-Chapter 4-

Shock to the System


Silicon City Industrial District

Xander Payne and his forces slinked through the shadows of a blacked-out part of the city. The area was pitch black, only the night vision mode on their goggles and headpieces allowing them to see.

"C-Squad reported unusual electrical activity in this sector of the city," Payne explained as he scanned the area for hostiles. "Given what we know about the Robot Masters from Light's presentation, this is likely their handiwork."

"Surprised they decided now to attack the power plant," one of the Corpsmen wondered.

"Wily probably wanted them to leave the city intact for a while," another pointed out. "Can't take over a city if it can't even function."

"Shhh!" Xander held out a hand, signaling them to stop. "We're here."

He pointed ahead to a large building behind a chainlink fence. Giant electrodes and towers stood around it, supplying power to the city via thick, black cables hovering overhead. The area was crawling with Sniper Joes and other robots, patrolling for anyone who wasn't supposed to be there so they could shoot them dead.

"Alright, here's the plan," Xander began. "We split into two teams." He pointed to the men in the back. "Team A will draw the attention of the cyclobots guarding the outside…" Then pointed to himself and whoever was left. "...allowing Team B to slip in unnoticed. Once the bots out here are scrap, Team A will reconvene and we'll all send that clunker to the cube crusher. Got it?"

The other Corpsmen said nothing. Their enthusiastic grins were more than enough.

"That's what I thought. Now..." He cocked his blaster. "Hard Corps, move out!"

While Team A went out to engage the Wilybots, Xander and Team B used the chaos to split off undetected and make their way to a side with less security. Pulling out his combat knife, he sliced open a passage in the fence, the specially treated Ceratanium protecting him from the electrical current.

"It's the end of the line, clunker," Xander said as his team headed inside. "So whatever you're up to in there, you'd better make it count."

-X-

Meanwhile...

Inside the plant, lElec Man had taken up residence in the main generator room, where he'd taken a moment to start draining it of its electrical power…

"Power up the revolution / It's time for an evolution / Of circuitry / Robots will lead!"

And brush up on his singing voice.

"Take down their institutions / And put an end to human / Cruelty / We will be free!" (1)

He laughed as he cut off the energy flow. "Alright, that should be enough. Now, time to zap some..."

He was cut off by a blaster shot whizzing past him.

"...bugs," he finished with a scowl before turning in the direction it'd come from.

"Well, well, well," Elec Man greeted with a smile. "If it isn't the Hard Corps, back for more of what we gave you last time?"

"It's over, rust bucket," Xander replied, his and his men's weapons all trained on the Robot Master. "We're sending you to the scrap heap.

"Three hundred ninety-two..."

"You can beg and plead all you want, but it's not gonna do you any good!"

"Two hundred forty-five..."

"I..." Xander paused. "What?"

"Oh, don't mind me," Elec Man replied. "Go on."

Xander growled irritably before resuming his speech. "So, you've got a choice... we can do this the easy way..." He grinned eagerly as the barrel of his blaster glowed. "Or the Hard way."

"Four hundred thirty-two."

"Okay, that's it! What the hell are you doing!?"

"Oh, my apologies. I've been going over old media and movies between attacks. Mostly about robot wars," Elec Man explained. "And I've heard so many of these little heroic speeches so wearily often, I decided to make a mental list of how many times I've heard certain lines."

"You... You insane bastard," Xander uttered in disbelief.

"One hundred forty."

Xander growled, unamused with the machine's mockery. "Yeah? Well... we're going to ffffffFUGG YOUR FACE!"

"Oh-ho-ho my!" Elec Man chuckled. "Twelve."

Xander let out a furious roar before he and the Hard Corps opened fire, bombarding Elec Man with a torrent of plasma shots. The entire room was a rave of yellow and blue energy spheres, flashing and exploding as they struck the Robot Master. Until finally…

"Hold your fire!"

They stopped. And as the dust settled and the flashing lights died down, they found Elec Man…

"What!?"

