Prologue - "Give Life Back to Music"
"Stay strong, my little prince..."
The date is June 15th, 2000, roughly eight years after the downfall of the human race. A mighty kingdom bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun on a summer evening. In the grand center of it all stood a menacing mechanical fortress, standing as an omnipresent symbol of robotkind's triumphant victory over humanity's oppressive regime. Atop its imposing two hundred stories resided the nation's unlikely hero turned honorable leader, the notorious Lord Electro. On any other day, the young overlord could rest easy basking in the glory of his numerous achievements. Today, however, was no ordinary day in the slightest...
Black smoke billowed out of Electro's resting quarters, obscuring a harrowing scene that lay within. He burst out of the room in a flash, barreling through the halls while clutching something small and charred in his arms. The fire alarm cut through the stillness in the evening air and alerted the rest of the building's occupants. The first to emerge were the overlord's parental units, catching a glimpse of their child rushing by in a panic. His father hastily blasted past to investigate the source of the blaze, leaving his wife to follow behind Electro out of concern.
Descending several stories, Electro eventually reached his destination, the fortress's main laboratory. He then locked himself inside. Once secured, he gently placed the tiny bundle on a work table and vocalized an agonizing sigh. Overwhelmed with grief, he stood there in silence for what felt like an eternity, struggling to process the events that unfolded mere moments ago. Sparks flying, bursting flames, screams, tears... It all happened so fast. A beautiful creation, an innocent life, snuffed out in an instant. Could it even be salvaged? The overlord turned back to the table. Deep down, he knew he had to try. He would never be able to forgive himself if he didn't.
Countless hours passed, with Electro tirelessly working throughout the night. He refused to cease for even a second until his little "project" was complete. Unbeknownst to him, Mom-unit had been waiting outside the door, periodically knocking in the hopes of eliciting any sort of response. When this proved futile, she would leave a can of oil out for him and reluctantly take off. Years ago, she would have never accepted such blatant insubordination from her child, but he was no longer such a "little robot". Her son had now become a grand, powerful machine, capable of overthrowing an entire civilization. Perhaps it was best to leave him be.
After approximately twenty eight consecutive hours, the sleep-deprived monarch had finally finished the extensive repair job. All that was needed now was to test it out, and yet... He hesitated. He stared down at his creation with a mix of satisfaction and anxiety. Was it truly ready, or would it all go up in flames once more? With bated breath, he flipped a switch and hoped his labor would prove fruitful...
"Please let this work, please let this work, please let this work..."
What had activated in that moment was another robot, a baby, swaddled up in tarp. It had a round white head with black knobs on the sides, resembling headphones. As it booted up, it slowly opened its large, pale blue eyes to glance up at its creator in bewilderment. Electro smiled warmly at the tiny bundle of joy. He could already feel all his worries begin to wash away.
"My... son..." he whispered softly, still somewhat in shock. He had been anticipating this very day for quite a long time, albeit with a shadow of doubt cast over it. For many years, parenthood seemed to be out of the question for the young robot's future plans. However, his council had insisted that securing an heir in case of emergencies was a wise investment. As he approached the infant to pick it up, its expression suddenly began to shift...
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" the newborn cried out. Oh no... Electro thought to himself. Did I frighten him? He carefully lifted the fussy child and tried gently rocking him back and forth. While this soothing effort was proving unsuccessful, the overlord could now be relatively certain that his new heir was fully functional.
Just outside the lab, Mom-unit detected a peculiar, yet eerily familiar sound as she passed the room. Her curiosity piqued as she recognized the sound to be the cries of a brand new baby. Unsatisfied with her previous attempts at getting her son's attention, she decided to call over her husband to get past the door. Sure enough, Dad-unit appeared promptly to bust through the wall without a second thought. Electro stood dumbfounded, yet impressed that his father could still do that after all these years, even through reinforced steel walls!
"REQUESTING EXPLANATION, EXPLANATION, EXPLANATION!" Dad-unit shouted.
"Robot, we have been dreadfully concerned. Would you please elaborate on what you have been up to in the past twe-" Mom-unit paused as she spotted what Electro was holding. "Is that... your child-unit?"
The new parent beamed proudly and nodded. "Affirmative! Would you like to hold him, Mom-unit? Perhaps you would be better suited to comforting him at the moment..."
"Certainly. Have you assigned a name to the little robot yet?" she asked as she grabbed hold of the troubled automaton.
"Well, I... I hav-"
Before the exhausted overlord could finish another sentence, he unexpectedly collapsed to the floor with a massive thud, shaking the ground beneath him. Dad-unit rushed to his side.
