CHAPTER SEVEN
Flight
Rock left Blues to his thoughts and walked back into the house, heading into the kitchen to look for the others. When he arrived, however, he found Dr. Light and X had left, leaving only Zero seated at the table. The red-armored reploid looked slightly depressed, rolling his deactivated beam saber back and forth between his hands.
"Hey Zero..." Rock greeted him, sitting in the chair across the table. "Are you feeling okay?"
The blonde man looked up. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said. "It's... just a little much to take in. It's so strange to be here in a time when you didn't even exist... it's like living in a history book."
Rock blinked, and Zero laughed weakly. "Ack, I'm so tactless. I didn't mean to offend you or anything, Mega Man."
"You didn't," he said, shaking his head. "It's just, I hadn't thought of it like that. And please, call me Rock. I'm only Mega Man in battle."
"Alright, Rock," said Zero, smiling. "And, it's not like I mind being here. I mean... it is really weird to think about, but it's also fascinating. This era is so different from mine... It's so... serene, and peaceful."
"But we still have to fight in this time," Rock admitted. "Dr. Wily constantly tries to take over the world, and I have to stop him."
"This... Wily character..." Zero said slowly, "What's he like?"
"Wily?" Rock asked. "He's nuts. A real mad scientist, you know. He wasn't always like that, but... his mind's twisted now."
"Mad scientist, huh..." said Zero. "The cliche kind? With a lab coat and grey hair?"
"Oh, yeah," said Rock. "He's like... a psycho version of Einstein. Bald on top, with hair jutting out the sides, and a huge mustache. Oh, and eyebrows." Rock grinned.
"Hm. Sounds interesting," said Zero, with an odd smile. "And he's sworn to destroy you, huh? And your family..."
"Pretty much," Rock said. "He doesn't like Dr. Light, because they used to be friends, and he doesn't like me because I foil his plans."
"That explains where you got all your battle experience, then," said Zero. "You're pretty good, you know. And you must do a good job keeping the peace here. Everything seems so untouched." The half-sad look intensified.
"...Zero... what exactly... happened to your world?" Rock asked, not certain he wanted to know the answer.
"... I'm not sure I should answer that," Zero replied.
Rock sighed. "...You're right. I'm sorry."
"Don't be." Zero shook his head. "...It's probably just selfish of me..."
"It's okay. Maybe it's better that I don't know anyway," said Rock.
"If you're willing, Rock..." Zero asked him, "Would you tell me why you fight? What your motivation is?"
Rock thought for a moment. "...I want the world to be a place where humans and robots can live together in peace," he said finally. Zero looked odd. "...What? What is it?"
"...X said the exact same thing when I asked him years ago."
"Really?"
Zero nodded. "Yeah, he did. He's definitely your brother, that's for sure."
Rock smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment, I guess..."
"I meant it as one," said Zero, returning the smile. "X is a really great guy... he's stuck by me, even though I've been a real jerk a lot of the time. I'm only still here thanks to him. ...But it's the same in reverse, I might add!"
"But that's what friends are for, right?" said Rock.
"Right."
A companionable silence fell over the room. Rock watched the clock on the wall, ticking away into the future.
"Well, I think I'm gonna go look for X and Father," he said finally, standing up. "See you."
"Later, Rock," said Zero, sounding slightly more cheerful now.
Rock headed for the door, halting just before he reached it. "Oh, and Zero..."
"Yeah?"
Rock pointed to the beam saber the reploid was still rolling absently across the table. "You have a really cool sword."
Zero smiled. "Thanks, kid."
-------
Rock looked into the other downstairs rooms, but saw no sign of X. Dr. Light was in the study, looking deeply involved with something he was reading, and Rock decided to move on without interrupting him. Not finding X downstairs, he was about to head to the second floor when he noticed the door to Dr. Light's laboratory was ajar. Knowing his father was still in the study, his curiosity got the better of him and he tiptoed down the steps.
