Doctor Light knew that time was limited in getting the rogue Sparkman, Hardman, and Needleman away from the hostages. He needed to get the robot masters calm enough to approach safely, otherwise they would catch on to the emergency shutdown command. The robot masters were surprised to see the roboticist join them within the walled off tunnel, the lights of the police cars flickering around them. Agent Krantz had been patient and alert to the robots' movements, her hand hovering over the holster when the moment gets troublesome. Agent Stern grew weary as the minutes turned into hours of back and forth, with his frustrated grunts aimed at the robots refusing to back away from the hostages.
"I understand you boys are struggling, but you need to realize that you are hurting everyone around you." Light attempted to reach out again. He had wondered if this was the seventh time he tried this, or the fifteenth time.
"But we are not hurting anyone!! Why do you always assume the worst in us?!" To his increasing dismay, Sparkman's body shone in electricity and the hostages briefly screamed.
"Doctor!!" Stern pulled out his gun but did not fire thanks to Krantz shaking her head.
"Spark! C-Calm down Spark...before you shock everyone. It will not end well for anyone if that happens." Light's voice wavered in his shaky breath.
"Do as he says brother. No need to escalate the plan yet." Hardman spoke in a monotone manner as if he was speaking to the air.
"Brother? God Light, what else have you been implementing in these machines?" Doctor Light chose to ignore Stern's comment, but Krantz had managed to send the message to be quiet from another glare.
"I want our brothers back. Why haven't they responded? It has been too long now." Spark calmed his anger into a long whimper, and the electricity fizzled away into harmless sparks. With a available opening, Light touched Krantz's shoulder and the two moved forward. He gained more confidence to break out of their formation, eventually going in front of the agent to face the electric robot.
"Spark, you and your brothers are experiencing a glitch. You are putting everyone here in danger and I need to get you out of here. It is not safe here." Light spoke softly. He reached for the robot's electric shoulder before withdrawing in realization of potential shocks.
"But...I feel fine. Don't you believe us?" Spark asked.
"I...I do. But to you the glitch may not seem harmless when it is. Come with me back to the lab and I can check you boys out. We can figure out what's wrong with your brothers and-"
"Our brothers? You know what happened to them? Of course you do! You knew the whole time! Tell us where they are!!"
Doctor Light felt the air buzz dangerously before Spark winced and retreated as a small bullet grazed his side. The tunnel echoed from the bullet, and Doctor Lights' ears rang loudly from the impromptu save. Through the ringing, he could hear Agent Krantz murmur "Last chance Doctor Light. Or else we need another tactic."
"Right." He murmured and straightened his coat.
"You shot him!" Needle shouted in anger. Doctor Light approached them with more aggression in each step. He needed to get this attempt right, or else he feared what the fleeting patience of three robot masters could do to everyone.
"Listen up boys you are being irrational and highly emotional, and it is causing everyone in here to be scared of you. Glitch or not, I programmed all of you to be better than this. I understand you are wondering what happened to your brothers, but do you think they will happy to see the immature behavior you are showing?" He spoke with conviction to each robot master individually. The robot masters blinked in shock and their eyes turned downward in shame. As their attention was drawn to him, Krantz walked to the side gesturing towards the hostages. Seeing their opening each hostage crawled backwards toward her, scared enough to make a small whimper.
"We...don't want to hurt anyone."
"You are not making it clear to them. These people were meant to be your coworkers. And yet..." Dr. Light paused to clear this throat, "Whatever this is, I can fix it back at the lab. I can still help you before this turns bad. If you really want to see your brothers again, you need to stand down and let me do this."
To his relief and the agents' shock, each robot master silently lowered their heads in resignation, the hostages now safe from range. Spark made a quiet noise and scooted closer to Light, his hand gently touching the cold electrode arm. This was his chance to safely end the situation.
"Activate shutdown sequence."
The three robots twitched violently around the roboticist, their eyes blanking out while standing upright. He sighed in relief along the crowd that the crisis was adverted. The hostages cried in happiness as they disappeared to the entrance. Krantz approached Doctor Light with a proud smile, while Stern nodded in respect.
"You did a good job Doctor Light. I'll start sending the report of not releasing the EMP." She said.
"Thank you Agent Krantz. Maybe while Megaman's off retrieving the rest of my robots, I can start fixing the problem and-" His sentence fell off at the sound of mischievous giggling. Then the shout from Stern made the two turn around. Electricity flared from Sparkman and his eyes shaking with gleeful rage.
"Megaman is out there with our brothers!? That is...fantastic!! Master Wily will be pleased with this!!" He laughed.
