CHAPTER TWO
The First Grains Fall
"Well, are you going to run off now?" Rock asked, hefting the shopping bag and watching his brother carefully.
Blues pushed his sunglasses higher on his nose. "Dr. Light will want to know that Bass is attacking things again," he said. "I'll come in with you."
"Good." Rock grabbed the older boy's upper arm and pulled him towards the door.
"Hey!" Blues said, tugging away. "Not so fast. And remember to wipe your boots."
Rock froze just as his foot crossed the threshold. He looked down at his shoes, still dirty from the walk to the city. Sheepishly, he stepped back and wiped them on the welcome mat, Roll's angry face swimming in his mind. Blues gave him a bemused look, which he tried very hard to ignore.
The two entered the foyer, feet free of mud. Roll was nowhere to be seen, but there was a clatter of metal on the hardwood floor and Rock's red robotic dog, Rush, bounded up to greet his master. The young robot petted him absently before calling, "Hey, Roll, I got the milk, and dragged Blues home too!"
"You didn't drag me, I chose to come," said Blues, yanking the trailing end of his scarf away from the enthusiastic Rush.
"Same difference," Rock replied. "Roll! Where are you?"
"I'm in the kitchen, Rock!" came the answer. The two boys headed through the dining room towards the kitchen door. Rush bounded in their wake, still eyeing Blues' scarf.
Roll stood before the stove, heating something in a saucepan. She wiped her hands on her apron as her brothers approached.
"Here you go, sis," Rock said, handing over the shopping bag. Roll pulled out the carton of milk and turned it over, reading the label.
"Rock!" she exclaimed, dismayed. "This isn't the right kind!"
"What?" he said, startled.
"Father can't drink this," she said, holding up the carton. "You know he's lactose intolerant! He needs soy milk!"
"What? When did that happen?" Rock cried.
"He was born like that, Rock," Blues replied. "That's usually how it works."
"No one tells me these things!"
"You were supposed to know already," said Roll, setting the carton down on the counter and glaring at him.
"I was?"
"You were programmed to be Dr. Light's assistant, Rock..." said Blues, looking slightly amused.
"So, what?" Rock asked, folding his arms. "You want me to go back and get more?"
"No, don't bother," Roll said, sighing. "You'd only mess up anyway. Remember the time I asked you to go get soda, and you brought home a box of baking soda?"
"It's not my fault I don't know up from down," Rock defended.
"...That made no sense whatsoever," Blues observed.
"I already did!" Rock declared hotly.
Blues stared at his brother. "What?"
"Quit trying to understand him, Blues..." Roll sighed, turning back to the saucepan. "I'm convinced he has a broken circuit somewhere in there."
"...Am not."
"Just... stop talking, Rock." Blues said, rubbing his temples. "Please." Rock grinned at him.
"Kids! What did I tell you about making noise while I'm working?" came a voice from outside. Dr. Light entered the kitchen, looking hassled.
"...Sorry, Father," Rock said, looking down at his shoes.
"It's all right, son, just attempt to be quieter, all right?" Dr. Light said kindly, ruffling the boy's hair. "Oh, and did you get the milk?"
"Yes," said Roll, indicating the carton on the counter, "But he didn't get the right kind..." Dr. Light read the label on the carton and sighed.
"I'm sorry, Father," Rock mumbled again.
"Don't worry about it, Rock," the scientist assured him. "I should have been more specific with my instructions. We'll make do without it today, and I'll run out and get some more tomorrow."
"But I did see Bass!" Rock exclaimed, brightening. "And I stopped a robbery! Or... tried to, anyway."
"Bass?" said Dr. Light, concerned.
Blues nodded. "Yeah. He was robbing a video game store."
"Not surprising, considering that last Robot Master you encountered," Dr. Light said wryly, thinking of the attack last week.
"Yeah, Wily must've taken his old PlayStation for 'Sony Man'," Rock said, suppressing a snigger.
"...Anyway, I get the feeling that's not the last we'll be seeing of Bass, Sony Man or no Sony Man," Blues said. "Wily's been quiet for too long. I think it would be wise if you tuned up Rock's systems again, doc."
"All right, Blues. I'll see to that right after lunch," Dr. Light agreed. "Would... you like me to look at you, as well?"
"No thanks, doc. I'm good."
"Ooh! Do I get my upgrade then?" Rock asked, bouncing slightly again.
"Upgrade?" Dr. Light asked.
"Yeah!" said Rock. "The one you were talking about earlier, when Roll and I were running around and annoying you!"
