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Power of Three
Although she spent a great deal of time fighting the evil plots of Dr. Wily, Roll Light had not originally been designed as a fighting robot. None of Dr. Light’s creations had originally been military in designation. Rock and Blues had been welders, lab assistants for Dr. Light and Dr. Wily. Roll, on the other hand, had been designed as a housekeeping robot. A bit sexist, perhaps, but considering that they’d been robots, it didn’t really matter that much. Of course, once Dr. Light had realized that his three creations were self-willed to an almost human degree, he’d released them all from assigned duties. To force them to perform tasks unwillingly, the scientist had declared, would be akin to slavery. He’d also, by dint of extreme persistence and some friendly pressure applied to the mayor’s office, managed to get all three robots established legally as people, with all the rights that entailed. Rock, Roll, and Blues had all taken “Light” as their last name, claiming the scientist not only as their creator, but as family. And they’d continued to work for him, not because their programming demanded it, but because they cared about him and genuinely enjoyed their jobs.
Mega Man didn’t do much lab assisting anymore, although he could still wield a wrench with the best of them. Most of the time, however, he was occupied either with Wily’s current plot to take over the world, or acting as Dr. Light’s escort and bodyguard at any and all of the conferences, demonstrations, and engagements that demanded the scientist’s presence. Not only was Dr. Wily a threat to the older man, but Dr. Light was a bit of a trouble magnet, a trait he’d somehow passed onto his robotic “son.”
Roll, on the other hand, still spent a lot of her time keeping the house in order. She liked to clean and to cook, even if she couldn’t really eat most of it. And between one absent-minded scientist and one somewhat disorganized robot hero, there was always something to manage.
Today was spring cleaning, always a bit of an adventure. Unlike previous years, however, this time the family had Protoman aboard to help with the heavy lifting.
No, not Protoman, Break Man, Roll reminded herself. She’d been a bit wary at first of the red robot’s sudden change of allegiances, considering that the three of them had already been taken in once by a similar ruse. But he had saved Mega Man from a very painful demise, and for that matter, her as well. And then Mega and Break Man had wound up in that strange gray dimension, and both had escaped. Mega Man trusted him, and so did Dr. Light. That was enough for Roll to at least try. It wasn’t as easy for her, though. Mega had told her about the memories she had lost, Wily’s attack that had changed all their lives forever. Maybe if she shared those memories, she could trust Break Man, see him as her brother. But for now, those stories were merely that, stories. Still, she was trying, and so far he seemed completely sincere. In fact, he could be quite charming and funny, especially when he and Mega Man were bickering. She liked him well enough... she just wasn’t sure she could rely on him.
Roll sighed. At the moment, the boys were outside cleaning the gutters, and Dr. Light was finishing up the last bits of organization in the lab. She was tackling the hall linen closet, the last chore before she was done with the whole thing. Dr. Light, like many scientists, was a bit of a pack rat, and tended to shove things into boxes on the top shelf of the closet, and then forget about them. This particular closet was unusually bad, and Roll made a note to have her creator go through the boxes and organize their contents as soon as she was done dusting.
As she stretched to pull the last of the boxes down off the shelf, she jerked a little too hard and sent the box tumbling towards the floor. At the last second she caught it, but it was so overloaded that the top item in the box tumbled to the floor with a clatter.
Curious, Roll knelt down to see what had fallen. It was a framed 8” x 10” photograph, covered in a thick layer of dust. Brushing the dust off, Roll saw two people, arms around each other and smiling for the camera. One was obviously Dr. Light, but a much younger version of the man. His hair was a rich brown, and he hadn’t yet grown the beard Roll always associated with him.
It was the second person who held Roll’s attention. The woman was a few inches shorter than Dr. Light, with wide blue eyes, blond hair, and a bright smile. In fact, in some ways, the woman resembled Roll herself.
“You know,” Roll mused, “They kind of look like me and Mega...” She stopped as something hit her. More appropriately, she and Mega Man, and Break Man, looked like the two people in the photograph... much the same way as children resemble their parents.
“Her name was Charlotte Drake,” Dr. Light said quietly, causing Roll to spin around. The scientist stood behind her in the hall, an unreadable look on his face. “You-- all three of you-- have her eyes. They were always the most striking things about her, the first thing anyone noticed.”
Roll looked down at the picture, then back up at the scientist. “Who was she... to you?” she asked quietly.
A sigh was the response, as Dr. Light came to take the picture in his hand. “We met in college. I was just beginning to become interested in cybernetics and robotics. She was a music major, of all things. She had an absolutely lovely voice. I met her when a friend of mine brought her to the lab to record some vocal samples for a project he was working on. It so happened that we had the same taste in music, and we went to a concert together.
“After that, things simply came together. I’d never fallen so hard or so fast for anyone. We were nearly inseparable, and we planned eventually to marry, once we were done with college and somewhat established in the world.”
“What happened?” Roll asked quietly.
“There was a car accident, one night when she was heading back after the Christmas holidays. The road was icy, and she lost control. According to the investigators, she struck a tree and died instantly. At least there wasn’t any pain.
“After that, I retreated into my work, somewhat. I didn’t become a complete hermit, but it was the way I found to deal with my grief. And so, when I created the three of you, I made your appearances a mixture of mine and hers. It was, perhaps, the only piece of her that I would have left to me. In a sense, I suppose... she was your mother.”
Roll looked at the picture once more. “Would-- would she have liked us?”
Dr. Light smiled softly. “Oh, Roll, she would have been very proud of all three of you.” Then, taking the photograph, the scientist retreated to his lab, leaving Roll alone with her whirling thoughts.
Mega Man ducked as a ball of plasma hurtled towards him. “You have to do better than that, bro!” he cried, diving behind a rock. From his perch in a nearby tree, Break Man grinned.
“Trust me, Mega, I intend to.” Leaping from the branch, he let off a hail of plasma shots, all of which missed as Mega Man vaulted into the air, returning fire as he did so. Break Man threw himself to one side, as Mega’s shots tore up the ground where he had been standing.
After Break Man had moved into the lab, one of the first things the two robots had done was set up a training ground in one area of the lab’s spacious grounds. Prior to this, most of Break Man’s practice had been on simulators in Wily’s lab, while Mega Man usually contented himself with target shooting. Most of the time, Wily could be counted on to give his skills a workout anyway.
Now, however, things were very different. The training ground had been Dr. Light’s idea, after he realized that Mega and Break Man were going to need some place to work off high spirits or aggressions. The two robots had immediately pounced on the idea, because they DID argue, as often as they got along. Not to mention that the years spent fighting each other had given them a bit of a competitive streak. So the training ground was a godsend for all concerned.
Today’s match was just a friendly competition, more a way of unwinding from the stress of spring cleaning than anything else. While neither bot objected to helping keep the lab and house clean, it wasn’t what they had been built or programmed for, and they couldn’t help chafing at it, just a little.
As Mega Man and Break Man traded fire, the blue robot didn’t duck quite quickly enough, and a plasma shot sent him spinning head over heels. As his balance sensors reasserted themselves, he looked up to see his brother offering him a hand, smirking slightly.
Grinning, Mega Man took the offered assistance, levering himself to his feet. “You know, this is a lot more fun when I don’t have to worry about losing,” he remarked, dusting himself off.
“No arguments there, little brother,” Break Man replied. “It’s probably the only reason I won, either. You’re a lot more vicious when it comes to real stakes.”
Mega Man cocked an eyebrows at his brother. “You’re admitting I’m better?” he asked slyly.
The other robot seemed to consider that for a moment. “I’m admitting you’re better motivated,” he replied. “Or at least you were. Wily and I could always come back for more if we lost. You didn’t have any other choice.”
“Sorry to tell you this, bro, but that’s your situation now, too,” Mega reminded him. Break Man grinned.
“It’s worth it,” he replied fervently. “I haven’t been this happy in... years.” He slung an arm around his younger brother’s shoulders.
“I missed you,” he added.
Mega smiled. “Yeah, I missed you too. And I’m glad you’re happy here.”
Releasing his brother, Break Man sank down to sit on a rock. “I missed all of this, even when I couldn’t remember it. Wily’s fortress was always cold and lonely, and even though the programming Wily put in said that I liked it that way... I didn’t, not completely. I missed you, and Dr. Light, and Roll, but most of all, I missed being treated like a PERSON, rather than a weapon. But I was so screwed up, I didn’t have any idea that I was. All I knew was there was this hole inside me, and it got worse every time I faced off with you.”
“It’s over now,” Mega Man reassured his brother. “You’re home, and we’re all going to fight to keep you here. It’s where you belong.”
Break Man smiled. “Thanks, little brother. I don’t plan to forget again.”
Just then, Mega Man’s communicator beeped. “Mega, Break Man, this is Dr. Light. I need you to come to the lab immediately. There’s something you two need to see.” The transmission cut off as abruptly as it had started.
Mega Man and Break Man exchanged looks. The red robot sighed. “Why don’t I like the sound of that?” he asked rhetorically. “Come on, we’d better move.”
“What’s wrong, Doc?” Break Man asked, as the two robots entered the lab. Dr. Light’s expression was grim as he beckoned them over to the computers, where Roll was already waiting for them.
“I recently picked up some energy readings that I think you should take a look at, Mega,” the scientist explained, gesturing to a screen.
Mega Man squinted at the screen for a second, then his eyes widened in shock. “Those are the same readings we got from that hole, the one that dumped me in that weird gray place!”
Dr. Light nodded. “And no doubt the gate that swallowed Break Man gave off similar readings, although we didn’t get a chance to study it.”
“My apologies,” Break Man replied sarcastically, but he was grinning as he said it.
“You think it’s another gate, Dr. Light?” Roll asked, concerned.
The human shook his head. “I’m afraid it’s not likely to be anything so simple or easily dealt with, Roll. These readings are several orders of magnitude higher than the gate Mega Man went through before.”
“So it’s a really BIG gate,” Break Man deduced, his mouth drawn into a flat line.
“Or a very powerful source of the same energy,” Dr. Light replied.
“Whatever it is, I would feel much better if the two of you would investigate.
This is not
something we need Dr. Wily getting within arms length of.”
“Amen to that,” Mega Man agreed fervently. “Bro, why don’t you go get the Jet Sled and meet me out front? We’ll need to get there fast.”
Roll stepped forward, raising one hand. “And what about me? If he’s got the Jet Sled, what am I supposed to ride?”
“You’re not going,” her brother replied flatly. Before she could even begin to protest, he raised a hand to cut her off. “Don’t argue with me, Roll. The last time I went through one of these things, Break Man and I BOTH nearly died. And besides, that... guy on the other side said he wanted to study us, study robots. Now, I don’t know how much information he got running us through his maze, but I don’t want to offer him any more. And since you’re different from either of us, you represent a gold mine of information, Sis. You’re staying here, and that’s final.”
Mega Man rarely wore such a serious expression, and seeing his determination, Roll quickly gave in. Folding her arms over her chest, she leaned against the wall.
“All right, you have a point,” she sighed. Then her mouth turned up at one corner. “But I don’t have to like it.”
Break Man laughed. “Why doesn’t that surprise me? Come on, bro, we’d better get moving.”
A sharp nod was Mega Man’s answer. “Right. And Roll?” He looked back over his shoulder as he headed for the door of the lab. “Stay put.”
She stuck her tongue out at him, but he knew she’d do it.
Upon reaching the cave system where Dr. Light had detected the energy coming from, Mega Man leaped off the Rush Jet, while Break Man parked the Jet Sled. Looking up at the cave mouth before him, Mega gently patted Rush on the head, as the robot dog moved to stand beside him.
“Not this time, buddy,” Mega Man told the dog. “What I told Roll goes for you, too. Thanks for the ride, but now you need to go back to the lab.”
Rush growled, obviously not liking his instructions one bit. He looked at the cave and growled again.
“I hear you, and any other time, I’d be grateful for the extra backup,” the blue robot explained patiently. “But I don’t want to take ANY chances on whatever’s in there. Bad enough he wanted to study us, but I REALLY don’t think you’d like having someone other than Dr. Light poking through your inner circuitry.”
With a whine, Rush licked Mega Man’s hand, causing the blue robot to let out a frustrated growl. Shaking his head, Break Man came over to join the pair.
“Let me handle this one, bro,” the red robot said. Kneeling down, he turned Rush’s head so that he could stare directly into the canine’s eyes. “You’ll go back to the lab with Dr. Light, just like Mega Man said. If you don’t, I will tell Dr. Light how much I’d LOVE it if he’d make that pet robo-panther he’s been talking about.”
Rush whined, but Break Man didn’t release him.
“Think about it,” Break Man warned. “Three hundred pounds of cyber-feline, running around YOUR turf. You wanna call my bluff?”
With a sharp bark, Rush pulled away from the other robot, transforming into jet mode as he did so. He streaked away into the sky, disappearing from view almost immediately. Rising to his feet, Break Man dusted off his hands.
“You just have to know how to motivate ‘em,” he explained. “I got a lot of practice with Guts Man.”
“I bow to the master,” Mega replied, grinning. “Come on, let’s check this place out.”
Gingerly, the two robots made their way into the cave system, Mega Man in the lead. A hand-held tracker displayed the direction of the energy readings, and the two of them were able to follow the trail deeper into the caves. After a few minutes of walking, they came out into a large chamber.
The first thing Mega Man noticed was the large hole in the floor, surrounded by three crystal pillars. Air was rushing out of the hole and in that current floated a shadowy shape that Mega remembered far too well.
The first thing Break Man noticed, on the other hand, was the Robot Masters closing in on them from either side of the door. Mega Man saw them almost as soon as his brother did, but neither of them were able to react fast enough to avoid being apprehended. Guts Man held Mega Man aloft, so that the squirming robot could not get any purchase on the floor of the cavern. Nearby, Break Man was in a similar position, courtesy of Hard Man.
“Wily!” Break Man snarled. “I should have known!”
“Indeed you should have, Protoman,” the scientist sneered. “Apparently becoming a do-gooder has made you a bit slow.”
“Lemme down, and I’ll show you slow,” the red robot threatened. “And it’s BREAK Man now.”
Wily rolled his eyes. “Hmph. Blues, Protoman, Break Man... I think you’re developing multiple personalities.”
“Ask nice, and I’ll loan you one. It’d be a definite improvement.”
Turning away from his former henchbot, Wily’s attention fell on Mega Man. “What’s the matter, Mega Dweeb? Nothing to add to the conversation?”
Mega shrugged, an impressive feat, considering Guts Man’s grip on his shoulders. “I think he’s pretty much covered it all, actually.”
“Enough of the ‘witty banter,’” the shadow creature hissed. “Let’s get down to business, shall we?”
“Oh, indeed,” Wily agreed, rubbing his hands together. “After all, I invited you two to this party for a reason.”
“Our stunning good looks?” Break Man asked blandly.
“Our scintillating conversation?” added Mega Man, as he and his brother were placed rather roughly in front of two of the pillars.
A third voice answered them from the shadows. “Well, you can bet it wasn’t your senses of humor,” Bass replied, stepping into the slightly brighter light of the cavern. He strolled to stand beside the third pillar, smiling savagely.
“I’m hurt,” Mega Man announced, as Guts Man forced his hands into two slots on the crystalline structure before him. “Aren’t you, bro?”
“Crushed,” Break Man agreed, as he was placed in a similar position.
The shadow hissed. “If you are QUITE finished... Bass?”
The black robot grinned. “It’s SHOWTIME!” With that, Bass placed his own hands on the pillar before him.
A surge of energy ripped through him, and Mega Man cried out in not-quite-pain. Dimly, he could hear similar cries from his brother and Bass, but he could spare them no attention as a veil of bright blue light enveloped him.
Light, he heard a disembodied voice declare.
Another yell came from Break Man, as he began to shine with a brilliant red light. Even his visor seemed to glow with it as he struggled fruitlessly to remove his hands from the pylon before him.
Shadow, the same voice intoned.
Last was Bass, who unlike the other two almost seemed to be enjoying his experience. His cry was more triumphant than agonized, as a caul of black energy seethed around him, radiating darkness as if it were light.
Darkness, finished the voice. Trinity. With that declaration, the pain died down, although Mega Man noticed half groggily that he was still glowing, and he could not let go of the crystal pillar.
In the center of the chamber, a more drastic change was taking place, however. The hole in the floor was beginning to let out not only air, but a strange, white, actinic light, cold and unwelcoming. In the center of that light, the shadow was growing larger and more defined, and Mega thought he noticed a red glimmer where the eyes should be.
“This is bad...” Break Man murmured, only half-consciously. Mega would have to agree with him.
“Excellent,” the shadow mused. Its voice had already begun to fill out, sounding deeper, richer. “You’ve done well, Wily. Now, for my end of the bargain.” Waving a hand, the shadow sent a bolt of energy surging down a side tunnel. Almost immediately, Mega could hear the sound of metal on rock, like stamping feet. A LOT of stamping feet.
“Your Robot Masters are ready, Wily,” the dark creature announced, sounding amused.
Mega Man’s jaw dropped. ALL of them? Wily usually only had the power reserves to run five or six at a time. If Wily had activated all of his robots... How many was it now, thirty-nine? Something around that, at any rate. Break Man would know. A quick glance at his brother’s clenched jaw told Mega that whatever the exact number was, it was bad news.
The creature gestured again, and a thin ribbon of white light went winding up another corridor. “Your battle machine, however, will take a little longer.”
Wily shrugged. “That’s all right. With the gate open, we have all the time in the world. Don’t we, boys?”
Mega Man and Break Man just gave him identical glares
“Oh dear.”
Roll had never liked it when Dr. Light said “Oh dear.” Somehow, the scientist could convey in two little words what it took other people several very colorful sentences to get across. Right now, his tone carried the type of worry that generally preceded nuclear detonations. Rising from her seat against the nearest wall, Roll moved to stand beside her creator, Rush trailing in her wake.
“What’s the problem, Dr. Light?” she asked, looking over his shoulder. Energy readings had never been her strong suit, but even she could see that they’d changed recently.
Dr. Light looked even grimmer than he had when the whole mess had started. “The energy readings just took a significant upsurge, I’m afraid. An exponential increase.”
“And that’s bad, isn’t it?” Roll didn’t know a lot of science, but she did know trouble when she saw it.
“Extremely. And to make matters worse, I can’t raise either Mega Man or Break Man on the communications systems. It’s as if the signal were being jammed somehow.”
“Knowing Wily, it probably is,” Roll agreed.
“I’m very much afraid that this is beyond even Dr. Wily’s capabilities, Roll. This isn’t something I’m very familiar with, but I believe Mega and Break Man may be in a bit over their heads.”
Roll made a face. “I think we’d better go after them, Dr. Light. I know Mega told us to stay here, but if they’re in trouble, which is practically a no-brainer, they’re going to need our help.”
Light sighed. “You’re right, I believe. We’ll take the two-man jet, I think. There should be room for Rush in the back.” With that, the three of them hurried for the lab’s hangar.
“We have GOT to get out of here,” Mega Man muttered, trying fruitlessly to jerk lose from the pillar holding him. Bass had let go of his pillar almost immediately, but the other two were still held fast.
Break Man sighed. “I’m open to ideas, bro. Got a jackhammer handy?”
“No,” Mega Man replied, a smile spreading across his face, “but I may have the next best thing.” In a slightly louder tone, he asked, “Hey, Break Man, do you know how to make Guts Man’s eyes light up?”
For a second, Break Man wondered if his brother had gone insane, but he decided to play along. “No, how?”
Mega grinned. “Stick a flashlight in his ear,” the blue robot answered. Break Man nearly choked on a spurt of laughter as the subject of the joke whirled around.
“Hey!” Guts Man moved to loom over Mega Man as threateningly as possible. “Are you saying I’m stupid, you blue runt?”
Obviously uncowed, Mega simply stared back at the larger robot, smirking. “Do you REALLY need me to answer that one, Big Bot?”
With a growl, Guts Man drew back a fist and struck Mega Man with a powerful haymaker punch. Connected to the pillar as he was, Mega wasn’t able to dodge, but he’d spent enough time fighting the larger robot that he was able to turn and take most of the blow on his shoulder. Even so, the force of the blow sent him reeling back across the floor-- tearing his hands loose from the pillar as he did so.
Years of experience allowed Mega Man to turn his tumble into a controlled roll. Coming up on one knee, he let off a shot at Guts Man, and was surprised to see the blast shimmering blue-white. It looked like a charged-up shot, but he hadn’t held it at all. Nevertheless, the plasma bolt was more than enough to send Guts Man crashing into Cut Man and Hard Man, the other two robots that Wily had left on guard.
“I think we got a power boost, bro,” Mega Man informed his brother breathlessly. Reaching out, Mega Man ripped Break Man’s hands free from their confinement with relative ease.
“Might explain why we look like a couple of night lights,” Break Man agreed. Just then, Wily and Bass re-entered the cavern, several more Robot Masters behind them.
“What? Oh, for the love of-- STOP them, you idiots!” the scientist screamed, almost tearing his hair out in frustration.
Break Man grabbed his brother by the arm. “We’re kind of outnumbered here, power boost or not! We need to regroup and come up with a strategy!”
Mega Man nodded. “No arguments here, bro. Come on!” With that, they dashed off down the nearest tunnel.
“Don’t just STAND there!” Wily growled, glaring daggers at Guts Man and company. “Go AFTER THEM!”