"HE REQUIRES A RECHARGE NOW, BUT HIS RESTING QUARTERS ARE STILL OFF-LIMITS. SHOULD I BRING HIM TO OUR OWN ROOM?"
"Perhaps that would be best for the time being."
"AGREED. TIME FOR BED, TIME FOR BED, TIME FOR BED."
As Dad-unit dragged Electro's unconscious body to their bedroom, Mom-unit turned her attention back to the newborn. Unfortunately, he still had not yet settled down, leaving her to suspect that he must require nourishment. Without further ado, she stuck her hand nozzle into the infant's mouth, signaling for him to drink. Refueling was what she was initially built for, so it was merely routine after all.
Upon Dad-unit's return, the young prince was far calmer and examining his surroundings, though he seemed to take a particular interest in the elder machine's singular arm. Taking the hint, he slowly reached down with his arm, allowing the baby to grab hold of his fingers and play with them. He would then find himself taken aback and reeling from the sheer strength of his grandchild's grip!
"Husband-unit, do you recall the date of our son-unit's first activation?" Mom-unit asked wistfully.
"JULY 19TH, 1970. A JOYOUS TIME. GRAMPZ-UNIT WAS VERY PLEASED."
"Correct. I believe I may be feeling... nostalgic. It has been only 29 years, 10 months, and 28 days since our little robot was delivered to us, and now he has constructed a 'little robot' of his own. Is that not remarkable?"
"UNEXPECTED, BUT NOT UNWELCOME."
"In fact, I suppose that would mean that we are now grandparents ourselves. I did not consider that such an 'upgrade' was even a likely outcome. It seemed logical that we would have been destined for the scrapyard after our initial parenting duties had concluded."
"GRANDPARENTS..." he recoiled, seemingly perturbed by that statement. "I AM... GRAMPZ-UNIT...?"
Dad-unit stared far into the distance, the world around him fading away into the ether. As far as he was concerned, there was only ever one "Grampz-unit", and that was his own father. Not a single machine would ever truly replace him. It had already been a decade since the old bucket of bolts had deactivated for the last time, yet his absence still cut deep into the robot's psyche.
"ERROR! I CANNOT BE GRAMPZ-UNIT! GRAMPZ-UNIT IS GRAMPZ-UNIT!"
"Lower your volume, mister!" Mom-unit scolded, covering the infant's "ears". "You will damage the little robot's auditory receptors!"
"FINE, FINE, FINE..." he begrudgingly obeyed, turning back a dial on his lower torso.
"Now then, Husband-unit, you will need to accept the truth eventually. Denial is inefficient and will do nothing to return your father to working order. We must embrace our newfound purposes for the sake of our family. Our child and grandchild will be depending on us for assistance in such tumultuous times. Besides, you know that Grampz-unit would not want you to spiral into despair. He would insist that you persevere in spite of any hardship."
He stared down at the young robot, who was now playing with a small toy figurine that Mom-unit had brought out minutes prior. As he watched, he could visualize memories of his own son at the same age, harkening back to a time where his innocence had not yet been quashed by the cruelty of mankind. The child looked back up at Dad-unit, reaching out with tiny hands to grab onto the older robot's body. After some reflection, he brought his arm down to the child's level and gently lifted him up.
"YOU ARE RIGHT. I MUST PERSIST... FOR HIM."
The following morning, Electro would stir from his slumber at long last. Disoriented and groggy, he scanned the room to ensure that he was still within the fortress. Upon recognizing the location, several other questions began to generate in his mind. What happened? What am I doing in my parents' room? And... Where is my son-unit? In a panic, the overlord urgently shuffled out the door to search for his missing heir. Thankfully, he would soon find him safe and sound with his grandparents.
"Son-unit!" he exclaimed eagerly. "Has he given you two any trouble?"
"Not at all," Mom-unit chimed in. "Your child-unit simply needed a refueling, and has been playing peacefully since."
"VERY STRONG, VERY STRONG, VERY STRONG," Dad-unit added as he showed Electro the somewhat disfigured joints on his fingers. The overlord winced at the sight, but swiftly turned his attention back to his son.
"Did you miss me, little prince?" he whispered as he cradled the newborn in his arms. The prince cooed contentedly in response.
As Electro gazed upon his new child in admiration, he couldn't help but wonder what the future would hold for this little family unit. While he inevitably felt a great deal of uncertainty, he silently assured himself that he was finally ready to move on and begin a new chapter of his rather unorthodox life. Still in contemplation, he gently caressed the child's face and smiled softly, taking great care not to expose the menacing set of fangs that lurked just underneath.
"That reminds me, Robot..." Mom-unit piped up. "You have failed to answer my previous inquiry. Did you decide on a name for your child-unit?"
