Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Alright, Take Two! Welcome to Glizzee's, known for pretty bomb glizzies. It's one of my favorite joints to hit up in this part of the city.” 

The rotund Lightbot, Bomb Man, announced to his fellow Robot Master as they returned to where they sat down for E-Tanks earlier that day. Around them, humans and smaller, lesser robots sat nearby them at their own little tables. This… establishment seemed to prioritize the outdoor dining area rather than the actual building itself. The building in question was quite miniscule in comparison to the tall buildings that surrounded the two. It was decorated in obnoxious warm colors and accents. Kind of like Bomb Man, actually, the Robot Master with him, Metal Man, commented to himself. 

A curious scent picked up on the cutterbot's olfactory sensors. He was not unfamiliar with the concept of human food and cooking recipes, but at least from what he remembers from his memory banks, Doctor Wily most certainly had different preferences than… whatever this building was advertising. Than… glizzies .

He glanced back at the Lightbot, who had gone to turn their previously knocked over table back upright. He took no time in sitting himself back in his original seat as Bomb grinned at him. “Trust me, you're gonna love this place. I'll get us their signature special.” He assured the Wilybot, before he joined some of the humans standing in front of the counter. Presumably to request for the food. 

Finally alone from Bomb Man, if only for a short moment of respite, Metal took the time to finally observe his surroundings. He had technically made it to Monsteropolis, albeit not through his original intended means. It was no exaggeration that this place was certainly a metropolis– it would've been a key major city to have under Wily’s control. From here, we could have spread to other major cities and still have been protected by the local geography, and have access to the nearby ocean for trade and deploying our naval militia, Metal mused. So much for that plan . He exhaled softly. He looked away from the buildings, and brought his attention to the enemy– the humans. Each human sitting at their table seemed completely absorbed in their own individual affairs. Talking, laughing, communicating over phones, venting. There were considerably more humans than robots here. He was not surprised by this. None of them paid any attention or mind to him, nor to Bomb Man, even. Something about that made one of Metal’s ears twitch. 

‘They hate Robotkind. They hate that we can talk back and have opinions about them.’

He is a Doctor Wily Number, he had the capacity to take any of their lives. Doctor Wily told him that all of Robotkind deserved better, that humans were beneath them because they were willfully ignorant. Willfully cruel and hateful. Hopelessly self-absorbed. Robots were pure , he had told him. He was going to create a better world for them all, he had told him. His ear twitched again.

…well. Well, he formerly had the capacity to take their lives. 

Metal rested his head in one of his hands. 

He was not going to get used to this anytime soon. He sighed and averted his gaze from the humans. The humans would have been subjugated underneath our forces. A new world order headed by Doctor Wily, a better world for Robotkind. The humans needed to comply and learn their place in this new world, or otherwise be made into an example for any to see. They would not hurt us anymore. They wouldn't hurt Doctor Wily anymore, Metal recalled. Air had the skies. Bubble had the waters. The rest of them had the land to conquer. 

His eyes focused on the fallen E-Tank cans by his feet. The ones that had been knocked over after Bomb decided to dox his station in front of all of Monsteropolis. His eyes twitched. He deserved those Metal Blades. He quietly reached down and set each can upright on the ground. Bubble would have tripped over these, he thought to himself, as he stacked and organized the cans. 

His musings were cut short as very suddenly, a loud SLAM hit the table above him. Metal flinched from the sound and hit his head against the underside of the small table. He sat upright again, glaring at the cause of the sound. Bomb has returned with a large tray in hand, and had set it down at a very normal volume. On the tray was… what the hell. 

Metal wasn't exactly certain what he was looking at. There seemed to be too many toppings to even see what was underneath it. His optics darted between the monstrosity facing him, and Bomb Man. “Are you planning on telling me what this is anytime soon?” Metal asked. 

“It's a glizzy.” Bomb replied. 

“And that is?”

“An experience. ” Bomb said, smirking at him. He shoved one of the glizzies closer to Metal, who looked like he wanted to immediately back up. “C'mon, don't be shy. I'm only getting the best of Monsteropolisan cuisine for you! I could gobble these things all day every day!” He boasted. Metal glanced at Bomb's half of the tray: three of them were lined up side by side. 

“This is edible?” Metal asked, narrowing his eyes at Bomb. 

“Yeah, dude! It’s all kinds of meaty, salty, savory goodness! It’s like a flavor explosion in your mouth!” Bomb boasted. He was already getting ready to dig in, grabbing one of his own glizzies, and passed a drink to Metal– This was not an E-Tank can. The Wilybot wasn’t familiar with it.  

So… it’s some kind of meat. Metal stared at the thing in front of him. Was this really going to be the first solid food he’s ever going to consume? He glanced up to Bomb and just witnessed the Lightbot pick up the entire damn thing in his hands, not caring about the mess he was getting all over his hands nor the table, and open wide. Good grief, there were condiments and toppings spilt everywhere. Gross, gross, gross! Metal watched in mild horror as Bomb seemingly impersonated some sort of serpentine creature and swallowed the entire glizzy WHOLE. Part of the Wilybot looked around for something, anything, for damage control. A towel, a napkin, toilet paper, a rag? If not to clean up the mess, something to hold onto and prevent him from recoiling. There was nothing. 

“Are you an animal?” Metal asked incredulously. 

Bomb licked his fingers clean– GROSS– and smiled contently. “No, but they call me a Beast. Give it some practice, and you can get on my level in no time.” He encouraged, much to Metal’s dismay. 

“No– no. I’m not doing that, ever.” The cutterbot stated. “I-I think I’m fine without it. The gesture is, uh. Appreciated, though.” Metal tried to back out, but the Lightbot had other plans. 

“Ohhhh, no, no, no. You’re not getting out of this that easily, pal.” Bomb started. “You signed up for the experiment and the mods that give you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Wilybots like yourself. You can experience food consumption! C’mon, that’s gotta be at least a little enticing to you. Aren’t you at least a little bit curious?” 

Metal’s face contorted at Bomb in discomfort. “Does this have to be my first experience?”

“I’ve got the key information for you, now you get that dawg in you.” Bomb replied curtly. “At least give it a try first, THEN you can tell me that you hate it, haha.” 

Bomb then went back to shoving the remaining glizzies down his throat without choking or gagging. Meanwhile, Metal looked down at the untouched glizzy with despair. It was a kind of meat, so… with a Metal Blade, he cautiously cut the thing into multiple portions. Fortunately, the Lightbot was too preoccupied horking down the glizzies to judge him. He carefully took a piece, taking greater care not to spill the copious amounts of toppings. He took a cautious bite and chewed slowly. 

Well, it was certainly an acquired taste, wasn't it. 

The toppings and bread did serve to enhance the flavor of the meat by adding more superficial layers to the taste profile, but ultimately, this was still cheap meat. Metal almost spit it out, but reminded himself that he is allowed to swallow the food he tastes now. He did so and gingerly pushed the remaining glizzy pieces away. However, he did eye the drink that Bomb gave him. 

