This shutdown was the weirdest experience Rock felt. A normal shutdown meant the power was completely cut off from the processor, ceasing all sensory and motor functions altogether. But he could feel something moving his arms, an arm slipping underneath his legs into a comfortable position. A warmth was still beating in his core, and the sound of faint whispering echoed in his ears. A strange sensation of movement pushed his hair backyards despite his inability to move. A soft thud. The feeling of a floor.

Did someone set him down? It could have been Rush returning with the energy elements and dragging him. Then again, Rush had no limbs to carry him in this way. The core sped up slightly at the idea of Snakeman surviving the blast to the chest, and dragging him off to places unknown to finish the job. However the sounds of retreating footsteps made him more confused as his body stayed motionless. Whoever that was just left him here without any further harm.

Since he could feel objects touching his body, this could mean his mind is active enough to send a signal to Rush.

Return to me Rush. I need assistance. However, he received no confirmation signal with the command only heard in his processor. Rush?

For each minute that went by he would try sending out another signal towards his companion, hoping that he would have comfort in this strange but dire situation. Minute long intervals turned into a hour, and the hour turned into a couple more before he started to see his attempts as futile. Perhaps it would be better to just sit and wait until his body was stable enough to reactivate.

By the third hour, the sudden tension of his left arm returned with the right arm shortly afterward. His mind became clearer instead of the dazed thoughts that came and fled previously, and the legs bent enough to return to a sitting position. He opened his eyes expecting to see his companion by his side, happily licking his face in relief after the near death moment. But as the image became clearer, he gasped at the mayhem around his body.

He appeared to be in a tower of some kind, but it appeared to have been mangled and twisted in directions that would be deemed unsafe. Huge sections of the floor were blown upwards into sharp shapes, revealing deep holes into a underground passage. A majority of windows were now holes the size of his body, and the scattered remains of generators and colored lightbulbs littered the floors.

"What the-?" Rock murmured. Observing the massive exposure the interior has to space, maybe it will be better to just float around. He released as little energy as possible into a small jump, and his feet barely left. He blinked in shock as he tried to jump again.

"Artificial gravity? But how is that possible with an area so exposed?" He asked himself. He ran a scan on his condition and found a disturbing level of errors and damages within the circuits and armor. But as he kept forward, the reflection of a computer screen became visible at the tower's top. He slowly climbed the unstable ladders and mangled metal until he reached the blown open metallic doorway. Generators and transformers were smashed and fried irreparably, and half of the computer screen was shattered. However as he approached the computer, a press on the keyboard brought it to life.

"Well at least the computer still...works?" Rock's eyes trailed pass the computer to the edge of the room. Standing several feet tall were a set of ornate rings holding panels of opaque glass, resembling the containers meant to hold the energy elements. Barely visible within the object's glass were four robot bodies, which made Rock's core skip. While the other three he recognized from the previous fights, the condition of the red magnetic robot master made him uneasy.

"How did you guys get here?" Rock traced along Magnet's body, piecing together the damages made to the armor and head. Significant but light gashes littered the upper arms and legs, and the side of the head was slightly dented to signify head damage. The chest cavity seemed forcefully opened with the red I.C chip glowing faintly in an flat palm.

"Th-There was no way I did this? But if I didn't, then who..." Rock trailed off as he spotted a familiar object lodged in the back of the neck. With s gentle tug, he realized what the tiny but sharp object was. He never forgot the being these weapons belonged to. A small cough behind him made him jump and the airless atmosphere felt cold.

"I suppose the only true winners are the humans, aren't they?" The ninja leaned against the broken counter with his gaze unreadable.

"Shadow?" Rock was breathless until he saw the orange element Top previously had in his hand. "What are you doing with that?"

"That would depend on your answer." He answered.

"What answer?" Rock asked.

"Whether the humans order you to kill me as well, just as you will do to them there." His red eyes glowed slightly before simmering down. Rock felt a twinge of anger bubble inside.

"They are not dead!"

"They will be soon." He kept an even tone as he started to walk to the edge.

"How are you alive? I saw Ra Moon's temple-no I was IN IT when it collapsed! I thought you were crushed!" Rock ran to block him, his eyes still on the energy element. However, Shadow refused to look at him as he proceed to walk around.

"How I survived is none of your concern. But you can go back to that planet. You have no need to engage in any more bloodshed."

"Absolutely not! You are coming with me along with the energy elements that you stole, and be handed over to the proper authorities!" Rock said with conviction. Shadow's eyes flared brightly before chucking the element into the dark chasm. Rock yelled in shock before being shoved and falling into the chasm as well. The tower rapidly faded from view, and the walls of the chasm grew larger. It felt familiar to the fall in asteroid Glimmer's chasm until he landed on the hard floor. He could still see the faint light of the opening before noticing a warm orange glow behind him.

