Dr. Light frowned as he stared at the information he'd just been sent regarding Wily's activities. This was not something he was looking forward to facing, especially with what he was already investigating. Mega Man would be back soon, however, and whether he wanted to or not, he'd be forced to give Mega Man this information, which would likely lead to a rather unpleasant discussion.
...if only his jaw had recovered already...
As he was thinking this, he heard the teleporter trigger. "Ah, Mega Man," he called out. "How was youw jouwney to the ocean fwah?"
"Unpleasant," Mega Man grumbled in reply, his voice unusually high pitched. "Why did you modify my voice like this, anyway? Every time I spoke underwater, I got attacked by dolphins because the harmonics messed with their sonar! What'd I ever do to you, Dad?"
Dr. Light frowned as he turned to stare at Mega Man, still dripping from his trip into the ocean. "Say wascawy wabbit," Dr. Light responded, his voice cold and firm.
"Aw, shut up, that was funny!" Mega Man complained.
"QED," Dr. Light replied, turning back to his console. "Did you find the stewwah object?"
"I did," Mega Man replied. "From the looks of it, it's an alien robot of some kind. Badly damaged, and not just from reentry."
"I suppose I'd bettah get stawted on fixing it," Dr. Light grumbled. "In the meantime, anotha issue has awisen. Thewe is concewning Wahwy activity."
"Pretty sure anything that goes on up on Sky Lagoon isn't our business unless our assistance is requested," Mega Man pointed out. "Sovereign nation and all that."
"It's not on Sky Wagoon," Dr. Light countered. "Wiwy has built a new fohtwess on Skuw Iswand."
"Probably trying to give Vinyl a pirate themed birthday party or something," Mega Man joked.
"With eight new Wobot Mastahs," Dr. Light added.
"Dad, Albert builds eight new robot masters to change a light bulb," Mega Man countered dryly. "It's kinda his thing. Unless there's something more, I'm pretty sure we can ignore it."
"It's wheah the othah stewwah object wanded," Dr. Light continued.
"Then they probably want to investigate it just like we're investigating the one from the ocean floor," Mega Man offered logically. "Heck, since Vinyl's planning on terraforming Mars, she probably saw the objects before they entered the atmosphere. She probably knows more about it than we do." He shook his head. "Dad, they've given up the whole 'take over Earth' thing. I don't think there's anything to worry about."
"It needs to be investigated!" Dr. Light insisted.
Mega Man sighed in frustration. "Fine. I'll call Vinyl up and ask her what they're doing on that island. Even if they are plotting something dastardly, she'll tell me all the details because she enjoys me trying to thwart those. Happy?"
"Once you caww," Dr. Light instructed firmly. He then watched as Mega Man went to the communicator. Bloody ungrateful, Dr. Light thought to himself. Note to self: make sure X has a bit more respect for parental figures...even if Rock's attitude is fully justified...
Vinyl paused in her work on the two energy sources as the communicator went off. At first she was planning on ignoring it, since she was at a delicate spot, but the ID signal indicated it was someone on her friend list. Not wanting to be rude, she tapped the headphones she was using to monitor the various frequencies given off by the energies she was working with. "You got Vinyl on audio!" she called out. "In the middle of something, so i can't come to video."
"Hey Vinyl," a high pitched, girlish voice with synthesized qualities to it said in her ears.
"Hey Roll! Been a while!" Vinyl called back. "What can I do for you?"
"Vinyl, it's me, Mega Man," the voice corrected.
"Roll, you're going to have to do a better impression than that," Vinyl countered. "Look, if this is just a prank call, great joke, but I'm kinda in the middle of-"
"Dad messed with the voice synthesizer adapter on my armor!" the voice shouted out. "Now I'm stuck sounding like a nine year old girl! It's humiliating!"
Vinyl paused for a time. "Okay, that could either be the truth, or a hilarious prank. I can't activate video, so how can I know for sure?"
