" - Alright, Rock, this is where you leave us. - " the pilot said into his microphone. " - As much as I'd like to bring you along, there's no robots allowed past this point. - "
Mega Man nodded. He wasn't offended. " - That's okay, Mr. Dunning. I have to help a lot more people anyway. - "
That meant the helicopter was starting to go over the ocean. The island would be reached soon, and that meant Mega Man, who was flying aside it on Rush, would have to turn back. There were plenty of cannons and such to protect the helicopter, so the bomber wasn't afraid for them. He waved at the Cain brothers, and the two boys waved back as Rush jet zoomed over back over to the mainland.
Mega Man liked Rodney and Klaus. For boys that had such a reckless and petty father, they didn't seem half bad. Then again, Rock reminded himself, they had been primarily raised by their mother. The robot curiously wondered what that was like. While he too essentially had been "raised" by a "single parent", it just wasn't the same. Sythesized emotions only went so far, and Mega Man had been built with a level of maturity automatically. But the boys were coping well (for the circumstances anyway), and the robot hero was by no means worried about them.
What had especially impressed Mega Man was Rodney's treatment of his little brother. Klaus, like any boy his age, was trying to be brave and strong, but every so often you could see him look with relief in his older brother's direction. It had shocked Mega Man to see how young most of those survivors had been. They were mostly college students from Rodney's school, and they all seemed to look to him for guidance. Rodney comforted the others as best he could, and any spare chance he could he smiled with approval at Klaus, encouraging the teen to not let the long hours of flight in potential danger get to him. The flight was bad enough, and then the students had to wait at a military station for forty-five minutes while the helicopter refueled.
It reminded Rock of his own brother. Thinking of Proto Man always made him happy. While they had never been as close as Mega Man liked, Proto Man had always been there exactly when he was needed. He watched out for Rock when the blue robot had least expected it.
Mega Man wondered where Proto Man had gone. His habit of disappearing all the time was annoying, but it only made the times Proto Man did show up that much more happy.
"Oh well, I'll see him sometime soon!" Mega Man cheerfully thought. "He'll always show up again!"
-t-
It seemed to Roll that each day in the lab was gloomier than the next. A bad thing would happen, only to be followed by another that was worse. As much as she didn't want to see Proto Man's shattered remains, she couldn't bear to be away from the others. So she sat at the side of the lab, huddling Proto Man's precious helmet in her lap with arms that wouldn't let go. It hadn't been damaged much, surprisingly. In fact, it was hard to tell exactly what ended her brother's life.
Auto himself was pretty confused about it, and if he had any ideas about it, he wasn't saying them. He wasn't talking, and Roll wasn't certain if he had spoken at all since they had found Proto Man. Auto had been a cheery robot for all of his existence, and now that things were getting darker, he had no resource for what to do when he was not happy. So he simply shut all of his emotions inside himself, working so that he couldn't think about anything but data.
One thing was certain, though, and that Roll felt she had never loved her friend Crystal Bot more than she did at that moment. The poor tech-bot had gotten out a pair of tweezers, and was delicately trying to piece Proto Man's mind together again. Blues had rejected Crystal Bot's idea that he get a mind-storage zip drive, so if this didn't work, that was the end of the first sentient robot.
"I don't know where everything goes!" Crystal Bot cried in frustration, throwing down her tweezers. "All the bits are too small! Proto Man...he, he...just like my father...it's not fair! We fixed his power core! He was gonna live..."
It was all too much for Sonata. She just crawled under the table and started to glitch, hiding her face behind her knees. Roll couldn't blame her. The housekeeper-bot laid her head down on the Proto helmet, looking away from the others.
The grim circumstances and even more grim robots had produced the worst kind of effects in Bass. Roll could hear his growling, and she shuddered, warily turning her head enough to glance at him and see what he was doing. He got up from where he had been sitting and grabbed his technician by the arm.
"Get out from under there!" Bass screamed at her. "You're not helping anyone by just sitting around! Now get up and start listing the names of any robot master that could still be alive!"
"Yes, yes I'm sorry!"
Scrambling out from under the table, Crystal Bot went for a computer, struggling between glitches to do what she was told. The poor girl-bot was far too upset to object to Bass, though she would normally let him have it for "not treating her like a lady". Bass wouldn't have cared in any case, and Roll was just glad that no one started an argument over it. Numbly Roll turned away from them. She didn't want to see anyone. Resting her head on the Proto helmet in her lap, she sighed, and a sob escaped with it.
"Did you find something on those stupid discs?"
"Nothing much important." Auto muttered, for once breaking his silence and not sounding a lot more personable than his questioner. "It's basically about Cain Castle and the trap there. I'm not finished yet."
"No point in hanging around here then." Bass snapped as he headed for the door. "I'm off to kill me some idiot-bots. Sonata, you tell me if there's trouble!"
"Okay, okay!"
-t-
Dr. Cossack wasn't sure he liked the island. Or maybe he would like it better if they would actually let him out of the armored building to take in the sunshine and beach. Never before had Mikhail been one much for too hot places, but if he was stuck there, he at least wanted to enjoy it. But he could risk some flying Wily-bot seeing him and making a target out of the place. It just wasn't safe.