The only other human drink he has had previously was that bitter tea that he was given at Doctor Light’s laboratory. He cautiously opened the lid to the drink and peeked inside. It was bubbly…? Peculiar . He peeled the lid off of the cup and took a sip. Suddenly, his eyes widened. The drink was fizzing and created an interesting sensation for him. It was sweet, too! He drank more of it a little more enthusiastically than the glizzy. 

…that is, until he spotted Bomb staring at him. Metal froze, and he looked back at him. “What. What?” 

Bomb snickered, “Nothin’, I just find you treating the food like a science project kind of amusing, that's all.” 

Metal’s eyes widened again and his cheeks tinted in redder hues as he looked away. “Well, you can't exactly blame me for it. Everything has been a new experience for me so far.” His mask protracted and covered his mouth again and– oh scrap, he'd been maskless this entire day. The realization hitting him only caused his cheeks to redden more. 

Bomb laughed and did not help Metal’s embarrassment at all. The Lightbot leaned forward. “So, what do you think? They're pretty bomb , right?” 

Metal blinked at him. Bomb smirked and laughed more. 

The cutterbot sighed lightly and narrowed his eyes at him. “Amateurish. And I guess I'm not used to that kind of taste. It wasn't outstanding to me.” 

Bomb leaned back and snorted. “Psshh. Give it time, and you'll be running back here soon enough. That's how they get you.” 

“I doubt that.” Metal then stood up. “You’ve had your fill now? We've got work to do.” 

“Yeah, I'm stuffed!” Bomb chirped as he pushed himself back from the table. He was about to follow Metal, but the cutterbot stopped him. 

“Can you at least clean up after yourself? And wipe your hands, too.”

“I'll take care of it, boss, don’t worry.” Bomb said, opting to wipe his greasy little hands against his own legs. Metal wanted to scream. 

Fortunately for the two Robot Masters, summer gave them extra hours of daylight to work off of. Bomb’s truck was still exactly where he had left, parked at a nearby corner. It was easy to spot, with its multiple decals and stickers that the Wilybot completely lacked context for. The two clambered into the truck. 

“So, about these key areas of interest,” Metal began as he attempted to strap himself into his seat, and– ah. Right. He must have shredded it earlier. “How many resources do you have? How accessible are they?” Would this involve a covert operation, or was the location of his linemates simply easy to acquire? He HOPED that it was not the latter option. If it were easy for him to pinpoint where his linemates are, then who knows who could’ve gotten their hands on his linemates… Doctor Light had already crossed lines with himself, and he was doing something that he believed was right and considerate , somehow. He did not know, nor trust, what any average human would do, should they ever get their hands on his linemates. The very idea of humans desecrating or tampering with someone like Air or Bubble… His hands balled into fists at his sides. They were vulnerable, and the longer Metal thought on it, the more conviction it gave him that this was right and wise to do. That this was a good idea. 

Even if it meant having to deal with Bomb Man. 

Bomb strapped himself into the driver’s seat, and turned the ignition. The truck rumbled to life and its engine purred. “Well, information is definitely harder to get. But physical resources, like you said before, are the easier of the two to find around here. Most of Monsteropolis still caters to humans, but there’s a few places tucked away here and there that are mainly meant for Robot Masters. Things like body mods, Energy balancers, and E-Tanks aren’t a hot commodity anymore. At least here, now that there’s enough of us around. There’s a market for it.” He explained. The truck began its journey across downtown Monsteropolis, towards a different part of the city. Based on the pedestrian congestion and traffic, this might… take some time. Bomb turned on the radio. 

“I saw Robot Masters earlier today,” Metal commented, looking out the window. He gazed at small Robots, large Robots, robots who looked kind and meek. All mingling together with the humans in this city. He didn’t understand it, nor could he understand it. “Are all of the Robot Masters here Lightbots?” He asked. 

“What? Hell no, that would be a nightmare, hahaha!” Bomb laughed, stopping at another light. “You’ve been out of commission for, what, it’s been five years now since the Second War? Yeah, no, there’s way more Doctors out there now than just Light and Wily. Some Robot Masters aren’t even built by Doctors in the first place.” 

Metal turned to face the bomberbot. “Then by who?” 

“Corporations, industry giants, this country’s military…” Bomb listed off, “Some Robot Masters are commissioned by another person. Some are even gifted to others as presents! Imagine that.” 

The Wilybot gawked at the Lightbot with surprised eyes. His expression sharpened. “Do humans think that Robot Masters are pets?” He spat angrily. 

Bomb lifted his hands up in surrender. “Chill, chill! Some people do, but not EVERYONE does, obviously. There’s a lot of people that advocate for us, too, y’know. Try to make our lives easier, make us more– well, in legal terms and on paper– more equal to humans.” Metal turned his gaze away from Bomb, and missed the Lightbot visibly relaxing. For a moment, Bomb was nervous that the Wilybot was going to pull out his Metal Blades again. 

Metal watched the traffic light shift to green, but masses of humans and robots still crossed the intersection in front of them. He was surprised at the Lightbot’s patience and tolerance for them, despite what he said earlier. He propped his helmeted cheek against one of his palms and idly watched them. His optics landed on one particular robot, with more humanoid proportions and expressive eyes, following a group of humans. Definitely a Robot Master. “Who is that?” Metal asked, pointing over to them. 

Bomb followed Metal’s point and blinked. “...Huh. No idea. Wanna go say hi to them?” He asked, smiling. 

The answer was almost immediate. “No.” 

His timing elicited another laugh out of Bomb. Metal snorted and huffed behind his mask. The masses finally cleared away, and their truck crawled through the busy streets of Monsteropolis. The two sat in silence for a short while, letting the radio fill the quiet instead. Metal quietly took more notes of the sprawling city: Traffic on ground level was congested, but there were multiple monorails and higher elevation roads that cut through the city to try to remedy that. Aerial drones and flying robots contributed to the overall congestion problem as well. Most, if not all buildings and establishments he saw, still primarily catered to humans. Entrances to underground tunnels and travel dotted the corners of streets they passed. This was still a human’s world, and Robotkind were still subservient and secondary. An age-old question for Robot Masters crossed the Wilybot’s mind: Why bother giving us sapience if we were ultimately viewed as tools regardless? His digital mind explored a few dark, sick answers. He frowned. 

There was at least one thing he absolutely knew that Doctor Wily was right about. Robotkind deserved better. 

They entered a different portion of the city, one that looked to be less focused around entertainment. A few streets down, Bomb hunted down a parking space and quickly parked themselves alongside a street corner. But before Metal could exit the truck, the Lightbot grabbed his arm. 

“Hold on,” Bomb said, receiving a glare from the Wilybot, “Sorry, but you’ve gotta stay in the truck for this part.” He was oddly serious again. Metal met Bomb’s gaze for a moment, before the Wilybot averted his own. 

“Why?” 

