Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Once upon a time, the world was at peace, humans and robots lived in harmony and equality, technology advanced so much that everything became automated and humans became dependent on robots for any task. Everything was perfect for the inhabitants with their robots. 

The magnificent scientist Thomas Light had his own fascination with robots, he created several himself. Domestic robots that not only were helpers at home and at work but were also like the children that tragedy took from him years ago. He had three, Rock, Roll and Blues. The latter being a combat prototype, but highly unstable. 

But one day, one of the greatest scientists in robotics named Albert Wily, decided that he, being the most intelligent scientist alive, should rule the world. With his innovating ideas, he gave robots not only a purpose, but an incredible destructive force. 

His first inventions were robots that were not created to help humanity, quite the contrary, his robots were made for war, created with immeasurable strength and resistance worthy of admiration, which not even the army could match them. 

And that's how he did it, following his plans of world domination, he created an army of robots that were created specifically for combat. Their superiority was such that they became known as “The Robot Masters.” 

Now, the world is engulfed by the demands of the world's ruler, simply known as “King Wily.” Who demands not only servitude, but he also demanded money in abundance. Taking everything away from the people and left them unable to keep their own robots in shape. People have tried to rebel, but the Robot Masters were so powerful that many who tried ended up destroyed or imprisoned. 

But not all hope was lost, the scientist Thomas Light, with his own robots saw the injustices of the tyrant king who now ruled them and decided to do something about it. Secretly, the scientist reinforced his prototype, Blues, with a reddish armor and helmet. Rock, on his own free will, decided to become a combat robot to help others seeing that the demands were very unfair while he was wearing a sky-blue armor. 

Having a great sense of justice, Rock, along with his older brother, Blues, they began to rob those who took advantage of those who kept all the money and supplies to give it to the people in need. 

It didn't take long for them to build a reputation, the blue bomber was known for having an amazing aim, being able to hit its target and take down any enemy in a matter of a few shots. 

His name is Rock Light, but everyone knew him as Mega Man. 

Chapter Text

It was a normal afternoon on the outskirts of the beautiful and futuristic Mega City, which had become the city where of the tyrant King Wily resides, a large and ostentatious transport with huge wheels and different escorts was passing through the long road from a nearby city to Mega City.

Two figures were hidden among the leafy trees while they waited for the vehicle, despite being slow, it was well reinforced. One of them dressed in red and gray armor with black visors, was at the top of the leafy tree, looking at the objective in the distance.

“Do you see something, Proto Man?” Asked a boy with short black hair, sky-blue eyes and light blue armor.

“Yeah, I see it, Mega Man, they’re coming,” Proto Man said as he looked at his brother, “It's a transporter truck and four escorts. Whatever they are transporting, it is very valuable.” The red and gray robot replied, hopping down a branch.

“It must be the money from the nearby city." The black-haired boy put on a blue helmet, slightly darker than his armor. “It's the only thing the King cares about.”

“Okay, the plan is the same, we'll take care of the escorts first and then steal the shipment.” He said as he put on an orange scarf and got ready.

They both nodded and waited at least a few minutes until the target was within reach. When it passed under the tree, they jumped on top of the huge vehicle and transformed their hands into a buster, without waiting a second, they fired at the escorts.

When the robots from the armored cars came out to see what was happening, they were intercepted by a hail of shots. Some of them tried to shoot back, but the shots by the blue bomber were quick and precise, whilst the red robot took out a big shield that bounced the projectiles, the robots soon were neutralized after simple shots. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, until, to the surprise of both, a large robot with armor like a tree trunk came out from one of the cars.

“Damned thieves! I'll give you what you deserve!” The thick-armored robot said and thumped his chest in a threatening manner.

“Wood Man!” Proto Man gasped surprised, taking a step back.

“A Robot Master?” The blue bomber was stunned.

The red robot frowned, they had never faced one, Robot Masters were supposed to be around other cities making sure the King’s word was law, not in a random vehicle, he growled low, knowing this was not going to be easy. Proto Man fired a couple of shots at Wood Man, but these simply ricocheted off his thick armor.

“Watch out!” The blue robot warned when the focus of the Robot Master was focused on him.

Proto Man held the shield in front of him as the Robot Master launched an attack of sharp leaves at him, knocking him back. “Damn it!”

“Proto Man, maybe we should go.” Said the youngest of the brothers, jumping to another side to avoid getting hit.

“Ha! You're not going anywhere! I'll take care of you, filthy thieves!” Wood Man said very angry as a shield of leaves appeared around him once more before throwing them at both young robots.

Proto Man and Mega Man tried to attack together, but none of their attacks managed to pierce Wood Man's thick armor. The Robot Master charged at the smaller robot and managed to hit the blue robot who was sent flying towards a tree for the huge impact.

“Mega Man!” Proto Man exclaimed and moved from his place to avoid an attack, he tried futilely to shoot him, but his bullets just bounced off. “This isn’t working!”

Mega Man sat up, putting a hand on the tree trunk to have some support, by touching it, he noticed a hole where he had hit it earlier and had an idea. Wood Man was about to attack his brother when he exclaimed.

“Hey, dumb tree!” Mega Man caught his attention, “Mess with something of your size!”

Wood Man enraged and slammed his massive chest with his fists before unleashing a shower of sharp, metallic leaves in his direction. Mega Man jumped out of the way just in time before the attack could slice him and the leaves cut the rest of the tree.

The sound of creaking wood caught their attention a few moments before the huge, leafy tree fell, the Robot Master barely had time to react when the huge tree fell on top of him.

“Da-damn!” Wood Man said as he was struggling to move and take off the tree off him, by moving, a thick and leafy branch fell on top of his head, the Robot Master grunted before falling unconscious.

Both brothers looked at each other for a few seconds and Proto Man walked cautiously to the Robot Master and checked the status, he was offline. Mega Man and him high-fived in victory.

“We did it!” They exclaimed happily.

“Now, let's go for the loot.” Proto Man ran to the armored vehicle that remained intact.

The blue robot fired at the controller, and it caused the only door to open, it was dark inside so Mega Man went in first. When he was about to look for a light, he felt something grab him.

“What the…?” The blue bomber exclaimed as he felt a pair of hands grab his shoulders, without warning he was thrown violently out of the exit.

“Did you find…?” He couldn't finish as, without warning, the red robot was hit by his own brother and they both fell to the ground. “What the hell?”

“So, you guys managed to beat that wooden idiot, huh?” Said a female voice, startling them both as they stood up, “I guess you two think that you can raid my transport.” A figure jumped out from inside the vehicle and positioned itself in front of them.

Both boys stood stunned, in front of them was a robot in black and gold armor, silver body, her thin figure highlighted the huge helmet on her head, on her chest she had an inverted triangle, on her helmet a four-pointed star in the middle and some marks on her cheeks, all in tanzanite color. Her frowning eyes were of a bright scarlet, adorned with long, thick eyelashes.

The blue robot gasped, “Please wait.” Mega Man said holding up a hand, “Just give us the shipment and we'll set you free, we don't want to hurt you.”

“Speak for yourself...” Proto Man growled, rubbing his head.

“Idiots.” She growled, then took a better look at them, “Blue armor, hmm, so you're the famous Mega Man.” The red-eyed girl said with a mocking half smile, “I honestly expected someone more imposing.” She got into a defensive stance as the two boys held her gaze, “Ha, two against one? It doesn't matter, I can with both of you.”

Mega Man shook his head, “We don't want to fight, please just give us the shipment and we'll go.”

She glared at him, “Do you want the money? How predictable are the thieves. Know that this stupid vehicle doesn't transport that.”

Proto Man clenched his fist, “I don't believe you, if they weren't transporting money then why so much security.”

The girl rolled her eyes, “Wow, you guys are truly idiots. Don't you know who I am?” The two boys looked at each other, she sighed in annoyance and placed a hand on her hip, “My name is Bass, Bass Wily.”

The two gasped in surprise, “Wh-what!? Princess Bass?!”

It was well known that King Wily had no biological family, the King was proud of his Robot Masters. However, one of them stood out among them all, the one the King himself had named the heiress and princess of his domain. Princess Bass Willy. However, as much as people knew her name, King Wily also is extremely reluctant to show his daughter to the public, only those important like the mayors or the king's government puppets were lucky enough to meet her in person and knew what she looked like.

And now she was in front of them. Both brothers looked at each other before looking at the girl, they seemed undecided what to do.

The princess crossed her arms, “Listen, I have no interest in protecting the stupid money, actually, there's some of it in the back.” She turned her hand into a buster, “You can take it... if you,” she pointed at the blue robot, “Beat me in combat.”

“Me?!” Mega Man took a step back.

“The famous thief Mega Man. Father will stop pestering every five minutes if I get rid of you.” Bass said, pointing her buster at him, “Get ready, you coward!”

“Come on Mega Man, you can do it, your aim is unmatched.” Proto Man whispered to his younger brother.

“Proto Man, it's the princess, it's one thing to steal from the King, but to hurt the princess is another, I can't do that!” Mega Man hissed.

The princess growled, “Hey! Don't think I'm a weakling, I'm Father's greatest and best creation yet. I'm not going to lose.”

Mega Man looked at his brother once more, the red and grey robot nodded, the blue robot looked at the female, “Okay.” He stood in front of her and got into a fighting stance. “If I defeat you in combat, you will give us what we seek.”

“And if I win, you will come with me to Father's fortress.” She smirked, making the blue bomber swallow hard.

“Deal! Let’s do it!”

Both robots stared at each other intensely before they started shooting at each other, dodging the attacks the best they could, the princess's rapid shots were very fast, but her power was less than his own buster. Also, Mega Man's aim was what he was known for, aside of being a thief who helped the poor. The combat was quick, some very accurate shots on the target made her stammer back, although he himself received attacks, his were more effective.

Bass fell sat down exhausted, gasping for air as she glared at the blue bomber who also looked very tired. She still tried to hold up her buster to attack one last time, but the blue bomber was quicker and shot at her, she flinched when her buster got damaged and was unable to fire another shot. The red robot raised a fist in victory.

“You did it Mega Man!”

She girthed her teeth and tried to force her buster to shoot anyway, however, a slight discharge told her that she was unable to fight, “No way.” Now she wouldn't be able to use it until her annoying father fixed it, she growled and looked away, “Damn.”

“Good job! Now let's go for the loot.” Proto Man said excitedly as he tried to force the compartment open, but it didn't budge an inch, “Damn, it's better reinforced than I thought.”

Mega Man was about to go and help his brother, but stopped to see the girl in black armor and approached her and gave her a slight smile, “You’re very strong, princess.”

She glared at him, “Shut up, just take the stupid money and go away.”

The blue bomber looked guilty at the damage he had done to her, leaned in front of her and almost took a hit to his face, which missed by mere centimeters, “Wa-Wait!”

“Didn't you hear me? Go away!” Bass ordered furiously.

The blue robot raised his hands in surrender, “Please let me help you with your arm.”

“What do you know about repairs, thief?” The princess scoffed.

He smiled kindly at her, but she looked at him suspiciously. For a moment, their eyes met directly, observing each other as if they had discovered that those colors existed, she felt no danger but still looked cautiously. He looked nervously to the side and pulled a screwdriver from his compartment.

“Please, give me a chance.” Said the young blue robot.

The princess rolled her eyes, it didn't mattered, she would ask her annoying father to repair it as soon as she was in the fortress, the boy in blue armor took her arm and opened a compartment and began to make some movements, she looked away all the time, after a couple of minutes, the boy got up and took a couple of steps back.

“It’s done!”

She looked at him suspiciously and raised her arm and widened her eyes surprised to see that she did not feel that discharge, she pointed her buster at him, the boy froze, “You are very naive to be a thief.”

The blue robot raised his hands again, “I-I…”

A few long seconds passed until the princess lowered her weapon and looked at him annoyed, “A bet’s a bet. You're lucky I'm not interested in money.”

Mega Man breathed a sigh of relief.

“Mega Man! What are you doing? Help me with this.” Proto Man scolded his little brother, he was unable to open the compartment and crossed his arms in annoyance. “This thing won't open.”

“Oh, I'm coming!” Mega Man said as he offered the princess a hand, “I'm sorry princess, could you help us?”

Bass looked at his hand and then those incandescent deep blue eyes and she shoved his hand away, she got up by herself and walked towards the vehicle. Mega Man didn’t judge her, he would react the same if a thief was about to take his belongings.

“There are only two ways to open it.” The princess said as she held her hand up, “Using the scanner, or with a password,” She then pressed a password in a pad at the side, the compartment opened immediately once she typed the last number, “If you had forced it open, the contents inside would have exploded.” She said casually.

“Grr, it was a trap!” The red robot said annoyed.

“What? Did you think I was going to make things easier for some thieves? Ha!” She crossed her arms and looked away, “Just grab it and disappear from my sight.”

The boy in blue armor smiled at her, “Thank you very much, we promise it will be for a good cause.”

The princess grumbled, “Whatever, I already told you that I don't care about stupid money.”

The two boys looked inside the compartment, and despite what the girl said, there was indeed a decent amount of money inside.

“Great!” Exclaimed the older one as he looked at the compartments with money.

When they were about to take the money, Bass put a hand in front to prevent it. “One more thing.” She said, both boys looked at her, “You'd better keep our battle a secret. It would not be good if someone found out that I was defeated by a simple thief.” She said embarrassed.

"You have our word." Mega Man said solemnly, then looked at his brother and elbowed him, “Right, Proto Man?”

The red and grey robot rolled his eyes, although it was not visible for his black glasses, “Yeah, yeah, we promise.”

The princess nodded and stepped aside to let them take the shipment. Once they were carrying the boxes with money, she crossed her arms, “Good, you've got what you wanted, now get out of here, the other Robot Masters should be here at any moment. As soon as you opened the door of the vehicle I was inside, an alarm signal was sent to them, they must be nearby.”

“WHAT?” The two exclaimed, and as if it were a signal, they heard alarms in the distance, both rushed to leave as quickly as possible.

Before entering the forest, Mega Man stopped and turned to look at the princess one last time, thanking her in a low voice before leaving. She looked away and frowned, a second later she looked back to the blue robot, but he had disappeared from her sight. An armored car stopped before the mess of the escorts and Princess Bass turned to see some units arrive.

“Princess! Are you all right?” One of them, a red robot with a yellow boomerang on its head and chest asked. While two Robot Masters in green armor managed to remove the tree from the unconscious Wood Man, another blue one checked the truck from top to bottom, noticing that the little shipment it was carrying was missing.

“What a bunch of useless pieces of scrap metal are all of you! Why did you take so long!?” Bass scolded them, glaring darkly at the red robot. “Maybe Father should change your name to something like Slug Man instead of Quick Man. Or turn you into something more usefull!” The Robot Master stepped back, she crossed her arms, “You’re too late. They're gone.”

“Where?” Quick Man asked nervously.

Bass was about to point to where she last saw Mega Man, but she stopped and pointed in the opposite direction. “Over there, now move!” She watched them go and crossed her arms, 'Next time you won't be so lucky, Mega Man.'

Chapter Text

“WHAT?”

Bass growled at the squeaks her father had for screams, sitting on a throne a little smaller than the King’s next to her, she simply dedicated herself to pet her partner, a purple robotic wolf who was on her lap, vainly trying to ignore everyone around her. The princess’ thoughts were back in the battle she had with the blue bomber just a few hours ago, Bass had never had a challenge like that before, although brief, the encounter had made her feel excited.

The wolf sniffled Bass’ hand that had been recently repaired curiously, noticing a different and unknown smell, but it didn’t bothered the princess.

“HOW DID THEY MANAGED TO ESCAPE?” To say that King Wily was furious was an understatement, glowering dangerously at the robots in front of him. He looked ready to murder someone. “WELL?!”

Wood Man, Quick Man, Snake Man, Gyro Man, and Shadow Man stood firm and nervous before the wrath of their king, a bit more and they would be shaking like gelatine of fear.

“M-my king! We searched the whole area, but we found no one.” Quick Man said nervously, but the king made a sign for him to shut up.

“SILENCE!” He exclaimed angrily, all the Robot Masters gulped, “This is the third time that accursed Mega Man assault my vehicles, this is unacceptable!” The king pointed at them accusingly, “Now not only he stole my money, but he dared to attack my daughter.” He hit his fists in the armchairs of his throne, “I WANT HIS HEAD ON A PLATE, IMMEDIATLY!”

All the Robot Masters saluted and quickly left the room as soon as they had the chance, the human grumbled as he tried to relax in his throne, the princess looked at him.

“Father, you have a lot of money here and you don't even use it. Why do you even want more?” Bass asked with annoyance.

“How many times am I going to repeat the same thing to you, my daughter? Without that money, those idiots won't be able to build anything against me!” King Wily said as if it was the most obvious thing and rubbed his temples, “How the hell did they open the compartment without exploding?”

She shrugged, “I already told you I have no idea. I remind you that they defeated Wood Man, they should have used the useless tree trunk.”

Wily growled in frustration and noticed that the cyber-wolf kept sniffing at her buster's wrist, “Bass, what happened to your arm? Did those bastards do something to you?” He asked intrigued, trying to reach for her arm.

She quickly moved her hand so he wouldn't grab it, “No, it's nothing, I'm fine.” Bass said without much concern. She cupped the wolf's cheeks and nuzzled her nose against the cyber-lupine's, “Next time, let Treble come with me. If she had been with me, none of this would have happened. She is the best guardian!” She said, scratching the wolf's chin affectionately, Treble waggled her tail happily at the affection and praise. “Much better than the wooden idiot.”

Wily sighed, “Only if you can keep her under control, may I remind you that she attacked the mayor of the nearby city?” He glared at the wolf.

Bass growled, “He had it coming when he insulted Treble. How he dare to call her a ‘fleabag’? She’s never had a single virus in her life.” Bass argued as the wolf licked her cheek.

The king gave an annoyed sigh, “Fine, just keep her under control. I'm going to make some enhancements to you and Treble to make sure this won’t happen again. I'll have them soon, but first I'm going to take care of those damned thieves.”

Bass looked at him with a raised eyebrow, “You've been trying that all month. What are you going to do now, offer more reward?”

“No, I can't give them more money. But if those idiots think they can get away with it, they are sorely mistaken.” He stood up and looked at her, “Go to your room, I'm going to give a message to Mega City.” He pointed at a door that led to a hallway.

“Again?” The princess snarled, “Maybe if you'd stop hiding me, they'll know who they should never steal from.” She said with annoyance.

“And become a target for those bastards?! Never!” King Wily said angrily and then ordered, “Go to your room. Now.”

“You're being paranoid. Let’s go, Treble.” Bass huffed, it annoyed her that despite how strong she was, her father didn't want anyone to see her. She wasn’t any weakling, she could take care of herself, that Mega Man just got lucky that time, but her father didn’t have to know about that. She got up and left the throne room.

“Burst Man!” The king yelled, heavy and hurried footsteps came from another hallway into the throne room “Prepare an announcement, now.” He ordered.

The princess stayed at the door, the wolf stopped at her side and tilted her head, Bass put a finger to her lips for a moment before she peeked through a gap in the door to hear what he was going to broadcast now.

The door opened wide as both boys entered their home. “Doctor Light, Roll, we're home!”

A boy with black hair and casual clothing, orange pants and a light blue shirt with blue eyes like the sky left the box in the floor. Next to him, a boy dressed like him, but his shirt was bright red and his pants gray, his brown hair with a long pompadour and a pair of eyes black as night did the same.

