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Chapter Text

Episode 27: The Black Bomber

Quint was doing well at the headquarters for Citadel Research and Innovative Technologies in Los Angeles. Every day was fascinating to him. He now had his own private laboratory where he could conduct his top-secret research and experiments. During work hours, Quint dressed as a human and went by Dr. Nicolaus C. Quintin (a moniker he had picked out himself). Only the senior scientists knew that he was formally Brain Bot. The rest thought he was another human, which Quint liked—it kept them all on equal footing.

Though Quint was quite happy, after months of hard work, he was also starting to feel tired, and (due to the secretiveness of his work) a bit isolated. Some of the scientists commented that he was beginning to look as overworked as Dr. Cossack himself (the head of Citadel who they rarely ever saw anymore) but Quint was flattered to be compared to his co-creator and carried on determinedly with his research. Besides…he just knew he was getting close to a breakthrough, and ignored any creeping feelings of fatigue and loneliness.

It was the Monday of the last week in November of 1996. As usual, Quint worked alone in his private laboratory (busy analyzing samples Dr. Goss and Dr. Stinson had forwarded from the Citadel Discovery Lab) when the phone mounted on the wall unexpectedly began to ring.

"Dr. Quintin? Dr. Cossack is here to see you," came the receptionist's voice.

Quint was a bit surprised to hear her speak with an edge. He gave a small confused laugh while hastily scanning his laboratory, making sure it looked neat. "Dr. Cossack doesn't need to announce himself, please let him in, Carolyn."

"Uh, yeah, about that," the receptionist continued with a long sigh, "…It's Dr. Cossack the younger."

Quint stopped inspecting his laboratory for loose printouts and gave a small jump. "…Oh, uh, I better come meet her myself."

Locking up his computer and powering down his lab equipment, Quint hurried toward the elevator and hammered the call button. What on earth did Kalinka Cossack want? As America's most popular teenage socialite, she rarely visited Citadel, and then only if she was looking for her father. It was incredibly puzzling.

Within a minute, Quint was on the open first floor of Citadel, nervously straightening his tie as a petite teenager marched imperiously toward him, blonde curls bouncing underneath her trademark black daisy hat.

Even if Quint hadn't known her by sight, Kalinka was impossible to miss. Citadel was furnished primarily in state-of-the-art white-cased lab equipment, white office furniture, and scientists dressed in white lab coats (like Quint himself). Kalinka, meanwhile, wore a chunky pink cowlneck tucked into a flowing black miniskirt that likely came off of a runway. Beat, her spring blue robo-bird companion, fluttered at her side. Her sparkling heels and swinging spaghetti strap purse were out of place in the sea of scientists who preferred comfortable loafers and stretchy slacks. Already a few were grumbling that her perfume (which smelled of cinnamon and sugared plums) had invaded their workspace, and cast both Quint and Kalinka extremely disagreeable looks.

Quint gulped as Dr. Cossack's daughter stopped sharply before him. Dr. Cossack's only human child.

—Of course, Dr. Cossack didn't have a favorite child…

…But if he did…

"Oh, uh, hi Kalinka, hi Beat," Quint greeted somewhat timidly.

"Hi Quint," said Beat enthusiastically as he settled down on Kalinka's shoulder. Quint liked robo-pets, and felt marginally cheered by Beat's presence.

Kalinka did not return his greeting. She was busy was scanning the main floor of Citadel, a closed-off expression in her face. "Can we, like, talk in private?" she asked curtly, finally looking over at him.

"Um…" Quint was nonplussed. He did not like the idea of going anywhere alone with Kalinka. Though Quint had stood up to intimidation tactics from both Dr. Wily and Syndicate mobster robots, Quint was, admittedly, a bit scared of her. They had never met, but she was on television and in gossip tabloids often, and from them seemed extremely spoiled and attention-seeking. More worrisome yet, she was also rumored to be just as smart as her father with twice the temper, though she presently cast him a rather delicate smile.

"Like, secret private," Kalinka prompted sharply. "Where no one can hear us speaking." She stuck her nose up in the air and waved her hand as though commanding a servant. "Go on, take me there."

Quint had a bad feeling about this. He looked over at Beat. The corner of Beat's bill had turned up into a sheepish, guilty smile. Quint's bad feeling increased, but he too felt powerless to stand up to Kalinka's bulldozer-like demeanor, and lead her to one of the private conference rooms normally reserved for discussing classified research with Dr. Cossack. It was a plain room with white walls, a clean oval table, and a few expensive swivel chairs.

Kalinka wrinkled her nose at the austere, modern aesthetic that was common in all of Dr. Cossack's buildings. "So," she said, turning to him after the door closed behind them, her brows raised smugly. "I've seen you in your green suit."

"P-pardon?"

Kalinka dug through her small purse (Beat had to raise his wings to balance himself), then threw a hand full of photos on the oval table. "I know this is you."

Quint looked down and started. Each photo contained a blurry yet recognizable image of himself in his green bomber suit sneaking around the city. Panicking, he quickly scooped up the photos and stuffed them into the pocket of his lab coat with a mental note to destroy them as soon as possible. "Where did you get these?"

"It was on the news! Also, Beat figured it out," Kalinka responded proudly.

Beat shot Quint a guilty look. "Sorry Quint," he murmured.

"It's nothing," Quint stammered hurriedly. "Just a protective suit. And I-I wasn't doing anything bad—"

"Relax! Don't have a cow," Kalinka interrupted, smiling. "I'm not a dummy. You work at Citadel by day, but by night, you're out helping protect L.A. from bad guys and disasters."

Quint raked his hands through his hair. He felt cornered. Like many things, the fact that he had modified himself into a bomber robot like Mega Man was supposed to be a secret. "Does everyone know about this?"

"Not really. I'm the only one who cared enough to look into it," responded Kalinka lightly. She smiled keenly at him, as though he were the scoop of a story she was very much interested in. "So…what do you go as? You know, your hero name."

"Uh…still just Quint," Quint replied tentatively, uncertain what he was getting himself into. "Though some call me the 'Green Bomber'. But I'm technically not a hero. I mostly work in the lab. It's just for emergencies." He sank into one of the swivel chairs. A sudden, horrible image of Kalinka exposing the Green Bomber to a gossip magazine sprang into his mind. "Please, you cannot tell anyone about this."

"No doi!" Kalinka responded, sitting down next to him on the edge of the oval table. "I completely understand why you gotta keep this a secret. In fact, it's the reason why I came. I want to ask you a favor."

Quint blinked at her. "A favor?" he repeated, then said, "You're Dr. Cossack's heir, world famous, and run the world's most profitable cosmetics company. …Don't you have everything you want?"

Kalinka frowned and looked over at Beat, whose large eyes stared back sadly. "It's true, I do have everything I want," she sighed. "And yet…"

Clearing her throat, she continued in a blazing fury, "I'm sick of the paparazzi and my socialite status, and I'm sick of the press twisting everything I say and making me look like a monster. All I did was sneak into a few clubs…but doesn't everybody when they're sixteen?" She paused, considering. "Well, it did help my brand. And breaking the rules was pretty fun," she admitted with a sly, reminiscent smile, then shrugged. "But anyway, I'm so over that. Most of my friends are going off to college, and I got my Engineering doctorate when I was fourteen. Feels pointless to do it all over again. Besides, I'm not a kid anymore. I'm eighteen! Soon no one will take me seriously as a teen idol!" She scooped Beat off her shoulder and hugged him close, touching his forehead to hers, and said in almost a whisper, "I feel so old."

Quint said nothing. Eighteen years did seem unfathomably ancient to a robot (he himself was only eight months old)—yet he did not think it was so old for a human.

Kalinka sighed forlornly again, releasing Beat to flutter back to her shoulder and looking over at a whiteboard with the same dramatic intensity as if it were an open window. "What I'd really like to do is something more fulfilling with my life."

Quint couldn't help but be captivated by this performance, and despite his prior reservations, was sitting at the edge of his seat. "…Like what?"

Kalinka tossed her head back to smile at him, her olive-green eyes sparkling dreamily. "I wanna be a hero like you—with my own super suit and everything!"

Again, Quint said nothing. Truthfully, he was stunned into silence as he mentally grappled with the impossibility of Kalinka's request. Perhaps in his exhaustion he had accidentally fallen asleep at his desk, and this was all just a bizarre dream. He looked over at Beat, Kalinka's guardian, but it was common knowledge that Beat had little control over her antics. "…Only robots have suits," he said finally with cool logic.

"A human could have a suit. Super heroes have them all the time," Kalinka countered dismissively. "Everyone knows that!"

"…'Super heroes'?"

"Yeah. Super heroes wear super suits to protect themselves and their secret identities. I like the ones that have cool visors that mask their face, kinda like yours."

"Wait…you want me to build you a 'super suit', so you can be a 'super hero'?" Quint was hoping that his constant repetition would help drum in how nonsensical this conversation was. Kalinka Cossack, a super hero?

"Oh I can design the suit myself," Kalinka answered, gazing smugly at her manicure. "But I'm going to need help with my cover. I can be like that bat guy from the comics: fashionista billionaire heiress by day, pretty defender of justice by night!" Her eyes suddenly flashed warningly. "Oh, and don't tell Dad. He'd just worry. And you know how bad that could be for him! You wouldn't want him to freak out; at his age, he might have a heart attack."

"Dr. Cossack is thirty-seven, one of the youngest in his field," Quint countered, then hesitated. "…He does have a lot on his plate…"

Kalinka nodded. "We can't tell anyone. It'll be our little secret. So what do you say?"

"I…"

Quint was nervous. Kalinka was known for her fanciful stunts, which typically ended in disaster, and felt it unwise to become tangled in one himself. He also didn't like the idea of keeping secrets from Dr. Cossack, especially ones about Kalinka.

"….I don't want to get in trouble."

Kalinka's eyes met his, and she said very seriously, "Quint, I'm your big sister. I wouldn't do anything to get you in trouble."

Quint stared back. He felt he should deny the sibling connection as he did with Mega Man and Roll (Dr. Light was Quint's other co-creator), yet, for some reason, he couldn't help but smile. "I thought you hated robots."

"It's part of my brand! Robots are nerdy, they represent authority, yech!" Kalinka responded, sticking her tongue out and making a face. She quickly remembered herself and became somber again, and added sweetly, "But if my dad—I mean, our dad—though he was my dad first—is going to insist on building robots then I guess I can learn to tolerate them."

Quint looked at her coldly. "…The public might have a more positive perception of so-called 'nerds' if you helped promote one."

"He has a point, Kali," Beat piped in.

Kalinka flushed a little. "I just hated being called 'four eyes' and 'brainiac'—but that's beside the point. So Quint, what do you say?" She smiled winningly at him.

Smiling back helplessly, Quint answered, "I'd like to help you out, Kalinka, but I'm too tied up here with my research. I just don't have time. I'm sorry."

Kalinka dropped the smile and leaned forward curiously. "What research?" she asked, giving him a piercing look not unlike the ones Dr. Cossack was capable of giving. Quint had a funny feeling she was reading just how tired he was.

"Only Citadel scientists can know anything about it."

"It's alright, you can tell me."

"But Dr. Cossack said—"

"Oh, Daddy doesn't mind," Kalinka responded airily.

…Quint was beginning to understand why Dr. Cossack had trouble saying 'no' to Kalinka. At the same time, he sensed something sincere and genuine behind her supposed 'spoiled brat' image. He had liked how she had called herself his older sister…and weren't you supposed to be able to go to an older sister with your problems?

He stood up and beckoned toward her. "Okay, I'll tell you about it if you want—but what I'm going to show you is top secret."

"Oh, please," Kalinka smirked as she slid off the table, "—I'm a Cossack, 'secret' is, like, my middle name."

Quint led Kalinka through five separate security gates, to the elevator, and back to his laboratory. Kalinka looked around the large chamber, her expression unreadable. From her shoulder, Beat's head pivoted from side to side in awe. The laboratory was full of large equipment Quint had invented himself—all experimental prototypes unlike anything on Earth, yet none of them functional.

"Do you always work alone in this darkness? Yeesh, you're just like Dad!" Kalinka exclaimed finally in exasperation, her voice and clicking heels echoing slightly.

Quint didn't mind the barb. He felt excited to show off his laboratory and led her over to a holographic projector connected to his supercomputer. "You may know that, in addition to being the leading company in pioneering technology and metallic alloys, Citadel Research and Innovative Technologies has a Discovery branch for analyzing mysterious natural phenomena," he began solemnly. "That is the division I was built to work for, specifically to study specimens of extraterrestrial origins—alien energy."

At this point, Quint looked inquiringly at Kalinka, wondering if the revelation that aliens existed would shock her, or how much she already knew. But Kalinka just stared back at him with a cool, poker-faced indifference. She really did look a bit like a modern princess (and had the haughty grace of one), yet Quint felt encouraged that he had made the right decision in trusting her as a confidant.

"Alien energy is useful yet dangerous," Quint continued. "A robot powered by alien energy becomes much faster, stronger, even impervious to non-alien energy-based attacks—however, very few robots are advanced enough to handle such powerful energy without becoming overloaded or destroyed." He began typing on his computer, pulling up a simulation on his holographic projector. "There are three types of alien energy."

A flickering ball of purple flame appeared in the center of the projector.

"The first is purple in hue, and by far the most paranormal," Quint began. "It can rewrite reality like properties in a computer program, primarily along two axises: displacement (such as through space, time, dimensions) and distortion (such as thoughts, matter, physics, existence). Because of this, it is infinitely dangerous," he added as the image of a skull flickered briefly in the flame, "—And in its purest form is sometimes called 'evil energy.'"

Quint typed another command into his computer. The purple flames disappeared, and a glowing ball of cyan energy took its place.

"The blue alien energy (sometimes called 'justice energy') acts as a direct counter to the purple—neutralizing its effects and reverting manipulated properties to their default state, though it consumes a lot of energy. It is the rarest of all alien energy, possibly going extinct, and almost as dangerous to handle."

The cyan flame disappeared, and a twisting green flame grew in its place.

"The last is the green alien energy, recently discovered in the meteorite that crash-landed at Red Gulch. It Is by far the safest to use, for it has none of the paranormal traits found in the purple or blue energies—" Quint powered off the projector, and hologram winking out. "Unfortunately, no known remnants of the meteorite or its energy remain."

Quint paused in his lecture and adjusted his oversized glasses. "Of course, there could be some discrepancies in my data, but these are my hypothesis so far." Peering curiously over at Kalinka, who had been quiet, he couldn't help but ask, "Doesn't…doesn't any of this surprise you?"

"Well, I knew the basics," she admitted with a small shrug. "At least about the purple and blue stuff."

"You did?"

"Yeah. When I was little, Dad couldn't afford child care, so he always took me to work with him. I learned just about everything he did about robots, that's how I was able to get so far ahead in school."

"Oh. …How come you're into fashion and not science?"

"Because only dweebs do the same things their parents do, duh! …No offense!"

Quint smiled ruefully, not offended at all. Now that he was used to her, he was actually beginning to like Kalinka, and continued. "Because blue and green alien energy are so scarce, Citadel has only managed to collect samples of purple alien energy by-products for my studies." He laid a hand on his chest. "I myself am powered by Quintessence, an energy derived from purple alien energy that has been stripped of all its chaotic properties, making it rather like green alien energy and safe to use as my power source. I have further hypothesis that selective properties from purple alien energy may be put to safe practical application, however experimentation is quite, uh, hazardous."

Kalinka frowned, and Quint gave a small cough, feeling that Kalinka perhaps was finding his research thus far a bit dry, though she said, "It is necessary? Wouldn't it be better just to leave alien energy alone and study anything else?"

Quint smiled sympathetically. "If only it were that simple, but recent events have made it impossible to ignore alien energy. The Red Gulch meteorite made headlines not too long ago, but there was also Dr. Wily's shrink ray, and Lotos," he added with a tremor of fear.

"Gee, I've never heard about any of that."

"They've been on the news. You know, because of Wily." When Kalinka continued to stare blankly at him, he added somewhat sardonically, "…You found out I'm the Green Bomber, yet you've never heard of any of these events? Not even about Wily?"

"Is that that weird old guy Daddy hates? That's his business, not mine," Kalinka yawned. "So what's the big deal about what happened?"

If Kalinka was truly unaware, Quint decided he better show her Lotos's attack on New York City. He brought up new footage onto his holographic projector, in which the physics had been warped in impossible ways as Lotos pretended to grant the wishes of his unsuspecting victims. Humans were trapped in buildings that waved like giant rubber blocks, and ordinary objects like cars, phone booths, and park benches had become alive and were attacking anyone who came too close. Nothing, not even the robo-officers, could counter the turmoil. Purple lightning forked through a green sky above.

"Ew, it's so weird, like something out of a cartoon!" Kalinka murmured. Beat looked frightened.

"Yes," Quint agreed. "This is the true devastation that purple alien energy can wreak when controlled by an alien super-being with sinister intent." He shut off the holographic projector again. "It is therefore vital we understand as much as possible about alien energy and its uses. We have no choice, it is the future—'fight fire with fire' as humans say, otherwise we may all be at the mercy of something we cannot hope to fight."

These words were met with an impressive silence not helped by the dim lighting of Quint's laboratory.

"Well, gee…" Kalinka said finally. Her olive eyes looked back at him. "…Don't you have help?"

"Yes, all of Citadel. But…I don't think they understand the danger. Not yet. But as you saw, Earth is eminently unprepared for an alien invasion."

Kalinka's brain seemed to be working furiously, a small crease appearing in her brow as she bit her lip. She cast one hesitant look at Beat, then finally said in a small voice, "I can help you out," she mumbled, then more confidently, "I'll be your lab partner!"

Quint blinked at her. "Really? A-are you sure?"

"Of course!" She did a perfect pirouette, then flashed him a dazzling, cover girl smile with her arms outstretched. "And you can help me be a super hero!"

…Quint had been afraid she'd circle back to that. It appeared there would be no way out of it.

"Oh, alright," Quint relented with an exasperated smile, and they shook hands. Though he felt thoroughly manipulated, he wasn't too upset. On the contrary, he had secretly wanted a lab partner, someone trustworthy and equally as clever as himself—and, as surprising as he would have thought mere hours ago, he may have found that equal in Kalinka.

Later that day, Quint felt light. They had agreed to begin meeting several times a week—he would help Kalinka with her unusual plan to become a super hero, and in return she would help Quint with his alien energy research.

For the first time in months, he took the evening off, and went for a walk by the ocean. He enjoyed hearing the waves crash against the shore, the cold salty air blowing through his hair, and the gentle crunch of wet sand under his shoes.

Above him, the full moon shone unusually clear.

Mega Man tossed and turned in his bed. He wasn't sure what woke him up, other than vague dreams and an ominous feeling something bad was going to happen.

….Well, with Dr. Wily attacking every month or so for the past two years of his existence, something bad usually did happen on a regular occurrence, he was even too used to it to be anxious about it. Still, Mega Man could not go back to sleep, feeling unusually prickly and on edge. He rubbed his temples and rolled out of bed.

It was one o'clock in the morning, and Dr. Light's laboratory was dark. Careful not to wake anyone, Mega Man crept down the stairs and into the atrium. He had been contemplating grabbing one of the thick Chemistry textbooks from the tall shelves to help relax his mind, but instead settled into a sofa in front of a wide window overlooking the sloping back lawn and surrounding countryside. Hugging his knees to his chest, Mega Man gazed out at the still, clear night, frost gleaming brightly in the moonlight, while the moon peered in at him from its position on the horizon just above the tops of distant skeletal trees.

"You're still up too?"

Mega Man jumped at the voice.

Standing in the doorway behind him was Roll. She was still fully dressed, a paisley bandana tied around her head. She had evidently been working late in her workshop and wore a work smock smudged with oil stains. Her eyes swept over his flannel pajamas, apparently noting that he had been sitting alone in the dark, and she sat down next to him with a frown.

"Were you thinking about Proto?"

Mega Man shrugged. "Do you ever think about him?"

Roll shrugged back. "After his stunt at the election, the sleaze ball isn't really worth thinking about." She sighed. "But how can I not? Especially not with the way Dad has been acting."

It had been three weeks since the election. As governor-elect, Deacon was busy prepping to make good on campaign promises to bolster New York's public school systems and monorail infrastructure. Proto Man's betrayal as his head of security (and the subsequent fallout) had not impacted his popularity severely. In fact, the public was sympathetic to Proto Man's 'plight'. They had liked the image of 'the Red Bomber' helping out Mega Man after the bizarre affair with the Lion Men, and were upset Dr. Wily had 'recaptured and reprogrammed' him (at least, this explanation for Proto Man's deception was what was widely believed and accepted, as very few people knew the truth that Proto Man was an advanced-android with free will).

Proto Man's room at the end of the hallway was still set up for him. Both Mega Man and Roll had caught Dr. Light peering wistfully in whenever he walked by. Mega Man had told Dr. Light and Roll all about his final encounter with Proto Man in the Robot Tool and Assembly Plant. It was obvious that Dr. Light was holding out hope that Proto Man would turn up. Neither Mega Man nor Roll were nearly as optimistic, but neither said anything to Dr. Light, even as the days went past.

"What do you think Proto's up to?" Mega Man asked presently.

"On a night like this? Full moon?" She rolled her eyes. "Being a stubborn jackass, getting into trouble, not caring about anything."

"He cares, but he doesn't want things to change," answered Mega Man fairly.

"You're alright though, after everything?" Roll asked softly.

Mega Man shrugged. "I think so," he answered honestly. Though it had been a dirty trick to pretend to die in Proto Man's arms, and though Proto Man was still presumably working with Dr. Wily, he felt he had achieved a significant victory that night.

They stared out at the moon a little longer.

"So I was thinking, there's a bunch of great metal concerts coming up," Roll broke in finally in a fast, excited whisper. "Nightmare Fuel, Gigavolt, and lot of other bands are touring through New York. We should go—"

"Uh, no thank you," Mega Man interrupted quickly.

"Pleeaase?" Roll begged. "You know I don't have anyone to go with!"

Despite Roll's best efforts to indoctrinate him into metal culture through exposure, Mega Man had yet to find enjoyment in loud concerts packed with headbanging humans dressed in skulls and leather while being trapped in something Roll had called a 'mosh pit'. Selfishly, Mega Man sometimes wished Roll had a friend who shared her interests (thereby letting himself off the hook). Perhaps Proto would have gone with her, if he had really defected from Dr. Wily…

Narrowing her eyes, Roll peered at Mega Man's face. "…Are you sure you're alright? You seem…agitated."

"Trouble sleeping," Mega Man admitted, yawning and scratching his head, "—though talking to you is making me feel better."

"Hey, I got an idea. Let's play Super Ultimate Mutant Fighter III for a while," Roll suggested, eyes sparkling. "I'm not that tired either. Bet I can beat you!"

"It's a Monday night," Mega Man laughed. "I have a full workday ahead of me. We can play tomorrow after I've finished helping Dr. Light in the laboratory."

Roll shook her head ruefully. "Ya know, Mega Man, sometimes I wish you weren't so good," she replied affectionately as they rose to their feet. "Just try not to think about Proto too much, alright?"

"I won't," Mega Man promised, smiling back. "Which shouldn't be too hard. It's been quiet lately…I'm pretty sure after everything that happened, he's avoiding us for a change."

Roll snorted at that, and they went upstairs together, past Proto Man's empty room, bidding good night to each other as Mega Man entered the middle room while Roll went to hers at the other end of the hall.

Yet, as Mega Man crawled back beneath his soft cotton sheets, he still found sleep difficult. Unable to pinpoint what was bothering him, he pulled his covers over his head as he continued to stir restlessly.

It was eleven o'clock in Los Angeles. Kalinka's room was in the penthouse suite of a skyscraper. Two of its walls were ceiling to floor windows that overlooked the city, the roof a large skylight. The lights were off, and Beat had powered down on his perch next to her canopy bed with a contented sigh. Kalinka had changed into a pair of pink pajamas with red piping and stood next to the window, looking outside while brushing her hair absentmindedly.

The bright full moon sailed serenely above a rolling celestial landscape of blue clouds and twinkling stars, giving the smog hanging over Los Angles a dreamy glow. The buildings and streets dazzled as though they too were made of stars. Truly nothing could be more romantic than moonlight, Kalinka reflected.

Excitement for the future filled every part of her, and she smiled to herself. Though every word Kalinka had told Quint was true, Kalinka had another secret motive for wanting to become a super hero. She was thinking of the one who had inspired this new passion for heroics—her masked hero.

His super suit had been red and gray, and he looked like a red flash as he moved as lightly and cleverly as a fox. A black visor obscured his face, and a bright yellow scarf draped carelessly off his shoulder. They had met only twice—first when he had rescued her from some gangsters trying to blackmail her father (the California State Police would surely have trashed them as they always did, but her hero had gotten there first!) then again when he had returned her mother's keychain from a remote-controlled toy that had stolen it. She had a crush on him ever since, and thought of him often.

Kalinka put down the brush on her vanity and picked up the sun-shaped enamel keychain thoughtfully (she always kept her mother's keychain close by). Becoming a hero herself would surely impress her masked hero. What if they met again, and he revealed he felt the same way about her? She daydreamed about talking with him under the moonlight, and wondered what he looked like behind his mask.

…He was probably good-looking. As a rule, mysterious masked heroes were always good-looking. Perhaps he had soft brown hair, with bright green eyes like spring leaves.

…Or romantic black hair with intense blue eyes that changed like light on the ocean.

…Or maybe shining golden hair with enigmatic gray eyes like the surface of the moon…

Clasping her mother's keychain to her heart, Kalinka wished on the moon that, by chance, they would meet again. Then she smiled as she climbed into bed and snuggled into her pillow, closing her eyes.

Proto Man ignored the full moon shining above him. He stared blankly ahead, oblivious to his surroundings, until a red hand waved at an inch's distance in front of his visor.

"Proto Man? Proto Man?"

Proto Man snapped out of his thoughts. "Huh?"

"Don't do that…" Elec Man hissed, sinking back in his seat.

They were surrounded by thin, puffy clouds as they hovered above the Great Basin desert, seated in the cockpit of one of the prototype fighter jets they had collaborated on. Proto Man piloted while Elec Man monitored the jet's systems with his handheld computer. For the past few minutes, Elec Man had occupied himself by looking over the jets gracefully tapered wings at the mesmerizing expanse of sand dunes rising and falling like folds of deep purple silk until finally becoming unnerved by Proto Man's silence.

"Sorry, guess I got distracted. What were we doing again?"

"Speed and maneuverability tests."

"Right."

Proto Man began flipping switches on the control board. Outside, the roar of the jet ceased as the engines cut off. The jet began to fall, the desert ground speeding toward them. Proto Man re-engaged its jet thruster a microsecond before they crashed. The jet shot forward like an arrow, delicately threading between a narrow canyon and several natural archways before climbing like a rocket back into the sky.

Proto Man smiled and looked over at Elec Man. "Well, what do you think?"

Elec Man shrugged. Despite the danger of the free fall, he had not even flinched. It was always difficult to impress him, even with dramatic aerobatic stunts (Proto Man found this lack of reaction to his daredevil piloting ways both amusing yet offensive). Instead, Elec Man's mind was laser-focused in the technical aspects of the jet's construction, constantly hunting for speed optimizations. "It's an improvement over the last model," he said, his eyes glued impassively to his screen. "The modifications you made to the horizontal stabilizer have drastically reduced wind drag, though I've made a few notes for increasing the turbines' power."

Proto Man nodded in satisfaction. "Still, better than anything out there. Kinda makes raiding airbases for jets pointless, huh?"

As though reading his mind, Elec Man remarked curtly, "You haven't raided airbases since before the New York gubernatorial election, not even for fun. You don't want to risk running into Mega Man or Roll."

The smile vanished from Proto Man's face. "I'm just taking a break from all that," he responded stiffly, then quickly changed the subject. "If we really want to push the limits of jet design, we ought to introduce spaceflight capability."

"Space? Why space?"

"The view is spectacular, and you're so far away from everything you just feel so…free."

"Seems like it's just a big boring black void."

"Guess some things have to be seen for yourself." Proto Man paused, getting an idea. "Say…aside from that time Wily was hijacking ships, you've never been out of the country, right?"

"No," Elec Man answered slowly, fidgeting slightly as he glanced up from his handheld computer. "No Syndicate Robot Master has ever left the United States. It would risk exposing the Syndicate's presence to the Robot International Police."

"Ever wanted to?" Proto Man prompted quickly, for he had noticed a subdued note of regret in Elec Man's voice. When Elec Man remained silent in cautious consideration, he continued, "Let's do some real speed tests. I can fly to the best sights. R.I.P. will never be the wiser. No one can catch me, especially not in this jet. I can stay clear of the ocean too if you want."

"The ocean doesn't bother me as much as it used to," Elec Man admitted hesitantly. Proto Man could tell he was struggling with mingled guilt over his past obligations to the Syndicate and burning curiosity, and the curiosity was winning.

Proto Man grinned. "Alright, if you trust me, let's see how fast this jet can lap Earth."

They zipped westward, the sun and moon playfully trading places in the sky in a reverse sunset, wooly clouds swirling over the jet, islands in the Pacific ocean flashing below them. As promised, Proto Man slowed and dropped altitude at some of the best sights. He had an endless list—from sharp snowy mountain peaks to volcanos with flowing rivers of lava, glaciers, tall feathery waterfalls, crumbling ruins and old castles, grassy plains filled with animals, colorful cities with breathtaking architecture—and was constantly discovering more. Despite his usual aloof, haughty pretenses, Elec Man's interest was captivated as he looked out the window, gazing upon views that he had never seen outside of pictures or on television.

It had only been an hour since they had left America. They had been touring Asia (flying over sheer cliffs that cut channels through a blanket of mist, their rocky tops stippled in pine trees with flat brush-like boughs) when Proto Man's communicator began flashing.

"Proto, where are you?" demanded Dr. Wily when Proto Man answered. "I've noticed you've been absent from my side these past few weeks."

"You were shut up in your lab, just wanted to keep out of the way," Proto Man responded airily. "I've just been building jets with Elec Man."

"Building jets? What for?"

"Prepping for the future. You know, just in case that—after you've become the evil emperor of the world—a rebel alliance steals the plans to your galactic doomsday weapon and I (as your evil second-in-command) gotta take out the rebel pilot before they blow it up."

"Whatever!" Dr. Wily snapped impatiently, but he continued on in a cordial and excited tone. "Return to Skull Fortress immediately. I am ready to begin the next steps for world domination, the most perfect plan of my career is about to unfold!"

"Uh…can you start that without me?" Proto Man asked, too used to Dr. Wily's dramatic way of slathering mystery and suspense to his schemes ideas to be genuinely intrigued. "I'll catch up later."

Out of the corner of his eye, Proto Man noticed Elec Man was watching him and smirking, as though reading his mind again. He turned his back on Elec Man, trying to ignore that he was listening in.

Dr. Wily sounded a bit thrown off by his answer. "No, you must be here! It is important, and I have something to show you…" Dr. Wily gave a low, wicked laugh, "…I'm ready to unleash my secret project."

Proto Man resisted sighing, still acutely aware of Elec Man's eyes on him. "Alright, alright, I'll be there." Proto Man switched off the communicator, then turned the jet around in a smooth arc, setting its course back toward the United States. "Sorry, we'll finish testing later," he said to Elec Man while shaking his head, "—Wily's been working on that secret project ever since his plans failed at Red Gulch…I should probably check it out."

"You probably should as his second-in-command, Light," Elec Man responded, smiling.

"Oh shut up," Proto Man grumbled.

After parking the jet in the western hanger, Proto Man headed over to the laboratory alone.

Dr. Wily eagerly awaited him. An alarming smile was fixed to his face as he rubbed his hands together gleefully, his eyes shining as though visualizing the suffering of his enemies.

Proto Man smiled back in mild amusement, then let his gaze slip over to Dr. Wily's secret project, which lay on one of the lab tables, completely hidden under a white tarp. "So this is it, huh? You're finally ready to show me what you've been working on?"

"Yes, the time has come for you to be brought in on the secret. Behold!" Dr. Wily tossed the white tarp away with the same dramatic flourish of a magician revealing his star act.

Proto Man looked down at the robot, then took an involuntary step backward.

Laying on the lab table was an android in night black armor trimmed with gold. His gloves and the feet of his boots were white, and a blue triangular gemstone adorning the front of his chest plate twinkled in the flickering fluorescent light like stars. Easily the boldest part of his armor were twin pieces of contoured metal, golden on the inside and black on the outside, that flared outward from a blue four-point star on the forehead of his helmet all the way around to the back of his head. Proto Man wasn't sure what Dr. Wily was going for with this helmet design—fish fins, bat wings, a cobra hood, an avant-garde version of Dr. Wily's own hair—yet one thing remained for sure—

—Dr. Wily's secret project was unmistakably a bomber robot.

Proto Man rounded slowly on Dr. Wily. "I thought you were rebuilding—doesn't matter. Who the hell is this?"

"This is Bass," proclaimed Dr. Wily, completely oblivious to Proto Man's tone. "—And this is his support unit, Treble," he added, casting aside a second tarp Proto Man hadn't noticed earlier.

A large robo-wolf lay powered down on the floor. He was not at all like the monstrous werewolf robots Dr. Wily had once created, but (admittedly) beautifully crafted like real wolves in the wild (and looked equally as dangerous). Treble had twilight purple armor trimmed with gold that complemented Bass's armor, white synthetic fur, lethal-looking claws, and was easily twice the size of Rush.

Proto Man shook his head in disbelief. "Bass and Treble, huh? Musical names, just like Rock and Roll. Real cute, Doc."

"Yes," Dr. Wily agreed, looking upon Bass with something like paternal pride. "I have been studying that blue menace, hoping to create a similar robot—"

"You have not!" Proto Man burst out angrily. "You just copied me!"

Red splotches appeared on Dr. Wily's boney cheekbones. "Well, you and Mega Man are built from the same plans," he retorted tersely, shooting Proto Man an annoyed look.

Proto Man stalked closer to Dr. Wily, his clenched fists shaking. "You're replacing me? After everything we've been through?"

He couldn't believe this! Sure, Proto Man has been blowing off all his duties as second-in-command for the past two months (only hearing how the rest of Robot Masters were doing from Top Man, who often visited the western hanger) and not really paying attention to what Dr. Wily was up to at all, but this was completely uncalled for! If Dr. Wily thought he could just drop this news casually, he had another thing coming, for Proto Man was fully prepared to ruthlessly defend his position out of sheer indignation and principle…

Dr. Wily looked genuinely taken aback by Proto Man's behavior. "What? I'm not replacing you!" His face widened into a grin. "Don't you see, Proto? Two bomber robots are better than one! Bass can look up to you for mentorship, and you will finally have the little brother you've always wanted."

Proto Man stopped short. "No, that's worse."

"Yeeess," Dr. Wily countered soothingly. "I know how hurt you were when Mega Man rejected you once again. Don't pretend as though you haven't been sulking! 'Building jets,' pah! Well you can forget Mega Man, Bass will be your replacement brother, for he too is built from the same plans as Mega M—"

"That's not how robot siblings work," Proto Man interrupted. "We weren't built by the same person. You're not my father."

Though Proto Man had painstakingly kept his voice level, his words were met with a bit of silence.

"We're kinda like evil roommates, and that's how I like things—" Proto Man added in a gentler tone, relaxing his fists as his anger reluctantly abated.

"Fine, whatever! I always thought calling Mega Man your 'brother' was a silly sentiment anyway," Dr. Wily snapped. His cheekbones had turned to an unflattering shade of radish, but he seemed determined to carry on with the dignity and prestige he felt the moment deserved, as though to spite Proto Man. "Well, now that that's settled, it is time for us all to meet."

"Wait, don't—" Proto Man protested, for he had wanted to persuade Dr. Wily to dismantle Bass and Treble immediately and never speak of them again.

Too late. Dr. Wily had drawn a pocket-sized remote from his pocket, and with a click of a button, both Bass's and Treble's systems began to boot up with a soft hum of servos.

Bass did not activate like a normal android. It was as if he were coming out of a dream, his face tightening and his eyes moving rapidly beneath his lids. When he finally opened his eyes with an effort, he winced at the bright bay light Dr. Wily had positioned directly over him like a searchlight, the pupils in his bright red irises contracting. It reminded Proto Man of a captured wild animal rousing from sedation in a new and strange environment and was about to become very, very angry. Bass, however, remained calm. He blinked and began scrutinizing Proto Man and Dr. Wily in disgruntled puzzlement. From the floor, Treble rose to his feet, shook himself off briefly, and was regarding them with equal silent intensity, as though at a word of command he would pounce on either of them and tear them to shreds, allies or not.

But Dr. Wily once again seemed stubbornly oblivious to the atmosphere of hostility as he cackled triumphantly. "Arise, Bass, the Black Bomber—ultimate warrior of darkness, foe to all that is good, the world shall tremble in the wake of your destruction! Arise Treble, fearsome minion of Bass! With you at my side—and Proto at my other side—humanity shall finally bow down to me!"

Bass wasn't listening. He had sat up and was twisting around to look around the dark dingy laboratory, scowling at the sinister machinery whose indicator lights blinked from the shadows and the thick cables climbing up the walls. Then he grimaced, a hand touching his temple, and glared up at Dr. Wily.

"Why are my memory chips blank? What have you done to me?"

…Bizarre first words. Proto Man's mouth parted slightly as he looked from Bass to Dr. Wily.

"Now, now, don't fret," Dr. Wily cooed as though talking to a small child, stepping towards Bass. "Everything is as it should be…you are just feeling disoriented because your systems haven't fully powered on, but they shall soon, and you will feel much better, my powerful robotic champion of evil!"

Bass recoiled away from Dr. Wily, his face twisting in disgust. "I don't want to be your 'champion'. I don't even know who you are."

Now Proto Man and Dr. Wily were staring at Bass, confused. "Bass, I am your creator," Dr. Wily told him, raising his bushy brows.

Bass's eyes were narrowed. "No you aren't."

"How can you say such a thing?" Dr. Wily hovered anxiously over Bass. "Perhaps your perception circuits haven't fully calibrated yet."

"How could a pathetic loser like you create a robot as powerful as me?" Bass continued in a cold, even voice.

Dr. Wily's nostrils flared, his face turning white with fury. It was one of the rare times he had been rendered speechless.

Bass turned his attention to Proto Man. "Who are you?"

"Proto Man, second-in-command," Proto Man answered with a casual shrug. He did not feel like extending a hand to Bass, nor of giving him any sort of welcome at all.

Bass scoffed. Whatever first impression he might have had of Proto Man seemed likewise to have fallen. "Second-in-command? To him? Why?"

"Bass," Dr. Wily interrupted, his beady blue eyes flashing dangerously as a vein began to pulse on his forehead. "You are my robot, and your purpose is to destroy the one thing between me and world conquest, the titanium menace, Mega Man."

Another scoff. "Who?"

Despite himself, Proto Man could have laughed at the sheer audacity of Bass's disrespect…if he wasn't still a bit suspicious and annoyed with Bass's very existence. He also did not like the still way Treble watched them.

"Mega Man is the worst robot in the world, the Blue Bomber—a nosey do-gooder and busybody," explained Dr. Wily through gnashed teeth. "He has been a thorn in my side ever since the beginning. Every scheme, my beautiful, brilliant work, all thwarted by him!"

"How is any of that my problem?" demanded Bass. "I don't care about any 'Blue Bomber.' I don't even know him."

Dr. Wily's eyes popped at this, and a second vein began pulsing in his forehead. "Of course you must care about Mega Man! You two are to be arch rivals! You must hate him! As my Black Bomber, you are built both as his equal and as his superior, while he is the troublesome creation of my oldest enemy, the cursed Dr. Light!"

"Dr. Light?" repeated Bass sharply. "Is that the scientist you stole me from?"

For someone who had only been activated for only a few minutes, Bass had figured out how to push Dr. Wily's buttons with a sledgehammer.

"I DID NOT STEAL YOU," Dr. Wily shrieked, now nearly stomping with hysterics that would have sent Cut Man and Guts Man cowering under the lab table. "You are my prized creation! It was I who built you, no one else!"

"'Prized creation'?" Bass snorted. "You only wish that were true. I can see from here all you build is junk."

Proto Man was starting to calm down. Though he didn't like the idea of Dr. Wily building his own bomber robot as a new arch rival for Mega Man (that was still his job), he was enjoying watching Dr. Wily's personal little abomination completely backfire in his face. Still, he felt he better intervene before Dr. Wily's head exploded. "Alright, take it down a notch, kid," he said, stepping smugly forward.

Bass eyes snapped toward Proto Man. "Don't call me kid."

"I've been here long before he started working on you. Trust me, you weren't stolen, I'd have noticed. …Probably." Proto Man stifled a laugh, but couldn't keep derision out of his voice as he looked at Bass's helmet. "Besides…who else but Wily would build something like you?"

Bass stared at Proto Man with the utmost fury and contempt. "He's hiding something from me. It's all wrong. I—I can sense it."

"Pshh, you're crazy."

"I'm not crazy."

"I'm telling ya, you were built by Wily. Now act like it and show some respect before I blast you into titanium dust."

"Go to hell," Bass hissed.

Proto Man looked lazily over at Dr. Wily. "Look, Doc, it's clear he won't take orders. He's acting irrational, might even have a problem with his guidance system. I better take him out for ya—just to be on the safe side."

Dr. Wily grew stubborn, his face pinched tight. "He does not have a problem with his computer guidance system!"

Bass leaped from off lab table with a surprising agility that even seemed to take himself off guard, and he landed with an unsure steadiness like a newborn colt taking its first steps. Then his left hand sank into his arm as he formed a blaster. Proto Man watched him carefully. If Bass was a true bomber robot, then he was also an advanced android with free will and could copy weapons, both of which could make him a formidable opponent…

Eyes locked on Bass's plasma cannon, Dr. Wily hastily scrambled backward. "Bass! What is the meaning of this?!"

"There's something in my head…never mind. I don't have time for either of you. I don't belong here. I'm going to go find my creator—"

"It was definitely Wily," interjected Proto Man pleasantly.

"—And my true purpose."

From Bass's side, Treble was still quiet as a shadow, but, responding to the rising tension, his lips had curled back from his fangs, and his hackles had risen behind his conical-shaped helmet. Still smirking at Bass, Proto Man calmly drew his own blaster, his old thrill for fighting rising.

Dr. Wily's whipped back and forth between them, aghast. "Bass—Proto—stop! STOP!"

Bass sprang forward. Proto Man fired, but Bass did a sort of double jump midair (an ability Proto Man had never seen before), and the electric blue plasma bolt streaked past and hit a computer terminal instead. Bass had also fired, and Proto Man moved instantly in front of Dr. Wily.

…If Bass had aimed at Dr. Wily as Proto Man had expected, Proto Man would have parried the shot then made good on his promise to blast Bass into 'titanium dust,' but Bass had aimed above everyone's heads. A phosphorescent viridian plasma bolt hit the ceiling, and huge chunks of metal began crashing down. Proto Man grabbed Dr. Wily by the collar of his lab coat quickly yanked him to safety. On the other side of the laboratory, he just caught sight of Bass slipping through the open laboratory door before a wall of rubble cut off his view and blocked them in.

"…Can I kill him now?" Proto Man asked as Dr. Wily coughed, a cloud of dust filling the air.

Bass ran through the dark twisting halls of this strange fortress, an impending sense of time ticking above his head.

His mind was in a whirl, and he kept scanning his memory chips. Of course, they were still blank save for the data of the past fifteen minutes. Like Treble, he was brand new, everything about him was brand new…yet, he felt he could still sense something was supposed to be there, like a faint imprint of a past life that was gradually slipping away from him like a whirlpool rushing down a drain. There was something important he couldn't forget. Something at the end…

He paused in the middle of one of the long dark corridors, furiously thinking about what he should do next, then caught sight of his reflection in a dark window.

Is this really me? he wondered as he studied himself for a moment. He took off his helmet. Black hair, soft to the touch, swept wildly back from his face. "I look…human," he muttered aloud, grimacing.

Completely baffled, he stared at his reflection a moment longer, then punched the window with his blaster arm. As broken shards flew to the ground, he looked at his fist, uncurling the fingers. It was a mirror of his other hand. A sense of foreignness crept over him, and remembered how unexpectedly light, fast, and powerful his body felt.

Why do I feel so strange…?

He thought back to the faint impressions in the back of his mind, and closed his eyes to better visualize their meaning. Something warm grew in his chest, but no answers came to him. He opened his eyes again, feeling frustrated and lost. Yet when Bass looked down, he noticed Treble had followed him here and was sitting at his side watching him, a patient expression in his ruby-red eyes.

Bass's mood lifted. "You don't take orders from those idiots either, do you? Glad I'm not the only sane one around here," he told Treble, smiling. "Stick close. Something weird's going on. I don't trust either of them. We were definitely stolen…those assholes."

Then Bass looked out the broken window. A warm breeze of dry desert air played over his face, ruffling his hair. Bass's lips parting as he gazed at the full moon and starry sky above the shadowy badlands, an indescribable feeling washing over him as he beheld the outside world. He almost forgot about Dr. Wily, Proto Man, and the gloomy laboratory.

But the fading memories still itched at the back of his mind, and urgency soon returned to him. Beckoning to Treble, he replaced his helmet, stepped through the broken window, and began running across the sandy plains to get as far away as possible from Skull Fortress.

To be continued…

Chapter Text

Bass and Treble raced along the deep canyon that cut through the badlands.

A loud buzzing drone filled the air. Bass glanced back where they had come. He could see the many towers of Skull Fortress silhouetted against the night, the sockets of its horned skull facade glowing in the dark, and a swarm of shadows rising above it like gnats. A fleet of skullcopter had taken to the air, their bone-white armor gleaming in the moonlight, the shining beams of searchlights sweeping the desert.

Bass turned around sharply with his blaster drawn, "Do those fools really think they can stop me?" he muttered aloud, taking aim. But before he fired, a flash of light at his side caught his attention. He looked down. Treble had morphed into a jetboard and was hovering at knee level in front of Bass, waiting patiently.

Bass looked from Treble to the skullcopters, decided the skullcopters weren't worth wasting precious time, then hopped aboard Treble's jetboard, and together shot up into the night sky, leaving Skull Fortress behind.

As the jagged peaks of badlands fell beneath them, the wind whistling over the contours of Bass's helmet, Bass closed his eyes, concentrating. He felt—or perhaps sensed—a feeble pull, something tugging at him like a ghostly beckon, its presence nearly non-existent. Opening his eyes, Bass pointed to the southern sky.

"Fly that way," he urged Treble.

As alarms rang through Skull Fortress, Dr. Wily, muttering furiously under his breath, was busy righting any fallen lab equipment that hadn't been crushed by the ceiling cave-in. He shot Proto Man a beady-eyed glare.

"This is all your fault! You scared Bass off!"

Proto Man gave a lazy shrug, not bothering to help Dr. Wily clean up. "Didn't have a choice. You saw for yourself he was out of control."

"He's just confused," Dr. Wily said stubbornly, scooping up a pile of attack-bot blueprints that were scattered across the floor.

"Say, there isn't there something about Bass you're not telling me, is there?" Proto Man asked, thinking back to how Bass had complained about having blank memory chips and his subsequent strange behavior.

"No! Of course not! He is just a bomber robot, like you and Mega Man," Dr. Wily responded much too quickly as he suddenly stood bolt upright with a little jerk. Then his face split into a fiendish grin. "With him, I had devised a plan where he would pose as an ally to Mega Man, win the Lights' trust, then betray them when the moment is right!"

"We just tried something like that, Wily, and it didn't go well, in case you've forgotten? No way the Lights' would have fallen for it again! Not that it matters now. Face it, Doc, you've created a monster—and you need me to put him down for ya."

"Give him time!" snapped Dr. Wily, purple in the face as he stuffed the blueprints into a filing cabinet by his desk. "Bass will come back—you shall see."

Proto Man gave Dr. Wily another lazy shrug, smirking. He had gotten over his initial outrage over discovering Dr. Wily had copied his designs to build his own bomber robot, for the thought of hunting down and destroying Bass sounded fun. He only regretted how easy it would be—Bass may have taken him by surprise earlier, but no one messed with Proto Man and got away with it—not even another bomber robot.

But for now, he'd humor Dr. Wily and give Bass a sporting chance to run.

When Mega Man had finally fallen asleep again, the fitful dreams returned, this time clearer than before. The laboratory was on fire, and from across the flames, a black figure of his size and height gazed triumphantly back at him while holding his family trapped in mortal peril. Though Mega Man ran toward the figure, desperate to reach his family, he could not gain any ground, the flames burning hotter. All the while the figure laughed tauntingly, both his equal and his superior…

"You're far too weak, Blue Bomber…" the figure called in a haughty voice. "You can't even save your family. Come fight me, if you dare—you wouldn't want them to suffer."

It was the type of nightmare Mega Man could not wake up from, though he tossed and turned in his sleep. What was the figure? Mega Man couldn't understand it. It was at the same time familiar and yet some sort of…monster.

All in all, Mega Man got a poor night's sleep. As the sun began to shine cheerfully through the white curtains of his bedroom window, he tugged his blankets over his head, irritably feeling the light was much too bright.

Bass and Treble had been flying a little over two hours. The eastern sky had turned a rosy pink as the sun began to slip over the desert horizon. The air felt much warmer, though the landscape shared the same rocky plateaus and striped mesas of the badlands surrounding Skull Fortress.

Without knowing why, Bass instinctively knew they were close. He began scanning the ground—then he saw it, a large circle at the center of a red sandy plain. Treble dropped altitude, and they landed at the edge of a crater large enough to be a drained pond.

Bass peered into the wide basin. This crater was a few months old, the sides smoothed from wind. It looked like some sort of explosion had taken place. There were barely discernible bits of metal, dusty and misshapen as though exposed to great heat, though not much was left—it looked like the area had been picked clean, with footprints scuffing the sand all around.

Bass stared hard at the center of the crater, a roaring sensation building in his ears, and his chest grew warm.

What is this place…?

At his side, Treble looked up at Bass and gave a soft whine.

Bass suddenly straightened. "Shh," he murmured urgently, for he had heard approaching footsteps. He whirled around, blaster drawn and locked directly on the chest of the figure behind them.

The figure was boxy and awkward looking, made of silver-painted foam sheets glued together, its limbs incased in plastic accordion hoses, a pair of wire antennae sticking out of its cubic helmet.

Bass lowered his blaster. It was just a human in a stupid costume.

"Yo, alien," the human called to him in a rasping voice. "No breaks! You can look at the robot battlefield crater on your own time."

"I'm not an alien, I'm a robot," Bass called back coldly.

"Look, whatever man, take it up with Mayor Red."

"Where am I?"

"What, the sun baking your noggin'? This is Space Gulch, historic site of the world-famous glowing green meteorite that crashed here last summer. Alien attack and everything. It's all in the employee brochure." From the cutout slit in the cubic helmet, the human's dull eyes swept over Bass's armor, and he shook his head. "That is some crazy gitup. Did you make it yourself?"

Bass looked past the human toward the human settlement behind him, taking it in for the first time. "…Space Gulch?" he murmured.

It appeared to be some sort of human tourist attraction. Though it did not look open yet, long lines for carnival rides already wound around buildings decorated with garish wooden cutouts of green aliens with black insectoid eyes and robots with boxy bodies and claw-like hands, not unlike the costumed human before him. Piping music drifted toward them as some of the rides started up for the day. Bass's lips parted as he grew even more confused. None of this seemed familiar, nor had any obvious importance.

"This is stupid. Why did I even come here? …What am I looking for?" he muttered to Treble, defeated. "Why is everything in my brain…so…scrambled!" he kicked a rock, launching it down a gorge. "It's that Wily's fault. Stupid human." He thought back to the conversation with Dr. Wily, then a new thought occurred to him. "…I bet it has something to do with Dr. Light."

Dr. Light—for some reason, the name sent a shiver down titanium his spine.

The human who had mistaken him for a worker was listening in on his conversation with a suspicious expression. He gave a gruff snort. "You're crazy!"

"I'm not crazy," said Bass, shooting the human a severe glare. "Tell me—where does Dr. Light live?"

"Dr. Light? That scientist guy?" The human spat on the ground. "Why, New York City, of course! Everybody knows that."

"New York City…" murmured Bass contemplatively.

Treble gave a short, warning growl. Bass had heard movement as well and turned—two Robot Masters were heading their way along the desert, their eyes fixed on Bass and Treble. One had brown armor adorned with shiny golden stars, the other had white-silver arrmor that gleamed mirror-like in the morning sunshine.

"Who are you all supposed to be? Do you work here too?" demanded the human.

"Gemini Man and Star Man, and not anymore," responded Star Man. A small fire had glinted in his eyes as he glanced over at Space Gulch, but then they softened as they flickered curiously from the crater back to Bass. "Dr. Wily thought you might come here…"

Bass pointed his blaster at Star Man. "Tell that stupid old man I don't like to be followed."

"Drop the blaster, dumbass," spat Gemini Man, his eyes narrowed. "Wily sent us to get you. He's got the whole fortress looking for you!"

"What in tarnation is going on out here?" cried a fourth voice. Another human had appeared, wearing a gaudy outfit comprising of a ten-gallon hat, a bolo tie with a UFO-shaped clasp, a silver fringe jacket, and cowboy boots embroidered with stars and planets. His vulture-like face eyed them suspiciously. "If you ain't working here and yer not payin' customers then you can just mosey on out!"

Star Man stiffened at the sight of the human.

"Don't you recognize me, mayor?" he asked, his low husky voice growing colder.

"Now why would I know any highfalutin weirdos like you?" returned the human, hands on his hips as he jutted out his long chin.

"Can it, human, this is between us robots," growled Gemini Man. He fired a laser from his blaster, which hit the ground between both humans' feet, then ricocheted upward, reducing a billboard with a meteorite on it into a pile of ashes. With a yell, both humans threw their arms up and ran back toward Space Gulch.

"Now, as I was saying—" Gemini Man began, looking back at Bass.

Blam.

Bass had fired at Gemini Man—but Star Man had darted quickly between them, a barrier of shimmering star-shaped energy whirling around him. Bass kept up the attack, pelting the force field with viridian blasts while Star Man and Gemini Man took cover behind it.

"Stop firing at us you crazy shit, we're teammates!" Gemini Man shouted over the thundering noise of the two energies colliding with one another.

"I don't have time for you—and I'm not crazy," Bass growled back. He aimed one last super shot just as Star Man's force field failed, and both Star Man and Gemini Man were knocked backward, crashing with a small puff of dust over a hundred feet away.

Treble had transformed back into a jet, and Bass hopped on. This time, they sped east, toward the rising sun—to New York City, where Dr. Light lived, and hopefully answers to the riddle within his mind lie.

As Bass left, Gemini Man and Star Man were busy digging themselves out of the desert ground, Gemini Man cursing angrily while spluttering up sand.

"I don't get it, why did he come here?" he grumbled through gnashed when they were finally standing again, both brushing dust off their armor. "Nothing but a corny tourist trap and a Robot Master graveyard."

"I dunno, but I'd bet it had something to with that blue gemstone on his chest," answered Star Man, dropping his voice while glancing nervously toward Space Gulch. "Keep this to yourself, but Wily got it from here, only he doesn't want everyone knowing about it. He always had it with him whenever he asked me questions about what happened at Red Gulch."

Gemini Man whistled and shook his head. "Well, the idiot's run off again. Let's leave this creep town…unless you want to torch it first," he added softly as he stepped closer to Star Man, reaching out to brush a patch of dust from his shoulder.

"No," replied Star Man, though his brown eyes twinkled appreciatively as he looked back at Gemini Man. "Thanks again for coming with me as backup." He smiled shyly, then grew serious again. "We need to report back to Wily that Bass wouldn't come back with us."

Gemini Man sighed, squinting toward the horizon Bass had disappeared toward. "Wily's not going to like that."

Mega Man had slept in late that morning—later than Roll, even. It was so uncharacteristic of Mega Man that Roll teased him about it when he finally got up and came downstairs. Sheepishly, Mega Man told Roll about the nightmare—which like most nightmares sounded silly in broad daylight.

"Do you think it means something?" Roll asked half-jokingly, half-eagerly. They were both seated at the kitchen table—Mega Man looking over Dr. Light's morning paper while scratching Rush behind the ears, Roll leafing through a magazine.

"I hope not," Mega Man responded, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

Roll looked him over shrewdly and tutted. "Aw, Mega…I bet it's stress getting to you. At least it's just a nightmare, right?"

"I'm not stressed. At least…I don't think I am," Mega Man said honestly.

"You need to relax," advised Roll. "You're spending too much time working in Dr. Light's lab—"

"But I like working in the lab," protested Mega Man.

"You need a break for some fun—"

"Working in the lab is fun—"

"—Like going to some concerts with me!"

Roll slid her magazine across the table, which was open to a full-page spread devoted to her favorite metal bands, advertising their various tours that Roll had mentioned the night before. Mega Man looked down at the tattooed humans with their numerous piercings, their spiked leather outfits, their punk hairstyles dyed in violent hues, and most notably their obvious love for everything to do with the damned.

"That'll just give me more nightmares," he said jokingly, raising a brow at her.

"Alright, you don't have to if you don't want to," Roll sighed, a little disappointed. "But you should take the day off, at least. You know Dad would want you to, he was concerned when you didn't show up at eight as usual. Besides, you'll want to be well-rested in case Wily attacks."

"Alright, alright, if you insist," laughed Mega Man. He was absentmindedly rubbing the back of his neck as a soft prickling sensation ran down his nape. A cold wintry draft seemed to have slipped in through the window. He yawned again. "So what are you doing today?"

"Going to the mall. I need a new windbreaker after my last one got ripped the other weekend when Cut Man and Guts Man ambushed us at the park, and I want to check out power tools at the hardware store. You should come with me! We could stop by an arcade or go to a movie, and it would be a good chance to give Rush a long walk in the city."

At the word 'walk', Rush's ears had pricked upward. He tilted his head toward Mega Mega Man, panting excitedly, his wagging tail beating against the table chairs.

"We could go to the bookstore," added Mega Man, who was also warming up to the idea. "The new volume of Polymer Chemistry for the Advanced Lab Assistant has gotten good reviews."

Roll shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Ugh, I can't believe you actually read those, they're heavier than cinderblocks."

"Cover to cover!"

"Did I overhear you two were going out?"

Dr. Light had come in from the laboratory for his second cup of coffee. He smiled over at them, one hand in his lab coat pocket, the other holding a blue ceramic mug.

"Yeah," answered Mega Man. "Sorry I overslept."

"Oh, it's quite alright. In fact, it reminded me a bit of back when P—" Dr. Light cut himself off with a slight jerk, his face falling. He quickly turned his back on them and busied himself with the coffee pot, then added in a cheerful if distracted voice, "The important thing is for you to spend time together. Please go have some fun, and don't worry about coming home too late."

Mega Man and Roll watched as Dr. Light hurried out again toward his laboratory, then exchanged sad looks.

"I swear if we ever run into Proto again, we're kidnapping him and forcing him into house arrest for Dad's sake alone," Roll whispered in an undertone to Mega Man. "If he doesn't like it, too bad—we'll force him to like it. It's not like we haven't tried being nice about this, and it's what we'd have done for any other robot who had spent the last three years of his life working for Wily and couldn't be reprogrammed."

Mega Man couldn't help but smile at the thought, remembering how much Proto Man had hated when Roll had dragged them to a human Halloween Party for some sibling bonding back when Proto Man was pretending to have defected (not that Mega Man himself had enjoyed the party much either), though he sighed ruefully. "I know, I know…though I can't help but hope that next time we meet Proto, things will be different somehow."

Roll ruffled Mega Man's hair. "I know you can't. He's still our big, stupid brother."

Quint was busy arranging a workplace for Kalinka within his laboratory when an alarm began beeping on his supercomputer.

An incident report from Red Gulch! he thought, terrified.

A few months ago, Quint had returned to Red Gulch (now rebranded as 'Space Gulch') posed as a tourist while secretly scanning for alien energy, but had found nothing. Still, he thought monitoring the area for unusual activity would be prudent—for if alien entries had once been drawn to the area, it might happen again.

Quint shot over to his desk chair. Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, he shut down the alarm and began frantically tabbing through screens. The incident had taken place a little over an hour ago. Grainy security footage from the hidden cameras he had planted showed tourists wearing fanny packs and sun-hats with wire antennas waiting in line for rides. All looked normal so far. He checked the meteorite crash site—it was empty. He checked the mine, which was also empty. Then, at the crater left behind where the alien had disappeared, he could make out three figures.

Quint slumped back in his chair, calming down a little as he played the footage. Oh. It was just Dr. Wily's robots. He watched as the robots engaged in a brief skirmish, then quickly departed, the winner going east, the losers north. The entire incident only lasted a few minutes, and without any lasting damage would be only significant enough to make headlines in Space Gulch's local newspaper. Even the humans had barely noticed the fight, aside from Mayor Red and one of his employees who had been frightened off for getting too close. But what were Dr. Wily's robots doing there in the first place, and what had they fought about?

Though thoroughly puzzled, Quint let out the breath he had been holding, relieved that at the very least, aliens entities had not returned after all. Still, Quint did not like it. It seemed like a precursor to something more nefarious going on. Perhaps it was his imagination, but he felt a prickling sensation originating deep within his Quintessence power core and creeping up the back of his neck like icy fingers. He better forward this report to Dr. Light to be on the safe side, for stopping Dr. Wily and his robots was Mega Man's priority, after all.

To be continued…

Chapter Text

It had been hours since Bass had stormed out of Skull Fortress. The Robot Masters were confused and restless. They didn't understand what was so important about this robot, other than he was powerful, like Proto Man—and didn't take orders, also like Proto Man. But otherwise, Dr. Wily was leaving them almost completely in the dark about what was happening.

Cut Man and Guts Man were nervous they'd be ordered to fight Bass, and argued amongst themselves whether his name was pronounced like the fish or the guitar.

Gemini Man had reported that Bass was the stupidest robot he had ever encountered (even including Spark Man, Gyro Man, Toad Man, and Wood Man in that order) while Star Man only added that Bass had seemed lost. Top Man felt sorry for Bass, and thought of Proto Man, wondering how he felt about having a new bomber robot around.

Quick Man was competitively skeptical that Bass was really as good as rumored and doubted he was even that fast. Needle Man likewise thought Bass was overrated (despite that neither had actually met him), while Astro Man had hidden under a skulltank.

Hard Man thought the whole thing had been blown out of proportion and that everyone just needed to calm down; Crash Man and Crystal Man were of similar minds, and urged the other Robot Masters to carry on as though everything were normal with some compliance from Bomb Man, Stone Man, Drill Man, and Air Man.

Dust Man theorized Bass was really connected to an extraterrestrial invasion conspiracy (which no one found remotely credible, tired of his tin hatted doomsday rambles), Bright Man annoyed everyone with lightbulb puns he had made up for the occasion, while Heat Man wanted everyone to shut the hell up and leave him alone before slouching off to the manufactory.

…Ring Man and Magnet Man were just hoping to be left out of everything, deeply engrossed with Metal Man and Dark Man on the brand new Nintendo 64 they had just stolen for the armory.

Overall, just a typical day at Skull Fortress.

"I haven't seen you and Wily fight like this in a long time," Elec Man said quietly, his eyes glinting as he watched Proto Man pace the dark hallway outside of the western hanger.

"It's that new robot Wily built," sighed Proto Man, stopping to lean against one of the rusty, steel-plated walls across from Elec Man. He told his first hand account of Bass's activation, how Bass had rejected Dr. Wily as his creator, and Bass's subsequent betrayal. "His circuits are obviously flipped," he ended with a snort.

Elec Man frowned doubtfully. "Hmph. I'm having a hard time picturing Wily creating someone with that much sense."

"Well he won't be around for long. If I find him, I'm trashing him. There's something weird about him."

Though Proto Man detested Bass, he wasn't in a hurry to destroy him. The chaos Bass was creating was amusing, and it served Dr. Wily right for creating Bass at all.

Elec Man peered at him keenly. After a moment, he asked, "Why go after him at all? If Wily has built another lieutenant, that frees you up to to focus on things you like rather than be at Wily's every beck and call."

"I like being second-in-command," Proto Man said indignantly.

"…You were reluctant to even report to Skull Fortress earlier when Wily asked for you."

"Tch, I just don't like being interrupted in the middle of a flight, but I'm still my old criminal self."

"…Does destroying Wily's newest creation count as criminality?"

"I get what you're hinting at, but nothing's changed," Proto Man said stiffly. Then, to prove a point, he pushed himself away from the wall while cracking his knuckles, "Anyway, I'm heading out. Wily still thinks he can talk the little monster around, and if I let that go on too long without intervention, they'll burn the whole world down. Besides…I could never resist a good fight."

As they hovered above New York City, Bass and Treble gazed down at the sprawling mass of skyscrapers that stretched all the way across the horizon. It was an intimidating mess of noise and movement and stank of pollution from cars, and everywhere humans, humans, and more humans. How was Bass supposed to find Dr. Light? He didn't even know what he looked like!

Bass wished the helpful force that had lead him to the crater would guide him here, but the feeling seemed to have faded even further, like a flame about to go out. A part of him was starting to think he was imaging things—after all, Space Gulch had been a dead end—but no. He must find Dr. Light. The alternative was to go back to Dr. Wily, which was not an option…

Bass looked down at Treble, who had his head cocked to the side, watching him patiently. Clearly, Treble didn't like the city much either—but a silent understanding passed through them—Treble would follow Bass no matter where he went.

Bass crouched down and scratched Treble's head appreciatively as he whispered, "Find a place to land."

It was the midday rush hour. The streets were jammed with honking cars and the sidewalks were packed with humans bundled in thick coats with their collars pulled over their faces as they funneled in and out of subway tunnels, monorail staircases, and the tall skyscrapers. Everyone was in a hurry and no one seemed to notice Bass and Treble gliding above their heads, and at first there appeared to be no space to land. Finally, Treble headed toward a small park, the grass stunted and packed into the hard wintry ground.

The humans who had been strolling in the park gasped and stepped back as Treble and Bass landed. Some looked frightened, others curious, and they began murmuring things to one another.

"Whoa…they're like Mega Man and Rush, but cooler," said a kid in a hooded parka, pointing up at them.

"Don't go near the strange robot," said the kid's caretaker as she pulled him back while casting Bass a reproving look.

"Where's Dr. Light?" Bass called, wanting to leave as soon as possible. He hated being stared at, and humans made him feel uncomfortable.

"Dr. Light's laboratory is north of the city," said another human, who was also looking at Bass suspiciously.

A human police officer with a sergeant's badge caught sight of the disturbance in the park and marched toward Bass. "Hey! Who the blazes are you?" he demanded. "Identify yourself and your purpose, robot!"

Bass scowled at the police sergeant. "None of your business."

"Disobeying an order from a police officer, eh robot?" The police sergeant gave him a nasty leer. "Robo-officers! Arrest that robot!"

A group of robo-officers that had been stationed at the corner monitoring traffic swiveled their heads toward Bass, then began advancing as a group, their hands reaching for their laser pistols. Treble went completely rigid and displayed his fangs in a silent snarl while Bass watched the robo-officers with narrowed eyes. There was a brief pause, then the robo-officers opened fire.

Bass sighed as he dodged the laser blasts, drew his own blaster, and began firing back. These drones were pathetic—his green plasma blasts cutting easily through them as Treble leaped from robo-officer to robo-officer, knocking them down and ripping off their heads with his teeth. Soon there was a smoldering heap of mangled steel where the robo-officers had once stood. Treble padded quietly back to Bass's side as Bass dropped his blaster.

The human civilians screamed and scattered out of the park. The police sergeant, despite that Bass had not so much as pointed a blaster at him, was hiding behind a park bench while shouting into a walkie talkie. "Unidentified robot, armed and dangerous! Requesting all available units to Jupiter Street park, now!"

Sirens began to ring through the streets.

"Excellent, Bass!" cackled a voice from a loudspeaker. A large, skull-shaped aircraft had dropped from the sky like a shadow, its large propeller letting out a whoosh of air. Through the oblong cockpit windows, Bass could make out Dr. Wily's face grinning fiendishly down at him. "You may have skipped a few steps in my glorious plan, but your initiative to start an invasion on New York City is commendable! You truly are living up to my genius prestige!"

Bass whirled toward the aircraft. "You again!" he growled. He lifted his blaster and fired.

The skull-shaped aircraft swerved violently out of the way, the green plasma blast smashing into a roof-mounted billboard behind it. "Bass, why are you attacking me?" shrieked Dr. Wily, all mirth vanishing from his face as his eyes popped. "The police are your enemy!"

"I can have more than one enemy," Bass called back, firing again.

The skull-shaped aircraft retreated to a safer altitude. Meanwhile, robo-officers were now pouring in from every side, and above, skullcopters were filling the sky.

"Shit," Bass muttered as he and Treble glanced around, unsure of which direction to run. He glared at Dr. Wily's forces. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

Mega Man and Roll were at the book store—Mega Man perusing the science section while Roll browsed through comics—when they heard a familiar combination of sounds that made them go still—police sirens accompanied by the drone what sounded like a fleet of helicopters. They rushed to the window. Outside, civilians were running down the street in panic, and off in the distance smoke was rising in the air. Rush, who was tethered to a parking meter outside, began growling.

"What the heck is going on?" muttered Mega Man as the other shoppers and store employees began stampeding towards the exits.

"Holy shit—it looks like Wily's launched a full-fledged invasion," said Roll, pointing to the skullcopters that were circling above the skyscrapers.

Mega Man and Roll glanced at each other.

"Good thing I brought my armor," Mega Man said dryly as he slung his canvas backpack off his back.

After changing into his armor in the vacated bookstore's restroom, Mega Man joined Roll outside, unleashed Rush, and ran toward their parked convertible.

"This is nuts," Roll commented. "Wily hasn't even announced a scheme yet, it's almost like this wasn't planned!"

"It looks like they are looking for something," agreed Mega Man, squinting up at the skullcopters.

"Well, whatever they want, we better send them packing before they tear apart the whole city!" said Roll. "Let's split up and take out as many as we can—I'll take the north side, you take the south side."

She pulled her skycycle out of the trunk and took off toward the sky, while Mega Man and Rush continued down the street on foot.

Most of the city was evacuating, the rotating lights of firetrucks and and police cruisers flashing off windows. Further ahead, the sounds of laser fire, shouting, and the pounding of titanium boots could be heard.

A prickle ran down Mega Man's neck as he crossed an intersection, and he slowed to a stop. As if someone had tapped on his shoulder, he instinctively turned to look down the cross road. There, in the distance, over a field of flames, he saw a shadow—some sort of robot that seemed…familiar. Its back was turned toward Mega Man, and it was running, a large four-legged shadow at its side, both whisking into a narrow alleyway.

Deja vu swept over Mega Man. He had a strong desire to follow the robot, but Rush suddenly barked warningly—a squad of attack-bots was rushing toward them, blasting parked cars out of their way. Mega Man felt momentarily irritated, then turned his full attention to the attack-bots while drawing a blaster.

Cold wind whipped through Roll's hair as she flew above the skyline. Amidst the skullcopters, she spotted the Skullker flying over the tops of skyscrapers in an erratic way like a fly over a smoking garbage heap. She could see Dr. Wily craning his neck over the flight instruments to peer down into the streets below, a vein bulging hideously in his forehead, his expression as anxious as someone who had just dropped something precious.

Drawing a circular saw from her utility arm, Roll strafed over the Skullker's fin-like vertical stabilizer.

"Think fast, Wily!" she shouted, firing.

Dr. Wily's face snapped up just in time to lock eyes with her as the circular saw sank into one of the Skullker's wings. The Skullker gave a violent shake and began wobbling like a falling top. She could hear Dr. Wily screeching in terror as he struggled to regain control, the Skullker careening toward the East River. Smirking, Roll turned her attention back to the attack-bot army ravaging the city.

After weaving through the grid like streets of New York, fighting off attack-bots and robo-officers alike, Bass and Treble were finally able to lose pursuit. Treble transformed into a jetboard, and they left the city behind them to head north. Dr. Wily's attack-bots were busy fighting the police, both sides equally disorganized as they clashed in the streets, tearing up asphalt, starting fires, and damaging all surrounding buildings. Dr. Wily himself was no where to be seen.

Already, Bass and Treble approved the change in landscape. The air smelled earthy, and quiet country roads wound beneath them. The human residents were spread far apart from one another, separated by rolling fields of frostbitten grass and thick forests full of leaf-bare trees.

Bass scanned the buildings intently, and by luck spotted one that looked quite different from the others—the architecture was cubic on one side with many antenna sticking out of the roof, on the other was a huge egg-shaped structure adorned by many large oblong windows that glittered jewel-like in the sun. It seemed vaguely…familiar.

"There," he murmured to Treble. "Let's land…quietly."

Dr. Light was sitting at his computer watching news reports, puzzling what Dr. Wily was after in New York City. It seemed like the attack-bots didn't have a specific target, almost as if they were searching for something, though what that something could be, Dr. Light could not possibly imagine.

Earlier that day, Quint had messaged Dr. Light about Dr. Wily's robots visiting one of the craters in Red Gulch. This troubled Dr. Light, he knew the spot well—for one of Dr. Wily's Robot Masters had perished there, sacrificing himself to save them all from an alien force that would have destroyed the planet. Dr. Light wondered if, perhaps, for that very reason, the place held a special sentimental reason to Dr. Wily's remaining Robot Masters—though why they should fight there, he did not know. At the time, he had thanked Quint for the information and assured him that Mega Man would handle Wily's robots if they were up to something—now he wondered what possible connection this incident could have to the chaos in the city…

Dr. Light was just pausing for a moment to stretch his neck, when his eyes fell upon something that caused him to sit rigidly up in his chair.

An unfamiliar bomber robot was standing in his laboratory. He appeared designed for fear and intimidation, with armor black as a bat's wing, blood red eyes, and two sweeping crests on his helmet like the hood of a cobra. At the bomber robot's side was a large and powerfully built robo-wolf in purple armor. Dr. Light's heart pounded. Only Dr. Wily could have built them, they were obvious meant as diabolical mirrors of Mega Man and Rush. How the robot had entered, Dr. Light had not heard. Regretfully, he had recently made the laboratory's security systems lax, hoping that Proto would show up…he had never expected anything like this.

"Is anyone else here?" the robot asked, his eyes scanning the various work stations, Dr. Light's half finished cup of coffee on the table, and the shoes by the door.

"No," Dr. Light said honestly, his voice steady despite that these might be his final moments. Doris was running errands, and both Eddie and Met were on standby in the field with Mega Man and Roll. If he could move his desk chair over to his supercomputer, perhaps he could alert Mega Man and Roll, but he'd have to be careful not to provoke the robot, for he wasn't sure what the he was capable of…

The robo-wolf was silently prowling around the laboratory, stopping to sniff one of Rush's chew toys, his lips curling disdainfully backward from white sharp fangs. The bomber robot had picked up a picture from a side table.

"Is this Mega Man?" he asked in a low voice, frowning down at a smiling photo of Mega Man in his armor—Roll had clipped it from a magazine and framed it a year ago, claiming it had captured Mega Man's good side. Mega Man was embarrassed by the photo, but Dr. Light had kept it.

"Yes. He's my son."

"Hmmph. I'm supposed to fight him." The robot rolled his eyes, as if the very idea were beneath him, and replaced the picture on the table.

Dr. Light had already guessed that that was the prime purpose of this robot. "And I suppose you have come here to kidnap me," he said coldly as he surreptitiously pushed his chair a few inches toward the supercomputer.

The robot gave a small start and looked toward Dr. Light. "…Huh?"

"And perhaps destroy my lab?" Dr. Light added with a small sweeping gesture at his workspace.

The robot stared at Dr. Light, his brows drawn together in confusion. He took a half step forward, then hesitated. "No, I just wanted to talk," he said, his voice dropping nervously. "I need your help. You are Dr. Light, right?"

"Yes," answered Dr. Light, blinking in astonishment. The robot's eyes seemed to light up. "You came to me for help?"

"Yes."

Dr. Light stopped trying to inch toward the silent alarm and reappraised the robot. Now that the initial shock was wearing off, he noticed how much the bomber robot reminded him of Mega Man…shyer perhaps, and with an aura of wild and intense energy not unlike the robo-wolf at his side. "…What's your name?"

"Bass—and this is Treble."

Dr. Light looked from Bass, who was watching him with unblinking earnest, to Treble, who was also watching him but with the same level of aggression a real wolf might watch a bird he had no intention of eating. Realizingly he had quite wrongly judged them based on appearance, Dr. Light's heart stopped pounding. "Please, sit down," he said, gesturing to a chair.

Bass looked at the lab chair in some confusion before settling upon in awkwardly, this custom of curtesy obviously new to him. Treble laid down next to him with his clawed paws crossed.

Dr. Light settled back into his desk chair. "Alright, Bass, tell me about your problem."

Bass slid to the edge of his seat, eager to begin. "There's this human named Wily—do you know Wily?"

"Um, yes, I used to work with him."

"Oh, then you know what an idiot he is. He claims to be my creator, but I know that's a lie. It's impossible he built me." Again, Bass hesitated, and he peered at Dr. Light uncertainly. "I was wondering if, maybe you did?"

There was a brief pause, Dr. Light raising his eyebrows. "I'm sorry, but I did not, though your plans appear to be very similar to two robots I did build."

"Really?" Bass's face fell. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped together, glancing toward one of the oblong windows and let out a short sigh. "I was activated today, but I feel older. I think that man—Wily—stole me and wiped my memories. There's something important I need to do—but I can't remember what. And there's this other bot called Proto Man—do you know Proto Man?"

"Yes, of course, I built him," said Dr. Light, once again choosing to be honest—for some reason, he had intuition that this would be a safe thing for Bass to know the truth about.

"Oh. Well he's an ass." Bass's eyes slid back to Dr. Light's. "They're keeping something from me. I know it."

Dr. Light frowned at Bass, perplexed—for Bass looked too much like the template of what usually came out of Skull Fortress for him to consider anyone but Dr. Wily as his creator. Yet at the same time, Dr. Light couldn't ignore how adamant Bass was that Dr. Wily couldn't be his creator. It was completely puzzling.

"If you really think you were stolen, I could scan your system," Dr. Light suggested finally in a gentle tone. "That might tell us something."

Bass sat up a little. "Really?"

"Yes, of course."

Dr. Light showed Bass one of his operating tables—one that Mega Man usually used when he needed repairs. Bass hesitated, then climbed on top, lying down with the same trepidation a human might have during a doctor visit. From the floor, Treble had moved to sit by his side. As a robo-wolf, he was quite large, and even sitting his head could easily see over the operating table.

Dr. Light gave Bass a small, reassuring smile. "Alright, I'm going to set up my machine. It will only take a moment."

Mega Man had been fighting attack-bots for about half an hour. Optimistically, he thought the damage to the city wasn't too bad (luckily, it was only an attack-bot invasion, not one with Robot Masters) and already some of the skullcopters were pulling away from the city. He was just running down a cleared street when in the intersection ahead a bright flash of red and yellow caught his eye.

"Proto!"

Proto Man was facing away from Mega Man, his head panning from side to side as he searched the deserted streets while a traffic light changed colors above him. At the sound of his name, he gave a small start, his shoulders going rigid, but he turned toward Mega Man with a smirk. "Mega Man."

Mega Man returned the smirk. He hadn't seen Proto Man since their fight at the Robot Tool and Assembly Factory after Deacon's election, and he could tell Proto Man wasn't pleased to see him.

"So, finally back in action?" he asked innocently, stopping within twenty feet of Proto Man. Though his blaster was still drawn, he kept it pointed to the concrete street. Rush eyed Proto Man warily with his ears flat, but did not growl, waiting for a command from Mega Man.

"Never left."

"You can fool yourself, but you can't fool me."

"Not here for a lecture, Mega."

"Then it's a good you ran into me and not Roll," answered Mega Man, still smirking. "…It's good to see you."

Proto Man hesitated, his head tilted away from Mega Man, then, in an almost inaudible mumble, "...It's good to see you too."

Mega Man wanted to step closer to Proto Man, but decided this would be unwise. "I'd rather talk, but I suppose you'd rather fight?" he asked instead, though he thought Proto Man looked like he wasn't in the mood for either.

As predicted, Proto Man took a few steps back, slipping into the shadows of a side street. "Sorry, Mega…but I don't have time."

"Don't suppose you'll at least tell me what Wily's up to?"

To Mega Man's surprise, Proto Man did.

"Wily built a bomber robot—Bass—with plans to use him as a secret weapon against you."

"Wily built his own bomber robot?" Mega Man blinked, thinking over these implications. "Oh, did—did Wily replace you?"

Mega Man wasn't sure if he should feel sorry for Proto Man…probably not, but the news was still shocking. He also felt a brief shimmer of hope that maybe—just maybe—if Proto Man had been replaced, that he might have gone rogue—

"No," Proto Man answered, immediately dashing Mega Man's hopes while visibly bristling as though reading his thoughts. "As if Wily could—besides, Bass went haywire. Won't take orders. He destroyed half of Wily's lab, now he's on a rampage here. I'm here to bring him in, but honestly, Mega—I'd take him out if I were you. Just giving you a heads up as a favor."

Mega Man froze, not sure if he could trust Proto Man. Unbidden, the strange, premonition-like dream floated back into Mega Man's mind, of the shadow that had threatened his family.

A sudden terror gripped within Mega Man's chest like an icy hand. Dr. Light was alone in the laboratory. If what Proto Man said was true, then Bass would go to Dr. Light's laboratory, he was sure of it, which meant—Dr. Light was in danger!

"I…I gotta go…" Mega Man murmured, half distracted. He whistled to Rush, who transformed into a jetboard. As they blasted off into the air, Mega Man glanced back over his shoulder at Proto Man, but Proto Man was gone.

The scanner swept Bass from the top of his helmet to the toes of his boots and back, then his blueprints appeared on Dr. Light's computer. While Bass waited, Dr. Light began to study.

At first, Dr. Light was not in the least surprised by what he saw. Bass was a bomber robot, like Mega Man and Proto Man, and also an advanced android with self-determination like Proto, Rock, and Roll (which had allowed him agency to rebel against Dr. Wily). Though perhaps there was not much resemblance—Bass's features were sharper, his skin golden brown, his eyes more angular—Dr. Wily had lovingly copied Proto Man's design to create Bass, this much had been obvious since Dr. Light had first laid eye on him.

Yet there was one key difference.

A chill set into Dr. Light as he leaned forward in his chair, his eyes glued to the analysis of Bass's power core. He had seen these energy readings before—the energy from the meteorite that had crashed in Red Gulch—green alien energy. This energy made robots incredibly powerful at a terrible cost—Dr. Light would never forget the heartbreaking struggle of trying to keep Snake Man alive while green alien energy slowly destroyed his body—but Bass seemed stable. Yes, Dr. Wily had made some ingenious modifications to ensure Bass's body would be compatible with alien energy (he was quite like Quint in that respect—though unlike Quint, Bass did not appear to be running at full power, at least, not yet). But most incredible of all, according to these readings, Dr. Light was quite positive that the alien energy powering Bass was the exact same as the alien energy that had bonded with Snake Man's power core…

Oh Albert…what have you done?

"Did you find out something?" Bass asked eagerly, sitting up.

Dr. light gave a small start. "Yes, well—" he forced himself himself to calm down—yet he couldn't help but glance over at Bass with pity and wonder. "As I said, you are similar to two of my own robots, from your armor and abilities to your advanced programming—but you are powered by an unusual power source, something unlike anything else on Earth."

Dr. Light nodded toward the unusual blue gemstone set in the chestplate of Bass's armor, which twinkled like stars, wondering how much more he should disclose to Bass.

Though Bass listened patiently to this information, his interest remained locked on one point alone. "Did you find out who my real creator is?"

"Yes. Your material and components are all completely new. I'm sorry if this is not what you want to hear, Bass, but I'm certain that you were created by Dr. Wily, just as he claimed."

What Dr. Light didn't add was that he had been quietly observing Bass's character, and could see parts of Dr. Wily in him. In fact, Bass reminded him of Albert back in college, curious and quiet, the person Dr. Light had thought Dr. Wily would always be before he had become twisted by hatred and jealousy, back in those happy times when he thought he had had a friend.

"What? That's impossible," said Bass, standing up. "It has to be someone else! Is there…any other roboticists I could consult?"

"I'm afraid they would only give you the same information, Bass," Dr. Light replied gently.

Struggling to reconcile with this fact, Bass clenched his fists and scowled at the floor. "But…but… I have these weird feelings, like I had another life. I can't really piece it together…and it's getting worse. It's all disappearing. But there's something I'm supposed to do, but it's all pointless if I can't remember!" he said desperately, his eyes darting up furtively toward Dr. Light. Then, somewhat pleadingly, he added, "I-I'm not crazy…"

Dr. Light felt bad for Bass, who sounded both frustrated and lost—and (though Bass would hate to hear it) a bit like Dr. Wily.

"Crazy is an ugly word, and no, you're not crazy," Dr. Light assured him, resting a hand on Bass's shoulder and giving him a gentle squeeze. "…Bass, where are you and Treble staying tonight?"

Bass looked taken aback by the question, apparently he had not considered it before. He looked over at Treble. "I…dunno."

With a pang of guilt, Dr. Light thought of Proto's empty room—yes, that would do for now. They'd make new arrangements later (already, he was unconsciously planning a permanent residence for Bass within the laboratory)—

Treble rose to his feet, sniffing the air. Bass had gone very still, his eyes darting from oblong window to oblong window, listening.

"Someone's coming," he muttered.

Dr. Light listened too—then he heard it, the drone of propellers.

Bass stood up, his blaster drawn. "Not again, they've found me…"

Dr. Light looked from the windows, then to Bass, a sudden thought striking him. "Homing signal," he whispered. "Bass, you have a circuit emitting a homing signal within your chest—"

But before Dr. Light had finished, half the lab exploded—and all went dark.

Mega Man's fear increased as Rush jetted away from the city. He had tried calling Dr. Light three times, and there had been no answer. And then, he saw something that nearly froze him still—a plume of smoke rising on the horizon.

"No…oh please no…" Mega Man muttered to himself, a prickling sensation running down the nape of his neck. Rush gave a terrified yelp, his jet thrusters roaring as he flew faster.

The laboratory was on fire, the bodies of attack-bots littering the ground. Mega Man spotted Dr. Light easily by the white of his lab coat. He lay sprawled on the ground, his eyes closed, his lab coat torn and covered with dust as a small trickle of blood ran down his face. Hovering over him was Bass, Dr. Wily's bomber robot, and a purple robo-wolf support unit.

Time slowed for a moment. It was just like Mega Man's nightmare—except, now he could move. He was not powerless to stop the shadow baring down on Dr. Light—

Terror and rage took control of Mega Man, as did a detached calm. The ground rushed toward them as Rush dropped altitude, Mega Man springing off with blaster drawn.

"Hello, Bass," he called, firing.

Bass, taken by surprise, was flung backward into a totaled skullcopter with a dull crunch. A second later he burst out of the rubble, his eyes locked on Mega Man with contracted pupils in manner similar to Dr. Wily when he was in a deep rage—Mega Man knew immediately from this look Bass would be relentless. "You?! You!"

"Proto Man told me all about Wily's little plot—" Mega Man replied with cold smugness, his blaster still pointed at Bass. "So, I bet you are going to pretend you were helping protect Dr. Light against Wily's robots? The invasion in the city was just a lure to keep Roll and I distracted while Wily's real plot unfolded here!"

"I don't know what you're talking about! I don't work for Wily!"

Mega Man scoffed. He'd have to remember to thank Proto Man later for tipping him off. "As if I would have fallen for that! It's obvious who built you!"

"I…" Bass uttered, but he seemed distracted beyond words, apparently hating Mega Man's last accusation, but unable to refute it. He swallowed, still watching Mega Man as though seeing completely through him.

Mega Man fired again—his golden plasma bolt met with a phosphorescent viridian bolt from Bass, the energies exploding on collision, the force of which pushed both of them back. They dug their heals into he ground to steady themselves, then charged at each other.

With Bass engaged in fierce combat with Mega Man, the robo-wolf had taken up guard over Dr. Light, while Rush advanced slowly with his hackles raised, poised to strike if the robo-wolf did anything. Out of the corner of his eye, Mega Man cast them an anxious look—the robo-wolf was much larger than Rush, and both his white claws and teeth looked quite capable of shredding titanium. Still Rush bared his own fangs back (though they were much smaller). If the robo-wolf hurt Rush, Mega Man wasn't sure what he'd do…

But at the last time, Mega Man felt completely lost within his fight with Bass, the blasts from their plasma fire scorching the lawn. Despite being built with bulkier armor, Bass was very fast, and evaded Mega Man's attacks with a level of expertise unexpected from a newly activated robot. His style of fighting was wild and unpredictable, instinct over strategy, a strange dyad of both focused and out-of-control. But Mega Man pursued him, driving him back away from the laboratory toward the street. He was on his home ground, after all. How dare one of Dr. Wily's robots attack Dr. Light? It was a new low.

"Wait, Mega Man, Rush, stop!" shouted a voice. It sounded to come from a great distance, and took Mega Man a moment to completely register it. Dr. Light had woken up and risen to his feet. Rush, who had been growling at the robo-wolf, lifted his ears with a started look at Dr. Light. Even Bass and Mega Man momentarily paused, both standing in the driveway, though they continued to glare viciously at each other.

"It's a trick, Dr. Light!" Mega Man called back. "He was built by Dr. Wily!"

"I know, Mega Man, but he's not responsible for the attack!"

"But—" Mega Man hesitated, studying Bass and suddenly feeling confused.

Bass was listening to this exchange while still as a statue. Dr. Light took a few steps forward past the robo-wolf (who let him pass, though the robo-wolf still snarled at Rush) and called out again. "Bass, please, if you attack Mega Man, you will be doing exactly what Wily wants you to do!"

But Bass couldn't—or wouldn't take his eyes off Mega Man, his face intense with fury and betrayal. The only thing holding him back from resuming his attack was, impossibly, Dr. Light. He began to shake, as though painfully torn between listening, and his own stubborn indignation at Mega Man.

A sudden horrible jolt of realization went through Mega Man. Bass hadn't attacked Dr. Light…Mega Man had jumped to conclusions. Yes, he could see it now as he stared into Bass's eyes…Bass wasn't evil. In fact, he must have fought off Dr. Wily's forces in Dr. Light's defense.

As though snapping out of a spell, Mega Man shook his head, dropping his blaster. "B-Bass…" he said weakly. Mega Man wished he could vanish from the spot—he was sure he had become the one thing preventing Dr. Light from getting through to Bass. "I'm sorry, I just thought—it just looked like—we d-don't have to be enemies—"

"I was built to be your equal—no, your better—" Bass interrupted, his eyes furious slits as they bore into Mega Man. "And make no mistake, we are enemies. You feel it too, it would be absurd to pretend otherwise."

"Bass!" Dr. Light said pleadingly. Heedless of what danger it might put him in, he had stepped very close to them and was almost within arms reach of Bass.

Again, Bass seemed to be acting as though he wished he couldn't hear Dr. Light, his plasma cannon still poised to shoot Mega Man but shaking violently. Mega Man was sure he'd fire, but was surprised when instead the robo-wolf transformed into a jet board in the same fashion to Rush. Without looking back, Bass leaped aboard, and together they jetted upward like a dark rocket and into a gray cloud, disappearing from sight.

Mega Man and Rush dug through the rubble to locate a fire extinguisher, then quickly put out the laboratory fires. Meanwhile, Roll called—the attack-bot invasion had not been so bad as it had looked when Mega Man had left it. Already, most of Dr. Wily's forces had retreated while she helped the emergency crews regain control of the city.

Feeling relieved at least one problem was resolved, Mega Man hurried to check on Dr. Light, who was sitting on the front porch.

"Dr. Light, are you alright?"

"Oh yes, I'm fine. Just a small cut and some bruises," said Dr. Light, wiping away the blood on his face with a dish towel.

"And the lab…" Mega Man added, looking around.

Dr. Light gave a small shrug. "It's been through worse," he said brightly, though there was a hint of guilt in his tone.

Mega Man frowned. He realized the laboratory's defenses must have been lowered for an attack-bot invasion to have been able to cause this much damage—though he decided not to comment. He looked up at the gray sky.

"So…Bass, huh?"

Dr. Light also looked up. "He came to me because he thought I may have built him."

Mega Man gave Dr. Light a startled look. "But you didn't, Wily did."

"Yes, he's definitely Alberts son…" Dr. Light answered, his voice sounding strange. He paused, then continued in a much more normal tone, "—But Bass resents him. I was hoping to persuade him to stay here…but I'm afraid he may no longer be in the mood."

"Oh." Mega Man wasn't sure what to say. "I screwed up, didn't I? I was just on edge, I didn't sleep much last night, and I had this weird nightmare—"

Once again, this all sounded extremely silly, Mega Man at a loss to properly explain his irrational actions.

"Don't blame yourself too harshly, though unfortunately you may have accidentally created a fierce rival," Dr. Light said ruefully, a small smile twitching beneath his beard.

"But I already have a rival: Proto Man. I don't want to be Bass's rival, I don't even know him." Mega Man clenched his fists in frustration, then sighed. "Well…at least he's not on Wily's side either," he said, though he felt this was a small consolation—for he now had two enemies, when he wanted none.

"Yes," said Dr. Light, equally troubled, and he wrapped an arm around Mega Man's shoulder.

Icy water droplets from the clouds swirled around them, wind roaring in their ears. Bass clutched at his head, his eyes squeezed tight as the impact of his first day of activation washed over him like a tidal wave. He had let the lingering impressions that had been haunting his mind fade out like sparks during his fight with Mega Man. After all, why should he care about any of that? It was all pointless and stupid anyway! Yet one feeling bright and passionate had awakened, as though an old hatred had risen within him like a rearing snake.

Bass opened his eyes. Treble had broken through the canopy of clouds into the upper atmosphere. The air was thin and cold, the clouds stretched like a misty gray blanket below them, all quiet and still as they hung suspended above the world on the cusp of space.

I'm sick of everything! Bass thought, shaking with rage. Enough! From now on, I decide who I am—not Wily, not any stupid 'feelings', and least of all not Mega Man.

And from that point on, Bass resolved to hate Mega Man forever.

A new piece had entered the board, the vibrant green light drawing his eye.

He had been watching the board lazily, and had nudged one of his favorite pieces in its way on a whim. The act wasn't part of a 'grand design', for that was not how he operated—this was more like watching a soap opera to him, without an endgame in sight—yet the pieces always behaved entertaining…with the right manipulation.

Next time on Mega Man Recut…

Bass, now a rogue robot on the run, comes up with an unusual plan to hide from both Dr. Wily and and the police. As Quint and Kalinka begin their work as lab partners, Quint hopes to distract Kalinka from her super hero ambitions, but unbeknownst to both of them, trouble already lurks around the corner…tune in next time for A Mega Star is Born!

Chapter Text

Episode 28: A Mega Star is Born

The sounds of hammering and saws filled Dr. Light's house as a crew of construction drones set to repairing the infrastructure of the fire-damaged laboratory. Meanwhile, Roll and Mega Man were working together to clean up the debris—sorting into piles what could be salvaged, and what had to be thrown out. All the while, Roll gave Mega Man shifty looks from the corner of her eye.

"So who's Bass?" she asked finally as she dropped the burnt-out husk of a printer into a dumpster.

Though Mega Man didn't want to talk about it, he knew Roll must be brimming with curiosity. After all, she had missed out on the battle that had occurred only a few hours ago. "A bomber robot, like Proto Man and I, built by Dr. Wily," he responded gloomily as he swept up the ashes of a file cabinet (Rush waited at his side with a dustbin clutched in his jaws).

"Another bomber robot?" Roll whistled, then snickered. "Only if Wily built him, I bet he's pretty ugly, huh?"

"Well…"

…'Ugly' wasn't how Mega Man would describe Bass…though Bass's design did have Wily's trademark flair for drama.

"So what happened?" Roll prompted as she heaved an overturned lab table off the ground with the help of Met and her extendable arms. "You're acting like you were caught cheating at a science fair."

Despite his mood, Mega Man cast Roll a quick, reluctant smirk, then his eyes fell back down to the soot pile he was sweeping into a small black circle. Behind him, Rush gave a low whine. "Back when we were in the city, Proto Man told me that Wily had built Bass to use as a secret weapon against me, so I headed straight back to the laboratory. It was under attack by Wily's robots, and that's when I saw Bass, standing over Dr. Light who was lying unconscious on the ground, so I attacked him. …Unprovoked." Mega Man stopped sweeping, "I guess I thought he had hurt Dr. Light, but it turned out Bass was protecting him, and now he hates me. It's weird, I'm usually not that…impulsive…"

Roll shrugged. "Bass is a Wily-bot, right? Don't beat yourself up, it wouldn't have been long before that creep had shown his true colors anyway," she advised sagely. "If I had been there, I would have done the same thing."

But despite Roll's words, Mega Man couldn't help but feel terrible, not in the least of all that if it hadn't been for his rash actions, Bass may have defected from Dr. Wily. Now he had another enemy that he certainly did not want. He wondered if Bass would return to Dr. Wily to help with his schemes, and if he had accidentally extinguished any chance Bass would ever even come close to defecting again.

Quint had spent his afternoon as he spent most afternoons—staring at spreadsheets on the glowing screen of a computer monitor, puzzling over the data sets he had thus far collected on alien energy. He was quite caught up in his work, unaware of the time or even where he was, when he heard the elevator door behind him slide open with a polite beep.

"Hi~" Kalinka sang out, her voice echoing across his vast, dark laboratory.

Quint revolved in his chair to look at her. He had seen Kalinka only yesterday, and wasn't expecting her back so soon, yet here Kalinka was, dressed in (what Quint assumed) a trendy outfit of a sleeveless pink blouse with a full skirt of pale green. As usual, Beat trailed closely behind her as though he were a spring blue balloon tethered to her wrist. Kalinka gave a smile that would have made the paparazzi go into a frenzy of camera flashes.

…Quint was far from the paparazzi. In fact, he was a dull audience by most standards. "Oh, uh, hi," he said weakly, quite surprised. Though he was pleased to see her, after a night of thinking about their new partnership, he had doubted she would turn up again, and never so soon. It all still seemed like a strange dream! He stood up and pointed sheepishly to an adjacent alcove that he had cleared for her that morning. "I hope this will do for a workspace?"

Kalinka's olive green eyes grazed over the workspace—a neat desk with a lab top, an assortment of black pens, a fresh supply of notebooks, and a stapler, all arranged into tidy rows. "Oh…" she said, her smile falling. Then she began giggling.

"…What's so funny?"

"It's nothing, but you're so like Dad! No offense," she laughed. Then she waved her hand. "You know what, it's fine. I'll redecorate later!" She turned to Quint, Beat taking a perch on her shoulder. "So!" she said, clapping her hands together. "I'm here, ready to help with your research. Well, go on! Show me more of your work!"

"Uh…sure!" uttered Quint, still feeling baffled and unprepared. He stood up from his desk, "I have many prototypes," he said, gesturing to the obscure shapes of machinery that lay in the dark shadows of his laboratory. "State-of-the-art technology capable of impossible feats, all things to prepare us for an alien invasion…" he trailed off with sigh. "For example, I'd like to make Contact with friendly aliens forces that can help us."

"Do friendly aliens exist?"

"Of course!" Quint replied enthusiastically. "Aliens of green alien energy. I've seen them…back in an encounter at Red Gulch. It was…amazing. They had eyes like stars." He hesitated, recalling the encounter had not gone exactly well, but continued on determinedly. "They might be able to help us protect Earth, but they are currently in hiding."

"Somewhere in space?"

"No…a different dimension."

"Hmmm."

Quint was surprised by the lack of surprise Kalinka showed, her face blank and as poker-faced as it had been the day before.

"Hmmm," she said again. "So…you need like like an inter-dimensional telephone then?"

"Yes! Something like that," Quint said brightly, pleased and relieved that Kalinka so quickly understood the technology, for so few did. "Unfortunately, none of my prototypes work. Not yet, anyway. You see, all of my inventions need Quintessence as a power source. Like I said yesterday, Quintessence is a safer derivative of purple alien energy, and purple alien energy can make the impossible possible, but just how to harness that power has thus far eluded me. All I have is theories…"

He trailed off, gesturing toward a formula that he had printed out on a seven-foot sheet of matte poster paper and pinned to the wall. It was an intricate web of theorems and annotations—his humble masterpiece, and only Dr. Cossack had seen it.

Kalinka looked from Quint's prototypes to the printed-out diagram, frowning. Quint expected her to ask a question, but she did not—instead, with a sudden gravity, she reached into her purse, retrieving a pair of glasses with red rims shaped like daisies. She cast Quint a quick look that could have struck him dead and said in a dangerous whisper, "You must promise me not to laugh at my glasses. I really only need them when I'm doing engineering stuff."