“Check out that building around the corner.” Bomb gestured with his other hand. The two leaned forward and looked around the corner. Just nearby, a large, colorful building sat proudly in its own plaza and cleanly little entrance. A large stone brick wall surrounded the building on three sides, it looks. Tapestries, international flags, and topiaries decorated the pavilion in front of the building. It looked quite pristine and well-taken care of. “That’s the Monsteropolis Robot Museum.” 

“Robot Museum?” Metal repeated. 

Bomb let go of his arm. “Yeah. Something something ‘Let’s try to document and preserve the history of modern Robotics and Robot Masters.’ But if you ask me, it’s taken kind of a nosedive recently. With so many Wily Wars over the past few years, they’ve really been trying to capitalize on Robot Master displays and assets from those wars. Being in there makes me feel like I’m some kind of spectacle.” 

“Or a tourist attraction,” Metal breathed. 

“You get it.” Bomb sighed. “And we’re much more than that.” He understood why such a place exists and what it’s actually intended for, but the Lightbot also couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed about the spike in admission fees and food prices. Once again, capitalism further sours his experiences with everything. “You’re a Wilybot, Metal Man. If anybody would recognize a Wily Number from the Second War, it would absolutely be the folks at the Robot Museum. And things would get messy from there. Worst case scenario, if you’re captured, you’d either be melted into scrap, or you would be shut down and then put on display there for, uh, forever.” 

“Right.” Metal nodded. “And what about you?” 

“Well, you see,” Bomb snorted, “I wasn’t built by a guy who’s a globally wanted criminal for attempting world domination multiple times. And I’m also not a robot built for the intended purpose of murder, hah.” 

Metal crossed his arms. “Fair point. So what business do you have there, then?” 

“Honestly, I haven’t been here in a long time,” Bomb admitted. “But I’m gonna try to see if they uncovered any leads on your pals since I last visited. If it’s anything like their actual whereabouts, they would keep it private, under lock and key until they can get ‘em in there and make ‘em a new exhibit to debut.” Bomb scoffed, before smirking at Metal. “I’ll use my First Line Lightbot Charm to see if I can sweet-talk them into sharing any juicy info. My Bomb Man Swag, if you will. My Level 10–” 

“Enough,” Metal cut him off. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yeah. Just. Go do your thing, Bomb Man. I’ll be here.” 

“You got it, boss!” The bomberbot winked and grinned before climbing out of the truck and making his way towards the Museum. 

Metal sighed and leaned back into his seat, not caring that his shoulder blades were further shredding his half of the truck. He went back to mindlessly counting and spotting various robots walking around the city. Picking them out amongst the humans. His mind drifted elsewhere. 

If Bomb Man has only been speaking truthfully this entire time… Then Doctor Wily’s vision… No. No, he would never doubt Doctor Wily’s Vision. He wanted a better world for them all. Doctor Wily would’ve acted as a more benevolent leader to them all than these human leaders. But… why was he left behind then? This doesn’t make sense to him. He believed in him, he believed in his Vision. He was undoubtedly loyal to him, even when… 

The cutterbot shook his head. Did Doctor Wily believe in him and his linemates? Was his abandonment a punishment…? He wished so badly that he knew. If Doctor Light hadn’t altered his coding, what would he have done by now? Would Doctor Wily have found a use for him? He– he had to. He was his firstbuilt! That has to mean something to him. They all were the first Robot Masters of his own creation. Didn’t that make them special? Or… did it mean that they were just messy prototypes? Doctor Wily had more wars, after all. What would make him or any of his linemates special if he DID end up building more advanced Robot Masters after them all? Metal closed his eyes and checked some of his cognitive software. His internal clock informed him that it was, in fact, 20XX. Five long years after the Second War. He was hooked up to Doctor Light’s lab terminals and computers with global internet access, so it was accurate. That would make him around… 5 and a half years old. He knew that Light’s Industrial Series had to be around 6 to 7 years old then. Megaman and his sister were 10. Doctor Wily absolutely could have built better robots than him and his linemates since then. Stronger, faster, more capable, more worthy.  

Robots who wouldn’t fail him. 

Metal’s brows furrowed. He stubbornly pushed thoughts of feeling obsolete and worthless down. He’ll unpack that another day. He had a new objective he needed to fulfill. 

Metal paused. 

A new objective. A new mission for him to complete. It… wasn’t a new purpose by any means, but the acknowledgement has left him feeling… strange. Is this what Doctor Light was talking about? He wasn’t ordered or programmed to recover his linemates, he wants to do this because he misses them, and… he needs them. Because he refuses to let anyone else retrieve them and hurt them. 

The door opened across from him. Looks like Bomb was back already‐‐ how much time had passed? The Lightbot looked eager, but the Wilybot didn't want to get his hopes up too soon. “So? What's the scoop?” 

Bomb turned on the ignition and grinned over at the cutterbot. “Looks like we struck gold, baby. They've been holding onto a fine little piece for who knows how long now.” The cutterbot's eyes widened in anticipation. “‘Told you the Bomb Man Charm works. That plus a few fibs here and there, and voila!” The bomberbot winked at him. 

He opened up a compartment hatch in his forearm and pulled out a little scrap of paper with something hastily scribbled onto it. “Here. A little bit upstate, snugly fit between some mountains. A hidden little area containing one Crash Man, just for you.” He passed the paper to Metal. 

The cutterbot near-snatched the paper out of his hand. The scrap read off some surrounding towns and hamlets, as well as an address to somewhere. No coordinates, but he could make do without them; After all, a large tower made of pipes couldn't be easy to miss if you knew where to look. 

For the very first time since he was reactivated, Metal Man's eyes shone. Even with a mask covering his face, his eyes told the Lightbot precisely what he was feeling. “This is where he is?” Metal asked him quietly. 

“Wouldn't you be the one who'd know that?” Bomb asked him. 

Metal looked again at the paper scrap, committing the names to memory. “We didn't– our stations were kind of private to us. We usually showed up for operations and whatnot, but that was just work‐ our operations.” More often than not, we would mingle more at Base than anywhere else . Metal couldn't think of any particular linemates who would visit each other's stations often. Not to mention, visiting Crash Man's station was something of a hassle in itself, he's heard. No elevators, and navigating the Tower was a long and confusing process. 

Metal passed the scrap of paper back to Bomb and exhaled slowly. He was making progress. He would not have to experience this new reality alone. Not if he had any say in it. He had a new level of self-agency now, one that terrified him. But if he could use it to bring his linemates back online… then maybe… 

His tired eyes met Bomb’s, now lit with a newfound determination. Something deep in his core had been ignited now. He was going to make this work. He WILL make this work. Otherwise… he briefly glanced at the Robot Museum in the distance, and shook the thought away. 

“But either way,” Metal Man said, “We have a lead now. Let's make our preparations now and set out.” 

“You got it, boss!” Bomb winked again, strapping himself in. The truck's engine rumbled to life and the two set off with a new goal. 

