"So...I send you out to bring me information about Light Laboratories' security systems, and all I get for my trouble is a bunch of losses?" Dr. Cain slapped a disk against his hand, more for sound than for damage. "Well, I suppose it's not so bad. I could have lost competent robots. And then, right at the end, someone got the fool idea to attack Bass by himself! If you're going to set a trap, then make sure that it's actually a trap worth springing!"
Algorhythm Man didn't say anything. He knew better than to back talk his master. All he could do was lean further back against the decrepit wall of the old Wily Castle and try to keep up the image of a repentant robot. He hoped that they would be out of there soon. The old place with its random metal creaking in the wind gave him the creeps. Fortunately, most of Dr. Cain's possessions were already stored away on the stolen 18 wheeler, ready for departure to the submarine.
"It's like I keep telling you." Bullet Man said. He was the only one not yet tired of explaining himself to his master, though even he was beginning to realize how futile it was. "I think Commando Man has extra loyalty programs or something. He led me right to the one robot I'm weak against."
"Weak? I don't want to hear about weak!" Cain flipped a hand at his robot. "Look at Signal Man over there. He's weak to any robot, and yet he's the only reason why I'm out of prison and back at the work!"
They did all look at their poor companion made of the traffic light parts and old car engines. He and Demi were busily packing up the last of Cain's posessions, namely his personal computer (it was never far from the evil doctor at any point) and his discs containing his many invented viruses. Or more specifically, Signal Man was packing. Demi found more entertainment in sitting on the crates, criticizing Signal Man's packing skills, and taking a ride on them as the more compliant robot stacked one above the other.
"We only have a few of the Wily robots left." Cain interrupted everyone's observations. "We'll use them to cover our tracks as we get to the sub. If you fellows can bother to do that right. Honestly, all I wanted was to find out how to get into their lab, not destroy them yet. I hope at least one of their idiots is out of it for good from all this. You're all very lucky that Frantic Man managed to get something. If only he found a robot closer to the Lights than Jewel Man! And someone please tell me that Zero is secure!"
"He is, Master." Demi jumped off of his throne of wooden crates and scrambled on his paws to Dr. Cain. "I've already got him on the submarine now."
"Good, good. Now I just hope Psycho Man's repairs go as easily. I'll fix him on the sub, and-"
" - Dr. Cain, - " Epic Man spoke directly to his master through the chip in Dr. Cain's head, though it wasn't encoded strongly enough to keep the other robots from hearing. " - I have something that's bound to make you very happy. Please send out Frantic Man first, though. This one is going to need a bit of a careful eye around her at all times. - "
" - Oh? This better be good then. Frantic Man, you heard him. - "
" - Zzzt, squeet-spunkk. - "
Even Frantic Man's transmissions were competely incomprehensible to those out of the know. In any case, he did as he was told. Moments later, Epic Man entered the room with a glorious, smug smiile on his face. Behind him entered a very confident Crystal Bot. Dub walked along beside her on four of his legs while the other four held Roll, the offering to the villainous doctor. Seeing Dr. Cain, Crystal Bot smiled sweetly and attemped to go closer. At once Frantic Man's clown arm grabbed her shoulder. Epic Man shook his head with all the sternness of an elder brother and Bullet Man found himself edging nearer to his creator. And for all the good it did, short little Demi stood up to protect his master, though he did little more than cover Cain's knees.
"Well, um..." she giggled. "I guess I better explain myself."
Frantic Man let go of Crystal Bot's shoulder, and she gave a very cute curtsy. She cleared her throat and began. "I don't know if you know anything about me, but I've been being a good girl for a while, and I'm plain sick of it. I'm tired of being told by the government what to do, and I'm tired of Forte being a bossy jerk who never listens to me. Good guys are lame. I know at some point you're going to have to destroy Mega Man's lab and beat him and Forte, so you're gonna need my help!"
Dr. Cain only frowned at her, rubbing his chin a bit. "Is that right?"
"She claims she would have told Mega Man where we were if I didn't agree to take her with me." Epic Man grinned. "Funny, isn't it?"
Cain didn't think so. He raised an eyebrow in doubt. This shiny girl-bot didn't exactly impress him. "We found you snooping around to find out about the Wily Castles. How did you find out we were here?"
"Easy. I know the technology Wily always used!" Crystal Bot enjoyed the bragging, and she was tempted to spin around a giggle as she spoke. "If you've been taking control of his robots, then you obviously need to understand the way the doctor would always program, and that can't be done without looking at least one of his fortresses. Wily's computers got upgraded when Mega Man was fighting Team 7, so you could only hack into his first six fortresses without knowing his new coding. Or at least it would take you like five years or something to hack through it. So it was easy to guess! Wily's first two fortresses were utterly destroyed, and the police tore down the third to build the robot museum. Russia's got his fourth and it blew up real pretty. It was even a skull! I checked fortress five - it's a noodle shop now - and after that the only place it could have been was here!"
