Recipe for great abs:
Read a passage of the bad, poorly stuff you wrote in the past.
Cringe so hard you do a crunch.
Repeat.
Chapter 14: Electrifying
Earlier that night at the Light residence, the four remaining children enjoy a nice meal before bed. Light peeks his head into Elecman's (really Blues's, but since Elec's been sleeping in it more...) room and sits down at the end of the bot's bed. "Hello Elecman... how are you feeling?"
"Better after that outing to the beach. Did you talk to the human from the plant?"
"I did actually... just got off of the phone with him... Mr. Miller seemed strained while we were on the talking, but I've tried to explain to him as best that I can that you are not an ordinary robot. And that you are not to be treated like one. He will not be in work tomorrow because he has an out of town meeting to attend, but he has assured me that he will inform the plant workers not to treat you as they have today. You are to be given the respect you deserve."
Light scooches up and puts an arm around his creation, who casts his gaze to the side.
"Thank you...I can only hope that the others will listen to him."
Light nods. "If not, you just let me know. I'll see to it that you endure no more harassment." He hugs the boy close in one of his signature Light bear hugs.
"Nngh...thank you, sir, but I gotta fight my own battles if they're gonna respect me. They're about as thick as the drones they mock anyway. I'm sure I can handle them." Elecman scowls softly, his expression disdainful.
Light's smile falls just slightly. "Now Elecman... respect is a two way road... If the people you want respect from sense that you do not have any respect for them, it will create a gulf between you. I know it is hard to hear that because you are the one already being treated poorly. But you must not let yourself fall into resentment... it will only worsen matters."
"But I'm so much better than them. They should respect me. And yet I think that's why they hate me. They know I can prove them obsolete. They were complaining about it when they confronted me."
Light frowns now... he chooses his next words with great care. "You... are very special, Elecman. You are one of a kind. You are strong. You are capable. ...but those things are not what make you worthy of respect."
"What?!" Now he looks offended. "What does, if not all those qualities?"
Light prods the center of his chest gently. "It is what's in there that is worthy of respect. Because you are an individual. You are a person. You are alive. Your greatest gift is not your abilities. It is not your ability to control surges and wield enormous power... it is the fact that you have a living, feeling spark in you. Sentience... a soul... call it what you will, but that is where your greatness lies. When your workers realize that spark is there... I think the respect you deserve will come freely."
"Well...I've always had that, and it never got me respect in the past." Elec grunts peevishly. "And every human has sentience, but I know enough about how they interact to know that no one is guaranteed respect because of it."
The doctor sighs sadly. "Perhaps... sadly, just because someone is worthy of respect does not always guarantee they will be respected. But then... there is always someone that you can gain respect from. And that's the most important respect for you to earn. It can stay with you for the rest of your life."
Light pets his son's head. "It's your own."
Elecman's eyes widen slightly but he quickly puffs his cheeks and looks away. "Well...I already have plenty of respect for myself."
Light grins. "Then you have the only respect that matters."
The black and yellow bot pouts heavily. "I'm not sure if I can fully agree, but... Thank you anyway. I'll be in my best behavior tomorrow and shall avoid injuring human bodies or egos."
The doctor snorts softly. "Good to hear." He leans in and places a kiss on the boy's head. "Sleep well, son."
He can't help it. In spite of his ill temper, he flushes bright. Elecman is still unaccustomed to goodnight kisses or really any open display of affection.
Light quietly slips out and leaves the door cracked. He goes and visits the rest of his children for their tuck-ins, distributing kisses to each one, including Iceman, before heading to bed himself. As he changes into his pajamas and picks out a book to read a bit of before bed, his thoughts are with his absent child...
Even after all the years when Light was sure he was he was gone forever, even after fixing him and repairing him and letting him know he has a place to call home... Light still worries every night that Blues isn't with him.
He longs to wrap his arms in a bear hug around that frame and kiss his wayward son lovingly goodnight too.
But it is not too late for that to be a reality someday... Light says a quiet prayer for his safety before retiring to sleep.
The sun won't be out yet when he is next woken.
It's just past 4:30 in the morning when the knock comes to the front door. Roll is the first one to be stirred by it. She hops up and walks to the living room to see what all the commotion is about. Odd that someone should be here at this time...
Caution leads her to grab a chair and peek out the peephole before she answers. What she sees she doesn't expect at all.
"Blues!?"
She hurriedly opens the door and cries out when she sees what he has, but the next moment she's dashing for Light's bedroom.
"Daddy!? Daddy wake up, hurry, it's Blues!"
Light jolts up with a start. "Hrm!? B-blues!?"
Fearing the worst he jumps to his feet still in his PJ's and night cap and follows Roll quickly into the living room. By this time the commotion has the other occupants of the house woken too.
Rock's door opens, and the boy runs out with the others to see what the commotion is about. "Wh-what about Blues? Is he okay?"
What he sees isn't anything he could have prepared for. Blues is there alright. And drenched in spilt fuel...
But not his own. Over his shoulders hangs a limp orange body. The macabre sight is highlighted by the spilling components and sliced middle of Cutsman's frame-his own shears still protruding from the wound. He's been cut almost in half, seemingly by his own weapon, and is now unconscious.
"Lab. Now." Light orders, gathering the things he needs from their apartment, like his 24/7 access cardkey. Roll gets the umbrella since its drizzling lightly outside and the other things that Light forgets as Protoman stands there.
Blues catches sight of his younger brother's aghast expression. He regrets causing this scene but he didn't know where else to turn. "Rock... you should go back to bed."
The child stands shaking. "But...but Cutman..."
"Daddy your jacket" Roll says. It's chilly out. "Yes thank you dear. Rock, Blues is right. Back to bed. We will do what needs to be done. Iceman, Elecman you two as well. Elecman you have work tomorrow."