So Cossack just wandered the halls of the bunker for the billionth time. He wasn't so worried for himself about the hot climate. That was why he was now bringing back some ice cold water bottles back to his daughter. Kalinka was managing as well as she could, but her impatient side was starting to show about life in the bunker. Cossack couldn't do anything but grin. She had been that way ever since she was a little child, and to him it was only cute. But as his steps echoed in the metal hall, his smile had to fade. He had raised his little girl as a widower, and Kalinka was facing the exact situation he had lived in for years. It wouldn't be exactly the same, he promised himself. He'd be there for her.
He opened the door to the lounged and stepped inside. It was a nice place, a round room with the demi-transparent paneling that looked like a wall from the outside, but was in fact a window. The place was decorated nicely with bright walls accented in red, and long cushioned seating that ran along the outer wall. Kalinka sat there, staring out the window with a little pout. She wanted to be outside as much as her father did. She saw him coming and brightened.
"I am so bored, Papa." she leaned against her father when he sat beside her. "I want to be doing something. Even if I am on my hands and knees scrubbing a floor, I do not care!"
This amused Dr. Cossack. She might say that, but he knew that his daughter didn't like that sort of thing. It was one of the reasons she was very happy her father was a robotics scientist: the cleaning was done by them. He just handed her a bottle of water.
"Isn't there anyone else you can talk to here?"
"There are a few people, but most of them are scientist's wives and they are looking after children."
Kalinka kept her focus out of the window, trying not to let her father see how depressed she was. She needn't have bothered. A sinking feeling filled Dr. Cossack. Not too long ago she was one of those wives. They had barely been able to put Alyosha in a morgue before leaving for the non-robot area, hoping for a proper funeral when they returned. Dr. Cossack placed his arm around Kalinka's shoulder (which he inwardly awarded himself for - why wasn't that blasted air conditioner working?), and she replaced her head on his shoulder.
"Oh, Papa, everything will be alright, yes?"
"Yes, it will. Trust your Papa, okay?
Kalinka drank some of her water, looking down at her belly as she did. She wished that she would start to show soon. But the fetus was only a few weeks old. There would be few signs of its presense for a while. Kalinka had never even been morning sick yet.
There was the distant sound, a faint roar that echoed gently.
"That sounds like thunder." Kalinka guessed. "It is clear outside, though."
"They might be testing the island's weapons." Dr. Cossack nudged his daughter. "Let me up, I think this is something I have to check on."
-t-
Roll was sick. Or she thought she was sick. Or if she was human she was sure she'd be sick. Roll had lived in that lab for years, and only now was she getting cabin fever. It didn't help that she had to put the remains of Team 5 and Treble into a storage room. Auto took Proto Man's remains there, for which Roll was thankful. She couldn't do it herself. Roll was angry at Sonata for not bringing someone in herself, but of course Crystal Bot used the excuse that she was working.
But Roll hadn't put Proto Man's helmet and scarf in the storage room. She didn't want them there. So she was in Dr. Light's file library again, trying to decide where they should go. She didn't want a day to go by without remembering him. Or that's what Roll told herself. Instead the housekeeper-bot never let the items out of her hands. In the end she just settled down in the chair with them in her lap, and had herself a good cry.
Only a few minutes later she left the room, with the helmet and scarf still sitting inside on the desk. She couldn't dare look at them any longer.
I'm sick...I'm a mess...I need to do something!
There was little point in getting the technicians to work on her. Auto, though he had calmed down from before, still wasn't speaking. He was hard at work locating the last Wily-bots and Cain-bots, though for the time being it seemed that the Cain brothers had disappeared. As for Wily's last survivors, they were going about and deleting every file, record, and data on modern, sentient robotics. Museums were being plundered, labs burned to the ground, and nothing remained of libraries. Bass and Mega Man were of course gone robot hunting, as ordered by the last semblances of the government. Roll grumpily wondered if she'd ever see them again.
As she prepared to stomp off, something on the table caught Roll's eye. It was two of Crystal Bot's teleportation devices, good for supplying the power to penetrate non-teleportation zones. Roll eyed them with some interest, and she slowly took one in her hand. It didn't look complex, but she wasn't sure how to work it.
"What are you doing, Roll-chan?"
Crystal Bot came over to the table. She wasn't angry at Roll for observing her inventions, but she sauntered over with all the concern of a friend who knows that the thing you're handling is a lot more hazardous or hard to control than you think it is.
Words ran through Roll's mind as she tried to think of excuses, but what ended up coming out of her mouth was, "I think I'm sick."
The housekeeper wasn't sure why she had said that, and she felt all the more out of sorts for it. Crystal Bot blinked twice, her head leaning to the side very childishly, like someone playing house. She placed her hand on Roll's forehead.
"You have a fever. Take two aspirin and go lie down."
They giggled weakly. It was such a corny joke.
"Aren't you busy?" Roll lazily asked.
"Not so busy I can't talk to my friend. Besides, I get sick of everything too. Poor Proto Man...we fixed his power core, and he was going to live..." Crystal Bot quieted a bit, forcing herself not to glitch. "So...what do you want with the teleporters?"