Crystal Bot giddily posed with her confident fists in the air as she waited for the others to congratulate her genius. They weren't her friends, and they did no such thing. Epic Man and his master eyed each other with suspicion, and Bullet Man only kept his ever narrow gaze on her, ready to move in if she made any sudden moves. Algorhythm Man was the only one that smiled, though he was a little nervous that Dr. Cain might see him.
"So...uh, I brought you this offering." Crystal Bot waved Dub forward. "I can't just give you the teleport codes to the lab, because I'm sure Auto already changed them by now. Especially since my offering is none other than Roll Light!"
The four of Dub's legs that he wasn't using for walking unfurled themselves from Roll, then placed her gently at Dr. Cain's feet. With greedy eyes Cain immediately bent down to look. Epic Man grinned with delight. This was definitely turning out better than he suspected. Cain, however, wasn't quite convinced.
"This is all very well and good." Nikola said, standing up and brushing the dirt off his pants. No matter how much they told Frantic Man to sweep, dirt always seemed to get into the decrepit fortress somehow. "But I know your past. You're a Wily number. You could have just brought Roll to him."
Here Crystal Bot paused. She let out a breath of air, clinging to one arm as she let her gaze fall to the side. She knew she was going to have to tell the story, and no matter how many times she thought about it, it still hurt.
"I'm not really a Wily number." she started off slow. "I'm the only child of my creator, Crystal Man. You can say Wily's my grandpa if you want. Thing is...he killed my dad. He was mad at Crystal Man for trying to upgrade Team 5 behind his back."
"Mad for upgading? That sounds like a sorry story to me." Epic Man said.
"It may have more to do with questioning Wily's ability to conquer the world. I saw a memory of it, and Crystal Man basically told Wily that his methods were bad. Wily doesn't like being talked to like that, and he has these...moods." Crystal shifted uncomfortably as she remembered. "It's really scary when he's mad. So, that's why I came to you! I'm tired of being a stupid good guy that can't blow stuff up or scare people! I want to be with a bad guy that's actually nice."
Demi laughed a rusty, creaking laugh. "I like this girl!"
Epic Man also grinned, looking rather vicious as he did. "Amusing, if nothing else."
In his own little code, Frantic Man made a comment to Dr. Cain, who nodded. Crystal Bot guessed that they were discussing her words the day before. What she said in desperation to save Jewel Man's life would confirm her story.
"Hmph." Dr. Cain wrinkled his nose at her. "Just more proof of why robots are the dregs of society. One minute you think you can trust them, and the next they're stabbing you in the back. I'm just lucky I know how to program. Very well, miss 'Sinistra'. You're here now so you're going to serve me. What exactly can you offer me in terms of abilities? Wait a moment - Signal Man! Stop being a slacker and get Roll here to our transporation!"
"Aw, I want to hear more."
Dr. Cain turned around and glared. Signal Man wasn't one to disobey, so he just let the lights of his face flicker gently as he lifted Roll off of the floor. Dub scrambled closer to Crystal Bot, waiting like a servant for some order. Once the strange looking robot removed Roll, Cain turned back to Crystal.
"Well?"
"Well, I'm really, really smart!" she gleamed, giggling. "And I've been with Wily a long time, so I know how he thinks and how he programs. I've done a lot of work on his machines and I'm really great at building mechaniloids. I have my crystal eye, and I can generate crystals that can power up stuff and be sold for money. If I'm standing still, I can even generate an instant death spike! ...It doesn't work if I move, though. Those things are hard to stabilize."
Crystal Bot stiffened. Only after she had spoken and was staring an angry Nikola Cain in the face did she remember his own death spike mishaps. The last time he worked with instant death spikes, he was trying to fill an entire room with them. He didn't know then that such a thing wasn't possible. The electrical backing for the spikes wasn't stable enough, and this explosion not only ripped apart his lab but seriously injured him and temporarily ended his bid to rid the world of robot dependency.
Thankfully it was this awkward moment that Algorhythm Man chose to interrupt. "You worked on Bass. You can give me his full schematics and list his weaknesses, yes?"
Of course the orange robot was interested in this. His teeth shone greedily with his evil smile, and he was rubbing his hands together delightedly. Seeing how much he enjoyed this, Crystal Bot smiled too, with equal nastiness.
"Sure I can. And guess what? I have some scematics of Mr. Mega Man too!" she giggled, patting her mechaniloid's head. "It's all stored right here on good ol' Dub. All you gotta do to get the information is let me be a bad guy too!"
"Let?" Dr. Cain gestured to Algorhythm Man. "You're with us now, no matter what it is you want."
Algorhythm Man at once dashed around to Crystal Bot's side, grabbing her arms and holding her tightly. She struggled only a little; it was clear from the strength his arms that she wasn't going anywhere. She wasn't sure she wanted Algorhythm Man so close. His laugh was creepy.
"I won't have a free willed robot working for me. You're going to have to go through some reprogramming." Cain started musing to himself about all the necessary work this would take. "I can check your memories to see if you are lying about Dr. Wily. Don't worry though. I'm sure you'll blow something up by the time this is all over."