Blues starts carrying the dripping, mangled bot back outside and towards the lab.
"But..." But the door slams back closed before Rock can get his full protest out. He and the other two boys are all left alone. Iceman whimpers. "Poor Cutman...what could have happened to him?"
"Torn by his own blade." Elecman sighs and shakes his head. "I don't know who would do that...besides maybe the same bot who threw you under the bus."
Iceman gasps. "Shadowman? You think so? Oh...what is his malfunction?!"
"No idea...but the doctor was right. I have to be at full battery power for tomorrow. Might as well just let them deal with it." Elecman goes back to his own bed, leaving Iceman and Rock alone.
Iceman fidgets. "...Can I get into bed with you, Rock?" He asks timidly. "With Roll gone, I don't wanna sleep alone..." Rock quickly nods and takes Iceman's hand to lead him back to his room.
Iceman snuggles up against Megaman, shivering softly, not from the cold but from worry. "P...poor Cutty... he's not a bad guy... not really... he doesn't deserve that..."
"No one does...I'm so glad Blues found him, though."
Iceman nods and slowly. He yawns and after a while his nerves finally begin to calm back down. The doctor will surely fix him back up, and tomorrow maybe he can see his brother again. With that thought to console him, he drifts back off to sleep.
Rock isn't quite so easy though. He tries to stay up and wait for someone to return so he might learn what's happening.
Things are hectic for the next half hour in the lab. Light and Roll are flying all over the place. Blues, who is less familiar with what is where, nonetheless tries to assist them as best he can. The first matter is to get Cutman's ruptured tank fixed, which involves isolating the wound, cleaning the surrounding fuel, and delicately welding and patching it back. Light has Blues refuel him from there while he and Roll repair the other damaged lines. They need to make sure to get power back to his vital systems and check for core stability before they proceed further. It is a rocky road back to having Cutman running steady and self-sustained before they start getting into the other issues. At this point it's almost 6:00 in the morning and Blues is starting to get tired. He helps out a bit more (really he's mostly just in the way) and then leaves once he finds a good stopping point. He gets back into the apartment at about 6:15 and plops himself onto the couch.
After a few minutes there's the sound of a door quietly opening and the tip-toeing of smaller feet.
Rock is then seen peeking his head in. With Blues's visor, he's not sure if his brother is already asleep or not.
"...Rock?" Blues sits up a little. "You should be asleep..."
"I can't...I'm worried. Is Cutman gonna be okay...?"
Blues nods. "Yeah. Yeah he'll be fine... they're still working on him, but Light has him stabilized... it's going to be okay."
"Ah...that's good... Do you have any idea what happened?"
"...I can't say for certain... but I know for sure I wasn't the one that did that to him. There was a break-in on the southwest side of town. When I moved in to investigate, I was attacked. It was too dark to see who it was. While we were fighting I heard a scream that must have been Cutman's. I never caught but a glimpse of the attacker. He got around me and fled into the alley... by the time I got outside, he had vanished... and I found Cutman back inside in that state...
"I-I never said you were the one that did it." Rock stutters, putting his hands up. He doesn't want Blues to think he's accusing.
"... But it's the logical conclusion isn't it?" Blues probes gently.
His brother furiously shakes his head. "If you wanted to hurt him, you wouldn't have brought him back."
"Mmmm... I guess so."
"Besides...you don't fight like that."
...? Protoman tilts his head. "What do you mean?"
"You wouldn't use his own weapon to cut him open. You're not that violent."
A small smile finds its way to the red bot's lips. Protoman chuckles softly. "Thanks for saying so... now go back to bed."
"Fiiiiine...what are you gonna do?"
"Rest... it's been a long night." Protoman settles back down on the couch.
"Kay... If you go back out to investigate, can I come with you?"
"...I'll consider it."
"Kay." Rock knows better than to push the issue much further now.
...
He suddenly runs up to the couch to kiss his big brother's head goodnight before dashing back to his room.
Blues doesn't move but stare after him once he's gone. After a few moments, some color finds its way to his cheeks. He rubs the spot self-consciously. "…Dumb kid." He settles down and sighs.
After dawn arrives, the front door creaks open and Roll and Light re-enter the house. Both tiptoe into Roll's room to deposit their newly-repaired, still unconscious charge before Roll comes back outside and taps Blues quietly on the shoulder.
"Hey... sorry to wake you... We moved Cutman to my bed though... if it's okay, could I take the couch and you move in with Elecman?"
Blues grumps slightly, not thrilled with the idea, but relents and moves into his own room. He doesn't actually get onto the bed with the black bot, though. He pulls a few thick quilts out of the closet and makes himself a pad on the floor off to the side to lay down on.
It's only another hour or so until Elecman has to get up himself for work. When he wakes, he sits up and stretches, and then nearly ends up stepping right on top of Blues.
"Mmngh... watch it..." Protoman grunts.
"Sorry. Didn't think you'd be on my floor."
"My floor if the rumors are to be believed and this is indeed my room."
"Well you can say it's yours but if I'm the one using it more, well..."
Blues grabs his pad and moves it away from the bed. Without any further ado he returns to sleep.
Elecman huffs and goes to get some fuel. Sadly the doctor is only just getting up and getting his own coffee. There's no special breakfast prepared today. "Mmmmn... morning Elecman... did you sleep well?"
"Well enough. Are you doing alright?"
Light nods with a yawn, but he's looking pretty bleary eyed. "Not the full night of rest I hoped for but that's alright... You can't choose when life happens, it just happens. Are you ready for work?"
"Just about. How is Cutman?"