When they closed the door, the black-haired boy was greeted by a red mechanical dog, barking happily and wagging his short tail of happiness. “Rush!” He exclaimed, lovingly petting the dog while he licked his cheek.

“Ah, my children, I’m so happy to see you return safely.” Said a human, tall and already aged who wore a white lab coat.

A girl with golden hair, a red and silver dress, blue eyes greeted them effusively. “Rock! Blues! You are finally back! Did you get anything?”

The boys nodded and opened the boxes, the man and girl gasped surprised by the huge amounts of money inside the boxes.

“This is just wonderful!” The golden-haired girl exclaimed, “With this, we can help a lot of people!”

The man with snow-white hair and beard looked at them, “You didn’t had troubles, my sons?”

Rock scratched the back of his neck a little nervous, “A little, but we managed it.”

“If by ‘A little’ you mean a Robot Master, then yes.” Blues said as he sat down in the couch, taking an E-Tank.

“A Robot Master? Are you all right?” The concerned scientist asked, Rock nodded.

“It was a tough nut to crack, but we managed to beat him.”

“No thanks to our weapons, they didn't do anything to him.” Blues said as he relaxed a bit, “We had to throw a tree on him, literally.”

The human put a hand to his beard, “Perhaps I should make modifications to your repertoire.”

Rock smiled gratefully, “That would be a great help, Doctor. Thanks.”

Blues turned on the television to distract himself a bit, a program about humans and robots doing quizzes for entertainment, “For now, I think we earned a good to rest.”

Doctor Light smiled when he saw that everything was in order, “I don't agree with this robbery thing, but I know it's for a good cause. I am glad that your hearts are in the right place, my sons.” He said he proudly.

Roll nodded, “And you're a bit lucky, this morning I heard people saying that princess Bass was coming back from the nearby city these days.” Saying this, both boys gasped.

“What?” Rock asked surprised, “Where did you heard that?”

Roll nodded again, “Today when I went to the store. There are many rumors that she is not only a princess, but that she is very strong and skilled. Everyone is dying to know about her, she’s like a fairy tale at this point.” She giggled, then placed a hand on her chin thoughtfully, “If she's that skilled and strong, you could have been in a lot of trouble.”

“No doubt.” Rock said with a sheepish smile.

“I wonder what the princess looks like.” Roll wondered aloud.

“I'm sure she's the prettiest girl of all.” Rock said and smiled remembering her, yes, the princess was very strong and perhaps it was a matter of luck that he managed to defeat her, one more blow from her and he would have been defeated. And she was not only strong, but she is also the most beautiful robot he had ever seen.

“Oh yeah? And why are you so sure?” Blues asked mockingly.

Rock glared at him and blushed, “Well, she's a princess, she must be. Isn’t it?” He said nervously.

Blues was about to say something to annoy him when the TV drastically changed the program. Hearing this, everyone turned to look at it.

“We interrupt your program to give you a message from the king.” Burst Man said, a Robot Master in dark blue armor with golden trimming. He bowed to get out of the camera's focus and King Wily could be seen sitting on a throne.

“Greetings, my loyal subjects!” He said with a smirk, causing those present to frown, “I'm sorry to interrupt your programs, but I simply want to inform all of you that due to certain 'incidents,' from now on the taxes you must pay me will increase.”

Everyone in the living room gasped in surprise. Roll put his hands to her mouth, “No! He can’t do that!”

“It is my duty to remind you that anyone who is unable to pay will be imprisoned in the dungeons of my fortress. My Robot Masters will make sure that happens, so think twice before you try to resist.” The king gave an evil-looking smile, “But for those interested, the bounty on that Mega Man guy is still available.” The king then made a movement on his hand to the Robot Master off camera. In the screen appeared a rough drawing of a strange looking male in a yellow and blue armor with the amount of 10,000 of reward, an attractive reward for anyone. “That's all.”

Burst Man reappeared on the screen again, “Our king has spoken, glory to King Wily.” Saying that, the communication ended, leaving even those on the show shocked by the interruption and the terrible news.

“It just can't be! That man is the worst!” Roll said disgusted.

“How dare he! Where is people going to get money if he keeps everything!?” Rock was really upset.

“This is not good, if the King keeps raising those taxes, many will end up in the dungeon.” Doctor Light said worriedly, then shook his head, “Don't let this discourage you, my children. Rest for now, we'll worry about this tomorrow.”

Rock nodded and went to his room followed by Rush, he went to the window and could see King Wily's skull-shaped fortress in the distance, “Will there be an end to this, Rush?” He asked, petting the red dog, Rush whined sadly, “I really hope so.”

Rock sighed, knowing this was his fault for attacking the princess, although she was the one who challenged him to a duel. She said that she was not interested in money, so he did not believe that she was involved in the king’s actions. He stared at the fortress, thinking about what princess Bass think at that moment of the king's decision.

Bass entered her room annoyed, followed by the wolf who made a worried whimper, “More money? He doesn't think about anything else?” She lay back on her bed, the wolf jumped up and the princess petted her, “He's too stupid.” She complained.

Treble made a questioning bark, and she rolled her eyes.

“He’s not going to achieve anything if he keeps asking for more, what he should do is hunt down that blue guy.” She said as she blew out another sigh before she took a tablet at the nightstand on her bed, a poster of Mega Man appeared in the screen, although it was very different. The blue thief was known to be quick and precise, almost no one could see him clearly, but she did remember him.

In the image it was much taller, his eyes were smaller and looked like he frowned, as well as failing in a couple of details in his armor, since it was yellow and blue. It looked more like a human in a robot costume.

“How father pretend to capture him with this?” The princess rolled her eyes, “Just look at him, he doesn't even look like the real Mega Man.” She huffed and left the tablet aside, she closed her eyes and began to think on the blue thief, “He’s very short, and has a very round face,” She then giggled, “He looks like a dumb kid.” She turned to a side and looked at her buster wrist, “But damn he hits hard, no wonder he’s a nuisance.” She passed her fingers on her wrist softly, “And very skilled too...”

The princess closed her eyes again and her mind went back to their battle, she had never felt so excited whilst facing anyone, all the Robot Masters were weaklings, also, she didn’t doubt that they didn’t even want to fight seriously with her for being the princess. But Mega Man didn’t, she was convinced that he got lucky because she wasn’t properly prepared, maybe next time they can have a real battle.

Bass smiled softly at the thought of having a rematch with the blue thief, she couldn’t wait to kick his butt, however, she nearly jumped when her companion started to bark in the window, she got up and looked at the cyber-wolf.

“What's wrong Treble?” The princess asked and approached her partner who kept barking annoyed.

She leaned out the window and saw Napalm Man and Tomahawk Man coming out of a truck, bringing with them three handcuffed figures, a man, a woman, and a robot in dark blue and white armor.

“Come on, whoever that doesn't pay the taxes will go to dungeon!” Tomahawk Man said as he watched them get out of the truck.

“Please, have mercy!” Said the pleading man.

“We will get the money, we promise!” The woman said as she sobbed, but they just yanked her chains.

The dark blue robot looked down and followed his humans, afraid that they would do something to them, however, he was suddenly struck by the feathered Robot Master and was then pulled away.

“Not you, the dungeon is only for humans.” Tomahawk Man said before he pulled the chains and forced the weaker robot to follow him.

The woman noticed this and tried to go to her robot, “No! Sky! What are you doing to him?” She exclaimed worried.

Napalm Man pointed his buster at her, “Be quiet and walk! Your robot will go to work if you don't want to run out of food.”

“Stop it! Sky hasn't done anything wrong!” The man yelled at them, but Napalm Man answered by pushing him roughly.

“Silence, insolent human! Walk if you don't want it to be worse for you!” The dark blue Robot Master threatened the man, who flinched, the woman put her chained hands in his arm for him to stop. The human male lowered his head and started to walk.

Treble growled in annoyance as the two unfortunate humans were led into the dungeon and the robot led through a door in the other direction. The princess petted the wolf, “Calm down, Treble.” Bass growled as she saw the door to the dungeons close, “The dungeon is going to fill up at this rate.” The wolf whined and the princess sighed, “I know girl, but there's nothing we can do.”

The princess stared at the distance, watching the buildings of Mega City and petted Treble. “You better not get captured, Mega Man.” She frowned, “You still owe me a rematch.”

Chapter Text

Bass was in her father's laboratory, apart from being the ruler, Wily is still the scientific genius that positioned him where he is now while working on the improvements he had promised. Whilst he worked on her back, she looked bored at her tablet, where some news appeared, one of them said:

“ The Blue Thief Docks Again.

With this there are two home robberies in the last month, the blue thief robbed a high society house the night before, it is estimated that he only took monetary goods, there are no injuried.

Evidence shows that the attacks have been precise and more powerful than before. No evidence was recovered from the security cameras and there are no witnesses, any information about the Mega Man thief must be shared by order of King Wily.”

‘He seems to have new tricks.’ She thought, smiling slightly, the idea of having a fight against the blue bomber with her new modifications made her think that it might be too easy, but it seems that she wasn't the only one with new abilities.

“Okay, this will suffice.” The man said after working long hours, he put down a tool to sigh proudly and gently patted her on the back.

She stopped looking at the tablet and turned to look at him, “Are you finally done?”

Wily nodded, “In theory yes, testing is still needed, but with this you will have access to a quick multi-shot. I also have adapted you a boost so you can move even quicker than before, but it is only a short period.” He proudly explained as the black-armored female stood up from the table, “Also, it's still experimental, but I added some new enhancements so you can fuse with Treble and have thrusters, you should be able to suspend yourself for periods of time...”

“That sounds cool!” Bass said with a smile and looked at her hand, clenching it into a fist, ‘Mega Man won't expect such a thing.’ He looked at her father, “Does that mean I can go out now? I'm sick of being cooped up here.”

“Hey, I said it's experimental, your new abilities still need to be tested,” Wily said with a frown, “And don't even think about using the thrusters yet, there are a number of tests that need to be done first.” The scientist warned her, crossing his arms.

She snorted and rolled her eyes, “So what’s the point of all the enhancements if I can't use them?” She complained, but Wily just waved her off.

“You'll be able to use it when you've tried everything, even so, this is only for when you leave the fortress.” He ordered her, and she gritted her teeth and nodded reluctantly. “Good, now I'll go do my work,” The evil king turned to leave, but before leaving the lab he turned to look at her, “And nothing of trying to use your modifications without my permission. Understood?”

“Yeah, yeah, I already heard you...” Bass answered angrily, when she was finally alone, she leaned down to caress the wolf that was resting at the foot of the bed, “Okay Treble, tonight we'll wait until midnight and we'll go to look for this Mega Man.”

The female wolf tilted her head for a moment and barked at her affirmatively before licking her cheek, the princess smiled mischievously before going to her room.

The princess spent the whole day planning a strategy to sneak out of the castle without being seen, she was fast, but not faster than Elec Man or Turbo Man, who had to do the rounds that night, so she had to avoid them.

She waited until nightfall so that the Robot Masters would not see her clearly and when the moon began to be seen in the high point of her room, she cautiously opened the door and made sure that there was no one in the corridors, she took a dark blue sheet and covered the ornament of her helmet and part of her body, the golden colors could give her away in the dark.

“Are you ready Treble?” The girl whispered, the female wolf nodded before they both hurried out of the room and through the halls. Everything was silent and calm, they reached the throne room though it was empty. When she was about to use the main door to get out, she stopped when she saw Dust Man sitting outside the entrance, but he was distracted by Splash Woman, both Robot Masters were holding their hands and nuzzling their heads affectionately, ‘So, this is why those two never do their job when they’re together.’ She thought annoyed, but also didn't care.

She went back in and looked around, she spotted a window in the other side and used it to slip outside, she looked around to make sure nobody was around and run away quietly.

Finally outside, she hurried to get out of there, but to her bad luck, Elec Man was guarding the entrance, so she had to find another way out, the purplish wolf growled under her breath at the electric Robot Master, but Bass shushed her with an index finger in her mouth.

They both headed the other way and the princess looked at the fortress wall and sighed, “Treble, we have to try those modifications.” She told her, her companion looked at her uncertainly, but the princess turned when she heard footsteps approaching, “Come on, girl!” She whispered to her.

The cyber-wolf nodded and jumped onto her back. They both merged, the canine becoming wings on her back with thrusters, her golden patterns turning purple like the wolf's color, ‘Great, at least Father has some good ideas.’ She thought proudly, then used her new modification to fly above the fortress.

As they were barely descending on the other side of the wall, the wings failed and suddenly turned off, "Treble, what are you doing!?” The princess exclaimed in surprise and landed on her feet, she heard a slight whine from the wolf, “Are you alright? Can you separate?” Bass felt a vibration throughout her body, but seeing that nothing was happening, the princess realized that Treble was stuck, ‘I take it back Father, you're an idiot.’ She growled, “Well, I guess we'll have to walk.” She covered the wings on her back with the sheet and hurried away from the fortress.

It didn't take long for her to get away from the fortress to reach the high society streets, but she didn't care, the last robbery was last night and Mega Man is smart enough not to attack twice in a row. She continued until going the area of the humblest, she supposed that if this Mega Man stole specifically from high society, it was because he must be someone with little resources.

She used the roofs to avoid being seen, the dark blue sheet and Treble turned into wings, it made her look like a dark ghost in the night. Bass stopped when she was in a suburban building and looked at the streets, being almost empty. “Okay, now find that elusive blue guy.” She whispered before jumping from roof to roof to observe the streets, but with so few people outside, it was difficult for her, “Now I understand why Father still can't find him.” She muttered to Treble, the idea of a rematch had overshadowed any plan to find the blue thief in the first place.

The princess sighed, after an hour, she didn't find more than a couple of people walking calmly through the almost empty streets, “I think we should go back, Treble.” She heard an affirmative grunt.

However, before she could return to the fortress, the princess recoiled swiftly as something almost hit her, it had been a robot that had apparently heard something on the roof of his house, he had thrown a sealed paint can at her, the aluminum echoed as it hit the walls until it fell to the streets. It was a green robot with blue eyes that looked at her suspiciously and got into a fighting position.

“Noble robot! What are you doing here?” The scared robot asked, although he trembled uncontrollably, stood in his place firmly.

‘Well, if I can't find this Mega Man. I suppose this one will serve me as a consolation.’ Bass thought frustrated and suddenly charged at the green robot who didn't have time to react and received a shot, he gasped as he fell to the floor. The princess placed a foot on his chest to prevent him from escaping. The green robot screamed in terror when he saw a buster aimed at his head. ‘Pathetic.’ She thought bitterly as he had been no match.

“Stop right there!”

Bass' eyes widened surprised and turned to see the new voice, a young man in blue armor stood at the edge of the roof, he held up a loaded buster aimed at the hooded figure, next to him a shorter red, canine figure in a defensive position.

“Mega Man!” They both exclaimed upon seeing the blue bomber.

“Release him!” Ordered the blue robot.

Bass gritted her teeth, she hated following orders, but she let it go as the useless green robot at her feet wasn't her target, she lifted her foot and set him free, the green robot trembled slightly.

“Are you alright, Arrow?” The green robot nodded, “Good, now get out of here.” Saying this, he immediately sprinted through the door behind them.

The red dog growled menacingly, Bass could feel Treble growl in response, the princess was about to say something when suddenly the female wolf transformed again and came out of Bass' back while she howled defiantly at the red dog. It seems that Treble's guardian instincts had managed to free her out.

The blue robot looked seriously at his opponents, “All right, listen. I don't know why you came here, but I'll ask you to leave and I won't hurt you.”

The girl stood next to the female wolf and then patted her head, “Sit, Treble.” She ordered with a low but firm voice, the cyber-wolf left her attacking position, but her defiant look was still there. Bass looked at the blue robot and placed a hand on her hip, “I see you're still the same negotiator.”

Mega Man froze when he heard the girl's voice, despite not having heard her in days, he had been unable to forget her, “That voice. Princess Bass?”

She pulled the sheet off her head to reveal her face and helmet with a smirk, “How many other princesses do you know?”

The blue robot's surprise turned into instant happiness, his expression made Bass unable to not smile too. “Princess! It's a pleasure to see you again.” Mega Man gasped, “But it's not safe to be here, follow me!” He said as he quickly turned to the red dog who transformed into a jet and stood on top of him, “I'm sure Rush won't mind taking us.” He offered.

Rush looked at him dismayed, they both looked heavy, he lowered his ears and whimpered slightly, Bass rolled her eyes, “I doubt that he can support me and Treble, just say where to go and weI'll follow you.”

Mega Man thought about it for a moment, then looked at his dog, “Rush, try not to go too fast so the princess can follow us.” His companion nodded, happier at the idea, and headed east.

The black-armored robot followed him to the outskirts of the city, the night was still at its peak, so they would have time. Being near the forest, away from other buildings, the blue bomber offered her to sit next to a rock, which she agreed, taking the dark blue sheet off her. Rush returned to his normal canine state. The wolf fell to the grassy ground exhausted and the princess knelt and stroked her head.

“Are you okay Treble?” The female wolf gave an affirmative bark, “Rest up, you've been a good girl.”

The blue bomber looked at the princess and gave a slight dreamy smile, “So beautiful...” He whispered, the black-armored princess looked at him confused, the boy then realized what he said and added foolishly while blushing, “I mean, she’s very impressive. I didn't know you had a companion, princess.”

Bass smiled proudly, unfazed by his behavior, “And you haven't seen anything, Treble is an excellent guardian too.”

Mega Man had more questions, but he decided not to initiate an interrogation for fear of making her uncomfortable so he opted for a simpler question, “May I ask why are you outside of the fortress at night, princess? Isn’t it dangerous?”

The princess put her hands on her hips, “Did you forget that I'm not a weakling? I can take care of myself.” She said with fake annoyance, “And I was looking for you, I don't understand how Father hasn't been able to find you with how easily I found you.”

Mega Man got nervous, “E-excuse me?”

Bass smiled and shook his head, “No, I'm not going to hand you over to Father, if that's what you think.”

The blue bomber blinked surprised, “You won’t?”

“Where would be the entertainment in watching Father lose his mind when he sees that he can't stop you.” Bass giggled before looking at him, “I heard you learned some new tricks though.”

Mega Man scratched his cheek nervously, “Ah well, I had a couple of upgrades.”

“Well, that's the reason I was looking for you.” She said standing up, the confused blue robot blinked again, “You owe me a rematch.”

The blue bomber flinched slightly, “A rematch?”

“Last time you defeated me by luck, but it won't happen again. I want a rematch.” Bass said seriously with her arms crossed.

“A battle, here and now?” Mega Man was surprised, she nodded and the blue robot saw her determination before nodding as well, “Okay, if that's what you desire, I'll give you a fight.”

Bass smiled and then they both stood a prudent distance from each other, Treble and Rush observed from the rock, sitting at the side of the other curiously. The princess and the thief looked directly into the other’s eyes intensely and focused, the moonlight seemed to accentuate the vibrant colors of each other, in a sudden movement, the female robot raised her buster and fired.

Mega Man barely had time to react when three quick projectiles almost hit him, the blue robot countered with his own shots, the princess tried to move, but a projectile hit her shoulder, making her growl in frustration and tried to shoot him again. Mega Man dodged and answered with his own shots, Bass took another two hits and when she tried to move sharply to the left, he read her movement and he shot again. Bass gasped surprised when she received another hit but didn't let that distract her.

