Megaman: Elysium
One Shot, One Kill


"You know it had to come down to this," the man in red said with a grin.

"I would have liked to delay it," the man in blue said sadly.

"It's too late now," said the third man. "The Carbons have cast you out. The Reaverbot System is proof enough of that."

"Silence," the man in red shouted at the third, "you are here as a witness, and nothing more!"

"Indeed," the third man nodded. "I am here merely as an observer, to witness this final battle between Light and Dark.

"Light and Wily."

Zero smiled, his crazed features sharpening as he gazed at his opponent.

Megaman simply grimaced in disgust.

"I cannot pretend to understand the ordeals you have been through in my absence," Duo intoned in the manner of someone going through a ceremony, "but I can only hope that once this conflict is resolved, a favorable solution regarding the planet known as Earth can be reached."

Green energy flared to life, taking form as a blade held in Zero's hand. Megaman's left forearm shifted and clicked into its plasma buster configuration.

"May God have mercy on your souls," Duo said.

Zero had covered half of the distance between Megaman and himself before the first plasma bolt cracked into the air. It was a poor shot, barely aimed, and Zero dodge it easily and closed the gap. Z-Saber smashed into blue armor, meeting no resistance at all.

The fist came hard and fast, smashing into Zero's face as he whirled around. The illusion of Megaman fizzled and disolved as Zero fought for his balance, bringing his saber up to deflect two close range shots before taking a swing. Megaman simply leapt backwards and rained more plasma bullets down on the man in red.

Zero barked a harsh laugh and spun his saber around, the weapon itself shifting into its Boomerang Shield mode. Plasma bullets bounced harmlessly off the weapon before Zero threw it forward with all his might. Megaman landed on his feet in time to crouch low and roll forward under the attack, getting to his feet just in time to backflip over the returning weapon.

Zero caught the boomerang effortlessly and spun around, shifting the weapon into another mode altogether, and lashing out with the Chain Rod and wrapping it around Megaman's waist as he fell back toward the ground. Whipping the man in blue around and into a wall with a tremendous crash, Zero pulled the Chain Rod back and shifted it again.

Megaman got his feet under himself and rolled to the side as the Triple Rod stabbed forward and sunk deeply into the wall. The resounding crack of plasma was followed by the snap of the weapon as Megaman's buster unleashed white-hot air, breaking the weapon in half. Zero roared with rage leaping forward at Megaman with arms outstretched. Rolling back onto his neck and slamming his hand down on the ground, the man in blue shot forward feet first, catching the surprised red reploid in the chest and sending them both to the ground.

Megaman got up quicker, firing a plasma bolt that would have taken off Zero's head if he'd reacted a split-second later. The red reploid lunged forward again, only to be rewarded this time by a plasma bolt that shattered his shoulder. Zero stumbled backwards, his auto-repair functions already trying to get his arm back into useable shape.

"You haven't slowed down at all, old timer," Zero grinned, stalling for time until he could use his arm again.

Megaman, however, wasn't going to allow it, and rushed in, blocking Zero's good arm and planting his buster firmly against his opponent's stomach. Wrenching himself away, Zero only caught part of the plasma bolt across one side of his midsection, but it was still enough to send him rolling to the ground. He shot back onto his feet quickly, looking worse for the wear.

"And they called ME the Red Demon!" Zero exclaimed, clearly thrilled with the display of cold-hearted efficiency Megaman was displaying.

"You're just another pathetic Wily bot," Megaman scoffed, his armor color shifting to reinforce his point.

A bolt of synthetic lighting arced out of Megaman's hand and slammed Zero in the chest, rocketing the reploid backwards across the grand room where he skidded along the floor a ways. He rolled away as another bolt of electric fury scarred the floor where he'd been. He got to his feet running, rushing in close to Megaman again now that his arm was working.

But Megaman shifted colors again, and Zero's initial punch was met with Megaman's own fist, augmented hundreds of times in strength by the master weapon he now weilded. Zero's hand made a sickening snapping sound and a crack shot down his hand and part of his forearm, drawing a look of furious pain from Zero.

Megaman's other hand slammed, open palmmed, into Zero's chest, once again propelling him backwards, but this time all the way into the wall. Zero hit the wall and bounced, hitting the floor hard, but he did not lay there long. Water rushed up under Zero and threw him into the air with the force of a firehose before a miniature storm of meteorites slammed him back to the ground. He was slower in getting up this time, and watched as Megaman again changed color.

"Incredible..." Zero breathed. "Simply incredible... You've had this kind of power all along..." Megaman merely nodded. "I see now why my creator saw you as such a threat..."

"He was a madman, and in the end there was nothing I could do to save him from himself," Megaman said sadly, shaking his head. "I promised myself I would NOT repeat that mistake!"

Zero smirked. "Humans will always need to be saved from themselves."

The blue bomber grimaced. "I know," he said.

