CHAPTER TEN
Tipping the Hourglass
"Well, looks like he can clean up civilized, after all," said Blues, an infuriating smirk on his face as he adjusted his scarf in his habitual manner. The elder robot was sitting on the floor, a canvas chessboard spread out before him. X knelt at the other end, his brow furrowed in concentration as he planned his next move. Judging by the small pile of black pieces at the reploid's feet, Blues wasn't doing very well at the moment.
Bass snorted and walked to an armchair, sinking into it sulkily. Treble followed and laid down on his master's feet.
"Nice hair," Zero grinned, from his own seat on the couch.
Bass glared at him. "You're one to talk."
Rock, who was sitting on the floor watching the chess match, looked up when Roll emerged from the lab as well. "How's Father coming on the translation?"
Roll closed the basement door and sighed. "He's getting back to work on it now, but I'm worried." She walked to the couch and sat down beside Zero. "He'll be up all night at this rate."
"I'm sure Dr. Light can take care of himself," said X, moving a bishop to check Blues' king. Rock and Roll looked skeptical.
"C'mon, you two, your dad had to fend for himself before he built you," Zero reminded them.
"I don't know." Roll sighed again. "He pays more attention to his work than his health."
"There's no point fretting, Roll," Blues said, blocking the check with a knight. "The doc does what he wants, and if he won't listen to you, that's his problem. Overloading yourself with anxiety isn't going to help him."
"Easy for you to say," Roll muttered. "You don't even care."
"Okay, that's enough!" said Rock, cutting into the conversation before it turned ugly. "Let's just relax, okay? We can't change any of that now, so let's just enjoy having a little time off."
"Sensible suggestion, Rock," X said, shifting his queen a few squares.
"Always the peacemaker, huh, bro?" Blues teased, moving a rook. "Oh, and checkmate, X."
"...What?"
------
Morning broke on the following day, and the sleeping robots began to move about again. Bass shuffled downstairs in the shirt and shorts he'd used as pajamas, Treble clattering on the steps behind him. His violet hair was tousled and his face still drawn in the stiffness of sleep. He moved along the hall, attracted by the noise of voices in the living room.
"I brought you another cup of coffee, Father," Roll was saying, knocking on the basement door. The doctor had apparently locked himself down there. There was no answer from inside.
"That's what, half a dozen cups this morning?" Blues asked. He lounged in the armchair, Rock tucked in by his feet while watching morning cartoons. "I didn't know a human could consume that much caffeine and remain conscious."
"He's been in there all night," Rock said, looking up from the television.
"Father! I'm worried about you…" Roll knocked on the door again. "Come out!"
"Roll, we should let Dr. Light finish his work," X said, walking into the room, followed shortly by Zero who was wrestling with a comb in his hair.
"Yeah, but I'm worried too," Rock said.
"Let him be, he'll be fine," Blues assured him, ruffling the boy's hair. Rock glared up at him and ducked his head away.
"Good morning, X, Zero," said Roll, finally turning away from the door. "Did you sleep well?"
"Much better," Zero said, grinning. "That stupid dog was too busy staking out Bass' room to bother me."
"Yeah, thanks," Bass muttered, settling onto the couch, with Zero and X following suit. "At least Treble kept him away." The wolf in question gave a satisfied snort and laid down on the carpet, his eyes watching Rock.
"I'm sorry Rush has been bothering you, Zero," the blue robot said, ignoring Treble. "I don't understand it. He's usually really nice to everyone."
"Maybe he's jealous of my spectacular good looks and charm," Zero said, yanking harder on the comb as it encountered a large tangle.
"Maybe he thinks your hair is another animal trying to barge in on his territory," X teased.
"Still, I just wish he'd tell me what's bothering him," Rock said. "Maybe he needs a tune-up. I'll ask Father… if he ever comes out."
"He'd better not be goofing off in there," Bass grumbled. "I'll hurt him if he is."
"You wouldn't hurt him and you know it, Bass."
"Shut up, Rock," Bass retorted.
"Oh, on first name terms now, are we?" Blues asked.
Bass growled at him. "Don't make me hurt you instead."
"You're welcome to try."
Any violence was precluded by the sound of movement downstairs. "I think the doc's coming out!" Zero said, tugging the brush from his hair. The door opened a moment later, revealing the tired form of the doctor, holding an empty coffee mug. Roll took it from him.
"I have it!" he said, coming out and sinking into the armchair Blues quickly vacated for him.
"How'd you manage it?" Bass asked.
