Great work. I love.

Rock discovers that video game adaptation films tend to be terrible, yep that's how that works. Gotdang I want a cool skeleton tie now. Also, Oma Wily's ghost, CALLED IT. :D

Man this is all about the last segment of the chapter for me (well, and the Cossacks). Light and Wily as up-and-coming colleagues, Bass realizing he really WAS family all along, Light being one of the family too; I liiiive for the human real-life stories between action-packed super-fighting adventures.

Also slow the eff down, Kalinka, he's still just a boy! I think. Maybe? Well, also he's a thing that ends in "-oid" and that's never a good thing to put your mouth on. Protip for life. Cool that we're all in agreement that she's destined for greatness either way though.

Re: "Kalinka was nervous to try kissing a Cossack-bot because daddy might put her in the time-out robo-corner." Uh yeah also only two of them have mouths, and who wants to kiss a submarine or a light bulb? One's too hot to touch and the other's got barnacles and sea-mush on it. I'll tell you what kinda robot you wanna smooch: a golden, mighty, noble pharaoh. Now that boy is cash. What, never mind, moving on.

So... The end? The end-end? The End, The End? :0

If it's the end of this whole fic timeline, wow. I mean this feels like it's one long chain of craziness and violence and tragedy and gooey heartwarminess and wild emotions through what, six different fics? The End is heavy, dude. It HAS been a heck of a ride. And all things spiraled together to this (admittedly pretty satisfying) point to conclude.

Or if it's just the end of Downshift and the timeline continues then I'll just keep sitting here banging my silverware on the table. But I totally respect the finale move if that's what it is, that's a powerful move. And I know you're not done writing either way.

So what, if anything, comes next?

Oh, I think we both know.

Mega Man Zero But It's Just Ciel And Like Eight Extended Family Members Videophoning Her From Neo Arcadia And Then Getting Obliterated. What, never mind, what?

I had to reread this several times to make sure I didn't dream it or something. This was a wild turn of events. :0

I greatly appreciate the shoutout. :D

Man, every time Duo shows up, it's bad news. Like next time he knocks on the front door of LightLabs and Roll opens up like, "Hello- Awwwwwww, jeez." "Your planet is in grave-" "YEAH, OKAY, COME IN."

Oh, and I caught "Volchonok" when I was rereading the last chapter, and I had to take a second to give you props for that. I like that nickname. Is good, da. :B

Bass' sense of individuality must have been absolutely rocked by this, though. "There's only one me! Except for when there isn't, apparently... My decisions and consciousness matter! Alongside infinite possible versions of myself that made different ones..."

I'd like to think at least one of them went by Nega-Man.

I like this path for Roll and I hope having his asskicker protocols copied means Bass can find an even greater sense of kinship with a new peer. Prolly not though, he'll find a way to moan about it. :T

This is such a crazy jump though. Like, I don't know if this is just a one-time glimpse into an alternate timeline or if Rock is seriously going to be rubbing elbows with mushrooms and angels now? If he's part of a Smash-inclusive continuum, does that mean Shadow the Hedgehog is going to show up and find edgy kinship with Bass as well? We're through the looking glass, people!

Oh, and happy anniversary to you and everyone's favorite brat-bot! :V

So being so mundanely-minded as I am, amidst all this robot action and heartfelt drama I did a lot of imagining of what Dr. Cossack's business, finances, and expenses looked like. So it's fun and kind of vindicating to see all that addressed. :D And nice to know that Toad Man is a good boy.

Of course fatherhood is priceless, yadda yadda. But you still gotta keep your chequebook balanced. Hard to do when your kid is a proponent of civil rights and has access to monster trucks, I guess.

I'm curious what people were saying about him that set him off, but I can probably guess. Robot-racists are all the same. :T

I like how every chapter though, Bass is just a little more civilized. It's like he's growing up, in robot years!

Speaking of robot years... The longest I ever had a PC stay functional was about 10 years. Given that robot technology is likely an even brighter-burning candle than a desktop CPU... What do you suppose the odds are that Dr. Cossack outlives his new son? :0c *sinister chortling*

Hide ya mams, hide ya grams, he threatenin' errybody with a plasma cannon.
Bass looking wistfully outside with his arms and chin hung over the couch is way too cute an image for him.
Genuinely I think the answer to Bass' question is "yes". Humans are wild like that, we get emotionally attached to absolutely anything. If we have robot friends in 2040, you bet I'm going to hug mine and tuck it into bed.
I wonder how old Dr. Light actually is? He's not exactly spry and given how Wily has aged along with him it's safe to say Light isn't prematurely grey. Plus he dies like five minutes after finishing X, so... He must be getting up there.
(Funnily enough wrote a little section regarding that recently, so it's something I gave some thought to.)
Oh, Bass, never change. But seriously, though, change just a bit. Never change though. Wink.