"Um...?" She tested his temper, asking with hesitation. "...Lots of things?"
"Heh, sure." Cain half-smiled for once. "Why not?"
Dub started to make noise. He was frightened for Crystal Bot, but too afraid to pull the Cain-bot away from her. With a nervous "excuse me", Crystal Bot reached over and pushed a button the mechaniloid. His legs retracted into his body, and he became nothing more than a green box with four claws on each side. Demi went over to him and picked him up, though the body of Dub was a bit bulky for someone like Demi to haul around. It was like a toddler carrying a giant plush animal.
"Good. Your turn now, sweetheart."
Somehow the word "sweetheart" was not at all comforting when it came from someone like Algorhythm Man. Crystal Bot shuddered, but she didn't resist as he reached over to her neck and deactivated her. It wasn't as if someone would accept a new robot on their team without mistrust and reprogramming. Crystal knew what she was getting into. She slumped into Algorhythm Man's arms.
"Bring her to the sub as well." Cain said. "We've spent too much time in this dump, and if she could find us then there's no telling who else can. Epic Man, you stay here until we're gone and then destroy this place. Demi, put that thing in a crate and help him. - Signal Man, once you get Roll packed up, come back for more of my things. Sight Man, keep everyone covered until this is done. - "
" - I certainly will! - "
" - I've got my eyes open, boss. - "
Algorhythm Man grinned at his inactive prisoner. He got a better grip on Crystal Bot, putting an arm around her waist so that he too could haul his cargo to the truck. Just as he was about to get her into a better position to carry, he felt a tap on that shoulder. Algorhythm Man turned around to see that Frantic Man was behind him, his arms open as if volunteering to bring her.
"I've got this little darling. Go haul crates or something." Al scoffed. "I don't need you to do everything for me."
"Algorhythm Man," Dr. Cain suddenly interrupted. "I need you to keep your eyes open and your scanners running at the guard outpost. Sight Man can only see so much at once, so you help him keep this area clear until we leave. Got it?"
"Er...yes, Master."
Annoyed that he was being contradicted, Algorhythm Man shoved Crystal over at Frantic Man. "Fine, you carry her. Just make sure not to drop her. I'm going to defeat Fish, and she's going to help me find out how."
"Zzzt" was Frantic Man's only reply. He caught Crystal Bot in his clown arm and pulled her up over his shoulder, then started for the 18 wheeler. Algorhythm Man stared with annoyance only for a moment before he teleported out. It wouldn't do to get caught delaying orders.
-t-
"Roll! Where are you, Roll?"
It was horrifying. Auto had come home to find no trace of the daughter of Light, and he called Mega Man home from the police station. That was why the blue bomber was now running from room to room, trying to find some clue to where she had gone. There was nothing. No notes, no messages recorded on the computer, and Roll's purses were all still in her room. Auto was in the main lab, telephoning friends to find out if she was at any of those places. Both of them sent out transmissions, hoping that she would hear them. Not one reply came back.
Crystal Bot too was gone. Bass was back at the lab, but he wasn't running around. He was in the lab, uncomfortable as he sent out transmissions to the shops she liked to visit. He grimaced from time to time, and only made a marginal effort into checking the computers to see if Crystal left anything on them. He did contact the space station, and they replied that neither of the girls were there. That made Wave Man teleport down and join them in the search. He cut off his transmission at the main computer with a sigh; Tim Reyes hadn't contacted her in the past twenty-four hours.
Bass really wasn't any help at all. Every time Mega Man passed him by, Forte winced, making sure to look like he was contacting someone outside the lab. Finally Rock was suspicious enough to stay. Bass knew something, he was sure of it.
"I don't understand!" Auto said as Mega Man reentered. "There's nothing wrong with security! Absolutely no reason why she should have disappeared like this!"
"No reason? I think there is one." Rock glared up at Bass, his eyes heavy with worry. "So, what were you and Crystal Bot arguing about earlier?"
Bass winced again. He didn't like being questioned by Mega Man, and his angry lip pulled back to reveal a fang. "Urg...we were arguing about you. She's still pissed I haven't blown you to bits yet."
Mega Man instantly groaned, and the slapping sound his face made when it fell into his hand echoed across the room. "Please tell me she's not taking this out on Roll."
"I doubt it. They're friends or something." Bass rubbed his eyes as if that would actually de-stress him. "You remember that plan she was nagging me about? It was for her to pretend she turned back into a villain and go work for Dr. Cain. She'd send us his plans. Ever since she found out Wily's out there somewhere she freaked out. She wants Cain to at least be out of commission before he acts up. Roll wasn't a part of the plan."
"She possibly got caught up in it...maybe..." Rock guessed. "Maybe Roll found out what she was doing."
"Or maybe Crystal Bot really is returning to evil."
All turned to see Proto Man make another of his silent entrances. Bass scowled and Rock brightened (both their instinctive reactions to the oldest robot's appearances), but Blues was entirely serious. He approached them, and Mega Man's smile was entirely erased by Proto Man's dark aura. However, Blues addressed Bass first.
