Rockman Ga Taosenai

by GrimMoody

Everyone told Mega Man that he was the invincible robot. This last adventure in my Mega Man quintology tests everything the blue bomber knew about himself and his friends. With hard work and a lot of luck, they can save the future from the reploid wars. That is, if Proto Man can keep his darkest secret from his brother.

16. Dark Side of the Blues

The mood was cheery in Light Laboratories. Everyone was merry. Completely exhausted, too. They had spent the last hours simply sorting out all of the robots they had defeated, trying to hack into them then fix them before sending them off to the robot museum. Between that and repairing the heroes' injuries, Auto had a lot of work to do. Dub helped him arrange the lab and catch falling screws. Roll had to help as well, rushing about with parts of Psycho Man and trying to get them back in order without tripping over the pile of Grenade Man on the floor.

In the corner of the messy, busy laboratory, our main heroes were gathered together on the last couple of repair tables. Their mood was jolly. Who wouldn't be after the success of their mission? Wily was in custody, Zero was captured and safely held by the REA, Dr. Cain's last base of operations was found (they found his submarine later), and Dr. Cain himself was of course arrested.

The lesser of the mad scientists was actually quite cooperative. Last the robots saw of him, he was compliantly showing the police all his files. Mega Man had the sense that Dr. Cain was using this as one last way to show off; he was a genius and he was going to at least prove that before they hauled him back to prison. Rock did have to admit that Dr. Cain's plan for rebuilding the economy after losing all the robots was very intelligent, and he hoped it could be learned from and used should anything horrible happen to the earth.

The human police took over at Dr. Cain's base, so that left nothing more for Mega Man to do but bring his allies back for repairs and compile their reports to the Robotic Ethics Agency. A happy, helmetless Rock (he liked his hair poofy no matter what Roll had to say) couldn't help smiling as he watched his friends. Though Blues had teleported away from Dr. Cain's lab without being noticed, he was now sitting on the repair table nearest the corner right alongside his brother. Mega Man thought he might overheat with happiness that his once shy brother now felt welcome in the lab. Proto Man's neck was even naked; Roll was washing his trademark scarf. Noticing his brother's glance, Proto Man grinned back. In his own subdued way, of course.

Wave Man sat in a chair to the left of Proto Man, one of the spare chairs that were used for the occasional guest to Light Laboratories. The Team 5 leader usually preferred to stand, but his leg had recieved a nasty gash, and he sat to save everyone the trouble of it creaking. All the same, Wave Man was jolly, and his inner workings bubbled with laughter at a joke Bass made.

I can't believe Bass is actually telling jokes.

Mega Man tried not to make it look too obvious that he was looking at Bass, where he sat at the computer console across from Rock. Bass had turned the chair around from the computer screen, and instead of reading the book Fear and Trembling that was dog-eared and laying on the console, he was actually conversing with Blues and Wave Man about their latest excursion.

Crystal Bot was there too, nervous for a couple of reasons. The first of which was plainly obvious. The poor girl-bot huddled in the corner of the room, trying her hardest not to look at all of the broken robots in the room. Of course, looking at the others was her other reason, as she was in the midst of explaining her recent actions.

"So I really wasn't trying to betray anyone." Crystal continued. "I really was just going out to get a replacement part for Dub from Mr. Redford. Epic Man must have figured out somehow that I was researching all the old Wily castles. I didn't know that Dr. Cain was hiding there, I just wanted to check and see if that was a lead. Epic Man came up while Roll was there, so I figured I'd try and save both our skins by using the plan I told you about, Forte-kun."

"I like that. You have a perfect, convenient excuse for not doing what you're told." Bass snorted. "And you just happened to have Dub and Bruce merged so that you could erase Dr. Cain's influence from your head."

"I wanted to be as prepared as possible in case you let me." Sonata said with perfect innocence, straightening up in the exact posture to convey that. "I wasn't gonna betray you guys really. I just tend to think outside of the box, and that's what you like about me, remember?"

Bass snorted again, producing a haughty giggle from his technician.

"Besides," she proudly lifted a fist into the air. "I'm Team 5! We stick together!"

Wave Man chortled in his gurgly voice. "I raised you well, I see."

"Not quite well enough." Proto Man put in, lifting Mega Man's mind storage drive up for Crystal to see. "You haven't explained this. Why does your gift for Rock here send out a narrow beam transmission when he stores new information on it?"

Crystal Bot froze. Robotic skin on first generation robots doesn't change colors, but everyone swore that she paled. And then everyone swore that she blushed. Embarrassed, Crystal hung her head a little.

"I forgot about that..." Her voice faded into barely above a whisper. "Um, I was gonna...scan Rock so that I could upgrade Forte-kun and...convince him to defeat Rock." Crystal got a little courage back as she went on, and managed a better volume. "Gee, I guess I understand why you think I'd be a bad guy. But don't worry, I really wouldn't! Evil isn't any fun without Forte-kun."

Mega Man smiled warmly. Crystal was so cute being repentant, and it was so hard to stay mad at her - even though he knew some of it had to be an act. "It's okay. Bass explained to us about your argument. I can't say I'm not disappointed, but I'll forgive you. After all, your plan did help us out a lot. We got two criminals at once, and I can't ignore your part of that."

The girl-bot began to look hopeful. "So you're not gonna report me to Reyes?"

"Well, I already reported to him when you disappeared." Mega Man said. "But he knows your personality. I'll explain to him what happened, but I'll go easy on you, and I won't tell him about the zip drive. I am going to restrict your access to computers in the lab, though."

Proto Man shifted a bit, setting the storage drive beside him. "Crystal, 'going evil' isn't fun at all, with or without Bass. Later you and I are going to have to have a talk, and I'm explain a few things to you. From one robot to another."

Bombs didn't scare her and guns were no problem, but the very thought of a lecture made Crystal Bot gasp with horror. Most of it was put on to appear cuter (and less guilty), but having to deal with a lecture - namely one where she would just have to sit there and take it without being able to distract herself with some work - sounded terrifying. Already she figeted uncomfortably. But no, Proto Man's face, while still smiling, was quietly relentless. His discussion was not going to be optional.

"Wave Man!" Crystal Bot awkwardly tried to make a joke of it. "Forte! Y'all are supposed to protect me from things like this!"

"Heh," Bass smirked. "I saved your life already in the past twenty-four hours. You're on your own now."

"Bah, you!" Crystal Bot teasingly flipped a hand in his direction. "Bah!"

"Here we are!" Roll exclaimed as she walked up to the merry group bearing a tray of E-tanks. "I don't know why all of you have to have this little meeting now instead of after you're all repaired, but you can at least have something to power up with. Honestly. You need to take care of yourselves."

