walk back into the dust cloud. "Yes, I think it'd be best to just hand the Element over. Come, this way…"
Roll turned to Rush. The dog looked up from gnawing on the snake he had caught, giving a low-pitched whine.
"Yeah, I'm not convinced either...but, we need that Element."
The two of them proceeded with extreme caution, scanning the ground for signs of any more snakes while also keeping Snake Man's silhouette in sight. After a few minutes of walking, the dust began to thicken; wanting to keep the other robot in sight, Roll ran forward a few steps, and at that moment a pinpoint of light appeared. Roll dove aside, the incoming laser beam grazing her shoulder. Large metal spikes then began to rain down, so she stayed low, carefully crawling forward in search of her enemies.
I knew it wasn't going to be that easy.
A gust of wind finally thinned the dust cloud. Roll found herself staring up at a small, two-story structure made of metal stained red by the planet's dust, Snake Man standing in the doorway grinning at her. "What ever is the matter, Roll? The Element is right in here. Come over and take it."
He ducked aside to avoid a Hard Knuckle. From the upper floor, Needle Man fired a hail of spikes; Roll slid behind a boulder just in time, spotting another laser a second later. "They've really got the advantage here...I'll have to be smart about this."
She peeked out and took aim at Needle Man. He ducked back inside immediately. A battalion of snakes were set in motion before she could switch targets, so she instead began clearing them out. A figure appeared behind Snake Man then, shooting yet another laser, though it was aimed away from Roll for some reason. She refocused on destroying the snakes. The laser hit another rock, bouncing off of it at a new angle, and went straight for Roll, knocking her out of her hiding spot.
"Uh-oh!"
Needle Man was back. Roll had no time to dodge, opting to blast the incoming spike out of the sky instead. Several of the snakes were upon her now, biting into her armor all at once-leaping to her feet, she shook them off with Top Spin, ducked back behind cover, and prepared some new tactics. She instructed Rush to shift the dirt on one side of the rock, hopefully making her enemies think she was about to emerge from there, and then darted in the opposite direction towards another adequately-sized boulder. As she passed, she shot Snake Man with Spark Shock to prevent him from adding to the army of snakes. Once safe, she unloaded a series of Magnet Missiles, the projectiles curving around her cover in search of proper targets.
"Admirable effort, Roll!" Snake Man called. "But aren't you forgetting something?"
Snakes began to crawl over the rock. Roll leapt back and fired a Hard Knuckle, shattering the stone and disrupting the movement of the machines. She tried to head back to her first hiding spot, but Needle Man was too quick: a barrage of spikes kept Roll in place, allowing the snakes to regroup and resume their march. A bark caught Roll's attention. Rush, in his jet form, rocketed towards her; she grabbed the edge of the platform and was carried out of harm's way, quickly pulling herself up to get better footing.
"Thanks, boy," Roll said.
They turned hard to avoid a laser. Circling around, Roll got a better idea of the landscape, seeing that the building was protected from the rear and sides by natural barriers.
"That still leaves one other way!"
After verifying that they were out of their enemies' sight, Rush flew as low as he could without the roar of his jets giving them away, and Roll jumped onto the nearby rock wall. She steadily climbed down and onto the roof of the building, then looked back to Rush and held up ten fingers. Roll gripped the hatch on the roof, took a deep breath, and then ripped it off and jumped inside. The inner walls looked identical to the outer walls, and the room was empty save for a few rusty crates and a very surprised Needle Man.
"Wha-where'd you come from?!" he shouted, hurrying to lift his cannon.
Roll threw a Shadow Blade before he could fire, knocking his arm aside. She followed with a Spark Shock to stun Needle Man, and then blasted him into the wall with a Magnet Missile. Snake Man leapt up to the window as quickly as he could, only to be met by a Hard Knuckle that sent him falling back to the ground.
"Gemini Man, get up here!" Needle Man shouted.