"Yeah, those files looked pretty indecipherable," Zero agreed.
"It took… a lot," Dr. Light admitted. "The caffeine gives bolts of genius!"
"….Bolts… of genius?" Rock repeated. "Are you sure you're well, Father?"
"Probably not, right-hand Rock…"
Rock stared at him.
"Uh, Doc…" Blues said, holding up his hand. "How many fingers am I holding up?"
"…Forty-two."
"…Yeah, this is bad, I think," said Rock.
"Okay, I'm having an intervention," Roll said firmly, taking her father's arm.
"Wait until I explain what I found, Roll," the doctor said, resisting her efforts to nudge him from the chair. "Then I'll go to bed."
"You'd better," Roll sighed, but sank to the floor to sit and listen, arranging her dress neatly around her knees.
"The principle is simple and you've probably already guessed what has happened," the doctor began. "Sigma took Wily back to his time so they can amass more weapons and the doctor can see the technology personally."
"So… you have a new time machine up your sleeve there, doc?" Zero asked.
"I'm afraid not."
"…Figures…"
"Some of the parts I used were extremely sensitive and seeing as the original machine was completely fried by your abuse of it…"
Most of the group looked at Zero, and he held up his hands defensively. "It was accidental, I swear!"
"…I no longer have the necessary components on hand," he concluded. "Unless you want me to disassemble one of you, that is."
"No, that's fine," said Zero.
"Really, Zero, I think you'd make a great time machine," Said X, smirking, and Zero glared at him.
"So aside from scrapping one of us, how are we going to get the parts?" Rock asked.
"I'll have to order new components, and rebuild others," the doctor said. "I also need to improve on the design, as you'll need a more stable vehicle if you're going to be time-hopping."
"How long will that take?"
"About a week," said the doctor.
"We don't have that much time…" said X. "Who knows what Wily could be doing?"
"I know, X, but that's the best I can do," said Dr. Light apologetically.
"It's all right, Father," said Rock. "We can handle Wily, no matter how much of a head start he has. And I'm sure the Hunters can protect the future for a while without you, right?" X nodded.
"And besides," said Zero, "this gives you more time with your family, X. I know you've been wanting that."
"…Yeah," said X. "I have..."
"We'll have lots of fun together, right, X?" Rock said. X smiled at him.
"Well, now that's settled, I'm off to sleep for a day or two," said Dr. Light, standing up with a groan.
"I'll look after him," said Roll, leading him by the elbow towards the door. "Keep quiet down here, boys."
The five looked at each other as the living room door closed. "I'm surprised he can still sleep after the amount of caffeine he drank…" Blues remarked.
"You've never had a caffeine crash, have you, Blues?" Rock asked.
Blues gave him an odd look. "I'm a robot."
"Trust me, they're not fun."
"…How would you even know?"
"Well, you know how busy it gets during robot uprisings," Rock replied, shrugging. "A few years back, I discovered WD-40 has about the same effect as coffee."
Blues stared at him. "…You've been drinking motor oil, and you think I'm strange?"
"Yup!"
There was silence for a few minutes. Roll came back into the room to find them all staring blankly at one another.
"Well, you look excited," she said, settling onto the couch. "Father's sleeping, thank goodness."
"So what do we do now?" X asked.
Rock shrugged. "Hang out, I guess…"
Bass stood up. "I'm going to hook up my PlayStation."
"You're acting like you're moving in," said Roll. Bass went silent.
"It's not like he has anywhere else to stay, Roll," Rock told her. "We can't just let him go around without a home."
Roll nodded apologetically. "I guess you're right, Rock."
"Jeez, quit getting sentimental on me," Bass said, stalking towards the stairs. "I just want to go play Killzone. I'm bored!"
"You mean Final Fantasy 10, right?" Blues said.
Bass whirled around. "Shut up, Proto Man!"
"Hey, no need to get mad," Rock piped up. "Blues likes RPGs, too."
Bass' red eyes glimmered. "Ha! So the mysterious old robot has a soft spot for hit points. This is amusing."
Roll sighed. "I don't think you of all people should be insulting him for that."
"You going to stop me, then?" Bass challenged her.
"Are you really this stupid, or is it just your programming?" she shot back.
"Children, please," Blues said, rising smoothly to his feet.
"We're not children!" Roll and Bass shouted back simultaneously. Blues smirked, and Roll scowled, wagging a finger at him.
"You're only a few years older than I am, Blues! And Bass is… um…" She paused, and blinked.
"A lot younger," Rock supplied, thinking back.
