Night silently swallowed up Skull Castle, and Wily grudgingly decided that he had better tidy up a bit around the fortress before turning in for the night. He was in the process of discarding a half - eaten box of stale donuts just as Bass burst into the room, his face wreathed in smiles. Behind the bot, a red and silver figure stumbled awkwardly, unsure of its steps. Bass skidded to a stop, spread out his arms and began to talk like a madman. "Doc! The reploid woke up! Isn't this amazing? Doc? Doc! Oh man, he fainted. I hate it when he does that. I'd better get some water...no, wait, he's coming to." Bass extended a hand to help the old scientist back on his feet.

"Buh - Bass...the reploid...it's awake?"

"Appears so."

"Holy Mother Takhisis! I don't believe it!" Wily scrambled back to his feet with the aid of Bass. He regarded his creation with narrowed eyes. "Why won't it speak? And why did it move so clumsily when you busted in?"

Bass suddenly seemed proud of the fact that HE would actually be able to explain something to WILY for once. "I think that a newly - activated reploid is a lot like a human infant. It has to get used to its new body, and learn about the skills it possesses. This fellow's progressing rapidly," - Here Bass jabbed a finger at Zero - "he's already walking. And he's not talking, because he's too busy thinking."

Wily's worn heart raced. Thinking? Could that be true? Sure enough, when he looked at Zero, the reploid was squinting at a contraption resting on a small table, as if he were thinking about what use that object might have. Wily slowly turned back around to Bass.

"Thinking?"

Bass nodded as a twisted grin worked its way to his face. "THINK - ING! And who knows what else he can do?"

Wily clutched his chest. "Okay, Wily!" He coached himself calmly. "No time for a heart attack now! We have a lot of work to do." He steadied himself. "Zero!" He barked sharply.

The reploid suddenly snapped out of his trance and whipped around to face Wily. "Sir?"

"Do you know who I am?"

"Yessir. You're the one who gave me life, or so my brother Bass told me. I plan to serve you in any way I can." The reploid punctuated the sentence by performing a little bow. Something else seemed to cross Zero's mind as he grimaced and said, "I plan to serve you even though you're a human. But since you created me, my loyalty is with you."

Wily hardly dared to hope. "Is something wrong with humans?"

"Well...yes. Shortly before I was pulled into birth, some sort of black entity appeared to me in my dreams and explained that all humans are evil, and need to be destroyed." Zero raised his arm cannon above his head for a dramatic effect. "I plan to do just that."

Wily's twisted grin seemed to reach from one end of the country to the other. "Well, isn't this a happy coincidence? That's the plan I had in mind for you! But don't destroy ANYTHING yet. Nothing. There's a time and a place for that, y'hear? Here's what my immediate plans for you consist of: You will remain awake for four months. During this time, Bass will teach you what kind of skills you posses." Wily helpfully pointed Zero in Bass' direction, who waved at the reploid with unworldly enthusiasm. "After those four months, you will be sealed in a capsule where you will become dormant for at least 30 years. When you wake up in the future, nestle yourself in society, then kill all you want once you're comfortable. Did you get that? Do you want me to write it down?"

The reploid's response was a flabbergasted stare. Another reflection of the emotions he was feeling. "Why does my future appear to be so odd?"

"I have my reasons. Now, listen: I hope your weapons work okay." Wily picked up Zero's right hand, the one containing the arm cannon. "This is a pretty damn good shooter, if I say so myself. Are you able to change between your cannon and your hand with ease?"

Sure enough, Zero switched between his hand and his weapon with a fury that would have shamed Inspector Gadget. He felt a strong surge of pleasant energy flow through him as he did this, which would have been the human equivalent of a testosterone - rush. The surge melted away his bewildered feelings.

"Very good, very good." Wily cheered on the crimson reploid. "I hope your emotions work as effectively, too. Let's test." Wily's eye fell on Bass, who was daydreaming while staring at the ceiling, obviously entranced by the thought of what Zero could do to the future world. Wily snuck up behind the black robot and pushed him with youthful energy. Bass screamed as he toppled over like a stack of cans, and landed on the lab floor with a resounding crash. Zero began to laugh hysterically. Humour. Wily then swung a fist into the reploid's jaw. Zero's grin immediately flipped over and became a grimace of anger. He remembered just in time not to retort against his master. Anger.

"Well Bass, what do you think?" Wily questioned of the black bot, who was collecting himself from the fall. "His weapons are fine, and his emotions are fully functional." Bass' pride was a bit hurt after having the experience of being the butt end of one of Wily's jokes. Nevertheless, he responded. "I think he's ready, Doc. It's just a matter of keeping him convinced that humans are evil, and letting him know what powers he possesses. I'll take over from here on. You've done well."

Wily sighed deeply as he turned around. "We've done it. We have a reploid. The future is going to have some serious problems, as will Light's reploid. But that's not my concern. My work is done. I can rest...now."

And so, time passed as it had a funny habit of doing. Spring seamlessly melted into summer and Proto, Roll and Mega could be found on the steps of Light's lab. They'd just been in the process of a rousing game of indoor hide 'n seek, when Proto had accidentally knocked over a few fragile articles while trying to tag Mega 'out'. Light went slightly berserk, and threatened to hang Proto from the rafters by his scarf if he didn't go out to get some 'fresh air'. Proto was upset that such a good game had to be broken up, and when he got outside, he vented his anger by throwing stones at various things. He was still doing this when Roll brought up an interesting question beside him. "We haven't had any trouble from Wily in the longest time. I wonder what he's up to." Proto's heart lurched. The very same question had been ripping around in his mind for ages. However, he had recently pushed it to the back of his mind; it would be a shame to spoil such nice weather by thinking of the evil scientist. Mega piped up. "I don't know what he's up to. Maybe he's slowing down because he's old. I'm not going to bother him if he doesn't bother me first...it would be like throwing rocks at a bee's nest." Proto grinned wickedly as he chucked another rock into the empty air. "I've heard rumours about why Wily has been so silent." "So have I," Roll chimed in. "some of them are pretty wild." "I heard he was abducted by a hoard of tentacled aliens." "I heard that he was killed by the Mafia." "I heard that he ran away to join the circus." "I heard that he was ground up and served as hamburgers at McDonalds." "I heard that he quit the crime game and became a male prostitute." Roll gave her brother a sidelong glance. "Somehow I doubt that." Proto shrugged off Roll's criticism. "Believe what you will, but I think we all agree on this: I don't like this silence. I don't like it at all. Wily could be up to something BIG, providing that none of those wonderful rumours are true. I think I'll scout around the city for a bit and see what's up."

Now, fast forward a bit and cue in on Wilyland's famous Robosaur Park, headed by the infamous Slash Man. It was a huge tourist attraction, even if the dinosaurs within were only robotic. The park itself was large and roomy, a perfect dwelling place for the mechanical T - Rex, Stegosaurs, and Velociraptor pack that resided there. Above the park entrance there hung a crude, hand - painted sign that screamed 'Welcome to Robosaur Park!'. Beside the gargantuan wooden gates of the entrance there was a weathered, smaller sign that welcomed visitors to the park, and listed off several rules to make their stay more enjoyable. Slash Man himself had constructed the sign, and he was exceedingly proud of it: