The Business of War
Orchestrated By C.M. Rich (Magnetman)
Dr. Cossack War Journals 9
By Regulus, Magnus Riujin, Hunter, Liquid-Snake, Naop, Shinobu Plantman//SK, anime master
The Loss of Innocence
DI Headquarters
About 2 hours after Stage 4
Kalinka had never cried so hard in her life. She could do nothing but
watch in horror as the Citadel she'd lived her entire life in, and
the people she loved more than anything along with it, go up in a terrifying
mushroom cloud. After transporting to a temporary safehouse with Deep
Impact, she made her way to the room Astro-chan showed her to, and
immediately sat down and began sobbing. She doesn't even know for how
long.
Outside, two people have rounded the corner as they wander down the
hall.
"Dude, this is a major suck-fest." Jay comments to his constant
cohort. "Y'can't tell me the Rusky and his posse are all gone...
they just can't be..."
Silent Bob just shakes his head sadly.
"What, that's all you got to say about it, you tubby piece of
shit?!"
The potty-mouthed stoner continues to run his mouth. "Why don't
you fuckin' say somethin'? You got nothin' better to contrubute than..." He
moves his head up and down in a sarcastic manner, then does the same
moving his head side to side.
"Jesus, like you have anything constructive to say." The
normally quiet one finally quips. "You ever got anything to say
than 'Fuck, man', 'Shit, man', 'This sucks ass, man'...?"
"Feh." Jay just lights up a joint in response.
As they pass by Kalinka's room, they hear her muffled sobs.
"Yo!! You okay in there, princess?" Jay yells through the
door.
"Just go away, you damn junkie!!" Kalinka sobs from the other
side.
"I'm not in the mood for you right now, so just get lost and stay
there!!"
Bob takes Jay's arm. "C'mon, she just lost her whole famlily.
She needs time to straighten this all out."
Jay just jerks his arm away. "Get off me, faggot." He turns
back to the closed door. "Look Kournicova, I know this is hard
on ya' n' all, but you can't just lay around feelin' sorry for yourself
when this whole ass-fuck ain't over yet!"
"And what am I supposed to do?!?" The young Cossack screams. "I
have no one left!! My father's gone; the Comrades, who were like brothers
and sisters to me are all gone; I have nothing!!!"
"Well fr' starters, how about thinkin' o' how you're gonna get
back at that Cutman fuck who did all this? You ain't plannin' on letting
him get away with all this are ya'??"
Kalinka wipes her eyes. He's a complete blockhead, but he has a funny
way of putting things in perspective sometimes.
This is no time for tears right now.
General Cutman... he's stolen everything from her... Her family...
her friends... her home... Everything that had any significance is
gone now... because of him...
One way or another, she's going to make him pay... or die trying.
--------------------
"Kalinka, are you okay? It's Naop. I'm just checking up on you." Silence. He turned to leave when Kalinka spoke up."Naop, I want to talk to you. This is important," she called from her room. Astro opened the door to see the girl.
He noticed the various drawings of General Cutman, with the word "lightning" circled a few times. Then, in the corner near her mirror, was a little shrine with a picture. As he moved closer to it he noticed it was a family picture, with the CC, the two idiots, Blizzard, some girl he assumed was the "Vi" that Drill, god rest his soul, talked about, and the Cossack family themselves. He felt remorse at the sight.
He turned his attention to the little girl. She seemed so mature for her age. Innocence is lost in her, it seems. A pity.
"Are you okay K'? Is there anything I can do for you?" he inquired. Kalinka paused and looked at Astro.
"I would like to ask of you something. With Drillman...gone...we need a figure to rally the remaining robots. I was hoping that you would take that spot."
Astro was shocked. He was not expecting this from her. "Kalinka, I am not sure what you mean. Everyone thinks you are the leader..." he started.
"Yes, I suppose I am. And before you say it, my father was before me. However it was obvious that the other members looked, to a degree, at Drill for anything. I assume you understand what I am talking about. I would really like it if you do so Astro," she said. Astro paused and considered. He looked once more at the family portrait and sighed.
"Very well. But what exactly did you have in mind?" the hovering robot inquired. Kalinka's turned to her plans.
"Kill General Cutman, avenge my father's death, and end this war. No more games." Naop was stunned to see the once quiet girl act so...different. He had heard of her bad childhood, with a pot head father, two drug dealers, being kidnapped by Wily, and now the slaughter of her friends, but never once did he expect to see this person stand in front of him.
As he thought that, tears streamed down the girl's face. He moved to reconcile her. She latched on to him. "I just miss them Astro. Is that so wrong?"