"…Wow, Bass is like… three," said Roll, frowning.
Rock grinned evilly. "Hey, Bass! You have to do what I tell you! I'm older and wiser!"
"Shut up, rust bucket," Bass glowered. "I may be young, but I can still kick you all over this house!"
"Bass is only three years old?" X asked, frowning. "And how long has he been fighting Mega Man?"
"Pretty much for three years," Rock answered. "I don't think he was activated until after Wily was in jail, after the Sixth… and then he came right and broke him out." X was still frowning.
"You got a problem with that?" Bass challenged.
X shook his head slowly, and Zero answered, "Well, it's just that… most reploids are kept in laboratory conditions for the first one and a half to two years of their lives, to help promote proper learning development. Like human children, reploids can't immediately function in society."
"…And you guys are supposed to be advanced?" Bass asked scornfully.
"It lets us develop personalities on our own," X explained. "Trying to dump too much information into a reploid's brain at once results in well, an overload. Not knowing this, humans tried that with the first generation of reploids… many developed neurotic tendencies and ended up going Maverick."
"…That doesn't sound good," said Rock. "But you were the first, though, X? What stopped you from going Maverick too?"
"Well, I'd been sealed away, with my programming tested and retested," X said, shrugging. "I came out perfectly fine because I had that time to develop. And also, I didn't immediately go out and start fighting Sigma or anything… I lived with Dr. Cain for a year before other reploids even started to be manufactured, and it was a few years after that before I joined the Hunters. So I had time to create my own personality, as well."
"So what are you saying?" Bass asked. "That I'm gonna go crazy because I haven't had a nice, peaceful childhood?"
"No, not at all," said Zero. "It's not incredibly uncommon… You've met Axl, for example, and he was only about a year old when he arrived at Hunter HQ. But that's the exception, not the rule, and X was just commenting on how… well-adjusted you are, despite the fact that you were thrown into the world from day one."
Roll snorted. "Bass? Well-adjusted?"
"Comparatively speaking, yes," said X.
"Well, we aren't reploids, either," said Blues. "Our programming and our personalities were far more structured to begin with. Rock was designed to be cheerful and helpful, Roll to be kind and conscientious, Bass to be antagonistic and loyal to his creator, and I—"
"—was a mistake," Rock supplied helpfully.
"…thanks a bunch, little brother." Blues sighed.
"But at the same time," X said, "All of you have exceeded those programs. I mean, Bass has left Wily behind, Rock is a crimefighter, and Roll can be downright scary…" Roll gave him a disapproving look.
"It's quite a sight, really…" added Zero. "We were always taught that before us, robots tended to be mindless and dull. I'm glad to see that was a load of crap."
"Well, you weren't totally incorrect," said Blues. "Most robots still are like that. We just happen to be exceptions."
"Heh, well…" Zero said, "It's good to see robots who break the mold in a positive way. Are there any others like you?"
"Not really," Rock said. "There are only a handful of robot manufacturers in the world, and most aren't interested in creating truly sentient beings."
"There are the robot masters, of course," said Bass, "but they've never had much in the way of free will."
"Yeah, they're pretty much just excellent AI..." Rock agreed. "Not alive, like we are."
"Which is good, because it'd be difficult having to blow them up all the time, otherwise," said Blues.
"That's always the problem, isn't it?" said X, sadly.
Zero patted him on the shoulder. "Hey, buddy, don't worry about that again. We all do what we have to..."
"Well, why don't we get off this subject?" Roll said. "If none of you have anything better to do than stand around, I have plenty of chores that need doing..."
"Um, I need to go... out," said Blues, suddenly looking busy. "Later, sis." He teleported, the whistle dying away a few seconds later.
"I've got to show X the... front... garden. Yeah," said Rock, grabbing X's arm and pulling the taller boy from the room. Rush bounded after them, as did Zero a moment later, calling, "Wait up!"
Roll looked at Bass, who simply folded his arms and glared back. Sniffing disdainfully, she walked from the room.
"Men... no matter what era they're from, they're all the same..."
------
Days passed, and life fell into an uneasy routine. Dr. Light, after recovering from the caffeine, retreated to his lab to work on the new time machine. Roll spent most of her time making sure he ate and went to bed at a decent hour.
As for the rest of the household, Rock and X explored the house and generally tried to forge some sort of brotherly relationship. They exchanged a few more stories from their lives, but for the most part, mutually agreed not to pry. They wanted to enjoy their time together without worrying about the past or the future. Blues was his usual self, disappearing for long stretches of the day, but still spending much more time at the house than normal. Bass avoided Mega Man, Blues, and X as much as possible, but seemed to get along well enough with Zero. The two became quite amicable.