The sun was finally beginning to set now. Long shadows casted from tall buildings and elevated roads painted the roads and sidewalks in interesting patterns. The sky had turned a vibrant red as the sun set. But the city was ever-busy as usual. The two ‘bots took a pit-stop and made their way down another avenue on foot.

“You know, the workers at the Robot Museum saw all of this ,” Bomb gestured to his deep Metal Blade wounds, “and they asked me if I got into a fight with Cut Man recently, hah!” 

“ Cut Man ? My Metal Blades are nothing like Rolling Cutter!” Metal said, annoyed. His ears twitched. He was better than Cut Man. Cut Man was his inferior original. 

“Idunno about all that ,” Bomb started, but was met with a sharp glare from the cutterbot, “I-I mean it's not my area of expertise! Cutting's not my game, not even hair!” 

Metal huffed.

“Now explosives? That's the good stuff. I know aaall about big, good boom-booms.” Bomb smirked. “I'm sure your buddy Crash Man feels the same way, too.” The Lightbot sighed lightly and put his arms behind his head. “Ah, Crash Man. My next-of-kin. My robotic heir.” He joked. 

“Stop?” Metal offered. 

“My handsome young man. My little orange. How he's grown up so fast… me and Gutsy are so proud of him.” Bomb continued, grinning. 

“Can you STOP? Stop being weird.” Metal pleaded. 

“Make sure you retrieve him and bring him back before 9 o'clock, okay, Metal? He deserves someone responsible and well-mannered.” He snickered and giggled. 

“Y'know, maybe I should try killing you again!” Metal barked. 

Bomb laughed loudly. “O-okay, okay, I'll stop! Don't get your wires twisted!” The Wilybot sighed exasperatedly. Why, of all Lightbots, did he end up teaming up with Bomb Man? 

The Lightbot eventually stopped in front of a store. Metal glanced up at the sign. E.K. Store. “E.K.?” He asked. 

“I… thiiink it's short for E-Konbini? But yeah, we can get some supplies here. You'll find these shops tucked away everywhere in Monsteropolis. You can get E-Tanks and other energy stuff all you want, here. Also, check this out,” Bomb tapped one of the signs on the glass window. It was a handwritten white sign that read in bold black marker: NO HAGGLING OR BARTERING . “That was courtesy of yours truly.” Bomb said proudly. 

Metal snorted behind his mask. “I would've just taken what I needed. No need for a conversation in the first place.” 

“I mean sure, you can do that, if you're quick enough not to get caught. Otherwise, you'll get blacklisted from all the stores, and then getting E-Tanks becomes a vending machine-themed nightmare for you.” The Lightbot shrugged. “And also, there's some fun in getting them to give you a better price.” 

“Hmph.” The two ‘bots entered the store. Metal's eyes scanned the area with greater interest now. This shop resembled the insides of what other small-scale stores he had seen throughout the city so far, but the store's inventory contained robot-specific goods beyond the scope of what Metal even knew existed. It was a cramped little shop, but the Wilybot looked somewhat like a child in a candy store. Batteries of all different kinds, energy containers, E-Tank cans, a locked section containing refined oils in bottles, repair kits and tools, coolants and oils, replacement parts for internals… Metal did not recognize everything here, but his mind raced with many different possibilities where he could see himself needing most of these things. Without thinking, he began to pack his backpack with multiple E-Tank cans, W-Tank cans, and tools. 

After filling his bag to a point he was satisfied with, he peeked his head over the short aisles to look for his Lightbot… cohort. He spotted Bomb with his own basket, full of E-Tank cans, and approached him. “Guess we had the same idea.” Metal said. 

“We’ve got a trip ahead of us, and we’re both old rustbuckets. I’m just trying to keep our bases covered for once.” Bomb smiled at the Wilybot. “I also wanted a little bit of Filler, too.” He held up a little tube full of some kind of gooey applicant. “Y’know, so folks stop questioning if you hit me with Rolling Cutter or not.” 

Metal looked away and crossed his arms. His eyes fell upon the shopkeeper, who met his gaze fairly quickly. The cutterbot’s eyes widened a little bit, and he tried to look away, but he was too late. 

“Oi!” The shopkeeper called to Metal, and gestured him over to him. Much to Metal’s dismay, Bomb pushed him towards the front register. “You look new around here. What’s your name, kid?” The shopkeeper’s voice was gruff, and his gaze was sharp. 

“Blade Man.” Metal lied through his teeth. 

“Ah. Unfortunate. Good luck with the name change soon, kid. And how’re ya doin’, Bomb Man? Please tell me you’re up to something good for once.” The shopkeep sighed. 

“Relax, Hex. I’m just getting ready for a little trip, that’s all.” Bomb replied. 

“A trip, huh? Going on vacation again?” 

“Something like that.” Bomb smiled. Behind him, Metal shifted awkwardly. 

The robot shopkeeper, Hex, eyed Bomb suspiciously, before looking at Metal again. “So, you gonna pay up or you gonna put all those E-Tanks back?” He said pointedly at the Wilybot. 

Metal fumbled for an immediate answer, but before he could get one out, Bomb stepped in. “We’re paying together, don’t worry!” The Lightbot elbowed Metal, who nodded stiffly and gingerly took out the contents of his backpack that he had been planning on stealing. 

Hex rang the two’s things up together. “Alright. That’ll be 2,150 Bolts.” He looked at the two Robot Masters expectantly. Bomb was digging through his compartments to scrounge up what Bolts he had on, or rather, in himself. 

Metal blinked and stared at Hex. “...bolts?” He asked. Like… machine bolts? Those kinds of bolts? Two-thousand of them?  

Bomb glanced up at the two with fistfuls of bolts and he laughed awkwardly. “Sorry Hex, it’s actually his first day online!” Metal shot Bomb a glare. “I’m just showing him the ropes around Monsteropolis. You know how it is with newbuilts.” 

Hex looked unimpressed. “Congratulations.” He droned. Bomb poured down what bolts he had onto the counter. Metal took note of Bomb’s bolt count. The bolts he was passing over to Hex looked different than the bolts he recalled Doctor Wily using to construct his robots with, nor perform repairs with. They also varied in sizes and shapes, too. “Kid, pay attention.” Hex commanded the cutterbot's attention. “Different sized Bolts are worth different amounts. Big ones are worth hundreds of little bolts at a time. Different shaped ones have specific amounts. Sometimes humans walk in here for whatever business they need, so check the chart here when you get confused.” He gestured to a poster plastered up on the wall behind him. It showed exactly how much each type of bolt was worth. The shopkeeper counted up what bolts Bomb dumped for him, and he glanced at the Lightbot. “You're still 430 short.” 

Bomb fumbled with his arm compartments, looking for any more bolts he had on his person. To his surprise, he came up empty-handed. “Scrap.” Bomb cursed. “I promise I got the bolts for you, I just gotta go back to my truck for ‘em.” He patted the cutterbot's side, which made Metal twitch. “Here, M– Blade. You stay put. I'm gonna be right back, Hex! I promise, this time!” He said as he bolted out of the store to his truck. 