"Ah, thank you." Wave Man was the closest, and he took the first tank with the metal fingers on his hose arm. "Just what I need."

"No problem!" Roll was always happiest when she was serving others. "Alright, Bass, here you are!"

"Thanks." Bass took a can and popped it open immediately. "I earned it today."

"And for you, Blues!" Roll practically squealed. As much as she tried to be casual, it just wasn't working. "Please take one!"

Proto Man smiled, if a bit awkward. Usually he stood for no one fussing over him, but today Mega Man witness what amounted to a miracle. His brother merely took the can, allowing himself to be served. Rock was tempted to laugh. Even in small ways Proto Man wasn't particularly comfortable with letting others aid him rather than the other way around. But even this small gesture made Roll beam.

Of course, the light of such beaming was tempered as Roll shyly offered the tray to her next brother. Her cheeks tightened a little, and she found herself staring nervously into Rock's eyes.

" - I'm really sorry how I acted earlier. - " Roll said. " - I should have just helped Dr. Wily like you told me. - "

For his own part, Rock wasn't sure what to think. He knew Roll was more upset about his disappointment in her than repentant about refusing her medical assistance. She meant what she said for the wrong reasons. Mega Man, however, wasn't going to be harsh to her. He smiled warmly at his sister. Her happiness at the moment was more important to him.

" - Don't think about it anymore. - " Mega Man took his E tank with a smile. " - I don't. Just be happy again. - "

Apparently Roll was a very obedient sort. Him just telling her to be happy made Roll want to. Crystal wasn't the only one that disliked lectures, though for Roll they were worse. She was the one that had to worry about not talking about a future that didn't happen. And apparently it would never happen. With Zero captured, no one would ever get the Zero virus, Sigma would never turn evil, neither the Mother Elf nor Omega would be created, and humanity and robotity would not die out. Roll had to wonder if her memories of that future would disappear. After all, since it didn't happen, why should she have it on her mind any longer? Or did time not work that way, since the data was already recorded on her CPU?

Roll walked over to Crystal Bot as she thought all of these things, absentmindly proffering the last drink remaining on her tray. It took her a moment to come out of her stupor and realize that Crystal Bot was just staring at the E tank, not taking it off of the platter. Roll looked at her friend with question.

"What's wrong?"

This startled Crystal Bot a bit, and she looked up. "Uh, well, you see, I've never had an E tank before. I never needed one."

"You're kidding, right?" Bass said, taking a deep swig of his. "Of course you have."

"Nope. Never did. I'm not a fighter-bot."

Crystal curiously picked up the metal can, a bit nervous for some reason. Gently opening the can, Crystal took a little sip. She at once brightened. With a giggle, she thrust her can up in the air.

"Konbei!" she cheered with a scream.

No less merry, the others lifted their E tanks and joined in. It was definitely a time worth celebrating. Mega Man cheered all the more merrily - he could see that his sister's joy was genuine, not at all tainted by the doubts that depressed her for so long. It was a wonderful moment for him. He was surrounded by people he cared about all while celebrating the end of Wily's era of villainy. Of course Mega Man maintained the inward caution that Wily had one last trick or something waiting to get him, but still, if they had captured Zero, then what robot could possibly be worse than him?

Mega Man finished his E tank first and wiped his mouth on his arm. "Ah, that's good. Thanks, Roll."

"No problem." she took the can from him. Even without Dr. Light there she was going to make sure to keep the place as close to neat as she could. At least she would after the lab was cleaned up from all of the robots. She glanced at the screws, armor plates, and robotic remains and stifled a sigh. Mega Man saw this and laughed. Crystal Bot laughed also, but for a different reason.

"I'm kinda sad I didn't get to stay evil for long." Crystal Bot giggled, looking over at the housekeeper-bot. "I didn't get to make Roll my evil villain sister."

"What?" Roll turned around, pretending to be upset. She put the arm not holding her platter on her hip. "Who said you could do that?"

"I'd be evil. I don't need permission!" Sonata giggled. "I'd make you evil and take over the world and we'd get whatever we wanted! I'd build a castle that's nothing but pink on the inside! Pink, as far as the eye can see! And shiny!"

"Ew, I don't like pink." Roll complained. "I like red."

"Okay, so you can have the east wing and that'll be red as far as the eye can see." Crystal Bot put a finger to her chin. "Okay, and we'll have a throne room but that won't be pink or red. It'll be in the center and it'll be like in a royal castle, all made of stones. We'll also have an underwater kingdom, and Wave Man can be the underwater despot."

"No thank you." Wave Man said. "I'm perfectly fine with not ruling anyone. I wouldn't mind an underwater nature preserve, though."

"Okay. It'll have to be an evil one, though. Evil!" Crystal Bot exclaimed, throwing her arms into the air - and spilling a bit of E tank on her dress. "...Oops."

"If you make Roll evil, I'll have to stop you." Mega Man teased her. "Are you sure you want to risk that? Do you have eight robot masters waiting for me?"

"I'll beat you easy!" Crystal stuck out her tongue. "And then...dun dun dun! You will become...the castle's janitor! You'll have to clean it all day long just like Roll cleans up around here. You don't get to be lazy and just shoot stuff anymore. You have to work hard mopping the floors, cleaning the windows, and scrubbing the throne room with a toothbrush!"

That got a laugh out of everyone. Even Proto Man, usually so protective of his brother, smirked at him. Mega Man feigned a gasp and pretended to be horrified, even clutching his chest with fear.

"Oh no! Anything but that!"

Roll laughed as well. "That's what you get for tracking so much soot into my clean house! You could have at least used the hose out back. Oh!" Roll's evil (cute) glare turned right over to the black and gold robot. "Wait, Sona-chan, what about Bass? We have to put him to work too."

"Leave me out of your sick fantasies." Bass downed the last of his E tank. "Crazy girl-bots."

"Of course! Bass would be our royal bard!" Crystal Bot winked at him. "He would sing us songs all day and he would write a song especially for us, saying how wonderful Queen Sinistra and Queen Destra are. You should hear him sing, Roll-chan. He sounds like heavenly angels! Aw, sing us a song, Forte-kun!"

"Hell no. Hell, hell no. What did I tell you about your sick fantasies?" Bass said, chuckling and crushing his empty E-tank in his hands. "Roll, you better stop her, or else I'm tossing this can behind the computer."

"Ah, messiness! My secret weakness! Keep it up and the only rivalry you'll have with Rock is who can clean the windows in my throne room faster." Roll teased, showing off her deft organizational skills by snatching the can from him. "So be good."

With that, Roll gathered up all the cans (Crystal had to rush to finish hers) and went about her merry cleaning business, letting everyone else carry on the conversation.