This went on for a little over a week. X grew more restless as time went on. Rock couldn't really blame him; he'd been pulled away from his world, his friends, and his responsibilities. The boy tried his best to keep his younger brother distracted from his problems, but he knew that, however happy X was to meet Dr. Light and the family, he still wanted to go home.
On the morning of the ninth day, X was sitting listlessly on the couch watching the morning newscaster drone on about stock reports. Rock walked into the room, senses still dulled by sleep, and sank onto the couch beside him. He promptly slumped against X's shoulder, blinking at the television.
"G'morning, X," he mumbled. "How're you?"
X put an arm around his brother's shoulders as the boy snuggled closer, using him as a replacement for the pillow he'd left upstairs. "I'm fine..."
"But you want to go back," Rock said, very observant for seven in the morning.
"Yeah... I mean, I..." X looked away. "I wish you could come back with us..."
"Well, we'll be with you for a while yet, anyway," Rock told him. "We still have to stop Wily."
"Yeah." X nodded. "And Sigma... though, I'm worried."
"About?"
"Well... how are we supposed to keep either of them from time traveling again?"
"Throw Wily in jail and bust Sigma into so many pieces he won't be crawling back together again," said a voice. Zero walked into the room, barefoot and tousle-haired. He grinned as the brothers turned to him. "Well, if this isn't a heartwarming family moment."
"Oh shush, Zero," X said, turning back to the television. Rock just rolled his eyes and continued leaning against X's shoulder.
Zero plopped down on X's other side. "You bored?"
"A bit," X admitted. "It's just the circumstances, really... if it weren't for Sigma, I'd be more than content staying here for a while..."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," said Zero. "It's really a nice place."
"I wish you could stick around too," said Rock. "It's not often we get to meet other robots... It's really been amazing."
X ruffled Rock's hair. "Meeting you has been one of the best experiences of my life, Rock..." he said softly. "Even though trouble has started... I don't regret it."
"Neither do I," said Zero.
"Well, thank you," said Rock, hugging X tightly.
"Good morning, everyone," said Blues, walking into the room. As usual, he was already completely dressed, his scarf arranged neatly around his neck.
"Morning, Blues," said Zero.
"Did the doc get any sleep last night?" the elder bot asked, sinking into an armchair. "He said he was hoping to finish the time machine soon."
"I think Roll forced him to go to bed," X said. "Whether he finished or not, I don't know.
"I just want to know when we're going home," said Zero. "I'm worried... I mean, who knows what sort of mayhem Sigma's up to. The Hunters can take care of themselves, but still..."
X nodded. "Yeah. It's our responsibility to be there."
"Well, all we can do is wait on Father," said Rock.
"Yeah," X said. "I wonder when he'll wake up?"
"Right about now, I think..."
X nearly fell off the couch as the doctor spoke up from behind him. Absorbed in their conversation, none of the robots had noticed him enter the room.
"Ha! It looked like X almost rebooted," said Zero, poking his friend in the shoulder.
X scowled, folding his arms. "Well sorry! I'm still not used to him being alive, much less appearing suddenly behind me."
"It's quite all right, X," said Dr. Light.
"What's the news on the time machine, doc?" asked Blues.
"I just need to put on the finishing touches," the doctor said. "It should be done by early this afternoon. Will you all be ready to leave then?"
"Of course," said X.
"All right, then," said the doctor. "I'll get back to work. You boys behave yourselves, and by that, I mean you, Zero." He disappeared into the basement.
"It's only been a week and already he knows you too well, Zero," X teased.
"Oh, can it, X," Zero said. "And change the channel. Only weirdoes like you want to watch thrilling weather reports."
"Says the soap opera fan…"
"Hey! Um… I don't… I mean… X!"
Rock grinned. "Maybe we haven't learned everything about Zero, after all."
"You suck, X," Zero mumbled, and sank further into the couch cushions. The blue Hunter laughed, and obligingly changed the channel.
------
Lunch came and went, and Rock was becoming impatient. Father would probably be done soon, but until then, he was completely bored. Getting up from where he'd been lying on his bed, he decided to see what the others were doing to kill some time.
Heading downstairs, he found Bass in the living room as usual, PlayStation controller in hand. Like Rock, he was back in his armor in anticipation of their departure.