"Oh... um, no," said the doctor. "It won't be ready for awhile, I'm afraid."
"How long is a while?" Rock said, tilting his head inquisitively.
"Um... three weeks, or so. Maybe," Dr. Light said vaguely. Blues watched him with a thoughtful expression.
"Well, we're all here... I suppose I'd better get lunch finished, then," said Roll, moving to the refrigerator. "Father, you can go back to your work, I'll call you when it's ready. Rock, Blues... just stay out of the kitchen, okay?"
"Yes, ma'am," Blues said, only half jokingly.
"All right, sis," said Rock. "And I'll make sure Blues doesn't run off before it's done."
"Like I'd pass up her excellent cooking."
Roll waved a spoon in his direction. "Out! Flattery won't get you fed sooner."
Blues smirked, and headed for the door, with Rock and Rush in tow.
-------
Inside the skull-shaped fortress, on the edge of the ocean some miles away, Bass settled in for a good, long gaming session. He glanced down at his side, which sported a newly patched section of synthskin beneath his shirt. He gritted his teeth. The area still smarted, though the injury had been mild and easily fixed. More humiliating was the damage to his bodysuit. Wily had repaired it, but not without a tirade of German curses and Bass ducking a few blows from his wrench.
Still, it was in the past now. Bass told himself that he really hadn't been trying in the game shop, else the fight would have been much different. He would blow that self-righteous robot to pieces one of these days. It just didn't happen to be today. Today, he'd rather slay monsters than blue bombers.
Bass had been blissfully engrossed in the salvation of Spira for a few hours when a loud voice broke into his concentration. "BASS! Quit playing that stupid game and get out here!"
Cursing Wily under his breath, Bass threw down the controller. "Oh come on! I just met Wakka!" he griped. "I wanna do some random battles..."
Wily came to the doorframe of Bass' room, which was really just a storage closet the black armored robot had commandeered for his own use. The scientist was not normally one for giving his robots comfort, but Bass had made it abundantly clear he was not spending his free time in a stasis capsule and Wily had finally just let him be. The room was small and dusty, holding not much more than the aforementioned stasis capsule which was rarely ever used, a bed with a few thin sheets, a ratty couch Bass had nicked from a dumpster somewhere and the very old, battered television set. Treble, Bass' pet robotic wolf, lay curled on a tattered rug by his master's feet. His tail twitched as he dreamt, probably of chasing down some robotic rabbits.
"Do you want a repeat of Sony Man?" Wily asked, a menacing gleam in his eyes.
"Not really," Bass said.
"Then come here!" the old man commanded.
"I don't want to!"
"Stop being so whiny," Wily said. "It's not going to hurt."
Now Bass definitely didn't want to go. He was planning on giving him an 'upgrade', which never turned out well. "That's what you say every time you install some new junk in me!" He folded his arms. "And you're always lying!"
"Of course. I'm evil!" Wily said. Bass stared at him stonily. "Just get in here, before I turn you into a toaster!"
"Fine..." Bass grumbled, and stood up. Treble opened one eye and looked at his master quizzically. "C'mon, boy, let's go so the old man will shut up..."
"I can still hear you, you know."
"Ask me if I care," Bass muttered.
"And I could hear that, too."
------
A half hour later, Bass sat on a lab table, swinging his legs and trying to ignore the intermittent pains in his left arm as Wily pored over it with a welding gun. Wily finally pushed up his blast mask and poked the circuitry. Bass winced.
"Hmm... I think it's working now," Wily pronounced, then slipped the paneling back on the arm. He pressed down firmly and the synthflesh began to seal again as the nanites in the skin repaired the injury. Bass examined his arm as Wily plugged a cable into the back of his head to download the necessary programs for the new weapon.
"What do you call this thing, doc?" the robot asked, though he knew the program would tell him in a few seconds.
"The TimeStopper II," Wily grunted. He pressing a few buttons on the computer and Bass felt a surge of new data enter his systems. He took a few seconds to process and file it away. The TimeStopper II seemed to be identical to what his history chip told him about Flash Man's old weapon, though the power output was improved.
"There," Wily said, removing the cable. "All done. That didn't hurt, now, did it?"
"Yeah, it did," Bass muttered.
"Good. Now, I think it's time for a little... field testing." Wily rubbed his hands together and cackled.
"But we haven't even tested it here in the lab yet," Bass observed.
"Exactly," said Wily, scowling. "Now shut your mouth and go attack the city."
