CB: Man, I really suck at this game, real sorry for the wait. Disclaimer: I do not own Megaman or any parts of Capcom, I do own this story.
"So… do you think we should tell them yet?" Kalinka asked from her spot sitting on the bed.
"Honestly, I'm not sure how anyone would take it." Blues replied from against the wall, running a hand through his dark hair.
"Well I imagine my father will take it well, probably yours too."
"True, Wily probably just won't care, Roll and Rock will be happy for us, and Forte won't care either. But sooner or later, news will leak out, and the press will have a field day with it, and soon protestors will be everywhere. People just aren't ready to accept human robot relations like this." Blues explained.
She let out a heavy sigh. "So it's a secret for now."
"I'm sorry, but there really seems to be no other option right now."
"It's not your fault." She said, "Dr. Wily really has changed sides, right?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Yes, and, from the sounds of it," He said, tilting his head slightly, "Mikhail isn't taking it well."
"Guess I better go talk to him." She said.
"It will probably help." Blues agreed.
Sighing as she got off the bed, she walked over and gave Blues a quick kiss, "Are you coming?" She asked.
"In a moment, first I have to take care of something."
"Do not patronize me Thomas!" Mikhail shouted.
"Please old friend, no one is patronizing you." Thomas pleaded.
"You expect me to believe that this dog is innocent of his crimes?"
"Who ever said I was innocent?" Albert asked calmly. "I've pleaded guilty to every charge set against me. I don't expect you to forgive me, but then again I don't really care."
"You worthless-"
"Calm down!" Thomas interjected. "Shouting at each other is accomplishing nothing!"
"That dog nearly got me imprisoned, possibly executed for crimes against humanity!"
"And who do you think stopped the sentence from carrying, huh?" Albert asked. "I can tell you right now that they had every intention of killing you."
"Are you trying to tell me that you, of all people, saved me?" Mikhail asked.
"I'm saying I personally absolved you of all charges."
"Your word has no weight to the council anymore, why would they listen to you?"
"My word still has weight, a lot more than yours. Regardless of my past transgressions, I'm still one of the highest-ranking members, and still have enough ties on the inside to be very persuasive."
"Why would you even want to help me, I was no longer of any value to you!?"
"I have nothing against you, and no reason to want you dead." Albert explained.
"Nothing against me?" Mikhail sputtered indignantly, "You kidnapped and threatened to kill my daughter!"
"And you believed me?" Albert chuckled. "That's why I used you, I knew you were gullible. I may be a madman, but I'm not a murderer."
"Why you!" Mikhail growled through clenched teeth, his hands clenched at his sides.
"Father!"
He turned around quickly to see Kalinka standing near the doorway as it slid closed.
"Father, please calm down…" She pleaded.
"Calm, down? How can I calm down with this psycho standing right here?"
"I can, and I'm the one he kidnapped. Please, just hear him out."
"Hear him- are you defending this madman?"
"With how kindly he treated me when I was there, I think I sort of have to."
"Kindly? What are you talking about? You told me it was terrifying."
"Well, that was half true," She said, scratching the back of her head. "Blues had a certain cold intimidation to his silence when I first met him there. Other than that, he took good care of me, well, except for the whole abducting me in my sleep." She explained.
"Why did you not tell me?" Mikhail asked, shocked that his daughter would lie to him.
"He swore me to secrecy. He said, "The world must see me as a demon, or the revolution will never come", or something like that. Besides, I wasn't sure what he was talking about at the time. After the first few days, I wasn't even really scared of him; I just thought he was loony.
"But, about a year later, when I had really gotten into robotics, I realized what he was talking about. He has the same goals as us, just unorthodox methods of obtaining them."
"Kalinka…"
"Please, father, just give him a chance and hear him out."
"I. He. You." He sputtered incoherently, before growling in frustration and storming out of the room.
She sighed heavily as she heard the door slid shut behind her; she had known that would end badly.
"Kalinka, my how you've grown since I last saw you." Wily said.
She chuckled softly, "Or maybe you've just shrunk more since then."
"Bah, still just a smart alek kid." Albert snorted.
"And you're still a crotchety old man."
"Hello Kalinka." Thomas spoke up, "How have you been adjusting to the house?"
