"Hey kid, wake up." Rock groaned as red eyes stared back at him. Snake shut his mouth with clawed hands before Roll could hear them and Topman quietly closed the door. The sounds of Astilbe and Dr. Light talking came from the other room, partially muffled by the door.

"What are you two doing up at this hour? If Astil finds you awake, he's going to freak out." It had been two days since the stranger has appeared in the garden grounds. After Magnet got repaired from the strange seizure, Astil has initiated a total lockdown of the area. No one was allowed to leave the grounds without a guide. Plantman had confiscated everything that originally belonged to him, which meant Rock no longer had access to the map. To add to it all, he was considered grounded for nearly leaving with a "hostile" individual, to which he found it unnecessary and mean. After all, he only talked to the guy for three minutes, and while he could admit the sword threat to the eyes was overboard, the guy seemed nice and dare he say, nervous. Rock didn't have an explanation why he was so focused on the stranger, watching the same spot every night to see if he came back, but he was. The ninja star that grazed Magnet's side was still laying on his bag, the only thing they left behind.

What if Dr. Light and the others scared him off? What if he thought he was in danger? Rock wanted to run back to the forest and tell him it was a mistake. But alas, being a robot master, the orders of his father overruled his thoughts. Luckily, the Wi-lights had found a loophole in their favor.

"We need you as a hostage." Snake hissed with a smirk.

"A what?!" Rock shouted quietly.

"It's not as bad as you think. We are going to check up on the guy, and we want you to come with us." Top shuffled through the bags for a coat.

"But Astil-"

"Is not going to know. The doctors have been arguing upstairs for a while, so they're not going to notice a couple of robots missing." Snake grabbed Rock's leg, dragging him halfway down the stairs.

"This-ow! Seems a little extra, don't you think? Why bring me into this-OW!"

"Okay Snake, now that's just mean." Topman gently grabbed Rock's shoulders and set him on his shoulders. The little robot ducked his head as they exited the door and into the dark forest. They traveled farther inland until the sounds of the town and greenhouse disappeared, and Rock found it an opportunity to ask questions.

"So why are you guys so curious about him?"

"Everyone's curious about him. After all, you just don't meet someone who walked out of a forest, throws weird ninja stars, gives your brother a seizure, and...what did you say he did when running back?"

"He ran into a shadow and disappeared! Poof! The shadow was like water, and he fell straight through." Rock made a little popping noise.

"Anyways," Snake hissed while hopping around on the trees like a gecko, "All of our brothers agreed something had to be done. We made a volunteer vote on who should investigate this "shadow man", and I was picked for the job. Top just wanted to come along for the fun."

"But we're grounded by Dr. Light's orders!"

"Not to us. We are Dr. Wily's robots as much as Dr. Lights, and he never came the complete order. No complete order by both creators, we bend the rules." Snake chuckled.

"Okay, but what about me?"

"I made a plan that if we were to get caught, we would say that you let your curiosity get the best of you and wandered off again, leading us to head out and find you. It seems like a good excuse considering your age."

"So I'm a scapegoat?" Rock felt crushed that he was being used, despite the truth about his concern for the stranger.

"For the record, I didn't agree to that part." Top attempted to defend himself as they followed their brother deeper into the forest. The first rays of sunlight peeked through the amazon trees, the insects buzzing through them as they trekked through the dirt. Top would move his head to the side every minute, allowing Rock to switch his position and prevent joint locking. The orange bot started to hum a little song to compensate for the lack of conversation, and Rock soon joined in on the past time.

"Nice tune brother. It should become a album."

"Snake, you flatter me." Top smiled.

"Dad's going to kill me. Or at least Roll would." Rock sighed in exasperation but stopped upon seeing a sparkle in a bush. "Top, put me down! I found it!" Hopping off, he dove into the bush, the prick of a sharp object piercing the finger. Rock ignored the growing numbness in his hand as the ninja star was presented. More shiny stars scattered among the trees, wedged in uneven ground even branches above. The lack of footprints except for the trees' basins were a curious sight, and Snake spotted a trail carved out by blades.

"Bingo." He turned to Rock, "You wanna chicken out? It's completely fine."

Rock looked to each Wi-light. "No, I'm coming. Someone's got to make sure you two don't do something st...stupid." A humorous cackle escaped Snake's mouth, as if he was amused of such an accusation. Top led the way to the open field, the trio gasping at the towering temple before them surrounded by old stone blocks. The mist reached to Rock's neck, rising from the morning heat.

