"Whenever I think of the past, it brings back so many memories"
-Steven Wright
The living room was just as disheveled as the rest of Dr. Wily's fortress. The couches were covered in a hideous floral print that happened to fit the aesthetic of a grandparent's home. There was a flat screen TV in the room, which stat on top of an old wooden tube TV. The shelving was full of disorganized DVDs and VHS tapes. The coffee table was covered with faded magazines. Mega Man laid on the couch like he was confessing to a psychiatrist, Roll sat on a small footstool while Bass sat in an antique styled leather chair.
"Rhythm is quite an unusual robot" Mega Man began "His nature of questioning everything is something I've never seen in a robot before."
"Me neither" Bass conceded "but what amazes me is that the questions are incredibly simple but they lead to rather complex answers."
"Maybe he's been walled up for so long that he's trying to learn about the world around him" Roll suggested "He's known nothing about Dr. Light, Dr. Wily, ourselves, or the advances in robots since he was made"
"Then why would he ask about our character rather than what has happened in the world?" Bass wondered.
"Maybe he judges our characters rather than our actions?" Roll suggested
I ask b-because I lust for k-knowledge and in-information.
The three robots turned to the doorway and saw that Rhythm standing by himself. He was holding the cane that Bass found him in the fist of the spare arm that Wily installed. He made his way in, sat by Mega Man's feet, then positioned his tablet so that the screen could be seen by all. Rhythm smiled slightly.
It feels g-great to have my legs back. I really can't thank all of you e-enough for what you have done for me.
"Well prepare to thank us even more" Mega Man said with a smile. He reached into his bag and pulled out a different tablet. The screen was a bit bigger than his current one and it had an auxiliary speaker attached to it.
"Heh, Dr. Wily should be happy to get his tablet back" Bass said with a chuckle.
A-are you sure you w-wanna give me your tablet?
"It's fine" Mega Man explained "This is an older one that I have, I recently got the latest model of the tablet and I didn't want to see the device go to waste. You'll get more use out of it compared to some scrapper"
Mega Man also procured a pair of studio headphones out of the bag and handed them to Rhythm. Bass prepared the tablet as Rhythm put the new headphones over his ears. They were mainly white, with the ear cups being of a crimson red with white borders.
T-Thank you very much Mega Man.
"What was that about not wanting to waste something?" Dr. Wily asked as he entered the living room, holding a bottle of soda and a tray of food as he made his way to a recliner.
"Mega Man gave Rhythm a few gifts" Bass explained as he returned Dr. Wily's tablet.
"I see…" Dr. Wily replied as he received put the tablet on a small table next to the recliner "Hey Bass! Why don't you be courteous for once and get the others some E-Tanks!"
Bass rolled his eyes and made his way to the kitchen to grab the desired liquid. Once he returned,
he then proceeded to remove the cans from the six pack and tossed one to Mega Man (right at his face mind you), Roll, and finally Rhythm. As Bass tossed the can, Rhythm's remaining original arm was slow to react, causing the can to crash on to the floor behind him.
Sorry Bass… I'm a bit slow with r-reacting…
Bass just shrugged as he took another E-tank off the six pack and slid it on the coffee table, having it stop in front of Rhythm. Rhythm then took the can and opened it with his temporary arm.
Excuse me Mega Man… I've been h-hearing stuff about a town called Olive… what h-happened there?
Mega Man took a deep breath "Sniper Joes attacked the town… at least twelve people were killed…most of the fatalities were the underprepared police force, but one of my creator's students was also killed… Heather Kijn. Her son disappeared a few days ago before the attack"
S-she has a son?
Rhythm was visibly shaking as Rock spilled the details.
"Yes, she did. A charming little boy…" Rock weakly smiled "he kinda looks like you; fluffy brown hair, blue eyes, but a bit tanner than you. He also has a facial scar on the right side of his face, but it never seemed to bring him down at all"
H-how did he disappear?
Rock shrugged "I don't know… I was more curious about Blues"
Blues? Who's B-Blues?
"A lone wolf of a robot" Bass answered.
"He's more of a lone wolf than you are, Bass" Dr. Wily quipped.
Bass rolled his eyes "Anyway… he's a vigilante who wants to curb robot threats such as Sniper Joes and also is a freedom fighter for robot betterment"
Who m-made him?
