Auto turned on the lights to the "gymnasium": the huge room in Light Laboratories that served as a weapons test facility. The thick walls were reinforced with double layers of met-grade plating, topped over with a wall of loose steel to make sure impacts were absorbed rather than reflected. The light from the floruescents above revealed what exactly made this room so interesting: the many numerous Wily robots lined up against the wall. It was the robots that Mega Man had defeated recently, all repaired.
Mega Man entered the room. He nodded to Auto, then went along and started going and activating each robot one by one. Auto exited, shutting the padlocked door behind him. Mega Man could hear the metal beams of the door sliding into place; no one was going to get out of that room without Auto's say-so. The teleport functions of each robot had been destroyed (or left broken, if it was already destroyed), so that option was out too.
Robot after robot began to wake as the blue bomber passed them by and touched each one's neck. Bubble Man stood up cautiously, eyeing Mega Man with suspicion. Cut Man practically jumped out of his metaloid skin before he realized where he was and calmed down - some.
"Ooh, I thought you were Bass." Cut Man sighed with relief. "Aw, my rolling cutter is gone."
Gemini Man's and Sword Man's reactions were just as sudden as Cut Man's, though Sword Man was more contained. He stood there in surprise, but also with patience. Also like Cut Man, the blade from which he received his namesake was gone. Burner Man woke with a shake, taking a moment to light his propane fires. That done, he grinned with all his natural ferocity and waited for something to happen. From the looks of things, it might be something good (and by good Burner Man meant "involving lots of fire"). He didn't seem to notice that he was running on minimal power, and Mega Man wasn't foolish enough to anger him by cutting off his power entirely.
"...Burner, Heat, Flash..." Mega Man recited as he activated each robot. "...Spark...Quick...Magnet...Top...Crash..."
Wood Man was next, and Mega Man had to be sure and jump back quickly after activating the forest-bot. His leaf shield didn't activate, but that didn't stop Wood Man from trying to punch Rock. Looking around, the forest robot began to get angry, and there was threat in his eyes. Mega Man just moved on to Knight and Wind Man, the two of whom immediately began to talk amongst themselves. Knight Man only barely convinced him not to attack right yet. Seeing the two of them, Centaur Man made sure to approach for support. Even under these circumstances the half horse could hardly bring himself to trust anyone but Team 6. Plant Man joined them also.
"...Blizzard...Cloud...Slash...Yamato...Freeze...Frost...Pump...Burst..."
The Team 7 bubble-bot blinked into life, happily standing and testing his limbs. "Hey, I'm back! And not in the robot museum! That's wonderful! Oh, hey, Mega Man!"
"Nice to you see you too, Burst Man." the bomber smiled. "I'm glad we're not fighting this time."
That got the robots all astir, and their murmurings got even louder as they tried to figure out what was going on. The Wily-bots could see their predicament, what with being trapped in the room, and as Mega Man was their only source of information, all they could do was wait. Tomahawk Man had to make sure that Blade Man stayed back - the sword collector was less patient than the others. Everyone avoided Echelon Man, giving him angry stares. The Cain-bot hated crowds (and how they hated him!), so there was nothing he could do but go settle in a corner and try not to speak to anyone. Thankfully for him, Emit Man was quick to approach and share some of the hate. Signal Man ran toward them as fast as his legs could carry him, but that didn't stop the now claw-less Slash Man from swatting him as he passed by.
"...Solar...Spring...Grenade...Cold...Quick...and Ice Man! That's thirty-five in total."
With all the robots activated, Mega Man went to the center-right of the room, so that all of the robot masters could see him (and none were behind him). The murmurings of the Wily robots began to stop, though a few kept it up in the hopes of disrupting things. They were shushed by the more curious of the group, and after a moment the crowd was mostly silent. Seeing their focus draw onto him, Mega Man cleared his throat and began.
"You've been deactivated for a while." he began. "You've all been here at my lab since your defeat, and we were intending to fix you up just to send you to the robot museum. However, circumstances have changed. There's a new threat out there, and...well, Auto and I have installed the three laws and removed Wily's failsafes from your CPUs. That's all we've done. I want you to make this choice for yourselves."
"What choice?" Cloud Man asked. "Why should we do anything for you?"
"Because it's your way to freedom." Mega Man explained. "If you help me protect Monstropolis, then I can guarantee your freedom to rejoin society and become productive robots."
"Hey, we work for Wily, not you." Pump Man insisted. "Besides, you're the invincible robot. You don't need our help."
Mega Man tried to answer this, but this question had everyone talking again. A few of the robots were simply curious, and some were suspicious, but most were angry. By the time Mega Man managed to regain some control, Quick Man jumped out of the clustered robots and went up so that everyone could see him. The yellow and red fighter lifted a hand to get their attention.
"Wait a minute, I know what's going on!" Quick Man exclaimed. "He wants us to fight Zero!"
That immediately brought on a burst of boos and hisses from the crowd, and the robots threatened to get vicious. Busters formed and feet shifted weight to prepare to charge. How dare this little blue enemy have them try to fight their master's creation? Why would he even presume to ask this? Only the few most clearheaded individuals, namely Yamato, Knight, and Sword Man, managed to get the robots to understand that Mega Man hadn't actually said that Zero was the problem. They turned to Mega Man to await a full explanation.
"Well...actually," Mega Man squeamishly rubbed the back of his neck. "...It is Zero."
More boos and hisses. The Wily-bots began making plans to attack Mega Man, beat on the walls to find weaknesses, or try to reach the skylights above - which wouldn't work anyway as the windows were reinforced transparent aluminum panels ten inches thick. And, as they all very shortly discovered, their weapons were deactivated. Mega Man sighed and rubbed his head. How was he ever going to get this crowd to listen? In any case, it didn't take long for the robots to discover that their teleportation was down, and Spring Man was able to confirm the impenetrability of the windows.
"WILL EVERYONE PLEASE JUST LISTEN FOR A MINUTE?" Mega Man hollered at the top of his mechanical auditory vocalizers. "Rebel all you like, just listen to what I have to say first!"
The robots settled down, more or less. In any case, the worst of them just turned off their auditory recievers. This was only a few. Most of them were at least curious enough to listen, but not without sitting down in a very unappreciative manner with their backs turned to Mega Man. They only looked back to scowl at him. Mega Man was fine with that, just so long as they listened.
"Look, everyone, circumstances aren't what you think they are." Mega Man explained. "Zero is a very dangerous criminal with the potential to do a lot of harm to Monstropolis. I know you don't care about the city itself, but I'm sure none of you want to go back to the robot museum. If you choose to help us find him and defeat him, you will be pardoned for your crimes and allowed to live. You'll have to earn everyone's trust again, but I'm sure you can do it! Is your loyalty to Dr. Wily really worth being imprisoned forever?"
"Pardon me, Mega Man." Sword Man, who hadn't so much as moved from the place where he stood since he'd been reactivated, politely interrupted. "What exactly has become of Dr. Wily?"
Mega Man took a deep breath, trying not to wince. This was a question he hoped not to have to answer. "He's in the hospital now. He's doing as good as he can be, but he's got a heart condition and he's not expected to live too much longer."
There went that darn murmuring again. Sword Man again spoke over it. "So you're saying that he will not conquer the world as he so hoped?"
"No, he won't." our hero replied. "I believe he means Zero to be his revenge on me and on all the world, just to spite everyone. So you see, there's no reason to expect that you'll gain anything by being loyal to Dr. Wily. He wants to destroy, not simply conquer. There's nothing left for you. If you want to be free, I ask you to please join me against him."
This time the quiet talking was much darker in tone. Mega Man could almost feel the hate in the air as the robots discussed amongst themselves what to do and told the ones who had kept their auditory recievers off what was going on - they were by now too curious by far to remain deaf to their situation. They could hear it from fellow Wily-bots, but certainly not Mega Man. Mega Man stood in position, anxiously folding his arms. He realized that this was the weakest part of his plan. Who knew what they would chose? And how would he separate the willing from the unwilling?