"Doctor Light!!!" Krantz shouted for Light, but it was too late for the two to avoid the electric blast. The roboticist's last thoughts were of horror of the code not working, and then he blacked out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rock did not said anything when he had reached the entrance to Beta, and welcomed the silent ambience within the oddly shaped tunnels. His dog Rush had nudged against his side for some type of response, only to whine when he got a dismissive wave. The tunnels underneath the asteroid were not as special as those from the previous two. It lacked the pristine untouched beauty of Glimmer's crystal surface, and it was not as huge as Omega's mining operation. However, they were in irregular shapes and corners were perfectly rounded as if the whole cave system was a series of ropes. Rock could swear from the lighting the tunnels had a vaguely green color.
He needed to keep moving forward. He had no doubt the next robot master was watching him right now, waiting for him to call out or make some attempt at reaching out in vain. Surprisingly, the enemy spoke first from the darkness.
"I did warn you about getting more than just fangs if you didn't watch your back." A voice laughed softly in the tunnels.
"Snakeman." Rock said.
"Megaman. It is a pleasure to see you for the first time. The real you." Snakeman's voice lifted at the last sentence, as if he was smiling.
"Do not say that. This is not me at all."
"Oh we both know that is a lie." Snake laughed.
As Rock trudged forward, the robot master's voice followed close behind. He looked far down the tunnels to see if the enemy was there, but there was nothing. Snake emitted a soft hum the longer the silence went on.
"You seem troubled." He said softly.
"Oh yeah? How so?" Rock said stiffly.
"There is this certain air about you. A dread that is new and unfamiliar, and yet I find satisfaction in it. A anger that creeps to the surface, threatening to override your thoughts. A fear coming to swallow you whole. I see it on your face and in your movements. Your silence alone speaks all of your thoughts. To see it come out of a cheery little robot like you. It is...exciting." The voice said.
"I would rather want you to keep that to yourself. I don't need to know how much cruelty Doctor Wily implemented into your programming behind my father's back." Rock hissed. To his surprise, Snakeman laughed again. Something had moved under his feet and he began to see the green tinted floor slither to the side. The other side began to move irregularly until the whole area was moving him around. A soft hiss began to accompany their conversation that only Rush seemed to acknowledge.
"But are you really surprised by the revelation? We may have Doctor Light's schematics, but your father had Wily work on us TOGETHER. Any fault that you put on the doctor is ultimately your creator's fault too." Snake said seriously.
"Shut up." Rock argued.
"Your creator is a gullible fool to believe humans can change so easily, and an unfortunate trait passed to his prized possessions." Snake continued without stopping.
"Shut up!" Rock repeated more aggressively. A yelp of fear erupted from Rush as the floor started to sink under his paws. Rock shoots into the ground to release the robotic dog, only to scream as he sank farther than Rush. As the ground began to wrap around the dog's body, red eyes and mouth erupted from the green surroundings. His stomach dropped with the floor and walls unraveling into hundreds of robotic snakes, but could only call out in vain with Rush dragged out of sight.
The snakes continued to unravel before a larger body started to crawl down the ceiling. Rock thrashed around as the robot snakes wrapped around his arms and body, enveloping him to the neck. The grip was tight enough to limit mobility but there wasn't enough force to make external damage. Rock stopped struggling as Snake completely descended the ceiling, looking through him while crouching to his level.
"What do you plan to do after taking care of us? Walk back to your cage and fight Doctor Wily once more? Do you plan on killing him too, just like us? Throw us back in the dump like you do with the other robot masters?"
Rock did not want to answer him. The snakes' grip grew tighter.
"Your creator won't learn from this. He will continue to take pity on those that don't deserve it. He will build more robot masters, and others will take advantage. You will clean his mess for him, and the cycle will continue. It will be an endless cycle of pain. He won't care about them like he does with you. We all are tools to them. You must see it like I do." Snake spoke steadily, forcing Rock's chin toward him every time he tried to look away. The helmet tail swayed to the side casually, and the snakes momentarily stopped their tightening grip.
"And you think destroying me is going to satisfy him?! Tell Wily he is a sorry sack of-AAH!" Rock screamed as the snakes tightened instantly. Warning signs of increased external damage filled his vision. Gemini and Top's combined attacks had dealt enough damage for parts of his armor caving inward. The additional crushing from the snakes were starting to crush vital circuits dangerously together. Snake's slitted eyes never broke contact from his face while sneering enough for his fangs to show.
"You will either fight for the rest of your existence, or until someone puts you out of your misery. And...it doesn't have to be this way." Snake's voice gentle strangely gentle as he held Rock's face, the claws scraping the neck and chin.