The two remaining Robots stood around awkwardly. Metal brought his attention to the poster once more, studying the conversion amounts for this new currency. The shopkeeper pulled out an electronic cigarette, and took a drag from it. Eventually, one of them broke the silence. “Kid, listen here for a sec.” 

Once again, Metal’s gaze met the shopkeeper's. “I know you're not a newbuilt.” Hex stated. “I know a Wilybot when I see one.” Metal stared harder at him, silent. “A red-eyed walkin’ sawblade like you ain't got no reason to dice up a First Line Lightbot unless you've got personal beef with ‘em. And I saw you tryin’ to smuggle out my merch, too.” He leaned closer to the Wilybot. “You're not fooling anyone, kid. I'd normally kick you out myself, but Bomb Man looks like he trusts you. So you best better behave when you're in my shop , got it?” 

Metal Man did not answer him. He stared at him with a hardened, sharp gaze of his own. Hex took another hit of his e-cig and leaned back. 

Bomb Man stumbled back into the shop, huffing and panting. In his hand was a little sachet, presumably full of the remaining bolts needed. The rotund bomberbot caught his breath, and soon looked at the scene before him. His eyes widened slightly and he awkwardly laughed again. “Here ya go, chief. I've got more than enough now.” Bomb set down the sachet of bolts, its jingle satisfying enough to catch Hex's attention. The shopkeeper took the time to count up the remaining amount as Bomb quickly scooped up their purchase into Metal’s bag. Throwing it over his shoulder, he started hastily pushing Metal towards the exit. “Keep the change!” Bomb called as they left. 

Bomb grabbed Metal’s arm and dragged the Wilybot back towards their truck, powerwalking faster than the Wilybot had seen him before. “What happened?” Bomb asked in a hushed voice. 

“Nothing of interest.” Metal said back. 

“Okay sure. Budd– Metal, you definitely don't want to doublecross any of the E.K. shopkeep brothers. They're all sharp as a blade, and their stores are like lifelines for us on some days.” Bomb explained as he opened the door to his truck and tossed the backpack inside. 

The two climbed in and Bomb started the truck. Metal crossed his arms as he leaned back. “I was rusty this time around, but I could definitely get away with it.” 

“Hah, I doubt it. Their eyes are probably as sharp and attentive as yours are. You'd need to be really fast with it.” Bomb said, smiling. 

Metal put a hand to his masked chin. Really fast, huh? Some ideas began brewing in his mind, and his lips briefly pulled into a smirk. “By the way, what was up with the Bolts? I thought society still operated on Zenny currency.” 

“Yeah, it still does. But Zenny is what human establishments use. There'll be some places meant for robots that use Bolts instead of Zenny.” The Lightbot explained. “It's good to have both on you.”

“Huh,” is all the cutterbot replied with. Their truck soon made its way out of the busy streets of Monsteropolis, and onto one of the major highways that cut through the city. By the looks of it, they were heading to the north now, as the sun fully set to the west. 

“Now,” the bomberbot began, “Pass me that address again. How're you feeling now? Hopefully, a little better than this morning, right?” 

“Not until we get Crash online again.” Metal remained quiet for a moment as he retrieved the paper scrap and passed it. “...Better.” 

Bomb offered the cutterbot a wide smile as he reached for a little cellular phone resting on the truck's dashboard. He input the address into an app on it. The phone then seemed to show a map with a guiding line showing where to drive. They had a few hours to go before they reached Crash Man's station. 

“Soooooo,” Bomb Man started, pursing his lips amusedly, “You said you had a best friend earlier. Who's your bestie?” 

“None of your business,” Metal replied curtly. 

“Is it Crash Man?” Bomb cooed. 

“No.” 

“I figured as much. You didn't seem particularly thrilled or emotional about him.” The Lightbot commented. 

“Wha–? No, it's not that I'm not thrilled. I just… I never really knew Crash all that well before.” Metal explained. “We weren't even active for a year before we fought Megaman. And we're not some big happy family like you Lightbots are.” 

That got a scoff out of Bomb Man. “Pssh. Us? A happy family? You're kidding, right?” Metal gave him a curious look. “There is not a single day during our get-togethers or holidays at the Lab where Elec or Time doesn't lose their damn minds over something, or Cut gets some bright idea that gets all of us tilted at him, hahaha. And the arguments that me and Guts get into… well, I love the guy, but he really lights my fuse sometimes.” The Lightbot explained. “Rock and Roll might see us like familial siblings, but if you ask me? Other than Fire, they're all just linemates to me.” 

“Why Fire Man specifically?” Metal asked. 

“Well, we were finished and activated on the same day!” He said. “He's my little brother.” 

Oh. So, Metal thought to himself, like Quick and Crash, then?  

Before Bomb could continue, a little 8-bit tune started playing in the truck. A popup message appeared showing a phone number‐‐ one that Bomb seemed to recognize instantly. “Speaking of!” He grabbed the phone and swiped the Call button on the phone. He passed the phone to Metal. “Here, put me on speaker.” 

Metal took the phone and he looked over the cellphone confusedly. This phone was just a flat screen, where were the buttons? He hovered a finger over what he figured the speaker phone ‘button’ was and pressed hard. The voice on the other line grew much more audible. 

“Hey, hello?” The voice was rough. 

“Hey Gutsy, what's up?” Bomb Man announced loudly. “You're on speaker with me and Metal Man.” 

“Wh– The Wilybot? What're you doing with him?” 

Metal narrowed his eyes and scowled. Bomb flashed an awkward, apologetic smile his way. “It's cool, don't worry! What's up, dude?” 

“Well, uhh… I was gonna ask you if you were gonna be onsite tomorrow or not. The, uhhh… the boss ain't too happy about you calling out today.” Guts Man explained over the phone. 

Bomb glanced towards his phone. “Nahhh. We're heading up north right now. I might be gone for a few days at most.” 

“A few days?! You're pulling my leg, right?” 

“C'mon Guts, all of you guys can handle a job without me for a few days. We got most of the demolishing done, anyways.” Bomb said casually. 

“Yeah, but not all of it! And you know the boss doesn't like stalling on a job!” 

“Then get a different demolition robot to cover me then!” Bomb squawked back. 

“Yeah, like who?! You know bomb robots ain't exactly a popular type of ‘bot!” 

“Idunno, get Commando Man or something!” 

“Buddy, we're demolishing structures, not minesweepin’ the place.” Guts deadpanned over the phone. 

“Then get Blast Man or something! It cannot be that hard.” 

“ Blast Man? THAT lunatic? You trying to get the whole block leveled or something?! That guy doesn't know workplace safety even if it bit him in the ass!” 

“Then Idunno what to tell ya, man! I'm taking care of something really important here!” Bomb barked at the phone. 