“Patience, Wily,” the shadow creature soothed. “They are of little consequence next to my power.”
The human snorted. “Oh yes? I wonder why that sounds so familiar? Perhaps because I’ve said it a time or two myself!”
“But you are of little consequence either,” the dark thing replied, a tone of oily satisfaction creeping into its voice.
“I freed you!” Wily did NOT like where this conversation was heading.
The thing smiled obscenely. “Yes. And for that, I shall let you live... for the time being. But your army... is MINE.” The creature waved its hand again, and all the Robot Masters suddenly developed red, glowing eyes. As his creations closed in on him, Dr. Albert Wily had a sudden, very vivid image of Pandora’s Box.
Like Break Man and Mega Man, Roll and Rush were equipped with optic sensors that easily compensated for the low light in the cave. Dr. Light was not so fortunate, and had to rely on the services of a flashlight. The powerful halogen handlight was of the scientist’s own design, of course, and was long enough and heavy enough to double as a weapon should things become unavoidably ugly. After years of working with heavy machinery and solid metal, often unassisted, Dr. Light had developed a very respectable set of arm muscles. Roll felt sorry for any Robot Master that got in the path of that flashlight.
Currently Rush was leading the group. Not only could he track by scent, like an ordinary dog, but he was also capable of following energy traces. That mean he could trail robots and vehicles by their unique power signatures. At the moment, he was following the path Mega Man and Break Man had taken into the cave.
Suddenly Rush’s head snapped up, and he growled softly, staring down the tunnel ahead of him. Cocking her head to one side, Roll put out an arm to halt Dr. Light, who was coming up behind her.
“Better put out that light,” she whispered. “I think we’re about to have company.”
The scientist did as she suggested, and the three of them waited in the darkness. With the light out, it was easy to see the tunnel growing brighter, as a purplish light approached. The light was accompanied by the sounds of running feet and plasma fire.
Suddenly Mega Man and Break Man raced around the corner, nearly colliding with Roll as they did so. Skidding to a stop, Mega Man reached out a glowing hand to help his sister to her feet.
“Roll? Dr. Light? What are you two doing here?” the blue robot asked incredulously.
“The energy readings took a tremendous upsurge, and we couldn’t raise either of you on the communicator,” Dr. Light explained. “We assumed you were likely in trouble, and decided to come and see if we could help.”
Mega Man shook his head. “I shouldn’t be, but I’m glad you’re here. Things have just taken a severe turn for the weird around here, and we can use all the help we can get.”
“I hate to break up this little party,” Break Man interjected, peering around the corner he and Mega had just turned, “but can we move this conversation somewhere else? We seem to have given Wily’s bots the slip, but I wouldn’t count on that lasting for any length of time.”
Roll nodded. “Let’s get outside. We can watch for ambushes better out there. And then the two of you can explain why you’re glowing?”
With a grin, Mega Man agreed. “Like I said, Sis, things have taken a serious turn for the weird around here.”
“I look forward to hearing about it,” Dr. Light responded. “I believe the exit is this way.” He pointed, but before any of them could move, a new voice cut through the air.
“Sorry to disappoint you, but the only place any of you are going is oblivion.” Bass stepped out of the shadows, Quick Man and Skull Man bracketing him.
Break Man’s mouth quirked in disgust. “They FLANKED us!” he spat. “When did these idiots get that smart?”
“About the same time they got the red, glowing eyes?” Mega Man theorized, moving slightly in front of his creator. Break Man moved to similarly block Roll.
Bass’s mouth twisted into an evil grin. “You’ll find a lot of things have changed around here,” he informed them. “Destroy them.” At his command, Skull Man and Quick Man attacked.
Quick Man’s speed was phenomenal, even for a robot. When he really got moving, he could move at a velocity that rendered him little more than a blur to the naked eye. When he attacked Break Man with a lightning flurry of blows, he assumed the battle was ended right there.
He was wrong. Break Man evaded the other robot’s punches with ease, throwing back a few of his own, along with a couple plasma blasts. None of those connected, but it was a very near thing. Rethinking his strategy, Quick Man backed off and launched several Quick Boomerangs at his target. The projectiles were solidified energy, moving at near-ballistic speeds, capable of tearing through metal effortlessly. Break Man leaped into the air, did a back flip, and came down again, with one of the boomerangs clenched in his hand. Holding it up in the air, he smirked. “Lose something?” he asked.
Quick Man just whimpered.
Meanwhile, Mega Man had squared off with Skull Man. The gray-and-black Robot Master had no truly offensive weapon, only his Skull Shield. Of course, if those orbiting skulls came into contact with Mega Man, that could do some real damage right there. And as long as the shield was up, Mega Man’s shots couldn’t do any damage to his adversary.
That was the normal way of things, any way. Now, however, Mega Man’s shots were sailing through Skull Man’s barriers as if they weren’t even there, and so was Mega Man himself. The last thing Skull Man saw was a blue fist, heading directly for his face.
While the fighting was going on, Roll and Dr. Light were huddled against the cavern wall, trying not to get in the middle of the battle. Suddenly Bass appeared out of a shadowed area that Roll could have sworn was empty a moment before. An almost casual shove sent Dr. Light sprawling on the cavern floor. Grabbing Roll, Bass shoved her up against the wall, shoving his arm cannon under her chin. Staring into his red eyes, Roll noticed that he too was glowing, but in a strange, light-absorbing black. And there was something new in his eyes, something darker and far more frightening than the last time they’d met.
“Sorry I have to do this,” he said, almost conversationally. “It’s nothing personal, but the key to victory’s locked inside that pretty little head of yours, and I have to make sure you never find it. Don’t worry-- it’ll only hurt for a moment.” Then Roll heard the unmistakable whine of an arm cannon powering up, and shut her eyes.
They flew open again at Bass’s startled yell. Looking down, Roll saw that Rush had chomped on the black robot’s ankle, and didn’t seem to intend letting go any time soon. Before Bass could recover from his shock, Dr. Light caught him along the side of the head with a neatly swung flashlight. The blow couldn’t really hurt Bass in his current state, but it was more than enough to knock him away from Roll. A hail of plasma fire from Mega Man and Break Man convinced him to retreat into the shadows once more. With Bass gone, silence fell in the cave.
“Well,” Roll said finally, her voice shaking, “that was interesting. What was that all about?”
“I’m not sure,” Mega Man replied, “but I think we’d better figure it out.”
The five quickly made their way out of the caves, stopping only long enough for Mega Man to copy Skull Man’s weapon, while Break Man did the same for Quick Man. After all, Robot Master weapons often came in quite handy while fighting the other members of Wily’s squad.
Once in the relative safety of the sunshine, Dr. Light immediately began examining his two charges, popping open the panels on Mega and Break Man’s backs. Although he only had one small handheld scanner, he seemed to be learning something, since the robots could hear him murmuring softly to himself as he poked around inside their main cavities.
“Well?” Roll asked anxiously, as the scientist straightened up, closing the panels as he did so.
“It’s most extraordinary. The two of you seem to have become energy siphons, although what the source of the energy is, I couldn’t imagine. However, your systems are drawing it in and concentrating it. That explains your enhanced strength, speed, and weapon power. I’d imagine that the copied weapons are at a higher power level now, as well.”