"Oh, I wouldn't laugh….in fact, I rather like them," Quint reassured her earnestly, taken aback.

"So does Dad…" Kalinka said with exasperation, pushing the pair of glasses firmly to the bridge of her nose. Then, through narrow eyes, she began to examine the diagram.

Quint waited—now expecting her to take her time reading through the work before agreeing that this subject matter was quite complex and would take time to figure out. What he didn't expect was for her to give a sudden giggle.

"…What's so funny?"

"Why, it's this formula you're using! You should be using a different one, silly!"

"A different formula?" Quint said doubtfully. He looked quickly over his diagram, frowning. He had spent hours checking and triple-checking each calculation, each possible variation. It was inconceivable that anything could be wrong! …Right?

"Yeah…the formula you are using is holding back your work," said Kalinka, her arms folded as she nodded. "Your current model of thinking is built around the impossibility of what alien energy can do. But…if alien energy can do it, then it's not really impossible, right?"

"…I suppose, logically," answered Quint, though his voice had become a bit cold. What did Kalinka really know, anyway? He had spent most of his life since activation working on this, barely leaving his computer save to sleep. If there was an expert on alien energy, surely it was him!

"You're just running around in circles with this," Kalinka continued patiently. "What you need is a formula based on improbability—just like that sci-fi book. So, if you change your model like thus—" She made a correction on his chart using a pink marker from her purse. "—And here—" She made another correction. "Then I think you will be able to make a lot of these inventions work, just try it!"

Quint stared at her annotations, dumbfounded. He didn't completely understand. Not at first. It seemed so obvious, yet he had neglected to think of it it. Yet the more he stared, the more excited he became, and he quickly brushed aside his initial annoyance at her.

"Kalinka, you're a genius!" he cried wildly.

"Yeah, yeah, don't spread it around," Kalinka replied with stiff dignity, snapping the cap back on her marker (Kalinka considered 'science' and 'being nerdy' to go against her brand—whatever that meant). But then she whirled on Quint excitedly. "So! Now that that's taken care of," she said briskly, as though her new formula was merely a formality instead of the scientific breakthrough of a millennia, "You can help me become a superhero!"

"A wha…?" Quint asked without really listening, his eyes still glued to the chart, each pink stroke becoming ingrained in his memory chips.

Kalinka rolled her eyes. "…I'll be back tomorrow. Oh! And don't Dad I'm helping you with lab work."

Quint's happy bubble of concentration popped momentarily. He gave her a startled look. "Why don't you want Dr. Cossack to know? This is a major scientific feat! Surely you want credit?"

"Oh my god, he'd just be so embarrassing about it," replied Kalinka flatly, though she smiled ruefully. Then, with a wink, she dashed toward the door. "Alright, I gotta bounce. But I'll be back tomorrow, byyyye~!"

Beat hurried to follow her out, though he cast Quint an uncertain fleeting look—the kind one fugitive on a lifeboat might share with another. Quint didn't notice, for now that he had a new angle on his alien energy research, he had become reabsorbed in his work, and almost nothing—not even the harebrained scheme of a teenager—could break him out of it.

Dr. Wily had returned to his half-ruined laboratory without Bass and with a legion of attack-bots destroyed. He glowered angrily over a surveillance grid (whose monitors had spider-web cracks from after Bass had caused the ceiling to cave in).

"Curses, he's disabled his homing device!" he muttered. Bass's trail had gone cold shortly after the attack on Dr. Light's laboratory. Where Bass was now, no one knew.

"Don't blow a blood vessel over it, Doc," Proto Man told him brightly. "Any luck, the kid will get himself blown up. He'll turn up—though I still say we blast him if he does."

Proto Man was pacing slowly behind Dr. Wily, cracking his knuckles like a restless guard dog who had caught the scent of an intruder he was eager to fight.

Dr. Wily eyed this somewhat ominous behavior, and his face grew pinched and stubborn, like a toddler. He shot Proto Man a crippling look, then with an angry snarl switched off the surveillance grid and stormed off to his supercomputer. "Bass will return to my side and take his rightful place as my champion of evil. He is my creation." Dr. Wily glared at his reflection in the black computer screen for a moment, his teeth gnashed and his face shadowed.

Proto Man stopped pacing and leaned against the edge of a lab table, his arms folded. "I know you planned to use Bass to help you take over the world, but that didn't work out. So what's your next plan? Maybe we can try that instead."

"…Excuse me?"

"Next plan, Doc. You always have another plan."

Dr. Wily whirled on Proto Man, swelling indignantly. "I'm not some cheap charlatan pulling ideas from a hat! Each scheme was a work of art, a product of decades of scientific study!"

"Okay…but…isn't there like another B-movie you could rip off of?"

Dr. Wily stared at Proto Man, not liking the tone in his voice. "What has gotten into you?"

"Nothing."

Dr. Wily peered at Proto Man for a moment longer, his busy brows put together, before throwing up his hands. "I lack inspiration!" he admitted finally. He began to pace just as Proto Man had moments earlier. "Perhaps…I could visit a parallel universe to meet a parallel version of me who has conquered the world, take his work, and then conquer this world!" he mused aloud while rubbing his bony chin.

Dr. Wily paused by his desk to scribble this down on a notepad.

"Uh…sure." Proto Man resisted sighing in annoyance, boredom beginning to sink into him as he glanced out the open hallway door toward the western wing.

Dr. Wily resumed his pacing, still brainstorming aloud. "What I need is a powerful energy source. Something like what Citadel has, but better! Then the possibilities would be truly endless!"

"Want me to steal something?"

"No! Too risky. First things first, I must have Bass back. He will come to his senses soon, I know it. Then—then—the real work will begin."

"Alright, in the meantime I'll be in the western hangar working on jets. Let me know if you need me," said Proto Man, waving a hand as he strode out of the armory.

Dr. Wily watched him go, feeling slightly disappointed by Proto Man's lukewarm enthusiasm, but he brushed it off, still intent on the search for Bass.

It had been nine hours since Bass and Treble had jetted off from Dr. Light's laboratory, and almost twenty-four hours since their activation. The deep November night had long since fallen over them like a dark, chilling curtain. They were flying somewhat aimlessly, avoiding human aircraft and any remaining skullcopters that were patrolling the area looking for them.

Bass hadn't thought of what to do next. He was still too angry. He would have stayed in the sky far away from everyone for as long as Treble would carry him—yet, a strange, foreign feeling had begun sinking into him. His limbs felt heavy, and he kept rubbing his eyes unconsciously, which felt itchy. A strong inclination to lie down somewhere quiet and dark had overtaken him, yet he wasn't low on energy…what was going on?

Then, a horrible thought occurred to Bass.

"Wait, if I'm built to look human…does that mean I'm programmed to sleep like a human?" he said aloud to Treble. He gave an aggravated growl. "That old fool," he muttered, thinking of Dr. Wily. "Why would he program me this way? It's so…stupid!"

He scowled down at the dark, distant ground that lay a mile below. They were somewhere north of New York. Below, he could see ridged grids of yellow lights—human cities. They needed to avoid those at all costs, for if the humans saw Bass and Treble, they would call the police just as the humans had in New York City, which was an unnecessary nuisance. Yet between the cities and the line-like roads that connected them were wide expanses—fields of snow, and forests. Surely, few humans lived there.

They dropped toward one of the largest forests they could see, descending into a glade tucked deep within a mountain valley. Rugged cliffs rose like violet shadows in the darkness around them, and the bare trees were silvery in the waning moonlight. The snow was deep, and crisscrossed with the tracks of many animals—deer, foxes, and even a bear, but no humans. Perfect.

Careful not to make tracks of their own, they landed beneath a massive fir tree. The space below its snow-laden boughs was sort of like a dark tent filled with the sweet smell of pine. Outside, Bass could hear the wind creaking through frozen trees, the sounds of small nocturnal animals scuffling through snow drifts. The stars twinkled in a clear night above. A herd of deer passed by the tree, giving them a curious look. The herd kept their distance, but didn't seem too wary of them.

Far off in the mountains, Bass could hear the musical howling of wolves. Treble's ears gave a slight flicker.

"Friends of yours?" Bass asked him with a wry smile.

But Treble did not respond to the wolves, and instead curled up on the ground with his back against Bass.

Bass laid down in the soft snow with his hands behind his head. He could get used to this. He could tell Treble liked the wilderness too.

We're not bothering anybody, and nobody is bothering us, he thought as he closed his eyes.

It was very cold, yet Bass was exhausted from his first day of activation, Treble's body heat was warm, and soon Bass slipped into a deep sleep.

Kalinka lay on top of the puffy pink comforter of her bed, busy drawing in a spiral notebook. Though Dr. Cossack had given her lessons in charcoal, Kalinka had always brushed off such traditional mediums as 'dull' and 'old-fashioned', and was instead using gel pens and markers in striking doodles of pink, orange, and aqua, a rather silly smile fixed to her face. Next to the notebook lay her mother's enamel sun-shaped keychain. The bunny-shaped alarm clock on her nightstand read ten-thirty-eight, and the wind from an open window ruffed the gauzy curtains in a dreamlike dance while stars twinkled above the Los Angeles skyline through the ceiling to floor windows and the skylight ceiling.

Beat, who was sitting on his perch next to her bed, looked down at the design in Kalinka's notebook, noting some distinct familiarities with trepidation.

"Hey Kali…you're not still interested in that 'masked hero' with the red and gray suit and the black visor, are you?" He asked tentatively, though he was well aware of the answer. "It's just…you haven't had good luck with your, uh, 'love life.'"

"Beat, you are so mean!" Kalinka snapped, shooting him a reproachful look. She stuck her nose up in the air. "This time, it's serious—he is much cooler than the others."

"Uh…" Beat searched for something to say.

There was a soft knock at the door.

"Come in!" Kalinka sang out, shoving the notebook under her pillow and snatching up the keychain before sitting up.

The door opened, and Dr. Cossack stepped inside, smiling sheepishly. "I noticed your light was still on, so I came to say goodnight."

"Daddy!" Kalinka cried, springing off the bed and bounding into Dr. Cossack's arms the same way she had when she was a little girl.

"Good evening, Dr. Cossack!" greeted Beat cheerfully, dipping into a small bow.

Dr. Cossack bent down to kiss Kalinka on top of the head, then nearly gagged on the overwhelming smell of her perfume. Quickly rearranging the grimace on his face as he pulled away, he smiled at Kalinka.

"I like your new perfume, stardrop."

Kalinka glowed with pride. "Thanks! It's my latest in my line, 'California Snow Princess'. It's been flying off the shelves, you could say it's all that."

Dr. Cossack chuckled. "Sorry I missed dinner again, I had to work late."

"You work late too often!" Kalinka chided, pointing a finger at him sternly. "Why, you haven't even changed out of your lab coat yet! You need to take more time off to relax!"

"I know, I know!" Dr. Cossack agreed, though without the faintest idea when that would be.

He noticed the sun-shaped keychain dangling from her hand. Wondering if Kalinka had been up thinking about her mother, Dr. Cossack smiled sadly. "She would have been very proud of you," he said in a gentle voice, nodding at the keychain. "I wish you had more time with her. It's not fair to have grown up with one parent."

Kalinka's other hand closed around the keychain as she whirled toward him. "Oh, but Daddy, you were the best dad!"

Dr. Cossack's brow furrowed. "I'm not sure that I am, you've been kidnapped a lot."

"Well no one's perfect." Like a ballerina, Kalinka quickly stood on her tiptoes to give him a light graceful kiss on the cheek. "Besides, you don't have to worry about that anymore—I'm going to start looking out for myself!"

"You are?" Dr. Cossack asked, amused. "Chief Fictus will be pleased."

Kalinka giggled, then gave a dramatic yawn. "Well, it's late. You should try to get some sleep, alright? Night night, Dad!" She skipped off toward her bed.

"Good night, Kalinka."

Dr. Cossack watched her for a moment, still smiling absentmindedly, then left her room, closing the door behind him.

Kalinka hadn't been getting into as much trouble lately, and had been spending more time in her room with Beat. Chief Fictus of the California State Police had even commented on it. Dr. Cossack found this less unruly behavior slightly ominous, yet shrugged it off. Teenagers would be teenagers, after all. You could never predict them.

That night, Mega Man had another nightmare.

The shadowy figure had returned—the figure who would put all he cared about in danger, making his family suffer—

"You're pathetic, Blue Bomber," it taunted, its form vague and indistinct like the smoke from the flames surrounding it. "Come, fight me, face your end with dignity…don't be a coward."

Like before, Mega Man found himself powerless to move or fight back, as though his body was not his own. He regarded the figure with cold contempt. It seemed so similar to himself, another bomber perhaps…

It's not Bass! Mega Man told himself furiously, for every part of his being wanted to believe it was Bass. After all, the dreams had started around Bass's activation…there had to be a connection.

He tossed in his bed, his flannel sheets twisting around him like a cocoon, furthering his sensation of being trapped. "Why do I keep having this dream?" he murmured miserably in his sleep, unable to fully wake up. "It's not real…it's not real!"

And, in the morning, it did seem pretty unreal, as mornings usually do cast light onto even the most strange of nightmares—though Mega Man once again woke up later than usual, missing his usual eight o'clock start time in the laboratory.

Bass had been asleep for five hours when a small sound echoed across the valley—a small, far-off squeak. Without opening his eyes, Bass grimaced, then rolled over in the snow. The squeak sounded again, this time somewhat closer. Bass draped an arm over his face, still ignoring the irritating noise.

It was only when Treble gave a short, warning growl that he finally stirred.

"What the hell is that?" Bass mumbled blearily, annoyed that he had been woken up so soon. He scanned the forest—it had gone still, all the animals were in hiding—then he saw it—a small, bowling-ball-shaped robot with red ripstop wings perched within the branches of an oak, its protuberant eyes watching them owlishly.

A spy-bat…

Footsteps crunched through the snow. Two Robot Masters were slowly edging toward him. One wore green armor with a black propeller anchored to his back, the other crimson armor with a sharp V-shaped crest on his forehead.

"Hey there, buck-a-roo, we just want to talk," said the first one. "My name is Gyro Man, this is Quick Man—"

"Can the small talk Gyro Man I'm freezing and remember the brat attacked Gemini Man and Star Man!" snapped Quick Man. "Let's nab him before—gaaaah!"

True to his growing reputation, Bass had opened fire on Gyro Man and Quick Man with alarming accuracy. Quick Man zoomed backward into the valley, snow fanning out behind him like the wake of speedboat. Gyro Man had dived head-first into a deep snow drift, the propeller on his back becoming stuck fast, his landing strut boots kicking wildly. Treble transformed into a jetboard, Bass climbed aboard, and together they jetted up into the sky, which was becoming a wooly gray in the growing twilight.

Once they had gained sufficient altitude to lose both Gyro Man and Quick Man, Bass flung his head back and gave an irritated yell. He felt extremely grumpy—he had, after all, been woken up much too early.

"This is stupid! If we get too close to the humans, they call the police, but if we go anywhere remote, Wily sends his robots after us. Why can't everyone just leave us alone! If only there were a way to hide among the humans without them noticing…"

Bass froze. He pulled off his helmet, running a hand through his hair and thinking back to his reflection. He had looked…human.

From below, Treble cocked his head backward with a low growl, as though reading his thoughts.

"I know, I know! I hate it too," Bass said, grimacing. "But it could be our best chance—the last place Wily will think to look for us is back in the city. I just need some human clothes—and you, you can pretend to be my robo-pet, alright?"

One of Treble's ears twitched, his head pointed forward, but he made no objection to Bass's plan.

Bass replaced his helmet and rolled a shoulder, feeling uncertain, yet determined. It could work.

"Hey Roll…can we train?"

It was ten o'clock—around the time Roll usually woke up and started work in her workshop in the basement.

Roll looked up from a workbench, which had a heap of assorted power tools laid out upon it, to Mega Man. "You're asking to train instead of working in the lab? You really are worried about this new bot!" she teased.

"Yes! …I mean no. I don't know. I don't want to fight Bass." Reluctantly, Mega Man told Roll that he was still having nightmares about an unseen figure that seemed to be his equal yet more.

Again, Roll was fascinated.

"I still think it means something—maybe you're getting a new rival!" she said excitedly.

The thought made Mega Man's circuits lurch. "I already have Proto and now Bass as rivals, how many more does a bot need?"

"Well it has to mean something—like Wily's planning something?"

"No. Not Wily. Something….weirder is going on," Mega Man said uncertainly, fidgeting slightly.

"Maybe you're like…clairvoyant!"

"There's no such thing as clairvoyance."

"You don't know that!" Roll countered, but then she grew thoughtful. "You said the figure seemed to be a bomber like you, yet you don't think it's Bass…" she began slowly and bracingly. "…Do you think the figure could be Proto?"

"No, there's no way it's Proto," Mega Man said firmly.

"Yeah, I know, but maybe, subconsciously, you still think of him as an enemy?" she said bracingly. "I mean, after all he's done, it'd be perfectly justifiable—"

Mega Man just shook his head. "No. Never. He's family."

Roll smiled and sighed. "Well then, maybe it's just a dream. I tell ya you're stressed. But don't worry, brother—no matter what you can count on me to look out for you."

"Thanks sis."

"And in the meantime, we'll fight off Proto and Wily's new ugly jerk lieutenant."

Mega Man couldn't help but smile back. "…I still never said Bass was ugly."

"Yeah, but I bet he is," Roll said wisely. She pulled off her work gloves and smock. "Alright, if it'll make you feel better, let's go train!"

Quint had little sleep that night. He was too excited, his mind filled with the possibilities Kalinka's formula had unlocked like a garden of ideas bursting into bloom.

That day, he was rooted to his desk, typing eagerly into the spreadsheets on his computer. He was so engrossed, that he hardly noticed when the elevator beeped behind him. He vaguely remembered he was expecting Kalinka, and called a greeting without turning to look. He hadn't paid much mind that Kalinka had lugged in a frilly pink suitcase, nor that she had taken it into a private office and locked the door. But then, five minutes later, she emerged, and gave a gentle (yet commanding) cough.

With some effort, Quint tore his eyes from his computer and looked up. He did a double take, then leaped up from his chair.

Kalinka had returned wearing what looked like a smart white titanium suit with candy pink armor with orange accents. Two puffing pigtails poked out from under her helmet, and the soles of her boots were styled like ballet shoes.

She did a graceful spin in front of Quint. "What do you think?"

Quint goggled at her for a moment. "Y—you look like a robot!"

Through the translucent aqua visor that covered her eyes, Kalinka shot Quint a quick, scorching glare. "I do not! …No offense," she snapped, wrinkling her nose. Then, her expression resuming a self-confident smile, she added, "This suit is the greatest creation of my career, and I shall call myself Mega Girl!"

"…M-Mega Girl?" repeated Quint.

"Yes, totally awesome, right? I did market research to come up with it."

"Yes, but—isn't that rather like 'Mega Man?'"

"Who?"

"You know…from New York?"

"Never heard of him."

Quint balked, then looked over at Beat, who only heaved a helpless sigh. Oh bother. But what did it matter what name Kalinka picked anyway? If Quint had his way, Kalinka's stint as a superhero would be kept as quiet as possible…

"I see you've completed a…er…superhero costume. It hides your identity well…" he said, stalling. "But…there hasn't been much of a need for a superhero lately, has there?"

This was true. The only type of threat that warranted the services of a 'superhero' was the type of threats Dr. Wily concocted—and Dr. Wily generally targeted New York City, the complete opposite side of the country. In fact, the last time any of Dr. Wily's schemes had affected Los Angeles was the day Dr. Wily had pulled the moon out of orbit, putting the entire world in chaos—and while that had been disastrous, it had been over six months ago.

Kalinka's brow arched in an intimidating manner. She seemed to sense Quint's reluctance. "C'mon, Quint, you promised to help!" she wheedled, grabbing his arm. "I've already helped with your glowy purple energy research," she added.

"Quintessence."

"Whatever."

Fear and doubt sunk their icy talons into Quint, while Kalinka's face shone with the brightness of a new star. He couldn't help but think how absurd the whole thing sounded. Kalinka, after all, was human—a very smart human, to be sure, but human—and humans did not become superheroes, only robots. But he was trapped—Kalinka had kept her end of their bargain, and it was only fair that he should do the same—but putting a human in danger was not something any decent robot would allow!

Quint thought fast, for Kalinka's superhero scheme had progressed much sooner than he had anticipated (he had far from expected that she'd turn up in a superhero suit already!). "Well, I was thinking…if you're looking for something to do as a superhero, there's a lot of vandalism in the city. Really vulgar stuff, like 'School Stinks.'"

"Vandalism? Like graffiti?" Kalinka asked blandly, her eyebrows raising. Then she rolled her eyes. "Quint, you are such a dork. It's just kids! Heck, I used to tag the police station 'Suck it, loser!' back when I was a freshman," Kalinka reminisced fondly. "No, what I really should focus on is taking down the real bad guys, which might involve espionage, maybe fighting if things get out of hand."

With this, she began punching the air, her movements as swift as a boxer, yet delicate as a dancer.

"Espionage? Fighting?" mumbled Quint, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose as he gawked at Kalinka. He quickly pushed them back up and said, "Uh…but you don't know how to fight."

"No, but I studied ballet for nine years," answered Kalinka matter-of-factly. When Quint continued to stare blankly at her, she began to explain, "Because I'm of Russian descent, everyone expected me to be the best in my class, and I was!" She smiled smugly. "But get this—did you know that some of cinema's best action heroes actually have no formal martial arts training, but instead have backgrounds in ballet? It's true! I've talked to a lot of them about it. It got me thinking that if I programmed the suit with martial arts routines and the ability to do a little self-correcting of my movements, it'd almost be the same if I did know how to fight."

Quint wondered if this was actually possible. "…But what if you got hit with a laser blast or some other attack?" he asked next. Kalinka's safety was his primary concern.

"Built-in defensive energy field," Kalinka said simply. "So long as I'm in the suit, I'm just as safe as a robot. After all, it's a superhero suit—kinda like that iron guy, but prettier. Cool, huh?" She gave him a level look. "Look, I can tell you don't believe me, but you can check the specs for yourself."

Thoroughly prepared, Kalinka extracted a pink ring binder from her suitcase and thrust it at Quint. Then she waited, pulling out a pink compact as she applied lip gloss, while Quint quickly scanned through the binder's contents, which contained many diagrams annotated in sparkly gel pen.

…It was as Kalinka said. The suit was as light as clothing, yet could render a human nigh-invulnerable while increasing their physical fighting capabilities to that of a robot. It was impressive, even by Citadel's cutting-edge standards. He could think of no way to improve it.

"You came up with this yourself?" he asked finally.

"Like it's hard?" Kalinka said sweetly, still examining her nails. "Like many of my outfits, it's one of a kind—what you engineers would call a 'prototype!" (she said with air quotes.) "But…there is one thing it's missing. I equipped it with a wrist-mounted mini-blaster, but the suit needs a more powerful power source for it to work, like something like your Quintessence—"

"We don't know enough about alien energy," Quint said quickly, finally finding something he could be firm upon. "Quintessence is still dangerous to incorporate in most robots, let alone in a human 'super suit'."

Still, Kalinka's plans for becoming a superhero were not so far-fetched as Quint once thought. He grew concerned.

Kalinka continued to glide gracefully over his trepidation. "So! I'm going to do a stake-out at Stiletto Street. Something is always going down there," she announced.

Quint had never heard of Stiletto Street. "Right now? And-and you want me to come along?" he stammered, feeling reluctant, though figuring he better. "But…my research…there's still so much left to be done!" he added ruefully, looking back at the unfinished documents still open on his computer screen.

"C'mon, you've got to get out of this lab! Otherwise you'll turn into Dad with all this darkness and work. Besides, it's not like there will be an alien invasion the moment we leave."

Leaving no room for further protest, Kalinka turned on the spot and marched toward the exit of the laboratory. Quint and Beat lingered behind.

"What do we do?" Quint whispered desperately to Beat.

"I've known Kali since she was two," responded Beat. "When she was five, she took up painting, at six she took up acting, then every year after that it was fencing, crochet, piano, chess, gymnastics, guitar, photography, archery, pâtisserie, and so on, all the way up to high school, where she started three different cosmetic companies and five different fashion companies. The only thing she ever stuck with for long was engineering, and ballet. With any luck, this 'superhero' stuff will be a quick phase, just like everything else."

Hope dawned slowly over Quint, warming his hands and feet which had gone as cold and trembly as someone about to dive into a tank of robo-sharks. "…So what you're saying is if she gets this out of her system, she'll move on to the next thing?" A grin spread across his face. "I can keep my promise to her and not have a big secret behind Dr. Cossack's back!"

"Well, at least that's what I hope will happen…" Beat said quietly.

From the doorway, Kalinka whirled on them, her narrow eyes like daggers. "Are you guys talking about me?"

"Uh—!" Quint and Beat both stammered guiltily.

"Hmmph. That's what I thought," Kali said primly. She beaconed them toward the elevator. "Well, c'mon!"

After changing out of his lab coat and into his own armor, Quint took Kalinka out the secret entrance. From there, they ran across the city, leaping from rooftop to rooftop—Kalinka keeping up with Quint easily without breaking a sweat, while Beat soared behind them.

Quint's nerves were coming back. Though they had taken care to avoid drawing attention (he had become adept at this during his own heroic midnight stints) he had never been to this part of Los Angeles before, and wondered what awaited them there.

Stiletto Street was less than two miles away from Citadel. It was a noisy, bustling district. He was somewhat relieved to see that this appeared to be a civilian area, filled with upper-class restaurants, shops, and nightclubs—safe enough during the day. Still, the humans flocking tipsily from bar to bar gave off an air of entitled rowdiness that made him wish they had just stayed in the laboratory, yet Kalinka seemed determined to find some valorous act to begin her career as a superhero.

From a rooftop perch, they scanned the street below. The crowds of humans were filled with anyone with a lot of money—from careless socialites, to ruthless business tycoons, to what looked suspiciously like off-duty gangsters, all out for a good time.

Kalinka seemed perfectly at home. "I'm banned from all the bars here you know," she informed Quint with a droll sigh.

"You're…underage…" Quint muttered, raising his brows. Beat just gave a small sigh.

Kalinka didn't respond. She drummed her fingers against the rooftop railing, watching the street intently. They waited. Ten minutes passed, then twenty, the steady stream of humans constantly moving throughout the street, yet nothing eventful happened.

Finally, Quint gave a small cough. "I know you want to be a superhero, but…maybe Los Angeles doesn't need one?" he told her tentatively.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's like I said earlier—nothing bad is going on," Quint began reasonably "Perhaps you've seen cartoons, or movies…right? There has to be some sort of call no one else responds to—people don't just become superheroes by just deciding it."

Kalinka only shrugged, unbothered. "Well, why not? Seems like it'd be just as nice if someone chose to be a superhero over being obligated."

Quint mulled this over, but ultimately felt unsure. "I suppose that's…a valid viewpoint, but it's a complex issue—"

The roof beneath their feet rumbled ominously, cutting off their conversation. They both froze. Beat hovered over Kalinka protectively while Kalinka and Quint both became alert. The happy babble of the crowd below died down as the humans looked around in confusion.

"An earthquake?" muttered Quint.

"No, look!" cried Beat, staring at the street.

What looked like a red spiked wrecking ball had burst like a geyser from the ground. It unfolded midair, and a robot landed heavily on the street.

Though the robot had sprung from the ground like a gopher, he looked like he would have been much more at home riding a large motorbike that spewed flames. He wore heavy red and yellow armor adorned with large, fang-like spikes. The robot had no neck, his helmet inset into his torso armor, his face a gap in the armor in which two large eyes peered. A saw-like ridge rose from his head like a mohawk.

The robot looked shiftily back and forth down the street (the crowd had parted around him and were beginning to flee) then became the red, spiked wrecking ball again, and crashed through the wall of the building directly beneath them.

"Oh no!" cried Beat.

"Oh shit," muttered Quint.

"See? Told ya something's always going down on Stiletto Street," Kalinka said calmly. "Let's go investigate!"

In a blur of pink, Kalinka took a fire escape down to the alley.

"Wait!" Quint called after her, though he himself felt it—an instinct to help the defenseless humans—even if he preferred to be doing research in his dark, comfortable laboratory.

Quint and Beat followed Kalinka down the fire escape. It was then that Quint realized they had been stationed above a bank—a very nice bank, judging by the marble facade and fountains outside of it—though it presently had a very sizable hole in its front. Through this opening, they could see the red robot inside the bank's lobby.

The robot gave a warlike roar and stomped the floor, his spiky boots clanging against the tile like a hammer striking an anvil.

"My name is Punk!" he thundered to the cowering humans within the bank. "I want all the money, now, or else I'm gunna knock every building in this block to the ground!"

The bank's security drones stepped in. They didn't stand a chance—Punk appeared to be built more powerfully than even most Robot Masters. He began throwing spinning blades at them, which cut easily through both their armor and the security cameras on the walls.

"Hahaha, too easy!" Punk jeered, the drones lying in pieces on the marble floor.

The bank teller, a thin human in his early twenties, shrank behind the counter, unclear what to do. The rest of the humans were screaming and running toward the exit.

"That's it, keep running, keep running! Booo! Hahaha!" Punk jeered to the fleeing humans while laughing like a ghoul. Then he towered over the bank teller. "As for you, I want all the cash in a burlap bag, now!"

"Okay! Okay! I'll open the vault, just please don't hurt me!" the teller wheezed with his hands over his head.

Fortunately, the robot hadn't yet noticed Kalinka, Quint, or Beat as they crouched behind the wreckage of the bank's wall, his back turned to them.

"Careful, that's a rogue robot!" Quint whispered to Kalinka, his eyes on Punk. The hand of his blaster arm tightened into a fist.

"We should get out of here!" pleaded Beat, flapping his wings in panic. "C'mon Kali, let's let the police handle this!"

Kalinka snorted. "As if! The police will take like ten minutes to get through traffic to get here (Trust me, I know their response time). If we don't do anything, he'll get away! …Though he must be pretty desperate to resort to something so obvious in broad daylight," she added musingly.

Then, before either Quint or Beat could stop her, Kalinka stepped into the lobby in plain sight of Punk. "Hey, you big bully!" she shouted, drawing his attention. "If you're not going to pick on someone your own size, then pick on me!"

Both Punk and the bank teller stared at her. "What the…who are you?" asked Punk, his large eyes blinking.

Kalinka struck a pose. "My name is Mega Girl, and I'm here to stop you!"

To be continued…

Chapter Text

The bank lobby was silent save for the sparking security drones littering the brown, geometric-patterned carpet. The bank teller, his eyes still on the heavy spikes of Punk's armor, fainted.

Punk blinked again. He seemed completely bewildered by Kalinka (Quint sympathized). "'Mega Girl?' Like…some kind of robot?"

"Nope, superhero!" Kalinka corrected, still striking a pose while flashing Punk a bright grin.

Groaning to himself, Quint hastily scrambled through into the lobby to join Kalinka while Beat hovered between them. Now that Kalinka had attracted Punk's attention, they were all in this together. He tapped his visor and began to scan Punk.

"Superhero?!" Punk repeated. He still had not moved, though his eyes darted searchingly from Kalinka to the vacated lobby to the street beyond the hole he had made in the wall, as though suspecting this was some sort of trick. "Los Angeles doesn't have a superhero! Why—I bet you're just some phony robo-impersonator from Broadcast Boulevard! Yeah, that's it! You're bluffing! Well it won't work! I wasn't constructed yesterday, ya know! Now scram while I take all the money and go—just as soon as I wake this banking-human up."

"Not a chance, make one move toward that vault and you're toast!" responded Kalinka, her voice grand and commanding.

Punk crouched slightly, his bladed mohawk pointed forward like a rhino about to charge. "Last warning! No way I'm letting anyone get in my way! I'm a world-class championship robo-fighter!" He pointed importantly to his chest with his thumb.

"Actually, you never qualified for the World Robot Tournament," spoke up Quint as a digital readout scrolled across the inside of his visor. "You were only ever part of the National Robo-Fighting League."

Punk straightened with a surprised jerk, his attention snapping to Quint. "Hey! How do you know about that?"

"Quite simple," Quint replied. "You see, my visor has a built-in scanner connected to a database in which I've compiled a digital archive of newspapers from the past fifty-years—"

"What the—shut up!" interrupted Punk, who now seemed bewildered by Quint, and was becoming angry. He began punching his palm with his fist, the sharp points of his spiked cuffs gleaming in the fluorescent lighting. "You're just stalling for time!"

Absorbed in the readings from his visor, Quint continued on heedlessly. "According to newspaper reports from 1995, you're a disgraced ex-robo-fighter who is banned from all robo-fighting events due to unruly behavior outside the ring. So, as you see, it is technically inaccurate to style yourself as a 'world class robo-fighter'. In fact, it is technically illegal for you to fight at all."

Quint closed the analysis program on his visor. As the glowing text disappeared from his vision, he noticed with surprise that Kalinka had stopped posing and was now frowning at him.

Meanwhile, Punk resembled a boiler that was about to explode, his large eyes bulging within the gap in his armor. "HEY! That's not fair! How would you like it if I had a smarty-pants visor that told me all your dirt, Brainiac?"

"There's no need for name-calling—"

Punk advanced toward Quint, his spiked boots making long strides. "That's it, it's you and me, green boy! Did that visor tell you the reason I was banned? It was for trashing mannerless wiseass robots like you!"

Kalinka stepped between Punk and Quint, her face scrunched with annoyance. "Wait, stop! Not like this!"

Punk continued toward Quint, still punching his palm. "Look, Mega Girl—I've got nothing against you, you've been very professional and I appreciate that, but Brainiac here boils my circuits, and if you side with him I'll take you both on!"

With that, Punk curled into a spiked ball again, his large, semi-spherical pauldrons closing tightly around him like two halves of a spiny chestnut husk, then spun toward them.

Both Quint and Kalinka dove in opposite directions—Quint somewhat clumsily, for he was used to spending his days craned over a computer keyboard and was rusty at fighting, Kalinka with an effortless triple-somersault.

Beat bravely dive-bombed Punk, which was as effective as a ping pong ball colliding with a spiked bowling ball. With a short yelp, Beat ricocheted into the steel bank counter, then fell to the ground in a heap, stunned.

Punk wheeled around the lobby, trampling rope partitions and smashing pleather furniture. He even crashed out the side wall, then back through again in a shower of bricks (he probably could have broken into the vault this way had the vault hadn't been protected by super-steel, as many were). But as spun toward them in a second charge, he crashed through a building column.

The ceiling let out a terrible groan, an ominous rumble running down into the foundations. Everyone's head snapped upward in alarm. Even Punk unfolded to look up anxiously. Fortunately, the sound died down a few seconds later.

"Careful!" Kalinka chided. "Those are load-bearing columns! You could knock down this building for real, and someone could get hurt!"

"Oh shoot, I didn't realize!" Punk stammered, his eyes shifting furtively. Then he gave the same guilty jerk he had made when he had been caught bluffing about being a World Class Robo-Fighter. "Hey! Don't tell me what to do! I'm Punk, I'm programmed to reject rules and authority!"

"Isn't that a self-contradictory statement?" Quint couldn't help but point out again. "Isn't programming a set of rules that you must follow?"

Punk paused, working this out, his black eyes daring from side to side. He looked a bit unnerved. "Yeah, but—huh? Shut up!"

All the same, Punk did not return to his reckless rampage as the spiked ball again. Instead, he began hurling his spinning blades at them.

This fresh assault once again sent Quint scrambling—Kalinka, however, avoided each blade by twisting gracefully through the air in flips and twirls like an Olympic gymnast performing a floor routine, each time landing lightly on her toes, all with a serene smile. The performance was so spectacular that for a moment, Punk and Quint forgot they were fighting and turned to watch her in awe.

"Wow," said Punk to Quint. "Never seen a bot built to do all that—not even in the championship fighting tournaments!"

"Yeah…" Quint replied, gawking.

Still, Quint was concerned for Kalinka—especially up against Punk's armor, heavy titanium spikes, and whirling blade—all while she was weaponless. As they resumed their fight, Quint drew a blaster and began firing back at Punk.

"You packing plasma power, Brainiac?" growled Punk as he shifted from side to side to dodge the purple blasts. "Well get a load of this!"

Punk threw a couple of his spinning blades at Quint—Quint ducked one, which sawed one of the lobby sofas in half, then leaped over the other, which smashed through a window and into the brick wall of another building. But then Punk came crashing into Quint himself, slamming him into a wall. With one hand tight around Quint's neck, Punk pulled the other back into his fist, poised to slam into Quint's face and smash the visor that had bruised his ego. Quint shut his eyes tight, bracing for impact.

To his right, he heard the soft patter of ballet shoes sprinting across the carpet. "Let him go!"

…Quint cracked open his eyes. Punk had glanced over in surprise, for Kalinka had taken a running leap toward him, her fist cocked backward.

This was a bad idea. Punk easily weighed five times more than Kalinka. Quint wanted to shout something to stop her—but as Kalinka's small pink fist hit the hull-like side of Punk's armor, there was a shimmering flash of white light from her suit's protective force field, and Punk went flying head-over-heals into a magazine wrack.

"Whoa…so you really are the real deal…" Punk mumbled from beneath a pile of outdated tabloids, his eyes slightly crossed. Then he shook himself off and stood up. "But don't think that I'm quitting now! That money will still be mine!"

But then Punk froze. They could all hear it—the approaching sounds of sirens.

Kalinka took position between Punk and the vault, her hand outstretched in a 'stop' gesture. "It's over, Punk! The police will be here soon."

"Wait, you're with the police?!" Punk shot her a betrayed look.

Kalinka scoffed. "Pff, as if! But I'm sorry, you picked the wrong day to rob a bank!"

Punk hesitated, cracking his knuckles. His eyes looked past Kalinka to the bank counter and at the reinforced doors that lead into the bank vaults. Then, with a snarl, he tore his gaze away.

"Daawww, why did you have to interfere? I really needed that money!"

Punk stomped his foot with a clang, turned into a spiked ball, then crashed into the ground, leaving behind a tunnel large enough to drive a go-kart into. For a moment, they could hear distant underground crashing—he appeared to be fleeing to the sewers—but then the sounds died.

Beat had finally recovered and flew over to join them. "Oh no, Punk got away!"

"Still a success!" Quint said happily. They had stopped a dangerous criminal robot, and best of all, no one had gotten hurt!

"Yeah, I guess…" Kalinka agreed distractedly, her eyes on the tunnel Punk had left behind. Then she whirled on Quint and punched him on the shoulder. "Though you didn't have to be such a jerk!"

"Me?" Quint ducked away before Kalinka made another swipe at him, rubbing his arm ruefully. Within the Mega Girl suit, Kalinka's punches really smarted!

Kalinka planted her hands on her hips, still glaring. "Yeah! So what if Punk was a disgraced robo-fighter? You didn't have to be rude about it!"

"Rude? I was merely noting factual inconsistencies! And Punk was tearing up this bank!"

"So? It's just a bank, Quint, run by rich people like me. And my Dad. I mean our dad. But he was my dad first." Kalinka seemed very cross, but she was calming down as she took a deep breath. "It's okay. It's my fault, I'm your big sister! I'll teach you to be better next time."

"I…" Quint was completely flabbergasted, and a bit indignant. "We just stopped a criminal, just like you wanted! ….This is what you wanted, right? To be a superhero?"

"I do, but I'm not in this just to beat up desperate robots, ya know!"

With grave dignity, Kalinka turned her back on him and stalked stiffly out through the hole in the bank's wall.

Quint stared after her. "That's not what I want either! Actually, I just want to work in the lab…" he mumbled to himself. He turned to Beat. "How is it that she is already lecturing me on how to be a hero? She's only been 'Mega Girl' for an hour, I've been the 'Green Bomber' much longer!"

"She was always a quick learner," Beat replied.

"Hey!" Kalinka's face suddenly poked back inside the bank. "Are you guys talking about me again?!"

Quint jumped while Beat nearly fell out of the air. "Uh—!"

"Hmmph. That's what I thought," Kalinka replied waspishly, slowly withdrawing back into the street.

Quint sighed, then cast Beat a rueful smile."This…is all going to take some getting used to."

Beat laughed.

Outside, the torn-up street was still empty, but they could hear the screeching tires of the police cars only blocks away, and a news van had just rounded the corner and was speeding toward the bank.

"We better leave too, we don't want media attention," Quint muttered into Kalinka's ear, for now that the battle was over, distant onlookers were already peeking their heads out of alleyways trying to get a good look at them.

Quint and Beat hurried swiftly up the fire escape. Kalinka lingered behind a moment, looking back at the news van that had just pulled up to the scene. She needed to pose for one—just one!—shot…to get press of Mega Girl's heroics going.

Then maybe my masked hero will notice me! she thought, her heart beating excitedly.

Once she had given the news crew a brief glimpse of Mega Girl—surely enough to make the news circuit, she darted up the fire escape, rejoined Quint and Beat (who had been waiting anxiously), then began racing across the rooftops back to Quint's laboratory.

As they ran, Kalinka closed her eyes for a brief moment, thinking of her masked hero—his red suit, his flowing yellow scarf, his dimpled smile—and wondered where he could be now.

From within Skull Fortress's armory, Proto Man was mulling over the plans for a crime spree targeting the rich neighborhoods of New York City.

"Yeah, it should work," he said finally after making a few corrections. He handed the plans back to Crystal Man.

Crystal Man glowered at Proto Man. "We could really use your help obtaining resources. A lot of our attack-bots have been destroyed tracking down Bass, and most of the rest are still looking for him."

"Sorry, no can do, I'm tied up with more important work," Proto Man said with a mock-apologetic smile. He had just returned from his own crime spree to restock the western hangar's jet fuel supply (Elec Man had shown him some intriguing new jet propulsion concepts that Proto Man was itching to iterate through, and both wanted to go out flying around the world again while daringly avoiding military detection). "Just send Cut Man and Guts Man on a few smash-and-grabs and you'll be fine!"

"It's not that simple! After our invasion yesterday, the police are on high alert looking for any of Wily's bots! Don't you watch the news?"

"Nope," Proto Man answered cheerfully as he headed off toward the western hangar.

Proto Man had toyed with tracking down Dr. Wily's new robot himself, putting a quick end to all of this stupidity—if he hadn't been so pleasantly preoccupied with inventing in the western hangar with Elec Man. Between stealing, building and piloting dangerous, supersonic fighter jets, and contemplating murdering Bass, he felt mostly in a good mood—even if Dr. Wily didn't have a decent, halfway interesting world conquest scheme queued up. He'd save destroying Bass for some other time.

Many of the Robot Masters were also annoyed about the Bass situation. Though Dr. Wily had ordered them to bring Bass back to Skull Fortress, it had been like searching a dense jungle for an especially slipper viper that would bite you as soon as you tried to catch it, forcing you to drop it again while it escaped deeper into the jungle. They'd rather be fighting Mega Man, but no one dared say this to Dr. Wily, who looked livid enough to breathe fire.

Meanwhile, Dr. Wily continued to burn heedlessly through resources searching for Bass. He was cross at Bass's unexpected obstinance but felt equally annoyed that Proto Man was blowing him off again to mess around in the western hangar. As if building fighter jets was even halfway interesting! But Proto Man would soon see—both he and Bass see, and with them on his side, truly nothing could stop him from taking over the world!

In an effort to help Mega Man relieve stress, Mega Man and Roll had spent the morning and afternoon in the training room on the new second floor of Dr. Light's laboratory. It was programmed to simulate different environments through holographic projectors and rising platforms in the floor, while drones imitated various enemies while firing lasers that stung a bit on contact but were otherwise harmless.

Currently, the simulation was projecting the ruined downtown of New York City under attack by Dr. Wily. Since the systems were not programmed with Bass's data yet, a hologram of Bass did not appear in the simulation—a fact Mega Man was grateful for. He didn't want to fight Bass again, hologram or not—lingering guilt over their last encounter still haunting him. Instead, Mega Man blasted holograms of Cut Man, Guts Man, Air Man, Needle Man, Spark Man, Metal Man, Drill Man, Dark Man—

"Yeesh, Mega, leave some for me!" Roll complained as the simulation ended, the ruined city fading into a plain, cubic room, the drones returning to their cubbies in the wall. "That's eleven simulations in a row! You're on a total warpath!"

"Sorry," Mega Man apologized, panting. "We—could go—again?"

Roll shook her head. "Not if you're going to fight like that! Just look at yourself, you're pushing yourself to the limit. Let's take a break."

Mega Man agreed, though he didn't want to. Pent-up energy prickled through his circuits like static electricity—but he had to agree with Roll, training didn't seem to be helping—if fact, he felt even more on edge than before they had started. He took off his helmet and sat down on a bench to catch his breath.

Roll tapped her chin, contemplating him. "Let's try something different. I know! We could visit the Hall of Science tomorrow—check out the chemistry exhibits and stuff."

"You're humoring me—I know you hate that kind of thing."

"Yeah, but if it gets your mind off things, I'm in. It's like I said, bro—you can count on me to look out for ya! …Though I still think you're internalizing some issues with Proto, I haven't seen you this wound up since our first year against Wily!"

"I…" Mega Man frowned. He realized he had been eliminating Proto Man's hologram first in the simulations, almost on unconscious reflex. True, the holograms weren't really anything like the real Proto Man (they weren't even programmed to wisecrack nor came close to replicating his formidable fighting style) yet he knew how that must look to Roll. He shook his head, his hands clenched. "I…dunno what's going on. I just can't escape this weird hunch that trouble is coming—like I should be doing something, but can't."

"The rate you're going, Wily and his bots have more to worry about you than you do about them—especially Proto," Roll responded wryly. "Relax! We'll figure it out! We just need to find the right distraction, do something besides focusing on Wily, then before you know it you'll be back to your old nerdy self!"

Mega Man couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, I guess…let's go to the Hall of Science tomorrow—or the aquarium," he suggested wistfully, feeling this sounded both peaceful and a better compromise between his and Roll's interests.

Roll just smiled. "Whatever you want, Mega. You had a rough start to this week thanks to Wily's new ugly bot…let's make the rest of the week all about you, you deserve it!"

Mega Man resisted pointing out that Roll still had never actually seen Bass and therefore had no clue if Bass was ugly or not, appreciating the rest of her sentiment. He knew Roll had to be right. He needed to relax and not let his paranoia get to him—after all, wasn't acting out on his paranoia what got him on Bass's bad side in the first place?

Besides, if (or more accurately when) Dr. Wily attacked, they'd handle him just as they had every time before—what else was there to worry about?

"Hey Chief, get a load of this."

Chief Fictus had been striding through the halls of the California State Police Department in Sacramento, his arms crossed behind his back, deep in thought about fighting robo-criminals and organized crime, when one of his captains beckoned to him from a break room.

"Hurry! You gotta check out this news report!"

Chief Fictus stepped into the break room. Several human officers were clustered around a table, each eating a microwaved frozen dinner, their faces turned toward a small television perched on a counter behind them.

The television was broadcasting the evening news. The marque below was captioned Robbery Thwarted by Mysterious Masked Hero, the footage showing a figure dressed in white and pink armor standing outside a damaged bank, her face obscured by an aqua visor. As an off-screen reporter shouted questions, the figure struck a pose before bounding up the bank's fire escape and out of sight in three swift leaps.

Chief Fictus's eyes narrowed.

"Get this," the captain continued excitedly. "The news is saying she stopped a dangerous rogue robot in L.A. from robbing that bank. They're saying she might be a superhero."

"Wow! A superhero!" spoke up Officer Kobayashi from his plate of chicken nuggets, "—Just like Mega Man in New York!"

An older officer harrumphed. "Looked like a kid in a costume to me!"

"No kid can jump like that," countered a sergeant with sage-like wisdom, his mouth stuffed with Salisbury steak. "I bet it's just a robo-impersonator that got carried away with its programming, thought it was the real thing, and tried to be a hero. Happens all the time! Why, last February, my buddy in the L.A.P.D. said a defective Proton Man impersonator tried to rob a jewelry store."

The rest of the officers nodded at this, and one switched the news to a football game. Officer Kobayashi's shoulders drooped in disappointment that there might not be a real superhero.

Only Chief Fictus frowned as he stepped back out of the break room. He turned to number Thirty-Nine, one of the robo-officers who was standing at attention outside.

"That 'hero' from the news, the one who stopped a bank robbery in L.A.…possibly a rogue robo-vigilante. Instruct all units to keep an eye out for her…if they see her, arrest her. Quietly."

"Yes sir!" Thirty-Nine saluted him then marched off.

Chief Fictus stalked off, his frown deepening, his arms still folded behind his back.

He didn't like this—Not. One. Bit.

Night had fallen in New York.

Deep within the suburbs lay a mall (one of many). From the air, it looked like a fat, crooked capital 'T' sitting on a sprawling gray mat of bare parking lot.

Riding atop of Treble's jetboard, Bass looked down at this complex with more trepidation than a heavily armed military complex. He knew a little about 'malls'—it was where humans bought clothes, but it seemed very strange to him, and did not make him feel better about his plan to blend in with humanity.

It was after hours, the mall closed—just what Bass wanted. He forced his way in through one of the roof skylights, then he and Treble dropped two stories, landing lightly on the floor. Bass looked around.

The dark building was like a wide corridor with highly-polished terrazzo floors. Sickly palm trees reached vainly toward the peaked roof of glass skylights. Gated stores lined each side of the corridor. The whole place had a strange smell—burnt pretzels mixed with chlorine. And humans liked this kind of place?

After making quick work of the surveillance cameras and the one security drone on patrol, Bass began looking into the storefront windows, careful his footfalls didn't echo down the vast, warehouse-like space, Treble following silently like his shadow.

The first shop had candles, the next soap, the next greeting cards. Useless. After that came a sporting good store. Bass took a plain black duffle bag from the window display—this would be useful for storing his armor—yet he didn't like any of the clothing on the mannequins. He kept walking, still glancing into store after store, passing mannequins wearing polos, windbreakers, turtlenecks—he tried to ignore their large posters of humans with huge phoney smiles, feeling increasingly foolish, uncomfortable, and skeptical.

Then, finally, Bass discovered a store with a circular entrance, like an alien spaceship, or a portal to the netherworld. It seemed different from the other stores. Bass hesitated, then forced open the metal security gate.

The inside of the store was dark, gloomy, and cramped with circular wracks of black clothing and piles of accessories. Bass glanced at the posters on the wall—the humans also looked different from the ones from other shops. They were all striking aggressive poses with their tongues out, each wearing an edgy black outfit with numerous piercings and tattoos, their hairstyles vibrant, striking, and in every color of the rainbow.

One poster caught Bass's eye in particular—a metal band poser with the word 'Gigavolt' printed in jagged glowing bands of electricity. The name seemed…familiar?

As Bass took a step toward the poster, he heard a distant echo outside—probably nothing, but he should hurry. He looked around again. Whatever. These were technically human clothes—far better than what he had seen so far.

Using the small curtained dressing room in the back of the shop, Bass changed out of his armor and into a pair of ripped baggy jeans, a t-shirt, and a dark gray oversized hoodie. They seemed to fit. Bass added a few more graphic t-shirts (including one with 'Gigavolt' on it) along with a few extra pairs of ripped jeans into the duffle bag until it was full.

He looked at his reflection. As human clothing went, he liked these—but there was still one problem. He ran a hand ruefully through his thick black hair. It was straight, wispy, and stuck out in every possible direction—the type of hair a muppet or a troll doll would have.

…The type of hair Dr. Wily probably had back when he still had hair.

A stab of repulsion shot through Bass at the thought. Why did he have to have hair at all? He supposed most humans did, and he wanted to blend in, but he hated this look. With an annoyed huff, he pulled his hoodie drawstrings down tight, completely covering his embarrassing hair with his hood. Better.

Bass scowled as he stepped out of the dressing room, his hands stuffed into his pockets, the duffle bag slung over his shoulder. Treble was waiting patiently for him.

"I hate how I look," Bass told Treble. "Even in clothes I like I look…stupid."

He glanced broodingly back at the posters on the wall. They looked so much different…

In a move most unexpected from a dangerous robo-wolf of Treble's size, Treble butted his head against Bass's hand.

"Thanks." Bass scratched Treble behind the ears, but he continued to frown, feeling utterly exposed. He let out a steadying sigh, like a soldier about to cross no man's land. "There. I think I pass as human now—should be smooth sailing from here."

Punk reclined on an old, ripped sofa, one arm draped over its back, his feat kicked up against an armrest, his eyes focused dully on an old microwave-shaped television with dials and rabbit ears.

Plum, a peppy android with fuchsia hair, was delivering the evening news from her anchor room.

"A bank robbery on Stiletto Street was foiled today by an unknown masked figure in pink—a figure some are calling a 'superhero.'"

As Plum spoke, the broadcast cut to the footage of Mega Girl posing then leaping up the bank's fire escape.

"According to witnesses, this 'superhero' held off a lone robot robber long enough for police to respond before vanishing again, perhaps off to stop another crime."

The footage of Mega Girl returned to Plum smiling from the anchor room. A digital topic box appeared over her right shoulder, containing an old, unflattering photo of Punk shortly after he had been kicked out of the National Robo-Fighting League. He was shouting at reporters while resisting arrest.

"The robber has been identified Punk, disgraced ex-robo-fighter champion who went rogue. Punk fled the scene before police arrived—looks like this former champion is past his prime—"

Punk's fist crashed through the screen, obliterating his photo and sending a shower of sparks to the floor.

"That's not true! Mega Girl's the real deal!" he snapped, leaping to his feet. "The news is making me look like a loser! I—I am a loser…"

Punk broke off, his gaze shifting to his cramped hideout—a small, nearly unfurnished studio apartment in which Punk had to hunch to prevent his bladed mohawk from grazing the popcorn ceiling.

"Just look at this dump! The roof leaks and the floors can barely support my weight. It's all I can afford, and it's hard enough sneaking into the place in a trench coat so no human finds out a rogue robot lives here!" He sighed, kicking at one of the empty energy cans that littered the floor. "Most rogue robots end up joining robo-gangs, but I can't join a gang, I'm programmed to hate authority! …But, here I am, just pathetic, stupid Punk, deep in debt with the entire world against me and now the police are on my tail too!"

Wracked with misery, Punk buried his face in his hands.

"Talking to yourself certainly is pathetic," said a sly voice. It seemed to come from just behind Punk's ear receptors.

Punk whirled, his hands balled into fists—yet behind him he could only see the peeling wallpaper of his apartment.

"What the? Who's there?" Punk called, glancing to the corners of the room. "I warn ya, I'm a world-class championship robo-fighter, any funny business and I'll pummel ya into next Tuesday!"

"I'm right here."

Again, the voice sounded just behind Punk. A spider-like chill crawled down his titanium spine as he whirled once again. Still, Punk could not locate the source of the voice; his apartment was small and he appeared quite alone. But then he spotted on his bare, discolored floorboards a circular shadow around five feet in diameter—as though cast by an impossibly round sphere, save that there was no such sphere in the room to cast such a shadow. Within the center of the shadow was a geometric outline of an eye.

As Punk took in the shadow, he simultaneously felt a strange sensation that cables were connecting to his body, though he could not see anything else out of place in his apartment. Was this all in his imagination?

He took a step backward from the shadow as he began to freak out. "This is weird—and it's been two months since I swore off the robo-booze!"

"Oh you're not hallucinating—or dreaming or being pranked or going crazy or anything else," the voice rattled off in a bored tone, as though it had been through this thousands of times. "This is very real."

"…That's what a hallucination would say," Punk responded suspiciously, glaring down at the eye. "Or what a dream would say, or a prank—"

"Okay shut up," the voice interrupted. "I'm real, and I'm here to help you out of your life problems."

Punk still felt the strange sensation of invisible cables connecting to his body, touching the back of his head and arms with small needle-like pricks. "No one can help me! It would take some kind of genie, and those aren't real!"

The shadow slipped closer—it was so dark, it was like a hole moving across the floor.

"I can. I'm kinda like a genie—a Game Genie, that is." The voice tutted. "Poor you, getting beaten by that stupid little know-it-all temporal anomaly and that dumb blonde Barbie in pink—"

Punk's hands tightened to fists. "Hey! I don't know nothing about no 'temporal anomalies', but don't you insult the little lady, you—you—say, what are you?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Anyway, my creator was a little blonde lady," Punk said, his voice becoming softer, his eyes drooping. "Sweet, but a real fighter. Taught me to never be pushed around, but to always follow my robo-heart and be good. She…she d-died a year ago. I wish she was still here, but I wonder what she'd think of me now…"

Punk gestured over to the windowsill where a framed polaroid was perched—it seemed to be his only treasured possession. The polaroid was a picture of Punk, his armor as shiny as new, a championship robo-fighting belt gleaming from his waist as he flexed one arm. Sitting on his other shoulder was a little old lady wearing a sleeveless, studded leather lab coat. Her arms were covered in tattoos and her bottle-dyed blonde hair held into a bun with knitting needles. She was smiling, one of her arms draped proudly across Punk's head. Punk looked equally happy, the lower lids of his eyes upturned.

The present Punk stared at the polaroid, blinking hard, his armor-cased body beginning to tremble.

The eye on the floor withdrew slightly in repulsion. "Yeesh…don't get sappy on me, focus on your fighting!" The voice coached. "…You could be a real contender, believe me."

"I was a top fighter back then," Punk murmured. "Back before Dr. Rose died and I got kicked outta the Robot Fighting League. Turns out, it's no picnic bein' a rogue robot—especially when you've got no friends! I got mixed up with the wrong bots, now I owe money to a few mobsters…" Punk turned away from the photo in shame, then slammed his hands against the television, crushing it flat like a cardboard box. "This bank robbery was supposed to be simple! I wouldn't have hurt anyone, I just needed the money!"

"I can help you," the voice repeated calmly. It seemed as slippery as an eel, or some other creature that liked the dark depths of the ocean. "Take this. It's a special energy. It will make you powerful."

Within the center of the eye grew a small purple flame. It emitted no smoke nor heat, though it seemed to suck out the light from the cracked window and the naked lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. For a brief moment, a small figure of a skull flickered within the flames.

Punk started. "What? What's that? Is it legal?"

His instinct was to recoil from the strange purple flame, but the feeling of the invisible cables had him snared like a fly in a web. And yet, as he stared into the purple flame, he began to see possibilities.

"Can I…just look at it for a moment?"

Mesmerized, Punk stooped to reach out toward the purple flame. The roar of cheering fans rang in his ears. His circuits felt less rusty. He could see his creator's adoring face. His dump of an apartment no longer mattered. The people who he owed money to no longer mattered. No authority mattered.

But then, just as Punk's fingertips brushed the purple flame, the energy shot up through his arm and deep into his power core. The grandiose feelings died like a light clicking off.

Punk staggered backward, wrapping his arms around his chest. "I…I don' feel so good…"

"Give it a second."

Punk convulsed, shaking like a dog covered in flees, but then he regained control and straightened. He leaned back and began to laugh his ghoulish laugh, his voice booming in reverb across the small apartment, causing dust to fall from the popcorn ceiling and annoying all of his neighbors.

"There it is," the voice muttered smugly to itself, the shadow on the floor beginning to fade.

"I'll show everyone now—no one's the boss of me but me," Punk continued to boom. "Thank you, you one-eyed monstrosity."

"Aw, no problem!—But, just, do me a favor? Get revenge on those two pests who humiliated you today. They're meddling in things they shouldn't…and I don't like that. Oh! And remember," the voice added, just as the faint shadow disappeared, "Have fun~"

To be continued…

Chapter Text

Mega Man had a third nightmare that night.

Though totally obscured by shadow, the figure seemed to be watching him smugly from across the field of flames. "You're curious about me, aren't you?" the shadow taunted. "Just accept your defeat, and I'll stop bothering you."

Still unable to move, Mega Man glared back. "What are you talking about? Who are you?"

The shadow chuckled. "Isn't it obvious?"

As though a dim light had appeared, reluctantly pushing away the shadow, the figure slowly began to come into focus, a band of light sliding across a visor—

Gasping, Mega Man forced himself awake, launching into a sitting position and startling Rush, who had been curled up at the foot of his bed.

No—the shadow couldn't be Proto! It made no sense that he was having bad dreams about Proto, he was family!

…But then why did the figure look so familiar?

Am…am I going crazy? Mega Man wondered.

He looked around his room, at the dark bookshelves cramped with worn chemistry books, his desk piled with notebooks, his carpet slippers on the floor, Rush still staring at him with cocked ears, the waning moon visible through the gap in his window curtains—everything seemed normal.

Mega Man patted Rush's head, reassuring him, then ran a hand through his hair to steady himself. No, he wasn't going crazy…it was still just a dream, but Mega Man had been undeniably tense lately, and felt his imagination was definitely starting to play tricks on him, perhaps inspired by his conversations with Roll. But Mega Man still stubbornly maintained that Proto Man wasn't the root of his stress…

Besides, lots of bots have visors, Mega Man thought, settling back into his pillows. Heck, even I do.

With this practical thought, Mega Man began to calm down, finally drifting into a normal sleep untroubled by shadowy nightmares.

Punk stalked noisily out of his apartment and down the creaking stairs that lead outside. He didn't care if his human neighbors or landlord saw or recognized him. He was done pretending to care about the rules—he had never liked them anyway. He kicked open the door at the bottom of the stairs, knocking it loose from its hinges.

It was the middle of the night—the back alley deserted save for a couple of rats scrounging for scraps in the dumpster. At the sight of Punk, the rats gave frightened squeaks and hid. Meanwhile, Punk drank in the darkness—the purple energy burning like a warm fire inside his chest, sending a wild, prickling current from the tips of his fingers to the toes of his boots.

First, Punk went to 'settle his debt' with the gangsters. After trashing their drones, their human leaders cowered before him, offering him anything he wanted in exchange for mercy.

Punk left them to cower, feeling smug. Too easy. They'd never dare to bother him again. No one would. He felt better than he had in a long time—finally free to do whatever he wanted.

Yet as the sun rose, gleaming brightly off windows and sending its pale rays into the streets, a restlessness began to settle into him, the energy in his chest still building, itching to be used. There was still something Punk had to do. He thought back to the two that had messed up his bank robbery—the superhero, Mega Girl, and that busybody brainiac in green.

Punk chuckled ghoulishly to himself, transforming into a spiked ball and crashing into the ground. He'd wait until mid-morning…then he'd strike.

Still excited about her first successful adventure as Mega Girl, Kalinka had shown up early to Quint's laboratory with Beat, wearing a pink button-up blouse and denim skirt. While sitting on the edge of her desk, she had proceeded to nearly talk Quint's ears off about future plans, barely letting Quint say more than 'Mmm-hmmm' at intervals. Quint didn't mind. He liked hearing her chatter while he worked—Kalinka was so much smarter than she liked anyone to know, and it was a pleasant change from his usual solitude.

A musical tone sounded from Kalinka's macrame purse—something like a sugary pop tune heard in malls.

"That's my phone," Kalinka announced, taking out a boxy flip phone with an antenna attached. "Hi Daddy!"

The phone was on speaker, so Beat and Quint could hear both sides of the conversation.

"Kalinka—are you safe?"

"Yeah, of course I am, why?"

"I just got an alert from the police—there's a dangerous criminal robot on the loose in Los Angeles. Where are you?"

"I'm…with Quint! In his lab!"

"…Really? You're with Quint?" Dr. Cossack sounded both relieved and intrigued. "Does that mean you are doing scientific work together? You were always so good at it—"

"Daaaad, don't be so embarrassing!"

"Alright, alright! I'll leave you alone," Dr. Cossack's voice was bursting with pride. "Well, you'll be safe there while the police handle the rogue robot. I'm very busy today, but I'm in my office if you need me—"

"Don't stay there too late!" Kalinka lectured, knowing Dr. Cossack's work habits all too well. "Remember what I told you about working too hard! Love you Daddy, byeee!"

Kalinka hung up, then spun toward Quint, her face shining. "A rogue robot is attacking? Could be a job for Mega Girl!" she mused. "Hurry Quint! Turn on the news!"

Quint blinked, not expecting any sort of 'superhero' work so soon, but turned to his computer to pull up the local news.

Footage from a helicopter displayed a street only a few blocks from Citadel Headquarters. The palm tree-lined six-lane boulevard was devoid of its usual congestion as a large spiked ball ricocheted from building to building as though inside a giant pinball machine. A second later, the spiked ball came to a halt in the center of the destruction, unfolding itself into a familiar robot in spiked red armor while laughing ghoulishly.

"Oh no, that's Punk!" gasped Beat.

Catching sight of the news helicopter above him, Punk leaned backward and shouted upward, his voice booming in deep reverb, "Hey! You so-called 'superheroes'…you know who you are! I want a rematch! The longer you make me wait, the more I destroy! I mean it this time!"

Then Punk folded up into a red spiked ball again and began running over a line of parking meters, bending them flat into the concrete.

Kalinka frowned. "Punk's attacking again? I was afraid of that…we'll have to stop him! Again."

Quint hesitated. "But…you just told Dr. Cossack you were in my lab—"

"Yeah, but I didn't say I'd stay here. C'mon! It's our fault Punk is doing this—like, more your fault than mine for provoking him, but still our responsibility."

"I—fine," Quint relented.

Though he didn't like deceiving Dr. Cossack like this (he shuddered to think of the look of disappointment on Dr. Cossack's face if he found out) something about Punk's new attack seemed off. He was eager to investigate himself.

Proto Man had been asleep after a long night of piloting when his communicator began beeping.

…Since Proto Man was a heavy sleeper, it had actually been beeping for two minutes before Proto Man finally roused enough to roll over and answer it.

"Proto! Come quickly!" Dr. Wily's voice was as excited as a child on Halloween.

"Why? Wha's happen'n'?" Proto Man mumbled blearily.

"Just come now!" The transmission ended.

"Musta found Bass," Proto Man grumbled to himself, getting up. "Finally. I'll go blast the little termite for waking me up at this stupid hour."

Proto Man found Dr. Wily in his laboratory, where he was dancing excitedly in front of his supercomputer, his white lab coat whirling around him.

"Uh…what's going on?"

Dr. Wily turned to Proto Man, grinning wildly, his hands outstretched dramatically. "I have just received the most exciting reading on my new Global Extraterrestrial Radiation Scanner!"

"Your what?"

"My Global Extraterrestrial Radiation Scanner—" Dr. Wily lowered his head, a sinister shadow creeping into his face as he smiled with every crooked tooth, "—It can scan the entire planet for powerful sources of alien energy!"

Proto Man yawned. "Alien energy? I thought you were looking for Bass." Then, a sudden thought jolted him awake like a shock of electricity. "Wait…don't tell me that titanium abomination is running on alien energy."

Dr. Wily's grin soured. He dropped his hands down to his sides. "Bass is not an abomination nor is he at his true potential—But yes, you might as well know. Bass is very unique—for not only is he powered by plasma like you and Mega Man, but also a new type of energy that I discovered, developed from a sample of the green alien energy I recovered from the crater at Red Gulch—all that remains of the meteorite's power! I've dubbed it 'Bassnium', and it is one of the most powerful energies on Earth!"

The pieces were coming together into a Frankensteinian mess. Red Gulch. Alien energy. Dr. Wily's lack of grieving after Snake Man's death. His secrecy around Bass's construction. Bass's strange behavior…

Proto Man stalked over to Dr. Wily, his voice low as though speaking in a graveyard. "Doc…What—or should I say who—is Bass really?"

"If you're asking, then you already know."

"…Holy shit! Holy shit. Doc!"

"What? I am a genius!"

Proto Man shook his head in disbelief. "I know you're a mad scientist, Wily, but this is…well, I don't know what this is," (He wanted to say an 'insult to the memory of an insult to robotics' but stopped himself just in time). "Now I understand why he's such a pest!"

"He is not a pest—he is just confused about who he is."

"Gee, I wonder why that could be? Is it because he's a literal abomination to science?"

"Bass is not an abomination!"

"Alright, alright…but seriously Doc, you're just giving me more reason to take down the little monster. If he was wise, he'd know better than to show his face again."

"We don't want to destroy him," Dr. Wily reminded Proto Man, fists clenched.

"Yeah, sure, whatever…" Proto Man replied dismissively. "So…you've found him?"

"No. It has been nine hours since my batontons lost track of Bass (Of course, he is programmed with unsurpassed stealth and cunning, so this is not surprising). So, I have resorted to more drastic measures." He patted his supercomputer. "My scanner is only strong enough to detect powerful sources of alien energy, but if Bass taps into his alien power, we'll know, and can find him."

"Sound swell, Doc…but if your new alien energy detector didn't find Bass, then what did it find that made you dance a merry jig?"

"A different type of alien energy," Dr. Wily pointed to a black screen with a glowing topographical map of the world on it. A purple dot was flashing over Los Angeles. His eyes flickered over to a second screen, which displayed a complicated assortment of graphs, data, and digital meters. "It's incredible! Such readings! Why, I haven't seen anything like this since…since…the shrink-ray crystals! The island! Lotos! This could be just what I need to fuel my next plan!"

"Uh, well don't jinx it by bringing up those missions," quipped Proto Man. He looked at the map thoughtfully. "Kinda close to Citadel Headquarters…maybe something got loose from their lab?"

"I don't think so—but we must hurry and snatch it up before someone else does!"

Dr. Wily was already barking orders into a communicator for Cut Man and Guts Man to get the Skullker ready while stuffing his pockets with a radiation detector, the Reprogramming Raygun, and printouts from his computer.

Proto Man hesitated, knowing Dr. Wily was expecting to accompany him to Los Angeles. If Proto Man had one trepidation about joining in on another crazy adventure, it was that he might run into Mega Man again.

Ever since the night of the New York gubernatorial election, Proto Man had been trying to put Mega Man out of his mind—specifically, that terrible moment when Proto Man had thought Mega Man had died, and that it had been Proto Man's fault for being careless—

Stubbornly ignoring that this event had left a mark, Proto Man looked back at the purple dot flashing innocently on the screen and decided he would go on the mission after all. Why not? Might be fun—and it was best to keep an eye on Dr. Wily when he was messing around with alien energy anyway. Perhaps this would even make Dr. Wily forget he was searching for Bass, which would be a big bonus. He made a brief com call to Elec Man to explain what Dr. Wily had planned.

"Alien energy? Like at Red Gulch?" Elec Man inquired.

"No, more like Lotos."

"….."

"I'm sure it's fine."

"….."

"What could go wrong?"

Elec Man sighed. "I'll be there in five minutes, don't leave without me."

"…Wait, you want to come?" Proto Man asked, surprised.

"Yes. I think you are underestimating how dangerous alien energy is, and you need someone sensible around you to keep you from doing something stupid."

"Pshh, you've been flying around in jets we've built ourselves, how could this be any more dangerous than that?"

"Our jets have state-of-the-art safety systems—Wily's plans do not."

"Aw, worried something will happen to your pilot?"

"...Don't flatter yourself, Light."

Elec Man hung up on him.

"…I was kidding!" Proto Man snickered to himself.

Prime-Double-Zero was indistinguishable from every other robo-officer on the California State Police force, other than his serial number inscribed on his badge, which read '100'. He reported to Chief Fictus—or, at least, that was what the rest of the police force thought—in reality, Prime-Double-Zero lead a double life of impersonating both Prime-Double-Zero and Chief Fictus—but his real name was Fake Man, and he was not a police officer at all.

Blending it with the other robo-officers, Fake Man was headed to the scene of Punk's attack. Yet it wasn't Punk who interested him (he didn't think much of ex-robo-fighters, and Punk had always been too small time of a criminal for neither the police nor Fake Man's true employer to take special interest over any other rogue robot). Instead, Fake Man was on the lookout for the mysterious pink 'superhero' he had seen on the news the day before…

One way or another, he'd nip this new problem in the bud, then return back to Sacramento before nightfall.

After changing into their armor, both Quint and Kalinka quickly slipped out of Citadel and over to the block that was under attack while Beat stayed behind as lookout.

The entire area had been evacuated and barricaded, making the boulevard resemble an improvised robo-fighting arena, its asphalt all scared and torn up. They could see the remains of the few robo-officers who had stepped into this 'arena' mangled and strewn about, the rest had been guarding the perimeter while whispering strategies into walky-talkies when Kalinka and Quint had crept by. The news helicopter was buzzing at a safe distance—Quint hoped it was too far away to get clear footage of himself and Kalinka, but still kept close to the buildings and out of its line of sight, just in case.

Ahead, the red spiked ball was busy leveling traffic lights, stop signs, and an abandoned tow truck.

"Alright Punk, we're here! Stop destroying things!" Kalinka shouted at the spiked ball.

The spiked ball swerved around in a hairpin arc. It shot like a cannonball toward them, jumped an overturned police car, then unfolding midair as Punk landed with a sharp clang on the street in front of them. He laughed ghoulishly. "No, not Punk. I don't like that name no more, I'm Hellrazor now."

"…Huh?"

A strange gleam flashed in Punk's eyes as he stood with one foot on an overturned construction barrel. He seemed different—an aura of menace clinging to him like a shadow, a slight bass reverb to his voice.

Quint immediately began scanning Punk with his visor. "I…I don't believe it!" he exclaimed to Kalinka.

"What?"

"He's infected with evil energy!"

"'Evil energy?'"

"The purple alien energy I told you about!" Quint snapped a little impatiently, for he had just explained this to her a couple of days ago. "It's like a virus, and Punk is now its host. Oh, this is very, very bad! But how did it happen?"

"Never mind, look out!"

Punk—or Hellrazor, as he now called himself—had started throwing his spinning blades (Screw Crusher, according to Quint's visor). They whirled toward them at incredible speed liked spiked frisbees—much faster than the day before. Kalinka executed a perfect pirouette, neatly dodging the three that had headed for her, while Quint dove to the curb, feeling a soft whoosh as the blades just missed his shoulder.

Quickly standing up again, Quint drew a blaster. Back at the bank, he had been shooting Punk with a grade of plasma power similar to what Mega Man and Proto Man used. Now he switched to quintessence—alien energy to fight alien energy. It had worked before back when Dr. Wily's robots had been using green alien energy. Quint opened fire.

Hellrazor dug his spiked boots into the asphalt, the impact of the ultraviolet blasts pushing him back—but otherwise, didn't seem seriously hurt. "Now you're fighting, Brainiac—but your watered-down version of evil energy won't be enough against the real deal, now take this!"

Hellrazor folded up into a spiked ball and sped forward, forcing Quint to drop his assault and retreat backward.

Not good—it appeared quintessence wasn't quite as strong as the raw evil energy it was derived from. Kalinka and Quint stood back to back as Hellrazor circled them in a red blur.

But Hellrazor wasn't in a particular hurry to destroy them. He stopped spinning and unfurled from the spiked ball again, a wicked glint in his eye as he stalked slowly closer. "Yo, Brainiac, I shall enjoy turning you into a scrap heap. And you—Mega Girl—sorry, but you gotta go too. Sorry…orders are orders."

"What do you mean 'orders are orders'?" Kalinka asked sharply, holding her ground. "You said you were programmed to reject rules and authority, so why are you taking 'orders' to destroy me?"

At Kalinka's words, Hellrazor stopped still in his tracks. He seemed agitated, his eyes darting from side to side. "Stop! You're…trying to confuse me!"

"Punk, who's orders are you taking?" Kalinka demanded again.

"I—I—can't! I—I—must!" Hellrazor convulsed, then in an abrupt personality shift, laughed ghoulishly. "I'm Hellrazor now, archenemy of rules, establishments, and figures of authority—and that includes superheroes like you!"

A burst of purple flames briefly engulfed Hellrazor, his eyes flashing yellow. As though burnt, the spikes on his armor suddenly turned pitch black, several new spikes sliding out of his pauldrons, each growing longer and deadlier as Hellrazor gained several inches in height.

Kalinka took a hasty step backward. "Yech! What's happening to him?" she asked Quint.

"Mechanical mutations," Quint responded grimly, still scanning Hellrazor with his visor. "The evil energy is reconfiguring his body to be more alien while transmuting his armor into a metal unlike anything on earth."

"Now we're talkin'!" Hellrazor crowed, his glowing yellow eyes turning upon them. He made an upward sweeping gesture with his hands. "Now check this out!"

The ground rumbled—similar to when Punk had been tunneling as a spiked ball on beneath Stiletto Street, yet Hellrazor was above ground. As the rumbling grew louder, Kalinka and Quint braced themselves, not sure what to expect. Then, with a horrible cracking sound like ice breaking on the surface of a frozen river, cybernetic vines began bursting up from the asphalt—similar to the type wild roses had, but large as firehoses with red skin like Hellrazor's armor and black thorns crackling with purple energy. They began crawling up the buildings, which creaked and buckled, the bricks cracking. Soon, a school, a police office, and a government building were engulfed in the thorny vines and looked on the verge of collapsing.

As Kalinka gaped at this new obstacle, Quint looked up to the sky. With dismay, he noticed the thin, wispy start of a hazy purple cloud appearing just above the skyscrapers—

Wham.

Something heavy and spikey crashed into Quint with the force of a bullet train. Hellrazor had hurtled into him—the street shot away as Quint went airborne.

"Quint!" Kalinka cried as Quint went sailing in a smooth arc above the skyscrapers then out of sight. A second later, they heard a distant crash. Kalinka winced on his behalf.

"Whoops, guess I don't know my new strength," Hellrazor chuckled, dusting off his hands. "I'm going after him since he's the more annoying of you two…" Hellrazor hesitated, then glanced at Kalinka out of the corner of the gap in his armor. "Oh, and Mega Girl—you can't defeat me, so take my advice—get out of this while you still can."

With a small shrug, Hellrazor folded up into the spiked ball, then crashed into the ground, leaving behind only a giant molehill tunnel.

"Sh-shit," Kalinka muttered, stamping her foot before sprinting after them.

Proto Man twisted restlessly in his seat. Though it wasn't a long trip to Los Angeles, he was beginning to feel bored. The Skullker seemed slow and cumbersome compared to a jet. He was completely tuning out Dr. Wily's long and nonsensical monologue on all his ideas for the new alien energy he had found, his mind instead listing through different design absurdities present in the Skullker's flight structure.

Idly, Proto Man wondered if Elec Man was doing the same thing, but when he glanced back at Elec Man (who was standing with Cut Man Guts Man in the space behind the flight deck seats), he noticed Elec Man was completely engrossed with typing on his handheld computer. Elec Man's narrowed eyes flicked back and forth from its notecard-sized screen to Dr. Wily's radiation data on the Skullker's flight deck monitor, his expression like a cryptographer puzzling over code.

"Hey, whatcha doing?" Proto Man whispered curiously as Dr. Wily continued to ramble on.

"Cross-analyzing Wily's radiation readings with the data set I took from the incident with the meteorite." Elec Man wrinkled his nose. "I haven't looked at these since you kidnapped that random scientist at Red Gulch."

Proto Man couldn't help but smile. "…You and I both know you know Dr. Cossack's name."

Dr. Wily noticed Proto Man and Elec Man were whispering to each other, shot them the same look a teacher would give two students caught talking during class, then took in what Elec Man was doing.

"You're wasting your time! I already have all the data I need from my Extraterrestrial Radiation Scanner," Dr. Wily informed Elec Man happily.

Elec Man rolled his eyes and resumed his work without comment.

Finally, the Skullker descended toward Los Angeles, whose smog seemed slightly denser and purpler than usual. Near its downtown lay a trampled-looking patch of semi-destruction that spanned several blocks, ringed with the flashing lights of police cars. Strange gigantic vines were creeping up the remaining buildings like a nest of worms.

"There! The source of the evil energy!" Dr. Wily announced, pointing to a spikey red ball that was busy leveling what looked like a statue of a former mayor. "This is exactly what I'm looking for! We must recruit this incredible specimen and use his alien energy to take over the world!"

"According to your intel, his name is Punk, rogue robot, formally a National Robo-Fighter." Proto Man smirked. "Always thought robo-fighting was bogus—this'll be a cinch."

The Skullker landed on a leveled patch nearby. Dr. Wily leaped eagerly out, flanked by Cuts Man and Guts Man. Proto Man strolled slowly after them, but Elec Man remained behind to continue his analysis (while grumbling to Proto Man how stupid this all was).

"Punk!" Dr. Wily called, smiling his oiliest of smiles. "I am Dr. Wily, famous tactical mastermind and the world's greatest roboticist. Your destruction here is most impressive. I have come with a proposition—join forces with me, and with your power and my ingenious ideas, the world will be ours!"

The spiked red ball paused its destruction and unfolded as Hellrazor turned to squint at Dr. Wily.

Hmm…that's an interesting idea… mused the slippery voice in the back of Hellrazor's mind—the voice from the shadow on his apartment floor.

Hellrazor didn't agree with the voice. He had definitely heard of Dr. Wily and how he reprogrammed robots to serve in his own selfish ambitions. "The name's Hellrazor, and I don't take orders from anyone, you second-rate fascist dipshit! And soon your robots won't either!"

Several spiked cuffs materialized in Hellrazor's hands. He threw them at Cut Man and Guts Man, the cuffs snapping around their necks, wrists, and ankles. With a purple flash, ripped leather outfits appeared around their armor.

"Now everyone do whatever they want!" roared Hellrazor before breaking out into his ghoulish laugh.

Joining in on Hellrazor's laughter, Cut Man and Guts Man immediately turned on Dr. Wily.

"That's right, we won't take orders from no one!" hooted Guts Man.

"Yeah! Down with the system!" joined in Cut Man, clacking his head sheer.

Dr. Wily scrambled backward. "Ack! What are you two idiots doing? Get back!" he cried, his voice rising in pitch.

He whipped out his Reprogramming Raygun and waved it desperately at Cut Man, Guts Man, and Hellrazor—all of which only laughed harder. At this, Dr. Wily gave an undignified, panicked squeak. He had expected Hellrazor would need to be reprogrammed—what he had not expected was for Hellrazor to be both immune and capable of taking over his own robots instead!

"P-P-Proto! Help me!"

Shaking his head with a small smirk, Proto Man drew a blaster and stepped in front of Dr. Wily. He could have predicted this—something similar had happened with Lotos, right before—right before—well, the end of that mission was strangely murky, but it hadn't ended well. "Go back to the Skullker—I'll take care of these wannabe punks," he said lazily.

As Dr. Wily fled, Cut Man and Guts Man rounded on Proto Man instead.

The slippery voice from the back of Hellrazor's mind spoke up again. Hellrazor…new target. That jerk with the scarf…go wreck him up.

"Don't tell me what to do…" Hellrazor muttered back. All the same, he began advancing on Proto Man as the voice compelled, hating and resenting it all the while.

Kalinka ran down the broken sidewalk. She still had no clue where Hellrazor was, and Quint wasn't answering his communicator (which wasn't good), yet she could hear the sounds of a battle ahead, and ran toward it. It sounded like it was coming from one street over—

She stopped short. There, at the end of a short alley, yellow scarf streaming gallantly behind him, his red and gray suit gleaming in the sun like a knight's armor—was the masked hero. He had just fought off two dorky-looking robots (an orange one with a pair of sheers on his head, and a larger hulking one with a square jaw, both wearing tacky leather outfits)—and was now facing Hellrazor.

Kalinka's heart skipped a beat. It's him! He's here!

…Well, no duh the masked hero was here! This had become a bigger problem than before, but surely the masked hero would stop it!

She heard Hellrazor's ghoulish laugh echo down the alley. He had just thrown a set of spiked cuffs at the masked hero—but the masked hero batted them out of the air with effortless suavity.

Hellrazor stopped laughing. "What the…why aren't my cuffs affecting you? Something's weird about you…"

"Yeah, not my style—I'm rebel enough without 'em," the masked hero replied with a smirk.

Kalinka clasped her hands in admiration. He's so cool!

At this point, Hellrazor lost patience, transformed into the spiked ball, and hurtled toward her masked hero—the hero dodged, then both were out of sight.

This was it. The opportunity Kalinka had been hoping for. She had to go meet her hero! She began running toward the alley to help out—

"Stop right there! You're under arrest!"

A robo-officer had jumped out from behind a newspaper booth, blocking her path.

"Oh yeah? For what?" Kalinka demanded. The robo-officer wasn't L.A.P.D., but California State Police with the serial number 100—Prime-Double-Zero.

"Vigilantism and operating as a rogue robot." Prime-Double-Zero glared suspiciously at her from beneath his peaked cap, then asked in a low voice, "…Who are you?"

Kalinka snorted. She was well acquainted with the California State Police—they sometimes rescued her when she had been kidnapped, true—but mostly they interfered with her fun, like what Prime-Double-Zero was attempting to do now. She flashed him a dazzling grin. "I'm Mega Girl—pretty protector of justice, friend of the innocent, and enemy of evil-doers everywhere! Now if you'll just let me through—" she said, attempting to squeeze by while eagerly craning her head over his shoulder, hoping to catch sight of the masked hero again.

Prime-Double-Zero shifted to block her again, his cold, expressionless face looking absolutely unamused. "I don't think so, you're not going anywhere."

Kalinka heard a rumbling noise below their feet. She quickly leaped away—Prime-Double-Zero was not so lucky. Red vines burst from the ground. One snagged around his leg and blaster arm. Prime-Double-Zero struggled, but found himself rooted firmly to the spot. Kalinka took the opportunity to duck past him down the alley.

"Hey, get back here!" Prime-Double-Zero barked after her.

"Sorry, gotta go help stop a bad guy, bye!" Kalinka called back with a wink.

But when Kalinka reached the street where both Hellrazor and the masked hero had been battling, neither were still there.

"Oh! Where did he go?" she whined in disappointment, turning on the spot.

Hellrazor alternated between throwing spinning Screw Crusher blades and transforming into the spiked ball as he chased after Proto Man.

Proto Man welcomed the challenge, firing back while avoiding every attack. "Listen, buddy…whatever your problem is, you should know, I'm the Red Bomber, I'm undefeated. You can join our team, but if you fight me, you're not going to win!"

Though the electric blue bursts of plasma fizzled harmlessly off his spiked red armor, Hellrazor was nonetheless annoyed by Proto Man's over-confidence coupled with his infuriating evasiveness, like trying to catch a shaft of light.

"You talk tough, but you're no match for me. Now hold still—"

Crackling with evil energy, Hellrazor reached out a hand—the white glove becoming black, the fingers fusing into three spiked claws, a surge of purple flames engulfing Proto Man.

Proto Man had no time to even cry out—his face surprised as felt first a suffocating rush of the purple energy surrounding him, then an answering flare-up within his power core, like a flash bomb exploding in his chest. His vision momentarily filled with blinding cyan light, then he fell face-first into the broken asphalt, unconscious.

Hellrazor wheezed with the exertion of this powerful attack, dropping his new three-digit hand to his side.

Heh heh heh, stupid earthling, The voice inside Hellrazor jeered. Can't even handle a little alien energy spike! Finish him, Hellrazor.

But before Hellrazor had stepped toward Proto Man, a black blur with a golden harlequin mask darted in front of Proto Man, a brilliant arc of electricity flashing from his outstretched hands toward Hellrazor.

Hellrazor stopped advancing and chuckled. "Doesn't even hurt! You're just a skinny load of static!"

But the Thunder Beam (normally extremely effective against non-alien energy powered robots) had been just a distraction. After passing through Hellrazor, it hit the bottom of a scaffolding next to a building that was being repainting, causing a small explosion and dumping several cans of slime green paint onto Hellrazor's head and into his eyes.

"Hey!" Hellrazor spluttered, scrabbling at his face. But by the time he managed to wipe paint from his eyes, both Elec Man and Proto Man were gone.

"Argggh!" Hellrazor shouted in frustration. His body burst into purple flames, drying and disintegrating the rest of the paint. He grew a few more inches taller as more spikes sprouted from his armor.

Who the frick was that? muttered the voice, his fun spoiled.

Hellrazor pounded the side of his head. "Shut up, you! I'm tired of chasing that mouthy loser—I'm going to go turn Brainiac into metal mulch instead."

Hellrazor transformed into the spiked ball, then crashed into the ground.

Mega Man and Roll had gotten dressed for the day and were on their way out the door for a trip to the aquarium when the emergency satellite scanner started beeping.

Dr. Light came rushing out to get them. "Mega, Roll—Dr. Wily's Skullker has been spotted in Los Angeles! There are reports of a dangerous robot on a rampage!"

"Bass?" asked Mega Man with a sinking feeling.

To his relief, Dr. Light shook his head. "No, not Bass—but do be careful, Mega Man! This robot is wreaking havoc! The police are powerless to stop whoever it is."

"Sounds like they need us then," said Roll. She cast Mega Man an apologetic look. "Sorry…this isn't turning into the relaxing day it was supposed to be!"

"It's alright," Mega Man answered. Truthfully, he felt restless again, and fighting Dr. Wily's robots actually sounded good—so long as Bass wasn't there! "Don't worry Dr. Light, we're on the case."

"Thank you, but do be careful, both of you!"

"We better take the air raider, it'll be faster—" said Roll. "I just hope we get there before Wily destroys L.A.!"

Careful to stay away from any other nosey robo-officers, Kalinka continued her search of the ruined, cybernetic vine-infested city block. Though she had not caught up to Hellrazor or the masked hero, she had heard distant battle, but then all had gone quiet. She worried about what that might mean.

Her anxiety rising, she turned at the next intersection, then burst into a huge grin. "Quint!"

Quint had been creeping cautiously down a narrow side street. Though he looked a little battered, he otherwise seemed alright, and was likewise relieved to see Kalinka. "Sorry…I crashed into a concrete parking structure and was knocked offline." He rubbed the back of his helmet ruefully, then craned his head upward. "Shit…the radiation cloud is getting worse!"

"Radiation cloud?" Kalinka murmured, for the first time noticing the dark, storm-like haze swirling above them.

"Yes! They form when there is a high concentration of loose alien energy!" Quint murmured, pacing frantically. "This is very, very, very bad!"

"Chill out! We'll figure it out!" Kalinka told him earnestly, grabbing him by the shoulder.

"There you are!"

They both jumped as Hellrazor suddenly crashed into the sidewalk in front of them. With a flash of purple energy, his entire left arm mutated into a long flail. He lashed out at Quint, the arm coiling around him like a python, lifted him off the ground, then flung him into the lobby of an IRS office.

"Hey, stop that!" Kalinka yelled, punching Hellrazor. But the purple flames protecting Hellrazor were too strong—her suit's forcefield flashed, then she too went flying into the IRS lobby.

Quint crawled across the tiled floor to Kalinka's side. "Are you okay?" he asked in a shaky voice.

"Yeah…" she grumbled, annoyed at gracelessly landing on her face.

Quint shook his head. "This robot is too powerful. We should run. If you get hurt, Dr. Cossack will murder me!"

Kalinka promptly stood up, dusting off her armor. "No Dad wouldn't! But we can't tell him, it's like I said before—he'd get so stressed out, it would be bad for his blood pressure. It might kill him. Besides, we've got this covered! Punk can't so much as bruise me in this suit—though if he scuffs it up he's in big trouble."

"You're sure you're alright? No broken bones or a concussion?"

"Nah."

Though Quint still looked worried, he glanced back outside at Hellrazor who was blazing with purple fire as the ground rumbled again, a fresh thicket of vines snaking up the buildings. The street became darker as the purple cloud above grew thicker. "Hellrazor's using his new alien powers to cause paranormal distortions, in this case creating those vines—that's the cause of the radiation cloud."

"Totally weird! How do we stop it?"

"Well, I theorize the paranormal distortions should become neutralized if we stop the evil energy's host."

"So we need to like get rid of the evil energy inside Punk."

"It's not that simple. There's no known way to separate alien energy from its host once they've bonded!"

"We can't just kill him!" Kalinka, aghast.

"…I don't think we could if we tried, look!"

Hellrazor's mechanical mutations were spreading. His bladed mohawk grew into a long set of black razors which could flex like the crest of a cockatoo, his spiked pauldrons flared out like the hard forewings of a beetle, his feet whirled into sharp drills, his anatomy rearranging into something both spikier and more geometrical as his form became taller and leaner. For a moment, Hellrazor wobbled unsteadily as he adjusted to his new proportions, like a giant puppet. If Punk had been intimidating before, Hellrazor was several levels beyond—a brawler compared to a demon.

At the same time, ten-foot black spikes began erupting through the asphalt around him in a radial wave, each crackling with purple energy.

"Ack! He's getting worse!" Kalinka told Quint as they were forced to scramble out of the lobby to avoid getting skewered.

As Mega Girl and Brainiac retreated behind an overturned bus for cover, Hellrazor hunched over, wheezing. He felt winded and sore, like he had just fought eleven consecutive cage matches in a row without a warmup, yet he could feel evil energy coursing through every wire, coaxing his circuits while purple flames marched along his armor like a searing massage.

That's it, you're doing awesome, buddy! prodded the voice cheerfully. Now finish them…

For a moment, Hellrazor didn't budge, becoming vaguely aware that the voice was bossing him around again. He didn't like to be bossed around, especially not by condescending disembodied voices! Why was he listening to it? Was this a form of reprogramming? He tried to fight it.

"Rgggh, get out of my head, get out of my head!" he shouted, shaking his body back and forth vigorously.

Fine, fine, I'll stop backseat driving, yeeeesh! the voice replied. It seemed to be growing softer. …Just don't blame me if you don't like the full reality of your situation~

"What? What's that supposed to mean?" Punk stammered, coming back to himself. Then he looked down at his hands. Oh—oh no. Oh no."

One had become a three-digit claw, the other had melded into a heavy solid mass like the head of a spiked mace, attached to his body by a metal tube long enough to trail the ground. The ground was much further away than it should be, his feet had become drills, his limbs were spindly and weird like an insect's, and long black spikes stuck out of his armor at every angle like a reverse pincushion. It was all wrong.

Punk gave a startled grunt and staggered backward. "No, no no no no…this can't be real," he moaned, his voice still garbled and hellish as he took in the changes. "Nooo!"

Hellrazor had stopped attacking, and appeared to be panicking, as though realizing that he was beginning to resemble something between a humanoid aphid and a sea urchin. Then, with an anguished cry, his glowing yellow eyes flashed, the purple flames flared, and he transformed into a spikey red ball and began knocking down a DMV.

"This is terrible!" Kalinka told Quint as they peered over at him from a safe distance. "He doesn't really want to be this way!"

"I…I don't know what to do," Quint replied, feeling squeamish. "We can't even call for help—the radiation cloud blocks communication!"

Quint demonstrated by activating his communicator, which let out a staticky hiss.

"…Perhaps just as well…" Quint added dismally. "I am only aware of one robot who may be of assistance against evil energy, but that would cause a serious breach in international law, not to mention lead to awkward questions…"

Kalinka wasn't quite listening, her face lighting up with an idea. "Wait…maybe we can contact someone! Back at your lab! You said you were trying to make Contact with friendly aliens!"

"…Yes…" Quint hesitated. "I was getting close to a breakthrough, but—"

"C'mon! It's our only option! How else can we stop this—stop him?" Kalinka questioned, pointing at Hellrazor.

"Alright," Quint relented. "We'll try!"

With a regretful glance back at the fresh wave of destruction Hellrazor was causing, they retreated back toward Quint's laboratory.

To be continued…

Chapter Text

By the time Mega Man and Roll arrived in Los Angeles, they saw a scene characteristic of the type of chaos Dr. Wily liked to enact—however, neither Dr. Wily nor his robots were anywhere to be seen. Still, it was not difficult to know where to go—for a section of the city was obscured by a purple haze, below it the streets were scored and leveled and looked like dirt racing tracks while gigantic thorny vines covered the remaining skyscrapers, twitching and shifting as they grew denser like a mess of exposed arteries.

"Yikes! Wily's back with a vengeance!" remarked Roll, goggling at the bizarre destruction from the cockpit of the air raider. "Weird he attacked L.A. Instead of New York like he usually does though."

Mega Man frowned. The purple cloud, the otherwordly vines crackling with purple energy… "Are we sure this is Wily?"

"Looks like mad science to me. Who else would it be?"

"Well…something about this kinda reminds me of…Lotos…" A prickle ran down the back of Mega Man's neck at the name.

"…But Lotos was destroyed, right?"

"We were never sure," Mega Man reminded her. Actually, the whole end of Lotos's mayhem in New York City had always been murky, like trying to recall a distant memory.

Exchanging uneasy glances, Mega Man and Roll dropped altitude, the air raider shaking as the radiation began to interfere with its flight stabilization. Landing in an empty intersection in what was almost a crash, Mega Man and Roll quickly leaped out to assess the situation.

It was even eerier at street level. With the vine covered-buildings looming above them and the bulldozed streets all around them, it felt less like they were in L.A. and more like they were on a strange, post-apocalyptic planet where anarchy reigned. Mega Man would have welcomed the sight of Cut Man, Guts Man, or even Dr. Wily (for once, his presence would have grounded the situation in reality!). Instead, they heard a loud whirring noise, something like a speeding dirtbike—small pebbles dancing across the broken street as the ground rumbled. A prickling sense of panic began to rise in Mega Man. Then, they saw it—a large spiked ball had whipped around the corner of another intersection and was tearing straight toward them.

"Look! That must be the cause of all the destruction!" cried Roll.

Both Mega Man and Roll took battle stances, Mega Man with his blaster drawn, Roll with a circular saw ready, Rush growling with ears back. But the spiked ball slowed as it rolled up to them, then unfolded into what looked like a collection of assorted meat tenderizers and metal hoses assembled into the vague shape of a red and black robot. Sickly purple flames smoldered silently around his armor.

"Alright, bad guy, your unlawful demolition streak ends here!" Mega Man called out more confidently than he felt. This robot looked quite intimidating. "…Just who are you?"

"Hellrazor," the robot answered shortly, his voice deep and booming. He seemed to be watching them curiously, his glowing yellow eyes narrowing, his form stoic and unperturbed by the weapons aimed at him. "Welcome to my 'arena.'"

"Whoa, awesome!" Roll whispered to Mega Man, her eyebrows raised, clearly impressed. "Maybe you're right, I can't see Dr. Wily building anything that cool! Yet…something's off. He's covered in purple flames, like that cyclops monster at Red Gulch—which would mean—"

"Evil energy!" Mega Man muttered back.

Quint and Dr. Cossack had told them a little about evil energy back at Red Gulch. Evil energy had been responsible for Lotos's 'magic', and also a gigantic cyclops giant called 'Dark Moon' who had attacked Red Gulch. This was very bad indeed.

"Could it be Lotos in disguise?" Roll whispered again.

"I…don't think so…" Mega Man murmured, though there did seem to be something vaguely familiar about Hellrazor…

A shadow passed over Roll's face. To Mega Man's surprise, she began shaking with fury. "Well, whoever he is, we gotta take him down! As revenge. If it hadn't been for that evil energy monster at Red Gulch, Snake Man would still be alive!"

"No, wait!" Mega Man called as Roll charged. "Only alien energy can fight alien energy!"

If Roll had remembered this, she didn't seem to care. She gave a warlike cry, leaping into the air while firing nonstop at Hellrazor. The blades hit home, but in a flare of purple flames, bounced off and crumbled into dust. Then Hellrazor lashed out with a long, tubular arm like a flail—catching Roll across the waist, and swinging her like a catapult two hundred feet behind him. In quick succession, the flair arm caught Rush next, sending him sailing after Roll, Rush yowling the entire way.

That left Mega Man. Mega Man tensed, his blaster still raised, yet, strangely, found himself unable to fire, or even move. Hellrazor also hesitated, his flail arm dropping to the ground as he contemplated Mega Man, his narrowed eyes becoming yellow slits.

A strange haziness settled into Mega Man. He blinked—everything had gone all murky and vague—Hellrazor had become a hulking shadow. A field of flames fanned out around them. Mega Man thought he heard a distant snicker, but it didn't sound like Hellrazor. In fact, it seemed to be coming from somewhere just behind him—

Wait… Mega Man stared at Hellrazor incredulously over his raised blaster. This is like my dreams…

Shaking himself, Mega Man blinked again, hard. The field of flames vanished. Hellrazor was no longer a shadow, but a blazing figure of purple flames. Still, both Hellrazor and Mega Man continued to hesitate as they looked at each other.

Then, Hellrazor's body dipped forward in a small bow.

Another prickle ran down Mega Man's neck. He went completely rigid, wishing he were a million miles away, or for this monstrosity to sink into whatever realm it had slunk out of. Again, Mega Man did not attack—his blaster was trained on Hellrazor's towering form, but his arm shook, as if something inside was holding him back…

"Mega Man, what are you doing? Run!"

Roll and Rush had returned—and were sprinting past him. Behind them, giant black spikes were bursting through the ground like a sea of lances that was heading straight for them.