“What's more important than this right now?! If we both end up getting our contracts terminated cuz of this, I'm blaming you entirely!” Guts Man retorted back. 

Bomb and Metal looked at each other. He smiled apologetically at the cutterbot again. “It's for Doc's experiment,” Bomb answered vaguely. “Look, I gotta drive, man. We can talk more about it later, yeah?” 

There was a brief pause on the other line. And then Guts Man spoke again, almost sounding like a sad puppy. Somehow. “But we were supposed to have karaoke night tomorrow…” 

Bomb couldn't help but laugh at his linemate. He did feel bad but… “Gutsy, you have gotta find some new people to sing with. I'm not always gonna be there every time, y'know! Now I've gotta go for real. Bye.” He looked at Metal and mouthed ‘hang up’ to him. 

“Awww…” Guts Man sounded disappointed. Not that it mattered to Metal Man, as he fumbled with the touch screen and ended the call a few seconds later. 

The Lightbot sighed lightly, and put a hand to his forehead. “Love that guy, but he's just as hotheaded as my boss. Hell, he's more hotheaded than Fire is!” 

“He sounds like a headache to deal with.” Metal sighed. Was Guts Man's only speaking volume ‘Loud and Yelling’? 

“Ah, he's a little rough around the edges, but he's a real sweet guy once you get to know him. There's a reason he and Oil are my two besties.” Bomb said, smiling widely to himself. 

“Hm.” That reminded him of someone he knew well. He passed the phone back to Bomb, who returned it to its resting spot. A glimpse at the home screen told the Wilybot that they still had some hours to go, so he relaxed back into his seat for now. 

The two Robot Masters drove for miles and miles north. Monsteropolis became but a small speck in their rearview mirror. Woods became forests, forests became hills, hills became mountains with long, winding roads snaking through them. The night sky twinkled alongside a shy moon. 

As they drove closer to their destination, they ascended hills and crawled up mountainsides and bridges. All of these forests were beginning to blur together for the Wilybot. It all reminded Metal of the forest he had gotten lost in, not even two days prior. For a moment, he wondered what Wood saw to be able to tell apart all these forests. What made them so special to him. …he supposed that if Wood were here, he would've asked him the same about his Station and any other snow-covered lands. His Factory was special, as was the island it sat upon. His personal winter wonderland, Metal thought, and chuckled to himself.

Bomb shot a curious look over Metal’s way, but didn't say anything. 

Metal gazed up at the half-moon. …he hasn't thought about all of his linemates this much in such a long time. Since that day… The day they said their goodbyes to one another, before stepping into the teleporters. 

He wondered what Crash Man was thinking in that final hour. He remembered his face: a thousand-yard stare towards his linemates, towards his older brother. 

He never realized it then, but the realization had been hitting him over the course of the day: Other than Air and Bubble… he really didn't know the rest of his linemates very well, did he? He always did keep to himself most of the time, but… well, he supposed he had time now to get to know them better. His Base destroyed, his Factory in ruins, Doctor Wily was missing, their plan had failed spectacularly. They were all he had left now. 

What a fool he was, Metal chastised himself. 

Their truck crawled up a winding road within tall, elevated woods, until they stopped in the middle of what looked like a small woodsy village. 

“... ...etal… Yo, Earth to Metal Man.” Bomb waved a hand in front of him. The cutterbot blinked rapidly and refocused his optics on the Lightbot. 

“Hm? Are we there yet?” Metal asked. 

“Almost,” Bomb smirked, “We're at the closest hamlet to where he's supposed to be. Metal, what did Crash Man's station look like 5 years ago?” 

It was a sight that was hard to forget. “A huge tower.” Metal started, “Impressively tall, made out of these yellow pipes. It had ladders that took you up into the skies. It was outfitted with turrets and plenty of satellite dishes.” 

“Okay, okay. Good to know. Now… there were directions on this paper,” Bomb scrutinized the paper slip and squinted at it. “A few turns onto some dirt roads, and we should be right at the tower then.” The Lightbot grinned and shifted the truck into motion again. Soon, they were off-roading down a dirt trail and Metal gripped at whatever he could for support. Just a few more turns around a cliff and down a hill and… 

and…

The truck stopped. Metal’s eyes widened. 

A huge clearing presented itself before them. What should have been the foundation to a large, imposing tower… was instead piles upon piles of yellow pipes, scrap metal, and debris. The dust had cleared long ago, and nature was attempting to take back the area. Rogue yellow pipes jutted out of the ground randomly all around the area. What once stood a great monument to Doctor Wily's conquest, now remained as ruins. 

The Wilybot took in the sight of the destroyed Tower, and his expression fell. The tower's structural integrity must have given out after his fight with Megaman. Crash… we all told you to be careful with those bombs… Or… did Megaman do this?  

His optics scanned the area immediately for any and all potential DWN bodies… or pieces, and came up with nothing. Where are you, Crash? “Oh, Crash…” Metal sighed sadly. 

Bomb looked up at him, concerned. “You think he's somewhere underneath all of this?” He asked carefully. 

“Definitely. Or he's buried somewhere further down.” Metal confirmed. He and Bomb got out of the truck. He walked into the center of the ruins, rescanning the area again. Did… the Tower collapse on top of him? Did it bury him? His circuits sped up, his fans began to whirr. He knew that Crash Man was a fortified, heavily armored robot, but despite his mind's best attempts at reassurance via logic, his growing worry and biting anxiety was not being quelled. He needed to find him and confirm the damages he had sustained himself. 

“Yeah… That reminds me, actually.” Bomb said. He jogged to the back of their truck, and after fumbling with a locking mechanism, swung its doors open. The shorter Lightbot dug into the back of the truck, until he found what he was looking for. “Hey Metal, catch!” 

Something was tossed his way, and with immaculate reflexes, the Wilybot caught it in his hand. It was… a shovel. 

Bomb held his own shovel in his hand and smiled. “The Robot Museum folks told me that we might need shovels. Fortunately for construction, demolition, and terraforming, I always come prepared.” 

Metal shook his head and he looked back at Bomb. “It's appreciated.” He gazed back at all the fallen pipes. “Before we get digging though, we should probably clear these pipes, first. See if he's stuck in any of them.” 

“Gotcha.” 

The two immediately got to work. Hauling individual pipes that comprised Crash Man's Tower was a grueling effort, to say the least. For Robot Masters like them, the pipes weren't too heavy to lift together. No, the issue was the sheer number of pipes. There had to have been thousands of pipes that made the former super-structure. 

The moon slowly shifted across the night sky. Endless lifting, carrying, throwing. With the inhuman stamina and strength of machines, the two robots’ combined efforts are able to make a larger dent than a team of humans could, but… it was still not enough. 

The sun was rising once more. The two had sat down on a fallen log for a break.

“Argh!” Metal threw his hands in the air and fell backwards over the log. He didn't even care. “Why did he even build something like this! Why couldn't he have requested normal materials?!” Metal suddenly vented. 

