Dr. Wily didn't dream. All the same, his sleep wasn't the deep drink of darkness that dreamless sleep normally entailed. He fidgeted and grunted, unable to get comfortable even in his relaxed state. He didn't enjoy being in a drug-induced haze.
Wily awoke, still foggy from the medicines. He lay there, blinking and staring at the boring ceiling. He remembered he was still in the hospital. He had no desire to move, and lay like a pudding in his sheets. As much as the medicines did to cloud some of his senses, he could still feel a strange tug in his chest. Wily figured it was psychosomatic, and so he tried to think of something else.
The room didn't help in this regard. It was a boring room with its boring green walls and the pathetically dull view from the window: the other side of the hospital across from the ambulance parking. Boring. Even worse, only the local channels ever worked on the TV. Occasionally court TV was on, and Wily, left with nothing else to do, often found himself strangely attracted to it. Not today. The very thought of belligerent landlords arguing with their irresponsible tenants just didn't appeal to him. And it wasn't going to come on for a while. The sun was setting, and that meant he'd slept through it.
A puff of air escaped Wily's nose, and it was the closest thing he was lazily able to come to a sigh. Sleep sounded better than staring at the ceiling, so Wily started to turn on his side and get as comfortable as he could get with a tube in his arm. Only, to his surprise, his hand didn't seem to want to move.
"Muh..?" he grunted. "What's this?"
Wily opened his eyes, blinking away his fog as best he could. It took a moment, but finally he was able to see that Crystal Bot was sitting beside him, holding his hand. The girl-bot startled, but gathering her courage, she found some words to speak.
"Hi Grandpa. Are you feeling better?"
"What do you care?" Wily snatched his hand away. "Here to gloat over me? Get out!"
"Grandpa, you need someone to take care of you-"
"Get out!" Wily thundered, and his face grew red. "You betrayed me twice! Do you really think I'm happy you're here?"
"I was just going to betray Dr. Cain." she insisted, folding her arms. "It's not my fault you showed up."
"Oh, what a wonderful excuse..."
Wily turned to the window and grumbled to himself. Even this didn't entirely dissuade the girl-bot. Wringing her hands, she tried again, this time taking a gentler tone.
"Please, Grandpa, you've got to understand that I'm a good girl now." she said. "I don't want to hurt anyone anymore, and that includes you. Your health isn't good, so-"
"Are you gone yet?" Wily snapped, turning around with the ugliest look she'd seen on his face yet. "I have nothing to say to you, and I don't want to hear anything. Just go before I have the nurse take you away."
"You stop that right now!" Crystal Bot shoved a finger at him. "You are not going to treat me that way! Don't you realize what position you're in? Being a jerk doesn't get you anything. You really think for one second that if I left anybody else would come to visit you? In fact, the only reason I'm here is because God told me to! So if you want to be cranky and a big meanie then you can do it when visiting hours are over because I'm not going anywhere! We're family, and that's what families do, so deal with it!"
Wily opened his mouth to respond, but her words stung him. Usually Wily's great and powerful ego protected him from realizing that he had no friends, but having to hear it out loud like that forced the issue to the foremost part of his mind. He settled back on his pillow, grumpily trying to decide what to do. Each face muscle rippled and warped as every grumpy thought went through his head. Finally he let out his anxieties with a sigh. He said nothing, but his posture relaxed as he gave up.
"There, that's better." her voice became a soothing coo, and she gently patted his forehead. "Now I'm going to take care of you. I talked to the doctor and he said that your heart condition can be fixed with an operation. I've got money, and if I need any more I can just sell some crystals or something. I'll pay for everything. Hmph, since you had to go make trouble, it'll be hard, but I'll try to convince the cops and stuff to let you come home with me. I'll buy a house out in the country, and I'll set it up for you and you'll stay with me and I'll take care of you. Everything will be fine."
"Don't you dare." Wily growled. "I'm too old, and dying anyway. Don't waste your money. I don't want to see the future."
"Why are you talking like that?" Crystal Bot felt she would cry. "You're my Grandpa...I can take care of you!"
"I don't need anyone to watch out for me." Wily settled his arms on his chest as he began staring off into space. "I just want to get this over with. It's bad enough I've lived a life where no one appreciated me. I don't expect anyone to change their minds now. Ha! It's too late even if they wanted to."
His devious grin confused the girl-bot a little, and she glanced backwards before speaking again. "Um, you mean Zero? Grandpa, they captured him. You know that. He's not gonna trouble anyone anymore. And if you know what's good for you, you won't either. You've gotta stop being such a meanie. You've got a lot to be happy about."
"Hrmph! Like what?"
"Well, Team 5 is doing really good. They're doing a lot of cool things on their spaceship. They even discovered this asteroid that's gonna hit Earth next year and they already came up with a way to stop it and then harvest all the cool space metals on it. Gravity Man did a lot of work on my armor too. He says that with minimalized gravity he can come up with an even stronger form of plate technology. It's really neato! Star Man is charting the path for the next sattelite launch into deep space, and he and Galaxy Man even came up with a way to make it go faster! Then Stone Man-"
"Why do I care about all that crap?" Wily snapped at her.
"Because they're your robots!" Crystal Bot said in earnest. "Aren't you impressed? Everybody can see how good a programmer you are now. Everybody says, 'that Dr. Wily sure is crazy but his robots are really smart. I wish he was a good guy'. See? People appreciate you. They would appreciate you even more if you were nice. Dr. Franklin at the REA says that Team 5 is really smart."