Crystal Bot's question was only curious. Roll relaxed, still rolling the object in her hands curiously. "I want to get out, to go somewhere and do something. I'm a certified nurse, so I could help people..."
Cyrstal always thought Roll's helpfulness was sweet, and her smile said as much. "But you can't, you know that. If they see a sentient robot out there they'll come after you, and that will just get you in trouble."
"I understand all that!" Roll said more impatiently than she wanted. "It's just..."
She sighed and gave up, putting the teleporter back on the table. "It doesn't matter."
"If it matters to you, then it matters." Crystal Bot stubbornly put the teleporter back into her hand. "I know! Maybe you could go check on Dr. Cossack and Kalinka. You look really human, and nobody would know who you are except them, probably."
"It's a non-robot zone! If I get caught I'll be in big trouble! They can trace teleports onto the island!"
"But you won't get caught. Kalinka wouldn't turn you in, anyway. And everybody says you look like a human, so they'd have no reason to check. Besides," Crystal Bot leaned in for a whisper. "They don't actually see when these babies teleport. I have a function that allows you to hide the teleport signal, and all I gotta do - " she took the device back from Roll and fiddled with some switches. "- is that!"
She gave it back to Roll, and Roll accepted it with some apprehension. "Um, I don't know if this is right."
"Well, you can either go, or you can stay here and be sick. Come on! Live a little! I won't tell Rock on you."
"Uh...but if I get caught..."
"Keep the device in your pocket and use it to come back." Crystal Bot answered. "I'll make up an excuse for you to the law - and really, how much of that is left now?"
"Okay, I'll go." Roll nodded, assuring herself. "I need to check and see how Kalinka is doing anyway."
"Tell her I said hi!"
"I will!"
Crystal instructed her friend on how to use the teleporter, and for emergency's sake she set it so Roll would only have to press one button to come back if she was in trouble. Dub was summoned, and he converted to backpack mode so that Roll could wear him. With that, the lab disappeared around her, much to her glee, and she appeared in the armored halls of what she guessed to be the security island. Only then did she think to wonder why Crystal Bot had those coordinates.
The halls were empty, though. As big as they were, it was haunting. Roll looked up at the edges of the ceiling, and there were these boxes there. They were all flashing red.
Oh no...someone detected me...
Roll thought briefly about going back to the lab, fingering the device in her pocket. But there was no point in going back without at least finding out what was going on. And that sure didn't take long. A huge explosion rocked the building, knocking Roll off her feet and breaking the window ahead. Trying not to scream, Roll ran back down the hall. She had to find Kalinka.
As she ran through the echoing halls, she realized that they would already have procedures in place to protect everyone there. She didn't know what was going on, so how could she help? One thing was certain. The island was under attack. Roll quickly sent out a transmission back to the lab, pausing to try and figure out where she was. In fear she realized that someone was coming down the hallway from where she had just returned. More than one...and they were robots. Not stopping to figure out anymore, Roll ran. Roll's CPU screamed at itself to get her back to the lab, and the housekeeper-bot definitely agreed. Rock would come and fix this. She pulled out the teleporter from her pocket and pressed the button.
Nothing.
WHAT? Oh no! Part of it broke when I fell in the explosion!
Dub sprang into action. Jumping off of Roll's back, he hit the floor and expanded his arms out. Three became a tripod to support him, and the other five lifted out and became laser cannons, firing out at the robots coming down the hall. With a mighty TWONK, Dub urged his mistress to get out of sight. Roll ran like there was no tomorrow.
I don't understand! These places are supposed to be heavily defended! What can get past their cannons?
If only Roll could see the outside of the armored facility. The beaches of the island were busily being trampled by an army of various mechaniloids, most of which were not even Wily's. There were many viruses running rampant, thanks to Epidemic Man. To make it worse, the thunderous creaking of the huge Armoroids was a sound worse than any monster. The giant, Guts Man-like mechaniloids shot pulse after pulse into the cannons of the island, destroying them. None of the human's weapons were doing much more than leaving black scars across the machines or simply bouncing off. The smaller mechaniloids would have had no chance without the Armoroids, but now they fought with impunity.
"MUA-AHA-AHA-AHA-AHAAHAA!" Psycho Man's bizarre laughter echoed almost as loudly as the noise of his army. "Go forth, my minions, kill them all! Shoot-shoot-shoot, until they fall! WUAAHAHA-AHA!"
Psycho Man thought he heard something, but in all the chaos and noise he couldn't really tell what it was. So he ignored it. After all, there were exciting explosions, screaming people, and fascinating weapons fire to pay attention to. But then he heard it again. Psycho Man looked down.
Dive Man was there, waving up at him. "I said, look out-"
Three dive missles rammed into Psycho Man's face, smacking him while he was distracted.
"I did warn you!"
"Insolent pest!"