"Team Six, to me!" Knight Man suddenly commanded, lifting his mace into the air. "Come with me now!"
The sixth set of robot masters, all but Yamato Man perfectly surprised, gathered to the armored robot as they were told. They listened intently as their co-leaders explained what was going to happen.
"Team Six, you've followed myself and Knight Man for many years." Yamato Man announced with all the weight of fate. "Even though we are so different, we have been united. Let us be united again, Six, this time for good and not evil. We are going to join Mega Man and do as he asks."
This got a roar of disapproval from the robots, and only when they remembered that their weapons were deactivated did they settle for insults and curses. Mega Man couldn't be happier. Of course Team 6 would be coming over to his side of the room. They were all from different countries around the world. Not one of them was a true Wily-bot. The walk to Mega Man's side was a cheery one for all involved.
"I can't believe I'll get to see Greece again!" Centaur Man joyfully exclaimed, taking a moment to raise up on his rear hooves. "I'll see my beloved countryside once more! I always wanted to go there again, and I hoped Dr. Wily would forget and send me there by chance, but he always had the best memory for spite. It's finally over!"
"Yes..." Yamato Man's voice was less optimistic, though the wistfullness was there. "I shall return to my master and attempt to reclaim the honor I've lost over these years. Sergei Yamamoto, master of the Japanese sword. He'll be an old man now...I'm grateful for the chance to see him at least one more time. Yes, I wish to show him that I am not the cheat that Wily forced me to become. Knight Man, I hope you will join me in Japan."
"I can't." he said, absorbed in his own memories. "I must return to my England. It will be many years before they allow me to guard London Tower again, but hopefully I'll be forgiven. I've got sins of my own to deal with."
"I'll just be glad when I see those slopes in Canada!" Blizzard Man exclaimed. "Sign me up! No offense, Mega, you're really a first class dork, but I'd do anything to be skiing under the Maple Leaf again!"
"Um...none taken...I think..."
"Does this mean the end of Team Six?" Wind Man asked. "I don't mind going home, but...I'm really going to miss you guys!"
"This won't be the end, I'm sure of it!" Knight Man said. "And Mega Man, we have an additional demand: that Flame Man be allowed to leave the robot museum and go free as well."
"I can't guarantee that..." Mega Man rubbed his chin, trying to remember who he'd have to ask permission. "I'd have to upgrade him first though. He consumes oil way too fast, and that's what got all of you in trouble with Canada in the first place."
Knight Man was taken aback. "Upgrade him? You would do that?"
"Sure." Mega Man put on his biggest smile. "I don't know how long he's had to deal with being so power hungry. I have to keep him from trying to steal, don't I?"
The team couldn't have looked happier. They were all going to go home and begin their lives again. The air was filled with their talking of all the wonderful things that they were going to do. For a minute, Mega Man forgot that these were only seven out of the thirty-five. Just for a minute though. Wood Man immediately stood to his feet and banged on his chest, ending all other noise in the room.
"Hey, have we all forgotten that we're Wily's robots?" Wood Man's voice boomed out. "How do we know that Wily is really in the hospital?"
Mega Man started, "Hey, I wouldn't lie-"
"Shut up!" Wood Man snapped before turning back to the others. "Okay, so the Team 6 losers are going to leave us. They're not really part of us! They're just recruits. I for one won't have anything to do with this! So maybe Zero is supposed to get revenge on the world. Well, you know what? That's fine by me!"
And with that, Wood Man proudly sauntered his way to the other wall and stood there with his arms firmly folded, daring everyone else to join him. Slash Man didn't have to be pressured into it; Auto had removed his claws, and that was an unforgivable offense with the Team 7 melee robot. Wood Man nodded at him as Slash Man stubbornly set his feet in the floor next to Wood's.
"Well, I'm not staying here." Top Man, who had been sitting, suddenly rose to his feet. "I'll join you, Mega Man. I'm not sure how much good I'll be when it comes to fighting, but I know I can make a way for myself in a peaceful world. I'm not interested in revenge of any kind. Perhaps I'll be able to meet civilized people for once."
"Look at that." Slash Man hissed. "Lame Top Man is going to be a good guy. Of course he would. He's part of pathetic Team 3, and they're half-stupid anyway."
"We are not!" Magnet Man exclaimed. "So what if Light and Wily built us together? We're behind Dr. Wily all the way! Come on, Spark Man! We're not lame like Top Man!"
Nervously, the electrical Team 3 member glanced over at Mega Man. However, once his uncertain gaze changed directions and saw how sour Magnet Man's had gotten, he reluctantly started stepping over towards the more rebellious group. Gemini Man, however, wasn't reluctant at all. He boldly nodded and joined Wood Man at the rebel side.
Only Sword Man's eyes had moved in the past ten minutes, but now he simply went to Mega Man without a word. This made Mega Man plenty happy, but then he saw who was coming next: Burner Man. His smile froze on his face. It would have faded away completely, but the small part of his mind that wasn't completely stunned said it would be better to be encouraging. That and it also questioned why Burner Man had been allowed the chance at all. Oh well. At least he'd been smart enough not to fix Aqua Man.
"Hey Frost Man, why don't you come over here?" Blizzard Man called out. "You can come on to Canada with me and we'll catch some slopes!"
"Frost Man likes Canada..." the large ice-bot admitted, his head swarming with visions of mountains, ski slopes, and knit hats. Then he looked up and and scowled. "But Frost Man does not like Mega Man!"
"As much as I'd like a pose at the robot museum," Freeze Man said. "I haven't decided on which one! There's so many poses to choose from! That's why I'm...crap, I'm not going to choose Mega Man! Who am I kidding? But to have a chance...I don't know!"
"You don't have to decide right away." Mega Man told everyone. "You can have a chance to think about it and decide. I'll give you a day to figure it out. If you decide to join us, your powers will be immediately reactivated and you'll be sent on the search for Zero. I'm not sure how much Wily told you about him, but any knowledge you can give us would be wonderful. If you choose not to at the end of the next twenty four hours, then you'll be shut down and sent to the robot museum. They're getting tighter on regulations these days, so you can expect to be missing a lot of your internal parts; it won't be as simple as people breaking into the robot museum and getting you back. Please, take this chance."
"I want to see the news!" Crash Man yelled. "I don't believe for a second that Wily's in the hospital!'
"Um, I think I can do that." Mega Man nodded. "I'll at least bring you a handheld computer with signal recieving capabilities."
Crash Man blinked, a little stunned that Rock would give in so easily. He wanted to insist some more, and the disappointment left him with a lip sticking out. "Um...yeah...see that you do!"
"Team 6, Sword Man, Top Man," Rock addressed them. "You can come with me now. Oh, and of course you too, Burner Man. I have to say, I'm a little surprised that you wanted to join up."
"Hey, why not?" Burner Man grinned, his lopsided smile not entirely heartwarming. "I get to burn stuff and no one will yell at me! Oh, I so hope that I'm the one that finds Zero!"
"Yeah..." Mega Man lifted his hand to encouragingly pat Burner Man on the shoulder, but then thought better of it. "...uh, me too."
It would be nice for Burner Man to meet Zero. Burner Man was one of the most challenging robots that Mega Man ever fought. Zero was going to have his hands full with this guy. Then again, Burner Man himself might be destroyed. Mega Man felt a little guilty hoping this might come true. He just couldn't think what good a pyromaniac robot would be to society.
In any case, they were going to have to leave. Mega Man indicated for the volunteers to follow him. They did, and Mega Man lowered the metal security panel before they headed for the door.
"Y'know, Rock," Burner Man somehow ended up right next to the blue bomber as the robots exited the gym. "You would look GREAT with red hair."
Mega Man had to turn his face away very quickly so that Burner Man wouldn't see his foul expression. Burner Man wasn't going to set his hair on fire, was he? Mega Man decided he better put other ideas in the fire-bot's head.
"Um...well don't you think Zero would look even better with red hair?"