It was a compliment, and like all flattery it wormed its way into Dr. Wily's foul little heart. The mad scientist couldn't help having a somewhat gleeful grin.
"Those fools do appreciate my work, don't they?" Wily couldn't stop grinning. "It's about time. And what about you?"
"Mostly I've been upgrading Forte-kun." Crystal Bot made her smile a little bigger, wishing that her achievements had a little less to do with a robot Dr. Wily hated. "I increased his jump, his speed, and gave him built-in spike protection against crystal powered spikes. Me and Gravity Man are gonna work on installing that new armor I was talking about. He's got all kinds of data on the space station for me, and I can plan to do a lot more things. I'm pestering the government about letting me work on Zero, but they're being annoying! I just want to know more about Zero. I'm the closest thing to an expert on bassinium that they've got, so they should let me see! Not fair!
Wily always thought that Crystal Bot was adorable, but she was extra so when pouting. He almost smiled until his thought wandered off onto another of his creations, and then his face fell into a stale frown. "So what about Bass? Is he making himself useful for once?"
"Hush, you." Crystal Bot peered over her shoulder, then focused on the human again and cleared her throat. "Forte-kun has been just wonderful since he got on the good guy side. Dr. Cossack likes him, and he even had to be a security guard for this party Kalinka was throwing. Hee hee, they made him wear a tux! You should've seen him, Grandpa! He looked so funny!"
The mad scientist stared at her with dull eyes. "Bass...wearing a fancy suit. Please tell me he's doing something more than being an obstacle for that idiot Dr. Weinburger."
"You know that guy? He's really annoying." Crystal Bot said. "So, um, Bass mostly spent his time lookin' for Zero. He's worked really hard over at Dr. Cossack's."
"Yes, only for Dr. Cain to steal Zero out from under him." Wily huffed, shifting in his bed. "If it weren't for you he wouldn't have captured Zero again. They didn't even need his help. I suppose he can go be a security guard for that fool Cossack until he falls apart. He'll be more useful that way."
Crystal Bot looked back even longer this time, biting her lip at the back corner. Catching herself, she didn't let her head turn the whole what around, but settled again back at the mad doctor, trying to tuck him in a little tighter.
"Don't pretend like there's nothing there. You're not a good actor." Wily glared at her. "Now what are you looking at? And turn on the lights! It's too dark in here."
The girl-bot nervously pushed a button at the side of the bed, used to following orders that Dr. Wily could easily do himself. The lights popped on. Wily pushed another button on the bed to lift himself up and leaned over to look past the girl-bot. That sapped whatever manners Wily was using in the past five minutes. Bass' return expression was no less ugly.
"It's Forte-kun." Crystal said needlessly, nervously fretting her hair. "He's here to watch out for me. He said he wouldn't let me come alone because you might do something bad."
"So he bothered to show up?" Wily ignored Crystal, glaring still at his creation. "Well, I don't want you here. Get out!"
Bass didn't budge. He glowered at his master, furious enough to shake. He was there for Dr. Light in the hospital, and that was his greatest honor. To be there with his hateful creator, the man that had made every previous year of his life miserable, only fed his rage. He wanted nothing more than to do exactly what his former master said; he had no wish to stay. Thomas Light was a good man, but Albert Wily didn't deserve this. Bass was perfectly happy to never see the old bastard again, and if he died alone then Bass didn't care. Bass simply couldn't believe Crystal Bot wanted to see him. He hated Wily so much that it took all his restraint not to do more than show the tips of his fangs.
No one said anything, and Crystal Bot was beginning to get nervous. "Grandpa, Forte doesn't listen to anybody when they talk to him like that. He's not going to leave me while I'm here with you. He's trying to protect me. See? He's being useful. He's really nice."
Wily rolled his eyes. "Alright. Just scoot to the left a little so I can't see him."
Crystal Bot looked back once more, saying a hurried "thankyouthankyouthankyou!" with her eyes. Bass glowered worse, emitting an aura of hate. The girl-bot quickly turned away. She scooted as she was told, lifting a bit off of the hospital chair so that it didn't make too much noise as she moved it. She settled back down again once she was into place, focusing once more on the grumpy doctor.
"Please, Grandpa," she started to stick out her lip. "Let me pay for the operation. They're not going to let an old man go to jail again. I'll take care of you. I promise. I'll get Roll to teach me everything she knows!"
"Don't bother, sweetie." Wily settled a little more comfortably into his pillow, and though he hadn't been awake for long, he felt he could nap again. He sighed, staring wistfully at the ceiling. He had many years to look back on. "I'm very old, and I've got more problems than just my heart. If I do live, it won't be worth it. I'll always be on drugs, going around in a wheelchair, and if I'm very lucky I'll be able to wipe myself in the bathroom. I'm not going to extend my life if living means being an invalid. Let the young people who have something to live for get the surgery. I don't want it."
Wily finished his rant in time to see Crystal Bot about to cry. Her chin quivered, and she was starting to sniffle. "You don't really wanna die...do you?"
"Bah, don't worry about an old man like me." Despite himself, Wily managed to get a smile past his leathery, cranky face. "It's not fair. No matter how much you backstab and torment me, somehow I can't hate you."
"Yeah, and even though you're a big meanie...and really evil, I'm not mad at you. Well, not too mad." Crystal Bot began patting his forehead again. His wild hair was being wilder than usual, and Sonata decided that she was going to bring a brush next time she saw him. "I still feel weird about what you did to Proto Man."
"Oh? What did I do?"
"You don't remember? It was a long time ago. You said some bad things to Proto Man and made him listen to you, then he shot a guy when you were trying to steal Gamma." Crystal Bot said. "Rock just found out yesterday, and he's really upset about it. He was crying."
