Chapter 12: Silent Night, Holy Night

Proto’s eyes opened. He was on his belly, his face on one arm facedown, so all he could see was the ground, the other arm curled above his head. He would feel cloth on his back, and some warmth, but he couldn’t be sure what it was or whether he was dreaming or not.

Closing his eyes again, he turned his head and was surprised to feel the brush of warm air across his face. Then he realized he could hear the crackle of a fire. His eyes opened again and he saw Mega laying next to him, ironically in the exact same position. They had each in their sleep huddled so close to each other for warmth and comfort that Mega’s breath touched Proto, and Proto’s breath touched Mega. The red raider noticed that he could see the late evening sky behind his brother, and that Mega for some reason wore no helmet.

Carefully, Proto removed one blanket, noticing with some amusement Mega’s slightly ruffled brown hair. He covered his brother, tugging the blanket over him as best he could considering his awkward position and his injuries. He settled it over Mega’s shoulders. Feeling the fabric and sudden warmth, Mega’s eyes opened to meet Proto’s. Both smiled a brotherly smile.

“No use you freezin’ too,” Proto said softly.

“Neither of us is going to freeze,” was Mega’s vehement response. Both looked at the fire, which had gone low, then back at each other. Proto shakily removed his helmet, revealing equally ruffled black hair, and handed it to Mega. The blue bomber awkwardly threw it backwards to act as a second signal, and while neither could see it land, both heard the soft clink and thunk as it hit Mega’s helmet.

“Good shot.”

“Thanks.”

“Ya know, I had almost forgotten that you had brown hair,” Proto mused, giving Mega’s hair a weak but affectionate ruffle. Mega grinned softly, enjoying the sign of brotherly friendship. He reached out.

“I never knew you had black hair,” he said, gently tugging one of Proto’s black locks. Proto returned the gesture in kind, secretly enjoying the wave of emotion he got from the teasing. Now he understood the bond that connected Zantar and Zentarou so tightly together: the bond of the love of brothers.

Rush, who had been curled up nearer the fire, suddenly hopped between the two, a little too cold for his liking. The two covered him with parts of their blankets, and he gratefully licked first Mega’s face, then Proto’s. The three huddled together to keep warm, for even though all three were robots, like humans they had to keep warm for their mechanisms to function (only Ice Man was the exception to that rule). It they got too cold, then one by one their mechanisms would begin to shut down, starting with the minor ones that they didn’t need to survive, then the major ones, like energy. The only thing they could do was stand the cold a little better than humans.

All three dozed for a while before both bro-bots were awakened by the flutter of feathered wings. They looked up to see a bird with brightly-colored plumage and a long, long tail landing nearby. It hopped forward and tossed some sticks and other burnable debris into the fire to keep it going, then flew off.

“I guess even their birds are in the Christmas spirit,” Mega said. Proto nodded. Even feeling a little warmer, he held very little hope for their survival. Or at least his. He was banged up, and he could feel a wound on his arm where the joint of his shoulder and arm was loosened. He had no idea how much snow had gotten in and melted, or what damage that might’ve done to him. Plus his legs felt funny, a sign of a damaged motor circuit. And he knew that his body contained no spares. He couldn’t even begin to guess what sort of internal injuries he had from his tumble down the slope.

“Mega?” he whispered.

“Yes?” Mega whispered back.

“It’s Christmas Eve, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you think the others are worried about you?”

“Probably. And about you.” That, for some reason, made Proto feel good and bad at the same time.

“Mega?”

“Yeah?”

“Since it’s Christmas Eve - do you know any carols? I only knew a few melodies.” Mega thought, listening to the silence. It was the silence that gave him some inspiration.

“Do you know Silent Night?”

“Not very well.”

“Then I’ll sing a line and you echo it.”

“Okay. And brother?”

“Yeah?’

“I’m sorry about before, tricking you.” Mega smiled, then began to sing.

“Silent night, holy night.”

“Silent night, holy night.”

“All is calm, all is bright.”

“All is calm, all is bright...” They both fell asleep singing the soothing song.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Back at Zanta’s home, Dr. Light was up late. He was worried. Neither Proto Man, Mega Man, or Rush had returned, and no one knew where they might be. Since he had created the plans for Proto’s body, and had reprogrammed him, he had taken Proto into his heart as a second son, and older son to Mega (by about three months) but a son nonetheless. And, like any father, he could not sleep when his sons were missing. Roll came in.

“Dr. Light, is something wrong?” He sighed.

“It’s late, and neither of them are back yet. I’m worried. if Mega had gotten into trouble, he would’ve sent Rush back to let us know.”

“I’m worried too. After all, they are my brothers.” She too looked out the window. Neither would voice their private worries that Wily was the cause of the bots’ absence. Then Dr. Light seemed to give himself a mental shake.

“They’ll be fine,” he said to reassure both Roll and himself. “After all, if they are together, nothing can beat them.”

“Yeah. Plus if they get in a fix, Rush should be able to fly them out of danger.” Even so reassured, both remained wakeful for most of the night.