"I just got back from there, doc," Bass complained. "I don't want to go again!"
"You can teleport, bolts for brains, why does that matter?" Wily said. "You'll be there and back in no time at all."
"Fine," Bass muttered, and stood up. He stalked towards the door to find his armor, with Treble on his heels. "But once you conquer the world, you darn well better let me play my video games." He exited the room, leaving the scientist alone in the light of the monitors.
Wily watched him go, then turned and began walking to the corner of the room. "Worthless piece of scrap metal," the doctor whispered, approaching an opaque capsule hooked up to a computer bank. "There won't be any more use for you when I finish your replacement..."
He ran his fingers down the side of the capsule and softly laughed.
-------
"Thank you, Roll," Dr. Light said, standing up from the table, holding his empty plate. "Lunch was splendid."
"Yeah! It was great!" Rock chirped from the other end, still working through his second sandwich. "Is great, I mean..."
"Thanks," Roll said, becoming busy at the sink to avoid looking too pleased with herself.
Blues poked his brother. "Don't eat the whole house, now," he teased. "It's more important for Dr. Light to have food than us, anyway."
"Hmph," Rock said, rolling his eyes. "I walked all the way to town and fought off Bass. I'm entitled to be hungry."
"Hurry up and finish, Rock, I have to clean up now," Roll said, taking Dr. Light's plate. "Besides, Father probably needs you soon so he can tune up your systems like he said."
The doctor nodded. "Yes, if you could come down to the lab when you're finished..."
His sentence trailed off as the sound of distant sirens entered through the open window. Running to the small television on the kitchen, Rock switched it on to show an aerial view of burning cars and buildings in the middle of downtown. In the center of it all was a black robot, firing plasma bolts seemingly at random as people fled in all directions.
"The city's under attack again!" Rock exclaimed in dismay, watching as one of Bass' shots hit a fire hydrant and water shot into the air.
"Maybe Bass is looking for a copy of Final Fantasy X-2..." Blues said, faintly amused.
"Be serious, brother," Rock sighed. "People could be getting hurt!"
"There's no time to tune your systems now, Rock," Dr. Light said, concerned. "The city needs you. You'll have to go as you are."
"I'll be fine," Rock said confidently. "Bass was a pushover earlier today. Blues, are you coming too?
The elder robot folded his arms. "Hn. I guess since you asked so nicely..."
"You would've just shown up mid-battle anyway, you know," said Roll.
"...I'm becoming too predictable."
"Be careful, you two," Dr. Light said. They both nodded, and summoned their armor.
"Have fun playing with Bass!" Roll said.
Rock grinned. "Oh, we will." The brothers flashed brightly with energy, and teleported away.
------
"That's right! RUN! Run away! ALL of you!" Bass shouted, firing his buster at a fleeing human. The plasma shot missed intentionally, but sent up a shower of pavement that pelted the unfortunate man. "The more you run around and scream, the faster I can get back home!"
Rock materialized a short distance from the scene and raced towards the black robot. "Bass!" he cried, forming his buster.
Bass smiled darkly at the sight of his rival. "Mega Man... how expected." Then, without turning his head, he addressed the red and grey form in the shadows to his right. "And you too, Proto Man? Did you grow weary of your mysterious and timely entrances?"
Blues stepped forward, looking completely unconcerned by his quick detection. "No, but I grow weary of your weak comebacks."
"We don't have to fight, Bass!" Rock said. He knew it wouldn't do any good, but it was part of the code. He would ask Bass to stop fighting, Bass would refuse, and they'd soon get into a brawl that destroyed a few city blocks before Bass was forced to retreat. "You don't have to follow Wily's orders!"
"Can it, rockhead," Bass said, and lobbed a shot at the hovering news helicopter. It too missed intentionally, but the helicopter got the message and backed away to film from a greater distance. "I do this because I want to. I'm good at it, and it's fun. Destruction's my forte, so to speak." He smiled.
Rock sighed at the bad pun. 'Forte' was the name Bass sometimes used to go incognito, which never worked out very well since he had a hard time going for long stretches without destroying something.
"...That was horrible," Blues said, echoing Rock's thoughts. Rock nodded.
"Deal with it, old man," Bass said.
Blues unlatched his shield from his back. "Hey, Rock, I vote we beat him into the ground until we feel better."
"...Sounds good to me," Rock said, raising his buster.
Bass, not one to be bested, launched the first shot, then darted away as two charged plasma bolts came flying back at him. He ran among the halted and smoking cars littering the street, sending blasts at the brothers whenever the opportunity presented itself.
