11Downshift
by Jixie
Mega Man © Capcom
- Note: This is a sequel to "War Games", which is not necessarily required reading, but this story will make more sense if you've read that first. If you enjoy this one, you will probably enjoy my other fics in this series "Things Trivial and Cherished" and "Something Like Family".
- The setting for this fic is Mandi Paugh's 'verse' (Mega Man: The Series). If you're not familiar, no problem, it's pretty self explanatory. All you need to know is that Mega Man and Break Man (Proto Man) are living beings because reasons, which is a fluke thing that can't be replicated; Bass (and now Roll) are prototypes for 'Reploids'; no other robots are sentient.
Part One
Chapter 1: The World Keeps Turning
Things settled nicely in the years after Dr. Wily.
Nature abhors a vacuum, and there were still times he was called into action. Those times were few and far between, however, and really almost nothing could hold a candle to the trouble Wily caused. More and more the blue bomber found himself being addressed as 'Rock' instead of 'Mega Man'.
He'd worried that Break Man would continue to drift away, without the constant battling that kept bringing his brother in— and out— of his life. As it turned out, they ended up seeing each other more. Break Man had come to the same realization, and made an honest attempt to bridge the gap. Mega Man would never be wise to all of Break Man's business, but he was thrilled to find himself uncovering more about the private life of 'Blues' Light.
Even just learning the name he used for his 'civilian' persona was groundbreaking.
Roll continued to adjust nicely. Ironically, as Break Man became (relatively) open and sociable, Roll grew more private and independent, building her own life outside of Dr. Light's. She made friends with people Mega Man had never met, pursued hobbies that the boys had never tried. With exceptional foresight, she continued to delve into the complexities of robotics from Dr. Light and Dr. Cossack, so that in the future she could support both her brothers' and her own needs. Roll likewise took up training, teasing Mega Man that someday she'd like to tag along, perhaps on one of his off-planet adventures.
On a larger scale, there was a shift in interest towards robotics. It seemed that even with Dr. Light's anti-reprogramming chip, experts and hobbyists alike were still nervous about trying their hands at developing and building robots. With Wily out of the picture, the industry flourished. Not towards more human-like androids like Trigger, or more autonomous ones like Bass or Zero. No… what captured the world's eye was entertainment. Gladiatorial tournaments featured robots that resembled punk dystopian tanks or fantastical beasts, encouraging a shift towards non-human robots.
A handful of scientists still pursued the goal of a human-like android. None would accomplish what Wily had, or even come close. Disappointment bred discouragement, and that particular field of robotics would flounder for a very long time. Zero's envisioned future wouldn't even begin until Dr. Cain discovered X, which was quite a ways off.
Bass disappeared for a couple years. Mega Man would get the occasional clue that he was still around— namely, when the police or military would hail Mega Man and he'd get there only to find the threat neutralized. Sometimes it was Break Man, beating him to the punch. But other times there was a level of collateral damage that could only be achieved by someone with no concern for property or the environment. Someone who was sloppy. Someone who was in a rush because they were supposed to be in hiding but couldn't resist the chance to brawl.
The fact he was able to stay off the radar without Wily's support was… curious. Mega Man had his suspicions, but he knew all too well it was pointless to ask Break Man about it.
"No! Not the saw blade, you stupid machine!"
Roll was screaming at the display screen as if the contestants in the show could hear her. She jumped up and down, frantic that her favorite battle-bot was losing this one. It had done so well this season, but was about to blow the championship.
It was everything Mega Man wanted out of life: he was in his own home, with Dr. Light, Roll, and Break Man. Sure, they were all captivated by the netshow streaming on the screen, but what the heck.
"Woah, settle down Roll," he teased. "You know those fights are fixed, right?"
Break Man let out a dry chuckle. "Bass said the exact same thing. Word for word."
Mega Man shot him a questioning look, opened his mouth to ask, then thought better of it.
His brother smirked and said nothing.
Mega Man regarded his sister Roll as she practiced for battle on offline Sniper Joes.
"You should take the test, get your legal independence," he said.
She didn't look up from what she was doing. No armor yet, but at her request Dr. Light had upgraded Roll with her own Mega-Buster style arm cannon. The lifeless Wily 'bot exploded from the charged plasma blast.
"Mm, no thanks."
"No? But… why not?" When Roll didn't respond, he hesitantly continued. "Dr. Light won't be around forever, you know."
She shot him a wry grin.
"What's wrong, Mega Man, are you worried I'm going to end up a drifter renegade like your best frenemy?"