Psycho Man's electronic pulse began to zap downwards, and Dive Man dodged it with ease, suprisingly agile on land for a water robot. His later dive missles were easier for Psycho Man to take out, but he was managing to avoid hits almost as well. It was only a distraction, and a good one at that. Psycho Man was too busy trying to get Dive Man to notice that Bright Man was wrecking havoc with the Armoroids. All he had to do was get his flash stopper going, and the mummira army stood ready to take them down, though suffering many casualties in the meantime.
This too was only a distraction. Pharoah Man, unnoticed by all, was leading out the human refugees into a submarine. Or unnoticed by all but one. Epidemic Man stood still on the remnants of a blasted wall, neither moving or fighting or saying anything. Just grinning, grinning real big.
Okay, unnoticed by all but two. Algorhythm Man joined his brother, though he preferred to stay behind a still standing wall just in case Pharoah Man looked that way. He was shinier, after all.
"Epi, there's no one in the panic rooms." Algorhythm Man said. "I checked them all. Any stragglers are taken care of by the mechaniloids. Are you sure you want those humans to get away?"
"They aren't our targets, why would we care? If we wish that badly to kill them then we can do so after we have fufilled all we can of Dr. Wily's directives." Epidemic Man turned to face his brother, happily amused. "If you're finished here you can run along and get the next part of our plan ready."
"But if Dr. Cossack isn't inside - and he isn't, I can assure you - then he's got to be with those escaping."
"Oh, he's not." Epidemic Man was only too delighted to answer his brother's fear. "He's still on the island. I've been watching the refugees, and he's not among them. He thinks that staying away from them will keep them safe. I suppose he's right, for now. Once they leave Cossack will attempt his own escape, and that's when I'll catch him. Run along now. I know you want to. Get the pilot mechaniloids ready."
"See you then, brother."
"Have fun, Al."
Algorhythm Man teleported out, and Epidemic Man merrily returned to watching the humans for a couple of minutes.
Ping!
The plasma blast bounced off the Proto shield without doing a nick of damage. Epidemic Man lowered it only enough to get a glimpse of his attacker.
"Really, Dr. Cossack, I wouldn't attract attention to myself if I were you. I did inform you earlier that it was folly the last time you attacked me, and here your blue bomber isn't here to bail you out."
"Where did you get that?"
Cossack, armed with his plasma cannon and covered in his black armor, spat bitterness from his vantage point on the hill. From his place he looked uncannily like a robot, and Epidemic Man only grinned wider.
"This thing?" the Cain-bot lifted the Proto shield. "Why, I stole it from Proto Man after I murdered him. Where else would I get it? Oh, don't answer that, it's rhetorical. A question I would like answered is why you bothered to show yourself when you could just leave - assuming none of us caught you, that is." Epidemic Man started to walk closer to Dr. Cossack. "After all, you're one of our targets. So is your daughter, in fact. Oh, wait, this isn't some sort of false bravado for her sake, is it?"
"I'm a man that likes to stand up against enemies like you, that's all." Dr. Cossack kept his aim locked on his enemy, backing up as Epidemic Man came closer.
"Then why aren't you shooting? Oh, wait -"
Almost before Epidemic Man could anticipate it, a Pharaoh shot had come his way. But it too faded to nothing as it hit the Proto shield. But what mystified the Cain-bot the most was that Pharoah Man's eyes were closed. A bright flash of light went off.
"That would be Bright Man!" Dr. Cossack announced. "Dive Man, is he - oh! You did a good job there."
What he meant was that Dive Man had severed Psycho Man's legs, and with the flash stopper still hanging about in the air, there was nothing Psycho Man could do to stop Dive Man from inserting a chip in the Cain-bot. Epidemic Man noticed with dismay that Bright Man was headed in his direction.
"If that's supposed to be some sort of virus," Epidemic Man's scorn was evident. "Then your plan is flawed. We can't be infiltrated by the likes of a third-rate robotics technician like you."
"It's not a virus." Dr. Cossack said calmly, his eerie look actually frightening the Cain-bot. "It's the three laws. You've killed a lot of humans."
"NO!" Epidemic Man screamed, his eyes widening in fear.
But not fear for himself. He jumped on Bright Man, kicking him to the ground as he ran to Psycho Man. But it was too late. Dive Man had already inserted the chip into the electronic Cain-bot's neck, and Epidemic Man shoved the Cossack-bot aside, grabbing his brother. The programs had their hold on Psycho Man, and he was shaking and shuddering in Epidemic Man's arms.
"Epi...Epid...I'm-m done-done...this was t-t-tt-the lasst fun..."
"Psycho Man!"
There was nothing that could be done. The clown-bot was dead. Epidemic Man slowly turned his evil grimace at the good guys around him, glitches rocking him in his pain.
"What are you looking like that for?" The grim Dr. Cossack stood there firmly and without pity. "Wily wanted you to die eventually. That was a part of his plan. If you wanted to live then you shouldn't have gotten involved."
"Die, you old fool!"
Dropping his brother's remains, Epidemic Man engaged his emp wave and lifted his left claw to strike, tearing out Dive Man's eyes and flinging him to the ground. Bright Man used his flash stopper again, but to his horror, it had no affect. Instead he got to stare down the malevolent gaze as the last thing he would ever live to see before his head was ripped from his shoulders. Looking around for Dr. Cossack, the furious robot found himself surrounded by several angry mummiras. Epidemic Man tore through them, furious to find someone to kill and satiate his thirst for vengeance.