She jumped high before launching more attacks at the shorter robot, this time Mega Man took the hits by having some aerial disadvantage, his buster began to flicker with accumulated energy and aimed right where the girl was going to land. Bass stepped back as a charged attack shot out and hit her in the chest, she stared at him in surprise for a second before propelling herself forward to avoid another attack.

His blue eyes widened as he noticed how quickly the girl moved from one side to the other, he tried to shoot her, however, the fem-bot moved too fast for his projectiles to hit. She stopped for a moment to fire three rapid shots before moving again, Mega Man took the hits and took a step back, he noticed she kept moving without opening fire, ‘I see. She can't attack while moving.’ He quickly deduced looking at the panorama, he supposed that she was trying to confuse him, she was waiting for him to charge and attack, if he missed the charged shot, he’ll be exposed to rapid fire. Mega Man had an idea, ‘Fine, if that’s what she wants...’ He loaded his buster and prepared himself while carefully observing the movements of the black-armored female.

Bass scowled at realizing that he didn’t move nor attempted to attack, the princess made a zig-zag motion before she stopped a single second to shoot, taking her buster in her other hand and firing three quick projectiles. Mega Man saw her put one foot firm and instantly let himself fall to the ground and launched the charge attack at her.

The princess's attacks went over his head barely missing and his charged attack struck her right in the chest, she exclaimed surprised and was thrown backwards. Her back hit the grassy field with a loud thud.

Mega Man breathed heavily as remained static for a few seconds, waiting for her to make a move, however, when the girl didn't move at all, he got worried, ‘Oh no, don't tell me I hurt the princess!’ He thought in panic, quickly getting at his feet and ran to the black armored princess, quickly glancing at the canines, Treble was growling lowly in a defensive position whilst Rush seemed worried, the blue bomber swallowed hard, “Princess?! Princess are you all alright?” The fear in his voice was real as she didn't react, he leaned down to check her, she was lying on the grass with her eyes closed, “Big bolts, I'm dead! How did I do this?! I’m such an idiot!” He said more panicked holding his head with both hands.

Suddenly, the girl's crimson eyes snapped open and Mega Man was barely able to flinch when she suddenly raised her legs and caught his slender waist, in one swift movement she twisted to the side and forced the blue bomber to fall to the grass. Bass rolled quickly and positioned on top of him, her sitting on his lap and pointing her buster at his face.

“For a thief, you're very naive.” Bass said teasingly, a smirk spreading across her face, but her red eyes looked at him playfully.

To say that Mega Man was surprised was an understatement, he tried to move his legs to try to turn, but she pressed her body against his lap. Mega Man gasped in surprise, blushing immediately as blue eyes focused on her red ones, when he tried to say something the princess's buster simply moved closer to his face. Finding himself completely cornered, Mega Man clumsily brought both hands up at the side of his face with both palms raised, a sign of surrender.

“I surrender. You win, princess.” The blue thief said with a nervous smile, but she didn't seem to notice his nervousness at that moment, her eyes just looked at him glad to have been victorious.

The blue robot looked dumbfounded while blushing furiously when he felt her body on his lap, they were robots, of course, their functionalities greatly distinguished them from humans, but apparently humans couldn't help but also designing them according to their nature and biological knowledge. He swallowed hard when she finally rose from him and placed both hands on her hips in a bragging gesture.

“I can't believe you fell for the oldest trick.” The princess said triumphantly.

Mega Man felt stunned for a second, ‘Did she even realize what she did?’ He wondered, unable feel embarrassment by the situation they just had and cleared his throat with a fist in his mouth to try to hide his blush, “I-I guess I just need to improve.”

Bass held out a hand, “Well, I guess we're missing the tiebreaker.” Mega Man blinked, "You know, we have the marker one win each.”

The blue robot smiled and held her hand, “I’m up for it, but I won’t fall for the same trick twice.” scratched the back of his helmet, “Though I'm afraid we'll have to do it another time, I feel exhausted.” He said as he sat down on the grass, it didn't take long for Rush to come to his side, barking happily and licking his face as if congratulating him for the battle even though he didn’t win. Mega Man chuckled and stroked the reddish head of the dog, “Thanks Rush! You’re the best”

Bass smiled and sat at his side, Treble also came and nuzzled her cheek softly against her purple markings, the princess giggled and patted her head. Soon, the cyber-lupine laid on her lap purring contently, the princess played with the wolf's ears gently. “Good girl, Treble.”

They both spent the rest of the night in silence, just enjoying their company as they waited for their energy to recover itself to go home.

Chapter Text

Mega Man and Bass had agreed to see each other at night, they decided to keep it a top secret, since none of them wanted to be seen together. After a week of friendly battles, the blue bomber began to wonder if they could have some other type of interaction. He was really interested in befriending the princess, but it seemed like all she thought about was fighting. He was starting to doubt what would be her reaction.

“Do you think she'll agree, Rush?” The black-haired boy asked as he watched the darkening sky from his window. Rush barked affirmatively, as if encouraging him. Rock nodded and raised a determined fist, “You're right, I won't know if I don't try.” His red companion nodded and the boy put on his helmet, “Let’s go Rush.”

The reddish dog took his jet form and the blue robot got on top of him before they took off to the outskirts of the city. When Mega Man arrived at their meeting point, the princess was already there while she absentmindedly looked at the sky.

‘All right, let’s do it!’ He thought before landing, “Good evening, princess.” The blue robot greeted politely, getting off Rush.

She looked at him, “Hello Mega Man.” She stood up, “Are you ready for our battle?”

The blue bomber gave a faint smile, but even the princess knew it was fake, “Actually, princess...” He said nervously with a hand behind his neck, “I was wondering if we could do something else today?”

Bass blinked at the question, as if she couldn't think of how else they could spend the night, “Another thing? Like what?” She asked crossing her arms, then frowned, “Don't you dare ask me to help you with your stupid robberies.” She threatened.

Mega Man gasped and shook his head desperately, raising his hands to accentuate the denial, “W-what, no! I would never ask you for that!”

The princess relaxed and then looked at him suspiciously, “So what do you propose?”

The blue bomber cleared his throat, "W-well, could we just sit-down and... I don't know, talk?"

“Talk?” Bass looked at him confused and he just nodded. The princess stared at him as if it were the craziest idea she had ever heard, Treble and Bass looked at each other until after a few seconds of silence, the princess sat back down and looked at him with a pout, “Well then. What are you waiting for?”

‘Big bolts! It worked!’ The blue bomber smiled broadly, he wasn't sure that his request had been heard, he was prepared for a refusal, but he was very happy to know that the princess had agreed.

They both sat next to each other in silence, they looked at the starry sky for long minutes, just the sound of insects and the wind accompanied them. While Mega Man found it relaxing, Bass found it just plain boring. She blew out a frustrated breath.

“Well, if we're just going to be like this, I'll go back to the fortress.” Bass said before wanting to get up, but the blue robot lightly took her wrist to try to prevent it, she looked at him surprised.

“Wait, please. Just a few more minutes? Please, give me a chance” Mega Man asked, with a pleading look.

Bass looked at the blue hand holding her and reluctantly sit back up, “Two minutes.”

He cleared his throat nervously. “W-well, why don't you tell me something about you, princess? Uh, like, how is it living in the fortress?” He asked curiously, her scarlet eyes were now glaring back at him, “Oh, no wait! I didn’t mean it that way! I'm sorry!” He hadn’t realized it sounded like he wanted information. As much as Mega Man wanted to know more about her, they couldn't go into much detail at all.

‘This idiot.’ Bass thought as she rolled her eyes and continued looking at the sky without much excitement. Mentally counting the seconds left for the blue bomber to do something before leaving.

Mega Man scratched the back of his helmet even more nervous, he looked to the side trying to think of something. Not far from them, he spotted the canine robots digging something in the dirt, it seems they had found some poor wild animal, “Treble is really impressive, has she always been your companion? I do not remember seeing her that day we met.”

This caught the attention of the princess, she couldn't help but smile when she saw that the female wolf had caught a surprised badger, Rush barked at the animal while it struggled to get free.

“I've known her since I was activated, I guess Father wanted someone to give me company.” Bass looked proudly at the purplish wolf that was holding the unfortunate animal between her teeth, “She has always been with me and is a great guardian. But Father got mad at her because she attacked the mayor of the city last time we went there, so she stayed home, that’s why you faced Wood Man instead.” Her gaze went to the blue bomber with an amused smile, “I don't think you'd be surprised to hear how rude politicians are.”

Mega Man chuckled at the last comment, “I can get a good idea, princess.”

“She is a very good partner.” Bass finished as the badger broke free from the female wolf's jaws and began to chase Rush furiously, the red dog whined as it began to run away whilst Treble tried to catch the animal again. Bass looked at Mega Man curiously, “What about your dog? He wasn’t there that day as well.”

“Rush?” The blue-eyed robot smiled, “Well, Rush wasn't created with the abilities he has now, he used to be just a pet, that's why he wasn't with me that day. You know, after that day, Doc-I mean, the one helping me thought he could be useful for support, that’s why he’s helping me now.” She said with a smile, “He's a great friend.”

She nodded, understanding the feeling of not wanting to reveal as much information, just as she kept her own. Maybe that was why Rush didn't seem intimidating, quite the opposite. But seeing Treble and Rush play as normal dogs, she guessed that they weren't as different as she thought.

“So, you help your father with the politicians?” Mega Man asked, hoping she won’t reject his question.

Bass rested against the rock and used her hands to held the back of her head as she closed her eyes, “Kinda, Father is obsessed with me having the best ‘relationships’ with his group of corrupt humans.” She growled lowly, “I honestly don’t care about that.”

Mega Man blinked, “Why is that?”

“Unlike what you might think, I’m not interested on being a ruler or anything like that. I’d rather be fighting all day instead of looking at reports and seeing those stupid humans.” The princess said annoyed.

Something in Mega Man’s core pulsed even harder, he knew that princess Bass was different, but it washed him with relief to know she didn’t follow the same steps of the tyrant king. At that moment, he didn’t mind if she was the one ruling them right now.

“To be honest, I think you’ll be a good ruler, princess” He said sincerely.

Bass opened her eyes and looked at him surprised, “You think so? It’s pretty boring.”

Mega Man smiled kindly, “I truly believe it.”

The black-armored robot blushed softly at the praise, “Guess at least I have someone having faith in me.” She smiled softly to let her nervousness go away.

At a certain point, Bass forgot her countdown for Mega Man before returning to her fortress, at first it seemed like a stupid idea to waste a night in conversations instead of fighting, but after a few hours, the princess realized that she really had no one to talk to. Treble was a different story, as she always listened to her and kept her a lot of company, but the female wolf couldn't talk back to her.

The two spent the night talking, not realizing how late it was until the stars began to disappear in the light of dawn. Bass got up and brushed the dirt off her armor.

“I guess it's time to head back.” The princess yawned, “Will you come tomorrow?”

The blue bomber looked away, “Sorry, I won't be able to, I have to…you know, do something tonight.” He embarrassed.

The princess instead giggled at his response, “I see, in that case, I will eagerly await the news.”

Mega Man smiled at her more relaxed, they both looked into each other's eyes for a few moments both could swear that glint in their pupils could have been part of their imagination, they turned around and their respective partners followed them. Treble and Bass got together and they swiftly rushed towards their fortress.

Mega Man stood there and waved his hands, a wide smile across his face and a soft blush in his cheeks, his companion licked his hand, the blue robot petted his head, “I really like her, Rush. I hope we can have more nights like these.” Rush barked happily as he waved his short tail “Let’s go home.” The dog transformed into a jet and the blue bomber headed home. Hoping that tonight was the first of many more.

Rock lazily settled back into his living room sofa as he yawned for the third time in the last five minutes, he had kept his escapades with the princess a secret very well until now, however, the sleepless nights were beginning to take a toll on him.

At first, he assumed that he would have no problem if he rested from time to time during the day, however, his father has had a lot of work lately, since it is his duty to help with the repairs of other robots, he hasn’t had much free time, besides that last night was the last robbery.

Things went relatively well, but the tiredness caused Rock to get distracted and reacted very late for his taste, he almost missed a very important shot. That delay had been enough for them being spotted for an instant and they almost got caught. Blues was furious about it, but the blue bomber was so exhausted at the moment they got home that he just collapsed on his bed.

‘And tonight I have to see the princess.’ Rock thought with some weariness, it wasn't that he hated seeing her, quite the contrary, just spending time with princess Bass made his core ignite deep feelings of longing and admiration. He wanted to be with her longer, but he also needed to rest.

He couldn't just leave her waiting for him simply because he wanted to sleep, it would be the rudest thing he would ever do. The sapphire eyes slowly began to drop the more he forgot about his responsibilities and his mind dreamed that maybe, just maybe, princess Bass also felt that beautiful feeling for him too, even though they hadn't done more than fighting and a quiet night talking.

He smiled dreamily at having a sweet image of her letting him hold her hand gently, he unconsciously blushed slightly at the marvellous thought of those ruby eyes looking at him with the same amount of affection and longing.

“Rock!”

The black-haired boy jumped from the sofa alarmed when someone called out his name, looking around, he saw next to him at his older brother Blues, his black eyes narrowed in an annoying grimace, the brown-haired boy crossed his arms.

‘Not again.’ Rock thought, looking at his brother a bit annoyed. “What is it, Blues?” He tried not to sound exhausted, failing completely.

“Rock, are you dozing off again?” The older brother asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Sorry Blues, I'm a little tired today.” Rock tried to excuse himself.

“Like yesterday, or the night before? Or the whole last week?” Blues questioned suspiciously, “Is something keeping up awake at night?”

Rock reacted to his brother's direct question, “What? No, of course not, W-what could I be doing?”

“I don't know, you tell me.” The brunette said, but his little brother just rolled his eyes, Blues sighed, "Listen Rock, if you want to do things that's fine." His expression softened a bit, “But last night can't be repeated. They almost got you. There’s a reason why we do this at night.”

Rock averted his gaze and nodded, he understood Blues' concern, but he couldn't tell him that he sneaked out at night to see a girl, much less that that girl was the princess, “I know, I'm sorry, I'll be more careful, I promise.”

The lab door opened, revealing his father and creator, “Rock, we have everything ready, please come over.”

Rock suppressed a weary sigh and got up, plodding into the lab to work. Blues looked at him and frowned again.

‘I know you're hiding something Rock, and I'll make sure I know what it is.’ He thought as he went to his own room.

At nightfall, Blues prepared himself by being alert in case he heard any sound that could alert him of something suspicious, his internal clock marked ten minutes to midnight, so he almost fell asleep when he heard something in his brother's room. The sound of the window being slid.

He left his room and managed to quietly open the door to see what Rock was doing. The smaller robot was wearing his armor and was watching Rush.

“Are you ready Rush?” He whispered, the dog nodded and turned into a jet, then they went out the window.

‘I knew it.’ Blues frowned before walking into the room, he looked at his brother and his partner heading towards the outskirts of Mega City. “What are you up to, little brother?” He donned his red armor and helmet and jumped out of the window to follow him.

When the blue robot arrived at their meeting point, as usual the princess was already there, sitting on the rock that she had claimed as hers. Treble rested at her feet peacefully until she heard them land.

“Good evening, princess.” Said the blue robot, trying not to sound tired and with a slight smile, although false.

The princess looked at him and couldn't help but giggle, “Wow, you look terrible.”

Mega Man looked embarrassed, “I’m sorry, I haven't been resting well.”

Bass rolled her eyes and pouted, “That means you won't fight me today.”

“I'm afraid I'm not in condition, princess.” The blue bomber said, sitting down next to her, “I've been kind of busy.”

“Doing what? Stealing?” She asked sarcastically and crossed her arms.

Mega Man shook his head, “Oh no, I've had a lot of work to do.”

Bass raised an eyebrow, “Work? Thieves aren't supposed to work.” She looked at him in disbelief, “With everything you steal, you shouldn't need to work for ten years.”

The blue bomber gave a smile, “Ah, well that's not for me.” She looked at him confused, he scratched the back of his head a bit nervous, “Let's just say, the money isn't for us.”

Bass looked at the starry sky, “That sounds stupid.” She said absently, but the thief just laughed at the comment. “Well, maybe we should take a break of seeing each other, Father seems to be suspicious that I’ve been dozing off as well. Today I almost fell asleep when he was rambling about something I don’t even remember now.”

Mega Man chuckled, “Maybe we should, we can see each other in a few days, or every three nights. Does that sound good?”

“Sounds good to me.” The princess nodded.

They both looked up at the starry sky for a brief moment, the blue bomber glancing down, right to her side where the princess's hand within reach lay on the grass. The blue bomber had an internal fight on taking her hand or not, ‘Would she be okey if I do it?’ Was the question that burned his processors.

Just as he was about to place his palm on top of her hand, he retracted it instantly as if the closeness would burn him, he blushed at his cowardness and just placed his hand just right next to hers but not touching her, instead cleared his throat to get her attention.

“Huh, s-sorry princess, I would just like to thank you for agreeing to spend these nights with me.” Mega Man said with a sincere smile. “I, well, these nights have meant too much for me.”

The princess seemed a bit confused at first for such thing, but she gasped when she felt something touch her just slightly, her red eyes fixed on one of Mega Man’s fingers touching just slightly one of hers, he was looking away sheepishly.

Bass looked at him a bit disoriented, not knowing why her hand did not move away from the touch, “Huh, you’re welcome?”

At that moment they looked at each other’s eyes. They have looked at each other before, in battle mostly, but this time it felt different, Bass could swear there was some kind of spark shining in his sky-blue gaze, after a few more moments of observing the sapphires in his eyes, she discovered that it did not bother her to contemplate the sky in his eyes.

“I-I, huh, I’ve been having fun.” Bass simply answered, her averting her gaze as the blush on her cheeks became a bit more evident.

They were both silent for a few minutes, she turned her gaze to the starry sky, trying to hide her blush and nervousness due to the proximity of her companion. Bass’ mind was a storm of thoughts, her mind unconsciously lingered to what she witnessed a few nights ago when she first escaped the fortress, Dust Man and Splash Woman held their hands and did stuff with their faces. ‘Does this mean we will do something like that?’ She thought nervously and swallowed hard.

Something inside her very core felt to engulf her, it was a foreign yet pleasant warmth she hasn’t felt before. Was this only because they just touched? Or it was for another reason? She had no idea. The silent minutes seemed endless to her, the expectation started to bother her, so she turned to look at him.

“Mega Man, I...” The princess stopped when she saw that the blue bomber had his eyes closed and his breathing had slowed. ‘Is he...asleep?’ The princess looked at him for a few more moments to confirm it, her red eyes looked at their hands, their fingers were still touching by his being on top of hers. Her fears that he might had other kind of intentions disappeared, “It doesn't matter.” Bass whispered and smiled softly, ‘On second thought, this isn't too bad either.’ She closed her eyes as well, ‘You always have good ideas to spend a night.’ She thought before relaxing next to him.

Blues managed to spot his blue brother in the distance as he managed to follow them away from the city. He had lost sight of Rock for a moment, and he was left behind, but once he saw at the distance the distinctive armor of his brother, he knew he had finally found him. Because of the darkness, he couldn’t make out who he was with until he was closer, he covered his mouth to avoid gasping loudly.

‘It can't be, i-is that the princess Bass?’ Blues thought alarmed, ‘No way. Rock, you have no idea who you're messing with.’

The red robot looked at them suspiciously, the princess could at any moment try to find out about their whereabouts to hunt them down. She had said that she wasn't interested in money, but that didn't exempt her from any suspicious activity. He noticed the canine robots not far from them, resting just like their companions, but a purple one that looked like a wolf raised its head and seemed to growl in his direction.

‘Damn, I better go.’ Proto Man thought before turning to leave before the canines could spot him and alert them.

The red robot knew he had to confront his little brother about what he was doing. Befriending with the enemy is never a good idea.

Chapter Text

King Wily and Bass were on their respective thrones, the princess looked at her tablet while reviewing some reports at her father's request while Treble rested at her feet. The king on his part was just sitting on his throne, as if waiting for something.

“My King!” Skull Man's voice echoed in the throne room, the Robot Master stopped in front of both thrones and saluted, “King Wily! The preparations are complete. The place is secured and the tools ready, as well as all the devices are on their places. It is just matter of your word to execute it.”

“EXCELLENT!”

Bass nearly jumped off her throne when her father suddenly exclaimed, she was so distracted reading the stupid report about Galaxy Man, Tornado Man, Jewel Man, and Concrete Man successfully maintaining order in the west, now they were returning to Mega City. Treble got up alerted, only to growl lowly at the human for her nap being interrupted.

The tyrant king rubbed his hands together mischievously, “Proceed with the plan, and bring Burst Man, we have to make it official.” Skull Man nodded and saluted once again before leaving the room.

“Now what?” Bass glanced at her creator with annoyance. “Are you going to raise taxes again?” She asked sarcastically.

“No.” King Wily smiled evilly, “The time has come!”

Bass looked at him as if he had lost his mind, “What?”

The king laughed, “A competition!”

The black and gold armored princess blinked in confusion, “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I knew you weren’t listening to me at all that day.” Wily half scolded, still his mood hadn’t soured.

“I told you I didn’t sleep well that night.” Bass rolled her eyes.

The man sat on his throne and with that smirk he began to explain, “I've been treating this sneaky Mega Man all this time from the wrong angle. Instead of chasing the mouse, I will make the mouse come to me.”

“Sounds like you have a plan.” The princess put her tablet aside to pay more attention.

“That's correct. According to reports, Mega Man has unmatched aim, so it will be easier to find him by following his abilities.” The king explained as he pulled out a control and a screen came down from the ceiling, she stared at it. “I am going to organize a competition based on aim. I'm sure he'll show up for that.”

The princess now looked a bit surprised, “The bounty on his head hasn't been enough, what are you going to offer now?”

“A bigger offer. A reward of 50,000.” The king said casually, she looked at him surprised, “Mega Man is going for the money, he won't be able to resist this offer, especially if it's something he's very good at.”

She and Treble looked at each other for a moment, “Wait, are you seriously going to give them that much money?”

King Wily laughed in amusement, “Of course not! When the little bastard is discovered, I'll submit him and deal with him in front of everyone to show them who's boss!”

Bass hid her sudden concern very well, “And how do you plan to do that? You've spent almost two months trying to find him and no one has seen him.”

The king laughed, “That is where you are wrong, my daughter.” He pressed another button and an image of the exterior of a house could be seen, a familiar figure was standing in the center, “Now that I have this, it will be easier to spot him.”

The princess gasped surprised, the photo was somewhat blurry, but she could see a blue robot loading a buster while he pointed at the camera, his serious face reminded her of those nights of battle that she had with him in secret. Bass swallowed surreptitiously, “Where did you get this?” She asked trying to hide her nervousness.

“From the last robbery that blue thief did, it seems that he was careless for a moment and this was recovered from a security camera.” King Wily said proudly.

Bass bit her lower lip, that was the night before they saw each other last time, he had said he hadn’t been resting well. ‘Damn.’

King Wily rubbed his hands together in delight, “Now I have a good idea of his real appearance, it's just a matter of time.”

“And what makes you think it will show up?” The princess asked suspiciously, staring at the image of the blue bomber on the screen.

“I'm sure he will. There is no way that thief could resist such a reward.” The king said very sure.

She gritted her teeth, “If you say so. And I guess I'll just be here doing nothing. As usual.”

“Actually, I think it would be a good idea for you to come with me, all of Mega City is eager to hear from you, so if you show up, everyone will go.” Said the King pressing a button so that the screen will go back to its place.

Bass gave him a surprised look before scowling at her father, “Wait a sec, are you going to use me as bait?” She crossed her arms angrily.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” The King frowned, "Of course you won't be bait, you'll just help me capture the blue plague.” Wily huffed in annoyance, “Besides, you always complain about not being able to go out. This is your opportunity.”

“I’m so lucky.” she said sarcastically. “That’s why you’ve been working in my and Treble’s enhancements?”

Wily nodded, “Exactly, your new abilities will be done by then, so you'll be ready for anything.”

At that moment, Burst Man entered through the hallway door while he was holding a camera in his free hand.

The king stood up, “The time has come. Bass, go to your room whilst I give the news. You will show up that day, not before.”

The princess grumbled, “Come on Treble.” The female wolf followed her, like the previous time, she stayed at the door to listen to the announcement.

Rock and Blues quietly watched television, a question-and-answer show where the winner had a prize.

Despite that, Rock wasn't very attentive to the program, he was petting Rush absently who was resting on his lap. The black-haired robot thought about what had happened, without being able to avoid it he had fallen asleep next to the princess at their meeting point. He felt a little embarrassed for having wasted a night with the red-eyed girl, but even so he was glad that she hadn't left him there in the middle of the forest. She was kind enough to wake him up when it was time to go home.

Blues was in the other chair, he looked grumpy today, Rock just assumed that he was still upset about what happened in the robbery the other night, so he didn't bothered him. Roll and Doctor Light were working in the lab at the moment, only them were in the living room right now.

The television changed programming again, and Burst Man appeared on the screen, both robots were surprised by the interruption, the last time that happened it was for bad news.

“Greetings, we interrupt your program to bring a message from King Wily.” Burst Man said before focusing the camera on the human in the throne.

Rock and Blues glared at the man on the screen, who was smirking and feigning friendliness.

“Greetings to all. Sorry to interrupt, don't be afraid. This time the message will not be about taxes, no need to worry about that.” Wily said quickly, confusing the boys for a moment. “I wanted to inform you that an event will be held in two days.” He made a movement, the image of a place appeared on the screen, an open field with different targets around. “I have planned an event to commemorate a special occasion, it is a competition where anyone who is interested can enter to win a fabulous prize.”

On the screen the reward appeared, the boys gasped.

“Fifty thousand?” Blues exclaimed in surprise.

“That's five times what he asks for our reward.” Rock gasped.

“You might be asking what the special occasion is.” King Wily said appearing on the screen again, “Well, nothing more and nothing less than my daughter, Princess Bass Wily, will be present for the event. She will personally witness such event as it’s time for her to know all her loyal subjects.” He gave a sinister smile, “Remember, those who are interested in participate are free to do so.” He made a movement at Burst Man. “That's it.”

The blue and golden Robot Master reappeared on screen, “Our king has spoken. Glory to King Wily!” Saying that, he cut off the communication.

The program they were watching exploded in opinions about the new news, not only because the money was really tempting, but because for the first time they could meet the famous princess.

“That is a very high reward!” Rock said still surprised, “With that we will be able to help so many, and not only that, but we will also be able to rest a bit from the robberies!” The black-haired robot said with a smile.

“No way, this is not looking good.” Blues said with a frown, “It's a bad idea to go.”

“I know it sounds risky, but I'm sure we'll do just fine.” Rock said with a calmer smile, “Besides, we don't have to go in our armor, they won't be able to recognize us.

The brown-haired robot looked at him annoyed, “Rock, there's something suspicious about this. Also, do you forget that the princess is the only one who could recognize us?”

The blue-eyed robot looked a bit nervous, “Yes, but I don't think anything will happen. Trust me.”

Blues crossed his arms, “No Rock, we shouldn't trust the princess. We don't know what she would be up to.”

Rock rolled his eyes, “It's been almost a month since we saw her, I don't think there's a problem.”

“Oh, maybe not me. But you will surely be easy for her to recognize.” Blues said annoyed.

“W-what are you talking about?” Rock tried to sound convincing, but his older brother frowned.

“Why of course, I'm talking about you and your nocturnal friend, little brother!” Blues pointed his index finger at him accusingly, Rock took a step back in shock, “Oh yeah, I know you sneak out at night to see the princess, Rock.”

The younger of the brothers had no idea what to do, they had caught him red-handed and he had no way to justify himself. “What? How did you…?”

“I followed you the other night.” Blues said annoyed, Rock’s blue eyes widened. “I have no idea what you've been up to, but that night I saw you two sitting next to each other.”

The black-haired robot raised his hands in surrender, “Blues, I swear it's not what it looks like!”

“And what is it supposed to look like?” the older brother’s black eyes glowered, “A stupid game of how to get caught?”

“N-no, nothing of that. It was all a fluke! Besides, she would never do that, I can assure you!” Rock said, frowning slightly.

Seeing the boys start to yell at each other, Rush backed off to a corner, ears down and hesitantly watching both of his family members fight, not wanting to get into the argument.

“Why are you so defensive?” Blues asked suspiciously, “If I didn't know you, I'd say you fell in love with her, Rock.” The horror on Rock's face simply confirmed what Blues feared, he grabbed his shoulders firmly, “No way, Rock! She is our enemy!”

This time the blue bomber reacted and wriggled out of the grip as if burned by contact, “That’s not true! The princess is not our enemy, she even hates what the king does!”

“Oh yeah? Are you going to trust the daughter of the guy we stole from? The culprit of everyone's misery?” Blues pointed accusingly at him.

“She's not guilty of what's happening.” Rock hissed, clenching his fists.

“Do I need to remind you her name, Rock? It's Bass Wily… WILY! The same tyrant who pushed us to steal so we wouldn't starve or end up in a dungeon!” Both boys took a step forward, blue eyes and black eyes challenging each other.

“She's not like him!” Rock raised his voice.

Blues glowered, “Why should I trust her? Just because she has a pretty face?”

“You don't know anything, Blues.” The raven-haired boy growled. “You don’t know her.”

“You probably think you do, little brother. But she’s the last person you should trust.” The brown growled, “Are you seriously going to compromise your family because of your stupid crush?!”

The blue-eyed robot shook his head, “No! It's not about that!”

“The only thing you're going to get out of this is getting stabbed in the back!” The eldest glared at Rock.

“She’ll never do that!”

“Of course she will! She’s just like her father, a vile, treacherous and poisonous serpent!”

“Shut up now!” Rock gave his brother a rough shove, glaring at him, “Never call Bass like that again! You heard me?! NEVER!” He raised his voice in a threatening manner.

“GOOD!” The older brother raised his voice, “Go and participate in that stupid competition, but don't count on me when that viper betrays you and you get caught for her! See if I care!”

“Whatever! I don’t need you!” Rock argued back.

“Perfect!”

The laboratory door opened, Doctor Light and Roll saw the brothers' discussion, it was common for them to say things to tease each other, but not to fight like that.

“Guys, what's going on?” Roll asked worried.

Rock looked at his sister and his father at the door and shook his head, “Nothing! Blues is just being a big idiot!” He said as he walked to the door, “I'll go out for a bit, come on Rush!” He ordered, Rush looked a little uncertain, but he followed Rock anyway. The dog and the black-haired robot slammed the door shut as they walked out.

The eldest growled before walking away from there and avoiding explaining anything, despite being furious with Rock, he was not going to tell his family his secret, without looking at the others he locked himself in his room. Roll and Doctor Light looked worried.

“What should we do, Doctor?” Roll asked.

The human shook his head, “It seems that this is their business, they should fix this themselves.” He said resigned before going back into his lab.

Roll was still worried about her siblings, but she nodded and went inside to continue helping.

Bass walked into her room with a weariness she couldn't describe, Treble followed and made a slight questioning growl, but Bass didn't answer immediately, instead she walked to her window where she could see Mega City in the distance. She rested her cheek against one hand as she gazed at the city in the distance.

After a while, she finally spoke.

“That photo is not enough...” She said suddenly, the wolf approached and pressed her nose against her free hand. Reddish eyes looked at her companion, “That photo of Mega Man, it's too blurry, it won't be enough for Father recognize him.”

A new sound caught her attention, another truck was entering the fortress, this time more humans and their robots were being escorted to the dungeons, five humans and three robots. She girthed her teeth in annoyance, “Increasing the taxes has achieved nothing.”

Looking closely at the Robot Masters Sword Man, Slash Man, and Spring Man escorting the unfortunate humans to the dungeon while Ring Man and Hard Man led the robots in another direction, “Treble, is it just me, or there are more Robot Masters around?” Bass wondered out loud, the wolf jumped next to her and watched the other robots, she gave a slight nod. The princess growled softly and couldn't help thinking that one of the unfortunate ones might be Mega Man someday. She shook her head, trying to erase that image.

She sighed tiredly went to her bed and stared at the ceiling of her room, thousands of things flooded her mind, the wolf lay down next to her and she patted her head, “No. It's absurd, Father won't be able to catch him. Mega Man is very agile.” She told Treble, she felt in her core some kind of annoying spark, some kind of concern for her father's plan. “He has tried to catch him for almost two months, this stupid plan will be the same.”

The wolf made a slight growl of concern, but the princess merely smiled slightly, though it was fake.

“Don't worry Treble, he won't get Mega Man. He'll get away, like he always does.” She said and turned on her bed and closed her eyes, “He won’t get caught.”

Bass whispered, wishing that her statement was the truth and not only a silly hope coming from her core.

Chapter Text

It was the day of the special event that had been promulgated, a huge open space with a touch between medieval and futuristic theme, it was a strange combination, around there were digital target shots that contrasted with ornate tents that gave an ancient style. What was striking were a pair of thrones made of gold and silver material where the king and princess would surely take their place. 

Rock looked at the huge crowd that gathered at the site, next to him was Roll who looked excited and his creator, Doctor Light, seemed impressed by the place, Blues was not there as he decided to not go. 

The black-haired robot walked to a table, one of Wily’s Robot Masters was looking bored at the participants, Crystal Man sneered at him as the shorter robot took the registration form. Rock widened his eyes in surprise when he realized that he was number twenty-three, there were so many participants. 

When he finished signing up, Crystal Man took a box from behind him and handed it to the black-haired boy, “Take this device, it’s a special booster designed to prevent cheating. If you are eliminated, you must return it immediately. Next!” 

Rock nodded, “Understood, thank you.”  

He moved away from the table to let another robot sign in and then walked over to his family. He donned the item he was given, a metallic wristband that fit perfectly in his arm, when he pressed a button, it took the shape of a buster. The Buster was almost identical to his, but this one was black and dark gray in color, with a ‘W’ marked in the center. 

“Wow, that’s impressive.” Roll said interested in the device, Rock nodded and returned the buster back into the small device. 

“Are you ready Rock? It looks like there will be a lot of competition.” The human looked around. 

“I am, Doctor. I’ll do my best to win the prize. We can help a lot of people with it!” Rock smiled. 

“I’m sure you’ll do excellent, little brother!" The blonde tried to cheer him up, “This contest is yours!” 

“Thanks Roll.” The blue-eyed robot smiled. 

“Too bad Blues isn’t around.” Doctor Light said with some disappointment. 

Rock frowned when they mentioned his older brother, he was still mad at him for insulting Bass like that, “I guess it’s better that he’s not here, I don't need him here distracting me.” 

Doctor Light gave a slight sigh, “I don’t condone treating each other that way, nor am I siding with anyone. But Blues is right about one thing, Rock. We should be careful, I guess you have noticed that there is special surveillance around.” 

Rock looked around, despite having seen Robot Masters before, he had never seen so many in one place. They were everywhere, they did nothing but watch, but even so it made him nervous, “I understand, Doctor. I will be cautious. 

“Roll and I will be cheering you on from the spectator stands. Good luck, son.” The man said with a soft smile. 

The blonde put a hand on his brother’s shoulder, “Good luck out there, little brother!” 

Rock smiled and nodded, “I’ll do my best!” 

“All participants, please gather over here!” Calling out a huge Robot Master, charge Man, who was in front of both ornate thrones, Rock guessed they would start soon. 

Bass sighed as she looked out the small window of the vehicle, they were approaching the silly competition, not that she was interested, but she was sure that Mega Man would be there, that concern was still deep in her core. No matter how many times she told herself that her father would not catch the blue thief, that feeling persisted. 

“You look tired.” The voice of her father caught her attention, “You didn’t sleep well again?” 

Bass shrugged, “I might have been thinking about today until late.” She shrugged, then looked again at the small window, “Nothing to worry about.” 

“Whatever you do, don’t' fall asleep during the competition, today is the day, my daughter.” King Wily said, he looked excited, “There will be no more problems of that blue plague and my reign will be absolute after today.” 

The princess rolled her eyes slightly, “You still don’t catch him, Father.” 

Wily gave a small laugh, “I will, very soon.” 

“We’re arriving.” Burst Man’s voice was heard over a boombox inside the armored car. 

The armored car arrived from the back of the place, at least six Robot Masters guarded the place where the car would park. The vehicle stopped next to what looked like a tent, the door opened by one of the Robot Masters, the tyrant king exited the car with a smirk. Everyone saluted, Bomb Man, Metal Man, Hard Man, Dust Man, Star Man, Knight Man and Burst Man. Wily simply nodded. 

Right after, Bass went out but paid no attention to the other robots and walked inside the small tent. She looked at her father crossing her arms, the wolf jumped out of the vehicle and curiously sniffed the place. 

The human nodded, “All right, I’ll welcome in the event and when I mention you, you’ll come out. You will have a chance to see the competitors, even if you happen to recognize that bloody blue thief, feel free to say so.” 

‘A hell I’m going to tell you.’ Bass thought bitterly before nodding, “Whatever.” 

The tyrant king made his way to another part of the tent and then took his place. Charge Man’s voice was heard, “Everyone, greet our ruler. King Wily!” 

Everyone present bowed, even Rock who looked somewhat annoyed, the human came out of the small tent and stood in front of his throne and raised both arms. 

“Greetings, my loyal subjects!” He said with a smirk, “As you already know, this event is very special, so I hope the participants will put on a good show worth watching.” He warned, “Your future ruler and my daughter, Princess Bass is with us." 

Bass heard her name and looked at the wolf for a moment, the Robot Masters that had received her stood around the place as guards, she took a deep breath and nodded to her companion, the cyber-lupine returned the gesture and walked out the tent. 

People gasped surprised upon seeing the princess for the first time, her black and gold armor contrasting with the bright day, thousands of whispers about how beautiful or impressive she was surrounded the crowd. The princess didn’t say anything and just stood next to the king. 

“Do you want to say something, my daughter?” Willy asked. 

She looked at the contestants and simply said, “Greetings everyone, I hope you do your best and don’t waste my time.”  

The audience erupted in applause and praise, which made her a little uncomfortable and sat on her throne. Bass didn’t like being sheltered as if she was unable to defend herself, but also didn’t like being the center of attention like this. If her father had introduced her from the beginning, no one would react this way. 

Charge Man made a sign for the participants to parade in front of the thrones, they cordially greeted the king and the princess, although the latter did not seem very excited. 

Rock’s core pulsed stronger and stronger as he got closer to her, feeling nervous even though they only had several nights without seeing each other, but for Rock it had been a long time. 

Treble raised her ears and sniffed around, she looked carefully at the line of participants and began to move her tail excited. Bass noticed her companion and looked confused for a moment, until he was in front of her, her red eyes widened in surprise when she saw a young robot with black hair and a calm smile, his incandescent blue eyes looked at her with a strange longing that made make her core pulse harder. 