The air was suddenly filled with screams, and Zero barely had time to react before a massive pair of circular shears grazed the side of his helmet, removing almost a half-inch worth of the helmet and the side of his head. Another pair of the scissor-like boomerangs bisected Zero's good shoulder, the arm falling ineffectually to the ground. Megaman's color shifted again as he approached Zero.

"There's no point to this anymore. You're beaten."

Zero ignored the missing chunks of his body and stood up defiantly, his features still tinged with the effects of the Zero Virus. "I can't be beaten!"

"I disagree," Megaman said simply. His hand shot forward and wrapped around Zero's throat, hauling him away from the wall and turning. The roar of a miniature jet engine filled the room as Megaman's hand and forearm shot off, dragging Zero along with it as it saidl into the opposite wall. The man in red fell to his knees, his eyes hazed over in pain as he fought to stand once more.

He coughed violently. "Well... it seems I just don't know when to give up," he hacked. "Just like you, always fighting for a lost cause..."

Circular metal saw blades flew foward like silent death, sinking deeply into Zero's chest, leg, damage shoulder, and the wall mere centimeters away from his face. The red reploid fought to breath at all as Megaman calmly crossed the room to stand before his foe.

"Everyone deserves a second chance," Megaman said, looking into Zero's eyes.

The red demon looked back. And began to laugh.

"Are you truly that gullible?" Zero laughed. "Are you seriously considering giving me a second chance? Even after this?"

Megaman's expression changed and a slight look of puzzlement crossed his features. "Hm? You? Oh, no, not at all."

"Hu-- UGHRKK" Zero gurgled as the four-pointed shuriken was pushed into his throat. He hung there, pinned by saw blades and the shuriken as Megaman turned to look at Duo.

"Everyone deserves a second chance," Megaman said again, this time nodding slightly. "Everyone... Every Carbon deserves another chance."

Zero managed to reach out toward Megaman feebly, only to be rewarded with a quick swipe of the hand and suddenly Zero's forearm was no long attatched to the rest of him. It fell with a pathetic clang to the ground. Megaman began to walk toward Duo.

"Humanity may have cast me out, that is true, but that does nothing to alter my duty. I have to protect them from anything that threatens an everlasting peace."

"And how do you propose to do this?" Duo asked in monotone.

Megaman walked to the grand window and gazed at the blue-green sphere that hung serenly in space before him. He stared at the planet for a long, long time before finally looking at Duo again. "I... I will re-initialize it."

"Hm?"

"When a computer system goes bad or crashes, you simply shut it down and restart it..." Megaman said, lost in thought, "So that is how I shall handle this problem. History likes cycles... so I shall break the cycle. Every thousand years."

Duo looked skeptical. "How?"

Megaman smiled wearily. "Simple. With the Reaverbot system in place, my ability to affect Earth is limited to what I can do from space. I have to put a system of my own into place. A system that... re-initializes the planet every thousand years. Wipes the planet clean of the Carbons and re-seeds them. Totally destroys all records of history, removes any trace of life aside from lost technological ruins..."

"With what resources?" Duo asked.

"It doesn't matter," Megaman said, a smile creeping across his face. He gazed down at the planet again. "With the scraps of technology... they can survive. I've seen them survive worse. I can even... yes! I can melt the caps... cover the world in water... the more drastic the initial changes, the greater chances I have of concealing the war-torn history and futile efforts to create peace in the past..."

"This will take time to establish," Duo interrupted, "as well as an amount of help."

"I'll find a way," Megaman smiled at his friend. "I always did before. I can contact the Reploid Rebellion... Yuna and Sera... they'll understand. They can help me establish my own system. With some luck, when the world is re-initialized, the Reaverbot system will be shut down as well..."

"So now it's okay to kill them?" Zero managed to say.

Megaman considered this for a moment. "It... is necessary. For an everlasting peace."

Zero laughed weakly. "And in the end, you're still clinging to this pathetic idea that all humanity needs to be safe and happy is you."

Anger flashed across Megaman's face before being replace by a lucid grin. "Y'know, Wily, I really AM sick of you. You and your legacy has been a pox on this world I was sworn to protect for millenia, and I think I have finally had enough." Without any further hesitation, Megaman raised his Buster and unleashed a plasma bolt that flew with perfect, practiced aim, slamming with deadly force and power into the space between Zero's eyes. The shock of the bolt and the sudden lack of equilibrium dislodged the headless body of the Red Demon from the wall and it fell, finally, to the ground.

Megaman stared at the corpse for a while, almost as if he expected it to stand up again.

Finally, he turned back to look at the Earth and smiled. "I believe... it is time I finally passed into legend."

Thousands of years later, in a world covered by endless water, people are forced to eke out a living on the few patches of land that remain above the sea...

(Hardy's Note: Guess where THIS falls in the timeline?)

 

Affiliates

Blyka's Door
E-Can Factory
MMAyla
MM BN Chrono X
MM PC Website
Protodude's RM Corner
Reploid Research Lavatory
RM AMV Station
RM EXE Online
RM EXE Zone
RM:Perfect Memories
Sprites INC