"Was Rock the only subject you were arguing about?" he asked. "Remember, at no time did Crystal Bot choose to become a good person. When everyone left Wily, she just did as you told her. If Crystal is angry with you, she might have decided that she was going to do things her own way."
Proto Man's were no less intense for being behind a visor. It would have been much more useful for Bass and his lack of facial self-control. Everyone could see doubt in his expression, and Bass could hardly hide his embarassment. Before he could muster out some reluctant answer he was interrupted.
"Not possible!" Wave Man objected, pointing his harpoon in accusation. "Crystal is a part of Team 5 and she would not act on this plan without my approval!"
"Would she?" Proto Man asked. "Quite obviously she has acted, and seeing as she didn't even bother to ask you it only becomes more likely that her intentions are serious. And if Roll wasn't a part of the plan-" here Blues turned back to Bass, recieving only a glare as he continued. "-then obviously the plan has changed, and not for the better. Moreover, I also found this."
Proto Man walked up to his brother, unfolding his hand as he revealed a little device in his palm. Mega Man gasped. This was the gift he had recieved from Crystal Bot the previous Christmas. It was a zip drive storage device, one that could record his status and restore it if he were reprogrammed or damaged by an enemy.
"She...she gave this to me." Mega Man looked at his brother curiously. "It's helped me out a lot."
"Perhaps. Look at this though." Proto Man pointed towards a very tiny hole in the side of the device, one hardly perceptible if you weren't looking for it. "This is a device that transmits a very narrow beam. I've seen its kind before, and I can guess that what Crystal Bot wanted to do with it is see your programming to be able to find weaknesses or steal your advances. Whatever she's doing, she' s clearly been thinking about it for months."
"I...I think he's right..." Auto piped up. "When I was looking through Cut Man's head, I saw that she already was searching through it. She found a short memory segment where Wily tells Cut Man she would have become the next Dr. Wily if she had stayed with him."
That silenced the room. Bass was right out horrified, his face drawn out in disgust at the very idea. It was hard for him to imagine anyone wanting to be like Wily. Mega Man was equally horrified, and it seemed he might cry or just be confused. Wave Man's face was mostly covered by his armor, so he had only his eyes to show his disappointment, his eyes sinking.
"This is disturbing news." he said. "Crystal has always been very obedient to my authority over Team 5, and it disheartens me that she would throw that away so easily. From this point I can't predict what she will do next."
"Crystal does whatever she can to get what she wants." Bass muttered. "Expect something big and shiny. Look, all of this might just be coincidence. Of course Crystal Bot would want to know what she can about Wily and she might want to know about Rock. In the end she's going to get what she wants and then just to try to impress me when she comes back."
"Can you be sure about that?" Mega Man marched up to him with determination, staring him straight in the eye. "Do you really know her that well?"
Being stared at by Mega Man wasn't exactly comfortable for Bass. He gritted his teeth and pulled back as Mega Man stormed up to him with his clear determination. The blue bomber didn't expect an answer. He shook his head at the dark robot, recieving his answer through the latter's uncertainty. Mega Man turned to the others.
"Okay." he said, trying to calm himself with a breath (which seemed to work just fine even for a robot). "Now we figure things out from here. I'm sorry, Wave Man, but we're going to have to go under the assumption that Crystal Bot isn't working on some sort of plan and she has returned to evil. It's really our only choice right now. Try to see if any of your team can find her and guess her next move. Bass, I'll let you report this to Reyes. I assume that one of you knows a way to trace her. Auto, inspect everything she's done in the lab since she's been here. And Proto Man." Mega Man nodded with confidence at his brother, the only one he really had any serious confidence in at that point, including himself. "You know what to do."
Part of Blues hated that his brother put so much of his trust into him. Part of him was so afraid that Mega Man would find out the truth that he at once wanted to flee and not let his brother find out how different the older sibling truly was. That part was very, very small. Proto Man's smile was genuine, even a bit larger than his usual stingy upward lip curve. Even this small display of brotherly affection was enough to calm Mega Man down, and the bunching of his forehead relaxed. Proto Man's task was complete, and he disappeared upward in a red teleport beam.
"You know," Wave Man broke the silence. "Someone's going to have to tell Jewel Man."
"Not it." Bass' voice piped out.
Mega Man facepalmed.
-t-
Much time had passed. Time passed without consciousness for Crystal Bot, and in a complete blink. All awareness vanished instantly at the decrepit Skull Castle number 6, and the hours spent inside a cramped 18 wheeler with several other robots went by unnoticed. Neither could she recall the submarine ride or being carried into a dark, dank cave. Only her reactivation brought her back into the real world, and she waked to see a very cold and stern face looking at her.