Treble looked up when Mega Man entered the room, his eyes following the Blue Bomber's movements. A low rumble began in his throat.
"Uh, Bass..." said Rock, hesitantly. "Your dog is giving me funny looks..." The rumble turned into a growl.
The black robot didn't look up from his game. "Ah, he's just programmed to kill you. This whole 'on the same side' thing is hard on him."
"…Can't you um… re-program him or something?" Rock asked, as Treble bared his teeth slightly.
"Where would the fun be in that?"
"Um…" Rock decided a change in subject was warranted. "…You ready to go, Bass?"
Bass shrugged. "Yeah. Figured I'd play a little bit of Disgaea before we left... don't know if I'll ever see the old PlayStation again."
"Wow, now who's fatalistic?" Rock said, startled.
"Well, the mission we're going on is dangerous," the former Wily-bot pointed out. "We have to be prepared for anything. And don't you worry about me." He smirked. "I'm not going to die until I've destroyed you."
"…That's comforting to know..."
Bass laughed, not in a reassuring way. "And don't you forget it, Mega Man."
Rock decided now was probably a good time to move on.
He left Bass and his support unit in the living room and continued wandering. Entering the study, he found Roll by the bookshelves with a feather duster, reflexively cleaning.
"It's not dirty, you know," he said.
"You can never be too clean," she answered, not looking up.
He walked up behind her. "You don't look too happy..." he observed. "What's up?"
"Oh, don't mind me," she sighed. "I just worry whenever you go off to do something dangerous..."
"I'll be fine, Roll. I always am." He plucked the duster from her hands. She turned around and tried to retrieve it, but he held it out of reach.
She finally gave up and folded her arms. "Yeah, but this is far more dangerous than anything you've done before."
"And I'm also not alone this time," he replied, shaking the duster at her. "We'll all make it back in one piece. You'll see."
"I know, Rock." She closed her eyes. "Just keep yourself and our brothers safe."
"Me? Keep them safe?" He raised an eyebrow. "Why not ask Blues, that's his specialty."
She shook her head. "I trust him to look after you. I don't trust him to look after himself."
Rock laughed softly. "I understand. Don't worry, Roll. Leave everything to me." He tickled her nose with the feather duster. She gave him a mock scowl and snatched it from him.
"Go on, get out of here," she said. "Go bother someone else. I have work to do."
"Fine, fine…" he conceded. "But it's plenty clean already, you know."
"I'll be the judge of that," she replied, and shooed him gently out the door.
------
The afternoon skies were clear and cloudless, allowing the sun uninterrupted reign on the earth. Blues and X sat beneath a tree, in the isolated corner of the lawn Blues had apparently claimed as his own. The elder robot leaned back against the treetrunk, his eyes probably closed but the impenetrable sunglasses giving no indication. X ran his fingers idly through the grass, so green and vibrant compared with the scraggly, weedy varieties that grew back home.
"Blues…" he said finally.
The red robot turned his head slightly. An end of the yellow scarf dislodged from his shoulder and cascaded towards the ground. "Hmm?"
"I… well, we're leaving soon," X said, plucking a dandelion. He twisted it gently between his thumb and forefinger, examining the tiny yellow bloom. "But… I still don't really know that much about you."
"There isn't really much to tell."
"I can hardly believe that."
He shrugged. "I don't really like to talk about myself. I've never been good at it."
"I see…" X sighed.
Blues raised an eyebrow. "You really are uncannily like him, you know."
"What?"
"Rock, I mean," he clarified.
"How do you figure?" X asked.
Blues smiled slightly. "You've got the same... attitude, or tone, or something... I mean, you act a lot more, well, grown up than he does, but... I can see the doc based you more on him than me."
"…Is that a compliment?"
He shrugged again. "It depends on how you look at it."
"Well, not knowing you, I don't have much to go on for comparison," X pointed out.
Blues chuckled. "Then I guess you'll have to learn for yourself, little brother."
X closed his eyes. "I wish I could…"
"Hm?"
"I mean..." X tried to explain. "Once we head back to 21XX, I'll probably never be back here again. I won't have time to learn about you... or Rock, or Roll, or Dr. Light."
"Hm. I suppose not," Blues said. "But X, in life, friends come and go. You may never see us again, but... you will go on. Surely there must be something in the future that you look forward to going back to."
"Yes…"
"Then cheer up. Everything will work out, one way or another."
X chuckled softly. "You know, Rock said the same thing to me earlier."
