I'm not going to lie. It was really hard to stop playing with Rush after the presentation.

It was one of those feelings where you didn't realize you were missing something until you have it. Rush caught me completely off guard, and I finally knew what it felt like to have a dog. It's not bad.

Heat Man collaborated with me in our efforts to whittle down Rush's boundless enthusiasm. He behaved very much like a dog, but his mechanical makeup made playtime last a lot longer. The two of us would pet him, toss him lug nuts and wrenches, and hold him down whenever he tried to play a little too hard with a random bystander.

As we prepared to leave, I could barely take my eyes off of him. Despite the added responsibility I was already experiencing, I couldn't get over just how great he was.

I did, however, look away when I heard Dr. Cossack's voice. "Congratulations, Thomas! Very well done!"

Dr. Light smiled widely and turned toward his fellow scientist. "Thank you very much, Mikhail." He looked around at the now withdrawn curtain, and the robots standing stiffly and obediently, only moving when engaging with visitors. "And I can see you're doing quite well yourself."

The doctor turned around and beheld his display. "Yes. I'm quite proud of it. Of them."

Dr. Light turned and guided Heat Man between the two. "And perhaps you would like to formally meet some of my robots, as well? This is Heat Man, as you might recall. Fully reprogrammed to remove Wily's influence."

The robot waved sheepishly, and Cossack nodded and knelt down beside him. He began looking around his small body. "Fascinating. He produces such an uncanny amount of heat in this small stature..." He looked Heat Man in the eye. "You know, much of the inspiration for my Bright Man came from your design."

The comment seemed to please him. "R-really?"

Ice Man, a little overeager, stepped between them. "Ice Man! Arctic exploration and cryogenic study robot!" He stood tall in a salute. "At your service, sir."

Cossack chuckled a little. "I see."

Light turned around with a wave as he said, "And of course, there's Flash..." He stopped when he realized the robot in question was not there.

Heat Man spoke up. "By the way, um, Flash Man wanted me to tell you he'd be waiting outside."

"Huh." Dr. Light turned to his compatriot and shrugged. "We're still working on him. And of course, the robot of the hour." He pointed down at Rush, who seemed to have just noticed that there was someone else around. He looked up at Cossack and sniffed. He frowned a little, and got up on all fours.

The doctor reached down towards Rush, but the dog withdrew from him, giving a very faint growl. Curious, I knelt beside him and rubbed the back of his head. "What's wrong, boy?"

Dr. Light rubbed his chin. "How odd. He shouldn't have any sort of opposition to meeting you."

"Yes, I...I can't imagine why." Cossack seemed to sweat just a little.

Regardless, Light snapped his fingers in realization. "Of course. I used an aroma-based system to aid in determining what he likes and doesn't like. I had to rush it to finish for the presentation, so he probably smells something on you that's in the 'bad' category. Perhaps the wrong deodorant or something."

"Okay." I nodded, though I was now reminded of our earlier interaction with the doctor. "That must be it." I guided Rush to Heat Man to bring him back to a more relaxed state.

"Well, regardless, it's very impressive, Thomas." Cossack straightened out his coat as he spoke. "It's no wonder you've come this far."

"I'm flattered. Best of luck to you, friend."

The two shook hands, and we went our separate ways. While we walked, I couldn't help but glance back. I noticed that the curtain had actually been moved to the side of Cossack's display, and there still seemed to be something behind it. I also finally realized that only seven of the eight robots (Pharaoh Man included) were present. Specifically, the skeleton robot was nowhere to be seen.

It bothered me a little bit, until Rush nudged me cheerfully on the leg. After that, I was quickly able to push it out of my mind.

-Later-

Getting Rush acquainted with the other robots at Light Labs went about as well as I had expected.

Air Man had been the most composed, politely petting him for little more than a minute.

Crash Man, on the other hand, loved him to death, and was dying to play with him (although Rush was hesitant to receive a belly rub from a robot with spikes for hands). Ice Man and I only barely held him back from trying to play fetch with one of his bombs.

Quick Man gave no attention to Rush. He made a point to appear disgusted by him anytime he came near, and it was unclear whether it was out of genuine dislike for the dog, or to spite me.

And Metal Man, for the five seconds he spent in the room, left a lasting impression. Dr. Light summoned all the robots at once, and when Metal arrived and saw rush, he immediately turned to leave. Rush had charged eagerly to meet a new friend, but he was met with a piercing sinister glare from the robot, that no doubt sent a chill through Dr. Light and the closest thing to it to every robot present.

After a while, Dr. Light decided to break the terrified silence by stating, "Well, I was hoping to incorporate an update into all of your systems, that will allow you to interact with any future robotic creatures in ways that will optimize work efficiency."