Dr. Cain's lip pulled up a bit in either disgust or doubt, but whichever it was made Crystal shudder, even despite her best efforts to grin and be cheerful. In any case, he let her up from the repair table he was working with. It was some cheap repair table, the kind that lay flat or adjusted to a 45 degree angle, but nothing else. Sonata didn't expect it to be too much, as the mad scientist did have to work from scratch. What she didn't expect was that the rest of the room would be so much better equipped. The room was about octagonal-ish, round-ish shaped, not very specific to either because it's difficult to shape such rocky cave walls. And yet somehow somebody had installed two rings of computers, one above the other, inside the interior wall of the cave like strips of wall paper. This was only interrupted by two heavy, steel doors, one straight ahead and the other to Crystal Bot's right.
To the left was Roll, laying on the only other repair table. She wasn't activated, and as peaceful as she lay there, it frightened Crystal Bot to see her. She did nothing but look. The room was bright and cheery with the powerful light, but Dr. Cain himself was hardly either. His hair was ruffled, and he scratched his neck as he yawned.
"Bah, I'm tired." he spoke, but not to Crystal. "I've been up too late working on security measures, but at last I think that this girl will not kill us all."
"That's good." Epic Man said, his voice revealing his location to be directly behind Crystal Bot. She jumped as he continued. "I rather like being alive, myself. As alive as a robot can be, in any case. What exactly are we going to do with her?"
Cain didn't directly answer. He just stared with disdain at the girl-bot descending from the repair table, showing his impatient and exhaustion in his wrinkling brow. "So, miss 'Sinistra'. What is your directive?"
"To obey Dr. Nikola Cain!" she replied with all the merry chirpyness she could. "My new master!"
"Name subdirective A1."
"To defend Dr. Cain with my life!"
"Subdirective A2."
"To hack into Zero and get out all his secrets so that he can be Dr. Cain's servant too!"
"Subdirective B1."
"Hack into Roll-chan and infiltrate the security at Light Laboratories!"
"Subdirective B2."
"Subdue Dr. Wily and kill all his robots that aren't on our side."
"Good. She works. I'm a genius." Cain yawned again. "Get to work on subdirective A2 while I'm asleep. I expect to see progress when I wake up."
"Ye, sansaengnim!" The girl-bot giggled and twirled. "So where's Zero now?"
"First of all, keep it english. I'm in no mood for silliness. I've got a date with my new comfy bed and I expect to be asleep for no less than eight hours." The grumpy doctor rubbed his eyes, gesturing at the forward door. "Epic Man, show her the way there and make sure that one of us is with her at all times. I'm a genius but I'm not going to rely on my mind when it's tired."
"Yes, master." Epic Man, surprisingly, approached Crystal Bot with a calm, almost kind demeanor. "Come along now, sweetheart. Let's not aggravate the master."
His left claw pulled her away through the door, silently ushering her out with all the urgency of an older brother getting the younger child out of sight of an alcoholic father. He maintained this stiff and quietly hurried posture until the very instant the steel door closed behind him. Relaxing then, Epic Man go of Crystal Bot's arm. His demeanor immediately warmed, and he bowed with extravagant mannerisms - and a delightful twirl of his claw - as he gestured down the cave hall.
"Right this way."
"Hee, hee!" Crystal Bot giggled, doing her own curtsy. "So polite!"
He led her down the hall. Like the cave room they were in, two lines of computers decorated the place like strips of wallpaper, looking far too modern for the rocky innards of the cave (which were actually a very nice shade of brown - artificial?). Crystal Bot stared at all of it, enjoying the glowing lights in the walls and the happy echoes of her feet against the completely smooth rock floor. Even better, one wall on the hallway disappeared completely, leaving the right side open to a beautiful view of the ocean. A rock railing prevented anyone from just walking over the edge of the cliff, while still allowing a view of the ocean bay.
"Wow..." she gasped. "Where is this place?"
"It's farther north up the shore of California." Epic Man answered, joining her to lean across the railing. "Nearer toward Southerland. This is his underground fortress, and aside from a few secret exits, this opening and another under the waterfall down to the right there are the only openings to the outside world. Apparently the master had it built here some years ago into the side of this cliff, and it's indetectible to sattelites, as well as being almost impossible to enter unauthorized. I'm not really sure what this was for, though. A bunch of mechaniloids hollowed it out before I was created."
"It's really nice." Crystal Bot stared down at the water. It was very hypnotizing to her, especially for something that wasn't shiny. "But um, what's gonna happen to Roll?"
"You're caring about her now? You're the one that brought her to the master."
"Well, yeah, but I was kinda hoping she'd be more like my evil villain sister...y'know, we'd be all evil, cute and stuff and scare people. It would be fun!"
Epic Man laughed with delight. It was easy to laugh that way in the sun. "How precious! Adorable! And so unfortunate. Oh no, get all those notions out of your head at once. She'll be used to get into Light Laboratories. I suspect they'll make her shut down security, and possibly make her explode if someone tries to work on her. Ha, that's so ineloquent, isn't it?"