Roused by his sister's voice, Mega Man tore his gaze away from Hellrazor to join her in fleeing. There seemed no other option. Ghoulish laughter followed them, then they heard the droning whir again as Hellrazor folded himself into the spiked ball, giving chase.

Bass shuffled down a sidewalk on the outskirts of New York City with his hands in his pockets, his head down, and the hood of his hoodie drawn up. So far, his plan seemed to be working—no one had yet noticed he was a robot (though Treble attracted many nervous looks). No sign of a spy-bats or any of Dr. Wily's idiot robots either.

He passed an electronics store with TVs on display in the window. The array of screens were all tuned to a national news channel, each broadcasting an identical scene of destruction caused by a strange, spikey robo-monster wreathed in purple flames.

A fleeting sense of familiarity passed through Bass. Without quite knowing why, he backtracked back to the store, his head snapping to look at the closest TV. According to the scrolling text at the bottom of the screen, this was live footage of a robot attack in Los Angeles. Bass frowned at the robot burning with purple flames, the fingers of his blaster arm twitching restlessly. Then he saw Mega Man was attempting to fight the robot—though it didn't look like it was going well for him. Bass's hand tightened into a fist. The footage zoomed out to show the whole area of destruction, the bone-colored dome of the Skullker could be seen in the distance—Dr. Wily was there too. Typical. Bass's fist tightened, the knuckles popping.

Bass looked down at Treble. A desire to fight Mega Man had begun burning into him like an old wound that hadn't quite healed—but did he dare go to fight Mega Man if Dr. Wily was there too? As tempting as it was to be rid of both nuisances at once, Bass recalled Los Angeles was on the opposite side of the country, and Bass definitely didn't want to get involved with whatever that purple thing was. He also still needed to find a place to hide out…

"Hey you with the bad haircut!"

Bass jumped away from the storefront. He realized his hood had slipped off, and quickly tightened it back over his head, still unused to the soft, human clothing. Longing to be in the armor currently stowed in the duffle bag on his back, Bass turned to scowl at the human who had shouted at him—the electronics shop owner.

"Either buy something or take a hike, no loitering," growled the human, glaring at Bass, then down at Treble. "Say, ain't that thing kinda big for a robo-dog? Where's its leash?"

The human seemed to be fishing for an excuse to call the cops on them. Treble's ears had pricked backward at the word 'leash'. Bass could have leveled the place if he wanted, but instead he beckoned to Treble and stalked off with gnashed teeth, feeling annoyed and humiliated.

I hate lying low. Next time, Mega Man…

"Yeah, I know, things have gotten a little crazy since yesterday, and they say keeping secrets and doing things on your own is bad," Kalinka told Quint lightly as they snuck back into the laboratory using a secret entrance (fortunately, Hellrazor's vines hadn't yet reached Citadel). "But look at it this way—if Dad got involved, he'd probably go into shock and die—and even if he didn't, he'd go all ballistic and like call in special forces or whatever to go after Punk, turning this into a way bigger drama then it needs to be. You saw what happened to those cop-bots—we don't want that!"

"No, we don't…" Quint agreed. Though it did seem against all conventional advice to handle things themselves, he had to admit there was little that Dr. Cossack or anyone could do to help 9if fact, they could make things worse!) Perhaps it wasbest not to bother him…yet. "But, what if he notices the radiation cloud outside?"

"Relax, it's fine! His office faces the ocean. You know what a workaholic he is, we have like an hour before he notices something is up."

Quint had to acknowledge she was right. He felt guilty—Dr. Cossack was likely deeply engrossed in work, contently thinking that Quint and Kalinka were safe in Quint's laboratory in the basement of Citadel, and unlikely to notice that the situation outside had escalated.

Brushing these thoughts aside, Quint quickly got to work prepping his prototype inter-dimensional communication machine, programming it with Kalinka's improbability formula. "This should work…" he muttered to himself, "—Though it will take a lot of quintessence…a normal robot wouldn't be able to survive the trip, but we should be fine."

The inter-dimensional communication machine began to hum as it powered on. It was the size and shape of a garden gazebo, its floor a smooth circular platform of silvery metal, a similar circular roof suspended above it.

"Is it safe?"

"My machine? According to all my calculations, affirmative. The aliens? Negative." Quint stood back, nodding to himself. "We'll only have about five minutes. If this works, it'll be like meeting them halfway through dimensions—neither of us really there."

He had used data logs from his visor to lock on to the energy signatures of the aliens he had seen at Red Gulch. He had been trying this for months, but now, with Kalinka's formula, his computer was reporting a positive I.D.

…Admittedly, this plan was a bit insane—but Quint's pulsar pulse pounded with excitement. They were about to make Contact—a real scientific breakthrough!

"Beat, if we're not back in five minutes, go tell my Dad," Kalinka instructed briskly as she and Quint stepped onto the platform.

Beat had been watching them apprehensively from his perch on Kalinka's desk. "Oh…be careful Kali!"

The circular floor began to glow with quintessence. Beat covered his eyes with his wings. First, the room went dark and filled with purple sparks. A green, fog-like haze swirled around them. Kalinka grabbed Quint's hand. Through the haze, they could see distant points of light. Gradually, shapes began to appear—ghostly and indistinct as though made of the shifting green light of an aurora, and humanoid, with glowing eyes like stars.

As they stared at the incorporeal entities in amazement, Kalinka squeezed Quint's hand. "It worked!"

"Yes, these are the good aliens I encountered on Red Gulch!" replied Quint.

The aliens stared back, equally amazed. Quint felt a familiar tickling sensation on his titanium skin—the aliens were scanning him. Then, quite suddenly, the aliens surrounded the circular platform, their star-like eyes blazing out at Quint and Kalinka in all directions like a pack of fierce, unknown creatures defending their territory at night.

Kalinka's grip on Quint's hand tightened. "Uh…Quint? Why are they looking at us like that?"

Quint shook his head helplessly. "I was afraid of this—it's just like last time. They think my quintessence is evil energy, and that I pose a threat!"

"You tell me this now?" Kalinka hissed out of the corner of his mouth.

"No offense, but you're rather bossy—" Quint replied feebly, feeling cornered. "This was a bad idea, we must go back!"

Quint's hand darted toward the emergency abort button, but Kalinka pulled him back.

"Not yet! We still need their help!"

"But—" Quint broke off, casting a tense look at the aliens.

Then, in a flash of light, one of the figures vanished, then reappeared on the platform directly in front of them. They could see the alien's face more clearly—human-like, and cross. He was easily seven feet tall, wore plated armor in smooth contours, and though the air felt still, long green hair swirled wildly behind him.

Then, to Quint's shock, the alien spoke.

"We've met before, Earthling…" The alien's voice was as clear and cold as a mountain lake. "You should not exist…you are a temporal anomaly, powered by our enemy's energy…"

The alien stretched out an arm, palm facing Quint, a ball of green alien energy forming.

Without hesitation, Kalinka stepped between Quint and the alien, spreading out her arms. "Back off, space bully! He's my brother, and to get to him, you gotta get through me!"

She sounded quite fierce, though it perhaps looked a little comical, for Kalinka was shorter and smaller than both the alien and even Quint.

Energy still charging in his outstretched hand, the alien's eyes locked with Kalinka's. Quint froze, certain the alien would unleash his extraterrestrial attack to wipe them both out of existence. Oh, how could he have let Kalinka talk him into this?

But the alien held his fire. "A human? You defend this robot, call him 'brother'?"

"Yes, but you've got it all wrong! He's powered by quintessence, it's like this totally separate byproduct of evil energy—it's not evil, and neither is he!"

"Evil energy? Is that what you call it?" The alien snorted. "An apt if obvious name…"

Quint felt the alien resume his scan—he wondered if Kalinka, being human, could feel it or not. Then, to his disbelieving relief, the alien dropped his hand, the energy he had been charging disappearing. "Perhaps what you say is true…I do not detect a connection to our enemy. I will let you both leave—go before I change my mind."

"Wait!" shouted Kalinka, boldly taking a step toward the alien. "We need your help! Earth is under attack by a robot infected with evil energy—we don't know how to stop him!"

The alien went still. "…Earth is under attack by evil energy? But that can only mean—"

A sudden, palpable sadness flooded the chamber like a cold wave. With a small shimmer of green sparks, the alien's form appeared to grow more solid—though his figure still had a ghost-like transparency. His smooth, contoured armor took on hues of white and marine blue with fiery orange accents, his hair fell behind him in a graceful cascade of green. His eyes, which had shone like stars in the darkness, now had a green cast with oversized pupils and irises, and were slightly luminous.

"Oh…you're so beautiful!" remarked Kalinka.

Quint agreed, awestruck. Though Quint didn't care much for fantasy (he preferred sci-fi) he thought it would be accurate to describe the alien as fey-like—almost human, yet quite otherworldly. "…Who are you?"

"My name is Terra, leader of the Stardroids," Terra replied. His beautiful face was frowning deeply. "We used to be the guardians of Earth's solar system, long ago, before…" he trailed off with a small shake of his head, as if it was too painful to continue.

Stardroids, Quint thought, his excitement returning despite their close call. There were nine altogether—nine for the planets, he surmised.

"Last time we couldn't communicate," Quint murmured aloud. He was surprised most by how eloquent Terra sounded, like someone who had studied on Earth for years.

"We learned much during our last encounter with Earthlings," replied Terra airily.

Question after question after question popped into Quint's head in a crowded bottleneck. "Stardroids? You're named after the planets? If you were guardians of our solar system, then why did you leave? Who is this 'enemy' you speak of?"

Terra's eyes snapped back to Quint's, a brief fire igniting in them "The real question is who are you, how did you find this place?"

"I'm Mega Girl, this is Quint," Kalinka introduced briskly with a small curtsy. "He created a machine that got us here. Please, we don't have much time—Earth is in danger! Is there any way you can help us?"

She fixed Terra with a beseeching look akin to a sad puppy. Though Quint knew this was probably an act, it seemed to be quite effective—the eight Stardroids who lingered outside of the circular platform looked at each other, uncomfortable. Quint heard a chorus of voices as they began murmuring to each other.

"There is no way we can help, we can't leave this dimension—"

"But we must do something!"

"We shouldn't assist the temporal anomaly. I don't care what they say—his very existence is only possible with 'evil energy' or whatever the Earthlings want to call it."

"Perhaps…but his sister is not."

"She's human."

"Yes, human—humans can't be directly infected by evil energy."

"We could lend them one of our powers," a Stardroid suggested finally.

"It can't be mine! Then we really would be trapped," responded another, crossing his arms firmly, a shimmering ring of green haze surrounding him.

"How about mine? Super strength would be handy," rumbled another, who had a vague resemblance to Guts Man, but with bull horns.

A bright light filled the black void surrounding the chamber. Both Quint and Kalinka winced and shielded their eyes.

"Keep your powers, Stardroids, I shall give her mine," said a new voice.

Terra gave a small start. "Sunstar! But that's the most powerful ability we have!"

"If what they say is true, they need it more than we do."

The bright light began to fade. Kalinka and Quint dropped the arms shielding their eyes—another alien had appeared next to Terra.

Sunstar had deep blue armor, like a summer night sky, and was covered in carved crystals that sent rainbow prisms dancing around the chamber. Like Terra, his face seemed at first human, but also infinitely more alien at the same time.

With a small, friendly smile to Kalinka and Quint, Sunstar held out a hand. Hovering suspended above it was a glowing sphere of bright cyan energy.

"Is that…?" Quint gasped. "…Justice energy?"

"Justice energy?" Terra repeated, amused. "Another quaint name. This is the counter to what you call 'evil energy.'"

Sunstar nodded. "Where evil energy feeds off the inner darkness of its host, multiplying as it corrupts, justice energy can only be used by those with heroic thoughts. It is a powerful tool against evil energy, and can even place evil energy into a dormant state, restoring its host to their true selves—but it won't be easy. Evil energy is powerful, so its host will need to be weakened first, and their mind must not yet be completely consumed by evil."

He pulled one of the carved gemstones off his left gauntlet. "This is a sun crystal—the energy will reside in here." With a flash of light, the justice energy disappeared, and the sun crystal glowed blue momentarily. Sunstar held it out to Kalinka. "Please take it. This mechanical suit you wear is advanced enough to be compatible."

Kalinka backed away with her hands up. "Wait, I can't take this!" she said wildly. "I'm not like actually a hero, I just became a superhero to impress some guy! It's your power, you should keep it—"

Sunstar shook his head somberly. "We cannot leave here, and if what you say is true, it may already be too late. Yet only a true hero would have put their life in danger to save one powered by evil energy, as you did for your brother."

Kalinka hesitated, looking for the first time doubtful, but then accepted the sun crystal. "Oh alright…"

Sunstar beamed—the expression filling the chamber with the warmth of dawn. "Watch over your brother. His energy and this are opposites. You will make a good team."

To Quint, Terra added, "We have just given you one of the rarest and most valuable resources in the universe. If you do anything to make us regret this, then I will make you regret it."

Quint gave an uneasy laugh, unsure what to say to that! But he was spared needing a response when suddenly the forms of the Terra and Sunstar flickered. "Oh dear, our connection is timing out—I still have so many questions!"

"Later, you must go defend Earth," said Sunstar.

"Tell no one of our existence," added Terra sternly, then he sighed. "We haven't been the best guardians. Good luck. You will need it."

Terra and Sunstar's forms became green and ghostly again before flickering and vanishing like holograms that had shut off. The darkness lifted, and soon they found themselves back in Quint's laboratory, safe and sound.

Quint gaped at the sun crystal shimmering in Kalinka's palm, beyond impressed. "Wow! This is just what we needed! How on earth did you manage that?!"

Kalinka said nothing. She looked down at the crystal, her eyes glassy and distant.

"Uh…Kali? Everything okay?" asked Beat softly, flapping over to perch on her shoulder.

Kalinka continued to stare at the sun crystal for a moment. Then she reached into a hidden pocket on the belt of her suit, retrieving an old enamel keychain. "Look…" she murmured, holding the keychain in one hand, the sun crystal in the other. "It looks like my mom's keychain."

Quint compared the enamel keychain to the sun crystal. They did have rather similar shapes—an orange circle surrounded by eight yellow points, like a flower.

"How curious!" he marveled.

At the same time, Quint felt helpless at the sudden seriousness that had stolen over Kalinka. He felt awkward, not sure what to say. He didn't know much about Kalinka's mother…

The moment passed, Kalinka's face brightening. "It's like a sign!" she said excitedly, her eyes sparkling. "Like I'm meant to do this!"

Stowing the keychain away safely. Kalinka quickly opened up a compartment on her wrist-mounted the mini-blaster and set the sun crystal inside. There was a brief flash of light as the justice energy bonded with her suit.

"A sign?" Quint repeated. He felt 'coincidence' was a more rational explanation over a 'sign'—but felt it would be imprudent to say so under this circumstance. Instead, he asked, "By the way, when you told Sunstar you only became Mega Girl to impress someone, who did you mean?"

"None of your beeswax!" Kalinka snapped in a tone that couldn't be challenged. But she smiled at him. "Now c'mon! Let's stop Punk!"

When Proto Man opened his eyes, he found himself staring up at the grimy bottom of an underpass. He was lying on his back on a dirty slap of concrete next to a broken street. Elec Man was crouched next to him, his face tense as he stared down at his handheld computer. At first, Proto Man had no clue what they were doing there, but then he recalled his fight with Hellrazor and groaned.

Elec Man's eyes flickered over to Proto Man. "Light?"

"What happened?"

"You fainted."

Proto Man sat up. "I did not! I don't faint."

"Fine…your systems crashed, forcing a reboot. Better?" Elec Man gave an impatient sniff. "This has happened to you before—at Red Gulch, and I suspect back with Brain Bot in Las Vegas."

Proto Man scratched the back of his helmet. "Uh, yeah, dunno what happened, I felt a sharp pain in my chest then just kinda blacked out." He glanced at Elec Man's computer. "What are you doing?"

"Taking radiation readings."

"On me?"

"Yes."

"…Anything I should worry about?" He had no idea why Elec Man was doing this, he felt fine.

Elec Man hesitated. "…You remember what that scientist said—"

"Dr. Cossack."

An annoyed grimace flashed across Elec Man's face, his nose wrinkling. "Yes, him, whatever—he said your systems contain traces of alien energy from when you tried to copy Duo's weapon. It flares when you have contact with other alien energy, causing you to f—well, 'crash.'"

"Yeah, well, I'm better now," Proto Man muttered grumpily, making a move to get up.

Elec Man pushed him back down.

"Hey, what gives? I'm fine now, let's go—"

"No." Elec Man's grip tightened painfully on Proto Man's shoulder, electricity crackling through his fingers warningly.

Proto Man stared at Elec Man. Getting threatened by Elec Man was entirely normal (especially for Proto Man, even if it hadn't technically happened in a while), but the faintest trace of fear betraying Elec Man's perfected, serial killer-like stare was not. "Gee, you really are worried something will happen to me!"

"I…" Elec Man swallowed, the electricity dying from his hand as he let go of Proto Man's shoulder. "…It's like you said back on Deacon's election night. We're family. …Not like brothers," he added, his pale eyes darting away in embarrassment.

"Uh…yeah…" Proto Man responded, surprised. He looked away too. "Alright, fine. Let's get back to Wily and bunker down somewhere until this all blows over."

"…I think that's wise until the radiation in your systems falls back down to an acceptable level."

There was a small, awkward pause. Then, as though needing a snide remark to break up the sentimental nature of this conversation, Elec Man added with a pleasant smile, "Speaking of brothers, yours is here."

"Of course he is," Proto Man muttered dully. He gazed out from the underpass at Los Angeles—which was now a twisted thicket of gigantic vines and nearly obscured in a purple haze that looked well beyond any hope of salvation. He heard the distance booming of battle. "Great, he'll put a stop to whatever this is, just like he always does."

"Don't you want to go fight him?"

"Uh…nah, we'll let him take care of the bad guys, he's the hero after all, it's what he's good at. No need for us to get involved," Proto Man responded, trying to sound casual, all the while thinking, Jerk. He knows why I don't want to fight Mega Man—he's already getting his way, he doesn't have to rub it in.

As though reading his mind, Elec Man smirked.

As Mega Man and Roll ran through the ruined streets, they couldn't help but feel like mice trapped in a thorny maze with Hellrazor chasing after them.

"Any ideas?" Mega Man asked Roll as they took a sharp corner at an intersection into a narrow lane, a dense wall of spikes large enough to impale a skulltank rising on either side. The drone of the speeding spiked ball roared close behind.

"Maybe if we keep running, he'll eventually get tired?" Roll said without much conviction.

A new rumbling sound shook the lane. Mega Man, Roll, and Rush stopped in their tracks, tense, unsure what was about to happen—then shouted as red vines burst out beneath their feet and latched fast onto their arms and legs.

"Where's Quint when you need him?" grumbled Roll as the vines began to creep around them in tight coils, pinning their arms to their sides while lifting them off the ground. "He's the expert on alien energy, so he should be responding to this, not us!"

Mega Man had also been wondering where Quint was. It all seemed ominous—they were quite close to Citadel, after all. Had Quint already tried to stop Hellrazor, and failed? Mega Man also had no idea how they were going to fight off Hellrazor without the help of alien energy.

…At the thought, it felt as though something had twisted inside his power core. Mega Man firmly ignored it. They'd think of something—

Yet, as the vines continued to tighten around them, he felt his plasma power waning. They were hopelessly ensnared, Mega Man could feel small black thorns biting into his titanium skin.

"He's…too powerful…" groaned Mega Man. "I'm…running out of energy."

Rush whimpered.

"Just…try to hang in there," urged Roll, her hair tangled up in the vines, her struggles growing weaker.

Not far away, the spiked ball had unfolded into Hellrazor. A familiar, prickling shiver ran down Mega Man's neck, and something twisted in his power core again. Hellrazor's eyes were locked on his as he plodded calmly closer, the strange, purple flames billowing around him, everything going quiet and still. Mega Man squeezed his eyes shut, as though he could will Hellrazor away. He felt on the verge of powering down—

"Hold it right there, Punk!"

At the high-pitched, unfamiliar voice, Mega Man opened an eye, then frowned. A figure in pink armor had appeared at the end of the lane, two puffy blond pigtails sticking out from under her helmet, a semi-translucent aqua visor masking her face, striking a pose.

"What in the world…?" he heard Roll mutter.

"Mega Girl…" growled Hellrazor, turning toward the figure in recognition. "—I told you I'm Hellrazor now!"

The difference between the two was stark—Mega Girl was bright, small, and pixie-like while Hellrazor was currently twice as tall, ten times as heavy, covered in foot-long black spikes, and engulfed in supernatural purple flames like a demonic entity from the cover of one of the metal band albums Roll liked.

Hellrazor began throwing Screw Crushers in a mad frenzy. Mega Girl nimbly evaded every one in a series of graceful flips. Neither Mega Man nor Roll had seen anyone fight like that before—it was almost like a dance.

This only made Hellrazor angrier, his yellow eyes blazing like the inside of a furnace. "Y-you're finished, Mega Girl! You can't dodge me forever!"

"Come and get me then!" Mega Girl taunted back.

She darted away from the lane down another street. With a snarl and flare of purple energy, Punk folded into a spiked ball and chased after her.

Though they were still ensnared by the vines, Roll and Mega Man looked at each other, eyebrows raised. "Mega Girl?!" they exclaimed together.

They heard incoming titanium footsteps—then saw a flash of green armor at the end of the lane where Mega Girl and Hellrazor had just been.

"Hey Quint, wait up!" Roll called out.

Quint did a double take, then nearly tripped as he skidded to a halt. "Roll? Mega Man? What are you doing here?"

"We were trying to stop Wily, then this happened. Where have you been? This is nuts."

Roll's eyes swept pointedly over the tangle of vines.

"Yes, well, evil alien energy outbreak…you know," Quint explained, holding up his hands helplessly. Though it was hard to tell through Quint's opaque visor, Mega Man had a feeling Quint was avoiding their eyes. "But don't worry, we have the situation contained, and all should be well in just a few moments!"

He looked eager to take off again but Roll called him back. "Hold it! Quint, who was that?"

Quint gave a small jump. "Er…who do you mean?" he asked, his clueless tone unconvincing.

"Mega Girl!"

"Oh, um…it's a long story. Let's just say she's my sister."

"Your sister?"

Grinning sheepishly, Quint replied, "Yes, but please don't mention to anyone that you know about her, especially Dr. Cossack. She's a secret." Quint's head turned to look anxiously down the street. "Sorry, but I should probably keep a close eye on her—primarily for everyone else's protection."

"My sister is the same way," Mega Man told Quint wryly. Roll grinned.

Quint gave a small chuckle, then scampered off.

"Dr. Cossack built another one like Quint?" Mega Man muttered, still amazed.

"Nice," remarked Roll.

Sprinting just ahead of the spiked ball, Kalinka lead Hellrazor into an empty lot.

"Now Beat!" she called.

Beat swooped across the lot just in front of Hellrazor, dropping a small disc-shaped device from Quint's laboratory on the cracked concrete. As Hellrazor rolled over it, the device flashed, then trapped Hellrazor in a small purple forcefield of quintessence.

Stopped midspin, Hellrazor unfolded. "Brainiac's little toys won't hold me for long, Mega Girl!" he roared as he alternated smashing the forcefield with a three-digit fist and his flail arm. Already, the force field was beginning to flicker and die—though Hellrazor was also beginning to tire, his form hunched as he wheezed, the purple flames blazing less brightly. "…For the last time, you can't defeat me!"

"Oh yes I can!" Kalinka sang out, pointing her wrist-mounted mini-blaster at Hellrazor. Activating the power within the sun crystal, a shimmering ball of cyan light began to take shape just above her hand.

Hellrazor's glowing eyes widened. "What the? What's that? No! No! Noooo!"

Kalinka fired. The shimmering blast hit Hellrazor square in the chest. There was a blinding flash of light—Hellrazor struggled and howled, his form twisting and distorting. He fell to his knees, the extra spikes withdrawing into his armor, and he began to shrink back into Punk's original proportions, the purple flames dying down—

The ground rumbled. Kalinka nearly lost her footing. All around them, the vines that had claimed the buildings were dissolving into a shower of violet sparks before winking out of existence, the sky clearing as the radiation field lifted.

Quint and Beat hurried to Kalinka's side. "It worked!" Quint exclaimed happily.

"Yup, we saved the day," Kalinka agreed. "Now let's bounce before the cops come after us."

They looked back at Punk—but Punk was no longer there!

"Uh oh, where did Punk go?" asked Kalinka.

"Don't worry, I saw where he went, follow me!" Beat called, turning in a graceful arc toward a side street.

Punk was hiding behind a stack of broken crates left in an alley, his arms wrapped around his knees. It seemed as though he had thought about running away, but was too low on energy to get far. As Kalinka and Quint approached, he leaped to his feet in a steely clang of armor, but then his form slumped in defeat.

"Oh, it's just you two," he muttered, looking down at the ground. "I suppose you've come to bring me in. Well…get it over with—I couldn't run even if I wanted to."

Kalinka took a step toward Punk, Beat perched on her shoulder. "When you robbed the bank earlier, what did you mean when you said you really needed the money?"

Punk's eyes shifted up to Kalinka for a moment before looking down again in embarrassment. "Like I said, I was a robot tournament fighter in the National Robo-fighting League. Undefeated. Was on my way to the World Robot Tournament—"

"I've read Robo-fighting Tournaments are all fake," spoke up Quint.

Kalinka promptly stomped on Quint's foot, causing him to buckle.

"Oh it's real, Brainiac!" Punk thundered, the fight momentarily returning to him as he glowered at Quint. Then his gaze fell again, his voice somber as he continued. "But before I got there, Dr. Rose, my creator—she d-died. It all went downhill from there. I tried to continue on with robo-fighting like she'd of wanted, but after one of the fights, one of my opponents—a real sore loser—started insulting her memory, said some really nasty stuff! —So I beat him almost into scrap! …And that's how I got banned from robo-fighting. No creator, no sponsors, no career, already in trouble with the police—I had no choice but to go rogue. That's when I fell into trouble with gangsters and began robbing banks. But I never wanted to hurt anyone innocent—not like today. I've never sunk this low." Punk heaved another dejected sigh. "My creator would have been so ashamed of me if she were still alive. Well, they say every rogue robot has a story, and that's mine."

With a bowed head, Punk proffered his wrists toward Kalinka and Quint, as though to be cuffed.

"You're going to arrest me, right? I've…I've caused a lot of trouble. I deserve it," he mumbled, then added miserably, "I just hope they don't reprogram me to become some bootlicking schmuck, take away my mohawk and spikes, and force me to work as some washed-up soccer referee or something."

Quint stared, for neither he nor Kalinka had handcuffs. He glanced over at Kalinka, clueless as to how they should handle the situation.

Kalinka had been listening Punk sympathetically. She tapped her chin thoughtfully, thinking, then smiled. "I've got a perfect idea!" she announced. Then, in a move that once again took everyone completely off guard, she took off her helmet.

In shock, Punk clattered back into the wall, his footfalls sounding like hammers on the concrete ground, his eyes wide. "What the? Kali Cossack? The Kali Cossack? Like the posters all over town?" He gestured to one of Kalinka's ads for her 'California Princess' perfume that was taped to the alley wall. "You're Mega Girl?" Suddenly star-struck, Punk fell to his knees with hands clasped. "I'm such a fan. My creator used to love you, back when she was alive! Said you were always such a shit to cops and reporters alike! You're like the queen of breaking rules. Can…can I get an autograph?"

Smiling smugly, Kalinka waved a hand. "Oh please, you can come work for us!"

Quint jerked and looked sharply at Kalinka. "P-pardon?"

Punk's eyes had widened even further, well beyond the gap in his armor. "Me? Come work for you?"

"Yes, you can help us with our alien research by being Quint's lab assistant!"

"…My lab assistant?" Quint looked doubtfully at Punk.

"Why sure! You have tons of space in that lab!" Kalinka responded cheerfully. From her shoulder, Beat said nothing, but he eyed Punk warily as though he were a hawk.

"Uh…" Quint also felt unsure about taking in the large, unruly rogue robot who had nicknamed him 'Brainiac.' "…I thought you were my lab assistant."

"Lab partner, not assistant, duh."

Punk fidgeted nervously, his hand twisting together. "I dunno much about science nor aliens, but I'm a hard worker, and I'd much rather stick with you than face millions of dollars in charges for what I did today."

"Then it's decided!" Kalinka said happily.

"Uh…" Quint said again, who still had not agreed to this arrangement. He turned to Kalinka and whispered, "…I don't think this is a good idea…"

"What, like you think he should go to jail or whatever?" Kalinka whispered back, shooting him a severe look. "He still has evil energy inside him—without proper supervision, he could turn back into Hellrazor!"

This was a good point. Quint sighed. "So…we're stuck with him?"

Kalinka clapped Quint on the shoulder. "Cheer up, Quint! This is such a nice thing that you're doing!"

"That I'm doing?"

"Yes, you're getting a roommate! Besides, you shouldn't be alone so often, and I can't be with you all the time—If I'm going to be Mega Girl, I still have to put on the billionaire socialite princess alter ego some of the time so no one ever suspects!" She turned back to Punk, beaming. "Look, Quint, we gotta new member of our team."

"Team? Um. Great?" Quint said weakly, though he knew there was no point in fighting this now. Instead, he shot Punk a reproving glare, which Punk mirrored back with interest. Looking extremely pleased with herself, Kalinka replaced her helmet, then began skipping ahead down the alley with Beat flying above her.

After collecting Cut Man and Guts Man (both confused and battered as they stammered apologies to Dr. Wily, the spiked cuffs that had caused them to rebel having disappeared) Dr. Wily, Proto Man, and Elec Man had retreated to the Skullker. With the radiation field gone, they were finally able to take off.

Dr. Wily was hunched over the flight deck monitor, glaring at the data feed from the Global Extraterrestrial Radiation Scanner. The flashing purple dot that had indicated the presence of alien energy in Los Angeles had disappeared. Finally, he slammed his hands down angrily, shutting off the monitor. "We've lost the energy signal! This was all a waste of time!"

"That mean we're done here?" asked Proto Man carelessly from the pilot seat, his mind already back in the western hanger with his fighter jets. Beside him, Elec Man had switched his handheld computer to Tetris, though he occasionally stole covert glances at Dr. Wily and Proto Man, as though monitoring them.

"For now," Dr. Wily replied through clenched teeth. But he settled back into his chair, smoothing his tie. "But if another alien energy signal appears, I'll be waiting."

Just as Quint had promised, the vines that had ensnared Mega Man, Roll, and Rush vanished shortly after he had departed. Yet as they shook themselves off and left the lane, a warm SoCal sun above them and a coastal breeze drifting through the streets, neither Quint, Mega Girl nor Hellrazor were anywhere to be found. Next they searched the surrounding area for the Skullker, but it appeared Dr. Wily must have given up and gone back to Skull Fortress. Then, when they offered to help clean up the damage to the city, the robo-officers waved them off dismissively, muttering that their presence would only tempt Dr. Wily to come back. Shrugging, Mega Man and Roll decided to leave Los Angeles to its own affairs and return to New York City.

The sun gleamed brightly off the air raider's green paint as Roll piloted back toward Dr. Light's laboratory.

"Wow, Mega Girl! Cool." Roll cast Mega Man a sidelong look, smiling slyly, then leaned across the seats to nudge her elbow into his ribs. "With a name like that, people will think you've got a girlfriend!"

"Or they'll think she's you," Mega Man mumbled briskly, ducking away.

"I wonder why Quint was acting so secretive about her!" Roll wondered. "He looked as nervous as a criminal caught red-handed!"

"I'm sure he has his reasons—he's always been secretive about his work at Citadel. She must be some secret new prototype."

"Yeah—Still, Mega Girl didn't have to steal your name."

"Guess I can go back to being Rock and retire from heroics," Mega Man replied jokingly, not in the least offended that Mega Girl had a similar name. He liked the idea of having more heroes around. Then he paused, rubbing his chest. Though he felt fine now, normal—he still vividly recalled what it had felt like around the abundance of alien energy.

Roll's eyes flickered from the horizon to Mega Man. "…You alright?"

"Yeah, just a bit tired."

"Don't worry, we'll be home soon."

Mega Man said nothing, looking out the window at the distant green farmlands below. He thought about Hellrazor, the purple energy called 'evil energy', and his reoccurring nightmare, wondering what it all meant with growing unease. It was strange, but for a brief moment, he had felt a connection to Hellrazor, like two computers linked to the same network—though he was confident he had never seen Hellrazor before in his life. But then, did that mean that identity of the shadowy figure from his nightmares was much closer than he could have ever guessed?

Closing his eyes, Mega Man hoped he was wrong about all this.

It was evening in Copenhagen—many of the human workers had already gone home from the Robot International Police headquarters, for it had been a busy yet normal day of fighting global robo-crime.

Duo and Ra Thor stood alone in a dark control room, reviewing a news report from out of Los Angeles from a large CRT television in utter silence. Plum, an upbeat android reporter, was cheerily advising the public to avoid the downtown area as damage from 'massive red vines' and 'unusual purple fog' was cleaned up, but that city officials had assured that things would be back to normal within a few days. The chaos, now contained, had been brief, and was currently being blamed on Dr. Wily's mad science (which most large cities had contingency plans against) and therefore nothing out of the ordinary—but Duo and Ra Thor knew better.

"Evil energy…" muttered Duo finally.

"I sensed it too," replied Ra Thor quietly. "For the past few days, I have been having strange, ominous premonitions in the back of my mind…like what the humans call nightmares. I had hoped it was nothing, but…this incident in America confirms it."

Duo's face hardened. "Then that means…"

"Yes. I fear Ra Moon has become active again…" Ra Thor gave a small sigh. "…Which means his games are only just beginning."

Next time on Mega Man Recut…

After getting the hang of pretending to be human, Bass feels he has finally eluded Dr. Wily and all other pursuit and will be left alone (even if the circumstances are less than ideal) But when another outbreak of evil energy arises in connection to a string of jewelry heists, can his lack of involvement last? …Tune in next time for Diamond in the Rough!

Chapter Text

Episode 29: Diamond in the Rough

Fake Man was taking the elevator up to the top floor of Citadel Headquarters. To avoid suspicion, he had switched from the guise of robo-officer Prime-Double-Zero to Chief Fictus—a stiff navy uniform covering his robo-officer-imposter body, an animatronic mask with a steel gray mustache concealing his mouthless robo-officer-imposter face. The head secretary had admitted him without much of a thought—after all, the chief of the California State Police had visited Citadel many times before.

The elevator opened up on the hundredth floor to a long, brightly-lit hallway. Fake Man marched down this hallway, ignoring the black bubble security cameras above which were tracking his every movement and the loud echoing of his own footfalls, until he reached a door. He knocked once, then waited for it to slide silently open.

On the other side was a large, circular office. Unlike the hallway outside, it was dimly lit, the night sky projected on its domed ceiling, a vast window on the opposite side facing the ocean.

Dr. Cossack sat hunched over his desk, one hand kneading his forehead, the other busy writing. Though his swan-white lab coat and auburn beard were as pristine as ever, the shadows beneath his eyes were slightly more pronounced than usual. On his desk were a stack of papers—formulas for a secret metal superalloy and what looked like the construction plans for a power plant. The phone at his elbow flashed with several missed calls, his mug of black coffee looked cold.

"Delayed again," Dr. Cossack murmured to himself as the door closed behind Fake Man. The charcoal sketches that were pinned to the office walls appeared frenzied—Dr. Cossack did appear to be stressed and overworked, but he gave Fake Man a small smile as he looked up. "Hello, Chief Fictus—what brings you to L.A.? Is something wrong?" he asked, pushing his half-rim glasses up the bridge of his nose while whisking the superalloy formula away into a drawer.

Naturally, Fake Man was very curious about what he had just seen, but knew better than to press for details and instead stuck to his mission. "I won't take up much of your time," he told Dr. Cossack gruffly, folding his arms behind his back. "I'm responding to an incident that occurred close by—heavy destruction caused by a dangerous rogue robot who can transform into a giant spiked ball. It appears to be part of a plot involving mad science—many buildings were overtaken by what looked like large mechanical red vines, and Dr. Wily's robots were seen in the city."

The tiredness vanished from Dr. Cossack's eyes as he sat up. "Wily attacked L.A.? Seems rather bold of him," he muttered dryly. "Are any of his robots still here?"

Fake Man shook his head. "The L.A.P.D. robo-units have secured the city, and repairs are already in progress—unfortunately all of Wily's robots have vanished. Still, I would advise you to take precautions, just in case."

Dr. Cossack sniffed. "Citadel is built stronger than a fortress, it takes more than mad science to break into here. I'm surprised that idiot tried to take on the Californian robo-officers at all—there really is no limit to his gall."

Taking a snip of cold coffee, Dr. Cossack's eyes fell back down on the power plant plans, then back up at Fake Man, who was hesitating. "…Is there something else, Chief Fictus?"

"Yes," Fake Man replied slowly, watching Dr. Cossack closely. "…It wasn't the robo-officers who drove the assailants off."

Dr. Cossack blinked at Fake Man. "Oh, did Mega Man and Roll show up?"

"Yes, but there was someone else, a 'Mega Girl.'"

"'Mega Girl?'" Dr. Cossack repeated, puzzled. "You mean Roll?"

"No, not Roll. Another robot altogether."

"Oh, perhaps Tom has built another," Dr. Cossack replied unconcernedly. He began to pour over the power plant plans again.

"I was wondering if you might know something about her?"

"Sorry, haven't a clue. Is she causing trouble?"

"No, but she doesn't appear to be part of any official law enforcement, which would make her a rogue robo-vigilante. We don't want rogue robo-vigilantes in California."

Frowning, Dr. Cossack looked up again. "I see. Well, keep an eye on the situation. But in the meantime, I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me—I'm very busy."

"Of course. Thank you for your time." Fake Man nodded to Dr. Cossack, turned toward the office door, then paused. "Before I go…may I ask where your daughter was yesterday?"

"Kalinka?" A bright grin burst out on Dr. Cossack's face. "Why, she was here working in the laboratory! Why do you ask?"

"Nothing…hopefully nothing."

Not wanting to elaborate further, Fake Man left the office. It was part of his job to keep tabs on Kalinka—discreetly, of course.

…Not that this was difficult—the 'little princess' seemed to be wherever trouble was. Dr. Cossack seemed oblivious to this. But if Kalinka was truly at Citadel, then she was accounted for.

In the meantime, he'd still be on the lookout for the robo-vigilante Mega Girl, just in case.

Shortly after Hellrazor's rampage in Los Angeles, Kalinka and Quint had smuggled Punk into Quint's underground laboratory at Citadel Headquarters using one of his secret entrances. Since Punk was still technically a criminal at large, they felt it best that no one knew they were harboring him (at least, until the heat died down).

Punk looked around around the vast laboratory in awe. Quint watched Punk, privately still feeling Kalinka's plan for Punk to stay here was a little hasty. True, even Quint could grudgingly admit he did have space in his laboratory for Punk—but what if Punk became a nuisance to his experiments, or distracting during research? After all, Punk was programmed for robo-fighting tournaments, not to be a lab assistant!

Meanwhile, Kalinka had changed out of her Mega Girl suit and taken the Sun Crystal out of her mini-blaster to stare broodingly at it. Beat was perched on her shoulder.

"The Sun Crystal…it's not as bright as it was before," she told Quint quietly. "…Do you think something is wrong with its Justice Energy?"

Quint peered at the Sun Crystal, which did appear duller than it had when Sunstar had first given it to her. "I could run an analysis, though I suspect it needs time to 'recharge'. Your suit used a lot of its energy to restore Punk back to normal."

"I'm just glad that's all behind us," said Punk, folding his arms behind his head.

"Actually, you're still infected with evil energy," Quint informed Punk. "Luckily the active possession period was brief. Had the evil energy had more time to corrupt, it would have been more difficult to make inactive."

Punk started, his eyes widening. "So…I could change back into Hellrazor at any time? I don't want that! Well, it wasn't allbad—I felt so powerful—but then I remember thinking…what would Dr. Rose think of me?"

"It is uncertain if you can change into Hellrazor at any time," Quint replied. "It depends on what was the original catalyst that caused you to change in the first place. Punk, how did you become infected with evil energy?"

Scratching his head, Punk thought for a moment. "Well, I was sitting alone back at my old place, watching the news and minding my own business, when there it was—some kinda one-eye shadow puppet on the floor, a circle about ye big."

Punk spread out his arms.

Quint blinked. "…What?"

"Yeah, and it talked to me!" Punk continued. "Offered to help me out, then gave me that purple flame you guys say is evil energy. I think it wants you both out of the picture." Punk shrugged.

Quint frowned. "Likely this entity can take any shape they want… Still, scientifically speaking, this is not a lot to go on." He looked over at Kalinka. "We should talk to Sunstar and the Stardroids again. They made it seem like what happened to Punk might not be a one-off. Though, for some reason, they didn't seem to want us there…"

"Can we talk to them again?" Kalinka asked, interested.

"Perhaps," replied Quint. "Though, like the Sun Crystal, the machine we used to initiate inter-dimensional Contact needs time to recharge."

"Well, maybe that shadow one-eye circle thingy won't come back, and there won't be any more evil energy invasions," Kalinka said brightly. "But if there are, Mega Girl, Quint, and Punk will be ready!"

"That's right!" agreed Punk enthusiastically.

"Well, anything is possible," Quint replied cautiously. Again, he thought their 'team' was anything but conventional: a famous teenage socialite who had spontaneously taken on a heroic double identity, a mild-mannered scientist who rarely left his laboratory, and a rowdy rogue robot who had only just recently reformed from crime—they certainly made an odd trio!

"In the meantime, we should get you settled," Kalinka said brightly, grabbing Punk by the elbow. "C'mon, I'll help you!"

Punk gave Quint a hard look. "Look, I know you and I don't exactly see eye to eye on everything, Brainiac—but that doesn't mean I'm gonna cause trouble—I'm here to help in any way I can, honest!" he said, clapping Quint on the shoulder (causing Quint's knees to buckle).

Quint was about to retort, caught Kalinka's watchful gaze, then swallowed. "Looking forward to it," he replied instead.

Dr. Light sat at the desk in his office working through a stack of paperwork. Outside his window, soft snow fell from a gray sky. It had been another cold day—each day growing colder and shorter as snow fell more frequently—the type of day one would rather spend sitting in a comfortable armchair by a fire with a good book.

Unable to concentrate, Dr. Light set down his pen, rubbing his eyes wearily. He had a lot on his mind.

Not long ago, Mega Man had casually mentioned he was having nightmares, which was troubling. Though Mega Man acted cheerful enough about fighting Dr. Wily, Dr. Light knew Mega Man would much rather work in the laboratory. He wondered if stress was getting to Mega Man. Yet, whenever Dr. Light asked if Mega Man wanted to take a break, Mega Man only smiled and insisted that fighting Dr. Wily wasn't really a problem, and not to worry about it (which Dr. Light found impossible).

Mega Man wasn't the only one he worried for—Dr. Light also thought constantly about Proto, whose mind, as always, had been impossible for Dr. Light to guess. After Mitchell Deacon's election, it had just felt so certain that Proto was coming home, or at least giving up crime—yet day after day passed, and Proto remained absent. What Proto was doing or thinking was as inscrutable and mysterious as his carefree smirk.

…Roll wanted to go to some sort of band concert. Admittedly, this was the silliest of Dr. Light worries—for though Dr. Light didn't approve of metal concerts (the humans were dressed rudely and drank too much and did something called 'moshing' which looked entirely too dangerous while the music was far too loud) he could at least appreciate that his was normal problem for any parent to have for their child.

But in addition to worrying about his three children, Dr. Light also found his thoughts preoccupied by Bass, who hadn't been seen since the dreadful fight with Mega Man in the laboratory. Although Dr. Light was not Bass's creator, he felt a paternal protective instinct toward Dr. Wily's son as much as he did his own. Dr. Light wished there was some way to reach out to Bass, to at least check if he was okay—but wherever Bass and Treble had gone, they had pretty much vanished like ghosts into the night. If Bass had gone back to Dr. Wily, Dr. Light could at least be assured that Bass was somewhere safe, but he had a feeling Bass's disgust in Dr. Wily ran too deep and Bass had instead gone rogue. Going rogue was dangerous for a robot, and though Bass had proved himself a formidable fighter, he was still very young, and powered by green alien energy that neither Bass nor anyone knew much about, the same alien energy that had destroyed Snake Man's body…

His thoughts unconsciously lingering on Bass most of all, Dr. Light looked out the window at the falling snow. It would be another long, cold night out there.

Bass had decided to move to New York City's criminal underground. Though hanging around New York City was far from his first choice (it was too close to Dr. Light's laboratory and Mega Man) he still needed robot supplies from time to time, and he could find them here with less questions. Besides, it was one of the last places Dr. Wily or anybody would look for him. After all, why would Bass settle so close to his creator's worst enemies?

—Not that Bass actually minded Dr. Light that much. Dr. Light had seemed alright.

…Mega Man was a completely different story.

Naturally, the underground was filled with criminals of all sorts, from dangerous to conniving to opportunistic—Bass wasn't much bothered by this, he could take on anything—still, he needed to keep his human cover and not draw attention. He knew it was possible he could run into Dr. Wily here—but so far he hadn't.

He had made his hideout inside the top of a clock tower. It and the building it was attached to were built in the Gothic revival style, imitating more impressive buildings in Europe, but had suffered a fire thirty years prior and had become condemned. If it had been located anywhere outside of the underground, it probably would have been demolished already to make way for a condominium or mall. Instead, its windows were boarded up and covered in thirty years of graffiti while tattered yellow warning tape crisscrossed the entrances.

Bass wasn't sure why he had been drawn to an old clocktower—perhaps it was the reptilian gargoyles perched on its edges, or the crumbling, half-charred gray bricks, or the fact that it looked extremely haunted. Whatever the reason, it just felt like it would make a cool hideout.

Besides, it would be difficult for anyone who wasn't a robot or at least had wings to get into the tower, for the spiral wooden steps were mostly rotten or burned away. The room at the top was square, and each side had a large clock face with Roman numerals, their hands rusted solid at different times, the eastern face missing a minute hand. These clock faces acted as dirty windows that commanded an impressive view of the underground. They'd have no visitors except for the bats (who lived in the steepled roof), rats (who lived in the wall) and pigeons (who liked to perch on the stone gargoyles outside and coo). Animals never seemed to mind Bass and Treble—though they kept their distance.

It was cold and drafty, the December winds blowing straight through the gaps in the bricks—but Bass didn't mind. He would fix this place up and make it a proper hideout for a pair of rogue robots. In the meantime, he could curl up next to Treble on the creaking floorboards, content that he had completely disappeared off everyone's radar and would soon be doing what he wanted.

As Bass explored the underground while dressed as a human, he came across a shop that specialized in cosmetic alterations on rogue androids which caught his attention.

They turned him away at the door. "Beat it, human! Androids only!"

"What is this place?" Bass asked curiously, looking past the android owner to the dimly lit inside, which looked like a cross between a grungy hair salon and an oily car detailing shop. To his own android's eye, he didn't think any of the androids here actually looked human—though he supposed they might fool a human. They appeared to be domestic and service drones that had gone rogue and were trying to make new identities for themselves.

"A place where your kind isn't allowed, so scram!" one of the rogue androids told him. "You're not fooling anyone with those red Halloween contacts!"

"Yeah, if you're not a robot, get out," chimed in another, brandishing a pair of sheers at him.

"Though you could use a haircut," sneered a third.

Bass withdrew from the shop, tightening his hood over his goofy hairstyle that reminded him of Dr. Wily. They couldn't tell he was a robot. Bass was surprised, but didn't want to argue. Instead, he circled around back and quietly stole from their supplies—clippers, a grade of bleach that worked on synthetic hair, and a type of ink that worked on silicon skin—he had gotten an idea to make pretending to be human more bearable.

He returned back to his clocktower hideout, dumping the supplies on a workbench. While Treble watched with bemusement, Bass pondered his wild mane of black hair in a cracked mirror, clippers in one hand, the bottle of bleach in the other, before going on the attack.

He shaved away the sides, but left the top sections long, which he bleached white and swept forward over his widow's peak and right eye, all the while thinking back to the posters of human metal bands he had seen at the store he had stolen his clothing from. Then he took the silicon ink and drew two purple stripes that stretched from his lower lids to his jawbone, the effect looking like tattoos.

An hour later, Bass scrutinized his new reflection. Then, to his own surprise, he smiled, feeling for the first time that he looked like himself—despite still looking human.

…Things had become a little tense in Dr. Wily's laboratory.

Dr. Wily was still furious that he had not only lost Bass, but also the source of alien energy that had given Hellrazor such extraordinary powers. Proto Man was unimpressed with Dr. Wily's apparent lack of planning.

"Admit it, you're spending all your time with that new machine of yours instead of focusing on new world conquest schemes," Proto Man had pointed out one day when he went to check up on Dr. Wily.

"It's the Global Extraterrestrial Radiation Scanner!" snapped Dr. Wily. He had been sitting in a wing-back swivel chair in front of the massive apparatus, watching its data feed with the same rapt attention he usually reserved for spying on Dr. Light. The topographical map, which had shown a flashing purple dot when the scanner had first detected Hellrazor, had been blank ever since. "And so what, you spend all your time with silly little jets."

"Uh, no offense, but jets are more interesting than staring at a boring, unchanging computer feed all day."

"What?! This is not boring, this is groundbreaking science! You just wait! I can feel it in my bones we will have another chance with alien energy—like a voice calling to me in the night!"

"Don't need to hear about the voices in your head, Doc."

Dr. Wily shot Proto Man a dirty, wounded look. "You could be more helpful, Proto."

"What, me? Find Bass? Chh, I could, Doc, but I gotta warn ya, I'd probably kill him. What we really need is a scheme to get us some cash—we're a little low around here."

"What I really need is a second-in-command with a better attitude," harrumphed Dr. Wily, swiveling his chair around so its back faced Proto Man.

"Aw, don't be that way, Doc!" Proto Man wheedled to the chair back. "Yeah, I'm not crazy about how you somehow brought Snake Man back from the dead as Bass, and sure I've been spending most of my time flying around in jets instead of hanging out here—but we're still a team! No one in the world comes up with such astounding, physics-defying schemes like you do—you're the world's greatest criminal mind! Master of mad science! With brilliance like that, you don't need Bass or alien energy, just your own unique brand of evil genius. You come up with an idea, and I'll be there! …Just so long as it involves lots of action. You know I like action."

…Slowly, Dr. Wily swiveled around to face Proto Man. He was grinning toothily—the flattery had worked, as it always did with Dr. Wily. "Patience…" he said soothingly. "What the future has in store will captivate everyone's interest—even yours."

"Can't wait," Proto Man responded with a smile, indulging Dr. Wily.

Dr. Wily let out a rippling cackle. "The world will be mine, and together we'll put an end to the blue dweeb's meddling career in heroics forever!"

"Y-yeah," Proto Man put in half-heartedly. While placating Dr. Wily's ego, he had somehow forgotten that the primary motivators for Dr. Wily's schemes were either destroying Dr. Light's reputation or Mega Man. "But no need to rush! Like you said, genius takes time—haste makes waste and all that."

Still, days passed with no sign of alien energy or Bass. Most of the Robot Masters in the armory did not mind—they hadn't liked searching for Bass, and were glad for a break to train or play games instead of getting trashed by an angry bomber-robot who was supposed to be on their side.

Late one morning, Top Man knocked on the door frame that led into the western hanger. There was no reply. He cast a quick look around the space, which was cavernous, with a curved ceiling over various parked aircraft and their various aircraft supplies. Assuming no one was here, he was about to leave, when he spotted Elec Man slumped head down over a drafting table, a pen clutched in his hand, looking as though he had spontaneously powered down while working.

Top Man raced to Elec Man's side and began shaking his shoulder gently. "Hey. Hey. Are you alright?"

Elec Man's eyes slid blearily open. He blinked rapidly, then sat up straight with a scowl. "Shit. Not again…"

"…Again?"

Elec Man rubbed his eyes through his helmet's harlequin mask. "It's that sleeping virus I got from Magic Man's card while we trying to capture Brain Bot in Las Vegas. Wily's stupid antivirus was never truly effective—no matter how much I run it, the virus keeps coming back…periodically."

"So you're even more like me now!" Top Man said happily. "Centum programmed me to sleep periodically too to be more human—you're my prototype, perhaps he would have eventually done the same for you. The virus must have activated a sub-routine."

Elec Man sighed. "It's a nuisance. It cuts into my productivity."

"You'd feel better about it if you had a bed. I bet Proto Man would get you one—"

"Don't tell Proto Man," Elec Man cut in sharply. "—Or anyone. It's embarrassing."

"But Proto Man sleeps!"

"I'm not acting any more human than I have to. I'm a robot, not a human."

"You sound like Proto Man," Top Man pointed out, repressing a laugh. He looked around. "Where is Proto Man?"

"…Still sleeping, probably," Elec Man responded in a dull, grudging voice.

Top Man nodded, then looked over at a nearby jet fighter that was parked in front of Elec Man's drafting desk.

"So, this is the jet you and Proto Man have been working on. What's her name?"

"Doesn't have one. It's a prototype, part of a fleet." Elec Man gestured around the hangar—there were currently eight fighter jets, some with seats configured side by side, others in a row, their cockpits small and claustrophobic—their designs beautiful, one-of-a-kind.

Top Man admired the jet's almost mirror-like silver finish and sleek design. "You should call her the Lightning Bomber."

"…No."

Despite the dryness of his remarks, Elec Man stood up and stretched. He appeared fully alert as he gazed with fierce pride at the jet. "It can go mach ten in milliseconds. Only needs five thousand feet of runway. Even the military doesn't build jets like this anymore—changing times, changing tactics." He gave a small, casual shrug.

"So basically the kind of jet only a billionaire could own," put in Top Man as he began walking around the jet.

Elec Man snorted. "They wish."

"You're gone in this for hours sometimes. Where do you go?"

"All over—Asia, South America, Europe…"

"In international territory? Sounds dangerous."

"It is," Elec Man admitted evasively with a rare glint of stubborn recklessness in his eyes. Then he gave a quick cough and changed the subject. "Proto Man specializes in aerodynamics—" Elec Man pointed back to detailed drawings of jet wings and jet body cross sections on his drafting table, "I focus on the insides." Elec Man pointed to complex engineering diagram of electrical and computer systems. "In flight, he's the pilot, I'm the navigator."

Top Man had completed his circle of the jet and had quietly returned to Elec Man's side. While Elec Man had been prattling on about the jet, Top Man had been watching Elec Man. He noticed Elec Man's eyes seemed less cold as he talked about the jet—or more accurately, less of the forbidding gangster front, and more human.

"I like seeing you like this," Top Man said aloud.

Elec Man stiffened. "…What do you mean?"

"Inventing. You seem…happy?"

"Oh." Elec Man shrugged.

"Centum must be an inventor too."

"Yes, I suppose that's true," Elec Man said neutrally, but Top Man knew he was pleased.

"Still, you've been missing out on a lot of stuff going on in the armory," Top Man told him. "For example, Gemini Man and Star Man are together."

"Good for them." Elec Man's tone was completely indifferent—Top Man knew Elec Man had absolutely no interest in the personal lives of the other Robot Masters (or anything that went on in the armory for that matter), yet Elec Man paused, then frowned at Top Man, suspicious of this clumsy segue. "…Are you interested in anyone?"

"Are you asking out of big brother protectiveness, or protecting what you consider standards for one of Centum's Robot Masters?"

"They are both the same in my mind."

"No one here. Or anywhere…probably. Though an attractive rebel android, state of the art, and who just so happens to be built by the acclaimed Dr. Light would certainly fit even the loftiest of standards," Top Man added, giving Elec Man a sly wink.

Elec Man wrinkled his nose. "What kind of sleazy look was that? That's not how you got Roll's campus ID card at Light University, was it? As well as numerous other girls? There are more eloquent ways to stay single, you know."

"…What? I—that's not—I'm not—heh heh—" Top Man faltered, his smile vanishing. He didn't want to dredge up Light University again, it was a long time ago and he wasn't sure if Proto Man had ever really forgiven him for accidentally flirting with Roll (let alone had any knowledge that Roll had actually kissed Top Man!) "Forget about me—what I'm trying to say is, well—you and Proto Man are friends, right?"

Elec Man gave Top Man a flat, unimpressed look, as if to say he knew what Top Man was doing and it wouldn't work. He picked up a welding tool, draped a clean shop towel over his shoulder, and began working inside a panel on the underbelly of the jet.

Top Man followed him to the jet. "You know, if you ever want to talk about anything—"

"No."

"It's just, Proto Man is charming, cool, uh, good-looking, I guess?"

Elec Man rolled his eyes, his back still to Top Man. "You sound like an old person."

"Why do I even bother," Top Man muttered to himself, giving up. "Alright, you don't have to explain what's going on between you two—apparently it's none of my business, but I'm jealous."

Elec Man stiffened, then turned slowly to Top Man. His face, which had been unreadable, softened slightly. "I thought you had lots of friends—all the other Robot Masters." Elec Man gestured with the welding tool toward the door that led to the armory.

"I do, but…" Top Man hesitated. "I'm not really close to any of them."

Elec Man hesitated, looking guilty and unsure what to say. "Top Man," he said finally. "Look, I'm…I'm…I'm not good with sentiments, but…if you ever wanted to talk—"

Top Man started, but smiled at Elec Man in amusement. "Thanks, I appreciate it, really—and you don't give yourself enough credit! But I'm alright, really! Besides, I can see you're busy as usual."

"I'll make time. Anytime." Again, Elec Man hesitated, then added, "Want to come flying? Just you and me. We can go anywhere you want—"

"What, in an experimental jet? Heh heh no offense but no thanks. Personally, I think you're both out of your minds," Top Man laughed, backing away. "Actually, I'm gunna head back to the armory, I just remembered Ring Man is setting up a new ping pong table he stole yesterday, and I don't mean to brag, but I've got a mean 'topspin', heh," he added, pretending to laugh again, but clumsily bumping into a tank of jet engine fuel.

Avoiding Elec Man's piercing gaze, Top Man hastily retreated from the hangar.

Elec Man watched Top Man leave pensively, then banged his head against the jet, sighing. Top Man was so much worse at lying and deflecting than Elec Man or any other of Centum's Robot Masters. He seemed down—and Elec Man thought he knew why. Being a criminal rogue robot was not a life Top Man had chosen nor liked. Before coming to Skull Fortress, Top Man had pretended to be human for the first few months of his life while working for the Syndicate. Strangely, Elec Man thought Top Man would actually prefer to be human over being a robot (even if it meant trading all of his robotic abilities and productivity for sleeping every night!) Naturally, this wasn't something Top Man wanted to talk to Elec Man about, and perhaps made him feel a bit isolated from the other Robot Masters at times, despite whatever cheerful facade Top Man put on.

Three weeks had passed since Hellrazor's attack on Los Angeles. For the third time that month, Mega Man and Roll walked together through New York City's aquarium, which was crowded with tourists peering into teal-tinted glass tanks filled with schools of fish. The floors near the entrance were slushy from all the snow that had been trampled inside. No one recognized Roll or Mega Man, who were dressed casually—Roll wearing a purple puffer vest over a flannel shirt, Mega Man a navy turtleneck.

Roll leaned over a tank to inspect several bristle worms weaving in and out of metamorphic rocks under a blacklight.

"Cute but creepy!" she said to Mega Man, her head close to the glass.

"Yeah," Mega Man agreed, somewhat distracted.

Roll glanced over at Mega Man from the corner of her eye. "Hey…you've been quiet again today. Still feeling down?" she asked kindly.

"Not down, exactly…" Mega Man admitted. He hesitated, glancing around to make sure the nearest tourist wouldn't be able to overhear them (not that there was much chance of this, the aquarium was extremely noisy). "Do you remember, back at Red Gulch, that Dr. Cossack said I had a trace sample of evil energy in me? I wonder if that's the reason I was having nightmares."

Roll stood up. "That's…not good," she said slowly, frowning at him. Then, more reasonably, she added, "Dr. Cossack also said your evil energy wasn't active. But…perhaps you become sensitive if there are other sources of evil energy around, like Hellrazor?"

"Yeah, maybe."

Mega Man turned his back on Roll, pretending to be interested in a small tank filled with shrimp scuttling over bits of driftwood.

"At least you stopped having the nightmares, right?" Roll added encouragingly.

"Yeah, I did." Though Mega Man still felt uneasy. What he hadn't told Roll or anyone was the shadowy figure from his nightmares may have been himself all along, and it didn't help to know that evil energy was what had caused that mechanical monster to go berserk in Los Angeles. The only consolation was that Mega Man hadn't really been dreaming about an evil Proto Man—but it was only a small consolation.

"I get why you're worried," Roll told Mega Man. "It must feel so creepy! Though, look at it this way—evil energy's not exactly common. We've only encountered it a few times, and now that Hellrazor's gone, everything's back to normal. But if you do start having nightmares again, we'll know why—sorta like an early detection system."

Mega Man brightened a little. He hadn't thought of it this way. "Yeah, you're right—let's just hope we're done with evil energy for good!"

Feeling better, he joined Roll next to a large circular tank to watch brightly colored saltwater fish flit in and out of a coral reef.

It had been almost two years since Jewel Man had last committed a crime. He had cleaned up his act.

…At least, that was what Jewel Man liked to tell himself. He had once been a very skilled jewel thief, and thought constantly of gemstones—their luster, their cuts, their color, their clarity…

He now worked in a small, upscale jewelry shop called the Roquat Jewelers in New York City. It was a sophisticated job, and he played the part well as Mr. Lytton, an ordinary human jeweler—working for human bosses, helping humans select the right style and gem to best compliment their features or woe their special someone, acting as artisan lapidarist and expert jewel setter for the finest trinkets a human could fancy—

Yes, it paid the bills, and the work was legitimate (or as legitimate as it could be when a rogue android illegally posed as a human) but the truth was that the job had become a bother. Between rich brainless humans who ogled at the cases without a clue what they were looking at and the shop getting robbed every other week, Jewel Man had had enough of it. He'd much prefer if the shop didn't sell its jewelry at all; he didn't think any of the humans properly appreciated his works as they smudged them up with their greasy hands. He'd prefer that the jewelry remain in glass cases on display rather than be paraded about where it could get dirty or lost. Yet, what alternative did an ex-jewel thief and rogue android have?

It was night. Jewel Man had just finished closing, the glass display cases freshly polished for the following day, which was sure to be just as busy with holiday shoppers. Jewel Man contemplated himself in one of the mirrors that sat on the counter for humans to look in while they tried on jewelry. He had wavy light brown hair that swooped forward and to the side of his forehead. His lavender eyes had been an unconventional choice—human customers commented on them all the time, yet none of them had ever suspected he was an android. He smoothed out his gray suit, adjusted his silk tie, sighed, then turned his back to his reflection. Just another draining day in the endless grind.

Then his eyes fell upon something unexpected …What's this? he thought.

There was a package on the counter. It hadn't been there before—he surely would have noticed it while he was cleaning. Jewel Man crept quietly toward the package, suspicious. The return address was for someplace called the Moonstone Emporium—a gemstone supplier, perhaps.

…He should inform Mr. Beaumont, his manager, of an unexpected shipment, especially one from a supplier—but then again, who would be the wiser if the human didn't know? Besides, Jewel Man noticed with increased astonishment, the package was addressed to his human name—Mr. Lytton.

Jewel Man opened the package, then grimaced. It was full of packing peanuts. Digging through these, he found a small leather case. It felt heavy. Jewel Man opened the case, then gasped.

Inside on a cushion of velvet was a beautifully carved gemstone the size of an almond.

Snapping the lid shut, Jewel Man glanced surreptitiously around the jewelry shop. The package had no note, only packing peanuts and the gemstone. It was simply preposterous that someone would risk sending such a treasure through the mail! Yet here it was, in a package addressed to him.

Opening the case again, Jewel Man looked closer at the gemstone. It was quite unlike anything he had ever seen before. Instead of sparkling like most jewels, it seemed to suck out the overhead light rather than reflect it. Yet, something flickered inside like an inner light, something purple…

Intrigued and excited, Jewel Man slipped on a pair of white cotton gloves, plucked the gemstone from its case, and held it up to his jeweler's loupe for a closer look, marveling at the cut.

Then, quite suddenly, the gemstone grew painfully hot—too hot even for an android. With a shout, Jewel Man dropped it back into its case. Pain had shot up through his arm and into his power core. What sort of trick was this? The gemstone was no longer a gemstone—but a hunk of rusty brown glass, meanwhile his chest felt on fire.

"Hey there," said a sly, slippery voice. It sounded like it was coming from just behind him.

"Who's there?" demanded Jewel Man, whipping around. But there was no one but himself and the glass jewelry cases. He clutched at his chest, panting a little. The shop was locked down, bars in front of the windows—even an experienced burglar would have had difficulty breaking in without tripping an alarm. He took a step toward the front desk's phone to call the police, then stumbled, falling against a display case. The burning sensation in his chest had dulled to a gnawing ache, though he felt incredibly weak.

"Oh, don't worry about little ol' me!" replied the voice cheerfully. "I have a job for a bot of your skill."

"W-what?" Jewel Man stammered helplessly, for despite hearing the voice he was certain he was alone. His eyes raked the jewelry shop. Then, he saw it, reflected in one of the cases—some sort of circular shadow with an outline of an eye, looking out at him.

"You see, I need you to get me a gem," the voice continued. "You'll find nothing else on earth like it."

A ghost-like projection materialized in front of Jewel Man—a magnificent crystal of fiery orange with eight yellow points radiating out from it, a cyan light shimmering from its inner depths. Entranced, Jewel Man held out an arm toward the projection—but it faded in his fingers.

"It's called a 'Sun Crystal', and it's carried by some little brat who calls herself 'Mega Girl.'"

Jewel Man gulped as he took in the strange quest, steadying himself. He glanced around the jewelry shop, which he was supposed to mind if he wanted to keep his job as a human, yet he found himself automatically asking as he rubbed his chest, "H-how do I find her?"

"Easy. Cause trouble with your new powers, and she will find you."

Jewel Man was nodding—then quickly shook his head, wondering what had come over him.

"I've cleaned up my act, put stealing behind me. I have no idea what you are, why you chose me, or what 'powers' you're talking about. Now, go away. Find another jewel thief."

A soft chuckle pattered around the jewelry shop, seeming to echo from every facet of every gemstone. "Pshhh, you're only fooling yourself. How much missing inventory have you blamed on other thieves but has really gone into your own collection? How many times have you swapped out genuine articles with crafty fakes?"

"I…" Jewel Man mumbled feebly, wondering how the voice could possibly know this, "...Am just protecting them. The humans don't appreciate fine jewelry, and robbers just put it on the black market."

The jewelry surrounding him flashed and twinkled, as though winking knowingly at him from their cases.

"You don't have to explain yourself to me! Though I personally love that humans assign value to something so pointless. They're just shiny rocks you can grow in a lab! What's the big deal?" The voice laughed, then became business-like. "Get the Sun Crystal. Don't worry, it'll be worth your while. Along the way, you may find new ways to add to your collection."

"This is absurd."

"Don't be that way! You're miserable here, and you're going to like this new life, trust me."

"I…" Jewel Man shook, raking his hands through his hair. He knew it was futile. The voice had coaxed out his repressed vices, and he found himself compelled to obey his new master. "Alright. I'll do it."

"Great. You're going to do great! You may not consider yourself a powerful Robot Master…but that was before me, heh."

To be continued…

Chapter Text

In the dead of night, Jewel Man crept through the shadowy back alleys of New York City. He had changed into his armor, which he hadn't worn since his last jewelry bust (a dazzling rivière necklace, strung with honey-colored graduated diamonds, all perfect matches, one hundred and sixteen carats altogether. It was a work of art, and he had spent many hours examining each stone under his loupe, admiring the scintillation, studying the precise cuts, learning the technique for himself…).

Jewel Man shook himself out of this reverie as he darted across a sleepy street after checking no one was around. He had been given the simple directive of causing trouble with his new powers so that someone called 'Mega Girl' would appear with something called the 'Sun Crystal', which he was to take from her. It still seemed absolutely absurd. At the same time, he felt the strange, foreign energy build up in his chest and shoot through his circuits like a stoked fire. It seemed to hum in his ears, saying "Use me, use me, use me!"

How? Jewel Man thought. He didn't understand any of this.

Gemstones. He wanted gemstones. It was a simple, primitive impulse—always in the back of his programming like a constant pang of hunger he had for so long tried to repress. Jewel Man closed his eyes, then realized he could sense gems all around him—on humans, in stores, lost in the sewers, buried in the ground—everything from quartz to cubic zirconium to diamonds stood out in his mind like twinkling constellations in the night. His fingers twitched excitedly. Jewel Man had never had powers like this—it would almost be too easy. Yet he could not sense anything like the Sun Crystal—it must be somewhere far outside the city. No matter, his directive was not to search for it, but to use his new powers.

Putting Mega Girl and the Sun Crystal out of his mind, Jewel Man concentrated harder. If he was going to break his vow of giving up crime forever, then he at least wanted something valuable—a diamond, but something above the colorless, generic pea-sized stones humans liked to wear on rings. He sifted through the millions of gemstones around him, each impression twinkling pleasantly at him, then, he sensed it. The Morning Glory Diamond, a single stone of a hundred and fifty-two carats, cut in a spectacular oval with perfect facets. A true one-of-a-kind.

The only problem was it was locked within a safe box in a bank vault—only this didn't seem like a problem anymore, he'd just let himself in. The old tricks came naturally back to him—of secret rooftop entrances, silently cutting holes through windows, squeezing into ducts, dodging around security cameras—until finally he was standing inside a dark bank vault, the walls lined with the doors of safe deposit boxes.

In a dreamlike state, Jewel Man ran a finger down a column, scanning the numbers. He paused at box 1211. He could feel the diamond pulling at him from inside like a magnet.

The energy swirled encouragingly in his chest, and a jewel key spontaneously materialized in his hands. Without pausing to wonder about the key, Jewel Man stuck it into the lock, felt the key's crystalline structure shift until it was a perfect match, and then the safe box opened with a small click. He pulled out its drawer, and opened the small black case inside.

There it was—the Morning Glory Diamond. Jewel Man held it critically up to the high-tech loupe on his helmet. Yes, it was as flawless as it had felt—with an intense, deep bluish-purple color and a brilliant fire of rainbow sparkles. Nearly an inch and a half in length. A marvel. It would look good fitted on a platinum chain—

A harsh light swept onto Jewel Man.

"Hey, you can't be here!" barked a voice.

Jewel Man turned—two security guards were standing outside the open vault door, shining a flashlight in at him. Both had heavy-duty laser guns—the type that could blast through an armored getaway vehicle.

"Why not? I have a key," replied Jewel Man, holding up the jewel key, which twinkled innocently in the light.

"Real funny!" the security guard growled back. "It's after hours and you're trespassing, Pinky! Now put that rock back in its vault and step out with your hands up!"

The other security guards nudged the first one. "Hey, I've heard of this bot. Stole a lot of valuable gemstones from all over the city two years ago, but was never caught. He's as harmless as he looks, but we bust this bot and we recover a king's horde of jewels."

Jewel Man tucked the diamond into his jewel-studded utility belt, which had many velvet-lined compartments for safely storing stolen jewelry. Now, he needed the humans out of the way. But how? He had always hated getting caught in the act—he didn't know much about fighting (he only had ever been good at either stealing or making jewelry) nor did he liketo fight—the large pink jewels on his armor could get cracked or damaged, which would be a travesty. He didn't particularly fancy the idea of harming a human either.

The energy in his chest swelled encouragingly, sending power tingly through his circuits and into his fingers.

Falling deeper into the dreamlike state, Jewel Man held out a hand. Like the jewel key, a large facetted jewel appeared, a round brilliant cut style—the classic kind humans most often associated with diamonds—its point hovering an inch above his open palm. It began to rotate slowly, energy charging within as it glowed with a strange violet light.

The humans tensed, eyeing the large jewel with puzzlement.

"For the last time, Pinky, put your hands up," the first security guard ordered, both guards raising their guns.

Jewel Man wasn't listening. He had closed his eyes and was thinking about his lapidary studio—how he looked into raw stones and saw their inner potential, shaping and setting gems into fine jewelry, visualizing crystalline structures…

Meanwhile, the humans found themselves unable to tear their eyes away from the brilliant glowing jewel, which twinkled in mesmerizing radiance as it rotated.

A shaft of light shot out from the jewel, hitting the humans. They had no time to cry out, even if only in surprise. When the light died down, a brass tie clip and coat button sat on the floor where they had been standing. In the center of each of these sat a small gemstone the size and color of lentils—one a grass green aventurine, the other a reddish-brown sard.

As the jewel stopped glowing and fell into his open palm, Jewel Man walked calmly over to appraise the trinkets.

Not bad—not anywhere near a fraction as valuable as the diamond he was stealing, of course—but not bad, each expertly crafted to bring out the very best of each respective stone. Certainly a most agreeable way to take care of nuisances without unnecessary escalation. He supposed he could add them to his collection, safe in display cases…as their Curator.

The energy in his chest burned in satisfaction.

Proto Man and Elec Man were in the middle of fitting missile launchers to one of their jets in the western hanger when Proto Man received an urgent call from Dr. Wily.

"Oh ho ho! My Global Extraterrestrial Radiation Scanner has picked up another source of alien energy!" Dr. Wily's voice crackled excitedly through Proto Man's communicator. "You must come quickly! Wily out."

"Alien energy? Again? That's strange," Elec Man muttered to Proto Man.

"Yeah, it is weird, isn't it?" Proto Man sighed. "Sorry, I better go. I sorta promised I'd help."

"…Why exactly?"

"I dunno, he's still in a slump about Bass and getting all mopey—besides, I am second-in-command, right?"

"You tell me."

"…That was rhetorical, wise guy."

Though he looked thoroughly skeptical, Elec Man grabbed his handheld computer and followed Proto Man out of the western hangar.

As they crossed through the armory, they were tailed by Top Man, who was curious about why they were heading to Dr. Wily's laboratory in such a hurry. Elec Man attempted to chide Top Man for being nosey, but Top Man wouldn't be deterred, and so all three of them headed into Dr. Wily's laboratory together.

"There! It's coming from New York City!" Dr. Wily announced happily as Proto Man joined him at the Extraterrestrial Radiation Scanner. He pointed a boney finger at the purple dot flashing on the scanner monitor's topographical map. "One of my battontons stationed in the city even got a visual of the asset. Look!"

He pulled up the battonton's spyfeed recording on a wall-sized overhead monitor. The view was of a flat, snowy bank rooftop, the dazzling night skyline of New York City shining beyond. A lone set of tracks crossed the roof diagonally up to an exhaust vent. Briefly, they saw a Robot Master in white armor cautiously poke his head out of this vent, look carefully around, before scurrying silently across the rooftop and slipping down a fire escape (Proto Man was reminded a little of an ermine). Though it was quite dark, large, vibrant pink jewels had glittered on his armor.

"Huh. Looks harmless enough," said Proto Man as Dr. Wily rewound the video and paused on the Robot Master. "But remember, your Reprogramming Raygun didn't work on 'Hellrazor.'"

But Dr. Wily didn't appear to hear Proto Man as he stared greedily at the overhead monitor. "A jewel thief! Imagine! With a robot like this on my side, not only will I have powerful alien energy in my arsenal, but I'll be rich! I can build a new legion of attack-bots, much stronger than the ones I've lost! I can upgrade my battontons into an intrepid spy network! I could have all the titanium and super steel I want! The timing could not have been more perfect if it were planned—after all, you did say we needed cash, Proto."

"I did," admitted Proto Man.

Ring Man and Magnet Man were slinking around in the back of the laboratory. The armory was out of double-A batteries (which they needed to power their gameboys) and they had been surreptitiously rooting through Dr. Wily's desk drawers to find extra. Though they usually avoided any of Dr. Wily's schemes (or any work in general), they had paused, their eyes cast upward on the battonton spyfeed with interest.

"Whoa! Pink Panther?!" Ring Man exclaimed. He turned to Magnet Man, his light blue eyes dancing mischievously above his red face guard. "Check it out! Pink Panther is doing crime again!"

Magnet Man nodded. "Nice."

Proto Man looked back at Ring Man. "'Pink Panther?'"

"Yeah, uh, we know that bot. Remember?"

"Uh…"

"Jewel Man, from that ritzy jewelry store we robbed before that thing where you all went to the moon—he was disguised as a human at the time."

"Oh yeah," murmured Proto Man after a moment. He vaguely recalled an android with lavender eyes. "I offered him a job, but he turned it down! Had no idea he was an actual Robot Master."

Ring Man shook his head somberly. "Always knew the temptation would eventually get to him. Probably happier going back to crime rather than working that stuffy jewelry job."

"Was he good?"

"Oh yeah, he was a great jewel thief—except for the part he never pawned his wares. He's not really built for combat either—always stayed away from fights. He started out as a jewelry clerk in one of those hoity-toity joints before going rogue."

Proto Man glanced back at Dr. Wily (who was rubbing his hands together, his bushy eyebrows wagging up and down and looking especially sinister in the dingy laboratory lighting, his eyes unfocused as though imagining a whole vault full of jewels) then asked Ring Man, "…Think you can talk him into joining us?"

Ring Man shrugged. "Uh yeah probably, but we need backup."

"Yeah," put in Magnet Man.

It was obvious why Ring Man and Magnet Man did not want to go to New York City alone. Security was still on high alert since their last invasion when Dr. Wily had sent a legion of attack-bots to search for Bass.

It sounded simple enough. So long as they avoided Mega Man, recruiting Jewel Man could be the jumpstart that Dr. Wily's wicked brain needed to start spinning on new schemes again. They could use the cash—and with any luck, Proto Man would be back in western hanger working on jets before next midnight. Shrugging, Proto Man looked over at Dr. Wily. "I'm game if you are."

Dr. Wily grinned. "We shall leave at once—we mustn't let this golden opportunity slip by! We will sneak into the city undetected. We will find this Jewel Man and convince him to join us. Then, with our new prize recruit, we will have all the firepower we need to bring New York City to its knees!" Dr. Wily threw his head back and cackled. "Ring Man, Magnet Man—report to the Skullker with Cut Man and Guts Man!"

Ring Man and Magnet Man shuffled out of the laboratory.

As Dr. Wily began gathering up printouts from his computer and his radiation detector in feverish excitement, Elec Man turned to Proto Man, frowning. "It's a bad idea for you to get too close to alien energy," he said in a low voice. "Remember last time, you f—"

"I didn't faint! And I'll be fine. What's the worst that could happen?"

"…You could die…?"

"Seriously, don't worry about it. I was fine until I got hit with those purple flames. All I have to do is avoid those. Besides, we know this guy, and actually have a good shot of recruiting him, unlike that last bot who hated any kind of authority."

Elec Man crossed his arms and sighed. "Alright, then I want to come again."

"…Really? This really isn't your kinda of…thing."

Elec Man stuck his nose up haughtily. "I want to take more readings on the alien energy. It seems prudent if Wily continues to mess around with it like an unsupervised and extremely stupid eighth grader mixing chemicals in an unattended chemistry lab."

Proto Man snickered. "It would be kinda ironic if you became the best authority on alien energy at Skull Fortress."

"It wouldn't take much to be the only authority on this at Skull Fortress," Elec Man corrected waspishly.

Top Man, who had been hovering a short distance behind them, was watching Elec Man and Proto Man closely, a small crease appearing on his brow. Finally, he looked over at Dr. Wily. "May I assist in this mission, Dr. Wily? I may not have the pleasure of knowing Jewel Man, but I'm good with talking and can be useful in persuading him to join your glorious army."

Dr. Wily glanced up from his work over at Top Man. "Yes, I could use more androids on this mission," he replied, stroking his chin. "Very well, report to the Skullker with the rest!"

"Yes sir!"

"What are you doing?" Elec Man hissed sharply to Top Man.

"What? If you're going—"

"Don't make this about me. Alien energy is dangerous, remember Lotos—"

"But if you're going…" Top Man maintained stubbornly. He gave Elec Man a fierce glare, which Elec Man mirrored—though to Proto Man's surprise, Elec Man's gaze wavered first with a sigh.

"I'm used to danger—but alright, fine. Nothing to be done now since you volunteered. Just stay close to me or Proto Man, and don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Top Man's face brightened instantly. "Alright, absolutely," he agreed cheerfully, bounding up to Elec Man's side.

Behind Top Man's back, Elec Man cast Proto Man a sharp look. Proto Man responded with a subtle nod and a shrug. Brothers would be brothers. This mission was risky—though so long as Top Man stuck with them, he'd be alright.

The sun had not quite risen yet when the Emergency Satellite Scanner began beeping in Dr. Light's laboratory.

Mega Man (whose alarm usually went off at seven anyway) felt fully alert as he changed into his armor and sped down the stairs, Roll lagging somewhat behind and yawning.

"What is it?" Mega Man called to Dr. Light, who was already in the laboratory dressed in his white lab coat with a mug of hot coffee.

"Call from the police," responded Dr. Light worriedly as he accepted the transmission.

"Dr. Light, this is Captain Paiste of the New York City Police Department," buzzed Captain Paiste's voice officially over through the speakers. "There was a break-in at the North Street bank downtown. A large diamond was stolen from one of their safe boxes, and two security guards are missing. I'm forwarding you footage now."

Grainy black and white security camera footage appeared on the overhead monitor. An unfamiliar Robot Master in pearly white armor adorned with giant gleaming jewels was inside a bank vault, looking almost ghostlike in the darkness, a glittery diamond in his hand. He was approached by two security guards, who appeared to be ordering him to surrender. A softball-sized jewel appeared in the Robot Master's other hand, which he held out to the guards. It began to rotate and glow brightly, then suddenly the footage cut to static.

"The tape ends here, and no signs where either the burglar or the security guards went," came Captain Paiste's voice again. "We're completely baffled. Whatever happened knocked out the security system like an EMP wave. The perpetrator has been identified as Jewel Man, rogue robot guilty of numerous counts of jewel theft a couple of years ago. We were never able to arrest Jewel Man, and we suspect he might now be working for Wily and has taken the security guards hostage—we're requesting Mega Man's assistance to help catch Jewel Man and find the missing security guards."

"Alright, Captain Paiste, we're on it," spoke up Mega Man.

"Thank you, Mega Man. Captain Paiste out." The transmission ended.

Mega Man looked over at Roll with a shrug. "Could be Wily, looks like his type of robot and his type of crime."

"Yeah, and Jewel Man looks harmless enough—dresses a little ostentatious for a burglar (must be taking a page out of Proto's book)—but what's with the light show?" Roll asked, stifling a yawn.

"I've got a feeling we'll find out when we find Jewel Man," Mega Man chuckled wryly.

Dr. Light's eyes flickered nervously between them. "Be on your guard. There may be more to this, especially if Wily really is behind this!"

"Relax, Dr. Light—we can handle a jewel thief," Roll assured him.

The Skullker hovered on the outskirts of New York City, hidden within a wooly gray cloud.

There was a small problem. Unlike Hellrazor, who had used his alien powers to cause mass destruction in downtown Los Angeles and could have been spotted from a mile away, there was no obvious sign of Jewel Man nor alien energy here. In fact, New York City looked much like it always did—packed with tourists for the holidays, but otherwise normal.

"So how do we find this bot?" asked Guts Man dully after a moment of silence.

"Jewel Man is in the city somewhere," muttered Dr. Wily, tapping furiously at his computer. "But I cannot pinpoint a specific location! Even my battontons are useless!"

"So we search the underground then?" said Proto Man. "If he's rogue and at large, that's where he'll be."

"Or robbing another bank!" chimed in Cut Man.

"We know all his old hangs," put in Ring Man, pointing smugly to himself and Magnet Man.

"I don't care where you look, we must find him before someone else does!" Dr. Wily snarled.

"Don't worry doc, we got this," Proto Man told Dr. Wily brightly. To the Robot Masters, he instructed, "Alright, let's split up. We'll form three teams—Cut Man and Guts Man, Ring Man and Magnet Man, then Top Man, Elec Man and I. Don't goof off," he added warningly to Ring Man and Magnet Man, "The sooner we find Jewel Man, the sooner we get out of this freezing dump and corny holiday music. Just remember to keep a low profile, stay in disguise until we find him—we don't need Mega Man nor the cops to know we're here."

Hours had passed since Mega Man and Roll had set out from Dr. Light's laboratory. Despite Roll's optimism about the ease of capturing a jewel thief, Mega Man and Roll's investigation was not going well. Not only had they had no better luck in tracking down Jewel Man than the police had had in the past, but there had been several more robberies.

"More missing diamonds, more missing security guards! It's like they're vanishing into thin air! If we don't stop this bot, he'll rob everyone in the city!" Mega Man told Roll as they soared high above the city on patrol—Roll on her skycycle, Mega Man aboard Rush's jet. It was chilly, and the skyscrapers below were crowned in snow.

"You mean…rich people who will still be rich even when they're missing some diamonds," pointed out Roll.

"Yes, but the missing security guards…" Mega Man reminded her. His eyes were scanning the streets below, looking for the flashing of lights of police cars—but mostly, the streets were clogged with tourists visiting New York City for the holidays—an otherwise normal day. "And if Jewel Man does work for Wily, then Wily will use the diamonds to fund his next mad science project." Mega Man sighed. "So much for this being an easy case, huh?"

Roll rubbed her arms against the chill air. She seemed to be thinking, then a slow grin spread across her face. "I have an idea."

"…I can tell by your smile I'm not going to like it."

"Well, if we can't catch Jewel Man in the act, then we should go to the underground, keep an eye out on black market, see if he's pawning—or at least get a lead!"

"The underground?" Mega Man grimaced. "That's where all of New York City's crooks gather to do business. It's sorta out of our jurisdiction—we just fight Wily."

Roll shrugged. "I can do it. Might be fun."

"But we've never gone there! Dr. Light wouldn't like it…"

"Desperate times, desperate measures," Roll said sagely. "Besides, I doubt everyone's all that bad, and who would mess with us? But I'll go incognito, just in case."

Mega Man groaned. He knew Roll's version of going incognito was wearing the same clothes she liked to wear to a metal concert. Then again, she was right—they had no leads, and this could be their best chance at finding Jewel Man.

Finally, Mega Man smiled back at Roll. "Alright, it's worth a shot."

Bass had been enjoying his freedom as a rogue robot. He felt truly unbothered by anything. He and Treble sometimes took trips to the country to camp under the stars. While in the city pretending to be human, Bass no longer felt self-conscious about his looks, and had even added elaborate purple tattoos all over his body, which now covered his arms, legs, chest, and back.

Still, he was being noticed in the city far more than he liked. Some humans—particularly older ones in expensive clothes—tutted at him and muttered things like "Delinquent." That he didn't care about. But others liked his looks:

"Nice tats, man!"

"Where did you get those red contacts? So cool."

"Dude. Love the hairdo! Rock on!"

"Whoa. Check him out. That guy rules."

Bass found himself drawing the hood of his hoodie over his head again, hoping to get less attention—but worst of all were the amount of looks Treble was getting.

"Whoa…cool robo-dog," some said hesitantly when Treble padded silently by Bass's side, surveying the humans calmly from the corner of his eye.

Others were more dubious. "…That's not a robo-wolf, is it? Better not let any cops catch you with one of those—they're illegal," they warned.

"He's not a robo-wolf," Bass always lied gruffly in retort, at which Treble always gave a soft, disapproving grunt. Treble didn't like being called a robo-dog—it was quite undignified for a robo-wolf to pretend to be a robo-dog, after all.

So, that day, Bass had embarked out into the city alone. Dressed in his human clothing, he entered a dark pawn shop with boarded windows, which was situated between the criminal Underground and the rest of the city. He had already visited several pawn shops like it, for his clocktower hideout needed various supplies—supplies like cloaking devices or specialty equipment for rogue robots and robo-wolves. Supplies that were neither legal nor could be found at regular stores, but could sometimes be procured in the back storerooms of these types of pawn shops (which operated on both sides of the law). Today, Bass intended to see if this shop had energy balancer parts in its stock and if it did, either steal them or figure out a trade.

But when Bass slipped into the pawn shop, he realized someone else was already at the counter—a Robot Master in white armor adorned in vibrant pink jewels. The Robot Master was engaged in a hushed argument with the pawn shop owner. Neither seemed to have heard the doorbell jingle when Bass had entered.

On instinct, Bass withdrew behind a shelf stacked with used VCRs and CD players, so that neither could see him. He listened in—the Robot Master appeared to be pressing the shop owner about valuables within a safe behind the counter, which the shop owner denied he had. Could the Robot Master be one of Dr. Wily's robots?

For some reason, Bass's power core began burning with surplus energy, his pulsar pulse quickening. Part of him wanted to rush in and fight the Robot Master. Perhaps this was just his natural competitive nature, which had been steadily growing with every fight (At first fighting off Dr. Wily's forces had been annoying, but the more it happened, the more Bass wanted to prove himself as the best—that all other robots were just weaklings and shouldn't even bother trying. He realized he even liked fighting!).

…A more sensible part didn't want to get involved. He wasn't wearing his armor, after all (just a t-shirt, gray hoodie and ripped jeans) and he couldn't be sure the robot belonged to Dr. Wily.

Bass hesitated, his fingers twitching restlessly, an artificial adrenaline rush sweeping through his circuits in a tidal wave.

Don't get involved, don't get involved… He tried to tell himself firmly, yet at the same time, he considered stalking forward, quiet as a wolf (he had learned much from Treble)…

But just as Bass was deciding, a brief flash of violet light filled the shop—followed by a ringing silence.

Goosebumps rose on the back of Bass's neck and all along his arms. His pulsar pulse now pounded in his ears. Frowning, he stole a peek around the shelf.

The Robot Master was now on the other side of the counter holding up a radiant plum-colored diamond to his jeweler's loupe, the door of the safe standing ajar behind him. Meanwhile, the pawn shop owner was nowhere to be seen, though an aluminum souvenir pin with a small jasper stone now sat on the counter where Bass was pretty sure one hadn't been before.

Smiling to himself, the Robot Master placed the diamond into his jewel-studded utility belt, scooped up the souvenir pin, then quickly vacated the pawn shop—the only sound of his departure the momentary jingle of the bell that hung above the door.

Bass stepped out of his hiding place, looking from the door to the open safe. He was certain he was alone in the shop now. What the hell had just happened, and where was the owner?

After a moment, when nothing else happened, Bass helped himself to some of the more valuable wares behind the pawn shop counter, then quietly left the shop. He felt tense and alert, though the surplus energy that had been building within his power core was beginning to wane. He decided to forget about the incident and go about business. After all, why should he care about a stupid jewel thief?

Before setting out for her first time in New York City's criminal underground, Roll had changed out of her titanium jumpsuit into a leather biking jacket, ripped jeans, and a Nightmare Fuel t-shirt. She figured that would help her look the part.

It was a dodgy place—low-level criminals of all sorts gathered here. Most buildings looked completely uninhabitable, with boarded-up windows and crumbling walls. Fresh signs of laser gun battles marred every alleyway and every street corner. Yet, there was a weird emptiness about the place—like the stillness after a wildfire. The humans she did see were certainly shady—she could tell some were arms dealers, or smugglers of some kind—though many wore trench coats with the collars up and the brims of fedora pulled down, so that their faces were obscured in shadow—only glittering, beetle-like eyes peered out.

She wasn't afraid—this was exciting. She looked from ominous street to ominous street, taking it all in.

But, as the afternoon wore on, Roll had no luck finding leads. None of the dealers she talked to had received a big jewelry haul recently—it appeared Jewel Man wasn't selling his spoils at all, which left her at square zero.

Frustrated, she felt like she better give up and go back to patrol with Mega Man. After all, her hunch was not panning out. But as she walked out of the underground, her hands stuffed in her pockets in grudging defeat, something caught her eye—something she hadn't been expecting to see in the underground at all, and briefly made her forget everything.

….Perhaps, to anyone else, the human would have looked ordinary. Sure, his style was uncommon (he had an interesting haircut, with short black sides, the top section was white and long and swept wildly forward over his right eye, while two purple stripe tattoos ran from the bottoms of his eyes down his cheeks to his jawline) but otherwise, quite ordinary. He wore ripped jeans and a baggy gray hoodie. Like Roll, his hands were stuffed in his pockets, but he was looking up at an advertisement playing on the overhead screen of a newsstand (the owner was out on a smoke break).

Intrigued, Roll couldn't help but smile as she walked closer.

She could hear galloping guitars over the television's tinny speakers. She was familiar with the advertisement, she nearly had it memorized, for it was for the upcoming metal band tour that she was dying to go see.

"The Unholy trinity of Nightmare Fuel, Carbide Blade, and Gigavolt, on tour!" announced a deep, demonic voice from the television while playing footage of the bands playing to a black sea of screaming fans dressed in spiked leather and covered with tattoos and various piercings. "—Get tickets soon because you don't want to miss out!"

"So, uh, pretty cool?" Roll said as she stood next to the human, nodding up at the television. "Carbide Blade, Gigavolt, and Nightmare Fuel, all together in concert! Everyone says it will be the tour of a lifetime."

The human started at her voice, then went rigid as a tree. He took a quick look at her from the corner of his eye, then looked forward again. Roll noticed he was wearing blood-red contacts. So cool—just like one of the metal bands. They looked really natural too—as though they were his real eye color.

"Yeah," the human agreed. He had a soft, husky voice, as though he were unused to using it.

Roll gave a happy sigh. "Don't you just love the energy of metal crowds?"

"No…but I like the music."

Roll snickered. "You have the same attitude toward concerts as my brother, though at least you like the music. My favorite is Nightmare Fuel—how about you?"

The human thought on this for a moment, his eyes growing distant. "I think I like Gigavolt," he said slowly, as though recalling this information took effort. "They sound raw…wild. Nightmare Fuel is good, but their sound is a little overproduced."

Roll blinked, her smile fading. Time seemed to slow to a standstill. Her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized the human suspiciously. "Have we…met?"

The human also blinked, and made an awkward movement as though to step away from her. "…No."

"…You don't sound certain."

"Oh I'm certain," the human replied uncertainly. He looked really confused. Finally, his red eyes darted back over to her. "My name is Bass—Bass like the guitar, not the fish."

"I'm Roll—Roll like 'Rock and Roll', not the bread," Roll quipped back, suppressing a laugh. Bass was kinda cute, in a shy, awkward way.

Then, she froze.

Bass?

…Bass?!

Bass, like the name of Dr. Wily's new bomber robot? The robot who hated Mega Man?

…No way. It couldn't be. Had to be a coincidence. Roll was sure Dr. Wily's Bass was an ugly weirdo just like Dr. Wily himself. This Bass was cool, and definitely a human. She couldn't really picture him having a problem with Mega Man. Besides—she was sure 'Bass' was a common name anyway.

With that thought she relaxed, then guiltily remembered she was in the middle of an investigation. She looked over Bass again. It was possible he had come from the underground—though he didn't look anything like the sleazy criminals there. There was something wild about his eyes—as though he belonged in a remote forest rather than the city. Roll felt like she could trust him.

"Hey, this will sound weird, but I'm looking for a jewel thief—" Roll told him, "—A robot with white armor with giant pink gemstones. You wouldn't happen to have seen a bot like that around here, would you?"

Roll figured this was a long shot, but to her surprise Bass's brow furrowed.

"Actually, I did," he said in his husky, quiet voice. "At that pawn store over there, but he's gone now."

Roll felt like she had been drenched with ice water. "He was here? And I missed him? Shit! He's a slippery little thief, I'll give him that!"

Though it was futile, she looked down both ends of the street. Nothing unusual. So her hunch hadn't been far off after all—not that it helped much now!

Bass was watching her, hesitating. "I…I could help you find him?"

Roll smiled at Bass appreciatively—she felt Bass's offer was sincere, and would have even gladly accepted his company—but it would be really irresponsible to involve a human in this investigation. "Don't worry, I'll handle this—sorry, gotta go!"

Without further explanation, she sprinted off down the street.

"Wait," she heard Bass call softly after her.

She turned around. "What?"

Bass stared at her for a moment. "…Nothing," he mumbled, his eyes darting away.

Roll hesitated. Something warm fluttered within her chest. But she smiled, waved, then continued on without looking back.

Later, when she had run several blocks back to her skycycle (which had been left parked beneath a monorail track) she lifted her communicator.

"Roll to Mega Man, pick up!"

"Mega here—any luck?"

"Afraid not. You?"

"Notta. Maybe we should call it a night and head back to the lab—it's supposed to get cold tonight."

"Yeah…" muttered Roll. She hesitated. "…Do you believe in reincarnation?"

"Uh…" Mega Man paused. "I don't know…why?"

"Nothing," Roll replied, feeling foolish. "Meet you back at the lab!"

She dropped her communicator, and then gazed up at the sky, which was beginning to turn yellow as the sun dropped low in the sky. Gray clouds formed a thick canopy above, and were steadily growing darker.

The truth was…Bass had reminded her a bit of Snake Man. She knew that was impossible, Snake Man was gone. She kicked at a small pebble on the ground. She wasn't sure why it bothered her so much—she hadn't really known Snake Man after all. Even though his untimely death had been unfair, it was time for her to let go.

Sighing saddly, Roll grabbed the handlebars of her skycycle, then quickly took off from the city.

After Roll had sprinted off, Bass hurried down the street in the opposite direction.

A human? he thought to himself, I can't be friends with a human! I'm not human!

Yet, even more troubling, he thought—

…Why do I feel like I know her?

….Bass quashed this thought. He didn't like when things he had encountered for the first time felt familiar. Still, the advertisement's music had resonated with something deeply embedded in his code.

Feeling even more confused and restless than he had been when he left the pawn shop, Bass decided he'd head back to his hideout to check on Treble. He put Roll out of his mind as he took two flights of concrete stairs down to the subway, jumping the ticket turnstile along the way.

The subway platform was crowded with holiday shoppers. At first, Bass pushed impatiently through the throng, searching for an empty place to stand (He hated taking human transportation—but flying around on Treble would attract too much attention). But just as he made he found a clearing at the end of the platform, Bass frowned, suddenly becoming alert. Surplus energy was building within his power core again. He felt like he was being watched. Without moving his head, he began to scan the crowd, searching.

All around him were lots of humans who were bundled in puffy down coats waiting impatiently for the next train, but none were paying attention to Bass—none, except for one.

The human had copper red hair and was wearing a brown bomber jacket and a pair of mirrored aviators, his hands stuffed in his jean pockets. Though his eyes were well hidden, he appeared to have stopped in his tracks, and was looking over Bass with his lips parted in an obvious gape.

"Can I help you?" Bass asked pointedly.

"…What are you wearing?"

Bass recognized the voice. "Chh, what are you wearing?"

Proto Man and Bass stared at each other, both taken extremely off guard and each taking in the other's human disguises with skeptic incredulity. Bass had a feeling few had ever seen Proto Man without his visored helmet—and Proto Man liked to keep it that way.

Yet a small smirk appeared on Proto Man's face as he casually stepped forward to stand next to Bass, away from the crowd. They both faced the tracks.

"You look lost, maybe I can help you find your stop…"

"Back off or I'll scrap you," Bass growled out of the corner of his mouth, standing his ground.

"Not afraid of you or even your wolf, wherever he is…but you should know, I'm the original bomber robot. You're just a copy."

"Sounds exactly like what a has-been loser would say."

There was a tense silence. Neither Bass nor Proto Man were looking at each other, their heads still facing the tracks, though Proto Man continued to smirk lightly. Seconds ticked by. As usual, the train was running late—Bass couldn't even hear it coming, and he was acutely aware of Proto Man's presence next to him, as though he could sense him even through closed eyes. Finally, unable to stand it any longer, Bass lunged at Proto Man.

At first, the humans around them didn't notice—it was a quiet, well-contained commotion, certainly quieter than the human's own chatter. Then, gradually, heads turned in their direction, and anxious shouts began ringing out across the platform.

"Someone stop them, they're going to kill each other!"

But no one dared step in. Bass and Proto Man were fighting too furiously—swift kicks, vicious jabs—two extremely skilled martial artists dueling in the subway. The humans watched, completely transfixed, then began to relax. A few even began clapping, impressed. A loose circle began to form around Bass and Proto Man.

"Must be professional stuntman!"

"They're like, almost superhuman?"

"Almost as good as watching robo-impersonators on Broadcast Boulevard!"

"I got twenty on shades, ten on the goth!"

Odds did seem in Proto Man's favor. In fact, Bass didn't stand a chance—not at hand-to-hand combat against Proto Man, who was fighting with a calm smirk on his face, his mirrored aviators flashing in the subway platform's flickering yellow lights. Meanwhile, Bass's hood had slipped off, some of the holes in his jeans had ripped further open, and his left eye was wincing from one of Proto Man's punches. The humans whooped like they were at a boxing match, their voices echoing down the subway tunnel.