‘It can’t be.’ She thought surprised. 

“A pleasure to greet you, princess.” He spoke. 

That voice was all she needed to confirm it, entire nights of conversations left her with no doubts, despite wearing a simple white and blue shirt and orange shorts, in her mind she imagined a blue helmet and armor. It fit him perfectly. 

‘It’s you!’ The princess smiled slightly and nodded, “The feeling is mutual, good luck.” She said with an amused tone. 

Rock nodded and they both looked into each other’s eyes, her rubies sparkling with excitement at seeing him again. Rock wanted to say more, but the robot behind him pushed him to hurry up, the black-haired boy nodded and continued his way. Bass couldn’t help but follow him with her eyes and quickly turned looked away to not be so obvious, if she stared at him longer, her father would discover it quickly. 

Wily was too busy trying to make a connection between the blurred photo of the blue bomber and the contestants when he saw her princess, she seemed a little more interested in the competition, “Did you see him?” 

She reacted and shook her head, “No, but it will be interesting to see how they all fail” There was some truth in that lie, most of them seemed inexperienced. 

“Attention participants!” Said Charge Man, “All of you will start with target shooting, these will measure your aim and depending on where you manage to hit it, a score will appear in the screen,” He pointed to big screen above where the king and princess were sitting, “You all have a limited number of shots per round. The ones with the highest score will pass the round. Prepare the busters that were given to you!” 

Everyone present activated their devices, the black and dark gray buster seemed to be charged almost immediately, some large targets appeared a few meters from them. Rock supposed that would change as the difficulty increased. 

“You will start in five, four, three, two, one...” A horn was heard. 

Immediately everyone started shooting, Rock concentrated and shot accurately into the center of the targets, they were big enough to not even have a problem with them, many of the participants even missed or had very bad aim, he supposed he shouldn’t be so precise from the beginning or it would be suspicious, the last two shots were aimed outside the center so as not to arouse suspicion. 

Bass watched the black-haired robot and smiled slightly, those targets were too easy for him, Mega Man was able to hit her even when she moved from side to side quickly. Treble howled excitedly at the performance of the one she knew. 

When they finished the round of thirty-four participants there were only twenty-two left, in the second round the targets were now further away and smaller. Rock did the same, purposely missing the last shot so as not to have a perfect score. By the third round, only ten were left and now the targets were moving up and down, almost everyone missed those moving targets, which eight of the participants were eliminated. 

The Robot Masters in charge of removing all the eliminated contestants from the place took them away, not so discreetly inspected them when removing the devices, but none of them was who they were looking for. Wily expected any confirmation, but received nothing, however, his smile did not fade. 

“Everything is going according to plan.” The tyrant king whispered, drawing the attention of the princess. 

Bass had become so interested in the competition that she almost forgot this was all a trap, she put a hand to the gem on her chest. ‘Mega Man, I know you need the money, but please don’t win.’ She begged mentally, wishing the black-haired bomber could read her thoughts. 

Charge Man looked at the remaining competitors, Rock and a young robot with a slender figure and pearly skin, emerald-green eyes and dark blue hair, wearing simple navy-blue pants and a yellow shirt. He made a signal by raising his arm, both boys observed that the last target appeared very far away, a small one that also moved up and down. 

“This is the final round, whoever manages to hit this target and has the best score will win the competition, you two only have one shot, if you both miss, you will be eliminated.” Charge Man explained, despite the unfair rules, the two robots nodded without complaint, the huge robot looked at the green-eyed young robot, “By alphabetical order, you go first, kid.” He told the gold and navy-blue robot. 

“My name is Enker, cheeky train.” He snarled at the big robot and looked at his opponent, he smiled proudly, “Watch and learn, shorty.” 

‘We’re the same height.’ Rock thought annoyed, but he preferred not to say anything. 

Enker raised his buster and observed the target that was moving slowly, but due to the distance it was very difficult, he closed one eye to increase his concentration and finally fired. The shot flew and hit his target. His score appeared on the screen. 

'Enker: 97. 
Rock: -’ 

The crowd cheered and clapped for the impressive shot. The green-eyed young robot looked arrogantly at the black-haired boy, “You better give up, shorty. There’s no way you can top that.” 

Rock frowned with determination and then braced himself for his turn. He held his booster with his free hand and took his firing position. His incandescent blue eyes shone with a concentration worthy of admiration, Bass put a hand to her mouth to avoid gasping, that’s the position he took during their fights. He never failed. ‘ Do not do it. Mega Man, don’t do it!’  

The black-haired robot fired without moving an inch nor blinking, his projectile traveled in slow motion and just as the target reached the bottom and moved up, the shot went through the bullseye. The screen showed the result. 

'Enker: 97. 
Rock: 100.'

There was a deathly silence around the place before erupting into applause and cheers, Rock seemed to snap out of his trance and realized that he had won. Enker looked stunned at the result and then took the black-haired man by his shirt. 

“Damn shorty! You cheated!” He accused him furiously. 

Rock stepped back slightly, “How am I going to cheat on this?" 

Charge Man took Enker and separated him from Rock, “Enough, there is no way he could cheat. You lost, now go put your device down.” Enker grunted and reluctantly walked away, the Robot Master looked at Rock, “Congratulations, kid.” When he was about to remove the buster, he gently placed a hand on top of his, “Don’t take it off yet, as a winner you can keep it. But first, our king will present the prize to you personally.” 

The blue-eyed boy agreed and was taken to where the king and the princess were, the king seemed very happy, but he noticed that the princess looked nervously, Treble looked at him whilst moving her tail excitedly, the wolf seemed happy to see him despite the situation. The king got up from his throne to walk over to him, Bass following close behind, both facing the boy. 

“Well done. What was your name?” Wily asked with a smile. 

The blue-eyed bowed, “Rock, Your Majesty.” 

"Rock..." Bass repeated in a whisper, she never expected to know his real name in a situation like this. “Congratulations on winning.” 

“Thank you very much princess.” 

The princess and the boy looked into each other’s eyes for seconds that were eternal for them and smiled slightly at each other, however, the king took Rock’s attention when he spoke. 

“Indeed, congratulations on winning the competition and getting the grand prize.” Wily’s smile then turned sinister and he took something from his pocket, a small one-button controller, “At least, that’s what I’d say if you really deserved it, don’t you think so... Mega Man.” Then, the human pressed the only button. 

Enker was about to hand over his device when he suddenly felt a shock, he released it immediately with a sharp gasp, his systems went crazy and held his head with one hand as his armor appeared without him commanding it, “What the hell?” He instinctively turned to look at the winner of the contest and looked at the scene in astonishment. 

Rock’s eyes widened as the device around his wrist released a shock that coursed through his body immediately and cried out in pain, after eternal seconds, he fell onto his knee as he hyperventilated. The audience gasped in horror. 

Bass took a step back from the action, scowling furiously, but not at the blue bomber, but at her father, gritting her teeth at what the shock had done, ‘ Damn you, your plan was better than I thought.’  

When Rock’s systems recovered, he looked with horror that his hands no longer had their pearly tone, but were covered with blue gloves, he looked at his now light blue body and touched his head, he was wearing his helmet. He looked up in terror as the Robot Masters neutralized him, Hard Man grabbed his arms tightly and lifted him up, Rock yelled in pain as he was squeezed. 

“Who would say that Mega Man himself would deign to give us a show.” He loudly proclaimed, the crowd started whispering and talking among themselves, the king then looked at the blue bomber, “And what better show would be, than to eliminate you here and now.” 

Rock’s eyes widened at such a statement, he tried to struggle, but it was useless, in front of him, the Robot Masters prepared their weapons against him. He didn’t stand a chance if they all attacked him at once, he turned his head and locked gazes with Bass. The princess felt a pain in her core, the look begged her for help, but what the hell could she do without revealing herself? 

In the stands, Roll was about to run towards her robot brother to save him, but the human grabbed her arm to prevent it.

“No Roll, you can’t go, they’ll hurt you.” He whispered worried. 

"But we have to help Rock..." 

“I know, my girl. I know.” Doctor Light watched in horror as the Robot Masters surrounded his son. No matter what they tried, they would not be able to stop them in time. 

Wily held up a hand to give the signal and was about to give an order when a female voice interrupted him. 

“STOP!” 

Everyone turned to see Bass who was looking at them with indescribable anger, she made her way through the Robot Masters, the wolf growled defiantly at the Robot Master behind her, preventing them from approaching her partner, Rock could feel how Hard Man trembled slightly when he became the target of that furious gaze.  

“What the hell are you doing, Bass?” The king demanded, but the princess was undeterred. 

Bass glowered at him, “I think you’re forgetting something, Father.” She said angrily and pointed it at the blue bomber, “You forget this was the one who assaulted my transport me that day,” she turned to face the blue bomber, “So I’ll be the one to take care of him…” 

“Hmm, I think it’s a good idea..." The king began to say. 

"Tomorrow." Rock and the Robot Masters were flabbergasted at the statement. 

“WHAT?!” The king was furious. 

"I’ll take care of him tomorrow." She repeated crossing her arms. 

“Why the hell tomorrow?!” 

Bass glared at him, “Because I’m not feeling well today.” 

“Uh, my king?” Dust Man’s voice caught his attention, his voice sounded calm as usual, “Maybe it’s a good idea to let the princess have this freedom, it would be good for her if she was able to quench her combat desires.” 

The king growled and looked at his daughter, “Fine, I’ll let you have this chance,” He turned to his Robot Master, “Take him to the fortress and lock him up there.” He ordered, looking back at the princess, “Tomorrow, you’ll destroy him and I will have his head as a trophy.” Without waiting for an answer, he turned to leave. 

Rock was taken inside an armored truck, the crowd was dispersed thanks to the Robot Masters who made sure that no one was going to interrupt. Bass watched as the blue bomber was led away and when no one was looking, she breathed a sigh of relief and looked over at Treble who pressed her nose against her hand. 

‘That was close.’ She thought with slight relief, but she still had to come up with another plan to prevent her father from achieving his goal. Without saying a word, she headed towards the vehicle that would take her to the fortress. She would use that time to come up with a plan. 

Chapter Text

Bass observed that Mega Man was taken to one of the special cells as soon as they arrived at the fortress, one of her fears was happening, seeing the blue bomber being a prisoner like the many unfortunate humans in the dungeons. The special cells were separated from the rest of the humans and robots, reserved for those who had tried to betray the king and were locked up there before they were thrown in the dungeon.

Bomb Man, Metal Man, Hard Man and Knight Man escorted him to that cell, Dust Man and Burst Man stayed behind, the king sat on his throne, despite being somewhat annoyed that he had to wait for the next day, still had that smile of victory.

“Burst Man, prepare everything, tomorrow we’ll broadcast the destruction of that blue thief.” The blue and gold robot nodded and left the room, “Dust Man, go clean the courtyard, I want it clean by tomorrow.” Dust Man nodded and walked to the front door. Wily looked at his daughter and smiled evilly, “Tomorrow you’ll have the chance to show your incredible skills to the world, Bass. Rest well and be prepared.”

The princess reacted when she was mentioned and simply nodded, “Fine, then I’ll go to my room.” She said quickly and went to the corridors, leaving her father there.

As soon as the door closed, she began to run quickly to her room, she slammed it open and entered. Bass went directly to her window and carefully observed the fortress. Unlike other times she did it out of boredom, she now carefully studied the terrain.

Mega Man’s cell was separate and near the entrance, but also right in front of it was the building where the Robot Masters who were in the city resided, which right now, were the majority. The huge courtyard had nothing but open space, it was impossible to try to hide behind anything, also too far apart to try to pass off Mega Man as any captive to get behind the human jails.

She hit the window frame in frustration, there was no way she was going to get Mega Man out without being seen, even if they had a chance to run to the exit, they wouldn’t be able to outrun Quick Man or Turbo Man so easily. She frowned, trying to think of different possibilities, even if she cover him with a sheet or took off his blue armor, they already knew his civilian appearance.

“Damn it!” She exclaimed angrily, if she didn’t get Mega Man out of there, she wouldn’t have a chance to do it the next day, even with her help, they would still have problems with all the Robot Masters at the same time.

The wolf approached her, she whimpered slightly before pressing her head against one of her hands, trying to comfort the princess. Bass let out a sigh and patted her head gently and continued to look out her window, she could see Dust Man cleaning the huge courtyard alone. Some Robot Masters were doing guard duty around.

“There’s no way, Treble. The only way for him to escape is if they can’t see him.” Bass mentioned in frustration. How could she get Mega Man out under everyone noses? She stared at the courtyard for a moment, when she suddenly had an idea, “Under their noses! That’s it!” She cracked a smile, “I think I’ve got it! But we’ll need help.”

Bass turned to her desk and searched almost desperately for something in the drawers. The girl took out a piece of paper and a marker, she wrote something quickly and turned to see the wolf.

“Treble!” The wolf barked, “Quick, go to Dust Man and give him this. I’ll meet you at the back of the fortress by the containers, come on girl, hurry.”

The cyber-wolf howled and took the piece of paper between her teeth and ran out of the room. Bass made sure that there was no one in the corridors and quickly went to the opposite direction.

Dust Man was doing his job, using the ventilation in his head to suck up the trash and debris that might be there, it was pretty dirty, so he had a lot of work to do.

When he heard rushing footsteps towards him, he barely had time to turn around when the purple cyber-wolf was at his side growling slightly. Dust Man usually didn’t paid attention to the wolf, but something caught his attention. The note in her muzzle. Treble dropped the paper on the floor for him to pick up, then ran away at a brisk pace.

Dust Man looked really confused and bent down to take the note that said ‘Containers, now.’ He didn’t need to know the sender if the companion of the princess sent him a note. Luckily for him, he had enough trash to not arouse suspicion, he sucked on the note before looking around, no one seemed to be paying attention to him, so he walked calmly.

When the blue robot arrived at his destination, he did not see anyone, but when he went behind the huge container, he realized that the princess and the wolf were there.

The princess looked at him impatiently. “Why did you take so long?”

Dust Man ignored the comment and bowed slightly, “Good afternoon, princess. How can I help?”

Bass narrowed her eyes at him and huffed, “First of all, I want to know something.” She took a breath. “Why did you help me convince Father?” She asked directly. The Robot Master looked surprised, “Father wouldn’t have agreed to all of this if you hadn’t said anything. Why did you help me?”

There was a short silence before the Robot Master sighed slightly.

“I saw how you looked at him.” Dust Man sincerely answered, she blinked confused, “The way you looked and smiled at Mega Man during the competition, it’s the same longing and affection I look at Splash Woman.” Now it was Bass’ turn to be speechless, a blush appearing on her cheeks. “You’re in love with him. Don’t you?”

Bass looked away and balled her hand into a fist, resting it on the gem on his chest, her core pulsed violently. “Does anyone else know?”

“I don’t know, it’s unlikely.”

There was a short silence, Bass looked back at the Robot Master, “In that case, you already know what I want.” She said decisively, “I have to get Mega Man out of here before tomorrow and prevent him from being destroyed, if I don’t do it, Father will.” She looked at him pleadingly, “I need your help.”

Dust Man looked at her for a few seconds and then bowed again, “I’ll do what I can, princess. But that isn’t an easy task. Do you have a plan?”

She looked around, they were all alone, “Only one, but I also need Splash Woman’s help.”

The Robot Master seemed to smile, “I’m sure she’ll be happy to help, just tell us what we can help with.”

The princess smiled with relief and looked at Treble to approach Dust Man and explain her plan, “Okay, first we’ll wait until late night. I need you to tell Splash Woman to distract Bubble Man, Wave Man, Pump Man and Dive Man with her singing.” Dust Man nodded.

The night had fallen on the fortress, as usual, the Robot Masters were doing their nightly rounds around the fortress. Luckily, thick clouds covered the moon that night, making it even darker a bit more difficult to see in the dark.

The princess peeked out of her window and noticing that the few Robot Masters that could fly were nowhere in sight, her only worry right now was Shade Man, who’s the only one who could hear her. If she was lucky, he was guarding the back of the fortress. Bass took one of her dark purple sheets and hid it in the compartment of her arm.

“It’s time, Treble.” The wolf nodded and jumped onto her back and turned into wings. Bass looked down for a second, they were really high, the last time they tried to use their enhancements didn’t end well, if the wings failed again, she would make a lot of noise when she land on the ground and it will compromise the plan.

“The enhancements are supposed to be complete. Are you ready, Treble?” Bass asked the wolf, an affirmative howl was heard. The princess then decisively jumped out of her window.

They fell for a few seconds before the wings activated and their thrusters prevented their fall, soon they were floating in the air, the princess smiled, ‘Great!’ She thought victoriously, without much thought, she went to the jail where her beloved was.

They landed on the roof at the back of the small jail, she and Treble separated and then she looked around, Dust Man was not far from there, ready to do take his place. Guarding the back door, was Cut Man who seemed bored in his place.

The princess looked at the cyber-wolf and whispered, “Now Treble.”

The wolf jumped from the roof to land on the other side of the special jail, approaching Cut Man and growling menacingly at him, the scissor-wielding Robot Master stepped back nervously.

“Ah! Such pretty wolf, nice wolf.” He said terrified, taking slow steps back, Treble growled menacingly at him before lounge at him. Cut Man gasped and ran off in a panic, only to run into Dust Man. “Dust! Help!”

“What’s wrong?” He asked in a calm tone the blue Robot Master.

“The princess’ beast! She has gone crazy!” She pointed at the wolf who was looking at him menacingly.

“Ah, yes, if I remember correctly, the wolf buried something around here, I think she doesn’t appreciate that you’re here.” Said Dust Man, Cut Man used the bigger Robot Master as a shield when the purple wolf growled at him again.

“She’s crazy!” Cut Man squealed, Treble barked angrily at him.

Dust Man rolled his eyes, “Don’t be such a coward, if you prefer, I’ll take your place until she leaves.”

Cut Man looked at him excitedly, “Really?! That’s great! Thank you!” He said before running out of there.

When he was gone, Dust looked up to the ceiling as Treble sat there wagging her tail, “All clear, princess.”

Bass nodded, hung from the roof to the small window near the ceiling to open it and aimed at the security camera of the place and shot it, destroying it. Dust Man and Treble stayed at the entrance when the princess entered, now it was just for the princess to get the blue thief out. He pressed a button on his hearing receptor.

“Love, the princess has entered. It’s your turn.”

“Got it, dearie.” The voice of Splash Woman answered him.

The princess entered the small jail, which had only eight cells, she took a key in the wall and opened the prisoner’s cell. Mega Man was chained to the wall by his wrists with stasis cuffs that prevented him from firing his buster, while he dangled slightly from the ground to prevent him from making any suspicious movements.

She frowned at him, “Damn you, look what you’re making me do.”

The voice took him by surprise, the blue bomber opened his eyes and despite the furious look directed at him, he couldn’t help but smile, “Hello, it’s nice to see you, princess.”

The princess walked over to him as she switched her hand to a buster and glared at him. “You’re an idiot, Mega Man. How did you get caught so easily?” She complained.

The blue-eyed robot looked at her exhausted, “I guess I was careless.” The girl charged her attack and with two single shots, the stasis cuffs broke. He fell to the ground at her feet and rubbed his wrists lightly before looking up at the black and gold armored robot with a slight smile, “Thank you.”

She snorted. “Why are you so naive, Mega Man?” The princess told him before stopping in front of him.

Both robots looked into each other’s eyes for a second before they both joined their lips in an intense kiss. She grabbed him by the shoulders to keep him close, he moved his hands to her back and hugged her tightly, catching her in a sweet grip.