Roll ran at him, hoping to not give him enough space to use his cannon. Suddenly, Needle Man bent forward, and the spikes atop his head extended out, stopping Roll short. As she stumbled back, she saw one of the lasers from before shoot out of the stairwell: it ricocheted off the ceiling, floor, and walls, fencing her in. However, Needle Man did not attack.
"Jerk...at least get an idea of what you're aiming at!"
Ten seconds had passed. Rush came charging in through the opening in the roof, getting hit by the unexpected beam. Roll stunned Needle Man again as she made sure he was alright. Before she could follow up, snakes emerged from the stairwell and advanced towards her.
"Darn it!" Needle Man stomped his foot and took aim with both cannons. "Prepare to look like swiss cheese!"
He fired wildly, leaving no opening for Roll to counterattack. The projectiles zipped past her, most of them burying themselves in the oncoming wall of snakes-they were easily pinned to the floor, and those in the rear were slowed by the need to crawl over their companions. His assault only lessened when another Gemini Laser entered the room. Between the three incoming attacks, Roll was forced closer and closer to Needle Man, soon coming into range of his headbutt attack; as he moved to use it, Roll ducked and slid forward, colliding with Needle Man's ankle and tripping him into the Gemini Laser. The impact sent Needle Man rolling into the wall, where he sat dazed for a moment.
"Ugh...just great…"
Roll pointed her buster at him. "Just give up. I don't want to have to hurt you."
Needle Man stared at her. "...Huh. You really aren't what the boss prepared us for."
"...What?"
"Here we were expecting a terrifyingly powerful Robot Master ready to kill at a moment's notice. You're tough for sure, but it doesn't really seem like your heart's in it."
Roll clenched her teeth. "Of course not! Why would I want to kill any of you? I'm only fighting because you're forcing me to!" She turned to blast some of the snakes before immediately putting her eyes back on Needle Man.
"Heh heh...guess someone'll have to let the boss know he's wrong. I would love to see that."
"I already tried, but Break Man won't talk to me."
Needle Man shook his head. "I don't mean him. I mean-"
Another Gemini Laser shot into the room, reflecting off the wall once before striking Needle Man directly in the chest. In his weakened state, that was more than enough to pierce his armor, searing a hole clean through his internal components. Roll jumped back in shock. A few seconds later, a scowl clouded her face; she grabbed Needle Man just long enough to copy his weapon, and then shot spikes through the floor in a circle. When she stomped on the center of the circle, the floor broke away, giving her a path to leap directly down to the lower level.
"Ah, there she is," Snake Man said. On either side of him stood Gemini Man and his duplicate, though which was which was anyone's guess. "You're quite determined to swoop down on us from above, aren't you? Are we so beneath you?"
Ignoring him, Roll stared at one of the Gemini Men. "Why would you do that to Needle Man?"
Both Gemini shrugged in response, one saying, "Who knows?"
Roll opened fire. "Is it really so easy for you to kill someone? What's wrong with you?!"
Her foes scattered. Roll tracked one of the Gemini while the other and Snake Man flanked her. Rush dropped on top of Snake Man just as he prepared to attack, and the closer Gemini charged at Roll, prompting her to turn her assault his way. The spikes passed right through the projection, and the real Gemini Man used the opportunity to set a Gemini Laser bouncing around the room.
"What a peculiar thing to say!" he remarked as Roll focused on tracking the laser. "Of course it's easy. As if it could be difficult for a technical marvel such as myself!"
Rush scurried back out of the laser's path. Bounding back, Snake Man began calling up his army; Roll turned her fire upon them, impaling the troops before they could advance more than a few inches, and managed to land a direct hit on Snake Man's shoulder. He cried out, clutching the wound as he slumped against the wall. Switching her focus again, Roll ducked just beneath the Gemini Laser and equipped Magnet Missile, hoping the homing projectile would be able to track Gemini Man. The laser shot down her first attempt before she could find out.
"I can't believe anyone would program robots to be so cruel," Roll said.
"Are you saying all we know is wrong?" Snake Man asked, baring his fangs in a pained smirk. "It isn't our fault we are who we were programmed to be. There's no need to act all high and mighty."
