The Business of War

Orchestrated By C.M. Rich (Magnetman)

Bitter Sweet

By Classi-Cal

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A week passed miserably slow in solitary confinement. Spark-Chan hadn't seen a living soul since the small thick door over her abode had shut and locked. Not even that of her confiner, Dr. Wily. The first two days passed crying her heart out at the door. Leaning against it and crying out for Wily to speak with her. But her cries fell on deaf ears.

There was nothing in the room but a large metalic slab and a circular window with an amazing view. When she knew she'd never get her way... she sat on this slab and laid down. This hard thing was a bed... Robots didn't need to be comfortable, just a place to lie down and recharge for the next day of use. But Spark wasn't used to this, always used to a bed with cushions and blankets... it now was cold and hard. She tossed to one side... unable to keep her racing mind off the world, her friends.

Poor Benny, Starnik was in just as much trouble as her she was pritty sure. She could only hope Benny was safe. Was Wily treating him badly? And speaking of children... it made her think of Shoryu.

On her seventh day, or maybe it was night since it was hard to tell from orbit, she sat herself up inside the circular bulb of a window. It was almost like sitting in the blackness of space, surrounded by the sparkle and glow of the universes many forces. Earth could be seen below, and from so high up... she could still make out the grass green and the water blue.

Hope still glew inside of her mechanical heart. Even in the darkest recesses of despair... the tiny light she held in her palm was still powerful enough to brighten the world. Although it was a metaphor... her eyes were on her openned hand. Ben called her a light in the darkness... and though modest... she accepted the title almost as if her own slogan of motivation. Her fist balled up gently...

This wasn't the end. She still had a chance to make things work in their favor.

"Classi-Cal." A voice came from some unknown intercom.

She looked all around but couldn't find it. Eventually her eyes landed on the doorway.

"Doctor..." Spark softly whispered, unsure if he could hear her or not. Was this her chance?

"Stand away from the door, I'm coming in to see you." her elderly fiance spoke.

The door slid open, herself still in the window way, looking to the door. First a few Joes entered and made a circle around her, Wily squeazed inbetween them and looked her in her glossy violet eyes.

"Doctor... we can talk now?" She hoped, forcing the smile inside herself back for the moment.

"No, no more of your mouth. Ist time for you to be the vife you vere meant to be. I should have done zis... long long ago."

Spark could only look up in horror. What was he going to do to her? Frightened she got to her feet and inched into the corner. The Joes were no match for her, she figured she could just blast her way out... but just as the thought occured back up appeared in the form of an upset MultiMan and his duplicates.

Spark-Chan was taken and forced onto her 'bed', against her will strapped down by MultiMan and the Joes. She could see the resentment of her plans reflected from MultiMan's face. He no doubt was upset she plotted against them when he once fought in her name.

"I'm sorry Ms. Spark, but after this the Scissor Army will no longer be able to control your senses." His voice sounded both worried and upset. The sound of it scared her more. No robot wanted to be reprogrammed ever... so no doubt his voice told her of her fate.

"No!! Don't do this Doctor!!" She screamed, kicking and charging up her conductors. But even if the Joe behind her got a nasty blast as she shook around, there was no getting out of the grip.

Wily's hand strayed under her neck and into her hair.

"Ve'll be together again, just rest my dearest. You'll be happier ven you avaken."

"Wily!!--"

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A Week Later.


The whole air of the Space Colony Fortress was desperate and fowl. There was an unhidden disgust when Wily came around amongst some... while others were indifferent. Loyal to Dr. Wily... or waning on defection, or even escape.

Wily's Warriors, a team with Wily's name slapped right on the front of them. The past two weeks they were contained just like Spark. Each to their own container, the walls sound proof. Not even the fustrated kicking of Starnik as he sung John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt could get anyone to pay him any attention. The Warriors... just had to rust a little as the war went on without them.

Quick was wasting his time pacing, huffing, reflecting with all that happened. How would things turn out if he ever got out of this place? It felt like forever since he last saw anything. Saddly his room did not have a view of space. Just this box of white walls and steel. There wasn't even a metal slab to call a bed. He was a social creature and here he was left to converse and joke to himself.

"Nice going Quick, nice job." He said... but there was no regret in saving Monsteropolis. There was regret in letting Spark's plan go downhill.