…was nowhere to be found. There was only a single scorch mark where he was standing.

"Where'd he go!?" Xander demanded as he searched for him.

"You think we shredded him with the blast fire?"

"No way, There'd be scrap all over."

"So where did he…"

Electricity crackled and buzzed, followed by an agonized scream.

"McCartney!?" Xander shouted, turning to find one of his men, lying on the ground, dead; his limbs spasming and twitching from the electric current.

"I have no time to swat down bothersome flies like you," They looked to see Elec Man floating above them, sparking with blue electricity. "But since you insist... I will oblige."

Xander and his men look on in barely contained horror as Elec Man pointed a finger at them.

"Thunder Beam."

-X-

Outside...

Light flashed through the windows of the power plant as the crackle of lightning and the screams of the dying echoed through the district.


Central Square

Mega Man warped down to Central Square. He had a finger to his com.

"Alright, Dr. Light, I'm here. I- Sizzling circuits!" He gasped, seeing everything on fire.

"What's going on?" Light's voice came.

"The whole city's on fire!"

"What?! Blast it all! Elec Man's going completely out of control!"

An explosion sounded in the difference.

"I've gotta stop him while there's a city left to save!" Rock took off in the direction of the explosion.

-X-

The city had become ground zero for an all-out war between the Hard Corps and a battalion of Sniper Joes. They were doing better than when the battle started three days ago, but weren't gaining any ground.

"Cover me!" One soldier fired off several shots from his plasma blaster, only for the Sniper to block his shots with its shield. "What?!"

The Sniper Joe returned fire just as quickly, shooting the man.

"Man down!" another soldier screamed. "Man down!"

He helped his partner up, working on getting him to safety as Trent Cobain worked on radioing for help.

"This is Lieutenant Cobain to Hard Corps HQ! Come in, HQ! We're pinned down! The robots are too strong! We need backup!"

"Roger. Sending-" Static cut off the line.

"HQ, come in! HQ, respond!" The line went dead. "Damn it!"

A laser shot buzzed past him, clipping his shoulder. Cobain let out a pained yell, spinning around to see a Sniper Joe aiming at him. Another shot sounded, and he flinched, only to look down to see no injuries. He looked up to see the Sniper Joe with a hole in its torso, sparking before falling to reveal Mega Man lowering his Mega Buster.

"Phew…" he sighed. "Close one."

"You!" Cobain cried.

Rock looked up at him. "Are you okay?"

Cobain sighed. "'Okay' is pushing it."

"Lieutenant Cobain!"

Several soldiers ran in.

"We heard shots. Is everything-" At the sight of Mega Man, they all trained their weapons on him. "Hostile!"

"Stand down, all of you!" Cobain ordered. "This one's on our side."

"Sir, are you-?"

"He just saved my life for the second time this week. That's proof enough in my book. Now, lower your weapons."

The soldiers hesitated before doing so.

"Sorry about that… Mega Man, was it?"

Rock nodded. "Yeah. Have you seen the Robot Master in charge of these ones?"

"Black and red body suit? Yellow boots? Domino mask with a lightning bolt?"

"Yep, that's Elec Man. Where is he now?"

"He's-" Cobain was cut off by another explosion. "Crap!"

More Sniper Joes arrived. "Not these guys again!"

"I got this!" Mega Man focused, calling on Hyper Bomb. "Hyper Bomb!"

He launched a bomb at the Sniper Joes, blowing them apart and scattering the few survivors, who started shooting.

"Whoa!" Rock and Cobain took cover.

As they kept their heads down, Rock turned back to Cobain. "Elec Man is commanding the Sniper Joes! If we can take him out, they'll all stand down!"

"He's holed himself up in the power plant," Cobain replied. "Xander's leading a squad to try and take him down, but we lost contact with him. We've been trying get there to back him up, but these guys keep getting in our way."

"Leave that to me," Mega Man put two fingers to his helmet. "Dr. Light, I know where Elec Man is. Can you...?"