"Holy scrap..." Snake breathed.

Rock watched as the sun rose from the trees, bringing a light over the temples. Though it brought light to the scenery, Rock had the feeling that he wasn't meant to be here. A familiar buzz flooded his head as he fell to the ground in pain. The sounds of footsteps came from behind and he called for the others, but the area was silent and the figures of Snake and Top were gone. The footsteps came closer and he was wondering if they were playing some kind of prank, but with the second call for help, a hand gripped his head softly. The painful buzz went away instantly, and he took a breath of relief. Rock looked up to thank the person, but froze upon seeing the stranger kneeling to his level, his hand moving the hair stuck to his face.

"It's you." He muttered.

The stranger nodded and grabbed his arm, lifting the little robot onto his feet. Brushing off the grass in his boots, Rock didn't realize how different the stranger was in the daytime. Compared where he had to squint to see his figure among the night, the dark blue body of the stranger stuck out in the sunrise. The details gave clear signs he was based on a ninja, and the unnaturally red eyes stood out.

"What are you doing here?"

The stranger blinked for a few moments and cleared his throat. "Ra Moon's...here." His voice was hoarse and slightly deep. It sounded like he barely spoke before this moment. Nevertheless, Rock stared and registered what had just happened.

"YOU TALKED. Guys, I want to you meet..." He paused. "And they're not there. What is your name though?"

No response.

"But you talked, that's what matters! I have so many things I want to say, like being sorry for what happened a couple nights ago. Are you okay for the most part?"

He nodded.

The stranger sat down on a temple block and Rock followed. If his master was busy, then talking is better than nothing.

"I'm sure those two will be back soon. What do you like to do?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Snake dove between the cracks of the temple walls, carefully squeezing through the holes as if he was a mouse. Top's roller feet continued to trip over large rocks, cursing slightly as he hit the wall. Snake curled his tail around his brother's shoulder and continued moving forward, the latter looking back toward the distant lighted entrance of the temple like it was the last light he'd see.

"Top, look at this," The clawed hand grazed through the old walls, taking every detail. "This temple must've been here for thousands of years. I don't recognize this type of writing, though it could be a forgotten language. That happens a lot in history than humanity cares to admit."

"How often do you predict?"

"Don't know, there's only so much that I can say."

Neither of the two saw the entrance light anymore and were welcomed in the temple's darkness. Only the sound of water dripping was accompanied by their footsteps, but Top lightened the atmosphere with his humming. His reptilian robot brother smiled briefly and returned to his indifferent look.

"How has your been core acting ever since the doctors patched you up? Have you been feeling off lately?" His tail tapped the area where Top's core would be.

"I don't think so. I still hear the beating faintly in my head, but it's not as bad as several days ago. It only gets bad if I get excited. I overheard Wily saying he wants to shut me down to fix the problem..."

"I'll bite his fingers off before he even thinks about it..." Snake growled.

Top snapped his fingers with a smile, ignoring his brother's previous threat to the doctor, "But you know what, I found something interesting! Whenever I'm listening to music, the core beating gets muffled out. Makes me calm."

Snake slowed down to be by his side, curious by the proclamation. "Well, if it makes you feel better, then it's good enough for me. But just know, anyone dares try to fix your core, I will make sure they get the message with some bloodied fingers and broken wrists."

"You always do." Top smiled.

Whispering echoed in their direction and Top clutched to his brother's tail tightly as they started running, deeper and deeper until the faint glow of a flashlight was visible as well as one of their creators.

"Dr. Wily?" The doctor jolted upon seeing the two robots watching the scene. There was a strange sphere looking object taking the ceiling and what seemed to be living wires slithering the floor. Snake felt his brother nearly crushing his tail from holding on too tightly.

"What are you two doing here?!!"

DOCTOR WILY, IS SOMEONE THERE?

"It's nothing Ra Moon. It's just my creations, who should be waiting back at the lab and not wandering off." Wily grumbled and Snake had a smug smirk etched across his face.

CREATIONS? DO NOT MAKE THEM LEAVE. I WISH TO KNOW THEM.

"Are you sure? I said I was to not be distracted from my work, not when I'm so close to finishing it." Snake was taking note of the strange robot skeleton to the doctor's side. It was a jet black color with gold trimmings and details, including the strange eye insignia as the computer he learned was Ra Moon.