"What, ZERO?" Burner Man said with his usual inappropriate volume. "No way! He's already got red armor. That would just clash SO MUCH!"
"Um, right." Mega Man nervously said. "Um, let's go upstairs, shall we?"
-t-
"So you're not sure where Zero could be?"
"No. It's not like I've ever seen the guy." Bass snorted, his arms folded tightly in that way they always did when he was getting lectured (or thought he was) by Tim Reyes. "Wily wouldn't tell anyone about his stupid project. I sent you Cut Man's memories and what I found in that cave in Russia, but those are all we know. Wily's a sneaky bastard."
Yes, Bass was having a "grand" day in Mega Man's "absolutely wonderful" lab, very "happily" recieving instruction from Tim Reyes as the latter in his own "caring" way questioned every single choice that Bass made in the past couple of days. The dark robot found himself sinking deeper and deeper into the vast mire of grumpy the longer this went on. Auto was working on Commando Man and Algorhythm Man, both of whom lay on the nearest repair tables. Bass just sneered at them. They weren't a very good distraction.
"I have to say, I'm a little frustrated at your technician." Tim Reyes rubbed his head. "She put all of those people at risk by making you fight Algorhythm Man at the old illegal robot fighting grounds, besides distracting you from the danger in Monstropolis."
"Don't give me that crap." Bass retorted. He'd been expecting this, and he had some answers ready. "It's better I fought Idiot Man outside of Monstropolis so it wouldn't get so damaged, and all those people went to watch of their own free will. Besides, I wasn't there long and I pulled Dr. Cain out from trouble. I don't think you get to lecture me this time."
"I'm not saying anything about you at all." Reyes said. "In fact, many of my superiors were surprised you managed to leave your fans to go back to Monstropolis. They're impressed. It's Crystal Bot I'm wondering about. She tried to distract you in Monstropolis, and now she's watching out for Dr. Wily in the hospital."
Bass groaned. He'd been expecting this too. "Look, she's not a traitor. If she was, I'd have shot her myself. She feels sorry for Wily and she says that God told her to visit him because he's an old lonely bastard with no friends. She's too nice, that's her problem. Kind of like how your favorite little blue boy is the kind of guy that will let any 'poor robot' into the lab because he's hurt. Exactly how many times has he been tricked like that?"
Speaking of which, Reyes' favorite blue boy entered the room just then, happily leading in his ten volunteers. They each took a repair table and lay down, deactivating as they were told, other than Centaur Man. He was too awkward shaped to just get on one, so he simply settled down on his horsey legs and let Auto hook him up to the nearest computer.
Seeing Bass and Reyes looking at him, Mega Man blinked. "Yes?"
"Nothing. Never mind." Bass turned back to the screen. "It's fine that Crystal Bot goes to see Wily. She's pretty good at manipulating him, and if anyone can get him to say something about what he's planning, it's her. Hell, he's not going to tell me anything..."
"If you say so." Reyes nodded. "I trust you."
Once all the robots were shut down, Mega Man joined Bass at the telescreen. "Hi, Mr. Reyes. I've got ten volunteers for now, and I gave the other robots until tomorrow to figure out if they want to join or not."
"Okay..." the ethics agent nodded with doubt. "You're sure this plan of yours will work? Can't you just reprogram them?"
"Absolutely not!" Mega Man exclaimed. "That's just not right! Besides, the ones that choose willingly to look for Zero are the ones that we can trust in society again."
"We're relying on those losers?" Bass rolled his eyes. "Eh, never mind. Spare me your optimistic little explanation. I'm going to do what I can to trace Zero. Even Shadow Man leaves a trail, so it shouldn't be too hard to find out where they are."
Bass teleported out, his black and yellow beam disappearing amongst the rafters. Mega Man sighed.
"I hope that confidence of his doesn't get him in trouble." he looked up where the teleport beam went. "We don't know what to expect with Zero, and once he gets activated...well, you really never know."
"That's what I mean to ask you." the human said. "Is Zero really such a threat that you're willing to have all these robots search for him?"
"I can guess what Dr. Wily has in mind." Mega Man replied. "I've known him for a long time...he calls Zero his masterpiece, so I'm not willing to take any risks. I don't really have any concrete data on Zero, though."
"Wait, yes, now you do!"
Algorhythm Man got up on his feet. He limped over to the telescreen, his unarmored legs still not fully functional. Auto had done proper work on his face, but only one of his eyes had the proper, humanish look to it. The other eye was just a glowing red light. The rest of his body sort of worked, though he was only covered by a third of his armor. The rest was just metal structure, wires, and simulated joints. Plus, he didn't glow anymore. The hardly recognisable Algorhythm Man hobbled over to the screen with a portable computer in his hand.
"This...this is what Elec Man made me see." the Cain-bot handed the portable to Mega Man. "He wanted me to know exactly how strong Zero is, so he showed me these stats of Zero's power level. As you can see...well, it's...it's astronomical."
Mega Man took the portable, not noticing Tim's odd look at the Cain-bot. Algorhythm Man did, and he dropped his eyes, unable to look back at the REA agent. He clutched an arm uncomfortably.
"Are you sure we can trust this guy, Mega Man?" Reyes asked still eyeing Algorhythm Man. "After all he's done?"
Rock looked up from his computer, a little startled. "Oh. Well yes, sure, to at least a small extent. Auto found that he had one of Dr. Wily's common mind-control viruses on him. It's exactly the same virus that Dr. Wily used on Team 9. Besides, we can check this against his memories, which can't really be faked. In any case, Algorhythm Man doesn't have any weapons anymore."
"...Right. So what happened to all your allies?"
"Team 5 is hurt pretty bad right now." Mega Man leaned in closer to the computer screen. "Wave Man is under repair, and Star Man still hasn't fully recovered from that shot to the head. Stone Man's realignment computer is shot, and Napalm Man's arms are completely melted. Out of Team 5, Gyro Man, Charge Man, Gravity Man, and Crystal Bot are the only operational ones, and I honestly doubt Crystal Bot's ability to fight difficult opponents. That, and Gravity Man is busy working on repairing the rest of the team.
"As for Team 9, it's really just a matter of getting here. Galaxy Man can get here from Star Man Observatory and Jewel Man is here in town, but the others are scattered everywhere. Concrete Man is in New York, Magma Man is all the way in Canada, I'm not sure where Plug Man is, and Splash Woman can't exactly leave the water."
"I know for a fact that Hornet, Magma, Tornado, and Plug Man are heading for your lab right now." Reyes said. "Concrete Man and Splash Woman are stuck where they are, but six out of the eight should help."
"Good to know!" Mega Man exclaimed. "But still, I'd really like to give these robots a chance. You know Team 6 wasn't built by Wily. They at least can do some good for the world."
"You're just like Dr. Light." Reyes shook his head. He wasn't sure if he approved of this or not, but he still admired the blue bomber. "I'll believe it when I see it. Alright, keep me updated. Send those stats of Zero to the REA main office so that they can see them."
"Right! See you later!"
The telescreen cut off, and Mega Man turned off the monitor before plugging the handheld computer into the wall console and sending Algorhythm's memory file where Reyes had asked. He set it down and let it load. Seeing how the unstable Algorhythm Man was still shaking on his unsteady limbs, Mega Man brought over a chair and let him sit down.
"Ah, thank you." Algorhythm's voice was quiet. "I don't suppose you've heard anything about my master's condition."
"You know what happened to him?" Mega Man asked.
The Cain-bot nodded. "Auto told me."
"Okay, well, he's in the hospital now. I had Crystal Bot check on him before she went to go visit Wily, but she said he's still in critical condition and isn't able to have visitors right now."
"Oh." Algorhythm Man's head drooped to his chest. "When...when he's better, can I see him?"
"I don't know. The REA probably wouldn't allow something like that. I would let you help in the search for Zero, but you're not repaired. Would you be willing to do something to help, though?"
Algorhythm Man snorted and let his eyes darken. "I wouldn't even if I were in perfect condition. Look at those numbers and ask me again."