He looked over the edge to see orange rivers of thick lava, as well as cliffs of volcanic rock creating dangerous ledges. Gemstones of various colors were embedded in the rock resembling stars, which emitted their own dim lights. Scattered across the ground were various machines still functioning and creating a low hum. Rock could see small pieces of metal drawing towards them or sticking to the ground. These machines were what was creating the artificial gravity, keeping him and the lava close to the ground.

He heard the footsteps of Shadow approach from behind, and he whirled around with his blaster in hand glaring at the imposter. Shadow made no effort to return the look.

"I suppose this is how it is going to end?" He asked.

"If it leads to me taking the others home, then that is fine by me." Rock replied. Shadow scoffed before turning to the darkness of the chasms and vaporized into dark mist. The little robot pieced together what the ninja was doing. Shadow could blend and disappear into shadows, and the various cliffs and ledges created endless openings. The illumination of the lava littered the walls and floors with streams of darkness. 

The blades his opponent wielded could easily shut him down with one well placed slash, and the shadow blending proved to be dangerous with stealth. He did not know what the ninja's weakness was or if such a weakness existed. He had begun to realize the fight was not in his favor.

"Tell me something young one," a voice came up behind his ear, "Do you find fulfillment in this?"

Rock felt a blade pierce near his left shoulder and his already frail systems started to show multiple errors. He leaned forward and attempted to face his attacker, but the ninja was no longer there.

"I had thought that you were different. A soldier that would see the bloodshed as meaningless, and that there was no need for this. But it seems humans like to create sick jokes. Creating tools of death before anything else, without a care towards lives wasted so early. And you are just like the rest of them." The ninja spoke with a voice that was on the edge of anger and pity. Rock felt his anger increase as he forced himself up.

"Why are you acting like you're the wise one here?! Did you not see what Ra Moon did to the world? Who are you to talk about wasting lives?" Rock shouted to the lava abyss. A hand reached from a cliff edge and swept his legs under. His neck was grabbed and the mass of his body rolled off the edge in a fluid motion. As he made contact with the second cliff, he barely moved away from the thrown shuriken aiming above the other shoulder. His left shoulder was numb and barely moved at his command, and his weapons systems was not functioning.

"Do not act like I chose that fate with that malicious computer. It was never my decision to make on what happened to all life. But humans..." Shadow leapt down and made another swipe at Rock, this time grazing the chest with the shuriken's tip, "I had wondered what made them so special that your kind feels the need to protect them. And it turns out...there is nothing."

What had started as a battle quickly evolved to defense and evasion from the flurry of swinging blades and throwing stars. His forearms were covered in minor cuts, while the deeper slashes created deeper wounds in the horribly exposed areas. Shadow avoided the chest or areas with vital circuits and just continued with the limbs. He tried to throw a punch or kick but the ninja proved to be too quick and disappeared through the shadows, only to zip back with a hard punch or slash.

"But humans are good!" Rock argued.

"Because your creator said so? Not the first time I have been told that." Shadow brushed off the child's claim.

"Dr. Light says that humans and robots can live in peace together as equals! That is why he made us! Doctor Wily is the reason all of this is happening!" Rock spat as his buster finally released a shot. As the plasma headed towards Shadow, the ninja sprinted forward and made a small jump. His feet collided and slid across the floor, and his body flattened in motion. The plasma missed the body and the sliding ninja collided into Rock with intense force. He did not realized he flew onto the final cliff, the thick lava river glowing ominously under the steep edge.

"Equals? Tell me then...what is going to happen to your kind if you were to bring them back to the planet? You think they are just going to accept them back? Give them new functions? Force them into a new cage? Or perhaps...you just do not care after all. As long as your precious MASTER is happy, then all is well." Shadow spat the last sentence as the large shuriken pierced Rock's side, forcing the little robot to yell in pain and anger.

"Dr. Light is not my master, he is my FATHER! And he will figure something out! He...He always does!" He gasped, gripping the blade attempting to rip it out.

"And that worked with the other robot masters, did it?" Shadow's voice went into a soft but aggressive murmur.

"Wh-What? How do you...?" Rock trailed off. The dangerous glow that had been present in the ninja's eyes had dimmed and relaxed into a solemn gaze. Gripping the boy's neck, their red and blue eyes stared at one another. Shadow slowly turned Rock away from the edge until their positions had become opposite, with the former now at the edge instead of the boy.