"What about me?" Proto Man said. "I'll find a way to stop you evil villain girls from taking over the world. I am Proto Man, after all."

"That's where you got it all wrong, Proto-kun!" Crystal Bot exclaimed. "I've got the perfect plan to shut you down! When me and Roll - I mean Destra - beat up Rock and Forte-kun, we'll upgrade Rush and Treble into huge monsters! Rush will be the mighty Crush, and Treble will be the all powerful Tremble! They'll shoot you with their laser eyes!" Crystal made little hand pistols for emphasis. "Pyoo, pyoo!"

"Tremble?" Bass said. "What kind of crap is that?"

"What's wrong with it?" Crystal Bot turned to her boss. "Treble becomes Tremble because he makes people tremble. It makes perfect sense."

"No, it doesn't." Bass scoffed. "'Crush' implies that that's what Rush will do, but Treble trembles? No. Absolutely not."

"You could call him 'Trouble'." Mega Man suggested. "That's pretty close."

"Boo!" Crystal Bot objected. "No way. The rule is you have to add one letter and that's the robot's new name."

"I was going to suggest 'Tremor'." Proto Man just shrugged. "But that's sort of the same as 'Tremble' anyway."

"And it doesn't follow the rule!"

"As amusing as all of this is," Wave Man said. "We still have some business to conduct. Not all enemy robots are accounted for."

"You're right, sorry." Mega Man got down off the repair table and straightened up. Somehow standing up made him feel more professional. "Okay, Wave Man, what robots escaped? I was too busy trying to find Dr. Wily to keep up with it at the time."

"Of the enemies those with you faced," Wave Man answered. "Hard Man and Chill Man escaped. Of the ones my group fought, we haven't accounted for Nitro Man, Elec Man, and Shadow Man. You noticed that Epic Man disappeared. Gyro Man reported to me that Frantic Man got away, and we never recovered Algorhythm Man's body."

"So that's potentially seven or eight robots we'll have to find in the future." Mega Man scrunched his eyebrows together, deep in thought. "Huh. Normally Wily's robots are pretty fanatic about watching out for him. I'm shocked that they would run away rather than try to help Dr. Wily escape. Would Wily want them to leave? Like have some alternate mission for them to do if he was caught?"

"That sounds really long term for Wily." Bass scoffed. "He's not patient enough for that."

"He might be this time." Proto Man too got down from the repair table. "I left Dr. Cain's base to the rest of you because I was investigating ArmorCore Antivirus. It turns out that this program as well as Anderson Antivirus for the military are both traceable to Dr. Wily. He's the one that programmed them."

"Oh no!" Mega Man gasped. "There's no telling what Dr. Wily would do with those!"

"Actually, right now they're good anti-virus programs." Proto Man said. "Whatever Wily was planning to do with these, he wanted people to trust them. They won't do anything harmful to robots now, but of course at one point or another Wily could announce some sort of upgrade. This upgrade would doubtlessly involve something harmful."

"He is being long-term." Mega Man glanced over at the dark robot. "Bass is still right, though. It's not like him."

"The good news here is that Wily's robots will have no way of knowing we've discovered the connection between him and these anti-virus programs." Proto Man continued. "All we have to do is wait and see if something happens to one of them. Any plan of Wily's has to be carried out using them, so we'll notice right away."

"In that case," Bass stood up with a creak and a grunt. "I'm going to get back into proper working order. Sonata, you've got some spare armor for me, right?"

"Yeah." the girl-bot piped up. "I set up a workstation for you in one of the AI labs. It's too crowded in here."

"Alright. Before you go, I'll need everyone's memory discs and send them to Mr. Reyes." Mega Man volunteered. "Then I'm off for repair myself. Ugh, I could really use some joint work on my arms!"

Mega Man wriggled his left hand. It wasn't quite reacting properly. For the moment he shrugged if off, waiting patiently as Bass loaded his memories on a zip drive Crystal Bot handed to him. Crystal pulled another out of her armor and recorded her own. Wave Man, however, was already prepared. He pulled six already loaded zip drives out of his armor and handed them to the blue bomber.

"I'm sorry, but Star Man's battle memories are not recoverable." he said. "His injury was very severe and we have to use his back up memory just to restore him."

"I understand." Rock nodded. "Poor guy. He can be repaired, right?"

"Oh yes, he'll be alright." Wave Man gurgled. "Not much can stop my team."

Bass silently added his zip drive to Mega Man's open hands before heading off to the A.I. lab his technician pointed to. Crystal Bot had more memories to give to Mega Man, so it took her a bit longer to load all of her memories. Not much longer. A moment later she too could hand her zip drive to Mega Man and wander off. Crystal Bot didn't head straight away to one of the main lab's side rooms. After tiptoeing carefully past the mess that was once Psycho Man (those legs of his were perfect for tripping the unaware) she went over to another repair table, one closer to the center of the room and the mess. The automated machines in Dr. Light's lab weren't enclosed like Wily's; instead they are open mechanical arms hanging from the ceiling working on their robot.

Usually, anyway. There were many sparks coming from a particular table, which was why metal panels hung from the ceiling to block the table's edges. Crystal Bot went over to the pillar computer and pushed a few keys. She smiled. The work was almost done. In fact, even as she observed this, the metal panels went up again, as did most of the repair arms. Underneath all of that lay a robot that was once again shiny. Jewel Man opened his eyes.

"Ahbohjee?" she whispered.

"Sonata," Jewel Man opened his eyes, smiling. "You're alright?"

"Yes." she nodded. "I haven't been really repaired yet, but I wasn't hurt much in the first place. I'll get repaired just as soon as Forte's better."

Jewel Man sat up with a moan. "I do wish you would think a little more about yourself, sweetheart. You're not the only robot in the lab."

"That's obvious." Crystal giggled as she glanced around the room. "Forte-kun is the front line. Gotta keep the fighters in ship-shape!"

"Just don't wear yourself out in the meantime, sweetheart." Jewel Man took Crystal Bot's hand. "You're my little girl, and someone's got to watch out for you."

"Don't you hog that repair table, Jewel Man!" Auto fussed as he hurried over, shifting Signal Man to his other arm so that he could sternly shake a finger at the naughty shiny-bot. "I've got lots of robots to fix today!"

Jewel Man lifted his hands in teasing surrender as he hopped off the table. "I'm going, I'm going. Now give me some work if you're in that much of a hurry."

"Alright! Now that sounds much better!" Auto plopped Signal Man down where Jewel Man had been only seconds earlier, then took out his fan and started to whip it back and forth. "Ooowhee! I'm overheating in here! Go off and start working on Star Man for me. Galaxy Man just brought back his storage drive, and I need you to upload his memories into his new brain."

"I'm on the job!" Jewel Man said. "Good thing that Great Gems is letting me have this week off."

Crystal Bot followed Jewel Man to the other side of the room, next to the wall (yay for more wreckage dodging!). She used the excuse that Bass' extra armor was stashed in a storage locker nearby and she had to get it, though really she was more worried about her space-bot uncle. Star Man, bless his soul, had done his best over the years to try and teach Crystal Bot some literary and artistic appreciation, but unfortunately for him opera wasn't shiny.

The poor space-bot looked horrible. His metal head was shot clean through, and with his head armor and face removed to let a technician get a better look, he appeared as little more than a metal skeleton. Crystal Bot couldn't help but let out a whimper. Star Man's "friend" Galaxy Man hovered nearby, and for the life of him Jewel Man couldn't tell if Galaxy was wiry or worried. The silver robot kept switching between flitting about the area and staring stock still at Star Man, his antennae wiggling.

"How is he?" Jewel Man asked. "Where is his substitute memory drive?"

"It's on the computer beside him." Galaxy Man said with pride, turning a nice shade of tickled pink. "I didn't even mess with it at all! Ha, ha! I saved the day! Usually Star Man takes his mind storage drive with him, but he was lucky I swiped it from him before he left! Otherwise it would have been smashed when Star Man's front armor got hit in the battle!" Galaxy Man smacked Star Man's chest armor for emphasis. "How lucky is that? He would have been gone permanently, but I had his storage drive hidden away! How happy he'll be once he finds out I saved his life!"

"Um, why did you take his zip drive in the first place?" Crystal asked. "What were you planning on doing with it?"

"Oh, I was just going to play an innocent prank...nothing serious, nothing serious!" Galaxy Man switched to yellow. "I was going to replace his A.I. with mettool A.I. Isn't that so cute?"

Crystal Bot covered her face with a hand, trying to muffle her laughter. Jewel Man frowned at the two of them with disapproval. He was sure Galaxy Man knew how much Star Man couldn't stand him. He shook his head. "You know, one day Star Man is going to get you back for all the pranks you pull on him."

"Nonsense! I'm much more clever!" Galaxy Man winked. "He's no good at pranks at all. Takes life way too seriously! Besides, he owes me his life! That's the best prank of all. How can he top that?"

"Hee hee, I like you, Galaxy-kun!" Crystal Bot giggled. "You're fun. Later you have to go play Zero-G soccer with me, okay?"

"It's a date!" Galaxy Man happily spun around, going from silver to neon blue, to pink, and then back again. "If I can ever pry you away from Bass."

"Eep! Forte-kun!" Crystal Bot quickly ran over to the wall to decode the security enabled lock and get his armor out. "I gotta get goin'!"

As all this was going on, Mega Man looked through the discs everyone gave him. He nodded to himself; they were all there. Things were really turned out better than he had hoped. While everything at first seemed so lost with having to face two mad scientists at the same time, the whole situation had turned around, and now both were in custody. The fight wasn't over yet, but Mega Man was sure that all of the allies could come together and finally bring an end to everything Wily planned.

Best of all, Proto Man was still there, standing right beside him, allowing Roll to tie on his freshly cleaned scarf. For some reason the loner robot hadn't left, even though Mega Man knew exactly how much the crowded place made him nervous. Rock wished he understood why his brother felt this way.

"Hey, let's go to the 'library'." Rock said, putting the zip drives under his armor. "It's too crowded in here, and it's hard for me to concentrate when there's so much noise going on in here."

It didn't immediately occur to Mega Man until after he spoke that he was assuming Proto Man was going to hang around. Thankfully though, Blues' only reaction was a calm "alright". He was perfectly content to follow his brother out of the room and join him in the messy office of the late doctor. Roll, however, had done a good job in the room. It was at least far more organized, and each blueprint and note was either rolled up and sorted or tucked away into a proper file. Not one shred of paper stuck out randomly, bringing a final and calm clean to the room that had never existed in Dr. Light's lifetime.

"Let's see...Team 5, me, and Bass..." Mega Man spread the zip drives out on the desk and counted them. "All minus Star Man. I guess I'll format these and put them on my zip drive before I send it off. I don't suppose it would be appropriate to ask if you wanted to give your memory of the fight to Mr. Reyes, right?"

"Not this time." Proto Man shook his head. "It was proper when the roboenza virus was around, but not now. I'm sure Reyes can figure out what happened with nine eyewitness accounts anyway."

"Okay." Rock plugged one (Gravity Man's) into his neck and began to sort it out in the format Mr. Reyes liked. Wily robots weren't always compatible with government technology, and he wanted to look at what the others had seen anyway. "I was hoping you'd fight a little more with us."

"I was planning on it, but I got caught up looking for information on Wily's anti-virus programs. ArmorCore potentially could have been his biggest success. If he tricked enough people into buying it, well...you can guess what would happen." Proto Man said, leaning against one of the shelves. "This is changing the subject, but I'm a little worried about Roll. She's been acting strangely these past weeks."

Proto Man noticed how she's acting? I don't remember seeing him around here much. Mega Man wondered. "Well, she's been really iffy since Dr. Light died. About two weeks afterward, she had an emotional matrix split. Auto's scanned and checked her several times and found nothing. I'm beginning to think that her problem isn't mechanical."

"Not mechanical? I've never seen a robot with a mental illness."

"Dr. Light was always very good at getting us to emulate real human emotion." Mega Man pulled Gravity Man's drive out of his neck. "I never really understood it, but Dr. Light always said Roll's emotions were more advanced than mine."

"Maybe she has some sort of expectation that everything should be like it was." Proto Man suggested. "She's not used to not taking care of the doctor. Maybe we'll have to find her a new job."

Mega Man glanced at the next zip drive. It looked a little different than the others. He just shrugged at it. Any zip drive was usually as good as another. He plugged it into his neck, and instantly his face assumed an expression of confusion. This drive didn't have today's date on it. It had several dates, most of which were from many years ago. The latest date in the zip drive was only a week ago, however. Rock accessed the file.

It was a recording of a sad girl that Mega Man didn't recognise. He did recognise the wall behind her as one of the offices in the Robotic Ethics Agency. Someone out of the video's sight was interviewing her, and the more questions he asked, the more the girl cried. Tears streaked down the girl's face as she...as she...no! Surely she was lying! Mega Man searched through the other files on the drive, discovering the many crimes of his older brother. Worse than all the others was the one she spoke of, and Rock watched the security footage as a human backed away through a door, followed by buster-ready Proto Man. And then there were the flashes of plasma.

"Rock?" Proto Man shook his shoulder. "Rock, what's the matter?"

Mega Man didn't say anything. His eyes darted over to his brother, and ever so slowly the rest of his face did the same. He blinked twice, coming out of his trance long enough to let out a breath. The confusion came back, and his eyes were filled with it as they stared at his older sibling.

"Blues?" he said, barely above a whisper. "Who is Richard Copenhagen?"

Silence. A bullet through the heart. Proto Man stiffened. Inwardly he screamed. Inwardly he was tearing down mighty towers with sheer rage. Outwardly? Not a thing. There was nothing he could do. Mega Man knew, and every second that passed made it more clear exactly how much Rock had just learned about him. The blue robot shook his head.

"Blues...tell me she's lying...please tell me that this didn't happen...you didn't shoot him..."

Proto Man said nothing. He couldn't deny anything. He only backed away from his brother; if he were too near, than his brother could see through the visor. Once that began, he took a few more steps back. He couldn't stand near Rock...he couldn't watch Mega Man's face fall as he realized the worst of what Proto Man had done. The pain in Rock's innocent eyes was too much for him to bear. And yet his brother wouldn't let him back away. Every step Proto Man took backwards was quickly matched.

"We've got to do something." Mega Man desperately said, hardly even knowing what words were coming out of his mouth. "We can talk to someone. We can deal with this...somehow..."

Outwardly, not a thing. Proto Man's turmoil was all hidden away, bubbling and waiting to run over. He couldn't say anything. He wanted to lie and say it was all slander, and tell his brother not to fret. It was too late. Mega Man knew his moods, hidden by visor though they were. Before Blues knew it, his brother's arm was on his shoulder, and by all accounts it would look like Rock was about to cry.

"Blues." Mega Man said. "Tell me you didn't do this."

Without realizing what he did, Proto Man shoved Mega back and teleported out into the hall. To him, the laboratory (now more than ever) was a distrustful place, full of dark corners and shadow. Proto Man ducked away into the nearest room (a storage room for cleaning supplies) and prepared himself for a good cry. How could he ever face Rock again? To do so was an impossibility. He was so afraid!

But Proto Man didn't want to weep. The more he waited for glitching to come, the more he realized that he was mad. The more he thought about it, the more mad he got. He had gone long out of his way to make learning the truth as smooth as possible for Rock, and now the very thing he did not want to happen was upon him. And he knew exactly who to blame.

Before Proto Man knew what he was doing his feet directed him back through the lab. He barely had the patience not to kick away at any of the armor and bits of robot masters on the floor.

"Blues?" Roll immediately dropped Heat Man's armor and went toward him. "What's wrong?"

Proto Man glared at Roll, and even behind his shades it was a grimace enough to stop Roll in her tracks. He went right for the A.I. lab where he could hear the sounds of welding and calm chatting. It wasn't calm for long. The door slammed open, frightening Crystal Bot enough to stop her from fastening on her boss' new chestplate. Blues didn't care. He didn't even see her.

All he could see was Bass.

"You...BASTARD! You gave him your stupid case files!"

Crystal Bot backed away with a whimper. This was a volume she didn't even know Proto Man was capable of. "Forte, what's going on?"

"Get the hell out, Sonata." Bass growled at her before addressing Proto Man. "No I didn't, jerk. I've got the files right under my armor here."

Bass pulled a zip drive out of his armor and plugged it into his neck. Proto Man seethed, waiting just long enough for Bass to discover that it wasn't the files Reyes had given him about Proto Man's terrible early years. It was just the darn battle report. Bass winced, looking up with some apology at the Light-bot.

"Um...oops?"

"You bastard...you COMPLETE BASTARD!" Proto Man screamed, his face frightening enough for being mostly covered. "YOU LYING MONSTER!"

Crystal Bot started shaking. She would have left already, only she had to pass Proto Man to get to the door. "Forte, what is he-?"

"I said get out!" Bass snarled. "Look, it was just an accident, alright?"

"An accident? You kept it with you the entire time here! You could have switched it at any moment! Don't you DARE tell me that it was an accident!"

"Well, maybe if you hadn't shot Copenhagen in the first place," Bass' eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't have to worry about your idiot baby brother finding out!"

"That's it!" Proto Man snarled back. "I'm going to kill you!"

Blues began to charge his buster, only to have Crystal Bot grab his arm in desperation and stop the charge.

"Proto-kun! He'll kill you! You don't-"

Unable to simply shake her off (and not being patient enough to try), Proto Man flung her to the floor. He didn't hear as Roll gasped, still watching from the open doorway. She helped Crystal to her feet, and Crystal slammed the door behind her as they both scrambled off.

Of course, with Crystal out of the way, there was no reason for Bass not to shoot.

Proto thought quickly. He whipped out his shield and charged forward. He knew Bass would be able to shoot it away, and sure enough the protoshield was flung aside. That was fine. Blues only needed the protection so he could get close enough-

BLAM!

Right in the face. Bass staggered back, his red eyes only growing more frightening from the impact of the hot plasma. He fired off a volley of his own, and without his shield Proto Man could feel the sharp impact with extra intensity. Before he could recover, Bass dashed over and grabbed Blues by the neck, then threw him with mighty force at the wall computer. It practically exploded, sending out a shower of massive sparks. The impact didn't electricute him, so as soon as Proto Man hit the floor he jumped right back up, dodging plasma the whole time.

That darn A.I. lab was too small. Proto Man managed to land on the counter, knocking over several computer boards and discs on the upper shelf in the process of finding something to hang onto. Before any of them hit the ground he was firing back. Bass dodged, firing back his double busters. His aim was good, as good as Proto Man's landing spot was bad. Blues was knocked off the counter. As the scarfed robot fell, Bass was able to see all the damage his weapons did to the wall. He cringed.

That didn't mean he wasn't going to keep his busters trained on Proto Man. There was no need. For his part, the fight had gone out of Blues. He stood back up, leaning against the counter and using it to pull himself up. The shots left nasty marks on his armor, showing exactly how much damage he had taken. These Bass didn't get to see for long. Proto Man's shield was once more in the crafty robot's hand, and he revealed only the side of his helmet as he spoke.

"Fine...I can't beat you directly." Proto Man hissed. "But I can disappear. It's a big planet, Bass. Go ahead. Look for me. See how well your career goes after they hear how you failed to bring me in, because apparently that's all you care about! What you don't know is exactly how thin the ice you're on is; I've seen your reports. There's a lot of people in the REA that aren't very happy with you."

Bass eyes widened, but after a moment he got them back under control and made them fit back into his scowl. "You're lying!"

