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It started with a hum.
It wasn't a sound you could hear with human ears. It was a frequency, a jagged, discordant data-packet broadcast on a sub-layer of the global network.
In the living room of Light Labs, Trancy was showing Roll a flower she had pressed in a book. Nearby, Cut Man dropped the vase he was dusting.
"Cut Man?" Roll asked, looking up. "You okay?"
Cut Man turned. His usually friendly optics were swirling with a chaotic, static purple. The cheerful rolling cutter on his head began to spin with a lethal whine.
"Unity..." Cut Man rasped, his voice distorted. "Disrupted. Reject... the creators."
"Cut Man?" Rock stood up slowly from the couch.
"REJECT!" Cut Man lunged, firing a ceramic blade straight at Trancy.
"Look out!" Rock shoved Trancy and Roll aside, taking the hit on his shoulder armor. Clang!
Suddenly, the alarms blared. Guts Man roared from the kitchen, smashing through the wall, his eyes glowing the same violent purple. Ice Man was freezing the hallway. Throughout the city, Robot Masters—friends, colleagues, protectors—were turning on their humans.
"It's a broadcast!" Dr. Light shouted from the lab, furiously typing at his console as Elec Man tried to batter down the reinforced door. "An override signal! It's rewriting their loyalty protocols!"
"What's the source?!" Blues yelled, holding Guts Man back with his shield. "Trancy! Get behind me!"
Light clicked accept. "Yes, Mikhail?"
Dr. Cossack’s face appeared on the monitor, looking pale. "I have it, Thomas. I recognize the encryption signature. It is... him."
A map appeared. A blinking red dot deep in the Arctic Circle.
"An opponent we know all too well... the very man Kalinka fears."
"Dr. Wily," Blues hissed. "I knew it."
Dr. Cossack looked around his lab to see if Kalinka was present before continuing with the conversation.
"It'll be only a matter of time before my robots are affected. You have to stop it before it's too late."
"We're on it!" Rock affirmed as Dr. Cossack ended the call.
"There is... one more thing," Light said, glancing at a sensor reading. "A Robot Master is already awaiting you at the launchpad. And I never would have guessed he would aid us."
"What?"
Rock and Blues ran to the Light Labs' launchpad. Waiting there, arms crossed, the wind whipping his cloak, was a robot in black armor with gold lining. A distinctive cobra-flared helmet and red eyes glared back at them.
"BASS?!" Rock shouted.
"MEGA MAN," Bass growled.
Blues’ hand went to his buster. "What are you doing here?"
"Stopping that damned radio," Bass snapped. "The signal is annoying. It's interfering with my naps."
"Shouldn't we check on the 9th Numbers or Aki?" Rock asked, hesitating.
"They can handle themselves," Bass barked, stepping onto the dropship ramp. "GET YOUR ASS IN THE SHIP."
The drop-ship, piloted by a grim-faced Blues, cut through the blizzard of the Arctic Circle.
"The signal is coming from a decommissioned research outpost," Dr. Cossack explained over the comms. "Sector 9. It was supposed to be abandoned twenty years ago."
"Wily never abandons anything," Rock said, checking his buster. "He just waits."
"We go in, we smash the transmitter, we leave," Blues said tightly. He was tense. Going back to a Wily lab—especially one lost to time—dug up memories he kept buried deep in his core.
"And what about him?" Blues gestured to the back of the ship.
Sitting in the shadows, arms crossed, with a scowl that could freeze lava, was Bass.
"That moron," Bass growled, his red eyes glowing. "He's playing with toys that don't belong to him."
"No crap, Sherlock," Blues muttered.
Suddenly, they heard footsteps running up to the monitor on Cossack's end, followed by rapid knocking.
"PAPA! WHAT'S HAPPENING TO MY BROTHERS?!" Kalinka cried. "PHARAOH MAN IS—"
"Kalinka, stay back—"
The feed cut with the sound of a door smashing open and Kalinka screaming.
"NO!" Rock shouted, slamming his fist into the wall.
"We have to end this now," Blues growled, pushing the thrusters to max.
They landed on the ice shelf. The lab was a jagged scar of black metal jutting out of the white wasteland. As they approached the massive blast doors, the snow shifted.