"Good question... he has not woken yet... he should still be recalibrating for a few hours yet... When he does wake, well... we'll just have to see what he says. I've repaired all of the interior damage and all but the most petty surface damage... when he wakes, he should be fully functional. I also went ahead and removed Wily's programming and the emotion suppressants while I was at it." He takes another small sip from his mug and stares ahead contemplatively. "We shall just have to see what he makes of that... Poor boy... He must have been in great pain before he went offline."
"Well...I'm glad he's going to be alright. Thank you so much, doctor."
"...Thank me? Whatever for?"
"For saving him."
Light smiles tiredly. "Such a responsible young man you're turning into. Thanking me on behalf of your brother... that is very sweet. I was glad to do it, though, I assure you. I have hope that our little family may have just grown a little larger."
"Oh my...will we have room for him?"
The doctor's grin doesn't falter. "We'll make do. Only a week 'til our new home is complete."
He might have predicted the need for more space and had said house designed accordingly.
"Ah, that's right. That will be nice."
Light nods. "There will be a home for you there too, you know." He stretches. "Alright... I'll go fire up the car. Come down when you're ready."
Elecman nods and offers a little smile.
When he realizes Roll has returned from the night's excitement, Iceman abandons Rock for her, crawling onto the couch beside her and pulling the blanket she's using up so she's tucked warmly inside of it before he puts his arm around her waist. She's so cute when she's sleeping... but gosh she's so brave too... when he saw Cutman torn in half like that he thought he was going to faint. He didn't miss, though, how despite the stress of the situation she stayed collected and task focused. She would make a great nurse... an aspiration she admitted to him the other day.
He rests his cheek against her back and sighs, drinking in her presence like a warm mug of hot chocolate that Dr. Light made for him the other day... so nice...
As he clings to her, Roll slowly blinks awake. When she realizes that she's being spooned on the couch her face grows hot. "Iceman...is that you?"
Ack! "S...sorry ma'am... did I wake you? I didn't mean to..."
"It's okay...I only just closed my eyes."
"Oh..." He feels even guiltier now. "M...my bad." He takes his arm from around her waist and gives her some more space. "I uh... I can leave you alone if you like, I just thought... s-sorry ma'am I wasn't thinking..."
"No no...please stay?"
Another wave of warmth blossoms in Iceman's chest when she doesn't reject him. "Okay" he murmurs bashfully.
He will do so gladly. The arctic bot carefully places his arm back around her and snuggles close.
"Hey..." Roll chimes on an afterthought. "So don't worry. Cutman is going to be okay.
Iceman sighs softly. "Of course he is. You... you looked after him. You were so brave earlier... you deserve a good long rest." He smiles just a bit. "Cutman couldn't be in better hands. I'm sure of it."
"Iceman...you're real sweet to say that. But daddy was the one to do most of the work."
''Aw... w-well," he scratches his hood, "You worked really hard too to help him, I'm sure...I think you'll make a great nurse."
"Thank you, Iceman. When you decide what you wanna do, I'm sure you'll be great at it too."
Iceman flushes so much he almost turns warm. He stays nuzzled affectionately to her as he drifts back to sleep.
################################
Cutman groans softly as consciousness finds him like a wolf finds a sheep.
"Ungh... "
He blinks awake slowly, immediately aware that his surroundings are unfamiliar. He quickly feels at his middle.
Intact... Somehow he's intact... Did the boss fix him? Did old man Wily get out of prison?
Last he remembers is the maddening pain of his own cutters rending through his body... lying in two pieces bleeding out... Before that... Everything is fuzzy... He was on a mission wasn't he? They were gonna steal...
The door opens and Cutman practically jumps out of his own mesh... But thankfully it's a familiar face.
"Icy... You're intact? We... We were starting to think you'd gotten the final cut..." He laughs weakly. "G...get it?"
"Cutty!" Iceman runs up to the table. "You're okay!"
"Mmmn... Well... Alive at least..."
He slowly sits up, expecting his limbs to be weak, but they actually function fine. It's the mental drag that gets him. "Ugh... My body feels great... But my mind feels like it got bulldozed by a dozen Gutsmans..."
"Ah...well I think I might know why. Um...this is gonna be a lot to take in, so try to relax." The smaller blue bot places his hands on Cutman's shoulders. "You're um...you're in Dr. Light's lab."
Cutman stares at him dumbly, waiting for the punchline. Or maybe that was the punchline?
"H..heh... You're funny, Icy." Cutman cracks a big grin. A BIG grin, even though he really doesn't think it's that funny. But at least his bro is trying. "Seriously good one. Almost had me going there. Did you grow a sense of humor while you were gone? S...seriously though, what happened? Did we free Doctor Wily?"
Iceman pouts. "I am serious. Dr. Light fixed you."
"...C...c'mon Icy when someone figures out the joke, you're supposed to give up and say "I give". It... It's not funny anymore when you push it..."
Cutman is starting to feel ill. He looks around. These surroundings aren't familiar. He's in a bedroom... Under blankets... There are stuffed animals piled on one side of the room.
"It's okay, Cutty. You're safe, I promise." Iceman puts a hand on his shoulder. "You're in Roll's room right now. Dr. Light moved you here after he fixed you so you'd be more comfortable. This is where they're all living right now. Dr. Light, Megaman, Roll… even Elecman lives here now too. He fixed us and got rid of Wily's programming."
"F…fixed us... Removed...?" This is a little too much to take in. It feels like everything in Cutman's life has been uprooted. He... He needs to go back to his directive. That will help him figure out what to do. He searches through his mind to the last thing Wily said. Gather materials. Fall back. Reorganize. Wait for... Wait for...
The directives... Are strange. They feel hollow now somehow... Like they don't carry the weight they once did...
"Yeah," Iceman continues, "Don't you feel better now? I remember the effects his programming had on you. You were so unhappy and grumpy. We all were."