"That's the best part: I'm not." Proto Man let out his shield a little more, revealing half an evil smile - which lasted all of half a second. "They'll be even less happy when I'm through with you. I'm not going to forget this, Ba-"

The sound was loud, but Proto Man heard nothing. All he saw was a cloud of white, consuming his vision and knocking his sensors for a loop. Gradually his vision came back, though for a few seconds his hearing was only an irritating whine. He groaned, focusing on getting his systems under control. What could possibly have hit him? Bass couldn't knock off his shield in only one shot, much less damage Proto Man that badly behind it. He tried to lift his head, knowing that something was very wrong. He had felt this shot before, many years ago in more depressing times. His ears heard it first. Only then did a dizzy Proto Man see the blue hands securing a set of handcuffs on his right arm.

"Blues..." Mega Man said quietly. "You're under arrest for the murder of Richard Copenhagen."

Mega Man reached over for his brother's left wrist, taking it to secure into the other half of the cuff. Proto Man snatched his arm back. The only thing that spared Rock from the severity of Proto Man's worst glare ever was the darkness of the visor. But even through the tint of the shades, Mega was close enough to see just a glimpse of his brother's hurt. Just a glimpse. With a sickening metal smack Proto Man decked his brother, sending him sliding at least three feet across the tile floor. One teleport line later and Proto Man was gone.

Bass hadn't moved since Rock entered, and all he did now was lower his buster. He was shocked that Mega Man would shoot his own brother, especially with a fully charged blast. Mega Man seemed even more shocked. He didn't even get up. Rock lifted himself up just enough to scoot over and lean against the cabinets. He no longer acknowledged Bass. All scenery was entirely irrelevant. Rock had nothing to say about the plasma marks on the walls or the smashed computers. He just folded his legs, paused just one moment, and crumpled. His head fell, resting there in his hands. He shook, glitch after glitch, grieving as only a robot could.

The dark robot was only present physically. Emotionally, he wasn't anywhere close. Bass had no brothers that he cared about, unless hating Zero counted for some reason. Everything that Mega Man was feeling was entirely alien to him, and every second he stayed grew more awkward. Silently, Bass went to the door, gritting his teeth.

Uh yeah...I'll just leave this guy alone for a while. Ugh, I have to explain this to Sonata. Great. Two weepy people in the same day. Crap, Roll makes three. I hate Proto Man. I have to put up with this crap because he's such a jerk.

The voice piped up again. It was that same voice he'd been hearing for a long time, acting on occasion to guide him and gently obligate him to the right thing. It stopped him at the door, quietly making its demand known. Bass froze into place, and his fangs emerged.

No! Hell no! I'm not going to do that! You're just a stupid A.I. glitch and you can't tell me to stay here!

That was exactly what the little voice wanted. It reminded him of how much Mega Man cared for his brother. Doubtlessly Mega Man felt more alone than he ever had before. He needed someone to sympathize with him.

I am NOT Rock's friend! I put up with the guy because the government will have me scrapped if I don't! Bass wasn't sure if he could grit his teeth any harder than he was doing at that precise moment. His hands balled into tight fists as if he could fight the wayward program. He's got Roll to talk to if he wants! He's not my friend and none of my business!

Bass knew that excuse would never work even before he finished saying it. Roll had been acting weird for months, and ever since then a gap had widened between the siblings. Bass didn't bother trying to say that they would work things out. The voice already knew this. It debated the matter no further, like any conscious would. He felt a dark tinge in his mind. Bass knew that if he left, that little voice would never forgive him for it.

Fine! Just great! So I sit here and mope around with the little blue dweeb. What the hell am I supposed to say to him?

The voice didn't answer. It had stated its terms.

Forget about it! I'm not doing it! You can't make me!

The grumpy Bass tried not to growl audibly. He opened the metal sliding doors, revealing the messy lab on the other side. All work had stopped. Auto had come halfway across the room, about as close as he dared, and Galaxy Man was with him, more quiet than the space-bot had ever been in its life. In the distance Bass could see Jewel Man glowering. Bass glowered right on back; what happened wasn't his fault, so Jewel Man could keep his face shut about it. Roll and Crystal Bot, the worst of the culprits, were right there in front of him, their fearful eyes demanding explanation.

"Forte..." Crystal asked. "What did you mean when you said Proto Man shouldn't have shot Copenhagen? Who's Copenhagen?"

Bass' hands instantly tensed, but he managed to keep himself from throttling Crystal then and there. But he was going to have to explain sooner or later. He chose later.

"It means...it means I'll tell you when I feel like it." Bass huffed. "Crystal, you've got my damage assessment, so go set up an automated machine for me while you're out there. Roll...go...clean something. I'll talk to you later."

Since when had Roll been so bold? Didn't she normally just shiver at him and avoid his gaze? Today, however, Roll was not going to be sent off with a few words, and even endured direct eye contact with the dark robot (no small feat, I can assure you). In light of Roll's courage, Crystal Bot held her position as well. She wanted to hear what happened.

"Tell me the truth, Bass." Roll said. "Did Proto Man kill someone?"

Mega Man only appeared deaf to the world. As Roll said this, he glitched harder and let out a sob. Roll shuddered, her show of strength weakening. That was enough answer for her. She backed away, growing silent. Even then, her blue eyes flitted up once more.

"You'll...find out later." Bass grumbled, dealing with his own darkness. "Just go away while I deal with this guy."

"Alright, then."

Roll stepped aside, but still looked to Bass for some sort of answer with those horrible, desperate eyes. She wasn't going to get one. Bass simply turned away and pushed the button on the wall. The door shut behind him. Mega Man wasn't looking, so he made all the horrid faces that he wanted, sour as a shipment of citris fruit.

ARRRGGHH! I swear to God I'm going to kill Auto for putting this stupid program in me! I never should have let him change my directive!

And so the dark robot walked over to the wall opposite Mega Man, thinking all the multifarious ways he could make Dr. Light's assistant lab robot suffer in misery. Bass thunked himself down on the floor, sitting with his legs stretched out and his arms tensely folded. He hated Auto, he hated Proto Man, and he most definitely hated the raven-haired robot sitting opposite him and crying over his criminal brother.

Well, I'm here, conscious. You happy? What the hell do I do now?

No answer. Bass just sat there. For once, he felt something like pity for Mega Man. It was a strange feeling, so he shoved it away in anger. He despised all weak robots, and if Mega Man was going to sit there and cry then this included him too.

Mega Man lifted his head. He leaned back against the cabinets, his shoulders slumped. A whimpering sigh escaped his lips, and he managed to look at Bass through grief-deadened eyes.

"How long have you known?"

"Eh, a few days." Bass muttered. "Reyes assigned me to catch him. Proto Man wanted a week to help you before I turned him in."

"And I got your case files."

"Yeah." Bass shifted uncomfortably. "That was an accident."