"Not at all, explosions are nice." Crystal Bot desperately wanted to throw something in the water, but for the moment she controlled herself and looked away from the sea and to the person she addressed. "I don't think she would explode very well. Not really pretty at all. You need some stuff that like burns different colors. I think cadmium is supposed to be really cool when you burn it, so that when the lab explodes it's all blue and stuff. There's a way to be evil and be artistic at the same time. It's more fun being a bad guy if you make it really unique."
"Ah, a connisseur, I see." Epic Man's grin was merry, but with its width and the sharpness of his teeth, the joyfulness of it was rather tainted. "I'm beginning to like having you around. I must object to your assumption of evil, though. To ask the master, he would say that we are on a mission of utmost importance to the human race. We must make humans distrust us so that they can get on with their lives and work harder."
"I know all that." she scoffed. "He can talk all he wants about motives, but his methods are totally evil. I mean, taking over other people's property and causing millions of dollars worth of damage isn't nice. Proto Man said he even had this one sushi-robot chasing people in January. Wow...has it been so long? It feels like forever since then."
"Not to me it doesn't."
This new voice was the relaxed and yet sinister voice of Algorhythm Man, fully restored and blinking merrily. He went over to lean on the railing on the other side of Crystal Bot. She looked at him curiously, but he was eager to voice his opinion without any encouragement.
"I don't think we're that evil." Algorhythm Man said. "Perhaps a bit inconsiderate, but we're not in the business of killing people, especially if we don't have to. It's only robots that suffer."
"Robots aren't people." Epic Man agreed with a shrug. "We're just tools for whatever the humans want."
"I think we're like substitute people." Crystal Bot tugged a bit at her hair. "We're there to be nice to people when no one else is. Rock and Roll and Proto Man were all made to be like Dr. Light's kids. They're even based on his dead wife."
"Now that is creepy." Algorhythm Man said. "Humans should just have regular children."
"She's right about the substitute people, though. Every time there's a dangerous situation, humans substitute robots for themselves!"
"Quite right, Epi."
"Isn't it, though?"
"Um," Crystal piped up. "Shouldn't I be getting to work on Zero now? Dr. Cain will get mad if I slack."
"No rush at all, dear." Epic Man relaxed on the railing. "Give it a few more minutes. After all, Master will be asleep for some time, and it wouldn't do to be too quick about getting that girly-bot ready for him. It would be terrible if he awoke and suddenly found that you had not only hacked all the way through Zero's security programming, but also installed a remote control and was walking him about like a toy. It would be such an insult to his intelligence."
"Oh! That's such a great idea!" Crystal Bot giggled with glee at the very though, imagining herself sending Zero to Monstropolis and playing him as though he were a video game. "But I don't know that I can do that. I haven't even seen what kind of security he has. And besides, even if I do hack Zero really well, it's only because I know how Dr. Wily programs his robots."
"He's bound not to take it that way." Epic Man said. "You never know when he might get annoyed that a robot is outdoing him."
"Yes, give it some time." Algorhythm Man heartily agreed. "And tell me a bit more about good ol' Fish!"
Even at this irreverant reference to her old boss, Crystal Bot saddened. She sighed deeply, leaning on one arm on the railing. Thinking of Bass wasn't something she wanted to do.
"Oh come on, don't tell me you actually miss him!"
"No, of course not. He...wait, you know what? I do miss him. Trouble is, I missed him before I left him." Crystal Bot turned away from the ocean view, leaning her back on the railing as she folded her arms and began to explain. "Back when we were with Wily, Bass was so cool. He was smart, brave, and did all the other things none of us robots were allowed to do. He didn't even have to help build the Skull Castles. And then he changed overnight. I wake up one day and I'm suddenly in Light Laboratories, and he's Mega Man's best friend and doesn't want to fight him anymore! I built him some really nice upgrades and stuff, but he stopped caring! It was all, 'hey, let's listen to the government now' or 'Mega Man needs me to cover his patrol' or crap like that. I'm so sick of it all!"
Crystal Bot scowled and pouted, sinking deeper into a slouch. She didn't notice at first that Algorhythm Man was coming in closer. He slunk a little nearer to her, distracting her with a question.
"So you have no problem telling me all about his upgrades?"
She looked up at him, a little unnerved by his proximity. She couldn't back away from him without bumping into Epic Man, so she stiffened and hoped that he got her silent hint.
"I don't mind at all." she answered. "I know all his weaknesses and everything. He's got really strong armor that I invented, so that's something you're going to have to work around."
"You invented a new armor type?" This got Epic Man's attention. "Now this I'm interested in. I hope you're still intent on dealing with the little blue 'hero'."
"Definitely! Dr. Cain will be so happy when I tell him!"
As she spoke to Epic Man, Algorhythm Man took a step closer, almost to where their shoulders touched. Crystal Bot shivered and hoped Epic Man would say something, but he seemed lost in his own thoughts (that weird grin on his face - what was he thinking about?). Algorhythm Man converted a finger into a zip drive, much too overeager for Crystal Bot's tastes.