"No. No it isn't. So do I, Kalinka. And just like you, I won't rest until we kill that bastard."
--------------------
“How’s everything, Lyon?”
Astro, who had just come back from Kalinka’s room, asked his pal, who
was handling all the arrivals at Deep Impact’s base. The only conscious
member from such team was AstroChan, and she wasn’t in the best condition
to keep up with the task. She was still at the control room, but she
was resting her eyes, leaned on a desk, trying not to look at the dismembered
bodies of her teammates who were being dragged in by the surviving
Cossackers.
“Not good, Naop. Not good at all.” GroundMan responded bluntly, and
Astro acknowledged it with a nod. “How’re you holding up?” the TT member
asked his leader, who seemed to be handling the loss of his “father”
quite calmly.
“There’s no hope left, is there?” Astro was still expecting to see
the old doc and his creations to teleport in any minute, but he knew
it was all false hopes.
“The Armored Assassins have confirmed it: they were all killed by Cutman
himself.” GroundMan replied, while looking at some information on a
computer screen. AstroMan clenched his fists so hard he almost pierces
his own hands with his fingers. The look of strain on his digital display
was not only because of his physical injuries, he was in fact having
a hard time dealing with the impotence and the anger. “Are you sure
you’re alright? Perhaps you should go lay down…” Ground insisted, knowing
that rest was all they could offer Astro at the time.
The repair bays were barely enough to contain all the people that had
been killed. All of Cossack´s remaining colleagues were working non-stop
with whatever few parts Deep Impact had in stock, in order to repair
the most imminent injuries.
Astro took a deep breath, and tried to regain his composure. “Tell
me our status. Who do we have left?”
GroundMan looked at his leader in disbelief. The guy wanted to go through
that, right now? Even so, he responded, no questions asked. “The only
remaining Deep Impacter is AstroChan… however, the remains of their
other members were retrieved, partially thanks to the Armored Assassins.”
“By the way, where are they?” Astro tried looking around among the
few people in the control room, but none of the AA was in sight.
“They decided to leave.” Ground said, quite disheartened.
“What?!” Astro was shocked. “They left?”
“It seems BlizzardMan wasn’t too happy about ToadGal’s death, and since
he’s the leader of the team…” Ground tried explaining, but was interrupted.
“Screw them! What about the others?”
“SlashMan are Artillery made it back, but they’re in bad shape.” The
diligent robot continued. “But the stardoids fared the worst… Only
Venus and Terra made it back in one piece. Sunstar and Dark Moon are
MIA, and they tell me we won’t be expecting them. The rest of them
is already at the repair bay, with the exception of Pluto, whose body
was impossible to salvage.”
AstroMan sighed. This was going to be tough. But if someone was going
to show some strength and beat some sense into the poor, hopeless souls
of the remaining Cossackers, it was him and no one else. “Gather everyone
who’s able to walk. We all need to have a talk.”
--------------------
Minutes later, at the conference room…“People…” Astro began. “This might seem like the end to most of you. But for my team, and for the remaining Cossacks…” he pointed at the humans in the group. “Things have just gotten, a tad more personal. And I won’t beat around the bush here, we are now driven by a different motivation. The man we followed, the man who leaded us, is dead, along with his creations. But if we decide to give up here, we would only be diminishing his name. If we surrender now, we will lose our dignity, and our efforts so far would be in vain.”
“But what can we expect to accomplish now?” Terra interjected. “The citadel was destroyed! And almost everyone was killed! How are we going to recover from that?”
“I understand how you feel.” Astro admitted. “But I can promise you one thing… this is not the end of the Cossack faction. It’s up to each an every one of you to decide which path to take. But if you ever believed in our ideals of freedom and justice, and if you ever held the Cossack name in high regard, representing it proudly, there is no alternative for you. We have to change our mindset, we have to be bolder, braver, and perhaps, more ruthless. If we ever want to avenge the good doctor, and fulfil his legacy for this world, we have to stop underestimating ourselves. Never, under any circumstances, must we stop to grieve their deaths. Not now, because now is the time to act. To our enemy it might seem like we’re finished, but we can use that to our advantage. The Scissor Army has to be defeated; there is no way around it. We must not hesitate. And if you need further motivation, take a look at the repair bay… take a look at the maimed bodies of your teammates and comrades. Take a good look, and understand that you have two alternatives: fight back and fight smart, or end up like them (or even worse).”