Curious, Mega Man turned back to the data. Algorhythm Man was right; he hadn't as much as glanced at the data yet. This time he gave it a good look over. Then he looked it over again, his eyes widening in disbelief. Confused, he tried to do some math in his head. What in the world was this data? How could anyone possibly have numbers this high? Mega Man had seen scans of Bass' bassnium core, but even with that the numbers couldn't possibly add up on this sort of level.
"I...don't understand any of this..." Mega Man still stared down at the data pad. "How can he be this strong? Wait, do you know for sure that this is real?"
"Well, I guess being perfectly honest I can't say that the numbers weren't somehow faked by one of the Wily robots." Algorhythm Man shrugged. "But that's definitely what Elec Man showed me. He was very emphatic about me and Epic Man seeing Zero's statistics. He wanted us to know exactly what Wily was capable of."
Algorhythm Man shuddered at the very thought. He let out a despairing sigh as he continued. "I wouldn't fight Zero, not even for the promise of freedom. I'm not at all a strong robot, for all the hacking, blocking, and bragging that I do. Ugh, how could I speak so arrogantly to Bass? I was acting like an idiot. In that last fight I suppose I presented at least a little of a challenge to him, but before that I couldn't stand a chance. My poor master...I did everything for him and yet this happens. Tell Bass that I'm sorry. He saved my master from certain death..."
Algorhythm Man quieted. It was hard for him to go on. He loved Epic Man as his brother, and the midnight-blue robot had betrayed him by trying to kill their creator. Mega Man too could feel the sting. As much as he tried to get it out of his thoughts, Proto Man and his sins still haunted him. Rock knew how much the Cain-bots cared for each other. Algorhythm Man's pain could hardly be less than his.
"He was reprogrammed by Wily." Mega Man tried to comfort him. "Epic Man never would have attacked your creator otherwise."
"That's the thing. I can't be sure he wouldn't. Epi was notorious for objecting to our master's plans. Epi would have destroyed any other robots in the world and not cared a thing, but he could never believe that Dr. Cain would allow his own robots to go free when his agenda was a human planet. Of course the master wouldn't. We would die like all the rest, if Master succeeded. It never bothered me much. I was just fine with it. So much about robotkind is artificial, and well, I loved my master as any good servant would. I still do, even if that's foolish." Algorhythm Man clutched his own arms as if cold. "Please, thank Bass for me. He saved my master. Well, being perfectly fair he saved Master earlier from the instant death spike debacle. As arrogant as he was, I suppose he truly was being a protector of justice. He's not really a Wily-bot at all, no matter who created him. He's...well, too good for that."
Mega Man brightened. That was Bass, alright, and he'd known this to be true almost as long as he'd known Bass. The dark robot had never cheated or been cheap in their fights, and he never took hostages. There was something in Forte that made him principled.
"You really should tell Bass that." Mega said. "He'd really appreciate it. He doesn't like being associated with Wily."
"Ha. No, I couldn't do that." Algorhythm Man's eyes sank. "I haven't the courage to speak to him. All I want now is to care for my master, though I suppose I won't be allowed the chance to do that. I wouldn't mind so much...but before I go to the robot museum, make sure I know that my master is fine."
"I'll see what I can do. Maybe you don't have to go."
"Huh. Somehow I doubt that. It's better for robots such as myself to disappear."
"Don't say that." Mega Man shook his head. "There's always the chance. But you're going to have to learn to make choices of your own. Robots might be 'artificial', but you still have the responsibility to choose the right things no matter who your master is. Even with Dr. Cain wanting to oppress the world, you can't just follow along because that's what he wants."
"Mega Man, you're such an example of perfection." Algorhythm snorted. "Name one time you ever disobeyed Dr. Light in the name of what's right."
"I...erm, well, Dr. Light never told me to do evil things." Mega Man thought about it a moment. "Yeah, never. He guided me when I had hard decisions, but at the end of the day he could trust me to choose for myself the right thing to do in uncertain situations. He gave me principles, and I've stuck by them."
"Perfect little hero, like I said." The despair crept back into the Cain-bot's voice. "Some of us aren't so lucky with masters."
"Hence you have to make choices to decide who to serve: society, or selfishness."
"It's all a moot point with a criminal such as myself." Algorhythm Man shrugged. "Now go on. Go look for Zero and save the day. I suppose if nothing else I can be troubled to help Auto or something."
"Don't give up on yourself." Mega Man encouraged him.
"Shut up already and go."
There was no helping the robot stuck so stubbornly in his despair. He wouldn't even look up from the floor. Mega Man wished he could help, but honestly, anyone in Algorhythm Man's situation didn't have a lot to look forward to. Mega Man had a job of his own to complete, so he checked his buster and prepared to teleport out. Bass had told Mr. Reyes that it wouldn't be so hard to find Zero, but the blue bomber was less certain.
Well, now's a good time as any to find out.
"No, Auto, you can't!"
Mega Man turned to find Napalm Man standing over the repair table with Commando Man on it. Napalm Man pointed what was left of his left arm directly at Auto, though there was nothing left of it but the upper part (the melted lower half had been removed). The other arm lay flat as flat as it could over Commando Man's neck. Mega Man got the feeling he needed to deal with this, and he reluctantly walked over.
"Hey, don't you point that finger at me!" Auto swung his own finger at Napalm. "What are you doing? I need to wake him up so he can be offered the chance for freedom."
"No, you can't" Napalm Man insisted. "Commando Man would never say yes, no matter what you told him! He's just too stubborn." Napalm Man noticed that Rock was there, so he continued on, addressing them both. "Please, Mega Man! You can't let him go to the robot museum! Just don't repair him until Dr. Wily is dead. Say you were missing a part to fix him or something! At least then he'll have a chance!"
"That's iffy!" Auto folded his arms. "I don't like getting involved in iffy matters! I suppose you're the one that hid his cannon syncronizer?"
Both of the robots swore that Napalm Man blushed a deep purple. "Well, um...no, I admit nothing!"
"Yeah, yeah, guilty as charged!" Auto confidently huffed.
"Well..." Mega Man said, walking up to the repair table. "Commando Man does deserve a chance. I suppose if Reyes asks we can say that we needed more time to prepare to find Zero. And that's very true. Auto, why don't you go ahead and work on the lab's defenses instead? It's a bigger priority right now."
"Whatever you say, boss!" Auto winked before dashing off to the main computer.
"Thanks a bunch, Mega Man!" Auto snatched up his arm and shook it vigorously. "I'm not going to forget this!"
-t-
"So it really hasn't been that bad." Gyro Man explained politely. "We found out that the trajectory of the comet was four degrees off, but even that was enough at this distance for the comet not to swing into earth. It'll pass us by at least thirty thousand miles."
"Phah, NASA has never been that good at math." Wily laughed. "Being outdone by a bunch of my robots! How wonderful! Tell me they increased your funding."
"They did." Gyro Man admitted. "By a few thousand. I'm not sure how much though. Wave Man knows. Anyway, they're increasing the size of the space station, so it's probably all going to that fund anyway."
"Good! Those fools better realize just how lucky they are!"
Crystal Bot smiled. As much as she favored Forte, things went a lot more smoothly when someone else came with her to visit Dr. Wily at the hospital. Crystal let Gyro Man talk to Wily as she did what she could to freshen up the room. She had a couple of posters of space put up, and even despite Wily's objections brought in some nice sunflowers so that the room would smell at least marginally like something else other than disinfectant. For the moment, though, the room smelled heavily of nachos and refried beans, leftovers from Wily's takeout. Crystal Bot looked at the plastic container holding it all, proud of herself that she had managed to get the stuff into the hospital without anyone noticing. The girl-bot was a little too scared to ask Roll exactly how bad Mexican food was for someone with Wily's condition.
The conversation ended, interrupted by a little knock at the door. Crystal Bot went over to get it, and there at the door stood a little boy no older than five. He had the softest brown hair and the shyest eyes any of them had seen of a child's, and only with his mother's encouragement did the little boy actually enter the room. The mother, herself a brunette but not at all shy, smiled at Crystal Bot, then managed another actually genuine smile as she looked in Wily's direction.
