// that’s just an open/flavor text fyi i just wanted him to comment on that

… Why has Shadow Man gone offline? ( Repeated attempts to contact him are unsuccessful. Wily has to just… sit back, in total disbelief. ) ( He gave his robots an /order/ for a reason! )

ㅤ ㅤㅤ⌜ With barely time to react, a weight attaches and forces itself to latch onto his sight, digging flexible teeth into the back of his head. ㅤㅤBoth eyes widen. For a brief moment, he hopes that second would be enough to ping to Wily for aid, ⌟ +

⠀ ⠀⠀〝 Right, right—- way ahead of you, doc! 〞 He's pretty sure he'd be laughed at if he walked up to his fellow robots dressed like this. And /that/ simply won't do! ⠀⠀Playfully saluting his creator, Proto quickly scurries out of the doctor's lab, making his way back to his own room. ⠀

( He nods. He’s willing to take the benefit of the doubt here; and if it turns out it wasn’t as serious as they thought, he’d take advantage of it. ) Yes, we’ll help him… and once he’s weakened from /that,/ I will step in and conquer from there. He won’t be able to stand in my way!

So an evil Mega Man X… and he thinks he can take /my/ world from me? ( Hmm. He pushes his current work to the side. That could wait. It seems like Proto’s more casual appearance, ironically, adds to how serious this is, if he’s willing to come up here without armor to tell him all this. )

( What? He designed Proto’s buster for a reason; shooting even without armor on! The information gives him pause, though. ) Took out his /eye,/ you say… ( He was going to ask how Proto knew Mega Man wasn’t just tricking him again, but his robot wouldn’t lie about the other’s parts being missing. )

( That gets him to stop in his tracks, looking up at his creation with an expression of disbelief. ) /What?!/ What does /he/ want from /me?/ Did you destroy him?

( The door opens pretty fast. Wily's working on something, as per usual. ) Proto Man, I was just about to call you myself. What was that alarm all about?

( He is again reminded of why he can’t stand Light, even though Wily’s the one proving his point. ) All of the robots that /I know and I created/ are still here. You know that’s what I meant!

… I don’t /have/ a robot named Bass. ( That is a good name, though. He’ll have to steal it for later, maybe. )

Well— hold on. /That/ can’t be right. ( Tuning into one of his camera feeds. The sky is, in fact, blue, but not blue enough for him to have noticed anything off before. ) I would know if I’m in another universe! Besides, all my robots are right where they’re supposed to be.

Of course you aren’t. ( At least they’re both on the same page. ) I’ve seen many time travel and multi-versal incidents recently… But one that puts another /you/ in this universe is one incident too many.

What do you mean by /here??/I’ve been in my lab this whole time. Every time you speak it makes less sense.

What do you take me for? I won’t “be nice” just because we haven’t seen each other in a while. ( This is boggling his mind, but he’s still not in a good mood. )

// he’s not fucking normal.

// i love old men marital disputes however my energy has been very low today so bear with me

Don’t “Albert” me, Dr. Light. ( Why does he look so different? Wily remembers every feature about him… )

Oh. It’s /him./

temp pin.

Staying here? Good. ( With that, he gets to work. This'll be difficult, but not impossible. Nothing is impossible for Dr. Wily, after all. )

( He’s already pulling research up. ) It won’t take me long. In the meantime, don’t get into any trouble… ( He says that, knowing Proto is probably going to get into trouble. )

I can’t understand what you’re trying to say. You know that. ( His fingers drum on his table in irritation. Not at Proto, of course; he’s sure that his robot didn’t /mean/ for this to happen. But if neither of them have any idea how this happened, then he’s at a loss for now. )

( The fact that this cat stared at Wily for several seconds, in total silence, before meowing in that confident tone seems to drive it home. Because, really, Proto /would/ do that. ) ( He curses to himself, putting a hand to the bridge of his nose. ) … How am I going to fix you /this time?/

( At least the doctor didn’t understand said joke… he’s still gazing down at the cat’s face. ) You even have that same look on his face… ( Surely, it isn’t possible…? Then again, he’s made humans into robots before… but if this /is/ Proto, then it wasn’t his doing, and so he doesn’t know /how./ )

( He sets the cat down on his lap, turning in his chair. ) Now that I mention it, where /did/ Proto Man go? ( He tries contacting him, but, of course, he isn’t getting anything back. ) ( He keeps eyeing the cat, though… )

And where did you learn that /sass/ from? Proto Man must have taught it to you... ( Not even Wily is immune to having a silly, one-sided conversation with an animal. But really, even the tone of that meow is somewhat familiar. And the eyes... )

( Wily uses his other hand to support the cat, making sure he can't wriggle out of the doctor's grasp, just in case he decides to stop being limp. He walks over to his lab desk, continuing to look at the cat. ) Don't look at me like that! /You're/ the one who snuck into my fortress...

Hey! Stop it! That coat's expensive, you little furball... ( Scruffing it. Holding it up to his face. ) How in the world did you get in here?

event pinned. he's kitty 🧡

... What is a /cat/ doing here?

( He can faintly hear Proto Man down the hall. He's not sure whether to laugh or feel annoyed. )

( he's been doing this for the past hour. ) ( he's fascinated. )

( stuck in 1996 ) WHAT IS ""GOOGLE""

WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT???

( The extent of holiday decorating he’s doing is… a small fake desktop tree on his lab table. )

Ah, my boy’s fighting in internet arguments. He’s growing up so fast. ❤️

( He's been reviewing all the data Pharaoh's gathered for a few days now. It seems like he's still deciding what to do... ) ( That's odd for Wily. He must be considering every option carefully. )

( Wily is all too happy to be left alone to finish his coffee. He knows he has a long night ahead of him… )

If Mega Man is using my own machines against me /again…/ ( Wily grumbles various threats towards the blue robot, then speaks again. ) I’ll make repairs on the /real/ Snake Man, and have him tell me everything he knows. I want /you/ to find out all you can about Enker.

( At least /something/ is going right today; even if it’s something as small as Pharaoh getting Wily’s coffee right, as always. ) ( He sips as he listens to the report, but he almost chokes mid-drink as he hears the news about the search snake. )

... Come in. ( His next answer is a bit less aggressive. Phew. )

/What?/ What do you want? ( He calls from within; it isn't an order to leave... )

( He's been in a bad mood the whole day thanks to the chaos of the night before... )

( Wily doesn't notice the little snake in his excitement - but that excitement fades, as he realizes that Enker /is/ gone. ) ... What? Where did he- Was no one watching him?!

Of course we will. Surely he /knows/ what will happen if he doesn't... ( Wily is, of course, sadistic as he always is. He follows Snake Man out. )

( When Mega gets to Wily's lab, the man turns around to face him. ) So, Snake Man, you've brought another strange robot to me? Maybe /this/ one will know something. ( It doesn't seem like he realizes the other robot isn't really Snake Man... but there's only /one/ straggler, isn't there? )

〝 Work together— should be telling that to /Pharaoh,/ 〞 he muttered under his breath. 〝 I'm not the one with the problem, he is. Hope /he/ gets friggin′ frozen. 〞 💢 Then, he rolls on his side and scoffs. Whatever, this will get fixed soon. At least, that's what he tells himself. "Whatever."

// been having a rough time lately BUT i am enjoying the development around ice man and how its affecting other muses. teehee