Orchestrated By C.M. Rich (Magnetman)
By Cyros
[Stage 5, end of Scenario A]
Warning klaxons were blaring. The hallways and conduits of the space
station were rupturing, threatening to breach and send any unfortunate
soul into the icy depths of space.
It was time to go.
Four figures raced through the bedlam of panicked robots and mechanisms.
Unlike the surrounding crowd, the Wily Rescue Force and their “guest
of honor” Flashman actually knew where they were going. All the other
robots, including the Sniper Joes, were just going nuts. Had it been
a less hectic situation, they would have found it funny.
They had only recently arrived on the station, after narrowly escaping
Geminiman's traps in Himeji. Doc Robot had gone ahead of them, to warn
Wily of the coming attack. By the time the other WRF members returned,
the place was a madhouse. And the teleportation grid had just given
out when they arrived. Now they had to escape the old fashion way.
A pipe burst on the wall next to Expressman, bathing him in hot gas.
He yelped in pain and moved farther away from the wall. “Damn it! How
much further till the escape pods!?”
“Not close enough!” shouted Multiman. He stopped running and pointed
toward a nearby wall. “So we’re gonna need to take a shortcut! Barrageman!”
“Unit Barrageman understands perfectly.” The olive green assault android
leveled his Ion Cannon at the wall in question, only for Flashman to
block his line of fire.
“Whoa, you’re just gonna blast through the wall!? Did you not notice
the space station breaking apart around us!?”
Flashman was interrupted by a backhand from Multiman. He stumbled and
was helped up by Expressman as the rotund machine glared at him.
“I know what I’m doing, you piece of slag! There’s nothing but a storage
bay through here; which happens to be right next to the escape pods!”
“Unit Barrageman says to take cover!” And thus a large green beam of
energy impacted the wall, which held for only a few seconds before
melting and blowing apart at the seams. A nicely sized hole was left
in its wake. “We have ourselves an opening, Unit Multiman.”
“Good work! Now let’s move it!”
All four robots ran through the hole. Indeed, on the other side was
a large storage bay, its contents hastily assembled. It was only a
short while ago when they had evacuated the planet-side Skull Castle,
so the mess was of no surprise. Not like they cared at the moment.
Survival was the highest priority.
That was until Flashman turned his head ever so slightly and spotted
something. It might as well have been the Holy Grail itself from the
expression on his face.
It was his body.
His true body.
After they had moved up to this space station, Flash kept wondering
where Wily had relocated the capsule where his original body had been
imprisoned. Because, let’s face it, he knew Wily wouldn’t leave something
so valuable to the enemy. But being reassigned to the Rescue Force
prevented him from doing a thorough search of the station to find out
where it was.
Now, as he was fleeing for his life, he saw that which he most desired.
He had nearly forgotten about it! Had they not taken this shortcut,
he would have never seen it!
Never would he have as good an opportunity as this.
Twisting on his front heel, he angled himself back toward the capsule
and ran. It didn’t take long for Expressman, who was right next to
him, to notice this. Flashman didn’t care what he was saying; this
was his last chance. He had to get his body back. Nothing would stop
him.
The creaking of metal said otherwise as a large section of the ceiling
broke away and fell. Flashman paused and looked upward. His eyes widened
in horror as debris rained down upon him. He was soon pinned to the
ground, and good.
He ignored the warnings inside his head and craned his gaze toward
the capsule. His hopes fell when he saw nothing but metal. A good portion
of the ceiling had blocked his way to the capsule. He tried to swear,
but found his voice module had been damaged. Nor was he able to move.
No! This couldn’t be happening. Not now! He was so close! This was
his last chance!
His mind was locking up on him and his perception wavered. The next
few minutes were a blur. The Rescue Force had retrieved him... they
ran out of the storage bay... the reached the escape pods... they launched.
Flashman was propped up next to the window, and he was barely able
to see outside at the receding space station. Wordlessly, he screamed
in terror as realization came over him.
Skull Space Station exploded shortly after that.
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