"He didn't know? Dang, I would have told him a long time ago if I knew that! Hahaha!" Wily grinned with evil glee at the thought. "Did the police catch Proto Man yet?"
"...Um, no. He punched Mega Man in the face and then ran away."
"BWAHAHAHAA!" Wily laughed so loud that Crystal was sure that the patients in the adjoining rooms could hear it. "I wish I could have seen that! Hahaha...haha...ha..."
As much as Wily wanted to enjoy the moment and think about all the misery that Mega Man was going through, his laugh began to fade. It was hard to keep up with it when Crystal's face was being so disagreeable. The more he tried to go on, the uglier her cute little face became.
"Grandpa, even though it's just stupid Rock, that's still really mean."
"Bah, I'm old! Let me have my fun."
"What am I going to do with you?" Crystal Bot said in a motherly way as she stroked Wily's face, trying her hardest to imitate Roll. "You're impossible."
"That I am." Wily grinned. "I'm old and rotting, but I'm going to do what I want."
"Well, you better be good if you want me to hang around."
Wily squirmed a bit, unsure. Thinking about it for a minute, he relucantly gave in. Anything to distract his mind from the lonliness and lack of friends. As much as he wanted to be his cranky self, he could see what was coming. The pain in his chest flared up just slightly to remind him.
"Ugh," Wily groaned, letting out a breath. "Fine. I'll be, well, I'll try to be good. I'm the one dying. You'd think I could do whatever I wanted."
"You've been doing that forever." Crystal Bot stuck her tongue out at him, her immaturity making its escape no matter how hard she tried to be motherly. "Now I just want you to rest. Aw man, why'd you have to wake up so late? Visiting hours are almost over. Hey, is there something I can bring you to make you feel better?"
"Yes. Real food for one." Wily demanded. "This hospital food is terrible. Bring me something to read. I want to see how they're showing me in the paper."
"Oh! I forgot to look!" Crystal's eyes lit up. "I've really got to go look. I think I saw a headline today that said 'Villain Scientist Hospitalized'."
"That's no good at all." Wily huffed, giving off an adult look that is the exact grown-up equivalent of a pout. "I bet they're saving all the good headlines until after I'm dead. Bring in newspapers! Lots of them. And bring in that propaganda magazine that always thinks it's giving the facts. Hopefully they'll talk about all my horrible misdeeds and accomplishments! It would be horrible if they felt sorry for me and say I've had a horrible childhood and that's the source of all my 'hateful ideas'. My childhood was fine! Nothing wrong with it at all! No more misery than anyone else's."
"I'll bring them. Oh, this hospital room is so boring." Crystal looked at the bland decor and shuddered. "I don't like it at all. I'll bring you some paintings. You always liked space and stuff. Oh hey, what kind of flowers do you like?"
"Don't bring me flowers!" Wily growled. "Why would I want flowers?"
"Aw, it would make your room look nice. Anyway, you want me to ask the doctors if you can go outside tomorrow?"
"Might as well." Wily agreed. "I hate it in here and staying won't make me live any longer."
"Stop it." A whimper escaped Crystal's lips. "If you die like Dr. Light, I'm gonna be mad."
"Grow up." Wily sneered. "People die all the time."
"I was kinda hopin' you'd invent something and not. Maybe be a good guy and stop being so mean...people would like you a whole lot better."
Crystal Bot snuffled, scrunching her eyes tightly together as if doing so would make Wily young again once she opened them. Wily stared at her, wondering if he wanted to be more annoyed at her sudden baby-ish accent or if he wanted to comfort her. He settled on an annoyed sigh and the shake of his head. Crystal didn't even notice him blinking away a tear in his eye. It was hard not to show pity for her, but somehow Dr. Wily managed. His pity was only for himself. Why hadn't he figured out a way to prolong his life?
"Ah, don't worry about me. I've lived long enough." Wily slumped back against the bed. "You just keep proving how smart I am and invent better things."
Crystal sniffed and smiled, despite herself. "You're really full of it. Besides, I've got to prove how smart Crystal Man was. Forte-kun can prove you smart."
That tore down the mood like a wrecking ball. Wily pulled his lips back in a terrible sneer, and if he'd been in a better condition he'd start on an infamous yelling spree. As it was, he simply let his face turn red. If it got too much more red, he would glow (and would already if Crystal were to turn off the lights again). However, Crystal Bot had known him too long. She glared right on back with the same veracity, her only disadvantage being that robot skins couldn't change color. But she could wrinkle her nose, pinch her eyes, and wrench up her lips with the best of them. Or worst of them, as she was doing at the moment.
"What are you complaining about anyway?" Crystal Bot fussed, despite the fact that Wily hadn't said anything yet. "Forte is smart! He saved three people in Moscow in February when a train got stuck and a mechaniloid smashed a car. And he's even writing a philosophy book about robotics!"
An audible groan came from behind her, and the sound of a metal smack. A robot facepalm. Wily resisted the temptation to look around Crystal at the facepalm's source. It wasn't a hard temptation.
"Bass...writing philosophy...about robots?"
"It's not as crazy as it sounds. Robots are affecting the future of humanity and all that junk, and Forte's got an opinion. He's got an editor and everything!" Crystal Bot insisted. "His pen name is Ben Foster and I made it up for him! My human name is Sonata Costa. I came up with the last name, but Sonata was all Forte's idea. Isn't it cute? I wanted an alternate name and he thought of one for me. It's why Roll calls me Sona-chan! So cute!"