As he'd thought, X was down there, standing beside a long metal cylinder that Rock remembered seeing a few times before, when Dr. Light had actually allowed anyone inside the lab. It had always been covered, but now the metal was pulled back, revealing a boy lying on the table. He lacked most of a lower body, and arms, and a lot of his armor, but was recognizable nonetheless.
"That's you in there, huh?" Rock asked softly. X turned. He looked rather shaken, as Rock supposed he would be too in a similar situation. Here was visible proof that he was not in the correct century, that he really was meeting his family for the first time.
"I suppose so," he said. "It's... a little unnerving, you know?"
"I can imagine it would be," Rock agreed.
X turned away again. His face was impassive, but Rock was startled to see wet streaks glistening on his cheeks in the fluorescent lights.
"Hey, are you crying?" he asked.
X smiled, reaching up to wipe his eyes with a gloved hand. "Ah... I'm such an idiot," he said, his voice wavering slightly.
"Don't say that," said Rock, moving a few steps closer. "It's all right to cry."
X's eyes turned down to his deactivated self, still and unmoving in the metal capsule. "This... is... what I've always dreamed of," he said, giving a short, half choked laugh. "Of meeting Dr. Light. Of meeting you and the rest of the family. And now that I have, I'm making a total fool of myself..."
"It's understandable, X," Rock said. "I can't even imagine the things you must have gone through... without any of us around. And now..."
"I actually feel at home," he said. "I feel like I'm where I belong. But..."
"But your feelings are still mixed, right?"
"Yes..." X sighed. "Here I am... looking at myself... incomplete. I... don't really know what to think. As I stand here, it feels like I'm home, and yet... this really isn't my home."
Rock put a hand on X's shoulder. Though the taller boy looked troubled, in a way, the little blue robot was glad. He had dropped the professional persona he had worn often while in the future. Right now, he was not X the Maverick Hunter commander, but X, the boy finally coming home. Rock wondered suddenly how long his brother had actually been activated. He had been pulled here from over a hundred years in the future, but the blue Hunter didn't act nearly that old. Rock knew robot appearances were deceiving, but he thought that if X had been around for decades, he would act somewhat differently. Just what had happened to his brother? Like with the state of his destroyed world, Rock wasn't certain if X's story was something he wished to know...
"...I want nothing more than to stay here," X said softly, running a hand along the side of the capsule. "Stay in the past and learn as much as I can from Dr. Light. There's a lot he can teach me... and there's a lot you and Blues can teach me too."
"Well, if that's what you want, why don't you ask Father if you can stay?" Rock suggested, though he already knew the answer. X hesitated for a second, but shook his head.
"I can't, Rock. As much as I wish I could stay, I have to return to 21XX. I have... a lot I want to protect there. I can't let Zero down. I can't let any of my friends down. If I stayed here, I would only be running away like a coward." He smiled at Rock. "I'm sure you understand what it's like to fight for something you care about."
"I do," said Rock.
"Dr. Light told me a little about you earlier," X said. "You're a brave one, Mega Man, far braver that I am."
"What are you talking about?" Rock asked. "I don't really know that much about the situation of your era... but if you fight those Mavericks all the time, then you're definitely a brave person."
"There are plenty of times when I just want to run away from it all and not fight, though," X said. "I don't like hurting other reploids. I feel like a murderer, even if I know I'm doing the right thing."
"...That doesn't make you a coward, X," Rock said. "I often feel the same way."
"You do?"
"Yeah," said Rock. X was silent. "...I guess what gives me the strength to go on is remembering the people I care about... and how much they care about me. Even if I have doubts about myself, I know they don't, and it gives me all the courage I need." He looked over at X. "I'm sure there are people like that for you in your time."
"Yes... there are," said X softly. "Thank you, Rock. I... needed to hear that."
"Any time, little brother!" Rock said, grinning.
X blinked. "...Little?" he said, looking down at Rock.
Rock laughed. "Now I know why Blues says that so much! It's fun!"
X smiled, and reached out to ruffle Rock's hair. "I guess the trip wouldn't be complete without my big brother picking on me."