Hating the feeling of so many eyes on him at once, Bass took off from the platform up an exit toward street level. He could hear the soft footsteps of Proto Man just behind. At the top of the dirty concrete staircase, Bass attempted to jump Proto Man, but Proto Man was too quick—easily evading Bass's surprise attack while trapping him in a headlock.

"Look—nothing personal, but you really should never have existed," Proto Man hissed in Bass's ear as his grip around Bass's neck tightened, putting pressure on his cranial relay cable.

This was it. Bass was going to power down, and Proto Man would probably kill him. Bass struggled furiously, but darkness was already edging around his vision as the leather folds of the bomber jacket sleeve continued to tighten around him in an unbreakable grip.

Bass's struggles faded away as his eyes fell closed, a haze settling into his mind. He felt like he was floating in darkness. Then, through the haze, he sensed something strange—something like energy, but different from plasma power…faint yet familiar, like a warm wind from a hidden sun, and it was coming from Proto Man. The surplus energy churned within Bass's own power core in response.

Bass's eyes snapped open. Without completely understanding what he was doing, he reached up and grabbed Proto Man by the side of his head, concentrating with the last of his strength.

There was a flash of green and cyan light, a short surprised shout, and the pressure slipped away from Bass's neck.

Consciousness returning to him in a rush, Bass scrambled to his feet, then turned on Proto Man, who lay crumbled on the dirty stairs, unconscious, his aviators slightly askew.

Bass's hands tightened into fists. For a moment, he considered finishing Proto Man off—yet something held him back. He could still faintly sense the strange energy within Proto Man, triggering an inexplicable nagging feeling that Bass shouldn't kill Proto Man, even though Proto Man had threatened to kill Bass. It made no sense!

Then Bass looked up, alert. Another set of quiet, quick footsteps were approaching.

"Some other time," Bass snarled, kicking Proto Man in the side before hastily sprinting away.

"Hey. Hey. Get up, Light."

Once again, Proto Man found himself waking up in an unexpected place as he stared up at the stained and slanted ceiling of the concrete subway staircase. Proto Man started, pushed his aviators back into place, looked around wildly, then swore.

Elec Man was crouched next to him with hawk-like attentiveness. He was dressed in a black wool coat over his black suit. "…You fainted again, didn't you?"

"It's not fain—shut up," muttered Proto Man as Elec Man pulled him to his feet. Proto Man straightened his bomber jacket with a tug and cricked his neck. "Where'd he go?"

Elec Man glanced over his shoulder up the stairway into the dark street swirling with snow. "I don't know. Was that Jewel Man in disguise? I warned you to be careful—he did something that caused a negative interaction with your alien energy."

"No, that wasn't Jewel Man, that twerp with the tats was Bass. Get this, Bass is powered by something Wily calls Bassium, which is really just that green meteorite energy that destroyed Snake Man—Bass is like a Snake Man 2.0 or something."

"…What?"

"Yeah, I know, and it looks like the little viper's learning a few tricks."

One brow raising far above his rimless glasses, Elec Man looked from Proto Man back up toward the street.

The video communicator from Proto Man's jacket pocket began beeping.

"Proto, our new asset has been located," Dr. Wily's voice crackled in a near sing-song, a toothy grin filling up the card-sized screen. "Meet the rest at Fifth and Saturn street, quickly!"

"About time, we're on our way, Proto Man out."

"...Aren't you going to tell Wily you saw Bass?" Elec Man whispered as Proto Man stuffed the communicator back in his pocket.

"Pff, no," Proto Man replied curtly. "Forget Bass, he's an asshole anyway. Let's go."

Elec Man nodded. "I left Top Man waiting on the corner. You are okay to do this, right Light?"

"Yes," Proto Man hissed back peevishly.

The early winter evening had fallen over New York City as a light swirling snow began to fall from the sky.

The streets were mostly empty—many businesses had closed early for the holiday, and it was so cold that most of the tourists from out of town had likewise gone home. Only the N.Y.P.D. robo-officers were truly alert through the streets—Proto Man, Elec Man, and Top Man had to take extra caution after they changed back into their armor not to be noticed as they made their way to Fifth and Saturn, which was a popular and upscale shopping district. Still, Proto Man and Elec Man were adept at sneaking, and they had no trouble crossing the city.

Cut Man, Guts Man, Ring Man, and Magnet Man were already in the back alley of a Le Bijou Magnifique, which had a world-famous jewelry showroom.

"See? One of his old haunts," Ring Man called over to Proto Man smugly as they arrived.

Proto Man looked around. He was pretty sure there were supposed to be armed guards and twenty-four-hour surveillance systems within this alley (he would know, he had also stolen from here before) but there was no sign of guards anywhere, and the security cameras appeared to be malfunctioning.

They waited outside. Within minutes, the backdoor opened, and Jewel Man stepped out as easily as though he worked there.

Unlike Hellrazor, Jewel Man looked normal—even if perhaps not at all conventional for a jewel thief. His armor had a bright, pearl-like sheen, and was adorned in vibrant pink jewels. He looked even more harmless in person, almost like a china figurine, though his movements were quick and sly. His eyes also appeared glassy, as though he was in a daze. Proto Man found himself watching Jewel Man closely, though he kept a casual distance with Elec Man and Top Man, his arms folded.

Jewel Man froze as he caught sight of the robots surrounding him. For a moment, it looked like he would withdraw back into the showroom, but he seemed to realize he'd be trapped in there and instead faced them with rigid dignity.

Ring Man approached Jewel Man with a friendly wave. "Hey, Pink Panther! Been awhile, what's up dude?"

Jewel Man's lavender eyes narrowed. "It's not 'Pink Panther.'"

"Fine, Jewel Man, whatever."

"No, not 'Jewel Man' either…I'm the Curator now."

"The 'Curator?'" Ring Man repeated, his brows furrowed. He exchanged a quick glance with Magnet Man, then rolled his eyes with a scoff. "Well you were always kinda uppity. Listen, Curator or whatever, what's up man? I see you're back to old habits."

"What do you want, Pierce?" replied Curator coldly, referring to Ring Man by his nickname from his time as a rogue robot. "If you hadn't noticed, I'm busy, and I'd advise you to stay out of my way."

"We want you to join Wily's team," Guts Man burst in impatiently. It was cold, and he had been stamping his feet on the icy ground.

"Yeah!" joined in Cut Man. "Be a part of his robot revolution and get a cut of a bigger prize!"

It was clear neither Cut Man, Guts Man, Ring Man nor Magnet Man were taking Jewel Man very seriously, each eager to get back to Skull Fortress and the warm badlands. Top Man made a move, as though to go help smooth things over, but Elec Man caught him by the elbow and shook his head. Like Proto Man, he was watching Curator warily.

Curator gave a light, disdainful scoff. "…And why would I do that? I can already get everything I want. I'm no fool, what you're really after is my diamonds."

"Duh…well yeah, you and your diamonds," Guts Man replied stupidly. It was all the same to him.

Curator smiled thinly. It was a cold smile, much colder than even the chilly late December night—it was like the still air from a deep, sunless mine. "Oh? And how about one like this?" he asked, holding out a dazzling, brilliant-cut jewel.

Cut Man and Guts Man's jaws fell open as they beheld the jewel resting in Curator's hand. If it was real, then it had to be the largest gemstone they'd ever seen, even larger than an apple! Mesmerized, they watched as it lifted slowly from Curator's hand, and began to rotate while twinkling with violet light. To them, the rest of the world seemed to fade away. Each were thinking about how pleased Dr. Wily would be if they presented him with such a treasure—

But then, a flash of light shot out from the jewel, hitting Cut Man and Guts Man, who hadn't even moved, their eyes still transfixed to the rotating jewel in an obvious daze. When the light cleared, a solid citrine paper knife and a solid tourmaline paperweight lay on the frozen ground.

This instantly shifted the mood. Proto Man drew a blaster. Top Man had given a startled gasp, while Elec Man moved protectively in front of Top Man.

Only Ring Man stepped forward, holding up his hands.

"Whoa whoa whoa. Pink Panther! C'mon, it's us! We're your friends! You should have told us you were going back into crime, you coulda joined us at Skull Fortress! Yeah, it's annoying when Wily makes us do work but otherwise it's cool, right Magnet Man?"

"Eh," replied Magnet Man with a half-hearted shrug.

Curator pointed a white-gloved hand at them, the pink jewel bracelet on his wrist gleaming in the street light, his lavender eyes flashing. "You robbed from me. Even before that, you were always bullying me into crimes—and even when I agreed, it was I who did all the work! Neither of you did anything!"

"Yeah…but we're still your friends?" Ring Man pointed out, squinting at Curator as though this were a non-issue. "Listen, use whatever weird power you have now to change Cut Man and Guts Man back and we'll put this all behind us—"

Curator was not convinced. He held out his dazzling brilliant-cut jewel again, which began to float and rotate. "Take a look inside this to see my answer…"

Ring Man blinked, his eyes gazing into the rotating jewel in Curator's hand. "Why? Is it like one of those magic eight balls?—Oooooo, it's so—"

Ring Man was cut off mid-sentence as both he and Magnet Man were enveloped by the jewel's light. A second later, a flashy light blue zircon set on a golden hoop bracelet lay on the ground, a fine red and white enamel pattern of a carnival running all around it. Next to the bracelet was a rather plain red garnet set inside a small iron horseshoe amulet.

Curator gave a cold laugh. "I don't like doing this, but it's preferable to killing you, right? Now if you all would kindly hold still—"

He looked over at Proto Man, Elec Man, and Top Man—but they had already vacated the scene.

Smirking to himself, Curator was about to pursue but then froze with a hiss. The vibrant pink gemstones on his armor had become jagged, like roughly formed crystals within a cave. Shaking, Curator concentrated, channeling some of his energy into shaping the rough crystals back into proper facets again. Meanwhile, the fingers of his hands had merged and become long, thin, and silvery, almost like jeweler's tweezers. Unexpectedly drained, he collapsed against a wall, panting.

"Sh-shit," mumbled Curator, looking over his new hands with a shiver. They were monstrous—yet (he couldn't help but think) perfect for handling even the tiniest of gemstones with microscopic precision. Then, pulling himself together, he hurried to collect his new trinkets. Never mind the rest—he still needed to get the Sun Crystal.

Everything would all be alright as soon as he got the Sun Crystal.

"Okay…maybe we're in over our heads," muttered Proto Man as he, Top Man, and Elec Man sprinted down an alley, putting as much distance between them and Curator as possible. "Stupid alien energy…it's as bad as mad science!"

"What about Cut Man, Guts Man, Ring Man, and Magnet Man?" Top Man asked anxiously.

"Who cares?" said Elec Man.

"Elec Man's right," agreed Proto Man. "They're…well…expendable."

Top Man looked back down the dark frozen alley behind them. "But…if we could just reason with Jewel Man, then he would return them to normal, right?"

"Don't even try it," Elec Man said sharply.

"Honestly, they're expendable," Proto Man agreed bluntly. "Best to beat it before you become a necklace, got it?"

They had reached the end of the alley, and were now in a deserted and dirty parking lot behind a sandwich shop, the black concrete covered with a light frost. Both Proto Man and Elec Man looked back and paused, Proto Man with blaster drawn and Elec Man with electricity crackling between his fingers—but it appeared Curator was not following them. In the distance, they could hear police sirens converging on Le Bijou Magnifique—not that there would be much for them to find.

Finally, Proto Man raised his communicator to his mouth. "Doc, this isn't working. Your little 'asset' isn't cooperating with us. We need to retreat, regroup, and reassess, pronto."

They waited for a response. Proto Man's communicator hissed in static.

"Proto Man to Wily," Proto Man tried again. "Proto Man to Wily! Shit. Doc? Pick up!"

Still no answer.

"Shit, I think our communicators are down," Proto Man dropping his arm. "We can't leave yet—we gotta find Wily!"

"Well, it's happened again," Quint informed Kalinka and Punk gravely. "Another robot has been infected with evil energy."

They were gathered around Quint's supercomputer in his laboratory in the basement of Citadel headquarters, Los Angeles. Quint quickly summarized his findings. Through a combination of news reports and his own passive alien energy detection systems, Quint had picked up on a new source of alien energy coming out of New York City, and after further cross-analyzing this information with various police reports, deduced that Jewel Man had become the latest host of evil energy.

"That's him, before he went rogue," Quint added as he finished his debrief, pulling up an old employee photo onto the supercomputer's monitor. It depicted a rather nondescript android in a smart, tailored suit. "Black hair, black eyes, a common style for upscale department stores in New York City, though it is probable he's changed his appearance since then—here's Jewel Man's photo in armor." He replaced the employee picture with one from a wanted poster. Jewel Man's armor was white, his helmet a vibrant pink jewel that was pointed at the top, and a high-tech jeweler's loupe covered one of his lavender eyes.

Kalinka stared at the monitor with determination. "Well, what are we waiting for? We must find him and change him back to normal with justice energy like we did for Punk! The Sun Crystal is surely recharged enough now!"

"I dunno, Kali, something in my circuits is telling me this bot will be tougher than I was!" said Punk, scratching his head.

It took approximately two hours to travel to New York City by Quint's private jet. After activating its cloaking systems, they landed discretely in the middle of a snow-covered park next to the Hudson River. Both Kalinka and Quint shivered and rubbed their arms as they stepped outside.

"Oh. My. God. Why does anyone live in New York, it's so cold," grumbled Kalinka, her teeth chattering. If they were going to go on remote missions like this, she would need to upgrade her armor to be warmer!

"I feel all prickly and weird," muttered Punk, looking around warily. '—Like I can feel that purple energy stuff nearby and I wanna join it, but I can't."

"Must be your inactive evil energy resonating with Jewel Man's," said Quint. "Try to disregard it."

"I know, you don't gotta tell me that, Brainiac!" Punk snapped back heatedly. "…But I think we should go that way?"

He pointed down a street, which was lined with trees decorated in white lights. At the far end they could see a long, rectangular building with white granite walls and Grecian columns.

"A Natural History Museum?" queried Kalinka. "They like, have gems in those, right?"

"Affirmative," replied Quint. "Therefore Jewel Man must be close!"

They sprinted quickly to the museum. Though it was closed, the doors locked, it was not difficult to get inside—in fact, it appeared all of the security systems had been mysteriously knocked offline.

Kalinka looked around the dark exhibit halls. The stillness of the museum (which smelled of formaldehyde and was filled with fossils and taxidermy) was eerie. It didn't help that their footfalls echoed sharply across the tiled floor. And where were all the security guards?

Sure enough, they found Jewel Man within the Hall of Gems and Minerals. He looked mostly the same from his wanted poster—practically harmless—if it weren't for the long, tweezer-like appendages he had in place of hands. in one of these tweezers, he was holding up a sparkling green pear-shaped diamond to his helmet's loupe, which he appeared to have plucked straight out of a display case labeled 'The Crocodile Tear Diamond'.

"Drop that diamond, Jewel Man!" Kalinka called, her voice echoing shrilly through the vast museum halls.

"It's Curator now," 'Curator' replied, turning toward her. He tucked the Crocodile Tear diamond into his jewel-studded utility belt. "And this diamond shouldn't just be lying around on display, someone could steal it."

"Um…" Quint looked like he was fighting the urge to point out the hypocrisy of this statement, but stopped when Kalinka shot him a swift glare.

A soft smile spread across Curator's face. "You must be Mega Girl...I've been expecting you."

"The security guards…what did you do to them?" Kalinka demanded, pointing her wrist-mounted mini blaster at Curator.

"Added them to my collection. Don't worry, they're unharmed—look."

Curator made a sweeping gesture toward the floor. Scattered on the polished tiles around him was an assortment of jewelry—keyrings, tie bars, tie tacks, tie pins, buttons, medals, and more—each featuring a minuscule, inexpensive gemstone. They did not look like they belonged to the exhibit.

Kalinka, Quint, and Punk blinked at the trinkets, confused, then gasped in dawning comprehension.

"You mean—are they—gemstones?" Kalinka asked incredulously.

"Yes," Curator answered, still smiling softly. "They were in my way, now they are works of art: beautiful and immortal."

"Actually, gemstones aren't immortal," spoke up Quint. "All matter eventually decays."

"Yeah, and like, isn't turning people into jewelry forever basically the same as killing them?" added Kalinka.

"I…" Curator's smile faded. In fact, he looked a little disquieted, but then he shook himself. "They are part of my collection now. They will be safe, but they will remain as gemstones unless you agree to my demands."

"Which are?"

"Hand over the Sun Crystal and I'll return everyone to normal—and don't even pretend like you don't have it—I can sense it, just as easily as I can sense every other gemstone nearby."

"How do you know about the Sun Crystal?" Kalinka demanded, unnerved.

"He told me."

"Who?" Kalinka pressed, though her mind had gone instantly to the circular, one-eyed 'shadow puppet' Punk had described.

"I—it doesn't matter. Hand it over or the humans stay gemstones forever."

Quint looked urgently at Kalinka. "We can't give him the Sun Crystal, it's our only reliable source of justice energy!" he whispered.

"No duh, I know!" Kalinka whispered back calmly. "But once we return Jewel Man to normal, anyone he's transformed will go back to normal too. He doesn't look very far gone yet, all we need to weaken him a little."

"On it, Mega Girl!" said Punk fearlessly, folding up into a spiked ball and revving down the exhibit hall. It was a rather fearsome sight, his spikes tearing through the tiled floor as easily as a tractor plow through soil.

Yet Curator merely smiled serenely at the advance and held out a dazzling, brilliant-cut jewel in one of his tweezer-like hands, as though offering a gift. The jewel began to glow with an eerie violet light, like a lantern, and slowly it floated off his hand. Punk slowed to a stop only ten paces from Curator, then unfolded. His eyes went wide, staring into the depths of the floating, rotating jewel—

There was a flash of violet light, then Punk disappeared as a black spinel spike attached to a heavy titanium motorbike chain lay on the floor in his place.

"Oh no, Punk!" cried Kalinka.

Curator gave a soft, velvety laugh, then held the dazzling brilliant-cut jewel aloft, his gaze shifting to Kalinka and Quint. "Care to join him?"

Kalinka and Quint hastily scrambled behind a display case of geodes just in time as a brighter flash of violet light filled the hall.

"So that's how he's doing it—he's charging evil energy within that jewel," whispered Quint. "When someone gets close, he uses it to hypnotize them, then causes a paranormal distortion that transforms them while they're distracted!"

"Poor Punk…" muttered Kalinka.

"You can't hide, Mega Girl!" they heard Curator's voice sing out, his footsteps approaching. "Like I said, I can sense the Sun Crystal. If you really care about the humans and your spikey friend, I would surrender now!"

"I have a quintessence snare," Quint whispered, unclipping a small disc-shaped device from his belt. "We'll surprise him before he gets a chance to use his powers again. Ready?"

Kalinka nodded, then, as one, they both darted around the geode case.

Curator was waiting for them, the jewel rotating slowly above his hand like a top as Quint hurtled the quintessence snare at his feet. It was an improved version from the prototype they had used to trap Punk. A small violet force field instantly surrounded Curator, then began to shock him with violet quintessence bolts.

Don't worry Jewel Man, you'll be back to normal soon! Kalinka thought as she activated the power of the Sun Crystal, took aim with her mini-blaster, and fired.

A shimmering ball of cyan light flashed through the forcefield and toward Jewel Man. It was a direct hit, Jewel Man staggered backward, his arms wrapped around his chest. Yet, something was wrong. Angry violet flames burst out of his armor like a roaring bonfire. Jewel-like mechanical mutations bubbled up on his armor in large, angry pink carbuncles. It was not a pretty sight.

"Crap, it's not working!" Kalinka yelled to Quint. "It just made him majorly worse!"

Staggering under the weight of his armor, Curator cried out in shock and fear, his eyes shut tight. The dazzling, brilliant-cut gem reappeared. It began to glow a much deeper violet than before, evil energy swirling inside as it began to rotate—

"I suggest we restrategize," Quint told Kalinka as they ran for their lives. Behind them, they could hear still hear Curator shouting, the cavernous museum halls lighting up in flashes of violet.

Kalinka gave an annoyed huff. "Ugh, you're right!" She glanced over her shoulder. "Sorry, Punk! We'll come back for you soon! At least you're safe for now!"

After his encounter with Mega Girl, Curator collected his new trinkets and retreated from the museum.

"Play it cool, play it cool. I need to hide, I need to hide…" he muttered desperately to himself.

He was back in the jewelry shop, but still in his armor, which now was half encrusted in sickly-looking pink carbuncles. Too conspicuous. But as he was about to head to the backroom to change, his armor took on a new shape, as if reading his thoughts. It became a thick wool suit dyed in a rich mauve, much finer than any other suit he had ever owned. Even his hands returned to normal—five fingers each—covered in white dress gloves.

Curator smiled in relieved disbelief as he examined his hands, then caught sight of himself in a mirror and started. His hair had gone platinum white!

…But after getting over the initial shock, Curator realized he liked it. In all of his human disguises, he had never had white hair before. It suited him, his long bangs swooping forward into a point next in front of his left ear. However, when he looked closely, he noticed his eyes weren't so human at all, but like lavender gemstones. It was beautiful, yet weird. Even a human might notice he wasn't human if they looked too closely. Curator hastily stuffed a pair of mother-of-pearl glasses on his face to make his strange eyes a little less obvious, then took a steadying breath. There. Almost normal.

The backroom door burst open.

"Lytton!" barked his manager, Mr. Beaumont. "What have you been doing? Haven't you seen the news? We should be locked up, there's a jewel thief maniac on the loose—say…where did all these gems come from? …Lytton?"

Mr. Beaumont's eyes had fallen on the Crocodile Tear diamond, which lay on top of a small pile of beautiful (though lesser) diamonds. A fortune worth many times over the contents of Roquat Jewelers. Naturally, Mr. Beaumont must have recognized it belonged to the Natural History Museum and connected the dots. His mouth fell open, and his eyes snapped back to Curator in fear.

"Wait until you see this one," Curator responded coldly, holding up the dazzling, brilliant-cut jewel.

A rhodonite bead, carved like a wild strawberry and set on a fine wire stick-pin, joined his collection.

Curator bit his thumb and paced the jewelry shop. He had felt a flutter of warmth in his power core, a momentary spasm in his fingers, as though they were about to shift back into tweezer-like appendages—but he had stifled the feeling and it swiftly passed. He didn't like how every time he used his powers, his body had threatened to mutate into something else—something not from this world. He had also been uncomfortably thinking about how Mega Girl had pointed out that really killing someone and trapping them as a gemstone forever were practically the same thing—

"Curator…"

Curator jumped. It was the slippery, disembodied voice again. This time, the shadow was coming from the mirror, slightly obscuring Curator's own face.

"Hey buddy, using a lot of power there."

Curator swallowed, still as a rabbit that had sensed an unknown threat. "I'm sorry. Mega Girl showed up, but she got away. I felt it though—the Sun Crystal—but I…I was changing into something weird. I just want things to be normal for a bit," he responded weakly.

"There's no such thing as 'normal'," responded the voice matter-of-factly. "Controlling your reality to maintain a semblance of your pathetic earthling 'normality' requires a lot of energy…but it's alright. Keeps you closely connected to me, more under my control, heh…and you've come up with such a nifty power set!"

Curator swallowed again. He didn't like how the voice always sounded just behind him as though someone was sneering over his shoulder, nor the feeling of invisible cables encircling him like a snare. He looked at his small pile of diamonds, their presence warm and comforting, then laid a hand over his power core. "What…what did you do to me? What is this thing inside doing to me?

"You're infected with evil energy, not a big deal, don't get so worked up."

"But…I was able to change things—I was changing!"

"Yeah, evil energy is never predictable, keeps things exciting. I've been around for like a hundred kajillion years and I still don't know how it works!"

"…Evil energy?"

"Yeah, don't look at me! That's what you earthlings wanted to call it. I would have called it something cool, like 'badass energy' or 'super awesome fun time energy'. 'Evil' is very judgy IMHO."

"But I don't want to be infected with anything!"

"Really? You don't like having the power to be anything, to do anything? The possibilities are endless when you really tap into it."

As the voice's coaxing words seeped into Curator, the jewelry shop faded from his vision. Curator began having a vivid fantasy—he was sitting on a diamond-encrusted throne inside a crystal palace, drinking the contents of an energy can from a diamond-studded goblet, a garden of diamond roses and chrysanthemums outside, his collection surrounding him in twinkling mountains.

Curator smiled absently to himself, then blinked, and shook himself out of the fantasy. "…I think I'm going insane."

"Sanity is overrated, ask anyone!" responded the voice. "What, you don't want whatever it is you're picturing?"

"No! I'm becoming a monster and I…I won't have any friends."

Curator thought guiltily to the zircon hoop bracelet and garnet horseshoe amulet in his collection. Yes, Ring Man and Magnet Man were jerks, but perhaps he had been too harsh…

A snicker echoed from every corner of the small jewelry shop. "I'll be level with you—understanding friendship is notpart of my programming. Just does not compute. Relax! You're not at full power yet! Embrace it, it'll be so much easier when you do."

But Curator was shaking his head and backing away from the mirror and the shadow within. "I don't want to turn people into gemstones or become a monster."

"Curator…" The voice had taken on an unpleasant edge, the shadow in the mirror darkened. "You have agency because I don't like to micromanage. You have control over your powers because I'm playing nice, but I could take your control away…"

A brief streak of pain, like a flash freeze, lanced up the titanium bones of Curator's arm. The limb had suddenly changed into a solid, hexagonal pillar of raw gemstone, cloudy with imperfection, completely immovable, and as ugly as a diseased limb. Curator gasped in horror, staggering under its weight—but then, just as suddenly, his arm returned to normal.

"Heh…psyche!" snickered the voice as the shadow faded from the mirror. "You're going to do exactly what I want you to do because that's how this all works. Now, I need you to focus on getting that Sun Crystal, buddy—add as many gemstones to your weirdo collection as you want—you're doing great! Just. Stay. Focused!"

Curator doubled up, the evil energy stirring inside his chest like a miniature firestorm. He could feel the entity within his programming, like an invisible hand twisting knobs and pulling switches in his mind—

And then, like a great weight lifting off his shoulders, Curator straightened. He stopped worrying about his collection (after all, they had been in his way, and he had done them a favor) and started thinking instead of the Sun Crystal and all the diamonds that yet existed in the world…

With renewed resolve, Curator looked back at his reflection and fixed his eyes. He now looked more human than he had ever had before (even if his pale skin had a slight adularescence, like a moonstone).

Then, with a soft smile, Curator locked up his collection, safe and tight.

To be continued…

Chapter Text

Proto Man, Elec Man, and Top Man spent the next few hours scouring the city for Dr. Wily. Robo-officers were everywhere, patrolling the streets with extreme vigilance as they searched for the jewel thief still at large. Dodging around them may have been fun for Proto Man if Proto Man hadn't felt so irritated at how their mission to recruit Jewel Man had backfired nor were the city so cold and obnoxiously filled with holiday cheer, not to mention crowded with oblivious tourists moving slowly through the sidewalks while gawking up at skyscrapers. He also couldn't help but wonder what they were going to do if they couldn't find Dr. Wily.

Then, in the street behind an auction house's storeroom, they finally spotted the Skullker.

"There you are!" chided Proto Man as he burst into the cockpit (Elec Man and Top Man waited in the fuselage). Proto Man couldn't tell if he felt more relieved or annoyed. "Where were you?"

Dr. Wily seemed equally miffed, his arms folded across his chest, his light blue eyes glaring beadily back at Proto Man as though he were a teenager caught sneaking in late. "It's these infernal robo-officers prowling about! They're as numerous as rats! After I called you, I had to move locations or risk discovery! Lousy pests. Then, when I finally reached the rendezvous point where you were supposed to be with Jewel Man, not only were neither you nor any of the other bumblers anywhere to be seen, no one was answering their communicators!'

"Yeah, about that. Listen, this plan went south. Get this—Jewel Man is calling himself the 'Curator,' he rejected our offer to join us then used purple alien bullshit to transform Cut Man, Guts Man, Ring Man, and Magnet Man into gemstones."

While this news did change Dr. Wily's mood, it was not in the way Proto Man had intended. "Really?" he mused, stroking his bony chin thoughtfully. "…Were they valuable?

"Uh…sorta, I guess. Doesn't matter, we gotta leave them behind and get out of here before Curator does the same to us. We can't reason with or fight this guy; Elec Man, Top Man, and I were lucky to get away."

Dr. Wily gave Proto Man a concerned look, as though Proto Man were unwell. "Proto, relax! This isn't like you, you're acting like a frightened toddler."

"…What? No I'm not!"

Dr. Wily shook his head, then wagged a finger at Proto Man with a grin. "A little danger is to be expected, for that is the nature of scientific progress, especially when dealing with a powerful unknown such as alien energy (you should know this, Proto, for has it not always been this way?)—but this is even more promising discovery I could have hoped! I want to see how this 'Curator' transforms his targets. If I could sneak in close and take a reading or two with my radiation detector, then perhaps I can reverse engineer the technology. Imagine turning Mega Man into a jewel paperclip!"

Dr. Wily let out a wicked cackle. Proto Man frowned. Though he wouldn't admit it aloud, he didn't like the idea of a 'Mega Man paper clip', and was annoyed Dr. Wily was not making this more seriously. "Without Ring Man and Magnet Man, there's no way we'll find Curator again, and with the city on such high alert, we should go before the cops catch us here."

"Aha, but don't you see? Luck is back on our side!" Dr. Wily pointed through the Skullker's large convex windows. Outside stood the tall, windowless, and rather boring back wall of the storehouse. "One of my spy-bats finally managed to transmit a visual of our friend 'Curator' again—he is robbing this building at this very instant!"

Proto Man started. This was the farthest thing from luck right now. "…What?! Right here, right now?!" He shook his head. "Why didn't you mention this right away?! Forget about this jewel guy and his alien energy, I'm telling ya, we need to go!"

Not waiting for a reply, Proto Man reached for the flight controls—but he heard a small click next to him. Dr. Wily had unbuckled and was striding out the back of the Skullker with a radiation detector in hand. Cursing, Proto Man hurried after him, motioning to a bewildered Elec Man and Top Man to not get involved as they passed through the fuselage. "Wily—"

Proto Man stopped still inside the back hatch's doorframe. Dr. Wily was several paces away from the Skullker, but he too had gone still, for Curator had just exited the storehouse and had caught sight of them. Apparently, Curator was making his getaway, and therefore was taken just as off guard as they were.

Yet Dr. Wily was not afraid. He grinned at Curator as though he were a money-printing machine, dollar signs practically imprinted on his eyes, which were staring hungrily at the large pink jewel clutched in Curator's hand.

"That jewel…it must be worth billions…and with those powers, I will rule the world within hours…" Dr. Wily babbled in a faraway voice.

Curator said nothing, though he held the jewel higher so that Dr. Wily could get a better look. It began to float and rotate, just as it had for Cut Man and Guts Man, then again Ring Man and Magnet Man…

"Wily!" Proto Man called warningly, though he didn't dare step outside the Skullker.

There was no response. Dr. Wily stared into the rotating jewel with shining eyes, as if all his dreams were about to come true.

"Wily get a grip!" Proto Man yelled more harshly. This behavior was a bit much, even for Dr. Wily.

Violet light flashed across the back street, then Dr. Wily was gone—a white agate belt buckle carved in the shape of a skull cameo lay on the dirty concrete in his place.

Proto Man scrambled hastily backward. "Shit! Doc!" he muttered, staring at the agate belt buckle. With Dr. Wily transformed, plans of just abandoning Cut Man, Guts Man, Ring Man, and Magnet Man and abort were completely out the door now!

"Oh please, do come closer!" Curator called over to Proto Man, holding up the glowing jewel enticingly.

For a moment, Proto Man felt as though his circuits were freezing up, but then something inside him urged him to move. Swearing even louder than before, Proto Man slammed the Skullker's back hatch closed, dove into the cockpit, and took off.

"…I hate running…" Proto Man growled a few minutes later as he piloted the Skullker toward the Underground. "Makes me feel like an idiot."

"I knew this was a bad idea…" Elec Man said drolly from the co-pilot's seat, though his eyes glinted malevolently—obviously thinking of the agate belt buckle.

"…Look, I know you don't like Wily, but he doesn't deserve…that."

"Oh? He has more value now than he ever was as a human, and serves him right for being so foolish. Again. This is exactly like what happened to him with those idiotic lion cultists in Hawaii. He will never learn, though at least he can't possibly make things worse in this form, and he seemed happy in his final moments." Elec Man gave a nonchalant half-shrug. "Besides, what can we do? Saving Wily would be suicide."

Proto Man nodded tiredly. "You're right. You should take the Skullker back to Skull Fortress. I'll figure this one out on my own."

The malevolent glint disappeared from Elec Man's eyes. He turned sharply to Proto Man. "No. Remember what I told you about your little 'fainting' problem you have around alien energy?" Proto Man stiffened. He hadn't forgotten, but he wished Elec Man would stop nagging him about it. "It would be unwise for you to act alone. If you're staying, then I am too."

"And so am I," put in Top Man stoutly, who was standing in the space just behind Elec Man's seat.

Both Proto Man and Elec Man glanced over their shoulders at Top Man. "You really should go back to Skull Fortress," they said at the same time.

Top Man stared back at them, hurt. "I won't," he told Elec Man, equal parts defiant and beseeching. "If something happens to you—I'd have no one."

Proto Man looked away, pretending to concentrate on flying the Skullker. This conversation was getting embarrassingly personal, and he wasn't good with sentiments.

…Neither was Elec Man, who looked away from Top Man and swallowed uncomfortably. "That's…that's not true," he said lamely (it was clear even Elec Man thought that him being anyone's sole source of emotional support was a bit depressing). "Alright, fine—but if you get caught in the crossfire I will kill you. Remember, there are fates far worse than becoming a fancy brooch."

Top Man brightened, clearly taking the vague threat as empty, then lowered his voice conspiratorially. "I still think we should just try reasoning with Jewel Man—look, I like Ring Man and Magnet Man, but it's not like they're the most tactful—"

"For the last time, no," Elec Man cut him off coldly. The happy mood he had been in over Dr. Wily's misfortune had long since soured. He glared at Proto Man, as though this was his fault—which (Proto Man reasoned) it probably was. "So now what?"

Proto Man shrugged. "Well, we can't get bested by a jewel thief—let's get in close and wait for an opportunity—he's bound to slip up somewhere."

"Hi Daddy! Just calling to let you know I'm staying with a friend in New York City tonight. Total fashion emergency at one of my jobs. Quint's been a dear and taken me. Uh-huh. Yeah. Don't worry, I will. I'll be home once I've taken care of things, talk to you la—wait. What did you have for dinner? You did have dinner right? Daaaad. There's a new vegetarian place near your office you can order out at. And remember, don't work too late! At your age it can increase your blood pressure. Alright, gotta go for real now, love you Daddy! Byyyyee."

After closing her boxy flip phone, Kalinka looked over at Quint, who had been staring at her during the entire conversation with Dr. Cossack, his brows raising higher and higher.

"What? None of what I said was a lie," she assured him with a small shrug. "Dealing with a robot who can turn people into jewelry is definitely a fashion emergency, and fighting evil energy as Mega Girl is definitely a job." Then, she added penitently, "Though I do hate leaving Daddy alone like this so close to the holidays. He really should be taking time off instead of working all the time in his dark office!"

They were inside a contemporary split-level beach villa in the East Hamptons. Kalinka's friend (a work acquaintance from one of her fashion companies) was not at home—she had another residence in Milan where she stayed during the winter, but had given Kalinka the code to get in and assured her she was welcome to make herself at home. The inside was spacious and filled with abstract sculptures and strangely shaped furniture that looked like amorphic blobs in vibrant shades. Screen prints of Corgis covered the walls. A picture-perfect view of the Atlantic Ocean could be seen outside the expansive western-facing window, the water like rugged obsidian with white-capped waves under a deep blue night sky.

They sat together on spindly stools at the kitchen bar, thinking. Kalinka had made herself a hot chocolate in a large, handleless mug. Though Quint was a robot who could neither taste nor ingest food, he was privately a bit appalled by the amount of sugar, marshmallows, and whipped cream she was using.

"I don't get it, why didn't the justice energy work on Jewel Man? It worked on Punk when he was infected with evil energy!" Kalinka asked aloud, stirring her hot chocolate with a striped peppermint stick.

"Perhaps Punk was correct in his initial hypothesis," Quint responded slowly and thoughtfully. "You see, Punk may have been a criminal, but he was stealing out of desperation and for survival. This robot is different."

"Because he's a jewel thief?"

"Precisely, not exactly evil…but not exactly good either. Jewel Man is more susceptible to the evil energy's influence than Punk was, therefore will be much harder to return to normal."

"Yeah, but…you saw his eyes, right? He was totally not himself!" Kalinka maintained stubbornly. "Jewel Man just can't be too far gone yet!"

Quint had to admit there had definitely been a slight glassy look to Curator's lavender eyes, as though he were sleepwalking. "Even so, the evil energy inside of Jewel Man is too strong to neutralize with a direct attack. Not to mention, the Sun Crystal only has a limited amount of available justice energy per recharge cycle. We must be careful not to accidentally waste it, then there'll really be nothing we can do!"

Kalinka took a deep sip from her hot chocolate, her brow crinkled in thought. "If only we could separate him from that jewel he uses to transform people, then we might stand a chance of fighting him without becoming jewels ourselves."

"You mean take him by surprise?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm, that might work. But how do we find him, let alone sneak up on him? It was lucky coincidence we ran into him at the museum."

"I have an idea. So there's like this big gala tomorrow night in New York, right? The 'Tinsel Ball' or something.'"

"I suppose?" Quint answered, both mystified by the general concept of 'galas' and how this could possibly be relevant to anything.

"Get this—all of the richest New Yorkers will be there flaunting their wealth. It'll be a sea of diamonds all in one place—no way Jewel Man will want to miss out on that!"

Quint pondered this. He had a feeling Kalinka was right. "But won't everyone be worried about the active jewel thief that's still at large and cancel the gala?"

"Pff no, rich people don't read the news! We can totally use the gala to get in close, then maybe we can turn Jewel Man's attraction to diamonds against him!"

"Are you invited?"

"Who cares! I'm Kali Cossack, I'm always allowed at these things."

"…So your plan is to let the attendees of this gala act as bait…?"

"Uh-huh," responded Kalinka unabashedly, taking another sip of hot chocolate. "What's the biggie? We're going to get everyone back to normal—besides, it's just rich celebrities and socialites like me and their robo-staff, they can afford to be temporarily inconvenienced while we stop Jewel Man."

Quint was almost convinced at this point. "It would take a lot of power to transform an entire crowd, which may leave him vulnerable. There's just one other problem…it appears the evil energy has given Jewel Man some sort of sensory ability to detect gemstones like the Sun Crystal. He'll be alerted if we get too close."

"No worries, thought of that too!" said Kalinka. "Beat will guard the Sun Crystal until we're ready for it, right Beat?"

Beat, who had been perched on top of the refrigerator watching them, looked nervous. It wasn't that he wasn't brave (even though he hadn't joined them at the museum, he had acted as a faithful companion and guardian of Kalinka for years) but a lot could go wrong with this plan.

Quint too was nervous. He wondered briefly if he should call Mega Man and Roll (guiltily, he recalled he had not contacted his co-creator Dr. Light in awhile). But the more people who were involved, the more questions there would be around Mega Girl, and the more lying and covering up Quint might have to do. Thus far, Curator wasn't causing too much destruction…

As though sensing his doubts, Kalinka smiled confidently at Quint—her confidence had the effect of making others feel silly. Quint felt any objections he may have had crumble feebly under her influence. "Alright," he said finally. "We'll enter this gala in disguise and in the probable event Jewel Man shows up, we will take him by surprise and capture him."

Kalinka nodded in satisfaction. She stood up from the counter, drained the rest of her hot chocolate in one go, and then looked down at Quint critically. "Uh, just one thing first—don't wear a labcoat to the gala."

"I know how to dress!" Quint said indignantly. He might not be a famous fashionista like Kalinka, but he was programmed with similar taste as Dr. Cossack, who was always impeccably dressed.

"Don't worry, we'll go shopping tomorrow!" said Kalinka, waving her hand airily. "Ugh…the stores are going to be totally crowded. Whatever. For now, let's get some sleep—there should be some extra pajamas in the guest rooms we can borrow."

Quint slid off his stool. "Actually, leave the disguises to me—I have an older invention that may be of assistance."

Curator hadn't moved out of Roquat Jewelers. There was no need. The jewelry shop looked ordinary from the outside, but on the inside, a new set of marble steps led down to a secret, underground space that had not existed before—a 'Jewel Cave'.

The Jewel Cave was nothing like ordinary caves filled with bats or slimy lichen or musty pools of water—this cave had smooth, graceful stalactites made of dark marble with wispy white veins, and was tastefully lit by giant pinecone-shaped chandeliers of glowing pink crystals. The flat floor was carpeted in plush white velvet, and the temperature and humidity were optimal. It was Curator's very own subspace, something that didn't entirely exist in Earth's reality. The Jewel Cave was connected to the jewelry shop, but also to the pockets of his jewel-studded utility belt, for anything he tucked inside the velvet-lined compartments could be transported safely here. It was the perfect place to store his collection—even better than the diamond storehouses in Antwerp—well away from the oils of human hands, harmful UV exposure, and the dangers of scratching.

Curator had just returned to his Jewel Cave after a day of successful diamond heists, each effortless as he could now shift at will between armor and looking like a human as needed. He had the police completely baffled, for Curator never left behind evidence…or witnesses.

He stood at in front of a full-length mirror with an elegant scrolled frame. Tonight, he would wear something appropriate for the occasion. He concentrated on his appearance. An expensive tuxedo of white velvet with silk lining appeared instantly around him (which felt luxuriously comfortable against his skin). Then he selected his favorite accessories—a matching set of pink diamond cufflinks, shirt studs, collar bar with chain, collar pin, and bracelets (a set he had handcrafted himself after months of locating and stealing the rare pink diamonds). Finally, he adjusted his mother-of-pearl glasses, scrutinized himself critically for a moment, then smiled.

Everything was going smoothly now. Though he still needed the Sun Crystal, he wasn't worried. Mega Girl may have eluded him the night before, but he suspected they'd soon meet again. After all, he had something she wanted.

Before heading out, Curator surveyed his collection. Each piece had been provided with a special display case lined with soft velvet. All was still and secure.

The twinkling of a flashy light blue zircon bracelet and the dull glisten of a garnet amulet caught his eye.

"Don't look at me like that," Curator muttered briskly with his nose turned up, though he knew neither the zircon nor the garnet were capable of hearing him, let alone looking at him. There was no reason to feel sorry, least of all for them. As far as Curator was concerned, he was treating Ring Man and Magnet Man far nicer than anyone else in his position would have done.

Then his eyes were drawn to the black spinel spike attached to the motorbike chain. Curator hadn't known this robot—an ally of Mega Girl's, he surmised—and yet, something resonated with him—something deep inside. He picked up the spinel and examined it closer with his loupe.

There, within the black depths of the stone, he saw a violet inner light flicker. Faint, but powerful, and all too familiar.

Curator blinked. It was evil energy, just like what resided inside himself. This robot must have been infected too, though the energy appeared weak, or more accurately, dormant.

Though Curator normally wouldn't dream of wearing anything from his collection, he slipped the motorcycle chain over his head. It was quite heavy. The black spinel rested just over his power core. And yet, he could feel its strength added to his, like a backup power generator.

Excellent. Mega Girl would have a much tougher time attacking him now, even if she used that strange cyan energy against him again. After carefully unhooking it from its chain, Curator slipped the black spinel spike into his pocket, then exited the Jewel Cave.

When night had fallen again, Kalinka and Quint took a private car back into the city.

Though they wore their armor, they used Quint's holomorpher devices to assume civilian identities (The holomorpher was one of Quint's earliest inventions, a useful device created back when he was still 'Brain Bot' and used to swap appearances with Mega Man and trick Dr. Wily's robots). To everyone else, Quint looked as though he was wearing a plain if tasteful black suit with a pair of round oversized glasses, yet Kalinka (befitting her socialite status) had gone all out. She looked as though she was wearing a strapless, shocking pink cocktail dress with a sweetheart bodice and a voluminous, knee-length skirt, a gigantic red bow at the small of her back. With her black blossom hat in place above her blond curls, wherever she went, she commanded attention.

Kalinka linked arms with Quint as they stepped out of the car and headed toward the doors of the gala. "Brace yourself," she whispered, like a commander ordering a foot soldier.

"Why? Do you see Jewel Man?" Quint whispered back.

Kalinka smiled sweetly. "No, worse."

Sure enough, the paparazzi was waiting for them. Quint was instantly reminded of a pack of mosquitos as they caught sight of Kalinka and swarmed. In frenzied excitement, they began shouting at Kalinka all once and whistling shrilly, like teenagers trying to attract the attention of an animal at a zoo. It almost felt as though they were under attack.

"Wow, it's Kali Cossack!"

"Look this way, Kali!"

"Kali! Kali! Over here, Kali!"

"Who's the guy, Kali? New boyfriend?"

"Nope, just a cousin from Russia!" Kalinka responded to the last one, pulling Quint into a half hug and standing on tip-toe to press her cheek against his.

"Care to pose for a picture, Kali?" asked a photographer, his camera already pointed at them, many of the others already clicking away.

Kalinka flashed them her dazzling, cover-girl smile. "Nope!"

And then to Quint's absolute shock, Kalinka reached into her black beaded clutch and produced something like a low-grade flash bomb mixed with an E.M.P. device, which she casually dropped on the red carpet before quickly shunting Quint towards the gala doors.

Behind them, the photographers were cursing as they were momentarily blinded, their cameras making a sad whirring sound as their memory cards became scrambled.

"Sorry, telling them you were my brother would have looked really sus as everyone thinks I'm an only child," Kalinka told Quint as she patted him on the arm.

"Does the paparazzi always treat you like that?"

"Oh all the time. Sometimes I punch them," Kalinka replied airily. "But no time for that tonight, we got a date with a jewel thief!"

They walked up a set of stairs and through two heavy wooden doors that were opened for them by two robo-doormen.

"See? Told ya we totally wouldn't need an invite!" Kalinka whispered as they breezed past security.

The gala took place inside a high-end hotel. Garlands of greenery and snowberries decorated the sweeping stairways and elegant balustrades of its mahogany-paneled halls. Somewhere a string quartet was playing classic carols, though it could nearly be heard over the din of voices. Quint noticed Kalinka appeared to be one of the youngest humans here, and that many of the guests already seemed tipsy on the bubbly champagne that was being carried around on silver platters by robo-servers. Nearly everyone was bedecked in sparkling diamonds—from rings to heavy necklaces to dangling earrings to bracelets and watches—truly a dizzying amount of treasure in one room!

They made their rounds. Kalinka exchanged fake smiles and friendly waves with acquaintances. Quint hid behind her, and was content to pretend to not speak any English (or Russian, if it came to it). He found the humans gathered here both stuffy and rather intimidating.

Suddenly, Kalinka pulled him to the side of the crowded ballroom.

"Act casual—pretend to be talking to me, but look over my shoulder at that dude in the white tux hanging out by the fountain."

Quint did as he was told. "What about him?"

"That's him! Jewel Man!"

"Are you sure? He looks human."

"Gotta be! He's the only one here I don't know! Besides, who but a jewel thief would be wearing such a coordinated set of diamonds?"

Quint took a second look out of the corner of his eye. The 'human' in question was a man with wavy platinum blonde hair, mother-of-pearl glasses, and a white velvet tuxedo trimmed with pink diamonds. While this outfit may have stood out in most places, it was actually quite a subdued look here. Quint might not have noticed him had Kalinka not pointed him out, and certainly none of the other guests paid attention to him either (truthfully, the other guests were far too engrossed in themselves to notice much else anyway). Curator was playing the part well, his face blank and seemingly oblivious to the wealth surrounding him. He was even holding a champagne glass, which he was pretending to sip from, though the champagne never touched his lips.

"I don't see the jewel on him," Quint said after a moment.

"He'll have it…we just gotta wait. At midnight, they'll call everyone to the ballroom for a toast. I bet he'll use the opportunity to knock out security and transform everyone all at once—it'll be no fuss stealing all the diamonds. That's when we'll nab it, then him. In the meantime, we'll keep an eye on him."

With that, Kalinka grabbed a plate of chocolate bonbons from a robo-server's tray that was gliding by and took a seat at a white-clothed table, pretending to look extremely bored. Quint sat down next to her, still feeling sorely out of place in this large, crowded gala, and both reassured and nervous that their target was within their sight.

Disguised as humans again, Proto Man, Elec Man, and Top Man stood outside the gala, watching a thick heard of rich humans entering along a red carpet while robo-bouncers checked them off of a list.

"This is it—best diamond haul in town," said Proto Man. "Curator will be here, but how do we get in? Obviously no way they'd let a bunch of scruffy-looking crooks like us into a classy joint like this, right?" He glanced over at Elec Man. "Well, maybe you can bluff your way in, you're at least dressed the part."

"No I'm not."

"What do you mean? You're in a suit!"

"A business suit, this is obviously a black tie event."

"…You're wearing a black tie!"

"That's not what that means. Perhaps we can sneak in the back, through one of the entrances the hotel staff uses, if we can find a security guard to bribe…."

But before they could act on either of these ideas, Top Man had turned to a group of nearby humans who had just tumbled giggling out of a limousine and called out, "Ladies! Say, you wouldn't happen to know anything about this party, do ya?" He made a sweeping gesture at Elec Man and Proto Man with the air of a cars salesman showing off his most expensive models. "We don't have an invite, which is too bad, because I hear it's the talk of the town!"

The humans (who were dressed in fur wraps, slinky form-fitting dresses, and five-inch stilettos that tapped smartly on the pavement) stopped giggling for a moment and looked at Top Man, Elec Man, and Proto Man, then did a double take.

"Like you could totally come with us," one said hastily, eying the three of them as if they were indeed something as desirable as an expensive sports car and twisting a lock of permed brown hair coyly. Apparently, they didn't find them scruffy-looking at all, nor cared if they were wearing 'black tie' or not.

"…You are shameless and this is completely degrading for all three of us," Elec Man hissed to Top Man coldly as the crowd of humans rushed over to them before they could escape.

"Yeah, but it works?" Top Man whispered back while smiling and nodding over at their human benefactors.

Smirking, Proto Man leaned toward Elec Man. "Hey I'm not enjoying this either—but he's your brother, not mine—and it's not the humans' fault you're so good looking that they're willing to overlook your snobby personality."

Proto Man was amused at Elec Man's expense—but became much less amused when the giggling mob engulfed them, two humans linking arms with him as they tugged them past the robo-security and into the gala.

Once inside, Top Man looked around, then sighed. Both Proto Man and Elec Man had the gift of melting into thin air when trapped in social situations they didn't want to be in. Apologizing profusely to the disappointed humans, Top Man gently extricated himself, then searched the crowded gala for Proto Man and Elec Man. Sure enough, he found them both hanging out on the outskirts of the ballroom like shadows.

"I know you weren't interested in those humans, but you didn't have to be rude," Top Man chided them.

But Proto Man and Elec Man were also the type never to be concerned about being rude to anyone.

"Alright, now that we're in, keep your eyes peeled for our expensive friend," instructed Proto Man.

Mega Man and Roll entered the Tinsel Ball as Dr. Light's guests. Dr. Light, being a famous scientist, was invited every year, though he didn't usually attend, as galas of this sort didn't suit his interests. Still, Dr. Light had taken a table with a few clients he could catch up with in the grand ballroom, and could act as another set of eyes while Mega Man and Roll patrolled the halls outside. The police had marked the gala as a likely target for Jewel Man due to its wealthy guests, and the hotel it was hosted in had given Mega Man and Roll special security clearances.

Though Mega Man's armor and Roll's titanium jumpsuit attracted a few looks, no one seemed to care they were there, the guests were too busy drinking champagne and engrossed in boastful discussions about thoroughbred horses and yachts.

"I just overheard that Kali Cossack's here!" Roll told Mega Man excitedly. "Apparently she attacked some photographers."

She was standing on tip-toes looking over the heads of the crowd into the football-field-sized ballroom, as though hoping to see Kali Cossack somewhere amidst the guests, who were all dressed extravagantly in silks, furs, and expensive wool, diamonds glittering from necks and wrists.

"We don't have time to meet celebrities," Mega Man reminded her. He didn't add that from what he had seen on the news, Kali Cossack seemed like a royally spoiled brat.

Reluctantly, Roll put her feet flat back on the floor, though she cast Mega Man a smug look. "Yeah, even though she's the daughter of Dr. Cossack, your chemistry idol?"

"He's not my idol, though I do admire his work," Mega Man responded, slightly embarrassed. "We gotta stay focused, Jewel Man could break in at any minute!"

"Well he'll have a hard time robbing everyone at once, right?" Roll let out a yawn, stretched, looked around idly, then suddenly bolted to her tiptoes again. "Wait, I don't believe it! Look Mega—Proto's here!"

"…What?"

"Yes, it's him! Skulking over there by the wall like he did at the Halloween party! He has a trench coat over his armor and is wearing sunglasses-indoors-and-at-night again, I bet his helmet is in that bowling bag (how he got through security in that shady get-up beats me!)…And look who's with him—Elec Man and Top Man! Ooo, we're so busting those puffed-up losers!"

Roll sounded as excited as though she had just won front-row tickets to see a Nightmare Fuel concert.

Surprised, Mega Man squinted in the direction Roll was looking at. Sure enough, there was Proto Man, with his hands stuffed in his trench coat pockets, his face turned toward the crowded ballroom. He hadn't noticed them yet. Mega Man blinked at the two figures standing next to Proto Man. Unlike Roll, he had never known what Elec Man nor Top Man looked like without their armor. It would have been impossible to tell they weren't human. Though they had different hair and eye color and wore different styles (Elec Man carrying himself with forbidding formality, Top Man casual ease) they could have otherwise passed off as brothers—identical twins, even. Huh.

Roll was already stalking toward Proto Man like a cat closing in on a canary.

Unfortunately, Proto Man also appeared to be scanning the ballroom, and at that moment, had looked over in their direction. His aviators slid slightly down his nose in surprise. The figure in the black suit who stood next to him—Elec Man—also looked over at them, then sighed and rolled his eyes while nudging Top Man. Instantly, all three scattered.

Roll swore. "Proto!" hissed Roll, breaking into a run. "Hold it, mister! Hey! Get back here! We need to talk!"

"No thanks!"

After vaulting over a long buffet table, Proto Man and Elec Man had ran off into one of the halls with Roll hot on Proto Man's heels. Top Man was about to follow, but Mega Man quickly cut him off. Top Man's brown eyes darted around uneasy to see if any of the tipsy party-goers was looking at them (they weren't). He obviously didn't want to cause a scene and attract the attention of additional security.

Pressing his advantage, Mega Man took a step toward Top Man with the care of someone trying to corner a rabbit within a forest.

"Top Man?" he murmured quietly, looking Top Man over. Top Man was dressed in an orange blazer over a white button-up and chinos. He looked familiar with shaggy, sandy blonde hair and dark brown eyes. "I remember you from Fun World—you were the human in the orange windbreaker—had me totally fooled. I also remember when you tried to save me when you thought I was Brain Bot, then again from the trash compactor."

He took a step toward Top Man, but Top Man took a step back, holding up his hands.

"Heh heh yeah, but don't forget I also alerted Skull Fortress that you were escaping, shot you into a forcefield with a gravitron, and flirted with your sister," Top Man pointed out defensively. "The whole trash-compactor thing was a misunderstanding—I'm really quite evil."

Thoroughly unconvinced, Mega Man took a quick glance at where Elec Man had went, and asked in a low, curious voice, "Are you and Elec Man based off the same plans? I've never seen androids who pass for human as well as Roll, Proto, and I. …Who created you?"

Top Man's eyes continued to dart around as though nervous of being discovered and trying to decide which escape root was best. "No one special, just some guy. His name was Dr. Victor VanWellingtonstein Jr. Probably never heard of him. Lived overseas, died tragically while researching the migration habits of narwals."

Mega Man raised a brow. "…Look, both of you are obviously very advanced, even for Robot Masters. Were you stolen? I know my sister acts hotheaded sometimes, but we'd really, really try to help you. Especially you, you just…you shouldn't be stuck working for Wily, you should be a good guy. I don't know about Elec Man…" he admitted, jerking a thumb at where Elec Man had fled (Mega Man wasn't exactly fond of Elec Man, for Elec Man didn't act very nice and had shocked him with Thunder Beam many times). "…he seems to like being a criminal. But I got a brother like that, so believe me, I get it."

Top Man swallowed and said nothing, his eyes still looking anywhere but at Mega Man.

…Continuing this subject looked pointless. Mega Man didn't want to hurt Top Man (nor did he think Top Man wanted to fight) but Top Man was being too stubborn to be persuaded into surrendering. Capturing Top Man by force wasn't ideal, yet there seemed to be no other choice. Mega Man made a lunge to grab Top Man, but Top Man spun gracefully away and Mega Man's hands closed on nothing. He lost his balance, tripped into a white-clothed table, and a pyramid of champagne glasses crashed on top of him. Hearing the commotion, a few of the gala guests turned their heads toward Mega Man and pursed their lips disapprovingly before resuming conversations on the stock market.

Embarrassed, Mega Man stood up and brushed broken glass from his shoulders, his armor dripping. Meanwhile, Top Man had disappeared into thin air, and Roll was walking back to him empty-handed.

Mega Man smiled at her ruefully. "At least we're finally on the right track!"

"Yeah, those dummies can't hide for long, if I were them I'd run away," snickered Roll.

"Still, we better lock this place down," said Mega Man. "With any luck, we'll have them all trapped inside—and if Jewel Man is with them, we'll finally catch him!"

After losing Roll, Proto Man circled back to meet Elec Man in a back hallway, where guests were mingling tipsily in small groups while munching on plates of canapés.

"Ah, see? Mega Man and Roll are already on this case," Proto Man told Elec Man cheerfully. "I bet they already have a plan to stop Curator—we just need to stand by and be ready."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," muttered Elec Man carelessly. "…Where did Top Man go? I will kill him if he's gone off to confront Curator alone."

He sounded angry, though Proto Man knew Elec Man was really very worried.

From the other side of the hotel, Top Man had retreated into an empty bathroom, where he could take a quick breather alone. After locking the door, he collapsed against a wall next to the sink, shivering. It wasn't pleasant running into Mega Man again, and for Mega Man to once again offer him a chance to switch sides and put crime behind him for good. An offer Top Man could never take, no matter how much he secretly wanted to. Mega Man had been looking at Top Man like a potential ally—but Mega Man didn't know the whole truth about Top Man and his mobster past in the Syndicate.

"Uh, like who pulled an alarm?" muttered Kalinka in annoyance.

Quint frowned. Security personnel were locking down the gala—but why? He and Kalinka had been watching Curator the entire time, and as far as they could tell, he hadn't stolen anything yet!

At the sound of the alarm, Curator (who had been staring absently at his reflection in the fountain while twisting his long platinum bangs between his fingers) had gone very still. His brow furrowed as he straightened his mother-of-pearl glasses and fidgeted with one of his pink diamond bracelets while glancing around at the security personnel gathering encircling the ballroom.

Then, quite suddenly, the lights went out, throwing the ballroom into total blackness. The crowd let out a collective murmur of surprise—a few screamed, others laughed, but the majority began grumbling darkly. First they were being ordered to pause the festivities while everyone was searched because thieves had somehow gotten past security, now the power had gone out? The nerve! This was certainly not the night of entertainment they had all paid for!

But then, out of the darkness, a large beautiful jewel appeared—descending from the ceiling like a glorious version of a disco ball.

The murmuring stopped. It appeared everyone was looking at the jewel with the same awe of watching a shooting star—it even sounded as though no one was breathing.

Quint and Kalinka (who were familiar with the Dazzling Jewel and had been careful not to get drawn into its hypnotic pull) noticed it was now nearly the size of a disco ball as well.

"It has enough power to transform everyone in this ballroom at once!" Quint stammered as the Dazzling Jewel began to rotate.

"Hide!" Kalinka urged.

They dove underneath their white-clothed table just in time. For one moment, they could see the violet light shining through the linen, the next it went dark again, then the lights came back on, and all was silent. Frowning at each other, Quint and Kalinka deactivated their holomorphers, revealing their armor, then carefully lifted an edge of the tablecloth to peer out.

The ballroom was covered in jewelry, which glittered like freshly fallen snow on the wooden floor and chairs. Mixed amongst the diamonds was the oddest array of trinkets, ranging from fur clips, hair combs, cigarette cases and cigar boxes, snuff boxes, handkerchief rings, money clips, table bells, crop handles, golf tees, silver spoons, cape clasps, toy polo mallets, and even a small peridot piggy bank. All were impressively beautiful, even if their stones weren't nearly as valuable as the diamonds around them.

Curator had fallen against the edge of the fountain, clutching his chest and panting. He looked exhausted; the mental effort of creating so many jewelry pieces at once must have been taxing. The Dazzling Jewel had returned to his hand and was now its normal size and devoid of light. Letting it drop to his side, Curator tilted his head back and closed his eyes.

Faster than corks had been flying from champagne bottles, Kalinka and Quint shot forward. Kalinka threw a silk pillowcase that she had borrowed from the beachside villa over the Dazzling Jewel then scampered backward holding it tightly, while Quint had dropped a quintessence snare at Curator's feet.

Curator's eyes snapped open as the purple forcefield materialized around him. "What the—Mega Girl?!"

"Ha ha, your thieving days are over, Jewel Man!" Kalinka crowed, pointing at Curator while the Dazzling Jewel swung limply inside the pillowcase clutched in her other hand. "You were too greedy and used up too much of your power. That forcefield will drain the rest of your energy, then after you've powered down you're coming with us!"

Curator had fallen to his knees, his head bowed, his eyes narrowed into furious lavender slits. Then, with an effort, he reached into his tuxedo jacket's inner pocket, and to their surprise withdrew the black spinel that had formally been Punk. Clutching the spinel tightly, Curator's eyes flashed yellow as he erupted into a pillar of angry purple flames.

The quintessence forcefield flickered off, and the weight in the silk pillowcase suddenly vanished as the Dazzling Jewel appeared in Curator's hand.

"Did you really think it would be that easy, Mega Girl?" Curator snarled as he drew himself to his full height, his white velvet tuxedo shifting back into armor.

Kalinka tossed a blonde pigtail and smiled. "Well, it almost worked."

Quint scanned the black spinel with his visor. "Look! Now that Punk's a crystalline solid, Jewel Man can channel his latent evil energy as an auxiliary power source to amplify his own evil energy abilities—a very ingenious application indeed!"

"Well that's not fair! He was already too powerful!" complained Kalinka.

Curator's face (which had a strange, ethereal glow to it, like a moonstone) was twisting angrily. Meanwhile his armor, and even some of his skin was becoming clear crystal—they could see the wiring underneath in some places, a bit like circulatory system models in science museums.

"Wait…where is it? Where's the Sun Crystal?" he demanded. "I can't sense it on you!"

Kalinka smiled sweetly at Curator. "Not here! And if you change me into a gemstone, you'll never find it."

"I need that crystal! You need to give it to me or your friends remain in my collection forever! That was our deal!"

"Jewel Man…if you just let me, I can use the Sun Crystal to return you to normal. I know deep down you can't like turning people into gems—something is making you do this, the thing that infected you with evil alien energy and told you to steal Sun Crystal!"

"I don't care. I like my diamonds. I like my new powers…when they cooperate. Besides, bots change! I could care less about the fools who get in my way—I have crafted them into something beautiful using artisan workmanship that would make a queen weep with joy."

"They are nice," remarked Kalinka aloud. "What? He's not wrong," she added to Quint's flat look. "I would know, I've seen (and worn!) a lot of jewelry."

Curator rubbed a white-gloved hand over his face (which was now very much like carved moonstone) seemingly at a loss to handle this situation, then he glared at Kalinka.

"Alright…since my first offer was declined, I shall make a new one. No more tricks—you have until midnight to bring me the Sun Crystal. After that, I shall come looking for it… and everyone who has been in my way will remain in my collection…permanently."

He raised a hand, and a wall of pink jewel suddenly rose up, knocking Kalinka out of the ballroom and separating her from Curator and Quint. With an annoyed shout, Kalinka pounded at the jewel wall with her fists, but it was no use—the wall seemed as hard as diamond. She stood back and glowered through the pink crystal at Curator.

"Surely you had a contingency plan to retrieve the Sun Crystal should your first plan fail? Why not activate it now?" Curator called helpfully from the other side. "In the meantime, I shall keep your green companion with me while we wait for you go fetch the Sun Crystal. Don't worry, I'll keep him well entertained with a trivial game of 'hide and seek'—though for his sake, I would advise you hurry back before he loses."

Quint looked from Kalinka to Curator, gulped, then hastily scampered out of the back exit of the ballroom. Meanwhile, Kalinka suddenly felt herself rushing backward as though she were on a roller coaster—the solid wall of pink jewel swept her out of the ballroom, down the empty entrance hall, through the heavy wooden double doors of the hotel, out into the cold night air, and along a salt-crusted sidewalk, until finally dumping her in a dirty lot nearly a mile away from the gala.

The city had somehow gotten even colder, and a strange, purple haze wound between the skyscrapers, completely obscuring their top floors from view.

"Sh-shit!" Kalinka seethed to herself with chattering teeth, kicking an empty Cola Cola can in frustration. "We almost had him! …I j-just hope Quint can avoid b-being transformed until I get b-b-back!"

Bass paced in circles around the square interior of his clocktower hideout.

A sinister-looking purple cloud was visible outside the eastern-facing clockface. Bass had first noticed it sometime earlier that day. It wasn't a normal cloud; it hung low over the city like a shroud, and had grown steadily denser as the day wore on—now it was much darker than the night that surrounded it. Strangest of all, as Bass looked at it, his power core burned, and his thoughts were drawn back to the jewel thief from the pawn shop. Truthfully, the event had been hard to put out of mind. It reminded him of the strange spikey robo-monster wreathed in purple flames that he had seen attacking Los Angeles on television. Another inexplicable nagging feeling had risen inside, telling him to do something, but why? It was none of his concern.

Perhaps sensing Bass's unrest, Treble was also watching the cloud. He lay like a stone sphinx on the floor, ears pricked, his nostrils smelling the air tentatively.

Bass continued to pace, frowning. It was as though the cloud was beckoning to him, like some sort of irresistible challenge. He wanted to ignore it…but at the same time, he remembered Roll—not that this mattered, he didn't really know her, after all—yet Roll had been looking for a jewel thief. If that cloud and the jewel thief were connected (which he was most certain they were) then Roll might be in danger…

Bass felt the way that he sometimes felt before a fight—both tense and excited at once, energy racing through his circuits like a fire, or like if he sat still a moment longer, he would explode. The feeling gnawed at him until finally, he couldn't stand it anymore.

"Well…won't hurt to check it out," he muttered to himself finally. "Let's go, Treble!"

Mega Man and Roll had been in the middle of securing the hotel's exits to prevent Proto Man, Elec Man, and Top Man from getting away when suddenly the power went out.

A cold chill ran down Mega Man's neck like icy water. "Something's wrong! We better go back to the ballroom," he told Roll.

By the time they had returned to the gala ballroom, the power had come back on—and they were met with an astonishing sight. The ballroom was littered with gemstones, everything ranging from cheap pyrite costume jewelry to diamond necklaces worth more than Dr. Light's laboratory—yet all the humans were gone!

"W-what happened here?!" Mega Man couldn't help but exclaim.

Though the massive room looked quite empty, they hurried over to the table Dr. Light had been sitting at. There was no sign of Dr. Light, yet on his seat was an elegant bookmark of antique silver, a smooth alabaster bead tied to it by a white cotton tassel.

They stared at the bookmark.

"I don't get it, where's Dr. Light?" muttered Roll.

A strange thought occurred to Mega Man. "Shit…I think that is Dr. Light!"

"Huh? No way!"

Mega Man and Roll took another sweeping glance of the ballroom, of all the beautiful yet odd trinkets mixed amongst the more conventional diamond jewelry, then down again at the bookmark and its round alabaster bead. For a moment, they stood on either side of the chair, unsure what to do, unsure whether to believe the bookmark could actually be Dr. Light—when suddenly, they heard soft footsteps behind them, and whirled.

Jewel Man was crossing the ballroom slowly, pausing to pick up diamond pendants and diamond earrings as he went, which he stowed within the compartments of his jewel-studded utility belt. He looked different from the footage they had seen of him at the bank—his white armor seemed strangely crystalline, the vibrant pink jewels larger and more angular.

"Give it up, Jewel Man," said Mega Man, raising his plasma cannon. "We have the gala locked down, it will be impossible to escape!"

An amused smile flickered across Jewel Man's moonstone-like face. "How thoughtful of you—and I go by Curator now, if you please." One of his eyes was covered with a loupe, the other glittered as though made of lavender kunzite. "Ah, Mega Man and Roll, New York's hometown heroes! We meet at last. I used to be so afraid of you, but that all seems so silly now…"

Yet as 'Curator' trailed off, his smile faded and he peered closely at Mega Man while twiddling the focus wheel on his loupe. Mega Man felt it too—though they had never met, a weird jolt of familiarity and connection passed through them.

"You as well?" Curator whispered. "…But…that's impossible…"

Mega Man had a sinking sensation that he knew exactly what Curator was talking about, and he didn't like it. Roll looked between them, bewildered.

Curator stared disbelievingly at Mega Man a moment longer, then gave a curt cough while squaring his shoulders. "Well, no matter," he said drolly. "I suppose you'll want to stop me, even though that would be quite inconceivable without the Sun Crystal. I better take care of you before you become a bother—I'll take that—"

With a quick, deft hand, he reached over the back of Dr. Light's chair and snatched up the bookmark.

"Hey! Give that back!" growled Roll, drawing her sharpest circular saw—the one coated in diamond dust, the sort that could cut through diamonds.

"Why? It's safer with me. Only Mega Girl can help now—but you are free to join him!"

Curator held out a large pink jewel that he had been carrying in his other hand.

Sensing the trap for what it was, Mega Man grabbed Roll by the elbow and spun her around. "Don't look at that jewel, that's what he's using to transform everyone!"

Mega Man and Roll tore hastily out of the ballroom, hurtling up a wooden staircase, and into a second-floor corridor. They did not hear Curator following them (perhaps unwilling to leave the horde of diamonds unattended) but his laugh rang through the halls behind them.

"A Robot Master with the special ability to turn people into jewelry? Well that's a new one, I'll give Wily's mad science credit for that!" muttered Roll as they slammed the second-floor door behind them. "Guess that solves the case of the missing security guards now! But why did 'Curator' mention Mega Girl, Quint's sister? What does she have to do with this?"

Mega Man said nothing for a moment. He had collapsed against a wall, then slid down the floor, suddenly feeling tired. Roll looked over at him, started, then darted to his side.

"Hey, hey! What's wrong?"

"I don't think this is mad science…" Mega Man muttered, clutching at his chest. "…I think it's evil energy."

"What?" Roll looked alarmed as she grabbed Mega Man's shoulder tightly. "We need to get you out of here!"

"No! No—I'm alright. Besides, what about Dr. Light and the other humans?"

Roll bit her lip. "We'll think of something!"

Something rustled behind a nearby door, making them both jump. Was Curator coming after them after all? Mega Man quickly forced himself to his feet, Roll had her circular saw pointed at the door, poised to fire, but then it swung open as a familiar robot in green armor tumbled unceremoniously out of a broom closet in a tangle of mops and buckets.

"Quint?" they cried together, Roll dropping her utility arm.

Quint started, then turned toward them. "Oh, hello there," he greeted as though they had just bumped into each other while on a casual stroll through Central Park. Like he had in Los Angeles, Quint looked incredibly guilty, his visored face angled toward his green boots on the wooded floor. "Um, as you may have noticed, there has been another outbreak of alien energy in the vicinity, but we have the situation under control."

Roll stared beadily at Quint. "No offense…but it doesn't look under control. You look like you were hiding, and all the humans who were here have been transformed into jewels—Dr. Light's a bookmark!"

"Really? Oh dear—well, not to worry. Everything will be back to normal soon, you should get out of here—"

Quint looked as though he were about to scurry off, but Mega Man and Roll cornered him back against the broom closet.

"Oh no you don't!" chided Roll, hands on her hips. "Look, we know your work studying aliens is top secret, but you can trust us! You don't have to give us all the information, but fill us in enough to help now."

With no other choice, Quint gave them a quick summary of what he knew about evil energy, the Sun Crystal and its justice energy, their mission to stop 'hosts' of evil energy, 'Curator'—everything but the identity of Mega Girl (whose secret was not his to share).

Roll and Mega Man were speechless.

"Wow. This is wicked cool," said Roll finally, her eyes sparkling in a way that rivaled the gemstones in the ballroom. "Forget Wily and his dumb schemes—Mega and I can team up with you and Mega Girl to save the world from a cosmic threat!"

"Oh, no no, that's quite unnecessary, this isn't a 'save-the-world' type of situation." Quint gave a false laugh that didn't fool anyone, then continued in a higher voice, "And Mega Girl and I have it covered, once we neutralize Jewel Man's evil energy, that is—no need for either of you to get involved!"

"Quint's right…" sighed Mega Man. "What can we do? Only alien energy can fight alien energy!"

Nodding vigorously, Quint added, "Precisely, which is why you really must leave here before it's too—too—too…"

Quint seemed to have lost his train of thought. He had glanced down the corridor, his eyes fixed on a point some distance away. Then, a shaft of violet light shot down the corridor, catching Quint full-on as Roll and Mega Man stepped back. The next instant, Quint was gone—but when they looked down, they could see a strange wristwatch lying on the floor: the minute hand moved like a second hand, the second hand whirled backward, and the hour hand kept changing position at random. At the center of the clock hands was a pentagonal alexandrite, normally green under daylight, but currently purple under the incandescent hotel room sconces.

"Holy shit!" shouted Mega Man and Roll together, staring at the alexandrite watch in shock. Again, they hesitated, unsure what to do—should they pick it up and take it with them?—but they could hear footsteps coming up the stairs—Curator was coming to collect the new trinket, and according to Quint, Curator could sense gems. If they took the watch, Curator would be on to them. Casting the watch a guilty look, they fled down the hall and crept up a different flight of stairs to the third floor. Prepared to fight evil alien energy or not, they were caught up in this mess now!

The third-floor landing opened up into a narrow corridor—one side had doors leading into hotel rooms, the other large windows that normally overlooked the street below—but to Mega Man and Roll's dismay, the view was currently opaque with a woolly purple haze.

"What a curious watch!" they heard Curator exclaim pleasantly from the second floor. "I was considering letting him go since he was making such a good show of hiding…but, if you are all going to conspire together against me…"

"Sorry Quint…" Mega Man muttered. He looked over at Roll. "Any ideas?"

Roll shrugged. "Not unless you think punching Mr. Fancy-pants in the face will work?"

A loud crash erupted to their left. One of the windows had been blown apart by a blast of phosphorescent viridian energy, glass shards showering the wooden floor like hail while frigid winter air assaulted them.

"Now what?" Mega Man grumbled, then nearly jumped out of his titanium skin as he recognized an extremely distinctive silhouette against the purple haze. "…Bass?"

Bass leaped inside the hotel, his large purple robo-wolf following shortly after.

"…Mega Man?!" growled Bass, equally surprised. Behind him, the robo-wolf snarled silently at Mega Man, a white lip curled over his long fangs.

At the name, Roll whirled. "…Bass?!"

Bass's eyes slid over to Roll, then blinked. "…Roll?"

The robo-wolf's flattened ears pricked forward, looking from Bass to Roll. He did not snarl at Roll like he had Mega Man.

"Bass, you're Bass!?" Roll repeated, incredulous.

"…Yeah?" Bass sounded a bit confused, his eyes darting between Roll and Mega Man.

Mega Man blinked at them. "Um…have you two…met?"

He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. Fortunately, neither of them seemed to have heard Mega Man anyway.

"I thought you were human!" accused Roll.

"I thought you were human!" retorted Bass.

Roll scoffed and rolled her eyes dramatically. "So, were you trying to trick me earlier? Take me off guard by pretending to like metal music?"

Bass looked equally outraged and betrayed as he pointed a finger at Mega Man. "You're with him?"

At that moment, they heard a mad scampering of metal paws against polished wood floors, then Rush came bounding down the corridor toward them with his pink tongue lolling out. Poor Rush had been waiting outside in the freezing cold (the hotel had a strict no-dog policy and wouldn't make exceptions, even for Dr. Light) but must have decided to disobey Mega Man and Roll's 'stay' command when he heard Bass break in. Mega Man was glad to see Rush—perhaps they could escape the hotel on Rush jet…so long as there wasn't too much interference from evil energy radiation. Rush stopped short at Mega Man's side, growling and raising his hackles at Bass's robo-wolf, who had resumed his silent snarl as he locked eyes with Rush. Apparently they felt they had unsettled business as well.

No one seemed to know what to do, the air tense enough to cut with knife.

"Easy Treble," Bass muttered as he rested a hand on his robo-wolf's head, his eyes still darting between Mega Man and Roll with the concentrated effort of someone trying to solve a difficult math problem. He had drawn a plasma cannon.

"Wait Roll, don't kill him, he's not that bad…" Mega Man whispered to Roll.

Roll rounded on Mega Man, and whispered shortly, "I thought you said he was ugly."

"…I really didn't…"

"Well, who cares what he looks like. I certainly don't. Lousy Wily-bot trying to trick us with the good guy act again," she sneered disdainfully.

…Though when Roll looked back at Bass, Mega Man momentarily caught a strangely wistful expression on her face, almost as though a silly smile were threatening to break out—an expression that did not match at all with the vitriol she had been flinging at Bass.

Mega Man knew this look, and resisted sighing. Things were already complicated enough without this.

…As though reading Mega Man's thoughts, Curator came strolling down the corridor, his face shadowed, the circular lens of his loupe glinting dangerously. "…How did you break in?" he demanded, glaring at Bass, then waved a hand airily. "Doesn't matter. I don't have time for this nonsense, nor energy to chase after you all endlessly. I have a lot of work ahead of me; the new pieces of my collection need to be stored safely, lest something unfortunate happen to them. I suppose you may all come along for the ride…"

Curator burst into violet flames. Everyone cried out in shock, even Bass—Treble and Rush stopped snarling at each other, their heads whipping around to look at Curator. Then, the purple haze that had been building outside the hotel suddenly flooded the entire gala. For a brief moment, Mega Man and Roll couldn't see anything, not even each other—but then the haze cleared. The mahogany walls and tinsel decorations of the gala had disappeared. They were now standing in some sort of giant cavern!

"…Where are we…?" breathed Mega Man.

"You are in my domain—my Jewel Cave," echoed Curator's voice. "Make yourself comfortable…you may be staying here for quite a while."

To be continued…

Chapter Text

Silence pressed on them from all sides like pillows. It was definitely a cave, yet structured like a palace, with high vaulted ceilings, glowing pink crystal chandeliers, and wide open spaces that gave the impression of halls and grand rooms. Thick white velvet carpeted the floor, which felt soft enough to sleep on. The entire area was vast, yet empty, save for silver Rococo-style furniture (exquisitely shaped with slender cabriole legs and velvet upholstery), and the collection, whose display cases were arranged in tidy rows.

Roll shivered. "So creepy! How many of these do you think were once people?"

"Anything that's not a diamond, Curator was only stealing diamonds," Mega Man muttered grimly as he gazed around.

Bass was completely baffled. What the hell was all of this? Everything felt weird here, as though the air was oily and toxic. Energy swelled in his chest as the nagging call to fight reared stronger than ever, nearly driving him crazy. He wanted to punch everything, especially Mega Man. Yet where had that jewel thief called 'Curator' gone off to? They had just heard his voice, so he must be around somewhere…

But in the meantime, business.

"So, you. Again," Bass growled, glaring at Mega Man. From their sides, Treble and Rush resumed snarling at each other again.

"I don't want to fight, Bass," said Mega Man, holding up his hands hastily.

"That's ironic, because I do."

"We got off on the wrong foot. We could be friends!"

"Chh, don't make me laugh."

"Okay, fine, but this isn't a good time—there's more important things going on right now, surely you can see that! Listen, counting you, there's at least five of us working together to bring down this Jewel Man or Curator or whoever—well, four now that Quint is down, Curator's turning everyone into jewels—"

"No, there's no 'us'," hissed Bass, insulted. "I don't care about any of this—I don't even know why I bothered coming here—"

His eyes shifted unconsciously to Roll, who was watching him with folded arms and a sneer, her fiery sky blue eyes piercing him like skewers. Bass looked quickly away again, mentally rebuking himself. They were enemies!

"But, if we don't stop this—the world could come to an end!" protested Mega Man.

"So? Get this straight—I'm not a friend, or hero, I'm your worst enemy."

"Enough!" Curator interrupted, startling everyone as he strolled in from a side chamber where he had been setting up new display cases. His movements were stilted—glittering pink carbuncles seemed to be growing up his right side, though he was smiling genially at them. "You weren't my prime targets, but since you all are so interested in my collection, you can join it!" he announced, his voice ringing merrily through the Jewel Cave. "Oh, and there's no need for heroics—there's nothing any of you can do anyway. You can't hurt me, and if you touch the collection I will know and you will regret it."

"Oh really?" scoffed Bass, lifting a cannon and firing.

Despite the viridian green plasma bolt speeding toward him, Curator remained still, smiling indulgently. When the plasma bolt struck his armor (a perfect point-blank hit that should have smashed one of the giant pink jewels) it merely winked out of existence, like a green firework spark hitting a concrete wall. Curator hadn't even flinched.

Bass's eyes widened. "What the hell?"

"Only alien energy can fight alien energy," Mega Man whispered to Bass as he watched Curator.

"Huh? Sh-shut up!" Bass stammered, annoyed to be given advice from Mega Man. Alien energy? The hell was that supposed to mean? Stubbornly, Bass fired several more shots at Curator—yet none had any more effect than the first.

Curator just smiled ruefully and shook his head, his helmet's large pink jewel sending prismatic shards of light dancing around the room like a sun catcher—still, nothing was more eye-catching than the Dazzling Jewel clutched in his hand. "Like I said earlier, only Mega Girl can stop this…and she's not here, is she? Now, to get you all settled in…"

The Dazzling Jewel floated off his hand as it began to glow and rotate. Bass frowned, deeply puzzled. Like Curator himself, the jewel didn't seem very threatening. Supremely unimpressed, he stared into the jewel…

Flash.

Without so much as a yelp, Rush had become a bone-shaped labradorite tag attached to a red collar. Bass blinked, yet remained rooted to the spot, his mind oddly blank. Treble jumped in front of Bass—

Flash.

A howlite fang strung on a leather cord fell to the carpet.

Bass shook himself out of the trance he had almost fallen into. In shock, he scooped up the howlite fang, then to his deepest annoyance, retreated further into the cave. Prudently, everyone had decided to get out of sight at this point.

Bass had leaped behind one of the many marble cave pillars. For a moment, he stood there frozen, trying to process what had just happened as he gripped the howlite fang tightly. Then his eyes began to rake his surroundings, thinking, until they fell on Roll, who was hiding behind another cave pillar across a hall. Roll went still as she looked back at him. Glaring murderously, she drew a circular saw from her homemade blaster, but then Curator suddenly appeared between them, his back to Bass as he faced Roll, the Dazzling Jewel floating just in front of her eyes…

Flash.

Bass scrambled behind a chaise lounge with a wave-like back. Unfortunately, Mega Man was already crouched in hiding there, Bass nearly crashing into him as they found themselves staring silently at each other face-to-face.

Mega Man gazed with fierce determination at Bass, but Bass glared stubbornly in a different direction—though even Bass had to admit the situation did in fact seem bad, his grip still tight around the howlite fang. He wasn't afraid, but plasma power wasn't effective against Curator, and despite Mega Man's talk of 'teamwork,' Mega Man wasn't being very helpful. In fact, Mega Man looked more pathetic than before, his movements much slower than Bass's—

Flash.

Curator had appeared seemingly out of nowhere again, but Bass had taken refuge behind another cave pillar just in time. He had a feeling Mega Man had not been so lucky. Bass felt…disappointed? He wanted to be the one to bring Mega Man down. Mega Man spontaneously becoming a sparkling little rock before they had their rematch was just…stupid.

Despite the danger, Bass couldn't help but steal a quick look around the pillar to see what had happened to Roll and Mega Man.

Curator looked smug. Dangling from tweezer-like fingers of one of his hands was a single amethyst earring on a small silver chain, which sparkled with fiery radiance. Resting in Curator's other hand was a deep blue sapphire marble, which he was looking at admiringly.

…That was it then. Mega Man, Roll, and their robo-dog were down, Treble was down…

Without other options, Bass stalked quietly deeper into the cave.

…He wasn't running away, but going off to devise a plan. It was all he could do at the moment, but 'Curator' would pay for doing this to Treble. Bass would make certain of that.

Curator didn't follow the strange robot in black armor called Bass, even though Bass had taken the howlite fang with him. It wasn't as if Bass could leave, and it was only a matter of time before Bass joined the collection anyway.

His attention was captivated by the sapphire marble (that's what it looked like, anyway—Curator couldn't figure out a proper setting for it, though it had potential). It was a perfect sphere, its outer edges a vivid blue, its center dark like the deepest depths of the ocean—and at its heart was the smallest flicker of purple flame, just like what had been inside the black spinel.

"Fascinating," Curator murmured to himself.

But then he caught sight of himself in one of the standing mirrors, and started, running a finger along the rough pink carbuncles creeping up part of his armor again. It was too hard focusing on his appearance when he had spent so much energy creating hundreds of new trinkets and then transporting them all to the Jewel Cave while fighting off nosey busy-bodies. He would have to attend to this little problem later, after he had secured the Sun Crystal.

Shuddering, Curator turned his back on his disfigured reflection. …He was still afraid of what the slippery voice might do to him if he failed to get the Sun Crystal. The voice reminded him of the very richest of customers who had visited his jewelry shop, customers whose near-infinite power and wealth had given them a chilling boredom that could never be sated…

These thoughts were suddenly dashed aside as Curator straightened, becoming acutely alert. It appeared there were unintended guests sneaking about the Jewel Cave. He had an inkling of who they might be. How funny—yet he sensed something about one of them that he didn't like. Something dangerous. Could it be the Sun Crystal? No…but it was similar…he had noticed it before, and it was close by…

Placing the sapphire next to the black spinel inside a compartment of his jewel-studded utility belt, Curator slipped silently into the shadows.

"Proto Man, Elec Man, where are you?" Top Man called out softly as he crept through the Jewel Cave, hopelessly lost.

Earlier, when the power had gone out, Top Man had stayed in the locked bathroom, listening, wondering what was going on, if Elec Man or Proto Man had been captured, and how long it would take hotel security to discover his hiding place. Finally deciding it was much too quiet, Top Man stood up, and while balancing perfectly on one foot with his arms out, began spinning like an orange tornado. When he stopped spinning, he was in his armor, and he stepped out of the bathroom only to realize that he was somehow no longer inside the hotel, but an enormous cave.

Top Man glanced around the chamber he had entered nervously. Like every chamber he had crept through previously, it looked like a cross between a cave and a luxury jewelry showroom, but it felt like a cross between a prison and a graveyard. Ahead of him were rows of display cases. Grouped together nearby was the citrine paper knife, the tourmaline paperweight, the zircon hoop bracelet, the garnet horseshoe amulet, and the agate skull belt buckle, each sitting atop a velvet cushion on a marble pedestal and shining pleasantly in the overhead chandeliers' soft light.

Unnerved, Top Man stared at the trinkets that had formally been Cut Man, Guts Man, Ring Man, Magnet Man, and Dr. Wily. He should do something, but what? Unlike Proto Man and Elec Man, he couldn't just leave them here…

With a trembling hand, Top Man reached out for the closest one (the flashy light blue zircon bracelet with the red and white enamel circus pattern) and picked it up.

"You were with Ring Man and Magnet Man yesterday evening…" said a soft voice from just behind him.

Startled, Top Man dropped the bracelet back on its cushion as he spun on the spot, then took a large step backward. Curator was watching him from only a few paces away, the Dazzling Jewel clutched in his hand at his side.

Top Man knew he should run—but where? Surely this cave belonged to Curator, who would know it better than anyone else. Despite Elec Man's strict instructions, Top Man's only choice was to try to get out of this the only way he knew how: persuasion.

"Heh heh, hey there, Curator," Top Man chuckled sheepishly, holding up his hands. "Yeah, I'm a friend of theirs, but don't get the wrong idea! I'm unarmed, and I don't want to steal anything, I-I just want to talk. Listen—I get why you're angry with Ring Man and Magnet Man, sounds like they've been real jerks and kinda deserved what you did to them…but don't you think you've taught them enough of a lesson by now? Surely they're not as nice to have in your 'collection' as realgemstones, right?"

"They're not," Curator admitted. One of his eyes was obscured by a large, carbuncle-covered loupe, the other watched Top Man with a flat expression.

Encouraged, Top Man took a step forward. "And then the humans you captured did nothing wrong. Humans aren't so bad—they were just doing their jobs or were in the wrong place at the wrong time, harmless really. Please, let them all go."

Curator's visible eye narrowed. "Actually, I don't really care that much for humans. They're kinda annoying, especially the rich ones. You've obviously never worked in a customer-facing job, Ring Man would have gotten it—but look here, I have something to show you to make this debate moot…"

As Curator held up the Dazzling Jewel, Top Man took a step back, almost tripping on the carpeted ground, but it was already too late. "No, wait—I…?"

Words failed Top Man entirely as the jewel rotated serenely, bathing him in its violet light. He was unable to tear his eyes away from it—few were once they fell under its hypnotic power. Top Man's mind went promptly blank, he thought he heard familiar music piping in his ears. It was…peaceful.

Letting the Dazzling Jewel fall back into his palm, Curator strolled to the spot where Top Man had been seconds before. At his feet lay an ornate jeweled egg worthy of a crowned prince. Its shell was decorated in fine gold work and vibrant enamel depicting a resplendent palace next to a wide, fir tree-lined lake that reflected the full moon and star-studded night above.

Curious that such an unassuming, pandering robot had made for such an opulent piece, Curator picked up the egg. It opened like a jewelry box, and a soft ringing melody played on a tiny mechanical lamellophone hidden within its base. Nested inside on a bed of tufted pure white satin sat a magnificent imperial topaz pendant.

Curator frowned as he looked at the pedant, then lifted it carefully by its fine chain and held it up to his loupe (which had merged with his right eye).

Yes, it was quite a handsome topaz, a rich golden orange color—yet something was off. It had feathering, tiny cracks present deep within the stone. This bothered Curator a little, the rest of the gemstones he had created were flawless. Fortunately, the feathering didn't appear to affect the structural integrity of the stone. In fact, it made an unusual pattern only visible to the discerning eye.

"Is that…Top Man?"

"Yes," Curator responded somewhat vaguely. It was a moment before he took his eyes off the topaz. He looked over at Elec Man, who had come to a halt just outside the chamber and the row of display cases and was staring rigidly at Curator and the egg. He must have heard their voices and came to investigate. Curator smiled warmly at Elec Man, using the same false smile he used to greet customers with. "You seem similar to him. Perhaps…a set, with you as an ice blue topaz, to match your striking eyes? Or perhaps something else, hold still—"

But Elec Man did not share Top Man's pandering, forgiving nature. As Curator moved to lift the Dazzling Jewel, Elec Man moved even faster. A brilliant flash of electricity struck an overhead crystal chandelier as Elec Man darted away like a shadow.

Startled, Curator leaped back as the delicate crystalline structure came crashing down with a sound like a million dinner plates breaking all at once. With an angry hiss, Curator hurried over to repair the damage, his eyes searching for Elec Man, but Elec Man was gone.

Seriously, who is that bot? muttered the slippery voice to itself from the back of Curator's mind.

Elec Man found Proto Man several rooms away hiding behind a curio cabinet filled with porcelain figurines and Limoges boxes.

"Whoa, hey, what happened? Where's…where's Top Man?" asked Proto Man as Elec Man crouched next to him.

Elec Man pounded a fist against the back of the curio cabinet, causing its contents to jingle. "I couldn't get to him in time. Curator turned him into one of those silly jeweled eggs that go for millions, and he was going to do the same to me."

"Pff, no way you'd be a silly egg—more like silly monogrammed cufflinks or something."

"…This isn't funny."

"I know. …Believe me, I know."

Neither of them were happy with how the evening was going. First they had been spotted by Mega Man and Roll, forcing them to change into their armor and hide, then they had lost Top Man, then all chaos had broken loose and they were stuck in this weird cave with Curator's 'collection'. They weighed options. They could try to destroy Curator—yet they weren't sure if this was possible, or if the gemstones would return to normal or be stuck in their current state forever. They could try bargaining with Curator again—yet thus far this had failed spectacularly, and Elec Man suspected this was what had doomed Top Man. They could team up with the good guys—Proto Man and Elec Man liked this option the least. Dully, they sat with their backs to the curio cabinet, listening to the oppressive silence of the Jewel Cave for any signs that Curator might be approaching.

"You know…too bad we can't contact Dr. C…maybe he could help with this alien stuff," Proto Man mused wistfully after a moment.

Elec Man sniffed. "How so? He wasn't very useful at Red Gulch."

"Yeah…" Proto Man decided to drop the subject. He knew talking about Dr. Cossack annoyed Elec Man, no matter how desperate they might be. "Try not to worry—the good guys are on this too. They always fix weird messes like this, right? Unless we think of something, let's just lay low like we did with Hellrazor, alright?"

Elec Man said nothing. He was looking around the curio cabinet, his eyes scanning the collection, which twinkled gloriously within display cases beneath the crystal chandeliers.

Then, they heard a noise that made their circuits turn to ice—a strange, silvery sound of crystals chiming together at intervals in accompaniment with uneven, heavy footsteps muffled by the plush carpet. Curator had finally found them. Taking careful, covert glances around the curio cabinet, they could see him staggering closer.

Curator's look had become half monstrous. Again, Proto Man was reminded of a china figurine, but one that had been split down the middle with vibrant pink carbuncles corrupting one side—one arm normal, the other ending in long jeweler's tweezers, his right eye obscured by an oversized loupe. He moved toward them in jerky movements, as the jewel carbuncles growing on his armor had become massive and were weighing him down, and his joints looked stiff. But when Curator spoke, it was in a soft cordial voice, as though addressing something that might break if he spoke too loudly or harshly.

"Ah, there you are…I was wondering where you both might be."

"Buddy, you're not looking so good," retorted Proto Man frankly.

"True, but temporary. I'm becoming more powerful, and once we're finished here tonight, I'll look normal again—perhaps better than normal."

"Pff. You won't win. No matter what happens, Mega Man and Roll will stop you."

Curator stopped moving toward them. He let out a soft, delicate titter. "How pathetic…aren't you a villain? The famous 'Red Bomber,' the most wanted criminal robot in the world?" he asked dramatically. "And you're relying on the heroes to save you? Well, I have unfortunate news …the robots you mentioned have already joined my collection, my sincerest apologies if that dashes your hopes."

A cold chill swept through Proto Man. Shit. Mega Man and Roll were…gone? But…they were the good guys! They were supposed to fix this! The good guys always fixed things!

Proto Man's left hand clenched. His shoulders shook.

Elec Man shot him a quick glance. "Stay focused…"

Curator was laughing mirthlessly—a cold, tinkling sound like glasses clinking at a fancy dinner party celebrating a successful murder. "No one's being saved tonight. No one."

That was it. Proto Man was tired of the taunts and he was tired of the weird shit going down. Ignoring Elec Man's warning glance, he sprang out from behind the curio cabinet, rushing toward Curator like a javelin. He would break Curator's stupid spinning jewel, or go down trying.

In a twinkling of pink jewels, Curator floated suddenly sideways, and Proto Man found himself hurtling into the soft velvet carpet, which caught his fall like a thick mattress. Snarling, Proto Man whirled around, and lunged again, and again—yet Curator continued to glide away with easy grace.

"You are putting up more of a fight than most," Curator remarked patronizingly, "Still, all futile."

He held out the Dazzling Jewel, which began to glow. Proto Man planted his heels deep in the velvet carpet, refusing to retreat, refusing to give Curator any satisfaction that he might be scared. Instead, he raised his blaster and fired a super shot at the jewel—maybe he could at least save Elec Man—

The electric blue bolt of plasma flashed toward the jewel, then disappeared. The Dazzling Jewel glowed brighter. Curator gave another small, tinkling laugh.

Seeing that Proto Man was in jeopardy, Elec Man darted forward—he may not have been faster than Curator either, but he was faster than Proto Man, and so he grabbed Proto Man by the shoulder and flung him behind a display case filled with tiaras.

It happened in an instant. Smiling, Curator refocused his efforts on Elec Man, the Dazzling Jewel still spinning in his outstretched palm. Elec Man struggled to resist the hypnotic pull of the jewel, his head shaking jerkily side to side, but he could not tear his gaze away from the Dazzling Jewel.

Flash.

From behind the display case, Proto Man watched helplessly as Elec Man's form glowed with bright violet light, then instantaneously shrunk to approximately a twenty-thousandth of his original size as he became a black opal set on a heavy, signet-style dark triconium ring etched with clouds.

"Elec Man!" Proto Man cried. He scrambled out from the display case, quickly snatched up the ring, and hid behind a marble cave pillar (…not a great hiding place, but there was little else to hide behind). Trembling, Proto Man looked down at the opal sitting on his palm, which was no larger than his thumbnail. "Elec Man…"

"Ah, black opal," he heard Curator remark from the other side of the cave pillar. "As valuable as a diamond, and rarer. Careful, opals are relatively fragile for gemstones…Hand it over, it will be safer in my collection."

"Change him back."

"No reason, I don't want to destroy anyone. He made for a pretty ornament—as will you, I suspect."

Gold chains appeared suddenly and wrapped tightly around Proto Man's arms and legs. They were fine like the sort used for necklaces, yet impossibly strong. Proto Man couldn't move. He held onto the opal ring tightly.

Curator came round from the other side pillar with slow, wary steps, his visible eye peering at Proto Man as though he might at any moment transform into a deadly warmech, rip free of his bindings, and blast Curator into space debris. "I can sense it, your 'alien' energy, as it is apparently called—but you don't have control over it like I do mine."

Then Curator smiled and took a step forward, holding up the glowing Dazzling Jewel, which floated off his hand and began to rotate, each facet glinting in its turn.

Goosebumps prickled across Proto Man's skin. He knew he should look away, he could have looked away, but instead he was thinking about Elec Man, Mega Man, Roll, even Dr. Wily…all gone. Proto Man was the only one left, and he had no clue how to stop this. He doubted this could be stopped.

Curator's voice had lowered to a soft, velvety whisper, as though lulling Proto Man to sleep. "Relax…this won't hurt you…"

Far from relaxing, Proto Man braced himself as violet light filled his vision—but just how did one guard against a paranormal alien attack?

It was a strange feeling. One moment he was himself, the next he felt like tin foil being crumpled into a thimble-sized ball, his entire being becoming incredibly stiff, cool metal prongs closing securely around him—

An aviator badge with twenty-four karat gold wings lay on the plush carpet next to the black opal ring, the brilliant ruby at its center perching upon the folds of a miniature solid gold scarf.

Curator bent over the newest additions to his collection. Truly exceptional.

The black opal was a marvel of its own. It contained vivid flashes of electric blue chatoyancy, an optical phenomenon like lightning striking in a stormy night sky over and over again as Curator turned the ring back and forth in the light.

…But as spectacular as the opal was, the ruby was even better. Even from the floor, it glittered like jetfire, or sparks on a gust of wind, yet something cyan shimmered in its depths, exactly like the Sun Crystal.

Idiot didn't even defend himself, the slippery voice snickered in the back of Curator's mind as he looked down at the aviator badge. You can keep the ruby kiddie wings, but I'm kinda interested in the opal ring—I'll take it when you get the Sun Crystal, 'kay?

Curator nodded, though the voice's presence had already faded again like a lazy puff of smoke. The voice had seemed pleased with him at least (a relief in itself). Curator reached for the aviator badge with tweezer-like fingers—

"Ah!"

In a flash of cyan light, the ruby had burned Curator, deep fissures forming in the pink jewels of his armor. Gasping in horror, Curator withdrew, cursing the ruby. He could see the cyan light pulse defiantly within the ruby—Proto Man's alien energy, the opposite of evil energy. A moment of clarity shot through Curator's mind. What on earth was he doing?

The evil energy within his chest surged in response. Curator burst into violet flames. He felt even stiffer all over. Something had shifted on his face, and he grimaced as his legs changed into straight needle-like points of pink crystal.