Fighting in the open was much easier than in the game store, even if they were confined by buildings, and Rock soon found himself falling into the rhythm of battle. Charge, shoot, slide away from danger, charge up and shoot again. Blues' presence made things simpler, as when Rock was ducking, Blues was shooting, and vice versa.
Bass dodged a shot from the Proto Buster with a swift dash, taking cover behind an overturned dumpster. Plasma thudded into the barrier, sizzling as it ate away at the metal. The relatively thin barricade wouldn't hold for long, so the black-armored warrior scanned the battlefield for a new vantage point. A small, rickety looking fire escape on an adjacent building proved exactly what he was looking for.
Hearing the easily recognizable blast from Mega Man's buster, he executed another dash and leapt toward the fire escape. He activated the thrusters in his boots when he reached the apex of his jump to ensure he cleared the banister. Landing smoothly, he spun and unleashed his buster on full automatic at Mega Man. The little blue robot slid out of the way, then dove behind a mailbox while his weapon continued charging.
Blues, unsure of whether the building Bass was using for cover was evacuated, threw up his shield in front of him and ran forward to find a clear shot. Bass was quick to notice and immediately turned his weapon on the older robot. Rapid fire shots ricocheted off the shield in several directions, sending debris flying wherever the rogue blasts landed. When he reached a distance he deemed safe, he moved the shield aside and fired a charged shot at the black robot, hoping it would strike.
It did, and Bass was sent through the cinderblock wall after catching the plasma right in the chest. Thankfully his armor was much tougher than it looked, so the attack did little actual damage. Truthfully, getting blasted through solid concrete had shaken him, but he rose from the pile of fallen bricks and ran back onto the fire escape without hesitation.
By now Mega Man was out of hiding and attacked as soon as Bass emerged. The black robot saw the wave of blue plasma heading for him, so he dash-jumped from the platform back to the street below. With a smirk, he watched as the blast rocketed off into the sky.
"Mega Man, you suck at aiming. Is your brother the only one in your family who can shoot straight?" he demanded, firing a salvo of his own.
"It must say more about you if you lose to him so often with a rapid fire weapon," Blues countered, launching a flare of yellow energy at him.
Bass slipped behind an overturned car just before the shot connected. Popping back out, he snapped off three plasma bullets at Proto Man. The scarf-clad robot gracefully rolled out of the way and sought cover in an alley.
"Damn!" Bass swore, turning his attention back to Mega Man. Rock had already lined up another shot, firing without hesitation. The frustrated Wily-bot quickly crouched, the blast barely clearing his head fins. This wasn't looking good. Mega Man and Proto Man were both very fast. Though Bass was faster, keeping up against two crafty opponents was proving more difficult than he had anticipated. Without any of the Robot Master weapons except the TimeStopper II, Bass knew he couldn't easily win if he wasn't able to overpower them soon. The ebony robot let out another curse at Wily for removing Pirate Man's Remote Mine data from his memory banks. It would certainly be helpful right about now.
Pushing aside his frustrations with the old German doctor, Bass flung himself back into the fray to take a few shots at Mega Man before Proto Man became aggressive again. This time, one of his bursts managed to connect with the blue bomber, and he skidded back a few feet, dazed slightly, but barely injured. Mega Man retaliated with a quick, uncharged shot from his Mega Buster. The small yellow orb of plasma struck Bass, but did little more than sting.
"Is that all you've got?" Bass demanded, firing a three round burst at Rock again. The blue robot fired back with his low powered shots, and Bass expertly dodged each. He laughed derisively at his opponent, but in his arrogance, he failed to realize that Blues had set up an attack of his own.
A powerful blow struck Bass from behind. The Wily-bot was sent sprawling to the street by a well-placed shield bash. Proto Man leapt back after smashing him in the skull, and began charging his buster again.
Cursing, and feeling his synthskin throb painfully, Bass rose and turned, his red eyes burning with intense anger. As soon as he was on his feet, he blasted five rounds at Blues, three of which struck and sent him skidding backward. Fortunately, the Light-bot's armor held and he was merely slightly winded.
Not one to quickly learn, Bass again fell right into a trap. With his back turned, Mega Man was given a free shot. He didn't waste the chance. The powerful wave of blue plasma struck Bass and sent him soaring past Blues and into a parked car. Glass flew everywhere as the heavy robot smashed into the side-panel of the vehicle.