Damn, son. That took several turns for the dramatic.
When Bass blew up, did he make a "bew bew bew bew" sound and turn into glowy dots?
I like that Roll and Bass continue to get closer via code-osmosis. Pretty soon they'll be wearing the same skirts!
I was unprepared for just how real Dr. Cossack was going to get here. I guess drinking and crying is what you do when you ex-fugitive foster son robot gets temporarily obliterated while working to pay off the new body you built him? Parenting is weird. It was a really good read though.
I have to say, it's almost (alllmost) surprising that he's such a good dad to Kalinka given the devastation I've seen done to a kid by "they wanted a son/daughter instead." He's not perfect, which I appreciate about his character here, but knowing he's had that thought in his head makes the good that much better. Guy's had a rough life and in spite of that he does everything he can for everyone he knows.

"Grounded for arson" made me laugh.
I love this story. The games might be about robot-on-robot violence, but the most compelling aspect of the lore and all the fanon are the humans. How they interact with robots, how they think of them, and the relationships and experiences that lead them to make the decisions they make regarding robots and technology.
On the other hand, part of the reason the the human element is so fascinating is that the robots tend to have pretty simplistic personalities, filling the role of devices or at most foils that further the human story (at least until MMX). Not so with Bass. Or Break Man for that matter, but mostly Bass. He's too screwed up to be simple.
Maybe being a mess is itself a human quality, able to be imparted to artificial life only by humans. :T

Yesss, I love this relationship so. Cossack is such a good robo-dad. :D
It's shocking how whipped into shape Bass is at this point. "We can't yell and throw things? Well, fine! Then I'll just have to... be disciplined. UNDER PROTEST." The doc does good work.
Bass running around grabbing things is a really cute visual. I picture him all wide-eyed just grasping at everything like a baby. A simile he'd probably hate.
Oh, and Megs being charmingly innocent about the internet. Bless his heart, I hope he never finds the robo-future equivalent of 4chan.
I half-expected Roll to pat Bass on the head like a dog, but tickling is just as in-character. It makes a lot of sense, too; ticklishness is a reaction to a "safe threat," an instinctive defense when certain areas of the body are targeted in a "play-fighting" kind of way. With Bass being who he is and what he's going through, he'd be ticklish as all hell. :B

It's reeeeaaallll~...
You're really good at depicting the experience of being a robot. Bass' thoughts and concerns seem very realistic and reasonable. I was expecting a sudden change once the rebuild was done, but it makes a lot more sense for any sentient being to ease into that kind of shift.
(double-checks to make sure he wrote "shift" )
You know what his reaction to his new look reminds me of? Getting a new haircut as a kid. Sometimes you think you know what you want, and then you look in the mirror and you're like, :0c. And you go, "oh nooo, the kids at school are all gonna see this, they're gonna make fun, oh noooooo"
But I don't think Megs is gonna make fun of you, Bass. It'll be okay, li'l guy.
Speaking of kids' social circles, Kalinka's must be pretty weird at this point.
Bass' self-identity has been an interesting subject. He defines himself through his actions, through others, through scientific technicalities, he's really looking hard for ways to figure himself out.
And watching Bass and Cossack be surprisingly civil to each other is still pretty neat. :

You see? You see, lad? This is what good boys get!
Man this was a bit of a roller coaster. A bit of "oh no no no" and a bit of "oh yes yes yes.D
Also I noticed a little Mega Man soccer in there, hm-HMMMmmm. :B
They're basically taking him completely off the leash by letting him walk the earth as a boy. Goodness knows what he might do but I can only hope that Mikhail's down-to-earth fatherhood senses will be enough to temper it. I'm looking forward to seeing them both in action and watching poor Karen flounder between.

Okay so
Fantastic.
I mean for starters I love Dr. Cossack because he has no dog in the race and just kind of hangs out in the background of the series now being helpful and dignified which is a neat contrast to the Good vs Bad 90s cartoon dynamic going on with the important people. So well done capturing that beautifully.
Are we ever going to see Bass meet some Cossack bots? I know they're basically toy-level AI in this continuity. Are defeated robot masters destroyed forever in this 'verse? Or maybe they're all just around the world doing their jobs like good boys.
I love that you had a robot decorating a bedroom, and made it feel so genuine. That's probably my favorite bit. Bass sensing greater things in the workings of the universe is a really nice little humanizing moment too, that got me.
Also, I don't know if Svetlana is ever mentioned in anything official, but I instantly recognized what was going on there when the name came up, that was nicely put together. You're really good at writing all these different family situations, some realistic and some totally off the wall, and having them collide in interesting ways. It's almost shocking to meet a non-dysfunctional family at this point.
All in all, I'm really enjoying this story. It's way off the rails of a typical Super Fighting Robot Adventure and this quiet, heartwarming, awkward situation is very compelling.

Save him, Mikhail!
Save him from himself!