It was far too late for second thoughts now, there would be no going back.

Bass had heard the renewed sounds of the battle and stalked through the halls of the Jewel Cave carefully. When he realized the battle was between Curator, Proto Man, and Elec Man, he wasn't sure who to help, or if he should just stand back and watch the show—but as he drew close, there was a violet flash, followed by one shortly after, then all went quiet.

From the shadow of a marble cave pillar, Bass watched Curator, who had just recoiled from a ruby aviator badge on the ground as though it had burnt him. Agitated, Curator was inspecting his armor—he was beginning to look weird, all pointy and delicate, like ice crystals on a window pane, not at all like something that should work as a functioning Robot Master design.

Curator went completely still. He lifted his head, then turned toward Bass. Curator's face was misshapen and lopsided—one eye a gigantic loupe, the other a pointed oval gemstone that glowed with yellow light.

"I can sense you…whoever you are. I can sense that large blue gemstone on your armor. You have strange energy. …I don't know why you got involved, but you might as well surrender."

Not liking to be caught hiding, Bass stepped into the light of an overhead crystal chandelier, blaster drawn. If Curator was going to transform him like the rest, then Bass wanted it to be on his terms and go down fighting—he wouldn't make it easy for Curator.

Curator did not appear to be in a hurry to transform Bass just yet, for he had all the power, therefore all the the time in the world. "That is a very unusual gemstone—although technically not a true gemstone, for it's some sort of glass, like impactite from a meteor crater, correct? Where did it come from?" he asked with polite, merely professional curiosity.

Bass did not know nor felt like answering. Instead, his attention was drawn to the ruby aviator badge on the velvet carpet and the faint cyan light flickering inside. Bass was certain that the ruby was Proto Man. He was even more certain he and Proto Man hated each other. And yet…he sensed that energy again. Energy that had hurt Curator, but could help Bass.

He looked at Curator. He looked at the ruby aviator badge. He looked back at Curator. He darted forward and picked up the ruby aviator badge. A friendly feeling ran through it and up his wires like a warm night breeze.

Curator was scandalized. "Don't touch any pieces from the collection, you could damage it!"

Like I care, Bass thought darkly. He couldn't stand Proto Man—but Proto Man was currently in a strange form, and would have to cooperate…

Curator held out the Dazzling Jewel in his hand, which was already glowing and rotating serenely. "So be it…I did try to be civil—but I will not permit stealing."

Unconsciously, Bass looked at the jewel. As it flashed, he had the fleeting and bizarre sensation that he was about to become an emerald on a golden snake arm cuff. Bass clutched the ruby aviator badge tightly. Faint cyan light appeared around Bass's armor, burning him, but he remained unchanged.

After a moment, the jewel stopped rotating and fell into Curator's hand, who started, his jewel-eye widening. "That's…that's not possible!"

Bass said nothing, holding his ground, the ruby aviator badge still held tightly in his fist. He had absolutely no clue why this was working, he was just going on instinct.

Then, Bass heard something strange—a slippery, disembodied voice. He could not tell where it was coming from.

"Curator, I'm liking your power set less," said the voice. "I don't know who this dude is or where he came from, but he's got to go. Hurry up and change him into a harmless little gem like you did the rest already."

"I'm trying!" Curator gasped back while gnashing jewel teeth. More rough pink carbuncles began accumulating on his armor like a heavy coat. His saucer-sized loupe was focused on Bass. The dazzling jewel rotated faster, sending out more and more beams of energy.

Each time one hit, Bass felt himself momentarily freeze, but he held onto the aviator badge tightly, and did not change—though a smarting round of strange cyan energy coursed through his circuits, sapping some of his own energy. Still, Bass smiled savagely at Curator, drawing a plasma cannon. Thanks to Proto Man, perhaps odds were back in his favor after all…

Chewing on her lower lip, Kalinka returned to the Jewel Cave, Beat perched upon her shoulder. She had a tough decision before her—turn over the Sun Crystal in exchange for the freedom of Curator's prisoners, or battle it out and hope she herself didn't wind up in Curator's collection herself. A difficult choice—and she was (admittedly) less confident than she had been before. She figured she should probably surrender the Sun Crystal after all, for weren't crystals worth less than people? …That felt like giving up, but what else could she do?

Yet, as she opened the doors of the gala and found herself within the vast halls of the Jewel Cave (an oddity in itself), she heard the sounds of battle echoing through the vaulted ceilings. Someone must have held out! But who? Could it possibly be Quint?

"Better hide, Beat," she whispered. "Jewel Man will know I'm back with the Sun Crystal, and it's best if you're not caught with me."

"Be careful, Kali! I'll be close by in case you need me," Beat whispered back, squeezing her shoulder lightly with his talons before taking flight.

Crouched low behind a row of display cases, Kalinka crept closer, her footfalls completely masked by the soft carpet, until she came to an open, cathedral-like space. From there, she darted behind a cave pillar, then carefully looked inside the room.

…She would have never guessed the identity of Curator's opposition—for locked in a fierce duel with Curator was someone of whom she had never seen before…a hero in black.

He wore an unusual superhero costume, trimmed in gold, two prominent pieces of metal flaring out from the blue star on the brow of his helmet in an abstract impression of a cobra hood. In all the fashion runways she had ever watched, judged, or participated in, Kalinka had never seen anything like it. Very avant-garde. Cool.

The Hero in Black was fast, weaving quickly from side to side in the open room with light double jumps that made it look like he was leaping off invisible platforms as he dodged golden jewelry chains that were appearing out of nowhere. Curator (who was beginning to look more like an inside-out geode than human or robot at this point, his pointed legs hovering several inches above the carpet) stayed stationary in the middle of the room, turning like a turret as he tracked the Hero in Black's movements and tried to trap him. She didn't look directly at the Dazzling Jewel, which was spinning so fast it looked like a violet strobe light that shot beams of light intermittently. Each time one made contact with the Hero in Black, he was buffeted backward, his red eyes wincing, a shimmering field of cyan light surrounding him. Unlike everyone else who had been struck with the Dazzling Jewel, he did not become a gemstone.

They appeared to be at a stalemate—the Hero in Black unable to hurt Curator, and Curator unable to capture the Hero in Black and add him to the collection. Still, Kalinka was beyond impressed. Perhaps this was the superhero of New York City!

When one of the beams knocked the Hero in Black outside the room and nearby Kalinka's hiding spot, Kalinka took her chance to call out to the Hero in Black. "Wow! How did you do that?"

The Hero in Black whirled at the voice, a fist pulled back as though to strike, but then blinked as he took in Kalinka, and lowered his fists again.

"With this," he muttered finally, holding out a white-gloved hand. In his palm was a solid gold aviator badge, the large ruby in its center sparkling roguishly while glowing with a strange, cyan light.

"Oh what a pretty badge!" Kalinka cooed, admiring the minuscule feather detail of the gold wings. Then she noticed the badge's tiny scarf. Her heart nearly stopped, and time felt frozen.

Wait…could that ruby be the Masked Hero?

…Oh no! Then the Masked Hero tried to fight Curator, but had been transformed!

…But, the ruby's cyan light—it looked just like the Sun Crystal—but that would mean—

…Could the Masked Hero have Justice Energy too?

Setting aside the Masked Hero's dire predicament for a moment, Kalinka's heart thumped as she considered this. It was too many coincidences. If the Masked Hero was in possession of Justice Energy (just like she was!) …then this really wasfate! Perhaps they were even destined to fight evil energy forces side by side. If only the Masked Hero wasn't a gemstone and they could talk—

Time unfroze again as the Hero in Black closed his fingers around the ruby aviator badge, removing it from Kalinka's view. Kalinka realized the Hero in Black must be an ally of the Masked Hero, and was fighting to save his fallen friend. She instantly decided she'd be friends with the Hero in Black as well.

"By the way, I'm Mega Girl, you are?" she called over again, still keeping her back to the cave pillar and staying out of sight of Curator.

The Hero in Black gave her another bewildered look as though she were a talking pink powder puff, shook his head, then went back into the room to fight Curator without answering.

Kalinka's face screwed up indignantly. "Gee, was it something I said?"

"I know you're hiding over there, Mega Girl!" Curator called coldly from the center of the room. "I can sense the Sun Crystal. Be sure that I will come retrieve it as soon as I deal with this troublesome brute—fighting is not my strong suit!"

The sounds of battle resumed—the chiming of crystal, the clinking slither of chains, the crackling of opposing types of energy crashing together, the soft springy thuds of the Hero in Black leaping off the floor, and Curator whispering elegant yet antiquated profanities.

With the Hero in Black running offense, Kalinka was freed up to act as tactician. It would be much more dangerous for her now—she had the Sun Crystal, which Curator could sense, however the Hero in Black was doing a great job at keeping Curator distracted! Still, he couldn't keep this up forever—the use of the aviator badge seemed to be wearing him down. She watched as violet light continued to flash at intervals between the cave pillars intermittently, her brow furrowed in deep thought. Then, an idea hit her—one of those annoyingly obvious ideas that strikes when one is no longer in crisis mode. Light! The Dazzling Jewel transformed its victims with beams of light! And light could be reflected…

"Oh my god, like it's so simple," Kalinka remarked aloud (she was actually talking to the Hero in Black, though she may as well have been talking to the floor for the Hero in Black still ignored her). She looked around, assessing her surroundings, then smiled. Curator was still focused on the Hero in Black. Perfect. She grabbed onto a nearby standing mirror, dragged it far to the side, then attached her holomorpher to its back. The mirror (instead of showing a reflection) now showed Mega Girl, striking a pose. Her smile broadening, Kalinka hid behind the mirror, then turned it to face Curator. "Give it up, Curator! We have you beat," she called. "I've decided not to hand over the Sun Crystal after all, for I'll be needing it to return everyone back to normal, including you!"

"Bluffing will get you nowhere," came Curator's soft, velvety voice. "You're acting foolishly, but I'll show you mercy—you'll make for a lovely rose quartz cherry blossom on a barrette, I think."

Kalinka took a small peek around the mirror, careful to keep a grip on the mirror and stay within the holomorpher's range.

Curator had turned away from the Hero in Black, his attention on the mirror, his carved face lit up in smug victory as he held out the Dazzling Jewel. Any second now…

A violet shaft of light shot out from the Dazzling Jewel. It hit the mirror, then rebounded like a rubber ball hitting a wall.

The jewel-eye on Curator's face went round as a circle. "No—!" he cried out, realizing the ruse too late.

For a split second, Curator saw his own reflection in the mirror, the unrecognizable monster of glittering pink carbuncle that he had become. Then the light hit him, and his distraught shout was cut short. Curator was no more—but a dainty silver monocle, with a pink plique-a-jour enamel chain and a lens of colorless beryl, lay in the spot where Curator had vanished.

"Like Perseus and Medusa! Sorta," Kalinka chortled, stepping triumphantly out from the mirror. She looked over at the Hero in Black, who was sprawled on the carpet (evidently, the justice energy from the ruby aviator badge had become too much for him). "Hey? You okay, hun?"

The Hero in Black didn't answer. Instead, he flung the ruby aviator badge far away from him as though it had personally insulted him.

"Hey, don't throw him like that!" Kalinka cried shrilly, watching the ruby aviator badge fly twinkling into the far distance before getting swallowed up by the darkness of the Jewel Cave. She turned reproachfully to the Hero in Black, hands on her hips. "Well that wasn't necessary!"

The Hero in Black didn't look like he cared. Without acknowledging Kalinka in the slightest, he took off in a different direction into the darkness—a small howlite fang dangling from his fist.

Kalinka glared after him. "I hope you know your hero work could use some polish, you're a bit rough around the edges! Hmph! Totally rude!"

She stuck her tongue out in the direction the Hero in Black had went, but was thankful that the Jewel Cave had carpeted floors and that rubies were ranked nine on the Mohs hardness scale. The Masked Hero would be alright—just as soon as she attended to Jewel Man.

Gently, Kalinka picked up the monocle and cradled it in her gloved hand. Within the beryl lens, she could see a minute, skull-shaped purple flame. It flickered, guttered and swirled in frenzied circles, trapped within the flat, crystalline prison. What a strange parasite!

"Don't worry, little guy—you'll be normal again soon!" she promised the beryl in a whisper.

Then, she activated the power within the Sun Crystal. A shimmering ball of cyan light appeared above the wrist-mounted mini-blaster of her left hand. The purple skull began to flicker and gutter more frantically, swirling madly within the lens like a goldfish caught in a drain.

With the care of handling an eggshell, Kalinka touched the ball of Justice Energy to the monocle.

Bright light filled the Jewel Cave. Though her helmet had a protective translucent aqua visor, Kalinka couldn't help but squeeze her eyes shut tight.

The ground shook beneath her feet. She felt like she was on an elevator that had suddenly shot upwards.

"Whoa!" Kalinka cried out, her eyes snapping open as she stumbled backward and accidentally dropped the monocle, which fell with a soft plop on the cushy carpet.

All around them, the Jewel Cave began to crumple and dissolve, at first appearing like a giant purple sand castle breaking apart, then like a dense cloud of smoke dissipating into the air, then like nothing at all as Curator's Jewel Cave stopped existing. Kalinka blinked. She was now standing in a snowy street outside a jewelry shop.

In flashes of violet light, figures were appearing—security guards, shop clerks, policemen, and the extravagantly dressed attendees of the gala. All were looking around and blinking in confusion. No one had any idea of how they had gotten there.

Beat, Quint, and Punk raced over to Kalinka.

"You defeated him! Excellent!" Quint congratulated her, grinning from ear to ear beneath his visor.

"What happened? We won, right? I feel like I missed a lot," said Punk, scratching his helmet just beneath his bladed mohawk.

From the ground, the monocle had become Jewel Man again, who was lying on his back and stirring feebly. Any relief he may have felt for no longer being a crystalline mechanical monster seemed to be overridden by becoming simultaneously aware that he was both powerless and at the mercy of the heroes of whom he had both threatened and transformed into trinkets. His lavender eyes widened as he tried in vain to scoot away before collapsing in exhaustion.

"What do we do with him?" asked Beat.

"Why, we take him in of course!" Kalinka responded matter-of-factly, smiling benevolently at Jewel Man. "It's like they say…diamonds are a girl's best friend! Or whatever."

Quint eyed Jewel Man dubiously. "…He'll rob us blind…"

"I'm with Brainiac on this one," put in Punk, glowering down at Jewel Man.

Kalinka shot them disappointed looks. For all the things for Quint and Punk to finally agree about, it shouldn't be something against her!

But before the matter was resolved, two robots wearing red armor and faceguards suddenly appeared next to Jewel Man's side, each taking him by an arm.

"Eat it, nerds!" snickered the one with a goofy helmet attachment that looked like a bubble wand. The other one (who had a large horseshoe magnet on his helmet) simply raised his hand.

An earsplitting screech sounded overhead. Kalinka, Quint, Punk, and Beat looked up and hastily scrambled backward as a metal balcony ripped from a nearby building came speeding down on them as though pulled by a strong invisible force.

"That wasn't very nice!" Punk chided angrily after just managing to catch the balcony at the last second.

"Hey, come back here!" Kalinka shouted after them, but the two robots had already successfully smuggled Jewel Man away through a back alley. Then, noticing some of the gala attendees were looking their way curiously while muttering about their outfits, she added, "Ugh, we better book it too—gotta keep up our superhero mystique, right?"

But just before they left, Kalinka glanced around briefly, hoping to see the Masked Hero amongst the crowd—but there was no sign of him.

Next time for sure, she thought hopefully.

Mega Man, Roll, and Rush blinked at the snowy street. The last thing they remembered was looking at the Dazzling Jewel—obviously, a fatal mistake, yet everything seemed alright now. In fact, it appeared all the missing persons who Curator had transformed into gemstones were now gathered around them, each muttering and apparently as confused as they were. Quickly, they searched the crowd for Dr. Light.

"Are you alright, Dr. Light?" Mega Man asked him when they finally found him at the end of the street.

"Yes, but goodness, where are we?" Dr. Light asked, looking around and shivering, for he didn't have a coat. "Just a moment ago I was in the ballroom, then the power went out, and now I'm here."

"Long story, we'll catch you up later—you'll want to be sitting down," said Roll, smiling as she hugged Dr. Light. Then she looked around the street, her eyes narrowing. "Where's Quint? Don't tell me he snuck off after all of that!"

"Quint was here?" Dr. Light questioned.

"Like I said, long story, we have a lot to catch up on," said Roll darkly. "In the meantime, let's get everyone somewhere warm—I think our jewel thief problem has taken care of itself."

"If only all problems involving Dr. Wily were like that," Mega Man joked, yet he rubbed his chest. He felt fine now, but it hadn't been pleasant around Curator, of feeling an active abundance of evil energy pulling at the trace amount within his systems. Definitely something to ask Quint about, next time they saw him...

Like the rest of the humans, Dr. Wily had reappeared in the block surrounding Roquat Jewelers in total confusion, not knowing where he was nor that he had been an agate belt buckle for a whole day. Cut Man and Guts Man were even more clueless about what had happened than Dr. Wily. It was almost difficult for Proto Man to round them all up and persuade them to make a hasty retreat before Mega Man, Roll, or any of the police caught sight of them.

The Skullker was parked under an abandoned railway bridge just outside the Underground. Dr. Wily was at the flight deck monitor inside pouring over feeds from the Extraterrestrial Radiation Scanner in a desperate hope to lock onto Curator's alien energy signature again. Proto Man knew was useless—if Curator was still active, then they'd all still be sitting on velvet cushions in his collection.

"…What did Curator turn me into?" Elec Man asked in a stiff tone, as though unsure he actually wanted to know.

He was standing guard outside with Proto Man while they waited for Dr. Wily to finally accept the obvious and give up (Top Man had volunteered to stand guard with them, but Elec Man had made Top Man go to the fuselage and rest despite Top Man's cheerful reassurances that he was fine and temporarily becoming a jeweled egg hadn't harmed in the least).

"A black opal ring—a really impressive one, like what a mob boss or maybe a dark sorcerer would wear," Proto Man responded, leaning back against the hull of the Skullker and looking up at the rotted tracks above. "Could have gotten a few million for you at auction."

Elec Man wrinkled his nose. "An opal ring? How stupid."

"Not half as stupid as becoming a ruby aviator badge," Proto Man growled. "You really don't remember any of this?"

It would have been difficult to describe what exactly being a ruby aviator badge was like, yet Proto Man remembered it—of being vaguely aware but unable to move, knowing but not seeing. He knew Bass had been involved somehow, which annoyed him further.

"So Curator got to you as well?" asked Elec Man. "…Are you alright? Did…did getting transformed trigger an alien energy flare-up?"

"No. Curator wasn't trying to hurt me, so no 'flare-up' or whatever. I dunno, this is weird—I'm fine though, really."

Proto Man didn't want to talk about this. He didn't understand what having a trace amount of alien energy residing within his systems all entailed (alien energy which he had apparently picked up from Duo back when Proto Man had tried to steal Duo's weapon on the moon base)—it had never bothered him before. He wanted to go back to not thinking about it.

Elec Man's fingers half-twitched near the handheld computer clipped to his belt, as though he was about to take a radiation reading—Proto Man was glad he didn't. Instead, Elec Man took a quick worried glance at Proto Man out of the corner of his eye, then hid it quickly as he said primly. "Well, I wouldn't have risked myself if I had known you were just going to give up and get captured anyway. You disappoint me, Light."

"I didn't give up—well maybe I did for a second. Shit…that stupid jewel thief almost won, didn't he? If I ever get my hands on him—what the?!"

Ring Man and Magnet Man had just turned up supporting a bedraggled yet normal-looking Jewel Man between them with the camaraderie of two college-aged humans frog-marching a troublesome drunk friend home after a long fun night of partying.

"Got him!" Ring Man crowed happily, his eyes twinkling.

Proto Man and Elec Man glared at them. Jewel Man looked like he wanted to run, but he was too weak and both Ring Man and Magnet Man were holding each arm in an iron-clad grip to prevent him from bolting. It appeared he had lost all of his paranormal alien powers and was back to being completely harmless. He looked fearfully at Proto Man and Elec Man, then helplessly up at Ring Man.

"W-what do you want? You c-can't still want to recruit me," he stammered with the air of someone who had been dragged to an execution block and just wanted to get it over with. "Not after everything—"

"Sure we do, we're your friends, Jewel Man!" reassured Ring Man, snickering. "C'mon, you're going to love it at Skull Fortress! You can bring your collection, add to it the old-fashioned way. Besides, you weren't yourself when you were 'Curator' and it's not like any of us really remember what happened."

"I do," broke in Proto Man icily. "…He can stay though—Gee, this is an interesting twist: Ring Man and Magnet Man did something useful for once! What's the matter, your alien energy not working anymore, pal? That's too bad—especially for you. Still, Wily will like having a jewel thief around. We'll reprogram you to work off your debt for the inconvenience you caused us all today."

Elec Man narrowed his eyes. "Yes…I'd like to study any lingering effects the alien energy had on his systems. And if he fails to be useful…"

"We'll throw him into a smelting furnace," Proto Man completed with a careless nod.

Jewel Man gulped.

"Just ignore them, those assholes rarely leave the western hanger these days," Ring Man told Jewel Man, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, welcome to the Bad-bots!"

From within the control room of the Robot International Police headquarters, Duo paced restlessly. It was early morning in Copenhagen, though most of the human officers were off on holiday with their families.

"I sensed it too. I fear Ra Moon has been up to more of his mischief," murmured Ra Thor.

"Yes," replied Duo quietly, still pacing. "We must do something."

"I agree, though I'm not sure what." Ra Thor shook his head. "His presence is gone now, and we don't know when he'll strike next...or more importantly, where."

Next time on Mega Man Recut…

Quint's alien energy research pays off as he develops an experimental form of travel that could usher the world into a new technological era. Unfortunately, an infamous, internationally wanted criminal manages the impossible by breaking into his super secure laboratory and steals his breakthrough work—will the world-changing technology fall into the wrong hands? …Tune in next time for Teleportation Tangles!

Chapter Text

Episode 30: Teleportation Tangles

Jewel Man was not having a particularly good time at Skull Fortress.

Dr. Wily had been very disappointed that Jewel Man no longer possessed the phenomenal powers he had had as Curator (Dr. Wily had been relishing turning Mega Man into a jeweled paperclip, and had no recollection of becoming an agate belt buckle himself). He spent several weeks running tests trying to get the alien energy to flare up—but alas, the only notable lingering effects Jewel Man had sustained from alien energy were his white hair, and ability to pass completely for a human—neither of which were traits that Dr. Wily was looking for in his grandiose world conquest schemes. Muttering darkly about useless robots who wasted his valuable time, Dr. Wily stomped off to his laboratory to go back to monitoring the Global Extraterrestrial Scanner, hopeful for a new source of alien energy.

As promised, Elec Man began his own investigation shortly after Dr. Wily had finished his. They were inside a small, windowless chamber near Elec Man's office. It was quite dark. Elec Man sat across from Jewel Man at a metal work table beneath a low-hanging ceiling lamp as though they were in an interrogation room. Proto Man leaned against a wall with his arms folded. Though neither Proto Man nor Elec Man had yet made a move to hurt Jewel Man, the harsh light made Elec Man look even more sinister than usual, and Jewel Man sat pressed into the back of his chair, appropriately scared and meek.

"If you're going to kill me, just get it over with," Jewel Man muttered crossly, his head bowed as he stared at the edge of the table.

"Don't be impertinent," Elec Man responded dryly. "I want you to tell me everything you know about alien energy. It gave you powers—strange powers that defy logic and physics."

"Kinda like mad science," put in Proto Man.

Jewel Man rubbed his forehead wearily—he had just been through all of this with Dr. Wily, why go over it again? "To be frank, it's all kind of a blur—though I feel it's prudent to point out I didn't actually harm any of you, rather, you both made for very fine pieces and I would have kept you safe in velvet-lined cases."

Proto Man loomed closer to Jewel Man, his visor like polished obsidian. "…You're not helping your case, 'Curator'."

Jewel Man shrank slightly away from Proto Man, yet annoyance flared inside him (he plainly preferred Proto Man and Elec Man as a ruby aviator badge and opal ring respectively) "I wasn't myself! You wouldn't be yourself either if you were infected with evil energy."

"Evil energy?" questioned Elec Man.

"Yes, the purple stuff—that's what he called it."

"Who's 'he'?"

"Er…that I do not know. The thing that infected me with evil energy. I never saw him, it was just a voice. Some kind of…alien, I think. My m-master."

The last word took Jewel Man by surprise. A small shiver shot through his circuits.

"This is idiotic…" Elec Man sighed. "You're not telling me anything useful."

"That's because I don't know anything useful!" retorted Jewel Man, the large pink jewels on his armor flashing like a sun catcher as he crossed his arms, sending small prisms of light dancing around the otherwise grim room. Dr. Wily had been dismissive of the voice too—he had said if such a thing existed, he would have picked it up on his weird alien-energy-scanner-whatever, which Jewel Man scarcely understood. "I'm just a jeweler, I didn't ask for any of this!"

Elec Man frowned dangerously at Jewel Man until Jewel Man hastily dropped his gaze to look meekly at the edge of the table again, then consulted the alien energy notes on his handheld computer, a brow still raised skeptically.

"So…it would seem there are three types of alien energy…" Elec Man told Proto Man. "Green, like Red Gulch's meteorite; purple, this 'evil energy' that created 'Hellrazor' in Los Angeles then 'Curator'—" Elec Man gestured idly at Jewel Man. "…and blue, which powers Duo."

"Justice energy…" put in Jewel Man, looking up and nodding. Then he blinked, his eyes flickering from Proto Man to Elec Man in fright, who were both staring at him. "Sorry, it just came to me. I could sense it in Proto Man's system while I was Curator—that blue alien energy that was inside the ruby aviator badge, it's like the opposite of the evil energy, I couldn't even handle it without it hurting me—it's called justice energy, I-I think."

Proto Man jerked, then backed hastily away from Jewel Man into the shadows like a beetle avoiding sudden sunlight. "Whoa whoa whoa…heh…this is weird," he chuckled nervously. "You got it all wrong—I don't have 'justice energy' or whatever this alien stuff is supposed to be. I'm not a hero, ask anyone! C'mon, Elec Man, you yourself said this is idiotic…let's go."

"Hold on—I still have questions," said Elec Man.

Jewel Man leaned back against his chair in exasperation. "What for? I told you, I don't know anything! Evil energy, justice energy, it's just as idiotic to me too, I'll have you know! Now can I please just go?"

"Go where, exactly?" asked Elec Man with a small, cruel smile.

"Oh, er…"

"That's what I thought. Now, how did you become infected with evil energy?"

Jewel Man fidgeted under Elec Man's cold, unblinking gaze.

"I…I don't know. A gemstone unlike any other was dropped off at my shop…it glowed with a strange purple light…but the stone was fake, and when I touched it, that's when I became infected. I began hearing a voice, his voice. It's…a little murky after that. I had power like I had never had before, like I could get anything I wanted and no one could stand in my way. But then, every dark thought I've ever had just multiplied, greed, vanity, anger…" Jewel Man frowned down at his hands for a short moment, his thoughts swirling, then shook his head. "I became 'Curator,' I began transforming everyone into gemstones while mutating into a monster, the rest you know."

Elec Man just stared at Jewel Man for a moment, his gaze like beams of frigid ice.

"Hmmmph," he said after a time. "Well, if that really is the best you can do…"

Jewel Man flinched, expecting a fatal strike from Thunder Beam and hoping his circuits fried instantly—but Elec Man had stood up and headed toward the door where Proto Man was waiting impatiently. "I will be in touch," he called back carelessly as he and Proto Man strode out.

Left alone in the bleak room, Jewel Man gulped. He had survived his first interview, but what about the next? He would have to think of something fast, or his new life at Skull Fortress would be either endlessly unpleasant, or extremely short…

"You don't believe all this shit about evil and justice energy, right?" Proto Man muttered to Elec Man in a would-be-casual undertone.

Elec Man shrugged. "Not in a literal sense. 'Evil' and 'justice' are childish, fairy tale constructs that humans invented to moralize their understanding of the world and have nothing to do with energy types, alien or otherwise."

Proto Man looked slightly relieved. "And the voice Jewel Man was talking about?"

"No clue—It seems becoming 'infected with evil energy' can drive a robot out of their mind. Jewel Man's recollection may be unreliable."

"Yeah, maybe," murmured Proto Man, sounding somewhat doubtful, then quickly grinned and changed the subject "…I still say we should use the idiot for target practice."

Screwing up his courage, Jewel Man later met with Elec Man alone in his office. There, with all of his professional pomp as a master jeweler in front of an important client, Jewel Man presented Elec Man with a beautifully crafted silver electronics case. It was etched in a circuit board pattern; fine geometric lines studded with minuscule colorless gemstones flashed in the light like sparks traveling along wires. Jewel Man did not like pricing his own works (his works were quite priceless)—but he estimated this one was worth the same as a condo unit on Park Avenue.

Elec Man looked away from his computer to the electronics case Jewel Man had placed on his desk with a haughty, pronounced blink. "Is this a bribe…?" he asked dryly.

"Tribute," Jewel Man responded promptly and without embarrassment. "I…er…know of your former employer and of their reputation," he added, discretely referring to the Syndicate. Like most rogue robots from the criminal Underground, Jewel Man was deathly afraid of the Syndicate, but he kept his voice steady. "I would like to issue a formal apology and humbly beg forgiveness for my actions as Curator."

He dipped into a small, proper bow. Though Jewel Man typically did not like to give away his works, it was, on occasion, nice to have his skill recognized and appreciated by someone of discerning taste who would likely take care of the treasure—ironically, gangsters were usually his most appreciative customers.

Elec Man sighed, yet his eyes flickered up to stare piercingly at Jewel Man. For a terrifying moment, Jewel Man worried he had miscalculated. This was a mistake. Perhaps Elec Man would electrocute him after all—

But to his surprise, Elec Man merely asked, "You were originally programmed to work at a jewelry counter in one of New York City's luxury department stores?"

"That's right. On Fifth Avenue."

"Hmm. Prestigious. Then you went rogue and became a jewel thief?"

"Y-yes…but I quit."

"Why?"

Jewel Man shivered. "Too dangerous. I'm not programmed with any sort of combat expertise. Though admittedly, it was just as bad going straight as a jewelry shop clerk where I kept getting targeted by crime lords. Ring Man and Magnet Man certainly were of no help either," Jewel Man gave a small, bitter sniff, looking down at the electronics case. "In my experience, giving such distinguished guests complimentary tokens of respect, or tribute, often kept things…peaceful."

"I'll bet." A faint, amused smile had appeared on Elec Man's face. "Hoarding valuables is a hazardous hobby, and will always attract unwanted attention. Did you ever consider going to the Syndicate for asylum?"

"A-asylum?" Jewel Man gawked at Elec Man, blinking rapidly. The word simply did not compute with a mob so notoriously ruthless as the Syndicate. "Why on earth would I presume the Syndicate would grant such a thing to me?"

Elec Man shrugged. "You undervalue yourself—you're programmed with sophistication and sense most robots lack—especially criminal robots. Very well, I accept your tribute," he said with crisp officially, like a lender approving a bank loan. His hand closed over the electronics case and pulled it to his side of the table. "You are now under Syndicate protection and will act as my personal assistant. Cross us or annoy me, and you'll regret it worse than any other decision you'll ever make."

It took a moment for Jewel Man to register what was happening. Quite quickly, he hid his surprise and re-adopted a professional look, his shoulders back. "Yes…sir?"

Elec Man wrinkled his nose. "No, not sir. That's for drones. You're an associate now."

"Oh, associate. Right. Good."

Jewel Man wasn't sure how to feel about this—he had been trying to leave crime, especially dangerous crime, for a while. At the same time, he recalled Ring Man saying how Elec Man and Proto Man rarely left the western hanger (a small smudge of oil on the back of Elec Man's right glove seemed to corroborate this claim—Elec Man's desk was also filled with heavily annotated sketches of what looked like jet systems that Jewel Man couldn't even begin to fathom), which meant Elec Man was not up to a lot of Syndicate work these days. Jewel Man also suspected Top Man was also one of Elec Man's 'associates'—and Top Man was definitely not a gangster.

Feeling grateful yet scarcely believing his fortune might finally be improving, Jewel Man decided to pass on a small, pertinent (if strange) detail he had picked up during his time as Curator.

"So…you're friends with Proto Man, right?" he asked tentatively.

"Not your concern," Elec Man replied curtly, his gaze drifting back to his computer.

"Oh, uh, as you like it. But there's something you should be aware of—the alien or whatever that infected me with alien energy—he didn't seem to like Proto Man very much, perhaps because of his justice energy—yet he seemed interested in you."

"…Excuse me?"

Jewel Man shook his head helplessly, "I-I'm not sure for what purpose, it's just something I observed. I think it's because you've thwarted him, he doesn't like that."

"'Thwarted'? What, by dropping paint cans on Hellrazor then a chandelier on you?"

"I'm only saying you may want to take caution."

Elec Man gave a light scoff. "Whatever. This is still idiotic. You may go—report to Crash Man in the armory. You can find any equipment you need for a lapidary studio in the manufactory. I will call you when I have a task. Oh, and if Ring Man or Magnet Man bother you, send them toward me and I will take care of it."

"R-right. Thank you. I will take my leave now."

With another small bow, Jewel Man eagerly retreated from Elec Man's office before his luck could change again.

"A Mega Girl? How extraordinary," Dr. Light had mused when Mega Man and Roll filled him in on what had happened at the Tinsel Ball gala and the attack of Curator. "It's strange, Mikhail never mentioned her."

"Quint said she's a secret," said Roll, shrugging.

"Is that so?" mused Dr. Light, stroking his beard. "Well, regardless, I'm glad we are all safe, and it's nice to know Quint has a sibling of his own now."

The year 1997 came with little fanfare. Despite the freezing temperatures and bone-chilling winds, Roll dragged Mega Man to Times Square to watch the ball drop amidst a packed crowd of happy (albeit tipsy and half-frozen) humans. Back at Dr. Light's laboratory, it was getting colder and snowier as January wore dully on. Dr. Light was away most weekdays for various work conferences in the city, and Mega Man and Roll were kept quite busy shoveling the driveway, yet nothing particularly eventful happened.

Roll was getting restless. "Maybe we should visit Quint," she told Mega Man one morning as they shoveled the driveway for the sixth time of the new year. Rush was in the backyard, playing in the deep snow drifts and chasing squirrels away from bird feeders, his tail wagging furiously. "You know, learn more about aliens and finally meet this Mega Girl."

They had only seen the mysterious Mega Girl in action once—but according to Quint, she had been the one to stop Hellrazor in Los Angeles, then Curator in New York, using something called a Sun Crystal which contained justice energy, a force that could neutralize their evil energy.

Mega Man stopped working and leaned against the handle of his shovel.

"I dunno, the less I know about aliens, the happier I'll be," he joked. "I'd rather just fight Wily, or even better, no one at all."

Still, he liked the idea of visiting Quint, who worked in a laboratory, the life he always wanted…

"Better to be prepared, right? It's going to be tough fighting off alien energy outbreaks and Dr. Wily," countered Roll, who was shoveling the walk in front of the lab. A dark cloud passed over her face. "Not to mention that creep Bass is still creeping around somewhere like the slimy creep he is, pretending to be a creepy human—" she added savagely as she began to hack away at a sheet of ice below the rain gutter. "And he's not even that good-looking, right?"

"Er…"

"And to think, I thought—doesn't matter, he's a creep. Where do you think he goes? What do you think he's doing right now?"

"Uh…" replied Mega Man, noting that Roll seemed to have quite a vested interest in Bass no matter how creepy she claimed she thought he was. "I…dunno," he said finally, still feeling guilty about getting on Bass's bad side and causing him to go rogue in the first place. He quickly busied himself by walking sideways down the front walk's stairs, scraping each step clean.

"Yeah. And that's what's scary," Roll continued on, shoving chunks of ice underneath a frosty shrub. "But I'll be ready for him next time. I know what he looks like now. It won't be so easy for him to sneak up on us and deceive me again!"

Mega Man decided to steer away from this subject. "Maybe I can talk to Quint about the evil energy in my system," he said seriously. "But do you think he'll see us? He's always been so secretive about his work!"

"After all that's happened, he's gotta! Especially if we show up in person," said Roll, sticking her shovel into a snow bank. "So how about it then? Up for a flight out of this winter wonderland to L.A.? We can listen to Nightmare Fuel's latest album, Wrath of the Vengeful, along the way! Who knows, maybe we'll even run into Kali Cossack while we're t there!"

"Yeah right, I doubt a famous socialite like her spends much time in a laboratory," sniffed Mega Man, who was less interested in meeting celebrities than Roll was and not impressed with Kali Cossack's reputation.

"You're probably right," shrugged Roll.

Despite sharing quarters with Quint, Punk was incredibly grateful to have a place to stay. Over the past month, he had arranged a corner of Quint's vast laboratory into something like a small gym with training equipment, a sparring ring, and a recharging station. He had cleaned up his armor and now looked like the robo-fighter champion he had been in the photo of himself and Dr. Rose that now sat on a counter next to a supply of energy cans.

Punk spent most of his time in the sparring ring. "C'mon, Brainiac!" he called over to Quint while leaning over the sparring ring's ropes. "You don't want to get too soft from doin' nothing but researching! Three rounds a day in the ring with me will keep you in prime fighting condition for Mega Girl's team!"

"But I don't want to fight," Quint replied crisply from his workstation, bristling at Punk's nickname for him. True, Brain Bot was his original name, but Brainiac struck a nerve…

"Now now, stop arguing…" Kalinka called in a lofty yet distracted voice from her desk, Beat perched on the back of her chair. She was perusing a newspaper, searching for any signs of criminal activity she could act on. It had been very quiet lately, and Mega Girl had had little to do.

The elevator door beeped. Panicking, Punk dove headfirst into a recycling bin. A second later, the door slid open as Dr. Cossack strode into the laboratory.

"Hi Daddy!" greeted Kalinka, her face lighting up like a Broadway stage as she rushed toward him.

"Hello Kalinka, Beat, Quint," said Dr. Cossack, smiling shyly. "Hope you don't mind me dropping by—it looked like you left this on the breakfast nook this morning."

He handed Kalinka an empty gray binder.

"Aw, thanks Daddy! But you didn't have to go out of your way to deliver this to me!" giggled Kalinka, tucking the binder under her elbow.

"It was no trouble, and I just thought it would be nice to see how you're getting by in Quint's laboratory." Dr. Cossack looked quizzically over at the fighting ring. "Um…Stardrop, have you taken up boxing again?"

"Yeah, part of a new workout regimen that's all the rage, all my friends are doing it too," said Kalinka, who swiftly began shunting Dr. Cossack back toward the elevator before he could get too close of a look at Punk's gym. "Sorry, but no time for chit-chat—we got lots of work to do—you know how it is, lots of science to be done and all that. We'll talk later! Love you! Byyyyeeee!"

Quint watched with an open mouth as Kalinka shoved her father into the elevator (admittedly, it looked a bit comical, for Dr. Cossack was quite a bit taller than Kalinka. Dr. Cossack gave a cheery if bemused wave as the doors slid shut). Dusting off her hands, Kalinka turned her back to the elevator, looking equally unconcerned and unabashed.

"This isn't even mine, it's one of his with boring Citadel corporate branding and everything," she muttered, looking at the ordinary gray binder with distaste before depositing it on Quint's desk. "Silly Daddy, he's like making up excuses to check up on me—as if he can fool me."

A second later, Punk emerged from the recycling bin with bits of cardboard stuck to his spikes. He was hyperventilating—a sound like a rusty bellows from within his thick armor.

"That—was the most—freaked out—I've ever been. Your dad—whoo—he's really scary," he stammered, clutching his chest.

"No he's not!" rebuked Kalinka, but then added in a low, thoughtful tone, "All the same, probably best if he doesn't know you're here…it might stress him out."

"I'm unsure…this is a lot of secrets we're keeping from Dr. Cossack," mumbled Quint. First Mega Girl, then Punk…not to mention the evil energy outbreaks and the vast amount of laws they were breaking. He worried about Dr. Cossack getting mad, or worse yet, disappointed.

"Don't worry!" replied Kalinka, flopping back on her office chair. "I like stole a cruise ship once and he didn't notice. Not that he's neglectful or anything—he's always done his best as a single parent, but he also takes on sooo much work sometimes he doesn't even know what day it is!"

"Y-you stole a cruise ship?!" stammered Quint, aghast. Punk looked impressed.

Kalinka waved her hand dismissively. "Long story. It was with my then boyfriend, Duke, lead singer of Dudes in Denim. We were going to run away together—so romantic—but then the cops busted us. It was all over the news for like five months. Probably should be in juvie but the cruise line liked the publicity so much they dropped all charges." Kalinka smiled. Punk stared at Kalinka, inspired by her astonishing feat of law-breaking, while Quint looked questioningly at Beat, who was busy preening his feathers and pretending not to have heard anything. "Anyway! You can relax—no one's going to find out what we're up to."

A notification appeared on Quint's computer with a soft beep. Quint glanced over at the screen, then jumped. "Oh drat."

"What's that?" asked Kalinka.

"Oh…n-nothing…it's just a message from Mega Man and Roll. Evidently, they're on their way to Los Angeles and want to drop by my laboratory."

"Who?"

"The heroes from New York who fight Dr. Wily—I've told you about them!"

"Oh yeah, that's the bot with a similar name to mine," responded Kalinka somewhat vaguely, displaying as usual her disinterest in current events and acting as though this were a common coincidence. "Well, invite them in! I'd like to meet them!"

Quint blinked. "Are you quite sure that's a good idea?" he asked worriedly, still thinking about their web of secrecy, and how Mega Man and Roll complicated things.

But Kalinka seemed completely unbothered. "Yeah, just give me a second to change into Mega Girl!" she said. With a wink, she skipped into the office where her armor was stored.

Beat took wing and landed on Quint's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze with his talons. "Probably best if we let Kalinka handle Dr. Cossack," he whispered in Quint's ear. "She was his own only child for a long time, so you could say she's got him, well, wrapped around her finger?"

"So I've observed," responded Quint, smiling weakly.

Kalinka suddenly reappeared in the office doorway. "You guys aren't talking about me again are ya?"

Both Quint and Beat gave a guilty jerk. "Uh—!"

"Hmmph. That's what I thought," Kalinka snapped, glaring beadily at them before shutting the door with a snap.

"How does she do that?" mumbled Quint while Beat let out a sigh.

"Heh heh, busted!" Punk snickered as he folded into a spiked ball and took a lap around the fighting ring.

Mega Man and Roll stared around at Quint's laboratory in silent awe. It reminded them of a cross between a high-tech warehouse and a bunker—the furthest reaches shrouded in darkness, and lots of strange and large equipment distributed throughout the echoing, open space.

Yet even more extraordinary were the occupants of Quint's laboratory.

"Mega Man, Roll, this is Mega Girl and her support unit Beat," Quint introduced. "Mega Girl, this is Mega Man and Roll, from New York City,"

Mega Girl was standing with her hands on her hips, looking somewhat like a large action figure of a cartoon hero. Beat, her blue robo-bird, was perched on her shoulder.

"Hi~!" Mega Girl sang out in greeting, then did a double take as she took in the titanium jumpsuit Roll always wore. "Cool outfit, by the way. Very grunge."

"Thank you?" Roll responded, seemingly confused to be complimented by this petite pink robot (Mega Man knew Roll hated pink as much as she hated pigtails.)

Mega Girl's gaze swept over to Mega Man's armor. "Um…no offense, but isn't your costume a bit derivative of a certain masked someone in red?" she asked with a sidelong glance through her aqua visor.

"I'm derivative?" Mega Man muttered in astonishment, staring at Mega Girl as Roll snickered. Behind her Quint gave them an embarrassed, apologetic smile.

A third robot shuffled over, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. He was a lot bigger than everyone else, and heavily armored in thick red and yellow titanium with long silver spikes.

"Hey how ya doin', my name is—"

Roll's face lit up instantly. "Hey I know you! You're Punk, a National Robo-fighting Champion! They still show re-runs of your matches on the Robo-fighting Network!"

Punk swelled with pride, his bladed mohawk making him look like a large beakless robo-rooster about to crow.

"You are also on the wanted list for rogue robots," Mega Man said, looking suspiciously at Punk. "And weren't you Hellrazor?!"

"That's old news," cut in Mega Girl, stepping protectively in front of Punk while casting Mega Man a reproving look as though to say oh grow up. "He's back to normal and part of our team now!"

"Team?"

"Yup, the team to fight back against evil energy, duh! And I'm the leader."

Mega Man and Roll glanced at each other. What a strange group!

"Er, now that you bring it up, evil energy is what we came to talk to you about," began Mega Man finally, feeling a bit foolish, but with a small prod from Roll, he quickly told Quint, Mega Girl, and Punk about his ominous dreams and the trace amount of evil energy Dr. Cossack had detected in his system.

"I thought there was something off about you!" exclaimed Punk, staring at Mega Man. "Back when I was 'Hellrazor', I mean. I could sense it—like you had something powerful and dark locked inside, almost drawing me in. How did you become infected with evil energy? Did you turn into some sort of robo-monster too?"

"I don't know," Mega Man replied, startled. "We think it happened sometime during the encounter with Lotos…but I don't remember anything about it."

"Lotos?" repeated Mega Girl, who had taken a seat on what looked to be her own desk (judging by the array of pink post-it notes, trapper keepers bedecked in sparkly stickers, and glitter gel pens stuffed in a starry mug). She had been listening with narrowed eyes like a detective taking in clues. "That alien that attacked New York City?"

"Ohhh yeah! I remember that whole fiasco, it was all over the news!" said Punk. "Now that I think of it, it kinda sounds like the one-eye shadow puppet from my apartment!—That's how I got my evil energy," he added to Mega Man and Roll, who were staring at him in confusion.

Quint slapped his forehead. "Of course! Why didn't I make the connection earlier? They may very well be the same entity, causing trouble by infecting unsuspecting robots with evil energy." Nodding to himself, Quint began pacing in front of his desk with his arms folded behind his back.

Mega Man and Roll exchanged grim looks, their worst suspicions confirmed. If Lotos was back, this was unsettling news indeed—Dr. Wily could be annoying enough on his own without the interference of a powerful extraterrestrial being on the loose!

"Well how do we find Lotos or whoever this alien is?" asked Roll, punching her palm with a fist. "He made a fool out of me once, I still owe him some payback!" Evidently, Roll had still not forgotten about her temporary escapades as a housekeeper robot due to Dr. Wily's wish and Lotos's 'magic.'

Quint shook his head. "Unknown. It may not be prudent to go looking for this entity anyway, we would be categorically unprepared."

"But then…this evil energy…" Unconsciously, Mega Man nearly raised a hand toward his power core where the evil energy lurked invisibly inside, but then quickly dropped it into a fist at his side. "I mean, I don't feel any different, at least not now—but those dreams, and when I was around Hellrazor and Curator—" Mega Man shook his head. "I'm still infected, and I don't even know how it happened!"

Quint stopped pacing and frowned at Mega Man. "That is most peculiar," he agreed. "The dreams, however, may be expected if another outbreak of evil energy occurs. It appears to be a side effect—since you have a trace amount of evil energy in your systems, you may become, er, sensitive if exposed to a stronger source of it."

"That's what I thought too," said Roll softly, touching Mega Man's elbow.

"My circuits get all tingly when I get near the stuff," put in Punk, closing his eyes and nodding.

"But the evil energy is not active in either of you," Quint spoke up quickly. "That is to say, it's not an immediate threat."

"And if it were to become active, I could get you both back to normal with the Sun Crystal's Justice Energy," said Mega Girl confidently as she kicked her legs.

Mega Man wasn't quite reassured, and neither was Roll. "Still, kinda weird knowing there's two of us with evil energy," he said with a shudder.

"Actually, three, counting Jewel Man, who has fallen into the hands of Wily," corrected Quint. "—Not to worry! It is doubtful Jewel Man still has access to his powers as Curator anymore."

"You better hope so, unless you liked being a wristwatch!" quipped Roll, raising a brow.

"A wristwatch? Is that what I became? Fascinating—"

"Not really," cut in Mega Man, sighing. A vague pounding was building in his forehead, threatening to break into a full-out headache. "Unfortunately, sounds like there's not much we can do except wait and see if this alien makes another move."

Quint nodded gravely. "I am working on alien energy counter-measures. I can keep you posted on any evil energy developments."

Mega Girl beamed at them. Of the group, she seemed the least unsettled by the impending threat of an alien invasion. On the contrary, there was an excited sparkle in her eyes as she leaped off her desk and walked toward them. "Oh this is fun! You can join our team, as, like, our East Coast division. We should have weekly team meetings! Here, or we can alternate!"

"Here? But—" began Quint.

"Why sure, just don't tell Daddy," Mega Girl overrode him with a sharp look. "The stress would be bad for his health!"

Mega Man and Roll blinked. 'Daddy?' She must have meant Dr. Cossack….

"Oh…I didn't know Dr. Cossack was ill," said Roll softly.

"Oh, he's fine, he's just…" Leaning forward, Mega Girl lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "…Really, really old."

"He's in his thirties right?" Roll asked with raised brows, a bit unnerved. Mega Man had a feeling their thoughts had jumped to the same thing. Dr. Light was in his fifties—fifty-eight, to be exact. Was this old for humans? Should they be worrying about his health too?

"Yes. Almost forty." Mega Girl shook her head tragically, but then brightened, smiling a thousand-watt smile at all of them in turn. "Okay team, now that that it's official—"

She put her dainty pink gauntlet in the middle of their circle, like what humans did in a huddle before a sporting match. They all stared blankly at it. "Well c'mon!" she prodded with a steely glare at everyone.

Punk put in his spiked-cuffed gauntlet next (which easily dwarfed Mega Girl's). Sheepishly, Quint added his green gauntlet, then Roll her utility arm (while catching Mega Man's eye with a suppressed snicker) then finally Mega Man put in his blue gauntlet, feeling completely bewildered.

"Alright, let's go team!" shouted Mega Girl, raising her hand in the air.

"…So now that you've met her, what do you make of this Mega Girl?" Mega Man asked later as they flew over a white quilt of snowy farm fields on their way back to New York.

"That she's Mega-bossy. Acts like she's the oldest in the room, even though she's the new kid on the block," Roll chortled, then added, "Still, all this secrecy is weird. I think Quint and Mega Girl are still hiding something."

"Yeah, me too," sighed Mega Man. "But maybe we'll figure it out in one of these 'team meetings'."

Privately, Mega Man was regretting the whole trip—getting conscripted into Mega Girl's team to fight evil energy was certainly more than he had bargained for!

Fortunately, January continued on with neither signs of another evil energy invasion nor a Dr. Wily scheme. As Hellrazor and Curator became old news, Quint became increasingly wrapped up in his research, spending long hours in the laboratory. He felt close, so close to his first meaningful contribution to the long chronicles of science—then, one day, in the second week of February, it happened.

"EUREKA!" he called out jubilantly from his workstation, standing up so fast that his office chair rocketed backward and crashed into the opposite wall.

"Hey—!" Kalinka looked up from a pink workout mat where she had been practicing yoga in her Mega Girl armor, frowning at the commotion. "What is it?"

Quint could barely contain his excitement as he whirled eagerly toward Kalinka. This. Was. Big. "Thanks to your improbability formula, I've had a huge breakthrough!"

"Oh yeah? Like what?" asked Punk, leaping out of his sparring ring to join them. Beat flapped overhead, looking curiously down at Quint.

"Instantaneous travel from one point to another—Teleportation," replied Quint breathlessly. "True, it has been accomplished before in a limited capacity—perhaps you've read about when Dr. Wily tried it with 'transport chambers'?"

"Who?" Kalinka asked blankly.

"Nevermind," Quint said, not wanting to lose his momentum by reminding Kalinka who Dr. Wily was again. "I have devised a method to harness the power of quintessence to convert matter into a beam of energy that can travel through the satellite grid to a pre-determined destination before re-materializing, therefore transporting a subject anywhere on earth without the use of chambers."

Quint held out a small silver device the size of a subway token. A small, purple crystal glinted from its center. "This is the completed model. I already ran an extensive list of computer simulations for its capabilities—all that remains is its trial run."

At this, Quint hesitated as he peered over at Punk.

"Whatya looking at me for?" Punk grumbled blankly. Then his eyes widened with a jerk. "Hey, no way, Brainiac! I'm no lab rat or guinea pig!"

"But I need to observe and take readings!" replied Quint. "But rest assured, my computer simulations covered even the most improbable scenarios, and have established safeguards to prevent accidental teleportation to somewhere hazardous (such as a volcano) or for the user's atoms to re-moleculize the wrong way (like The Fly)."

Punk glowered at Quint. "Oh real reassuring, Brainiac. And what if something goes wrong with the satellite grid whatever while I'm in 'beam' form?"

"If anything goes wrong, the teleportation sequence is canceled, and you return to your origin point," Quint explained patiently. "Really, the procedure is actually quite safe—the chance of vaporization is infinitesimal."

"He's right, I checked his math," put in Kalinka, who was scanning Quint's notes on his computer.

Punk sighed. "Alright, I'll give it a go—but if something goes wrong you all owe me big time!"

Quint handed Punk the teleportation device, then pointed to a circle of masking tape he had placed on the floor. "Stand in that circle, then activate your teleporter. I've already programmed its coordinates. If all goes well, you will reappear in this circle over there."

"Yeah, yeah…" muttered Punk, sounding doubtful yet resigned. He stomped over to the circle, his pointed boots clanking noisily. "Ready?"

"Ready," Quint responded as he and Kalinka took positions next to the computer. "Commence teleportation."

Still looking pessimistic and annoyed, Punk activated the teleporter as instructed, then disappeared in a shimmering stream of scarlet light that streaked upward through the ceiling. A second later, the beam of light returned several yards away, and Punk reappeared right on target.

For a moment, Punk just blinked at them, seemingly unaware that something had just happened.

"You did it!" Quint cried joyfully, sprinting over. "And you weren't vaporized!"

"I thought you said the chance of that was infinitesimal!" roared Punk, his eyes bulging at Quint. But then he blinked, looking around. "Whoa…it worked! I was over there, and now I'm over here! This is really something, Brainiac!"

"Yes, just think of the numerous practical applications!" Quint replied happily.

"I could, like, go downtown in less time than it takes to even call a cab," mused Kalinka.

"I want to teleport again, this time send me somewhere different—like to the top of the Hollywood sign, or to Fun World!" joined in Punk.

"Yes, most impressive!" crowed a deep, unfamiliar voice.

Kalinka whirled on the spot. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

A shadow shifted above them, and something dropped silently from the ceiling and landed catlike to the floor on tabi boots. It was a Robot Master, dressed in dusky blue armor, a silver ninja star adorning his helmet.

"What the—! How did you get in here?" demanded Quint—his laboratory was one of the most secure structures in existence!

"I'm a ninja," replied the Robot Master, straightening up. He grinned broadly at Quint, his red eyes narrowing with fox-like amusement. "You should know me! I have eluded your creator many times when he was part of R.I.P! Glad he quit working with cops, by the way—never thought it suited him. He's much cooler now."

"Sh-Shadow Man?!" gulped Quint.

Shadow Man's grin widened, several ninja stars suddenly appearing between his fingers. Quint's visor scarcely had time to register Shadow Blade before he, Kalinka, Beat, and Punk were suddenly pinned to the laboratory wall like insects inside an Entomology exhibit.

"Hey!" screeched Kalinka indignantly.

Moving almost as fast as his blades, Shadow Man darted over to Punk, plucked the teleporter from his hand, then away again. He held it up to the light. "Oh-ho! I see you are dabbling in alien magic!"

"Actually, it's not magic," objected Quint. "It's just unquantifiable by our current scientific understanding."

"Yes, magic, nerd." Shadow Man was still examining the teleporter. "This…will do well on the black market! Many criminals would pay handsomely to be able to teleport and steal whatever they want, whenever they want!"

"No!" cried Quint. "You mustn't—just think of the danger you could put the world in—"

Still smiling impishly, Shadow Man shook his head. "Sorry. I have no choice. My nemesis, the Robot International Police, have been extremely annoying lately. I think they could use a distraction so they spend less time focusing on me, and more time focusing on anyone else. And now—I shall show you some ninja magic."

Shadow Man threw something to the ground. A bluish smoke screen briefly enveloped him, then he was gone, as though he had melted away with the smoke.

"Whoa, how'd he do that?" growled Punk.

"He's a ninja," replied Kalinka, shrugging.

It took a full minute for them to wriggle free from the Shadow Blades.

"Oh dear, he stole your invention, Quint!" murmured Beat, hovering over to Quint.

"Yes, this is very very bad!" moaned Quint. "I can build another one—but we must recover the original quickly before it is used for crime!"

To be continued…

Chapter Text

The first thing Quint did after he, Kalinka, Beat, and Punk had freed themselves from the Shadow Blades was call Dr. Cossack on his video communicator. Quint dreaded telling Dr. Cossack about what had happened, but to his amazement, Dr. Cossack was not upset.

"This is fantastic. Teleportation, what an incredible invention!" murmured Dr. Cossack, thoroughly impressed.

"…I'm not in trouble?" Quint asked anxiously. Punk had hidden himself in a far corner of the laboratory so that Dr. Cossack would not see him, and Kalinka had changed out of her Mega Girl armor as she stood next to Quint, Beat perched on her shoulder.

Dr. Cossack shook his head. "Of course not, there was not much you could have done. Shadow Man has an inconvenient talent of being a nuisance wherever he pleases. In fact, I think this is more my fault, I think I know what he wants. Never mind that now though. Though it was undoubtedly unsettling to have your laboratory broken into, you do not have to worry about Shadow Man—he knows better than to harm a creation of mine, that I am certain. Pay close attention to him—I suspect he is far from an ordinary Robot Master. As for the teleportation technology itself, it is not exactly legal, so I would be discreet."

"Yes, of course!" Quint responded. Then, feeling harkened that Dr. Cossack was not disappointed in him after all, he added heartily, "After all, it is not my first rodeo breaking the law!"

Quint was referring to when he had illegally converted himself into a bomber robot. He immediately regretted saying this, however, for Dr. Cossack's square brow drew into a deep frown, light flashing off his half-rim glasses.

"This isn't a light matter, Quint. As you know I take crime very seriously," said Dr. Cossack sternly.

Quint gave a guilty jerk. Beat bowed his head somberly. In a far-off corner, Quint heard the soft clanking of Punk fidgeting nervously.

Kalinka, however, rolled her eyes. "Yes, we all know that Daddy, you only say that all the time."

Dr. Cossack blinked, slightly abashed. "Do I? Well, it's true."

Looking earnestly at Dr. Cossack, Quint said, "Shadow Man said he plans to sell the prototype on the underground."

"Really? That may be a problem. I'll inform Chief Fictus that something was stolen from Citadel, have him watch the black market."

"What about Wily?" Quint asked tentatively.

"Oh, I doubt that idiot will make much use of your invention even if he can figure it out," Dr. Cossack responded dryly. "Still, inform Dr. Light, he should know about this." Then his face cracked into a wide grin. "Teleportation though—truly remarkable."

"Well, it was thanks to Kalinka really, she helped me with the theory behind the invention," Quint responded humbly, feeling both embarrassed and pleased by the praise.

"I'm so proud of both of you—" Dr. Cossack continued, "Working together to create breakthrough technology—"

"Oh my god Dad, stoooop," Kalinka complained.

"…You know, I like don't see what the big deal is about this Wily dude," said Kalinka privately to Punk and Quint after they had finished talking with Dr. Cossack. "He's that really weird old guy Daddy hates, right? Dad didn't seem too worried about him. Can't we just like wait, let the old man have his fun, let him try to take over the world or whatever, and then…he'll probably just die of old age before he even does anything?"

"He's…not nearly that old," replied Quint, perturbed. "Fifty, I believe."

"But that's ancient! Even older than Dad!"

"But many humans live well into their eighties and nineties before dying of old age!"

"Yeah, Dr. Rose lived to be one-hundred and sixteen, and she only quit running ultramarathons because it conflicted with her weekly poker night schedule," said Punk.

"Okay, if you feel that strongly about this," Kalinka muttered, sounding unconvinced, but willing to indulge them. "Stopping Professor Willy will be good for my superhero cred anyway."

"It's Dr. Wily."

"Whatever."

It was a full three minutes before anyone responded to the beeping noise of an incoming transmission coming from Dr. Light's supercomputer. Mega Man was reading an organic chemistry textbook in the atrium, Roll was engrossed in a project in her workshop with Wrath of the Vengeful blaring at levels that would have made a human's ears ring, and Dr. Light was taking a phone call in his office (while firmly trying to ignore that vibrations from Roll's music were making the picture frames on the wall rattle). But finally, all three noticed the persistent beeping, and hurried to Dr. Light's laboratory. Mega Man quickly accepted the transmission, and a frantic-looking Quint appeared on the overhead monitor.

"Quint!" Mega Man greeted. "I have a sinking suspicion a crisis is going on. You know, you can call us at other times too!"

"R-right. Yes, well, anyway—"

Quint hurriedly explained about his new teleportation device and the unfortunate break-in at his laboratory.

"Shadow Man!" exclaimed Mega Man. "Doesn't he work for Dr. Wily?"

"I don't think so…I believe he is acting rogue, and plans to sell the teleporter prototype," said Quint, his head bowed dolefully. "Teleportation is achieved through the use of quintessence and the satellite grid. The good news is, without quintessence, I very much doubt a buyer could make a functioning duplicate."

"I got a sneaking suspicion Wily could figure it out…" said Roll wryly, catching on to the true purpose of Quint's call.

Mega Man's eyebrows raised. "Wily could turn up anywhere, any time, no warning? That's the worst news I've heard this year!"

"Calm down, everyone," Dr. Light broke in quickly, standing before the keyboard on his supercomputer. "Quint, I will need you to help me develop countermeasures to limit the use of your new invention for criminal activity. Is Dr. Cossack aware of what happened?"

"Affirmative, but he had business to attend to and asked me to keep him informed of developments," said Quint, standing up straighter and looking important.

Dr. Light was tabbing through a long file directory within his computer. "In the past, I had employed signal jamming to prevent Dr. Wily from using his transport chambers long distance again—fortunately, Dr. Wily had quickly abandoned the idea anyway, as he so often does—I only hope Wily cannot find workarounds with this new technology."

"All safeguards have workarounds," said Quint miserably. "Signal jamming may be only a temporary measure."

"Yes indeed, this sounds like it may turn into a technological race, us against Dr. Wily," sighed Dr. Light. "But the good news, thus far, is that only one teleporter is at large, which may give us some time."

…A small thing was bothering Mega Man, his mind lingering uncomfortably on transport chambers and his last incident with teleportation. "Quint, about your new invention…" he said, leaning toward the supercomputer and lowering his voice. "It can't by any means be used to swap the circuits of two robots, can it?"

"Erm…what exactly would be the context for that sort of application?" asked Quint, mystified.

"Never mind," Roll said, giving Mega Man a small smile. "Well, what are we waiting for? We better get started before Wily causes any trouble!"

Quint nodded. "Right. We will be there momentarily."

The transmission ended abruptly.

"What does he mean, 'we will be there momentarily?" queried Roll aloud to Mega Man and Dr. Light. "Aren't they in California? That's at least a three-hour flight!"

Then they all jumped.

"Surely, he doesn't mean—"

They rushed over to the front door and threw it open. Four shimmering streaks of light dropped from the gray, overcast sky—scarlet, green, blue, and pink—then four familiar figures materialized on the snowy front lawn.

"Eregh, I forgot how cold it is in New York," exclaimed Punk, looking around. "That was like having a bucket of ice dumped on ya after a fighting match!"

"Hiii~" sang out Mega Girl, her support unit Beat fluttering nervously over her shoulder. "Long time no see!"

"Yeah, we haven't actually had any of those 'team meetings' you talked about," Mega Man reminded her.

"Yeah, well, I've been a little busy," said Mega Girl loftily. Mega Man and Roll exchanged glances. "But we're here now! What do you think of Quint's teleporter? It's really something, huh?"

"It's something alright…" muttered Mega Man, frowning at Mega Girl's apparent upbeat attitude in spite of the crisis they were now in.

"Please, come in everyone," said Dr. Light, opening the front door wide.

When Jewel Man had first settled into his new lapidary studio within Skull Fortress, he had drawn a lot of curiosity from the other Robot Masters.

Some of the encounters were friendly.

"What do you think of this gem?" Crystal Man had asked, branding what appeared to be a crystal ball, a pale blue globe-sized orb in which the halls of Skull Fortress appeared to be upside down.

Jewel Man gave the Crystal Eye a cursory look. "Hmm. Yes, I've seen these on the black market before. Very interesting. It's quite a beautiful fake, nearly identical to diamond in hardness, yet its structure is unstable—it deteriorates into carbon dust within hours."

"Heh, that's right. You really know your stuff," replied Crystal Man, nodding.

…Others were less friendly.

"Back off, alien, I'm warning you…" Dust Man had growled at Jewel Man.

"Oh, I'm not an alien. Not anymore. Not ever, actually. I think. In fact, I'm not sure I really understand what happened," Jewel Man tried to explain helplessly. Dust Man only gave him a grumpy harumph, glaring at him through a beady eye, while muttering about needing to attend to a new armadillo infestation within Skull Fortress's foundations.

Still, many weren't sure if they believed the whole "Curator" business in New York City, and even those who had been there couldn't remember what had happened, and none of the events had been recorded and therefore did not circulate on the human news. In fact, most were unimpressed with Jewel Man, thinking him timid and weak for a Robot Master. This was all the better in Jewel Man's opinion, for he had planned to co-exist quietly with his new allies. He had also been attempting to keep his new allegiance with Elec Man discreet, but of course, Ring Man eventually sleuthed out the news.

"You're Syndicate now? That's serious stuff!" Ring Man said in an impressed voice as he and Magnet Man cornered Jewel Man in the armory's supply room.

"Yes, well," responded Jewel Man coolly, pretending he had been given a choice in the matter, and feeling thankful that he had only been appointed something ordinary and respectable as a P.A. and not something dreadful like a hitman. He was even beginning to like the feeling of protection: no one would bother to mess with him if they feared the likes of Elec Man would retaliate.

Ring Man stared, both incredulous and envious. "Well, I suppose you think you've done well landing yourself a job as his secretary or whatever, but I hope you know Elec Man is not very nice. Still, might be handy for us having this angle—er, connection with the Syndicate…"

Magnet Man said nothing, his arms folded and his brows furrowed, his eyes flickering between Jewel Man and Ring Man.

"Don't even try it," Jewel Man responded quickly and nervously. "Elec Man said he'd shock you if you caused trouble."

Ring Man only snickered. "Elec Man's always making little threats like that, but it's all talk. He's programmed to work for Wily, he's not allowed to—"

There was an earsplitting crackle and a bright flash of light.

"I'm not allowed to do what, Ring Man?" Elec Man asked, emerging from the small, windowless room that he had once used as an office back before he had moved to his new quarters in the western wing. Evidently, Elec Man had been checking in with Dark Man about Skull Fortress's security protocols as he did from time to time and had overheard their entire conversation. Elec Man looked down with perfect indifference at the twitching, scalding, and furiously cursing heap on the floor. "That looked like that hurt."

"Oh shut up you lousy bastard!"

Magnet Man backed away with his hands up as if to say he was not part of this, though Elec Man ignored him as he stepped over Ring Man while casting Jewel Man a cool look from the corner of his eye. "I'm disappointed in you, Jewel Man. I told you not to let losers like him be a nuisance."

"I'm so sorry. It will never happen again," Jewel Man replied meekly.

"See that it doesn't, and stop apologizing all the time, it looks weak," responded Elec Man, sweeping out of the armory.

"Hey! Why aren't you shocking him?" Ring Man called after Elec Man indignantly, springing to his feet and pointing at Jewel Man. Then he glared at Jewel Man. "What the hell was that, you sniveling hypocrite? You went rogue to get out of serving humans, now you're doing the same thing with that snobby gangster!"

"It is quite different. Stop embarrassing me in front of my superior, I did warn you," replied Jewel Man, heated, but dignified. "You run your mouth too much, it gets you in trouble."

Ring Man snickered. "Sure, whatever you say! Won't be easy street with him like it would us though, ya know! And don't forget, we're the ones who saved you from getting arrested after all the trouble you caused as Curator! We'll be seeing you around, Pink Panther."

Top Man had followed Elec Man out of the armory. "It's true then? You recruited Jewel Man?" he demanded furiously. "Even though he was trying to leave crime? If you're trying to start your own Syndicate branch here, you can count me out!"

"Oh yes, a real intimidating mob we'd make: Jewel Man can't fight, and you won't," Elec Man responded sardonically. "Calm down, you're obviously projecting. I think he's grateful, especially as my alternative was to kill him for turning you into a jeweled egg."

Top Man glared crossly at Elec Man, but his outrage subsided.

Likewise, Proto Man had been less than pleased when Elec Man casually broke the news that Jewel Man was now under Syndicate protection back in the west wing a few weeks prior.

"Under 'protection?'" Proto Man repeated flatly, leaning against a tool cart with his arms folded. "Like some mobster shit? Why? He turned us all into tiny rocks!"

"Yes, well, allies with those skills are powerful," Elec Man replied without concern as he marked up the draft jet radar blueprint Proto Man had handed him with a technical pen. "He's now my P.A."

"A personal assistant?" Proto Man gave Elec Man a long, hard look. "You don't seem the type to have a P.A."

"I'm not, they seem pointless, but Jewel Man is competent enough to run errands that Ring Man and Magnet Man are too lazy to carry out properly."

"You know what I think? I think you're hanging around Top Man so much you're getting soft," goaded Proto Man, leaning forward to nudge Elec Man in the ribs.

Elec Man ducked away, his eyes still glued to the diagram, though his brows had knit crossly. "Am not. I do think Jewel Man can be useful, so shut up."

At that moment, Jewel Man himself slipped quietly into the hangar. He gave a small, polite cough to announce his presence.

"Excuse me…" he called over to Elec Man. "Forgive my intrusion, but you weren't in your office. I have the hard copies you requested?"

"Leave them on the table by the door," said Elec Man, watching Proto Man.

Jewel Man gently placed a manilla envelope onto the table. He glanced shyly at Proto Man. "Er, hello again," he added deferentially.

Proto Man didn't respond, and Jewel Man looked away. As the west wing was regarded as the domain of two of the most dangerous robots in Skull Fortress, Jewel Man looked like he would have been content to leave as soon as possible. Still, it seemed he couldn't help but marvel at the collection of sleek, state-of-the-art jets within the massive hangar. "You built all this? Without a roboticist or human engineer? I've seen a few of them in flight my lapidary studio window, they are quite beautiful. Who built you?" Jewel Man looked curiously at Proto Man.

"Wily," said Proto Man coldly.

Jewel Man scoffed, then his face faltered as he took in Proto Man's temperament—which at the moment was a bit like staring down a laser cannon. "You're not at all serious, are you?"

"Better question, what makes you think you can just waltz into the west wing? You're not allowed here."

"Why would I want to be here? I beg your pardon but it's dirty," retorted Jewel Man, nodding to an untidy pile of scrap in Proto Man's work area. "—No offense. I am an admirer of your work—this scale of metalsmithing is impeccable—if Elec Man is the engineer, you are the designer then?"

Light flashed dangerously across Proto Man's visor. "Stop acting chummy, pal. I don't care if you're Elec Man's fancy new gopher, you and I are not cool."

"Uh…" Jewel Man edged hastily backward. He glanced out of the corner of his eye toward Elec Man to see if he would intercede—Elec Man had summoned Jewel Man to the west wing, after all—but Elec Man was still watching Proto Man with a faint smirk. This was apparently an area where Elec Man's protection would not be useful; fortunately, Jewel Man had come prepared. "A-as a matter of fact, I have something for you."

With a small bow, he presented Proto Man with a black jewelry case.

Proto Man scowled as he seized the case. "What's this? You can't just bribe me with some stupid—say!" Inside the case was a perfect miniature replica in platinum of one of the jets he and Elec Man had built. "Look, Elec Man! It's a mini-mark VI!" (They never named any of their prototypes, and instead began referring to them by serial numbers) "—With little jewel cockpit and jet fire!"

Grinning absentmindedly, Proto Man plucked the beautiful replica of the beautiful jet out of its case with ungloved hands and perched it precariously on the top edge of his slanting drafting table, dumping the case in a nearby trash can.

A look reminiscent of Curator's fury crossed Jewel Man's face as Proto Man did this. His hand twitched as though to snatch the treasure back, but he sensibly suppressed this impulse and instead took the opportunity to edge hastily back out of the western hangar while Proto Man was still pleased and distracted. "I'll be only a call away if either of you need anything—energy cans, attire, getaway cars, lapidary services, room accommodations—"

"Yes, that will be all Jewel Man, thank you," Elec Man cut in pointedly.

Nodding curtly like a concierge at a fancy hotel, Jewel Man swiftly and silently departed from the hangar as though melting into thin air.

Proto Man whirled, realizing too late that his quarry had slipped away.

"Still say you've gotten soft," he teased Elec Man instead with mock sympathy. Then, a dark edge entering his voice, "—and I still say we should kill him. In fact, I thought after you'd finished interrogating him about alien energy, you'd go all gangster on him."

"I did, I set aside personal grudges for business."

"But—"

"Let it go, Light."

"'Let it go'?! You were—you all were—"

"We were what?" Elec Man responded dryly, his eyes piercing Proto Man.

"Nothing," lied Proto Man quickly, yet he sorely recalled—for one terrible moment inside Curator's jewel cave, Mega Man, Roll, and Elec Man had all been lost, each transformed into a helpless trinket in Curator's collection, and in a momentary fit of hopelessness, Proto Man had succumbed to the same fate. He didn't like thinking about this anymore than he liked thinking of the gubernatorial election night, when he thought Mega Man had died. It stirred up uncomfortable feelings. None of Dr. Wily's past schemes had ever been that bad before. Having Jewel Man bustling around was a constant subtle reminder of the event (not to mention Jewel Man's far-fetched claim that the alien energy inside Proto Man was justice energy, of all the stupid improbable possibilities). Proto Man noticed Elec Man's gaze had shifted down toward his fist, which Proto Man had an unconscious habit of clenching when he was agitated.

"Call me soft if you like, you need to recover your nerve," Elec Man told him matter-of-factly as he turned back to the blueprints on his desk.

After that, Proto Man dropped the topic—nevertheless, he had no plans to make Jewel Man feel welcome anytime soon.

Time had been flying for Proto Man—quite literally. Mark XI and XII had posed some challenges as Proto Man and Elec Man continued to push the limits of their speed and flight maneuverability, spending days at drafting tables or zooming around the world in prototypes. He welcomed the distraction—it was fun, and it kept his mind off other more bothersome things, like Mega Man, Curator, and alien energy.

Things had not been progressing so well in Dr. Wily's laboratory. Dr. Wily had begun the new year starting, but not finishing, a bunch of inventions, his laboratory littered with scribbled, incompressible diagrams. Somewhat reluctantly, perhaps out of a small, distant feeling of obligation as second-in-command (or at the very least to stop the occasional smug comment from Elec Man that Proto Man had been acting less and less like a second-in-command), Proto Man had been checking in on Dr. Wily, each time hoping he'd find Dr. Wily up to something different than in front of his Global Extraterrestrial Scanner, yet Dr. Wily seemed to have latched onto an all-consuming obsession for finding a new source of alien energy.

And so it was that fateful afternoon in which the very future of travel hinged.

Proto Man made another routine, obligatory visit to Dr. Wily's laboratory. Elec Man had followed him. Though Elec Man acted disinterested in Dr. Wily's work, Proto Man noticed that Elec Man was occasionally looking toward the Extraterrestrial Radiation Scanner with a small crease between his brow—Proto Man had a suspicion Elec Man was still studying alien energy independently, though Elec Man had not admitted this out loud.

"I don't know why you're bothering with alien energy, Doc—it's not like it went well with 'Hellrazor' or 'Curator'," Proto Man pointed out.

This only made Dr. Wily defensive. "I don't know why you're bothering with jets. What are your plans with that anyway, hmm?" he countered with the chiding tone of a parent inquiring a teenager if they were spending their summer wisely.

"Same as always—nothing." Proto Man paused—he didn't like the moment of clarity he was feeling, and quickly brushed it off. "Wily, c'mon…you were always at your best when you were the one creating chaos. You don't need alien energy, you just need to come up with a new scheme for world domination, and stick to it."

"Actually, I have just the thing for you."

Dr. Wily, Proto Man, and Elec Man started at the voice. A shadow had detached itself from a corner of the room, and with uncanny silence that contrasted the loud, boastful voice that had preceded it, a familiar Robot Master appeared before them.

"Shadow Man!" shouted Dr. Wily, quickly huddling behind a swivel office chair. "You work for the Syndicate!"

"Not true, I work for no one—though I occasionally take the odd job when it amuses me," replied Shadow Man.

Proto Man stepped forward, blaster raised. "You tried to kill me…"

Shadow Man wagged his finger at Proto Man. "Could have, but didn't. No hard feelings, it was just part of a favor for a dear old friend." At this, Shadow Man gave Elec Man (who was watching Shadow Man with folded arms, thoroughly unimpressed) a somewhat nervous look, apparently getting shocked by Thunder Beam still on his mind, and added hastily, "—But I'm not here to fight little baby robots like you, I have something to sell to you."

Shadow Man held out a hand—in between the crook of his thumb and his forefinger was a circular device, a minute crystal twinkling at its center.

"And that's supposed to be…?" asked Proto Man, his blaster still trained on Shadow Man.

"A teleportation device," answered Shadow Man.

"Yeah right, and I'm the fourth member of Cold Steel."

"Your sarcasm is amusing, but I do not lie."

"Pff, oh yeah? Big deal! Wily's already done teleportation," sneered Proto Man. "Worked well, too—but getting the teleportation chambers set up was more hassle than it was worth."

"Ah, that is where this is different!" said Shadow Man, grinning broadly and brandishing the small device like a poker chip. "This can be installed within robots, granting them the ability to teleport anywhere, anytime, without chambers."

Proto Man hesitated. He glanced over at Dr. Wily, who was still cowering behind his office chair, though had gone very still, then Elec Man, who looked bored. "…Even if that's true, not just anyone can build a teleporter. Where would you have gotten a gizmo like that?"

Shadow Man rolled a shoulder lazily. "California—from some know-it-all green robot who looks like Mega Man. Built by a colleague of yours, I believe," he said casually, nodding to Dr. Wily.

"Brain Bot?" breathed Dr. Wily. He had emerged from behind the chair, his eyes now fixed hungrily on the teleporter. "That…is a powerful device. I could steal anything I want! Attack anyone without them knowing! This is brilliant. I shall go down in history for pioneering the world's first portable teleportation device!" he crowed, already taking credit for Brain Bot's invention.

Proto Man rounded on Dr. Wily. "Wily…" he hissed. "We can't trust this bot, he's already double-crossed us once!"

"Well…we can let bygones be bygones," said Dr. Wily sagely, looking past Proto Man to Shadow Man. "I'll overlook your previous treachery. Come work for me again."

"No, too boring," said Shadow Man, his eyes glinting. "What I want is copies of this device. Not for me, of course (for I am a ninja and can already appear wherever I want), but for a friend—and perhaps to distribute across the black market at an exuberant fee."

Dr. Wily scoffed at this proposal. "And what am I, a middling supplier, while you, a sneak thief Robot Master, profiteer off my brilliant genius?"

Shadow Man shrugged. "If you view it that way, it is your loss. I am simply offering you access to this priceless invention that I stole and is of no use to me, but is of invaluable use to you, and in return, I want to make a profit. That's the deal, take it or leave it."

Dr. Wily's beady blue eyes sized up Shadow Man, plainly calculating how he could play Shadow Man to his advantage. Proto Man very much wanted to challenge Shadow Man to a rematch—their last fight was an embarrassing blemish on his otherwise impressive record of being unbeatable, yet now seemed not the time—not when Dr. Wily was finally focussing on something other than stupid alien energy for once.

"Alright, hand it over," Dr. Wily said finally, making a good play-act that he was unhappy with the deal (Proto Man doubted anyone was actually fooled) "If this device really is of any value, then I shall make your copies. We will discuss the matter of your employment later."

Shadow Man handed over the teleporter to Dr. Wily with a bow, though his mischievous eyes remained locked on Dr. Wily's face.

A deep frown appeared on Dr. Wily's face as he turned the teleporter around in his hand. "Well, the design is pitifully elementary…it is the energy that powers it that is the true innovation."

"What kind of energy?" asked Proto Man curiously.

Dr. Wily did not answer. He was lost in thought while pacing. "No doubt that snotty little Brain Bot has already informed Light about this new technology, and they are already working on safeguards…so, it is between us again to see who comes out first, Light…and the first to master teleportation, will control the world!" he stopped pacing and picked up a communicator. "JEWEL MAN!"

Jewel Man skidded into the laboratory a few minutes later, the flashing pink gems on his pearly white armor looking conspicuous and out of place amongst the gloomy, grungy computer equipment.

"Y-yes?" stammered Jewel Man, shrinking away from Dr. Wily.

Dr. Wily beckoned Jewel Man over to the teleporter impatiently. "I need you to make copies of this crystal."

"Oh, yes," said Jewel Man, looking extremely relieved. His face resettled into a professionally interested expression as he used the high-tech loupe on his helmet to examine the crystal. "Hmm. Fascinating crystalline structure. Lab created, obviously. Yes, I do believe I can make satisfactory duplicates."

"Don't forget we need the energy that powers these—" began Proto Man.

Dr. Wily nodded. "Indeed, quintessence."

"…'Quintessence'? What's that?"

"Product of Citadel laboratory, the energy that powers Brain Bot," Dr. Wily explained shortly.

"Oh yeah, you mean that purple stuff Brain Bot fired at the Skulker when we were chasing him across the California border? Always thought there was something odd about that bot," mused Proto Man aloud.

"Purple stuff?" repeated Elec Man, frowning. "What exactly is quintessence?"

Dr. Wily hesitated, then looked at Shadow Man. "Since you are determined to be business partners in teleportation, will you help me acquire the asset I need?"

"No guarantees—buut I may check in, after I attend to some business of my own."

His eyes still glinting, Shadow Man stepped backward into a shadow, then simply vanished.

Dr. Wily scoffed at Shadow Man's abrupt departure, then turned his attention back to the teleporter. "Yes, building duplicates will be exceedingly simple—acquiring quintessence will be risky, but we must act quickly. We will only have a small window of opportunity before that miserable Light sabotages us!"

"Risky, huh?" commented Proto Man. "Now we're talkin', Doc!"

As Dr. Wily turned to his computer, busy analyzing the teleporter and plotting their upcoming heist, Elec Man turned to Proto Man.

"Light, I don't know about this," Elec Man muttered in a quiet undertone. "'Quintessence' sounds suspiciously like evil alien energy."

Proto Man looked over in amazement. "You're calling it 'evil energy' now too?" he asked, feeling betrayed—for he had thought they had agreed categorizing alien energy as 'evil' and 'justice' was stupid.

"I—whatever," sniffed Elec Man wearily, "—My point is, this new invention sounds extremely dangerous. Besides, didn't Wily use similar technology to switch the circuits of robots?"

"You're not going to end up in the body of Bright Man or a battonton—that twerp Brain Bot built it; it's bound to be safe."

Elec Man pondered this. "Hmm…you're right, that does make a difference."

Proto Man nodded. "Yeah, Brain Bot really knows his stuff, that's why he's working at Citadel with Dr. Cossack."

"Yes, so I've heard." Elec Man said with stiff, unconvincing apathy. While he may have respected Brain Bot, Dr. Cossack was a completely different story.

Hastily, Proto Man moved past the subject of Dr. Cossack, on which Elec Man was notoriously touchy. "Besides, this is a good thing—it's finally a solid, legitimate scheme. We don't want to get left in the dust on teleportation. And maybe Wily'll finally forget about alien energy and things will finally go back to normal around here."

Dr. Light and Quint had spent nearly an hour swapping notes and puzzling over teleportation research in front of Dr. Light's computer while the rest watched in interested silence. Both Punk and Quint acted somewhat guilty and awkward—for Punk had once been a criminal rogue robot, and Quint hadn't visited the laboratory (nor his co-creator) since his activation as 'Brain Bot' and subsequent journey to California. Mega Girl, meanwhile, continued to smile dazzlingly at everyone while perched on the edge of a lab table—giving the uncanny impression of a famous pop idol.

"This is the device—an exact duplicate of the one Shadow Man stole," said Quint, holding out a small circular device in the palm of his hand. "As you may have observed, these teleporters contain a small gem that I've dubbed an 'e-crystal'. An 'e-crystal' functions similarly to the meteorite fragments at Red Gulch—only these are lab-created, contain quintessence, and will not give you superpowers, though they are quite safe for anyone to handle for any duration of time and can power teleportation devices."

"Wow! With one of these, we could go anywhere, anytime!" said Roll excitedly.

"Well, there are a few limitations," admitted Quint. "Firstly, the teleportation destination must be stable, or the teleportation sequence is canceled, and the user is sent back to their origin point. As such, it is important to establish a home base to return to, such as our respective laboratories. Secondly, It takes a lot of energy to teleport, so there is a limit to how much the user can transport while teleporting, and a limit to how much a teleporter can be used in a certain amount of time, factoring in weather, distance, and atmospheric conditions of the satellite grid, of course."

"So…there's nothing to stop Wily or any other criminal from teleporting into New York City, or directly in our rooms at night," Mega Man pointed out dryly.

"Well, the teleportation destination is not always that precise," said Quint.

Punk gave a small jerk. He shifted to glower at Quint. "What do you mean? I just teleported onto a target in your lab!"

"Well of course, I have every inch of my lab mapped out, so calculating pinpoint coordinates was simple," explained Quint. "However, for less known locations, even those such as Los Angeles or New York City, the teleporter's destination may be approximated based on the closest stable coordinates available." He looked over at Mega Man. "Additionally, the 'teleportation beam' is highly visible, so the element of surprise could be lost even if Wily's robots were to teleport directly into, say, Central Park."

…Privately, Mega Man felt he agreed with Punk on this. Teleportation sounded more and more complicated and dubious by the second, and the thought of Dr. Wily's robots still appearing instantaneously in Central Park was very disturbing, even if they didn't have the element of surprise!

"And here I was enjoying the peace and quiet! Quint, you're a real brainy guy—" began Mega Man sternly. "Ever read any of those stories about when a scientist takes science too far?"

Mega Girl rounded on him instantly.

"Hey! Leave him alone! Quint didn't do anything wrong, he just got robbed by a ninja! It could happen to anybody!" she reprimanded shrilly, seeming surprisingly formidable for someone of her pixie-like stature.

Even Punk was outraged on Quint's behalf. He clanged over to Mega Girl's side, his large eyes glaring forbiddingly through the gap in his armor at Mega Man. "Yeah, who died and made you the moral police anyway? I heard you attacked Washington D.C. a couple of years ago—which as an anarchist, you'd think I'd respect, however, that definitely puts a big fat check in the 'bad guy' column!"

Mega Man backed away hastily. "Alright, alright! I was just saying…"

"Well keep it to yourself," said Mega Girl, sticking her nose into the air.

"Yeah!" chorused Punk.

Quint looked sheepishly at the floor, seeming glad that a visor covered his eyes. Dr. Light rested a hand on his shoulder comfortingly,

"I think our best course of action is to build a teleportation shield," said Dr. Light finally as he stroked his beard, "—That is to say, employ a more powerful form of signal jamming that can prevent criminal teleportation in or out of certain areas, such as our laboratories or within the cities. That should be enough of a deterrent to limit any trouble the likes of Wily might attempt. But, in the meantime, we're vulnerable. It is highly likely the teleportation device will be used before we can enact such a shield. You said Shadow Man stole your first teleporter earlier this morning, and you have no idea where he went?"

Quint shook his head.

"What about our very own satellite scanner, Galaxy Man?" suggested Roll. "Perhaps he could monitor the network for teleportation, just as he does when he's looking for Wily?"

"Excellent idea, Roll," nodded Dr. Light. He then looked over at Quint, smiling proudly. "Quint, this is a remarkable invention. Such an ingenious application of quintessence!"

Quint looked pleased, yet humbled. "It really is thanks to Mega Girl's help—"

"Yeah yeah yeah, no biggie," Mega Girl cut in impatiently, "Now tell them the important bit!"

"Oh yes," said Quint quickly. "This is all currently unregulated technology, and for that reason, we'd like to limit any police involvement—you see, if the government finds out—" he added, his voice lowering conspiratorially.

"Got it, got it, we'll keep it quiet," said Roll, winking. Dr. Light and Mega Man looked disapprovingly at Quint, who winced apologetically, then over to Mega Girl who smiled sweetly back.

Finally, Dr. Light turned back to his computer. "It's decided then. I'll instruct Galaxy Man to monitor the satellite grid for teleportation beams, and in the meantime we must get to work on a teleportation shield!"

As Dr. Light and Quint resumed their work, Mega Man sighed, then looked over at Roll and said quietly, "So, not only has Quint accidentally loosed this dangerous, possibly illegal technology on the world, he's making us complicit through association!"

Roll shrugged. "Lighten up Mega, Dr. Cossack's a billionaire. I'm sure he could get us off if he we get charged with anything."

Dr. Wily summoned Cut Man, Guts Man, Needle Man, Ring Man, and Magnet Man to the laboratory for briefing. To Proto Man's continued surprise, Elec Man volunteered to join the group shortly after Proto Man agreed to lead the mission.

"This is one of the most useless lineups Dr. Wily could have come up with," muttered Elec Man to Proto Man, glaring critically at the other Robot Masters.

"Hey! That's not nice! I'm useful!" fumed Needle Man, whose buzzing voice sounded like a human talking into cupped hands. Like Elec Man, he had volunteered, annoyed at being left out from Dr. Wily's schemes since the night of Deacon's election. "Before I joined up with Wily, I used to be part of a gang too you know! We were the number one apparel smuggling gang in all of Rhode Island!"

Elec Man sighed, ignoring Needle Man. "Whatever. If they get arrested or destroyed, it's a net neutral to me."

"That's the spirit," said Proto Man.

Needle Man's dinner plate-sized eyes narrowed. "Hey, I heard that, and it hurts, you know!"

"Together again!" said Ring Man, nudging Jewel Man with his elbow.

"Don't crowd me," Jewel Man said stiffly. He looked over at Dr. Wily. "Er, is it really necessary for me to join the others out on the field?"

Dr. Wily spared Jewel Man a withering glance. "Yes, you can make yourself useful with the new weapon I gave you, Jewel Satellite, in the event Mega Man shows up."

Jewel Man gulped, clearly not relishing the idea of fighting. "What about Mega Girl?"

Mega Girl? Proto Man had never heard anyone refer to Roll this way. He looked sharply at Jewel Man—he had never liked when Robot Masters paid special attention to Roll."What about her?" he asked in a low, dangerous voice.

"Won't we have to fight her too?" Jewel Man asked nervously.

"Yes, I suppose if she turns up with Mega Man," replied Proto Man, still watching Jewel Man closely.

Dr. Wily waved a hand dismissively. "Pah, pay no attention to that annoying blonde pest! We shall deal with both those meddlers at the same time!"

"You're worried about him? With Roll?" Elec Man murmured quietly to Proto Man, sounding highly amused.

"…Yeah?"

"You're an idiot."

"You'd understand if you had a sister like mine," Proto Man responded simply, unabashed.

"Elec Man! Proto Man! Stop whispering over there and pay attention!" Dr. Wily admonished, waving a bony finger at them. Then he beckoned them all closer, and began pacing like a general marshaling his troops. "This plan is simple, so not even you nitwits can bungle it up." At this, he glared fiercely at Cut Man and Guts Man from beneath his bushy eyebrows. "I need you to break into one of Citadel's secure storage facilities and steal samples of quintessence. Your success will rely on Proto Man's ruthless leadership, Elec Man's skill at hacking, Jewel Man's expertise at breaking into secured vaults, Guts Man's brute force, and Cut Man's razor wit."

"Hey! Whatabout me?" interrupted Needle Man squeakily.

"You are backup, along with Ring Man and Magnet Man," said Dr. Wily simply.

Needle Man puffed up importantly. Ring Man and Magnet Man both had a dull, glazed look in their eye, clearly not paying any attention nor enthusiastic about being called to work again.

"The Skullker's all ready, Dr. Wily!" piped up Cut Man, as though eager to prove he wasn't really a nitwit.

"You're not taking the Skullker, you're taking this, a teleportation device," said Dr. Wily, holding out the teleporter. "I have already programmed it with your destination. The storage facility is well guarded, and it will be nigh impossible to rob without security immediately being notified, but you need only to break in. Once you have obtained the quintessence, you can simply teleport back to my laboratory." Dr. Wily glared at all of them in turn from beneath his bushy eyebrows. "It will take significant energy to teleport such a large group at once. I calculate this device will only have enough energy for the journey there and back before it will need time to recharge, so don't get separated. Got it?"

"Got it, doc!" said Proto Man, taking the teleporter.

Dr. Wily's face split into a grin. "Once I have the quintessence, I will build more teleporters to install into my most fearsome Robot Masters, then unleash them in major cities! My worldwide invasion shall soon begin!" He let loose a piercing cackle, startling a few battontons that had been hanging from the ceiling into taking wing.

This scheme was sounding more and more promising by the minute. Even Elec Man had found little to criticize. Proto Man smiled to himself.

"But Dr. Wily, aren't I one of your most fearsome robot masters?" whined Needle Man again.

Everyone ignored Needle Man as the Robot Masters gathered around Proto Man, each reaching out a hand (or in Needle Man's case, a blaster) to touch the teleporter. Then all eight disappeared in a stream of light.

The Emergency Satellite Scanner began beeping in Dr. Light's laboratory.

"Your idea is working, Roll!" Dr. Light announced excitedly from his supercomputer. "Galaxy Man was able to trace an unknown teleportation beam—origin point, Skull Fortress, destination—oh dear, Los Angeles."

"They're returning to the scene of the crime?" asked Roll.

"They're after quintessence!" cried Quint. "There are samples stored in a secure facility just outside the city—trace samples, granted, just leftovers from other experiments, but a single-unit teleporter does not require much. Normally I would say that Dr. Wily has a fat chance of breaking in without getting caught—the storage facility has an infallible lockdown procedure that would be impossible for them to bypass—but with the teleporter, they may just manage…"

"I was afraid of this," said Dr. Light gravely. "If Wily gets ahold of quintessence, he'll be able to create more teleporters, which would be very bad news indeed. I'll continue working with Galaxy Man on creating teleportation shields—with any luck, we'll have one up before the end of the day, which will make it very difficult for them to steal anything using the teleporter!"

"We better delay the bad bots until then," said Mega Man. "Maybe we can even recover the stolen teleporter!"

Quint nodded. "Right! But first, let's return to my laboratory," he said, grabbing Mega Man by the elbow.

Mega Man jerked, realizing what was about to happen. "Wait, I—aaarghh!"

For a brief instant, Dr. Light's laboratory seemed to blur into long vertical streaks. Mega Man felt like he was both plummeting from an airplane and shooting upward like a rocket. But the feeling cleared just as fast and he felt like he was on stable ground again—only, he was no longer standing in Dr. Light's bright laboratory but in Quint's vast, still laboratory.

"Whoa!" said Roll, smiling broadly like she had just stepped off a thrilling roller coaster.

"Cool, huh?" said Mega Girl, who had teleported with Roll and Punk.

Mega Man felt extremely shaken. He tumbled unsteadily into a swivel chair.

"Oh, it's okay, you'll get used to it," Mega Girl told Mega Man in a soothing voice, as though addressing a very small child.

"Yeah Mega, get a grip," snickered Roll.

"You could at least warn a bot," complained Mega Man, annoyed at how uncomfortable teleportation had felt, yet no one else seemed to mind. "Holy shit, we're actually in California! Did we really just travel through the satellite grid?"

Mega Girl was now looking at Mega Man in frank concern.

"If you're going to freak out at even the tiniest bit of weirdness, then maybe you're not cut out to be a superhero," she said seriously.

Mega Man, who had been on more weird misadventures than Mega Girl could ever know about, gave Mega Girl a long, hard look. Mega Girl was beginning to remind Mega Man of someone, though he couldn't quite place who… Meanwhile, Roll was shaking with silent laughter.

To break up the tension, Quint gave a small cough. "Er…now that we're all here, we must stop Wily's robots. As I said earlier, it would normally be impossible to raid one of Citadel's storehouses, but it will be best to head them off, just in case."

Still recovering from his first cross-country teleportation trip, Mega Man did not immediately get up. As he gazed around the strange, half-finished inventions in Quint's warehouse-like laboratory, each likely as big of a liability as Quint's teleportation device, he had a sinking feeling he was dealing with yet another mad scientist. He personally would rather stick to Rush Jet or the air raider for transportation.

"Whoa. It actually worked."

Dr. Wily had programmed the teleporter to take them to the outskirts of Los Angeles. Proto Man glanced around at the palm tree grove they were hidden in, faintly impressed. Teleportation might not be as classy as jet travel, but this sure was something. Behind him, Cut Man, Guts Man, and Needle Man were blinking in the sudden sunlight that had assaulted them after the gloom of Dr. Wily's laboratory.

Proto Man turned to the group. "We're splitting up. Elec Man and I will deactivate the security while the rest of you head to the storage facility. If you see any police that might cause a problem, trash them. We'll all meet up again inside the room with the quintessence. Remember, you miss our rendezvous, you miss your ticket back to Skull Fortress."

"Hey, that's no fair, how come you get to keep the teleporter?" complained Guts Man as Proto Man handed the teleporter to Elec Man, who had plugged it into his handheld computer clipped to his belt.

"So none of you geniuses accidentally activate it early and abandon the rest of here," said Proto Man.

"May I come with you two?" asked Jewel Man hopefully. "Perhaps I may be of assist—"

"No you may not," Proto Man cut him off with a scowl.

"Keep a low profile. Only engage with the police if they become a nuisance," instructed Elec Man. "Otherwise we don't want anyone to know we were here."

"Hey, I gotta question," spoke up Needle Man, glowering sourly at Proto Man and Elec Man. "How come you two get to be boss?"

"Because we're not annoying pinheads like you," answered Proto Man in a warning tone. "Now hurry it up so we'll be in and out before anyone is the wiser!"

Shadow Man returned to his favorite hideout—a small tropical island, deserted, save for a thick habitat of highly noxious flowers, though it had been made cozier by the addition of a lavish two-story thatched cabana that stood on a pier on its southern end. He had just excitedly explained to the Sniper his plan to sell teleportation technology to other criminals, creating as much chaos as possible for the Robot International Police. The Sniper, however, was skeptical of this plan.

"There's been too many close calls with the Robot International Police already, Shadow Man," the Sniper's voice crackled, as though coming through a walkie-talkie. "We're at the top of their most wanted list; we should be laying low, not causing more trouble. I don't even feel safe here." His single red optic flashed over to the cabana. He had not approved of the installation, he felt it drew too much attention.

"No no, but don't you see? Our problems with R.I.P. are solved!" said Shadow Man. "Thanks to some shrewd business dealings on my part, we will soon be able to go wherever we want."

The Sniper's optic rested on Shadow Man for a moment. "I thought you said Centum wouldn't allow us to operate independently in America…"

Shadow Man waved a hand dissuasively. "Who needs him! This new device will change everything. I just don't know how it works—but, with a little help from a mad scientist…"

The Sniper quickly stepped away from Shadow Man. "Oh no, I want nothing to do with mad science."

"No, it's not like that, it's quite safe. Maybe," said Shadow Man offhandedly.

Before the Sniper could answer, they both froze—they had heard the distant crunch of a footstep in the sand.

"Shit, I told you they'd find us!" muttered the Sniper, his optic sweeping reproachfully at the cabana.

"Maybe, but I don't see how," replied Shadow Man, shrugging.

The Sniper hesitated. "I got a way out. You?"

"Pff. Don't worry about me, I'm a ninja. You go, I'll hold them off."

Without delay, the Sniper sped off across the beach and out of sight to where he had stowed a getaway submersible. Meanwhile Shadow Man turned around.

A familiar figure was stalking slowly toward him while holding a spear pointed straight at Shadow Man's chest.

"Hello there," called Enker. "Face to face at last, my shadowy friend."

"Well if it isn't my most favorite loser—I mean, R.I.P. officer?" greeted Shadow Man with a sweeping bow. "It is cute how you try to sneak around in those big honking boots of yours."

Another figure came skidding out of the island's small jungle of noxious flowers. A staff—its moniker 'buster rod'—was slung across his shoulder, his posture crouched low. "He's not alone!" put in Wukong.