"'Frenemy'?" He echoed, then shook his head. "Actually, no. I'm worried you're going to end up in the hands of someone who doesn't respect your sentience. A part of somebody's collection, or reprogrammed by a novice who doesn't know any better, or… worse."
Another Joe blew up and she stopped, losing the cannon. "I see you haven't taken a look at Dr. Light's will recently."
He blinked in surprise.
"…oh. It… it's all going to me, isn't it? Including you."
"Um, no, it's all going to Break Man. Not everything's about you, you know."
"But what does Break Man even..?"
Roll winked and Mega Man realized that she was just messing with him.
"Well…" he said, "it would still make me feel better if you had your independence. What if something happens to me? Why leave anything to chance?"
"Mega Man, I won't meet the requirements."
"Are you kidding? It's easy! You have nothing to worry about."
"It's easy for you. But you and Break Man are the gold standard. I'm… not the same."
He couldn't believe what she was saying. "Roll, come on. Dr. Light said with a few modifications that Bass could pass, and you already have more freedom than he does."
"This may come as a shock, but Dr. Light is not infallible. I'm telling you— as the one who's living it— no amount of mods will ever be enough. We'll never have complete autonomy." There was resignation in her voice.
He wanted to argue, to convince her she was wrong.
Only he wasn't entirely convinced himself.
Break Man was hesitant as he entered the lab, and it was clear that something was eating at him.
"Dr. Light. I needed to talk to you about… Well, I'll just cut to the chase. It's about— reprogramming."
"Okay." Dr. Light's eyebrows shot up in surprise, although his voice was steady.
Break Man was glowering behind his shades. "Not for me."
"Of course not. You're asking for 'a friend'."
"Don't get cute," he replied. "You know what I'm asking about."
"Right. I thought you two weren't friends."
It was hard to stay mad, and he laughed. "You got me there. Look, it's— we keep having these weirdly circular conversations. Conversations that get really abstract. There's a lot of hypothetical 'if a robot like Roll' or heck, sometimes 'like Trigger', but never 'like me'…" Break Man looked down, uneasy with this thing he'd been saddled with. "Anyway. He'll talk about what things need to happen for these imaginary 'bots to gain their freedom, then insist he doesn't care about any of it."
Dr. Light nodded slowly and wove his fingers together. "If you're asking me to confirm your suspicions, then yes. You're right, Bass can't directly request changes to his programming, much less turn himself over for it. I can't speak authoritatively… but in your heart, you already know what is being asked of you."
"I was afraid you were going to say that." He sighed. "You know this puts me in a really awkward position, right? Shoot. He knows how I feel, why couldn't he pull this stunt on someone else…"
"Because he trusts you," Dr. Light said gently. "Do you want my opinion?"
"It's why I'm here."
"I'm willing to help in any way. …Personally? I think you should give your friend Kalinka a call."
Dr. Cossack nearly jumped out of his skin when a sudden whistle announced Break Man materializing in his lab. It wasn't the first time he'd unexpectedly shown up, but it was always startling. Dr. Cossack took it as an honor though, and in a way it was. There were very few people that Break Man put confidence in for anything.
This time he was not alone.
"Oh dear," Dr. Cossack said, glancing at the black and gold robot slung across Break Man's shoulders. "What happened?"
It was a pretty funny sight actually, because Bass was taller and heavier than him and it showed. The fact that Break Man was dressed casually and appeared to be quite young just made it that much sillier.
"Eh, this knucklehead was tampering with his power supply and managed to short himself out. Looks like it was a faulty connection." He paused. "Can you help him?"
The doctor chuckled. "I'd think you could take care of such a simple…" He drifted off mid-sentence, and coughed. "Um, Break Man. What… exactly… is it you're asking of me?"
Break Man shifted to free up an arm, and tilted his shades down. He looked Dr. Cossack in the eye, fixing him with a steady gaze. After a long pause, he pushed the shades back into place.
"I'm asking if you can… help."
"Ah. I see." Dr. Cossack gestured for Break Man to follow him to another room. "Yes, I believe I can. Let's see, up here…" He gave Break Man a hand with getting Bass off his back and onto a free table, which was unnecessary, but appreciated never less. "You're a good friend."
"Oh, we're not friends." Break Man was deadpan, but then he offered a slight smile. "You can count the number of sentient robots on one hand, so we ought to look out for each other. Besides, I realized…"
He paused, unsure if to continue. To his credit Dr. Cossack did not press.