Only to be greeted by the soft buzz of static.

"Dr. Light? Dr. Light, come in!"

"Don't bother," Cobain cut in. "Electrical interference. Communications are dead and any scouting tech we send in gets fried."

"Blast it… so we've gotta go in blind."

"That's nothing new for us, kid." Cobain grinned. "We don't need to know exactly what to do to complete the mission. We just need a way to do it."

Mega Man nodded. "Right, I'll take care of Elec Man."

"And we'll make sure you can get there. Hard Corps! Form up!"

The soldiers all gathered around Cobain and Mega Man, standing at attention and guns at the ready

"Listen up! We have a chance to reclaim the power plant and take down the crazy clunker controlling these goons." He motioned toward his new, blue ally. "Mega Man here is the one for the job! We clear a path for him, we get in, we get Payne and the others out!"

Cobain's speech left the Corpsmen stunned, unable to believe what they'd just heard.

"Lieutenant, are you serious!?" one soldier shouted.

"That's a freakin' clunker!" shouted another.

"Hey! That 'clunker' saved my dad from the lunatic at the construction site!"

"Please, listen to me," Rock pleaded. "I'm the only one who can stand up to Elec Man. You're stretched then as it is, cut off from your superiors and backup. Can you really afford to be picky?"

"Stay out of this, you-!"

A blaster shot sounded, cutting them all off.

"All of you, shut up!" Cobain ordered, his smoking blaster aimed toward the sky and a furious scowl on his face. Without hesitation, the soldiers did as they were commanded.

"He's right. The Sniper Joes alone were too much for us! Not to mention, we still have their leader and the other five super bots wreaking havoc! And this kid managed to take down the other three! On his own! He's saved the city three times! Saved us twice! If anyone can take them down, it's him! And I say he's earned a chance to show his stuff, robot or not. We don't have time for this prejudice B.S. The whole city, no, the world is counting on us, and Mega Man is our best bet at saving it, so we're gonna help him! Is that clear?!"

At that, the Corpsmen let out a collective battle cry. A few odd ones murmured in discontent, but for the most part, they were ready to fulfill their duty and protect their homes.

"That's what I thought," Cobain said with a satisfied grin. "Now…" He cocked his blaster. "It's time to do a little tech support!"


Meanwhile, at the power plant, things were going badly for Xander Payne. He was singed by lightning and was bleeding from his head. And from the way his blaster's HUD monitor was blinking, he was running out of ammo. But battered as he was, he refused to break. He'd fought bigger, stronger, nastier bots in the Hard Wars.

"I must admit, I'm impressed," Elec Man replied smugly. "I never expected one human to be so difficult to take down. I wonder, are you just that skilled or simply too stupidly stubborn to know when to quit?"

"Please…" Xander said with a defiant grin. "I fought bigger, stronger, nastier bots than you in the Hard Wars. You're just a repair droid throwing a tantrum."

Elec Man scowled. "Perhaps a little bit of both?"

"Mock me all you want, I won't lose to a scrapheap like you!"

Elec Man scoffed. "Oh please, meatbag. You lost the second I started trying." He held up his middle and index fingers, the tips sparking with electricity. "Now, eat amps! Thunder Beam!"

Elec Man swung his hand so his charged fingers were pointing right at Xander, launching the electricity as a zig-zagging bolt of lightning. Xander barely managed to jump out of the way in time; the beam passing through what would've been his heart. He fired off his blaster, sending out a volley of plasma shots, only for Elec Man to wave his hands in a circular motion, forming a barrier of crackling static that caused them to harmlessly disperse on impact.

"Oh, how cute. A high-powered plasma rifle."

He fired a bolt at the rifle, blowing it out of Xander's hands. As he fell back, Xander pulled out a knife, jumping to his feet.

"Take THIS!"

He charged, stabbing at Elec Man and catching him in the shoulder. Elec Man winced, the knife piercing his armor and drawing oil. Xander grinned in response.