With a splash, another figure emerged from the waves of the ocean holding a trident. "You're under arrest," announced Splash Woman in her silvery voice.

"You should be honored, you are getting the attention of all three sergeants of R.I.P. today," added Enker, smiling snuggly at Shadow Man. "I've been looking forward to this."

Shadow Man smirked back, several Shadow Blades appearing between his fingers. "Oh, I bet you have."

Without further ado, the three R.I.P. sergeants pounced—Enker came charging with his barrier spear held aloft while Wukong tumbled forward like an acrobat. Even Splash Woman had leaped out of the water into the fray with surprising agility. Using her trident as a pole vault, she came at Shadow Man swinging her tail viciously like some sort of giant sea serpent. It was quite an alarming sight.

"Hey! That's not fair! Your domain is water! Stop it!" complained Shadow Man angrily as he was driven backward along the pier toward his cabana.

"As you wish!" Splash Woman responded cheerfully, swinging her long tail at the pier. With an almighty shutter like a small earthquake, the pier splintered into pieces. Shadow Man began to tumble into the turquoise waves below, where he would surely have been at the mercy of Splash Woman. But just as his tabi boots touched the surface of the water, he suddenly stood upright.

"Ah ha, but did I ever tell you I could walk on water?" he called boastfully as he returned to shore.

Enker was waiting for him there.

"What's your plan if you capture me?" asked Shadow Man as he nimbly avoided the flashing jabs from Enker's barrier spear. "Our delightful repartee will be over!"

"Oh, I don't see why it has to end," responded Enker lightly, ducking a Shadow Blade, "However, you will be arrested, and Duo will reprogram you—but you'll get a new start as a rookie at R.I.P., maybe scrubbing floors or organizing our filing system, something like that."

"A rookie?" Shadow Man repeated with a deep chuckle, leaping back from another lightning-fast pass of the barrier spear. "What a hilarious joke! Admit it, you just want me working under you! I'm flattered, but I'm also too busy to be pinned down. Better idea—why don't I conscript you into my ninja clan? Then again, you'd be a terrible ninja, and would never make it past peon foot soldier, and I'd probably have to kill you to save you from your own embarrassment, so maybe we just forget the working together thing and just keep our relationship unprofessional."

Shadow Man threw a handful of white dust into Enker's face, and Enker staggered backward, spluttering and momentarily blinded.

Instantly, Wukong sprang forward. He was the smallest of the R.I.P. senior sergeants, and his design was deceptively cute, as though he had stepped directly from the pages of a popular children's Manhua (in fact, plushies of his likeness were extremely popular in China). It was difficult to say whether he was more like a child, or more like the legendary monkey king of his namesake. But to robot criminals, Wukong was better known as the most dangerous of the Genesis Unit, and a formidable kung fu master. He had beautifully crafted red armor gilded in gold and bright green, round monkey ears and a monkey tail of interlocking titanium.

"You know, after all this time, Wujing, Zhu, and I always thought you were just Enker's imaginary friend," Wukong commented conversationally, his buster rod whirling serenely around him like a helicopter blade, effortlessly batting away Shadow Blades. "I'm disappointed to learn you are, in fact, real."

"Yeah, good for you," muttered Shadow Man, wanting to say something wittier, but annoyingly Wukong required his full concentration.

Again, Shadow Man was driven backward from a third furious assault. He tripped, then fell head over heels backward down a sand dune before quickly springing to his feet.

"I meant to do that," he told them quickly before taking off into a sprint in the opposite direction.

They chased him to the far corner of the island. There, Shadow Man was surrounded—Enker coming up the beach, Wukong from the forest, and Splash Woman in the ocean, a spear, a staff, and a trident all pointed at Shadow Man.

Looking around at them all, Shadow Man yawned. "Okay. Well. It was horrible meeting you all, but I have business to attend to. Let's do this again sometime!"

At this, Shadow Man performed a very complicated series of hand seals, then was suddenly enveloped in a dense cloud of gray smoke. When the smoke cleared, Shadow Man was no longer there—a thick, twiggy log sitting on the beach in his place.

Enker darted forward, prodding the log with his Barrier Spear as though to make sure it was actually a log, then cursed. "Scheiße! Escaped again! We've never been so close!"

He threw his barrier spear into the sand in frustration.

"Still, there's something very extraordinary about that robot," mused Splash Woman, who had perched on an ocean rock, her long tail dipped in the waves. "Even all three of us together couldn't manage to arrest him."

"And here we all thought you were just terrible at your job, Enker," said Wukong brightly. "Oh look, Shadow Man left something behind," he added, grabbing a small scroll that had been pinned to the log and unrolling it. "It's a haiku: Stupid R.I.P., you will never arrest me, ha ha ha ha ha. Well, he's not an extraordinary poet, I can't give him that."

Enker just kicked the sand, but then smiled up at the sun. "Some day, we'll catch him. Criminals always get caught."

"I could get used to coming out to L.A," commented Roll to Mega Man as they hurried away from Citadel headquarters across the flat rooftops of buildings, occasionally dodging billboards advertising soda and car insurance. Quint, Punk, and Mega Girl were ahead of them, leading the way, Beat soaring above Mega Girl's head. "The weather is so much better here!"

Mega Man looked over at the towering palm trees rising between buildings, feeling a smoggy ocean breeze blow over his armor, and shrugged. "I like the seasons."

"Really? Even with all the snow shoveling?"

"Yes. Besides, I always got the impression that L.A. is full of self-absorbed celebrities who don't really pay attention to current events, or even know who we or Dr. Wily are!"

"That's not true!" Roll paused, realizing the lack of reaction anyone had to them walking the streets, and the numerous robo-impersonators of Dr. Wily's robots in tourist locations (though Times Square had its share of robo-impersonators too, none were of Mega Man nor any of Dr. Wily's robots, which would have been considered tasteless even by robo-impersonator standards). It gave the impression that on this coast, they were mistaken for corny cartoon characters instead of real criminals. "Well, maybe it's a little true. But, isn't it kinda a nice change? To not be noticed as a hero wherever you go?"

Mega Man thought on this, then shrugged again. He still preferred Dr. Light's laboratory in upstate New York, which was quite cozy in the winter, perfect for reading books.

At the talk of celebrities, Roll's gaze shifted over to Mega Girl, and she hurried to catch up to her.

"Hey, I was just wondering…do you know Kali Cossack?" she asked curiously.

"None of your beeswax," Mega Girl replied delicately but firmly.

"Oh, okay," said Roll, slightly put out. "I just thought, you know, she's like a major celebrity. Would be cool to meet and all."

"What, just because she's famous?" Mega Girl responded in a highly dignified voice."I'll have you know that celebrities are just people. People, like you and I."

"Yeah, maybe…" said Roll doubtfully.

"We're almost there, just a few more blocks," Quint called back. "Perhaps it will be better if we split up to cover more ground?"

"Right. Roll and I will watch the main entrance while the rest of you cover any side entrances," answered Mega Man. "We'll keep in touch with our communicators if we see any signs of the bad bots!"

Mega Man and Roll departed across the rusty slanting roof of a steel warehouse, while Punk charged forward toward a path that would lead toward the back of the storage facility. Kalinka was about to follow when she saw something out of the corner of her eye, something red and yellow. She turned her head to look at one of the side streets below, and her heart did a cartwheel. It was the Masked Hero! He must be out on patrol too! What luck!

Quickly pretending not to have seen anything, Kalinka looked over at Quint and Beat, who were waiting for her at the top of a fire escape. "Um, why don't you go on without me, I just remembered I forgot something back at the lab. I'll catch up!"

"But, didn't you want to help face off against Wily's robots?" asked Quint, scratching the back of his helmet.

But Kalinka was already sprinting off, for she could see Beat squinting suspiciously at her. "Don't worry, I'll be there!"

She wasn't about to let another opportunity to meet the Masked Hero pass her by! Kalinka wondered how he knew to show up at precisely the right time when danger was present. Maybe he had his own secret hero base (probably someplace cool, like behind a waterfall or on top of a cliff) with an emergency satellite scanner like Dr. Light's, or maybe he listened to police scanners. …Or maybe the Masked Hero's justice energy guided him—that seemed most likely, for there was still so much they didn't know about justice energy…

Kalinka hadn't told Quint about the Masked Hero possessing justice energy, just as she hadn't told him or anyone else of her crush. It was not Quint's (or anyone else's) business, in her opinion, and she doubted the mysterious Masked Hero would want any of his secrets spilled. Still, Kalinka had so much to ask him! But, she knew he was unlikely to tell her if she asked outright. After all, he wouldn't be the mysterious Masked Hero if he just told all his secrets to just anybody. No, she'd have to rightfully earn his confidence first.

After climbing down into an empty alleyway and checking to make sure the coast was clear, Kalinka activated her holomorpher, changing her appearance into a different outfit—a denim miniskirt, a pale pink blouse, a white crop jacket with toggle buttons, and faux leather boots. Cute, but casual. Perfect.

Now, time to turn on the ol' Cossack charm! she thought to herself, tossing her hair.

While the rest of the Robot Masters were making their way to the Citadel storage facility, Elec Man had gone into a nearby office building to remotely deactivate any security protocols they might encounter. Proto Man was keeping lookout outside—though he didn't bother to keep too low of a profile. He would welcome a fight to make things more interesting. He recalled one of his previous stints in Los Angeles, where he had attempted to kidnap Dr. Cossack—and found it nearly offensive how no one, law enforcement or civilians, had even reacted to his presence.

Unfortunately, this trip was already shaping up to be just as uneventful. No police, or even a parking meter attendant, even glanced down the street—instead, Proto Man had been waiting in bored silence for nearly a half hour when a strong smell of rose petals and strawberry bon bons wafted into the air. Then he heard a small, girlish cough.

Proto Man looked around, then down. A small figure was looking up at him with a dreamy expression on her face, a black daisy hat sitting on her blonde curls.

Oh, just a human teenager. Not a threat to shake up the mission. How disappointing.

"Hi. You're that guy again," the human said breathlessly.

"What guy?"

"You know…" she continued coyly, twisting a lock of blonde hair.

"I do?"

The human nodded, batting her lashes demurely, her hands clasped behind her back. "You save my life. Twice. If it weren't for you, I surely would have perished."

That didn't sound like something Proto Man would do. He wondered if the human had somehow mistaken him for someone else, and why she was talking to him with the air of a silver screen starlet in a cheesy period drama. "Oh. Right. You're welcome."

"So…are you on the lookout for trouble?"

"Yeah, though I'm hoping it'll find me."

The human giggled as though he had told a funny joke, then returned to gazing coyly up at him, her olive green eyes sparkling. "I just wanted to let you know how much you've inspired me. I've decided to become a better person because of you. More grown-up—"

Proto Man was now certain she was confusing him with someone else, and said vaguely, "Yeah, that's nice." He glanced over her shoulder down the street. What was taking Elec Man so long?

Something blue the size and shape of a basketball dropped between them.

"Back off or I'll peck your eyes out!" cried a robo-bird, glaring at Proto Man as it flapped its wings fiercely, "—Or whatever you're hiding beneath those shades!"

"Beat! Knock it off!" scowled the human. In one quick swoop, she had thrown her macrame purse like a net over the robo-bird, who gave a startled squawk.

"Oh yeah! You're the kid with the cool robo-bird," Proto Man said with sudden recollection.

"Ignore the bird," the human replied with a sweet smile, quickly whisking the purse behind her back. "He has over-protective programming. But I'm eighteen now, I can do whatever I want."

"You're eighteen? Congratulations," Proto Man said in vague surprise. He wasn't good at guessing humans' ages, but he may have thought she was younger, for the human was a head shorter than himself. He also had no clue what this had to do with anything, his eyes lingering instead on the macrame purse, which was bulging round and floating above her shoulder as the robo-bird fought to escape.

The human smiled. "That's right! I'm Kali, by the way."

"Proto Man."

"Proto Man," Kali repeated breathlessly. "What a cool name."

"Uh, thanks?" Proto Man was beginning to feel uncomfortable. He wasn't sure what the human wanted. To his relief, he noticed Elec Man watching them from a shadow of an awning further up the street.

"Nice chatting, but gotta go!" he said, quickly leaping over her head, then darting down the alley Elec Man had disappeared into.

"Oh, uh, ta-ta then!" she called plaintively after him. "I hope we run into each other again!"

Elec Man was walking at a brisk pace through the crooked alley, his shoulders squared and tense.

"Finally, I was starting to think you got lost," joked Proto Man, hurrying to catch up to him.

"Who was that?" Elec Man asked without looking back at him.

"Who?"

"That girl you were with."

"Oh, just a human I rescued a couple times apparently."

"She seems…pretty."

"Oh yeah?" Proto Man felt lost why Elec Man had brought this up and even more lost about the edge in his voice, and hastily decided it was best to agree with him. "Yeah, she's pretty."

Yet Elec Man's voice only became sharper as he turned out of the alley into an empty lot. "Do you rescue humans a lot?"

"Pff, no, that's hero work."

But this answer didn't seem to satisfy Elec Man. "Well, if you're done goofing around, I for one would like to get this over with."

With that, Elec Man marched imperiously on.

Proto Man stopped walking, staring at Elec Man's back in complete bafflement. "Now what'd I do?" he muttered to himself. Shaking his head in rueful amusement, he quickly jogged to catch up to Elec Man again. "Hey, slow down, will ya? Elec Man!"

Elec Man wasn't sure why he felt so irritated at the situation. Primal rage bubbled within him, which seemed immature and admittedly a bit dramatic. What did it matter what Proto Man did in his spare time? That was Proto Man's business. Yet something about this particular human in the black daisy hat felt different, she seemed somehow familiar…

A block later, it became immediately apparent why she looked familiar. Several advertisements for a perfume called 'California Love Princess' bearing her face were plastered inside a bus shelter. Proto Man had taken no notice of the posters, but Elec Man blinked at them, then down at the perfume brand's label, which was her signature, a daisy dotting the 'i'. It was as though his circuits had suddenly evaporated.

The human's name was Kali Cossack.

Another Cossack?! Elec Man grimaced, turning his back to the bus shelter, his mood shifting from irritation to a cold panic. He vaguely recalled Top Man once speculating that Dr. Cossack and Kali Cossack might be related. Likely Dr. Cossack's spoiled little daughter, judging by her looks (they had the same eye color), wearing her own cloying perfume. Just fantastic. The thought of Dr. Cossack made Elec Man's circuits squirm and knot uncomfortably. Elec Man seriously had no clue what Proto Man's attraction was to Cossacks, it made no sense to him (he himself wanted nothing to do with the Cossacks)—but he quickly forced the issue from his mind. The sooner they left Los Angeles and the Cossacks behind, the better.

"That went really well!" Kalinka sighed happily as she strolled dreamily back down the street."Did you see the way Proto Man talked to me? Most dudes just stammer and grunt when they meet me, you know, because of the whole world-famous-rich-teenage-fashionista thing, but he just acted totally normal, so cool. I really think it's meant to be, Beat!"

Beat, finally free of the macrame purse, was flapping in a dejected way just behind her shoulder. "It was your third time meeting him, and he didn't even recognize you," he muttered in aggravation under his breath. "I don't even know which one of you is more clueless at this point."

Kalinka cast a quick sharp look over her shoulder. "What was that?"

"Gah, n-nothing!"

"Hmph! That's what I thought. And don't go blabbing about this to anyone. I will decide who needs to know and when to tell them."

"But, erm," began Beat tentatively, sounding nervous. "If Proto Man is here, shouldn't we at least warn the others that there are criminals about?"

"Stop fussing, Beat! I'm on it," Kalinka reassured him airily, And by the looks of it, so is my Masked Hero, which means I'll get to run into him again, she thought to herself, then she giggled, sinking back into the memory of their meeting. Maybe she should have asked him out for coffee! No, too soon—she didn't want to seem too eager.

She had looked up into his visor, hoping to see even the faintest outline of what his eyes looked like, but had only seen her own reflection. Kalinka guessed Proto Man was nineteen or twenty, maybe even twenty-one. Older guys were cool. She supposed her dad wouldn't like it, but her dad never liked any of her boyfriends, and he'd just have to learn to get over it!

"I always liked February," she said aloud. "Love is in the air, all the stores are decorated with pink…"

"Oh good grief…" she heard Beat sigh.

Quint was a mixture of nerves and confidence. Though he felt quite guilty that Shadow Man had stolen the teleporter prototype (it did not help that Mega Man appeared to be quite irritated on this matter), he was also quite sure his security protocols at the storage facility would hold out. Even if they didn't intercept any intruders, it would take a hacker of prodigious skill to even get into the facility, which was of some comfort.

He and Punk were posted on opposite ends of the back alley of the facility, Punk rolling around as a spiked ball restlessly. Beat had departed shortly after Kalinka to check up on her, and when they both returned, Kalinka seemed to be in an oddly giggly mood while never mentioning what she had forgotten, while Beat acted as though his beak had been superglued shut.

Quint himself had begun pacing. He began to wonder if he had been correct in his assumption that Dr. Wily's robots would attempt to rob this storage facility—or if they had some other unforeseen ploy at hand. Then, in a quick flash of movement, Quint noticed two figures dart out of an adjoining alley into what should have been a locked loading dock. He didn't get a good look at the first one, but the second looked familiar…

"Elec Man?" Quint breathed. He was certain the others hadn't seen it—for Punk was still at the other end, Kalinka seemed to be lost in a silly daydream, and Beat was flapping around with a consternated look in his face.

His communicator began beeping. "Quint! Mega Girl! Punk!" came Mega Man's voice. "Get to the main entrance—we've spotted Wily's robots!"

After a moment's hesitation, Quint tore his eyes away from the loading dock. "Right! We're on our way!"

After entering through Citadel's storage facility through its loading dock, Elec Man and Proto Man paused to look around. They were standing in a blank hall lined with sheets of blast-proof supersteel, making them feel as though they had stepped into a giant air duct. All was completely still.

"So far, this is beyond easy," lamented Proto Man. "Starting to worry teleportation's gunna take all the fun out of Wily's schemes!"

"I've disabled most of the automated security protocols in this building," said Elec Man. "We should have ample time to steal the quintessence from the central storeroom."

"You go on ahead, I'll keep watch. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I suddenly got this weird feeling someone's got their eye on us."

Elec Man glanced Proto Man, hesitated, then nodded. "Fine, but be careful, and no more goofing around."

The Citadel storage facility's smooth, windowless walls and discrete doors gave it the uncanny resemblance to a gigantic block of snow that had been nestled between a sprawling complex of grimy old buildings. Mega Man, Roll, Quint, Punk, Mega Girl and Beat converged out front, where a group of Robot Masters were already heading toward the front gate—Cut Man, Guts Man, Jewel Man, Ring Man, Magnet Man, and Needle Man.

"…Not exactly the A squad, huh?" snickered Roll to Mega Man.

"Hey, how did you know we were here already?" complained Guts Man, catching sight of Mega Man and jumping backward.

Mega Man stepped forward. "Alright, fellas, I believe you have something that belongs to my pal Quint here. Now hand over the teleporter and we'll go easy on ya!"

"Joke's on you, we don't even have the teleporter!" jeered Needle Man smugly. "We're just here to break into that building and steal something for Wily!"

"Don't tell him all that, idiot!" snapped Cut Man.

"Yeah, we figured," chuckled Mega Man. "But jokes on you, you never had a chance of breaking in anyway!"

"Jewel Man, there you are!" cried Mega Girl. "We were worried about you!"

"No we weren't," said Quint and Punk in quick unison.

Jewel Man shrank to the back of the Robot Masters, looking like he'd rather flee back into the streets rather than face the team of heroes. He wasn't the only one, Ring Man and Magnet Man were also hastily edging away.

"Well this isn't fair, there's five of these dorks now?" muttered Ring Man. "We barely outnumber them now!"

"Hey, don't I know yas from somewhere?" asked Needle Man, his eyes fixed owlishly on Punk.

Punk sighed, turning away from Needle Man and shaking his head in embarrassment. "Oh yeah, we crossed paths on the underground back when I was rogue," he confided to Quint and Mega Girl. "But don't worry! We weren't pals or nothin'. To be honest, he was lousy at crime."

Infuriated, Needle Man began hopping noisily from foot to foot. "Hey! You don't have to say it like that! I have feelings, ya know! You know what, take this!"

Swinging both blaster arms wildly in front of him, Needle Man fired a barrage with his Needle Cannons. The whistling projectiles were slow and the aim was haphazard, however, so no one had any difficulty dodging them. Instead, the needles bounced harmlessly off the storage facility's walls without leaving so much as a scratch before clattering to the ground and rolling around on the concrete with a silvery ringing noise.

"Alright, we're doing this the hard way then," said Mega Man with a mock tragic sigh, drawing a plasma cannon.

…But the battle was over even quicker than Mega Man would have suspected. Eleven seconds, to be exact.

No one had heard Shadow Man coming. He had just suddenly appeared behind Mega Man, smiling impishly, and thown a flash grenade onto the oil-stained concrete, blinding them all. They heard a flurry of movements, a few surprised shouts, then the next thing Mega Man knew, Mega Girl and Quint had been tied with length of super steel chain to a nearby telephone pole; Beat had been locked inside a dumpster; Punk lay face down on the ground beneath a heavy frog statue, his spike-cuffed fists banging against the concrete madly as he struggled; Roll was hanging upside down from a grappling hook that had been wrapped around her legs, and Mega Man was pinned to a wall by a series of u-shaped hooks.

Shadow Man cast a smug eye on his handiwork. "Aw, you had a welcome committee and everything waiting for me! I'm flattered but it's really too much! Next time, I would just prefer a card, maybe some balloons (but only the black ones shaped like shuriken), or a tasteful arrangement of poisonous flowers—nothing too expensive, of course." He patted both Mega Girl and Quint on the head as though they were toddlers. Then he winked at Mega Man and Roll. "Sayōnara, suckers!"

"Where have you been?" demanded Cut Man.

"Like I told your boss, I had business to take care of, though I am touched that you all missed me so much." Shadow Man jerked a thumb toward the front gate. "Now, shall we?"

As the Robot Masters tramped past them into the storeroom, Mega Man hurried to free himself from his bindings. "Shit, forgot about Shadow Man," he gasped still blinking hard and shaking his head as he recovered from the flash grenade. "That Robot Master seriously sucks—maybe even more than Proto Man!" After a moment's struggle, he was finally able to wrench his communicator arm free. "Calling Dr. Light! I have bad news—Wily's bots have infiltrated Quint's storeroom!"

"Not to worry," Dr. Light responded brightly. "I was able to finish the teleportation shield early. Yes, I think they are in for an unpleasant surprise once they reach the quintessence and the facility's lockdown sequence activates."

For a moment, Mega Man was too surprised to speak, but then he burst out into a grin. Despite his initial annoyance about Quint's teleportation mishap, if they winded up capturing some of Dr. Wily's robots, then this day would end much better than anticipated!

The Robot Masters hurtled through the clean halls of the storage facility, which were lined with super steel, roll-up doors. Already, an alarm was blaring, the facility was going on lockdown. The only one who looked unconcerned was Shadow Man, who tailed behind them with a Shadow Blade in each hand.

They were relieved to find the central storage room open and Elec Man already waiting inside amidst neat aisles of storage lockers.

"They're on to us!" bellowed Guts Man as he hurtled through the door, crashing clumsily into a shelf and knocking a cascade of archival paper to the floor.

"We better get Wily's stuff and cut out of here, quick!" wheezed Cut Man.

"Quiet, you two screaming hysterically is annoying," said Elec Man. "And it doesn't matter, we're almost done here."

Elec Man plugged his handheld computer into a computer terminal, and within minutes had hacked into the mainframe, his fingers flying rapidly over the keyboard as he located the quintessence.

"There," he muttered, extracting a case from a nearby storage locker that had just popped open.

Inside the case glittered a small vial of dark purple energy, no larger than a pencil eraser head.

Needle Man stooped over the case with squinted eyes, the top of his pointed head nearly scratching Elec Man. "We came all this way just for that? That doesn't look like very much!"

Elec Man leaned away from Needle Man irritably, snapping the case closed. "It's what Wily wanted." He lifted his communicator. "Elec Man to Proto Man, the quintessence has been acquired, we're ready to teleport."

"Great! Be there in a second."

"Wait." Elec Man froze, looking down at his handheld communicator, where he had just been attempting to fetch the teleporter's coordinates for Skull Fortress. "Shit, we have a problem. The teleporter lost connection to the satellite grid."

As though stabbed with a hot poker, several heads jerked and turned sharply toward Elec Man.

"What?" said Proto Man. "How?"

"Signal jamming. Shit. Why didn't I think of this earlier?" Elec Man hissed to himself.

"Shit. Alright. Keep—t—ing—eporter. " Proto Man replied, but his voice transmission was becoming garbled. "I'll—" but whatever Proto Man was about to say next, no one ever found out, for the communicator suddenly hissed to static.

Cut Man, Guts Man, Ring Man, and Magnet Man exchanged uneasy glances. The sudden realization that their easy escape plan had just vanished hit them like a bulldozer, and something had just knocked their communicators offline! To make matters worse, another alarm began blaring inside the storeroom. A rotating strobe light mounted to the wall sent shafts of red light sweeping through the storage locker aisles, and the super steel door they had all entered through suddenly dropped closed with a defining crash, then made a soft whirring noise as security bolts drilled into the wall.

Cut Man leaped back with a cry of panic. "Ack! We're locked in!"

"I'll go check for another exit!" rumbled Guts Man.

"Me too!" cried Cut Man.

"Yeah, us too," added Ring Man, nodding to Magnet Man.

"Hey guys, c'mon…don't forget about me!" complained Needle Man, toddling after them.

They scattered in different directions. Jewel Man remained sensibly at Elec Man's side, twisting his hands miserably as Elec Man continued to use his handheld computer, trying and failing to get the teleporter to reconnect to the satellite grid. Only Shadow Man seemed untroubled as he looked calmly at the security door, his arms folded and cricking his neck.

"So, if we can't teleport, does that mean we're trapped?" Jewel Man asked, his voice rising. "If I get caught, they'll make me go back to working at the jewelry counter department store again, I know it!"

"No, you're a Syndicate associate now, going back to being a domestic robot is no longer in your cards," Elec Man reminded him.

"Ah, yes, right," mumbled Jewel Man somberly, clearly realizing that as much as he detested customer service, he would be much worse off being charged with conspiring with a dangerous robot gang. "—What are we going to do?" he added in a desperate whisper.

"Stop panicking, I'm trying to think," said Elec Man, casting his eyes around the storage room. It did not look promising. They were in a sealed room within a fortified facility, the only exit blocked by the heroes, and likely the police would soon have the premises surrounded. He wasn't sure he could take on both Mega Man and Roll at the same time, and the other Robot Masters would be of little help—well, except perhaps Shadow Man, if Shadow Man could even be relied on…

Then, something caught Elec Man's eye. Something he was quite certain hadn't been in the room before. "What the…?" he muttered.

Sitting on top of the wireless mouse of the computer terminal Elec Man had been accessing was a ball of purple flames. It glowed in an inviting sort of way, and for a brief moment, the pale image of a skull flickered in its center.

"Oh. Shit." remarked Shadow Man in an uncharacteristically grim tone, his attention also attracted to the purple flame.

"What?" muttered Elec Man, but he had a bad feeling he already knew.

Shadow Man jabbed a thumb at the ball of purple flames. "That is evil energy."

"You know about evil energy?"

"Of course! It was I who started calling it that, because that shit is evil. Shit. Oh shit shit shit. You are all on your own."

Shadow Man threw a smoke bomb, and vanished.

"Uh…" muttered Elec Man. Grudgingly, he felt unhappy that Shadow Man had deserted them. It put a lot of pressure on himself to fight off Mega Man, and if Mega Man copied his weapon it would be all over. He looked over to Jewel Man to confirm if this was indeed evil energy, then froze.

All fear had been wiped clean from Jewel Man's face, replaced by an eerie, buoyant calmness. "Well this solves our dilemma rather nicely, don't you think? We could team up, you and I," he told Elec Man in a soft, velvety tone. "If you took this evil energy, and I figured out a way to get my powers back—"

In one swift instant, Elec Man had thrown Jewel Man against a storage locker, a hand crackling with electricity next to his ear. "Whatever you're thinking, snap out of it. Now."

Startled out of his dream-like trance, Jewel Man stammered, "R-right. Sorry…it's just the evil energy stirring up all these silly thoughts—"

"I don't care, I'm not dealing with Curator today, are we clear?"

"Of course." Jewel Man shivered, and added, "Thank you."

Elec Man said nothing as he released Jewel Man. He himself felt shaken. He looked back at the evil energy, which continued to flicker and twist in a mesmerizing way.

Five pairs of footsteps scampered back toward them.

"No use, Elec Man! There's no way out," boomed Guts Man unnecessarily as he and Cut Man came thundering back into their aisle.

"Mega Man will be here at any minute! They're going to catch us for sure!" shouted Cut Man, his round eyes wide in fright.

"Hope you got some plan, Elec Man," said Ring Man as he and Magnet Man followed from close behind.

"We're doomed, doomed!" added in Needle Man from the other side. Then he stopped short, looking down at the purple flame. "Ooo, what's this?"

"Stop! No one touch it!" Elec Man ordered, rooted to the spot. He felt like he needed to keep a close eye on Jewel Man in case another ominous spell overtook him and they all wound up as trinkets again. At the same time, the tongues of purple flame appeared to be reaching for Elec Man, and a slight fuzziness settled into his mind, making it harder to concentrate properly on their more immediate problem of escaping…

Everyone stared at the purple flame, slightly entranced. Tension was building in the air, like that before a stampede…

Finally, Needle Man's dinner plate-sized eyes, which were inset into his torso, glared defiantly up at Elec Man. "Don't tell me what to do! You really think just because you're Syndicate you're a big shot and you can boss everyone else around—but I want to touch the cool purple flame, so I will!"

"No—" Elec Man hissed, still feeling a bit lightheaded, his voice sounding distant.

But there was nothing anyone could have done. Needle Man had reached forward with one of his permanent blaster arms, the tip of the nozzle grazing the flames.

The flame suddenly shot up into Needle Man as though his blaster arm were a vacuum. Needle Man went ridged. "Oh…" he muttered stupidly. The pupils in his eyes faded, leaving only giant white discs, and all went still. Then Needle Man burst into purple flames.

"Oh shit," muttered Jewel Man from behind Elec Man.

"Shit!" exclaimed Ring Man and Magnet Man, leaping backward.

"Duh, you're on fire!" shouted Guts Man, pointing at Needle Man.

"W-what's happening to Needle Man?" whined Cut Man in mingled panic.

"Oh, nothing to worry about!" came Needle Man's squeaky voice cheerfully from within the wreath of purple flames. His eyes began glowing yellow. "But don't call me Needle Man anymore. What did Jewel Man go by? The 'Curator', right? Well call me…call me the, uh…call me…uh…." Needle Man paused, scratching the back of his head with a blaster arm. "Oh yeah! I know! Call me…the Knitter."

To be continued...

Chapter Text

>

"Um. The Knitter?" repeated Ring Man.

"The Knitter…" Needle Man (or the Knitter) declared again in his impressively unimpressive voice.

"That's stupid!"

"Shut up! I was going to go with 'Skewer' but then I thought, why not be more true to myself? And I've always had this deep dark secret. All that stuff I said earlier about being part of an apparel smuggling gang isn't true. The truth is, I—" Knitter paused, taking a deep breath, then uttered with heavy gravity, "—like to knit. I've never told anyone; I don't want them making fun of me because criminal robots aren't supposed to like knitting," he finished, his voice quivering tremulously.

"You like to knit? Like some little ol' human granny?" guffawed Ring Man. "What do you like to make, tea cozies? That's so dumb!"

"Dumb, am I? Does this seem dumb to you now? Euurrrrgh!"

Concentrating hard, his glowing yellow eyes narrowing to slits, Knitter sunk into a deep crouch, his stout body shaking like a volcano about to explode as he lifted his arms above his head. Two long straight needles slowly extended from his twin blasters, each the size of a spear.

"See? Look what I can do now!"

Elec Man had remained silent. He felt as though his tongue was glued to the roof of his mouth. Handing the case with quintessence over to Jewel Man, he scrabbled desperately for the handheld computer clipped to his belt to take a radiation reading. He was still bodily separating Jewel Man from the evil energy, though perhaps this was unnecessary as the evil energy now inhabited Knitter, and Jewel Man seemed content to cower behind Elec Man, while both Cut Man and Guts Man were backing away.

Behind them, the security door suddenly opened with a series of rasps and loud clanks.

"Alright Bad-bots, your number is up, we've got this place surroun—" shouted Mega Man triumphantly as he and Roll came storming into the room. They immediately skidded to a halt as they caught sight of Knitter, who was still burning with purple flames. "Oh shit…"

"Whoa!" agreed Roll.

Knitter turned eagerly toward Mega Man. "Ah, perfect timing! The blue dweeb himself! How's about ya face off against the Knitter?"

"The—what? Needle Man?" asked Mega Man dubiously.

"No, I just said I'm 'the Knitter' now!" replied Knitter irritably. Though Knitter's voice had become deep and booming, it still also had the buzzing quality of someone talking into cupped hands, the overall effect rather muddling. "Here, it's better if I just show ya!"

He raised his needle arms over his head, and three gigantic balls of yarn appeared in a row of poppy red, mustard yellow, and royal blue. Each was ten feet tall and looked like it weighed several tons as they came careening toward Mega Man and Roll. They both shouted in surprise, quickly retreating back through the security door as the yarn balls gave chase down the hall outside like marbles rolling through a shoot, leaving only a trailing thread of yarn in their wake.

Meanwhile, Knitter let out a jubilant peal of squeaky laughter, clearly having the time of his life. "That'll keep them busy! Now—who else wants to fight the Knitter? Hahaha!"

A purple haze was beginning to fill the storage room, not unlike what had happened at the Tinsel Ball gala, and the blaring security alarms faded to silence, then disappeared. Stranger yet, long twisting ropes of what could only be described as fuzzy titanium yarn began appearing out of nowhere and stretching across the room with small, unsettling twangs. In fact, the storeroom was slowly becoming unrecognizable as a room at all as it began to fill with colorful, paranormal yarn.

Elec Man had backed away from the Knitter. With an effort, he tore his gaze away to look down at the radiation readings on his handheld computer.

"Elec Man!" cried a familiar voice.

Elec Man turned, realizing he had been abandoned by the other Robot Masters—both Magnet Man and Ring Man had vanished toward the back of the storage room, Cut Man and Guts Man were likewise gone, and while Jewel Man had remained nearby with the quintessence case, he had promptly hidden behind an upturned storage locker as ropes of yarn continued to stretch across the room. "Brain Bot?"

"It's Quint now," replied Quint, rushing up to Elec Man. The part of Quint's face that wasn't masked by a dark visor looked nearly identical to Mega Man's…more naive, perhaps, and bearing a wide, happy grin.

Elec Man had not seen Brain Bot since he and Proto Man had failed to kidnap him in Las Vegas (though Elec Man dimly recalled Dr. Cossack mentioning Brain Bot had a new moniker). "Tasteful name. Your new armor suits you," he said approvingly.

Looking quite pleased by this praise, Quint's face turned toward Elec Man's handheld computer, then lit up. "You're studying alien energy too? Excellent! What an interesting device, may I—"

Without waiting for permission, Quint reached for the computer, but Elec Man quickly whisked it out of reach behind his back. Unabashed, Quint continued brightly. "We should pool our research. I know we are technically on opposite sides at present, but if I captured you, you can come work with me for Dr. Cossack—he'll be so pleased—"

"Dr.—?!" choked Elec Man. Feeling betrayed, his face darkened like a storm rolling in. "I'd rather die."

Quint started. "I—huh?"

Elec Man stepped quickly back from Quint. "Don't try it, you don't want me as an enemy."

"But—I-I do rather think it's for the best—" Quint stammered helplessly, stricken by Elec Man's sudden turn.

Quint was watching Elec Man with an expression that Elec Man had sometimes seen on Top Man's face. Apparently, Quint looked up to Elec Man for some reason (Grudgingly, Elec Man recalled that Dr. Cossack had once told him this too); and Quint was likely responsible for Cossack's apparent willingness to adopt a known gangster-bot into their quaint little family of scientists. Elec Man stifled a shiver, feeling momentarily confused. Normally, he would have been outraged at Quint's audacity, however, Quint was looking at him with such naive admiration that it was hard to be truly annoyed at him about that right now.

Fortunately, a sudden thicket of yarn appeared between Elec Man and Quint, ending the conversation and forcing them to separate. Quint looked forlornly through the gaps in the yarn at Elec Man, but Elec Man quickly withdrew into the shadows and out of sight.

Letting out an unhappy sigh, Quint turned away from where Elec Man had vanished. Mega Man and Roll were in trouble, he must focus on helping them. Yet, he feared finding them would be a difficult task; the evil energy was already causing significant paranormal distortions, warping the interior of the storage facility into some sort of yarn maze as he completely lost sight of Dr. Wily's robots.

Punk came running up to Quint. "Yo Brainiac, glad I found ya, this is nuts! Just a minute after we all split up to secure the halls, I suddenly began to feel that weird tingly feeling in my circuits again—and lo an' behold, there's another evil energy outbreak! Who's the unlucky host this time?"

"Needle Man—or 'Knitter' as he's now designating himself."

"That loser? We're not prepared for this, we need to teleport out of here and regroup with Mega Girl and the others!" Before Quint could respond, Punk was already pounding on the button of his teleporter, but nothing happened. "Shit, why aren't they working?"

"The evil energy radiation is interfering with the satellite signal."

"…You know, using your teleporters is like signing up for cable," Punk told Quint. "There's a lot of hidden catches!"

Quint only held up his hands helplessly. "Regardless, you must find Mega Girl as fast as possible! Mega Man and Roll are in danger!"

"What you saying, we should split up again?"

"I'm afraid so—you can travel much faster than me."

"Alright, but good luck!"

Punk curled up into a spiked ball and rolled away.

Shortly after losing contact with Elec Man, Proto Man cursed to himself as he ran down the super steel corridor. Something had gone wrong, and not just with the teleporter!

Shit. We shouldn't have split up, he thought dismally. I just had this weird feeling…

He still did, his plasma core prickling, a strong feeling of being watched pervading his circuits, even though he knew Elec Man had knocked out the facility's security protocols…

Yet, the storage facility they were attempting to rob was now becoming a super steel prison. Security doors were suddenly thudding into place across the corridors—soon blocking both Proto Man's way forward and way back. He was trapped. But Proto Man wasn't worried for himself, but for Elec Man, who was still inside the central storeroom. Though Elec Man was the smartest, most resourceful robot Proto Man knew, Proto Man didn't like the odds if Elec Man was forced to fight his way out, nor what might happen to Elec Man if he was arrested. He vainly hoped Elec Man would figure out a way to reconnect the teleporter to the satellite grid and use it to save himself, though Proto Man suspected Elec Man might not leave Proto Man behind…

Frustrated, Proto Man blasted the security door ahead of himself, ducked as the plasma rebounded, snarled, then punched it instead, which hurt. How the hell was he going to get out?

But then, to his great surprise, the door slid open. On the other side stood a petite robot with blonde pigtails and pink armor. Proto Man stared curiously at her. Though the visor of her helmet was semi-translucent and a different shape, it somehow reminded him of his own.

The pink robot started. "Oh! Proto Man! Uh—hi!"

"Heh. Hi," said Proto Man, momentarily distracted. Then he smiled, "Funny story, but I was in the neighborhood and heard an intruder alert, so I was just being a good samaritan and checking it out when I accidentally got locked inside." He shrugged innocently.

"Oh, don't worry, I can help you out of here!" said the pink robot, standing aside.

"Thanks!" said Proto Man sidling past her. He gave her another curious look, hesitated, but said, "Alright, gotta go!"

"W-wait!" she called after him.

Proto Man had already torn off, determined to get to the central storeroom as fast as possible—but as he turned a corner, he stopped short. "What the?!"

Where he had expected to see another smooth corridor of super steel leading to the central storage room now looked like a multi-colored tunnel of string. Giant yarn in vibrant shades criss-crossed in every direction, a faint purple haze hanging in the air. Flummoxed, Proto Man turned around on the spot, taking it all in, and was surprised to find a solid wall of yarn behind him. It was uncomfortably reminiscent of being trapped in Curator's Jewel Cave…

"Shit…not again…"

To his left, Proto Man heard a soft rustle of yarn. He quickly raised his blaster, but then relaxed. "Elec Man!"

"Proto Man, what are you still doing here?" hissed Elec Man, climbing through a barrier of crisscrossing yarns toward Proto Man.

"Making sure you get out, obviously," replied Proto Man. Then he caught sight of Jewel Man, who had crept cautiously through the yarn after Elec Man while carrying the quintessence case, and raised his blaster again. "You! You did this!"

"Me?!" cried Jewel Man, quickly stopping short and throwing up his arms over his head but sounding thoroughly indignant. "Why would I do this? It's tacky."

"I see you are admiring my craftsmanship!" called a booming, squeaky voice.

Proto Man whirled, then beheld the Knitter, who was marching proudly toward him, his eyes glowing yellow, his figure still burning brightly with purple flames, two long sharp straight needles extending from his blaster arms. "Aw shit, you gotta be kidding me, Needle Man?!"

"No, I'm the Knitter!"

"—What? Why? Whatever." Proto Man looked back at Elec Man. "How did he get like this?"

Elec Man shook his head. "I don't know, the alien energy just appeared." He hesitated, then dropped his voice so only Proto Man could hear him. "You need to get out of here, you're in danger."

"Uh, think we're all in danger?" Proto Man pointed out fairly. "At least it's an ally who's gone all evil this time? Wily will like this," he added unenthusiastically, then turned back to Knitter. "Yo—Needle Man, let us out of this weird yarn dungeon and let's roll."

Knitter stomped a foot while the purple flames roared higher. "It's the Knitter!"

"I'm not calling you that, it's dumber than your normal name."

"Why does everyone keep calling me dumb?" demanded Knitter, swinging his needle arms menacingly.

Jewel Man promptly backed far away while holding the quintessence case in front of him as though it was a shield. Elec Man looked uneasily between Knitter and Proto Man, but Proto Man, feeling angry, continued on heedlessly.

"Needle Man, quit messing around, we need to get out of here!"

"You need to learn to quit bossing me around and show some respect!" cried the Knitter, jabbing a needle arm toward Proto Man. "And I'll be the one to teach ya!"

Knitter fired off one of the spear-length needles at Proto Man. It landed with a dull thunk at his feet, Proto Man having just leaped backward in time. "Shit! What are ya attacking me for?! I'm on your side!"

A fresh needle instantly replaced the one Knitter had just fired as he let out a peal of laughter. "Heard that one before, Red Bomber! I still remember when you ripped out my circuits back when yas was 'pretending' to be a good guy! That wasn't very nice! You know what, maybe we should see if you like having your circuits ripped out?"

"Idiot, that was just part of Wily's plan—whatever, I'm second-in-command, and I'm not taking crap from a bot like you!" snarled Proto Man, raising his blaster.

"'A bot like me'?" jeered Knitter. "You really don't understand what you're dealing with yet, do ya?"

Knitter rushed toward Proto Man, his needle arms held before him like the horns of a charging bull. Proto Man fired back at Knitter, but his electric blue plasma bolts merely fizzled against Knitter's armor. Laughing ecstatically, Knitter grew several feet taller, forcing Proto Man to dive out of the way as he came barreling through.

Reluctantly, Proto Man hid amongst the strings of yarn before Knitter could return for another pass. Though he didn't like being on the defensive, the thicket of yarn made for useful cover—that was until a length of neon green yarn snagged tightly around his ankle. Yanked short, Proto Man stumbled and was caught fast. He tried tugging at his ankle, but remained firmly stuck. He was a sitting duck—but Knitter's attention was no longer on Proto Man, it was now on Elec Man, who had noticed Proto Man's predicament and caused a distraction by firing a loud Thunder Beam over Knitter's head.

"You stupid fool, I told you not to touch the alien energy," Elec Man sneered, darting backward as Knitter swung clumsily at him with his oversized needle arms.

"And I told ya not to tell me what to do! And if you're going to help that jerk, you're going down too!" bellowed Knitter, his yellow eyes flashing. "Take this!"

Knitter fired one of his large knitting needles toward Elec Man. Proto Man expected Elec Man to dodge again, for Elec Man was fast and clever, yet to his horrified shock, Elec Man let out a strangled cry as he was thrown backward into a wall of yarn. The needle appeared to have caught him in the side of his ribcage. From his vantage point, Proto Man could not see how bad the damage was, or if the needle had struck any vital circuitry, but Elec Man's face had gone taught with pain, his breathing slightly labored.

Even the Knitter was taken by surprise. "I got you?" he murmured in awe, his eyes widening. Then he did a sort of triumphant jig. "Ha, I got ya!" he crowed. He held the point of one of his knitting needle arms to Elec Man's neck, but hesitated.

"I'd finish ya off, but…I sense my master doesn't want me ta kill ya!"

Elec Man's eyes cracked open. Though trembling, he glared defiantly at Knitter. "Who's your master?" he hissed through clenched teeth.

Knitter blinked. "I…I don't know! He's the master, ya know? The big boss, the head honcho? Like he rules everything."

He trailed off, scratching the back of his head with a needle and looking confused. Then, from somewhere in the far distance came a faint shout, the sound muffled by the yarn. Knitter gave a slight start.

"Oh yeah, I forgot! Mega Man is still here! And so's the rest of those guys! That's who I should be fighting first!" he exclaimed. He looked over at Elec Man smugly. "I'll deal with ya later, now that I have ya pinned, ha! Stay put!"

Cackling triumphantly in his wheezy voice (and apparently forgetting about Proto Man altogether) Knitter charged off.

Terror-stricken, Proto Man finally wrenched his ankle free from the titanium yarn and pelted to Elec Man, his pulsar pulse hammering in his ears.

But the moment the Knitter had left, Elec Man had stopped trembling, the look of pain wiping clean from his face. He shifted slightly—it then became plain that Elec Man had not actually been pierced by the needle—rather, the needle had missed Elec Man completely; Elec Man had just been holding it between his elbow and his ribcage the same way actors pretended to be stabbed by plastic swords in plays. Dropping the act, Elec Man slid to the floor and dusted off his armor nonchalantly.

"Are you—wait—you're not hurt!" spluttered Proto Man, relieved yet cross that he had fallen for what now appeared to be a very obvious ruse.

"No, I was faking," admitted Elec Man. "No point in fighting, we already know our weapons are useless against alien energy. 'Knitter' is still as much of an imbecile as Needle Man, and just as poor of a shot. His 'master' or whoever should recruit someone with more brains if they want to accomplish anyth—"

Elec Man stopped short, comprehension freezing his face like a sudden frost.

"Huh?" said Proto Man, peering closely at Elec Man. "Hey…you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

Elec Man shook himself. He beckoned to Jewel Man, who had been watching from a safe distance, clutching the quintessence case to his bejeweled chestplate and looking terrified. "It's not important right now. Let's get out of here before that idiot comes back."

Mega Man and Roll had fled for their lives down one of the super steel corridors, the yarn balls tumbling like massive boulders at their heals, until they had reached a fork—and, without meaning to, had gone in opposite directions, the royal blue and mustard yellow yarn balls rolling after Roll, the poppy red rolling after Mega Man.

For several terrifying minutes, Mega Man ran on, until finally the red yarn ball became completely unraveled and rolled harmlessly past his boots, no larger than a basketball.

"Roll? Roll!" he called, but by then they too had been long trapped in the yarn maze, and Roll could not be seen nor heard anywhere.

Great. Just great. Not only do we gotta stop the Bad-bots from stealing the quintessence, but also the Knitter… Mega Man thought dismally to himself.

Stumbling slightly, he leaned against a wall of yarn for support. The dormant, trace amount of evil energy inside his power core was stirring again.

Shit…keep it together Mega. Remember what Quint and Mega Girl said, your evil energy isn't actually active. You're just a little…'sensitive', that's all. And even if the evil energy becomes active, Mega Girl will take care of it…

Yet somehow, Mega Man still didn't feel reassured. Nevertheless, worrying about it now helped no one. Instead, he gazed around at the yarn maze, thinking about what to do next.

"Mega? Mega!" Roll hollered at the top of her voice, peering anxiously down dark, hazy tunnels of yarn. "Crap, not evil energy again. I hope he's okay…" she murmured to herself, biting her lip, before hollering again, "MEG-AAAA!"

"Hey! You're not Mega Man!" cried a squeaky voice behind her.

Ropes of yarn suddenly twisted around Roll's arms and ankles, hoisting her up into the air. "Hey!"

Knitter walked around to face Roll. "There, that will hold ya! Now, do you know where Mega Man is?" he asked, clinking his needle arms together tentatively.

"I'm not going to tell you that!" Roll snarled angrily, pulling futilely at the yarn.

"Fine! Be that way! Hang up there until you rust! I'll find him myself!"

Knitter tromped off down one of the tunnels, calling Mega Man's name in a hopeful, sing-song voice.

For several moments, Roll tugged vainly at her bindings, then froze—it sounded as though something large was rolling through the yarn maze toward her—

"Don't worry Roll! I'll get ya out!"

Punk had come to her assistance. With some difficulty, Punk used his Screw Crusher to cut some of the yarn snared around Roll, freeing her.

"Thanks," said Roll as she dropped to the floor. "Have you seen any of the others?"

"Just Quint. He's alright, but we gotta find Mega Girl."

"Will she be able to fix this?"

"Hope so…but so far I can't make head nor tails of this maze. Don't get me wrong, I like puzzles as much as the next bot, but I'm no genius like Brainiac—"

"It's alright, I'll help look," Roll told Punk, smiling kindly. "But we better hurry—Mega's in trouble and no telling what Wily's scumbots are up to now!"

Elec Man felt increasingly ill at ease. Knitter had spoken of some sort of 'master', just like Jewel Man had earlier…was there really some sort of alien entity orchestrating this chaos? And of all the billions of lifeforms on earth, was this alien targeting Elec Man? No, that was ridiculous, it had to be—

His mind racing with questions, Elec Man searched through the tunnels of titanium yarn for a familiar flash of grasshopper green armor. He didn't have to look far. Quietly separating himself from Proto Man and Jewel Man, Elec Man approached Quint.

"Robots who have become corrupted by evil energy…they can be returned to normal?"

Quint started, but looked pleased that Elec Man had singled him out again, and answered promptly. "—Yes, the evil energy's corruption can be neutralized so long as the corruption is not too deep, nor the host's mind completely consumed by evil. You see, evil energy corrupts its host by feeding off their evil thoughts and multiplying them."

"Evil thoughts? Like crime?" Elec Man queried sharply.

"Yes, or being selfish or manipulative; using intimidation, acting sinister; greed, malice, or hurting others, anything that can be broadly classified as 'evil,'" clarified Quint, waving his hand loftily.

Though spoken lightly, the words thudded bluntly against Elec Man, and his circuits clenched. "…Uh-huh."

"I-is something wrong?" Quint asked, his visored face turned toward Elec Man anxiously.

Elec Man turned quickly away from Quint. "No. This sounds like pseudoscience to me."

"I know—it is rather imprecise," replied Quint, hanging his head apologetically.

After a moment's hesitation, Elec Man reluctantly asked, "…Entertaining this pseudoscience for a moment, what would happen if an evil energy 'host' was too corrupted?"

Quint shuddered. "I hope we never have to find out! But—" Quint added brightly, "Though Needle Man may be a criminal, he's not categorically evil, so I have high confidence that we will be able to reverse this. It is a straightforward procedure, actually."

…Contrary to Quint's reassuring tone, Elec Man remained worried. After all, he very much doubted Needle Man had been the intended host for this unexpected source of evil energy…

"—I would be honored to discuss more at my lab," Quint pressed hopefully, edging closer to Elec Man.

Shaken out of his thoughts, Elec Man looked over at Quint. Yes, Quint definitely looked up to Elec Man. Perhaps this explained why Dr. Cossack had acted so—so—well, Elec Man didn't want to define the way in which Dr. Cossack acted toward Elec Man. It was confusing, and Elec Man didn't need it. He already had a creator, Centum, and Elec Man felt associating with Dr. Cossack was not only extremely disloyal, but would somehow put Centum in danger…After all, if Quint captured Elec Man, Quint would reprogram him. Perhaps Quint would even manage to unscramble Elec Man's scrambled memories, obliging Elec Man to give out incriminating information about Centum and the Syndicate. This was a terrible thought. So long as Elec Man wasn't programmed to be Syndicate, Elec Man had been content to have scrambled memories; a secure vault of Syndicate secrets even he himself couldn't break…

"I can't join you. I'm a criminal," Elec Man said quietly, taking a step backward from Quint.

"Don't worry! I'm sure we can figure something out—" replied Quint eagerly while reaching out toward Elec Man.

…Perhaps Quint thought Elec Man wouldn't attack him, but he was wrong. With a high-pitched yelp of pain, Quint crumpled to the yarn-covered floor, a Thunder Beam crackling through his circuits.

"I didn't want to do that. I advise in the future you don't attempt that again," said Elec Man harshly as he left Quint behind to rejoin Proto Man.

"What the—why'd you take off like that? We coulda lost you!" complained Proto Man. "…Everything okay?"

"Later," said Elec Man shortly.

Kalinka had been disappointed when Proto Man had taken off so suddenly again, but soon discovered why when the storage facility gave way to an expansive yarn maze filled with a purple haze.

Oh no! Another evil energy outbreak! she thought, becoming alert.

Yet, she couldn't help but feel excited too. No wonder Proto Man had rushed off—he must have known about the evil energy. Maybe this time she'd get to see her masked hero and his justice energy in action! She just hoped he was alright—no, she was certain he had things under control—but maybe she could help him!

Motivated by this delightful prospect, Kalinka began to work her way through the maze, unaware of how vast it might be.

Proto Man, Elec Man, and Jewel Man were weaving through strands of yarn searching for an exit. The Citadel storehouse had only been the size of a baseball field, they should have reached an outer wall by now, however Knitter's yarn maze did not appear to have bounds. Though they had thought they were traveling in a completely different direction, they suddenly found themselves back in the middle of the maze with the Knitter.

Knitter whirled around to face them. "Huh? Elec Man? How did you escape my trap?"

Though he was not currently alight in purple flames, Knitter looked very different. His body was now made of knitted yarn with soft bulbous limbs, sharp black knitting needles poking from his forearms and the crown of his head, his eyes resembling dinner plate-sized buttons.

"Needle Man, you idiot, if you're going to attack someone, attack the good guys, not us!" growled Proto Man (it felt extremely silly talking to what looked like a nine-foot-tall Needle Man doll made of blue and black yarn).

"No! I'm tired of cheek like this, and for the last time, call me the KNITTER!"

Knitter descended on Proto Man, Elec Man, and Jewel Man with surprising speed. There was a mad flashing of clicking needles, then all three found themselves suddenly wearing a constricting sweater—Proto Man's was a carnation pink waffle knit with a red heart on the front; Jewel Man's was a cream turtleneck with diamond brocade stitching and covered in sparkly pink pom-poms; and Elec Man's a celeste blue fair isle sweater with a pattern of black kittens across the shoulders. Each of the sweater sleeves were tied around a giant straight needle that appeared like poles behind them, binding them like straightjackets.

"There, your own personalized sweaters! Now I know for sure I have you trapped!" declared Knitter proudly. "Those look real good on ya!"

"Oh, real swell. Your knitting sucks! This sweater is lumpy and itchy," grumbled Proto Man, squirming within his pink sweater like a fly trapped in a web.

"Like steel wool," put in Jewel Man, seething. "If this sweater scratches the gems on my armor, so help me…"

"Oh put a pin in it, Curator!" shouted Knitter, pointing a needle at Jewel Man.

Jewel Man's turtleneck promptly rolled up over his head, stifling further protests.

"Now, where was I?" said Knitter, tapping his head with a needle. "Oh yeah!"

Knitter pointed at Proto Man, and the needle Proto Man was tied to zoomed forward across the yarn floor, bringing him close.

Proto Man glared at Knitter, looking brave and menacing despite still wriggling miserably in his itchy pink sweater. "You're making a big mistake, pal. We're. On. The. Same. Side!"

Knitter leaned forward, the stitched 'X's in the center of his flat button eyes inches from Proto Man's visor. "That's not the way I see it! I think we'll all be better off without you around, and my master agrees! So take this!"

The pink sweater burst into a raging tower of purple flames, and there was a blinding flash of cyan light. When the flames dissipated a second later, Proto Man hung slumped against his bindings, his head lolling to the side and mouth parted, unconscious.

"Ha! What a weakling!" laughed Knitter. "Now ta finally finish off Wily's lazy, disrespectful, puffed up little 'second-in-command'. Then Wily really will make me his number two!" Resting the point of a needle against the heart on Proto Man's sweater, Knitter squeezed one button eye closed as he took aim. "And this time, I can't miss!"

But before Knitter could deliver the finishing blow, a sudden mess of blue yarn flew into his face. "Ahhh!" he cried in surprise, staggering backward, his needle arms flailing and becoming tangled.

Elec Man appeared at Proto Man's side, having managed seconds before to unravel his kitten sweater, which he had thrown at Knitter like a net. While Knitter continued to shout and blunder around wildly, Elec Man quickly freed Proto Man, sliding the sleeves of his sweater off the needle and pulling one of Proto Man's arms over his own shoulder. From the sidelines, Jewel Man let out a stifled whimper from within his turtleneck, still carrying the quintessence case, his face turned toward the commotion, but unable to see what was happening. There was no choice but to leave Jewel Man behind for now as Elec Man dragged Proto Man's dead weight away from Knitter.

With an aggravated yell, Knitter finally threw off the tangle of yarn, then started as he spotted Elec Man fleeing. "Escaped again? But how? I knitted that sweater myself!"

Elec Man spared Knitter a cold, haughty look. "Apparently the expansive list of things you are terrible at includes knitting."

"How dare you! Why I outta—take this!"

Knitter fired several knitting needles at Elec Man, but Elec Man had already pulled Proto Man through a hedge of yarn and disappeared.

The Sniper had just reached his hidden boatshed on the Mexican coast, where he was rapidly packing, when Shadow Man dropped suddenly from the rafters.

"Don't do that!" complained the Sniper, who had only just stopped himself from reflexively blasting Shadow Man with the heavy blaster welded to the end of his left arm.

Shadow Man did not appear to have heard the Sniper. He was pacing in extreme agitation (his tabi boots managing of course not to make any sound on the creaking floorboards nor disturb the thick layer of dust). "Oh shit. Shit shit shit. Shit. We need to get off this planet."

"Huh?"

"He's here."

"Who?"

"Ra Moon."

"Ra—what?"

"Ra Moon. Ancient alien supercomputer, super evil, literally the worst thing in the entire universe? I crossed paths with him on my home world, the secret shadow planet of the Ninja star system, many Earth years ago, and he's here."

The Sniper's single red optic bored blankly into Shadow Man. He was getting cross by what he interpreted as Shadow Man's usual boastful absurdity as he stuffed energy cans and spare repair kits into a nylon pack. "Look…I know you don't like to talk about your past (neither do I), but you don't have to lie about it."

"What? You don't understand—Earth is so boned," emphasized Shadow Man.

"I…I can't listen to this right now. Sorry. You're the only bot I've ever really trusted let alone liked, but R.I.P. is still tailing us, remember? I gotta find a new hideout, I don't have time for outer space problems," said the Sniper, sounding as though he were trying hard to keep sarcasm out of his voice as he closed the drawstring of the bulging pack and hoisted it onto his back. "I'll see you later…if I can keep out of jail."

With a small salute, the Sniper quickly climbed out of a window and exited the boatshed.

Shadow Man watched him go, dumbfounded that the Sniper hadn't taken him seriously. He turned, wondering if he should go after the Sniper, when Shadow Man noticed his own shadow on the floor had become a perfectly round circle with a glowing outline of an eye at its center.

"Hey there!" greeted his shadow.

Shadow Man leaped back onto the bow of a speedboat. "…Hi."

The shadow lifted from the floor—becoming a floating, semi-transparent black sphere, two horizontal bands of ancient alien runes running around its top and bottom halves, its eye fixed curiously on Shadow Man—Ra Moon. "Huh. You're not from around here."

"Uh—"

"Are you from that one ninja planet? That's weird. I didn't think there was anyone left—I got kinda carried away on the other planets."

Shadow Man began to shake.

Ra Moon hovered closer. "You've been in hiding, haven't you? I first noticed you back in the storage facility where I left my little gift—By the way, so typical, am I right? There was only one good choice in that room yet the evil energy ended up with the annoying knitting idiot. I can barely stand talking to him, it's like trying to exert evil influence over a toothpick. Don't even care what happens to him. Ah well, better luck next time, right? Hey! I've got an idea, why don't you come work for me? Be one of my goons, I'm starting a club!"

Pretending to contemplate this for a moment, Shadow Man edged surreptitiously backward. "Um, naaaaaah. It's really flattering, everyone is always asking me to join their club, but a ninja works for no one."

Long cables were beginning to fan out around Ra Moon's floating body. "Are you sure? Here's another way of looking at it…do you really want to be against me?"

"No, really! I'm good. In fact, I think I'll just be going now—"

Quite daringly, Shadow Man flicked a Shadow Blade at Ra Moon, which sank directly in the center of his giant eye.

Ra Moon recoiled backward, crashing into a rickety wall, which shook the entire shed and sent cascades of dust pouring from the ceiling.

"Ow! Geez, that hurt—" he whined, one of his cables quickly threading through the eye of the Shadow Blade and pulling it out while another rubbed his eye. "Like, not really hurts, but hurts like a paper cut hurts, know what I mean? Ow." Ra Moon glared over at Shadow Man, but then blinked. "Where'd he go?" he demanded, rotating on the spot and scanning the room, but the boatshed was now empty. "…Stupid ninja."

Disgruntled and still rubbing his sore eye, Ra Moon sank into a shadow on the floor, then disappeared.

Elec Man concentrated on putting as much distance between Knitter and Proto Man as possible. It was difficult navigating through the yarn maze—everything looked the same, and Elec Man suspected the multi-color yarn continued to shift and change the entire layout. Nor could one move fast, as sometimes yarn stretched every which way in an annoying obstacle course that required constant ducking and climbing while being careful not to become tangled up. Finding anyone else in the maze seemed like it was becoming impossible.

Therefore, Elec Man was quite surprised some moments later when he took a turn and nearly ran straight into Mega Man.

"What the—Elec Man? Proto?!" asked Mega Man, his voice rising in alarm as he took in Proto Man's condition. "W-what's wrong with Proto Man? Did Knitter do something to him?"

Elec Man said nothing, backing slowly away while adjusting Proto Man's weight on his shoulder. Mega Man himself didn't look very good presently, he seemed stooped over with fatigue, his hand rubbing his chest, but he staggered forward, reaching out for Proto Man.

"If Proto Man's hurt or something, his family needs to know, he shouldn't be left with some criminal Robot Master! Hey!"

Mega Man had lunged toward Proto Man, but Elec Man had stepped away, and Mega Man tripped over a chartreuse string and fell into a tangle of yarn.

Banishing the accusing look Mega Man had given him from his mind, Elec Man hurried on until he found a small clearing where he felt they were finally safe (or as safe as they could get). Elec Man laid Proto Man down on the springy yarn floor and began shaking him urgently while slapping his cheek lightly.

"Light, c'mon, wake up. Now. Please."

After a few tense moments, Proto Man stirred feebly, at first seeming confused as to where he was, then bolting into a sitting position.

"Before you say anything, I did not faint!" he snapped defiantly. But then his voice broke, unable to hide a genuine note of panic as he whispered, "What's happening to me?!"

"Another alien energy flare up," murmured Elec Man. Though his voice was calm, his grip on Proto Man's shoulder was painfully tight.

"But what does this mean? A-am I going to change into something like Hellrazor and Curator did?" stammered Proto Man, remembering how his blaster arm had distorted into a large, boxy, three-digit skeletal hand back when he had first copied Duo's weapon, and picturing himself becoming a scarf-wearing version of Duo.

"I…don't think so," Elec Man responded slowly. "I think the mechanical mutations are properties of the evil energy, not justice energy. But you must be careful, your body is not built to handle alien energy."

"Justice energy…" Proto Man said bitterly, his left hand clenching tightly. "I can't possibly have that, unless this is somebody's idea of a big, cosmic joke. This is so…stupid!" An involuntary shiver ran through his circuits.

"It's okay, I'm here," said Elec Man sounding equally as scared as Proto Man, his grip on Proto Man's shoulder still tight. Then he looked away in embarrassment, releasing Proto Man. "But it's like I said earlier, you need to recover your nerve."

Proto Man stared at Elec Man, then smiled shakily. "Look who's talking!"

"Shut up. This stuff is just…weird, okay?" responded Elec Man defensively. Then he hesitated, looking shiftily back at Proto Man. "By the way, I ran into Mega Man while you were unconscious. He wanted to know what was wrong with you."

Proto Man went rigid. "You didn't tell him anything, did you?"

"…Of course not."

"You're the best. I—he—whatever's happening to me, it's no one's business, least of all his," said Proto Man with unnecessary harshness. Inside, he still felt a pattering sense of panic—and the last thing he needed was for Mega Man to find out about his justice energy and come to completely baseless conclusions…

"Hey, Proto Man! Nice sweater! Did your valentine get ya that?"

Ring Man and Magnet Man had come stumbling out of a wall of yarn.

Both Proto Man and Elec Man stood up, Proto Man tugging off the itchy pink sweater and kicking it aside. He scowled as his scarf crackled with static and clung uncomfortably to his back. "Where have you two been?"

"Uh…hiding? You didn't actually think we'd help?" replied Ring Man as though this was a stupid question.

Elec Man stalked forward, a dangerous shadow falling over his face. "Oh, you're going to help, alright. Ring Man, I had to leave Jewel Man behind with Knitter. He needs assistance."

"But—I don't want to go near that knitting freak—"

Arcs of electricity buzzed through Elec Man's fingers. "You claim Jewel Man is your friend, correct? So go rescue him. Besides, he still has the quintessence we came here to steal."

"Alright, alright, sheesh!"

Elec Man turned to Magnet Man next. "Magnet Man. You have one of the most powerful weapons in Skull Fortress. You will help me or face something scarier than the idiotic monstrosity in the middle of this stupid maze. Are we clear?"

Magnet Man gave a long sigh, his flat gaze drifting leftward.

"I said are we clear?" Elec Man repeated warningly, holding up his sparking hand in front of Magnet Man's face.

"…Fine…" Magnet Man grunted finally with the same huff of a human teenager being nagged into taking out the trash.

The strings around them rustled again as Cut Man and Guts Man shuffled out of another wall of yarn.

"Duh, we got lost," Guts Man told Proto Man.

"Yeah, this place is a real maze!" added Cut Man with wide eyes. "We need a shortcut out of here!"

Elec Man was rubbing his forehead through the holes of his harlequin mask. "Why does Wily always pick these morons? Cut Man, your weapon is literally Rolling Cutter—forget it. Now that we're together again, don't get separated. We can backtrack toward Jewel Man so long as the maze hasn't shifted too much—now move."

Luckily for Ring Man, Knitter was nowhere to be seen near Jewel Man, and rescuing him was easy (especially with Cut Man's Rolling Cutter and Magnet Man's Magnet Hold helping to move obstacles).

"Y-you came back!" stammered Jewel Man gratefully to Elec Man after he had been released from the pom-pom-covered turtleneck.

"Of course, you're Syndicate," said Elec Man simply.

"You—are—the nicest boss—I've ever had—"

Elec Man wrinkled his nose. "Stop being pathetic, Jewel Man. We're associates, remember?"

"Hey! It was me who came to get ya!" spoke up Ring Man irritably.

Cut Man was looking around nervously. "What about Knitter?"

"We should kill him," said Proto Man.

"Agreed, but how?" said Elec Man. "We need a way to weaken him first."

"…Mega Girl and the Sun Crystal…" murmured Jewel Man pensively.

"Knock it off about Mega Girl," said Proto Man warningly, a blaster arm raised toward Jewel Man.

"But—" stammered Jewel Man, casting Proto Man a frightened and confused look. His eyes flickered over to Elec Man, again hoping he'd intercede, but again disappointed as Elec Man merely rolled his eyes and turned his attention to his notes on his handheld computer. "—Er, never mind."

"Hmph, that's what I thought," said Proto Man.

After a moment, Elec Man shook his head, powering off his computer. "This is useless. Our options are to either find our own way out, or to force Knitter to let us out—even betting odds which will be easier. For now, stay together. Ring Man, Magnet Man, take the forward guard, Cut Man and Guts Man, take the rear. Jewel Man, you're with Proto Man and I."

The orders were quickly obeyed (for no one dared to risk getting shocked by a Thunder Beam) but with much mutinous grumbling, except for Jewel Man, who hasted to Elec Man's side while keeping a wary distance from Proto Man.

"Way to command the troops, champ!" Proto Man snickered admiringly, clapping Elec Man on the back. "But don't worry about Knitter…I got this."

"No, you need to rest."

"What the—? Don't boss me around too!"

"Stop whining, this could have gone a lot worse," Elec Man murmured grimly, half to himself.

"…Huh?"

"Later."

Quint had been busy analyzing the yarn cave with visor, taking in many fascinating readings of the paranormal phenomena, when Punk came rolling toward him again.

"Oh, you again! Any luck finding Mega Girl?" asked Quint.

"No, it's like I'm just going in circles. Listen, I got this weird feeling this maze has a mind of it's own and will make it impossible for us to find Mega Girl and for her to find Knitter. We could be stuck here a long time, and I bet the Knitter is only getting more powerful and crazy!"

"Oh dear. Then I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures—and if my calculations are correct—"

Forming a blaster, Quint took aim at a yarn wall and fired an ultraviolet blast of quintessence. Then, impossibly, a hole appeared, like a large shining disc hanging against the yarn. Through it, they could see the plain, beige alleyway outside—daylight streamed into the dark, multi-color tunnel.

"Yes!" cheered Quint, quickly climbing through the hole, which was already beginning to close up as fresh strings of yarn stretched across it with small twangs.

"Where you going?"

"No time to explain—I have an idea. A rather eccentric one, but it may just work!"

"…That's not very reassuring, Brainiac! Fine! We'll just hold down the fort here with the dangerous robo-monster, shall we?" Punk called sarcastically after him, but wasn't sure if Quint had heard him, for Quint had teleported in a stream of green light as the hole closed as though it had never been there, and Punk once more was lost in the middle of the yarn maze.

To be continued…

Chapter Text

Mega Man had been stumbling alone in the yarn maze for some time (quite without progress, though at least the feeling of evil energy stirring in his power core had faded to a background murmur) when suddenly he heard voices. He crept cautiously down a yarn tunnel toward them—then almost collided with Jewel Man and Proto Man at an expansive intersection.

Jewel Man caught sight of Mega Man, skidded to a halt, then promptly hid behind a giant twist of puce and mint green yarn (but not before Mega Man got a swift glimpse of the Citadel-branded quintessence case Jewel Man was carrying).

Proto Man had not been so quick. "Uh…wrong turn," he said stupidly, backing away from Mega Man.

"You're okay!" Mega Man couldn't help but shout joyfully.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"…You looked…"

"Like I said—never better."

Proto Man's head swiveled from side to side. Mega Man could tell Proto Man was searching for a quick escape from this conversation, and added hastily, "Proto, please, can we talk? Or fight? Preferably the former?"

"Uh…"

"Proto, don't go, I know you've been avoiding us—you won't even fight Roll and I anymore! I know you're probably busy doing whatever it is you like to do when you're not helping Wily with a weird scheme, but, every once in a while I would like to hang out. I—I just want to spend time with you, as brothers," Mega Man blurted out.

"S-stop…"

But Mega Man continued mercilessly. "You know…to just do normal family stuff, like go to a movie, hang out at the mall, play video games, and…and…why is he here?" he asked irritably, giving Elec Man (who had appeared in the shadows behind Proto Man) a cold look.

For a fraction of a second (though Mega Man was sure it must have been his imagination) Elec Man looked hurt, and more than a bit flustered for intruding on an emotionally charged moment between Mega Man and Proto Man—but the next instant his face was a blank slate. Mega Man had fought against Elec Man many times, but never really spoken to him (nor did he like him very much)—yet he sensed a closeness between Elec Man and Proto Man, one he had first noticed at Skull Fortress while disguised as Brain Bot—thick as thieves, he supposed. A cold stab of jealousy momentarily pierced him—

"Aha! There you are!" boomed Knitter's voice behind them.

Mega Man and Proto Man jumped. Proto Man looked uncomfortably at Mega Man for a second longer before darting down a leftward tunnel after Elec Man, choosing the easy excuse to avoid Mega Man once again. Mega Man took one of the nearer tunnels to the right—but heard heavy scuffling on the yarn floor closely behind him. Worse yet, Mega Man shortly found himself at a dead-end, the multicolor walls of which were too dense to even attempt squeezing through. Cornered, Mega Man slowly turned around.

Knitter's strange new look was certainly disconcerting. He was several feet taller—Mega Man's eyes flickered nervously from his needle arms to his glowing button eyes to his knitted armor.

"So, the great Mega Man, Dr. Wily's biggest nemesis! Ha, you don't look so intimidating now!" chortled the Knitter as he advanced on Mega Man.

Not knowing what else to do, Mega Man fired desperately at Knitter, but as he predicted, the golden plasma bolts didn't even so much as singe the garter knit stitching that now comprised Knitter's body.

"Doesn't even hurt! My turn!"

The Knitter pounced. Throwing his arms over his head for protection, Mega Man closed his eyes tight, braced to get stabbed over and over again. But there was no pain. Quite the opposite. For a moment, he heard the rapid clicking of needles as an odd tickling sensation overtook his blaster arm followed by a fuzzy lightness. Unnerved, Mega Man risked opening one eye, then let out a horrified shout.

From the elbow down, his blaster arm had become an oversized woolen mitten.

Knitter loomed over Mega Man, his glowing button eyes like happy crescents, and let out a squeaky cackle. "I think it's much improved! Try stealing our powers now!"

Shit, I won't be much help with this! Mega Man thought as he weakly flexed his mitten hand. He couldn't copy weapons, form a blaster, nor punch effectively—the new arm didn't even have bones.

"Don't worry, Mega! I won't hurt you—" said Knitter brightly, as though reading his thoughts. "I think my new boss wants you to become more like me!"

"Wh-what?" stammered Mega Man, startled. "Your boss? You mean Lotos?"

"Um, not sure what his name is, now hold still"

Mega Man winced again, the loud clicking of needles ringing in his ears—and a second later his other gauntlet had become a matching knitted mitten. "S-stop!"

Knitter giggled, then paused, scratching the back of his head with a needle. His button eyes looked doubtfully upon Mega Man's arms. "Duh…though on second thought, maybe this isn't what he meant…"

A sudden rage overtook Mega Man. How dare a pathetic weakling like Knitter make a mockery of him? He'd show him, somehow—

Mega Man blinked, the rage vanishing. What had gotten into him?

Knitter was no longer paying attention to Mega Man, his gaze turned back down the tunnel. "Anyway, that takes care of you! Now for the rest of them…"

"Wait, don't!" Mega Man called uselessly—but Knitter had already backed out of the dead end, turned down another tunnel, and was gone. Mega Man balled his woolen mitts into woolen fists. "Damn!"

When Proto Man had followed Elec Man, he had thought perhaps Knitter would give chase, but after running for several moments the yarn maze became still. He slowed to a halt and gazed backward.

"Chh, Mega will be alright, right?" he asked Elec Man, trying to sound offhand. "It's just Needle Man, after all..."

Elec Man said nothing, and there was an awkward silence, neither of them really wanting to talk about what had just happened, especially not the conversation with Mega Man...

"Alright, where'd the rest of those bots go?" Proto Man said crossly. "They didn't get lost again already, did they?"

"Who cares," said Elec Man. "I told them to stick with us, it was for their own good."

"I'm still here," said Jewel Man, appearing dutifully with the quintessence case in hand.

"You could get lost," said Proto Man.

"Ha. Right you are. Um. Not to harp on this, but perhaps Mega Girl—"

"I thought I told you to zip it about Mega Girl," interrupted Proto Man, glad for a target to be frustrated at as he rounded on Jewel Man.

Again, Proto Man had never heard of a 'Mega Girl' before, but he could only assume Jewel Man meant Roll (perhaps there was a misconception out there that Roll was called 'Mega Girl,' after 'Mega Man'). Primal rage bubbled within him anytime he thought of a Robot Master mingling in any way with his little sister, and he scowled dangerously at Jewel Man.

"Uh, okay!" Jewel Man agreed helplessly. "I just thought she could h-help against Knitter—but whatever you think is best!"

"Good," said Proto Man, though he didn't think it was good. He wanted to beat someone up, his hands clenched into fists.

"Proto Man, stop terrorizing my personal assistant. Jewel Man, stop cowering," broke in Elec Man impatiently. "Let's keep moving. There's got to be a way out somewhere…"

After parting with Punk, Roll had continued searching desperately for Mega Man and Mega Girl (though careful to keep her voice down as to not attract the Knitter again) She had just paused at an expansive intersection with numerous branches, wondering which way she hadn't tried yet, when she felt something soft and wooly rest on her shoulder.

"Ack! Oh Mega, it's just you! You're okay! I—yikes."

"Don't ask," Mega Man said with a heavy sigh, dropping his woolen mitts to his side.

"Knitter did that to ya, huh? Hey, it'll be alright—you've been through worse, right?" said Roll bracingly.

Mega Man wasn't sure how he'd rank this in his misadventures. He supposed it was better than being trapped in Snake Man's body and being taken for a criminal, but only just…

"Like, this place is a major workout," puffed a voice nearby. "I can totally skip rock climbing and step aerobics for the rest of this month."

Mega Man and Roll whirled. "Mega Girl!"

"Oh hi!"

Mega Girl was pushing her way through a curtain of teal and pebble gray yarn.

Mega Man had no clue what Mega Girl had been talking to herself about, but nevertheless was relieved to find her as he and Roll ran up to her.

"There you are," said Roll, "We've been looking all over for ya!"

"Needle Man's infected, and there's been another alien energy outbreak," chimed in Mega Man.

'Yeah, weird," said Mega Girl simply, glancing around.

Mega Man gave Mega Girl a long look. Maybe it was just a west coast thing, but her attitude seemed unnecessarily flippant again…

Mega Girl looked down at Mega Man's woolen mitts. "Ew, creepy!" she remarked, wrinkling her nose and sticking out her tongue. Then she quickly checked herself. "Uh, don't worry! It'll go back to normal once I use the Sun Crystal on that Pin Man guy," she added, hastily patting Mega Man awkwardly on the shoulder.

"…Needle Man."

"Whatever. They look cozy at least?"

Again, Mega Man stared at Mega Girl, lost for words. He half wanted to retort (easy for her to say, Knitter hadn't given her a pair of mittens!), but then caught himself. Mega Girl was talking to him like—well, an older sister—even though she couldn't be much older than a few months (the first time they had seen her was during Hellrazor's attack on Los Angeles).

Roll had turned her back on them in the pretense of looking down the other tunnels, though Mega Man could tell she was again shaking with silent laughter.

"Never mind that now, we're glad you're here," he said gruffly, self-consciously hiding his mitts behind his back. "You think your Sun Crystal's justice energy is enough to stop all this evil energy madness, right?"

"Yeah, for sure, just like with Punk and Jewel Man."

"…Right," said Mega Man, again thinking her tone lacked the proper concern for the dire situation they were in, but deciding to let it go. He joined Roll, who was peering down the various yarn tunnels, which yawned around them in many directions. "Now, if we can just find Knitter, then you can do your thing—"

Mega Man glanced back at Mega Girl, then started—Mega Girl was gone; behind them was a solid wall of yarn that had most certainly not been there a second earlier.

"…What just happened?!"

"I dunno, it's not a normal maze! Damn it, I've been looking for her for over an hour," muttered Roll, kicking the wall. "The only good news is I don't think Knitter knows his way around his own maze either!"

This posed a very serious problem. "But…if we keep losing Mega Girl, how are we going to stop Knitter and get out?" asked Mega Man bleakly.

Footsteps were approaching down one of the tunnels. They turned hopefully, but it wasn't Mega Girl, but Cut Man and Guts Man who came trudging out.

"Look! There's less of them now!" shouted Guts Man. "Let's gang up on them before they gang up on us!"

"Yeah, and looks like Knitter's already given Mega Man some stitches, eh-heh eh-heh!" jeered Cut Man.

"What happened to your hands, Mega Man? You look like you're baking a cake, ha!"

"Oh no! I think I see a loose thread—here, catch!"

Mega Man hastily dropped flat as a Rolling Cutter sliced over his head.

"That's low! Take this!" snarled Roll, firing back with a circular saw. "…Better watch out for Rolling Cutters if you want to keep your mittens, I'll handle these bots," she advised Mega Man over her shoulder.

So began a two-on-one fight, which soon became a four-on-one fight when Magnet Man and Ring Man joined (though they mostly watched), while Mega Man reluctantly lingered off to the side.

But Mega Man was beginning to have his own problems. Due to the surrounding chaos, he hadn't noticed the fuzzy, tickling sensation climbing up his arms at first, but when he finally looked down at them, he was confronted by a startling image. The light blue titanium skin was changing into wooly yarn and knitting itself into a simple stocking stitch, the pattern already an inch past where his elbows used to be. His arms were becoming cylindrical and floppy, the inner wiring and circuitry fluffing up into cottony stuffing—a most peculiar feeling indeed.

A chill ran down Mega Man's neck. "Sh-shit," he muttered. He was becoming a live knit doll like Knitter. In fact, he could already feel the tickling sensation starting up in his toes…

Mega Man glanced back over at Roll, who was doing well, but unfairly outnumbered. Then he saw something that would make this situation even worse. The glowing button eyes of Knitter had appeared at the dark end of one of the nearby tunnels. He must have heard the sounds of fighting and come running, and if Knitter reached the intersection, he'd find them and go after Roll…Mega Man would have to act fast if he wanted to help her, but how without even a blaster to fight?

He grabbed a loose end of yarn from the floor. Yes, he could use this as a trip wire. He dragged it over to the tunnel opening. It was difficult, the yarn rope feeling surprisingly heavier than it ought to have, but he just managed. Mega Man hid, waiting until he heard the heavy scuffling of Knitter, then at the right second, pulled the yarn taught.

The trip wire worked. Knitter went flying past the intersection and landed head-first into the opposite yarn wall where he quickly became tangled up.

"Hey, who put that yarn there?" came his muffled voice as he thrashed around. Mega Man stayed very still, hidden behind a clump of yarn. "Oh, maybe I did, ha! Now where is everyone?"

It sounded as though Knitter was pushing himself forward through the yarn wall into a different area. Mega Man waited until he heard Knitter run off in completely the wrong direction, then let out a sigh of relief and stepped back out into the open.

"Ha, gotcha, you big stupid—w-whoa!"

Mega Man teetered on the spot, then fell backward with a soft flop, his legs becoming wobbly knit doll legs. He struggled for a moment to get up, but the half of his body that was still titanium now felt impossibly heavy, and he was unable to budge any more than a turtle on its back.

"…Uh, Roll? …Help!"

"Whoa!" exclaimed Roll, hurrying over to him after blasting Cut Man and Guts Man back with her toaster cannon. She grabbed Mega Man by the shoulders and dragged him away from the battle and into a shallow recess in a nearby yarn tunnel, out of the way of being trodden on.

"There, uh, don't worry, this is only temporary—just like 'Curator' and the jewelry stuff, right? —And I'll be back soon!" she promised him before running back into the fray.

Sighing, Mega Man lay helplessly on his back, staring up at the colorful yarn canopy above, the fluffing, ticking sensation still spreading up his body at an alarming rate.

While searching for Mega Girl, Punk had been covering as many yarn tunnels as possible when he thought he heard the distant sounds of a battle. He sped toward the noise, then almost rolled straight into Knitter, the surprise of which startled him into unfolding from his spiked ball form.

"Wait! Don't go! I don't want to hurt you!" Knitter called, reaching out as Punk turned to run.

Against his better judgment, Punk hesitated. "…You don't?"

"No! You see, it was your creator, Dr. Rose, who taught me to knit!"

"…Really?"

"Yeah! She did an emergency repair job for me once while I was rogue! She was a great lady. Promised not to tell the police or nobody about me!"

"Yeah, she was cool like that…" Punk trailed off, starting to feel guilty. He had never liked Needle Man very much, but knew Dr. Rose wouldn't have wanted Punk to treat Needle Man badly just because he was annoying. Perhaps he should suck up his aversion of Needle Man and try to reach out…

Knitter had other plans. "…However! I can't let you roll around helping anyone neither. Sorry!"

With a wave of Knitter's needle arms, Punk found himself sinking into the yarn floor like quicksand.

"Wait, uh, buddy—let's talk some more—" said Punk, trying a last-ditch effort to stall, ropes of yarn snagging fast to the spikes of his armor.

"Don't worry, I'll come back for ya later, Hellrazor—you like to be called Hellrazor, right?—then we can talk and talk and talk and talk! I'm so glad we're buddies now—We'll have so much fun together!"

"No—!"

But soon Punk was buried six feet under in yarn, and his muffled screams could barely be heard by anyone.

"Hmmmm. Hope I don't forget where this place is…" Knitter muttered to himself. He knitted an afghan over the spot to mark it. "There! Now…gotta go!"

Proto Man, Elec Man, and Jewel Man had just exited a yarn tunnel into a larger, hollowed-out area of the maze when they stumbled upon Cut Man, Guts Man, Magnet Man, and Ring Man fighting Roll in an expansive intersection—the same intersection they had ran into Mega Man earlier.

Amidst the battle, Roll glared over at Proto Man. He felt just as unhappy to see her (suspecting Mega Man and another lecture would be close by) and even unhappier to see Knitter rush suddenly out of another yarn tunnel as they all happened to converge in the same room. Everyone froze, looking toward Knitter.

"Finally! There you all are!" exclaimed Knitter.

"How do we keep going in circles?!" Proto Man demanded aloud incredulously.

"Like my maze?" Knitter asked brightly, enjoying the attention. "It's so tough even I can't solve it!"

"Alright, you win or whatever, okay?" growled Proto Man, waving a hand dismissively, "—Now let us out so we can all go back to Skull Fortress!"

"No! I like it here, and I like having you as my prisoners! It's a fun change! Now, what shall I do with you…" Knitter mused, tapping his needles together as he regarded Proto Man, his button eyes flashing yellow. "I know!"

He began turning on the spot with his arms outstretched, firing without aiming a volley of spear-sized needles that flew with deadly force in a circle around him, forcing everyone to duck.

"Hey, knock it off you jerk, you trying to kill somebody?" shouted Roll after a needle cut the sleeve of her titanium jumpsuit as though it were paper.

"Um…yes! Yes I am—" mocked Knitter, coming to a stop. "—Namely that red titanium poser you call a brother!"

"Damn, I think he's serious!" Roll shouted over to Proto Man.

"I'm more worried about anyone standing next to me—his aim sucks!"

"Well I say it's time to cut the 'Knitter' to shreds!" shouted Cut Man, emboldened by his success at using Rolling Cutter to cut through maze obstacles and bully Mega Man, and by Knitter's poorly executed attack.

"Yeah, and I'm gunna smash what's left over," joined in Guts Man with similar bravado.

This was a big misstep. Neither Rolling Cutter nor Super Arm could hurt Knitter, and Knitter was upon them in a blur of flashing needles while giggling madly. They gave a short startled cry, both unraveling into a loose coil of multicolor titanium yarn.

Proto Man, who had been half tempted to also charge in, stopped short. "Holy shit! Are they dead?!"

"We agreed last time they were expendable. They got too close," Elec Man reminded Proto Man swiftly.

"…What's this about bots being expendable?" demanded Ring Man, glaring shrewdly from Proto Man to Elec Man through narrowed eyes.

Proto Man ignored Ring Man. "Alright, Knitter's powers are getting freaky! Run!"

Everyone fled into the yarn tunnels, abandoning the tangled remains of Cut Man and Guts Man while Knitter continued to giggle.

"…Well where'd they go?" Kalinka had exclaimed indignantly when she found herself suddenly and inexplicably alone again in the yarn maze, Roll and Mega Man nowhere to be seen. "Hmmph! Guess we'll have to work on our team skills of 'staying together', won't we?"

She continued on, though it was becoming increasingly dull as she had already been at it for hours without so much of a sight of either Pin Man or Proto Man. What if she missed out on all the action?

"Elec Man? …Elec Man?" Proto Man hissed while trying to keep his voice down.

He had lost Knitter, but had no idea where Elec Man, Roll, nor anyone else had went. Though he could still hear shouting and Knitter's giggling, every way he turned led impossibly to more connecting tunnels and turns, none of which led back to where he had come from as the maze became eerily quiet again. Confused, Proto Man paused, turning around on the spot. He might not care too much what happened to the other Robot Masters (or even the quintessence at this point), but feared finding a coil of yellow or black yarn somewhere on the ground—but no, both Roll and Elec Man were too clever for that. Besides, Knitter had wanted to keep Elec Man alive for some reason, he had to be okay—

Someone stepped out of a tunnel next to him. "—Oh! Hi again!"

It was the pink robot from earlier. Again, Proto Man glanced at her curiously, and hesitated. "Hey."

"So, uh, what brings you here?" she asked, twisting a pigtail around her finger.

Proto Man jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Apparently fighting the idiot responsible for this maze."

She beamed at him. "Me too!"

"Looks like we're allies," said Proto Man, smiling back. "By the way, didn't catch your name earlier?"

"It's Mega Girl."

"Mega Girl?" Proto Man started, looking more closely at her. "Oh, so you're Mega Girl." This wasn't Roll at all, but a completely different robot…

"You've heard of me?" Mega Girl looked extremely pleased, and added casually, "Then I suppose you've heard about how I put an end to the schemes of the poor misguided robots who called themselves 'Hellrazor' and 'Curator'—no biggie—"

"You were the one who stopped Hellrazor and Curator? ...That's impressive."

"Yes, I suppose it is," said Mega Girl smugly, but then returned to acting bashful as she looked up at him. "—But probably nothing compared to what you've done. I…I really admire your work, you know. You're kinda like a role model to me."

"Really?" asked Proto Man, again noting how her visor reminded him of his own and beginning to feel very, very flattered.

Mega Girl nodded. "Yes, I…It's really nice to meet you, Proto Man."

"Well, it's really nice to meet you too, Mega Girl," Proto Man responded with gentle sincerity.

A giant green yarn ball came tumbling down the tunnel toward them.

"Watch out!" said Proto Man, jumping aside and gently pulling her behind him.

"Oh no, I'm so scared!" said Mega Girl dramatically, sliding closer to Proto Man as the yarn ball rolled past. It thudded into a wall, paused, then came rolling toward them again.

"Stay there—I got this."

Kalinka watched as Proto Man darted down a yarn tunnel and around a corner, the yarn ball crashing after him.

"Wait! Don't leave just yet! I have something to ask you about!" she called after him in vain, for as she ran down the tunnel and turned a corner, he had mysteriously vanished again. Shoot! She really needed to ask him about his justice energy! Still, she couldn't help but twirl on the spot, hugging herself.

O.M.G. Is this for real? He's sooooo cute, and so heroic! I'm going to die…

Elec Man had been searching all over for Proto Man, steeling himself to find a pile of red, gray, and yellow yarn somewhere, and was therefore relieved but annoyed to instead find Proto Man in a giddy semi-distracted state in one of the tunnels, where he was talking to an unknown robot in pink armor.

Elec Man hung back for a moment, staring at the pink robot. She seemed…familiar. Somehow, she reminded him of Kali Cossack—same height, her pigtails the same hair color, he even caught a slight whiff of the same cloying perfume—but that would be ridiculous. He was quite certain Kali Cossack was human, not a robot. Still, his mind was now subconsciously linking the two, and thoughts of Kali Cossack brought back both the inexplicable primal rage and a cold panic from earlier, filling him with confusion.

"What the—there you are, stop goofing around!" he snapped when he finally rejoined Proto Man after Proto Man had saved the pink robot from a giant yarn ball (somehow the maze had shifted again and there was no sign of the pink robot)

"Whoa, I wasn't—are you okay?" Proto Man asked, almost laughing.

This made Elec Man angrier—though he still didn't understand why he was quite so angry in the first place. "Let's just get out here."

"That's what we're trying to—just chill, okay? We'll regroup with the others—if they're still alive." Proto Man looked back down the tunnels. "Where did…?"

Elec Man suspected Proto Man was searching for the pink robot.

"Let's go," Elec Man repeated impatiently, pointing to a tunnel leading in a different direction.

Just then, the Knitter sprang through a loose curtain of yarn, catching them both off guard.

"Surprise!" he shouted exuberantly as he lunged at Elec Man with the same alarming quickness of a jumping spider, his needles descending upon Elec Man in a frightful blur.

"No!" shouted Proto Man, remembering Cut Man and Guts Man. Hardly knowing what he was doing, he dived toward them, forgetting plasma power was no good against alien energy, his blaster pointed at Knitter—

A bright cyan flash exploded into Proto Man's vision, and Proto Man knew no more.

Mega Man's eyes were closed as he waited for Roll to come back. He was trying to pretend this was all just a very strange dream—that Dr. Wily was not close to getting teleportation technology, that they were not trapped in a paranormal yarn maze, that they were not at the mercy of one the most incompetent Robot Masters ever, and that he was not feeling unusually fuzzy. It was several long minutes however before he heard the slight rustle of yarn again.

Mega Man opened his eyes. Upside down, he caught a glimpse of Jewel Man creeping nearby with the quintessence case in hand.

"Hey you! Jewel Man!" Mega Man called angrily.

Jewel Man started, looked down, then recoiled. "I, uh, oh dear…" he said in a slightly high-pitched voice, as though he had just seen something he wished he could unsee. To Mega Man's great agitation, Jewel Man promptly turned on his heel and hastened away. He needed to get Roll's attention, fast.

"ROLL! JEWEL MAN HAS THE QUINMmph–TEMmph–mmmph…mmph? mmmmmph! …mmm…m…ph."

…Mega Man's lips had knitted seamlessly together. He would have liked to shout some more about this latest development, but this was quite impossible as he no longer had a mouth, nor any internal apparatus conducive to producing sound. Instead, Mega Man lifted his mitts, feeling only the round featureless face of a knit doll, then rubbed his eyes. Though his vision was normal, he felt wide flat discs, for they had become giant buttons like Knitter's.

There was a small silver lining to all of this. Now that he had fully become a knit doll, Mega Man realized he was able to stand up again—albeit in a wobbly, bowlegged fashion, his body made only of soft round shapes and a bit top-heavy. It would have to do—he had to get the quintessence back! Mega Man began to run, slightly irritated at how slow his hotdog-shaped legs carried his bean-shaped body, for Jewel Man was fast.

Jewel Man must have heard the frenzied scuffling patter of woolen feet, for he looked over his shoulder, caught sight of Mega Man following, and broke out into a frightened sprint. Though Mega Man could still see the white of Jewel Man's armor shining in the hazy darkness of the tunnel ahead, to his dismay, Mega Man realized he was going to lose him—

Ring Man and Magnet Man suddenly leaped out of an adjoining tunnel in front of Mega Man, barring his way. Mega Man only managed to scramble to a stop in time, backpedaling his woolen arms like windmills.

"Whoa, sick! Check out Mega Man."

"Weird."

A mischievous glint entered Ring Man's eyes."Heh…should we, like, unravel him?"

Uh-oh. Realizing just how vulnerable he had become, Mega Man wobbled backward, unable to even shout for help, all thoughts of chasing down Jewel Man evaporating.

Magnet Man gave Mega Man a long, flat look. "…Nah."

"You're right…too much work," said Ring Man. "Not like he can do anything to us anyway."

This, unfortunately, appeared accurate. Though Mega Man attempted to charge valiantly past them, with one hand Ring Man pushed him back as easily as—well, a knit doll. They laughed as Mega Man tripped over his wobbly legs and fell backward in a tangled heap.

When they were done laughing, Ring Man tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Dude, like, if we ever get out of here, we should take him back to Skull Fortress like this, then Wily will be off our backs forever about going on his stupid missions!"

Magnet Man arched a tufty gray eyebrow, and they both crouched over Mega Man.

"HEY! Leave him alone you losers!"

Roll had come bursting out of a yarn wall, a chainsaw ready. Snickering, Ring Man and Magnet Man retreated down the direction Jewel Man had went and vanished into the purple haze.

"Can't talk anymore, huh?" sighed Roll sympathetically, helping Mega Man untangle himself and looking him over. "Count yourself lucky—I don't even wanna tell ya what just happened to Cut Man and Guts Man, and I think Knitter wants to kill Proto (though who doesn't?). Guess I better keep you with me from now on, eh 'Raggedy Rock'? C'mon! Those scardey-bots are going to regret messing with us!"

Mega Man would have loved to retort to being called 'Raggedy Rock', or at the very least tell Roll that Jewel Man had the stolen quintessence on him—but unfortunately he could not make a sound as Roll took him by the mitt and dragged him along after her, his knit legs struggling to keep up.

Proto Man opened his eyes with a low groan, his plasma core feeling uncomfortable and prickly.

"Well, your little trick hurt Knitter, and he's very angry, but I got us out of there," Elec Man said stiffly from his side. "Don't do that again, I really thought you wouldn't wake up this time…"

"I'm not doing the blue light special on purpose, and you're welcome, by the way!" grumbled Proto Man, climbing gingerly to his feet. They were standing in the bend of a small U-shaped tunnel. He stumbled unsteadily and leaned against a yarn wall for support. "Crap...feeling a little drained."

"Well that's unsurprising. You need rest, Light...another encounter like that might actually kill you."

"Don't worry, it's fine—we'll get out of this…somehow," Proto Man replied, thinking of Mega Girl.

"Yes, things could be worse..." Elec Man said softly to himself, gazing off into the distance.

"…You almost got unraveled into a pile of string, stop saying things could be worse!" implored Proto Man irritably.

Knitter staggered aimlessly through his maze, angrily darning the place in his armor that had been singed. That stupid punk Proto Man had done something, and it had hurt! Well, if Knitter saw Proto Man again, he'd unravel him for good…

He had just finished fixing his knit armor when he happened upon someone else who had insulted him—Ring Man, who had come running out of a tunnel with Magnet Man and Jewel Man, all three nearly crashing into each other in an immediate halt.

"You guys keep escaping! Darn it!" complained Knitter, trying out a new catchphrase. Everyone cringed. "—I need more power! Euurrrrgh!"

Knitter crouched low again, his button eyes screwed up in concentration. A second pair of knitting needle arms sprouted from his sides.

"This is great! Four arms are better than two! I can knit TWICE as fast now! In fact, better make it six! Euuurrrgh!"

…Knitter was beginning to resemble a giant knitted spider. He didn't seem to care, however, as he laughed triumphantly.

"Eh…it's kinda an improvement, actually," remarked Ring Man to Magnet Man, who shrugged. Jewel Man looked squeamish.

With his six arms, Knitter began knitting long, multicolor tubes. Sock puppets the size of sleeping bags began falling into the ground in clashing patterns that ranged from stripes to flowers to polkadots to fuzzy ducklings. After landing, they surged forward in lurching movement like giant googly-eyed leaches.

"Bet you'll think twice of making fun of my knitting now!" jeered Knitter, pointing at Ring Man, who became trapped in a corner by the sock puppets.

Ring Man gazed at the weird assortment of knits and shrugged. "No I'm definitely still going to make fun of you after this. Maybe more than ever."

"Oh yeah? Just you wait—I could knit you into a pot holder after my sock puppets are done with ya!"

"You make pot holders too? Heh heh, what a dork!"

Ring Man would likely have experienced a fate similar to Cut Man and Guts Man (or at the very least been eaten by Knitter's sock puppets) had not Jewel Man stepped forward. He made an impressive sweeping gesture with one arm, activating the new shielding weapon Dr. Wily had equipped him with: Jewel Satellite. Four gemstones began whirling in a circle mid-air. They were of a brilliant cut shape, and made of the same diamond-hard substance Dr; Wily had used for Crystal Man's Crystal Eye.

It was somewhat effective in holding the sock puppets at bay—if only as a distraction. The sock puppets watched the pretty floating gemstones, their heads winding in circles until they became all twisted up and dizzy, while Jewel Man pulled Ring Man back toward Magnet Man.

"It's like I told you, Pierce—you run your mouth too much. Gets you into trouble," Jewel Man chided.

"Hey! You got my back, just like I got yours!" said Ring Man happily. "I knew you liked us! But look at you, Pink Panther—you're actually fighting! This is great! You can get Magnet Man and I out of future scrapes!"