Cutman's expression grows puzzled. Grumpy? Was he really? He... Well he... Huh...
He does feel lighter somehow...
Like... Well it doesn't feel quite as much like everything's doomed to be awful anymore. He's scared and confused... But it doesn't feel like he's being sucked down a black hole.
"I... I'm not sure... Maybe? I do feel different somehow."
"You're gonna be a lot happier now," Iceman nods. "Trust me. And you'll like it here with the doctor and everyone. They're all really nice. Even Protoman is decent. He's the one that found you and brought you back."
Cutman's eyes blink open wide in surprise. Protoman? "Heh... Now I know you've been drinking... the koolaid..." Cuts trails off tiredly. Even though he just woke up, he feels like taking a good long rest...
Iceman pouts again. "I'm telling you it's the truth! You can go and ask him yourself. Well. If he's awake."
"M...maybe later. I'm just so tired right now I... I need to rest for a while." Cutman starts laying back down but then pauses. "Would you stay with me? Please?"
Iceman smiles and immediately climbs into bed with him. "Sure thing, Cutty. As long as you need." He doesn't hesitate to wrap his arms around his orange friend.
Cutman immediately reciprocates the gesture and hugs Iceman close. "I'm just so glad that you're okay... I'm not sure if I've ever been this glad about anything..." Tears threaten at his eyes.
"Aaaaww...Cutty. I'm just fine. I only hope the others are too."
Cutman nods. "They're alive... We didn't know about Elecman for a while. Glad to hear he's alive and with you guys. Better than being buried in the rubble of our hideout."
"He ran away with Protoman when the base got destroyed." Iceman explains.
"Could I see him?" the orange bot yawns.
"Yeah sure. He's just not here right now cuz he's working."
"Aah." Cutty hugs Iceman close and slowly goes back to sleep while clinging to him.
Iceman stays close to him the whole time until he eventually falls back asleep as well.
If Elecman's first day of work was rough, today is hell. Where he was treated as competent if contemptuous the previous day, today he is flat out ignored. No one talks to him, and few of the humans even look at him. With Mr. Miller gone, there is no one to give him direction. When he tries asking the other workers what to do, they direct him to the command terminal for directions. When he goes to the command terminal it directs him back to the workers at his station.
At first the slights and lack of direction seem like benign oversight on Miller's part... But as the day goes on and Elecman continues asking what he should do, his co-workers' attitudes hint as something a little more mean-spirited. When he goes to the second in charge manager yet another time to try to see what needs doing, the man sneers at him. "What's the matter bot? I thought you were supposed to be free thinking. Do what you were programmed to do."
Elecman's mouth briefly twists into a snarl, but he quickly straightens up and walks off. So it seems he's been given permission to work freely. If that's the case, he won't waste his talents with grunt work any further. He's heading right back to that generator.
The generator isn't up and running when he gets there. There are cords dangling all over the place and construction crews are installing new pieces-probably the insulators and charge rods that were being talked about the other day. A few bots are around helping get the cords hooked into the right places and getting rid of the ones marked with red tabs.
Hm...Elecman begins slowly making his way around the perimeter of workers. He studies what they do carefully before silently falling into place to help.
As it turns out, there's a good reason that it's only the drones moving wires-they're all live. Each one sends a little jolt through Elecman's body. But they hardly do much ides give him a slight tingling through his arms. He continues, knowing he can get the job done faster than these simple drones.
Sure enough, he cuts the time it would have taken them in half and soon every cable is in its place. The humans above are still milling around, but over the course of the next hour they finish installing the new parts.
"Benny! Analysis!" Someone calls up. Elecman recognizes Jo, the obnoxious human from yesterday.
"We're coming up green! Looks like it's all ready to fire up!"
"All personnel clear the area! Repeat: all personnel clear the area!"
As soon as he hears the announcement, Elecman backs away from the generator and begins moving out with the other workers.
There's a deep rumble as the generator starts up. The last of the humans file behind the yellow caution tape and look up through the enormous window showing into the generator room as its central components begin to spin.
"10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3..."
Something sparks at the base of the new equipment.
"2..."
Elecman can feel the charge building in the air around them, surging out from the center of the next room.
"1"
Electricity arcs off of the new central rod and back through the central room in enormous streams of light. There's a sound like the world itself being ripped apart. Everyone in the "safe" room watches in horror as the other workers behind the glass in the room across from them are scattered. An electrical arc penetrates the insulator glass and shatters it. Alarm bells are blaring, as if anyone can hear.
"SHUT IT OFF!"
There's another explosion somewhere nearby that rocks the ground.
Elecman feels his core go cold. What just happened? Did he cause this disaster?
The core shuts down the next second and the electrical arcs in the silo dissipate, but the alarms are still going off everywhere. There are muffled screams from the room across the walkway where the arc shattered the glass.
"HELP! We need help!"
Instinct immediately kicks in. Elecman runs forward to enter the command to open the door to their safe room in order to get out and run across the walkway, jumping through the broken window.
Everything in the room is chaos. Some people are clutching bloodied cuts, but the biggest commotion centers around the man on the ground-it's Jo. Someone kneels over him, pumping on his chest. There are shouts from the hysterical people nearby.
"MAKE ROOM!"
"NO PULSE, I don't have a pulse!"
"KEEP UP THOSE COMPRESSIONS!"
"SOMEONE GET A DEFIBRILLATOR!"
Defibrillator...Elecman knows what those are. They send a bolt of electricity to a human's heart to jumpstart it. Elecman gets in his knees besides Jo and turns to one of the other workers. "How much voltage does a defibrillator use?"
The man giving him CPR fumbles, momentarily at a lost. "T..two...no...YES two hundred to 1000! Jo's big. Er... Ah... S-start at 300!"