"W-What are you talking about?" Rock winced.
"Whether or not you still acknowledge it, we are brothers in the end. If you were to not only stop the fighting, but also join us, we could end the cycle before it cements. We could show humanity that we are more than just tools. We are powerful on our own, but together we could be unstoppable. You can save our brothers and sisters Megaman. You can be our savior. Why don't you put your blaster down and face the world with your real family?" With a click from the robot master's tongue, the snakes loosened enough for Rock to wriggle around. His head dropped in thought while Snake waited for his answer. The green robot smirked the more Rock looked up and down repeatedly, confident in his enemy to make the right choice.
Rock's head snapped up aggressively, his blue eyes burning and lips curled in disdain. "You. Are not my brother. How dare you act like you care about me now after everything you put my family through?! This bond you think we shared was not real. I don't think it was ever real. And you can go ahead and fight me, because I would rather be dismantled than join you!"
The gentle kindness in Snake's eyes, the loose grip he had on the boy's chin, and the nonchalant wagging of the helmet kind snapped away and there was only the cold gaze of a enraged robotic predator. The metallic claws dug into Rock's face, tearing the synthetic skin and cheek plates apart. The snakes crushing blocked out most of Rock's yelling until Snake joined in. The robot master flailed around to see Rush's jaw clamped around his neck, his own claws tearing into the white armor.
With enough of the distraction, Rock freed his arm and blasted into the robotic snakes. The snake's severed bodies fell around him as he charged at the distracted Snake. Rush leapt off, a good chunk of synthetic skin and armor in his teeth, and Rock fired Gemini's laser into the chest. The last white armor pieces shattered and impacted Snake against the tunnel. Snake gasped as he crumbled against the floor, seemingly defeated and shut down.
"Go and see if the energy element is nearby Rush, then bring it back to put in the capsule." Rock ordered the robotic dog, who retreated into the darkness.
The snakes enveloping the tunnel slowly stopped moving and their glowing eyes faded to black. Rock approached the unconscious body. Turning the body into a sitting position, he saw that Snake only had damage to the chest. His fingers traced across until he popped the hidden plate to his circuits. He could see the hidden slot for the I.C chip within the core, and reached in slowly to pull it out. A small huff of air hit his neck and thought it was Rush returning with the energy element. Suddenly the core flared to life as a deep chuckle escaped Snake.
"You would have made a great martyr."
A pair of arms yanked Rock into his chest and Snake plunged his fangs into the neck. Rock's reflexes kicked into overdrive and fired his blaster point blank in the core. The whole body instantly went limp with both arms dropping to the side. Snake slid to the side motionless as Rock checked his condition. Snake had torn into his neck, ripping several power circuits and coolant flowing slowly. He tried to cover the wound, but felt his energy fading quickly.
"RUSH HURRY!!!" He yelled for his companion. There was a small chance of Rush making it over in time, but it was possible he was still looking for the energy element. Using whatever energy he had left, he pulled the I.C chip out of Snake's chest and hugged it close to his own. He felt his body entering emergency shutdown, his eyesight growing dark and distant. Only Rush's approaching steps were all he could hear until he felt nothing.
Rush dropped the green crystal at the sight of Rock collapsing and approached with manic barks. He pawed against his sides and metal teeth pulling hair desperately. The crystal emitted a soft glow, casting a shadow of the dog's form on the walls. From the shadow came a hand, followed by legs and a pair of red eyes. As the body quietly exited the shadow, a familiar ninja individual gazed upon the whining mutt hovering over Rock's body. The dog had not noticed until he heard the shuffling of a hand grabbing the crystal, and was too late before a small blade pierced his shoulder and forcefully shutting him down.
With the robot dog out cold against the boy's chest, the ninja approached the open capsule and gently placed the element inside. He felt odd with the crystal in his hand, a feeling of safety and warmth that felt unfamiliar but nostalgic at once. Brushing this feeling aside and with the combined light of the crystals creating pronounced shadows, he was ready to leave with the container in tow until he saw the boy twitch. He moved his hand to see the chip of Snakeman clutched between palms. Why did he have that? Was he not sent here to kill them, just like he was sent to deal with the creation he spent his life to protect? Why go out of your way to retrieve them instead? Curious, he opened up Rush's back to see the rest of the chips still snug within the shoulder.
The boy was protecting them, and yet killing them as well. The boy was like the others, sent to do a function. Sent him to bring them to death. Sent HIM to DIE. All by the same creatures that inhabit the planet just within reach.
The ninja stared at the unconscious bodies, formed a fist, and growled.