…Jewel Man looked like he was already regretting saving Ring Man, but they fled together from Knitter and his monster sock puppets anyway.

White-capped waves winked beneath a cheerful afternoon sky outside the westward-facing window of Dr. Cossack's office, a night sky projected overhead on the domed ceiling. Dr. Cossack was bent over his work at his desk, a deep crease in his square forehead, looking quite like he did not want to be disturbed.

Therefore, Shadow Man approached cautiously, announcing his presence with a small 'a-hem.'

"How did you get in here? Citadel's security is without equal," asked Dr. Cossack without looking up.

"Ninja, remember?" Shadow Man reminded Dr. Cossack impatiently. Then he gave a short, would-be-carefree laugh, as though about to tell a funny story. "I've made a huuuge mistake."

Dr. Cossack looked up at Shadow Man over his half-rim glasses. "Really? Whatever can you mean?" he asked dryly.

"Uh. I stole dangerous teleportation technology from a Citadel laboratory, then sold it to a mad scientist? Now there's an evil alien supercomputer after me."

"…I know. The first part, at least. But I don't understand why you came to me for help, I certainly don't owe you any favors."

Shadow Man fell prostrate to the polished floor. "I will work freelance for you—for the low low price of fifty million dollars a minute, or the equivalent in gold coins—I'm creating a money bin swimming pool in my den—"

Dr. Cossack sighed, then said, "Or, counterproposal: imagine the surprise and delight Inspector Headley will have when I hand you over to the Robot International Police, already programmed to be obedient and humble, eager to right the wrongs you have committed worldwide from this day forward."

Instantly, Shadow Man sprang to his feet, an eye twitching. "Shut it, human! As if a pitiful earthling could reprogram a mighty ninja warrior like me!"

"'Earthling'? So you admit to being an alien," said Dr. Cossack, leaning back against his chair as he regarded Shadow Man. He didn't sound surprised, merely amused.

"…I admit to nothing!"

"Look, I don't have time for nonsense, nor do I want a ninja in my office—"

"Wait! Listen! I'm s-scared…"

This behavior was completely atypical of Shadow Man. Dr. Cossack arched a brow. "Scared? What are you scared of?" he asked quietly.

"The evil alien supercomputer I just told you about! He may be watching us even now—or not. He is kind of lazy for an all-powerful cosmic being—but that's the problem! You never know—"

Shadow Man glared suspiciously at all the shadows within Dr. Cossack's office, a Shadow Blade appearing in his hand.

Dr. Cossack watched this dramatic display for a moment, unimpressed. "My my, is the great Shadow Man, the one who has eluded the R.I.P. all these years, afraid of his own shadow?"

"Pff, no! But this alien is the real deal."

"I can only imagine you are referring to the alien entity who posed as 'Lotos' and caused complete chaos in New York City a year ago? And what do you expect me to do about that?"

"I—dunno, you're smart? You'll figure out something," Shadow Man said offhandedly. Then he looked expectantly at Dr. Cossack. "So, do we have a deal?"

Something circular skidded across the floor, and a purple forcefield bubbled around Shadow Man.

"What is this? Some sort of pathetic trap?" laughed Shadow Man, gazing around at the purple forcefield and tentatively touching it.

A coat stand that had stood innocuously beside Dr. Cossack's desk disappeared as Quint deactivated the holomorpher he had been using to disguise himself.

"Actually, that is an invention of mine! I call it a 'quintessence snare'! Extremely effective for capturing alien targets. I surmised you'd try to contact Dr. Cossack—and I was correct!"

"Oh, very clever, now watch as I easily escape your stupid little toy." Frowning, Shadow Man began to pound forcefully against the forcefield. He then stabbed at it with a Shadow Blade, and even tried vanishing with a smoke bomb, but the quintessence forcefield remained strong, and he remained trapped. His eyes widened in surprise. "What the—?! L-let me go!"

Quint strode across the room with his arms behind his back, and leaned forward to peer at Shadow Man with academic curiosity. "Fascinating. I don't think you possess evil energy…nor do I think you have stardroid energy or justice energy…"

Shadow Man did not like this at all. He tried to move away from Quint, but there was nowhere to go within the small confines of the forcefield. Whatever Shadow Man was, he was not strong enough to break out of a quintessence snare.

"I thought you might find him interesting," said Dr. Cossack, his eyes twinkling as he took a sip of coffee.

"Indeed! I can take it from here, Dr. Cossack," said Quint at last, straightening up.

"Thank you. Unfortunately, I have to take a call soon—more trouble with the power plant—really, construction should have wrapped last year," sighed Dr. Cossack wearily. "But never mind. Everything alright?"

"Oh yes, everything is under control now! I'm working with Mega Man and Roll to stop Dr. Wily's robots from causing trouble outside of town."

"Hmph. Well that shouldn't be too difficult, Wily's an idiot after all. In the meantime, make sure our ninja friend is comfortable…perhaps somewhere bright, shadows seem to frighten him."

Shadow Man stared at Dr. Cossack in utter disbelief. "What the—Don't hand me off to one of your little brats! This is serious, Cossack, serious! Way more important than some stupid power plant! Fine, fine, I promise never to steal anything from you again!"

"Oh, I know you won't."

"…You lousy bastard! You can't do this! I'm a Robot Master, not a lab specimen!"

Dr. Cossack merely gave Shadow Man a small wave.

"Wait! WAIT! …Wait. I prepared a haiku—"

"No. Quint, please, I have to get on a call."

Dr. Cossack's office blurred into long vertical streaks as Quint teleported himself and Shadow Man down to his laboratory,

"Okay, I admit, that was kinda gangster," Shadow Man couldn't help but grumble to himself.

Quint transferred Shadow Man to a more permanent holding cell—a sort of quintessence force field tube, around four feet in diameter.

"Now, as you may have observed, there was an unfortunate evil alien energy outbreak back at the storage facility you and Dr. Wily's robots were attempting to rob earlier," Quint told Shadow Man.

Shadow Man glared back with folded arms. "Fat chance I will help against that, now release me from this humiliating prison before I get angry."

"I predicted you would say that, but your immediate assistance is unnecessary, I only want to borrow your weapon—as it is alien technology, it should be just the thing to fight the Knitter, and our systems should be compatible…"

Quint typed a quick command on the keypad outside the quintessence holding tube, and a small hole appeared in the forcefield, allowing him to quickly reach through and copy Shadow Man's weapon.

"Don't worry, I'll return after I take care of the mess you created…I have much to study!" Quint said excitedly.

"S-study?" stammered Shadow Man. "No—!"

Like Dr. Cossack, Quint gave Shadow Man a small wave, then teleported off in a stream of green light.

Shadow Man watched him go in horror. "What is this feeling? It's not triumph…could it be…defeat? I'm…trapped? Impossible! I'm a ninja! He's just…some nerdy brat!"

But try as he might, Shadow Man still could not break free of the quintessence holding tube—especially now that he was weaponless.

Still holding Mega Man by the mitt, Roll had half-dragged him through countless tunnels, made numerous turns, and ran into what felt like endless dead ends. She was annoyed, but determined.

"Well they've gotta be around here somewhere!" she exclaimed at what felt like the hundredth identical intersection.

Unable to talk, Mega Man flailed an arm desperately at Roll to get her attention, then pointed down one of the tunnels.

"What? No, we already tried that way, Mega—Oh! Quint!"

"Ah! Hello, Roll! I have just returned from my laboratory," Quint greeted brightly as he came running up to them. He seemed too excited and distracted to register Mega Man's drastic change in appearance other than a quick absentminded, "Fascinating!"

"…You left?!"

"Yes, but I came back! Though I daresay it's getting difficult, it would be prudent to end this soon, lest—well, anyway, I have procured something that should make our task at hand much easier!"

Quint held up what was unmistakably a Shadow Blade.

"Shadow Man? No way—"

"Yes way!" tittered Quint, "And as a bonus, my laboratory is now entertaining the most interesting house guest! But first thing's first—we must defeat Knitter and restore him to normal."

"But…Robot Master weapons aren't useful against alien energy, right?" said Roll doubtfully, looking back at Mega Man (who could only shrug back). They certainly hadn't helped much this far.

"Ah, but Shadow Man is a very unusual Robot Master…watch!"

Quint threw the Shadow Blade into a yarn wall. It created a clean hole—through it, they could see a long clear tunnel that connected to many, many tunnels, as though the Shadow Blade had created a nexus in the wall.

"Only alien energy can fight alien energy…" murmured Roll, squeezing Mega Man's mitt (Mega Man wished she wouldn't, her grip was already making a dent in his stuffing). "Quint, you're a genius!"

"Well, only so much as Dr. Light and Dr. Cossack programmed me to be," said Quint humbly.

A most peculiar scuffling noise was coming down the tunnel behind them.

Quint and Roll whirled, Roll stepping protectively in front of Mega Man, but it was only two giant knit beanbag toys. One was a yellow stegosaurus, with a red knit ridge and nubby black spots on its arched back; the other an orange narwhal, with white and gray chevron stripes and a white tail fin. They had little black beads for eyes, and both the narwhal's horn and the spikes on the stegosaurs's tail were made of sharp knitting needles.

"Knitter's creations?" mused Quint, scanning the knit beanbag animals with his visor.

"At least they're not those creepy sock puppets again!" shuddered Roll, for she and Mega Man had encountered a few in the maze (much to their disgust).

The stegosaurus scampered forward on stubby legs, attempting to flail its spiked tail at them in an uncoordinated spin, while the narwhal was flopping forward in a worm-like fashion using its knitted flippers and tail, straining to get at them with its horn. They were much too clumsy to be intimidating and kept crashing into the walls and each other, as though not used to their bodies.

"Awww, they're so cute!" cooed Roll as the pair toppled over each other in a confused bunch.

Mega Man peered closely at the knit beanbag animals. They were cute, though somehow familiar…

"Yes, and both appear harmless—but better dispose of them to be on the safe side," replied Quint, taking aim with Shadow Blade.

"Right!" Roll drew a flamethrower.

Mega Man sprang in front of Roll and Quint, waving his arms frantically, stopping them from firing just in time.

"Goodness, you seem in earnest," said Quint, looking at Mega Man in surprise.

"Yeah, what are ya so worked up for?" asked Roll.

Mega Man remained stubbornly in the way, shaking his head. Behind him, he could hear the soft crunching of beany stuffing; the stegosaurus and narwhal were scrambling away again in fright, evidently changing their minds about attacking.

"Very well, I suppose I better conserve energy for Knitter anyway," said Quint, dropping his blaster.

"C'mon, let's go!" said Roll, grabbing Mega Man by the mitt again.

Mega Man cast one last fleeting down the tunnel, making sure the knit animals had gotten away, knowing Cut Man and Guts Man were unlikely to ever thank him for saving their lives. That had been close! He had to agree with what Quint said earlier—the sooner this was all over, the better…

Using Shade Blade upon the yarn walls made navigating the maze much easier.

"I believe in most circumstances the 'Shadow Blade' is mostly just a weapon," Quint was droning on to Mega Man and Roll. "However, Shadow Man is able to traverse in the most inscrutable ways, and so it appears (within the confines of Knitter's maze) the Shadow Blade is allowing us to traverse in a similar method. It is almost as if it knows where we want to go, like teleportation but different—"

"We get the picture!" interrupted Roll before Quint could dive into more boring monologue that attempted to break down Shadow Man's alien abilities into logic, still tugging Mega Man along behind her.

Quint was undeterred. "Why I predict, with Shadow Blade, we should find Knitter in no ti—"

Quint was cut off, for with small twangs, a long rope of yarn snagged around their arms and legs, and they found themselves strung up in the middle of an intersection.

"—Oh dear! We need to circumvent this obstacle if we are to continue, that is to say, we must untangle ourselves—"

"I know what 'circumvent' means!" snapped Roll.

"Sounded like you were looking for me, and here I am!" cried Knitter, pushing his way out of a tunnel entrance in an unsettling jumble of knitting needle limbs, like a spider climbing out of a hole. "You fell for my cat's cradle trap! I made that hours ago and have been waiting all day for someone to spring it!"

"You only made one? This guy really is an idiot!" grumbled Roll. Still, they were stuck fast—exactly the last place they wanted to be while Knitter and his knitting needles were in range.

"Hey! They you are!" cried a shrill voice behind them. "Where were you guys?"

Mega Girl came running out of the opening Shadow Blade had made, hands on her hips.

"Aha! I haven't seen you here yet—" Knitter called over to her. "—Like my maze? I'm the Knitter," he added in a fiendish voice.

"The Knitter?" Mega Girl repeated in astonishment.

"Yes, the Knitter! …Why is everyone having such a hard time getting that?" demanded Knitter.

Mega Girl shrugged. "Knitting's fine for some, but I prefer crochet. More patterns and like way faster."

"WHAT?!" shrieked the Knitter. "…How could you say something like that?! I can't crochet, I have needle arms!"

"Um…before you make him too angry, could you help us out?" Quint hissed hesitantly to Mega Girl.

"How? Knitter's right there! Unless you got an idea for a distraction—" Roll began doubtfully, but Mega Girl was already calling over to the Knitter.

"Hey Knitter! How many stitches do you know?"

"Ooo ooo ooo, I know lots!" said Knitter enthusiastically, and began ticking them off on his knitting needles, his button eyes narrowed in deep concentration."Let's see…there's the purl stitch, the garter stitch, the stockinette stitch…the rib stitch, the reverse rib stitch, the broken rib stitch, the beaded rib stitch…the hurdle stitch, that one's nice…the purl ridge stitch, that one's nice too…the basketweave stitch, that one makes nice throws…the purse stitch, that makes nice beach totes…"

"See? Not even hard," said Mega Girl, hurrying to free Mega Man, Roll, and Quint while Knitter continued to list knit stitches. "…What have you guys been doing? Besides falling for silly traps or getting turned into knit dolls?" she asked with sudden severity as they huddled together, glaring at Mega Man in particular.

Mega Man didn't think this was fair—becoming a live knit doll was even less fun than it sounded—and he began gesturing with his arms in emphatic if silent protest.

Mega Girl patted him soothingly on his woolen shoulder, the light force making his knitted legs buckle. "Oh, you poor thing, you're probably frightened. Don't worry! We'll fix this soon!"

"Alright, so you're here, and the Knitter is over there," said Roll, glancing over her shoulder at Knitter (who was elaborating on the pros and cons of double woven rib stitches), "—So hurry up and use the Sun Crystal so Mega Man and the rest of this can go back to normal!"

Mega Girl shook her head. "It won't work, he's gotten so powerful—he has six arms, which means he can knit three times as fast as a normal knitter—we need to weaken him up first!"

"Actually, I thought of that already," spoke up Quint. "I have acquired Shadow Man's weapon—" (Quint briefly explained about how he had become equipped with Shadow Blade) "—If I can get in close, I can weaken him, then you can restore Needle Man to normal!"

At this point, Knitter happened to glance up from the recounting on his knitting needles, noticing that his captive audience had not only escaped, but were no longer even paying attention. "Hey! I haven't even told you about all the stitches yet! Come back here! There's more! Here, I'll just show ya!"

Knitter's knitting arms began flashing and clicking together, and a multicolor cascade of giant sock puppets fell to the ground and began writing toward them. Around him, the maze was changing again—they were gathered in what looked like the same expansive intersection from earlier, though it had gotten larger, more of a wide open underground lair, with a domed ceiling and strands of yarn hanging everywhere like stringy roots, Knitter and his sock puppets at its center.

"Ew, creepy! Better stay back, Mega—" muttered Roll, "I know you'll want to help, but you're just too squishy right now—sorry, but it's true!" She added, poking Mega Man in his pudgy belly, which caused him to totter off balance. She then scooted him behind her, ignoring his indignant, mute protests.

There came a problem with their plan—though Quint began throwing Shadow Blades toward Knitter, who was within range, they fell quite short of their target, as Knitter was able to jump now with alarming speed.

"…You know how to use that thing, right?" asked Roll, watching Quint with a furrowed brow.

"…The theory, yes. You see, my primary focus is lab work, not fighting, and I've never copied a weapon before—"

"You ought to be training with Punk, he offered!" scolded Mega Girl. "…Say, where is Punk? I hope he's alright!"

Another Shadow Blade missed Knitter and flew off, cutting down a yarn wall and revealing Ring Man, Magnet Man, and Jewel Man, who had been creeping nearby.

Mega Man flailed his cylindrical arms to get Roll's attention again, hopping up and down, then pointed a mitt at Jewel Man just before the trio took cover again.

"What?" muttered Roll distractedly, looking away from the sock puppets to where Mega Man was pointing. "Oh, got it! Don't worry, he won't get away!"

Meanwhile, Mega Girl was dodging around the sock puppets while gazing critically back at the group, taking in Punk's ominous absence, Quint's lackluster performance with Shadow Blade, and Mega Man's wobbly condition with a sigh.

"Our team needs work," she muttered to Roll.

"Yeah," Roll agreed.

To herself, Mega Girl wondered where Proto Man could be—probably off somewhere valiantly risking his life—so brave—but oh, she wished he was here!

Proto Man and Elec Man were hidden amongst the yarn—neither wanting to be found by Knitter again, nor to miss what was going on. As such, they had gotten quite close to the battle with Knitter undetected.

From the distance, Proto Man watched Mega Girl closely. Was she really the key to undoing all of this?

Elec Man was watching Proto Man, not understanding Proto Man's interest in the pink robot, and growing increasingly suspicious.

Despite Quint's failure to hit Knitter, the Shadow Blades cut easily through the sock puppets, soon littering the floor with multi-color shreds.

"Ack! My babies!" cried Knitter. "Darn it! I'll fix you!"

Knitter sprang upon Quint before he could escape—there was a grizzly clicking of needles—then Knitter leaped away, revealing that Quint had been reknitted as a large beanbag cactus toy with bead eyes, round oversized glasses, and short knitting needle spines.

"There! Now you can be one of my minions," said Knitter, nodding.

"Crap, Quuiiint…" groaned Mega Girl, watching the knit cactus hop sheepishly away from Knitter rather than act as a minion.

"We still have a chance! Look!" Roll grabbed a fallen Shadow Blade from the ground.

Knitter was still enraged about the fallen sock puppets, his entire form ablaze in purple flames. Thus far, he had been unsuccessful at capturing either Roll or Mega Girl. "Darn it all! Alright, you asked for it—no more Mr. Nice Knitter!"

He began firing off spear-sized needles from his top in all directions like a sprinkler, forcing everyone to take cover and making it impossible for anyone to get close to him, or for Roll to throw the Shadow Blade.

"What do we do?" Mega Girl called over to Roll and Mega Man, who were crouched behind a thicket of yarn on the opposite side of Knitter.

"Maybe he'll get tired?" Roll called back without much hope.

An idea sprang into Mega Man's head. He would have laughed aloud at the simplicity of it, but of course, he still could not, so instead he wobbled toward Knitter as fast as his woolen legs would carry him.

Seeing what he was about to do, Roll lunged to catch him by the arm, but missed.

"No, Mega! Don't try to be a hero—you'll get hit!" she shouted anxiously after him.

True, several knitting needles sank into Mega Man's body, but as he was now made entirely of yarn and stuffing, this didn't really hurt (even when one sailed right between his button eyes and out the back of his head). He didn't feel especially heroic either—in fact, Mega Man had to ignore how silly he likely looked as he leaped onto Knitter's back, wrapped his woolen arms around Knitter's head, and covered Knitter's button eyes with his woolen mitts.

Knitter jerked. "What the—Hey, is that you Mega? I said I wouldn't hurt you, so get off of me! Get off of me right now before I knit you into a big blue pin cushion! Then you won't be able to do anything but sit there and look stupid!"

Knitter was attempting to stab at Mega Man with his six knitting needle arms, but was unable to reach his own back. Meanwhile Mega Man clung on, his own body flopping and twisting wildly about as Knitter raged on.

The ploy worked, Knitter was so distracted by Mega Man that he had stopped firing needles everywhere. Roll took her chance to run up close for an easy shot. The Shadow Blade sunk into Knitter's midsection, tearing a large gash through the knitted armor.

Mega Man let go and hastily wobbled away, but Knitter was no longer paying attention to him as he burst into angry purple flames and let out an ear-splitting shriek.

"YOU TORE MY ARMOR! HOW DARE YOU!? NOW I'M GOING TO HAVE TO PUT AN UGLY DARN IN IT! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS! I'LL—I'LL—whoa," The flames went out around Knitter. He stood very still, his button eyes blinking rapidly as he looked dazedly around. "I feel funny. Like 'ha ha' funny. Look at all of the pretty colors!" He gave a squeaky gasp, touching the points of his needle arms to where his mouth would have been if he had a mouth. "It's like a rainbow maze!"

"Um, like what's going on?" said Kalinka, wrinkling her nose as she peered out at Knitter.

"The blade is coated in some sort of substance that can cause hallucinations in robots," Roll called over. "—Quint told me. Now's your chance to restore Needle Man back to normal!"

"Right!" responded Kalinka. Though she had hoped to see Proto Man use his justice energy, unfortunately, he didn't seem to be in the area, and this opportunity couldn't be wasted. She aimed her wrist-mounted mini-blaster at Knitter, charging up a shimmering ball of cyan light.

Knitter continued to laugh stupidly, waving his needle arms around in circles like batons as he received a full blast of justice energy—then his six arms went ridged as a spider that had been suddenly electrified, and there was a bright flash of light.

The yarn maze dissolved into a thick purple haze. When it cleared, Kalinka found herself standing outside in a quiet back alley, the plain storage facility standing unremarkably beside her. Everything looked as it had before—though the sun was significantly lower in the sky, casting a warm golden glow on the surrounding rooftops and deep blue shadows into the streets.

Needle Man looked down at his arms—he was back to only two, and was likewise completely the same as he had been before becoming possessed by evil energy. "What the? Aw man…"

Best of all, Proto Man had mysteriously appeared in the alley with them. "Hey, nice work, Mega Girl," he said, giving her the thumb up.

Kalinka's heart pounded excitedly. Proto Man was here! And he was complimenting her again~ This could not be happening, it could NOT. She could die! But first, she had a job to do, even cute boys would have to wait…

"You're evil-doing days are over, Pin Man!" cried Kalinka, striking a pose. "Time for you to give yourself up!"

"Heh. Cute," murmured Proto Man to himself as he stood back to watch.

"That's not my name!" fumed Needle Man. "It's Knitter! —I mean Needle Man! —I mean Knitter! —I mean—d'oh! Let's just forget the whole thing, I'm outta here!"

Throwing his blaster arms up over his head, Needle Man scampered the opposite way down the alley, his boots clanking heavily.

"Hey, get back here!" Kalinka shouted after him. "You're supposed to surrender!"

She was about to pursue Needle Man when suddenly she found her path blocked by a California State Police robo-officer with a familiar '100' serial number on his badge. He had stepped silently out from behind the loading dock steps as if he had been lying in wait.

"Stop right there, Mega Girl!" barked Prime-Double-Zero, holding up a hand. Though it would have been impossible for him to miss Needle Man running by, he had not paid the fleeing Robot Master any mind.

"Ack! Not now! Things were going so well!" Kalinka hissed to herself. She looked desperately over at Proto Man. "I-it's not what it looks like—!" Though she didn't like the police, she didn't want Proto Man to think she was a criminal!

"It's alright Mega Girl, you don't have to explain yourself to me!" said Proto Man lightly, stepping towards them. "You go on ahead—I'll smooth things over with Mr. Officer."

…He was too cool. "Thanks!" Kalinka told Proto Man, flashing a grateful smile and a small wave before hastily departing the scene.

"Wait!" Prime-Double-Zero called after Mega Girl, but found his path blocked by Proto Man.

"Say…aren't you that robo-officer I fought on the train with the black pearl? The one who fights like a Robot Master?" Proto Man asked curiously.

Prime-Double-Zero didn't answer. He lifted his heavy rotary-style blaster at Proto Man. "How do you know Mega Girl?" he demanded, sounding confused, his eyes wide beneath his peaked cap.

"Let's just say I like to keep an eye out for her," said Proto Man in a low, friendly voice, "—And that includes trashing nosey busy-bots like you!"

Proto Man rushed forward. Prime-Double-Zero attempted to outmaneuver him with a feint, but Proto Man remembered his tricky fighting style, and had not only copied Prime-Double-Zero's weapon, but in short order had blasted him through the upper story window of a building a block over.

Far from caring about the police, Elec Man had been watching Proto Man from an alcove with folded arms. "Who was that pink robot, and why are you smiling like that?"

Proto Man turned eagerly toward him. "Elec Man, I have big news!"

Elec Man's face fell. "W-what? he asked in a small, apprehensive voice, his eyes flickering unconsciously toward where the pink robot had went and back.

Proto Man hadn't noticed Elec Man's reaction. "That was Mega Girl! Get this—I have a new little sister."

Elec Man blinked, his apprehension vanishing. "…What?"

"I know! Light must have built another advanced android. She's so different from Roll, I bet they fight a lot," Proto Man chuckled affectionately.

"A sister?" Elec Man repeated skeptically. "I suppose it's possible…" he added doubtfully.

"Yeah, and she seemed to actually like me—not that this changes anything between me and the Lights, of course—" said Proto Man happily (still completely oblivious to Elec Man's lukewarm reaction to his big news).

…That at least was evident in Elec Man's opinion. Proto Man seemed too excited about the prospect of a new little sibling to consider that Mega Girl was quite unlikely to be related to him at all. First Kali Cossack, now this Mega Girl? Not that it mattered…Elec Man's circuits twisted and squirmed again, like wood shavings shriveling in the embers of a fire.

Proto Man poked Elec Man playfully on the shoulder. "Hey, what's been eating you lately? You seem kinda tense."

"Nothing."

"If you say so, but you know you can tell me anything," said Proto Man, flashing Elec Man a disarming, dimpled smile.

All thoughts of Mega Girl, the Cossacks, and even his fears about evil energy were driven from Elec Man mind. He looked away, feeling slightly embarrassed. "It's really nothing. Sorry."

"Don't apologize, just let it all out if you have to!" laughed Proto Man, his spirits high. "C'mon, let's get out of this dump. If we hurry, we can take a jet out for a ride by nightfall—supposed to be clear skies tonight."

Proto Man strode off from the Citadel storage facility while whistling to himself.

Mega Man, Roll, and the rest of the Robot Masters had reappeared in front of the Citadel storage facility. Everyone was a bit disoriented, especially those who had been directly affected by Knitter's powers.

"Oh thank god," breathed Mega Man, looking down at his normal hands and wiggling his fingers.

"Er…and that is that!" said Ring Man, shrugging at Magnet Man. "Let's split!"

"Hey, don't forget about us!" said Cut Man as he and Guts Man clambered woozily to their feet.

"Um, we thought you were dead?"

"And I was the one ta finish ya!" called Needle Man proudly as he came skidding around a corner and ran up to them.

No one was pleased to see Needle Man, especially not his own teammates. Needle Man seemed to have no idea how unpopular he was making himself. Still, no one had it in them to resume the fight, and the Robot Masters scattered like ants into the surrounding alleyways.

"Aw, c'mon guys, don't leave me behind!" cried Needle Man as he lagged after them.

There was no way to capture them all, even if Mega Man and Roll hadn't been so worn out from the battle against Knitter. Instead, they focused on Jewel Man, who was still carrying the Citadel-branded case with the quintessence.

"Okay, I'm done chasing you dummies around," growled Roll, leveling a whirling diamond-bladed circular saw with Jewel Man's face. "Drop it or I'll start making my own jewelry, starting with you!"

Jewel Man flinched, holding up his hands. "I give up. Please don't hurt me—here!"

He placed the case on the concrete and kicked it forward.

Roll and Mega Man quickly ran forward to intercept the case. "Much prefer him like this—" Roll snickered to Mega Man along the way. "Can't believe he's the same bot who caused so much trouble as 'Curator'!"

"Don't celebrate yet…" Mega Man popped open the case, which was empty.

"Son of a—don't tell me I just fell for the oldest trick in the book! Hey!" Roll whirled, ready to actually fire the circular saw this time, but Jewel Man had already vanished.

"Jewel thief, remember?" said Mega Man.

At that moment, Mega Girl came skipping up to them, beaming widely. "We did it! We stopped the evil energy outbreak!"

"…But failed to stop Wily from getting access to quintessence and the ability to teleport…" Mega Man pointed out, showing her the empty quintessence case.

This didn't seem to be a big deal to Mega Girl. "Seriously, Mega Man, stop being such sour grapes. You'll never become a great hero with that attitude!" she told him. "Anyway, good work today team. Now let's bounce before the cops come b—I mean, we'll let the police handle it from here. Byeee~"

She skipped away, humming to herself, apparently without a care in the world.

Mega Man watched her go in astonishment. "…You know who Mega Girl reminds me of?" he said aloud to Roll.

"Who?"

"Proto."

"Chh, that valley girl bot with the pigtails, like Proto? Noooo way." Roll thought about it for a bit, her brows rising. "Actually, maybe? I kinda see it now. Whoa."

Later that night, Kalinka was still daydreaming of the events of that day after she had gone up into her room and changed into her pajamas. Quint and Punk had teleported to the laboratory to check on their prisoner and recharge, while Beat sat on his perch next to her bed, his wings hunched, occasionally casting her disgruntled looks and shaking his tail feathers irritably (in her distracted state, Kalinka had forgotten to let him out of the dumpster Shadow Man had trapped him in until long after the battle with Knitter was over)

She fell backward on her bed. What an amazing day! she thought, hugging her pillow and giggling. It really had gone well—even if she hadn't had a chance to ask Proto Man his justice energy yet. I should definitely have asked him out for coffee—next time.

"What a horrible day," grumbled Mega Man as he and Roll returned to Dr. Light's laboratory that night. "Wily's got teleporters, there was another evil alien energy outbreak, I now know what it's like to be a knit doll, and we didn't even manage to arrest any of those idiots!"

"Cheer up, Mega! At least we have a team now to help out now," said Roll.

"Yeah, I'm still not sure if our new teammates helping or making things worse," sighed Mega Man, but decided to let the matter go and instead headed off to bed. Privately, he couldn't help but hope neither Quint nor Mega Girl would be contacting him for assistance any time soon.

After the fiasco at the Citadel storage facility, Dr. Wily had been forced to fly to Los Angeles in the Skullker to collect the defeated Robot Masters. To Proto Man's annoyance, Dr. Wily had wanted Needle Man alive—intending to study him as another subject of alien energy. Jewel Man had given Elec Man the small vial of quintessence (which he had securely stored in his jewel-studded utility belt shortly after receiving the case for safekeeping), who handed it to Dr. Wily. Pleased with the quintessence acquisition, though disappointed that he had once again missed out on obtaining alien energy, Dr. Wily dismissed everyone from his laboratory as he began work on teleporters and plan a new scheme.

"You know, I really think you have the wrong idea about us," Ring Man told Jewel Man, slinging an arm around him as the Robot Masters trooped back to the armory. "Why, if we were humans, I would think of you as an older brother."

"Oh please," muttered Jewel Man, rolling his eyes.

"Forgetting about me?" spoke up a voice from behind them.

Ring Man sprang away from Jewel Man, casting Elec Man a dirty look from over his shoulder. "Geez, you're like the frickin' bogeyman. Alright, alright, I'm moving along, you stuck-up creep."

"Jewel Man, take tomorrow off, you've earned it—but do try to cower less next time—and Magnet Man, good work today," Elec Man said with an edge that indicated that Magnet Man should be stepping up more often.

Magnet Man grunted, then sauntered over to Ring Man.

"He really is a bastard," muttered Ring Man as Elec Man stalked off again.

"Yeah."

Back at Skull Fortress at last, Proto Man headed back to the west wing with Elec Man, where they planned to resume working on jets. But as they reached the hangar door, Proto Man hesitated, scratching the back of his head in chagrin. "Actually, think I'm going to hit the hay. Tired. Big day and all, what with getting a new little sister and giving Wily the ability to teleport—"

"That's a good idea, you need to recover from two alien energy flare-ups."

"Yeah, maybe—you don't gotta rub it in! I'll meet back tomorrow, okay?"

As Elec Man watched Proto Man head up a spiral set of stairs up to his room in one of Skull Fortress's towers, Elec Man realized he himself felt tired—though Elec Man, still thinking being programmed to sleep ridiculous, did not have a bed. He instead strode off to his office, locked the door, climbed into a window ledge, and then drifted into an uneasy doze with his head against the sun-warmed glass, his mind still spinning about evil energy and Proto Man's condition.

Next time on Mega Man Recut…

Now that they have Shadow Man captive, the heroes finally learn valuable clues about the evil energy threat, the alien supercomputer behind it, and the sinister game that's afoot. As fears about future alien energy outbreaks rise, Elec Man worries about being targeted to become its next host, while the unseen enemy watches them all…tune in next time for Ramblin' Evil!

Chapter Text

Episode 31: Ramblin' Evil

To Dr. Wily's continued disappointment, Needle Man provided him with even less information about alien energy than Jewel Man had. To Needle Man's disappointment, Dr. Wily did not immediately promote him to second-in-command, and instead sent him away with chores to buff and wax the skull tanks. Still, Needle Man was enjoying the attention becoming 'the Knitter' had afforded him (even if many of the Robot Masters who hadn't been present at the Citadel storehouse were very skeptical that Needle Man really could be any threat).

"Yeah, not only did I become the almighty 'Knitter' with the fearsome power of yarn, I beat all of the good guys! Yup! That's right!" Needle Man had boasted inside the armory shortly after their return from Los Angeles. He gestured toward Elec Man (who had stopped by to debrief Dark Man on updating Skull Fortress's security against enemy teleportation). "—I even beat Elec Man, too! Take that! Oh yeah! Oh Yeah! I'm the greatest! I'm the greatest!" he chanted as he began cabbage patching.

"You never actually did, but if you want to settle this with a rematch…" murmured Elec Man, a band of electricity humming through his fingers. The ring of spectating Robot Masters quickly backed away.

Needle Man stopped dancing. "Uh, no, I'm good—Ooo! Does this mean I get to join the Syndicate now, just like Jewel Man did after he became 'Curator'?" he asked, tapping the ends of his blaster arms together excitedly.

The look Elec Man gave Needle Man was colder than the darkest reaches of the solar system. Jewel Man quickly busied himself unnecessarily tidying a stack of energy cans, apparently pretending not to hear the conversation so as not to be drawn into the rising tension.

But Needle Man backed down hastily. "Uh, never mind," he said, shrinking away from Elec Man. From that point on, he was more careful about boasting of his exploits as 'Knitter'.

Dust Man approached Elec Man next, looking both cross and exceptionally dusty. He brandished a finger at Elec Man. "What's this? Another alien incident? How could you let this happen? You should be keeping order! You're supposed to be an enforcer, ain't yeh?"

Elec Man wrinkled a nose and leaned away from Dust Man (who, by common consensus, was considered to have several screws loose). "…Your armor is filthy…"

"I've been fumigating the underground bunker," grunted Dust Man. "Yet another armadillo infestation. And don't you tell me what to do! The things I've seen, the things I've kept quiet about, the things I've cleaned up!" Dust Man sniffed angrily, his red eyes blazing madly, then shuffled off. "Ah, you'll see soon enough though. No one ever listens to ol' Dusty, but you'll soon see!"

Elec Man watched Dust Man go, dumbfounded. He was unaccustomed to talking to Dust Man, or even thinking about him. "…The next Robot Master who bothers me gets electrocuted," he announced finally before stalking out.

Now that Dr. Wily had a sample of quintessence, he could successfully create copies of Quint's teleportation device for each Robot Master, though there were limitations. Most areas of interest were protected by Dr. Light's teleportation shields, which impeded their ability to teleport directly into cities. Yet, despite the new potential for crime that teleportation provided, Dr. Wily was once more perched on a swivel chair in front of his Global Extraterrestrial Radiation Scanner in the coming weeks.

"You mean after everything that's happened, you're still looking for alien energy?" asked Proto Man skeptically, watching Dr. Wily from across the laboratory with folded arms.

"To be so close to having such power at my command! How could I miss out on another opportunity, this time with one of my own robots?" Dr. Wily bemoaned to Proto Man. "With 'Hellrazor', I could have flattened cities! With 'Curator', I could have all the riches I desired! With 'Knitter', I could have imprisoned my foes!"

"Yeah, that all sounds great, but trust me, we're better off without any of those bots jacked up on evil energy and turning into robo-monsters."

Dr. Wily wasn't paying attention to Proto Man—he was scrolling through a lengthy spreadsheet of data. "If only I knew who was next! Why were Punk, Jewel Man, and Needle Man bestowed such power? There is no pattern or connection between these robots—it seemingly spreads at random!"

"Yup, it's a mystery," said Proto Man with pointed disinterest.

To his right, Elec Man shifted slightly.

"You ought to focus on teleportation," pressed Proto Man. "Yeah, the technology is slick and all, and your duplicates work like a charm, but it has some major problems."

Truthfully, Proto Man wasn't a fan of teleportation. It had started on a sour note when Dr. Light's teleportation shield had trapped them in a Citadel storeroom with Knitter, preventing them from teleporting out. Even worse, any time they teleported, they could be tracked through the satellite network, which meant anywhere Proto Man teleported, Mega Man could instantly teleport too—a truly unappealing prospect. He still preferred piloting a jet as a primary mode of long-distance travel (while it may not have been as fast, it certainly had more style), but anything was better than alien energy.

Dr. Wily waved a hand idly. "No matter. I've had some success locating holes in Light's shielding technology and masking our teleportation signals," he replied. "And the bugs in the geo coordinate systems are being worked out (less Manhattan, Kansas or Long Island, Alabama mix-ups). Our criminal stockpiles are going up. I am able to employ Robot Masters more efficiently. But the real gain will be from when I am finally able to harness the full power of alien energy, not this watered-down 'quintessence' byproduct. You saw how improved Jewel Man and Needle Man, two of the most useless robots, were, hmm?"

"Yes, well, they both suck?" pointed out Proto Man. "I dunno, Doc…I know you're a master of mad science and all, but it seems like the alien stuff has backfired on us every time."

"Not so! I've experimented with alien energy before, it is not so dissimilar to my usual inventions. Shrink rays, transport chambers, dream wave transmitters, Monster-bots! Truly, there is no scientific phenomenon my genius cannot understand nor wield to its fullest potential," said Dr. Wily, wagging a finger at Proto Man. "The only reason I've been foiled is because of Mega Man's constant interference. If you wanted to help in my world conquest, you could finally deal with him once and for all!"

"And I will someday, so chill!" retorted Proto Man, suddenly finding himself on the defensive. "Alright…but if you get any ideas about experimenting with alien energy and need test subjects, leave me out of it. And Elec Man. And Top Man. And Metal Man, Crash Man, Hard Man, or any of our good Robot Masters—got it?"

"Alright, alright! You will have your way!" said Dr. Wily hastily, for even he in his distracted state couldn't miss the dangerous edge in Proto Man's voice. "—But Proto, you are worrying too much! It isn't like you! Remember the shrink rays! The dream wave transmitter! The Monster-bots! All exceptional schemes, and you were there for all of them as my trusted second-in-command!"

"Yeah…" Proto Man admitted dully. Sure, Wily's mad science schemes weren't very different from alien energy, he had admitted so himself. The schemes had even been hilarious back then…right? He wasn't sure why this felt different.

"Sorry, you shouldn't have come, this is stupid," he muttered in an undertone to Elec Man.

"On the contrary, I have never respected you more," said Elec Man, smirking.

Bristling slightly at this, Proto Man sighed and shook his head, then waved a hand at Dr. Wily, who had already turned back to his computer. "Whatever. I'll be in the hangar…"

He strode out of the laboratory, but Elec Man lingered behind.

Elec Man had always rolled his eyes at Dr. Wily's laboratory. It was dark, not in a sinister way, but in a theatrical way, like a haunted house—something that was trying to be scary, but was actually quite corny (even if real battontons hung sleepily from the ceiling). Dr. Wily was sitting in front of one of his junky supecomputers—one with thick rusty sides, that appeared to have far too many buttons, gauges, and controls—his light blue eyes fixed hawkishly on a blank screen with rapt attention.

"Dr. Wily…may I have a word? It's about alien energy," Elec Man called over.

…It was a bit desperate. Dr. Wily was a moron, after all, but Elec Man didn't have many suitable options to discuss this topic of alien energy. Apart from Dr. Wily, the only two people knowledgeable about alien energy were Quint, and Dr. Cossack…but, even if Dr. Wily would permit it, Elec Man wasn't keen to try to break into Citadel on the high probability of getting caught. Elec Man shivered, recalling Quint's eagerness for him to work together in the laboratory, then quickly took his mind off the subject.

"I'll make it brief, I can see you're busy," Elec Man added, his eyes sweeping critically over Dr. Wily's supercomputer, knowing Dr. Wily wouldn't hear the added sarcasm.

But Dr. Wily had already swiveled around to look at him. "Alien energy? Really?" he said eagerly, grinning a large smile that showed every one of his crooked teeth. Elec Man had to resist wrinkling his nose. "You are the first Robot Master to show real interest in my work! Your initiative is commendable!"

"Yes, well," said Elec Man, determined not to become distracted by Dr. Wily's insulting compliment, "Perhaps there is a connection between these alien energy incidents—an alien entity is behind it all, targeting robots to become hosts—"

"Yes yes, this voice Jewel Man and Needle Man claimed to have heard," said Dr. Wily impatiently, rolling his eyes. "Silly superstitious nonsense. If such a being existed, I would have picked it up on my scanner. Obviously the voice they heard is just a side effect of the alien energy."

"I thought so too at first, but now I'm not so sure—and I think perhaps this alien might target me, Dr. Wily," Elec Man added in a low voice.

But Dr. Wily found this unlikely also. "Bah, you? Why? You are so…delicate! Your construction unnecessarily human for a Robot Master! There are so many other robots—sturdier Robot Masters that do not suffer catastrophic damage from becoming waterlogged."

Calling out Elec Man's design flaw seemed like an unnecessarily low blow, and Elec Man wanted to protest being called 'delicate', but let it go. He didn't like the idea of being infected at all, let alone talking to Dr. Wily of all people about it. "Alright, here's one final thing for you to consider. It's about Proto Man…he's infected with alien energy."

"Proto? Really?" Dr. Wily responded, intrigued. But then his face fell. "Impossible. If there was any alien energy here at Skull Fortress, I would have detected it with my Global Extraterrestrial Radiation Scanner." Dr. Wily gestured importantly at the supercomputer behind him.

"It's a trace amount, perhaps under the threshold of what your alien energy system can detect," explained Elec Man. "And it's a different type of alien energy from the purple 'evil' alien energy you've been tracking—"

"'Evil' Energy?" interrupted Dr. Wily, rubbing his chin. "I like the sound of that! I shall rename the Extraterrestrial Energy Scanner to the Evil Energy Scanner!"

"Fine, whatever," muttered Elec Man through clenched teeth. "Back to Proto Man. The alien energy in his system is blue, and it infected his systems when he tried to copy the weapon of R.I.P.'s head officer, Duo—"

Dr. Wily waved a hand dismissively. "What? That's ridiculous. Who told you such a thing?"

Elec Man hesitated, knowing his source would sound ridiculous, but grudgingly responded, "…A chemist that Proto Man kidnapped…"

Dr. Wily's bushy brows drew together sharply, his face becoming stony as it fell from skepticism to sudden suspicion. "Chemist? What chemist?"

This reaction was…odd. Even for Dr. Wily. "I don't know, I think he was called Cossack or something."

Yet Dr. Wily went slightly pale at Dr. Cossack's name, his voice rising in pitch. "You shouldn't be talking to him!"

"It wasn't my idea, it was Proto Man's," retorted Elec Man, hardly thinking any of this was relevant.

Dr. Wily had stood up from the energy scanner and was pacing rapidly. "What does he know? Nothing! He's overrated, he's self-important, he's a busybody. But…why is Proto listening to him? How did they even meet? What has gotten into that boy lately?"

…Dr. Wily had started talking to himself. Fantastic. Elec Man resisted sighing aloud.

Abruptly, Dr. Wily stopped pacing. He looked back at Elec Man, fixing him with his oiliest of smiles. "It's no matter. Don't worry about it! This 'Cossack' whoever is a silly, unimportant, nobody. A nobody, Elec Man!"

Elec Man gritted his teeth, regretting that Dr. Cossack's name had come up. Dr. Wily was acting particularly weird, which he wasn't in the mood for. "Okay, whatever. But…I've witnessed that Proto Man has alien energy in his system myself, in fact, I have proof—" he began, holding up his handheld computer as he attempted to steer Dr. Wily back on topic. "If you care about Proto Man, stop looking for alien energy. Exposure to alien energy might kill him—"

But this was a closed subject for Dr. Wily. "Nonsense! There is nothing to discuss. I'm the subject matter expert on alien energy, not you, and certainly not this Cossack person, whoever that is," he said severely, striding over to Elec Man and shunting him toward the laboratory door. "Now run along, go build your little planes with Proto Man or whatever it is you do, and stop pestering me about things you don't understand before I give you a real job," he added, still in an oily, paternal voice that made Elec Man bristle from head to foot.

With that, Dr. Wily actually pushed Elec Man out of his laboratory like a bothersome child being shooed outdoors, before slamming the door shut.

Elec Man stared at the closed door in disbelief. "…What the hell just happened?"

It was March. Most of the snow had melted in New York, but the ground was still cold and hard from winter, and the trees were still bare. Mega Man and Roll wore coats as they took Rush for walks around the grounds surrounding Dr. Light's laboratory.

Mega Man had barely gotten a few weeks of rest after his ordeal with Knitter and the Citadel-storage-facility-turned-yarn-maze when he received a message from Mega Girl and Quint requesting his and Roll's presence at Quint's laboratory. Mega Man gave Roll an exasperated look.

"Should we go?" he asked her seriously. "Last time Quint called, we got mixed up in more trouble with alien energy."

Roll shrugged. "Probably best if we find out what's up. Besides, we did agree to Mega Girl's 'team meetings,' right?"

"Right…" sighed Mega Man regrettably.

"And maybe this time we'll finally get to meet Kali Cossack!"

"I don't know why you want to meet her so much. Kali Cossack is about everything you're against: makeup, fashion, gossip…"

"Yeah, but she's famous, Mega. It's weird, though. Kali Cossack used to be in every tabloid twice a week with some new scandal. But lately, the only news about her is she's stepped down from some of her cosmetic businesses to focus on 'personal growth.'"

"That sounds uncharacteristically mature of her. She's eighteen, right? Most human kids would be thinking about life after high school at her age."

"Maybe…or maybe she's cooking up her biggest scandal yet!"

"Well, if that's true, then it's a good thing we're not involved with her, she sounds like a bad influence, and we got enough on our plate," grumbled Mega Man. He himself would much rather meet with the reclusive Dr. Cossack, who was an expert in his favorite subject, Chemistry—though he very much doubted they would see either Kali Cossack nor Dr. Cossack in Quint's laboratory.

They used the new teleporters Quint had given them to instantly teleport to Los Angeles (a process of which Mega Man still found uncomfortable as they were momentarily converted into beams of energy to travel through the satellite network before re-materializing in Quint's laboratory a second later).

"Yo Roll! Glad to see ya!" Punk called, hopping over the ropes of his fighting ring where he had been in the middle of drills.

"Punk!" Roll called back.

"Mega Man, Roll, how are you?" Mega Girl greeted enthusiastically, her support unit Beat perched on her shoulder.

"Not great," replied Mega Man, giving her a stony look. "We've been busy dealing with Wily's robots, who are now committing crimes using the teleportation technology stolen from this lab at an unprecedented rate—"

"Okay!" Mega Girl cut him off quickly, turning her back to him. "Now, I've called you all here today for our first official team meeting! And as our first order of business, Quint has something he'd like to show us. Quint?"

Quint, while smiling in chagrin at his sister's bossiness, led them further into his dark, warehouse-like laboratory to what appeared to be a tube-shaped chamber, whose cylindrical walls were made of a glowing purple forcefield. Shadow Man was sitting cross-legged on the tube's circular floor, stiller than a statue, his eyes closed. He seemed to be pointedly ignoring everyone.

"Whoa, Shadow Man…" murmured Roll as she and Mega Man leaned closer to the tube.

They knew very little about Shadow Man. Mega Man and Roll had encountered him only twice before, and briefly at that (first when Dr. Wily had created a Gravitron to pull the Moon out of orbit, then more recently when Dr. Wily's Robot Masters had stolen the quintessence from the Citadel storehouse). According to Quint, Shadow Man had recently been identified as an internationally infamous master thief who had been eluding the Robot International Police (R.I.P.) for years. But everything else about Shadow Man, including his origin, was a mystery. All they knew was his weapon, Shadow Blade, had been extremely effective against both Knitter and his yarn maze, and as only alien technology could fight alien technology, this meant—

"So far, he hasn't really been talking," sighed Quint.

"Can't you reprogram him?" asked Mega Man, eyeing Shadow Man warily.

Quint shook his head. "Quite impossible. His programming is, er, not like anything on Earth. Isn't that right, Shadow Man?"

"That's funny, I thought I heard something—" Shadow Man's deep, normally boisterous voice had an edge to it, "—It sounded like an annoying nerd with large glasses and a big fat mouth. Hmm, must be the wind."

"See?" sighed Quint. "I have him contained in a quintessence holding cell, which has been highly effective at keeping him from escaping."

"Pff, I can leave anytime I want, I just choose to stay here because the hum of this forcefield is the ideal white noise for meditation." One of Shadow Man's eyes opened. "But rest assured, as soon as I do decide to leave, I'm murdering everyone in this laboratory, including their family, their extended family, and their extended family's extended family, and then I'm defacing your graves. There will be no survivors."

"Big talk from a bot who's trapped in a tube," snickered Punk.

Mega Girl marched imperiously up to the quintessence holding cell. "This serves you right, you know. No one steals from a Cossack and gets away with it."

Opening both eyes, Shadow Man looked at her evenly. "False. I've stolen many items from Cossack Senior's desk at R.I.P. headquarters and he never noticed. I have a brass Mikhail S. Cossack, Chief Roboticist, Robot International Police, nameplate on the mantle of my den."

"No one steals anything important, dummy," Mega Girl clarified. "Besides, Daddy's so old, his eyesight is probably going, so he wouldn't notice anything was missing. You really shouldn't be picking on elders like that!"

"But what is Shadow Man?" Roll asked, keenly interested. "Is he one of the Stardroid aliens? Or does he have evil energy, like Hellrazor, Curator, and Knitter?"

"Something different altogether, I surmise," responded Quint excitedly. "His schematics are very interesting! The metal of his armor can't be found anywhere on Earth, and his energy is unlike anything I've ever seen before—alien or otherwise."

"It's called ninjitsu, idiot, a nerd like yourself should know that—and I'm right here you know."

Mega Girl had been watching Shadow Man with folded arms, her face extremely stern. "Alright then, go on, out with it. Tell them what you really are," she ordered.

Shadow Man, from his seated position on the floor of the quintessence holding cell, made a very sarcastic motion with his hand. "Alright! Alright. You got me. I'm not really a ninja. I'm really a pirate."

"Aha! As we all suspected! So you are an ali—wait, huh?" stammered Quint, doing a double-take.

"I'm a pirate," repeated Shadow Man. "I bootleg everything. Want to play a new video game? Pirate. Want to listen to a new C.D. album? Pirate. Want to watch Titanic in theaters as practice for karaoke? Chh, no, pirate."

"So what if you're a pirate?" said Mega Girl. "Everyone's a pirate—everyone who's cool anyway, right?"

Both Roll and Punk nodded. Quint and Beat looked unsure, while Mega Man was downright disapproving (clearly, these three were uncool by Mega Girl's definition).

"—But that's not really what we're asking, is it?" continued Mega Girl. "We're asking about where you come from."

"A ninja never tells."

Punk and Quint's heads snapped toward Mega Girl, clearly expecting her to go off, but Mega Girl just said sweetly, "Well…if you're not going to cooperate, then we'll just have to keep you in that tube forever—we'll experiment on you, perform alien autopsy, the works!"

Everyone looked back at Shadow Man. Shadow Man regarded Mega Girl for a moment, his hands resting on his knees. "You—are quite terrifying. Very well, I will explain. My home world is not Earth. I come from the secret Shadow Planet of the Ninja star system, many many lightyears from here."

"Aha, so you are an alien!" interjected Quint, triumphant at last. Mega Girl elbowed him hard in the ribs.

"Yes, idiot, I'm an alien Robot Master, and a master ninja," boasted Shadow Man, his eyes twinkling malevolently.

Mega Man was less than impressed. "A planet…of ninja?" he repeated. "You're telling us there's a ninja planet?"

"Yes, key word 'was'," replied Shadow Man, shooting Mega Man a dirty look. "My home world was destroyed before your precious little Earth had even discovered fire. I am its sole survivor."

"…Um. If this is true, you'd be millions of years old," Mega Man replied skeptically. He glanced over at Quint, who was eagerly taking notes, then Roll, who was squinting at Shadow Man, as though also wondering how he could possibly be that old.

"Yes, and no," said Shadow Man, shrugging. "I traveled through time and space using the most advanced of ninja arts: the Ninja Wormhole, very dangerous, can only be used by ninjas to travel between planets inhabited by ninjas. Thus, I reappeared in the far distant future—Earth's year of 1985—but I was weak. I spent many more years in ninja stasis as my energy recovered, after which I acclimated to local ninja customs via martial arts films, as was custom on my planet. It was easy—one, because I am a ninja, but mostly two, that Earth is not so dissimilar to my home world, only more humans and far less murder. Around the same amount of shopping malls, give or take."

"…This is ridiculous…" grumbled Mega Man.

"Ohh, I didn't know you were such an expert on aliens, Mega Man!" retorted Shadow Man. "Alright, you tell us what's going on! No? Then let me continue."

"What happened to your home world?" prompted Roll after elbowing Mega Man in the ribs before he could interject again.

Shadow Man scoffed. "Um, isn't it obvious? Only one thing that can destroy a planet full of ninjas—the most evil entity ever to exist—way eviller than anything you can come up with—Ra Moon."

For a moment, Mega Man's skepticism at Shadow Man's obtuse tale vanished, a shiver running down his titanium spine. Ra Moon?

"To be clear, by 'Ra Moon', you mean 'Lotos', right?" clarified Quint, looking up from his notes.

"Um, probably?" replied Shadow Man, shrugging. "He's posed as many things under many names—he thinks it's funny messing with underdeveloped life forms like that—but his real name has always been Ra Moon. He's an ancient supercomputer, I'm talking beginning of the cosmos old, with Phenomenal Cosmic Powers. Can do things that you Earthlings couldn't possibly understand. And he's a huuuuuge dick. Like, you may think you know some jerks, but no one compares to the complete assholery of Ra Moon."

"We know, we've met," muttered Mega Man, thinking back to Lotos, Roll clicking her tongue angrily.

Shadow Man stood up and began pacing his small cell.

"He has gone from planet to planet, spreading evil energy and destroying everything through its corruption. I thought Earth would be safe, for it is a boring little backwater planet no one cares about. But I was mistaken. During the time I had spent traveling by Ninja Wormhole, Earth had already been invaded by Ra Moon, just like my home world. I did not notice at first. True, I was not really paying attention—busy with ninja business, like stealing things, infiltrating fortresses, saboteuring empires, spying on my enemies, spying on the enemies of my enemies, communing with demons, taming giant frogs, playing tricks on R.I.P…but Ra Moon has been here for a long time."

"Yes, since the Paleolithic Era or 'Old Stone Age,' according to our—I mean, Earth's records," put in Quint, referring to both the ancient Vanuu'bi (from Dr. Wily's island) and Latoans (who had been granted wishes by Lotos). "Though up until recently, there has been little evidence that any sort of powerful paranormal entities existed on Earth."

Shadow Man was shaking his head and stroking his chin. "Make no mistake, Ra Moon is here, and he's been waiting—waiting for Earth to become advanced enough so he may complete his invasion and begin his games."

"But I don't get it," said Roll. "Why does Ra Moon go from planet to planet just to destroy things? What's his goal?"

"Uh, nothing? He just likes chaos? That's it. And there's no way to stop him. Especially not by Earthlings. You're one of the least developed planets I've ever been to. And now, thanks to him, you're the only planet with life left."

This was quite a dire pronouncement. No one said anything for a moment.

"Well, we have to try," said Mega Girl definitively.

"Yeah," chimed in Roll. "Doesn't Ra Moon have any weaknesses?"

"Chh. I wish," said Shadow Man darkly.

"What about justice energy?" asked Quint.

"Um, I'm a ninja, what would I know about 'justice energy'? Like it matters. Ra Moon has destroyed every being with justice energy that has ever crossed his path, he hates that shit."

Everyone glanced nervously at Mega Girl, but Mega Girl looked completely unconcerned, still scrutinizing Shadow Man with narrowed eyes.

"Like I said, once Ra Moon has invaded, there's no getting rid of him," continued Shadow Man. "Now that Earth has robots, he will corrupt them with evil energy, bringing upon Earth's downfall as he has done to so many other planets before it. He's here, he's rigging the board, and he's always watching. …Well, sometimes watching, anyway, he's also quite lazy."

At this, Shadow Man shivered, then glanced nervously around Quint's laboratory, carefully scanning each shadow.

Mega Man, Roll, Quint, and Punk turned to one another.

"This…isn't good. Curator, Knitter, both close calls," muttered Quint.

"Hellrazor wasn't a picnic either," put in Roll.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself," chuckled Punk, scratching the back of his helmet.

Mega Man remained quiet.

Mega Girl was still watching Shadow Man. "Must be hard for you, being the last of your kind…" she said finally, stepping toward the quintessence holding cell. "No wonder you're so afraid of Ra Moon!"

Shadow Man's eyes flickered toward Mega Girl. He fidgeted. "It's true, I'm afraid of Ra Moon," he admitted finally. "Only a total idiot wouldn't be. But…I'm also angry about what he did to my planet. I want revenge."

Mega Man still glared mistrustfully at Shadow Man. "You don't seriously think we're buying all of this? It sounds like a big joke!"

Shadow Man fired up instantly, drawing himself up to his fullest height. "A ninja never jokes about revenge! It is the most sacred thing in the universe!"

"Well hang on…then it sounds like we all have a common enemy," said Mega Girl, shooting Mega Man a severe, warning glance. "We all want to stop Ra Moon, right? Us to save Earth, and you for your revenge?"

Everyone looked at her, surprised. Shadow Man went still, staring intently at Mega Girl. He walked right up to the cylindrical wall of the cell, one hand pressed against the forcefield, his eyes locked on hers. "…Are you proposing an alliance, terrifying spawn of Cossack?"

"Well yeah—if you promise to stop stealing from our lab."

"You have my word as a ninja—on one condition. I am not allying myself with you to become a 'good guy', you are allying yourselves with me to become evil henchmen to overthrow an even more evil being. I cannot emphasize how important the semantics around this situation are for my reputation."

"Right," agreed Kalinka, winking. Then, to the shock of the rest of the room, she pressed the release button on the holding cell's control console. The forcefield flickered then died.

Instantly, Shadow Man sprang from the cell. He gave Mega Girl a small bow as he presented her with a scroll, his eyes glinting. "Here is a token of our alliance. You will not regret this." He raised a hand. "Until next time, losers!"

He threw a smoke bomb, then vanished.

Mega Girl unrolled the scroll.

"It says 'Ninja I.O.U., To be redeemed by you, Laters, Shadow Man,' and there's a cartoon drawing of his face. Aw," she said, pinning the scroll to the corkboard above her desk.

"What the—you let him go?!" Mega Man cried, rounding on Mega Girl, aghast.

"What? He gave me his word as a ninja," shrugged Mega Girl.

"That's precisely why you shouldn't believe him! Ninjas are untrustworthy!'"

"Chill out! He'll turn up again. He's lonely like that, isn't it obvious?"

"Oh sure, he'll turn up alright—while sticking a Shadow Blade in our backs…"

"You worry too much, Mega Man! Like, don't have a cow. Besides, do you have any idea how many years he's spent spying on my dad? He's practically a friend of the family at this point, kinda like Dr. Light and that weirdo Willy guy."

"Wily and Dr. Light aren't—and that's not—whatever," stammered Mega Man, confused and frustrated by Mega Girl's logic. "Now what?

Mega Man glared at the rest of the group. No one else had spoken up against Mega Girl. Roll even seemed amused.

"Well," Quint said finally in a rallying voice. "We now know the name of our enemy, and that is indeed something. We also know Earth may be the last planet with life…which is something else to contend with, indeed."

Despite his attempt at sounding cheerful, Quint's words were dismal. It was a lot to take in.

"What about the Stardroids?" asked Roll. "They gave Mega Girl the Sun Crystal with justice energy, right? Couldn't they help us if we gave them a call?"

"I have been working on it," responded Quint. "However, we haven't been able to make Contact reliably. I surmise they've gone further into hiding…or perhaps there's been other interference."

Roll was still thinking. "How about Dr. Ramuh?" she suggested. "He studies aliens too—he helped us against Lotos the first time. He works at R.I.P. now."

At this suggestion, Quint stiffened like a board. "Uh! Interesting idea, but perhaps not."

Both Roll and Mega Man frowned at him. "Why not?" asked Roll, raising her brows.

"Are you kidding? We can't involve the International Robot Police!" tittered Mega Girl.

"…Why not?" repeated Mega Man, raising his brows.

"Um, international law? They don't have jurisdiction here according to some convention or whatever. So…it's up to us!" Mega Girl replied, smiling sweetly.

…This seemed suspicious. Why wouldn't Quint or Mega Girl want to involve R.I.P. against a powerful, allegedly unstoppable cosmic threat that endangered the entire world?

"But…Dr. Cossack used to work for R.I.P., back before he moved to America, right?" Roll tried again.

Mega Girl's eyes narrowed slightly. "Yes, but that's not public knowledge, is it? Daddy's work there is classified."

"But—" began Mega Man.

"You know what? It's late," Mega Girl cut him off, still smiling sweetly, "—And time for young robots to get to bed!"

"I—huh? —It's eight o'clock, five o'clock in this time zone!" exclaimed Mega Man, astonished by Mega Girl's audacity to talk to them as though they had been recently activated.

"Yeah, whatever—Anyway! Great team meeting!" said Mega Girl, smiling broadly and waving. "You can go now! Byyyyeeee~"

Quint and Punk looked a bit uncomfortable, but both still seemed unwilling to speak up against Mega Girl.

Mega Man exchanged looks with Roll, who shrugged again. They turned to walk back to the entrance of the lab to teleport.

"…Was it something we said?" grumbled Roll along the way. "Whatever. Let's go tell Dr. Light what we've learned—Mega?"

"...Ra Moon...?" murmured Mega pensively.

"What is it, Mega?"

"I…dunno." Mega Man shook his head. "It's the only thing I'm certain Shadow Man told the truth about—I feel like I've definitely heard that name before! In fact, this is all giving me a big sense of deja vu…"

"Yeah, me too, actually…" murmured Roll. "C'mon, let's go home…"

Ra Moon.

It certainly was a lot to think about, Kalinka reflected, as she brushed out her hair that evening, staring out her bedroom balcony to a dazzling Los Angeles skyline, the sun low in the sky behind her in a perfect golden hour.

Kalinka couldn't help but think of the mysterious masked hero, Proto Man, too. Did he know about Ra Moon? She was sure he did, he was too cool not to be on top of things. Still, she couldn't help but feel like Proto Man should have been with them earlier, as part of the team. It was Kalinka's fervent hope, anyway. It just felt so right that they should all be together. Things had been going so well! They could talk about being heroes and justice energy (though she hadn't managed to ask him about justice energy yet). She wondered if he had been given a Sun Crystal by an alien like Sunstar, like she had. Well, Kalinka could at least look forward to one silver lining to the alien energy outbreaks…she was sure to run into Proto Man again!

I have got to be the luckiest girl ever, Kalinka thought with a happy sigh.

Despite widespread skepticism about Jewel Man and Needle Man being capable of becoming powerful doomsday forces, Skull Fortress's armory was beginning to buzz about alien energy. Many Robot Masters were wondering why Dr. Wily wasn't up to his usual scheming, and that there seemed to be no plan in the works. It felt…ominous.

Yet Proto Man still seemed inclined to brush the alien energy situation off. He changed the subject if his justice energy was ever brought up, and was even trying to make light of evil energy.

"So…what do you think your super villain name would be?" he asked Elec Man conversationally. They were in the western hangar, standing beneath the wing of one of the Mark XIV, working on its inner wiring. "Like if you got possessed by this dumb 'evil energy' or whatever. I think I'd be like 'Maverick' or 'Renegade'."

"I…don't want to think about that," said Elec Man without looking away from his work.

Proto Man looked over at Elec Man, surprised by his curtness. "Hey, uh…if you don't mind me asking, what's been eating you lately? You were really tense back when we were fighting Needle Man's stupid alter ego, 'the Knitter…'"

Elec Man hesitated, then told Proto Man of his suspicions (and building evidence) that an unseen alien entity might actually be targeting him to become a host of evil energy.

Proto Man stopped working and leaned against the jet's side to regard Elec Man with folded arms. "Makes sense…I mean, if I were an all-powerful alien going around making super-powered evil Robot Master minions, you'd be my first pick. You're definitely the smartest, probably the most dangerous, really just the best all around."

"Flattering, but I can't get infected by evil energy."

"Worried you'll turn into something weird like a mutant spark plug? Don't sweat it! I'm sure you'd still be cool looking—"

"It's not that! I'm not that vain," Elec Man retorted hotly, dropping the welding tool he had been holding to his side to glare piercingly at Proto Man, then added in an urgent whisper. "…I worked for the mob. If I became infected, I'd become the monster I am on the inside."

"Hey, c'mon, you're not a monster—" Proto Man chuckled uncomfortably, unfolding his arms, "—Besides, this alien energy stuff is stupid, right? Bet if you got infected with evil energy, you'd just start calling yourself the 'Executive', force everyone to wear suits and work in an office of your evil electric company, and make them work unpaid overtime on weekends when you get mad, that kind of thing."

"…This is serious."

"Okay, okay, but lighten up! Even if you're being targeted, this 'master' Jewel Man and Needle Man talked about sounds like a lazy, aimless asshole. You don't even know that the alien can even get to you, you're too smart for that!"

"There is nothing this alien could tempt me with," Elec Man said firmly. He looked out one of the large hangar doors into the badlands, which were changing from fiery orange to a dusky purple as the sun sank toward the horizon as a blazing blood red disc. "I'm above bribing. But…I'm still a gangster. I have darker thoughts than everyone here, and I've never felt remorse. That alone would be enough to attract evil energy…" he trailed off, his gaze distant. "Someone will get hurt—or worse. I'm good at acting evil, even without being corrupted by alien energy."

"….You're worried about people getting hurt?" Proto Man asked, both surprised and slightly skeptical. "You've never worried about that before!"

"Only because I choose who I hurt and why I hurt them. Can't ignore that the previous hosts were out of their minds and under the influence of someone else." Elec Man hesitated. He still wasn't looking at Proto Man. "Light? I…want you to do something for me."

"…What?"

"If I get infected with evil energy, you have to destroy me."

"What? No. Besides, evil energy hosts can be returned to normal (or as normal as Needle Man was ever going to be). We saw it happen."

"Not if they are too far gone, if they already have too many evil thoughts. Quint told me about evil energy hosts. Promise me—if I become a space cockroach or a mutant worm, you'll destroy me."

"If you become a—what? Chh, Elec Man, no offense, there's no way—"

"Promise me."

"No," Proto Man said flatly.

Finally, Elec Man's eyes flickered over to Proto Man. "I would do it for you if you asked me."

"Elec Man," Proto Man said in his lowest, most serious voice, "Whatever happens, it's going to be okay."

"You don't know that."

"I do. And it will be. We all have dark sides. I'm not scared of yours."

"You should be."

They stared fiercely at each other as the sun slipped below the horizon, both refusing to break eye contact first, to even blink (neither bothered of course by Proto Man's visor separating them)—

Behind them, the hallway door slid open. Top Man has chosen that inopportune moment to drop by. He halted dead in his tracks, his eyes flickering between them. "Whoa. Um. Am I interrupting something?"

"No." Elec Man said swiftly, his face adopting a neutral expression that was somehow more chilling than his normal serial killer glares. "What is it?"

"I, uh, some of the other Robot Masters and I are going to hang out at Sea Gulch, and wanted to see if you two wanted to, uh, join us…"

"No thank you, Top Man. I have some work to attend to," said Elec Man. He swept briskly past Top Man and out a door that led up to his office.

Top Man watched him go, then looked over at Proto Man. "…Everything alright?"

"Yeah. Sorry Top Man, maybe some other time. I gotta go bring in some equipment."

Proto Man left through the open hangar door out into the dusky badlands.

"…Okay then…" Top Man muttered to himself, glancing between Elec Man's office door and the direction Proto Man had disappeared.

Bass had spent much of the winter fighting any robot challengers that went after him. The lifestyle agreed with him—he found himself enjoying the thrill of fighting more and more with each battle. Yet, most of the time he had spent sleeping. Something about the cold made him want to hibernate like an animal, just like the bats that lived in his clocktower hideout's decaying spire.

…It was, after all, quite snug in the clocktower hideout, with Treble curled next to him, and snow settling lazily against the frozen hands of the four clock faces. But, now that March had arrived, the snow was melting as it became warm again, and Bass was beginning to feel restless, his room within the clocktower small.

He glared out of the eastern clocktower face at the waning moon over the distant New York skyline. Something was up. He wasn't sure what, but he didn't like it. Perhaps one of Wily's stupid robots were slinking around…they hadn't found his hideout yet, no one had, but they'd regret it as soon as they did (though part of him might not mind running into one of Dr. Wily's robots again, a fight sounded especially good right about now.)

Yet no, that wasn't quite it. Bass had felt this feeling before: first, when he had seen live news footage of a strange robo-monster wreathed in purple flames in Los Angeles, then again before facing off against the weird 'Curator'… then again in February, though he had ignored that instance. It nagged at him once again, feeling more urgent than facing any of Dr. Wily's imbeciles.

"Come, Treble," Bass murmured, before setting out into the night.

The darkness surrounded him. He was submerged, as though sinking into cold, black water, the daylight disappearing. He tried to cry out, but no sound would come from his mouth. It was as though he had forgotten how to speak. As though he had no mouth to scream with, no body, only the inky black void of space—

Then, as though from a distance, he became aware of someone's hands on his shoulder, shaking him.

Elec Man bolted up right, electricity crackling from his fingers.

"Whoa whoa whoa, don't shock me," said Top Man, leaping back from Elec Man hastily.

"I…" Elec Man looked around, confused. He was in his office, stars twinkling outside the large windows. It appeared that he had fallen asleep at his keyboard. Again. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to Sea Gulch?"

"You weren't answering your communicator, so I came back early to check on you," said Top Man. "Your door was unlocked…"

"Right," muttered Elec Man distractedly, beginning to feel incredibly stupid, for he hadn't meant to fall asleep at all.

"Relax, you were having a nightmare," Top Man said sympathetically, taking a tentative step back toward Elec Man. "You were shaking and mouthing something. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," said Elec Man, rubbing his eyes through his harlequin mask.

Top Man wasn't convinced, and (reluctantly) Elec Man told Top Man about his concern about becoming infected with evil energy, and the argument with Proto Man. He normally wouldn't have wanted to talk about it, but something about Top Man's familiar presence made him inclined to vent.

"So that's what you were fighting about!" said Top Man with a relieved smile. "I always liked Proto Man," he added approvingly, leaning against Elec Man's desk. "I mean, he acts like a big tough bad guy, but deep down, he's alright."

"We weren't fighting, just talking," Elec Man said crisply. "And he's not taking this seriously enough. He could die, and I could be the thing that kills him."

"…Or he doesn't want to kill his co-pilot?"

"There wouldn't be a choice. If I became infected with evil energy, it wouldn't be like it was with Jewel Man and Needle Man, I would be so much worse."

"Uh, no, you're not that evil…" Top Man said evasively, his eyes darting away.

"Yes, I am. I'm built for intimidation and deadly efficiency. My weapon is capable of torture, even annihilation. I've shocked robots just for annoying me."

"Well, that was back when you were a Syndicate gangster. You're different now."

"No, that was just last week. I shock Ring Man all the time, and I'm contemplating killing Needle Man when I get the chance. I've not changed at all."

"Oh. Um," stumbled Top Man, crestfallen, but grudgingly unsurprised. "Well, you could try to be nicer—"

Elec Man wrinkled his nose. "No, that's impossible."

"What you did for Jewel Man was nice…sorta," Top Man tried again, grasping.

"I didn't do that to be nice, I was being practical." Elec Man sighed, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms. "Even so…I'll admit this evil energy affair has made me a bit…uneasy. I've been thinking about what would happen if I became infected, about what evil energy could make me do. And these…nightmares I'm having. Sometimes, I see people dead in my dreams. People I know. Like you."

Top Man perked up at this. "You're having nightmares about me dying?" he asked, touched.

"You shouldn't sound happy about it," Elec Man responded gruffly, exasperated that no one was taking this seriously. At the same time, he felt a bit disappointed in himself. "…I've never been like this before. I used to be stronger."

"But don't you see?" Top Man grinned, "—Caring about others is strong! It's the strongest thing you can do!"

"Hmph. Sentimental, human foolishness. And I hate sleeping."

"You know…I don't like sleeping either," Top Man admitted tentatively, looking shyly away. "…I get nightmares too."

Instantly, Elec Man straightened in his chair, regretting his words. His nightmares were about a hypothetical future, Top Man's were about his past trauma.

"Sorry, I didn't know."

"Don't apologize! I want you to come to me if you're having problems, that's what family is for! …Or supposed to be for, anyway. You still haven't told Proto Man about the sleeping yet, right? He's bound to find out, you're together all the time."

"Not all the time—"

"I have an idea. Why don't you come back to my room to sleep? Then maybe neither of us will have nightmares, because neither of us will be alone."

"Your room? You have a room?"

"Yes!" laughed Top Man.

Elec Man really wanted to say no. He preferred to be alone, and talking about feelings made him extremely uncomfortable. Yet he also felt bad for Top Man, and Top Man had a point, he couldn't just fall asleep wherever.

Top Man's room turned out to be a makeshift loft located above an armory storeroom, accessible by a wall-mounted ladder. It was a peculiar space, for Skull Fortress had very nonsensical construction, though undeniably made for a striking living area. It was as deep and as long as a tennis court, with a three-story ceiling—the bottom side of metal stairs zig-zagged up one side, and a thin row of clerestory windows lined the other, providing bright shafts of natural light during the day. Eclectic, large-scale art covered the concrete walls, and the floor was covered in rag rugs. A large puffy mass of cushions and blankets lay in one corner in a semblance of a bed, a vibrant tapestry hanging behind it. In another corner was a record player tucked behind a mismatched collection of bean bag poufs and moon chairs.

"It's nice, right?" said Top Man, grinning.

Elec Man's eyes were roving around the odd collection, perturbed. "…No? We have a budget for petty expenses, you know. You could buy new human furniture instead of this junk."

"It's not junk!" Top Man protested. "Ring Man, Magnet Man, and I picked it up at a flea market in Brooklyn. It's cool."

With some difficulty, Elec Man held his tongue. Top Man was obviously proud of his little bohemian loft—the poufs and moon chairs a reminder that Top Man led a social life and likely hosted the other Robot Masters often. Elec Man wondered if he and Top Man could be any more different.

"Here, take the bed," Top Man prompted, gesturing to the puffy mass.

"What? No, it's your room—"

"And you're my guest. I'll make another on the floor," said Top Man, gathering some of the poufs together into another makeshift (if smaller) bed. "…Hey Elec Man? All that talk about evil energy…you wouldn't try to leave in some attempt to protect us all, would you?"

Elec Man shook his head. "Of course not. I can't, because I'm programmed to obey Wily, but even if I could, I wouldn't, because of you. Our creator wants me to look out for you, and you like it here for some silly reason."

"Hmm." Top Man smiled. "…Sure you wouldn't stick around to hang with Proto Man too?"

"Drop it," snapped Elec Man warningly, then he added in a murmur, "I…don't know. My loyalty to Centum is absolute. Yet…Proto Man is like family too."

"…Yeah? That's…great."

Elec Man looked away, uncomfortable. "Anyway, it's irrelevant because I won't abandon you here, so stop worrying. Good night. …Are you sure you don't want your bed?"

"Absolutely!" said Top Man. He spun briefly into an orange tornado, changing out of his armor and into a pair of orange pin-stripe pajamas before flopping onto the floor cushions. "Night!"

Reluctantly, Elec Man took off his helmet and settled himself on Top Man's bed. It was extremely soft. And, to his utmost annoyance, he fell promptly asleep.

Tensions were flaring within the armory. Several Robot Masters had returned from teleportation missions, each worse for wear. They hadn't been adequately trained in this new method of heist, and found instantaneously teleporting directly to their targets (banks, secure facilities, museums) to be just as disorienting to them as it was to the victims they were stealing from, resulting in confused, botched robberies often prematurely interrupted by Mega Man and Roll—and this was assuming they managed to teleport to the right destination on the first try!

"What is Wily playing at?" grumbled Gemini Man within the armory's rec room, where off-duty Robot Masters often gathered to recharge (and occasionally talk about Dr. Wily far from his prying ears). "This new tech blows!"

"We've been in red for a long time," muttered Crash Man, gesturing to supplies. "We're low on everything. We have to try something."

"Yeah with Wily always holed up in his office doing who-knows-what and Proto Man always who-the-hell-knows-where our strategy for stealing is all over the place and that sucks a lot," rattled off Quick Man as he paced within the entryway like a ball bouncing between the door frames.

"Even Elec Man has been A.W.O.L.," nodded Crystal Man, looking over at Crash Man, who shrugged. "Yes, his attitude for Dr. Wily's schemes is abysmal, but even so, he used to be very helpful with logistics…"

"Don't even get me started on Bass," added Gemini Man furiously. "What did Wily even build him for? He's as bad as Mega Man! I swear, if I'm ever asked to track down that stupid asshole one more time, I'll blow up this whole goddamn fortress!"

"Cool it, Gemini Man! You're just mad because Star Man was put on a different strike squad than yours," hooted Spark Man, gesturing with his electrode arms.

Gemini Man hunched up his shoulders. "Am not, shut up! …I hate you so much!"

"Air Man's team was short and needed Star Man's Star Crash for extra defense," Crystal Man cut in in a curt, it-can't-be-helped-so-don't-argue voice. "But more importantly, we're getting defeated on all fronts. Our orders are disorganized; this scatter-shot approach to crime is pummeling us. We can't operate like this forever, we need help."

Everyone seemed beyond frustrated at that moment, a storm of angry, dark thoughts beginning to brew as they glared at one another.

"I can help," offered Wood Man in his simple, amiable voice. Of the Robot Masters in the armory, he alone seemed least fazed by Dr. Wily's current lack of direction.

Gemini Man rolled his eyes. "Shut it, Wood Man! Last time you tried to help around here, you painted flowers and smiley faces all over the skull jeeps. It took weeks to clean up!"

"I kinda digged it," said Gyro Man, who was lounging across several ammunition crates with his arms folded behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. "It was groovy, man. …Made them hard to see out of, though."

"Yeah, you're dumber than a bump on a log," cackled Spark Man. "Get it? 'Bump on a log?'"

"No," said Wood Man, puzzled.

"No offense, but you'd just be in the way," sighed Crash Man as he glanced sidelong at Wood Man.

"Yes, go somewhere else, Wood Man," ordered Crystal Man sternly, pointing toward the door before the other Robot Masters turned to resume their griping and general discontentment.

Wood Man shuffled out of the rec room, found the nearest supply closet, and slumped into a corner by himself between a stack of power converters and energy cans. "…Why's everyone being so mean?…"

"Yeah, everyone needs to chill out," said a slippery voice by his side.

"Yeah," responded Wood Man dismally. "But no one listens to me. I don't have any friends. Except for Stone Man, but Crash Man put him on a new work shift; and Astro Man, but he went into hiding; and Bright Man, but Bright Man has been too busy working on his comedy act. No one will play Candyland with me anymore…"

A perfectly round shadow glided across the rusty steel floor toward Wood Man. "I'll be your friend. "

Wood Man perked up. "Okay. I've never been friends with a shadow. I didn't know they could talk."

"Heh. Just me, Einstein."

"I am not Einstein, I am Wood Man."

"…Shut up."

The middle of the shadow parted, like an eye opening, and something sprouted out of the center. It was a little mushroom, with a stout white stem and a bright red cap with white spots. Strangely, it seemed to emit a faint purple glow.

"Oh! It's like a hat!" exclaimed Wood Man.

"Um…sure?" said the voice as Wood Man lifted the mushroom and sat it on top of his flat, stump-like helmet. Wood Man promptly burst into purple flames.

"Ahhh! Fire!" Wood Man bellowed, springing to his feet and flailing his arms. Then he froze, scratching his head in confusion. "But this fire does not hurt. It must be a good fire. Yes, I feel good, I feel happy—and I can spread my happiness to everyone! And I will now call myself Spore!"

"Yeah, sure, great, whatever," said the shadow, which was beginning to fade. "—But keep this to yourself! Just pretend to be plain ol' Wood Man for now, alright?"

"Okay," said Spore with a wide, placid smile.

After telling Dr. Light about their encounter with Shadow Man at Quint's laboratory, Mega Man and Roll had eventually retired to their rooms, feeling like they had been left with more questions than answers. It was therefore difficult to fall asleep, the mysterious name Ra Moon lingering on both their minds…

The next morning, they were both sitting grogily on the living room couch, drinking energy cans and watching the Channel 3 News—a fairly mundane segment covering the routine construction delays affecting New York City's monorail service, fan anticipation for the upcoming Nightmare Fuel tour, and interviews from participants in New York City's St. Patrick's Day parade. Then, unexpectedly, the news was ended by a trailer for a surprise, special segment to debut later that evening.

"Does America have a new superhero? Move over Mega Man and make way for Mega Girl, the pretty crusader of Los Angeles!" announced Plum, the cheery android news-broadcaster from Los Angeles, taking the place of the usual broadcaster Bree Ricotta as news footage of Mega Girl played behind her. "More on this story tonight at eight."

The broadcast cut to a sprinkle star-shaped breakfast cereal commercial starring a purple genie mascot.

"'Pretty Crusader'? As if! Mega Girl is way too cool for that moniker," sneered Roll, who was reclining in a low slump against the couch cushions. "I think they should call her the Pink Punisher."

"Hmmph," Mega Man commented disinterestedly. Though it was nice to have other heroes, he wasn't exactly thrilled with Mega Girl. "She's so bossy," he admitted aloud to Roll. "…And I still think they're hiding something—her and Quint, I mean."

"Only one thing?" laughed Roll. "I think the Cossacks have more secrets than we do! —But whatever it is, I'm sure they're alright."

"Hmmph," said Mega Man again, opening a thick leather-bound book on Chemistry, and decisively deciding not to tune into the Mega Girl segment that evening.

Proto Man was in a rotten mood. It wasn't that he felt bad about the fight with Elec Man, exactly—he regretted nothing that he had said—but it still didn't feel right, and Elec Man was nowhere to be found in the western hangar. Agitated, Proto Man found himself heading toward Dr. Wily's laboratory the next morning once again—and was therefore quite annoyed to find himself waylaid by Crystal Man and Crash Man.

"Hey, Proto Man, a word?" asked Crash Man tentatively, sticking his head out of the armory's rec room.

"Can it wait, Crash Man?" Proto Man asked in a dangerous voice.

"No," said Crystal Man firmly. "The teleportation missions Dr. Wily is assigning to us haven't been going well. They lack planning, or any type of actual leadership. We need help. If it's not coming from you or Wily, then delegate the next second-in-command. We all voted, and Elec Man would be our choice. His Syndicate background makes him perfect to lead another criminal organization, and he'd intimidate all internal opposition who would challenge his position."

Proto Man stared at them. Though he himself often acknowledged Elec Man was well overqualified to be next-in-command in Dr. Wily's army, he knew Elec Man had no such ambitions. "Geniuses, while all this is true, you've got to know by now Elec Man would hate that. Besides, there's no way Wily would take a bot he didn't build as a second-in-command."

"He didn't build you! Everyone knows you're a Light bot, even if you say otherwise!" fired off Gemini Man's voice from within the rec room.

"Oh ho, are you questioning my word? Is this mutiny I hear?" asked Proto Man, drawing a blaster. Everyone fell silent. "...That's what I thought."

Crash Man held up his hands. "Easy, Proto Man—let's take it down a notch, eh? We're just having a difficult time using the teleportation technology for crime—and it feels like Wily doesn't have a plan."

"Okay, why don't you two lead the missions?" said Proto Man indifferently.

"I've been trying, but we need help," reasserted Crystal Man, glaring at Proto Man.

Proto Man really wasn't in the mood for this right now. "Alright, I'll think on it, so stop bugging me, okay?"

Before anyone could respond, Proto Man quickly turned his back on them and stalked off. Finally, he found his way to Dr. Wily's laboratory.

"Hey Wily, nothing on your scanner, right?" asked Proto Man as he stepped through the sliding door.

Dr. Wily was still in front of his supercomputer. As far as Proto Man could tell, he hadn't moved since he last saw him, though he held a steaming mug of black instant coffee in one hand.

"Nothing on my Evil Energy Scanner, yes," Dr. Wily corrected, turning toward Proto Man and giving him a hard look beneath bushy eyebrows.

"...And that thing works, right?"

"Of course—patience, my boy! After all this time, you should know that good things come to those who wait."

"Yeah, and after all this time, you should know patience isn't my strong suit," Proto Man quipped back. "Look, you can do whatever you want with the alien energy scanner if you really think that's the big picture…but can you at least give us some kind of plan in the meantime? Something to do?"

Dr. Wily was still scrutinizing Proto Man. "Proto, what's wrong? You've been acting strangely."

"What? Chh, nothing's wrong," Proto Man deflected instantly, taking a step back out of the laboratory. "Nothing's wrong—zero—notta—zip. I'm just saying the troops are getting antsy is all, right?"

"But that doesn't matter—they just need to do what they're told, and not question their orders, right?"

"Right…" muttered Proto Man, agreeing but also still feeling annoyed. "Alright, just forget about it."

He quickly walked back out of Dr. Wily's laboratory, his fists clenched in aggravation, then noticed Elec Man walking in the corridor ahead of him that led from the armory to the western hanger. He hurried to catch up.

"Hey, Elec Man, wait up—about last night, that thing you're worried about…if things get that bad, you can trust me to do what needs to be done, alright?"

Elec Man's face was blank and unreadable. "Thank you."

To Proto Man's relief, he felt the frosty tension suddenly dissipating. "Yeah. And I'm sorry if I made you angry."

"I'm not angry, just scared."

This made Proto Man feel worse.

"Alright, alright, but I wish you'd relax a bit on the alien energy stuff, you've been working overtime on it."

"And you could be taking this more seriously."

"I am! But—" Proto Man hesitated for a beat, "—You shouldn't dump on yourself so much—like: 'I'm Elec Man, I'm Syndicate, that makes me so evil…'" he imitated loftily, "…Who cares? All that stuff is bullshit! It's like you said before, 'evil' and 'justice' are just dumb fairy tale concepts, the real world isn't that black and white. If evil energy targeted Needle Man, of all Robot Masters, it'll go for anyone. If I hadn't been infected with this dumb justice energy, it'd be coming for me too. So stop being so dramatic and buck up, alright?"

He cuffed Elec Man hard on the shoulder.

Elec Man started and whirled toward Proto Man, cuffing him back. "Hey!"

"Hey yourself," said Proto Man, then pushed past him toward the western hangar.

Elec Man glared after Proto Man sourly for a moment, scoffing to himself. Of course Proto Man would say something naive like that. What did he know? Whatever. It really wasn't important. Content to drop the subject for now, Elec Man too headed toward the western hangar.

It was some time later before Spore returned to the rec room. By then, a few more Robot Masters had joined the heated discussion that was still transpiring in his absence.

Drill Man, who was standing just behind Crash Man, glanced over in Spore's direction. "Um…Wood Man? You've got like a mushroom growing out of your head," he buzzed.

"Yes."

"…Okay then." Shrugging, Drill Man turned his attention back to the other Robot Masters.

"Hey! Cool off, everyone," Crash Man was saying in a warning tone. "We just need to figure a few things out!"

"Yes, we just need to try harder," said Crystal Man, glaring steadily at the other Robot Masters.

"Why?" demanded Gemini Man. "Isn't it all kinda pointless? Without a plan, we're just getting smoked out there while Wily sits on his ass and—and—"

Gemini Man broke off mid-sentence. A faint, shimmery substance had filled the air, as though a cloud of glitter had been released through the rusty air vents. It was quite pretty. In awe, the Robot Masters stared about themselves as the shimmering, prismatic dust began to settle on their armor.

"Hey, he he…is anyone else feeling…funky?" asked Bomb Man, who was standing on Crash Man's other side.

"Yeah, a little, he he he…what's with this sparkly stuff?" chimed in Spark Man. "It makes me want to laugh, he he?"

"I…feel…so…slow…" mumbled Quick Man, slumping against a wall. "It's…really…funny…he…he…he…"

"It's spores! Spores from Spore! Spore's Spores!" Spore announced happily.

"…Wha…?" said Crash Man blearily, blinking over at Spore.

"Look, he he! It's—he he he—coming from the mushroom," wheezed Drill Man, his drill arms wrapped around his middle, on the brink of laughing uncontrollably.

"Wood Man—he he he—stop—he he hmmph!" uttered Crystal Man, pressing his knuckles to his mouth guard as he stifled a giggle. This only worked for a moment before he burst out again. "Sss…stop! He he he he! Stop! Stoppa. Stoppy stop stop stop—ha!" He dissolved into a fit of giggles, leaning back against a table, before falling over backward into a tumble of semi-transparent spheres.

Quick Man made a big slow-mo show of winding up, then swiping to remove the mushroom on Spore's helmet, but it was clumsy. "Whoops!" he laughed as he instead punched Drill Man, who was not standing near Spore at all.

"That's okay, ha ha ha!" said Drill Man, teetering on the spot. "That hurt but I can't feel mad!"

"I'll try!" said Spark Man enthusiastically, electricity crackling through his electrode arms. He fired, nearly hitting Crash Man and Drill Man while incinerating a weapons rack far away from Wood Man.

"D-don't shoot, ha ha ha ha!" howled Crystal Man from beneath the table, pounding his fists against the floor. "It's too funny, ha ha ha. Don't shoot! Ha!"

"I'm—he he—going to get help…" said Bomb Man, swaying unsteadily. But instead of heading toward the nearby open door, he walked in the complete opposite direction, crashing headfirst into a wall. He fell to the floor. Spark Man began laughing, then Bomb Man began laughing too, then soon everyone was laughing.

"I…totally forgot what I'm doing. What are we supposed to be doing?" said Crash Man, trying to come to his senses.

"I dunno," burbled Crystal Man helplessly to the floor.

"Guys, I like don't feel any different," said Gyro Man.

"I love you man," Germini Man told Spark Man hysterically, throwing an arm around him.

"Aw, I love you too brother," Spark Man told Gemini Man, throwing an arm around Gemini Man. "But seriously, what's going on? …Not that I care, eee heh heh heh!"

"No more fighting…." Spore said happily, swiveling bodily from side to side to take them all in.

"No more fighting!" chorused the other Robot Masters happily.

And soon the rec room was ringing with a dissonant, spreading cacophony of laughter, guffaws, and giggles.

To be continued…

Chapter Text

"Hahaha—I-is it possible—hahaha—for a robot—hahaha—to die from laughing too much?" asked Drill Man as he leaned against a card table for support.

"Yeah—hehehe, I think we can like—hehehe—self-destruct," wheezed Spark Man, who was doubled over next to him.

"…Oh."

Crystal Man's communicator began to beep.

"Wily to Crystal Man, I have found a small hole in Light's teleportation shield over New York City," growled Dr. Wily's voice. "We must use this window of opportunity to strike. You are to lead a team of my most finest, handcrafted robots—Quick Man, Gyro Man, Spark Man, and Gemini Man—to invade the mayor's office!"

"The mayor's office…" Crystal Man repeated, nodding and trying to keep his thoughts together, while biting back laughter. All the other Robot Masters gathered in the rec room were giggling behind him.

The giggling did not escape Dr. Wily's notice. "You idiots…what is going on in there?"

"Hehehe—it's Wily!" trumpeted Spark Man, jumping onto Crystal Man's back. "Hi Wily!"

The other Robot Masters began crowding in on Crystal Man and shouting greetings.

"SILENCE! …As I was saying," Dr. Wily said in a testy, if-you-do-not-cease-this-nonsense-heads-will-roll voice, "We must invade the mayor's office—once it's in our possession, we will have a strong foothold over the city—and once the city is under our control, the state will soon follow. And after the state—the nation—and after the nation, the world!"

"…What?" said Crystal Man, struggling to keep up with the stepping stones of Wily's plan.

"I said, 'the World!"

"…What?"

"The world! The 'world', the—the world, you nincompoop! What is this impudence, are you making fun of my accent?! Just because I exchange the english 'w' for a 'v' sound should not impede your understanding of 'take over the world!"

"…..Ha ha, what?"

Dr. Wily's voice lowered to unmistakably deadly depths. "You are to teleport to the mayor's office, now."

"You want us to teleport…now, ha ha ha?"

"Yes, now! You have five minutes…" growled Dr. Wily again.

"Ha ha ha…okay!" said Crystal Man as the transmission ended, looking at the others. "…We should, right?"

"Hehehe—I guess so," shrugged Spark Man.

Smiling placidly, Spore teleported with the group.

It was the afternoon rush in New York City, and the streets were completely gridlocked with traffic. Horns blared as drivers rolled down their windows to shout at one another.

"Hey, move over!"

"You move over!"

"Up yours!"

"Up yours!"

The horns began blaring louder. People in nearby buildings began throwing up their windows to shout down at the people in the streets, adding to the disgruntled din which echoed across the city like a storm.

A brown teleportation beam dropped into the middle of the city, then Spore reappeared in the heart of Central Park. A few joggers cried out in surprise before hissing their annoyance and moving on.

"You're doing so great, buddy," said the slippery voice inside the hidden ear receptors of Spore's stump-like helmet. "Just keep doing what you're doing!"

"Okay," said Spore, taking in his surroundings. "Hmm, this place is nice!" he added as his eyes roved around the thawed duckpond, the budding trees, and rolling lawns just starting to turn from brown to green again.

Then he noticed the honking sounding from the nearby streets. Car doors slammed as the drivers got out of their cars to shout in each other's faces. A few looked close to openly brawling, their fists clenched and their faces a nasty brick red.

"Well, that's not very nice!" Spore muttered. "…Wait! …I know what to do!"

He stood very still and closed his eyes. Shimmering spores began to emanate from the glowing mushroom on his helmet. They filled the air in a dense, glittery cloud, which drifted lazily over the streets. Slowly, the arguing humans began to look up.

"Hey, what is this stuff?"

"Did someone let loose a glitter bomb or something?"

Then they began laughing. Some of the worst fighters shook hands and hugged, before returning to their cars, turning the engines off, and gazing peacefully up into the beautiful, shimmering mist that was beginning to settle over the city.

Spore smiled peacefully too. Yes, he liked it here. He would like to stay here forever.

And as he thought this, the bottoms of his boots morphed into roots, which sank deeply into the earth.

The satellite scanner began beeping within Dr. Light's laboratory.

"Another problem with the teleportation shield—" muttered Mega Man after he rushed to accept the call. "Galaxy Man just picked up six enemy teleportation beams from Skull Fortress to New York—Wily's robots are attacking the city!"

"Again?" said Roll. "They oughta be getting tired after the last few thrashings we gave them."

"C'mon—let's head them off before they can make away with anything!"

They teleported to the city center, alarming a group of pigeons milling around on the sidewalk. Fortunately, they appeared to be just in time—a group of Robot Masters—Crystal Man, Spark Man, Gyro Man, Gemini Man, and Quick Man, were standing further ahead in the middle of a street packed with unmoving cars, but they hadn't appeared to have stolen or even broken anything yet. In fact, they weren't causing any trouble at all—they seemed to be in a strange, giggly state—each gazing around in what appeared to be a complete daze. Their armor was sparkling slightly in the sunlight—as though freshly fallen snow had settled on their helmets and shoulders.

"Haha, we've teleported to the wrong location again, hahaha…" laughed Crystal Man. "The mayor's office is that way, haha."

"Not that way, eee hehehe—" cackled Spark Man, squinting in the other direction. "Toward the giant green monster-lady with the torch."

"Hahaha, the mayor's office? I thought we were robbing a bank?" put in Gemini Man.

"I…thought…we…were…attacking…the…monorail…ha…ha…ha…" mumbled Quick Man, his eyes drooping.

"And I thought we were like going to get the band back together, man, ha hahaha ha!" said Gyro Man, his arms flung around Spark Man and Gemini Man.

"No—haha—stop—haha—that's not right, hahaha," stammered Crystal Man. "…I forget. Why are we here?"

Roll and Mega Man were completely astonished.

"…Wait, what's wrong with them?" muttered Roll.

"Must be one of Wily's plots, some sort of virus or something to make robots act stupid, but…they did it to themselves?" Mega Man answered, puzzled.

Roll smirked. "'Bout time something backfired on them—this is sloppy, even for them!"

They hesitated a moment longer—it didn't seem very sporting to attack robots who were so clearly not functioning normally (Well, perhaps Gyro Man and Spark Man weren't acting much different, but it was strange to see the impatient Quick Man, the tactical Crystal Man, and the hot-headed Gemini Man giggling and moving around like bumper cars at a fair). Still, capturing these Robot Masters, all built by Dr. Wily, would go a long way to fighting Dr. Wily's army. It seemed too good to be true.

And as they took in the scene, they quickly noticed the Robot Masters weren't the only ones laughing. Many of the humans on the sidewalks were also doubled up in mirth, and the drivers in the parked cars seemed uncharacteristically untroubled by the standstill traffic as they sat with arms folded behind their heads, roaring with laughter—each covered with the same sparkling dust as the Robot Masters.

Sharp pain stabbed through Mega Man's power core.

"Ahhh! W-wait, this doesn't feel right, something's wrong—I—I…" Mega Man clutched at his chest, feeling an unpleasantly familiar stirring. "E-evil energy…"

The smirk vanished from Roll's face as she became alert. "Shit…again?" she glared at the Robot Masters, drawing a circular saw from her utility arm. "Listen up, morons! Which one of you is it? Which one has the evil energy this time?"

"The evil whua?" said Crystal Man, blinking at them.

"Hiiiiiiii…" said Quick Man with a very slow wave before promptly falling over face-first onto the crumbly street.

"Oh my god, it's Roll! Hehehe—hi Roll! Long time no see!" greeted Spark Man, waving both electrode arms enthusiastically. "It's me, Sparky Mark, from Cold Steel, the band you idolized, ehehehe? I'm kinda hard to recognize without the hat—or the wig—or the bandana—but my arms are the same! And guess what! Beef Shawarma is still single, ehehehehe!"

"Hi-di-ho there!" said Gyro Man.

"I never idolized Cold St—shut up!" stammered Roll angrily, glaring at them all. "Now which one of you is it? Who has evil energy? Speak up before I start cutting you into 'sheet metal'!"

The Robot Masters began laughing at this, tumbling against each other for support. Enraged, Roll was about to charge—but by this point, Mega Man had recovered somewhat. He noticed a faint shimmering in the air above the Robot Masters, and caught Roll by the elbow just in time.

"Roll, wait! Careful…that sparkling dust is what's making everyone act funny!"

Roll blinked, catching sight of what Mega Man was looking at. "Thanks Mega—I suppose it's not any of those idiots anyway." She sighed, looking around. "Whatever's going on, it's already affected half the city! We better call for backup."

"You don't mean…"

"Well of course! Who else can help against evil energy than Mega Girl?"

…What Mega Man wouldn't give but to have anyone else help out against evil energy! It had been so much easier when it was just him and Roll against Dr. Wily!

"…At least it's us calling for help for a change and not the other way around," he grumbled finally in a conciliatory tone. "Let's fall back to a safe distanc—Roll?"

Roll had gone very still, she was looking over Mega Man's shoulder. "…I don't believe it."

"What?"

"Bass!"

"...Bass?"

Mega Man whirled around. Two dark shadows were standing atop a nearby rooftop.

"Mega Man," hissed Bass, leaping down into the street and pointing a blaster at Mega Man, Treble at his side. He hesitated, his eyes flickering over to Roll. "…Roll?"

"Bass!" Roll shouted back venomously, tossing her ponytail back and pointing a circular saw from her utility arm at Bass. She nodded to Mega Man. "This is it! We've got to fight him."

"Now?! But what about the evil energy?!"

"Evil energy?" questioned Bass.