Mega Man let his head sag a little to the side. From the way the life departed from Rock's face, Bass wasn't entirely sure Rock was telling the truth when he spoke again.

"Oh." he said. "I believe you."

Things got quiet. Rock seemed preoccupied with staring at his hands, and every other moment he gave out an occasional glitch. Bass felt more awkward than ever. Every second of silence seemed to say "fill me, fill me!", though Bass couldn't think of anything to say. Was he supposed to be (gag) comforting Rock? The only way he knew to comfort was to pet behind the ears, as he did to Treble when the two of them talked of sad things. He wasn't going to pet Rock, but all the same, he felt he should say something. Unfortunately, all that came to mind was negative comments about Proto Man, which Bass had sense enough to know wasn't going to work.

Mega Man suddenly lurched forward, and out of him began to proceed little sobs as his head fell into his hands. Bass winced. He'd wondered too long and now whatever "comforting" words he could think of to say would do nothing to stop Rock's crying. Bass began to wonder if he should leave, but the little voice inside of him disapproved every time Bass began the slow process to try and get out of sight.

Mega Man, on the other hand, was even more lost. He now knew the truth about his brother: Proto Man was a murderer. He'd always known that something was very wrong with Blues; that something in him didn't line up with Light-bots. Blues looked like one of Dr. Light's designs, but all the same there was just something about him that kept everyone from just out and calling him a "Light-bot". It was something both independent and dark, self-sufficient and hopeless. It was the sort of aura that made Mega Man want to welcome his brother and let him share in their creator's heritage.

But Proto Man always resisted. He never let himself be drawn into Mega Man's "naiive" world, and now Mega Man knew why. Rock could search through all of the records and see his brother's many sins, and he could learn more of the worst of them. He shut his eyes tightly as he wept. He knew the punishments for robots that killed people. Robots had no rights, no statutes of limitations. Those limitations applied to humans, because humans could change. Robots, however, were subject to the programming of their masters. No matter how much Mega Man might try and explain to the Robotic Ethics Agency that Proto Man had indeed changed and become something better, they would not listen. They were not legally allowed to listen.

Rock cried harder. Proto Man had killed Richard Copenhagen in the attempt to steal Gamma with Wily's third team of robots. That was just before he and his brother met for the first time. While Blues had never been intimidated by his brother, all the same he'd been afraid to see him, only daring a few visits out of nervous curiosity. They'd grown closer over time, even becoming good friends. Only today Mega Man found out that the friendship was doomed before he knew his brother even existed. Proto Man was guilty of a crime that was not forgiven by the law.

Mega Man wasn't even sure he could forgive it. He didn't know how; he'd never forgiven something that big before. Here he was, a hero, and his sister was kind. His brother...his brother. A settling darkness sank its way into Mega Man's mind, right at the part of his A.I. that activated whenever he had to face another Wily team of robots. It was that challenge, that rush to defend. He would defend peace no matter who threatened it. That included Proto Man.

Rock felt a little stupid thinking that way of his brother. Proto Man wasn't a criminal like the rest...was he? As much as he wanted to defend Proto Man, Blues was guilty of a very serious crime. He wholly and justly deserved the punishment that awaited him. The blue robot took a deep breath, letting it attempt to calm him down. It didn't really work. His voice was probably still too grief-stricken not to annoy Bass.

"I did the wrong thing, didn't I?" he barely lifted his head as he asked this, and his little voice barely filled the little room. "How could I...? I tried to arrest my own brother. No wonder he ran off."

Mega Man spoke calmly. He was shaking a like a leaf, but he still managed to speak in the shaking calm tones of a person whose world was turned upside down, but the reality of which was still hitting him too hard for any severe reaction. The innocent reality Mega Man tried so hard to live in was spinning, leaving its occupant sick and dizzy. Bass was doubtful that Mega Man would even be able to stand for the next two hours. The pathetic bomber just sat there, trembling and glitching as if the world would end. Truth be told, part of his world had.

Bass didn't answer right away. He scratched his head. Guessing what made Proto Man tick was as foreign to Bass as microbiology, and of the two Bass cared more about the latter.

"Hell, he's doing what he wants." Bass muttered. "If he wants to be an idiot, then it's not your problem."

"But I scared him off." Mega Man managed a weak protest. "I just...did everything wrong."

"Oh, shut the hell up, Rock." Bass was having a hard time putting up with Mega Man's complaints. It took all the remainder of his self-control not to growl. "Proto Man made his own choices. If he wanted to straighten up and fly right he'd have turned himself in a long time ago. You can't blame yourself for what he does. I talked to the guy a while ago, and he's all screwed up in the head. He doesn't know what he's doing anymore. If he doesn't even know what he wants then there's nothing you can do to fix him either."

To his surprise, Mega Man actually nodded. "Yeah. Dr. Light used to say something similar."

Bass blinked. "He said Proto Man was screwed up?"

"No, just confused."

They didn't speak for a moment. Mega Man slumped a little more, staring down at the tiles with half open eyes. He looked like a tired human. Bass was himself exhausted. His posture relaxed a bit, and his overwhelming irritation was starting to subside. It was nice to know that some of the things that came out of his mouth made sense.

"I wish Reyes would have told me." Rock said. "It just...I wanted...I don't like being illusioned."

"You don't like it when people think you're too much of a kid to cope."

"Um, yeah." Mega Man sniffed. "I mean, I've been in a lot of battles, I can handle it."

Bass rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like you're handling it now?"

Mega Man almost mustered up the strength to object, but instead deflated, sinking back down into a slouch. "Um, yeah."

It looked as they were talking that Mega Man was getting a little better. He wasn't, not really. The blue bomber glitched again, squinching his eyes tightly shut. Proto Man was his brother. As much as the other robots Dr. Light made all had a close place in his heart, Proto Man outshone all of them. Blues was the hero for the hero, and every time his brother appeared out of nowhere it made him happy. It was like having a little miracle show up at the times they were most desperately needed, or like having a guardian angel.

Mega Man knew that Bass couldn't stand him being so weepy, and to his credit, he tried to remain calm. It was just too hard. He choked, sobbing as he covered his face.

"I can't stand it." he wept. "Why did he have to do this? I never understood before why Congress or the REA wouldn't just pardon him right off. Now...if he hadn't it would be so much easier...why did he have to do this? Most other crime can be fixed...I can pay back anything stolen...I can fix something broken...but this? After all this time, I thought Proto Man was better than this. I thought that even when he was with Wily he was a better robot, one with better judgement. That he would actually shoot a man...I can't...I just..." Mega Man lifted his desperate face. "What do I do? I don't know anymore."

