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As the sun sank slowly below the horizon, all that could be heard along the dusty path were the steady thuds of metallic footsteps. The city’s sounds had faded into the distance long before as the trio left the shining lights far behind them. Even the birds and crepuscular foragers were silent; much of the plant life they would have used as shelter had been razed from the area years ago, leaving only an expanse of short grass between the robotic trio and the massive fortress that was their destination.
Needle was silent now as he walked in the lead with Gemini. He had complained a great deal at first, both about the long walk and about how difficult it was to carry these boxes with no hands to hold them steady. Perhaps that was exactly why Magnet had come with them, Gemini thought to himself with a glance over his shoulder. The crimson robot currently walking a few steps behind them was supposed to be their supervisor for the trip, but his main focus had seemingly been helping pile the boxes into Needle’s arms and rushing to help any time he seemed about to lose his grip on them. He had not paid the slightest attention to Gemini.
‘We don’t need to be supervised anyway.’
Gemini jolted slightly, startled by the voice. His companions’ eyes flickered to him at the sound of parts shifting within his boxes, but he adjusted his grip and pretended he had not noticed the attention. They had not heard anything but the rattle. After all, the voice had come from within his own head.
As they passed through the gates, several crimson eyes focused on them as the Sniper Joe sentries quickly analyzed the new arrivals. Within seconds they had all deemed the trio safe and returned their attention to keeping watch. The Robot Masters continued through the fortress grounds unaccosted.
As they passed into the entrance hall, Magnet sped up to overtake his two companions. “Take these to the basement lab,” he instructed, already dividing his own stack of boxes into two. Half he dumped on top of Needle’s already teetering load, while the other half was added to Gemini’s stack.
‘Who died and made him our general?’ the voice huffed as Magnet marched away.
Already Gemini was following Needle through the halls, tuning out both his brother’s grumbling and the voice within his head. The sooner this task was over with, the sooner he could retire to his room. After a trip like that he was certain his boots were in need of a thorough cleaning. It would feel good to polish his armour back to its regular sparkling state.
“You’re ignoring me.”
Ahead of him, Needle swung around to give Gemini a strange look. “I’m not ignoring you. You didn’t say anything.”
Gemini sighed and shook his head. “Not you. He’s talking to me.” Even as he spoke he was turning his head toward the clone that had manifested beside him, arms folded over his chest in obvious displeasure. He raised an eyebrow at the original, who muttered under his breath, “Can you wait?”
Needle grunted as he turned away. “Oh, yeah. Forgot you’re a freak.”
“We’re not a freak!” the pair protested simultaneously. They glanced at each other before the duplicate looked away with a huff. It turned into a quiet yelp of shock a moment later when he found a small stack of boxes being thrust into his arms.
“Here,” the original stated. “If you’re going to hang around, make yourself useful.”
The three stopped before the elevator and Gemini stepped forward to key in the passcode. The doors slid open and the Robot Masters piled inside. A moment later they were on their way down beneath the fortress, Needle standing as far from the Gemini pair as he could within the confined space.
The doors opened with a soft whoosh and all three stepped out. Needle instantly dropped his stack of boxes and vanished back into the elevator, which immediately began to carry him back upstairs. With a grunt of irritation, Gemini bent to set his own stack down alongside the mountain of other boxes that had been brought in over the past few weeks.
“Is he actually scared of us?” the clone enquired. He was still standing in the same spot, staring down the closed doors with a slightly offended expression.
Gemini took the boxes from his arms. “Or he’s gone to report our malfunction again. Not that Father will do anything about it… Needle should know he gave up after the first two reprogrammings didn’t fix us.”
With a grunt of annoyance, the clone turned away from the doors and sank down upon a large box. It sagged slightly beneath his weight as he leaned back, staring out into the darkness ahead of them. This floor more closely resembled an aircraft hangar than a lab; the concrete floor stretched onward into the darkness, interspersed with support framework and the hulking shapes of Wily’s partially dismantled fortress guardians. The spotlights that normally illuminated the machines during work days were shut off now; all that Gemini could make out was the torso and head of a lion-like beast sitting closest to them, its jaws wide in an eternal snarl despite its blank and dim eyes.
“Don’t you think they’re a bit obsessed?” the clone asked, his eyes upon the same machine.
“Who?”
“Father’s inner circle. Magnet, Metal, Shadow… All they seem to think about any more is preparing for the next attack. Ever since Metal was put in charge it’s been work, work, work.”