Gemini Man and his doppelganger charged before Roll could respond. She leapt back, the laser striking her in the side and knocking her flat. Snake Man capitalized on the situation with a small squadron of snakes, with the tiny machines charging straight through one of the Gemini. Switching to Shadow Blade, Roll attacked the other, stopping his charge, before tumbling out of the snakes' way. Rush pounced on the real Gemini Man to keep him pinned, while Roll dealt with the snakes and turned to their master.
Raising his arms, Snake Man said, "My, this is unfortunate…"
"Where's the Energy Element?"
"Right over there." He gestured slowly to a crate in the corner. "By all means, help yourself."
Keeping her eyes on Snake Man and her buster ready, Roll made her way over to the indicated crate. She grabbed the lid, paused, and lifted it, spotting the Element at the bottom on a bed of something she guessed was packing material. The instant she reached for it, Snake Man darted in Rush's direction. Roll was ready: she shot him with the Needle Cannon, the spike piercing straight through his chest, and with a drawn out cry Snake Man fell to the floor, his sparking body soon growing still. This still distracted Rush, however, and Gemini Man was able to set another laser loose into the room.
"Get back boy!" Roll shouted as she ran forward, sliding just under the beam's path.
Rush complied, and Gemini Man sprang to his feet. He leapt back, shimmered, and then jumped to one side, his doppelganger jumping in the opposite direction. Roll hit Snake Man's body as she passed, armor turning green and white. Three Search Snakes leapt from her buster, zipping along the ground too low for the Gemini Laser to intercept them, all converging upon the real Gemini Man and bringing him down as they sank their fangs into his ankle. Roll launched a Magnet Missile to cancel out the Gemini Laser, and then glared at Gemini Man.
"You...you just got lucky!" Gemini Man said. "If it weren't for the others holding me back, there's no way you could have outperformed me!"
Roll shook her head. "What's the point of this? Why-"
She stopped short as Gemini Man raised his hand to fire a laser. Quickly, she fired a Hard Knuckle in return; the beam reflected off the rocket-propelled fist back into Gemini Man, finishing him off before Roll's attack even landed. With a harsh sigh, Roll knelt and copied his data, and then transferred the Element to Rush's storage compartment.
"Let's hurry home, boy," she said. "I'm worried about Dr. Light and the others."
Rush transformed into his jet mode and carried her in the direction of the transporter. Roll tapped her fingers against her leg, thoughts lingering on what Needle Man had said.
There's someone other than Break Man behind all this. I just hope it's not who I think it is...
Light typed away at his console, eyes repeatedly flicking to the comm window in the corner to see if the connection had reestablished. Wily set a hand on his shoulder, saying, "Thomas, I can handle this if you need some time. I'll let you know right away when Roll comes back into range."
"Thank you Albert," Light said, "but I think it's best I stay busy."
"If you insist. The Energy Element is installed, so we're ready to test as soon as you are."
"I'm finished here as well. Running test in 3...2...1…"
Light hit one final key and held his breath. Behind him, Gamma roared to life, light shining from the eyes on its half-completed skull. Wily grinned. "Excellent! Let me take a look at those readings!"
Not far away, Rock applauded alongside the construction crew, though he slowed to a halt when he spotted Elec Man in the crowd. He hesitated, but then approached, asking, "Elec Man? Are you okay?"
The other robot shuffled away slightly. "Fine."
"Okay...it's just, you've been really quiet since the other Energy Elements were stolen. Are you worried?"
He shifted his shoulders. "It's nothing, Rock."
"...I don't want to butt in, but...if you need anything, even if it's just to talk, I'd be happy to help. I mean, I'm your big brother after all! Technically."
Elec Man finally turned to look at him, expression blank at first. Rock saw him crack a small smile as he turned away again. Giving a sigh, Elec Man quietly said, "I guess I'm worrying you, aren't I?" He paused. "I'd never quite realized how powerful my abilities were. I had some idea, of course, but now I have a much deeper understanding. After seeing just what I was capable of under Wily's reprogramming...I suppose I'm afraid. If I were to lose control, even briefly, I could end up destroying someone else, maybe beyond all repair this time. When I destroyed that Robot Master's projection, I thought I had done just that. That's why I'm still shaken."
