ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤThe feeling— or lack thereof— makes him collapse, shutdown warnings ringing through his head. As they start to reboot, sense returns to his limbs, buster withdrawing to a clenched fist. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe won't let another get away. But he can't chase after Dragon right now. ㅤ

//

ㅤ 「 Either you come back, or no one gets those abilities. 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe takes a step forward. ㅤ

ㅤ 「 He already knows the layouts. The issue comes with your abilities. We can't have such a proper mechanic with our worst enemy. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 You have a pretty intimate knowledge of the layout. We can't let you just waltz around. Besides... 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe raises his buster. 「 ..you've been in contact with Mega Man, haven't you? 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 You may never know. 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe drops from above, buster armed and ready. 「 Might I ask where you've been? 」 ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤAnd that's when they see it. The red eyes staring from the darkness. 「 Well met, Dragon. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤSomething moves. Ever so slightly. But enough for the warrior to pick up on it. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤThe flutter of a cape in the wind. ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤWhatever they're looking for, someone is looking for /them./ And they aren't making that fact obvious. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤStalking along the tree line, the assassin watches, waiting for an opening. ㅤ

( He won't give that thing up. He must've known they were trying to get a hold of it. /Ugh./ ) ( Dragon watches him leave silently, but is left to wonder what he meant by "recover"... )

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe takes a moment to call the battonton back down, walking out with it on his shoulder. 「 Farewell, Dragon. I hope you and Proto Man recover well. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 And yet you did. Intentions do not matter when you are a liability. Are we done here? 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Yes, I have been. We are not some reject bin, and we do not allow just anyone in. Eventually, the mystique of the cryptid bot will wear off, and you'll have added nothing to our cause while drawing the attention of dangerous robots like Enker. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHis eyes narrow again, holding his hand up to let the battonton fly up and roost again. 「 By all means, continue. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Because how truthful you are about yourself reflects how truthful you are about Enker. And so far, about yourself, you have dodged my questions. 」 「 I will inform Wily of this exchange and begin a search myself. 」 [+] ㅤ

ㅤ 「 You are an unidentified robot and, mere days after you joined us here, a robot that you /know/ infiltrated our forces with what seemed to be direct attempts to steal our information. 」 [+] ㅤ

ㅤ 「 So that /is/ you. Tell me, "Dragon," why are you here and not in your shop? And why do you keep telling Proto Man you're an older bot, when you've only been around for a few years? 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe ignores their other point. ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Then why did he not call you by your "real name" when he started panicking, Kirin Master? 」 ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe takes a step forward. 「 Alright then. Who is "Kirin?" 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Do not play games. What kind of combat was he /made/ for. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 What kind of combat? 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 You'll find I am quite hard to take out, actually. 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤpharaoh you are going to die ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ︵ ㅤㅤ➣ㅤㅤ𝐆𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐍 ᴼᶠ ᵀᴴᴱ 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ︶ ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHis eyes narrow in suspicion. He doesn't believe them. 「 What was that blast he used? 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Then who made him? 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 He is. He's an unknown robot with a strong ability, and we have reason to believe he's a Light robot. 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe shuts the door. ㅤ

ㅤ 「 How did you know him? 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 The robot that infiltrated the fortress, attacked Proto Man, and called you "Kirin." Do not play dumb. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Firstly; who is Enker? 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Try me. 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤPharaoh, please. ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Hello. Dragon, was it? I have a few questions. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤAs he leaves Wily, he heads to the free room where @displacedsavior.bsky.social is staying. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤThe free room that... that used to be... ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤNo. That isn't important. You have some questions to ask. ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Yes, sir. Given the footage I've seen, I know just who to ask. 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤAnd with a slight bow, he's off. ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Which would explain how Enker got away so fast. He was never restrained in the first place... it must've been an inside job. 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe puts a hand to his chin, before shaking his head. 「 I'm still unsure why they would cause such a scene, what Mega Man was searching for, or– 」 [+] ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe opens the door as quietly as possible, setting the mug down on Wily's desk. It's /almost/ black, with the tiniest bit of creamer. Just the way Wily likes it. 「 I went ahead and checked the security camera footage. While I didn't find Mega Man entering... 」 [+] ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤIt's Pharaoh Man's muffled voice from the other side. 「 I come bearing coffee and reports. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤThere's a knock on his lab door... ㅤ

( His right-hand, whom he treats well enough in comparison, isn’t spared from it sometimes. ) ( And that’s who he’s calling next, hanging up on Pharaoh in the process. ) ( He wants /answers./ )

🦾🔌 If you think that you can run, If you think that you can stand, Well, you forget who turned this city on! YOU FORGET WHO PLUGGED THIS CITY IN! 🛠️⚡ #MMRP #CapcomRP #MVRP

ㅤ 「 Affirmative, doctor. Once we get our hands on him, I promise, I will not fail a second time. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe bows his head when Wily speaks, even when he can't be seen... 「 Trust me, my doctor— we both saw him dismantled by the scrapper... I am unsure how he is still alive. I havw yet to see for myself; Proto Man was the one who reported back. I am unsure why he had yet to report to you. 」 ㅤ

[ direct messages with @nefariousgenius.bsky.social ] > apologies for the interruption so late, but this is important. > we have reason to suspect ice man is still active, somehow.

> i do not believe you. I am sorry.

> i am to. i personally saw to his death. he is dead.

> perhaps you've finally gone mad.

> don't play games. i disposed of his body myself. it wasn't in any repairable state.

> don't waste time with riddles, proto man. > what is it?

BESIDES, ROCK LIGHT IS STILL OUT THERE!