"Go on, sweetheart." the mother encouraged her little boy. "You can say it."
"Um, okay." The boy stuck his index finger in his mouth as he approached the mad scientist's bed, speaking in the sweetest, squee-worthy voice ever. "Tank you, Dr. Wahwee..."
Albert blinked. Twisting his lips in confusion and disgust, he could only wonder what in the world induced this germ-ridden child to speak to him.
"What...the hell...is this?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you." Crystal Bot went over to Wily's bedside. "You said you're too old to get the operation and for me not to waste my money, so I gave it to this little boy because he had the same thing! Now he's not gonna be sick anymore, and it's all thanks to you!" Crystal Bot smiled extra big, illustrating very clearly (and very insistently) how she wanted Wily to react. "Isn't that so nice?"
"Nice? I'm not nice!" Wily huffed, turning to the child. "Listen kid. You're going to live today, but know this. One day you'll be just as old and wrinkly as I am right now! You'll stink of medicinal creams and all your bones will make frightening noises!"
The boy's face fell, and his little mouth popped open at the scary old man laughing at him. An instant later and he ran away to his mother's knees. The woman scowled at Wily the way only a mother could. From the way Gyro Man was covering his face, few would be able to guess that he was laughing. Crystal Bot knew, and later she would yell at the propellor-bot for his sin. For now all her anger was on harabohjee. Wily, spotting Crystal's angry face, qwelled his laughter and sighed.
"You people need to get a sense of humor." he rolled his eyes. "Look, kid, I'm sorry. Getting old isn't all bad. There's...well, let's see...um, huh. Well, if you do good in your lifetime then when you're old you'll have a place to spend the rest of your days and people that take care of you. Okay?"
The little boy pulled his face out of his mother's knees and looked back only once, sniffling. "'Kay."
"Well, thank you, still." the mother said cautiously before turning to Crystal Bot. "Though I suppose I should thank you instead."
"Sorry, ma'am." Crystal said. "He thinks 'cause he's old he gets to be as mean as he wants."
"Why am I not surprised? Come on, Josh. Tell the nice robots bye."
"Buh-bye, wobots!" he waved at them as his mother pulled him out of the room. "Buh-bye, Dr. Wahwee!"
"Ugh. That was bizarre." Wily said, not caring that Josh and his mom weren't completely out of the door. He just directed his confusion at Crystal Bot. "What did you do that for?"
"I didn't do anything." Crystal Bot sighed with relief as door closed behind her. "I didn't tell them to come in. That mom must be trying to make her son polite or something."
"I meant why did you pay for the surgery. I'm a villain! I'm not kind!"
"Bah, I try to be good for once, and this is how you act." Crystal Bot stuck her tongue out at the human. "Bah, Grandpa! I wanted you to get credited for something good for once. I mean, you said you were too old to get the surgery, so I paid for somebody else. Isn't that so nice? It's almost as if you did something nice yourself!"
Dr. Wily slumped back in the bed. It was clear that Crystal Bot wasn't going to understand him, and he was starting to get tired. He sighed deeply and rubbed his eyes.
"Hey, I thought it was funny." Gyro Man grinned. "It's not like what the doctor said was a lie, either. The kid'll get old like all-"
"Shut up, Gyro." Crystal Bot went sour. Thinking of death wasn't something she wanted to be doing.
"Are visiting hours almost over?" Wily complained. "I'm tired and you two are bothering me."
"Sheesh, you don't have to be so cranky." Crystal Bot brushed some of his hair out of his face. "Um, hey, there was something I wanted to ask you."
"Hm, what is it?"
"Well, there was this thing..." Crystal Bot got a little nervous and started playing with her fingers. "When Dr. Light was in the hospital, he did this thing called 'last rites' and this priest came in and did stuff, but it's not scary and it doesn't hurt at all! I think you should do it too."
"What?" Wily sat up again, resting on his elbows. "You don't seriously expect me to participate in such superstitious nonsense, do you?"
"I'm worried about your immortal soul." Crystal Bot folded her arms. "It's about time someone is. You're not exactly...um, headed for heaven...or purgatory."
"And you think it's not too late for me now? Don't talk to me about that." Wily growled. "Now go on. I'm tired."
"Fine, Mr. Grumpy." Crystal Bot patted him on the head, but Mr. Grumpy was too much of his namesake to bother complaining about how undignified it was to be patted. And it was nice to be tucked in, so he didn't complain when Crystal pulled the blanket up over him either. "I'm going to leave you then. Be good and get some rest. Ittaga papuhlkoehyo."
"Um, bye, Doctor." Gyro Man said, feeling a bit awkward. "I might be here tomorrow, but I think Star Man wanted to come and see you next. I'm not sure."
"Ah, Star Man." Wily said thoughtfully. After a second of staring into space, he snorted. "Why in the world did I build him? A robot that appreciates an art form? Absurd. Heh, I was so idealistic in those days. Goodbye, then."
He waved them off. The two robots began to initialize their teleporters, but far quicker than anyone would have expected from a man as old as Wily (or someone as tightly tucked in) he reached out and grabbed Crystal Bot's hand. Gyro Man teleported away, but Crystal quickly cut off the teleportation sequence.
"Harabohjee!" she exclaimed. "Don't do that! You know how dangerous it is for a human to interrupt a teleport like that."
"What? I can't help it if I want to talk to you without being guarded all the time. I'm an old man. How in the world am I dangerous?"
"You're like the world's best robotics genius right now, and you say you're not dangerous?"
Crystal Bot stubbornly stuck her tongue out at him, not entirely upset. She tried to take her hand away, but Wily only held it tighter. Of course, a human's grip wasn't much compared to her own, but Crystal Bot didn't want to hurt him. Which was why she didn't move as he reached under his pillow and pulled out a zip drive. He turned Crystal's hand over and placed the zip drive there, closing her fingers over it.
"There you are." Wily said with finality as he let go and relaxed back onto his pillow. "Crystal Bot, you are the most infuriating robot I've ever had the trouble of working with, but...you're the one who's here with me now. I don't have any illusions; I know that that no one would visit me if you didn't. I want to reward you for that. You pretty much are my dau- um, granddaughter. I always criticized Dr. Light for being so attached to his robots, and yet here I am. I'm sure a human granddaughter would be every bit as frustrating, overconcerned, and well, as sweet as you."
Crystal Bot stared at the zip drive, glancing ever other second at Dr. Wily. Uncertain, she turned it over in her fingers. She knew how Wily was. She knew his trickery and deceit just as well as any. Glancing once more at his face, Crystal Bot was puzzled. If Wily was lying, he was doing a good job of not showing it on his face. Her eyes studied him for any sign of gloating or lies, but she couldn't find more than just the faintest whiff of arrogance, and Crystal Bot wasn't confident enough in her ability to tell faces to determine if that meant he was lying or not.
"Um, what is this?"
"It's your inheritance." Wily explained. "The last location of one of my hidden emergency labs. That's where the my last technology is being kept, and if you want to see it before the government swoops in like vultures, you better get going. It's even got something I know you want to see: Zero."
Crystal Bot gasped, staring at the zip drive in shocked horror: it wasn't fair! This was exactly the sort of thing Bass warned her against: Wily trying to take advantage of her love of technology. She just knew that the drive was full of some horrible set of viruses, ready to take her over. Or perhaps there was a trap over at the lab. Observing Wily didn't help her form any conclusions. The man seemed very casual about it, though he did roll his eyes at her.
"I know how you were designed." Wily scoffed, offended at her reluctance. "Any virus that interferes with your head is designed to be quarantined and can at best take out only one of your CPUs. I'm not dumb enough to try and make a virus that couldn't work on you. The only way it would work would be if you let all three of your minds access to it at the same time, and I know you don't trust me that much. But there isn't a virus, so you don't have to worry about it. Go on, take a look."