Bomb set down Metal’s backpack next to him. He sipped loudly at an E-Tank and sighed. “Tell me about it. What do you mean by ‘requested’?” 

Metal sat himself up, albeit letting his legs still hang over the log. “Wood Man, Heat Man, and I ran and managed Supply Operations. My Factory was able to produce some construction materials, but I mostly dealt with machines and subordinates for the rest of my linemates. But all Crash wanted was these stupid pipes and an insurmountable number of Pipis!” He said, frustrated. 

“Pipis?” Bomb asked. He passed an E-Tank to the Wilybot, who graciously swiped it, retracted his mask, and near-chugged the whole can in one go. He could tell the poor Wilybot was not designed with this kind of labor in mind. “You mean like the toys?” 

One of Metal's ears twitched at Bomb's question. “Toys? What are you talking about?” He asked. 

“Oh, you don't know? Pipis. They're little toy robots, y'know… The little toy birds? They're a big hit with little kids. They always sell like hotcakes during the holidays.” 

Metal glared at Bomb, “They're not– they're not toys!” He sighed tiredly. “They're supposed to be surveillance drones. Crash's station had a lot of them.” Presumably to send into Monsteropolis and other nearby cities, Metal realized. Another, more bitter realization hit him next. “Did the humans commercialize the Pipis?” 

“I'm afraid so, pal.” Bomb replied. 

“Ugh…” Metal groaned, getting up to his feet. Now he was worried what else the humans decided to bastardize while he was offline. If they even thought about touching his beloved Pierobots… He scowled. His scowl faced Bomb Man next, who was sipping loudly at his E-Tank. “Can't you use your Hyper Bomb to blow all this stuff away?” 

Bomb smacked his lips, which made the cutterbot's eye twitch. “I could. But didn't you say that your buddy might be lost in any of these piles of pipes? My Hyper Bomb is meant to destroy solid bedrock. If Crash Man happens to be in multiple pieces, I'd feel bad about blowing him up into even more pieces.” He said nonchalantly. 

Metal's scowl morphed into a frown. “There has got to be a better way to get through all of this…” 

More pipes removed. More scrap metal unearthed from the debris and pipe piles. Metal didn't bother to count how many mangled pieces and fragments of Pipis he found among the buried pipes. They were all unsalvageable in this state. The sun made its daily journey across the sky. A morning and afternoon spent clearing out pipes. No Crash Man found. Countless destroyed Pipis discovered. Another break taken, and Bomb applying Filler to his Metal Blade cuts. 

The sun near reaches the end of its journey and begins to set. The sky is red again. Fireflies gently light up the nighttime atmosphere. 

Another pipe, another step closer. Another pipe, another pipe closer– STEP closer. Metal repeated the mantra in his mind as he and Bomb hoisted up another huge pipe. But as they began to step down from the pile of debris and pipes, something caught the corner of Metal’s eye. He only needed to glimpse it for a second to know what it was. His eyes widened and he immediately dropped the pipe, suddenly weighing down Bomb in the process with a winded ‘Oof!’ 

“Hey, hey! Bomb Man, come here!” Metal called over. The cutterbot was crouching down and pulling something out from underneath a smaller pipe. Bomb approached him, and the Wilybot proudly showed him what he had found. “Now this one is fairly salvageable. This is an earlier model that I produced: It's purely designed for surveillance, and made to look as innocent and unassuming as possible, to blend in with towns and cities.” In Metal Man's hands, an inactive Pipi sat comfortably. There was a gaping hole in its back and it had a damaged dorsal fin, but otherwise, it looked decently intact. 

“Aw. I think I can see that. It looks just as cute as the toy versions.” Bomb said, smiling. 

Metal turned the Pipi to face Bomb. The cutterbot's eyes shone with interest. He pointed to the eyes. “The pupils of the Pipi are camera lenses that can zoom in by a few miles each. There's a heavy, outer lens that covers the outside of its optics to prevent any damages to it. The recording software and footage was further in its body.” He reached his hand into the Pipi via its gaping hole, and reached for something inside the Pipi. “It also– had a cutesy vocalization device in it, too.” 

His fingertips reached something inside the inner workings of the Pipi. The bird robot suddenly let out a cute ‘beep-beep!’ 

The Lightbot smiled sweetly. “Aww, cute!” 

However, Metal Man was not smiling. 

“That's not what it's supposed to sound like…” Metal muttered, still fumbling with the internal mechanisms of the Pipi. 

Bomb pointed casually at the Pipi, “Aw, look! It's glowing too.” 

Metal froze. “Glowing?”  

He looked down at the backside of the Pipi. Something inside the Pipi was glowing and blinking bright orange. 

“Oh scrap.” Metal immediately felt inside the Pipi for the source of the glowing and nearly ripped it out. “Oh scrap.” That was most DEFINITELY a Crash Bomber. Rapidly blinking and about to explode. “Scrap, scrap, scrap, SCRAP‐‐” 

“Gimme that–!!” Bomb yelled, snatching it out of Metal’s hand and throwing it into the air. The Lightbot quickly worked to drag the Wilybot as far from the pipes as he could. The blinking Crash Bomber fell to the ground, in front of where they cleared the pipes. Bomb instinctively threw himself over Metal and the Pipi to shield them. 

BOOOOOOOOOM!!

The Crash Bomber immediately erupted violently into a large, loud explosion as soon as it touched the ground. Dirt, shrapnel, pipes, and debris flew EVERYWHERE. Pieces bounced off of Bomb Man as he curled himself over the Wilybot. 

But it didn't stop there. The ground trembled beneath them. Pipes on the surface rattled noisily. 

BOOOOM!! BOOOM!! BOOOOM!! BOOOM!! 

Some kind of chain reaction sounded off, violent, loud explosions filling the silence of the night. Dirt exploded and flew high into the air from deep below. Some of the remaining pipes left around slid down into the large crater forming from the Crash Bombers. 

…

… 

Bomb blinked and looked behind him. Metal opened his eyes. 

Was it over? 

“Dang… Those were some good boom-booms, haha!” Bomb lightly laughed. He got up and looked back at the cutterbot. “Are you okay?” He offered him a hand. 

Metal took his hand and slowly got up. “I'm alright.” He gently set down the intact Pipi on the ground, away from the blast site. “What the hell…” He muttered. Before them both, a smoking crater now sat exactly where they were standing moments earlier. 

“Why was there a bomb inside that Pipi?” Bomb asked. 

“I don't know. I'm going to ask Crash as soon as we get him online,” Metal sighed. 

The two made their way closer to the crater to examine the damage. Well, this was certainly one way to clear out more of the former Tower's pipes. The inside of the crater was littered with smoking metal parts, Pipi shrapnel, pipes jutting out of the ground… and something else. Metal's eyes widened immediately and with a great leap, jumped right into the crater. He crawled over the debris and damaged pipes over to what he spotted. 

A drill was sticking out of the side of the crater. 