When counting the minutes got boring in his corner, his energy got low. Soon he should sleep... but just then the door slid open. He hopped up as soon as he saw WoodMan.

"Hey! What's... going on?" Quick asked shocked... all of Wily's Warriors were out. Iga just shook his head as if confused himself.

Quick took it as a sign to shut up and follow, the line of Warriors leading out and back into the main area of the base. The first week in confinement they all were interrogated. Like before with Cyros, the Speedster took the blame but Wily already knew the mastermind was the little lady. Everyone was punished accordingly, It made him sort of worried for Spark-Chan when he didn't see her anywhere. Even Flash who seemed to be out of the line showed up in the main area.

The two male bots nodded to eachother in greeting, Flash looking a bit more down to see Quick than anything. Who could actually be happy about this anyways? The only thing they were glad for was the nuclear bombing to be sabotaged.

"I vant no more of zis trickery. Yes you ruined my plans... but zat does not mean you'll vant to do it again. Lest you become a monstrosity of ze Scissor Army or a puppet of the Robot Police Department." Wily stood before them with his arms behind his back, "Zis ist my varning to you..."

He looked behind him and beckoned someone from behind. After a second or so Spark-Chan appeared. No longer in her Spark garb... she wore her outfit in which she was more known as Classi-Cal. The girl was smiling so brightly, and her arms hugged onto her creator's.

"Yes Dr. Wily?" She looked to him and then shyly to her boots.

This was Spark? She looked so... fake! It was her in all her beauty... but her actions screamed someone else. Quick held himself back... eying her. Where was her eye contact? They plotted with their eyes. Just give the signal! The red racer bot would follow her lead! But it never came...

"My men vanted to meet you my sveet."

"Oh really? Aww that's so nice." Classi-Cal nodded to the men, just glancing them over and never stopping on QuickMan, "Hello everyone. I'm Dr. Wily's... um.." She looked nervously to Wily for approval.

"Go on."

"Dr. Wily's fiance, Classi-Cal."

Disgusting, was the word that came to everyone. But wasn't that the whole plan? But the old man pet her and held her, with no concern in her eyes. Infact her whole demeanor just seemed strange. Finally he stepped forward... unable to contain it.

"Spark...?"

Classi-Cal didn't respond, not until she noticed Quick staring at her.

"I'm sorry, what did you say hun?"

"Spark-Chan?"

She giggled and shook her head.

"Oh no, Classi-Cal hunny. I'm afraid you have me confused with someone."

And the most wicked grin slipped onto Wily's face. The Warrior's grew sour in their mechanical stomachs. A churning of imaginary stomach fluids, the boiling of their electrical currents and oil. The Flimsy Prototype was no more, and yet here she stood smiling. Reborn into Wily's personal wench. QuickMan couldn't peel himself away, even when the other bots were dimissed and Wily took his bride-to-be off to a window.

QuickMan broke away once he felt he could do nothing more than go back to wherever the Warriors' quarters were. The reprogramming of Spark-Chan would weigh on everyone who fought for her beliefs... but if they didn't want to become like her they had to finish this war. His steps were sluggish, quite an oxymoron of the Scarlet Speedster.

"Star-- Starnik!?" A small voice called out to him. When the bot turned his head he found the young boy Benny cling to him.

"Hey kid..." He pat his head, "Glad you're alright."

"No! We have to stop them!" He screamed in a whisper. Benny tugged on his arms for him to hurry.

"....stop who?"

The small boy gave him an angry voice with tears welling up in his eyes.

"They're gonna kill the people--!" and as soon as he said it QuickMan covered up his mouth and snatched the boy up, Benny now uptop his shoulders.

"Down to the basement from the stairs."

Knowing where there was several basement compartments on a lower level... he head in that direction. With his incredible speed he made it in no time... but had to stop at junctures so the boy he held could point.

--------------------

The large group of refugees came along for the ride into space. The woman in charge of them, Cassandra, was good with getting things her way even against that vile Dr. Wily. They had food and shelter... but when the magnet tornado came and tore it up they only had so much for the space station. The refugees made their new living in the only area Wily allowed them in, the fourth storage bay.

Huddled together, they were crammed in the tight space with only so much room for the children to play tag and to eat their rationed foods.

"I only pray we'll be able to see Earth again..." a man said to his wife, checking up on her broken arm.

"Atleast we can say we visited space once." she smiled to him, trying her best to keep tears from her strong eyes.