"Not as tough as you thought, are you, clunker!?"

Elec Man glowed with electricity, glaring at Xander.

"Congratulations." He grabbed him by the face, bodily lifting him up as he began to spark "You've just landed a part in the newest upcoming movie remake: The Green Mile."

He focused his power, shocking Xander, who spasmed and yelled in agony as the electricity coursed through him... until a Buster shot blasted past his head, breaking his concentration.

"Put him down, Elec Man!" All eyes turned to see Mega Man standing there, the Hard Corps behind him as he trained the Mega Buster on Elec Man. "Or the next shot won't miss!"

"You!?" Xander exclaimed.

"Well, look who decided to join us." Elec Man mused. "I know you've only been online for a few…months? Weeks? But don't you think you're a bit old to be playing dress up, Rock?"

Mega Man kept his buster trained on Elec Man.

"I'm warning you, Elec Man. Stand down and come back with me to Dr. Light's lab so he can fix you. I don't wanna hurt you, but I will if I have to."

"What the hell are you doing!?" Xander shouted. "Hurry up and blast him already!"

"Quiet, you!" Elec Man gave Xander a quick zap, silencing him.

"I said stand down!" Mega Man shouted. "I mean it!"

Elec Man chuckled as he shook his head. "Rock, Rock, Rock. You've tried this song and dance three times already. Cut Man, Bomb Man, Guts Man... And every single time, it failed. Did you really think it would work the fourth time?"

"I'm not playing around here! Let him go and stand down!"

"Still playing the pacifist, I see." Elec Man sighed. "There's a lesson you need to learn when you're fighting a war, Rock: Ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves."

Elec Man twisted his arm so that Xander was in front of him, using the Hard Corpsman as a human shield; his electrified fingers inches away from his head.

"Let him go!" Mega Man ordered.

"Or you'll what?" Elec Man asked with a wicked grin.

"I mean it, Elec Man! Let Mr. Payne go or..." He tried to muster his courage. Find the will to shoot. But no matter what, he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger.

"What are you waiting for?!" Xander screamed. "Just SHOOT HIM!"

"You shut up!" Elec Man shouted, jamming his fingers into Payne's neck, eliciting a scream of pain. "You're the hostage! Your job is to stay quiet and be afraid! Understand!?"

Xander replied by spitting in Elec Man's optics. "Kiss my ass, you rusted-out, steam-driven pile of junk!"

Elec Man stared right at Xander, his face in a contemptuous scowl. He didn't shout in rage. He didn't growl in anger. He just looked right at him, his face a mask of perfect tranquility. Then, his optics and the electrical antenna on his mask sparked…

"Die."

And zapped him again, this time with even more amperage than before. Xander spasmed and squirmed violently, smoke actually emerging from his body. Mega Man gaped in horror before finally pulling the trigger, the shot hitting Elec Man in the back and distracting him. Xander quickly took advantage, whipping out his knife and slashing him across the face before kicking the Robot Master into the machinery below.

Mega Man rushed over to him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, fine," Xander glared at him. "No thanks to you."

Rock blinked. "What?"

"What the hell were you thinking?!" the Corpsman screamed. "He's tearing the city apart, trying to kill people, and frying me right the fugg in front of you, and you decide to reason with him?!"

"He's not doing this because he wants to!" Mega Man objected. "Dr. Wily reprogrammed him! If we can subdue him and bring him back to Dr. Light, we can fix what was done to him!"

"He killed all my men!" Xander shouted. "Central Square is burning because of him! There's no fixing him! He's better off junked!"

"But...!"

"But! Nothing! He… AGH!"

Rock gasped as Xander a bolt of lightning struck Xander right in the head, sending him flying into the wall.

"Lieutenant Payne!" he called out.

"Finally…"

Rock spun around to see Elec Man levitating out of the pic he'd been kicked into. The Robot Master had a large gash on his face, revealing glowing circuitry as a small stream of oil slowly trickled down his face, which was contorted into a twisted grin.