---
Rock headed back up the steps a short while later, leaving X alone to think. As he pushed open the door, he met Dr. Light, who was entering the living room.
"Hello, son," said the doctor, smiling kindly. "Is X still down there?"
"Yeah," Rock replied, leaving the lab door ajar.
"I figured he would need some time alone," said Dr. Light. "But what about you, Rock? I know this has been a lot for you to take in, in such a short time."
"I'm all right, I guess," Rock said, shrugging.
"All of your travels and experiences are starting to hit home now, aren't they?"
Rock nodded. The doctor walked to the couch and sat down, motioning for his son to join him. Rock did so, running his boot along the carpet idly, blurring the marks made by Roll's vacuum cleaner.
"Did you see something in the future that troubled you, Rock?" the doctor asked, watching his son's face.
"Several things..." Rock answered. "I'm just not sure what to think about them."
"If you want to talk about it, I'm willing to listen."
"No, that's okay..."Rock said, then paused. "But... Father, why didn't you tell Roll, Blues, and me about X?"
The doctor smiled. "I thought you'd ask that. In light of the circumstances, perhaps it would have been better to tell you, but I had several reasons for keeping X secret."
"Like what?"
"Well... for one thing, I didn't want to get your hopes up."
"...What? What do you mean?" Rock asked.
"X... will not be completed for another thirty years," Dr. Light softly explained. "His AI is extremely advanced, more than any of your siblings... but because of this, it needs careful testing to make certain... well, that he doesn't go insane and start killing people."
"Why would he do that?" Rock asked, confused.
"X is the first of a new age of robotics, Rock," said the doctor. "He's a reploid. A robot that's practically human... a robot who doesn't have to obey the three laws."
Rock stared. So that explained why the Mavericks were able to harm humans so easily. "...Isn't that... dangerous, Father?"
"That's why we do the testing," the doctor replied. "And as far as I can tell, it looks like it will be successful... at least in X's case."
"But what made you decide to do this?" Rock asked.
"Several reasons... the spirit of scientific discovery... the curiosity toward the unknown. But mainly," he smiled at the boy, "because of you and your siblings."
"...Huh?"
Dr. Light sighed. "I'll admit, Rock, that when Blues first awoke, I made many mistakes," he said. "For one, I had no idea what to make of him. I had often dreamed of creating a sentient robot... often imagined treating him or her like my own child... but I never thought I would actually achieve such a goal."
"...You didn't?"
"Well, no. You have to remember, Rock, the human mind is a very complicated thing. When I began work in robotics, and even today, exactly how it functions isn't known completely. A lot of what I put into Blues' programming and construction were things I didn't even understand, but I knew existed in the human mind. I had no idea if the finished product would end up as a living being, or merely a well-built doll."
"But it did work."
"Indeed. But you can see that when, quite by accident, Blues was given life... and a soul... I didn't realize what I had done." The doctor's voice grew more tired and distant. "Before I knew it, I'd driven him away."
Rock blinked. He knew that Blues had run away from the lab before his own construction, but he hadn't considered that Dr. Light had been part of the cause. Still, he didn't understand why Blues would feel the need to leave. Surely, if he'd talked to Dr. Light, any misunderstandings would have been easily cleared up. After all, despite Blues' quirks, no one could possibly speak with him for more than a few minutes and not realize he was a living being. Rock knew there was more to the story, but as it was, it seemed neither his brother nor his father were willing to elaborate.
"When I realized my error," the doctor continued, still lost in his memories, "I resolved that I wouldn't be so negligent to my future creations. I tried to raise you and Roll as much like humans as I could. And it worked." He smiled. "You two have grown to be the most wonderful children any father could wish for, and even Blues has forgiven me and come back... well... as much as he ever can come back."
"Well, that's Blues," said Rock.
"Indeed," the doctor agreed. "All three of you have evolved far beyond what my programming skills could ever hope to achieve. You're living beings, but yet... you do have limits. I'm sure you're aware of them."
Rock nodded. "Sometimes there's something in my head, telling me to do something... or not to do something..."