"We don't know" Dr. Wily answered "I was the first to find him, but he left me soon after he realized my intentions…"
I see… and who are the S-Sniper Joes?
"The Joes were originally mass produced robots that Dr. Light designed" Roll replied.
"Then Dr. Dumbass here decided to weaponize them" Bass jibbed as he pointed to Dr. Wily "They later became radicalized drones who want to remove the world of free will… especially humans. They see robots like Mega Man, Blues, and even I as threats to their cause"
W-would they go after me? I-I'm no f-freedom fighter, I'm not a human…
"They'd probably go after you too Rhythm…" Mega Man answered with a sigh "they're a living hell to robots just as much to humans, and robots already have a lot on their plate"
W-what do you mean Rock?
"Being a normal robot isn't a pleasant experience" Rock began "In most cases, a company purchases a robot to fill a necessary position and are expected to not receive any thanks or gratitude for what they've done. All of us, saving Wily because he's a human, tend to have it better because we look like humans. We can emotionally connect with people. They respect us if they don't fear us"
"With most robots, you can usually obviously tell that they are a robot as they normally have metal faces and or limbs" Bass added "These type of robots are more common because they're cheaper to produce and buy. They get worn down by their occupations and many owners replace them instead of repairing them. I've talked to some of these bots and they want to shut themselves down, but can't because of the third robot law. 'A robot must protect their own existence', but that only comes after the first two laws, so it's not the top priority"
I c-considered killing myself a few times in that d-dark and damp alcove.
The already depressing tone of the conversation took a nosedive as soon as Rhythm admitted this fact.
"Why didn't you?" Roll asked "Was it because of the laws?"
Rhythm shook his head.
N-no… it's because I-I kept hoping for s-someone to find me… I kept hoping that I could e-eventually get out myself…I w-wanted to go to a b-better world than one I had left… but that doesn't seem to be the case…if a robot s-started with any type of p-passion for their work before they began, your d-descriptions make it seem like the 'soullessness' of machines are not a p-programmed aspect, but something that is learned or calibrated by the c-circumstances a robot lives through…
Rhythm hung his head low, shaking more loudly.
Dad told me that the world would be b-better for robots in the future. That we'd live in h-harmony and happy t-together…
"May I ask as to why you care about the happiness of robots?" Roll inquired, shaking slightly herself.
My r-robotic f-father said that he knew his life would end at some point. He didn't know how, when, o-or why; but he knew for c-certain that his death time was limited. I do know that I died before he d-did. He also c-constantly told me that he wanted to be the best f-father anyone could have, but he also told me to expect his a-absence at any point. He wanted me as h-happy as I could be before he went, and I wanted to do the same for him.
Drips of water appeared from Rhythm's eyes as the sad facts poured out of the tablet. Roll took a napkin and cleaned Rhythm's eyes.
"I've never seen a robot cry before" Dr. Wily observed.
"Then again" Bass caustically began "I don't recall ever seeing YOU cry"
Dr. Wily sighed as he got up from his seat. "Let Rhythm calm down for a bit and then we'll go back to working on the repairs"
The scientist left the room and Bass began to follow, with Mega Man soon joining the two. In the living room, Rhythm was still sitting with Roll.
"I can understand why your memories are so p-precious to you. They are so strong and full of emotion, even though they have both happy and sad aspects to them" Roll said with a sigh "It's a shame that a robot's memory can be wiped instantly…"
Rhythm smiled as the wiping continued.
"You're b-beautiful Rhythm. Anyone could just look at you and think that you are just a hodgepodge of scattered parts and programming, but your heart is one of the most beautiful things I've seen in a robot. Your internal beauty makes the fact that someone would want to dispose you more wretched… y-you remind me of a robot I once knew my self…"
You're beautiful too.
Roll continued to wipe Rhythm's eyes and then left to help the others repair the arm, leaving Rhythm alone. He was feeling enlightening euphoria pulse through his circuitry from Roll's touches and comments. As he was about to get up from the seat, he noticed Mega Man's bag. Inside, he found a book.
"The Return of the Gadfly: Questions Upon Questions". Why would Mega Man buy a paper book rather than a digital copy?
Rhythm opened the book and read to himself as he listened to another cassette tape.