"So why don't you just give me Fish's schematics then?" he said. "If I only had those files-"
His hand neared Crystal Bot's neck, but from out of nowhere a white hand gripped Crystal Bot's shoulder and pulled at it. It was Frantic Man, and for an explanation he gave off a few computer blips and squeals. Dub appeared out from behind him and crawled over to Crystal Bot's feet.
"She can't understand you, Frantic Man." Epic Man said in a bored tone. "None of your little Wily-bot friends were allowed to know your speech code."
"I'm not a Wily-bot." Crystal pouted. "I'm a crystal-bot."
"Whatever."
"Where exactly did you come from then?" Algorhythm Man hissed at Frantic Man, very annoyed at the interruption.
"He's been here a couple of minutes already." Epic Man glanced over at his brother. "You shouldn't turn off your orbital scanners even in the base. Who exactly sent you here, Frantic Man? You shouldn't just slink about in the shadows."
The tacky robot answered calmly with his noises, and something he said made Epic Man laugh.
"Yes, but you're not me." Epic Man turned to Crystal Bot. "You see, it's just like I was telling you. Frantic here was sent to make you go work on Zero, and even he's reluctant to let you go off and possibly outdo the master."
"Aw...I was hoping Cain wasn't a diva..." she moaned. "Oh well, I better go do what he says. Yay! I get to work on Zero! Wily never let me work on him!"
Still in the midst of her joy, she didn't realize that the rest of the crowd wasn't up her level of bounciness. It took her a minute to see the frowns on their faces (well, the two of which that actually could frown), and see that they were a little confused. The Cain-bots glanced back and forth at each other, and Frantic Man was shaking his head.
"So...you mean to say that you've never worked on Zero?" Epic Man asked, letting his giant left claw unfurl a bit.
"Nope. Nobody's worked on him besides Dr. Wily. He didn't want one of us to get captured or something and spill the beans on important details." she said. "Don't worry though. I've done everything else with Dr. Wily, though, so I can figure it out, especially if he left some sort of trap on Zero's programming. Let's go! If there's a spare disc somewhere, I'll load up Forte's composition files to it and give that to you, Algorhythm Man."
"Ah, please do." Not even this seemed to temper his worry. "Uh, Frantic Man, why don't you go with her to Zero's room? Brother and I have a bit to discuss."
"Zzt."
The two went down the hall, leaving the open and bright area behind. Crystal Bot was mostly oblivious to whatever concern the Cain-bots seemed to have. She glanced over at Frantic Man, revealing him as the source of any nervousness she had. Biting her lip, she simply followed him through the rocky chambers, one into another. Somehow it was awkward to her that the only sounds in the room were the tappings of her feet against the floor and the humming of the line of computers in the wall.
"Um, Frantic Man?"
He turned to her, and for a split second she regretted trying to fill the quiet walk with some sort of communication. But she had started it, so she might as well say something.
"Thanks for not killing my stepdad."
Frantic Man beeped, turning back ahead again. Crystal Bot guessed that this was some equivalent of "you're welcome" or "I was only letting him be bait so that Algorhythm Man could get a chance to fight Bass". Either way, he just continued to walk forward at his steady pace, his wings folded calmly to keep them swinging too much.
"Is it fun working for Dr. Cain?" she still asked. "Um, I mean, does he yell a lot?"
Frantic Man leaned his head a bit, thinking. Finally he shook his head.
"Um, does that mean he's not fun?"
He nodded.
"Oh." Crystal bit her lip. "So...is he really mean? Does he yell at you a lot?"
"Wrrt."
Frantic Man shook his head no. He said something else in his weird language, but gave up after a moment. The walk became silent again, but before Crystal Bot could summon up the courage to ask him something else, they found themselves at a dead end. Frantic Man reached out his clown arm and poked at a rock several feet up at the end of the wall. The large boulders before them recoiled backwards, opening a new passage in much the same way Stone Man's body rearranged itself.
"Cool!" Sinistra exclaimed. "This base is awesome!"
She scrambled past the open rocks first, and as she did the lights came on, revealing a moderately large lab. The place was lighted with bright florescents, and had the sort of tile floor that brought to mind (in humans) the floors of their old high school. The left and far wall were all computer monitoring equipment, and the rest of the walls, unlike the other chambers, were instead white painted cinderblocks. The far right wall had both a whiteboard and bulletin board, as well as a plain, wooden door.
Sinistra saw none of these things. For, towards the back of the room, was the very robot that had been evading her ever since she first spied Dr. Wily's plans for him. He lay there on his repair table (the large kind) with all the solemnity of a regal warrior lying on his funeral pyre. His long blonde hair draped over the side of the table, and wherever the ventillation was coming from, it was perfectly placed to blow at the ends of his hair.
"EEEEE!" she squealed, putting all of her emotion into this act. She raised on her toes, lifted both fists to her chin, and beamed as big as she could. That was her only delay before rushing over to him, excitedly trying to figure out where to start.
"Nzzh beep...hrwph pvvt...?"
"Huh?"