Wily was starting to get grumpy again, and the temptation was just too much. Crystal Bot let her third mind scan the zip drive first, and much to her surprise, Wily was telling the truth. There was nothing wrong with the disc. Not a single virus, spyware or tracking cookie. Only then did Crystal Bot open the files. Wily wasn't lying about those either. Besides a mysterious set of coordinates that seemed to be up in northern California, there were some readme files that gave a list of all the things the evil scientist kept tucked away in his lab: virus plans, armor designs, blueprints, spare parts, and the like. And there was Zero.
This was a lab that Crystal Bot herself knew nothing about, other than its general existence. Some of the older robots might know, primarily Teams 1 and 2, but Crystal Bot herself had never been there. It was an older place that she had heard of in rumors, a place that Wily used to keep his most important works when Mega Man destroyed his skull castles. She bit her lip in distress. This was a place she had wanted to go, but the only chance she had - when Skull Castle #10 was destroyed - she had been one of the first sent ahead to get things started for what would turn out to be the last Skull Castle. She shook with nervous delight at being allowed to go.
But she wasn't allowed, she reminded herself. She was a good guy now, and that meant she had to tell Bass, and probably Mega Man too, what was going on with this. Crystal Bot's spirit sank a bit. After all, if she was going to be appropriate, logical, and safe, she should tell them. And then they would find out and tell the government before she could get a good look at it all, and they would have the technology instead of her.
A smile crept up on Dr. Wily's face, and it was contagious. Crystal Bot found herself grinning and she didn't know why.
"Aw, Grandpa, you know me too well." she giggled. "But um, you know I'm gonna have to tell my ethics agent about this, and then they'll see all your stuff."
Wily's head fell back with a groan, and he rubbed a hand across his bald head, as if doing so would bring good luck. "Yes, yes, I know. For some reason my little girl wants to be a good guy. Hmph! Well, I'm going to have to accept that. It's not like I have a choice. Of course you're going to tell the REA and all that nonsense. But you at least should have the first look. I put all that effort into him, only for it to fall into the hands of the government. That's just how things go, I'm afraid..."
His voice was so pitiful and so drained of life that Crystal Bot could feel herself giving in. She shook the terrible thought out of her head, shuddering a little. Fingering the zip drive delicately, she wondered if she should give it back.
"Um...no, Grandpa, I don't think I can." she finally said. "I said I'm a good girl, and I intend to be one. I can get in real trouble going to investigate this without telling anybody, even if it's not trapped or anything. I better not go...um, at least not without Forte-kun."
"Pffft." Wily sneered at the thought of Bass, though he turned his head away so Crystal couldn't see. After a second, he slowly turned it back, softening his tone. "Alright, alright, it's your choice. I guess I'll have to deal with it. Oh? Do you hear that? It must be Gyro Man in the hall outside. He's coming to stop you. There goes the only chance you have to look at Zero. Pity, too-"
Before the last word had even got out of his mouth, Crystal Bot teleported away. Wily laughed out loud with a sharp "ha!" He knew Crystal Bot too well. His little girl couldn't resist technology. The confident man leaned back in his bed and tried to let the smile disappear. It was hard, but he managed it - he wasn't lying about the footsteps outside. Already he could hear the sound of more than one robot heading to his room. It was easy to hear, even from behind the door.
"Five...four...three..."
Wily heard the very voices he expected to hear yelling at the cops outside his door. There was the determined snap of Gyro Man; the patient, worried, and altogether sickeningly cute Mega Man; and Wily's personal favorite, the bellicose roar of Forte as he berated the cops for not checking on Crystal Bot ("there's a window in the door for a reason!"). The evil scientist, though attempting to be asleep, couldn't help grinning.
"Two...one."
"What the hell did you do to her, old man?"
There it was. For show, Wily took his time stretching, and gave a yawn. Let Bass have his evil glare and questions. Wily meant to take his time, and not even his loudmouth creation was going to change that. He was just glad that his room door couldn't be slammed. Behind Bass entered Mega Man and Gyro, both equally angry (but thankfully nowhere as noisy).
"I didn't do anything, for your information. She teleported away, that's all." Wily said, still yawning. "How am I supposed to know where she went?"
"You're a liar!" Bass snarled, wishing very much that he could shoot a human.
"Yeah!" Gyro Man joined in, pointing an accusing finger. "I saw you! You interrupted her teleport!"
"I don't know what you're talking about. You must be seeing things." Wily could feel the corner of his mouth going upwards. He tried to force it down. After all, he was supposed to be annoyed that these irritating robots woke him up. "I wouldn't do that. It's stupid for a human to try because they can get their atoms scrambled. I've got enough wrong with me already."
None of the heroes knew why he bothered to lie. Wily was only marginally better than Bass at hiding his emotions; his vicious, malignant grin spread out over his face even as he tried his best to be cranky. It wasn't working at all, and as the old man's sneer widened, the robots darkened. Every struggle against his merriness only made Wily grin all the more, with nothing left to his deception but a very false wrinkling of the brow.
"Erg, why aren't you dead yet?" Bass snarled, lifting a buster. "Just tell us where she is already!"
"Put that away before you get yourself in trouble." Wily retorted. "I don't know where Crystal Bot is and you're just going to have to deal with it."
Bass was long out of patience with his creator, and if he had human skin he would be red with rage. "You're going to have to deal with-"
"Bass, wait."
Mega Man, the only cool one in the room, pulled back on Bass' arm and gave him a look before going over to the bed. Rock casually pulled out a chair, sitting beside the bed stiffly. Making himself relax a little, Rock settled his hands on his lap and looked at the mad scientist with a put-on pleasantness, letting out a breath. Wily finally managed to get a hold of his runaway face, and he lifted an eyebrow in doubt. What in the world was this little blue guy doing?
"So, Dr. Wily." Mega Man said, feeling a bit awkward as he did so but continuing nonetheless. "How have you been?"
Everyone in the room stared at the blue bomber like he was utterly off his rocker. Bass and Gyro Man glanced at each other, silently questioning if they should do something about this. Wily, suspicious, was the only one not stunned enough to stop speaking. Well, he could at least manage one word.
"...What?"
"We've known each other for a long time, but it's been forever since we've actually talked." Mega Man continued, faking a happy banter. "Between me ruining your plans and arresting you, there hasn't really been that much time to just, you know, hang out. Let's make up for lost time now! I've got so much to tell you! You wouldn't believe how Light Laboratories Inc. has been changing the face of technology, and we're making so much money at it too! Just last week we wrote three new contracts with the Swedish government. Aw man, too bad you had to go on those schemes to take over the world, or you could be running the lab today and be rich and admired too! Wow, we've got so much to catch up on. I think I'll just sit right here and tell you all about it! It's a good thing that I'm a robot and don't need to sleep or anything; I can just sit here forever talking about it!"
The Wily-bots in the room were starting to get it, but Dr. Wily himself was starting to twitch with anger. His whole face shriveled up in a prunish mask.
"What the hell are you trying to do?"
"I mean, I really should be looking for Crystal Bot," It was Mega Man's turn to pretend he wasn't smiling, and nothing he could do would persuade the sides of his mouth to settle down. "And if I had her coordinates, I could go look for her instead. But I guess since I have nothing better to do, I'll just sit here and catch up with you! So, Dr. Wily, how's that taking over the world thing going? Making progress, I hope?"
"Haha," the laugh burst out of Bass, despite himself. "Well, Wily, I guess since you're just an old man and everything, I don't need to worry about you causing trouble. I'll just leave you here with Rock, then. Have fun! Hahaha! Let's go, Sandwich Boy."
"Stop calling me that!"
"Get back in here, you fools!" Wily snapped. "Don't leave me in here with him!"
It was by far too late to get either robot to obey his whims. Wily stared with disgust at Mega Man, who was still sitting in his chair stiff as a ramrod, smiling his fake smile. Wily's eyes threatened him to stay silent, but of course that wasn't going to work.