Break Man fired off a test boomerang. It glowed so brightly that none of them could look at it, and swooped around so quickly, the watchers half-expected to hear a sonic boom. As the projectile dissipated, the red robot grinned.
“I think you’re right, Doc,” he replied.
“And as for the energy source,” Mega Man added, “this all started when Wily used us to open that gate.”
Dr. Light’s eyebrows rose. “Gate?”
Quickly, Mega Man and Break Man related what had happened in the cavern, from their capture up until their escape. Their creator listened intently, a thoughtful frown on his face.
“Well, it would appear that somehow you two and Bass were used as parts of a... key, of sorts, that somehow opened this gateway. And you’re sure it was the same creature you met in the gray dimension?”
Mega Man shivered. “Trust me, Dr. Light, that guy isn’t the type of thing you forget.”
“Hmm. Perhaps his maze was designed to test your physical capabilities, to determine whether you could be used as... capacitors, to complete an energy circuit that would somehow open the lock that kept it out of our dimension. That would explain why Bass seems to have taken a similar boost, and also why the three of you remain in your “charged up” states, as it were. You’re still a part of the circuit, and will be until the gate is closed again.”
“Yeah?” Break Man asked. “Somehow I doubt Bass is going to just blithely help us re-create the key and lock that thing away.”
Cocking his head, Mega Man chewed thoughtfully at his lip. “Probably not, bro,” he agreed slowly, “but I get the feeling that there’s more going on here than we’re seeing right now.”
His brother snorted. “What, the current situation isn’t complicated enough for you?” the red robot complained good-naturedly.
“Well, I’m not sure it really matters,” Dr. Light broke in. “We must shut that gate, that’s the bottom line. That creature is not something I want loose in our world, and especially not at Dr. Wily’s disposal. I’m sure there was a reason it was locked away in the first place.”
“Can you get us back to the chamber?” Roll asked.
The other two robots exchanged looks. “We remember the way,” Mega replied cautiously.
“Whether we can get there or not... that’s up in the air,” Break Man finished. “But, you never know until you try! Come on, let’s go.”
Mega Man led the group through the tunnels, while Break Man brought up the rear. Between the two glows, the way through the caverns was sufficiently lit that Dr. Light’s flashlight was not necessary, at least, not for light. The scientist still carried the piece of equipment, since it was his only defense should things get ugly.
Suddenly Mega Man stopped, holding up a hand to halt the rest of the party. Gingerly, the group peered around the corner, trying to locate the sounds that had made Mega Man stop.
Snake Man, Elec Man, and Crystal Man were escorting Dr. Wily down the tunnel, and from the sounds of things, he was not going willingly. In fact, he was whining his head off.
“Cheer up, Wily,” Snake Man hissed, a mockery of a smile on his strange face. “You could so easssily be deccceassed by now.”
Crystal Man nodded. “Lucky for you that our Master wants you alive for the time being.”
“Of course, that’s always subject to change,” Elec Man finished. “Think you’ll get a charge out of that?”
Mega Man pulled back around the corner. “Guys, I hate to suggest this, but I think we need to help him.”
Cocking his head, Break Man gave his brother a sardonic look. “Are you forgetting how the last truce came out?”
“Not hardly. But this time, we’re holding almost all the cards. He’s got no robots, he’s got no transport, he’s got no chance-- we’re the only way he’ll get out of this alive. And we DO need him, or we’re never really going to figure out what’s going on here.”
Break Man sighed. “I don’t like it, but you do have a point. Dr. Light?”
The scientist made a face. “Much as it pains me to admit it, I believe we will indeed require Dr. Wily’s help to finish this.”
Roll shook her head. “Is it me, or does this day just keep getting weirder and weirder?”
“No arguments there, Sis. Think you can handle Snake Man?” Mega asked.
Roll’s expression flashed with sudden irritation at being assigned the slowest and weakest of the three bots, but it quickly cleared and she nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
“I’ll take Crystal Man,” Break Man volunteered, a boomerang materializing in one hand.
“Which leaves me with Elec Man,” finished Mega Man. “On three, hit ‘em. One, two,-- three!”
The attack was fast and furious, and over very abruptly. Three hyper-charged boomerangs tore through Crystal Man in swift succession, putting the robot down for the count almost immediately. A barrage of plasma fire cut down Elec Man almost as quickly. And a jumping kick on Roll’s part promptly knocked Snake Man into Never-Neverland. Dr. Wily was still staring around in astonishment when Break Man strode over and picked the scientist up by the collar.
“What’s going on here, Wily?” the red robot wanted to know, his voice like steel.
“That thing took over my Robot Masters! It just... waved a hand and took control of them somehow!” Wily explained, his accented voice quavering.
Dr. Light looked thoughtful. “Hmm. Probably a result of being the source that powered most of them in the first place. Easy access.”
Mega Man snorted. “Okay, but what is that thing, exactly?”
“I- I’m not really sure,” Wily explained, still quite conscious that his feet were not touching the ground. “I was looking for a power source for my new Skulker and I found the readings in this cave. When I got here, the creature was waiting, and we struck a deal. It needed Bass and the two of you to open the door that held it back, and in return it would power my army. And we’d both be rid of you two do-gooders!”
“You didn’t even know what this thing was, and you struck a deal with it?” Roll was incredulous. “For a guy who’s always bragging about his genius, you can be pretty dumb, Wily.”
A metallic footstep rang through the passage, only to be followed by several others. Mega Man raised his cannon, eyes narrowing. “Looks like the shadow’s sent reinforcements,” he remarked.
Dr. Light nodded. “And a great deal, by the sound. I doubt they’re interested simply in recapturing Dr. Wily.”
“They’ll destroy me!” the mad scientist hissed, obviously on the verge of panic. His feet kicked in midair, which only caused Break Man to tighten his grip further.
“I’d say you finally bit off more than you can chew, Wily,” the red robot said caustically. “Hey, bro, you think if we fed him to the Robot Masters, it would slow ‘em down?”
Mega Man made a face. “I doubt it. And, much as I’d love to leave him here, we’re probably going to need him later.” Thinking hard, the blue robot finally came to a decision.
“The chamber’s just a little further down this passage. Dr. Light, you take Roll and Dr. Wily with you and get that gate shut down. We’ll hold the Robot Masters off.”
“We will?” Break Man shot his brother a look, but released Dr. Wily and formed his arm cannon anyway.
“But- there must be thirty of them, at least!” Dr. Light protested.
“About... thirty-four, wouldn’t you say, bro?” Mega Man asked.
Break Man did some hasty mental arithmetic, then nodded. “Yeah, about that. Don’t worry about it, Doc. We’re old pros at the ‘outnumbered’ thing.”
“Besides, there’s so little room to maneuver that only a couple can come at us at once,” finished Mega. “Now get moving, or we’re all in trouble!”
With one last glance at his two creations, Dr. Light turned and hurried down the tunnel, Roll, Rush, and Dr. Wily in hot pursuit.
Mega Man swallowed. Despite his confident words and the power boost he’d taken, thirty-four Robot Masters was going to tax even the two of them. But stalling the army here was the only way things were going to get fixed. As the first of the Robot Masters stepped into the light cast by the twin battle auras, Mega Man threw a look at his brother.