"Fine, but I think my father needs some time to cool off though." She said with another sigh.
"I hope he calms down soon, we can't deal with something like this right now."
"Yes, Blues already told me about the odd robot."
"That's not all we're dealing with, we've been doing work with some very delicate A.I." Albert said.
"Really?" She asked as she opened one eye and raised an eyebrow. "Show me."
How could his own daughter side with that madman, the one who had kidnapped her! Mikhail thought as he paced back and forth in front of the Light building, his hands tightly clenched at his sides.
This was an outrage! That man was a criminal, a psychopath! How could anyone-
"Dr, Cossack?"
He turned his head to see Rock peaking his head out the front door curiously. "What are you doing out here?"
"Thinking." He forced out.
"About what?"
"Nothing that concerns you."
"Wily, right?"
"This does not concern you!" Mikhail snapped at Rock.
"Really?" Rock deadpanned. He stepped forward, allowing the door to slide shut behind him. "Because this concerns me a lot, because this could cause problems that will get people hurt."
"Rock, you have no idea what I'm going through right now!"
"Dr. Cossack, I have plenty more reason to hate him than you do, but I can still control myself."
"More reason! He"
"Made me kill my older brothers, and personally tried to kill me eight times now." Rock cut him off.
"Then how do you not want to tear him apart? How can you forgive him?"
"I do want to, and I haven't." He replied.
"W-what?" Mikhail asked, taken aback.
"I can't forgive him for what he's done, but I know I have to control myself, for more than just my sake."
"Rock, I know you're very advanced, but you're still a robot, the rage we feel is different."
"I'm more than just a robot, Dr. Cossack, I still feel anger, I still feel sorrow, and I know a threat when I see one."
"Threat? What threat?"
"The attack last week. I know a carefully laid out attack when I see one. There's more to this than just some renegade robot, someone deliberately planned Axeman's attack so that we would get caught up in it."
"If you are right, how can you be sure it's not just Wily pulling the strings?" Mikhail asked, but Rock was shaking his head before he even finished the sentence.
"After fighting him for so long, I probably know him better than even dad. Wily can't pull of a plan that relies on subtlety. I mean, seriously, the only time he ever really tried to be sneaky was when he framed Blues, and that time with Mr. X, and I knew both those times that he was really behind them." He said. "He just sends out robots to cause havoc, and sits at his base."
"I heard you were wrong about Forte the first time you met him." Mikhail spat at Rock, hoping to get a rise out of Rock, hoping that he could find some way to stay mad. But instead, Rock smirked.
"I think if you were to ask Roll if I was wrong, you'd get a different answer. Now come on in and get some rest Dr. Cossack, the sun just set."
The final rays concluded their dance, bowing out over the horizon, allowing its silver crescent counter part to take the stage.
"It's beautiful out tonight." Roll commented, staring off into the stars.
"I guess." Forte said.
"Guess?" She asked. "What do you mean guess?"
"I guess I just never really notice things like that." He clarified.
"Are you honestly telling me you never really noticed anything because you thought it looked nice?"
"Why would I? It's a waste of time."
"Do you honestly believe that?" She said, fully turning to face him.
"All it does is get in the way, distracts everyone from what else they could be doing." He said with only half conviction.
"But if you never stop to enjoy life, then what's the point?"
The point? He had never thought about that. What was the point in his life? Did he really have one?
"I…" He started, but that was all he could say.
"Forte…" Roll started, the twinge of a strange emotion in her voice, "You've never really thought about it have you?"
He sat in silence for a moment. "…No…" He said, with an odd sense of defeat in his voice. How had he been defeated though? He had a purpose, to defeat Rock, but why did that suddenly seem so hollow?
"Forte?"
He shook himself with a start at the sudden voice. "Sorry," He said in a half daze, "I was thinking for a moment."
They sat there in silence for a long moment, which seemed to drag out for far too long.
"It's cold out tonight." She said off hand.
"Yeah," Forte agreed, though in all honesty, he barely felt the cold.
Again the silence crept in, only to be interrupted a moment later when Forte felt something warm on his left side. Curious, he turned his head to find Roll leaning against him, hugging her knees that were held tightly to her chest.
"Um…" He started.