The tattered metal of the last mummy-bot hadn't yet settled to the ground when Epidemic Man dashed away, taking to the air for a better vantage point. Turning up his auditory sensors, he began hearing a faint whisper below.
"Get my daughter to the sub."
"Master, I cannot leave you-"
"Do it! It's all for nothing if she dies!"
Epidemic Man grinned, despite himself. You're a fool, Cossack, if you think for one moment that I would spare either you or your daughter, even if Wily had not specified you as a target.
The Cain-bot hadn't been still as he thought this. He had swooped down to collect Bright Man's head and a piece of his Psycho Man's orb collar. And then he waited, hiding behind ruin as he watched to see where Pharoah Man went. He was losing patience, but he knew it would be that much sweeter if he waited. His patience was soon rewarded by the discovery of Kalinka; she was hidden underground under a large chunk of the fallen metal wall. It was so heavy that Pharoah Man needed two of his mummiras to help him lifted. Out of it crawled a very miserable and sweaty Russian woman, trying to get her hair in order as she was rushed away.
So vain...
Epidemic Man vaulted out from behind a now trashed laser cannon. Pharoah Man was ready to fight, but what he wasn't ready for was the flash stopper. Using Psycho Man's lightning orb collar to light the bulb, it flashed brighter than it had ever been meant to. Even Epidemic Man was stunned. But for Pharoah Man it was worse. The ordinary flash stopper was his weakness, and this bright it sapped him of his power in an instant. A torpedo blast from Epidemic Man later, and Pharaoh Man was sprawled out on the ground, completely still. The two mummiras didn't last long.
Kalinka screamed as the devious robot neared her, but two blasts from behind distracted Epidemic Man. He turned in time to catch the third one in the face. Desperately trying to save himself, Epidemic Man unleashed his EMP, but it did nothing to stop the hot plasma that rained on him. Worse yet, Kalinka had her own plasma pistol and was shooting at him from behind, and the Proto shield could only protect him from one angle at a time. With a strained grunt, he leaped away from the onslaught, seeing that it was Dr. Cossack firing at him from a above a small incline.
The fool found me, did he?
Kalinka screamed as she saw the blue and teal blur charge for where she knew her father was standing. She had recognised the shots earlier as from his rifle. There were more shots and a metal crunch, but Kalinka had to cover her ears. Frightened and confused she reluctantly removed her hands and listened. It was all quiet.
"Papa...?"
A voice called out from over the hill, where Kalinka couldn't see.
"Oh, I'm sorry dear, I'm afraid that dear Papa is too busy dying to pay much attention to you. Just kidding! I'm not actually sorry."
"You-!" Kalinka gasped.
She was frozen for only a moment before the rage came. Angry, hot tears spilled down, and she stubborn started to run to where she had heard the voice come from. As she got a glimpse of the enemy robot, she fired, but he was too quick for her. Before she knew it, her pistol was smashed to bits, and the relentless arms of Epidemic Man were around her, threatening with each passing second to squeeze tight and strangle her. His still bloodied claw dripped all over her, streaking her face along with more tears. She didn't have to guess whose blood it was.
"You should have run while you had the chance." Epidemic Man whispered, knowing the exact tone to use to produce the most fear in a human. "Scream. Cry out for help. Beg for mercy. Make these last few moments you have left entertaining for me."
It surprised him when Kalinka did none of those things. He found himself holding a limp girl in his arms, and she slid to the ground as the unexpecting robot stood there dumbfounded.
"What's this? Fainted?" Epidemic Man groaned. "How disappointing."
Epidemic Man wasn't kidding. He genuinely wanted her to panic before he broke her neck. Missing out on the pleasure of it was too much to bear, so he tried to stop thinking about her potential screams and desperate pleads for him to spare her life. Hopefully the next human he found would be more deliciously afraid.
"I guess I've got to dispose of you, for now."
Her sweaty, dingy, bloodied form disgusted him, and her breathing made it still worse. So he put his giant left claw over her face, preparing to rip her neck apart. But as he did, Epidemic Man was astounded to find out that he didn't want to. Instead he reached down and lifted her, sitting her against the side of the laser cannon. Dirt was encrusted on her face, and he tried to wipe it away, but his sharp hands were really no good for it. It was like scratching the side of a fork against a doll's face. He gave up and left the now dirt-smudge alone.
Anger welled up inside him. It wasn't fair. He by no means felt sorry for her, and as a technician she was due to be killed just as Wily planned. But he had been originally built to help humans. As criminal as Dr. Cain had been, every single one of his robots was made to show humanity the error of its ways, not destroy it. Somewhere in his head was a lost little AI program, telling him that killing her was wrong...not only wrong but also undesireable. He didn't want to kill her. Epidemic Man gritted his teeth, as if trying to get the unconscious woman to realize exactly how much he hated her. He hated all humans, and his mind had no right to disagree with him.