“Inspiring words…” ArtilleryMan was the one to step up this time. “But as much as I liked the old coot, I’m not here for the fun and games, you know?” the mercenary rubbed his fingers, making it clear that he would not work for free.
“I don’t think you’re in the position to be saying that.” Astro retorted, a little annoyed by his disrespectful attitude towards the doctor. Jay and Bob even had to hold Kalinka down from going over there and lashing out at the merc. “The way I see it, you have no alternative. Who will take you in? The RPD? Or perhaps Wily? Your pride won’t allow it.”
“Pft…” Atillery dismissed Astro’s words.
“But do not worry mercenary. We still have some money in our pockets. You will get paid… in due time.” Astro conceded. Right now, they needed as much help as they could get. “It might take us a while, but we will eventually be back in our feet. With the help of the doctor’s colleagues, a lot will be accomplished. But we have no time to lay back and rest. You all have to make up your minds, and do it fast. PirateMan witnessed FrostMan’s defection to the SA, and as a consequence it’s only logical they will come looking for us. So staying here for too long is only going to make things worse. Until we come up with an alternative, we have to consider that we will soon be on run. The whole world is against us.”
The room was filled with grim faces. This was not an easy choice for any of them. Astro noticed this but he had nothing but the truth to offer them. “This is going to be hell, Cossackers. But for what it’s worth, I have leaded armies in the past. And I used to keep my battlefield statistics on S ranking. I always made sure all of my squad made it out alive by putting my life on the line before risking theirs. So fear not, just be sure to think of all the people they’ve slaughtered, and remember that General Cutman and his army have to die. If we ever expect to have a future, it has to be done.”
--------------------
Later, at one of DI’s private quarters…“Quite a speech there, hombre.” TenguMan walked in, bothering AstroMan who was still refusing to pay a visit to the lab coats and get proper repairs. He was lying on a couch, rubbing his temples. Not that it was doing him any good, though.
“What do you want, Kusa?" Astro asked annoyed.
“Well, I thought it was time we talked.” He admitted.
“If this is about my telepathy, I don’t feel like arguing with you right now…”
“We can leave that for later. What worries me is your attitude. I know you, and I know how you tend to react when someone dies like this.” Tengu had been around Astro for a long time. He knew what to expect.
“This is the second time I’ve left Dr. Cossack die.” Astro was referring to events that took place on a 21XX timeline. “The first time, I was nowhere near the citadel. But now? I can’t believe I was there and I did nothing! I was too busy fighting that Mystery prick… just let me find a way to forgive myself before you go on making any claims.”
“Bullshit.” Tengu accused. “You know, as well as I know, that all of that “self-pity” is a farce. All you care about, in this state, is revenge. Nothing drives you further away from your ideals. You are a victim of your own hatred, and you know it.”
“What did you expect, man?!” Astro shouted back. “You know what it is to look into that girl’s eyes while she tells you she wants to kill her father’s murderer? How can I not feel hatred?”
“What did she say to you?” Tengu demanded. “I bet she got you going…”
“What?! What the hell are you implying?” Astro didn’t understand his friend’s accusations.
“Have you forgotten already?” Tengu’s memories of the past (or rather, the future), were still fresh. “I don’t think that girl is the most levelled to give you any advice right now. Don’t you remember she almost got you into prison? She charged you for the murder of her husband! You, one of her father’s most loved creations. And all because of her misguided vengeful desires.”
Astro took a while to consider his words. “It was not the same Kalinka…”
“Perhaps you are right. But still, you know, better than most, than hatred blinds our judgement.” His advice would normally have an impact on Astro, but this time it was different.
“Look, I’m not going to deny it. I want vengeance.” Astro admitted. “But this goes beyond that… if we don’t do something quick, the world is going to be taken over by that maniac.”
“And what do you suggest we do now? These people are no Maverick Hunters…”
“No, they are not.” Astro agreed. “But that doesn’t mean they can’t fight a war. For now we can only trust in our own strategic abilities, and hope that Pharaoh and the rest come back soon. I’m tired of being stuck in this robot master body… there are times when I can’t stand the urge to crush that SA scum with my telekinesis. It’s like having an itch, and not having any arms to scratch it.”
“You think I’m comfortable without my Aura of Elements? Think again… At least you still have telepathy.” Tengu complained.
“It’s not like I can read their robotic minds, you know?” but before Astro could elaborate, they were interrupted by PirateMan, who barged into the room.
“Incoming transmission!” he reported. “Someone’s trying to contact us!”
--------------------
Time: ??:??Location: ???