"You could assume it's the truth since I actually have serious business to discuss," the voice replied. "I just got back from retrieving an inactive alien robot from the sea floor, so-"
"Oh, you pulled that other one out?" Vinyl interrupted. "That's a relief. I was a bit worried about sending Umikage after it, since it's probably the source of that blue energy and it seems to have odd effects on robotics."
"Blue energy?" Mega Man asked, confused. "Other one? Vinyl, I was just calling to ask about the fortress on Skull Island and the eight new Robot Masters. Dad's been bugging me to investigate it."
Vinyl chuckled. "Okay, it's you Rock. Roll still only calls him Doctor. And that little girl voice isn't as bad as it could be."
"Really?" Mega Man griped. "How could it be worse?"
Smirking, Vinyl activated a program to alter how her voice carried over the speakers. "It could sound like this," she purred, her voice coming through smooth, silky, and seductive, the sort of voice that - as Mikhail had put it - 'put hair on your chest just from hearing it', the intonation carrying all sorts of promise.
"GYAH!" The sound of something falling over followed by a loud clatter came over the line. "Dammit, Vinyl, don't do that! It's freaky!"
Turning off the program, Vinyl let out a bark of laughter. "See?" she countered. "Imagine if you were stuck sounding like that."
"Can't unhear..." Mega Man whimpered. "Can't unhear..."
Thinking for a bit, Vinyl reactivated the program, but adding an accent-based tweak. "Perhaps you find it more appealing like this, da?" she teased playfully. When there was no response for a time, Vinyl turned off the program. "Rock? You okay?"
"I...I think I just underwent a massive program error in my personality core," Mega Man replied at long last. "I...I'm not sure what just happened..."
Vinyl chuckled, making a mental note to let Kalinka know what she'd discovered. "All I'm gonna say about it Rock is, when you want certain...non-combat upgrades...if you feel uncomfortable asking Dr. Light about it, you can come to us. Pretty sure I can fix you up, if you want."
There was silence at the other end for a while. "...how about you tell me about the alien robots instead?" Mega Man asked finally.
Vinyl chuckled softly. "Alright. I was scouting out Mars when I saw them duking it out by Saturn's rings. Got a scan of the energy they were giving off, and it was very concerning. When they crashed here on Earth, I talked Dad into immediately mobilizing to contain the one that landed on the surface. Glad to hear you've got the one that landed in the ocean contained. Umikage's the only bot we've got that can handle the ocean currently, and he's not really built for deep sea."
"Okay," Mega Man responded. "So...what about this energy?"
"That's the concerning thing," Vinyl explained. "The two energy types are antithetical to each other, from what I've determined...but both have polarizing corruptive effects, as best I can tell. The violet energy seems to feed on negative emotions - rage, fear, envy, bloodlust, battle frenzy, and the like - while amplifying them, slowly pushing out the ability to feel anything else. The blue energy seems to feed on and amplify different emotional impulses - the desire to protect, yearning for justice, stuff like that - and, like the violet energy, pushes out the ability to feel anything else."
"So...the violet energy turns someone into a bloodthirsty berserker obsessed with conquest and battle, while the blue energy turns someone into a single-minded paladin?" Mega Man clarified.
"Sure seems that way," Vinyl muttered. "But the violet energy's more stable than the blue...so I think the blue energy type was created specifically to combat the violet, and whoever made it couldn't fix those side effects. While both energy types can provide all sorts of abilities and power when applied to organic or cybernetic life forms, the drawbacks..."
"Yeah," Mega Man replied. "Either sell your soul to evil, or your mind to justice."
"Not real good options either way," Vinyl confirmed. "But..."
"But?" Mega Man asked curiously.
"While studying, I've noticed the energies share a common wavelength, the one that lets them be antithetical to each other," Vinyl explained. "I want to see if I can isolate it...especially since I've seen the same wavelength in some of my own 'magical' abilities. Maybe this can answer some questions I've had for a while about where I come from...and maybe how to get back there."
