//------------------------------// // VSW-002: Genius // Story: Wily's Wittle Wub // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Albert couldn't help but stare at the robot, about the size of his pinky nail, in consternation. "Umm..." he began in confusion. "Greetings, Doctor," the robot greeted. "I am Giganto. I am here to break you out of jail." "So how will you manage that?" Albert asked curiously. "Do you have a very tiny sonic disruptor in your arm?" "Negative, I am not equipped with any form of sonic technology," Giganto replied. "I have different abilities, for which I was named." "Shouldn't you be 'Giganto Man', then?" "Negative," Giganto countered. "My creator considers the attachment of 'Man' to a robot's name to be an unnecessary conceit, and will not be doing so with any of her own robots. Beyond that, not all of us are actually 'men'." "So what abilities are you equipped with, then?" Albert asked as the robot leapt from his hand and began drawing lines all across the floor, walls, and ceiling of the cell. "Do you remember the matter expansion project you were developing on the side of robotics?" Albert nodded. "Yeah. I scrapped it because while it did function to make things get bigger and smaller, the device itself was too big to function as I intended. Why do you ask?" "My creator utilized an etheric feedback coil to enable the device to affect itself, without interfering with its functionality," Giganto explained, finally drawing a large X at one point on the floor. "I am equipped with it. Please stand on the X." Realizing quickly what was about to happen, Albert raced to the X. As soon as he was on it, Giganto raced to another spot and began to grow. As he grew, he shouldered the walls and ceiling of the prison aside, the fragments of stone falling everywhere except where Wily was standing. By the time any rubble started to approach him, Giganto's hands were big enough to grab him and carry him off with him as he moved away. "Giganto smash prison!" he shouted as he proceeded to smash his way past the walls and sentry towers, the bullets and energy blasts the guards tried to shoot him with bouncing off of him. Any robots or automated turrets that tried to confront him were stepped on as he marched. Examining the hand that held him, Wily realized with shock that the exterior of Giganto's body was coated in Metool alloy, and his expanded power core could absorb any energy - kinetic or otherwise - that impacted his exterior. The reason why Wily had never used Metool alloy for anything but Metools was because the energy deflected had to go somewhere, and without a way to discharge it, covering a robot with Metool alloy was asking for it to suffer a catastrophic meltdown. Not to mention shaping Metool alloy was difficult and expensive...but Vinyl had likely shaped it to Giganto's tiniest form, and then designed it to rely on the expansion function. "While not the quietest of escapes-" "Shush!" Giganto proclaimed for no apparent reason, only to suddenly drop Wily. Considering Giganto was now the size of a sky scraper, Albert did not take this with equanimity. He scrambled to try to hold on, but couldn't get a grip. Some thoughts in his head connected, and he bit his lip to keep from screaming in terror as he fell towards a manhole cover...which shifted aside just before he hit, and slid closed just as something caught him gently, slowing his fall so his impact into the river of sewage beneath him was only unpleasant. "Crikey!" an Australian accented voice barked out. "Must be some real big birds up there, ay?" Albert found himself staring into the eyes of a robotic anthropomorphic alligator. "...and you are?" "Ah'm VWM-002 mate!" the robot replied. "Call me Sewer Gator! Come on! Gotta get ya ta the boss lady." He lifted Albert onto his shoulder. "Hang on tight. Yer probably gonna be glad yer trousers are already brown." "What do you-WAUGH!" Albert clung tightly to Gator's head as he zoomed through the sewers, following a crazy path filled with twists, turns, corkscrews, loop-de-loops somehow, and 'sick jumps' as Sewer Gator dubbed them. In Albert's opinion, it was because one more of those and he would be sick. "Time ta dump ya!" Sewer Gator shouted as he dropped Wily off his back at the next 'sick jump'. Wily did scream this time, only to land in a teleporter. "Gotcha, Doc," Protoman said as he steadied Albert on the arrival pad. "A bit of a rough ride?" "I feel like I'm going to vomit..." Albert grumbled, staggering. "The sonic shower will probably help with that," Protoman replied. "Let's get the stink off you." Without any further warning, Protoman stripped Albert of his sewer-soiled prison uniform. "What the-" Albert began, only to be cut off as a strange hum filled the chamber. Specially focused sonic waves bombarded his body, erasing the dirt and stench and leaving behind only a tranquil warmth. "...what?" he asked, stupefied. "Yeah, Vinyl's been doing a lot of work with sonic technology," Protoman replied. "Among other things." "And the...VWMs?" Albert asked as he was wrapped in a fluffy robe. "Vinyl Wily Models?" "Nope," Protoman countered. "Vinyl's Wub Masters(1)." Albert shook his head with a chuckle. "So...where is she?" he asked. "And where are we?" "The fortress you and Tom built for me when you thought Mega Man would follow the formula," he explained. "The Dark Man Fortress?" Albert asked, surprised. "Yeah...but Vinyl's remodeled it a bit..." After getting a brief tour of the changes to the Fortress - and a fresh set of clothes that was more Albert's style - Protoman led him to a large chamber. "And this is Vinyl's lab," Protoman explained. Albert stared around at all the automated machinery crafting...rather unusual robots which he decided not to pay too much attention to. Obviously, they were themed to Vinyl's Wub Masters, and he'd find out how later. What interested him more was the sight of a giant mechanical version of his own head baring a toothy grin, obviously Vinyl's version of his own Death Machines. Looking elsewhere, he spotted Vinyl working on a modified Air Man, holding what looked like a metal wand in her telekinetic grip that hummed as she worked. "Vinyl?" "Daddy!" Vinyl called happily, racing over to leap into his arms, the wand trailing after her. Albert pulled his daughter close, holding her in a tight embrace. "...I'm never leaving your side again," he whispered, tears falling from his eyes. "I won't let you," Vinyl promised in return, tears pouring from her own eyes, her sunglasses having fallen askew. The entire lab fell silent as they embraced, letting them bleed out the pain as they reunited. Eventually, they both cleared their throats, getting control of themselves again. "So...what's this?" Wily asked, slipping into his scientist mindset as he glanced at the wand. "It's an all purpose tool," Vinyl explained. "It uses specific sonic frequencies to manipulate various materials at the molecular level, programmed to shape those waves based on my magical aura. It can also feed information back into my thoughts based on data it collects." She tapped the blue crystal at the top. "This is the focal point, a crystal that can hold magical energy. I'm using it to balance the magical and sonic energies." "Astounding," Wily murmured proudly. "Like some sort of...Sonic Screwdriver?" "It's not a screwdriver, Dad," Vinyl chided. "It's a lot more than that. Speaking of..." Turning, she waved the device at Protoman's chest as it hummed. Protoman quickly moved back several steps. "What'd you just do?" he demanded angrily. "Fixed your power core," Vinyl replied easily. "And yes, I know you don't like anyone messing with your internals, but I'd rather you hate me for a couple months for being a jerk then lose you unexpectedly someday because you're a stubborn ass!" Albert was very glad he wasn't drinking anything at that moment. After a time, Protoman grudgingly shrugged and pet Vinyl behind her ears. "I love you too, Vinyl," he grumbled affectionately. (1) Thank you for this, The Emerald Nightingale