The lava filled chambers felt cold and tense, and the two warriors stared each other down. As the grip of the ninja's hand grew tighter, Rock could barely make out the sentence under his breath.

"They have convinced you to throw away your kins lives, chip away your body, and destroy yourself for their convenience. That...that is all we are destined for after all."

The more the words sunk in, a new form of red flooded his eyes. And as the warmth in his chest pulsed rapidly, his numb arms snapped against Shadow's sides. His feet pushed with all his strength against the legs, and the hands of the aggressor flew off. Rock watched as the ninja's briefly visible form vanished over the edge with no cry or sound. He thought the ninja had vanished back into the darkness and thoughtlessly scanned the area with his blaster ready. However, a few more seconds later he heard a distinct noise out of the bubbling lava. A small but loud bang echoed below and small clicks similar to splashing. The red in his vision faded, and Rock felt only dread.

"No..." He murmured, quickly looking over the cliff ledge. In the hardened black crusts of the lava river was a hole exposing pulsing magma, and a body slowly dragging himself to a safe area with bits of magma hardening on his armor.

He did not mean to. He thought he...why didn't he fade away? As the body reached the bottom of the cliff and fell limp, Rocks' legs moved a few seconds before his mouth.

"SHADOW!!!" Even as he quickly made it to the bottom of the cliff and gently pushed Shadow up on the wall, the ninja did not move or speak. Hardened magma clung to the edges of his hands and legs, while the softer areas around the neck and face were blistered with burns. The backside had a singular black burn stretching from the neck base to the legs. Rock figured it was the area that hit the lava when he fell.

"I'm sorry! I-I-I did not mean to! I just...I thought you-! Rock stammered failing to calm his circuits. Shadow remained still with his eyes painfully shut. The body was still giving off heat from being enveloped by the magma. Even with the intense temperature, Rock's eyes had quickly welled up with tears.

"I-I-I am going to just see if your circuits are charred! Maybe I can fix this! You just...you can't be gone!" Rock was talking to no one in particular. He gently pressed against the ninja's chest, while trying not to put additional damage on himself. However, the chest plate that was a part of all robot masters did not open. He tried again but only pressed the body against the wall harder. Rock fell back into a panic and pressed one more time and felt something slick. He stopped to look at his hands to see red liquid with blotches of black glisten across the cerulean armored hands, as well as the skin areas of the ninja. It was thin enough not to be lava, but thick enough to not feel like water.

It was blood. The burned areas of the ninja were bleeding. And Rock had the blood on his hands.

The panic that had been swirling in the little robot's head had stopped, his eyes staring at the mess in his hands trailing towards the still ninja. He had noticed another movement at the sides of where his chest armor stopped. A inward and outward movement that indicated breathing, but it was not like the synthetic breathing that robot masters learn to mimic from humans. This was real breathing. Automatic. Natural to keep itself alive. The burns that littered the neck and facial regions seemed to slowly heal and replace the damaged skin with a fresh layer. Reality had hit Rock hard as jumbled words came together in his mind.

Blood...real blood. Robots...can not bleed. But real blood...real breathing. He is real. He is living. A living being. I made a living being bleed. I hit a living being. I BURNED A LIVING BEING. I NEARLY KILLED-!

"RUSH HELP!" Rock screamed hard enough to crack the vocal box. A mechanical bark echoed from the top before the familiar red body of his dog descended down the cliffside. As Rush ran to help him, Rock carefully slung Shadow's arm over his shoulder. The robot dog skidded to a halt feet away from the two, snarling angrily at the unconscious stranger.

"Rush, turn into jet mode and get us out of here." Rock asked only for the mutt to snap its jaws at Shadow's body. He shook his head and attempted to separate the two. Anger flooded Rock's mind at the aggressive action.

"Rush! Activate jet mode!" He shouted an order and Rush went rigid before whining. The dog's body morphed into a skateboard shape mixed with a jet, waiting patiently for the two bodies to hop on. Rock clung tightly to the ninja's arm and waist as the jet blasted towards the chasm opening, the slick blood still dripping off his fingers and down the legs. As they reached the main computer room he paced to the teleporter containing the other robot masters. He made sure to place the ninja's burned body gently against the glass before pacing towards the computer.

Navigating through the computer systems was easier than expected, with the code to send a teleport signal hidden within a file. As soon as he hit the button, the teleporter began to whir to life, the buttons glowing rapidly. Sparks started to fly across the rings. Rock noticed the glass starting to crack as it began to complete the teleport.