Crystal Bot turned around, finding the emotionally indeterminable Frantic Man lifting his hand. He was trying to ask her something, but even with his careful gesturing, Crystal had a time trying to figure him out. He kept twisting his hand, pointing at Zero, and patting his arm as if he were holding something.
"Um...are you trying to ask if I need some supplies for hacking Zero?"
"Zzzt!"
"Yay, I got it!" she clapped her hands. "Okay, so I'm gonna need a hand held scanner, some wiring to hook him to the main computer - oh, never mind, those are over here already. Okay, I still need the hand held with a programmable hackstyle format function, an armor plating Jamie wrench, a couple of blank discs, and something to tie his hair back. I just know it's gonna get in my way. I've got a bunch of tools in my foot armor, so that should be it for now."
Frantic Man made some sort of agreeable noise before he went over to the door, which Sinistra guessed to be a supply room. She, however, paid him no more mind. This was Zero she could work on, and now no other robot existed. She was so wrapped up in selecting the tools from her armor she hardly even noticed when Dub crawled up behind her. He made a bit of a noise, then flipped upside-down. A green part of his armor suddenly popped off and turned brown. It formed itself into Bruce the pipi, completely intact and holding a zip drive in his mouth. Flying up on Crystal Bot's shoulder, Bruce landed gently and stuck the zip drive in her neck.
She stiffened, dropping her screwdriver. A full minute passed, after which she blinked and shuddered. Once her shuddering stopped, she smiled.
"Ah, thanks Bruce."
She winked at the bird, and he gave a quiet tweet as he went back to Dub and returned to being nothing more than an extra layer of armor plating. With Dub flipping right side over, there was no way for anyone to tell if anything had happened at all.
The sound of a door behind her made Crystal Bot nearly jump. She turned to see Frantic Man returning through the door. If he had seen anything, he didn't do anything about it. The wacky robot simply brought the requested materials and placed them beside Zero. Well, if he had seen anything, Crystal Bot wasn't going to be nervous and give it away.
"Thanks, Frantic Man." Crystal Bot smiled. "Let's get to work! Yolshimhi hapshida!"
\\\\\
Author's Notes:
- I actually have no idea what color cadmium is when you burn it. Neither does Crystal. She's guessing.
- I don't believe that humans would ever give up much of what they do to robots. Like flying ships or going into space. Doing either of those things is for the experience, to feel something new and to cross new boundaries. Whatever progress humans make will be entirely human in nature.
- Frantic Man was trying to tell Crystal that Dr. Cain doesn't yell at you if you do what you're told.
- Yolshimhi hapshida means "let's do our best!"
Character profiles!
=====Fire Man
"I'll fire you!"
Good point: Hot blooded
Bad point: Hot tempered
Likes: Summer camp
Dislikes: Rainy days
I friggin' love Fire Man. He's my favorite from the original game. When I would play nintendo at my grandparent's house, the theme would sound all wonky and fun. Apparently it came from using the Game Genie. I guess that's why I like techno now.
So Fire Man is a part of Team 1, invented by Dr. Light as more or less an experiment into what exactly a robot is capable of doing. Fire Man's power levels were originally not very high, as his functions mainly dealt with heating homes and repairing propane and gas based machinery. Wily increased his power substantially to make him very dangerous. Fire Man is a little simple-minded. While he's intelligent, he never really bothers to question Dr. Wily, even when Wily comes up with crazy plans that don't really work. He's very self-controlled, and isn't fond of those that question Wily's service. Before his conversion to Wily, he was much friendlier and good around kids. Now he talks less, only relaxed enough to chit chat around his own team members. He doesn't "waste words" on people "not worth his time".
Like all of Team 1, Fire Man's loyalty programs are very strong. He also has a strong dislike for Team 5. While he never went out of his way to aggravate them before they departed from Wily, Fire Man had strict expectations that they would know their place. Currently, one of Fire Man's arms is a part of Frantic Man, and the rest of him is lost.
=====Charge Man
"Be mindful of your future, son."
Good point: Straightforward
Bad point: Bellicose attitude
Like: Past reflections
Dislike: Trendy fashions
Charge Man is a fairly hyper robot. He enjoys older things, and at times there's nothing more fun to him than a great museum. Part of him wishes he worked on one. He doesn't like staying up in the space station very long, and from time to time has to get back on solid ground to run around and get his energy going. He's in charge of transporting supplies to Team 5, naturally.
Like most of Team 5, Charge Man is one of Wily's incomplete ideas. He was actually shortly before MM2, though he was little more than a mechaniloid until the events of MM5. Wily was enthusiastic about building him at first, but got bored of his train robot before final completion and just had him hauling around parts so that Wily could work on robots he liked better. He was upgraded with a proper mind and a coal shooter shortly after Wily escaped from Mega Man in Russia.
Charge Man was actually pretty good at dealing with the fact that nobody liked Team 5, and when not building Wily Castles he often spent time alone reading ancient Japanese legends and practicing his script. He's good friends with Napalm Man, though the two have grown apart just a little since they became good guys.