"You know what? I'm fine with you representing Crystal Man instead of me." Wily was sour. "It's just fine. Really."
"Bah, you know you like it." Crystal Bot giggled. "Say you like it!"
"Fine, I like it. If Bass was as good at fighting things as he was at naming you then he might have defeated Mega Man by now."
"What did I tell you about being good?" she stuck a teasing tongue out at him. "Besides, you know how tough Forte-kun is. He beat up on King and you directly designed King to destroy him. Bass is tough! Hardcore! Cool!"
"Stop talking about him. It's bad enough you have him guarding me as if an old, dying man is a threat." Wily glared past her, not looking directly at Bass. He didn't need to. The effect worked fine. "One weak man versus a robot? Those odds aren't in my favor."
"Alright, Wily, that's it." Bass growled as he stood up from his chair. The aura of doom and gloom surrounding him was getting too thick even for him. "Don't pretend that if I left Crystal Bot here longer than ten seconds by herself that you wouldn't reprogram her and have her running around as your slave. Sonata, it's time to go."
Crystal Bot checked her chronometer, ignoring how much her boss and her former master were glaring at each other. "Aw, visiting hours are over. Well, I don't wanna get yelled at by a doctor, so let's go. Grandpa, you be good for the hospital staff. I don't want to come here tomorrow and find out that everybody is mad at you and you wouldn't take your pills."
"You're not my mother." Wily hmphed.
"Yep, I'm a stand-in." Crystal Bot leaned over and gently kissed his forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow so don't be asleep next time, okay?"
"Fine, fine. Goodbye, sweetheart."
Crystal Bot left the bedside and headed out, stopping only once to wave at the door. Bass was slower to move. He didn't acknowledge Crystal's leaving, though he did keep one ear out for when the door shut. The whole time he stared straight at Dr. Wily's face, waiting for the change he knew was to come. With Crystal Bot in the room, Wily's expressions and gestures seemed almost normal; he waved back as Crystal waved from the door. But a moment later the door gently clicked shut, and then the real Wily, the reptile and the villain, started to show. The devious glint in his eyes returned, and he had a smug smile ready for his turncoat creation.
"You're smart, Bass, but not smart enough." Wily's face simply couldn't contain all the smug. "I'll see you tomorrow."
The dark robot lifted an eyebrow. He knew Wily was up to something, and it killed him that all he could do was just stand there and have to suffer in the old man's arrogance. Repulsed at the disgusting thing, Bass shook his head, wishing that somehow he could figure out what Wily was planning.
"Hey, old bastard, you know how you killed her creator and said you built her?" Bass's eyes were almost laser beams. "Any chance that's true about me?"
"Ha! I wish." Wily laughed in a way that was not at all a laugh but a grenade to the chest. "No, I was the one who made the mistake of creating you. Now leave. Heh, it's a good thing that they captured Zero. Now you don't have to embarrass yourself by trying to fight him! Muahahahahaha!"
That was it. Bass couldn't take another minute of this man's arrogance. Why was he torturing himself by coming here? Wily wouldn't drop any hints or say one clue about all the secret plans that Bass swore he had. If the old man couldn't stop after being defeated by Mega Man eleven times, there was no way in the world Wily would stop at all. There was, however, a limit to Bass' ability to cope with his horrible creator. He stomped his way out of the room, wishing with all his heart that the door was one of the kinds that could be slammed. It wasn't.
Crystal Bot was waiting for him outside, talking to the police outside of the room. Bass said nothing to her. He stormed past, taking his hateful cloud with him. Crystal Bot tried to follow along, but it was hard to keep up with his pace. She glanced back, letting her boss go far enough to be out of the police's earshot before questioning him.
"He said something bad, didn't he?" Crystal guessed. "Ugh, well I hope he didn't want to go outside tomorrow. I won't let him now. Hey, you don't have to be the one to guard me. I can get Gyro Man to come. You don't have to worry about it."
"Why the hell did you want to do this in the first place?" Bass snapped around, his voice violent despite its lower volume. "Wily's an old monster who's probably still planning to take over the world or at least destroy it! He doesn't deserve to have you playing around like you're his kid!"
"Of course he doesn't." Crystal Bot could feel the sternness beginning to take hold in her body. "I'm there for him not because he deserves it, but because I feel sorry for him. He's pathetic, old, sick, and scary-looking. He'll be dead soon. He's a loser, Forte. He doesn't have anybody."
Bass was already tired of the lecture, but before he could turn away and leave Crystal Bot grabbed his arm. "Forte, don't do this. Don't let him get to you. He's a dumb old man that never did anything right, and you're the best robot ever, and you've got your whole life ahead of you. There's nothing Wily can do to change that. You're not doing what Wily did, and people like you. If he says anything different, he's a liar!"
Her persistent eyes looked into his. Bass let his glance drop. She was right, of course. Bass' ego kicked in, and it ate up the complimentary words as a delicacy. Bass mustered up a smile for his technician, and she smiled brightly right on back. Still, it was hard to get Wily's words out of his head. Why hadn't he been able to defeat Rock all these years? And if he couldn't defeat Mega Man, how in the world was he supposed to beat Zero?
Eh, screw it. If I killed King there's no way in hell the old man could build anything that can kill me.
Bass followed Crystal Bot to the hospice ward office. She had to talk to one of the doctors. Bass wasn't willing to leave her until they were out of the hospital - there was no telling what Wily was capable of - but all the same, he was by far sick of this place. He could still feel Wily's words echo in his head. He shuddered. Of course he could defeat Zero...couldn't he?