Gemini sat beside him, a frown playing across his face. “Epsilon…”
“Why do all of these even need to be completed and put together?” the clone continued, gesturing out at the entirety of the dark lab. “And why are we the ones doing it? We’ve never had to do this much work before. Father always did most of this himself while we made sure the newest team of Robot Masters were ready for combat. But where’s Father? Where’s the new team? Why are we changing how we do things after years of the same?”
“Epsilon!” Gemini cut the clone off sharply before he could continue. “Who are we to question Father’s orders? We’re soldiers. We do what we’re told. Besides, I’m tired of failure. If Father and Metal think we’ll stand a better chance this way, we’ll obey them.”
Epsilon slumped back against the boxes and blew a strand of silver hair out of his face. He was the long-haired one; his hair was constantly coming loose from beneath his helmet and he rarely made an effort to tuck it back in, which made him easy to recognize. That and his disrespect for authority, Gemini thought resentfully.
“I don’t like this,” Epsilon grumbled.
“You’ve made that much perfectly clear.”
The clone huffed loudly. “I don’t just mean because of the extra work. Something smells fishy about all of this.”
“He has a point.”
Gemini groaned and buried his face in his hands. The clack of metallic boots against concrete echoed around the cavernous basement; the new clone was pacing slowly, which immediately answered the question of which one it was. “Not you too, Iota?”
“Just think about it. Why should Father suddenly change everything like this? If he wasn’t firmly set in his ways, would he even still be trying to take over the city?” The footsteps clicked out a rhythm back and forth in front of the boxes. Gemini sighed and lifted his head to stare down the new clone, who had one arm around his waist and the other hand against his jaw contemplatively as he paced. His vibrant blue eyes, so unlike Gemini’s own, were fixed thoughtfully upon the floor.
From his position slumped against the boxes Epsilon nodded in agreement. “This guy gets it. This whole situation is off in all the worst ways.”
“This isn’t some conspiracy theory for you to unravel!” Gemini burst out. Both clones turned to stare at him as he stood and stormed a few steps away, where he stood glaring into the darkness. “You don’t get it. Neither of you understands! Does it really matter if something doesn’t feel right to you? This isn’t a problem we can solve, not even if all of us work together. We’re just one Robot Master! All we need to know is how to obey orders! That’s the only thing that has ever mattered!”
A ringing silence followed his words. In the sudden absence of Iota’s footsteps or the sound of arguing voices, the quiet rumbling from behind the elevator’s closed doors was easily noticeable. Epsilon bolted to his feet even as Gemini spun around, a spike of panic prompting a loud whir from his cooling fans. “Someone’s coming. You’d better leave.”
Iota exchanged a panicked glance with Gemini before vanishing into thin air. Epsilon remained, standing his ground bravely as he faced the elevator, ignoring Gemini’s eyes burning into the back of his head. And then the elevator rumbled to a halt and the doors slid open.
“Gemini?”
Gemini’s clenched fists relaxed and he straightened up. “Top…?”
The orange robot scurried out of the elevator, his eyes flicking briefly over Epsilon before landing on Gemini. He ignored the clone entirely as he rushed toward the original. “Gemini, you need to be careful about this!”
“This?” Epsilon protested. “What am I, scrap parts? I’m not a ‘this’!”
His complaints went completely ignored as Top glanced back toward the elevator doors, which had slid shut behind him. “Listen, I know you like to exert your… personality, and I know you like to have your clones out all the time… But we’ve talked about this. You really need to keep it to your room. Please, Gemini.”
“Top…” Gemini sighed. His brother’s hands were clasped pleadingly in front of him and Gemini covered them with his own, pushing them down. “Like you said, we’ve talked about this. It’s not my choice when they come out. They just do. I know you don’t understand-“
“No, you’re the one who doesn’t understand. I was just upstairs and Needle came through ranting about you being a freak. He was going to report it to Magnet, or maybe even Metal. If you don’t hide that thing quickly you could end up back on the lab table!”
“I’m not a thing!” Epsilon retorted, his voice rising in indignation. When Top and Gemini still refused to glance in his direction, he stormed over and forced himself between them to stare down the orange robot. “Look at you, acting like you give a damn about us when Gemini is the only one you care about! You’d have him hide the rest of us, wouldn’t you? Or would it be better if we only ever used his body instead of our own? Would you like that?”
At once his form flickered out of existence, giving Gemini a clear view of Top’s wide-eyed expression. Before he could say a word in self-defense, a familiar angry voice spoke up from within his head. ‘Let’s see how much he likes this.’