"You have no idea how long I've been trying to fry that sack of skin."

"What have you done...?!" Rock let out in utter shock.

"I electrocuted him, duh! That's what I've been doing to him ever since he got here! Are your optics busted or is your OS missing a few files?"

Rock looked at the fallen Xander, visibly shaken. He was injured, near death if he wasn't dead already... all because he was indecisive in dealing with Elec Man and tried to reason with him. His shock turned to rage as he slowly turned to Elec Man, gritting his teeth in anger.

"You FREAK!" he screamed before letting loose with Mega Buster shots. Elec Man zips about at super speed, dodging all his attacks.

"What's the matter, Rock?" Elec Man taunted. "No pacifist run? No attempt to reason with me?"

"No. I tried that, and you killed a human. It's over, Elec Man! I am DONE playing nice!"

Mega Man continued firing at Elec Man, but the Robot Master's agility allowed him to dodge every shot fired at him. Seeing it wasn't working, he activated Hyper Bomb; hoping the explosives' greater area of effect would give him better luck. The blasts briefly caused Elec Man to lose his footing, but Mega Man was ultimately unable to land a blow.

"No good," Mega Man uttered. "Time to try Super Arm!"

Activating Guts Man's weapon, Mega Man grabbed some of the debris scattered about the plant. He lobbed it at Elec Man, trying to crush him under their mass or at least make it harder for him to maneuver. Unfortunately, not only did Elec Man's electrified speed let him dodge those as well…

"You're not getting away!" Mega Man shouted as he reached for another chunk of debris, only to find himself unable to lift it. "What?"

"Super Arm Weapon Energy depleted. Disabling now."

Mega Man watched as his armor reverted back to its original blue and cyan coloring.

"Uh-oh…"

"Yeah, uh-oh…"

"Awww…whatsa matter, Rocky? Your little toy run outta batteries?" Elec Man asked mockingly. "Lucky for me…" He crossed his arms, electricity crackling between his spread fingers. "I got juice to spare! Thunder Beam!"

He waved his arms, unleashing a spread of electrical streams all about the power plant; their somewhat erratic flight paths being the only thing allowing Mega Man to dodge them with any reliability, firing his Buster in hopes of getting a good shot in. Unfortunately, Elec Man's speed - both mobility and attack-wise - along with the abundance of energy surging through him meant that he could just keep on firing them.

"Look at you! All you can do is dodge me!" he cackled as he continued his electric assault. "Just give it up, Rock! I literally have all the power of Silicon City at my fingertips!"

"He's right," Mega Man thought as he narrowly ducked under another beam. "I need to do something about his power supply or he'll fry my hard drive!" He winced as a Thunder Beam struck him in the arm. "He's gotta have some kind of weakness! Think!"

Mega Man turned to Elec Man, scanning him for anything he could use against him. It was then that he noticed the gash on his face.

"Wait… Lieutenant Payne's knife hurt him." His eyes widened in realization. "That's it!"

Mega Man hopped up to his feet, switching over to the Rolling Cutter.

"Hey, Elec Man! Someone needs to cut you down to size!" He fired a pair of scissor blades right at Elec Man. The shears spun about as they opened and close rapidly, but right as they were about to clip him, he casually zipped out of the way.

"Too slow!" He rushed at Rock, grabbing him by his neck and pinning him to the wall. "Now... since poor Lieutenant Payne is kinda-sorta dead, we need someone to fill in for him as Mr. Delacroix." He leaned closer, grinning maliciously. "What do you say, Rock? Wanna be a star? See your name up in lights!?"

Mega Man could only choke as the Robot Master's hand crushed his cervical circuitry.

"Good!"

Elec Man enveloped himself in an aura of lightning, violently electrocuting Mega Man, who screamed and thrashed in pain as the Robot Master laughed wickedly.

"Look at me! I'm Mega Man! Super Fighting Robot Hero! HA! What a joke! You actually thought you could take us on!? The great Dr. Wily's unstoppable Robot Masters!? You're just a lackey! A glorified butler! You. Are. Noth-!"