Elecman nods. He's seen enough medical shows to know how this works. He rubs his hands together to equalize the charge he's building, places them on the man's chest, shouts "clear!" And then sends 300 volts of electricity into the human.
Jo jolts from the pulse and the moment Elecman moves back the human working on him goes back, listening for a pulse before doing some more compressions. "Bring it up to 375! Clear!"
He moves back.
Elecman repeats the action, increasing the power as directed.
Everyone watches in tense silence as the man on the floor spasms again. The man working on him goes back to listening for a pulse, his face grim. "Come on buddy don't do this to me you gotta get up or Sharon's gonna gut me. You get up for your little girl, dammit." He mutters as he continues the compressions. "500. Go up to 500."
Jo's friend gets clear.
Once again, Elecman delivers the shock as soon as the other humans are clear.
Benny scrambled back near to him and presses close to Jo to listen. Moments afterwards a sob rips through the man's body.
"I... I've got a pulse. I've got him."
The tension is somewhat broken and everyone around scrambles back to action.
"Paramedics?"
"Already got them. On their way."
"Someones get a first aid kit!"
"Keep the pressure on, help's coming."
On the floor Jo's eyelids flutter open but he doesn't seem very aware of his surroundings yet.
Now Elecman is unsure what he needs to do from here. Perhaps he won't be needed further. He sticks around just in case the paramedics need to speak with him when they arrive on scene to know what he did. Sadly with the tense action over he goes back to being invisible. Human's mill around him without acknowledgement of his heroic actions. Once again he is forgotten and alone in a sea of people.
Elecman sighs. He should have known better than to expect to become the next Megaman after saving just one human. What's worse is now he is back without a given task to do. He eventually clears out away from the action while help arrives on the scene and rejoins the other robots still performing their labor without any inkling that a tragedy just took place.
The day continues on much in the same way. Not a lot goes on around the generator after the earlier accident. Elecman is far from the only bot milling around without a directive. When the day is finally over he has accomplished next to nothing.
Elecman gives a frustrated sigh. Well at least now he can leave. Once again he makes an effort to get out of there as soon as he can.
Light knows before he makes it to the car that things have gone badly. "Oh my poor boy... What happened?"
"I don't know...there was some sort of accident with the generator. One of the humans nearly perished."
Light gasps. What horrifying news "Good gracious! Is he alright now though?"
"Why yes, he is fine now. Thanks to me." He indicates himself with a slight flourish, quite ready to brag about what he did.
"Thanks to you? Details my boy. What exactly happened?"
Light listens at rapt attention as Elecman lays out the course of his day and the drama of the generator explosion disaster. His description is somewhat more sensationally than it deserves. By his own rendering, you would think he was the lone savior of humankind.
"Thank goodness you were there... Elecman it sounds like you saved that man's life."
"Yeah, well...no one else seemed to realize it." He grunts and hunches back down in his seat.
"Oh Elecman... I am sorry... What you did was noble... It's a shame that no one even said thank you... It's possible though that they were too caught up in the moment to remember... Perhaps tomorrow."
"No...there's not going to be a tomorrow."
Light raises an eyebrow. Oh dear. "So you are ready to quit then…"
"They didn't thank me because they didn't think I was worth it." Elec angrily justifies.
"Elecman..."
"Probably just thought I was acting according to programming...maybe they think all robots from Light Labs are coded to save humans. That I didn't choose to save him myself."
The doctor holds his tongue there. But Elecman continues on in his rant.
"I don't want to go back there. I don't want to be treated as a lesser being."
Light sighs. "My son... Your indignation is not wrong... You deserve to be treated better... If you really insist that you can't stay longer I won't force you. But I beg you not to give up just yet... Please at least give your employer a notice..."
"They won't need any notice. They got on fine without me and will rejoice to see me gone."
Light looks unhappy to hear this. But he won't push the issue for now. Elecman is tired and irritable. Best to let him rest and process everything that happened.
Once he's settled down, Elec looks back at the doc and addresses him more peaceably. "So then... how has Cutmam been doing?"
"Oho... Cutman...well..."
################################
Cutman stares across the room at Megaman. Just stares. Before he was afraid of this bot and wanted nothing more than to destroy him. Now? Now he's just afraid. He hides behind Icy.
"Cutty..." Iceman pats his back. "You don't need to be so afraid. Rock is nice."
"He...he's not! He busted us up remember?"
Rock frowns sadly at that.
"Well yeah, but we beat him up to..." Says Iceman.
Cutman looks away... And moments later his tank actually audibly gurgles.
Iceman's eyes widen. "Cutty do you need fuel?"
"W...well." He looks away sheepishly.
"We got lots!" Rock hops off the couch and heads into the kitchen to fetch a can from the fridge. When he returns, he holds it out for Cutman with a smile. "Here. And don't be afraid to tell me if you want a second one."
Cutman regards the boy with suspicion for several moments but nevertheless snatches the fuel and begins downing it greedily. Rations have been scarce and he's too hungry to care whether or not it's poisoned.
"I'll just go get that second can now." Rock giggles.
Cutman frowns but takes the second and drinks it too.
And the third.
And the fourth.
When he's halfway through the fifth his tank berates him for his gluttony by locking up and refusing to accept more fuel. It's probably for the best because the flexible metal of his midriff is bulged out slightly.
By this point Rock and Roll are staring at him wide-eyed and speechless. Iceman is less startled by the behavior, just amused.
"Have you...not been able to get much fuel lately?" Rock quietly questions.
Cutman looks miffed by their baffled expressions. "W-well, it's not easy to steal enough fuel to feed 10+ robot masters and one BIG robot master when you have to avoid public refueling stations... Us little ones get the smallest cut." He harrumphs and crosses his arms over his swollen middle.