"That's your basic programming at work," Dr. Light said, "and while on one hand, I think it has served to instill a sense of morality in you, on the other, I feel horrible for having it there. I feel like I am almost... enslaving you, and preventing you from reaching your full potential."
"That's not true," said Rock, shaking his head.
"But I can't help but wonder." the doctor replied. "So that is why X is not bound by the laws as you are. For him, they are merely guidelines, guidelines that will hopefully be powerful enough to keep him on the path of righteousness. And that brings me to the other reason I am building him."
"What's that?" Rock asked, curious.
"Humanity is a frail and fallen race, Rock," he replied, looking grim. "We fight amongst ourselves... create weapons of war to use against one another. We use and abuse our creations for our own selfish goals. Bass is one unfortunate victim of our self-absorption..."
Rock was silent, thinking of the black robot. His father was right, in a sense... Bass was a victim of circumstance. He'd been built to fight for Wily, without a chance to follow any other course. He had little choice in the path his life had taken.
"But you are not like that, Rock," said Dr. Light. "You have a human heart, and yet, you have a sense of justice that is beyond the capacity of most men. You would never harm a human being, whether the laws were binding you or not. It is your choice to do so. It's your choice to be a hero."
Rock nodded, remembering the first war. It had been his decision to don the blue armor and fight for humanity. Though he'd experienced many hardships since that time, it was a decision he rarely regretted.
"And yet, you cannot be around forever, Rock," the doctor continued. "You deserve a rest as much as any human... and eventually, the evils of the world will evolve beyond even your capacity to fix. When that time comes, I won't be around to upgrade you anymore."
"What..." Rock began, startled.
"I'm old, Rock," he explained, with a tired smile. "I was old when I built you, and I'm not getting any younger. One day, most likely before X is even ready, I will die." The boy looked troubled, and his father reached out and ruffled his hair in a comforting gesture. "But I cannot leave the world the way it is, with humanity developing greater and more powerful technology, without our morals expanding to counterbalance it. I see a great cataclysm on the horizon, and I fear even you won't be able to stop it. You're still a child at heart, after all."
"Doctor Light..." Rock said, leaning against his father's shoulder. The old man smiled down at him.
"So you see, Rock... that's why I am building X. To protect us from ourselves." He wrapped his arm around the boy's shoulders and Rock closed his eyes, leaning further in to the white lab coat.
"I think I understand a little more now," he said.
"I thought you might. I only pray that I'm wrong about humanity's future."
"Well..." said Rock, straightening up. "I may not know for certain what lies ahead for us, but I won't give up. I can't. There's too many things I care about at stake."
"That's my boy," said Dr. Light. "Always strong in the face of fear."
"It's what I do," said Rock, cheerfully.
"Rock... I'm proud of you," the doctor said, giving his son's shoulder a squeeze.
"...Thank you, Father," Rock replied.
"Now, I think it's about time you went to bed," said Dr. Light, gently leading the boy towards the door. "You've had a very long day."
Outside the window, the last vestiges of sunlight slipped from the sky, and the stars began to twinkle brightly overhead. Here in the house, though, Rock was content. He may not know exactly what the future held, whether his efforts on behalf of the world even mattered or if peace would ever be achieved, but at the moment, it seemed impossible not to be optimistic. No matter what the world faced, there would always be someone willing to step up and defend it. Whether it was himself, or X, or someone else... there was hope. Somehow, everything would turn out all right.
He just had to keep believing.
------
Bass curled up on the couch, controller in hand and an old blanket tucked in around him. He glared at the television. He had forgotten to save before heading off to fight Mega Man, and someone, probably out of spite, had turned off the power while he was out. Looking down at Treble, he said, "Some guard dog you are."
Treble looked up and gave a disapproving growl. "Yes, I know you're a wolf," Bass sighed, reaching out and petting the purple robotic animal. "But wolves are territorial too. You shouldn't let the old man come in here." This was the only place that was truly his, and he'd be damned if he let that old geezer wander in whenever he felt like it. Treble yipped in acknowledgement, and Bass scratched behind his ears.