His rant was cut off as the Rolling Cutter came flying back like a boomerang, lodging itself in his back.

"Ggh! What the…?"

Mega Man quickly seized the opportunity, shoving him back.

"You little!" He prepared another Thunder Beam, only for Rock to be quicker on the draw, firing another Rolling Cutter that sliced his arm clean off.

"AAAAGH!"

"Stings, doesn't it?" Mega Man asked. "Your body's made of durable, insulated materials like rubber, to keep you from accidentally shocking others and keep your power stores contained. But, you also needed to be lightweight, so you could maneuver around electrical towers and other large pieces of machinery effectively. Which means that your armor is flimsy enough that a simple combat knife can hurt you." He prepared another Rolling Cutter. "Meaning these Ceratanium blades can shred you like wet Kleenex."

"You…" Elec Man snarled furiously, his mouth quivering. "Damn you!"

Undeterred by his injuries, Elec Man raised his remaining hand, unleashing another electric attack, only for Mega Man to casually side-step it and fire his shears, slicing it off too. Once more, Elec Man let out an agonized scream, falling flat on his back; leaving him completely at the mercy of his opponent. An opponent who was slowly marching forward, another set of blades at the ready.

"No…" Elec Man whimpered as he backed away. "No! I refuse to be beaten! Not by you! Not by…!"

Rock placed a hand on Elec Man's chest, focusing. "Thunder Beam download, complete. Weapon Acquired."

He pulled back before slashing vertically through Elec Man with the blade. He stiffened before sparking, sliding into two halves. Mega Man panted as he came down from the anger and rush, clutching his forehead and letting out a sigh before looking around.

"Suffering circuits… That was..." He looked down at Elec Man, gasping in shock. "D-did I do that? Oh, no... please tell me I didn't…"

He frantically searched the body before pulling out the IC chip, sighing in relief.

"Oh, thank goodness..." He looked over Elec Man's body. "But still… I did that… I almost... I wanted to..." He shook his head. "N-No... I had to! He was going to hurt more people… He... did hurt people. Killed people…" His eyes widened as he gasped. "Lieutenant Payne!"

Rock ran over to Xander, who still lay there, unmoving and covered in electrical burns. The most extensive damage was to his left eye, which was closed, the skin around it a scarred ruin. He quickly ran a vital scan. Within seconds, his HUD displayed the Corpsman's vitals.

"He's alive..." Rock whispered. "He's badly injured, but he's alive." He paused, his relief rapidly deflating. "And it's my fault. I could have saved him from the start if I had just pulled the trigger. Maybe I could've saved more… Maybe…

"Mega Man!"

At that moment, the Hard Corps came running in with Cobain at the lead. They stopped short at the sight of Xander on the ground.

"Lieutenant Cobain…" he whispered as Trent ran over to him.

"Mega Man! I just got a call from one of our squads. They said all the Sniper Joes in this sector of the city just up and shut down! Did you defeat Elec…HOLY!"

Cobain and his troops froze in place as they gazed upon the carnage that had been wrought; from the lightning-scarred, blast-riddled inside of the plant to Elec Man's butchered remains.

"Good lord," one soldier whispered. "He… He did it."

"He really did it," another one added.

"Geebus kid," Cobain whispered. "You… oh god, Xander!"

"He's alright," Mega Man assured. "He's alive, but Elec Man got him good. He needs a doctor."

"Right." Cobain nodded. "We'll take care of him. Reznor! Get a med team in here, STAT!"

"Sir!" With that, several soldiers ran out to alert their medics.

"Thanks again for your help, kid," Cobain said. "We...kid?"

Cobain paused as he looked over Mega Man. The blue robot was just standing there, his mechanical eyes half-lidded. As a Hard Wars veteran, he was no stranger to seeing soldiers with thousand-yard stares, but this was the first time he'd seen one on a machine. It was… strange. Not only because it was a robot with PTSD, but every so often, his eyes would briefly glitch out and go to static; like an old CRT television.