"Sonata?"
"Yeah?"
"Tomorrow you bring Gyro Man."
-t-
Bass didn't normally go on patrols, but now that he was free of the hospital he wanted some fresh air. Maybe robots can't tell the difference between air circulated in a building and the air outside, but Bass felt like he could. There was nothing better than flying around with Treble. Normally he preferred flying merged with Treble, but Treble enjoyed it more in jet form. Bass didn't mind this. It was harder work to stay balanced on Treble jet, and it was outright fun to try and go as close as he could to the various towers and skyscrapers of Monstropolis before turning away at just the last second.
Oh hell, stupid Top Man auto-balancers. That guy was good for one thing, at least.
That got Bass thinking about snowboarding again. Snowboarding in Russia was fun. Surely there were some good slopes in California somewhere, or maybe up in Oregon or Washington. He'd have to find a better board than Proto Man's shield. It was unwieldly to ride on. Treble wouldn't want to convert into a snow board, so that meant he had to go shopping for one. Shopping was something entirely foreign to Bass, but as far as snowboards went, it sounded like fun.
Crap, Proto Man. I'm still supposed to catch him...
The whole mishap with the zip drives ruined everything. Proto Man was right; the loner robot could hide for as long as he wanted. He knew all the right hiding places and wasn't afraid to travel to any country. Forte had no means of tracking him down. Wily could never find Proto Man, and if Dr. Light had that ability, he'd never tried. Surely the governments of all the countries Proto Man went to were looking. Even Japan, the country that favored Proto Man the most, had their reasons for wanting to find him. Blues had stolen a lot of information from Japan, and the yakuzas over there weren't exactly pleased with him.
Bass brought Treble up above the city, making his flight pattern stable. He wanted to think a minute. Before all this, Bass thought he knew Proto Man. Guessing Proto Man's actions didn't appear to be too hard at first. Now that he knew what Blues was capable of, he wasn't sure anymore. Most of his ideas hinged on why Proto Man had punched his brother. If he forgave Mega Man for trying to arrest him, then Bass knew that any danger to the younger brother would cause Proto Man to appear. If, however, the loner robot was being stubborn and hated Mega Man for trying to take him into custody, then there was no telling what Proto Man would do. This outcome was very likely, Bass guessed. If Proto Man was so bitter about Dr. Light for so many years, then it wouldn't be hard to transfer these feelings to Dr. Light's next creation.
BOOM!
Bass' eyes widened. Right there in the city in front of him a ball of flame exploded. Bass knew his stuff; it was a gas station fire. He grinned big, converting an arm into a buster.
"Alright!" Bass felt immediately cheerful. "Start coming down, Treble. Someone saw us coming. That explosion is our invitation to the party!"
Of course there was no way an explosion would just pop up right in front of him out of random circumstance. The chances of that were very slim - someone directly wanted his attention. Bass was fine with that. He was going to get to shoot an enemy! As Treble zoomed over to the the rumbling fire below, the thought creeped up in Bass' head that there might have been people hurt in the explosion. He sent a transmission to the police. They would do something.
It looked like the entire city block was on fire. The gas station stood at a corner, so traffic was scattered at the crossroads. The force flipped and pushed cars into almost a circle around the crossroads: a ring of fire around the leading flame. Two five-story shop buildings were on the back side and next door to the gas station, but billowing smoke and ash obfuscated what signs weren't destroyed already or just hanging on by one corner.
If Mega Man were there, he would notice that both stores were still standing and be glad that the damage to them was minimal. Bass only had eyes for the cause of the explosion. It was hard not to look. First of all, bright orange armor isn't at all stealthy, and when you add to it flashy squares of brilliant colors and firey plasma pellets of equally bright neon tones, it's kinda hard not to notice, even when the person in question is coming out of a cloud of thick, dark smoke.
"Algorhythm Man? When is that moron going to learn?"
Apparently not today. The orange robot laughed maniacally as he fired off his volleys of rainbow color at the nearest car, building or person. He wasn't even bothering to target anything specific. Everything he shot resulted in the exact same reaction: more nasty laughter. Bass engaged his zoom feature. Even at a distance he could tell that something was wrong. The dark robot hurried in faster.
It seemed even more wrong when Algorhythm Man turned around and gave Bass a glimpse of his face. The robot used to have a fairly serious or at least stable demeanor. The cracks in his personality only went so far. Today it was all tatters. Al's eyes were ridiculously wide and wild, and his mouth was a painfully large, spiked pit of what could vaguely be called a merry upturning of the lip. If Bass were human and acquainted with physical pain, it would hurt him just to look at the freaky thing.
That was the moment that Algorhythm Man got a look too, right back at Bass. And his...erm, "smile" got even bigger. He pulled the air through his teeth in a manner that was painful even to a robot (it whistled!) and waved hello - and by that I mean he shot a volley of thirty pellets Bass' way. Bass swooped under them and jumped off Treble's back, landing on the street with his buster ready. Surprisingly enough, Algorhythm didn't seem dismayed by this at all. He applauded at Bass with a...um, "merry" hello.
"Gaahahahaha!" Algorhythm Man screamed. "It's FIIIISSSSHHH! Fishy, Fishy, Fishy-Fish!"
"I'm...going to kill you now." a disturbed Bass said as he engaged his double busters. "For your own good."
"No, Bassy." Algorhythm pronounced this the aquatic creature way, sounding silly even as his voice grew darker. "You, YOU betrayed the true king of the robots! You betrayed him! He was the wisest, and you left him and went on your own! But I was shown mercy! I am stronger now, thanks to the gift of King Wily!"