"Oh!" She exclaimed suddenly, as if just noticing where she was. "I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd mind." She said, scooting over a few inches.
"I-I don't really mind, just… surprised." He said, trying to hide his discomfort.
"…Really?" She asked.
"…Yeah." He answered with slight hesitation.
The hesitation seemed to spread to Roll. She sat still for a moment, not moving, tough whether it was from discomfort or that she caught Forte's little lie, he didn't know. Eventually, though, her aversion to the cold seemed to win out, and she slowly moved back to her position against him.
Forte had to admit, her warmth was comfortable, and, in some strange way that he couldn't figure out, inviting.
"Does… the cold really bother you?" He asked, trying to get both their minds off their current position.
It didn't work.
"What do you mean?" She asked defensively.
"I mean, I've never really felt temperature very strongly, do you?" He clarified.
"Yeah, I guess I was built to be as 'normal' as possible." She said. "I was made to be sensitive to temperature, even though Blues and Rock barely feel it."
"Well, you weren't made for combat, you don't need to be strong against the weather. You probably won't have to fight anyone who can freeze you."
"Oh, I'm not complaining." The young blond said. "I sorta like being able to feel temperature like this. I don't know why, but it feels nice. Besides, I don't honestly think I'm right for combat."
"Yeah, you're too nice." Forte agreed.
"And what's wrong with being nice?" She asked with mocked indignity.
"I never said there was anything wrong with it," He chuckled. "I just know it will end up getting you killed in a fight."
"…Did you just say that there was nothing wrong with being nice?" Roll asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"When we were able to get you to come here about a week ago, I don't think you ever would have ever said that." She replied with a small smile.
"Yeah, well…" He said, not able to come up with an answer.
"Well what?"
"I guess, you've been an influence on me." He admitted, somewhat sheepishly.
Silence reigned for a moment.
"Roll?"
"Glad I could be of help." She said softly. "You know, we should do this more often."
"Do what?" He asked.
"Just sit out here and talk."
"Are you sure you can handle the cold?" He asked with a smirk.
"As long as you're here to keep me warm." She replied slyly. They both laughed softly.
It was odd, what he felt right then, sitting under the stars with a girl he had barely known for a week, what he was noticing he often felt when he talked with Roll. He felt… accepted.
"How long is this guy going to keep us waiting?" Agent Johnson asked rhetorically, not honestly expecting his friend to answer. With a sigh he leaned against the large black metallic block nearby.
The block itself would seem unremarkable from a distance, if not for the woodland setting it was placed in. Upon close inspection though, one could note the oddness of it. It resembled nothing more than a large metal cube, with sides no more than twenty feet wide. The walls themselves looked odd, like a combination of metal, obelisk and onyx, and making it appear almost translucent yet solid all the same, vesting an eerie aura to it.
Suddenly an odd dark light shimmered from deep within the blocks depths, radiating outwards in an odd way, the light being black and seemed to detract from the surrounding light than add to it. The shadows of the trees twisted and bent with the light, creating superficial monsters of horror in the brush. Johnson jumped away, thinking it volatile as it came to life.
Then, as quickly as it had stated, the black light ceased, fading back deep into the depths of blackness from whence it came. The oddness did not end there though, as a sudden rumbling appeared to replace the light in darkening the mood, coming from deep within the odd box. A panel on one of the walls slowly slid away, leaving an entryway from which whom appeared to be the same cloaked man that had stopped their car earlier stepped out.
"I apologize for making the both of you wait, but I had some business to attend to." He said politely.
"What the Hell is that thing?" Johnson asked in a gasp as his breath had been taken away by the sudden appearance of light.
"Oh, that old thing?" He asked, turning his head towards the larges square, "Nothing of any consequence to you." He turned his head back towards Johnson. "Now then, back to business."
"Yeah… sure…" He said uneasily, still keeping a weary eye on the thing. "You… said something about taking out the Light's?"
"Ah yes, indeed I did. You see, I have taken a very special interest in their elimination that I think could benefit us both."
"Yeah about that, what exactly is you interest?" Johnson asked, still not moving his eyes from the dark slab.
"Well I dare say many a thing, but mostly it all boils down too one particular little thing." The cloaked figure said with a chuckle.