Their kiss became desperate, the princess felt the thief’s wet tongue on her lips, she was unable to repress a slight moan, which let the blue robot introduce his tongue into her mouth. Both wet organs fought against the another to savor each other as much as they could, the tranquility of the night allowed them to forget about their problems for a second while they both devoured each other lovingly and unbridled.

Soon, their systems alerted of overheating due to lack of ventilation, so they had to separate to breathe, although they only separated a few centimeters from each other, looking at each other intensely with narrowed eyes and hot cheeks, a thin thread of saliva kept connecting them indirectly as they caught their breath.

They didn’t say anything, it wasn’t necessary, those sapphires and rubies said more than a thousand words, the intense affection reflected in their eyes was worth more than a hundred confessions of love.

The princess and the thief pressed their foreheads against each other as they closed their eyes and smiled slightly at each other, they did not want this moment to ever end.

Bass leaned against the cell wall right where he had previously been chained and Mega Man pinned her against the cold wall, holding her hips to pull her as close as he could, his head rested on her shoulders and his face against her neck. Bass sighed happily and hugged him, with one hand on his back to prevent him from separating and the other on his nape, lightly caressing his blue helmet.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, the silence was interrupted by distant footsteps of the Robot Masters patrolling in the distance, for the moment they were safe, but it wouldn’t last long. The princess looked up, and she realized that the sun would rise soon.

“There isn’t much time, it’s going to be dawn soon.” The princess’ words took the blue bomber's attention, “We must hurry, Father is going to destroy you tomorrow morning and broadcast it to the entire city, you must get out from the fortress before everything starts.”

“Princess... What about you?” He asked worriedly and separated from her to look into her eyes, “What if they find out that you set me free?”

Bass pressed her hand against his cheek gently, “Don’t worry about trifles, my dearest.” She looked at him with a slight smile, “You must get out of here as soon as possible.”

The blue bomber shook his head, “There are many Robot Masters, I won’t be able to beat them all.”

Bass smiled slightly, “Don’t worry about them, I have a plan.”

They both separated, the princess peeked into the hallway of the small jail before she signaled to the blue bomber. He followed her and they walked to what appeared to be a small drain in the floor. She took it and a single yank was enough to take it from its place.

“This way, hurry up.” Bass hastily told him, the blue bomber jumped in the hole and landed in a sewer. The princess jumped as well, dropping the slit to cover her escape and landing next to him before grabbing his hand, “Wave Man, Pump Man, Dive Man and Bubble Man are in charge of the sewers. But I got some help, they shouldn’t be around, still, we must be cautious and don’t make noise just in case.” The blue robot nodded.

Both robots ran through the sewers of the Fortress holding hands, they could hear through the drains the movement of the many Robot Masters guarding the fortress. King Wily had planned his retention very well. He just never planned that his daughter would fall for the thief he was trying to destroy.

Bass led Mega Man through the sewers, she had only visited them a couple of times, but the sketch of it was still in her memory. After fifteen minutes, they reached the end of the sewer, there was a big metal slit blocking the exit, the princess kicked it, but it didn’t work.

Mega Man put a hand on her shoulder, “Let me try.” He said and then charged his buster and launched the charged attack, the slit fell. They looked at each other and Mega Man walked through the exit first, on the other side was the forest that separated the city from the fortress. Bass followed him and placed a hand on his shoulder, he looked at her.

The princess took out the blanket from her storage and wrapped the dark purple sheet around his body, “Hurry up, I have no idea if there will be anyone surrounding the forest, but you’d better hurry.” He nodded, holding the blanket against him.

They gave each other a sweet goodbye hug and put their foreheads together.

“We will meet again, princess.” Mega Man said with a slight smile.

“It better not be the same way.” Bass smiled and they looked into each other’s eyes, there was a mixture of relief and sadness in them, she knew that they would be unable to have contact again for a long time after this. “Now go. And this time, don’t get caught.”

The blue-eyed boy smiled, “It’s a promise.”

The princess and the thief joined their lips once again, giving each other a last goodbye kiss, hugging each other tightly. They stared at each other’s eyes one last time until they finally separated.

The blue bomber walked ahead, stopped a few steps to look at her and smiled, “Thank you.” Mega Man sped through woods back toward the city. It would be dawn soon, and he had to get home before anyone could see him. As he ran, he took off his armor to avoid being so easily recognized and held on to the sheet as if it were a cloak.

“Goodbye, my love.” Bass said as she watched him leave with a slight smile before turning and going back the way she had come, if she was lucky, they wouldn’t notice Mega Man’s absence for at least another couple of hours, so she had to hurry.

Unbeknownst to both of them, someone was watching them from a tower just above the sewer’s exit. The sound of the sewer grate being hit drew his attention and saw the blue robot walk out. He was about to alert that the prisoner was escaping but stopped short when he saw the princess with him. He rubbed his eyes as if he didn’t believe his eyes.

“It can’t be.” He whispered to himself before he activated his ultra-echo ability to hear them.

He watched them for a few seconds when the princess and the thief were hugging, he had never seen the princess so happy as she was at that moment. But what surprised him was that right after they were kissing. That made things clear. The thief ran away at full speed while the princess returned through the sewers.

“Interesting. It seems our princess has her own interests.” Shade Man whispered to himself, spread his wings and took flight.

Chapter Text

The sun was already peeking out from the east, bathing the impressive Mega City with its light and heat, however, it was not a good start to the day for everyone, since sleep had been impossible to achieve in a house.

“We have to do something!” Roll exclaimed with her big blue eyes filled with tears. “We can’t just sit here and do nothing.”

Her creator, Doctor Light, and her brother Blues have been arguing all night about what they could do to save Rock from Wily’s clutches, but so far nothing has occurred to them, they had not realized that the sun was already come out.

“Roll, there’s nothing we can do!” The brown-haired robot said, frowning deeply. “We can’t just sneak into that old tyrant’s fortress and rescue Rock! It’s not so simple.”

“But…” Roll began to say but felt a hand on her shoulder.

Doctor Light looked at her sadly and shook his head, tired eyes showing that he had already cried for hours, “Roll, my little girl. We can’t do anything to help Rock.”

Roll sobbed and turned away, she couldn’t bear the thought that her little brother will be imprisoned forever, or worse yet, killed. Judging by his actions against the king, that was most likely going to happen.

“The only way for Rock to escape is through some kind of miracle.” Blues said defeated.

There was silence in the room, until suddenly, the front door burst open, everyone jumped surprised and turned to face who had just entered. The human and the robots gasped as a short figure covered in a dark purple sheet stood there. Before anyone made a move, the figure removed the cloth, revealing a young robot with black hair and sky-blue eyes.

“ROCK!” Everyone exclaimed at the same time.

“Roll, Blues, Doctor!” The young robot smiled excitedly, only to be immediately tackled by his faithful dog, “Rush!” He hugged him and stroked his head lovingly, the red canine licked his cheek, “I missed you too buddy.”

The blonde girl didn’t wait another second to run and hug him tightly, the boy chuckled and returned the gesture happily. “Rock! Oh Rock! I was so worried!” She sobbed in his arms and the youngest robot patted her on the back to comfort her.

Doctor Light also joined the hug, crying once again, “My son, I’m so glad you escaped!”

Rock smiled and nodded, “I’m really sorry for worrying you.” He apologized, the three separated and closed the front door, he turned to see Blues walk to him.

The youngest robot looked at his brother, at first, they looked at each other seriously, but the blue-eyed man softened his expression and extended his hand to him, “It’s good to see you, big brother.”

Blues smiled too and took his hand, “I’m also glad to see you safe and sound, little brother.” Then his black eyes blinked in confusion, “But how did you manage to escape?”

Rock gently stroked the sheet, “I had a little help.”

Blues crossed his arms, “Rock, this is a serious matter, you can’t keep hiding everything from us, tell us the whole truth.”

Rock looked at his family nervously, unsure how they would take it, “It’s a long story.” Everyone sat in the living room and paid full attention, “It all started a week after Blues and I robbed the princess’ vehicle...”

There was a dead silence, only the clicking sounds of nervous blinking or the breathing of those present could be heard. Unlike other times when she didn’t care about his reaction, Bass glanced nervously at her father out of the corner of her eye, knowing full well that this wouldn’t end well.

“How?”

King Wily’s voice was calm at first, causing all the Robot Masters present to gulp. Bass quickly spotted Dust Man and Splash Woman in a corner of the throne room. She was relieved that they were at least safe from suspicion.

“How did he managed to ESCAPE?” His voice slowly became louder and angrier, he hit the throne with his fists so hard that he probably hurt himself, but he didn’t care. “WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?!”

Bass flinched at his tone, he had been furious before, but this time it was on another level, Treble gave a whimper before hiding behind her companion’s throne. 

“M-my king, we guarded all points ordered, we have no idea how he could…” Quick Man stopped short when the human raised a hand to silence him.

Wily looked at them all with a frown. “How can you all be so USELESS?!”

They trembled and fell silent, the king’s anger only increased, but before he could say anything else, another Robot Master entered the throne room, this one was Snake Man, Bass looked nervously as he carried a metallic slit with him.

“King Wily! I found this in the special jail.” The green Robot Master said and held up the object, “The slit was loose, he could have used the sewers to escape.” He said nervously.

“This is unacceptable! I want those responsible for last night’s guarding the sewers! The ones who oversaw the towers as well!” Snake Man gave a salute and ran out of there, the king turned at those who were still there, “All of you! Get out of my sight, go find that damn thief, bring him back immediately! And arrest whoever is hiding him!”

The princess looked at the Robot Masters who were leaving, Splash and Dust left too to avoid suspicion, they had no intention of getting more involved than necessary. The king was grunting under his breath something inaudible, Bass was unsure whether to say something or not, the last thing she wanted was for him to question her about anything.

A few minutes later, Bubble Man, Pump Man, Wave Man, Cut Man, Spark Man, Elec Man, and Shade Man entered the room. Bass watched them carefully in silence, her main concern was seeing Shade Man there.

“Report from last night! How did Mega Man manage to escape? What were you doing last night?”

Bass couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for the aquatic Robot Masters, Splash Woman’s singing disoriented the robots near her, so they most likely didn’t even know what happened during that period she sang.

“Speak! That damned blue thief used the sewers to escape! I want an explanation, now!”

Wave Man was on the verge of tears. “M-my king, we didn’t see anything.”

“HOW DID YOU NOT SEE ANYTHING?!” He screamed and everyone shook. He looked at another robot, “Special jail door!” Wily pointed at Cut Man, who shook his head desperately, unable to speak out of fear, the human growled, “Sewer in the rear left!”

Elec Man swallowed before shaking his head, “Nothing on that side.”

“Sewer through the right rear!”

Spark Man trembled in his place, “There-there was no mo-movement.”

“Front sewer!”

Bass felt her core stop for a brief second, Shade Man is the next to answer, that was close to the sewer end that she and Mega Man had come out, the other Robot Masters couldn’t have seen them in the dark, however, the bat-like robot Master was made to see and hear in the night perfectly, he surely could have seen them. Shade Man took a second for his gaze to meet hers, he could see her desperation and then he finally shook his head.

“Nothing, your majesty.” The vampire-like robot lowered his head.

The princess was speechless for a moment at his response. He really didn’t saw them?

“UNACCEPTABLE!” The king’s furious voice made them jump, “You all will be punished for your incompetence!” He took out a small device with a speaker on it and pressed a button, “Hard Man, Guts Man, Stone Man, come here and take these useless pieces of metal to the special jail!” He ordered furiously.

Bass’ sight focused on Shade Man, a feeling of anxiety bubbled inside her, as if waiting for him to say something to save himself from being punished, however, it didn’t happen, he just stayed silent. The Robot Masters entered through the main door and prepared to escort the seven unfortunate robots that were the target of the king at that moment.

Bass turned to look at the human, “Father, calm down, maybe you should...”

Wily glared at her, “Not a word! This is all your fault!”

Bass flinched, widening her eyes surprised, “Mine?!”

The king stood up and clenched his fists, “If you had let me destroy that damn nuisance during the competition, he wouldn’t be alive anymore.”

The princess glared at him, ‘That was the point.’ She thought bitterly and decided to continue the discussion. “You can’t blame me for this!” Technically he can, but he didn't knew that.

Wily pointed at her, “I don’t care! You can’t leave the fortress until further notice! In fact, you’ll stay in your room until I say so!”

Bass stood up from her throne, frowning, “You can’t punish me like that!”

“Would you rather go to jail with the rest of them?” He pointed to the Robot Masters who were standing there in shock, it was the first time they saw them argue like that.

The princess glared at him, “You’re being unfair!”

“I said go to your room!” He yelled and pointed to the hallways, “And don’t even think about escaping or it will be worse for you!”

Bass wanted to argue, but she simply turned to leave, her wolf followed closely with her ears and tail low at the noise, the princess reluctantly left the room, slamming the door to the hallway that led to her room.

The king took out his device again, “Crystal Man, come here now.” He ordered and sat on his throne, a grim expression filling his face, “Enjoy your moments of freedom, Mega Man, because there won’t be many.”

Once the princess entered her room, she looked out the window, observing that many Robot Masters were rushing to leave for Mega City, she closed the curtains and sat on her bed. Treble jumped into the mattress at her side and the black armored female hugged her gently.

“Sorry for dragging you into this, Treble.” Bass whispered to the female wolf, the cyber-lupine licked her cheek, “But... at least he’s safe.” She sighed in relief. “And I hope he stays that way.” Treble leaned into her lap and offered comfort. “Rock, please don’t get caught again.” She whispered and lay down on the bed.

She closed her eyes and placed her fingers on her lips, remembering those sweet kisses that she had been able to share with the blue bomber last night, she had never felt something so wonderful before. All she wanted was to kiss him again, a few thousand times more.

A bitter smile appeared on her face as that would be impossible, because she couldn’t see Mega Man again, not if she wanted him to be safe.

“Oh Rock, I love you. How can I forget you now?” She sighed sadly, it felt like her feelings for him only grew when he wasn’t near her. Hugging the female wolf, she decided to sleep the rest of the morning.

“As we came out of the sewers, we said goodbye and she gave me this sheet to cover myself, I hurried back home and here I am. And that’s how I escaped.”

Roll, Doctor Light and Blues seemed quite surprised, although Blues had already caught Rock with the princess, he didn’t expect that he had been seeing the princess for longer.

“Rock, why didn’t you say anything? I wouldn’t have made you work knowing you needed to rest.” Doctor Light said empathetically, placing a hand on his youngest robot’s shoulder, “At least you could tell us that you saw someone at night.”

The blue-eyed boy sighed and looked guiltily at his family, “I’m so sorry for lying. I never wanted to do it, but… I was afraid of what you all would think of Princess Bass. Everything happened spontaneously and very quickly.”

Roll put a hand on her chest, “Oh Rock, I understand you may have felt intimidated, but we are your family, we are here to support you.”

The blue bomber looked down, feeling even more guilty, “I’m sorry, I won’t keep secrets again.”

“And what a secret you were carrying, little brother.” Blues took the dark purple sheet in his hands, “After what happened at the competition, I wouldn’t believe she helped you. But seeing this… it clearly belongs to her.” He showed the sheet.

The sheet had a woven embroidery of an elegant ‘W’ , it was clearly the sign of King Wily. Rock ran his fingers over the embroidered lettering and smiled sweetly. “She did everything she could to save me, princess Bass is the most wonderful robot.”

“I never thought my little brother would have a princess as a girlfriend! You’re so lucky, Rock!” Roll said with a soft smile, the black-haired boy blushed slightly.

Doctor Light gave a soft sigh of relief, “Rock, I understand your feelings, but things can get very tense now. It won’t be a good idea for you to go out, not even at night, you can’t risk yourself by seeing the princess anytime soon, nor even go stealing to help others.” He ordered, the younger one nodded, “We should be prepared for whatever the king has prepared, he will be desperately searching for you.”

Rock looked down embarrassed, “This is all my fault, Blues tried to warn me about the competition… but I wouldn’t listen. I’m sorry.”

Blues sighed, “Don’t blame yourself like that, I wasn’t the kindest either, besides, if you insulted a partner of mine like that, I would have punched you in the face.”

Rock gave a soft chuckle and nodded. He knew it was Blues’ way of apologizing for what he had said earlier.

“For now, go to your room and rest, my son. We will see what we can do to fix this matter.” The scientist said, Rock nodded and got up from the couch to go to his room, Rush followed him and they both disappeared upstairs, they waited until they heard a door close.

“Doctor, what are we going to do now?” Roll asked worried.

“I will take care of getting what is necessary for the taxes.” Blues said crossing his arms.

The scientist shook his head, “No, it is too risky to make any move now. Rock has miraculously escaped from the fortress, I doubt any of us will be so lucky.” Doctor Light stroked his white beard, “Besides, I’m sure the king won’t sit idly, he’ll search like crazy for Rock until he finds him.”

“But we won’t have enough to pay this month’s fee.” Roll said worried.

Doctor Light nodded, “I know it will be difficult and we’ll have to manage it somehow, but I can’t let any of you get caught.”

“What about Rock?” Blues asked, pointing with his thumb at the stairs where his brother had gone, “Surely he will want to do something and sneak out to do things on his own anyway, just like he did to see the princess.”

“I’m afraid I can’t let him see the princess again,” Doctor Light sighed sadly, “I’ll keep Rock in home and occupied, but if he tries to escape, I’m afraid I’ll have to deactivate him for a short period of time.”

“But Rock and the princess love each other,” Roll said sadly, “Doctor, will you really deactivate him?”

“We can’t always be with those our hearts desire, Roll, the relationship of princess Bass and Rock is too risky to continue,” The human tried to get comfortable on the couch, “Don’t worry Roll, I will only deactivate Rock if he does something reckless again.”

They all nodded and decided to go and rest, they had been up all night, after all.

Upstairs, the black-haired robot clenched his fist as he stood in the beginning of the stairs, he had opened and closed the door to hear what his family had planned, ‘I knew they wouldn’t understand how much I love her.’ He silently went to his room with Rush and locked himself there. He sat on the bed and hugged his legs, guilt began to engulf his core, the reddish dog jumped on the bed and licked his hand.

“Oh Rush, I’m such a fool. This is all my fault, I can’t go out or help anyone, I won’t be able to see the princess for a long time and we don’t have enough money for the taxes.” He sighed sadly, “This doesn’t look good at all.”

Rush barked softly to encourage him, the young robot stroked his head and lay down on the bed while he looked at the ceiling absently, his partner lay down next to him to provide comfort.

“I just hope that tyrant king doesn’t find out that Princess Bass helped me escape, I don’t want to think about what he can do to her.” The sky-blue eyed robot mentioned worriedly.

Rush made a slight whimper and nuzzled him, the raven-haired robot gave a sigh, “I know worrying won’t fix anything, but I can’t help it, not when I’m responsible of all of this.”

Rock closed his eyes to prepare to rest and regain his energy, his thoughts were filled with memories of the princess and him sharing their love the night before, they would not be able to see each other anytime soon, but he refused to accept it was the last time he'll see her. He hoped he could taste her sweet, loving lips again soon

“Princess Bass, I love you, we’ll be together again soon, and no one will separate us again. I promise.” He whispered the oath with hope and with that warm feeling in his core, he fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter Text

Three days had passed since Mega Man escaped from the fortress of the tyrant King Wily, just as his creator had mentioned, things had become really tense. Many of the Robot Masters that were in the competition had left again, most likely It was to look for him in the nearby cities, however, those who were still in Mega City were roaming around the streets at almost all hours.

