//------------------------------// // Work Finished // Story: Wily's Wittle Wub // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Wily sat back as he looked over his newly finished creation. It had taken a lot of work, but at last he was finished. He'd decided to not give this one a model number as he had most of his other robots. After all, given this one's role, he wasn't just some creation. He was probably the closest Albert would come to having...a son. As that thought crossed his mind, he came to understand why Dr. Light had always treated Rock, Roll, and Protoman that way. Perhaps I should reconsider my relationship with Protoman, he thought to himself. "Awaken!" he ordered. The yellow eyes opened and glowed, showing the robot had activated. He then stretched his arms over his head, yawning. "Morning, Pops," he stated, his tone bored as he scratched the back of his head with one hand and his belly with the other. Albert blinked. He hadn't expected that form of address at all, and the behaviors were almost...human. "What is your primary mission?" he inquired, deciding to make sure everything settled right. "You should know," the robot replied dismissively. "You programmed me." "Yes," Albert agreed, "but I want you to confirm it so I know I did it right." "Don't feel like it." Wily's temper was quickly fraying. "That was an order!" he snapped out. "Shove it in your freakishly large sideburns, it'd probably fit." "How dare you defy me?!" Wily roared out. "Cause you never programmed me to obey you. Just to be a good big brother to Vinyl. Now where is that filly? Isn't she here to meet me?" Albert sighed. "She doesn't know I've been building you. Come on, I'll introduce you." He turned to go. "How come you didn't tell her about me?" the robot asked as he followed along. "Because I didn't want her slipping superweapons into your build," Wily replied. "You're a brother bot, not a battle bot." "Despite having every martial art ever made condensed into a single unifying style. And what if I want a superweapon in my build?" "You can put your views in the complaints box." "And where's that?" "In my freakishly large sideburns, along with your disobedience." Wily smirked at the rather personable bot he'd built. The robot gave him a light punch on the arm. "Not bad, Pops. Not bad." Chuckling, Wily stepped into the main room where Vinyl and Kalinka were watching Mega Man make his way through Dust Man's stage. "Vinyl, there's someone I want you to meet." Curious, Vinyl poked her head over the back of the couch and gasped. The robot she saw had short hair, blue with silver stripes, combed back flat. His yellow eyes seemed to glow in his pale face, and violet stripes drew down across his face below his eyes. He stood at about the same height as Wily in his flats, and was clad in a grey shirt and black pants. "Vinyl, this is Forte," Wily introduced happily. "He's going to be your big brother." Squealing happily, Vinyl flung herself off the back of the sofa to snuggle into Forte's arms. Forte, for his part, promptly attacked her with noogies and belly raspberries, making her squeal and laugh even more. Albert sat back, enjoying watching his children bond. He paused as he considered that thought, and a soft smile spread across his face. "Look!" Kalinka called out. "Mega Man's made it to Dust Man!" Forte held Vinyl in his lap as they all turned to watch. As Mega Man entered the chamber, Dust Man shambled in. "Greetingth, Mega Man. The Marthter'th been expecting you." "Then why not face me directly?" Mega Man asked. "Why send you all against me?" "The Marthter hath hith reathonth," Dust Man replied. "Now, tho we may begin...walk thith way." Dust Man then proceeded to skip lightly around the room, raising his feet high with each step. Mega Man stared at that for a time. "...pass," he replied at last. Switching to Ring Boomerang, he hurled the bladed ring, slicing the tubes on Dust Man's back. "That hurt!" Dust Man complained. Turning, he tried to trigger his vacuum...only for it to short out as the hose flopped about. "Uh oh." Mega Man shielded his face against the explosion. Wily blinked. "...that was pathetic," he stated finally. "Yeah...Daddy's not as good at combat bots as you are," Kalinka allowed. "Mega Man never managed to beat me," Air Man added. "Or Metal Man," Forte added. At the mention of the name, Vinyl reared back on her hind legs with a startled whinny as lightning flashed outside. She promptly hid behind Air Man. "We don't speak that name around Vinyl!" Crash Man hissed. "But I'm her big brother," Forte indicated logically. "And according to the data Pops stuck in my head, big brothers are supposed to torment their little sisters a bit." Albert began to regret using the internet to program Forte. Over the course of the next hour, the group attempted to coax Vinyl back to calmness, only for Forte to say "Metal Man" every time it looked like she was calming down. Each time, she'd rear up, whinny, and lightning would flash outside. "Stop doing that!" Wily finally snapped, as Vinyl ducked behind him again. "What possible reason could you have for tormenting her like this?" "Showing her she has the power to make lightning strike," Forte replied as he chugged a soda. "Eh?" Vinyl asked, popping her head back out. "Watch the window," Forte explained. Once Vinyl was looking out the window, he said, "Metal Man!" As Vinyl reared back and whinnied, she saw the lightning striking. "Again! Again!" she called out eagerly. Turning, Forte smirked at Wily, who facepalmed. "Ooh!" Kalinka called out. "Mega Man's about to fight Skull Man!" As Mega Man slid into the chamber, Skull Man turned to face him. "So, you are here," he growled, his breath echoing. "Dr. Light has taught you well...but you are not a hero yet." Mega Man frowned, charging his buster. "I think you underestimate me," he explained. Skull Man deployed his skull barrier. "And you underestimate the power of the Dark Side." Frowning, Mega Man opened fire, but his charged shot - and every other weapon in his possession - bounced off the Skull Shield. "...so...are you going to come out of there?" he asked. "There is no need," Skull Man replied. "I have redesigned this chamber to emit low levels of radiation that will slowly leech a power core dry. As long as I am within my shield, I can't be hurt by it, as it will be kept at bay. You, however..." Mega Man nodded. "Then I'll just have to Flush the pollutants out of the environment." Switching weapons, he fired up a Rain Flush. The acidic rain sucked up the radiation as it fell. "Grrk!" Skull Man gasped out, clutching at his chest as his shield failed. "Didn't...expect an...attack like that. Overloaded...my shield...too much...to deflect..." Looking up, he saw Mega Man leveling his buster at him. "...well done, young hero..." "I see what you mean, Kalinka," Forte muttered as they watched Skull Man explode.