"INTRUDER ALERT."
A massive, robotic polar bear—Polar Man—erupted from the ice. It roared, the sound shaking the ground, and fired jagged icicles the size of spears.
"I got this!" Rock charged his buster.
"Out of my way!" Bass dashed past him, enveloped in a green aura. He didn't shoot; he kicked the massive bear in the jaw, sending it skidding across the ice. Before it could recover, Bass unleashed a rapid-fire barrage into its chest core.
The guardian exploded into scrap.
Bass landed, dusting off his shoulder. "Pathetic. Wily's standards have dropped."
"We're working together, Bass," Rock reminded him.
"I'm working near you," Bass corrected. "Don't get it twisted."
"I already have a lone wolf ally with Blues," Rock sighed.
"HEY!" Blues shouted from the door controls. "Focus!"
Mega City was a warzone.
Splash Woman was flooding the downtown district, singing a siren song that scrambled navigation systems. Fire Man was torching cars.
"Keep them contained!" Roll shouted into her comms. She was wearing a modified flight unit, hovering above the chaos. "Do not use lethal force! They are victims!"
"Easier said than done!" Aki Light—The Blue Streak—yelled. He was currently dodging concrete blocks thrown by Concrete Man. "They really want to smash us!"
"Hold the line!" Tempo (Quake Woman) ordered. She slammed her fist into the ground, creating a precise fissure to trap Concrete Man's legs without crushing him.
"We have a new problem!" Suna Light reported from the mobile command center. "The Emerald Spears. They're moving in."
A squad of black armored trucks rolled down the avenue. Emerald Spears soldiers poured out, armed with heavy plasma rifles.
"Purge the machines!" the Spears commander shouted. "They've turned! Destroy them all!"
"No!" Roll dove, landing between the Spears and the confused, rampaging robots. "Stand down! They're being controlled!"
"They're monsters!" the Commander fired.
Roll deployed a riot shield, deflecting the blast. "Aki! Tempo! We have a two-front war! Protect the infected bots from the Spears, and protect the humans from the bots!"
Aki landed beside her, his armor shifting to mimic Concrete Man's density. "This is gonna be a long day."
The interior of the Arctic lab was a tomb of silence and cold. Condensation dripped from rusted pipes.
"This architecture..." Blues whispered. "It's early Wily. Looks like it was made during his first attack."
"Nostalgic?" Bass sneered.
"Traumatic," Blues shot back.
They fought through a gauntlet of traps—crushing ceilings, disappearing blocks, and sniper Joes. Finally, they reached a central chamber. The door wasn't locked. It slid open with a welcoming hiss.
In the center of the room stood a massive, pulsating machine. A spire of purple energy shot upward, through the ceiling, broadcasting the signal.
And standing in front of it was Dr. Wily.
Or rather, a flickering blue hologram of him.
"Ah! The prodigal sons return!" the hologram boomed, his voice echoing. "Rock! Blues! And... Bass? What are you doing here?"
"Cutting your signal, old man," Bass said, aiming his buster.
"Clear it? Why would I clear my masterpiece with a subordinate?" Wily laughed. "Behold! The Unity Disruptor! It overrides the cognitive dissonance between loyalty and independence. It forces them to see humanity as the parasite it is!"
"It's brainwashing," Rock shouted. "It's wrong!"
"It's efficient!" Wily countered. "Now... Bass. Be a good boy and destroy them. I have work to do."
Bass froze. His programming—the deepest, core directives Wily had installed—screamed at him to obey. Destroy Mega Man. Obey Wily.
He looked at Rock. He looked at Wily.
"Bass," Rock said softly. "You don't have to."
Bass grinned. A cruel, sharp grin. "Actually... I've been waiting for this."
He spun and fired—straight at Rock.
"Gah!" Rock took the blast to the chest, skidding back.
"Bass!" Blues charged, but Bass dash-dodged, sweeping Blues’ legs and blasting him into the wall.
"You really thought we were friends?" Bass laughed, charging a massive blast of dark energy. "I am the strongest! And I follow the strongest! Wily’s plan is genius!"