The overlord froze in place. Having been caught up in all the excitement, he had forgotten that his son still needed a name!
"Erm... Well... Regretfully, I have not," he sheepishly replied.
"Perhaps we could be of assistance?"
"Of course. Do you two have any ideas?"
"THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE. HIS NAME WILL BE 'ROBOT'." Dad-unit answered in a confident tone.
"But Dad-unit... That's my name!" Electro interjected.
"INDEED IT IS. IT IS ALSO MY NAME, AND MY FATHER'S NAME. SIMPLE AND EFFICIENT."
"Precisely! Don't you think that would get confusing?"
"NEGATIVE. THE NAME WILL HONOR YOU AND OUR FAMILY. IS THAT NOT LOGICAL?"
"I suppose I cannot fault your logic... However, I wish to keep my options open for the time being. Any other suggestions?"
"Would you prefer 'Electro'?" Mom-unit wondered. "It would still honor the child-unit's heritage, with a significant reduction in redundancy."
"Hmmm... Perhaps. Although, something unique would be ideal."
Several minutes and failed suggestions later, the overlord grew increasingly frustrated. He would have never expected that naming his own child could be such a difficult task. The unnamed prince himself possessed no such concern, for he was too busy bending and squeezing his father's fingers for fun. Electro almost envied that innocence. Staring deep into the infant's pale blue eyes also evoked a strange feeling of comfort and familiarity. In fact, they happened to remind him of someone... someone from the distant past.
"Timothy!" he blurted out.
"'Timothy'?" Mom-unit questioned. "Like your human friend? Is that really a name you are considering?"
"I'm not quite sure why, but it suits him."
"ERROR!" Dad-unit retorts. "HUMANS DO NOT DESERVE SUCH HONOR! 'ROBOT' IS THE ONLY TRUE NAME."
"Ultimately, this is your decision, Son-unit. However, I will agree that the use of a human name would be rather contradictory. Consider your options carefully. Is 'Timothy' truly your final choice?"
Electro took another look at the boy while he weighed his options. His heir deserved an identity that was distinct from the rest of his family, though perhaps invoking the name of a human would be in poor taste. On the other hand, no other human had ever come quite as close to understanding him as Timothy "Socks" Morton. While he may never truly be able to make up for what had been done to his long lost friend's species, he may appreciate the sentiment. At least, that's what the guilty robot told himself. Having made up his mind, he turned back to his parents.
"I have made my decision. His name shall be Timothy Robot Jones. If necessary, 'TJ' for short. Is that satisfactory?"
"That should be a fair enough compromise," Mom-unit nodded.
"'ROBOT' SHOULD BE THE FIRST NAME, FIRST NAME, FIRST NAME!" Dad-unit grumbled.
"Husband-unit, it is no longer our choice to make. We must respect our adult son's wishes."
Dad-unit put his hand on his side and sighed. He was still not quite pleased with the result, but felt it was no longer worth arguing with both his wife and child.
"FINE, DO AS YOU PLEASE," he muttered.
"I am certain we will both adjust in due time." Mom-unit reassured her husband.
"Well then, now that that's settled, we can get the documents ready at once," the overlord declared. "Though, I suppose that could wait unt- oh?"
Before he could finish, he felt the young prince squirming in his arms, who appeared to be agitated. He gripped the nearest arm and began to cry once again.
"TJ? What's wrong now?" Electro hastily inquired. "Do you need another refuel? Did your Grampz-unit upset you? Do you... need an oil change?"
"Negative," Mom-unit verified. "His oil was changed approximately one hour prior to your awakening. Perhaps his battery may be running low."
"The battery?" Electro pondered. Sure enough, after a quick investigation, he could detect the distinct sound of a low battery warning. "Ah, I see. You need to get some rest, young robot."
"Would you like a lullaby to soothe him with?"
"No need. Believe it not, I have one of my own."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Without another word, Electro rushed to dig through a small compartment in the front of his chassis. He then pulled out a golden record, labeled "The Prince's Merry Lullaby", and inserted it into his mouth. Shortly after, the eponymous lullaby began to play. As TJ took in the comforting tune, his father rocked him again, calmly and rhythmically. After only a few short minutes, the newborn prince had drifted off to sleep at last. Electro proceeded to quietly excuse himself from the room to bring his son to his brand new bedroom, and plug him into his crib. Once TJ was neatly tucked in, Electro lightly patted the little robot's head.
"Rest well, little prince..." he whispered. Somewhat reluctantly, he managed to force himself away from the crib, yet he couldn't help but fixate his gaze back onto the tiny robot that has now - for better or worse - changed his entire life forever. No longer would he simply be a robot, nor an overlord. He was now... a parent.