Mega Man was silent for a while. "...wow, Vinyl. I didn't know that sort of thing bugged you-"
"Oh it doesn't really," Vinyl interrupted. "Sure, there are nights where I lie awake wondering if there are others like me out there somewhere in the cosmos, and the occasional dream of a certain other pony that leaves me feeling incredibly lonely when I wake up...but I'm having way too much fun in my life to focus on that too much!"
Mega Man chuckled softly. "Well, as long as you've got it well in hand, I'll leave you to it. At least I can reassure Dad this isn't a world conquest attempt."
"Oh heck no!" Vinyl confirmed vehemently. "If it were that, I'd have sent you a written invitation! I've even got the calligraphy style picked out if I ever want to try that again!"
She's got the font picked out? Can't say I can fault Vinyl for not planning ahead.
Is she... Pining for an Octavia?
hahahahaha of course vinyl does
also first on this chapter
Shouldn't that be 'Wahwee'?
7307831 Well they seem like a Married couple in the comics and cartoon so Yeah I think she is Pining for Octavia without even knowing who Octavia really is. Though I just had an idea for the author, it would be cool to see Rock gain a secondary robot body, but this one in the form of a pony, of course Rock would use it only for Vinyl's birthday because it would be a gift to her in a sense, to have another pony, even if it's a Robot-Pony, there with her on earth.
When I read the chapter title, I was expecting the first journey and battle to be against Search Man. I'm sure that such a journey and battle will come soon enough. In the mean time, once again, an enjoyable chapter. I look forward to reading more.
doctah wahwee
I can't get over the voice acting though.
7307855 It would be even funnier is the pony body for Rock was a Mare as a joke
I liked that game, I used to play it all the time as a kid.
That professor he kicked out for not respecting Octavia could've been a parent, BOOSH!... Yeah, he's probably not a parent, I just wanted to be cool.
{Tatsurou: There there, *pats*}
Yes indeed, this would be the second time she's said anything, and the third time she's been a part of the plot; I'd love to see what she gets to add to th-
DANG IT!
Eh, you're already physically 10, so there's not much of a difference.
I dunno, I think Nowacking's voice is already cool enough as is. But onto a different point.
So... now, I might be an idiot who doesn't notice anything very often, but if I didn't know any better, I'd say Rock's got the hots for Kalinka... huh, that's the first time I've ever called him "Rock", weird.
{Tatsurou: Um... do you have a problem with it?}
Well, besides the fact that we haven't seen enough of them together to ascertain whether or not it'd be a good ship, the fact that Kalinka will age while Mega Man will always be a boy without modifications (unless this was a straight sho- no, that'd be ridiculous), we don't even KNOW if Kalinka feels the same way, this would probably be another political tangent Vinyl/Wily will "have" to conquer the world for, and most of us already know what'll happen to the poor guy... outside of the possibility that half the romance will be off-screen, and Cadence might cross dimensions to do the same bullshit she did with Mai, I honestly think it could work. Good luck on that front, buddy.
7308004 No.
If somthing happened to Vinyl, the planet would likely unite. Even for a short time. She has had too large an impact on global society.
Why suddenly I can imagine Mega Man body failing and nedding to use Roll body as replace.
I'm honestly surprised more Bob and George lines haven't been spotted.
Frenemies are the best!
So Lawful good vs Chaotic Evil.... I'm sticking with Chaotic Good myself.
And it would be one of those cards that plays music as well to, right???
Very nice chapter, I do hope that if Rock gets those personal upgrades at some point he does take Kalinka on some dates. But can Dr. Cossack pull of the Twerp Sweating with Rock??? If not, I think he should call in possible sister to intimidate Rock and give Kalinka some female advice.
7308004 Lol
What's I ever do to you, Dad
so i can't come to video
1. What'd.
2. Forgot to capitalise.
I am going to bet that the twist is that the Violet energy escapes containment, and corrupts at least half of the robot masters.
Heh, Vinyl with Jessica Rabbit's voice.
7308033
Two points you missed.
Vinyl's thought of 'reporting her findings to Kalinka'.
Vinyl's offer of 'non-combat upgrades'.