“Well... it was nice knowing you, bro?”
Break Man smiled. “Yeah. Same here, little brother.” Then the
battle began, and there was no more time for talk.
“Tell me, Dr. Light, do you find suicidal tendencies to be an asset in your robots?” Wily asked snidely, as the group entered the gate chamber. The energy beam coursing out of the gate was unoccupied, a fact which was both reassuring and unsettling. With the shadow absent, there was a much better chance of closing the gate unmolested, but the fact that it could leave the space of the gateway meant that its power was increasing. And that was a very bad thing.
Dr. Light shot an irritated glance over his shoulder at his former partner. “Dr. Wily, if you wish to remain healthy, I think it would be a good idea for you to be quiet.”
Roll nodded, folding her arms across her chest. “Or I’ll shut you up myself,” the female robot promised. Female she might have been, but Roll was still a good two times as strong as most human beings, and possessed the same programming loopholes that made Mega Man and Break Man so unique. If she felt strongly enough about it, Wily knew, Roll could tie him into a pretzel without much effort. He shut up.
Turning away from the now-sulking mad scientist, Dr. Light began to examine the wall behind the gate. The room had already been lit by moveable light pylons, a leftover from when Wily had first set up operations there. The light was not particularly intense, however, and when Dr. Light turned his handlight on the wall, a set of ideographs suddenly became visible.
“Fascinating!” the scientist declared. “It appears to be an ancient form of the Lemurian dialect, dating back to the early Bronze Age. The Lemurians were supposedly an advanced race, with powers and a technology of a type unknown to modern man. From this gate, I’d say that at least some of the stories were true.”
“Can you read it?” Roll asked, drifting over to stand by her creator. Mega Man, as Dr. Light’s assistant, had been programmed with the ability to read several ancient languages, but she’d never been given that skill. Idly, she wondered if Break Man had it or not.
Dr. Light smiled. “It’s a rather archaic form of the ideographic language that I’m used to, but yes, I believe I can decipher it. It will take a bit of work, however.” The two of them were pretty much ignoring Dr. Wily by this point. With Rush watching him like a hawk, there was little chance of the evil scientist being able to cause trouble.
As Dr. Light began to examine the carvings in more detail, Roll sank down to sit against a wall. She wasn’t prone to muscle fatigue, but standing up DID require some energy, and she had the feeling they were going to be there for a while.
“Ah, here we are. It appears to be some type of poetry. ‘Beware the shadow that beckons thee with ancient power, the power of three.’” He stopped, looking around.
“Power of three. Roll, have you noticed the structure of this room? It’s vaguely triangular, with three tunnels leading out of it. There are three pylons surrounding the gate, and I’ll bet that this inscription is repeated two more times, once on each of the walls. This whole room is based around the number three.”
Roll immediately saw he was right. “But why would they do that? What’s so special about three?”
The scientist was obviously deep in thought now, beginning to pace as he lectured. “Many ancient civilizations have believed three to be a number of power. Ancient religions worshipped a Triple Goddess, who incarnated the three aspects of the moon. Morning, noon, and night, land, sea, and sky-- the old superstition that bad luck comes in threes, all of these reflect a long-standing belief that the number has some mystical quality.”
“Light, Shadow, and Darkness. Mega Man, Break Man, and Bass,” Roll said slowly. “They’re almost identical, all based off of the same set of plans. They’re all fighting robots, and they were somehow the key to the gate.”
Dr. Light nodded. “The gate must be based around the concept of three somehow, but I’m not sure exactly how. If I can figure out the concept behind it, perhaps I can find a way to close the gate without Bass.”
He turned back to his work, leaving Roll with her thoughts. Faintly, she was beginning to be able to make out the sounds of fighting down one of the corridors. She didn’t think either of the humans could hear it yet, but then, her hearing was far more acute than theirs. It worried her that the battle seemed to be approaching, but she was also reassured. If her brothers had fallen, there wouldn’t be any battle sounds, only the ring of marching feet.
Power of Three... Trinity. That’s what Mega had said the shadow referred to the three of them as. Mega, Bass, and Break Man shared a bond, and the shadow had been able to use that to open the gate. But something was bugging her...
The key to victory is locked up inside that pretty little head
of yours. Bass had said that. But how could she help? What did she
have to bring to this equation?
Power of Three. In the beginning, Dr. Light had three robots;
Rock, Roll, and Blues. Then Wily had broken them apart, making Blues into
Protoman, erasing Roll’s memories, and hurting Rock so badly, he tried
to become someone else entirely. But now things were turning around. Protoman
had become Break Man, coming back to his family again. Mega wasn’t back
to normal, but he wasn’t hiding anymore. They were together again, but
they weren’t quite whole.
But we could be three, Roll realized. Bass, Mega, and Break Man might share a configuration, but I share their plans, too. And I’m not a fighting robot, but I’m Break Man and Mega’s sister. But she wasn’t, not yet. Not as long as her memories lay out of reach, behind a wall of nothing.
Taking a deep breath, (more out of the habit of emulating humans than from necessity,) Roll closed her eyes. Break Man had said that remembering was simple, if not easy. You just concentrated on calling the memories up, and didn’t let anything stand in your way.
At first, there was nothing. Then, slowly, Roll felt like she was pushing through a cloud of screaming static. It was painful, and for a second, she considered giving up. Then the stubbornness that all three of Light’s robots possessed took over. She gave one last mental shove-- and the darkness fell away.
Dr. Light was drawn out of his study of the carvings by a strange humming sound. Turning, he found Roll glowing with a brilliant yellow light, similar to those enveloping her brothers.
“I remember,” she said wonderingly, looking at her hands in astonishment. Then her head snapped up and she gazed down the tunnel where the battle was raging. “And I think they need my help. Hold down the fort here, Rush. I’ll be back.” And with that, she dashed out of the cavern, leaving her very confused creator behind.
After Roll’s abrupt departure, Dr. Light had returned to his translation with renewed vigor. Even he could hear the sounds of battle now, and it was evident that he didn’t have much time.
“’Trinity to open, Trinity to close,’” he muttered. “Yes, yes, the gate’s based on three, I know that. Let me see. ‘Three in one is the key to the ancient locks on the gate of Three.’” The scientist snorted. “Well, that’s a great help.”
Straightening up, he began to pace along the rocky floor, thinking hard. “Three in one. Trinity. It all keeps coming back to that concept. And somehow Roll managed to insert herself into the circuit... so does that make it four? Or... two circuits of three?” Dr. Light’s eyes lit up. “Of course! That’s it! That’s how to close the gate!”
“Congratulations, Thomas Light,” a dry voice intoned. Dr. Light turned to see a shadowy figure hovering in the beam of light that poured from the gate. Wily gave an inarticulate cry and attempted to wedge himself further into the corner he was occupying.
“You have discovered the key to my prison, something that this oaf couldn’t do, even with prompting,” the creature continued. “I am... impressed.”
Dr. Light folded his arms across his chest. “Yes, well, forgive me if I find that of little importance.”
The shadow chuckled, the sound sending chills up Dr. Light’s spine. “Ah, such defiance. Rather like your ‘sons,’ I see. And now that you have discovered the key, I suppose you intend to lock the gate and send me away from the light once more?”