"And that would be?"
"Well, instead of just tell you, I suppose I could just show you." The man said as he reached up too the hood of his cloak. He slowly pulled it down, revealing the face beneath.
Johnson looked out of the corner of his eye first, but then his head jerked towards the now de-hooded man. "What the- Your that little-!" The feeling of cold metal on the back of his neck, followed by the click of what sounded like a gun barrel being loaded stopped him.
"Do not finish that sentence." Said a voice behind him.
Johnson froze, cursing himself for being caught so unprepared. As slowly and as non-threatening as he could, he turned his head too look behind him.
The man was tall, at least six foot five inches, with a young boyish face. His clothing involved a long brown trench coat with a brow vest over a white shirt, complete with cowboy hat and boots. Johnson would have laughed if he had not been staring down the barrel of a colt Single Action Army.
Quickly he looked past, to find his partner being held by what appeared to be a large metallic humanoid hedgehog holding a razor sharp spike to his throat.
"What the hell?"
"Now then, there ain't no need for such language." The cowboy said with a laugh. "Now you be a good fella and listen to the boss, and we won't have to take you both out."
"Why do you need to threaten us?"
"Well" Said the uncloaked man said, "As I'm sure you can see, my associates and myself are not exactly human, and who would work with mechanical creations on their little quest to destroy them? I admit the power of using one's own weapons against them, but that would just be absurd."
"What do you want with us?" Johnson asked.
"What do I want from you two? Nothing that I could not ordinarily take care of myself by much quicker, albeit, messier, means. Though at the moment I see no reason to reveal myself to the public. Quite the quandary, you see, because I still need to finish preparations, but I cannot do so without revealing myself, and too many people would recognize me."
"You didn't answer my question." Johnson growled, only to feel the barrel of the gun press closer to his back.
"Don't you be takin' that tone now son, not when we're bein' so generous." The Cowboy ordered.
"Generous? You're holding us at gunpoint!"
"Yes, but we have not shot you yet, and that is being far more hospitable then I have been in recent memory." The uncloaked man said with a sadistic smile. "To answer your question, I believe we should leave to more appropriate quarters to discuss such matters."
"What matters?"
"Why, meeting my generals of course."
A shiver ran down her spine despite the shared body warmth.
"You all right?" Forte asked.
"Yeah, I guess it's just getting late." Roll said.
"Maybe we should go inside." Forte offered.
"Sure."
Forte stood up first, then lending a hand too Roll. She took it and pulled herself up.
"Hey Forte?" She asked.
"Yes?"
"I have too go shopping again tomorrow, would you mind going with me?"
"Does this have to do with that favor you asked?" Forte asked jokingly.
"Oh no, your not getting out of that so easily." She laughed. "But would you mind coming anyway?"
"Sure." He answered.
"Thanks." Roll said with a smile. They stood there for a moment before suddenly realized that she was still holding on to his hand. She embarrassedly pulled her hand back and led him back to the window without looking back to hide the blush on her face.
"This is amazing…" Kalinka marveled.
"Yes, I suppose all of this would be a little advanced for a child like you." Albert said with a faux air of superiority.
"At least I don't need to steal my ideas." Kalinka shot back with a smirk.
"Bah." He snorted.
"Now calm down you two." Thomas laughed.
She scanned a few more lines of Axeman's code, then looked back to the aged roboticists and said, "You know I'm surprised that you both are letting me see this stuff."
"Well in all honesty, we're only allowing you too on Blues's recommendation." Thomas explained.
Before any further conversation could be held, the door into the lab opened and Mikhail walked in.
A long moment passed, the tension thick in the air between Mikhail and Albert. For a moment the Russian roboticist' eyes passed over Wily, his eyes filled with loathing, and Thomas and Kalinka were worried that he was going to leap over and throttle him. But then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying too control himself.
"Thomas… do you need help with what is to come?" He asked.
Thomas hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "Any help would be appreciated."
Mikhail stood silent for a moment, then his eyes shot open.
"I'm in."
CB: CRAPCRAPCRAP I'm sorry! I really didn't want this update too literally be over a month or two late, but events with school caused an unannounced hiatus. Luckily, finals are almost over, and I feel like writing again, so updates should be a little more frequent now.