Rock and Blues carefully approached the wreckage, their weapons still active. Bass emerged from the pile of twisted steel a moment later and grunted as he faced the Light-bots again.
"Well… it looks like the brothers Light can only take me in a two versus one fight," he snapped. "Fine then, let's see how you handle my new trick!"
"Careful, Rock," Proto Man warned, as the blue robot took a step forward, buster charging.
Rock rolled his eyes. "Eh, he's probably just going to fuse with Treble or something."
"I said new trick, you nimrod," Bass said.
"Whatever," Rock replied, keeping his eyes trained on his enemy.
"Now... prepare to taste my wrath!" Bass proclaimed. The yellow-orange areas of his armor morphed to purple.
"Ooh, stylized head fins," Blues remarked sardonically. "We're petrified."
"Blues, I think he's got a Robot Master weapon," Rock said, now being the one to caution his brother.
Blues shrugged. "So? It's not like most of them are any good."
"Fear the power of the TimeStopper II!" Bass said, and pointed his left arm at Mega Man.
The brothers tensed. Seconds ticked by. Nothing happened.
"...Oh, we're fearing all right," Blues said.
"Damn!" Bass swore, dropping his arm. "Why does everything that old man builds have to be useless?"
"You just insulted yourself, you know," Rock commented.
Bass growled and switched back to his buster in an instant, catching the blue robot unawares with a shot to the chest.
"Rock! Are you okay?" Blues said, raising his shield and stepping towards his brother.
"I'm fine," Rock said, keeping his weapon trained on the ebony robot. "Bass, don't do this. I don't want to fight you again."
"Blah, blah, blah," Bass mocked. "You're such a chump, Mega Man."
"He's not the one causing pointless destruction," Blues observed. "I suggest you stop this right now.
"Or what? You'll destroy me?" Bass laughed derisively. "I doubt you have it in you. How about I destroy you too, Proto Man?" He moved his buster slightly so it was trained on Blues.
"Leave him out of this," Rock said, gritting his teeth. "If you want a fight, I'll give it to you. Alone."
"I can't let you do that," Blues said.
"I'll be fine," the little robot assured him, still not taking his eyes off his foe. "Bass! Get ready!"
"I was built ready!" Bass sneered, and fired.
Rock was ready as well, and leapt easily over the shot, releasing the charge on his buster as he landed. The plasma hit at almost point blank range, but missed Bass' main body to slam into his gauntleted left wrist. The charge was enough to eat through his armor, however, and the limb began to spark.
Then there was a whirr and the world changed. A strange, invisible wave of distortion spread out from Bass as his coloring changed back to purple, causing the edges of the buildings to ripple and flow. Mega Man and Proto Man looked startled, but then grew unnaturally still. Bass looked up to find himself in a frozen world.
"Guess it did work," he said, looking around with interest. A bird had halted in mid-flight, defying gravity as it hovered in the air. The news helicopter, too, remained in the sky, its propellers unmoving.
Bass walked up to Mega Man and poked him. There was no response. The boy was as still as if he had rusted solid. He had a look of confusion, staring blankly at the spot where Bass had stood a moment before.
"Wily actually built something useful," Bass remarked aloud, incredulous.
He looked at Mega Man, unmoving and undefended. "I... suppose I'd better destroy him," he said, feeling strangely... hesitant? Why was that? This was his life's goal within his grasp. Almost... too easily within his grasp.
Bass shook his head. This was no time to be growing a conscience. He wouldn't lose again. He couldn't allow it. Raising his arm, he prepared to switch his weapon mode back to normal.
Bass suppressed a cry as pain suddenly ripped through his arm. The buildings flickered again as waves of invisible energy passed. The bird's wings moved slightly. Bass dropped to his knees as energy crackled and reality around him buckled and twitched. Before he could move or even think, the distortion crashed down on him and the nearby Mega Man, and swallowed them whole.
Blues blinked as the world seemed to waver. Something was terribly wrong. Looking instinctively towards Rock, all he saw was a twisted, eye-paining section of space that smoothed and vanished within moments. A bird darted overhead and alighted on a nearby building. The distant hum of the news helicopter thudded in his ears.
Bass and Rock had disappeared.
He called their names hesitantly, not really expecting a response. From the look of that distortion, whatever had happened had taken them far beyond his reach. Trying to quell the beginnings of icy panic coiling in his chest, he dialed Rock's communicator. There was nothing, not even static.
Giving another look around, Blues called up the teleport coordinates of the lab. Dr. Light would know what to do.
...He hoped.