“That was the general intention, yes.” The scientist fingered the communicator in his hand.
“And what if I asked you to refrain? There is much I can offer you, Thomas Light. My power is beyond comprehension.”
“And your promises worthless, as Dr. Wily discovered.” A wave indicated the still-cowering scientist. “Besides, there is nothing I lack in my life, nothing that you could offer me.”
The shadow floated a little closer to the ground. “No?” Balls of light began to coalesce in front of the gateway, slowly forming a human shape. As the image resolved, it became a woman with blond hair, blue eyes, and a warm, wide smile.
“Charlotte,” Dr. Light breathed, taking an involuntary step forward.
“I rule the land of dreams and shadows,” the creature explained. “I can give you what you wish for.”
For a long moment, Dr. Light was silent, staring at the image. Then he shook his head. “No. It has been thirty years now. Let her memory rest in peace. It would not be real, and I won’t buy illusion at so high a price.” Raising the communicator to his lips, he pressed the transmit button.
“Mega Man, Break Man, Roll, get back here! I know how to close the gate!”
“Will do, Doc,” Mega Man replied, his voice broken by static. There was the sound of a large explosion, followed by the clatter of falling rock. After a few seconds, the three robots dashed into the chamber.
All three of them had seen better days. Mega Man was favoring his right arm, and Break Man had several dents in his torso. Roll was covered in some type of black residue, and seemed to have some small injuries about her person. Nothing was serious, however.
“That oughta stop the Robot Masters,” Break Man reported, with an air of satisfaction. “They’ll be digging themselves out of there for weeks, if any of ‘em are even still conscious.”
“You said you know how to shut the gate?” Mega Man asked, all business.
Dr. Light nodded. “I do indeed. It’s very simple. Each of you must grasp one of the pillars and concentrate on shutting the doorway. The three of you should constitute a circuit.”
Roll nodded. “Then let’s do it!”
The shadow creature hissed at them as they took position, but was obviously hampered by its lack of solidity. On this side of the gateway, it had no powers of its own, and without lackeys to control was helpless. Once the three robots had surrounded the gate, Mega Man looked at his siblings.
“Okay, guys, let’s shut it down.” Then, in unison, they reached out and grasped the pillars.
A loud rumbling filled the chamber, along with a smell rather like that of ozone. A ring of light began to run from one robot to the next, encircling the gateway. Slowly, the light coming from the gate died away as the shadow hissed and shrieked. Then finally, the light was gone.
The shadow, however, wasn’t, although it was severely weakened. It had drawn enough power, however, to allow it a small foothold on this side of the gate. With a thin cry, it zipped off down another of the tunnels, Mega Man and company in hot pursuit.
Left behind, Dr. Light turned to see that he was completely alone in the chamber. Dr. Wily had taken advantage of the confusion to slip away. Dr. Light’s eyes narrowed.
“Oh, no, Albert,” he murmured. “Not this time.” Picking the only tunnel remaining, he quickly set off after his former partner.
The shadow darted through the darkened tunnels of the cave system, the three robots hard on its immaterial heels. The power boosts had disappeared with the closing of the gate, so the pursuing robots no longer had their battle auras to light their way. Luckily, their optic sensors were calibrated to allow them to follow their quarry even through the dark caverns.
With an intertialess twist, the shadow ducked around a corner and out into the sunshine. Exiting the caves, the three robots skidded to a halt, blinking furiously as their eyes attempted to adjust to the new light level. As Mega Man’s vision cleared, he saw why the shadow had chosen this particular path.
The closing of the gate hadn’t just shut off the flow of energy from the other side, it had actually reversed it. That meant any and all systems that depended on that energy were hit quite hard by the withdrawal. Mega, Break Man, and Roll had been somewhat insulated from the effects, since they were in contact with the gate mechanism at the time. Bass, however, had been knocked completely off-line, and now lay sprawled on the ground not far from the cave mouth.
With a triumphant cry, the shadow dove towards the deactivated robot, phasing into the black body. A dark glow began playing around the prone form, far more intense than Bass’s previous battle aura. Red eyes opening, Bass rose slowly to his feet, as Mega Man and Break Man aimed their arm cannons at him.
“Well,” the black robot remarked, in a voice that echoed unpleasantly, “I think I like this turn of events. I have a body, I have the power-- and I don’t need the two of you to open the gate.”
Mega Man read the other robot’s motions in a split second. “SCATTER!” he yelled, grabbing Roll and pulling her away with him. The three robots had barely vacated their positions when three plasma shots ripped into the ground they had so recently occupied.
“He’s got a hyper-boost!” Roll cried.
“Oh, isn’t that just PEACHY!” snarled Break Man. He dodged again, as the possessed Bass began firing on him.
Mega Man took a second to be grateful that Bass was no longer equipped with the Circuit Burner weapon. His power boost made the black robot’s shots dangerous enough, but at least they no longer carried the promise of slow death. “Stay at a distance,” the blue robot told his siblings. “Take your shots when you can get them, but don’t leave yourself open.”
Splitting up, the three robots quickly formed a triangle around their opponent. Mega Man and Break Man attacked using their arm cannons, while Roll used her vacuum attachment to snag Bass’s shots and send them back towards him. It was tedious, dangerous, and nerve-wracking, but Mega Man’s strategy was paying off. Bass’s body was soon smoking, and he’d obviously taken far too much damage to continue the fight.
Finally, one of Mega Man’s plasma shots caught him in the chest, and the possessed robot sank to his knees. “You think you’ve won?” he sneered. “The battle is far from over. If I can’t have the Darkness, I’ll take the Shadow instead!” With that, Bass’s glow intensified, and an arrow of darkness detached itself from the battered shell, heading directly for Break Man. The red robot had no time to react, and could only watch helplessly as the black streak arced towards his chest.
Suddenly something struck him hard, knocking him to one side. Crashing to the grassy turf, Break Man rolled over in time to see the shadow creature, deprived of its original target, strike home in a new one-- Mega Man.
With a cry, the blue robot dropped to his knees, arms crossed over his chest. A black glow formed around his body, then died, then flickered to life again, sputtering like a fading light bulb. Cautiously, Roll took a step forward. “Mega?”
Mega Man’s head snapped up, and even from a distance, his siblings could see a flicker of red behind the blue of his eyes. A sneer crossed his face. “Sorry, Sis,” he replied smoothly. “I’m afraid Mega Man has left the building.”
Emerging from the dark caverns, Dr. Wily was pleased to see that his Skulker was exactly where he’d left it. While Dr. Light and his creations were occupied with that shadow, he could easily make his escape. Climbing into the cockpit of the flying machine, Wily punched the ignition.
Nothing happened.
“What? This is impossible!” Leaning closer to the instrument panel, he realized that the power cells were completely drained. Obviously the closing of the gate had taken the energy back from the machine and then some. Wily sniffed.
“A good thing I have a backup generator,” he announced, pressing a few more buttons. A low whirring noise indicated that the Skulker’s power cells were beginning to charge. In a few minutes, he’d have enough energy to get airborne, at the least.
Suddenly the cockpit door opened and Wily was hauled rather unceremoniously out of his machine by a grip on his collar. Smacking into the ground, the mad scientist turned over to find Dr. Light standing over him, arms folded across his chest.