"It must've been damaged by what happened here! Rush, hop in now!" He shouted. The two collided with the other robot master bodies as they were enveloped in light. The seconds of blinding light dimmed to a familiar sight of a female scientist with frizzled auburn and purple highlighted hair. She appeared to had been conversing with a strange agent in a uniform until the sound of the teleporter alerted them, along with the frightening sound of six bodies falling out.

"Oh...OH MY GOD! Megaman! Y-You are in one piece! You got the teleporter working! And-! And...IS THAT BLOOD?" Lucy Lavender shouted in relief, confusion, and horror all at once. Rock did not hesitate to run into her arms.

"Lucy!! I need help! Where is Doctor Light and Roll?! I need repairs and we have to contact the mayor! Or someone!" Rock had stopped his questioning when he saw the pain in Lucy's eyes upon saying his father and sister's names. "Lucy? Where is Doctor Light?"

"He is in the hospital." Lucy winced.

"HOW?!"

"Are you really Megaman?" The uniformed agent asked.

"Yes! What happened here?" Rock replied without looking at the person in question. The agent cleared her voice to turn the attention back towards them.

"Now that we have Megaman back, he will need to come back with us to gain control over the situation."

"There is a slight problem though," Lucy argued back, "All of the robot masters including Megaman are under Doctor Light's programming and command. A robot master can not just simply abandon their creator like-"

"Megaman had no problems disobeying an established order and going into space on its own." The agent interrupted her.

"Space isn't under any jurisdictions or restraints, so he did not technically disobey any federal orders!" Lucy was prepared to continue the argument if it were not for a small raised hand.

"I...I will go with you. But I need to see Doctor Light first and check up on him. You said he was in a hospital?" Rock questioned in a meek voice.

"He is in Mega City hospital in intensive care. I guess we can make a quick trip, but then you are to come with us. Do you understand?" The agent responded.

"And what about the others?" Lucy asked staring at the disabled robot masters.

"I will have a team gather the rest of Light Labs property and take it in for analyzing. Come with me now Megaman. We don't have much time." And with a wave of the agent's hand, the door opened to over a dozen soldiers pointing stun guns at the robot masters. Most of them did not acknowledge Rock as he hurried to follow the agent, leaving a hesitant wave towards Lucy and entering the reinforced car.

The drive was tense with Rock forced into the passenger seat. His processor had slowed down by the time they had reached the edges of Mega City, the streets filled with confused civilians as they saw their blue robotic savior in the federal car. He had decided to take a good look at the agent driving when they were hit with a intersection. While the uniform had hidden most of her features, he could make out bright reddish brown hair underneath her hat.

"If I may miss..." Rock waited for the name. The female agent glanced at him with indifference before moving the car.

"Miller," She responded.

"Right. Miss Miller, what has happened to my father?" Rock asked.

"I know you are already aware about the other three robot masters holding hostages at the power plant. Your creator had tried to calm the situation before the squad could make it. He did manage to get the hostages out, but something had went wrong and he and many of our agents were attacked. The proper authorities had released an electronic pulse that disabled the remaining robots, but Doctor Light has been in intensive care for over a day now." She spoke grimly, and Rock jolted enough to lock the seatbelt.

"I have been out in space for an entire day?!"

"Let me finish," She said and Rock quieted down as they passed two more intersections, "The disabled robot masters have been taken into custody. DLN. 002 decided to stay with your creator at the hospital and wait until he got better. But it seems as if Doctor Wily has broken into Light Labs and stolen valuable pieces of equipment and confidential files under Thomas Light's name. Something called Project Gamma. Do you have knowledge about that?"

"Project Gamma was supposed to be Doctor Light's newest creation. He would say it would be the ultimate act of bringing peace." Rock answered quickly.

"Have not ever heard that before. How were we not aware of this?" Miss Miller said with a hint of sarcasm. It seemed as if her expression softened after glancing at Rock again.

"Gamma wasn't finished before Lucy asked for our help. She...she needed a robot master that could manipulate magnetic fields for her cargo to reach their station." Rock slowed himself down so the belt did not lock again.

"What was the models designation number?" Miller asked.

"018 Magnetman. He was given the temporary function along with three other robot masters to help Lucy." Rock had dipped his head as they quickly approached the hospital. Its bright white walls and rows of cars did not look inviting as Miller honked for space.

"I was so stupid. I should not have let Wily near Doctor Light. I should not have let him touch his tools. I should have done something different to avoid this." He choked.

"Don't blame yourself. There is only so much a model like yourself can do. You cannot predict everything when it comes to people." Miller spoke with a hint of sorrow and a bit of sympathy in her gaze.