Rock frowns. "I'm sorry...you guys have had to steal all your fuel?"
"Not when we were with Wily, no. He got it for us. But since he's in prison now..."
"Well...you'll never have an empty tank again. Promise." Rock kneels forward with his eyes locked seriously on the orange bot's and places his hands on Cutman's shoulders
Cutman just looks at him... And suddenly he whips the scissors off of the top of his head and throws them at Rock before grabbing Iceman's arm and running for the window.
"Now's our chance! You watch our six I'll lead us back!"
!
Rock just barely manages to jump away and gets only he his shirt cut versus his whole arm. Iceman shouts. "Cutman stoooooop!" and tugs back against him until they come to a standstill.
Cutman gasps in surprise as Iceman resists him, but he doesn't let go. He keeps trying to tug his friend away.
"I...Icy n-no! You've gotta fight their control! We'll get you back to normal and take whatever mind control Light put in out of you! Just think for a second, who do you really wanna be with, Megaman or your brothers!?" He desperately tugs, unwilling to leave Iceman to save himself. However, he's grabbed suddenly and picked up from behind.
"Now now... Please Cutman... If you insist on leaving we will allow you to go peacefully, but only after you hear what I have to say. I implore you."
The orange bot looks behind himself to stare at the face of none other than Thomas Light.
Standing next to him is Elecman with an amused smirk. "Well. Glad to see you're feeling energetic."
"... Elec?"
Elecman grins. It's him alright.
Big fat tears start to bead up from Cutman's eyes. "Leckyyyyyy."
He turns around to hug his big bro. Elecman gets squeezed.
"YOU'RE OKAAAAAY!"
"Bah! Of course I am! I'm too quick-witted to let anything happen to me." The other robot master hugs back. "I'm more glad to see you okay. You gave us quite a scare."
Cutman sobs even harder at the display of affection. Elecman NEVER hugs him...
Come to think of it... He's never really tried to hug Elecman before either... How has he never hugged him before? He loves him so much... And Iceman... And everyone else.
How is he only just now realizing that?
"Now now. No need to cry. You'll get me all wet." His brother pats his shoulder.
Cutman reluctantly parts with him... And then he hides behind both brothers when Light approaches.
"There there... Shh... It's quite alright... I promise you no harm will come to you while you're here..." the old man soothes.
"I... I can't trust you... Guys we can't trust him!"
"Why ever is that?" Light asks.
"W...wily said..."
"I see. And you respect what Albert says to you?"
Cutman hesitates... And then he nods.
"I see... Hmm... That's quite a pickle then... But perhaps... There could be a way for me to earn your trust?"
"?"
"When we took Iceman in, he did not trust me either. And I proposed to him to give me something to do that would allow me to gain his trust... What would I need to do to earn yours?"
Cutman doesn't have to think about it for two seconds.
"L...let me go... Let us all go."
"Cutman, I assure you, we all rather like it here." Says Elecman.
"Cutty you can have him get you something really cool!" Iceman pipes up. "He got me ice cream! It was great!"
Cutman blinks at the two of them. Surely this has to be a trick... Right? He's just not sure anymore...
"F... Fine... Then let ME go..."
Light sighs softly. "Very well... If that is what you wish... But I'm afraid I can't simply let you go right from this spot... If it is your intention to return to the other robot masters, I can't risk letting my family be harmed by them discovering our location... We'll have to blindfold you and drive you out somewhere in the city to leave you."
Iceman looks devastated. "Noooooo. Cutty please don't leave!" He clings to his brother.
Cutman frowns. "Please Icy... Come with me..."
Protoman peeks his head in from Rock's room. Hm... That one's loyal to Wily, huh? Wouldn't have figured him for it. His presence goes unnoticed and soon he creeps back inside.
"But you're safer here!" Iceman argues on. "We've all got beds! And fuel! And they take such good care of us here! I got to eat food and play games and go to the beach! Please Cutty you have to believe me!"
Cutman's resolve wavers.
"...No..." He finally shakes his head. He feels oddly bad about it. "Sorry Iceman I just... I can't..."
Light pats Iceman's shoulders. "It will be alright... If this is what Cutman needs to trust us, we'll show him we are worthy of trust..."
He picks a handkerchief off of the countertop and approaches Cutman. "...May I?"
Cutman hesitates... He wants to say a proper goodbye to his bros... But in the end he nods. "Yeah..."
Light ties the handkerchief gently around his head before picking him up and carrying him outside. "I'll be back soon children... Be good while I'm gone."
When Cutman is gone, Iceman begins to sniffle.
Elecman pats his brother's shoulder. "We tried, Iceman...if Cutman wants to be a fool and scrounge around for resources with the others, that's his problem."
Protoman shakes his head from within the bedroom, knowing better. He walks back out into the room with the others. Cutman will be back. Light's a little bit clever sometimes... He may be "letting him go" but Blues has a feeling he's actually reeling him in.
It's a ten minute drive to the place where Light drops Cutman off, but he takes almost 45 minutes to get there, twisting and turning through the city. After 20 minutes Cutman looks ready to explode. At 21 he finally bursts.
"Did you really let the others play at the beach? And buy Iceman ice cream?"
"Oh? Why yes... The beach was just yesterday... And I did get Iceman ice cream. I actually got some for everyone. A whole ice cream cake."
Cutman looks like he can't believe it.
Behind the handkerchief, Cutman's already wide eyes grow impossibly wider to the point that they are about ready to bug out of his head. "A...a whole cake, huh?"
"Iceman tells me that Albert never let you try human food... Is that true?"
"Y...yes sir...he didn't want to spend the money to get food for all of us... He didn't think there was a point to us having food anyway when we could just have fuel."