Humanity would continue on, and some of them felt quite fortunate to have followed Cassandra even this far. Cassandra was helping pass out dinner for the day to everyone, being helped by the young able men in her rationing. Strangely the ration was very large and it watered the mouths of the thinning people.

--------------------

"Look my dearest, you see that planet down zhere?" Wily pointed out the huge glass window to Earth below. His fiance smiled gently which allowed him to continue, "I vant to share it vith you by my side."

"A whole planet? For us? It seems like so much," Classi-Cal blushed.

"Only ze best for my bride."

--------------------

"Unit BarrageMan is unsure of which switch?" said Barrage. He and ExpressMan were obviously ordered to do soemthing in these lower levels. Unknowing of Starnik darting just around the corner.

"Even I find this... a low blow." Express admitted, "But I honestly am not in the mood to becoming Wily's next sock puppet. Anyways... Doc Robot said it was the one that says D-4."

BarrageMan nodded and moved to the control panel with many switches, buttons, and levers. With all the crazy and illinformed labels... he found the right one. The only thing he didn't count on was a Boomerang to the back of his head. With a clunk he turned his head around to find QuickMan ready to defy them for a second time.

"Unit QuickMan want a fight!?" the massive bot growled, not at all flattered by the second job interference.

"Benny... get back." He put the boy on the floor, "Time to play clean up."

The young boy ran back and hid behind a few stacked crates, all three Robot Masters now in a triangular stare down.

"We can't just kill these people! We can atleast try to persuade Wily to send them back to Earth!"

ExpressMan took to the floor and charged himself into QuickMan, the two racing bots ramming their shoulders like fullbacks.

"Barrage! Now!" ExpressMan grit his teeth as QuickMan tried to shove passed him.

Soon he found a fist to his face and he was knocked to the wall, the Speedster skirting past him to stop the hulk. In the same ammount of desperation ExpressMan shot himself off the wall like a bullet and clobbered QuickMan onto the ground face first.

BarrageMan winced himself as he held onto the lever, but this couldn't end like it was threatened by his superior. Just as he pulled it halfway, Quick broke himself free and fired three Boomerangs at the lever to lift it again.

"Unit QuickMan is enraging Unit BarrageMan!" The monster of a bot grabbing onto Quick's head and smashing it into the face of the panel itself. As the smaller bot struggled and kicked with all his might, the lever was pulled all the way down.

The loud snap and the huge vibration from the lever's initiation could be felt all around them. Red lights blaired off and Quick's muffled cries came from inside the busted panel.

--------------------

A huddling family had finished their much larger meal, unknowing of it as their last supper. Usually this was the time of day, that they were aware of, where they would all settle down and fall asleep. Everyone grew quiet... the mother holding her arms out as her daughter ran over to be with them.

"Time for bed sweety!" The mother called out with a smile.

The daughter laughed... but suddenly underneath her the crack on the floor that had always been began to part. Sucked right into the growing gap her tiny leg went... and soon everything else followed. The masses screamed as the freezing cold vaccuum began to scoop them up. Their blankets, their items, anything not heavy enough to hold escaped first. The people scrambled to the corners... clinging to anything they could.

"WILY YOU BAST--" Cassandra screamed at the top of her lungs, atleast until the oxygen was no more. Sucked right out from everyone. The proud leader gripped her neck and fell into the crowd from her perch.

The hatch below was fully open... and the crowd of people inside were forced into the -100 degrees of what was called space. They froze almost instantly... and those who didn't suffocated first. A horrible and inhumane way to be offed... Women, men, children... and strangely by order of a human.

--------------------

Quick heard it all, and the curse of Wily which went unfinished. The two amongst him left when their job was done... leaving him alone. He pulled his sliced face from the control panel and with sobs he tried his best to lift the lever back up to shut the hatch, hoping that he might have saved somebody... anybody! But he knew... he could feel... that openning the door he'd find....an empty cargo bay.

And he did enter... and it was almost like he thought. All accept a small blanket... stuck between the crack of the hatch... Lifeless...

--------------------

Classi-Cal felt the shake, but it was very minor and made her glance around. Afterwards she went back to holding onto her fiance.

"It vill be beautiful vhen ve get back."

The couple smiled to eachother... only the old man taking note of the small sparkling dots floating down below nearly out of sight. One less thing to worry about... and no more lost focus.

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