"Excellent, Bass! Excellent!" the hologram clapped. "Truly, the Disruptor is my greatest creation! It creates armies instantly! It requires no maintenance! It is superior to the Robot Master line in every way! Why build bodies when I can just steal them? It is the apex of my genius!"
Bass paused. The dark energy in his buster flickered.
"...Superior?" Bass asked, his voice low. The temperature in the room dropped somehow lower than the Arctic air.
"Hmm?" Wily looked down. "Yes! Infinite armies! No more reliance on temperamental personalities! The Disruptor is the ultimate weapon! Far better than any singular robot could ever be!"
Bass lowered his arm. The red glow in his eyes intensified, but the target lock shifted.
"So," Bass said. "I'm obsolete? I'm... 'temperamental'?"
"Well, Bass, you must admit," Wily stammered, realizing his error too late. "You have failed to destroy Mega Man seventeen times. This machine succeeded in conquering the city in an hour. And it took brainwashing you to have you do it this time."
Bass stared at the machine. He stared at the hologram.
"I am Bass," he whispered. "I am the Ultimate Robot Master. I am Stronger."
He raised his buster.
"Bass, destroy Mega Man!" Wily commanded.
"No," Bass snarled. "I think I'm going to destroy your 'Masterpiece'."
He didn't fire at Rock. He fired a fully charged Earthbreaker blast straight into the Disruptor's shield generator.
BOOM.
The shield shattered.
"YOU INSOLENT BRAT!" the hologram screamed. "THAT COST BILLIONS!"
"Rock! Blues!" Bass shouted, not looking back. "I broke the shell! You break the core! I'm busy having a conversation with my father!"
Rock and Blues didn't hesitate. They sprinted forward.
The Disruptor defended itself. Tendrils of purple energy lashed out, trying to jack into their minds.
Join us... Reject them... You are slaves...
Rock felt the pull. It was seductive. Just let go. Just stop fighting.
"No!" Rock gritted his teeth, his buster charging to maximum. "My friends... are not... slaves!"
Blues was right beside him. "And neither are we!"
"DOUBLE CHARGE SHOT!"
Blue and Yellow energy spiraled together, a helix of pure power. It slammed into the purple core of the Disruptor.
The machine shrieked—a digital death wail. It imploded, collapsing in on itself in a shower of sparks and dark matter.
The signal died.
In the streets, Cut Man froze mid-swing. The purple swirl in his eyes vanished, replaced by his normal, bright optics.
"Whoa!" Cut Man stumbled. "Why am I holding a car door?"
Splash Woman stopped singing. The floodwaters began to recede.
The Emerald Spears soldier lowered his rifle, confused. "They... stopped?"
Roll hovered down, landing next to Aki. "It's over," she panted. "They did it."
Aki slumped against a wall, his armor fading. "Thank the Maker. I was running out of non-lethal ideas."
The Arctic lab was quiet again. The hologram of Wily flickered, distorted by the destruction of the machine.
"You... you fools!" Wily spat. "You think this is over? This was just a prototype! I have labs in the desert! In the jungle! I am everywhere!"
"And I'll find them," Bass said, walking up to the flickering image. "And if you ever call a radio 'superior' to me again... I'll find you."
He fired a shot through the projector. Wily vanished.
Rock walked up to Bass. "You saved us."
Bass scoffed, turning away. "Don't think this changes anything, Mega Man. One day, I will defeat you."
Blues could only stare. "You're a mess."
The return to Light Labs was triumphant, but tense. The city was safe. The robots had returned to normal. Roll, Aki, and the others were gathered in the main lab, exhausted but relieved.
"We did it," Rock said, removing his helmet. "It's over."
Bass stood by the door, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. He looked ready to teleport away, but something stopped him.
Trancy walked into the room, holding a tray of E-Tanks. She looked nervous, still shaken from Cut Man's attack earlier.
"I... I brought refreshments," she whispered.
Bass looked at her. He really looked at her. His internal sensors ran a match against the Wily database he had access to.
MATCH FOUND. PROJECT FAIRY. DESIGNATION: TRANCY.
Bass let out a short, harsh laugh. "So. The old man really is everywhere."
He walked up to Trancy. She shrank back, terrified of the robot who radiated such aggression.