He gripped at the base of the drill with both hands, at the dirty orange forearm just barely peeking out of the wall of earth, and pulled. He heaved and pulled as hard as he could, gritting his teeth. “C'mon!” Metal growled, putting his weight into it. The drill slowly, but surely gave way, and began to pull at his command. With another heave and pull, Metal ripped the Robot Master out of the scorched earth. Or rather… his arm. 

The cutterbot stumbled backwards and fell. In his hands was undoubtedly the arm and drill of Crash Man… but… where was the rest of him? 

“Are you good?” Bomb called from the high edge of the crater. 

“Yeah,” Metal breathed. He looked down at the arm in his hands. It was filthy and dented. “We definitely need those shovels now!” He called back to him. 

With progress having been made, and newly lit determination in their cores, the two got to digging. Crash Man was absolutely buried somewhere underneath these ruins. They just needed to figure out where . Their digging continued long into the night. Unearthed Pipi parts, pipes, and unactivated Crash Bombers. Metal was not going to give up any time soon. Crash's arm was enough proof that he was here, he was here . They were going to find him. 

The sun rose once more. Their crater had expanded since they began digging. 

Metal sighed and took a moment to himself. He let his internal fans cool down his body. He didn't give himself a break all night. He looked behind himself to find Bomb diligently working the other half of the crater. He had to keep going. Just another few feet of dirt. Crash had to be somewhere here. 

The Wilybot nodded to himself and took a deep breath through his mask. He lifted his shovel and plunged it into the raw earth below him. But his shovel hit something hard. Metal groaned and began to dig around the hard object. Another pipe in his way. Piles of dirt removed from below him. But… This was no pipe. 

Metal recognized that armor anywhere. His eyes lit up excitedly. He began to dig around the orange armor, to free his linemate from the earth that consumed him. “Bomb!” Metal called out. “I found him!” He found him, finally.  

He reached down and gripped the exposed shoulder. He pulled with great force and lifted Crash Man out of the ground… except… 

He was missing his head entirely. 

Metal set down the body carefully and carefully examined him. The first thing he immediately noticed was a huge gaping hole in the back of his torso armor. What visible internals he saw looked completely wrecked and melted. His torso was completely missing his arms from his sockets as well. The chest gem was cracked badly. One of his legs was missing from the knee down. Metal grimaced. He hoped that he only sustained these damages after he had already gone offline… 

Bomb Man didn't meet him immediately. Instead, he called back out to him as well. “I think I found him too!” He said. 

Metal gently laid his linemate's body down against the freshly moved earth. He shuddered and made his way across the crater. He reached the Lightbot as he was shoveling something out of the wall of dirt. A visor, and a helmet, caked in dirt and dust. 

There was his head. Bomb pulled the head out carefully from its grave, and he gently brushed the excess dirt away from the helm. “I think this is the most of him we're going to find here.” Bomb said quietly. His expression looked melancholic. 

“Yeah.” Metal agreed. “Can… I look at him?” He asked. 

“Here.” Bomb passed him over to the Wilybot. 

Metal gingerly took his linemate's head into his hands, and slowly sat down. He examined his head with the same care as the rest of his body. The helmet was dented in multiple places, and the protective visor he normally sported was badly cracked. Underneath the visor, another gaping hole replaced what should have been Crash Man's face. There was nothing there now but ruined, melted steel and internals. …well. One thing remained intact inside Crash's head. Metal gently cleaned out the dirt and dust inside Crash, before so carefully reaching inside his head. There had better NOT be any surprise Crash Bombers in here this time. 

He grabbed at something and carefully pulled it out of him. Thankfully, it was not a Crash Bomber. 

A black, protective casing of sorts sat in Metal's hand. It was small, sturdy, and outfitted with ports. It was coated in dirt and dust. Bomb’s eyes widened in recognition and he immediately looked it over with Metal. He so-carefully checked it over from all angles. The Lightbot determined something and sighed in relief, setting it back gently in Metal's hand. “It wasn't busted open, thank everything. He's safe.” Bomb said softly. 

“This is…” Metal breathed, staring at the small black case, “his I.C. Chip. It's undamaged?”

“Yeah. Thank goodness.” 

Metal stared at the casing in his hand. Inside it, his I.C. Chip rested. His entire life sat in the palm of his hand. Metal’s eyes blinked away any wetness that threatened to form. Crash Man was alright. He was alright. He's going to be safe. He would protect him. “Thank everything,” he whispered. “I've got you.” He spoke softly to the part in his hand. He took another deep breath, to relax and calm himself. 

He sat upright and moved his free hand to his own chest gem. He twisted and pushed it down into himself, before nimbly moving his fingers to fumble with some unseen locks underneath the blue section of his chest armor. An audible click and hiss were heard, as the Wilybot’s front torso sections opened themselves up and exposed his internal mechanisms deep within. Bomb’s eyes widened and he quickly looked away from the Wilybot, hiding a small blush. Metal closed his eyes, and carefully felt inside himself for an acceptable opening. He took Crash's I.C. Chip casing, and so carefully and gently slotted it into a small open space, next to his active core. He was going to keep Crash safe . If anyone wanted his I.C. Chip, they'll have to take it from my smoking corpse , Metal concluded. 

His chest hatches closed themselves. Metal breathed slowly, letting himself relax and ease his nerves. Crash was safe. Nobody else got to him first. He will take care of his linemate. He slowly stood up, holding what remained of Crash's head in one arm. Before anything else, though… 

He walked over to the rotund bomberbot and he put a hand on his shoulder. Bomb flinched slightly and looked up at the cutterbot. Metal retracted his mask, and for the first time, his scarred lips pulled into a light, tired smile. “Thank you.” 

Bomb’s eyes widened and he looked away again. “I-it's nothing. I'm just helping out another Robot Master,” He said, smiling sheepishly. 

“You didn't have to go this far for me, though,” Metal said. “You didn't have to lose your job for me.” 

“H-hey! Who said I was losing my job, huh?!” Bomb suddenly barked. “We'll be back in time… I won't get in too much trouble, eheheh…” He scratched his cheek. “But, uh… ahaha… we should probably head back as soon as we can.” 

“I agree. Let's get out of this dump.” Metal said. Bomb hopped to his feet and the two collected all their findings: Crash Man's body, his arm, and the Pipi. They carefully loaded everything into their truck. The two hopped into their seats, and Bomb turned the vehicle on. Metal leaned back in his seat and relaxed. 

Bomb checked his phone again to set their next destination: Light Laboratories. But as he checked his notifications, his eyes widened and a sudden, dreadful feeling sank into his robotic gut. 

[10 missed calls from Guts Man.] 

[2 missed calls from Doctor Light.] 

[ 4 new voicemail messages.] 

“Ah, scrap…” Bomb cursed. “Yeah, uh… We should probably head back ASAP. Hope you don't mind if I drive a little fast.” 

“Not at all,” Metal said, casually bracing himself. 

Their little truck turned around, and with a sudden roar of its engine, raced back to civilization as fast as it could.