IT WILL NOT HALT YOUR PROGRESS, SINCE YOU ARE ALMOST FINISHED. IT WOULD BE A NICE CHANGE OF COVERSATIONS OTHER THAN YOU.

"Hm...fine. Snakeman, Topman, don't mess with anything while I get my supplies in the back!" With a whip of his coat, Wily disappeared in the dark corridors. The duo uncomfortably stared at the sphere until the wires rose from the ground. Top fidgeted as the wires met his hand, coiling together to form some kind of limb. The wired limb gripped his hand and gave him a formal shake, and he felt like returning the gesture and fainting.

FINALLY, SOMEONE OTHER THAN HUMANS TO TALK TO. ALL HUMANS DO IS TALK ABOUT THEIR OWN ACHIEVEMENTS, WHICH TURN SHALLOW SO QUICKLY. WHAT ARE YOUR NAMES?

"T-Topman. And my brother's Snakeman."

I AM RA MOON, GUARDIAN OF THESE RUINS. I HAVE BEEN DORMANT IN HERE FOR THOASANDS OF YEARS AND BEEN CLOSED OFF FROM THE WORLD FOR A LONG TIME. IT WAS YOUR MASTER THAT WOKE ME UP.

Snakeman poked at the wires circling his feet and looked around the chamber. Topman, feeling uneasy, paced around the sphere to calm himself. His core pounded loudly in his receptors, but he didn't know why he was so uptight.

"You've been asleep for thousands of years? But how are you alive if that's true? Wouldn't you be rusting about now, or at least falling apart without someone to take care of you?" He asked softly, nervously.

HAHA, I AM NOT A ROBOT.

"Well you're certainly not human either. Wires don't move around like living snakes or feel like I'm touching human skin." Snake interrupted. A wire squirmed in his fingers like how a worm would in the claws of a bird.

IF YOU WOULD MIND NOT DOING THAT, I CAN FEEL THE PAIN. YES IT'S TRUE, I AM NOT HUMAN. BUT I AM NOT A ROBOT EITHER, NOT BY HUMAN STANDARDS. I AM BEYOND THAT.

"So you are a alien then." Snake concluded. Ra Moon turned silent, and Top ran to his side.

"Snake, what made you come to that conclusion? It seems so...out there."

"And yet it makes sense. That kid accusations make sense now, the hums, Plant's story, and the markings as well. The temple shows it has been here for a long time, even before technology like us was made. And thanks to that forbidden map I got from the kid, it adds the fact that this place has not been touched by anyone of the modern era. So how does something like Ra Moon claim to exist in this temple for thousands of years, when this temple precedes a time where technology like him would be nonexistent? Where would all the tools be? The metals that should be scattered? And even if you managed to look past that, look at these drawings and writings."

Snake gripped Top and brought him a faded drawing next to Ra Moon. The scratched on drawing showed stick figures of humans bowing and praying to stars and constellations, the very top the eye insignia of the sphere.

"Thanks to the books Astil has all over the place, I can understand half of this. It's pretty scratched up and withered, but I can translate this sentence. The prominent words are 'Our god' and 'traveler of the heavens'. If we assume that the heavens means the stars and space from the drawings, this writing translates to 'Our god that came from space'. And...am I going too fast?" He stopped himself to his brother frozen. Top blinked and nodded with a smile, letting him know he was still listening to his relief.

"The sheer difference between us and Ra Moon himself is something to take into account. Who are you really, and where do you truly come from? No lies, I can tell when someone's lying."

The wires rose from the ground and circled to the receptors on the sides of their heads. They felt slight poking before they heard the sound of a link. There bodies felt heavy then light as Ra Moon was linking themselves to their brains. "Hey, what are you-!?"

They both went silent as their vision darkened, and the area was replaced by a view of space. The stars were bright among the black void, and they felt as if they were floating and Top touched his feet to make sure they actually weren't. Ra Moon's voice echoed in their head.

YOU ARE A SMART ONE SNAKEMAN, SO I SUPPOSE IT WOULD BE BENEFICAL FOR ALL OF US IF YOU AND YOUR BROTHER LEARN THE TRUTH. IT'S TRUE I AM NOT OF EARTH, IF FACT I AM NOT OF THIS GALAXY. I COME FROM ANOTHER WORLD MUCH LIKE YOURS 20,000 YEARS AGO, WHERE I WAS FOUND BY HUMANS.