"…as much as Mega Man appreciates my help, he doesn't need it. Not really. By the time I found my way back home, I… well… he was doing just fine on his own." While it was true he'd helped Mega Man out of a lot of jams, the fact was, he'd gotten him into trouble just as many times. "The 'blue bomber' loves having a big brother around, but the 'black blunderer' actually needed one. And it's a lot easier to put up with Bass's crap when you start thinking of him as your obnoxious baby brother." He shrugged. "Everything else aside, I'm still the first. Without me there's no Robot Masters, no Mega Man or Roll, no Bass. When you're the oldest, you have a responsibility to look after the rest of the kids. Even if they're terrible."
"As the baby of my family, I assure you, it's the youngest child's responsibility to be a pain in the butt."
Break Man laughed.
"You're a good brother," Dr. Cossack added.
He looked at Bass and then at the doctor. "Thanks." Then he reached out, briefly placing a hand on the scientist's arm. "Dr. Cossack, for my sake, don't… don't do anything that would change who he is."
"I wouldn't dream it. Don't worry, Break Man. I'm well versed in the Humanoid Robot Act and the political landscape that surrounds it…" He paused. "More importantly, I know what needs to be done to game the system. Rest assured, I'll do nothing more and nothing less."
Break Man looked grim. It was clear that even the veiled conversation about reprogramming someone else was making him uncomfortable.
"Yeah… yeah. Thank you."
"It'll be okay, I promise."
"Congratulations!"
"For what?"
Mega Man was taken aback.
"What do you mean 'for what'?"
Break Man had explained the situation to him: how Dr. Cossack had done some deft politicking, convincing the powers that be that since he'd reprogrammed Bass, the robot was no longer an agent of Dr. Wily. It got Bass off the hook for— well, pretty much his entire history of misdeeds, since Wily was legally responsible for all Bass's previous actions— and temporarily put the burden of responsibility on Dr. Cossack's shoulders. That part was a little annoying, actually. Sometimes Mega Man felt like the law only worked when it came to himself, and failed when it came to actual criminals.
The Russian scientist was a real stand up guy for doing all of that and asking nothing in return. Still, it had merely been a stop-gap until Bass could earn his legal agency by taking the test to prove he had free-will.
In light of the occasion, Mega Man had dropped in at Dr. Cossack's lab.
"Oh— yeah, I skipped that stupid test. I don't need some stuffed suits telling me what I already know. Who even cares about that junk?"
Break Man padded in from the other room, having heard enough of the conversation, and was gesturing a rapid 'cut' motion in an attempt to get his younger brother to drop the subject.
It was too late. Mega Man was too incredulous to let this go.
"Uh, everyone? Everyone cares. Don't you realize the effect it'll—" Too late, the obvious hit him, and in surprise he said the worst possible thing that he could've: the truth. "You flunked it, didn't you?"
Bass was stone-faced but Mega Man could tell that this had been a terrible blow to his pride.
"It's not like it matters. I've got nothing to prove to anyone."
Oh, but it mattered a great deal.
Mega Man found himself walking over to a row of cabinets so he could lean against the counter. Break Man approached and then jumped up, sitting on the countertop next to him.
It was… well it was not good. This complicated things. Bass had already spent the last two years avoiding the law, it wasn't fair and it didn't do him, or anyone really, any good and…
"What are you going to do now?"
This earned a shrug. "Guess I'm with Dr. Cossack."
That left Mega Man with an uneasy sinking feeling. Yes, Dr. Cossack was a good man and given the circumstances, this was the best possible outcome for Bass. But 'I'm with' really meant 'belong to' and in the eyes of the law Bass was no different than a toaster or a hovercar. It was wrong on a deep and fundamental level. Wasn't it? He wasn't alive but…
The only reason any of this was even happening now was because Dr. Wily had died. What if something happened to Dr. Cossack? Old age would eventually be that something, anyway. Mega Man had no idea if there was an upper limit to his and Break Man's lives, if senescence was even possible for bioroids, but he did know that with proper maintenance and barring any accidents Bass and Roll would be functionally immortal.
Functionally immortal and legally toasters. How unjust. It was such a crock of—
"How's the N-Team doing?" Break Man disrupted his train of thought.
"Oh, uh, they're good."
"Think they've got anything interesting going on? I don't know about you two, but I'm kind of itching for a fight." Words he never thought he'd hear Break Man say, even though he knew it was for Bass's sake.
"Yeah, let's go blow some stuff up," said Bass, trying not to sound excited.
Mega Man laughed. "I'm sure we can find someone somewhere who needs saving… or needs something blown up."