The tyrant ruler had not made public his escape, most likely because he didn’t want to tarnish his reputation, but in a way, Mega Man had died the day of the competition. The blue bomber couldn’t continue helping people, he spent his time hiding even in as a civilian, he couldn't even go out to his garden, nor did anyone see him when someone come home, he simply hid in a hidden room until they left.

“Rock.”

The human’s voice made him react, he had remained static for a few minutes while he continued holding the robot's nerve cables while his mind wandered, he was helping his creator to repair a robot.

“I’m sorry, doctor.” He apologized quietly, carefully, put the cable in its place and closed the compartment of the robot’s leg.

“You’re still worried about what happened, aren’t you?” The scientist said as he finished repairing the robot’s chest.

Rock looked away, “At any moment they’ll come, if we don’t have the money to pay them…”

“My son, I know you want to go out and do what you think is right. But as things are, you can’t do anything.”

Rock frowned, “Doctor, I know you care about me, but I can’t just stay here hiding and do nothing.”

Doctor Light gave a soft sigh walked towards him, the blue-eyed robot thought that his creator would scold him for raising his voice, instead, he put a hand on his shoulder.

“Please understand me, Rock. I don’t know if you will be able to measure the suffering it was to see how they took you that day, to think that I would never see you again. I felt so worried and devastated, I wasn’t sure if I could recover from that.” The young robot looked at him with wide eyes, the scientist offered him a small smile, “I love you so much, son, I would do anything for you, for Roll, for Blues. I’d go to the dungeon if it means protecting all of you .”

Rock’s expression turned sad, and tears fell from his sky-blue eyes. Without warning, he hugged his father tightly as he sobbed, apologizing over and over again. Doctor Light smiled and returned the hug, patting his back gently in a comforting gesture. A couple of minutes passed until Rock finally separated from his creator’s comforting embrace, he wiped away his tears.

“Don’t worry about it anymore, let’s get this robot up, you know what to do.” The scientist said, Rock nodded and went to a hidden closet in the laboratory, the human closed it by putting a code in a hidden keypad in the wall, it sealed the room for ten minutes from the inside, this with the intention of preventing Rock from open it if he wanted to be something impulsive. “Just ten minutes, son.”

The human walked to the large robot and then activated him again, it opened its deep blue eyes, the huge robot was robust, reddish with silver spikes and a saw on its head that simulated a mohican, the robot sat on the table.

“The analyzes indicate that everything is in order, how do you feel, Mr. Punk?” Doctor Light asked kindly.

The robot moved his right leg a few times and nodded, “Much better, Doc. Thanks.”

The scientist smiled, however, the door burst open and Roll entered running.

“Doctor!” Roll exclaimed.

“What’s wrong, Roll?” Doctor Light asked worriedly.

“They’re here!”

The human gasped and quickly walked out of the lab and into the main room. “Where is Blues?”

“He left to deliver the last errand, he hasn’t returned yet.” She replied, holding both her hands nervously.

Before they could say anything else, the door opened abruptly, Rush was lying on the living room rug, he jumped frightened when the Robot Masters of the tyrant king appeared at the door, they entered and threw everything in their path, throwing the sofa out of their way with a simple push.

“There he is.” Quick Man exclaimed as he pointed at the scientist.

“W-what’s happening?” The human said as another Robot Master, Tomahawk Man, grabbed his hands and handcuffed him, “Wait, it's not Tax Day yet.”

“You’re under arrest by order of the king.” Wind Man said, as he grabbed Roll with him and handcuffed her as well.

Rush barked angrily and lunged to bite them, Wind Man complained when he felt the teeth of the robotic dog, Shadow Man come over and kicked Rush with such strength that he hit the wall. Rush cried in pain.

“No! Rush!” Roll exclaimed worriedly, she tried to approach the dog, but Wind Man simply held her in place. “Let go of me, tyrant!”

The red robot came out of the laboratory upon hearing the scandal. Punk looked surprised to see the Robot Masters there. “What the heck is happening?”

“There’s another one!” Wind Man said pointing at Punk.

“Insolent, are you also involved?” Stone Man growled.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but if you want to fight, I’ll gladly fight you.” He said while taking out some saws from his hands, he prepared to throw them at them, but before they hit the huge robot, some Shadow Blades intercepted the attack. Before he could react, Stone Man subdued him, grabbing him from behind, “You bastard, let go of me.”

“Arrest him too!” Quick Man ordered, Shadow Man put some stasis handcuffs on him, which left the red robot without the strength to defend himself. “Check the house, he must be somewhere!”

The other Robot Masters nodded, Knight Man and Shadow Man went up to the rooms and rummaged through everything, but they didn't find anyone else. Snake Man entered the laboratory, checking around for any indication of a hiding place, however, the closet where Rock was hiding was very well hidden that not even Snake Man's Search Snakes were able to find the room.

“Nothing.” The three Robot Masters said to Quick Man.

The red Robot Master growled lowly, “Well, in that case we will take these three to the fortress, I’m sure he will appear soon.”

The Wily Robots left the house, taking the two robots and the human with them. When they were gone, Rush struggled to his feet and went to the lab, where Rock was desperately trying to get out of the hidden room.

Blues was returning from the errand Doctor Light asked him to deliver to a store. When he was about to arrive his home, he stopped for a moment to see a vehicle driving away from his house. He gasped when he saw that it was one of the king’s armored vehicles.

He ran as fast as he could, and to his horror, he found a mess in the main room. “Doctor! Roll! Rock!” He called his family, but no one answered, “It's not possible! Damn!” He yelled frustrated, then heard barking from the lab. “Rush.”

Without thinking twice, he headed to the next room, Rush was in front of the door to the hidden room, he pressed the button to open the door and Rock came out looking around desperately.

“Doctor! Roll!” Rock exclaimed anguished, his eyes fixed on his injured partner, “Rush! What did they do to you?” He knelt to check him but didn't seem to have anything serious.

“Rock, what happened?” The brown-haired robot asked.

The youngest looked at his brother, “Blues! They took them away! I couldn’t get out, I tried, they were looking for me, but I couldn’t get out, I tried.”

“Rock! Calm down, what happened?” Blues took him by the shoulders, the black-haired robot stopped for a moment before his eyes focused on the black ones of his brother.

“The Robot Masters took Roll, Doctor Light! Even Mr. Punk!” Rock exclaimed desperately. “I heard them, but I couldn't get out!”

Blues gritted his teeth angrily, he couldn't believe that they had taken his family, that damned tyrant had crossed the line.

“This is all my fault, damn it!” Rock pounded his fists on the ground, Rush licked his cheek to comfort him.

The brown-haired robot stood up and saw his shield in the corner, he walked towards it and took it, “Stop whining, Rock.” He told him coldly, surprising his brother. “We must go after them.” Rock looked at him stunned, “That damn old man already tried to get rid of you, he won’t take our father or sister.”

Rock watched him grab some things from the shelf, some blue E-Tanks. Rush stood up and barked affirmatively.

Blues put on his red armor and looked at his brother who was still on the ground, “That damn old man has tried to take everything we have from us, but I’m sick of lowering my head and letting him get away with it!” He said seriously, put on his yellow scarf and took another energy tank.

Rock gasped as his older brother tossed it to him, he took it in his hand and looked at Blues somewhat dazed.

“What do you say, Rock? Are you going to stay here and continue whining, or are you going to do something about it?” Blues said crossing his arms.

‘I would do anything for you, even go to the dungeon.’ Were the doctor’s words, but the truth was that Rock was also willing to do anything for his family. He stood up, made his blue armor appear and a look full of determination looked at the black-eyed man.

“Let’s do it.” The young robot said, all traces of doubt leaving his face.

Blues smiled and put on his sunglasses, “Good, that’s what I wanted to hear.”

Bass had been in her room for three days now, her stupid father wouldn’t let her out at all and when she tried to sneak out, she always found two Robot Masters guarding her door and another at her window, no matter how much she ordered them to let her go out, they didn’t obeyed.

The only thing she had to distract herself was her tablet, she spent the day staring at the photos that some news had published of the competition of Mega Man, although some were of him being captured. As she stared at one of him without his armor, she heard the thunderous noise of the truck entering the fortress. “Damn.” She cursed under her breath and quickly went to the window and opened the curtain, Treble also looked out next to her.

“What’s going on?” She asked the green Robot Master next to her window.

“Looks like they finally found him.” Gyro Man, who looked tired, responded.

“What?”

The Robot Master nodded, “The king said he had information about him from the contest, I guess they already found him.”

“It can't be.” She whispered, tensing as she watched the Robot Masters pull someone out of the vehicle, but she unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't see the blue bomber, but three completely different figures, “That's not Mega Man.”

Gyro Man shrugged, “Then they must be the ones hiding him.”

Bass observed that it was a human man with white hair and beard and two robots, a very tall red one with saws, a domestic robot with blonde hair, ‘So, that’s his family?’ She wondered, as they all walked to the throne room.

She quickly closed the curtains and turned to the door and tried to get out, but she ran into Star Man and Gravity Man at the door. Upon hearing movement, the star Robot Master turned to look at her.

“Get out of my way.” Bass ordered, glaring at him.

“I’m sorry princess. The king ordered us not to let you leave your room.” Star Man said crossing his arms, standing in front of her.

The princess clenched her fist and transformed her other hand into her buster, “I told you to get out of my way!” She roared, loaded her buster and shot him.

Star Man gasped in surprise and was thrown against the wall in front of the bedroom door, he grunted as he felt his back hit and watched as the princess hurried down the hallway.

“Not so fast!” Gravity Man exclaimed, extending a hand, the meter hand on his chest moved.

Bass gasped as she was suddenly unable to take another step and fell to the ground unceremoniously, the Gravity Hold keeping her in the floor, Treble tried to attack Gravity Man, but Star Man trapped the female wolf with his Star Crash.

“You bastard, let go of me.” She screamed angered and pushed her body to get up, she managed to get up slightly, but the red Robot Master increased the gravity on her, causing her to fall once again. “You... imbecile! Release me this instant!”

Gravity Man approached her and leaned down to look at her with some sympathy, “We are sorry princess, but King Wily has ordered us not to let you out. Please go back to your room.”

“Idiot, Mega Man’s family has been captured. The stupid old man won’t remember my punishment.” Bass replied disdainfully, Gravity Man gasped when she insulted the king, but he didn’t say anything either, he was sure that she was still furious for having punished her, something the king had never done before.

The princess pressed her hands against the floor once again and tried to get up, almost managing to get to her knees. Gravity Man increased his power, grimacing when he heard the princess’ servos protesting at the action.

“Damn it!”

The red Robot Master looked at Star Man who seemed hesitant, then looked at the princess again. “Listen princess, if you show up in the throne room, we’ll have a lot of problems.” Gravity Man said, before she yelled at him again, he continued, “But, if you promise not to enter and return unseen as soon as possible, I’ll let you go.”

With a lot of effort, she turned her head to look at him with some disbelief before barely nodding. She breathed a sigh of relief when she was released from the Gravity Hold and stood up from the ground, “Let’s go, Treble.” She ordered the wolf before hurrying off down the halls.

The female wolf barked, Star Man blinked and undid Star Crash so the lupine would follow her master, the yellowish Robot Master closed the door of the room.

“Are you sure about this, Gravity?” Star Man looked at the red robot.

Gravity Man sighed, “She wasn’t planning on giving up, if I increased my Gravity Hold any more, I would have destroyed her engines. It seems that the princess is very determined about this Mega Man.” He looked at him somewhat worried, “Besides, I think the king will be angrier if we harm the princess than letting her break a simple rule.” Gravity said as if it were the most logical thing, Star Man shrugged.

“I’ll blame you of everything if the king finds out about it.” He said as he leaned against the wall. Gravity Man simply nodded.

Bass ran towards the throne room and stayed at the door and Treble stood next to her, she heard voices coming from there and carefully opened the door a bit so they could hear and see. The princess kneeled to Treble, and she placed an index finger on her mouth as she pressed a button on the ear of the female wolf.

“We searched the whole house, but we didn’t find the thief, however, his accomplices were there.” Quick Man reported.

“Excellent. Let them in.” The king’s voice was heard, the princess’ core burning with fury as she heard his satisfied tone.

The doors to the throne room opened, revealing three handcuffed figures, being escorted by the other six Robot Masters charged with arresting Mega Man. The king’s expression changed from fury to surprise very quickly as they stood before him, only for him to smile evilly afterwards.

“Well, well, well, look who was behind all of this! Long time no see, ‘old friend’ ” The king said mockingly as he saw the scientist, saying the last words with disdain, ignoring the two robots that accompanied him, “I honestly didn’t believe you were capable of creating something halfway decent, Thomas.”

Doctor Light frowned, “And I never thought you would turn into something so despicable Albert.”

The Robot Masters around him pointed their weapons at him at the insult, but Wily simply laughed.

“You are jealous of my great wit and power.” He stood up from his throne and walked towards them, the blonde robot held her father’s arm as she looked afraid when the king inspected her with such disgust. “I see you are still making pathetic creations after all.” Then he looked at Punk, “Except this one, it doesn't look like one of yours.”

“Punk is not my creation, he was captured by your Robot Masters while I was repairing him, you can let him go.” Doctor Light said in a demanding tone.

The tyrant king waved a hand disinterestedly, “He has seen too much, the jail will be a good place for him to stay.” Punk growled and tried to free himself, but Stone Man threatened him so he wouldn’t move, Wily focused on the other human, “Where is he?” He asked angrily. Doctor Light only glared at him, “Speak!”

“I won’t tell you anything! Rock is my son and I will never give him to you!” Doctor Light said angrily.

The king looked at him for a moment before laughing out loud, “Your son?! Wow, you’re much dumber than I remembered, Thomas!” He said amused, then looked at him seriously, “Your pathetic creations are not your family, Thomas, they are robots, mere tools to get what we want, their only purpose is to obey and fulfill our wishes. They have no other use.”

The Robot Masters present looked at each other furtively, somewhat surprised by the harsh words of their creator. Bass clenched her teeth and fist in anger upon hearing those words, using all her will to not hit the wall and make noise, Treble growled low, feeling insulted as well.

The king glared at the scientist, “Now, I will give you another chance. Tell me where Mega Man is.”

Doctor Light shook his head, “Forget it! I’ll never tell you!”

Both humans looked at each other defiantly, after a few seconds, Wily turned to return to his throne, “As you wish, but don't think you can keep him hidden forever." He turned to look at him with disdain, “I will find him, and I will destroy him in front of you.” He threatened, Doctor Light clenched his fists in anger, “Lock him up in the special jail until Mega Man shows up,” He ordered while pointing at the human, then pointed at Punk and Roll, “And take those to the common robot jail with the others.”

The Robot Masters nodded and obeyed, Burst Man and Crystal Man looked at the king, the tyrant king rubbed his temples before sighing in annoyance.

“My king, what about the Robot Masters in the special jail?” Burst Man asked carefully, “They haven't received any fill-ups since they were locked up.”

“Leave them there, until Mega Man shows up, they won't get anything.” Wily said with annoyance.

Crystal Man blinked, “Are you sure about that, My King? That could cause an emergency deactivation and…” Crystal Man stopped as he saw the king’s look of anger.

"I don’t care! I want you to keep looking for that thief!” He ordered, losing his temper quickly.

“And Princess Bass? She has received her daily fill-ups, but she is still in her room.” Burst Man inquired. “She’s growing impatient of being enclosed.”

King Wily looked at them with annoyance, “I'll get rid of her punishment soon, for now, she’ll stay in her room.” He said annoyed, “However, if she tries to escape again, I’ll deactivate her temporarly.” He ordered, the two Robot Masters glanced at each other briefly before nodding, “Now get out of here and find Mega Man, now!”

Bass growled under her breath, she decided to leave quickly before they saw her, before going to her room, she quickly went to the reserves warehouse and took some E-Tanks and hid them in her compartment and went to her room without being seen.

Mega Man and Proto Man had tidying up the room. The brothers were on their couch discussing how they would enter the tyrant king’s fortress and rescue their family.

“Do you think you can remember the path of the sewers?” The red robot asked.

Mega Man sighed, “I'm sure I can remember, the path the princess showed me led directly to a special prison, I'm sure the king will lock Doctor Light there.”

Without warning, the front door was abruptly opened, Mega Man and Proto Man stood in a defensive position, thinking it would be the Robot Masters who had returned, however, two completely different robots stood at the door.

One of the robots is the same height as the blue bomber, he wore mostly gold armor with navy blue and a reddish gem on his chest, his helmet had three small spikes, one on each ear and the other on the top of his head. He carried a long golden spear and his green eyes looked around him with anger.

The other is a visibly taller robot with purple and black armor with gold trimmers, he has two ornaments on its forehead that looked like golden horns, on both wrists and shoulders it had protuberances that seemed to be busters, its glowing red eyes surveyed the room.

There was a silence in the room for a few moments, only Rush’ warning growls were being heard, until the one golden robot’s green eyes met Mega Man’s and pointed his index finger at him.

“You?! You’re the shorty who cheated in the competition!” He exclaimed.

“You’re the finalist of the competition.” Mega Man gasped in surprise, then frowned, “For the last time, I didn't cheat!”

The golden robot was about to say something, but the taller one put a hand on his shoulder as a sign for him to stop, “Calm down, Enker, we didn't come because you don't accept your defeat.”

Enker glared at the purple robot, “Shut up, Ballade!”

Proto Man approached them and looked at them suspiciously, “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

Before the shorter one spoke, the purple robot stepped forward, “My name is Ballade, this is my youngest brother Enker.” He said in a neutral voice, “During the afternoon of today, our brother come here to get some repairs, but he never returned.”

Mega Man gasped, “So, you are mister Punk’s family?” Ballade nodded and the blue-eyed robot looked away.

Proto Man sighed, “I’m afraid your brother was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” The other two robots looked at him expectantly, “Those damn Robot Masters came here and arrested my family, and they took your brother too.”

“What?” Enker exclaimed angrily, then looked at Mega Man, “You! This is all your fault, shorty.” Mega Man winced.

The purplish robot pulled him back, “Quiet, Enker.” The oldest hissed and looked seriously at Proto Man, “You mean the king arrested my younger brother for no reason?”

Proto Man nodded, “That’s right, he was looking for Mega Man, but he wasn’t here at the moment, they must have confused Punk as part of our family.”

Ballade’s reddish gaze flashed with anger, “I can’t believe it, it’s not enough for that stupid tyrant to take away our resources, now he’s taking my family as well.” He growled in disdain.

Enker said sulked, “We have to do something!”

Proto Man looked at them and nodded, “Listen, maybe we can help each other.” He said and took both their attention, “My brother and I are planning to rescue our sister and father, maybe we can help each other and also rescue your brother.”

Enker and Ballade looked at each other and the oldest one nodded, “What do you have in mind?”

“You might want to come in and have a seat. I will explain our plan to you.” Mega Man offered, sitting down in a chair.

The two new robots closed the front door and entered the house. Each robot filled with determination to save their families and maybe teaching that tyrant king to not mess with the wrong robots.

Chapter Text

The oppressive walls made her feel more and more claustrophobic with each passing minute, her blue eyes widened in terror as she saw the deplorable state of the robots imprisoned around her. The cells were not small, however, the large number of robots in each one made it feel small and insufficient, some robots weren’t even active due to their low energy and rested on the cold floor.