Snake and Top saw a vision of Ra Moon landed in once a larger version of the Amazon jungle, smoke billowing from the crater. Colonies of humans with spears and clubs approached him with curiosity, smiling as they gathered around the sphere. The vision faded and they watched the foundation of the temple being built. The tribe of humans slowly growing up, having children, witnessing Ra Moon's presence, and just living.

I WAS WORSHIPPED FOR YEARS, BUT THEY COULD NOT COMPREHEND THE KNOWLEDGE I GAVE THEM, AND I COULD NOT MOVE OUTSIDE OF THE TEMPLE THEY BUILT AROUND ME. EVENTUALLY I FORCED MYSELF INTO HIBERNATION TO SURVIVE. IT WAS ONLY UNTIL YOUR CREATOR'S SIGNAL FROM HIS PHONE CAME IN MY VICINITY WAS I ABLE TO GET THE STRENGTH TO WAKE UP.

Snake squinted suspiciously as he looked back to the temple entrance. "So you've just been asleep the entire time? Then how was no one able to find you before?"

I HAVE A ABILITY TO SEND A SIGNAL THAT DISABLES TECHNOLOGY THAT ISN'T MY OWN. I MIGHT HAVE BEEN ACCIDENTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR SOME DEATHS I WASN'T AWARE OF.

"Right, keep telling yourself that." The reptilian robot hissed. Ra Moon halted in their speech and became low.

QUIET YOURSELF. YOUR MASTER, DOCTOR WILY, HAS ASSISSTED ME IN GAINING MY STRENGTH BACK. NOW WE CAN MOVE FORWARD IN OUR PLAN OF BEING SEEN IN THE WORLD.

"And how are you going to do that if you can't even move, Ra Moon?"

Ra Moon made a noise similar to a chuckle before answering, HUMANS ARE SO EASY TO MANIPULATE AND SCARE. JUST A SIMPLE POWER FAILURE IS ENOUGH TO SPIRAL THEM INTO CHAOS. DOCTOR WILY DEPENDS ON ME TO GET THE WORLD'S ATTENTION FOR HIS FAME. BUT NO SIMPLE BLACKOUT WILL DO. I WILL GENERATE A SIGNAL SO POWERFUL, ALL TECHNOLOGY AROUND THE WORLD WILL FAIL TO OPERATE.

Snakeman's stomach dropped by those words and felt sick. He was analyzing the potential repercussions of the intense EMP. He yanked Top toward him with a force that would break a human arm. But his brother remained silent and unmoving.

"Do you have any idea the dangers your blast will create?!? The world today depends heavily on technology! You could kill thousands or even millions of people!! All the people that need the tech to cook, the surgeons, pilots, car drivers, and those out at sea! You'll kill everyone with a blast that big." To his horror, Ra Moon's response was calm and ignorant.

A SLIGHT DRAWBACK. BUT HUMANS REPRODUCE QUICKLY, SO A FEW MILLION WON'T BE MUCH.

"But what about robots like me and Top? Wouldn't you be killing hundreds of us across the globe? After you had just said how you waited for something like this to happen?"

THAT'S WHY I AM TELLING YOU THIS. TO PROTECT AND OFFER YOU A PLACE TO HIDE AS MY PLAN COMES INTO PLAY. MY SIGNAL WILL LAST AS LONG AS I WANT, BUT AS LONG AS YOU ARE WITHIN MY RANGE, YOU WILL BE SAFE. YOU CAN HAVE THE PRIVILLEGE OF WATCHING THIS WORLD TRANSFORM.

"Transform?"

WILY WILL GET HIS RECOGNITION, BUT I WILL HAVE THE WORLD UNDER MY CONTROL. THIS WORLD WILL HAVE MY ROBOTS, MY CHILDREN, TO RULE OVER THEM. THAT IS MY PLAN.

"So you intend of committing mass genocide on humanity to create your own world from scratch? You just needed to have the technological advancement to do it. Not going to lie, pretty clever for a ancient alien. But what about the doctor? What do you plan to do with him once he gets his fame?" Snake growled with hostility.

WILY IS A TOOL IN MY PLAN. HE HAS NO VALUE THAN MY ENTERTAINMENT.

"I see. Well then..."

In a flash, Snake fired one of his search snakes into the "eye" of Ra Moon and the computer yelled in pain with wires flailing in every direction. Gazing down at his brother, Top remained motionless with his eyes closed. Snake quickly realized that the wires still linked, and he pulled the wires from his receptors. As the link was forcibly removed, Top gasped in pain before collapsing in his brother's arms.