But the point remained that he didn't really want to. With the sport of it gone, it just wasn't fun anymore. He slammed his fist into the ground, searching for some excuse to spare her. There was nothing. Wily wanted her to die, and he wouldn't be free unless all of his forced obligations to the mad doctor were settled. Epidemic Man reached around her neck.
"Oh please, no!"
Epidemic Man swung his head around, furious that he had let his guard down long enough for someone to sneak up. But all he saw was a blonde girl in a red dress.
"What did you do to her?" Roll sobbed, trembling and wishing that she hadn't come. "Oh no..."
"This isn't her blood." Epidemic Man retorted, starting to get crabby. "It's her stupid father's. If you don't believe me you can go look over the incline there."
Roll didn't move. She couldn't take her eyes away from Kalinka's fallen form, and she couldn't stop the multifarious worries that rushed through her CPU all at once.
"Who are you, anyway?"
The girl-bot jumped. Epidemic Man didn't know who she was? Well, there was no point in giving away that she was a robot. Fortunately a human name popped up in her head in time.
"I'm...Lara Hikari..."
"Alright, Lara, if you really want to save her," Epidemic Man saw his chance. "Then you have three chances to stop me. Why shouldn't I kill her?"
"Ah, um...she's going to have a baby!"
"What?" he snorted. "Humans are miserable, smelly things. Would I really let her live because she's going to spawn another? Next!"
Roll tried to force herself not to cry. "Please...she's never done anything to you!"
"Neither did all the other scientists I killed. Oh, and no, she did shoot me. Last chance, Lara."
"But she's not a scientist!" the girl-bot said. "She tried to learn a couple of times, but she always slacked off! She even dropped out of college to get married! Didn't you check her record? She only went for two years! The best thing she ever built was Dust Man's laser, and she was taught how to build that! All she knows how to do is simple repairs! I beg you, please don't kill her!"
As "Lara" started to cry, Epidemic Man paused. Besides the wonderfully entertaining begging, something else she had said piqued his attention.
"So...she can do repairs on robots? Oh stop blubbering and answer me, miserable girl!"
"I think so...I don't know how good she is..."
Epidemic Man rubbed his chin. "I saw Dust Man's laser. I like Dust Man's laser. Alright, shut up now, girl, you've done your job. She lives for now. You wouldn't happen to be a medical doctor, would you?"
"I'm a registered nurse..."
"Good enough. Get over here and make sure she'll wake. If she can fix myself and my remaining brother, then she'll do well for herself. You just might get out alive yourself, little Lara. What are you still doing over there? Shake a leg!"
Roll hesistated because her legs were the most robotic thing about her. There was no helping it now. Fortunately Epidemic Man wasn't paying attention. He had wiped his bloody hand on Kalinka's dress, and was now thinking. Wily hadn't wanted any Cossacks to survive, so he was going to have to get creative if he wanted to have a technician. He smiled gleefully as he remembered one last order that would let him out of it.
"Bah, don't worry about the lesser ones," Wily had said, referring to scientists. "Just kill the important ones and move on."
Done, and done! Epidemic Man congratulated himself before he noticed Roll very reluctantly trying to get his attention. "What do you want?"
"Eh...I need to get a first aid kit from inside the building..." the girl-bot shrank back as she answered. "I'll be right back..."
"Oh sure, you'll go inside and get help or a weapon." he scoffed. "I'm tired of little humans trying to be heroes. I'll get it myself, and you had better still be here when I get back! Where are the med kits in this ruin, anyway?"
"If...if the halls aren't collapsed," Roll stammered. "I think you can go through the main hall and then it's the last door on the left."
"Fine. Remember what I said."
"Yes...yes sir!"
And Epidemic Man walked off, looking back once. But Roll was only taking Kalinka's pulse, so he moved on. Roll contained her sigh of relief once the enemy was out of sight. They weren't in the clear yet.
Please let Rock get here soon!
"Roll..." a weak voice creaked from behind her.
It was Pharaoh Man. Roll cautiously went over to the extremely underpowered and blind robot as he struggled to gather enough energy to speak. "A sub...bearing...z34.5...go there...Kalinka..."
"I will." Roll nodded. "And I'll send Rock to come and get you."
"Go...now..."
Roll picked up Kalinka as hastily as she could (not that hasty - she was trying her best to be gentle), and took off at a run, hoping that Epidemic Man wouldn't somehow appear in front of her.
"Stop!"
His sharp voice cut into Roll, and she stopped even though everything inside of her told her that it would be smarter to run.
"Clever one, aren't you?" Epidemic Man stepped over Pharaoh Man's body, clucking his tongue at Roll. "If you had anything to do with this facility, 'Lara', then you would know that medkits are stashed every so often in the halls. I'm not even familiar and I noticed this. Also, for a little girl, you're doing well lifting Cossack junior. Might you be a robot, perhaps? Sentient, the pity. I'll have to destroy you."
But he was standing too close to Pharaoh Man. A red orb encased him, and Roll took off again, determined not to stop for anything, especially since she could hear the echoing blasts as Epidemic Man destroyed the Egypt-bot. Or so she guessed. She certainly wasn't going back to make sure.