"Oh. I see…"
Elec Man shook his head. "There isn't really anything to be done about it. I'll just have to be as careful as I can."
Rock waited a moment. "...Have you talked about this with Roll?"
"Roll? No, why?"
"It isn't exactly the same, but...well, I shouldn't say too much. But, she's been struggling a little after having to fight all of you, so she might have some advice that could help you out."
Elec Man looked up, considering this silently.
Back at his console, Light nodded at the data he was seeing, and prepared to shut Gamma back down. Something caught his eye, stopping him, but before he could look into the matter, the sound of the lift descending reached his ears. He turned, expecting to see LaLinde or Tempo coming to join them. His heart stopped when he laid eyes on Break Man.
"...Blues…?"
Wily noticed him as well. Throwing his hands up, he shouted, "Agh! Break Man! Oh no, this is terrible!"
The worker robots scattered in a panic. As Break Man stepped off the lift, Guts Man came forward to meet him, saying, "Well well well! Looks like you finally decided to stop hiding behind your minions and come face us head-on like a real robot! Good-I was hoping I'd get the chance to deal with you personally!"
Break Man ignored him completely, gaze fixed solely upon Dr. Light. Trembling, the scientist muttered, "Blues...it's really you...you're still alive…"
"Hey, tough guy!" Guts Man said. "I'm talking to you."
Break Man finally faced him.
"Yeah, y-"
Suddenly, Break Man's armor changed color, becoming purple and white. An instant later, he was behind Guts Man, slowly walking towards Gamma.
"Wh-hey! Get back here!"
Guts Man lunged after Break Man, the other robot's armor now turning green and white. Four large leaves whipped around Break Man, deflecting Guts Man's attack before flying out at him, slicing through the small gaps in his armor. Break Man then lifted his buster and activated its beam, knocking Guts Man flat on his back.
"Hold, villain!" Fire Man declared as he bounded forward. "Whatever purpose brought you here, I will not allow you to succeed!"
Break Man's armor turned white and gray. He and Fire Man both attacked at the same time, Fire Man's flaming shots soaring high while Break Man generated several bubbles which travelled along the ground. Break Man pulled his shield around just in time, but Fire Man was taken by surprise, the water-based attack shocking him still. Guts Man pushed himself to his feet, but now Break Man's armor was brown and yellow-he generated a circular saw blade in each hand, and then hurled them straight into the chests of both his opponents, dropping them instantly. After pausing to glare at Light once again, Break Man continued towards Gamma. Activating his laser, he swept it through the scaffolding, setting the gargantuan robot free with a thunderous rain of rubble.
"Is he trying to take Gamma?" Rock said. "We have to stop him!"
Elec Man held him back, saying, "How exactly are you going to do that? You'll only get yourself killed!"
"But…"
Break Man took a few steps towards the two doctors. Wily cowered, but Light just kept staring at him, tears beginning to form in his eyes.
"I thought you were lost forever," Light said. "Blues...you're still alive...I'm so glad…"
At this, Break Man froze. Wily said, "Thomas, it's Break Man! He's attacking! What are we going to do?"
A smile came to Light's face. "Blues...I'm so happy you're alright…"
Wily looked up at him. With a sigh, he said, "Hrm...hardly the reaction I was hoping for." Now perfectly calm, Wily came forward. "Nonetheless, excellent work, Break Man! Not that I expected anything less."
Break Man nodded. Rock said, "Wait...what? Didn't you say you were the one working for Break Man?"
"Neh heh heh, foolish little robot. That was nothing but a genius ruse to gain Light's trust! I'm the true mastermind here! Nehahahahaha!"