Mission: Reach the Deep Impact Base of Operations
"Okay...we're about close to your base, people of the Cossack Faction. This is former Interpol Agent Noguchi Heiji, and the world famous and reknowned thief Silver Feather." Noguchi sighed as he transmitted his message over to the DI Base's screen. "Under an anonymous group of robot's request, we are here to join your cause. As I have been removed from office, and Silver Feather here is constantly on the run."
"Besides, we're running out of fuel for this copter, you guys are the closest thing I can get to aside from Monsteropolis, which I'm pretty sure I'm not welcome..." Silver Feather said with a snide smile. "I can arrange it so we could get enough scrap...after all, wartime black markets will always be prosperous. Espicially now."
"To put it bluntly, we're requesting a landing...say, Feather, am I forgetting something important?" The Inspector peered at his former nemesis, now a wartime ally.
"No, you're not forgetting anything important, nada." Silver Feather smiled as they pulled towards Deep Impact's location.
Time: ??:??
Location: ???
Mission: Reach the Deep Impact Base of Operations
--------------------
One month later…AstroMan was shocked to learn that everyone had decided to stay. Even the people who had been killed! Perhaps they now thought of it as a more personal matter, fighting the war that is. He didn’t care much what their motivation was, he wouldn’t ask them to worship Cossack, that’s would be fanaticism. All he cared about was that they would give it their 150%. This was not a game, and it had never been. The shameful destruction of the citadel, and the assassination of their leader had taught them that much.
Now, Astro had taken the time to carefully plan their next move. First and foremost, he had decided this would be their last morning at Deep Impact’s base. He wasn’t going to stay and wait for the SA to come knocking at their door again, and with FrostMan with them, that was sure to happen eventually. The necessary measures had been taken. Every team would be dispatched on a mission, to later rendezvous at a new location.
Astro had made sure that everyone would be watching the news at all times, since it was their only source for information. Fortunately for them, local news stations had been doing a good job to keep track of most of the events, allowing Astro to decide where to dispatch each team.
With everyone gathered at the conference room (even all the humans), AstroMan started the briefing, with Kalinka right next to him. “As I’ve discussed with some of you already, this day marks the beginning of a new policy within our faction. You being here is enough proof that you agree with this plan, so I’m just gonna assume I can count on each and every one of you to complete this mission. No more defections. Understood?” the robot master paused, in order for his men to agree.
“Yes sir!” to his surprise, the people in the conference room answered in unison. It seemed he had managed to influence them in one way or another throughout the past month. This pleased him greatly, and reassured his confidence on the plan.
“Basically…” he continued. “Our new primary objective will be the SA officers. Given our precarious situation, and scarce numbers, we have to be more assertive with our every move. No more barging into a town to try and save the day… no more missions dedicated only to scrap salvage. Begging for some crumbs won’t do us any good, the annihilation of our citadel has thought us that. We’ll still try to gather resources however, but never do anything outside the law, since we are already wanted by the RPD, thanks to some of our previous allies.” He was obviously referring to the news that Crorq had issued just recently.
“But first and foremost, remember that our goal is to defeat the SA. They have caused more pain and destruction throughout the world, than any other previous army. We have to do whatever it takes to take them down. Now, this doesn’t mean we will become kamikaze soldiers. We have to think ahead of our enemies, and use stealth and guerrilla tactics as often as we can. Avoid direct confrontation with entire robot master teams, since that will always end badly for us. We don’t have the numbers to surpass them…
But! We can still deal a fatal blow to them each time we go out on the battlefield. Our plan consists of crippling them, little by little, until no SA officer is left to defend their leaders. For that purpose, I expect you to bring a prisoner every time we reconvene.” This latest part caused some murmurs among the Cossackers.
“Yes, I know it sounds hard. And most likely, it will be near impossible to capture one of them every time. But we have to try. Starting to day, I expect to make this your primary objective. However, do not misunderstand me… as Cossackers, it is our duty to protect the innocent and prove that robot-kind is not something to be afraid of. If you ever see people in need, do not hesitate to help! And never do anything against humans on the RPD. Avoid them at all costs. Confrontation with the other factions has already given us a bad name. As for your specific assignments, I will let Kalinka address them. K’, go ahead.” Taking a step back Astro allowed Kalinka to address her men.
“Ok everyone, let’s do this right.” She tried to show as much courage and confidence as she could. “ArtilleryMan will go to Toronto. He will try to capture, or otherwise terminate Super Koala, who has been spotted in the area. We will not tolerate that previous allies become aligned with the SA. Letting him go was a mistake, and we expect Artillery to correct it.” Artillery nodded. His orders had already been handed to him, previous to this briefing. The girl then proceeded to address someone else. “Technological Tyrans, SlashMan and Drew!”