"I knew he was up to his old tricks!" Bass growled. "That's it, bastard, you're dead!"
He littered the air with his powerful double busters, but the plasma pollution went both ways as a colorful barage swung his way as well. Both combatants had to get out of the way. Algorhythm Man disappeared into the smoke of the gas station, and Bass dodged behind an old Ford truck. Strategies went through his head. Just as he decided on the perfect one, a green and cyan teleport beam landed beside him. Crystal Bot emerged, giggling and reaching out her hand.
"Hey, Forte-kun, take this!"
"What?" Bass growled. "Get out of here and stop distracting me!"
She did no such thing, but tossed the object in her hand as he spoke. Bass' instincts were quicker than his words. He caught the little thing flying at him, and by the time he registered what the thing was, it was too late. Everything disappeared. It was a perfectly familiar feeling: teleportation. Plain, ordinary teleportation. Bass knew at once (and was angry at once), that the little thing was one of her long distance teleportation orbs.
Bass materialized, furious. "I'll kill-! Uh...wha...?"
It was glorious. The most glorious thing Bass had seen yet. People, possibly thousands of them, were all around him. Not close by, though. Bass was in some sort of vast homemade arena, oval shaped and about the size of a football field. The borders were marked out with wooden walls three feet high, circling the surrounding area and keeping out the throngs of people. There was no floor to the place, just dead grass, dry dirt, and some rocks.
They weren't all one sort. There were old and young present of all genres of humans, and to hear them scream with joy was almost deafening. The appearance of Bass brought about the most rampant cheering he'd ever heard. There must have been some sort of stadium seating going on, but for all the people on them it was impossible to see. Some of them even wore homemade (bad) approximations of his finned helmet. People everywhere around him, chanting his name. Lord bless them, it was hard to hear what they were saying as half of them were chanting his western name and the others his Japanese one. It was wonderful all the same. Bass' grin grew, and of course these wonderful people deserved a friendly wave. They screamed all the more. The clapping alone threatened to start an earthquake.
And the signs! The signs were all wonderful. There was "I love you, Bass", "Forte is the greatest", and "#1 Robot", as well as countless other mottos. The robot's favorite one was a sheet banner held up by ten different people over the edge of the arena. It proclaimed in all capital letters something Bass wanted everyone to know: "BASS IS NOT A FISH". And even though Bass wasn't a football player, all of the people holding that banner were wearing black and gold jerseys with a bold number one on the front.
As wonderful and glorious as all of this was, the dark robot hadn't forgotten about Algorhythm Man. He was going to get in trouble if this carried on too long. He was tempted to go back, but...it was just too amazing! Thankfully, he didn't have long to wait. An orange teleport beam landed, and there was Algorhythm Man, holding a teleport orb himself. A few sparks, and it was broken. Crystal Bot obviously didn't want him to have one.
Algorhythm Man never noticed. The orb fell out of his hand without him seeing it at all. The applause in the throng became boos and hisses, and out of nowhere people started to throw in cups, apples, and whatever trash they happened to have on hand.
"What the...WHAT IS THIS?" Algorhythm Man's screams could barely be heard over the crowd. "You can't do this! NO! Bass is a simple fool! A traitor!"
Bass was the only one that really heard him. It was just too funny. He started to laugh. Yes, he kept his eye and his ready buster on his enemy, but all the same, it was just too funny. Too funny and too wonderful.
Another teleport beam landed, this one just beside Bass. He knew before it landed that it was his technician. She materialized happily, then shut her orb off and stuck it in her hood. Then she turned to Bass and very much like a merry little Christmas elf turned to her boss and giggled, shyly tucking her hands behind her back. Treble teleported in next, and as he saw the crowds, he wagged his tail as much as he could and barked happily.
"So...do you like it?" she asked. "I've been planning this a while. I mean, I got the idea last year, but I wasn't able to do it until today."
"Sonata...Sonata..." Forte barely knew what to say. "Where is this place?"
"It's like a mile outside of Monstropolis, northeast towards the mountains." she explained. "Nobody lives here because it's too hot and stuff. I made sure of that. All these people took buses out here to see you. Don't worry about Monstropolis. I got Team 5 to go and put out the fires with the fire department, and Algorhythm Man was alone, I think. All these people came out here to see you, Forte. They like you a lot. I'm not the only one that thinks - that knows you're the best."
"You're not going to do this to me!" Algorythm Man pointed a furious finger at the dark robot. "You're NOT! And now your pack of fans all get to witness as I blow you to pieces!"
"I did some scans of Algorhythm Man." Crystal said calmly. "He is upgraded, and he's stronger than before. By a little. I calculate that you'll be able to defeat him in thirty-three seconds. All these people came out here to see a show. How about playing around a bit to make things worth their while, ne?"
"You...Sonata...you're going to get me in trouble..." Suddenly the cheer drained from his face. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Wait, you want something, don't you?"
"Well, yes, I want something. You dork." Crystal Bot said, her eyes shining in the sun. "I want you to be happy."
"That's...that's why..." Bass blinked in disbelief, though he could feel the warmth inside him growing. "Crap, Reyes is going to kill me when he finds out about this."
"Oh yeah?" she teased. "Then why are you still smiling?"
He was. Bass was blown away but his face was even more so. He couldn't have possibly frowned at that moment. In fact, this wasn't an ordinary smile. It was one free of malice, of hate, of secret motives, greed, or even confidence. It was a happy smile, free and clean. And Crystal Bot smiled back. She lifted a determined fist.
"Bbashya."