“This is terrible…” Roll whispered with a lump in her throat, she looked at her hands but couldn’t do much with the stasis cuffs preventing her from trying anything.

“Damn it.”

The complaint made her turn around, the large red robot was sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall, apparently the handcuffs were beginning to damage his wrists of how tight they were, the golden-haired robot couldn’t help but feel bad for him and got closer.

“Mr. Punk, are you okay?”

The red robot growled, “Yes, stay away.” Roll cautiously tried to put her hands on his to see if she could help, but Punk moved abruptly, “Don’t touch me!”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Punk, I just want to help.”

Punk looked at her annoyed, “You and your family have done enough already.” He growled again, “If I hadn’t gone to that laboratory to get repaired, I wouldn’t be here.”

Roll looked down in shame, “I’m very sorry for what happened Mr. Punk, it was never our intention to affect you.” When she received no response, she figured it was best not to continue bothering the red robot.

As she walked away from Punk, she heard a faint whimper coming from a navy-blue robot, apparently the stasis cuffs were also harming his wrists. Feeling sympathy, she approached him and spoke softly.

“Are you okay?”

The navy-blue robot looked at her and whimpered miserably, “They’re too tight.”

Roll gently placed both hands on his, “Will you let me see?” When the other robot nodded, she inspected his wrists, “I know what to do, but I’ll need your help.” He blinked and she leaned in slightly, “Could you take one of my hair clips?”

Delicately, the male robot took the small black barrette, almost invisible in the girl’s golden hair, she took it and smiled slightly. 

“Okay, stay still.” With both hands, Roll used her barrette to insert it into a small hole and began to make some movements, “Don’t worry, I know a couple of tricks, you can’t imagine the number of robots that have come to Doctor Light's laboratory to remove stasis handcuffs.” She gave a sweet smile, which made the blue robot calm down, “Tell me, what’s your name? Have you been with handcuffs for a long time?”

“My name is Sky.” He answered, watching her work, some curious robots in the cell came to see, he sighed, “I’ve been here for almost two weeks.”

After a few movements, the handcuffs made a slight noise and were no longer so tight, “There, I can’t remove them without the key or the right tool, but at least I can adjust them right. How do you feel?”

“Much better, thank you so much miss.” Sky said gratefully.

“Hey! Can you help me too?” A green robot asked.

“Yes, and me!” Said another dark yellow robot.

“Me too please.” Asked another green robot.

Roll nodded, “Okay, but please, one at the time.”

Later, Roll had already helped almost everyone in the cell, relieved that she had used enough barrettes this morning. She had at least one left in perfect condition and turned the red robot around in the corner and walked towards him.

Punk was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice the domestic robot approaching him until she was almost in front of him, “Wha- what do you want?” He asked, trying to sound angry but failing.

“I’m really sorry for surprising you, but I have one barrette left…” She said, leaving mid-sentence.

The red robot looked at his wrists and then sighed before holding them up in front of her. Roll simply nodded and began to help him arrange them. There was silence between them until he spoke.

“I’m very sorry for being rude earlier.” He began with a slightly calmer voice, she nodded, “It’s just, I’m worried about my brothers.”

Roll looked at him with a smile, “Do you have siblings?”

He nodded, “Yes, two in fact. “I’m the middle one.”

The girl giggled, “I also have an older brother and a younger brother.”

Punk nodded slightly, “Hey, that’s something we have in common.”

After a few seconds, the handcuffs adjusted to their correct size and Roll inspected them, “It should be ready now, how do you feel about them, Mr. Punk?” She asked kindly and looked at him.

The cuffs were no longer hurting him, so he nodded, “Much better, thank you.”

Roll nodded with a sweet smile, just then, they heard a sound coming from the hallway, one of the Robot Masters walked in and checked everything was in order. The other prisoners tried not to look suspicious and simply tried to ignore the guard. Roll and Punk looked down so as not to raise suspicions, however, Dust Man didn’t seem to pay much attention to them and continued his way.

The blonde robot sighed in relief, “That was close,” Punk nodded, “I’ll go check on the others, if you need anything you can call me, Mr. Punk.” Saying that, he turned around to go to the other robots and check on his condition.

The red robot settled against the wall and watched her for a moment, ‘She’s really strong.’ He thought, impressed before looking around, the rest of the prisoners were starting to get a little restless. Punk closed his eyes so as not to start having pessimistic thoughts and decided to save some energy.

Bass was sitting on the bed whilst resting both arms on her knees, an expression of annoyance plastered on her face looking at nothing in specific. Once again, she pressed the button on Treble’s ear and a recording played, ‘They are robots, mere tools to get what we want, their only purpose is to obey and fulfill our wishes. They have no other use.’ The voice of her father made her clench her teeth, the female wolf growled at such words.

“Don’t pay attention to him, Treble, you are much more than that.” The princess said, caressing Treble’s head, which seemed to relax her slightly at the contact.

A knock on the door made her jump, she quickly made sure the energy tanks under the bed were not visible and looked at the door. “What?” She answered before sitting back on her bed. “Go away, don’t bother me!”

Despite her order, the door opened, the princess was about to transform her hand into her buster, but stopped when she saw it was none of the Robot Masters, but the king himself. There was an awkward but brief silence.

“All of you listen, I want you to leave us alone.” Wily ordered loudly, Gravity Man, Star Man were seen from the door, Gyro Man peeked from the window briefly before they all left. Treble growled angrily, to which the human raised a hand and ordered, “Go to the corner and stay still there.” Due to her programming, the female wolf obeyed, still glaring at the king.

Bass frowned at him as she watched the aging human step through the doorway and she crossed her arms, “What do you want?”

The king simply walked over to the bed and let out a sigh before speaking, “Wanted to see how you were.”

“Fed up.” She growled.

Wily rolled his eyes, “I know you’re eager to get out, I came to lift your punishment.”

Bass glared at him, “Yeah, the punishment you gave me for NOTHING!”

“Don’t raise your voice at me, you brat!” He scolded her, pointing his finger at her.

“I’ll do whatever I want! Stupid old man!” The princess stood up, looking defiantly at her father.

Wily seemed to get angrier, “I won’t allow you to disrespect me, Bass!”

“Oh really? I’m so scared.” She said sarcastically.

Her father’s gaze became serious and cold, “It’s your last warning. I will no longer tolerate your insolence!”

“Oh yeah? And what are you going to do to me, you stupid old man?” She growled, clenching her fists furiously.

“One more insolence and I will deactivate you, you spoiled brat.” The king told her in a stern tone.

Bass took a breath to answer, but she stopped and just crossed her arms and turned to avoid looking at him, ‘Stupid old man.’ She thought bitterly. She sat up on the bed with her back to him. “If you just came here to threaten me, then you can leave my room, Father.” She said the last word with disdain.

The king put a hand on his forehead and rubbed his temples, wondering why he programmed Bass with part of his personality. His little patience and Bass’ insolence were getting them nowhere.

“All right, listen, I know you’re mad, Bass. But you must understand, my daughter...”

The princess grunted reluctantly, interrupting him, “Ha! I’m your daughter now? I’m not your tool that does what you want?” She said angrily without turning to look at him.

The king stepped back slightly, “W-what? Who told you that stupidity?”

She turned her head slightly to direct a glare from her scarlet eye, “You just proved it to me.”

The human let out a frustrated sigh, “Don’t talk nonsense, you’re not a tool.” Seeing that she didn’t react, he continued, “Listen, maybe the other Robot Masters are, but you’re different, Bass.” The king said, sounding sincere.

“Hm, that’s why you punished me for no reason and just came to threaten me. What a great Father you are.” Bass growled, she knew better than push her luck and get deactivated, but she was angry.

Wily rubbed his temples again, sitting on the other side of the bed. “Listen, I was angry about what happened, but that doesn’t mean I hate you. You are my daughter. Do you think I’d call you like that if that weren’t the case? You wouldn’t be my princess, just my replacement.”

Bass slowly abandoned her posture and turned to look at him with some suspicion, the words still echoed in her memory that he considered her nothing more than a tool, although she felt that there was some truth in his words. Still, she bit back a growl as she remembered something just as important, ‘That doesn’t change the fact that you want to kill my Mega, you old bastard.’

Seeing her angry, he added, “Bass, don’t be naive, you are my greatest and best creation, I wouldn’t have given the title of heir to any useless Robot Master.” The tyrant king said and put his hand on her shoulder gently.

The princess looked at him for a few seconds and looked away, “All right, fine. I get it.” She looked at him again, “Does that mean I can go out now?”

Wily moved his hand away from her and gave a light sigh, “You can leave your room, but you know you can’t leave the fortress.”

Bass rolled her eyes, “I already know that.”

The human nodded slightly and turned to leave, but then turned to look at her again, “One more thing, don’t go near any of the prisons.”

“The prisons?” The princess raised an eyebrow, weird warning, she rarely approached the unfortunate people locked up.

Wily crossed his arms, “Let’s say that there are... some special prisoners there. So, I don’t want you wandering around them. Understood?”

‘Ah, that’s why.’ Bass had almost forgotten the matter of Mega Man’s locked up relatives was supposedly a secret, she only nodded.

The human seemed satisfied, “Good, most of the Robot Masters are looking for that thief Mega Man around the city, so there won’t be anyone who can escort you.”

Bass rolled her eyes but preferred not to argue with her father again. When Wily was about to walk out the door, ‘Maybe...’ She felt a small spark of hope in her core and spoke, “Father…” He stopped to look at her and turned around. She bit her lower lip before continuing, “After what happened in the competition, that thief is basically gone, even if he’s not literally dead, it’s like he is, and I don’t think he’ll appear again. Why continue to be obsessed with him?”

The king shook his head, “I will never forgive that stupid thief! He’s still out there somewhere and I won’t let him be free as if nothing had happened!”

Bass frowned, “But he’s not a nuisance anymore, everyone must think he’s dead already. Wasn’t that what you wanted?” She said, the king didn’t notice that her tone was more of a plea. “Isn’t it better to forget about Mega Man once and for all?” She swallowed, ‘Father, please...’

Bass’ hope died when she saw Wily frown and clench his fists, “Never! That damn blue mocked me for a long time! I won’t rest until I have his head as a trophy in my throne room! I will find him no matter where he’s hiding, besides, he won’t hide forever now that I have his...!” The king then fell silent so as not to talk too much, not knowing that Bass already knew, “No matter! Just don't go near the prisons.” Saying that, he left the room and closed the door before walking away.

Bass glared at the spot where her father had left, she clenched her fists and hit the bed angrily, shaking slightly with rage, “You bastard, you’ll never find him, I’ll make sure of that.” She whispered under her breath, then she peeked under the bed and took the E-tanks, Treble approached her and moaned lightly. The princess wiped the trail of angry tears from her eyes and patted the female wolf on the head, “Come on Treble, let’s visit the special prison.”

The wolf nodded and followed her partner to the window, jumped onto her back and turned into wings. Without hesitation, the princess jumped out of her window and used her thrusters to be suspended in the air, taking advantage of the fact that there was no Robot Master nearby. Her stupid father was losing his common sense because of that absurd obsession with catching Mega Man.

The princess girthed her teeth, “He won’t lay a finger on my beloved ever again. Not if I can prevent it.” She whispered to herself and flew to the special prison.

The night blanket covered the surroundings of King Wily’s enormous fortress. The bushes outside the fortress moved slightly before a red-helmeted head peeked out from the leafy bush, looking both ways a few times.

“All clear.” Proto Man said quietly before leaving the bushes, three more figures came out from nearby trees to stand next to the red robot. Rush jumped out of the bush and sniffed the environment and lowered his ears a little when he didn’t catch the scent of his wolf friend nearby. The red robot stroked his head to calm him down.

“I never thought I’d see the Fortress this close” Enker said looking at the huge fortress wall, they would need to fly to get through it, “It’s bigger than I imagined.”

“We should be quick. Where’s that sewer entrance?” Ballade asked as he looked around, holding a bag.

“This way, follow me.” Mega Man said and walked to the left side of the fortress, followed by the others.

They stopped in front of a huge sewer grate, Mega Man stared at it for a moment, since right there the princess and him had a goodbye kiss just a few days ago, he sighed slightly, ‘I know you risked a lot to save me, but I can’t leave Doctor Light to his fate. Forgive me Princess.’

“So, this is the sewer.” Ballade mumbled, looking at the grate carefully, he grabbed it and tried to pull it, it was firmly placed, “It seems pretty fixed, but it’s no match for my Ballade Cracker.” Saying this, he pointed his right arm at it.

Mega Man reacted to his words and gasped, “No, wait!” Ballade looked at him, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Do you have a better idea, shorty?” Enker asked, crossing his arms.

“If we use our busters, we’ll make noise, and we may alert someone. We don’t know how many Robot Masters are nearby.” Mega Man answered as he looked at the sewer grate.

Proto Man nodded, “You’re right Mega Man, the idea of entering from the sewers is to be stealthy, let’s try to remove it instead of destroying it.” Mega Man, Ballade and Enker nodded and firmly grabbed the bars to prepare to pull it, “Ready? On the count of three, one, two... THREE!”

The four of them pulled with all their strength on the grate that was firmly in place, although it moved slightly after the first seconds of effort. Seeing that it was working, the boys continued pulling it until it gave way.

“A little more.” Managed to say Ballade, at his words, they made a little more effort until the grate came loose from the walls that held it.

Enker and Mega Man moved out of the way to avoid being crushed and it made a hollow noise, there was more grass than concrete under it.

Enker peeked inside, it was way too dark, “This call for some light.” He said to his brother, who nodded.

Ballade opened the bag, inside they had three flashlights, had a couple of E-tanks and two tools they had brought from Doctor Light’s laboratory. Mega Man, Proto Man and Ballade took a flashlight each, the blue bomber looked up at one of the towers, hoping that there wasn’t a Robot Master who could see them at that moment.

“We better hurry up. Come on guys." The blue bomber said and the five of them went into the sewer.

Their feet echoed with each step they took through the sewers of Wily’s fortress, the flashlights only illuminated a few meters ahead of them, but enough to know where they were going.

After a few minutes, Mega Man stopped when he found that their path divided into four, he thought for a moment, looked left and right a few times, feeling disoriented for a moment. Rush made a slight whimper and pressed his nose against his hand.

“What’s wrong, Mega?” Proto Man asked.

There were several seconds of silence before he sighed, “I’m sorry, I don’t remember the path from here.” He said embarrassed.

“What?” The golden robot approached and grabbed him firmly, “You said you knew the way, you shorty idiot!”

“Enker!” Ballade scolded, but his younger brother ignored him. Rush barked angrily and Proto Man tried to silence him.

Mega Man frowned, “One of these paths leads to the prison I was captive, but it’s confusing. And stop calling me short, we’re the same height.” He said annoyed, took his hands and abruptly moved them away from him.

“Don’t bring me down to your level, shorty! My brother is in this mess because of you!” Enker accused, Mega Man frowned, he was fed up with the young robot’s attitude.

“I already told you it’s not my fault! The king is a despicable being!” The blue bomber glared at him and transformed his hand into a buster.

Enker reacted by pulling out his spear and twirling it a few times before pointing it at him, “Do you want to fight? Go ahead, shorty!”

They both looked at each other defiantly for a few moments, until a hand grabbed Enker’s shoulder and pulled him roughly against one of the sewer walls. The young robot grunted at the hit. He was about to insult, but stopped short when he met his older brother’s furious gaze.

“Enough, Enker!” Ballade said angrily, pressing him against the wall forcefully. “We don’t have time for your tantrums! You forgot we’re here for our brother? Lower a bit your head and cooperate!” He scolded him.

Enker flinched slightly at the tone of his oldest brother, he looked away in shame, Ballade is usually calm and understanding, every time he lost control, it meant he was dead serious.

Mega Man reacted when Proto Man stood in front of his brother, “Mega Man, that’s enough! We’re not supposed to draw attention to ourselves.”

Mega Man stepped back and looked down, he was about to apologize when a splash caught everyone’s attention, they immediately got into a defensive position, however, a strange melody was heard. The boys placed their hands on their hearing receptors and knelt on the floor because they were losing their balance due to the dizziness caused in their circuits.

“What’s going on?” Ballade managed to say.

It wasn’t that the voice was horrible, but it emitted a high frequency that drove their circuits crazy. The blue bomber managed to spot a bluish figure holding a trident approaching through the water, when the figure was very close, the singing stopped, but the five were still too disoriented to react.

“Intruders, I will deal with you quickly.” A female voice was heard and pointed the trident at the robots, but before launching her attack, she blinked as she recognized one, “Wait a second. You are… you are the thief that the princess helped.” She whispered.

Mega Man looked up, deducing that she was the help Bass had mentioned when she helped him escape. Without warning, his companions lunged at her, Proto Man took her left arm, Ballade her right, and Enker put the tip of his spear against her neck to prevent her from singing.

“Wait!” Mega Man said raising a hand.

“Robot Master!” Proto Man ordered, “Now you are going to help us.” Splash Woman only glared at him.

Enker’s golden spear moved closer to her neck, “Speak now, where are the prisoners?”

“Which ones, stupid male robots?” Splash Woman replied sarcastically.

“Answer us!” Ballade said.

Mega Man approached, “Guys, stop!” Everyone looked at him, and the blue robot slowly removed the spear from near her neck, “You are... the one who helped the princess?”

Splash Woman looked at him briefly, “I see that was a mistake.”

Mega Man looked at his companions pleadingly, “Friends, let her go, please. Trust me." Ballade and Proto Man looked at each other for a few moments and nodded to each other before releasing her, Enker looked at them suspiciously, “Please, we don’t want to hurt you. We just want to rescue our families.”

Splash Woman crossed her arms and looked at him, she had no attachment to these robots or the prisoners, but she did understand the feelings of affection and growled lightly, "Fine, but just this time." She said she and went into the water again. “You’re lucky the others aren’t in the fortress.” She then pointed to the left, “Over there is the special prison.” She pointed behind her, “That path go to the other prisons, there are two more, one for humans, and one for robots.”

The boys looked at each other and gathered in a circle to discuss some plan.

“If there’s a prison for every kind of prisoners, Punk is probably in robot prison.” Enker said.

“Our sister’s also a robot, she might be there too, however, Doctor Light is a human, he might be sent to the human prison.” Proto Man said thoughtfully.

“That could be a possibility, but assuming his evil, King Wily has surely sent Doctor Light to the special prison.” Mega Man said worriedly.

Ballade put a hand on his chin, “Perhaps the ideal thing would be to split up, she says there aren’t many Robot Masters around, if we split up and cover ground we can find our families quickly.” The others nodded.

“Well, I will go to the special prison, you go to the other prisons.” Mega Man said, and then looked at his dog, “Rush, go with them.”

“You will go alone?” His older brother asked.

The blue bomber nodded, “I was alone when I was held captive, that must be the special prison, which is relatively small and not guarded inside, I don’t think I need help. You guys go, if Doctor Light, Roll or Mr. Punk aren’t there, I’ll meet you.”

The boys broke up their circle and turned to see the Robot Master who was looking at them impatiently, Ballade nodded to the robot woman. “Please show us the way.”

She rolled her eyes, “Fine, but if you try something stupid, it won’t just me who you should worry about.” She said and turned around, “Follow me.”

Everyone nodded, Enker, Ballade, Proto Man and Rush followed the mer-bot who led them down the long hallway of the sewer. Mega Man grabbed a flashlight, and without hesitation, headed to the left path.

Each one walked with a determined step and with the hope that they will be able to save their loved ones before it is too late.