Quick Man scoffed. "Really? What, so we can all get little robot pets?" He swung himself up to his feet. "I'm no little baby for you to take care of. If you want me to do work, fine. But I'll do it myself."

"It's not just about them. Every one of you will receive some important changes that will maximize your ability to operate." A smile slipped across Dr. Light's face. "You wouldn't want to be out-of-date, would you, Quick Man?"

The red robot stopped just outside the room. "...I'm sure you feel great about that."

---

I shifted a little bit impatiently as Dr. Light hooked up each of us to his main computer. Quick Man, sitting beside me, grunted. "What's the deal with all this? Let's get it over with please."

Dr. Light grunted as he fidgeted while inserting a cable into a port in Ice Man's neck. "Quick Man, please be considerate of this delicate process. While updating, your programs are particularly vulnerable to corruption. I have to take every precaution if you don't want your IC Chip rendered useless."

Flash Man rolled his eyes. "And can you just shut up, too? Man, I never realized how whiny you are."

Quick Man growled and rushed over to the blue robot. "Huh? Who do you think you are, punk? I took you down before, and I can do it again."

"Uh-huh." Flash replied with a small grin, flashing his arm cannon toward his brother.

"Shut. Up." Metal Man hadn't even opened his eyes since laying down on his own surface, and he barked the order in the same fashion.

Quick Man had stopped upon hearing his brother's voice, a boomerang blade held to Flash Man's throat. He twitched slightly for a few seconds, then hurled the weapon into the window with tremendous force, where it stuck fast in the special glass. "Later, Flash. Later."

Dr. Light, meanwhile, was rather frustrated. "And of course after I already deactivated Roll..." He had mentioned that Roll would be receiving her update in her own personal pod. After a bit more time plugging the remaining robots in, he arrived at me.

"We'll find somewhere for them to go." I whispered.

His face brightened just a little at my statement. "I'm sure we will. And it can't come soon enough."

Once he had finished, he straightened up and wiped his brow. "There. I'm going to activate the update process in just a moment. I'll be heading to bed in a little while as well, and the updates should finish by the time I get up tomorrow morning."

He walked over to the computer and typed some commands. With a bit of hesitation, he added, "Good night, you all."

The final key press barely registered before everything became black.

-A few hours later-

Light Labs was silent. The lights had been turned out, and only dim overhead lamps illuminated the row of robots laying peacefully. 

Outside, the wind blew loudly. Its distinct roar made hearing any distinct noise difficult. No one nearby would have noticed the subtle chop of propeller blades outside the window.

A small robot rose slowly up the building, carrying a humanoid robot on a flat platform atop itself. Its propellers below lifted them through the air. When they had arrived at the level where the robots all rested, it slowed to a stop.

Unflinching in the wind, the second robot looked inside. It ran its finger over the glass, and felt something it hadn't expected. Carefully feeling with one hand, it determined it to be a bladed boomerang. The weapon had been embedded into the thick glass wall, but managed to pierce through to the outside.

The second robot stared at the object for a moment. A deep, gravelly voice came from within. "Well. That makes this easy."

The wind stole the words as they left its mouth, and they went unheard by anyone.

---

I began to feel things again.

Thoughts and memories began to pop into my brain, all adjusting to my reactivated mind. It was finally time to wake up.

I could hear something. Something very faint.

 "...get him..."

Another voice came, a little louder now. "I...can't seem to wake him up..."

I suddenly felt my body be shaken, parts bouncing around inside. The first voice, now rising to full volume, shouted into my ear, "Wake up, idiot!"

My eyes snapped open, and I sat up quickly. The sky was still dark out the window in front of me. I looked around to see all as it had been when I was put under, with one key difference. All of the robots weren't in their places.

By glancing around, I found them all standing tall and alert, minus Flash Man and Crash Man, who had pressed themselves against a door as if trying to keep something out.

I blinked a few times. "Guys? What's going on?"

Quick Man who stood right next to me, replied, "Get up! We need you, Mega Twerp!"

I noticed Heat Man also a short distance away. "What are they talking about?"

The robot was shaking, and looking around frantically. "He...he just attacked us..."

"Who? What's happening?" I got up to my feet and put a hand on the robot's shoulder.

"D-Dr...L-L-Light was...he couldn't..."

I couldn't anything intelligible out of Heat Man. I turned to Ice Man instead who remained completely still in a defensive stance. "Hey, what are they talking about? Who's attacking us?"

"It's bad news, soldier!" He said without even giving the slightest glance in my direction. "It's overtaken our highest ranks! There's no telling how far it's gone already!"

I grabbed him by the head and shook him. "Speak ENGLISH, Ice Man! What is 'it'?"

He looked at me, and for the first time I noticed a bit of fear in his eyes. "Some sort of microbot virus would be my guess. It infected Dr. Light's body, and caused him to attack ferociously."