"Bbashya." Bass lifted his buster.
And dashed in! There he went, firing off his pellets as if there were no tomorrow. Algorhythm Man flooded his vision with hot plasma, and it was impossible to dodge all the colors of the rainbow. Bass rolled to the right, firing off three shots from the ground. All three smacked straight into Algorhythm Man's face, knocking him down.
"Oh no you don't!"
The frenzied orange monster dashed up to Bass, dodging from side to side and just narrowly missing much of the pellets coming at him. He didn't let the ones that did hit stop him from running all the faster at his opponent. At the very last minute, he let off a huge volley of his own shots.
"Aha! You can't dodge that!"
Apparently Forte could. All of the colored shots hit nothing but an innocent clump of grass (that never did anyone any harm in its life) - and Bass was gone. Only a second later did Algorhythm find out where he was. The cheering crowd saw quite clearly how Bass daringly double jumped right out of the way of the pellets and then landed straight on Al's head.
The Cain-bot wasn't out of the fight. He snapped right around and pulled Bass' leg out from under him. It became an all out brawl complete with punching and kicking. Bass began to take the upper hand, as Algorhythm Man only recently acquired his martial arts battle A.I. Algorhythm Man was quick to make up for this. With one hand he snatched up Bass neck and the other converted into...something. His buster hand became three poles, and pink neon electricity began to build up in between. Bass in many ways was a typical male: he was more embarrassed by being hit with a pink blast than hurt by the electricity.
Thankfully he wasn't defeated by said pink blast. It hurt, but Bass wasn't Mega Man's rival for nothing. It was time to take over this fight. He set off his double busters, blasting Algorhythm Man senseless. The orange robot had no other option than to fight back, though the burning plasma scarring him was starting to become too much. Engaging his flight powers, Algorhythm Man shot into the air.
"TREBLE!"
The wolf heeded his master's call. Treble ran quickly to Bass and they merged in a beam of glowing light. The people grew louder, chanting his name again and apparently agreeing to stick to his American one. The fight was no less intense in the air than it was on the ground. In fact, it was more so. Both robots had better opportunity to dodge, and now that the crowd had more room to see what was going on the mood of the place swelled with all the intensity of a sports brawl. Roars and jeers echoed around the stadium as the chanting dissolved.
Algorhythm Man wasn't a cheap, boring fight any longer, that was for sure. Bass felt that at any moment if he underestimated his opponent then this situation was going to end horribly. But in the end he had a smirk on his face. Algorhythm Man was not strong enough to destroy him. He was, however, strong enough to blow a hole in one of his wings. The crowd gasped in horror. Bass didn't.
Alright, I still have all those Cain powers. Which one is this guy weak to? Oh, that's right.
Bass' smirk only got bigger. Trying as hard as he could, he shot up in the air, doing the best as he could with the hole in his left wing. As he got to the altitude he wanted, he suddenly demerged from Treble and quick as lightning equipped the psycho pulse. His hands glowed with power. Flying only on his momentum, Bass used his last double jump to get right in Algorhythm Man's face.
His fist pounded into Algorhythm Man's head, and in a blast that was truly glorious and colorful (Crystal Bot enjoyed it very much) the Cain-bot was no more. As the delightful burst of colors faded away, Bass became visible again. He stood there on the ground with a grand, smug smile on his face, surrounded by pieces of burning Algorhythm Man. The crowds freaked out. People started jumping over the wooden partition.
Treble moved quickly. He converted into jet mode, and Bass quickly got on.
"Stay away from the wreckage!" Bass yelled out. "It's still burning!"
Crystal Bot was already on the job. She had her little fire extinguisher out. Signalling the lab, she summoned a green teleporter beam. It was Dub. He gathered up Algorhythm Man's body with his spidery arms just in time to make sure nobody would get any souvenirs. Dub teleported out with it. Crystal Bot quickly found herself surrounded by curious people, all asking her questions and talking her up and wanting her to make Bass sign autographs. Sonata wasn't a girl for crowds, and she anxiously shrank back as she tried to figure out whose question to answer first.
Bass was quick to rescue her. He swooped down and pulled her up onto Treble jet, and they lifted several feet above the crowd.
"Thank you, Forte-kun." Crystal Bot giggled as she turned a finger into a zip drive and plugged it into his neck. "Okay, I'm recording your memories now. I'll make the report for Reyes and you can hang out here and talk to people."
"Will Treble be okay?" Bass glanced down at his wolf. Getting shot through the wing resulted in Treble's dog form losing a lot of his head armor. "He looks pretty bad."
"I think so. I'd take him with me back to the lab, but I'm kinda worried about all these guys." Crystal Bot peered uncertainly down at the crowds. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"
"Yeah...I'll be fine." Bass just couldn't stop grinning. "Someday you're going to tell me how the hell you organized all this."
"Nuh uh, it's a secret." she held a finger to her lips, being her mischevious self. "Not telling. Now you go have fun. All these people are making me nervous."
"You go ahead and go. Treble will stay here. Just have some armor ready when we get back. And Sonata...thanks."
There it was again, the most genuine smile Bass ever had. Crystal Bot giggled shyly. She liked Bass when he smiled that way.
"Hee hee, I knew you'd like it. Now have fun. I'll contact you if something happens in Monstropolis."
With that, Crystal Bot teleported out. Bass let Treble lower down, and Forte found himself lost in a sea of fans. It was hard to keep signing autographs with everyone crowded around him, but Bass always did like a challenge.