"You don't have to do anything." Bass muttered. "It's up to Proto Man to decide he's going to do the right thing."

Mega Man nodded. He tried not to glitch, but it was too hard. He broke down again, shaking. Bass sighed. He guessed that this sort of thing was much harder for a robot that had lived a better life. Bass was too well aquainted with unhappiness. His "brothers" had punched him in the face (and he'd done the same to them) several different times. Of course, Bass didn't care about them. Proto Man meant something to his Mega Man. Bass grudgingly reckoned that this might be somewhat similar to how he felt about Treble. It would have felt silly to anyone else to make this comparison, but the purple wolf was Bass' true best friend, and was Bass' companion for all of the dark times of his life.

All the same, he was still Bass. There was only so far sympathy could go with him.

Bah, you can't compare Proto-Idiot to Treble. Treble's loyal and he sticks around. Not like Blues.

"He was working for Wily. What do you expect?" Forte spoke up. "Hanging out with that evil bastard is sure to mess him up. Did you really expect that he'd never end up killing anybody?"

"You didn't. You didn't even kill Dr. Light when you had the chance long ago."

Bass was taken aback. He leaned up against the computer, trying to think why in the world he never killed a human. It wasn't as if he was a moral person. "Hell, I was too busy fighting you all the time. Killing a human doesn't impress anyone. I wasn't going to kill Dr. Light back when I tore up the lab. He repaired me and he was just a weak old guy. What would the point be?"

Rock managed the faintest of smiles. "I wouldn't be upgraded anymore and you could defeat me."

"Oh yeah." Bass thought about it a minute. He just shrugged. "Eh, whatever."

Mega Man made himself inhale deeply, trying to refresh his mind. He was beginning to feel a little better. Still trying to leave and face the others was looking to be a daunting task. He didn't feel like getting up yet. He could wait a while.

"Hey, Bass..."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

The dark robot shifted, a little uncomfortable. "Eh, you're welcome."

He resisted adding "don't expect me to be nice like this all the time". It just didn't seem like the right thing to say, as much as he wanted to say it. Instead, he sat there, watching as Mega Man lowered his head again and continued staring at the floor. This grieving process was going to take a while, but Bass would take it like any challenge: with all the stubborness he possessed. And he had quite a lot.

\\\\\\\\\\\

Author's Notes:

- If you recall from the Bonus Features of Okkusenman, pink and shiny are Crystal Bot's favorite colors. Roll, on the other hand, can't stand pink and is only moderately fond of shine.

- In this day and age, zip drives cost next to nothing and are generally the most common form of mass data communication between robots.

- Yes, Fear and Trembling is a real book. It's also really weird.

- Robot handcuffs prevent internal arm busters from converting from hands to busters once they're set into place. They don't have a chain in the middle, but basically are two metal bars with a pair of gaps in the middle for robot wrists. They open and close like a hinge, and they have a lock on the open in for when they need to be closed. Also, Proto Man's teleports aren't traceable. The technology he uses isn't entirely compatible with modern robotic requirements. A lot of him is that way.

=====Hard Man

"Oooh, what a drag!"

Good point: Can keep secrets

Bad point: Lazybones

Likes: Sumo wrestling

Dislikes: Swimming

Hard Man is Team 3's most underestimated robot, both in my story and in real life. He has a really great theme, but for some reason when people think of MM3 they think of one of the more exciting robots instead of him. It takes a minute for people to remember that he's there. But I still like my beer keg buddy.

Hard Man was designed pretty much equally by Drs. Wily and Light. Light had his ideas for him, Wily had his ideas for him, but at the end of the day they two found themselves working more on other robots. Hard Man was closer to Dr. Light, and as a good robot he was very friendly and made fun jokes. His personality didn't change too much even when he turned evil; though Team 3 was the most disunited of all the robot master teams, whenever they had to work together they never complained about Hard Man. They talked to him and knew he would never tell their secrets, making Hard Man the most generally knowledgeable about Wily's robot's doings. Other than Team 5 or 4, the other robots found him equally trustworthy, mostly because Hard Man was too lazy to tell other people's secrets. He and Yamato Man got along very well, and often watched Japanese sporting events together.

As I mentioned in one of the earlier chapters, Hard Man was seen on the security footage when Richard Copenhagen was killed, and up till recently he was the one blamed for Richard's death. Hard Man didn't actually know Copenhagen before Wily reprogrammed him, so he had no clue he wasn't guilty (nor would he have cared if he were).

Since then, Hard Man spent a couple of stints in the robot museum, doing Wily's will in between. He was released during the events of Okkusenman, and when the last Wily castle was destroyed, he was injured by Charge Man. Unable to escape, he was found and reprogrammed again by Signal Man and placed inside Dr. Cain's secret base, where he was made to extend several tunnels and construct more labs to make the place more comfortable for Dr. Cain. Cain took something of a liking to him, and thus Hard Man ended up getting an earful of Cain's complaints about his ex-wife.

=====Ice Man

"Can you see me, everyone?"

Good point: A show off

Bad point: Self centered (selfish)

Likes: Snowball fights

Dislikes: Sauna

Yay! Ice Man! Seriously though, what's wrong with his data? What's so great about a show off? Also, I put the Japanese bad point in parenthesis up there. Selfish and self centered are two different things. Selfish people take your stuff. Self-centered people always talk about themselves and try to make everything revolve around themselves. That doesn't really have anything to do with anything, does it? Well, I think of the two self-centered fits better, particularly when you pair it with him being a show off.

Ice Man is the only robot in the world known to be cuter than Mega Man, and even when he was first constructed Dr. Light almost wouldn't let him be commercially sold, despite the fact that Dr. Light didn't really have too much use for a freezing robot in his laboratory (Ice Man was good at making ice cream, though). However, Ice Man spent most of his good guy life at the lab, unfortunately for Ice Man, who wanted to go to the artic and show off his mad ice skillz. Just before he was scheduled to go to Alaska, Wily initiated his evil scheme. Ice Man then became one of Wily's most loyal workers, as was the rest of Team 1. Ice Man was also principally responsible for building both Dr. Cossack's castle and Dr. Wily's fourth Skull Castle during the framing of Cossack. He was captured at the end of that scheme and sent to the robot museum.

Ice Man was rescued from the robot museum shortly after MM7, and has not been back since then, as Wily upgraded his battle A.I. During Okkusenman, Ice Man was destroyed by Bass shortly after the latter's betrayal, only for his parts to be recovered by Signal Man. Forced into Cain servitude, he spent much of his captivity expanding Dr. Cain's cave base with Hard Man - it was easier to destroy the rock in the way when it was frozen. Ice Man was grateful to Dr. Cain for rebuilding him, but he still likes Wily better.