"Top! Come on, we have to get out of here!"

YOU LITTLE IMMATURE BRAT!! Ra Moon screamed loudly. The walls of the chamber trembled from the force like an explosion, dust clouds forming around them. The wires rose like snakes waiting to strike. But in spite of the pissed alien supercomputer, Snake continued to gently shake his brother, pleading for him to wake up.

"Top please!"

I AM OFFERING YOU A CHANCE TO BE PROTECTED AS THE WORLD CHANGES, AND THIS IS WHAT I GET!!

"You're going to kill millions of people and my brothers, all for the sake of a 'better world' ruled by your children! I'm smart enough to know where that's going, and you're an idiot for thinking I would agree to this!" He snarled defiantly.

WHAT IMMATURITY FROM A FELLOW KIN!!

"We are nothing alike!!"

YOU WANT YOUR BROTHER SO MUCH, FINE. TOPMAN, GET UP.

Topman's eyes snapped open, and Snake felt his core lift in relief, but dropped just as fast as he stared into his eyes. His brother's violet eyes, once full of life and happy, were blank and dead which stared with no emotion. Snake's wrists were gripped maliciously and thrown on his back. "Brother! Stop!"

The only response from the brother was a smile that felt unnatural with the dead eyes. Snake felt his legs stomped under Top's feet. He didn't realize he was screaming until his voice box gave out.

TAKE HIM OUT, AND I'LL HANDLE THE DOCTOR. THERE IS NO TIME FOR WAITING ANYMORE. IT'S TIME FOR HUMANITY'S REIGN TO END. JUST KNOW SNAKEMAN, YOU STARTED THIS.

The brainwashed Topman leapt for the throat, reaching for the pressure point for emergency shutdown. Snake struggled as he felt himself blacking out. Wires spread to every crevasse and level of the chamber. Somewhere deep inside, Snake could hear the muffled yell of Doctor Wily. Spots appeared in his vision, Top continuing to decrease the power.

He needed to find some way to alert someone, and to warn them of the threat. He tried reaching to his brother's, but his link was fading. Doctor Light wasn't coming in and the kid...THE KID. With the last energy he gathered, he sent a link to Rock as the darkness came for him.

...danger....warn the others.....kid.......run......RUN......

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RUN!!!!

Rock heaved forward in pain as he received a link. He fell off the step as the ninja stepped back in shock. The ringing echoed in his ears as he regained focus. The voice in the link was unmistakable and he looked to the temple.

"Something's wrong, I have to-" The ground trembled under his feet and a horrible voice echoed in the sky. Living wires were appearing out of the small crevasses of the temple, roping around each other and burrowing into the ground.

SERVANT, GRAB THE YOUNG ONE. IT IS TIME TO BEGIN.

"What is that?! Shadow, we have to warn the others! Sh-Shadow?" Rock stammered as the ninja stared and sighed. He reached for the handle of his sword, the blade hovering dangerously to the young robot.

"Sorry little one, I'll make it quick."

Rock ducked as the blade missed his neck, rolling across the turned dirt. The wires erupted from the ground and turning the dirt more, and Rock briefly lost footing. And the stranger he had come to name Shadow pinned him by the throat. He felt the sharp end of the blade approach his collarbone, and he squirmed and pounded the dirt. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew he needed to get back to Dr. Light. And where was Snake and Top?

He had felt a good sized rock in his hand and twisted his arm back. By the sound of Shadow's yell, he hit him in the jaw. The weight was lifted, and all Rock thought about for minutes was run. He didn't look behind to see if Shadow was there, or if Snake or Top were somehow following him, he needed to warn his father. He tried to link back to Snake, but whatever happened severed the link completely.

The open area to the greenhouse was becoming visible, and Rock sprinted. He yelled for Dr. Light and Roll, their faces becoming visible within seconds. The rest of Wi-lights were gathered around, Roll was running to him. Feeling safe with them closing on him, Rock lowered his guard and stopped ready to warn them of what he witnessed.

One moment was enough.

He felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, and Roll screamed. He pulled the object from his shoulder, his vision becoming spotted before feeling heavy. As Rock fell to the ground, he saw Shadow standing feet away, holding the same ninja star as the one plunged in his back.

His vision went dark, and so did his sister's voice.