7308129 First off, what the hell's a "Kalina"?
Secondly... nothing much, I just wanted to be funny.
{Tatsurou: Yeah, "wanted", BOOSH!}
Yeah, yeah, I know.
7308136
A frustrating autocorrect or typo.
7305351
Thanks.
(Also... can you at least spare Sword Man? I don't want him destroyed, just let him vent out his frustration.)
7308004 Nah, I would think it would be better for it to be a Stallion and not a Unicorn or Earth Pony but as a Pegasus instead unless Dr. Light makes a Alicorn Robot body for Rock, then I would find that funny as hell.
Why do I now think that Dr. Light will be responsible for this next event? He is looking like he is going to be on that slippery slope very shortly.
7305689 *Pulls Pinkie Pie out from behind the 4th wall to intercept the kiss*
7308309 Well, he did just get his teeth drilled and the drugs are still in his system. Depending on the work done, he might be a bit cray cray and shouldn't be allowed to program anything or order robots around.
You're opening Pandora's box Vinyl, you just might go actual evil crazy, require mega to save you after you infect the eight robot masters, then go through a serious trial and tribulation in your mind as you suffer a post traumatic megalomaniac syndrome.
I'm hoping that, this time, they actually get to team up with each other. While seeing the shenanigans they can get up to going head-to-head is fun, I'd like to think they can get a lot more done faster if they work together. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the great work. Deus tecum.
Also, before anyone says anything about what happened in the game(s), know that I haven't played any of them.
Corrupting power wavelength?
I have a feeling that this time Wily and Vinyl will not be behind the conquest but actuall berserking robots...
Am I the only one getting Nightmare Moon and Princess Luna vibes from the robots?
Duo, the super justice space paladin, sounds about right. Well, until power fighters, or was it power battle, I always get those two mixed up.
fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/063/7/f/nosebleed_xd_by_megakeroro-d3avb44.gif
7309095 Nope.
Another enjoyable chapter. Great job.
7309095 More like Celestia v. Nightmare Moon. Or sweet Luna v. Edgy Teen Attitude Luna.
7308033 since when did logic stop us from shipping?
7311825 Well, it's like this. So there could be one person who's awesome on their own, and another person who's awesome on their own. The way shipping works is whether or not putting these two prospective "awesome" people together in a romantically-inclined relationship results in hilarity, adorableness, or just because it's an interesting idea (like Zutara, or Davekat).
Hypothetically speaking, people CAN ship Rock and Kalinka two together, but without some sort of inkling as to how they interact with one another, it falls flat. Tatsurou can SAY they're together, but without any genuine emotions and a connection with what's being presented onscreen, it'd come across as a hollow attempt at a mediocre vehicle to drive in an obvious plot point.
{Pretty Much Everyone:... Huh?}
I'm just hoping the guy doesn't mess it up.
{PME: Ah.}
7311863 I have seen ships that defy (most) reason.
I remember Rarity's sink and Pinkie Pie's bathtub.
I remember Tom and Boulder.
I remember Lyra and Octavia (ok, I like that one despite being an unrepentent Lyra x Bon Bon shipper)
I remember Gummy and Rainbow Dash (pre Tank)
Don't you tell me what crack ships won't sail!
I personally wouldn't ship them but someone certainly will.
7314088 wish i knew
7315125 let's assume the bit with bars over it.
7308129 When you say "Non Combat upgrades" are you referring to his OTHER "Mega Buster"?
7317333
Or upgrading him to an adult body.
Oh my goddess. That is just completely soul crushing. Laugh the pain away Vinyl, laugh the pain away.
I looked through these comments and not one mentioned Astro boy.
7488132
a couple chapters back, there was a robot master called Astro MAN, i think... maybe you can look back and see...
A robot with free will.
Im dieing!!!!OF !! LAUGHTER!!!!
Well, gonna be reading about her next. Let's see if she has the same dreams...
their really handling this well, good comunication, good relations overall, and vinyl is being careful with the energies unlike wily, who powered his masters with the stuff.