"I should have told Doctor Light to not help him construct GAMMA or the others." Rock muttered. As soon as the car had reached the front door, he thrust open the door and almost rushed inside if it weren't for the halt in agent Miller's breath behind him.

"Doctor Wily was constructing robots? When did this start happening?" She asked.

"About two months ago, and I think it was the first week of July. Please Miss Miller, I need to go see my creator." Rock started backing away to the sliding doors. The agent blinked several times before waving him off. The main lobby did not have a lot of patients, but those that waited gawked at the sudden appearance of the cerulean robot. The nurse at the front desk gasped surprisingly when Rock declared his hero name, and to demand where Doctor Lights room was. She smiled with sympathy as she led him to the fourth story. He did not hesitate to thrust open the door, much to the nurse's dismay, and gaze at the white bearded man sitting upright.

Doctor Light's once clean lab coat and polka dotted tie were now replaced with traditional hospital clothes. The tips of his beard were wiry and smudged black, and there were small burns on the arms and legs. Roll stood in shock as her fathers hand gripped hers gently. The roboticist's eyes flickered open to see his son.

"Doctor Light!" Rock sighed in relief.

"Rock. You...you made it." Doctor Light winced from the aches throughout his body. Rock attempted to reach for his hand, only for Roll to push it aside.

"He is really hurt. The doctor said it is for the best if we leave him alone." Roll winced.

"I managed to get the other robot masters from the asteroids dad. They...Wily managed to get past me again. They tried to kill me and fulfill Wily's goal. Whatever it is." Rock felt his core ache, but he didn't know whether it was anger or sadness at his creators condition.

"I know what it is. Albert was trying to gain access to GAMMA and stole Lucy's energy element and is using it to power GAMMA. I guess she was right in saying the crystal held great power to anything it touched." Doctor Light gasped in pain, "He used the robot masters as a distraction. He accessed my codes on the computer to hack into GAMMA. And now he is using it for his own needs."

"What does he plan on using it for?!" Rock cried out. The door behind them opened to a mildly disturbed agent Miller, listening to an anxious voice on the phone.

"Doctor Wily has been spotted in a giant robot heading towards UN headquarters. They are gathering as much military as possible to stop him, but nothing is working. Is it possible for Megaman to stop him?" She spoke quickly.

"B-But I just got here! I can not just leave you!" Rock said to Doctor Light, but the injured roboticist gave a painful smile.

"I will be okay Rock. But you need to go and stop Albert. Do not let him use GAMMA for this. We will heal from this." Light spoke softly.

"I...okay." Rock nodded worriedly before turning to Miller, "How do I get there?"

From her pocket was a familiar gold ring akin to the teleporters used to transport the robot masters from the asteroids. The width and size was enough to envelop a small hand. "Lucy Lavender gave us one of these teleporter rings as evidence when you did not respond back. I have already put in the coordinates to get you as close as possible. But once you are there, you are on your own."

Rock bit back a rebuttal while latching the ring onto his wrist. He looked to his father and sister as the teleporter activated. The last thing he heard was Roll's encouragement until only three individuals were left in the room.

"Thank you for bringing my boy here miss." Dr. Light thanked the agent with a smile, relieved that his son was able to safely return for a little bit. Roll chuckled in relief at the roboticist, hugging his arm gently in assurance. However the agent remained motionless, and Light felt an uneasy tension the longer the silence went on. "Miss Miller?"

"I had made a call to the government authorities about some unnerving information I have been informed about from your creation. You had Doctor Wily under your supervision for the past couple months right?" Miller asked with a straight face.

"That is correct." Doctor Light confirmed.

"And part of that supervision was to make sure he behaved himself and did not cause further harm to the public." She added.

"Yes? Why are-?" Doctor Light was about to ask before she cut him off.

"On accounts of allowing a registered criminal with a banned robotics license access to robot blueprints, co-create advanced intelligence androids with a criminal, lying to government authorities on the origin of the robot masters and various other issues, you will be charged on all accounts and will be questioned heavily in court for your actions. Megaman, along with all of your earlier robot masters and projects, will be turned in to the court for further investigation. As soon as this problem is dealt with and you recover, you will be escorted out of the hospital immediately." She finished her words with a hard thud as she placed a walkie talkie close to the middle aged man. Not bothering to look at the man any longer, she closed the door with a satisfying click. Doctor Light's mouth was left hanging at her declaration that was so smooth he did not have a chance in getting out a word. Roll's hands had left her father's side to clasp over her own mouth, the situation quickly coming together in her mind. It was only when the door clicked shut that she fell to the floor and cried.

"Megaman." She choked out.