"Yes, evil energy—the purple alien energy that gave Curator his powers, remember?" Roll shouted back, glancing scathingly at Bass.

"Evil energy…" Bass repeated again, his eyes distant as though lost in thought.

"What, is he stupid or something?" sneered Roll to Mega Man.

"I…don't think so…" said Mega Man with a nervous glance at Bass. "We should go…we need to call Mega Girl and Quint to help deal with the evil energy outbreak, remember?"

"Evil energy can wait," Roll hissed impatiently before calling out again. "So, Bass…what hole did you slither out of this time? Did you hear Wily call and come running?"

Bass snapped out of his apparent trance. "I have nothing to do with this," he gestured with his free hand at the giggling Robot Masters, though his blaster arm remained trained on Mega Man's power core. Treble was also watching Mega Man, ears back, completely still, white fangs glistening in the sunlight.

"A likely story! If you're not part of this, then what are you doing here anyway?"

"Patrolling."

"…What? Why?"

"I don't know!" replied Bass. "I just could sense something—something off."

Mega Man and Bass caught each other's eye. There was a strange sort of understanding—somehow, some way, they were both sensing the same thing.

"You could sense something?" scoffed Roll. "Like what? You mean like evil energy?"

"I dunno—maybe."

"Dream on!"

"Roll, I think he's telling the truth…" muttered Mega Man in an undertone.

"Of course he isn't, Mega, he's a slimey Wily-bot, they're all liars," said Roll, not bothering to keep her voice down as she cast Bass a scathing look.

Mega Man wished Roll would stop—though it was in her nature to be brash, he could tell her insults were definitely hitting their mark as Bass's face tightened—he likely resented being called a Wily-bot as much as he resented Dr. Wily himself. Yet Bass did not take out his bitterness on Roll—instead, he honed it hawklike on Mega Man.

"Evil energy or not—I don't care—but maybe what I'm sensing is coming from you."

"Me?" repeated Mega Man stupidly, taken aback, even if there was some accuracy to the accusation. "Now hang on—I'm not causing this either—"

"Don't care. You're my enemy."

"And you're ours!" Roll fired back eagerly. "Mega and I are here to take you down!

"Is that so?"

"Yeah it's so, you stupid sneaking Wily-bot!"

"Now hold on a moment!" Mega Man protested desperately. "Roll—Bass—Roll—"

No one was listening to him. Roll was stalking across the street to Bass (weaving between parked cars), and (despite his combative words) Bass stepped clumsily backwards, eyeing Roll nervously.

"W-what are you doing? What do you want?"

"I want to fight, dummy."

"Okay?" Bass sounded confused, as if he had forgotten what that word meant.

Mega Man had a feeling that Bass was somewhat reluctant to fight Roll—a sentiment that, unfortunately, didn't extend to Mega Man. In turn, Mega Man (being Roll's brother) didn't exactly like what was going on between Roll and Bass, but felt powerless to stop it from happening.

From the sidewalk, Treble looked from Bass to Roll, then gave a soft groan.

"I know what you mean," Mega Man sighed to Treble, then hastily leaped back, for Treble had shown him the white of his teeth again. He looked back at Bass and Roll. "Bass—Roll—" he tried again, but it was like trying to step in between two charging bulls.

"Now take this!"

Roll had fired her circular saw. Bass ducked just in time, the blade narrowly whistling between the sweeping crests of his helmet as he returned fire. Mega Man ducked as a viridian plasma bolt passed over his head, incinerating a parking meter behind him.

Roll fell back to Mega Man's side. "C'mon! Draw your blaster and help me fight this loser!"

"Is this really necessary?" Mega Man hissed angrily to her.

"Of course it's necessary!" Roll growled militantly back. "He's a Wily-bot, he's being sneaky, and—and—I know! Maybe he has the evil energy!"

Doubting this, Mega Man looked back at the Robot Masters—but they were ambling off further into the strange sparkling cloud, in a clumsy, confused manner. "Shit…" he muttered.

Not waiting for Mega Man, Roll leaped into the air, aiming a flying kick at Bass like a helicopter. His eyes widened—again, seeming unsure what to do about Roll—but he rolled sideways at the last moment. The momentum of Roll's attack sent her down a subway entrance that had been behind him.

While Roll was busy falling down a flight of stairs while cursing, Mega Man suddenly found himself face-to-face with Bass again, who was very, very angry. He hastily began walking back across the sidewalk as Bass slowly advanced, blaster drawn.

"Funny how we keep running into each other," Mega Man joked to ease tension, but his smile faltered against the stone-cold fury of Bass's face. "Look, I know you aren't here to help Wily's bots—you probably just wanted to stay home and not be bothered—I get that, I really do! We don't need to fight—"

"Hmph. Coward. Stop trying to get out of this and face me."

"But this whole thing has been a big misunderstanding—we are not enemies—"

"Nope. Wrong."

"Let's talk about this—"

"I've had enough talking. I'm strong, you're weak and pathetic."

"Sure! You're right! You're the strongest!" Mega Man hastily agreed, willing to humble himself if it made Bass back off.

But Bass only grew angrier, a green light flashing within his plasma cannon. "I said stop cowering and face me!"

"No—not here—there are civilians," Mega Man pleaded.

To his immense relief, Bass's eyes flickered from side to side, taking in the scattered humans on the sidewalks and parked cars, but he said, "Don't worry—I don't miss."

"Oh no you don't!"

Roll burst out of the subway stairs like a bear springing from a cave, tackling Bass.

"Roll! Wait!" Mega Man called—but then became distracted by something purple to his right. He turned, and saw that Treble was still watching him. Mega Man had forgotten about Treble. With bared teeth, Treble gave one booming bark like a thunderclap.

"Uh-oh, nice doggy—" he uttered shortly before Treble pounced.

Roll and Bass had tumbled onto the sidewalk. They both sprang to their feet, Roll quickly ramping up her offensive.

"A friend of mine was destroyed by evil energy," she hissed over the buzzing of the drawn circular saw, which she was slashing at Bass like a gladiator against a lion.

"A friend? Who would want to be friends with you?" asked Bass pointedly, his eyes locked on the circular saw as he ducked and weaved to avoid losing his head.

"Loads more bots than would be friends with you!" retorted Roll. "But I'll have you know that because of that, this stuff going on with the evil energy is personal."

"Fine! Whatever! Leave me out of it!"

"Fat chance!"

Giving up on the circular saw, Roll drew her toaster cannon and fired point-blank at Bass. He went sailing into the air, over several low rooftops, before falling and disappearing into another street several blocks over. Treble (who had been about to make quick work of Mega Man) pricked his ears up toward the direction Bass had been forcibly expelled, then quickly and silently darted down an alley after him and out of sight.

"Score!" Roll cheered, pumping a fist in the air. "C'mon, Mega—let's go finish him off!"

"Roll…" muttered Mega Man, limping up to her.

"What? —Oooo ouch, are you okay?

"Never better," Mega Man grumbled, gingerly testing his limbs, which had nearly been pulled out of their sockets, his armor resembling one of Rush's chew toys.

Roll cringed slightly. "Alright, alright, we'll let Bass go this one time—but we taught him a lesson he sure won't forget! Let's go back to the lab—Dr. Light will fix you up in a flash."

Bass had landed in the back of a delivery truck in a quiet tree-lined residential street, his fall broken by a large sofa (startling a couple of humans out walking their dog, who muttered curses while continuing on). Shaking himself off, Bass hurried back toward the fray—only to see Mega Man and Roll disappear in beams of blue and yellow light.

"What the?" he muttered to himself. "Coward," he added, referring solely to Mega Man.

Treble had rejoined him and sat beside him, also glaring in the direction Mega Man had disappeared.

"Evil energy…" muttered Bass again, tightening his hand into a fist. It sounded somehow…familiar, but why? His mind felt itchy, just as it had shortly after activation.

He shook his head violently to push back against the nagging thoughts, then looked up at a scuffle of approaching footsteps.

Dr. Wily's Robot Masters had returned, looking lost and bumping into one another, as though each kept randomly changing their mind on which direction they were traveling in.

"Hehehe…I think we better split, man," said Spark Man, bumping into Gemini Man. "We keep going in circles!"

"No—hahaha—not until we complete Wily's mission—hahaha," said Crystal Man stubbornly, who was half-carrying Quick Man.

"But we don't remember what the mission was," said Gyro Man, crashing into Spark Man. Then he stopped still, and pointed. "Look, Bass! …Is Bass the reason why we're here?"

Bass moved swiftly toward Gyro Man, catching him by the elbow and pointing a blaster into his face.

"How did you get here? I saw you drop from the sky as energy—Mega Man and Roll can do the same thing!"

"Hahaha—chill! It's a teleporter! Wily gave them to us, haha! Please, take it! Just don't hurt us, hahaha!" said Gyro Man, opening a panel on his blaster arm, popping out a small circular device, and dropping it at Bass's feet.

Spark Man did the same, popping an identical device from his arm with the tip of an electrode. "Take mine too, heh heh! One for you, one for Mr. Wolf!"

Bass looked down at the teleporters, blinking, and released Gyro Man.

Spark Man and Gyro Man quickly clutched onto Gemini Man's arms, and the three teleported as a group with Quick Man and Crystal Man close behind.

Bass didn't care—he was preoccupied with the teleporters, which he had snatched off the ground. They seemed simple enough. Then he looked back up at the shimmering cloud, which seemed to be slowly rolling closer. He still felt poised to fight—but Mega Man was gone, and you couldn't fight a cloud, and he had no idea what was causing it.

With a snarl of annoyance, Bass beckoned to Treble, and they quickly departed back toward his clocktower hideout…but they'd be back.

Dr. Wily was livid.

"Idiots…what is the meaning of this?" he demanded when Crystal Man, Quick Man, Gemini Man, Spark Man, and Gyro Man returned to his lab without accomplishing anything.

"Eee heheh sorry, boss!" laughed Spark Man. "We weren't able to rob Coney Island like you told us to, hehehe!"

"I sent you to invade the mayor's office!" roared Dr. Wily.

"Well, whatever," said Gyro Man inconsequentially. "First Mega Man showed up, then Bass showed up, and everyone started fighting for some reason? Then Bass was totally going to kill us, man—"

"Bass was there?" asked Dr. Wily, a vein pulsing unpleasantly in his forehead. "And you didn't think to bring him back here?"

"Uh…no? He was going to kill us."

"Idiots. You are all acting like idiots!" growled Dr. Wily, throwing up his hands and pacing back and forth in front of the newly dubbed (and as of thus unresponsive) 'Evil Energy Scanner'. He cast one scornful, beady blue eye back at them. "I should have sent those numbskulls Cut Man and Guts Man instead—at least they are consistent…Why are you still giggling like this? Such insolence! I expect more from you, Crystal Man! Bah! When I am less busy, remind me to reprogram you all into street cleaners! Now out of my sight! OUT, I say!"

The Robot Masters hurried out of the laboratory—but in a most disorganized way—with Crystal Man attempting to lead but colliding with the door frame while Quick Man leaned against him for support, Spark Man and Gemini Man crashing into one another, and Gyro Man spinning with his arms held out like a hand propeller toy, each laughing.

Dr. Wily rolled his eyes and returned to the blank screen of the Evil Energy Scanner.

In a twin stream of blue and yellow light, Mega Man and Roll reappeared back at Dr. Light's laboratory.

"More evil energy?" said Dr. Light, walking in from his office and looking troubled.

"Yes, there's an outbreak in New York City—" said Mega Man breathlessly.

"We've tried calling Quint and Mega Girl, but they didn't pick up," added Roll.

"Oh dear. I feared as much, I just listened to the most unusual news report—" said Dr. Light, "—Of course, they think Wily is to blame—as I did too, at first—the city is on alert and evacuating. I do hope everyone is safe…"

"I still think it's one of Wily's schemes!" Roll told Dr. Light excitedly. "Get this—We caught Bass lurking around too!"

"Bass?" Dr. Light looked anxious. "Did he say where he is staying? Is he with Dr. Wily?"

"No, he keeps saying he's rogue," huffed Roll, rolling her eyes. "Which we all know is bullshi—sorry, Dr. Light, I mean 'baloney'—he's a Wily-bot and they're all scheming liars! I just know he has something to do with that sparkly, evil energy stuff. But get this—Bass says he can 'sense' evil energy!"

Dr. Light sighed deeply. "No, I'm positive Bass is being truthful. …There is something I should tell you about him."

He motioned them to sit down around an empty lab table. Solemnly, Dr. Light explained about how Bass, shortly after his activation, had come to his lab, complaining of a former life he couldn't remember and seeking Dr. Light's help. After scanning Bass, Dr. Light had made a shocking discovery.

"Wait…so Bass…is Snake Man?" Mega Man asked weakly.

"In a sense…yes," answered Dr. Light quietly. "Though perhaps not so simple. This phenomenon goes beyond programming and hardware—perhaps beyond what anything science can currently quantify. But, there is a connection. Bass is powered by green alien energy from the Red Gulch meteorite—the very same alien energy that possessed Snake Man, and ultimately destroyed him. I do believe it is possible that Snake Man's essence was preserved by this alien energy, and now inhabits a new body, though his memories of his past life—Snake Man's memory chips—are gone. He is no longer the same robot, but all that Snake Man once was, and all that Bass is now, may perhaps be a continuation of the same being."

"Like reincarnation…" murmured Roll.

"But then, Bass could be our ally!" said Mega Man. "Snake Man almost was—in the end."

Dr. Light nodded, but he looked very grave. "That is my hope too. I would at the very least rest easier if he were to stay here with us, comfortable and safe, but I don't think it will be easy. He appears as stubborn as Dr. Wily, and is holding a grudge against you, Mega Man."

Mega Man looked down guiltily. Roll was quiet, taking this all in.

"Never mind that for now," Dr. Light told them kindly. "We have present troubles at hand. Hmm, I must make some adjustments to the teleportation shield to lock Dr. Wily out again, and coordinate my Robo-Rescue Squad to help evacuate New York City."

Dr. Light turned to his supercomputer and began typing away in a rapid, snare-drum-like pace, leaving Mega Man and Roll alone.

"I knew it," Roll muttered finally to Mega Man. "About Bass—he told me he prefers Gigavolt, but thinks Nightmare Fuel is overproduced (which he's totally wrong about), just like Snake Man used to say…but why's he acting like he doesn't know me?"

"He…doesn't have any of Snake Man's memories, remember?" Mega Man said awkwardly. "They would have been incinerated when, well…"

"We've got to find him."

"After you tried to kill him? Twice?"

"That doesn't matter!"

"Maybe he just wants to be left alone."

"No way!"

"You've been dead set against him. Kept calling him an ugly creep," Mega Man reminded her.

"He's not ugly! —Not that I'm shallow, or anything," Roll said cagily.

"Hmm," said Mega Man noncommittally, not liking where this conversation was going.

"You heard Dr. Light—he should be with us! We just need to talk to him."

Privately, Mega Man thought between himself and Roll together, the task of convincing Bass to join them couldn't be more difficult, and they might all be better off if they kept out of it—but Mega Man was spared further discussion of Bass as his communicator began beeping.

"Calling Mega Man," came Quint's voice.

"Quint! We've been trying to call you! It's an emergency!"

"Sorry, trouble at my lab—nothing to worry about!" he added hastily if a bit abashedly, perhaps sensing that Roll and Mega Man were now looking at each other, aghast. "What's—um—'up'?"

They quickly explained about the mysterious new evil energy outbreak afflicting New York City.

"Right—we'll be there soon. In the meantime, do not engage with evil energy until Mega Girl and myself arrive."

"Got it, Quint," said Roll as the transmission ended.

Without meaning to, Mega Man closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

"Hey…what's wrong? We need Mega Girl's justice energy to beat the evil energy, right?" reasoned Roll.

"I guess so…" Mega Man said resentfully.

"I get it…they haven't been the easiest to work with," Roll said sympathetically. "But, you can put that all aside if literally Earth is at stake, right?"

"Of course, but I still have a sneaking suspicion they're hiding something, something big, and I'd like to know what it is so we're not blindsided with a nasty surprise."

"You worry too much!" Roll laughed.

The 'trouble' for Quint was that Mega Girl—or Kalinka—could not always be immediately reached. Though Kalinka did her best to be ready at a moment's notice in the event of an emergency, she led a double life with a busy personal schedule, and at that moment was having brunch with her father, Dr. Cossack.

"Oh, Daddy, I'm sorry, I need to go," she told Dr. Cossack regretfully, secretly catching sight of Quint paging her on a communicator disguised as a pink compact mirror.

Dr. Cossack blinked at her. He himself had cleared his own busy schedule—he always prioritized their time together. "Right now? But we just sat down!"

"I know, I know, but I just remembered I'm double booked—you know how that is—but don't worry! We'll do this again soon. And make sure you eat a good dinner tonight! Something with protein—crackers and whiskey doesn't count."

"Kalinka!" Dr. Cossack protested guiltily.

She stood up and kissed him on the cheek. "Love you, Daddy! Byyeeee~"

"Hmm…teenagers…" Dr. Cossack muttered regretfully to himself.

Fifteen minutes later, Kalinka dashed into Quint's laboratory, Beat trailing behind her. "What's the sitch—" she began, but then stopped still in her tracks. "Like, how did he get in?" she hissed in an undertone to Quint.

Officer Prime-Double-Zero of the California State Police was standing under a bay light in the middle of the dark, warehouse-like laboratory. His rotary arm cannon whirled restlessly by his side, his black eyes stared suspiciously outward from the brim of his peaked cap toward shadowy hulks of Quint's numerous and mysterious inventions.

"He just…appeared!" Quint whispered back helplessly.

Prime-Double-Zero's stony gaze snapped toward them. "Ah. Ms. Cossack. Imagine finding you here," he said dryly. "I am following up on a recent break-in at one of Citadel's storage facilities. Some valuable, experimental technology was stolen, correct? Since then, there have been strange reports of criminal robots using a sort of 'sky beam' to transport instantly to and away from the scenes of the crimes. But surely, such technology is impossible…if not, illegal?"

Quint gulped.

Kalinka's face had turned a shade of pink deeper than her Mega Girl armor, her brows became a dramatic 'V', her lips a tight inverted 'U'. She marched directly up to Prime-Double-Zero, her face inches from his. "Um, excuse me, WHERE IS YOUR WARRANT?!" she demanded in a voice so shrill, it could have broken glass.

Prime-Double-Zero took a startled step backward. "Ms. Cossack, please—"

"Don't call me that, and get out before I have your badge. Out, I said, OUT!"

To Quint's surprise, Prime-Double-Zero hastily departed, but not before giving Quint a quick glare that froze him to the core.

Kalinka turned to Quint, smiling brightly. "Quint, I'm so glad you saw that, for that is exactly how you should deal with crooked cops who don't follow rules!"

"But…he's a robo-officer from the state police…" Quint said weakly, thinking trouble would come of this yet.

"Don't worry about it," Kalinka told him curtly, as though reading his thoughts. "He's just trying to act intimidating—so stupid—now…what's the situation?"

Quint straightened importantly. "New York City—some sort of sparkling dust that makes humans and robots alike act erratically, we don't yet know who the evil energy host is."

"Got it! Let's go!"

Kalinka quickly changed into her Mega Girl suit, and they teleported to Dr. Light's laboratory.

"What took you?" complained Mega Man.

"Nevermind," Mega Girl responded sweetly (much to Mega Man's annoyance). "Now then, we must find the source of the evil energy as quickly as possible, then neutralize it. …Go on then, lead on!"

Still annoyed about the lack of resolution to their evil energy disagreement, Proto Man and Elec Man were working in opposite ends of the western hangar in silence, each still sticking to their side of the argument—Elec Man feeling that Proto Man wasn't taking this seriously enough, while Proto Man felt Elec Man was being far too fatalistic and downcast about himself.

During the stony stalemate, Elec Man's communicator began paging him.

"Jewel Man to Elec Man," murmured Jewel Man's voice nervously. "There's…a disturbance within the armory's rec room."

"Jewel Man…" grumbled Proto Man, shaking his head.

"…What kind of disturbance?" asked Elec Man, ignoring Proto Man.

A few minutes later, Proto Man and Elec Man approached the armory's rec room warily. A chorus of laughter was ringing from within.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" muttered Proto Man, opening the door.

Inside, a group of about ten Robot Masters were sprawled around in the most erratic way, each laughing mindlessly—this accounted for the noise.

Proto Man glared at Crash Man, who was leaning against a wall, his drill arms folded around his middle, his face screwed up in laughter. "Hey! Weren't you and Crystal Man just lecturing me on being a responsible second-in-command, now I find you all goofing around?" he called over.

Crash Man looked as though he wanted to speak, but all he could do was shake his head as he howled on in laughter.

The other Robot Masters weren't any better off. Drill Man had placed an empty oil drum over his head, faint guffaws ringing underneath. Quick Man had stood up, crashed into a wall, then sat back down again, laughing raucously. Bomb Man was singing ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, but was stuck on the first verse, so it was always 'ninety-nine bottles'.

…This was extremely strange behavior for this group of Robot Masters…

"Why is everyone acting as stupid as Wood Man? Hey! Hey!" Proto Man shouted angrily, trying to get their attention. Then he noticed the dust glittering from their armor and on the furniture and rusty floor. "…Hey? What's this sparkly stuff?" he murmured, taking a step toward the door for a closer look.

A hand grabbed him swiftly by the shoulder and pulled him back out of the rec room. "Don't touch!" hissed Elec Man. "Idiot—it's obviously the cause of all this!"

"What?"

Shaking his head impatiently, Elec Man lifted his communicator. "Elec Man to Dark Man. We're under attack. Lock down the rec room."

"Oh, uh, copy that."

A super steel door shut tightly over the rec room's entrance.

Proto Man started. "…We have a lockdown procedure?"

"Of course," responded Elec Man. "I installed one shortly after Wily made Skull Fortress in case anything idiotic like this ever happened."

Proto Man whistled, impressed. "You're the best."

"Shut up." Elec Man lifted his communicator to his mouth. "Elec Man to Wily—there's a situation in the armory."

Soon, word spread about what happened in the rec room. Hard Man offered to keep an eye on the quarantined Robot Masters, who (though happy) acted far removed from their programming defaults, yet many of the others were keen to keep their distance.

"Didn't you notice something was up?" growled Proto Man to Dr. Wily after he and Elec Man had explained what was going on inside the armory.

"They were being disappointing idiots, that is not so unusual," protested Dr. Wily.

From Dr. Wily's laboratory, they were watching the rec room from a security feed provided by Dark Man. Gyro Man—who oddly seemed the most lucid of the group—had pulled down a security camera from the wall and set it on a table so they could see the rec room clearly.

"Look. This is how a toad jumps—" Toad Man jumped. "—And this is how a frog jumps—" Toad Man jumped again. "—And this is how I jump, ribbit." Toad Man jumped a third time, then his flat face spread into its unsettling, toothy grin. "Isn't that funny, he he he he he?"

"Can't you brush that sparkly stuff off?" asked Proto Man.

"No it's stuck on real good," Gyro Man called back cheerfully. "It's like glittery glue. You know how once you get glitter on your armor, it's like impossible to get off? That's how this stuff is."

"Great, a third of the Robot Masters were exposed to that shit," grumbled Proto Man. "How did this happen?"

"How did what happen?" queried Gyro Man.

"The sparkly stuff!"

"Oh, uh, I dunno. It's kinda hard to think right now?"

"We've been shroomed," hooted Spark Man.

"…What?"

"This is ridiculous…" muttered Dr. Wily. "They are just being idiots. I am wasting valuable time that I could be using to surveil the Evil Energy Scanner!"

"Hey, Elec Man…" muttered Proto Man. "Call me paranoid, but…I think this is evil energy."

"Evil energy?" murmured Elec Man. "…It's quite possible. But then…who's the host?" He glared at the security feed, then demanded loudly, "Who's not there? …Who's missing?"

"All accounted for!" chirped Gyro Man. "No, wait, actually? Wood Man. Wood Man's not here."

Elec Man wrinkled his nose. "…Wood Man?"

"Wood Man?!" exclaimed Proto Man. "…Are we being punked?"

"It's another one of ours!" Elec Man hissed to Proto Man significantly. "We're being targeted!"

Momentarily forgetting their argument, Elec Man and Proto Man looked at one another.

Dr. Wily had folded his arms sourly. "But it cannot possibly be the work of evil energy, my evil energy scanner would have picked it up!" he countered.

Proto Man turned to Dr. Wily. "And you're sure that thing works?"

"There is a simple way to find out," grumbled Dr. Wily, picking up a communicator. "Wily to Wood Man."

The transmission hissed for a moment. "Hello!" came Wood Man's voice finally—but it sounded strange—cheery, but splintery at the same time.

"Wood Man, have you been in contact with evil alien energy?" asked Dr. Wily.

"I do not know—I do not feel evil—but I am not Wood Man—I am SPORE! …But, I am not supposed to tell you that. He told me not to."

Both Proto Man and Elec Man tensed, their suspicions confirmed.

Dr. Wily narrowed his eyes. "…Who told you not to?"

"The voice," Spore said simply. "And I don't want to fight, I want to make everyone happy!"

"Wood Man, I am your creator, you must obey me, not this imaginary voice," growled Dr. Wily.

"Okay, Dr. Wily. I will obey you because you are my creator and because I like you."

"Wood Man…where are you?"

"This big park in New York City. It's beautiful here! You should come see it. I'm helping the flowers grow!"

"Yes, well, I'll have better ideas in mind for your new powers than flowers," muttered Dr. Wily, rolling his eyes. "Please stand by."

The transmission hissed for a moment.

"O…kay…." came Wood Man's voice finally, then the transmission fizzled to silence.

"I thought your scanner hadn't picked anything up!" accused Proto Man angrily.

"….It's a small outbreak, not so strong yet." replied Dr. Wily evasively (and with a dubious glance at the Evil Energy Scanner), though he seemed very pleased. "Why, this is great! Exactly what I wanted! We shall use Wood Man—er, Spore—as a distraction. The chaos he'll create will be more than enough to take total control of the city—then, you and a small strike team of unaffected Robot Masters shall go on a special mission to break into New York City's Bureau of Intelligence Office to steal valuable data—Light hasn't completely blocked me out with his pitiful teleportation shield yet. It's the perfect ploy! New York City will finally be under my thumb, and I will be a step closer to ruling the world! Can't you see it all unfolding?"

"Yeah—like an atomic bomb."

"…Why are you still worrying? Wood Man is not one of the 'good' Robot Masters, as you so rudely stipulated earlier—he is one of my faithful creations, perhaps not the most intelligent, but certainly loyal, the ideal candidate for evil energy. This is truly working out perfectly!"

"But what about Crash Man and the rest?" asked Proto Man.

"Later—keep them quarantined for now. We must strike while the iron is hot!"

Proto Man and Elec Man mulled over these plans, then glanced uneasily at each other.

"…This is a terrible idea," Elec Man told Proto Man frankly.

"If you have any ideas to talk Wily down from this, I'm all ears!"

"No, and I've tried…if he's going to listen to anyone, it's going to be you. …Wood Man does appear to be compliant, at least."

"…He's certainly Wily's dumbest robot…"

Proto Man thought back to what Elec Man had said about evil energy, that it fed off of a robot's dark thoughts. Wood Man did not have many thoughts, dark or not. It seemed quite unlikely that 'Spore' would become any credible threat, and perhaps that was why the Evil Energy scanner failed to detect him. Or maybe this wasn't even evil energy at all—maybe Wood Man was just confused, and some other stupid thing was going on. The sparkling dust was…kinda lame, but could be useful for Dr. Wily.

Then he frowned, his fist clenched. "…I don't care what Wily says, I think you're right—we're being spied on, and I want to know who or what is messing with us."

"…If you're going to do this, you need to be careful."

"You don't have to come! Not like I need a babysitter—"

"What are you two whispering about? Stop it! It's annoying!" chided Dr. Wily, appearing between them and breaking them up. Then he smiled, throwing an arm around them (much to Elec Man's great disgust). "Why, this is the best news we've had since Needle Man!"

"This is the place," announced Mega Man after he had teleported back to New York City with Roll, Mega Girl, Quint, and Punk. The intersection where they had encountered Dr. Wily's Robot Masters hadn't changed much since they had left: humans were still acting peculiarly, and there was still trace remnants of the sparkling dust on the ground—by now, the sparkling cloud that had once blossomed over New York City had seemed to have settled.

"Oh yeah, something funky is definitely going on," shuddered Punk. "I can feel it in my circuits!"

"No significant paranormal distortions yet…" commented Quint, scanning the area with his visor. "Do we know who the evil energy host is?"

"Not yet, but we think it's one of Wily's robots again," answered Roll. "Galaxy Man detected six robots teleporting from Skull Fortress, but we only saw five!"

Quint nodded. "Well, the good news is that you've detected the evil energy threat early, so this should be relatively rudimentary, though best to be on guard, just in case. I'll take some readings…"

"And I'll circle the perimeter," said Punk, changing into a spiked ball and speeding away down the street.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a mob of humans suddenly descended upon Mega Man and Mega Girl, their faces obscured by long-lens cameras hanging off their necks. They began snapping away wildly and shouting questions in rapid fire.

"Look! It's Mega Girl!"

"She was on the news! The pretty protector from L.A.!"

"Mega Girl, over here, Mega Girl!"

"Look here, Mega Man! Is Mega Girl your girlfriend?"

"I—What?" stammered Mega Man, half blinded by the barrage of camera flashes. It was like being caught in the middle of a firework show.

Mega Girl appeared at ease. "As if I'd date a nerd like him," she tittered back jovially. "Oh no offense! But it'd be like dating Quint!" she added loftily to Mega Man.

Mega Man was too shocked to immediately register the insult. "What the—paparazzi?"

The paparazzi had never taken interest in Mega Man before. No matter how many times he saved the world from Dr. Wily, superstar status had never clung to him—which suited him just fine (Roll always insisted that Mega Man was just too boring to write tabloids about).

"Yeah, I attract them, it's a curse," sighed Mega Girl while flashing dazzling smiles and posing. "…No seriously, it's very annoying. Hiiiiii-YAH!"

She had performed a graceful, spinning back heel kick, striking the long lens of the cameras with the ballet-shoe-shaped foot of her titanium boot, and knocking the paparazzi backward through the swinging front doors of a deli shop. She promptly rammed a nearby broom through the door handles, locking them inside.

"Y-you attacked humans!" stammered Mega Man, aghast.

"They're fine!" said Mega Girl lightly, waving a hand. "Believe me, they'll be back like locusts. Let's go!"

She moved further down the street. Mega Man cast her a reproving look. True, the humans hadn't been hurt, and now they'd be out of harm's way (they ought to have evacuated by now), but just who did Mega Girl think she was? A princess?

Roll too had been surprised by the paparazzi ambush, It reminded her of famous celebrities, which in turn brought the curiosity of Kali Cossack to the forefront of her mind.

"Hey, I was wondering…do you see Kali Cossack much?" she asked, walking after Mega Girl, who was dusting off her armor nonchalantly. "That seemed like her kind of scene. Do you know why she stepped away from the spotlight?"

"Dunno, like maybe she has like other stuff going on," replied Mega Girl shortly and disinterestedly. "Nosey much?"

"What's Kali Cossack really like?"

"Um, not sure what you mean? Like normal, I guess."

"Normal?" repeated Roll dubiously.

"Yes, normal," said Mega Girl with dignified finality. "Why, you're not like a fan, are you?"

"Chh, hell no! Waaay too girly and pink—you're cool though!" she added hastily.

"Hmm, thanks…" said Mega Girl, giving her a piercing look that uncannily made her seem much, much older than Roll. She strode off toward Quint.

"I didn't mean any offense!" Roll called after her. "Hey, wait up, will ya?"

Punk had returned. "Well, no sign of anything suspicious from the ground—but something's up, I tell ya, I can feel it."

"I know what you mean," Mega Man admitted, grudgingly hating that both of them had trace elements of evil energy, which gave them the useful yet creepy ability to 'sense' other nearby evil energy—the subtle, restless shifting within his power core. He brushed the thought aside. "Maybe we can get a better look from the air. I'll call Rush to teleport in—"

"Hey, what's that?" interrupted Roll, pointing at the ground.

Something had scuttled out of a nearby tree pit garden. It was a few inches tall, with a thin, stem-like body, bulbous feet, and a bright red cap the size of a tomato and dotted in white spots. The strange creature began to scurry across the sidewalk in a clumsy, top-heavy way like a duckling with a cup stuck over its head.

Mega Man frowned. "…A walking mushroom?"

Quint scanned it with his visor, then gasped. "Look out, it's made from evil energy—"

With a small startled hop, the spotted mushroom let loose a while cloud, like that of which had descended over the city, hitting them all full in the face and covering them in sparkling dust.

A strange, bubbling happiness instantly filled Mega Man's stomach. His head felt foggy and distracted—as though he was sleeping and having a really, really good dream. The feeling spread rapidly through him, and he began to laugh. He wasn't the only one—Roll, Quint, and Punk were also laughing.

"Um…what's so funny?" asked Mega Girl, who was busy wiping the dust off her visor. "—Achoo!"

"I—hahaha—don't know!" gasped Mega Man, clutching his sides. Now that he had started laughing, he felt he couldn't stop!

"Hahaha—it's the sparkling dust!" wheezed Roll, leaning against a lamppost for support. "—Coming from the mushroom, hahaha! We gotta destroy it!"

Roll punched Mega Man.

"Whoops, hahaha!"

She punched him again.

"Hahaha—What the—hahaha—I'm aiming for the mushroom, hahaha!"

"Hahaha—hey—hahaha—cut it out!" protested Mega Man.

He formed a plasma cannon, took aim, then shot an overhanging sign for a diner. The mushroom scampered away into a storm drain.

"No—hahaha—that's not what I wanted to do—"

It seemed very funny though, and both he and Roll kept laughing. On the sidewalk, Punk was rocking noisily on his back, roaring with ghoulish laughter, his spiked armor scratching the sidewalk like nails. Quint was sprawled out beside him, tittering behind a hand.

"Oh my god, snap out of it!" Mega Girl chided shrilly, looking anxiously around at them.

"We—haha—can't!" laughed Mega Man, trying to brush some of the sparkling dust off his shoulder, but it remained stubbornly stuck to his armor.

"Mega Girl, hehehe—you're—hehehe—not affected," Quint giggled.

"The Sun Crystal's justice energy! It must be protecting me!" said Mega Girl, "—I know!"

She channeled some of the justice energy into the forcefield surrounding her armor, then slapped each of them in turn. The sparkling dust scattered and the laughing instantly stopped—Mega Man, Roll, Quint, and Punk lay gasping, each completely shocked by the experience.

"D-did you just slap us?" stammered Mega Man.

"Yup," said Mega Girl, then as an afterthought, "…Sorry!"

Quint was the first to recover. "Aha, so this sparkling substance appears to be spores."

"Yuck, spores?" said Roll. "Like mini-mushrooms?"

"Yes. It binds on contact and appears to cause confusion and extreme euphoria."

"Good thing Mega Girl's justice energy works against these spores," commented Punk, looking over at Mega Girl.

"No, it's not so good," huffed Mega Girl. "The Sun Crystal only has a limited amount of energy, see?" She showed them a cyan energy meter located on her pink gauntlet. "This has already depleted two units! If I run out, I won't be able to restore the poor Robot Master back to normal!"

Mega Man wasn't sure if he agreed calling the Robot Master 'poor' as though the victims of evil energy had always been innocent (Punk, Jewel Man, and Needle Man certainly hadn't been) but the stakes were clear regardless. "Got it, we'll all stay clear of walking mushrooms," he said, resigning himself to the fact that this was going to be another very weird day. He frowned, thinking. "I wonder…if spores are causing all of this, then perhaps the infected Robot Master is plant-based, and the only plant-based Robot Master at Skull Fortress is Wood Man."

"Wood Man?" laughed Roll.

"Um, who's Wood Man?" asked Mega Girl blankly.

"Only Wily's dumbest Robot Master! Even dumber than Needle Man—this will be too easy, all we have to do is find him!"

"But I didn't see any Robot Masters or anything unusual," Punk reminded them.

They looked down at where the walking mushroom had vanished.

"Look! A trail!" said Quint excitedly, pointing out a thin scattering of sparking dust winding across the thick sidewalk slabs. "It must lead to where the mushroom came from!"

"Right," said Mega Man. "Let's follow it…but watch out for more of those mushrooms!"

Five streams of light appeared outside of New York City's Bureau of Intelligence, causing the robo-security to jump in alarm and reach for their laser pistols. Cut Man and Guts Man went to work smashing and slicing at the drones into bits of smoking scrap metal, while Proto Man, Elec Man, and Jewel Man slipped quietly inside the evacuated building.

"Why did you bring your scardey-cat P.A. again?" Proto Man asked Elec Man as he glared coldly over at Jewel Man. "We have Cut Man and Guts Man."

An amused glint flashed in Elec Man's eyes. "I want competence as a backup. Besides—Jewel Man is a better thief than you," he said simply.

"What?! How?"

"Watch—Jewel Man, I need the documents from the high security vault within the commander's office."

"Oh, ummm…" Jewel Man looked around, then discreetly disappeared through an air vent like a white ferret withdrawing into its den. A few minutes later, he returned with a small stack of manila envelopes in hand.

Proto Man scoffed. "I coulda done that!"

"Not without purposely tripping an alarm." returned Elec Man.

"Well, gotta make it a challenge," replied Proto Man, purposely tripping an alarm. A siren began wailing through the halls.

Jewel Man panicked. "…What did you do that for?!"

"Just making things fun," said Proto Man, drawing a blaster as security drones came rushing in like a tidal wave.

"Exactly my point, real mature," said Elec Man, shaking his head.

It took a couple minutes for Elec Man and Proto Man to dispatch the drones while Jewel Man cowered behind them.

Afterward, they proceeded to complete the mission for Dr. Wily with little incident—however, by now, the police were well aware of their presence, and Proto Man and Elec Man returned to help Cut Man and Guts Man fend them off in the streets.

"Surrender, Proto Man!" barked the captain from behind the thicket of drawn blasters. "New York State police orders: you're to be arrested, powered down, and returned to Dr. Light's custody under the previous arrangement made during the 1995 gubernatorial race."

"What?! I'd rather go to jail!" snarled Proto Man, his hand balling into a fist. "Idiots, I was built by Wily! That whole thing with Deacon and the gubernatorial race was a trick! How many of you do I have to trash to get it through your thick skulls that I'm a criminal?"

"You'll feel much differently once you're reprogrammed back to serve humanity once again," the captain responded indifferently.

The robo-officers did not last much longer than the security drones—though Proto Man was no longer in the mood for fighting as he blasted them apart like tinker toys.

"No sign of Mega Man…" he muttered after the last robo-officer had been destroyed, scanning the deserted streets and the clear blue sky for teleportation beams. "That's weird, usually he'd be on to us by now…"

"Then let's hurry—I'm assuming you're still avoiding him," said Elec Man.

"I'm not av—mind your own business," snapped Proto Man as Elec Man smirked. "Cut Man, Guts Man, head north, and take care of any other robo-officers you see on the way. Wily will want us to invade the Mayor's office next—just keep an eye out for Mega Man."

"You got it!" rumbled Guts Man, punching his fists together with the sound of a piledriver.

"Yeah, we want a slice of the action too!" wheezed Cut Man.

They trampled off noisily down the street.

Proto Man looked back at Elec Man, who was looking down at his handheld computer and frowning. "All that remains is to get Wood Man, who's in Central park," he said with an all-too-casual shrug.

"Let's get it over with," responded Elec Man.

Jewel Man caught Elec Man by the elbow. Elec Man glanced back, raising a brow at the audacity, and Jewel Man hastily withdrew his grip and looked timidly down at his boots.

"Please, don't go in," Jewel Man begged in a small, shy voice. "I have a bad feeling about this. And, as ridiculous as this may sound, the time I've been at Skull Fortress has been the most pleasant I've had since activation. I know I'm not much, but joining the Syndicate changed my life, you have been, well, the best boss—"

"Oh spare me the stupid sentimentalities, we're associates and I will shock you," Elec Man cut in coldly. "Take the intelligence documents back to Skull Fortress if you like it there so much, that's an order."

"I—um—okay," murmured Jewel Man, stepping away meekly, but he looked on unhappily as Proto Man and Elec Man headed off toward Central Park. "…Be careful?"

Jewel Man teleported in a stream of pale pink light.

"Scale of one to ten, how annoying is it to have a personal assistant again?" Proto Man asked Elec Man smugly.

"Eleven," Elec Man admitted, sighing heavily.

It was quite strange to see Central Park so empty during the day. Though Proto Man supposed it had its charm, he wasn't happy to be here—Central Park reminded him of a life confined to Dr. Light's laboratory, of sneaking outside only at night, and only to nearby localities. He had decapitated the Beethoven statue here once. Such stupid, quiet rebellions…

Fortunately, it did not take too long to locate Wood Man. Though it had become strangely dark and misty as they neared the center of Central Park, and the trees were much denser than Proto Man remembered, they could see Wood Man's silhouette on a hill up ahead.

"Alright, Wood Man—or Spore, whatever—we can go now!" Proto Man called over, annoyed. "…Spore?"

Wood Man wasn't responding. It was then that Proto Man realized that Wood Man seemed especially still…and as Wood Man came into view, they noticed Wood Man's wooden armor (a strange design choice by Dr. Wily) seemed extra barky. His arms were angled upward, toward the sky, his fingers as long as rake tines. The bottoms of his boots appeared to have become roots, which were buried deep into the ground. A spotted mushroom sat upon his head. All that remained of his face was a crudely carved caricature inside a flat branch stump of the trunk, still smiling placidly.

Proto Man couldn't help but step back. It was eerie.

"Wood Man? Uh, Wood Man? Anybody home? …Shit."

So evil energy was behind this after all. Spore had become a tree—a tree with a paranormal mushroom with debilitating effects on robots—and how could a tree take orders?

"We need to get out of here—" began Proto Man, turning toward Elec Man.

They looked around, but they could no longer see New York City's skyscrapers. Instead, a vast forest stretched around them. They looked back at Spore—but he too was gone—an infinite expanse of wilderness spreading in every direction.

Mega Man, Roll, Quint, Mega Girl, and Punk had been on the trail of the walking mushroom—which had gone in a meandering path, leading them deeper into Manhattan, until finally they came to the trail's end.

"Whoa, check out Central Park!" said Roll, pointing ahead.

Punk scratched his helmet. "Isn't it always like that?"

"No?!" exclaimed Roll and Mega Man together.

It was still mid march, so only daffodils, crocuses, and snowdrops had begun poking through the thawing ground in Dr. Light's yard, yet Central Park was in full bloom with every type of wildflower imaginable—honeysuckle, daisies, bluebells, irises, wood lilies, clovers, goldenrod, asters—a heavy draft thick with their sweet scent wafting out at them.

"Remember when you told us it wasn't like Wily's bots could just teleport into Central Park unnoticed?" Mega Man quipped crossly to Quint.

"Erm, yes…" admitted Quint feebly.

"That's not a good attitude, Mega Man," Mega Girl said with maddening superiority. "Like, if you're not going to act like a superhero, why did you even call yourself 'Mega Man'?"

"I didn't. I was originally called Rock."

"Wait, your real name is Rock? As in 'Rock and Roll?' Aww…that's so cute! We should be calling you Rocky!"

"Please don't," muttered Mega Man.

"I like Rocky," spoke up Roll.

"Yeah, Rocky is a cool fighter's name!" put in Punk enthusiastically.

Mega Man sighed. Getting Punk's approval on anything was not at the top of his list.

Quint was scanning Central Park with his visor. "The evil energy is causing a paranormal distortion field, like Knitter's yarn maze, Curator's jewel cave, and Hellrazor's arena, had Punk tapped fully into his evil energy powers," he told them knowledgeably. "If we enter, we may not be able to leave until we've neutralized the evil energy."

"And it's spreading, look!" said Roll, pointing to the perimeter of the park. Moss and vines were slowly edging outward and covering the surrounding street lamps and parked cars.

"No time to lose," muttered Mega Man grimly. "This is only going to get worse!"

They plunged into the woods, the city quickly disappearing behind them. Where normally there would be defined concrete paths, fountains, statuary, and grassy lawns, was now meandering dirt trails, wildflower-filled meadows, and towering trees that could have been part of an ancient forest.

"It's uh, actually kinda nice in here?" said Roll as they became accustomed to the change.

"Yeah, makes you not want to fight—" began Punk, then froze—the danger they were now in hitting them full force.

"…We must find Wood Man quickly, which may become increasingly difficult due to the effects the spores have on our minds," murmured Quint. "We might even forget why we're here."

They looked around. But in each direction only lay endless trees and wildflowers—nothing seemed in the least hostile and dangerous, the environment making you want to do nothing more than stroll around…or sit and read a book…or lay in a flower patch and take a nap—

Mega Man shook this thought out of his head quickly.

"Welcome to my woods! My name is Spore!" boomed a voice that did indeed sound like Wood Man, but strangely raspy, like dried leaves.

They all jumped, startled, but could not find a source for the voice—it seemed to be echoing from the tree branches themselves.

"'Spore'?" repeated Roll dubiously. "Spore is the one behind the spores?"

"Yes, Spore's spores!" Spore replied proudly. "And I don't want to fight! I just want everyone to be friends!"

"Sure, we'll be your friend, pal," called Punk. "Just mind telling us where you are?"

But the woods became silent and still after this announcement—as though what they had heard had been truly nothing more than a fading echo.

"…Should we split up, and whoever finds Spore first, gives a shout?" suggested Roll after a moment.

"But, by my calculations, if we split up, it increases the chances any of us fall into trouble by nearly three-hundred and eighty percent," said Quint.

"I don't like it either, but we'll have to risk it," said Mega Man.

"I can cover more ground faster alone," nodded Punk. "And no way I'll let a shrimpy little mushroom get the better of me again!"

"Don't worry, team, we've got this!" said Mega Girl, then sneezed.

Mega Man looked over, astonished. "Um. Gesundheit?"

"Thank you," muttered Mega Girl rubbing at her nose. "Sorry, the pollen is, like, totally messing with my allergies."

"Allergies? What kind of robot has allergies?" Roll muttered to Mega Man, casting Mega Girl a sidelong, quizzical look.

Mega Girl sneezed again. Roll and Mega Man both stared sharply at her.

Then, to their continued bewilderment, Mega Girl produced a small crystal-shaped vial from a compartment on her right pink gauntlet, which—though she turned her back on them—she seemed to be spraying into her nostrils.

"Um," Mega Man couldn't help but utter again, thoroughly nonplussed. "…Did you just spray your face with perfume?"

"Don't be silly," Mega Girl called back. "It's not just a perfume, it's an antihistamine and decongestant spray, approved by the FDA, and just the best on the market."

…This only confused Mega Man further.

"I recognize that packaging—" exclaimed Roll eagerly. "That perfume is part of Kali Cossack's line! 'California Hay Fever Princess', right? …Did Kali Cossack give it to you? Do you talk to her much? Is she really as bratty as she seems on T.V.—"

Roll's questions tumbled out in rapid-fire succession like a Gatling gun. Mega Girl whirled upon her instantly—Mega Man noticing an odd, pale pink flush in her cheeks.

"I thought you said you weren't a fan!" Mega Girl complained shrilly, then, "—Ugh, nosey much?! Like, oh my god! …Fine, fine! Since we're a team, I guess you should know—"

She pulled off her helmet, and flashed them a dazzling, covergirl smile. Without it, they realized she looked familiar—just like someone from T.V.—

"You're Kali Cossack?" said Roll, eyes widening. "The Kali Cossack? In the flesh?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on a second,..you're not a robot?" asked Mega Man, taking a step backward and nearly tripping over a tree root.

"Well of course I'm not a robot, why'd you think I was one?"

"The way you're dressed—the way you fight—there's no way a human can do all that!"

"Yeah, it's like all in my suit. I invented it myself," Kalinka said, tossing a puffy blonde pigtail casually. "It like, makes me a superhero?"

Mega Man and Roll turned slowly. "…Quint?!"

Quint gulped and jumped back guilty, muttering something indecipherable and pretending to take readings with his visor on a fuchsia stalk of foxglove.

"Hey! Back off!" Kalinka snapped protectively, replacing her helmet and standing between them and Quint with her hands on her hips.

"But…we thought you were Quint's sister!" said Roll, looking utterly shocked.

"Um, because I, like, am?" replied Kalinka fiercely.

"How's such a suit even possible?" asked Mega Man disbelievingly. Mega Girl had fought against Hellrazor, Curator, and Knitter, and not once would they have ever suspected her to be anything than a robot!

"Um, anything is possible when you're smart, duh," answered Kalinka.

Though Mega Man had long suspected their west coast teammates were hiding something, this certainly took the cake! He didn't even bother hiding his disapproval of Mega Girl, Kali Cossack, and the whole situation which was intertwined into a horrible, horrible mess.

"But—we can't have a human tagging along! Least of all Kali Cossack, the spoiled brat who has been causing scandals on the news for the past few years!"

Kalinka did not even flinch at the accusation. "Oh, but I've changed! Kinda. In all the important ways, that is. And I'm in no more danger than any of you. …Oh! And we can't let my dad know."

"What do you mean we can't let Dr. Cossack know?" repeated Mega Man severely. "Someone has to know about this!"

"Um, because it'd stress him out? He's got too much on his plate. It's totally not healthy. Besides, I'm eighteen, I can do whatever I want, so there."

"I'm sorry, but I do not feel comfortable letting a human fight Wily's robots."

"Well why not? It's not like they're tough or anything. Besides, my suit makes me nigh-invulnerable. I've tested it with like acid, rocket fire, and being crushed by tons of steel. Can your titanium suit protect you from all of that? …Didn't think so."

"She's got you there, Mega," said Roll.

"Don't take her side! This is—irresponsible!" Mega Man retorted indignantly.

"Well I think she has a point," Roll hissed back. "Why can't a human help save the world if they really want to? Just because she wasn't given a plasma cannon doesn't mean she can't fight—or is the real problem because she's a girl?"

"What? No, of course not—" spluttered Mega Man, caught off guard by how personally Roll had taken this.

"Then it's decided, yay!" cut in Kalinka, clapping her hands with sarcastic cheerfulness, her eyes flashing warningly. "Now that that's over with, let's get on with defeating the evil energy," she added, resuming her bossy, forced cheerfulness. Then her voice rose to an even more shrill pitch as she added, "…And before you say another word on this matter, dear Rocky, I will remind you that even though you may be built and programmed with a college-level maturity, that's all programming. I've got actual lived-in experience, and it wasn't all sunshine and roses like your cushy lives in an upstate New York lab! Besides, I'm technically older than all of you—put together!"

She glared beadily at Mega Man, Roll, and Quint.

"Has you again," said Roll to Mega Man.

Mega Man glared over at Quint, wondering what he thought of all this, but Quint was determinedly looking somewhere else, muttering about running some calculations on a nearby strand of English ivy. Punk had completely turned his back on the situation and was trying to whistle casually (though the attempt was quite breathy and strange, as he did not have lips).

Grudgingly, Mega Man felt forced to drop the subject, but resolved to spill the beans to Dr. Cossack or Dr. Light once the action died down…at the earliest opportunity.

Kalinka was still watching him with narrowed eyes and folded arms, onto him.

He stared evenly back.

To be continued…

Chapter Text

Now that Mega Man knew that Mega Girl was human (and not just any human, but the infamous teenage socialite Kali Cossack!), he did not think their plan to split up to find Spore was a viable option—Kalinka should definitely have a robot guardian with her until they got out of this mess. But before he could enforce these intentions, Kalinka had whisked off into a lilac thicket ahead of him, Quint had darted off into the ferns on his right, Punk had transformed into a spiked ball and rolled off down a meandering path toward a butterfly field behind him, Roll had given him a shrug and a quick wave before splashing off through a babbling brook to his left, and Mega Man found himself extremely alone in the middle of the idilic forest.

"Well now what?" Mega Man complained to himself.

"You look like you need help," said a deep voice.

Mega Man almost jumped out of his armor in shock.

"What the—Shadow Man?! How did you get here?"

"Ninja, remember?"

Shadow Man dropped from the massive branch of a nearby banyan tree, landing silently on a patch of white hepatica.

"—I don't want your help!" sputtered Mega Man, taking a step backward and raising his blaster.

"But Mega Man, we are allies!" Shadow Man said in mock shock.

"You're a criminal! And if you can't be reprogrammed, then you belong behind bars, or deactivated, or something!"

"I bet you're fun at parties—C'mon, epic team up: Shadow Man and Mega Man."

"No way! I can't trust you, so you can forget about it!"

"Fine. Your funeral, idiot. You're in much more danger than your pitiful earthling brain can comprehend. Have fun being lost in the woods," remarked Shadow Man, shrugging. With a lazy flick, he threw a smoke bomb and vanished.

Mega Man shook his head grumpily. "…We should have never let that annoying, sneaking 'bot go…"

"I heard that!" called a distant voice.

Mega Man whirled around, scrutinizing the trees—but it was impossible to locate Shadow Man, or even pinpoint where his voice had come from. Giving up, he shook his head again before forging off moodily into a thick bracken of blossoming weeds.

"Alright, so it is evil energy. Great," grumbled Proto Man.

This had gone south faster than even Proto Man or Elec Man would have anticipated in their climbing pessimism of plans involving evil energy.

Both their communicators and their teleporters had stopped working. They looked around, but in each direction only lay identical, endless forest—the trees nearly three hundred foot tall, clumps of delicate wildflowers winding around at their bases, the sky filled with a strange twilight despite it being midafternoon, and a haze settling into the farthest reaches of the woods.

"This is like the jewel cave…or the yarn maze…all over again," murmured Elec Man.

"I don't like this. I don't like this at all…" muttered Proto Man, a prickle running down his titanium spine. He wanted something to fight, but there appeared to be nothing to fight—just a flower-filled woods going on for miles and miles. The only thing that seemed slightly supernatural was a trail of sparkling dust winding through the trees in an aimless way—the same sparkling dust that had covered the addled Robot Masters back at Skull Fortress, and glittered above the spotted mushroom on Spore's helmet.

"So this sparkling stuff is…"

"Spores…" answered Elec Man, wrinkling his nose. He cast Proto Man a severe, sidelong look. "Be careful—you're juvenile enough without the effects of spore dust."

"Chill, I am being careful!" snapped Proto Man, thinking Elec Man was being a bit unfair. "You can stop babysitting me anytime, I'm not a child."

"Could have fooled me."

"…Look, I know you're still annoyed at me, but can you lay off for a little? We gotta get out of here!" returned Proto Man, twisting around to get in Elec Man's face.

Elec Man didn't back down, looking flatly unimpressed.

But then they both froze. They could hear light footsteps crunching through the foliage on a ridge above them. Quickly, they crouched behind a hedge of milkweed within a glen of slender aspen trees.

Through the leafy stalks, they caught glimpses of smart pink and white armor as a familiar, pixie-like figure moved gracefully through the ridge's sunny primroses like a ballerina on a raised stage.

Proto Man's mood brightened. "It's Mega Girl! She can stop evil energy with her special ability, remember? I'm going to go talk to her. …You know, as her older brother."

"…Hmmm."

"…Something wrong?"

"How do you know she's your sister?"

"What do you mean?" laughed Proto Man. "She's obviously part of the same series as 'Mega Man.' I guess the 'Mega' mantle skipped Roll (or maybe Roll didn't want the moniker 'Mega Woman'). Who else could Mega Girl be?"

Though he was feigning indifference, Elec Man seemed coldly skeptical. "Yes…who else indeed."

Doubt began to creep into Proto Man, but he was confident that Mega Girl was his new little sister. "Stay here, I'll be right back!"

Without waiting for a response, Proto Man sprinted up a grassy slope to the top of the ridge.

"Hey there, superstar," he greeted across a patch of feverfew once she was within sight again.

Mega Girl spun on the spot. "Proto Man!" she cried happily, then added with smug admiration, "—Of course you'd be here."

"Heh. I know circumstances are a bit unusual, but I have something to ask you—" began Proto Man.

"And I have something to ask you!" Mega Girl responded, dashing eagerly up to him.

"…You do?" asked Proto Man, surprised and curious.

Mega Girl looked bashfully up at him through her eyelashes. "You go first!" she said, smiling sweetly, her hands clasped in front of her.

But before Proto Man could ask about teaming up against Spore, several figures burst out of a nearby barberry bush and surrounded them with a series of flashing lights.

"…The hell?" said Proto Man, looking around.

"Oh damn, they always come back!" sighed Mega Girl, shaking her head.

More surreal than anything yet, a group of photographers had descended upon them like gnats from the underbrush.

"Mega Girl and Proto Man? What a lucky break!"

"These photos are going to be worth a fortune!"

"Hey Proto Man! Red bomber! Are you here fighting Wily's mad science? Is that why you're with Mega Girl?"

"Oh, you fight Wily too?" asked Mega Girl, sounding very impressed as she looked up at Proto Man.

"It's…complicated," muttered Proto Man, not wanting to get into the sordid history of the gubernatorial elections with Mega Girl. Proto Man angled his head away from the paparazzi cameras, covering his face with his hand.

"Don't worry, I can get us out of this!" said Mega Girl, taking him by the hand and pulling him backwards.

But behind them lay a strange ring of spotted mushrooms—it had been creeping toward them, the mushrooms (when they thought no one was looking) edging closer with small surreptitious steps on bulbous feet before settling innocuously on the forest floor again as though they had been in one place the entire time. Proto Man and Mega Girl both stopped short as though faced with lava.

"Careful!" Mega Girl told him. "Those things—"

"I know!" said Proto Man, easily recognizing the spore dust glittering innocently on their caps.

They looked from the ring of spotted mushrooms to the advancing horde of paparazzi, seeming cornered, then Mega Girl quickly pulled Proto Man to the side as both groups sprang at the same time. The paparazzi fell into the ring of spotted mushrooms and quickly became covered in sparkling spore dust. The effects were immediate—the photographers, giggling like children, began taking pictures of each other taking pictures of each other, completely losing interest in Proto Man and Mega Girl.

"Heh heh, justice served…" quipped Proto Man. "Look out!" he added, grabbing Mega Girl by the waist and lifting her lightly to the side as one last rogue mushroom came scampering into the clearing. Fortunately, the mushroom passed them by—seemingly most interested in rejoining its fellows as they disappeared into the leaves of a marshweed.

"Looks like we got each other's backs," Proto Man remarked, smirking after the mushroom. He looked back at Mega Girl. "Say, we make quite the team!"

Mega Girl clasped her hands, looking adoringly up at him. "My hero."

Proto Man smiled back. Normally, he would have rebuffed any allegations of being called a 'hero,' yet somehow he didn't mind so much when it was coming from his littlest sister, and even felt gruffly pleased by the admiration…

Then, standing on the tiptoes of her ballet-like shoes, Mega Girl gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

Proto Man stiffened, surprised. Well that was strange. Roll had certainly never kissed him on the cheek. Then a distant, half-forgotten memory came to him. Back while boredly flipping television stations at Dr. Light's laboratory, he vaguely recalled seeing human children on old-timey sitcoms doing this to say goodnight to their older relatives—usually an elderly grandparent. He supposed it was sweet. Still a little confused, he gave her a small smile again, which she returned two-fold, her eyes sparkling brilliantly beneath her translucent visor. This caused Proto Man's mind to stall for a second time—it was as though he was missing something—but he didn't have time to ponder out what was amiss as Mega Girl's tone became quite serious.

"Now, about that thing I wanted to ask you about…" she began.

Proto Man waited, still smiling, wondering what Mega Girl wanted to ask him.

As though by a small breeze, a shiver suddenly crept down Proto Man's neck beneath his scarf.

He whirled, and looked wildly into the woods. "…What was that?"

Mega Girl was looking blankly around. "Like, what was what?"

Proto Man didn't immediately respond. He had the uncanny feeling of being observed by some unseen force, as though standing beneath a giant microscope—and stood protectively in front of Mega Girl.

"Stay here…" he hissed to Mega Girl before bolting off between two elm trees, his pulsar pulse thundering through his wires.

"Wait! I still need to ask you about your justice energy!" Kalinka hollered after Proto Man, but her words didn't even echo across the multitudes of vibrant wildflowers smiling up at her, the woods beyond peacefully tranquil as though it had never known evil.

But if Proto Man was here, then he had to be battling evil energy too! …Should she have kissed him? It was a bold move—but he didn't seem to mind! Things were starting to move along!

Kalinka spun on the spot, hugging herself and momentarily forgetting the active danger as she sank to her knees in a bed of phlox that spread underfoot like a pale pink cloud. Proto Man was so cute! Easily the cutest guy she had ever met, and leagues cooler. And they were both superheroes! Oh, this truly had to be destiny!

Elec Man was waiting with arms folded and eyes narrow for Proto Man to return, thinking he'd kill Proto Man if he got lost, covered in spores, or otherwise endangered, when he heard something else crunching through the flowery undergrowth as Quint came tumbling out into the aspen glen next to him.

Joy lit up Quint's face. "Ah! Elec Man! You're here! How fortuitous—"

He stopped short, noticing the Thunder Beam humming in glowing bands along the length of Elec Man's arms, its light dancing off Quint's visor.

Quickly, Quint held up his hands. "I'm sorry about last time—I won't try to capture you again. At present, I just want to team up—a temporary alliance, if you will, due to current circumstances regarding evil energy."

"No." Elec Man studied Quint for a moment. "This 'Mega Girl'…who is she?"

At this, Quint immediately went as rigid as one of the trees. "She's well, she's Mega Girl, isn't she?" he answered vaguely, his voice rising in pitch as he scuffed a green boot in the dirt path. "The 'Pretty Protector of Justice', I do believe she's titled, as unscientific as that may sound."

…Elec Man had an immediate impulse to interrogate Quint, but he dismissed it with a sniff. What did he care who Mega Girl was? Even though he very much doubted she was Proto Man's little sister…in fact, Elec Man strongly suspected Mega Girl was connected to Quint and the Cossacks instead. There was the matter of the perfume she had been wearing, after all—it smelled just like the one Kali Cossack—but no. It couldn't be. He had already decided that would be completely and utterly ridiculous.

Despite the threat of being shocked again, Quint took a brave step toward Elec Man, his arms still raised. "I-I have something for you."

Slowly and cautiously, Quint reached for a compartment within a brass cuff of his gauntlet, Elec Man following his every movement with cold vigilance, ready to instantly strike with the charged Thunder Beam, but Quint only produced a gray scrabble tile-sized micro disk, plain and rather innocuously looking.

"Here! It's my notes on alien energy. I compiled it in hopes that we would meet again. You can download them into that delightful portable computing device you carry with you."

"I'm not plugging in a micro disk from an enemy, I'm not stupid."

Quint winced at the term 'enemy,' but added hurriedly, "It doesn't contain anything malicious—just research. In return, I hope you will share anything you discover on your end?"

Elec Man narrowed his eyes and said nothing. Quint continued to proffer the micro disk for a moment, then, sighing, placed it on a stump. "Very well, I can see we will remain on opposite sides today. But please, do consider working together in the future!"

With one last backward glance, Quint scurried off again into the bracken.

Letting the Thunder Beam die, Elec Man looked down at the micro disk, then picked it up. He didn't crush it, but instead put it away in his electronics case.

"…What was that about? Everything alright?"

Elec Man jumped. Proto Man had appeared silently at his side, his visored face turning from Elec Man to where Quint had gone.

"Nothing, just…Quint wants me to work in his lab with him to study alien energy." Elec Man answered, rolling his eyes and keeping his tone offhand.

"You mean…for Dr. Cossack?" asked Proto Man, saying the part Elec Man had neglected out loud. Infuriatingly, Proto Man did not seem surprised. He appeared to hesitate, absently scratching the back of his neck, before saying, "…I know you won't like hearing this, but that actually sounds like a good fit for you?"

Elec Man had to wonder if this topic had come up before; Proto Man was infuriatingly chummy with Dr. Cossack.

"It'd make more sense for you to join the rest of the Lights," Elec Man shot back, aiming for a jugular.

Proto Man flinched as though shocked. "Hey! —Alright, fine, let's drop it. …Just saying, if you're so worried about being 'too evil' or whatever, this could be your chance to turn over a new leaf."

"Impossible," Elec Man answered haughtily.

"Yeah, I totally know what you mean," said Proto Man, smiling.

Not liking at all the way Proto Man was still staring curiously after where Quint had went, Elec Man briskly changed the subject. "So what happened with Mega Girl?"

Proto Man shrugged. "There was some trouble with the paparazzi and walking mushrooms—don't ask. Then I thought I heard something—something real bad—but I couldn't find it. Next thing I knew, I couldn't find her again. Lost her in the woods."

Privately, Elec Man was quite glad of this outcome. "Hmph, so it was a pointless detour. At least you weren't covered in spores."

He tried to conceal the edge in his voice, and the strange, inexplicable primal rage simmering within him. Elec Man knew it was immature, yet he wanted Proto Man as far away from Mega Girl as possible—preferably on different continents, if not planets. It was difficult for him to pin down why he felt this way particularly—he honestly held no animosity toward Mega Girl herself (even if she was obviously quite spoiled), but the thought of Proto Man spending time alone with her made him want to break every circuit in Proto Man's body in the most painful way imaginable. It was—confusing, to say the least.

Aware that Proto Man's gaze had shifted searchingly back to himself at this point, Elec Man turned his back to Proto Man, busying himself with his handheld computer.

"Look at that!" Proto Man commented, pointing toward a gap between the trees, where the silhouette of a skyscraper was fading as new trees began appearing in its place. "This—whatever—is spreading over the city."

"It's a paranormal distortion field," muttered Elec Man, sparing the strange phenomenon half a glance. "…Don't look at me like that, Quint shared his alien energy research," he added, nodding to the micro disc plugged into his computer.

"And you trusted a random disk drive from him?"

"He's not difficult to read, and wasn't up to anything underfoot—even if he was, he couldn't outsmart me," Elec Man responded with cold dignity.

"Nice kid. We ought to try kidnapping him again, put his brains to criminal use. Wily could use the help, and he could hang with you if he really wants that."

Elec Man frowned doubtfully down at his computer for a moment. "So far, this lines up with my own research, though it's very technical and dense. Ugh, he needs to learn to summarize—gratuitous use of pedantic language—but perhaps there's something in here that'll help us escape—"

Proto Man had gone very still. He held up a hand, then stepped out of the thorny thicket they had been standing behind and began looking around. "Say…ever get the feeling we're being watched?"

"...No?" muttered Elec Man, also looking around.

But then something at ground level just behind Proto Man caught Elec Man's attention—a walking, spotted red mushroom edging out of a clump of weeds.

"Light, look out—!"

Too late, the mushroom had already scuttled up to Proto Man. A sparkling cloud rose up from its spotted cap, and Proto Man became completely enveloped. There was a brief flash of cyan light, then the walking mushroom scurried away as Proto Man staggered backward.

"…Light?" hissed Elec Man apprehensively, taking a tentative step closer and dreading the change that was about to take place.

Yet the spore dust wasn't clinging to Proto Man like it had the others—it slid off his armor like sparkling sand.

Stunned, Elec Man blinked, staring hard at him. "…You have some immunity."

"Yeah, I guess so," replied Proto Man, sounding just as surprised. Then he grimaced and clutched at his chest. "That uh, that didn't feel too good," he admitted.

"Your justice energy—"

"I'm fine now," Proto Man cut him off shortly.

"Stop brushing this off," Elec Man rebuked urgently as his surprise wore off. "You can't keep ignoring this."

"I'm not."

"You should rest—"

"Elec Man, I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine."

They stared stonily at each other for a moment.

At length, Elec Man turned away. "Well, I'm going to go investigate this forest. According to Quint's notes, it is possible to leave a paranormal distortion field. If we can still see skyscrapers, maybe we can escape, but I need to find a place to run a complete analysis…"

Proto Man jerked. "…Isn't that a little risky?" he called after him, his voice softening with unease. "With everything going on I mean? Call me crazy, but I still feel like we're being watched, like there's something out there. …I dunno, but I don't like it—I think we're in a lot of danger here."

Better me than you, Elec Man thought sardonically to himself, but it wouldn't do to insult Proto Man's pride, he might do something irrational, so Elec Man said, "I don't care, I just want to get out of here."

His temper getting the better of him, Elec Man stormed off before Proto Man could try to join him. Yes, he was angry, but also very, very worried. This forest could fill with spore dust, which to Proto Man would be as lethal as being locked in a chamber filled with acidic gas—justice energy flare-ups were far worse than becoming 'shroomed'. If something happened where Proto Man couldn't be fixed…

Elec Man looked up the tall trunk of a sycamore tree, whose leafy limbs stretched far above the forest canopy, then began to climb up its branches in a series of jumps. Soon he was at the top. Remaining hidden within the leaves, he surveyed the surrounding landscape. What he saw wasn't good. He appeared to be in the middle of a vast plain of green foliage only broken by the occasional spike of pines or a shock of color from a flowering tree, some of which were shimmering with spore dust. The sky above was a strange absinthe green. There was no indication where Spore might have gone. Yet, in the far north, he thought he could still see the faint boxy outlines of distant skyscrapers, and when he looked behind himself, he could see a faint glimmering patch of ocean. Yes, the paranormal distortion field was not truly boundless—it hadn't even completely taken over New York City yet. There was still time. Now, to take a complete analysis from this vantage point—

Without any sort of warning, the branch snapped beneath him, and Elec Man found himself tumbling downward. He reached out, trying to find anything to break his free fall, but found nothing to grasp, hitting branch after branch, the leaves scratching past his armor, the carpet of wildflowers below rushing toward him, until he hit the loamy ground with a dull thud.

Of course, the fall hadn't hurt much—it was more embarrassing than anything, as Elec Man's titanium armor could have withstood falls from much higher distances. But something far worse happened—as if by design, he had fallen directly into a ring of spotted mushrooms, which blanketed him completely with a shimmering cloud of spores.

"Shit, no—hahaha—no…" gasped Elec Man, attempting to stand up, but instead stumbling backward into a wintergreen patch as the spores began to take effect. "No, hahahaha…"

Roll had been walking in the same direction for some time when she thought she saw movement—a shadow shifting ahead. Quietly, she drew a hedge trimmer, crept closer, then sprang.

"TAKE THIS!" she shouted as she brought the hedge trimmer down on her target, cleaving it cleanly in two—but it turned out to be only a blossoming rhododendron plant that had been stirring in the breeze. It was her fifth false alarm since she had left the group.

"Damn it!" Roll hissed aloud in frustration. No monsters, no baddies…just trees and stupid flowers everywhere!

With a huff, Roll kicked at a dandelion, cursing Spore and his stupid forest before continuing on.

Punk felt it lay mostly on him to find Spore and report back to Mega Girl, as he could cover the most ground the fastest—but so far, he was having no luck.

All I see is trees, trees, and more trees, he thought dully to himself as he rolled down winding, flower-studded paths between grassy slopes. Finally, with nothing to lose, he unfolded in a sun-dappled clearing, and called, "Spore? Oh Spore!"

To his surprise, he heard familiar voices nearby.

"Duh…I think we're lost…" rumbled one.

"Our communicators and teleporters aren't working either," wheezed the other. "We've been cut off!"

Punk sped toward the voices, emerging into a thicket of flowering weeds, where he found Cut Man and Guts Man wandering around, confused.

"Hey, you bots happen to have seen another bot named 'Spore'?" Punk called over. "I think he used to be one of your teammates…"

Both Cut Man and Guts Man shouted in surprise before whirling around.

"Hey, that's Hellrazor—but he's a good guy now!" shouted Guts Man as he recovered, pointing.

"Wily will want him for our team!" responded Cut Man excitedly.

"Let's get him!"

Punk took a step back as Cut Man and Guts Man advanced. "Uh, you guys know I'm a champion robo-fighter, right?"

Guts Man puffed out his chest. "So what? I could be a champion robo-fighter too if I wanted ta! After all, I'm the strongest!"

"And I know kung fu!" chimed in Cut Man while clacking a drawn Rolling Cutter in an irritating way.

Punk looked reluctantly from Cut Man to Guts Man, reminded strongly of the cheesy heels he had once fought in robo-fighting rings, and sighed.

"Look, you were both stolen from Dr. Light, right? Wouldn't feel right to hurt you…"

Deciding Cut Man and Guts Man didn't know anything useful about Spore, Punk folded back into the red spiked ball and revved away, showering Cut Man and Guts Man with a giant spray of mud.

C'mon Punk, get your head in the game, he chided himself as he careened down another flowery path, uprooted wildflowers scattering in his wake. Mega Girl is counting on us to find this bot quickly, before things get too out of hand!

He never noticed that one of the trees that he had zoomed past was smiling placidly.

Proto Man waited tensely for Elec Man to return. Though the woods remained pleasantly serene, bees humming lazily through the wildflowers, he still had a weird feeling of being watched, and kept turning around to check behind him, his pulsar pulse pounding again. Despite what he had told Elec Man, the justice energy was still stirring uncomfortably in his chest, and the minutes passed by painstakingly.

"Elec Man?" he called after a while hesitantly, well aware Elec Man might bite his head off again. He waited a moment before calling softly again, yet there was no response. He didn't like this. "Aw, screw it, ELEC MAN!"

Knowing something was terribly wrong, Proto Man tore through the woods in the direction Elec Man had gone, shouting his name, heedless of the wildflowers he was trampling.

Then he collided with something quite solid.

"Light! You're here!" Elec Man greeted exuberantly as though seeing him for the first time in years as they crashed into each other. He had a wild look in his eyes, his pupils like pinpoints, and his movements flighty and erratic.

"What the—shit, you've been with spores…" said Proto Man, breathing in some from Elec Man's shoulder and feeling lightheaded. Like before, he was able to shake off the feeling, and he quickly pushed Elec Man away.

Teetering unsteadily, Elec Man let out a ringing laugh. It sounded a bit insane. "Why are you being so serious? It's really funny, actually."

"Yeah, sure—" Proto Man gently guided Elec Man toward a moss-covered boulder before Elec Man could fall down. "Hey, sit here for a sec—just going to look you over."

Elec Man sat, then peered down at Proto Man with a smug smile while kicking his legs. "Hahaha—Like a doctor?"

"Sure, like a doctor. Now hold still."

"Heh. 'Doctor,'" Elec Man snickered to himself as Proto Man checked his system diagnostics from a hidden panel within Elec Man's arm. "Heh heh. 'Doctor'. Heh. Doctor Light. You're a 'Dr. Light'."

"…Stop it." Frowning, Proto Man closed the panel. "Your systems are overclocking, you're overheating a bit, and your energy is low, but you're okay. You're even holding it together pretty well mentally—sorta."

"Thanks for the analysis, Dr. Light, hahahaha. You're funny, Dr. Light," Elec Man added, tweaking Proto Man's nose.

Proto Man jerked back in surprise, then scowled. "If you weren't out of your mind, I'd be decking you right now—Careful!" he added, quickly grabbing Elec Man by the shoulder as he nearly toppled off the boulder.

"Why are you so worried? Hahaha. I was just trying to stand up and I went the wrong way, big deal!"

"Yeah, the spore dust does that, remember? I really want to laugh at you, but this is serious, and I could really, really use your help getting out of here."

"This is serious," mimicked Elec Man. "You sound like your creator, ha! Dr. Light sounds like Dr. Light, hahaha!"

"…I also still kinda want to deck you right now."

Proto Man noticed Elec Man's handheld computer lying in a wintergreen patch nearby, and quickly swooped down to pick it up.

"You were trying to troubleshoot this 'paranormal distortion' whatever with the data Quint gave you, remember?" coaxed Proto Man, handing Elec Man his computer. "Maybe there's something in Quint's notes that can help us."

Elec Man looked blankly down at the numeric keypad of his handheld computer, the notecard-sized screen displaying a login page, then back up at Proto Man. "Light, I have a joke!" he announced suddenly.

"Um. …You do?"

"Knock knock."

"…Who's there?" asked Proto Man, becoming more bewildered by the second.

"Paging."

"…Paging who…?"

"Paging Dr. Light! Paging Doctor—Proto—Light!"

"…Good one. Okay, buddy, really need you to focus—" said Proto Man, becoming very worried.

"Hahahaha, like, I don't remember my password right now?" Elec Man responded airily. "It's too long and complicated…"

"It's not…like…'password'?" Proto Man guessed hopefully (a common login for many Robot Masters at Skull Fortress).

"No—hahaha—no, it's like…two hundred characters."

"Two hundred characters?!"

Elec Man grinned at Proto Man with his tongue between his teeth. "Wait, wait—I have another joke—What's black and white and red all over?"

"…A newspaper…?"

"No, you in a lab coat!"

"…Huh…?"

Elec Man only dissolved in yet another peal of insane laughter.

It was in that horrible moment that Proto Man realized he would be figuring out the way out of the woods alone.

Then he heard a strange noise just out of sight from where they were standing.

"What was that?" demanded Proto Man, becoming alert. He quickly scanned the surrounding forest. Nothing moved. Quickly, Proto Man shunted Elec Man under the drooping boughs of a nearby weeping cherry blossom, where he'd be well hidden beneath the flowering curtains. "Stay here."

"Hahaha—What? Where—hahahaha—where are you going?"

"Don't move. Remember, you're 'shroomed'—you'll just keep moving in a random direction from what you want. I'll be back."

Elec Man looked—well, a bit cross, even if he was still giggling with insane laughter—but stayed seated on the mossy ground below the weeping cherry blossom.

Proto Man's pulsar pulse was hammering now. He did not like leaving Elec Man alone in his delirious state, but felt he had little choice, and made sure not to lose sight of the vibrant cherry blossom tree, which stood out like a gigantic hill of cotton candy as he crept further into the woods.

What was that sound? Like before, he knew he had heard something—was it…laughter?

"Who's there?" Proto Man demanded loudly. "I know someone's watching us! And it's not that idiot 'Spore'!"

But there was no reply, the woods swallowing his voice like a void.

Proto Man's head swiveled eagle-like from tree branch to tree branch, searching for anything. He could only see leaves, wildflowers, and trees—but he could sense something else here, a large ominous presence, something he had encountered before…

Losing patience, Proto Man fired in all directions, then watched as one by one his electric blue plasma bolts flashed through tree trunks before winking out in the distant haze, not one of them finding any mark, the woods still and silent again. Seemingly peaceful.

Then—though Proto Man still couldn't see anything—he had the sensation that something was coiling tight around him like a lasso, pinning his arms to his sides and crushing his breath from him. Splitting pain surged through his power core, as though it had turned into a sphere of white-hot iron, the justice energy flaring. Next, like a toy top let loose from a string, the invisible force seemed to fling Proto Man straight into the pillar-like trunk of a massive oak tree, which cracked on impact.

Proto Man floundered for a moment, almost blinded by pain. Seemingly out of nowhere, more spotted mushrooms appeared and began pelting themselves at him. Though they hurt no more than tossed powder puffs, the direct contact of the spores trying and failing to bond to his armor was stoking the already inflamed justice energy in his chest like pine needles on a bonfire.

"Leave me alone!" he growled, flailing stupidly at the absurd assailants while struggling to remain on his feet.

The spotted mushrooms scurried off in all directions. Proto Man thought he heard laughing again—or maybe it was the tree branches shaking—whatever it was, it definitely was not Spore.

"Show yourself…" Proto Man uttered, but his voice shook, his plasma energy half depleted.

Gasping, Proto Man fell against a large pine tree, his power core burning like a furnace as the circuitry surrounding it twisted and pinched painfully.

Mega Man was still furious as he trudged through the hazy woods. The sooner they found Spore and returned everything to normal, the better! Where were the others now? Were they alright? Was Kalinka safe? What a stupid idea it had been to split up…

Though the woods wasn't completely empty—every now and then, Mega Man came across clusters of humans that had been caught up in spore dust sitting in groves, laughing to themselves and sniffing flowers—none of which appeared to be in any danger, so Mega Man left them alone, assuring himself that once Spore was dealt with, everything would go back to normal as it had during the other evil energy encounters.

He had also seen walking mushrooms scuttling through the foliage. Fortunately, Mega Man had been able to avoid them so far—their red caps made them easy to spot—but he shuddered to think what would happen if he got covered in spore dust.

After a while, Mega Man found himself in a glade of red pines, the air quite fragrant with balsam, dry needles crunching underfoot, clusters of wildflowers scattered all around in a pleasing arrangement. Again, Mega Man was hit with a powerful desire to walk around aimlessly, to forget about evil energy, Spore, and fighting entirely—

Then Mega Man paused, listening. Somewhere nearby, he could hear labored breathing. Was someone hurt? Frowning, he held his blaster aloft as he crept toward the sound for a closer look.

He didn't have to go far. Proto Man was leaning against the pillar-like trunk of a towering pine, clutching his chest, his teeth gnashed with pain.

"...Proto?"

Proto Man whipped around, blaster drawn.

Mega Man quickly reverted his blaster arm and held up his hands. "Wait, I don't want to fight."

"Oh—huff—it's you—what's up?"

Mega Man could tell Proto Man was quickly steadying his breath, trying to hide all signs that he had been in some sort of trouble.

Mega Man narrowed his eyes. He didn't ask what Proto Man was doing here (likely committing crimes), but instead said, "Something's wrong with you—I know it."

"Nah," said Proto Man offhandedly, leaning back against the tree in a more nonchalant way. "—But what's eating you?"

"—Nothing," Mega Man said quickly.

"C'mon, something's bugging you. You can tell me," Proto Man pressed in a warm, friendly voice, smiling a winning, dimpled smile. He seemed to have picked up that Mega Man was too preoccupied with his own troubles for a full-blown lecture about avoiding family while continuing to work for Dr. Wily, and was even genuinely interested in his brother's plight. And grudgingly, Proto Man was right—Mega Man wanted an older brother to confide to.

Mega Man sighed. "It's…this Mega Girl," he muttered reluctantly—the words tumbling from his mouth before he could stop them. True—he shouldn't draw attention toward Kalinka if it might endanger her, yet he doubted, whatever Proto Man's allegiance, that he would seriously cause harm toward a human.

"Oh…" Proto Man's smile broadened. "She doesn't seem so bad."

Mega Man raised his brows. "You've met her?"

"Yeah. What, is she supposed to be some kind of secret?"

"I think so."

For some reason, this seemed to hurt Proto Man. "I see," he said shortly, looking away, then as if to himself, "—Typical."

Mega Man gave Proto Man a quizzical look. Then he scoffed. "Typical you two would get along. You kinda act alike."

Looking pleased with himself and mollified, Proto Man grinned again. "Well, maybe she takes after me a little."

Mega Man stared blankly at Proto Man. "…Huh?"

"Huh?" Proto Man said back, looking just as confused by Mega Man's reaction.

Though thoroughly bewildered by Proto Man's words around Mega Girl (Proto Man was speaking of her as he would have Roll, which was bizarre), Mega Man refused to be distracted from the original, more pressing subject—for he could see Proto Man was still straining to act casual, his breathing still unsteady.

"Now what about you? Are you hurt?"

Proto Man withdrew slightly, his smile fading. "Pff, no. Doing just dandy."

"…You can't fool me. Not anymore. You're hiding something. I saw you unconscious in the yarn maze. Is it something to do with your power core? Something Wily can't fix?"

"I said I'm fine, Mega! So mind your own business for once?"

Mega Man was surprised by the sudden bite in Proto Man's tone—and a little hurt, but suspected his accusations were landing close to home. "Proto, please, if you're hurt, you need to be checked out, it's for your own good—"

"I'm sick of people telling me what's for my own good. News flash, I'm not good! And everything's fine! Nothing's wrong!"

"…You definitely sound defensive for someone who has nothing wrong with them," replied Mega Man, stepping over a delicate cluster of sorrel toward Proto Man. "What's going on? What aren't you telling me?"

Proto Man said nothing, his shoulders hunched, his face defiant.

"There you are, coward," called a voice from the trees behind Mega Man.

Proto Man looked over Mega Man's shoulder and smirked. "Well if it isn't Bass."

"Oh c'mon…" groaned Mega Man, turning around. Just when he had finally cornered Proto Man!

From out of the haze, Bass was stalking toward them, Treble at his side, his armor making him look like a gilded shadow. Though his blaster was pointed at Mega Man, Bass's red eyes flickered to Proto Man. "Proto Man…last time we fought, you weren't looking too good, not after you fainted. I let you go. I won't show mercy a second time."

Mega Man glanced sharply back at Proto Man. "You fainted?! Is that what happened in the yarn maze too? How long has this been going on?"

"No, I don't faint, Bass doesn't know what he's talking about," Proto Man denied swiftly, pointing at Bass. "There's nothing wrong with me, you're the freak of nature that should never have existed!"

"Proto!" reprimanded Mega Man, shocked.

Bass calmly charged his blaster. "Alright then. Round two. I'll take you both on."

Proto Man drew his blaster. "C'mon, Mega! Let's team up and kill Bass."

"What?! No!"

"What do you mean 'no'? This is what you've always wanted, right? Us teaming up against a bad guy?"

"Yes—I mean no, Bass is not my enemy—"

"Keep saying that, fool, it only makes you all the more stupid," spoke up Bass.

Mega Man shook his head emphatically at Bass. "You should come back to the lab with me. Dr. Light wants to see you."

Bass tensed slightly at Dr. Light's name, but said stubbornly, "I'm not going anywhere with you. You are my enemy, my rival, this only ends once I end you. How can I be any clearer?"

"Alright, but now is seriously not the time to fight—"

"Fine time by me," said Proto Man.

"Me too," growled Bass.

Mega Man sighed. He wanted to de-escalate the situation with Bass, but like before, was unable to. Smirking, Proto Man had already charged through the carpet of pine needles toward Bass. Comets of blue and green plasma blasts streaked through the trees as Proto Man and Bass began trading shots, each darting back and forth through the glade. Mega Man was trapped between them, trying neither to provoke nor get caught in their crossfire. It would be most convenient if he could just power down and teleport both of them back to Dr. Light's laboratory (Dr. Light could talk Bass down from his vendetta against Mega Man, and Proto Man could be forced through a full system diagnosis) but teleportation was impossible within a paranormal distortion field—besides, it would be a tough enough task not to get blasted!

Both Bass and Proto Man were fierce fighters—equally daring and unpredictable, yet it didn't take long for Mega Man to see that Proto Man had the clear advantage—he had a few years of experience on Bass, and it showed, like a skilled up-and-coming fighter going up against the grandmaster. Then, quite abruptly, something strange happened. Proto Man, grinning confidently as he pressed his advantage, had rushed in close for what looked like a devastating final attack—Bass had raised his arms to defend himself. A brief flash of cyan light lit up the woods. Mega Man held up an arm before his face, unable to clearly see what was happening. What the hell was that? He heard heavy footsteps staggering in the pine needles.

"I warned you…" Bass hissed, aiming his blaster in Proto Man's face. But he didn't fire.

Proto Man clutched at his power core and stumbled backward between the pine trees.

"So something is wrong with you!" cried Mega Man, watching Proto Man closely. "I knew it! Let me help!"

"Get off my case on this Mega, alright? I've already got Elec M—" Proto Man began, then swiftly cut himself off.

Anger filled Mega Man like boiling magma. "Elec Man?" he repeated darkly. "You've told Elec Man about your little fainting spells, and not your family? Elec Man, that really mean, criminal Robot Master who always looks like he wants to murder someone? —Proto! Hey, get back here!"

Like a cornered and wounded animal, Proto Man was edging further into the forest and had soon vanished into the shadows.

Rage was still filling Mega Man, towering over everything. He turned toward Bass. "Me and you."

"Yeah?" muttered Bass, squinting at Mega Man. "Something's different. Don't try to hide it. I can sense it."

Somehow, Mega Man knew Bass was referring to his latent evil energy again, but Mega Man was still too seething at Proto Man to care. He was tired of this stupid wildflower woods and welcomed an outlet to vent his frustration—and he somewhat blamed Bass's intrusion for messing up his opportunity to question Proto Man.

"You wanted to fight, so let's fight," he said, drawing a blaster.

While Mega Man and Bass began battling, Treble had pounced upon Proto Man, pinning him, his white teeth inches from Proto Man's face. Though Treble could easily have torn Proto Man to shreds, he did not strike—instead, he huffed into Proto Man's face, as though warning him not to move, then padded away quietly.

"I hate support units…" grumbled Proto Man, glaring after Treble. While he would have liked to rejoin the fight, his power core felt on fire again, as though it was about to melt right through his chest into the pine needle ground below.

Don't faint, don't faint… he thought to himself sternly, gnashing his teeth. Focus…

Mega Man was pursuing Bass through the red pine tree glade with relentless fury. At the moment, he didn't care what Dr. Light had said, that Bass was once Snake Man, a potential ally, that no longer seemed relevant. He only cared that Bass had gotten between Mega Man and his family, and was only vaguely aware that the evil energy inside his power core seemed to be either reacting to or stimulating his intense anger toward Bass.

Bass, for his part, met the challenge with fierce determination. He weaved through the red pine trunks in a serpentine fashion as Mega Man's golden plasma blasts narrowly grazed past his armor, then returned fire with a wild fury of his own that nearly put Mega Man on the defensive as the two came racing toward each other like bullet trains.

They seemed equally matched, yet Mega Man felt he held the edge and would win. Like Proto Man, he was older and more experienced than Bass. So caught up in his sudden furor, Mega Man became overconfident, stopped paying close attention to his surroundings, and disaster struck. Just as he had been about to storm out at Bass, a super shot charging within his blaster, Mega Man tripped over a fallen branch—and landed headfirst in a ring of spotted mushrooms that had lain hidden behind a scrubby witch hazel bush. The mushrooms, startled, instantly scattered—but not before showering Mega Man with a dense cloud of shimmering spores.

"Shit—hahaha!"

The rage inside Mega Man disappeared like a bubble popping. Becoming extremely giddy, Mega Man clambered to his feet. He put thoughts of defeating Bass aside—he could do nothing in this state. Instead, he attempted to leave the pine grove, but bounced around from tree to tree like a pinball, going in anything but a linear path. Finally, he gave up, the tickling section in his middle getting the better of him, and fell to the ground in a fit of laughter.

A shadow fell over Mega Man as Bass stood over him, the nozzle of his blaster only a few feet from Mega Man's face. "What a pitiful way to go..."

"Bass—haha—don't—" Mega Man tried to get out, but he couldn't do it. The effects of the spores were too strong. "Hahahaha—sorry, from down here your helmet—hahaha—your helmet looks like a cobra hood, hahaha! It's so funny!"

"Hmph. Whatever. Strange last words. Goodbye, Mega Man—"

Before Bass could fire, something red pelted him in the face, and sparkling spore dust exploded into his vision. One of the spotted mushrooms had been thrown at him.

Sputtering, Bass blundered backward from Mega Man, tripping over a tree root and falling with a crunch into the pine needles. There, he began to laugh—a slow, deep husky laugh.

"Heh heh heh heh—what?! Why—heh heh heh—why am I laughing like this?"

As an unpleasant mixture of panic and euphoria overtook Bass in a swooping wave, Proto Man suddenly appeared over him.

Proto Man smirked down at Bass. "I'd finish you now, but honestly, this is way funnier," he snickered, giving Bass a sarcastic salute. "Until next time, Bass."

"Heh heh heh—you—heh heh—don't you run away—heh heh heh—coward! Fight me or finish me off, don't—heh heh—don't leave me like this, heh heh heh heh heh!"

Bass's head fell backward, his hands wrapped around his middle, unable to stop the convulsive, husky laughs rolling through his body.

Proto Man was already moving away. "We'll settle this later…Have fun, don't kill each other—not that you're in any condition."

"You! Heh heh heh!" Bass stammered after Proto Man, but he couldn't even manage to get out a proper insult, too overcome with the spore dust's confusing effects.

Mega Man felt a hand lightly squeeze his shoulder.

"Sorry, kid…"

To his credit, Proto Man did sound sincerely regretful as his footsteps disappeared into the trees.

Proto Man staggered out of the red pines, his power core still throbbing painfully, his vision blurred as the woods spun like a carousel for a moment, but he shook his head to clear it. Things were still rapidly crashing southward and threatening to hit bedrock. He hoped Elec Man was okay…

To his immense relief, Elec Man was exactly where he'd left him, lying curled up beneath the weeping cherry blossom tree, hissing with poorly stifled laughter. Some petals had fallen onto his black armor in spots of pink.

"Why—hahaha—did you leave?" Elec Man asked reproachfully.

"I didn't go far, everything's fine now, and I kept you in sight at all times."

Proto Man avoided mentioning Mega Man, Bass, and the multiple justice energy flare-ups as he pulled Elec Man to his feet, brushing the petals from his armor (the glittering spores remaining firmly stuck). He looked around at the trees.

"…This place isn't a maze like last time. If we go in a straight line, we'll get out eventually," Proto Man said, though not with confidence. "And if we find Spore, we'll torch him. He's made of wood, after all—now more than ever. C'mon—"

"Hahahaha, why do we have to leave? It's nice here." Elec Man sank to his knees, his outstretched hands skimming the feathery tops of long grass.

"…It's nice here? Elec Man, knock it off, we gotta go—stay with me—" Proto Man added urgently, grabbing Elec Man by the arm and pulling him up again.

Agitation flickered across Elec Man's eyes, even as he laughed. "Hahaha, you're being such a nag!"

"I'm being a nag? Me, Proto Man?"

"You're being boring, why do you have to be so boring right now, hahahaha?"

"…Just making sure we don't die?"

Resigned to the fact that if he was going to keep Elec Man moving, he would need to pull him along, Proto Man slung Elec Man's arm over his shoulder, but this was a difficult task. Elec Man, still laughing, kept changing directions, sometimes tugging away from Proto Man with all his strength to suddenly throwing his whole weight against him like one of Light University's tackle-bots, once accidentally tripping Proto Man and causing them to fall down in a tangle of purple foxglove with Proto Man on top, which Elec Man seemed to find extremely funny. So far, they had only made it a few paces from the weeping cherry blossom tree.

"C'mon, why aren't you laughing?" asked Elec Man after Proto Man dragged him to his feet again.

"This isn't funny."

"Sure it is, hahaha! See!" Elec Man clumsily hooked his fingers into the corners of Proto Man's mouth and stretched it into a grin. But when he let go a moment later, Proto Man's face fell back into a grim frown. Again, mounting agitation clouded Elec Man's eyes. "Hahahaha, why aren't you smiling?"

Proto Man took another long look at Elec Man, and noticed that though Elec Man was laughing weakly, he was also trembling.

"Hey, can you take off your helmet for a sec?"

Elec Man promptly obliged, shooting it like a basketball into a hydrangea bush. "Toss, hahaha!"

"Jeeze, not like that!" hissed Proto Man, not looking forward to fishing the helmet out later.

Some spores glistened across Elec Man's cheekbones, the bridge of his nose, and even through his short black hair, as though he had stood outside during a frost. But when Proto Man brushed a hand to his temple, his brow felt as hot as an oven door.

"You need to stop overclocking your systems," he murmured finally. "You can't beat this, you're just going to overheat until you have a total system crash."

Elec Man shuddered, his eyes slightly cross-eyed. "But—hahahaha—I must stay alert—"

"No you don't, I got this. If you can't relax, I'm going to power you down—"

"No—haha—no! Don't!" Elec Man laughed desperately, shrinking away from Proto Man's clinical analysis. He wavered, made a strange spinning movement like a puppet tangled up in its strings, then collapsed against a flowery slope as though those same strings had been suddenly cut, looking utterly defeated.

"I feel so stupid, my thoughts keep shuffling like a deck of cards, hahaha…" mumbled Elec Man, rubbing dolefully at spores stuck to the lightning emblem of his gauntlet.

"You don't look stupid," said Proto Man, crouching next to Elec Man. "The others looked stupid. You sound way smarter—maybe a bit insane—like a younger, cooler, much better looking Wily."

"Please—hahaha—please stop talking. Just kill me, hahahaha—I'm a complete mess."

This almost made Proto Man laugh, but he only managed a faint smile. "…It's really not necessary."

The brief flare of agitation lit Elec Man's eyes again, and he glared piercingly at Proto Man. "Then leave me behind, I'm slowing you down, hahaha."

"No."

There was a moment of silence, a small breeze picking up and stirring the wildflowers around them, Elec Man vainly attempting to stifle his uncontrollable, insane laughter with his hands.

"You're going to burn yourself out. Relax," Proto Man said finally. "You wouldn't leave me behind if our positions were reversed. And it's my fault this happened to you—we should have stayed together instead of arguing."

Proto Man rested his hand against Elec Man's temple, which was worryingly hot. Elec Man stiffened, then shut his eyes, reluctantly falling back into the role of patient.

…A dull ache began to build up in Proto Man's chest.

No, not now… he thought frantically as his justice energy chose this inopportune time to flare up again. Elec Man needed help. Proto Man would just have to push through it, and hope he didn't fain—er, power down—

But the pain only increased in Proto Man's power core as it traveled up his blaster arm and to his fingertips. Meanwhile, Elec Man stirred slightly. His laughter was becoming quieter, his brows furrowing, and a small amount of spore dust trickled from his armor.

"Hey…my head is clearing a little…"

"…It is? That's great—"

Elec Man suddenly recoiled from his touch.

"You're using your justice energy powers again. Stop it, you'll hurt yourself!"

"—What?" sputtered Proto Man, stricken. "How?! It's not like I'm thinking about it. You know I can't help it!"

"Maybe because you're acting—haha—heroic. If evil energy draws its power from dark thoughts, then justice energy draws from—hahaha—heroic."

This revelation hit Proto Man like a strike from Super Arm, his thoughts racing wildly. "What?! There's no way—it's a fluke I even have justice energy in the first place—a stupid fluke. All I did was copy Duo's stupid weapon—You of all people know what a shitty person I am. …We can't tell anyone about this. I'm no more hero than you are—honest!"

"Hahaha—St-stay away from—haha—me!" Elec Man attempted to stumble away. He ended up crashing into one of the fir trees, then crumpled into a heap at its roots, laughing with ringing, insane laughter.

"Elec Man…" murmured Proto Man. Watching Elec Man flounder around like this was as terrible as watching a bird with a bent wing attempting to fly (not that he'd tell Elec Man this, it wouldn't do to insult his pride). Proto Man very carefully approached Elec Man, then sat down next to him, his blaster arm feeling stiff and off—he'd have to be careful to keep it away from spore dust in the future. "Don't—please don't…"

"Hahaha…what? Idiot…I'm trying to protect you so you don't die."

"I don't want you to die either, knucklehead. I'll get us out of this—and whoever is messing with us I'm going to kill, alright?"

Elec Man said nothing, still laughing weakly.

"Guess it is up to me to get us out of this one," added Proto Man in a casual tone, gazing off into the forest. "…And I get it, maybe you don't actually trust me to handle things—"

"No—haha—I do trust you," Elec Man blurted out, straining through the spores' effect. He seemed in earnest, a slightly haunted look in his contracted eyes as he stared up at Proto Man.

"…Really?" Proto Man's mood brightened, and he dropped the casual act as he shifted closer to Elec Man. "I mean, I trust you too! Like, you're the only one I trust. Obvious, right?" he added, slightly embarrassed.

But Elec Man looked away. Their past argument about evil energy lingered between them like a ghost, of Elec Man's request to be destroyed if he ever became infected, of Proto Man's refusal—

Wanting to make a point, Proto Man took off his helmet and held Elec Man in a stern, unbreakable gaze, his hands on Elec Man's shoulders as though about to shake him (he kinda felt like shaking him, but refrained). Elec Man was trying to avoid his gaze, his wild-looking eyes darting around uncomfortably in a manner strikingly different from his normal imposing countenance, a manner all too familiar to Proto Man's own, but Proto Man refused to let go and kept his voice gentle.

"Hey, this alien energy stuff, I get why you're scared…I'm scared too. But—and I know you don't like my stance on this—if you trust in me, then trust that whatever happens, it's going to be okay."

Elec Man's eyes finally met Proto Man's. "But—haha—you could die. I could kill you."

"I have it coming," Proto Man said lightly. He leaned closer to Elec Man, their faces inches apart, still staring firmly at him. "Elec Man, it's going to be okay—and trust me, I'm taking this very seriously."

Elec Man shook slightly. "I—haha—I don't like when you're serious."

Proto Man just smiled. "Yeah, well, I don't like this. Your insults are usually far more clever."

Elec Man stared at him a moment longer. Then, something seemed to give in Elec Man. His face split into a wide grin as he grabbed Proto Man's arms, his grip alarmingly strong, his head bowed as he began to laugh bitterly.

"Ow, ow, hey—" complained Proto Man. "Oh geeze, Elec Man…" he added worriedly, slightly alarmed to see Elec Man completely fall apart like this. But—it was for the best, for now. "That's it…relax…"

The breeze blew up around them, and more petals scattered from the weeping cherry blossom tree.

To be continued…