“Going somewhere?” Light asked coolly. “I wouldn’t count on it, unless prison was your intended destination.”
“I suppose YOU intend to stop me?” Wily shot back, sitting up. “Where are those annoying robots of yours, Xavier?”
Light’s dark eyes flashed. “They’re dealing with a far more pressing threat right now. After all, your Robot Masters are either in very small pieces or buried under a ton of dirt and stone right now. I think I’m more than capable of handling you by myself.”
Wily’s hand slipped into an inside pocket of his lab coat. “You do, eh? I might have to disagree with you on that.”
Before he could bring the laser in his hand to bear, however, Wily found himself hauled to his feet. A powerful punch then sent him reeling backwards, dropping the laser to grab his suddenly bleeding nose. The mad scientist flopped back into a sitting position, less from injury than from the shock that Dr. Light had actually hit him.
“A bit immature, I suppose, but quite satisfying,” Light remarked, flexing his hand absently. “You’ve had that coming for several years.”
Light took another step closer to his former partner, forcing Wily to crane his head to look at the other scientist. “You tried to destroy my family, Wily,” Dr. Light continued. “You stole one child and hurt the other two almost beyond repair. You’ve repeatedly tried to kill Mega Man, and when that failed, you tried to turn them against each other. But do you know what? You’ve failed. I have my children back in spite of you. And watching you spend the rest of your days in prison, living with that knowledge, will be the most satisfying thing of all.”
“I have... one more trick up my sleeve,” Wily replied, his voice unusually nasal. Reaching into another pocket, he brought out a remote control. Aiming it at the Skulker, he pressed a button.
A whirring alerted Dr. Light just in time for the scientist to jump out of the way of the laser beam fired by the flying machine. Looking up, the older man saw Dr. Wily jumping into the craft, which slowly began lifting off.
“This is not over!” Wily howled. “I will be back!” Then the Skulker flew away.
Rising to his feet, Dr. Light brushed himself off. “I have no doubt of that,” he muttered. Then he smiled. “But you still lost.” With that, Thomas Xavier Light went to find his family.
Break Man and Roll watched in speechless horror as what used to be their brother slowly rose to his feet, still wearing that cold, arrogant smile. Break Man took a wary step forward. “Mega Man? Come on, bro, are you in there?”
His brother sniffed. “Haven’t you been listening? Mega Man is history. There’s nobody in here but me now.”
“I don’t believe you,” Break Man replied flatly. The other robot shrugged.
“Then I suppose I’ll just have to prove it.” And without further warning, Mega Man launched himself at his brother.
Break Man’s reflexes were ready for this, however, and he fell onto his back, using his feet to help the blue robot’s momentum. The possessed Mega Man went flying over his brother, crashing into the ground some feet away.
Seeing Roll take a step forward, Break Man raised a hand to stop her. “I’ll handle this,” he told her. Then, in a low mutter, “I should be an expert at it by now.” Then he had to duck a punch that would have detached his jaw.
As the hand-to-hand battle continued, Break Man realized that while this thing might LOOK like his little brother, it didn’t have one-third of Mega Man’s fighting ability. Its punches were sloppy and strongly telegraphed, and it didn’t have the slightest idea of how to use Mega’s arm cannon to best effect. Unfortunately, it was stronger and much faster than he was, thanks to the power boost the shadow creature provided.
“What’s the matter, bro?” Mega Man sneered. “You’re getting tired already? You always were the weaker one.” The two of them were wrestling on the ground now, and Mega Man managed to pin his brother’s wrists to the ground. “We make a pretty good team, though... and you DID once work for Wily. Between the two of us, we could have this world at our feet. What do you say?”
“I have this sudden sense of deja vu,” Break Man remarked. “And I believe my line at this point is ‘Stick it in your ear!’” With a powerful kick, he launched his possessed brother off him. Mega Man crashed to earth again, and as he did so, Break Man noticed that the black glow faltered a little.
“Mega Man, I know you’re in there! Come on, bro, you gotta keep fighting.”
Roll took a cautious step forward. “Please, don’t give up. You’re stronger than this!”
Mega Man looked up at the two of them and froze. The black glow around him began to sputter and pop like fat on a stove, and the red light behind his eyes followed suit. “I- I can’t...” He raised his hands to his head, curling over as if in pain.
“You can,” Break Man told him firmly. “You’ve beaten everything Wily’s ever thrown at you; you can beat this.”
“Come back to us,” Roll said quietly. “Please. We need you... Rock.”
Mega Man’s eyes flared, not red as they had before, but a brilliant blue. “Get... out... of my... HEAD!” he growled.
There was a sudden rending sound, and a black mist seemed to detach itself from Mega Man, hovering above him. The shadow began to pull itself together, but it seemed to be having difficulty.
“You can’t defeat me! I won’t let you! My power is limitless! I am Darkness itself!” it screamed.
A super-shot from Break Man tore through it, and it began to burn with a bright, magnesium-white light. “Nope,” the red robot replied coldly. “You’re history.” Then the fire consumed the creature completely, leaving nothing behind.
“Good riddance,” Mega Man groaned, pushing himself laboriously up on his hands and knees. Almost immediately, his siblings were helping him up.
“That was quite probably the dumbest thing I have ever seen you do,” Break Man scolded, looping his brother’s arm round his neck, as Roll did the same thing on Mega’s other side. “What in the WORLD were you thinking, you idiot?”
Mega Man smiled weakly. “That I couldn’t lose you like that again. I’d been fighting you for too many years... I couldn’t let you get turned into my enemy a second time.”
“You think it was a picnic for me? When I realized you’d taken that thing for me I-- Oh.”
“History repeating itself?” the blue robot acknowledged wryly. “I understand now... why you did it. Why you took that shot for me, all those years ago.”
Break Man regarded his brother for a long moment, expression unreadable under his blank visor. “I did it because I love you, you doof,” he replied gruffly.
His brother’s smile widened. “Like I said...”
“I hate to break up this touching scene,” Roll broke in, “but what are we gonna do about Bass?”
Mega Man cast a glance at the motionless black form. “Leave him,” he decided. “I don’t have the strength to deal with him right now, and at the moment, I don’t really care if Wily rebuilds him or not.”
The clatter of rocks caused all three robots to look up. Dr. Light was approaching them, his lab coat somewhat dirty, although he looked uninjured.
“What happened to you?” Break Man asked, looking his creator up and down.
“I had an altercation with the ground, and I’m afraid Dr. Wily got away,” the scientist replied. “What happened here? The three of you look worse than when I last saw you, and that’s quite a stretch.”
With a sigh, Mega Man shook his head. “It’s a long and ugly story, Doc, and it can wait until we get back to the lab. Um... can I ride in the jet with you? I don’t think I’m up to driving right now.”
“I’ll take Rush back, and Roll can take the Jet Sled,” Break Man volunteered.
“I think that will be fine, Mega,” Dr. Light replied, as the four of them started back to where Rush and the vehicles waited.
“Actually, Dr. Light,” Mega Man responded, “could you... call me Rock? It is my name, after all.”
Dr. Light’s smile could have lit up most of New York. “I think I can handle that, Rock. Come on, let’s go home.”
Home. Mega Man didn’t think the word had ever sounded so inviting,
or meant so much.
The End