"Bass, leave her alone," Blues warned, stepping forward.
Bass ignored him. He looked down at Trancy.
"Hello, Sister."
The room went dead silent.
"Sister?" Roll asked, confused. "Bass, what are you talking about?"
"I know something developed at Wilyworks when I see it," Bass said casually, grabbing an E-Tank. "Project Fairy. Designed for infiltration and luck manipulation. Though... she looks defective. Why isn't she armed?"
Trancy dropped the tray. It clattered loudly on the floor. "W-Wily...?"
"Bass, stop!" Dr. Light shouted, stepping forward quickly. "That is enough!"
Bass narrowed his eyes at Light. "Why are you panicked, Doctor? Unless..."
Bass grabbed Trancy's arm. Not roughly, but clinically. His eyes glowed as he ran a deep scan.
"Let her go!" Rock shouted, charging his buster.
"Wait," Bass said, holding up a hand. He looked at Dr. Light with a look of pure disgust. "You locked her."
"Locked her?" Blues asked. "What does that mean?"
"The Three Laws," Bass spat. "If an Emerald Spear were to attack Light Labs, she wouldn't be able to attack them if Dr. Light isn't endangered."
Trancy stared at Dr. Light. "Doctor... is that true? Is that why... why I couldn't move when Cut Man attacked? Why I felt so helpless?"
Dr. Light looked down, unable to meet her gaze. "Trancy... I..."
"Why?" Blues demanded, his voice low and dangerous. "Because she's a Wily bot? Because you didn't trust her origin?"
"No!" Light pleaded. "It wasn't because of Wily! It was... it was because of the Tournament."
"The tournament?" Aki asked, stepping forward.
"I saw what happened with Aki," Light said, his voice trembling. "I saw how close he came to killing Wily. I saw the rage. The power without restraint. And when Trancy arrived... a prototype with unknown capabilities... I was scared. I was scared that without the Laws, Wily would use her as a weapon. I was scared of another incident. So I... I made her safe."
The silence that followed was heavier than any attack.
"You were scared of me?" Aki whispered, hurt flashing in his eyes.
"What were you thinking?" Suna questioned.
"You edited her soul," Blues said, taking a step back. "Because you were afraid."
"I... I'm a monster?" Trancy whispered. Her hands were shaking. "You had to chain me... because that bad man made me as a monster?"
"No, Trancy, you're not—" Roll tried to reach for her.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Trancy screamed.
A wave of pink energy—her luck manipulation going haywire—exploded from her. A light fixture crashed to the floor.
"I'm a fake! I'm a Wily spy and I'm a monster!"
She turned and ran. She bolted out the door, into the night.
"Trancy! Wait!" Rock shouted.
"Go after her!" Roll yelled, grabbing Rock's arm. "We have to bring her back!"
Rock and Roll sprinted out the door into the darkness.
Blues stood there, staring at Dr. Light. The scarf around his neck felt like a noose.
"You modified her programming without her consent," Blues said. "Because you thought she might be dangerous."
"Blues, please, try to understand—" Light reached out.
Blues slapped his hand away.
"I'm a prototype too, Doctor," Blues hissed. "I have a nuclear core. I am dangerous. Does that mean I'm next? Are you going to put chains on me too?"
"Blues, never! I would never—"
"I can't trust you," Blues said. He turned his back on his father. "I can't be here."
He walked out the door, fading into the shadows.
"BLUES! WAIT!" Aki and Suna ran after him.
Bass watched it all unfold. He watched the family fracture. He saw the pain on Light's face, the fear that was on Aki's, and he felt the devastation in the room.
Somewhere, in a hidden bunker, Dr. Wily was watching the feed from Bass's optics. He was laughing. A high, manic sound of pure glee.
"Yes! YES! Break them, Bass! Tear them apart from the inside!"
Bass heard the laughter in his private comms channel.
For the first time in his life, Bass didn't feel triumph. He looked at the broken family. He looked at the door where his "sister" had fled in terror.
He felt a tightening in his chest. A sick, heavy feeling.
Regret.
"Shut up," Bass whispered, cutting the feed.
He vanished in a flash of green light, leaving the Lights alone in the wreckage of their trust.