Finally emerging from his trance, Light furrowed his brow as he turned to face Wily. "What? Albert, is-"
He whirled in a fury. "That's Wily! You will refer to me with respect, Light-never again with familiarity! It's been agonizing playing along all this time! I thought my skin would crawl right off my bones!" Wily grunted, but then his mouth curled into a smirk. "It was worth it, however. Using your designs, your resources, your labor, I was able to construct this unstoppable war machine in record time! My brilliant plan was a success! And once I unleash Gamma upon the world, not even your precious little lab assistant will be able to stop me! If she even survived her trip to Mars, that is! Nehahahaha!"
"I'm just fine, Wily!"
He winced as Roll's garbled voice sprang from Light's terminal. "Rrgh, of course. I knew I should've sent the other batch…"
"Dr. Light, are you okay?" Roll asked. "I made it back to the moon and I'm closing in on the transport coordinates! I'll be there in just a minute!"
"I think not! I took the liberty of encrypting Light's transporter program-it'll take him quite a while to get things working again!"
"What's wrong with you, Wily?! We trusted you!"
Wily waved his hand, turning his back on the console. "Bah, I don't have to indulge this prattle! All I need to know before I leave is whether or not you retrieved those Energy Elements for me, Roll."
"There's no way I'm turning them over to you!"
Wily's smirk spread into a grin. "Yes, I thought you might say that. Break Man!"
Break Man was suddenly right in front of Rock. He grabbed the robot by the arm and yanked him in Wily's direction, but then paused. Turning his head, he saw Elec Man standing next to him, two electrified fingers pointed straight at him.
"...Let Rock go," Elec Man said. "I won't ask again."
Break Man let go. Then he was behind Elec Man, stabbing a curved metal boomerang into his back. Rock cried out as Elec Man dropped to his knees. Fighting to stay online, Elec Man fired a bolt of electricity at his foe, only to have it blocked by another set of leaves. Break Man's armor then turned orange and white. When he aimed his buster at Elec Man, it fired a projectile with a blinking orb on one end and a sharp point on the other, which buried itself in Elec Man's back. Break Man then kicked him aside, grabbed Rock once again, and dragged him over towards Wily.
"No...I won't…!" Elec Man struggled to lift his arm, preparing one more attack. The item stuck to his back then detonated.
"Elec Man!" Rock shouted. "No! Let go of me, you…!"
"What's happening?" Roll asked. "What are you doing?"
"I was thinking a trade might appeal to your sense of fairness," Wily said. "You give me the Energy Elements, and I'll return your brother Rock to you!"
"Roll, don't worry about me!" Rock said. Break Man clamped a hand over his mouth before he could say anything else.
"Oh, you really should. If I don't get my hands on those Elements, I'll reduce him to scrap metal!"
"Wily," Roll said, "you-"
"Wily!"
The entire room went dead silent at Light's sudden shout. He leveled a stern gaze at Wily-the look that may not have been harsh in its own right, but out of place as it was on Light's kind face, the jarring, eerie feeling it generated multiplied its weight exponentially.
"I won't forgive you if you harm my children."
"Ah, so that's what it takes to get you mad," Wily said. "How interesting! Don't you think, Break Man?"
The red Robot Master said nothing, only tightening his grip on Rock.
"Blues," Light said, "I-"
"Save it, Light!" Wily interrupted. "You have my demands. I'll be waiting for my Elements!"
Wily pulled a small device from his pocket. At the press of a button, he, Break Man, Rock, and Gamma all disappeared into thin air. Light's fierce expression vanished as well, replaced by a look of absolute terror.
Notes:
-Probably not a big surprise. I figured Wily saying it was all a mistake and getting a second chance would become less likely to work the more schemes he attempted, so I wanted to get him building Gamma with Light right away and prioritized the MM3 adaptation for this arc. But as I said before, the MM2 Robot Masters are still set to make an appearance…
-Some good news: things have slowed down at work again, AND I only have two more weeks until I complete my Bachelor's Degree! This should give me more free time and mental energy (especially with the decrease in stress that comes from finally getting that wretched horse out of the hospital), and I hope to turn that towards finishing this arc first and foremost. I have a draft for 2-4 and hope to post the final version next week, and 2-5 is well under way! Thank you for being patient with me.