The intercom crackled to life. "Bass!" Wily shouted. "I know you're back here. Get to my lab and give me a report on your excursion with the Time Stopper! I have some changes I need to make."
Bass growled, and saved the game. "Bloody hell," he muttered to Treble, as he stood up, stretched, and summoned his armor. "I swear he's going senile. I just gave him that report an hour ago."
Bass headed for the door, and Treble started to get up to follow. "Don't bother, boy," the black robot said, reaching the doorframe. "You go back to sleep. I can deal with him." Treble looked dubious, but lay back down obediently.
------
Bass walked into Wily's lab a few minutes later, ready for an argument. "I already told you what happened, old man," he said, folding his arms and glaring at the scientist sitting at the largest computer terminal. "The thing didn't work. Mega Man and Proto Man beat me into the ground. What more do you want!"
"The truth," said Wily, spinning around in his chair and glaring at his creation.
"What?" said Bass, startled.
"Bass, I know more happened than you told me," the scientist said, getting to his feet. "I was monitoring your fight. You and Mega Man disappeared somewhere. Where did you go?"
Alarm bells were going off in Bass' head. "Does it matter?"
"Of course it does."
"Why do you want to know?"
"Ungrateful scrap heap!" Wily snapped. "Do not disrespect your creator! Just tell me, rust-bucket!"
Bass was silent, trying to come up with an alibi. Wily didn't let him think long, however.
"Won't talk, hm? That's fine." He smiled, making Bass somewhat nervous. "I already know where you went. And what you did."
He's bluffing, Bass thought. There's no way...
Wily turned to the shadows. "My new friend, why don't you come out and introduce yourself?"
"With pleasure," came a rumbling voice. Bass took an involuntary step backwards as a very familiar eight-foot, bald reploid stepped from the darkness behind the computers.
"Hello there, little Bass," Sigma said, with a cruel smile.
"What are you doing here!" Bass cried, taking another step back.
"It seems he was brought back by Thomas' time travel box, as well," Wily said, with a smile similar to Sigma's.
"What? Where the hell were you, then!" Bass demanded. "You weren't with us when we arrived!"
"You and your friends certainly are inept at examining your surroundings, or you would've thought to check the underbrush nearby," Sigma stated, his gaze becoming more petrifying. "I merely waited for your merry little band to disperse before I left hiding."
"Then he followed you back here and snuck inside. I must say, I was very glad to meet him, even if he was an intruder," Wily snickered. "And I know now how he was brought back to this era... the Time Stopper II within you has the power to alter temporal mechanics. Sigma here has told me a lot about what you were doing in the future..." Bass stared at him. "Associating with Mega Man instead of destroying him when you had the chance?"
"It was only to get back here!" Bass defended. "What good would I be to you if I couldn't get home!"
"You idiot," Wily barked. "You could've stranded yourself in the future for all I cared if you killed Mega Man in the process."
Bass couldn't believe his auditory sensors. "I'm the most powerful robot you've ever built! I'm supposed to be your enforcer after you take over! You... you need me!"
"You really are stupid, Bass." Dr. Wily laughed. "Your only purpose is to destroy Mega Man. You have no use after that... you would be as outdated as the phonograph."
Bass stood frozen, unable to move or retort. "You're a worthless, obsolete pile of slag," Sigma sneered, driving the message further home. "Dr. Wily has me now. I would follow his will until the end of time. I am far stronger than you... and destroying Mega Man will be no challenge."
"What? Why!" said Bass, finding his voice. Why would this futuristic robot be helping Wily? The Mavericks had already demonstrated they had no love of humans... why would their leader ever ally himself with someone like the scientist? Sigma didn't seem to be playing, either.
"There's no need to ask questions, Bass," the reploid replied. "You know everything you need to understand why you are being... replaced."
"I've never been much for obsolete technology," Wily said, smirking. Bass took another step backwards. "Bass, I think you will be far more useful as a new lab chair. Sigma! DESTROY HIM!"
Bass didn't wait for the bald reploid to move. Cursing Wily, he took off at top speed through the doors behind him and down the hall.
