//------------------------------//
// Retirement 
// Story: Wily's Wittle Wub 
// by Tatsurou 
//------------------------------//

	Rock stirred slowly, his systems giving him the various status updates on his overall state.  He was momentarily concerned that this showed his armor had been removed, but it also showed that he was otherwise stable so the thought was put on hold.  Eventually, his optics came online, and he found himself staring through glasses at worried green eyes, framed by wavy blonde hair, a gaze he instantly recognized as his vocal circuits reinitialized.  "K-Kalinka?" he stammered out as he got control of his voice, hearing in his own speech just how warm and loving that single word came out.

"Rock..." Kalinka gasped out in relief, tears at the corners of her eyes as she lifted him up, pulling him into a tight hug, one he quickly returned once the motors of his limbs reactivated.  "I was so worried..."

"What happened?" Rock asked, confused.  "The last thing I remember is Vinyl throwing a Death Note reference at me before everything went dark-"

Kalinka cut off his words as she lunged forward, locking lips with him as she wrapped her arms tightly around him.  While he was confused, he quickly reciprocated, holding her close to him and reveling in the shared warmth.  After a time, she pulled back.  "Vinyl said you wouldn't lose any data or suffer any personality or memory damage from the forced shut down, but...your CPU and personality core aren't standard anymore, and..."  She buried her face against his neck as she let the worried tears pour out, letting go of her fear.

Rock simply held Kalinka tightly, letting her calm herself down.  Once she was a bit more relaxed, he voiced his inquiry.  "How did she even do it?" he asked curiously.  "Did she hit me with a weapon I didn't see?  Was there some trap she didn't mention that I triggered by gathering that much energy?  Did she put a virus in my systems?"

Kalinka chuckled softly.  "Nothing like that, Rock," she offered warmly.  "You...actually did it to yourself."

"...huh?"

Kalinka pulled back to smile at him.  "The Bass Cannon weapon requires more energy than is usually allotted to the buster weapon systems.  To charge to fire it, those safeties have to be disabled."

Rock nodded.  "Yeah, the Skull Buster works the same way.  It's why the discharge always sends me flying back with recoil."

"But your power core doesn't generate enough power to fire the Bass Cannon," Kalinka explained.  "And with the safety on how much gets transferred disabled, it just kept drawing power from your systems and core..."

"Until it triggered the safety on my core that put me into protective shut down to keep from collapsing the power core," Rock deduced, shaking his head ruefully.  "That's why she was out there like that, letting me know the Fortress was empty.  She was goading me into using a weapon I couldn't use."  He chuckled softly.  "Well played, Vinyl.  Well played."  He pulled back to meet Kalinka's eyes.  "So, what now?  Are the world governments now at war with Sky Lagoon?  Somehow I doubt they'd just bow down..."  He trailed off as Kalinka started to giggle.  "What?"

"Did you ever stop to wonder why Vinyl broadcast this last battle all over the world?" she asked teasingly.  "You know how electronic signals can be used to...various effects."

Rock stared at her for a time.  "...I don't want to know," he said finally.  "I guess this means Vinyl has successfully taken over the world now.  But how does that help find out who framed her for trying, or sabotaged the Mars project?"

"By reshaping the world to strip away any but the most fundamental objections to robot-human equality," Kalinka answered with a warm smile.  "The entire world will be rebuilt and improved as robots and humans integrate, such that any economic or social objections are proven completely baseless, leaving only the hate-driven objections that drive those willing to sabotage and use terror tactics to fight back.  After all, if anyone who can be reasoned with finds no reason to argue anymore, all that's left are those who would be behind these endeavors."

"So Vinyl's goal now is to starve ignorance into exposure?" Rock asked with a chuckle.  "Don't know how well that will work."

"It might, or it might not," Kalinka allowed, shifting into a more comfortable position in the embrace.  "But either way, framing Vinyl for any such events is impossible when she's already won.  It should force the true villain to show their true colors.  And in the meantime..."  Her smile turned slightly wicked as she leaned in close, catching Rock in a much more serious kiss.

Rock, for his part, was happy to reciprocate, and held her even closer, his hands running up and down her back as hers were on his.  He then decided to explore just how advanced he was, and take the lead for once.

Kalinka gasped in surprise, pulling back playfully from his wandering hands.  "R-rock!  Just because we're already making a baby doesn't mean we shouldn't wait until we're married!"  She burst into giggles at the look on his face.

"Wow, I couldn't have picked a better moment to walk in if I'd tried," Vinyl said from the door as she walked in.

Kalinka blushed rosily, but didn't move from her position straddling Rock's lap on the bed he'd been laid out on.  "Hello, Vinyl..."

"M-m-m-married?" Rock asked, his brain still processing.

As Kalinka started to look hurt, Vinyl lifted a hoof.  "Let me guess, Rock.  You never gave marriage a thought because you genuinely believed the world wouldn't reach the point that was acceptable within Kalinka's lifetime, and you just now put together that - as the ruler of the world - I can marry you to each other and ignore anyone's complaints because it's legal and acceptable if I say so, right?"  Rock nodded slowly, giving Kalinka yet another embarrassed blush.  "Well, I'll leave you two to explore your retirement, then."

"Retirement?" Rock gasped out, stunned.

"Yeah...about that..."  Vinyl shifted nervously.  "Politically speaking, I have to now handle any robot related incidents myself.  So, short of a blatantly extra-terrestrial threat...Mega Man can't fight anymore.  Anything purely Earth based in origin will have to be handled by my bots now.  The Guardians, Bass, and Prometheus."

Kalinka looked towards Rock in worry, but found a wide smile on his face.  "I'm...surprisingly okay with that," he admitted finally.  "It may be a little silly...but I was, as those silly PSA's said, fighting for everlasting peace.  The world is at peace now, and anything else would basically be you 'policing' the world.  And that...was never my responsibility.  I...can accept hanging up my helmet."  He smirked teasingly.  "Besides, it looks better on you."

"Damn straight!" Vinyl offered playfully, tapping the helmet she still wore, causing laughter in the whole group.