Light nods. "I see... Well... If you would like to try something we could stop by somewhere before I drop you off... Would you like that?"
"...I...I won't get sick, will I?"
"No no. You're made to be able to handle it."
"Okay...then... then I'd like to try it."
Light pulls over and stops at a local fast food place. "Stay here... And no peeking." He orders playfully before getting out and going up to the front window. Hm... Now what would Cutman like?
He grabs a hot dog and a soft drink... And a snow cone... A frito chili pie and a sundae and before he knows it he has a whole smorgasbord. He takes it out to the car, pouring a little fuel over it before passing the platter back to Cutman. "Eat up!"
The orange bot finally rips his blindfold and when he does he stares at the mess of food in shock.
What the heck? This is awesome. He looks between it and the doctor who just gives him a grin and a thumbs up to tell him it's alright to dig in.
He does not need telling twice.
#######################################
Back at the Light residence, Blues pins Rock to his bed with an evil grin.
"Gotcha."
He bends his lips cruelly forward towards his brother's midriff as Rock squirms and pleads with him for mercy.
There will be no mercy this day, though.
Blues lips touch the spot where his brother's belly button would be and he blows raspberries into Rock's sensitive, ticklish tummy.
!
Rock looses the most undignified squeal as he begins flailing about, desperately trying to escape. "Bl-Bl-BLUES AAAHHHHH NOOOOOOO EEEEEEK S-STOOOPP AAAHHH IT TICKLLLESS!"
######################################
Light lets Cutman taste test freely as he keeps driving to their location. As he goes, they continue to converse back and forth, Light answering questions here and there... Eventually Cutman finds his guard falling. This guy… he really doesn't seem that bad.
And finally the doctor comes to a stop on the middle of the city, parking on the curb.
"Here we are. As promised. You're free to go."
He unlocks the car door and waits for Cutman to get out.
But Cutman hesitates.
"Oh... Th...this is it?" He asks, still chewing a frito.
"Mhm...unless you have a spot you'd rather have me drop you off at?"
"Er... No this is fine..."
Still he hesitates... He doesn't really want to get out of the cool car... He wants to keep eating his sundae.
"Uh... Hey is it okay if I finish this first?"
"Of course! Take your time. I'm in no rush to leave."
"Okay... Thank you..."
Cutman digs back in greedily to enjoy the bounty before him. In spite of his rampant refueling earlier, he somehow still manages to find room for most of the junk food. But he eventually he is stuffed back too full. His tank locks up again. And then there the door is once more... Waiting for him to leave.
"Is there any other food you wanted to try before you go?" The doctor asks, noticing how he lingers.
"No no... It's just um... I feel a little motion sick... Maybe from the car ride."
More likely he would be nauseous from how stuffed he is.
"Oh? Well that won't do... Take as much time as you need until the queasiness subsides..."
An hour and three excuses later, Cutman finally forces himself to get out of the car.
"Well... I'm leaving." He announces.
"Very well! It was a pleasure getting to meet you... Do take care of yourself, Cutman." The doctor smiles with a twinkle in his eye.
"D... Don't try to follow me..." The orange bot warns with a quavering voice.
"Not at all. Wouldn't dream of it."
"Good..."
Cutman slowly walks away from the vehicle... Sloooowly... Looking back a couple of times to make sure that the doctor isn't trying to call him back... Nope... He's um... He's really free.
Huh...
Cutman turns the corner of a building and pauses... Waiting... Surely someone's going to come running after him...
But no one does...
After five minutes he hesitantly peeks around the corner.
Oh... The car it's... It's still there? Why wouldn't the doctor have left yet?
He cautiously comes back down the sidewalk to investigate... And there is Light, reading a newspaper on the street corner. He smiles and waves when he notices Cutman's approach.
"Oh hello there dear boy! Did you forget something?" he asks ever so innocently.
"Oh um... No! No I didn't. I just... I was going to see why you hadn't left yet..."
"Oh?"
"Did you have car issues?"
"No no," Light assures. "Just getting a newspaper."
"Ah..."
"And yourself?" The doctor asks. "Must say I didn't expect you to linger... Didn't you have to get back to your other brothers?"
"Well ah... You know... They'll probably be fine without me for a while."
"Ah I see..." the doctor nods empathetically. "No rush." Yet earlier he made it seem like such a priority.
The doctor flips the page of his paper, casually reading it through. Cutman grips his own arm as he stands awkwardly nearby.
Finally the orange bot can't stand it anymore. "Say uh... Doc?"
"Yes?"
"I was just thinking... Well... I really need to make sure that Icy and Lecky are safe... And I can't do that from the base..."
"Quite true... That poses a conundrum, doesn't it? You surely cannot do both..." Light coyly strokes his beard.
"Yeah no right that's what I'm thinking... So um... I..." Cutman gulps. But finally he finds his inner fire. He straightens up his arms and stomps his foot decisively. "I'm gonna come back with you and make sure you're treating them right!" he growls.
"Oh? Hmm... Well that could be difficult... You'd have to follow my household rules if you wanted to come back. That means no fighting, no breaking things, and maintaining good behavior."
"PSH." Cutman waves him off, but then nervously drops the unworried tone of dismissal when he sees the doctor raise an eyebrow, "I... I mean... I can do that."
"You're sure?"
"Yeah..." Cutman hurriedly nods.
"Mmm... Very well then. I suppose letting you look after your brothers is the only responsible option for you. I would be a bad person if I stood in your way. I suppose I'll have to allow you to come back with me after all
Light gets up, dusts off his pants, and climbs back into the car.
Cutman's eyes shine as he climbs back inside and fastens the blindfold without having to be asked. He did it! He gets to stay. Whew. The orange bot is relieved that he pulled that negotiation off so skillfully.
