- Note: Firestorm09890 on AO3 requested the multiverse scene, so here it is as a bonus omake. :) It takes place in the middle of Chapter 10 "Into the Mega-Verse".
- Every version of Dr. Cossack has Big "Dad Energy". I don't make the rules. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- I also wanted to take this opportunity to highlight some Second Gear fanart! There's some from scenes in "Something Like Family" and "War Games". There are direct links over on AO3, but I've also collected all art (including full size covers) on my tumblr "quietlydiabolic", tagged "risgart"
Dr. Cossack tried to calm himself, but his heart was still racing. "Proto Man…"
"It's 'Archie' Proto Man, if you don't mind," he replied with a crooked grin. "These guys are 'Whistler' and 'Comrade Bass'."
"Ugh. Only Wilys and the other SWNs call me that."
"Well, thank you all for saving me. I suppose you would call me the 'Capcom' Dr. Cossack."
'Archie' Proto Man took a moment to pull him aside. "The 'Miranda' world no longer has a Dr. Wily, so apparently that Dr. Cossack took him in."
It was clear what he was getting at, without even saying who. Dr. Cossack shot a nervous glance over at the Wily 'bot. He'd never met his own world's Bass, much less spoken to him, much less invited him into his home. Honestly, the whole thing felt like a really convoluted Wily plot. His gut told him 'no', that this is a trap, and his head was inclined to agree, but his heart…
Clearing his throat, Dr. Cossack straightened up and approached. "Well then, comrade, what does everyone else call you?"
"My name is Bass," he replied with a scowl.
"'Wolfie'," said 'Whistler'.
"Hmm. I was thinking that Dr. Light and, ah, Dr. Wily must be overrun with Mega Men and Proto Men and Bass…es. If you needed a place to stay—"
"Sure." His tone was dismissive, but Bass looked not-so-secretly relieved.
Hoping that he hadn't just made a terrible mistake, Dr. Cossack waved over the nearest Cossack 'bot. He leaned forward to whisper to Toad Man. "Please tell Skull Man and Ring Man to keep an eye on our, er, guest. And I would like Dive Man and Pharaoh Man to stay with Kalinka at all times…"
For the most part, however, Bass kept out of their way. Dr. Cossack contacted Dr. Light— the 'Capcom' Dr. Light, who was indeed overrun— and asked if there was anything he could do to help. Yes, as it turned out. He found himself receiving massive files of data to track and compile. He hadn't even finished downloading them when Ring Man contacted him.
"Sooo, uh, that guy is hanging out in of the storage rooms like a weirdo."
"Okay. Thank you for the update." With a sigh, he checked Ring Man's location and headed out.
Sure enough, Bass was standing around by the doorway to a seemingly random storage room, out of armor and slightly agitated about something.
"Can I help you? Is there something you're looking for?"
He startled at Dr. Cossack's words. "I— no. Yes? No. I was just— Tch. It's stupid. I don't know what I was expecting, of course it's just storage."
"What else would it…?" Then it clicked. "Ah, this must be your room, isn't it?" It was sentimental of him, but he had few enough Robot Masters that he could give each of them their own space in the citadel. It made sense that this other universe's Dr. Cossack would do the same.
Although Bass didn't respond, Dr. Cossack could tell he'd hit the nail on the head.
"All of this junk can be transferred to another location—"
"No. No, don't bother. I'm not going to be here that long. Hopefully."
"Listen, Bass— er, 'Wolfie'—" With that, something else dawned on him. "Ah, wait. As in a small wolf? A cub?" Dr. Cossack didn't know Bass, but he knew himself. "Like 'Volchonok', perhaps?"
This, too, was spot-on. Instead of finding it comforting, Bass look struck. He stepped back, right up against the wall, and then sank to the floor.
Dr. Cossack exchanged glances with Skull Man and Ring Man, then placed a hand on Skull Man's shoulder. "Please, some space."
Once they'd left, he sat down next to the Wily 'bot. Overwhelmed, Bass hunched forward and stared hard at the opposite wall.
"Do you have any idea what it's like to want something so bad it hurts, but then you finally get it, and… it turns out it's not what you want all?"
"Yes. Although, not exactly on the same scale."
"Now all I want is to go home."
"You will. We'll fix this, I promise."
"…Right." Bass was quiet for a few moments, then started to say something, only to cut himself off. Then, abruptly, "You know, Wily— my Wily— saved me from…" He hesitated. "I better not say, I don't know if that's future stuff for your world or what."
Where the 'Archie' Dr. Wily had been sympathetic, most of the other Basses wanted nothing to do with him. As if he were some kind of traitor. It was bad enough being surrounded by duplicates. The few who understood were also outliers, and they'd all had pretty much the same reaction to Zero's name:
"Huh? What'n the blazes are you on about?" 'Walking Dead' had asked.
"Who, that stupid girlie-looking loser Wily hasn't got around to finishing?" This was ironic coming from 'Alto', but when he'd said as much she socked him in the eye.
"Wily locked him away. He'll never be activated." 'Glitch' was the closest thing Bass'd had to a friend since losing track of Break Man and the others. "Look, my world's Rock finally got through on the com. I'm ditching these morons and going to Dr. Light. You coming with?"
(He'd opted to stay, which worked out for the best. Who knew what Bass·exe would've done if he hadn't been there? Talk about issues. None of them were a paragon of stability, but that guy was somehow worse than the chaotic evil Forte.)
"Anyway. He… that's why he's dead. To keep me from being destroyed. I know it's not really my fault, but it still… it still happened because of me."
There was a quiet lull as Dr. Cossack thought over his response.
"You know, when I decided to build my own Robot Masters, the technology was still very new. The only real examples were those of Dr. Light's… and Dr. Wily's. As much as I admired Dr. Light and Mega Man for doing what had to be done, I never wanted to build a robot that would cause harm or destruction."
"Hn." There was a slightly derisive edge to his tone, as if he wanted to dispute that, but didn't actually say anything.
"Of course, Skull Man and Ring Man were made for nothing but harm and destruction. When my Robot Masters were finally freed from Dr. Wily's control and I was able to repair them, I debated if those two should be rebuilt as well. After all… I… I had only made them under duress, and to his specifications." He paused and sighed, then offered a slight smile. "But none of that was their fault. They couldn't help the circumstances that they were built, or what they had been designed to do. While the others had their freedom taken from them, Skull Man and Ring Man never had freedom to begin with."
"Does this story have a point? No offense."
He chuckled. "You can't just say something offensive and then add 'no offense' to the end."
Bass shrugged.
"I suppose what I'm trying to say is… I think I understand."
Nodding, he drew his knees up and wrapped his arms around them, looking terribly lost. Dr. Cossack sighed. Kids.
"Do you need a hug?"
The expression he had said 'yes, but I'll never ever admit it', so Dr. Cossack didn't wait for an answer. Bass tensed for a moment, but then relaxed and clutched the sleeve of his lab coat.