I let go and stepped back. "What?"

He nodded and turned back to face the door. "Whatever it is, it gave him some sort of external layer built of micro metals that allow him to break through our armor." His eyes drifted slightly to Air Man, who leaned against a table, and had noticeable gashes in his side.

"How...how is that possible?" I looked over at the door, and thought about the room behind it. Who was behind it.

"Roll. ROLL!" I shouted, before rushing at the door.

I heard Quick Man shout as I yanked Flash Man aside, "MEGA! What are you DOING!?"

Before I could grab the doorknob, I was spun around suddenly by Quick Man, who then thrust himself against the doorway as it shook from another blow. "What the heck was that? Are you trying to tryin' to get yourself killed!?"

"Roll...I have to make sure she's okay!" I tossed Quick Man to the ground and grabbed the knob.

Before I could open the door, it was thrust back in my face. I was caught off guard and tumbled backward. As I forced myself back up, some...thing which resembled Dr. Light emerged from the other side. It swayed about as if it didn't know how to use its own body. Strange gray metal had covered his body in patches, and his eyes had an unnatural red glow from behind them. Its appearance was chaotic, and sinister.

I don't know what I had expected, but seeing this as it was left me startled and unable to act. I was only snapped back to reality when Flash Man appeared out of nowhere beside him and punched him to the ground. He turned to me and offered his hand. "You okay, Mega?"

"Clearly not!" Quick Man growled as he pushed Flash aside to look at me. "I don't know what you were willing to get yourself killed for, but we don't have time for sympathies." He rushed to the other side of the room. "Come on! Let's get out of here before he-"

Flash Man suddenly let out a shout of pain. He turned and shook off the hand of the creature, which had grasped his left leg from behind, metallic fingers digging deeply into him. As soon as he was done, he grabbed me and pulled us both out of harm's way. As the creature scrambled with frantic ferocity, another boot stepped on one arm, pinning it down.

The yellow boot belonged to Metal Man, who stood emotionless over him with a Metal Blade gripped in one hand. Without hesitation, he raised the blade over his head.

"NO!" I shouted, breaking out of Flash Man's grip. I pointed to Metal Man. "Don't kill him!"

Metal Man frowned at me. "We're supposed to defend our own existence. Whatever this thing is, it's hardly human. No point in stressing the other rules."

"That's ridiculous!" I shouted. My hand twitched as I pointed. "You can't do that!"

He cocked his head, as if intrigued. "And what if I do?"

This series of emotions felt so foreign, my body didn't know how to handle it. Even though it felt as though I had no control over myself, I changed the hand into a cannon. "I won't let you do that."

A silence fell over the room. Every one of us heard Quick Man mutter softly. "He's completely lost it."

My eyes flicked back and forth from Metal Man to what was supposedly Dr. Light. He, on the other hand, stared into my eyes, unflinching.

After what seemed like ages, his face shifted. I could have sworn that underneath his mask, for the first time since we'd met, he was smiling. He chucked the blade into the floor, where it embedded into the surface with a resounding clang. "Fair enough."

I didn't lower my buster, and kept it on him as he stepped away. When we were side by side, he whispered, "I've never seen this side of you. I hope to see more."

His words reverberated in my head for longer than I would have liked. Quick Man shrugged toward the door. "If you're done making a bad situation worse, let's move."

We quickly exited, although I longed to return. I couldn't just abandon Dr. Light. I had to make sure Roll was okay.

Roll. The name kept coming back to me. It occurred to me that whenever I thought about Dr. Light, that name would soon follow. But the more I thought about it, the less the name meant. I couldn't match a face to it. I felt like it was female, but how did I know that?

My train of thought was broken when Air Man suddenly held a hand out in front of me. I realized we had descended the building's staircase, and the door to the open world lay before us. He winced, and pointed silently to a tall rectangular window in the door. I glanced out.

Whatever had happened to Dr. Light wasn't isolated. There seemed to be a decent number of people wandering the streets, but all were transformed into the metal-covered creatures.

"How...is this possible?"

"Wily, no doubt." Ice Man muttered softly.

"We need to find somewhere else to go to get an assessment of the situation." Air Man added. "We'd best avoid trouble."

"No problem." Quick replied. "Metal and I 'll take out this whole crowd. And we'll do it non-lethally, just so little Mega Baby doesn't throw a tantrum."

His words frustrated me. Before I could retort, a small voice called, "Uh, guys?"

We turned to look at Heat Man. "M-Metal's...Metal's gone."

---

This is an interesting part of the story. I can't really tell you more than that right now.

You might have noticed that the tone is a little darker too. Very much intentional.

I'll do my best so that this will all make sense when it's over. For now, I hope you guys like this kinda suspenseful stuff.

Happy New Year, y'all.

(I'm not southern, why did I just say that?)