As Roll returned to the workshop, she found that Bass and Mega Man were working on the cannon part of the arm while Dr. Wily worked on the other part of the arm. She approached the two enemies, and noticed that their arm cannons were open and comparing them to Rhythm's.
"What are you two doing?" Roll asked.
"We're trying to figure out what the circuitry configuration for the arm cannon is based off of" Mega Man replied.
"Rhythm has a very unique system" Bass added "the circuitry in the cannon is not intended for...common application."
"What do you mean?" Roll asked.
"It's not for combat" Rock answered "At least its not meant for what Bass and I go through."
"We're going to make it weapons grade so that it is more effective in active situations" Bass explained.
Rock scratched his head "What I don't understand is why a robot like Rhythm would only have the bare minimum components?"
"It's not that hard to understand" Bass replied "Whoever made Rhythm obviously wanted to focus on his humanity rather than his mechanical strengths."
"In that case, maybe Rhythm doesn't need the arm cannon" Roll suggested "...maybe he just needs the arm."
"I would love to agree with you Roll," Dr. Wily spoke as he approached Roll and the others "but considering the shape that Rhythm is in, I think that it's best to give him a way to defend himself from enemies."
Roll nodded as she joined the other two robots repairing the cannon part of the arm. As the work progressed, Roll over heard grumbling from Dr. Wily.
"Robot's having it worse than humans…" Wily muttered "What that wretched piece of scrap doesn't know is that your average human has it just as bad as your average robot. 'No one cares about robots! We're just thrown away and scrapped for new robots!' Well you fail to understand how the humans feel! They hate robots because they look at your kind as the reason their life is so bad"
"Dr. Wily" Roll unenthusiastically spoke "I can hear you"
The scientist shut himself up, but Roll made her way over to Dr. Wily.
"You meant all that, didn't you?"
"Yeah I meant that!" Wily bitterly replied.
"Then why don't you say that in front of Rhythm?" Roll coldly asked "Why don't you go tell him the truth about how bad it is for both robots and humans?!"
"If I did that, I'd be giving him another reason to feel bad! I don't want to vilify him, and I'm certain that neither you nor the rest of us want to either. After all he's been through, making him feel worse is such a fantastic idea, isn't it?"
Roll understood the sarcasm and actually willingly joined Wily with his repairs "Can I confess something?"
"Why don't you confess to Rock or Bass?"
"Well… Rock only knows part of the fact, while Bass would get jealous with the fact" Roll admitted "I once knew a robot named Rhythm, he looked a lot like this Rhythm but they can't be the same robot. He was a charming and kind robot, but after he decided to become weaponized after an incident with some unknown robot, we stopped seeing each other. When I heard from Bass say the name Rhythm, I had to know if this Rhythm was the one I knew…"
"And is this Rhythm the robot you once knew?"
Roll frowned as she shook her head and Dr. Wily sighed in understanding.
"Well if it's any consolation, Bass has his eyes on you" The doc said with a smirk.
As Rhythm entered the workshop, Roll gave Dr, Wily a firm slap to the face.
D-Did I disturb something?
"No Rhythm… ow…" Dr. Wily replied "I just said something I shouldn't have."
Rhythm shrugged and quietly made his way to a chair in the corner. He listened to music with the headphones that Mega Man gave him and just watched the four silently.
"Rhythm," Dr. Wily began "May I ask you a question?"
M-Me?
Dr. Wily rolled his eyes "No, the set of socket wrenches on the wall. Of course I mean you!"
Sure, g-go ahead.
Dr. Wily stopped his repairs and turned to Rhythm "As you know, I wish to rule the world. I may not have defined my purpose or motive yet, but that is beside the point. Let's say that, for some vague and implausible reason, you rule the world. What you did to obtain this power, what the people think of you, and the condition of the world is unimportant. What I want to know is, what would you do? And, as a bonus, since you are a robot we'll make you immortal."
Rhythm stood in silence as he let the details sink in.
To be h-honest, c-control of the world doesn't interest me. If I was in that s-situation, I would find myself in a bind. I wouldn't want the power, but I wouldn't want my powers being abused by the wrong person. I would be r-regretting my position but d-dutifully leading none the less.
Dr. Wily starred at Rhythm, dumbfounded, and then he frowned. Wily began thinking to himself that maybe he just wanted to dominate the world just so that he could say that he did, and nothing more. He could only hope that he didn't waste his time in trying to reach said goal.