"Good. That means he's smarter than I gave him credit for." Blues smirked and stood up, dusting bits of tree bark from his scarf. He looked up at the sun. "It's been awhile… The doc'll most likely be done soon. We should go get ready to head to the future."
"It sounds so mundane when you put it like that," X said, taking his brother's offered hand and standing up as well. They started walking back towards the house.
"Hey, you two! There you are!" Zero ran towards them from the front door, red armor and blonde hair glaringly bright in the sunlight. He halted in front of them. "The doc says he's done."
"Great," said X. "Are Bass and Rock ready to leave?"
Zero nodded. "They're waiting on you. C'mon!"
------
The group clattered down the steps into the laboratory. It had grown a bit messier than the last time they'd seen it. The covering had been replaced on the past X's capsule, and it was now being used as a second workbench, strewn with various tools and equipment.
"Ah, Rock... everyone..." Dr. Light said, as the group assembled. Roll was there as well, holding her feather duster and looking anxious. "Are you ready to go?"
"As we'll ever be," Rock replied.
The doctor walked to the workbench and retrieved a small device, only slightly bigger than a television remote control. It had several knobs and dials, labeled with various numbers. There was a small monitor displaying a world map.
"Here's the time machine," Dr. Light said, handing it to Blues. The others crowded around to watch.
"Hey, you made it portable," Blues observed. "Nice." He turned it over in his hands. "...Wait, what's this etched into the side?"
"...'Epoch?' " Rock read aloud.
Blues frowned. "What….?"
"No, it says 3P-0CH," the doctor explained. "It's just a label I gave that particular part so I wouldn't get it mixed up during assembly."
"That's awfully… coincidental…" said Blues.
"What are you talking about?" Zero asked.
"…Nothing," Blues replied. He handed the time machine to X, who also examined it.
"So how does this work?" he asked.
The doctor pointed to various parts of the device as he explained. "This knob here sets the spatial coordinates for your landing, while this one sets the era. I'll warn you, it only works in full yearly increments, so however much time passes in your current time period, will also pass in the future or past as the case may be."
"Well, I suppose that will cut down on some confusion," Blues said.
"Indeed. Wily's device has to work on similar principles, so you should be all right. Now, I've set this button to return you automatically to the lab, and there's room to program in other locations. I'd advise you pick a deserted spot to land in your era, X, so civilians don't see time-travelers suddenly appearing in front of them."
"Got it," said X.
"Now, before you all leave," said the Doctor, turning back to the workbench, "I have something for the three of you. Come over here, Rock, and hold out your hand."
Rock obliged, and Dr. Light pulled off the boy's glove. He plugged a cable into the small indent at the base of the robot's palm. Rock winced slightly as the metal pierced his synthflesh. "What's this?" he asked, as the doctor pressed a button on his computer.
"An upgrade for your buster," Dr. Light replied. "If you are going to fight in the future, your weapons need to be up to par. This program will allow your buster to use energy more efficiently, and it should allow you to fire plasma shots with power more equal to X and other reploids." He unplugged the cable, and beckoned Bass over.
"Wow…" said Rock, rubbing his hand. The synthflesh was already beginning to reseal over his access port. "Thank you, Father."
"It's still a bit experimental, so be careful, Rock," the doctor cautioned. "But now you should be better able to protect yourselves." He unplugged Bass and looked at Blues, who came over somewhat reluctantly.
"…Thanks, Doc," he said, once the process was complete. "It'll be a big help."
"We should probably get going, if you three are set," said Zero.
X nodded. "Well, this is goodbye, Dr. Light..." His tone was more subdued now. "I suppose... I may never see you again..."
"Don't be upset, X," the doctor said, smiling at him. "You've got a life to go back to. While I would be happy to get more time to get to know you, it is more important that you live that life."
"You're right, of course..." X said, though he didn't look convinced.
"That is what I built you for, after all. To live your life." He put a hand on X's shoulder. "Now, it's best you get moving. Take care of yourself, son."
"Yes, Father," X said, nodding. "Leave it to me!".
"Be careful, X," Roll said, giving him a brief hug. "You too, Rock," she continued, hugging him as well.
"And good luck to you all," Dr. Light concluded. "We're counting on you."
"Right," said Blues. "Let's do this."
X programmed in the coordinates. Roll and the doctor stepped back, and the group gathered around him.
"Ready?" he asked. Four other heads nodded.
"All right, here we go." He took a deep breath and pressed a button. Instantly, space began to ripple.
"Bye, Father!" Rock called, and the portal rippled shut around the group, sending them on their way to the future.