“Epsilon, no-!“
Even though Top had never seen such a thing happen before and had no idea what he was watching, the exact moment it happened was as clear as day. He was still staring his brother down in shock when Gemini’s cry cut off suddenly. His face twitched momentarily as though in a minor spasm. At the same time his expression and posture shifted slightly; shoulders lower, back not as straight, brow furrowed in annoyance. The change took barely a second, but it was long enough to tell Top that he was no longer looking at his brother.
“Is this better for you?” Epsilon hissed.
Top retreated a step, mouth gaping open wordlessly, shocked eyes fixed upon Epsilon’s face. In the sudden silence both of them could hear the elevator in motion once again. But Epsilon paid it no mind as he took a step closer. “This is what you wanted, isn’t it? Am I more of a person to you if I use the main body? Can you still ignore me now?”
“I-I-I…” Top’s eyes flickered briefly away before returning and he swallowed nervously. He had never dealt with anything like this before and had no idea how to handle it. “G-give Gemini’s body back. Please. I only wanted to talk to him-“
“Because he’s the original? Is that why only he matters?” Epsilon growled as he stalked closer.
“He… I… you… well… I mean…”
The elevator doors slid open. Epsilon heard the clunk of metallic footsteps on stone before a voice cut through Top’s stammering. “Gemini! Back off.”
Epsilon barked out a mirthless laugh as he turned his glare on the crimson robot coming toward them. “Hello, Magnet. Have you come to tell me how broken I am? Threaten to put me back on the lab table and play around with my programming again? You won’t be able to fix us. Nobody will.”
Magnet’s expression was unreadable as he stepped between the other two robots. Top sidled behind him nervously, taking the chance to put some distance between himself and the angered Epsilon. He was tempted to continue his pursuit but found himself held in place by Magnet’s piercing stare.
“No,” the crimson robot told him bluntly, “I’ve come to tell you to keep yourself in check. I will not allow you to intimidate our brothers.”
Epsilon snorted. “Intimidate? Needle got worked up just because I dared to say a single word. As for Top, how could I possibly intimidate him when I apparently don’t exist?”
Top recoiled slightly, the distress clear in his expression. Without a word Magnet turned to him, nodding toward the elevators. That was all the encouragement he needed; without a backward glance the orange robot shot toward the doors, skating so quickly he was forced to brake hard as he passed between them. They were already closing behind him again when Magnet returned his attention to Epsilon.
Despite the fact that there was nobody left to overhear them, Magnet lowered his voice before he spoke again. “I don’t know which one you are and I don’t care. What I do care about is that if this attack is to succeed, our teamwork needs to be stronger than ever. You’re jeopardizing that. I won’t bother wasting my time with your programming, but if you keep this up I will bench you during the attack.”
Epsilon’s mouth fell open. “You wouldn’t.”
“Do you want to test that out?”
The blue robot was silent. Magnet nodded once and turned away. “Go upstairs. And behave yourselves from now on or you’ll be left behind with the Sniper Joe units.”
He strode away to occupy himself with the newly delivered boxes, leaving Epsilon trembling slightly with indignation. His mouth opened as though to snap out a sharp remark, but after a few seconds of silence he instead let out a wordless grunt and stormed toward the elevator. As it descended once again to receive him he simply glared at the closed doors, doing his best to pretend the robot rummaging through supplies behind him didn’t exist.
As the elevator doors slid shut behind him and he began his journey back up through the fortress, Epsilon slumped against the wall with a sigh. “Threatening to bench us,” he muttered in disgust. “And he won’t even tell us the truth about this plan no matter how we ask. He has no right to talk to us like that.”
‘He does. He’s technically the leader of our line. The only one of us who’s in Father’s inner circle.’
Epsilon groaned at the sound of Gemini’s voice in his mind. “Fine then. Maybe he has some authority over us. But Top doesn’t! Did you hear the way he spoke about me?”
‘Did you hear the way you spoke to him? He can’t understand. He’s just…’
“Just what? Just normal?” Epsilon finished bitterly.
His only answer was silence. Epsilon closed his eyes and covered them with his forearm, feeling too worn down to bother arguing with his original. “I’m done here. Give our boots a good cleaning for me.”
‘Of course.’
When the elevator doors opened, Gemini was in charge once more. He was prepared to face a very upset Top waiting for him, but instead the sight that greeted him was of the oil-smeared concrete floor and dirty walls of an empty hallway. Clearly Top was reluctant to face him again so soon - and after a confrontation like that, Gemini couldn’t blame him.
There was no point in trying to track his brother down now after what had just happened. He would simply have to apologize later. With a sigh of resignation he set off toward his own room, wanting nothing more than to spend a few hours polishing his armour to perfection.