"So, how many years has it been since you left the labs?" Mega Man asked, pretending to rack his mind for the answer. "Well, right after you left and I defeated you the first time, we expanded our company to include deluxe microprocessors for basic computers, getting in on the Japanese market with our 102 gigabyte handheld computers. Dr. Light invented new robots to decrease pollution in cities and also filter any oil spilled in the ocean, for which he won another Nobel Peace Prize..."
-t-
Crystal Bot knew she was being stupid. She knew it at the bottom of her mind and for the life of her she had no intention of letting that knowledge get in her way. After all, what harm would a look do?
Just to be safe, I'll adjust the coordinates by several yards. Yeah.
And with that, Sonata teleported out, zipping upwards in a green and cyan beam. Crystal Bot's teleport beam landed just outside of an old warehouse, lost in the middle of a valley. From the pattern of the mountains, Crystal recognised the place as far into northern California, where she herself rarely went.
Huh, I must be maybe fifty miles outside of Southerland. she guessed. Okay, cool.
Wandering outside of the huge metal structure for a bit, she could tell it was old. The metal walls bore streaks of rust that dashed down the sides of the building. Crystal Bot got suspicious. Why would Wily hide out in such a crappy place? It wasn't like him to put up with such nasty surroundings. Besides, this was an open area with plenty of mountains and hills that could spot it. Wily was hardly dumb enough to do much in a place that any given sattelite or simple wanderer could find.
"Well...I might as well find out what's going on..."
The sight of the doors made it even worse. The vast double doors, steel reinforced and strong in appearance, were off of their hinges. The left door could barely even be called a door - it was instead "a metal panel barely at all attached to a doorframe for some reason". It half-blocked the right door, but since it opened inwards Crystal could open that side of the double doors and duck under where the left door had fallen. Though it was daytime outside, the innards of the building were dark, and Crystal Bot had to find the light switch before she could continue her investigation. Finding the large metal handle (Crystal always loved archaic technology) she flipped it in the hope for some lights. All she got were a couple of hanging lamps from the ceiling, half of which managed something of a steady flicker.
The right side of the metal building was all a mess of victorian technology. From its decrepit condition, it was difficult for Crystal Bot to determine what exactly it was. The mess of panels, huge organ pipes, and cords all over the place confused her completely. She had to search her brain for data on technology over a century old to find out the answer.
"Of course!" she exclaimed. "This is a Telharmonium! It was invented by Thaddeus Cahill in 1897, and it's one of the earliest electronic music devices ever created. Oooh..."
Her musings over the antiquated music maker distracted her entirely from all else, halting her investigation as long as she admired the Victorian machine. It was marvelous! Crystal Bot found herself walking around the complex machines as she stared. She didn't even notice the other side until she stepped on something and nearly tripped and fell.
"Oops! Ack..." Crystal Bot managed to catch herself before she fell face-first on the floor. "What's this?"
It wasn't until she was holding it in her hands that Crystal Bot realized what it was, and once this realization hit her, she cast it to the floor. It was Elec Man's severed hand, and as she flung it down, it skidded into a pile of metal, yellow and black. The tech-bot stared at this for several seconds before she realized that this pile was the rest of Elec Man's chopped up remains. Crystal Bot slapped a hand over her mouth, trying her hardest not to scream. As much as she hated the arrogant electric robot, it was easy to imagine the terror he had gone through. Though half of his face was gone, his horrified eyes were still perfectly intact, frozen in their desperate expression.
Sonata thought she was going to be sick, but the carnage didn't end there. A metal spike was run through a single tire, and that was all of Nitro Man's remains that Crystal Bot could find - not that she looked particularly hard for them. Scattered bits of Shadow Man were easy enough to find, ironically enough. It was the least subtle that the ninja-bot had ever been in his entire operating existence. Crystal Bot could hardly walk two steps without finding another shuriken. Hard Man was a tough robot, which was perhaps why the bottom half of his body was still intact. Still, the top half of him was gone, and she shuddered to wonder what in the world could slice through Hard Man with such precise cuts. He wasn't chopped up either, so whatever sword did it must have been magnificent.
Crystal Bot was so busy staring at him that she almost passed by Metal Man. Almost. She looked to her left to find herself not two feet away from Metal Man, his eyes wide with terror and one of his own metal blades pinning him to a support pillar. Crystal Bot jumped away from him immediately, trying not to whimper. Chill Man lay only a few feet away, and from the icy patches on the floor and walls around him, his death hadn't been a quiet one.
It's not all melted off...whatever happened here didn't happen that long ago...
Crystal Bot started shivering. This was all one big mistake. What was she doing here without Forte? Why had she listened to Wily? It was only by sheer luck that she had come late enough for nothing to have happened to her.
But what happened? Crystal Bot allowed herself one more fearful glance around the macabre place. Who could have done this? Why in the world would Dr. Wily want me to see any of this? Did somebody find this place and-
Clunk.
She stopped. She couldn't go on. It was all over. The attacker hadn't gone anywhere; he fell from the ceiling right in front of Crystal Bot, his heavy armored feet noisily coliding with the floor to send a ring echoing through the vast chamber. In the darkness his long, green plasma sword glowed, illuminating him in the most frightening light possible. Crystal had the most perfect view of his spectacular red armor and sweeping blonde hair that extended a total five feet from his head, and every inch of it luscious and golden. All of this shone in Crystal Bot's perifery. It was hard to pull her gaze from that face. It was a face without pity, without concern. All it showed was a grim curiosity, as well as just the lift of the arm to prepare to strike.
This was indeed Wily's masterpiece, Zero.
...How...how could I have ever thought him ugly...?
As a frightened Crystal Bot stood there frozen, her frightened thoughts scattering in a million directions, Zero watched. His sword arm stilled, and he stared into her eyes with a cold glare. Then, all of a sudden he smiled. It was the worst smile Crystal Bot had ever seen. She knew Zero recognised her. The giant robot chuckled to himself, stepping closer. And then...
And then he patted her on the top of her head and teleported out.
Crystal Bot sucked in a breath, and it was just as much a scream as a gasp. She lifted her hands to her face and crumpled to the floor to glitch, not caring that she was still uncomfortably close to Chill Man's corpse.
" - Forte! - " she screamed into the air. " - Come and save me! - "
Before she could glitch three times Bass was there, and two more teleport beams landed to reveal Mega Man and Gyro Man.
"Holy crap!" Gyro Man exclaimed. "What happened here?"
"It was Zero!" Crystal Bot cried. "He was here and he killed them all! But he teleported away!"
"See? This is exactly why I told you not to trust Wily!" Bass went right over to her and got in her face. "Where the hell did he go?"
"Stop yelling at her!" Mega Man exclaimed.
He went over to her side to pull her to her feet, only to have the stubborn girl shove him away and stand up on her own. All she conceded to Rock was a stubborn, pouty glare in his direction before turning to her boss.
"I traced these coordinates." Crystal Bot sent everyone a transmission of the number sequence. "I'm not stupid."
"These coordinates are right in the middle of Monstropolis!" Gyro Man exclaimed.
Bass was the first one to teleport out, to no one's surprise. Gyro Man was next to go, but Mega Man stayed a moment. He just couldn't understand why Crystal Bot could so stubbornly persist in hating him. For the moment, he didn't try. It was hard for him not to pity her when so much destruction was around her; Crystal Bot gazed in horror at the destroyed robots, her lower lip trembling at the sight of them. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her, and whatever thought was going through her mind, it certainly wasn't a good one. She was going to start crying any moment now, Mega Man just knew it.
"Crystal Bot, are you-"
"I'm fine, Rock." she said. "Go find Zero. I've got to stay here and see if there's anything I can discover."
Crystal Bot sniffed, pulling herself together at once. She straightened up and released the death grip she had on her own arms. Her posture turned no-nonsense, and she began walking away from Mega Man as fast as she could while still trying to be casual. It didn't work at all. Her attempts at being casual, while completely sweet, weren't good enough to fool the most gullible child. Mega Man shook his head, giving a small, knowing smile. It was sad of her to pretend not to be afraid, the poor thing.