There was only so fast that the girl-bot could run, and Epidemic Man was faster. He flew overhead, coming in close so that he could get Roll without killing Kalinka. But a purple streak blurred his vision, and purple blasts hit him shortly after that passed, forcing him into a clumsy crash landing. Before he could recover, Bass snagged the Proto shield from his back, swinging it against Epidemic Man's face for good measure.
"That's not yours."
"You!" The Cain-bot kicked out Bass' legs, making sure Bass knew who the superior robot was as he stood menacingly over him. "You're going to die, rest assured of that!"
He teleported out. Bass grumpily got up and brushed himself off.
"Why didn't he fight you?" Roll asked, trying not to give away how afraid she was.
"Eh, he wants Algorhythm Man to fight me for some reason. I really don't get it." Bass' upper lip flared at the sight of all the devastation. "Roll, is there any reason to stay here?"
"No." the girl-bot answered, staring at the dirt and trying not to think of Dr. Cossack. "There's a sub nearby. I think Kalinka is fine, but I want to take her to a hospital just in case. And Bass...thank you for getting his shield back."
"I wasn't going to let them have it. Now let's go."
-t-
Rock looked terrible. He had just spent the past few hours protecting a group of humans from marauding Wily-bots and rebels, and had killed Spring Man and Grenade Man in the process. But there were no scientists among them, and the Wily-bots' attack on their group seemed more random than anything else. Mega Man didn't know what to think anymore. The attacks were endless, and Mega Man never before had to fight so many robots, especially ones that used to be so innocent. It pained him. But for now, these human would be safe. They had for themselves a settlement in the mountains, and it was actually rather nice, with nice, homey cabins and several trees.
Focused on the environment, he was the first to notice when the three figures approached.
"Bass? Kalinka? ROLL?"
Mega Man ran towards them. They were a sorry group, and Kalinka looked so broken, pale, and numb that he was afraid to ask what had happened. Automatically Mega Man took Roll's hand, sensing that she was afraid.
"This place is safe, right, Rock?" Bass asked, sounding every bit as bitter as Kalinka looked.
It didn't take a genius to guess that the security island had been attacked.
"It's as safe as anywhere else, nowadays." Mega Man said quietly. "But there's no reason why anyone would target it, and it's far enough away from the infected robots that they wouldn't come here for just random destruction."
"I guess it'll work."
He eyed Kalinka to see if she would object to staying there, but she didn't answer. The young woman walked stiffly forward, her only concession to weakness being one hand over her stomach. Roll was glad that there had been extra clothes for her on the sub. She couldn't imagine how horrible it would be for her if she still had to walk in bloodied clothes.
One of the humans walked up, a tall, stately man with hazel hair and deep brown eyes. Mega Man introduced Kalinka to him, and he gave his own name, Sam Peterson. He was the medical doctor of the group, and he gently took her arm, talking to her about the group and what medical facilities they had. It may have looked like a vacation beauty spot, but the basements were well equipped. It was much more than what it looked like. All this information barely registered to Kalinka. She shuffled along, staring occasionally at the wedding ring she still wore. To Roll it looked like Dr. Peterson knew exactly what to say; he said something quietly to the widow, and Kalinka almost smiled. The robots let them go ahead, talking about what had happened on the island.
"Wow, that was really brave of you, Roll." Mega Man smiled warmly at his sister, trying to focus on the positive. "I'm proud of you."
"I was lucky." Roll muttered, holding her arms as if she were cold. "If Epidemic Man didn't want a technician then there would be nothing I could have done."
Roll had been staring at the grass (how dare it be so green at a time like this?), so it took her completely by surprise when Bass reached over and patted her on the head.
"Don't talk down about yourself." the melancholy robot said, barely any life in his eyes at all. "Someone is alive because of you. You did a good job."
But Roll's mouth had wrinkled up, and she was a bit stunned by Bass' awkward gesture. Realizing exactly how strange this was, he too grimaced, then pulled back his hand.
"Er, sorry. I'm used to Treble."
Trying to find some way to diffuse the awkwardness, Roll turned to Mega Man - and immediately regretted it. He had fallen behind the other two, and was now staring at the dark robot with concern.
"Bass...why do have the Proto shield?"
Bass' eyes widened. He had forgotten it was still on his back.
"Roll, go check on Kalinka."
She obeyed, growing even more sick on the inside. As she caught up with the humans, she turned back to Mega Man and Bass. Somehow being out of earshot made it easier to watch. Rock's expression was serious, but mere seconds later, horror and despair so filled her brother's innocent face that Roll almost couldn't bear to watch. But her gaze couldn't leave the scene. She couldn't hear them, but it was easy to read Mega Man's lips and guess his next question: "how?" Bass' back was toward her, so Roll couldn't see his explanation. Mega Man seemed lost. He weakly lifted his hands - as if weights were on them - until finally they reached up and covered his face. He shook with each glitch. Still as a statue, Bass was apparently saying something, judging by Rock's reaction. He pulled away his hands, revealing the hurt as Bass handed him the red and white shield. That was when Roll finally shut her eyes.
She thought this was the worst day of her life.