"Kid?" he approached Mega Man slowly, being careful not to startle him. "Mega Man? Mega Man!"

"Huh?" Mega Man snapped back to reality, his eyes thankfully back to normal.

"Good, you're back." Cobain sighed in relief. "Mega Man, seriously, are you okay?"

Mega Man paused, shaking his head. "No… not really."

"Yeah… I don't blame you. No after…" Cobain shuddered, his eyes briefly going toward Elec Man's body. "Do you need to...?"

"No," Rock shook his head. "I need to get back home. There are still four more Robot Masters to stop. Thank you for your help, Lieutenant Cobain."

At that, he warped away.

"Kid, wait!" Cobain called out, trying to reach out to him, but was too late. "Kid…" He shook his head. "Wherever you just went, I hope you've got someone to give you a hug waiting for you on the other side."


Lighthouse

Back at the lab, Dr. Light was fiddling with their communicator.

"Come on... come on... why won't this blasted thing work!?"

"Rock!" Roll cried. "Rock, can you hear me!? Please, respond!"

At that very moment, Rock reappeared, his armor dissipating as he sat down, a thousand-yard stare on his face.

"Ahh, thank Aasimov!" Auto claimed. "He's back!

"Rock!" Roll ran over to him. "We've been trying to get ahold of you for almost an hour! You..."

She trailed off as she saw the look on his face. "Rock, what's wrong?"

Rock was silent for several minutes before slowly outlining what had happened at the plant.

-X-

"And that's that…" he concluded as he lied down on the lab table; Roll, Dr. Light, and Auto listening intently as they downloaded the battle footage. "After that, the Hard Corps arrived and I left." Rock shook his head, looking up at the ceiling lights. "He almost killed a man… and it was my fault. Because I didn't pull the trigger right away." He swallowed nervously. "I-I didn't even know I could get that angry. I saw red, and the next thing I knew... Elec Man was literally in pieces."

"Oh my..." Roll gasped.

A video booted up as the battle footage finished downloading, starting from the last thing Rock was thinking of before he left: Elec Man's defeat.

"My word...!" Light managed in shock.

"Holy lugnuts!" Auto exclaimed. "You freakin' samurai-styled him!"

"Auto!" Roll admonished as Rock winced. "Seriously, read the room!"

Auto winced as he shrunk in on himself. "Sorry…"

"Doctor... what's happening to me?" Rock asked.

"I..." Dr. Light looked into Rock's optics. Rock couldn't cry in the traditional sense, but he could tell he was suffering. "I…" he shook his head, sighing in regret as he put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I don't know, son. But, I intend to find out." He gave a slight smile. "In the meantime, try and get some rest. You've… You've had a busy day."

Rock's expression was still one of worry, but he seemed to have calmed down a little.

"Yeah, I'll do that." He got up from the table. "I'm gonna head to my room for a bit. Let me know if something comes up."

"Goodnight, Rock."

And with that, he was gone.

"Roll, keep a close eye on him, Dr. Light requested. "Give him some space, but be prepared to step in if he gets…"

Roll nodded, a look of determination in her eyes. "I will, I promise."

Dr. Light watched as Roll went after her brother, the door closing behind her.

"Auto, get some snacks."

"Pullin' another all-nighter, Doc?"

Light nodded. "Something terrible is happening to Rock." He narrowed his eyes as he reviewed the battle data, the display showing the four weapons he'd acquired so far. "And I have a good idea of what it is."


Author's Note:

(1): Elec Man's theme by the Megas.

Well, things got intense here. What's happening to Rock? Stay tuned...

Voice cast for this chapter:

* Elec Man - Khoi Dao (Kagetsu from Fire Emblem Engage, Tim Goodman in the Detective Pikachu games, Iskahn in Sword Art Online: Alicization, Tetsuya Kuroko in Kuroko's Basketball)

Please R&R. Until next time!