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Author's Notes:
- I really like this chapter. It's one I've had in my head since near the beginning of writing these stories. Man, all throughout writing these stories so many people thought that I was pushing Crystal Bot too much. They never realized that I've been Bass' crazed fangirl the entire time. I mean, sheesh, he's the only character that's appeared extensively throughout all five of my stories. Who did you think I was obsessing over?
- Okay, sorry for not posting in a while, you guys. I'm going to try to go about it faster. I want to have the story finished being written by the end of the year, whether or not it happens to be posted then or not. I've got it up to chapter 23 in my writings (which doesn't line up to chapter 23 in , due to my additive chapter here) and after that not too many chapters are left. This is seriously going to be my longest story, and it's going to end exactly how I please. Bwahahaha. Anyway, I plan to have the next chapter after this updated later this week. See you soon!
- In case you missed the other stories, bbashya is a Korean encouragement phrase, like aja aja or "fighting!".
Character profiles!
=====Metal Man
"Catch! Hee hee hee..."
Good point: Quick at work
Bad point: Shady business
Likes: Frisbee
Dislikes: Dogs
It's a good thing Rush wasn't around in MM2. Anyway, Metal Man is a generally stiff robot, and he tends to do most of the dirty work of Team 2. He's friends with Shadow Man, as the two of them have similar powers, but while Shadow Man is good at stealth missions, Metal Man is better at undercover - he understands people better and is better with computers. While most of the time Metal Man is a bit standoffish, he actually has a really goofy sense of humor and frequently cracks silly jokes. He likes puns, and seems to think that Cut Man's puns are intentional jokes rather than just a glitch in his personality A.I. Cut Man is not appreciative.
Due to the nature of his work, Metal Man's been in and out of the robot museum more times than the authorities are willing to admit. He's a friendly guy, but he knows when to go from relaxing to business mode very quickly. He takes his work very seriously, and from time to time annoys his team members because of this. However, he likes to relax and play games, though most robots are a little too afraid to play metal blade frisbee with him, a game at which none can play without risking life and limbs. All in all he just wants to have fun, though his definition of this generally entails things that are not fun to most robots. Him and Burner Man get along great.
Metal Man and Tengu Man did not get along, and Metal Man always grudged that Tengu took life too seriously. Metal is one of the prime reasons why Tengu Man joined King in the first place.
=====Bubble Man
"The sea will swallow you!"
Good point: Bubbly personality
Bad point: Lavish spender
Likes: Hot bath
Dislikes: Oil slick
Bubble Man has a lot of pride in being the first underwater combat robot. In fact, he has too much. As lonely as it was under the sea, Bubble Man enjoys being down there, though he frequently comes back up to speak to his team members - Team 2 is very close. Out of all of them, Bubble Man was closest to Wood Man and Flash Man, though he got along well with everyone. Other than Metal Man, who was sort of standoffish anyway.
Bubble Man was loyal to Wily, though he found himself growing irritated as Wily built more and more water robots. Dive Man wasn't too big of a problem for him, as the Cossack-bot got seasick. They battled each other as Wily did sea mischief, but Bubble Man was always fairly confident of his superiority. Next came Wave Man, who nearly gave Bubble Man an ego-induced heart attack. Wave Man was intended to be an amphibious robot like Dive Man, proving in Bubble Man's mind that Wily thought him obsolete. Worst of all, Wave Man wasn't his enemy and therefore couldn't be killed. This didn't turn out to be a problem, as Wave Man was not stronger than Bubble Man, nor hardly as interesting. It helped that Wave Man aggravated Dive Man less, and Bubble Man felt that he was a bigger problem to the good guys than Wave.
Burst Man got on Bubble Man's nerves, as everyone started to say that Burst Man should have been called Bubble Man. There was no real competition between the two, though Burst Man's cheery nature grated against Bubble Man's nerves. Team 7 was one of the lower rated teams, so Bubble Man again felt safe. He never worried the slightest about Aqua Man. No, it was Pirate Man who gave Bubble Man the most trouble. Pirate Man was completed shortly after MM8, and an intense rivalry began.
Pirate Man cared nothing about the sea itself, and if Bubble Man had left him alone, the Team 2 bot might have stayed out of the robot museum. However, Bubble Man decided he was going to befriend Pirate, establishing himself as a leader of sorts for the aquatic robots. Pirate Man cared only for treasure, and Wave Man was a better friend of the swashbuckler (in a way). About this time, Pirate Man was getting weary of Dr. Wily's leadership, so he stuck in with King. Bubble Man tried to protest, but Pirate Man fought him and threw his remains to the coast guard (and then robbed a yacht while the coast guard were occupied). Bubble Man was not to escape the robot museum until the end of MM9.
That was when he found out about Splash Woman. While she is a weaker robot than him, she's faster, she sings well, and she can summon animals. Thus she became more popular and was considered better, even among the Wily-bots (outside of Teams 1 and 2). Here Bubble Man's jealousy fell apart. After all, she wasn't one of the Wily robots anymore after the scheme was over, so he could fight her as much as he liked, provided that Pirate Man and Dive Man were nowhere around to stop him.
Pump Man, as a more urban robot, Bubble Man found a little distasteful. It weirded him out that Pump Man worked in a sewer.
Despite all of what I just typed, Bubble Man was not inflamed with jealousy his entire existence, unless you count the fact he was annoyed at being an ocean dweller and thus not being able to have as many friends as he liked. He generally was very sociable, and he even cares a great deal for all the water creatures around him. He hates pollution, and thus is good friends with Chill Man. He's a very friendly guy, most of the time, and overly generous with his money, which Pirate Man by far doesn't understand. The two have not since settled their differences.