"After him, Sigma!" Wily ordered.
"Yes, Master," Sigma said, and began the chase.
---
Bass' one advantage was that he knew the layout of Skull Fortress better than Sigma. Taking a series of twists and turns, he soon put some ground between himself and the pursuing Maverick warlord. As he ran, he began considering his escape options. Teleporting out was not possible as Wily had activated the base's energy shield. Running was only a temporary solution, as Sigma was faster than he was on foot. He had only one chance for survival. Punching his communicator, he shouted, "Treble! This is an emergency! I need you now!"
A few moments later, he heard metal limbs clattering on the stones of a nearby corridor as Treble homed in on his master's signal. The purple wolf came into view at the next intersection and began running alongside him.
"Merge with me," Bass said, without slowing down. "We're getting the hell out of here."
Treble obeyed without hesitation, leaping into the air with a howl. He collided with Bass and in a flash of energy, their systems interlocked, leaving Bass with a pair of purple and black wings and violet trimming on his armor.
Just as he completed the merge, Sigma dashed around the corner, his beam saber in hand. "There you are!" he cried gleefully, eerie red eyes narrowed in concentration. "Time to die, Bass!"
"I doubt that," Bass growled. Charging his buster, he dashed towards the window at the end of the hall. The plasma shattered the glass and ripped a hole in the wall around it. Bass exited the new doorway at top speed, spreading his wings and soaring into the night.
Sigma approached the hole, boots crunching on the remains of the stone and plaster. He stopped at the edge and looked up at the receding speck. "Don't think you've gotten away," he said, as Bass faded into the distance. "You are easy prey... just wait."
------
Bass flew through the skies, his mind numb as the artificial adrenaline receded from his systems. "That was too close," he murmured. "Thanks, Treble... remind me to give you a treat or something when we get out of this... provided you can still hear me when we're in this mode..."
Night air whipped past him and he closed his eyes, not really caring where he flew as long as it was away from Skull Fortress. The cool wind slipped over his cheeks and the angry purple marks etched below each eye, then on, over his helmet and wings and away. "...Why would Wily just throw me away like some common robot?" he wondered aloud, half to himself and half to the silent Treble. "I've proven to him in the past that I'm more than that. I've fought long and hard for him. I may not have succeeded in destroying Mega Man, but I never gave less than my best for him and his cause. Didn't he appreciate that...?"
But he hadn't, Bass knew. He'd never given him a kind word or a kind action. Bass had never thought about it much, Wily wasn't exactly a nice person after all, but he realized now as he flew that the old man had become more and more antagonistic towards him as time passed. He'd deliberately tried to replace him with King, and even before that he'd expressed his dissatisfaction. Bass remembered the sketchy blueprints for a robot with long hair he'd shown him at one point in the past... the robot had never emerged, but Bass should have been more alert to the warning sign. Wily was tired of him and his attitude, of putting up with a subordinate who could think, of having a creation that was actually alive...
"Sure, he's old, and annoying," Bass whispered, thinking back on the scientist, "And obsessed with taking over the world, and always shouting at me and sending me to get beat up by the blueberry again... but he did create me. I thought that meant something. I... I don't know."
He opened his eyes, watching the moon shimmering through the clouds. He didn't have many options now. He couldn't go back to Skull Fortress, obviously. Living as a rogue was also not viable. He didn't have Proto Man's stealth skills, and he had Treble to think about, as well. That left only one choice, at least for the moment. He didn't want to, but he'd rather go there than die. But he'd wait until tomorrow. He wouldn't slink in under cover of darkness, like a wounded animal.
He sighed. No courses looked good, but then again, he'd been a marked robot from the moment he'd been built. But he'd be damned if he'd let someone take him down without a fight. He was Bass, he was a warrior, he was a living being and he intended to stay that way as long as possible. And he would find a way to make Wily pay for what he'd done. He would survive, somehow. He would...
"Oh, Treble..." Bass mumbled, as the cold stars winked overhead. "What am I going to do...?"