"Crystal," Mega Man said. "I've contacted the lab. Jewel Man and Bruce are all coming to help you. You don't have to do this alone."
Crystal Bot turned back to him and glared. "I don't..."
She abruptly stopped, slamming her mouth into a straight line. With a sigh and downcast eyes, Crystal nodded solemnly. She clutched her arms again, letting go of her insistence that everything was just fine.
"Thanks, Rock."
She didn't notice him teleport out. Neither did she particularly notice when a green/yellow beam and a red/white beam each fell to the ground behind her. The poor girl stood stock still, knowing that she should do something.
"Bless my bolts!" Auto exclaimed. "Look at this awful mess!"
That snapped Crystal Bot out of her funk, and she turned to see Roll and Auto, the first of which was quick to come by her side.
"Crystal Bot, are you alright?" Roll said. "You're not hurt, are you?"
"No, no." Sonata pouted, getting a little annoyed with everyone's worry. "This place is...just..."
Roll nodded vigorously. "I know, isn't it?"
"Well, the first thing we have to do is take lots of memory pictures!"
Auto went at all angles, making sure that he caught every single detail of the gruesome Telharmonium. Crystal Bot nodded to Roll, and they both went around as they began to guess the more specific fates of Chill, Nitro, Metal, Shadow, and Elec Man. Roll gasped at it, and as she still clung to Crystal Bot's arm, she wasn't sure if she was holding on to support or be supported.
Roll took a deep breath, wanting to cry or faint as she stared at the horrific shreds of the robots. But she wasn't sad for them. Crystal Bot hadn't been there. She never knew Zero and how kind he was; she never got to see that side of him, and how it tortured Zero every day that he once had been a Maverick and slaughtered helpless reploids.
"Oh, poor Zero!" Roll found herself saying.
"Poor Zero? Are you crazy?"
Roll almost winced as she found herself face to face with a bewildered Crystal Bot. But she kept control. Roll turned her eyes downward.
"Think about it." she said quietly. "Zero never even had a choice. He was programmed to be evil, and there's nothing he can do about it. Now he'll never be pardoned or have a chance to be free."
"Oh. I see." Crystal blinked a bit, disappearing into her thoughts. "Huh, well, he didn't kill me when he had the chance. Maybe he's nice to girl-bots."
Somehow Roll wasn't convinced of that, but upon hearing this Auto immediately turned around, nearly tripping over Shadow Man's foot as he hurried over to the girls.
"That's right! What's wrong with me?" he thundered. "Now, tell me everything, Crystal! What did he do? What did he say? Come on, tell me, tell me!"
\\\\\\\
Authors' notes:
- Yeah, Star Man Observatory is the official name of the Team 5 space station. The government named it that to keep Star Man from being so upset that so many people are on his sattelite.
- Frost Man and Blizzard Man are really good friends. Blizzard Man never makes fun of him, and Frost Man likes Blizz's stories about Canada.
- Ittaga papuhlkoehyo means "I'll see you later", in probable future form. Crystal Bot is saying that she'll likely return.
- The Telharmonium is real. None of them exist today, because the metal from the last one was scrapped in 1950. I'm writing one here because I want one. Plain and simple.
- Okay y'all, just to warn you, the next chapter is going to take a while. I have it mostly written up, but it needs some extensive battle scenes. You'll like it.
Character profiles!
=====Search Man
"Target, get set!"
Good point: a broad outlook
Bad point: cowardice
Likes: booby trap
Dislikes: social interaction
You may be wondering where certain robots are. I don't mention all of them. Well, several of them were killed during Okkusenman when Mega Man and company were destroying the last Wily Castle. Others were destroyed in the days after that before Bass went to Russia. A few were killed by Mega Man since then and now. For whatever reason, or namely because I'm not inspired for them, these robots do not appear in the story, or at least in this timeline.
Search Man is one of these. Ugh, he has the worst robot master theme of all the Mega Man Classic series. Notedly, I don't actually hate any of the other themes. They're all good in their own way. Not so Search Man's. It's pretty dang nasty and unfitting for him. But as far as the robot master himself goes, I don't mind him. He's a cool idea. I swear I thought Search on the BN cartoons was Sniper Joe.
Anyway, Search Man was created essentially because Wily was testing the theory that two heads are better than one. Wily started scetching Search Man as early as MM5, thinking about how lame MM5 was. However, Search Man wasn't begun until a little after MM7, as Wily had to finish half of the robot masters for MM7 during that time. Wily was planning on using Team 8 a little later and upgrading them more, but the falling evil energy prevented that. As a result, all of the MM8 robots call out their moves before actually doing them.
This is perhaps the most tragic for Search Man who would be quite powerful otherwise. He was meant to be a surveillance robot, but that got sidetracked with the MM8 scheme. Search Man went to Africa to cause trouble, though to be fair this was because he (1) liked Africa, and (2) was a complete coward. He figured that he might be able to hide there and not be defeated by Mega Man. Fortunately for him, Wily never knew this.
So he was defeated by Mega Man and brought to the robot museum. He got out during the events of Okkusenman. He didn't have much time to rest and relax and do whatever he wanted, what with all Drs. Cain and Wily running around. He was eventually destroyed by Mega Man about a week after the last Skull Castle was destroyed, and thus Signal Man was unable to force him into Dr. Cain's service. Search Man now resides in the robot museum.
At no time was Search Man ever too close a friend to Napalm or Commando Man. It may seem obvious to group them together (as it was to the Wily-bots) but generally Napalm and Commando found him annoying. Commando Man was especially annoyed that he could never seem to have a civilized conversation with the first head, who he thought might be a decent robot. The second head, however, was way too annoying. Napalm Man had about the opposite opinion, as the first head somehow got the idea that he could boss Napalm Man around.
For the record, Search Man isn't really fond of them either. He preferred to spend his time figuring out new and better traps, most of which got used during the MM8 scheme. He even designed the traps for Sword Man's hideout, saving Wily a lot of time. He even designed traps that would be used in MM9 and MM10. In the alternate timeline, Search Man was involved in designing a lot of trouble for the good guys.
=====Flame Man
"Oops! Time to refill the oil!"
Good point: Punctual
Bad point: Demanding
Likes: Trimming his beard
Dislikes: Cheap oil
Flame Man! I actually love this guy's theme. It's really the best in MM6. I personally found that game's music slightly underwhelming, for the most part. It's not horrible though.
Flame Man comes from Saudi Arabia, where he once guarded oil drilling sites. He likes the country and is not too irritated about dust. He was signed up for the robot master championships immediately when his masters found out about them, and very much wanted to win. He practiced for hours and hours, which was really annoying to his owners because he consummed way more oil. But he went nonetheless, mainly to advertise about his owners' company. And then Wily took him over.
Wily's actually very happy to say he never built Flame Man. As much as he loved designing a hideout for Flamey, he found the amount of oil needed to maintain him was cost-restrictive. He let Flame Man take over an oil refinery so that it would save money. However, this flaw was remembered by Wily later, and it's the primary reason why Wily didn't break him out during MM7. He did break Flame Man out during Okkusenman, mostly because he wanted as many robots as he could.
Yep. That means Flame Man spent way too much time in the robot museum, and is thus a little more rebellious to his team leaders, Yamato and Knight Man. Not too much, though. He liked them as people, but he was just much too independent. However, when the last Skull Capsule was destroyed, Flame Man did consent to go with Team 6 as they tried to escape to Canada. This ended in a failed attempt to steal more oil from a Canadian refinery, because, well, Flame Man needs this three times a day. All but him of Team 6 ended up being captured not only by Signal Man, but by the Wily-bots he'd already reprogrammed and forced to serve him.
Oh, and if you're wondering about his like, yes, Flame Man does like trimming his beard. You protest, saying that he doesn't have one. That's right, he doesn't. He trimmed it off already.
Right now, he's still in the robot museum. Mega Man, as he said, is going to try to free him for the sake of Team 6.