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Author's notes:
======Dr. Cossack
"Science applies to everyone."
Good point: Caring father
Bad point: socially awkward
Likes: rationality
Dislikes: tricks
Mikhail Cossack is an only child. His father was a quiet but studious man, and his mother was a highly opinionated and clever speaker. Both of them expected Mikhail to have more to do with politics, but he was a less dramatic person than they, and he preferred studying things like insects and ancient history rather than much to do with modern times. His parents could afford to send him to a good college, but his love of observation brought him to look at science. Cossack never liked arguing or debates that much, because he saw science as the discovery of truth, not as a mere pondering. He's a very honest and relaxed person, unless you get him started on a topic he knows a lot about.
Unlike Light or Wily, Cossack was not the sort of person who preferred staying a bachelor. He was simply too busy with his own interests to pursue women for most of his teen years. His best friend throughout his teen years had a sister, Sonya, who had always been sort of a weak person healthwise. When Cossack was fifteen and she was twelve, she ended up staying for an extended period of time in the hospital, and her mom wanted her brother to spend more time with her. Being a good friend, Mikhail came along, and, being the not very socially aware person he was, he would generally only talk about his science and mechanics. While he thought of it more as a lecture, Sonya was impressed and always ready to listen to more. Once Cossack hit college, he realized he knew absolute zip about talking to women. Hilarious results ensued. Finding himself expressing his frustrations to Sonya, he finally figured out that being with her was far more tolerable than being with anyone else.
For her part, Sonya was a quiet, gentle person who wrote poetry. Everything interested her, and she liked listening to Mikhail. She crushed on him earlier on, but to her he seemed like a giant or a hero, someone way out of her league. But they ended up married, and she was never happier. Mikhail earned his doctorate in medical biology and had a masters in modern robotics, which he used to create his first robot Pharaoh Man. Sonya was always interested in Egypt, and Pharaoh Man was built to go with them on the trip to Cairo they had always planned. Kalinka came along right about the time Dr. Cossack got a new job with the Russian government as a lead biologist, and life was great. Drill Man was built for extra funding for his research.
The family had just gotten back from vacationing in Cairo when Sonya fell ill, soon to die from it. Kalinka was only a year old. Dr. Cossack had a hard time recovering, but his science kept him going, besides his daughter. He spoiled her as much as he was able, and because of this and his time consuming job, he never really dated again. It wasn't that he refused to, he just didn't know much about it and never expected to meet anyone that met his standards like Sonya did. He was still very awkward around women unless they're scientists and have something to talk about.
For years things were more or less quiet for him, and with Pharaoh Man's help he managed to take good care of Kalinka, who was more and more starting to favor her mother (and act like his mother). Figuring he could use more help around the lab, Cossack started building Bright, Dive, Toad, and Dust Man. Dr. Wily, still aggravated from the failure of his last scheme, saw a ripe opportunity in Cossack. He kidnapped Kalinka and forced Cossack to turn his robots evil, adding Skull and Ring Man to what he had to build. Hence the events of MM4. All of the robots were eventually defeated, and after a legal battle Dr. Cossack was able to recover control of his robots, and because of this experience Dr. Cossack became even more knowledgeable about robots.
By rescuing Kalinka, Proto Man was mostly just trying to help his brother bring justice, but after that he became a favorite of Dr. Cossack's, and he would show up at Dr. Cossack's lab at time to time for a repair or to just check on Kalinka. Cossack only got more easy-going as he aged, so he let Proto Man come and go as he pleased. He also helped Mega Man if he ever needed to come to Russia, but other than that and generally protecting Russia, he stayed out of the fights with Dr. Wily and pursued his own interests.
When Bass came to stay at his lab, he was surprised at how easy-going Dr. Cossack was, and appreciated being able to go as he pleased without so much as a "where are you going?" from Cossack. For this part, the Russian doctor was convinced that Bass wasn't a threat because Mega Man had always been able to defeat him. Of course he never said this outloud.
Over time Cossack was hailed as Russia's greatest mind, and became a teacher at the university where his own daughter attended. Alyosha Polovstiansky was his best student, and he felt like he had already adopted Alyosha before he knew that Kalinka was interested in the young man. While the courtship was a bit too short in Mikhail's opinion, he nonetheless was happy that the two were married.
- Psycho Man and Algorhythm Man are Epidemic Man's favorite brothers. He doesn't really like Bullet Man, which is why he sent him on the most dangerous mission: taking down the space station.
- I learned from a microwave show on youtube that if you microwave a bulb, it'll light up. I figured it'd be the same with electricity and Bright Man's head. It's surprising how educational it is to watch stuff getting shoved in a microwave. True story: if you microwave a bottle of gin, after a while it'll suddenly vaporize.
- this chapter's depressing song is Carry Me Down, and well, it's really sad. I think it fits the really sick nature of this chapter. I'm not going to lie, I had a really hard time with this chapter, but I'm finally happy with it. And I was expecting I'd have it done real shortly after the last chapter. But oh well. I hope you like it anyway. Oh yeah, link to the song. www. youtube. com /watch?v=oD2t1qLJGLQ