And when his tank unlocks itself again, he goes back to nibbling at the goodies Light got him.
###########################################
Meanwhile.
The tickle war continues with Blues mercilessly teasing the stuffing out of his brother.
He's discovered that another ticklish spot of Rock's is the boys armpits and he alternates between poking at those and scrabbling at his tummy.
Rock continues trying desperately to either flee or fight back. He still remembers how ticklish his big brother really is too. At some point through the onslaught, he finally manages to reach out and pinch Blues's side.
"Aaah!"
Blues squirms momentarily before mounting a counterattack at Rock's neck by raspberrying it.
This sets his brother to howling a jumble of incoherencies while he spasms. Rock doesn't give up though. He continues fighting back to the best of his ability, scattering his fingers over Blue's sides.
Soon Blues is laughing uproariously too. He can't completely keep up his original pace, but he fights through the tickle-pain to keep tormenting his brother however he can until both of them collapse in exhaustion.
"Ha hagh... I'll get you again..." Blues promises. "After I... Nngh... Recover." He can't remember exactly how all this started. Somewhere Rock teased him or he teased Rock and this is what it devolved into.
"N-nuh uh! Cuz I'm gonna get you first. You'll see. I won't need to rest as long as you."
Little do they know, they're being spied on. A miniscule, bug-sized drone on the wall records their epic battle and transmits it back onto a screen in Roll's room where she, Elecman, and Iceman watch in silent rapture. "D'aww... So cute..."
Rock begins crawling closer and then on top of his brother...and then flops down on him across his waist.
"OOF" Blues gasps. But he wraps his arms around the younger boy and holds him close, playfully content... This is nice... For some reason when he's around the innocent kid like this he loses every care in the world.
"This is revenge." Rock explains. "For all the times you laid on top of me."
"Did I really do it that often?" He can't remember doing it with great frequency... But he chooses to use this opportunity to look deep into Rock's blue eyes while they're facing him.
Roll squeals quietly in the other room.
"Well I mean...not THAT much...and I...I never really minded..." Rock blushes and looks away. "Actually I'm always happy as long as you're close," he finally admits.
"...why kid? I don't know if you've realized, but I'm not a great person."
"I thought we went over this, silly."
"Meh." Blues strolls his fingers up Rock's back until his hand is in the boys hair which he ruffles around. "You're a better person."
"Don't you 'meh' me," Rock pouts. "You ARE a good person."
"Bah," Blues conks on his head. "You should take a break... Being this cute on a 24/7 basis can't be good for your health."
"I dunno if I'm better..."
"You don't have to know. I do."
"I never thought to visit kids in the hospital before." Rock throws back.
In the other room Elecman sticks his tongue out. "BLEGH... So corny."
He is quickly shushed.
"And I'm sure there's lots of other little things you've done that I never have before," Rock continues on.
"I've just lived a little longer and seen a bit more of the world is all..." Blues waves it off.
"I dunno if I can let you use that as such an easy excuse."
Blues frowns. "Oh would you stop that." He pinches Rock's cheek. "Cinnamon rolls aren't allowed to beat themselves up."
"Aaaahhh okay okay I won't!" Rock whines as his mouth corner is tugged.
"Good," Protoman yawns and gets up. "Think I'm gonna go." The sun is setting and turning Rock's curtains a golden orange.
"Aww...you're leaving?"
The red bot nods. As he snags his shield and replaces it on his back, he casually picks the drone off the wall and walks into the next room to toss it at Elecman and the others.
Everyone scrambles, trying to look innocent when he walks in, but to no avail.
"Fly on the wall?" Blues accosts them, his tone judgmental, "Oldest trick in the book."
He leaves them open-mouthed and returns to his own room, not because he wouldn't rather sleep with Rock... But because he has a certain itch that needs scratching. He locks the door before feeling around at his prickling area. He has a slight charge trapped up.
Rock, still far from sleepy, goes back to Roll's room with the others. "Say. We forgot to continue our game yesterday."
"Ooh..." Roll says. But she shrugs. "Eh… there wasn't really much left to be discovered though, was there? We already saw everyone's faces."
Her brother looks a bit disappointed. "Aw… it was fun though… having everyone play together. Maybe we can do something like it again sometime, but with different stakes."
After a little while, Cutman and Light show back up. There is a bunch of squealing and hugging when he makes his announcement that he really will be saying. Iceman in particular is thrilled. The doctor gets some dinner going while he catches up with the others and Iceman and Elec fill him in on what he missed.
His earlier worry quickly falls away and he eagerly chats it up with Rock and Roll, any earlier hesitation forgotten. The orange bot is as playful as he is boisterous, and by the time he the doc calls them in for food, he has everyone groaning with his "cut" puns.
After dinner, there's an odd flicker of the lights and a yelp from Blues's room. Rock calls after him worriedly but he reassures through the door that everything is alright. Still, Elecman ends up going to check on him. When he comes back, he informs them that everything is in fact alright, and although Rock still looks a bit concerned by it, no one questions any further for now.
Since it is already pretty late, Light urges his children to go on to bed. Their new arrival needs a spot of his own now, and he has to find somewhere to put him. Blues and Roll are already doubled up with Elecman and Iceman. Rock still has his own bed, but it sounds like Blues has been swapping back and forth lately so between him, Elecman, and Rock the group might flip-flop at some point in the night. Eventually he decides that the couch would be the safest bet. He proposes the idea to the orange bot, hoping he won't mind and promising that they will find him something better soon. Cutman doesn't seem to mind that much at all.
"You mean I get a WHOLE COUCH all to MYSELF!?"
He looks ecstatic.
END OF CHAPTER
Author's Note: Skip past the next chapter if you want to avoid more vaguely smutty garbage. If that's what you're here for, read on.