“Here!” PirateMan responded in behalf of his team.
“Naop will lead you into the city of Kalingrad. The city is currently occupied by Wily, so be sure to let him handle the SA as much as he can, and then make your move to capture FrostMan, who has been spotted there. Same as Koala, we should have never let him go. With his defection, we have been forced to abandon this base as well.” Kalinka’s face showed the anger she felt. She even felt hurt, since she had somehow bonded with Frost when he first arrived to the citadel. “Cosmic Gladiators!” she continued.
“Awaiting orders!” Saturn answered. He had made contact with his fellow stardroids a couple of weeks ago, and had decided to join their faction. His gesture was appreciated.
“We thank you for coming here, Saturn. After the loss of your leader, it was very hard for your team.” She was referring to the unfortunate incident that had taken Pluto’s life. “Now, we want your team to arrive at the city of Cairo. SkullMan has been spotted there by the news stations, even making them believe that my father had somehow allied himself with the SA. We have to clear our name, and try to beat some sense into SkullMan, to see if he can return to us willingly. But as much as it pains me to say this, you will have to terminate him if there is no chance for him to change his mind.” This frightened some of the stardroids, since the “SkullMan” that had been spotted, hardly resembled the guy they used to know. The SA had obviously changed him… for the worse.
“Deep Impact!” Kalinka continued with briefing. SearchMan gave her nod. “Your objective is perhaps, the most important. We want to make a statement, and for the SA to understand it, we have to take from them one of their most valuable assets. We expect you to go to Kuwait and capture ChargeMan…” the sounds of gasps were heard among the Cossackers. This was obviously something they didn’t expect.
“Yes, we know it sounds crazy. But we need to do it.” The Russian girl explained. “And this is not just to provoke them. We will be subtracting one of their most dangerous agents. The Ascendant Androids are monsters, and perhaps, their most dangerous soldiers. We have to put an end to their massacres. And without ChargeMan, it will be a little easier for the other factions to oppose them. Given the size of ChargeMan, he is anything but expendable, so this will perfectly show them that the Cossack faction is still alive.
Jay, Bob, Noguchi and Silver Feather will try to gather resources. But the rest of us won’t undertake any unnecessary risks. We will be waiting for everyone to come back.” She referred to the scientists and humans.
“Everyone will be handed the necessary teleportation device to transport the extra ‘cargo’.” Astro interjected. “Now, after you are done, get out as fast as you can and let the RPD do their jobs. They have an army, they are the ones in charge of protecting entire cities. We will meet at our new ‘temporary base’. I believe everyone has the coordinates…” he looked at Dr. Peripherique, who nodded in response. “Good. Now go, and get the mission done.”
“For Cossack!” Astro shouted out will all his might.
“FOR COSSACK!” The people in the room shouted back.
“And for humans and robots alike!” with those words, the Cossackers departed to their respective assignments.
--------------------
Remembrance
Directly Following the first half of AM's post.
Drew had just finished looking around the Drastic Measure's base, and
stumbled across the group of scientists he had just escaped the Citadel
with. Dr. Peripherique was about to step forward and pull Drew aside,
out of ear's reach of the other scientists, when Jay came storming
down the hallway in a blind rage, followed by Silent Bob.
After Jay passed, knocking over anything in his way, including Dr.
Peripherique, Drew asked Bob, "What the hell's that guys problem?" Bob
just stood there and shrugged, and followed after Jay. Well the
was... weird.
"Drew," said Dr. Peripherique, "Have you heard the news
yet?" He pulled Drew out of ear's reach of the other scientists.
"What? Did Dr. Cossack come back yet?" he asked excitedly,
like a little kid on Christmas Eve.
"This is going to be hard to take, but... Dr. Cossack is dead."
Drew just stood there, his mouth wide open. First, he didn't believe
what he heard.
"No, it's not possible. Cossack couldn't have died."
"There were reports from returning robots. Apparently the General
was holding his head above the Citadel."
"He couldn't have. He just couldn't..."
"Drew, the sooner you accept it, the quicker you will get over-"
"Did it ever occur to you I don't want to get over it?" snapped
Drew quickly, slightly scaring his fellow doctor. "You should
go talk with the others. I need to be alone."
"Alright," responded Dr. P. He walked over to the other doctors,
who continued talking, as though they weren't trying to listen to their
conversation. Suddenly, Drew turned around and punched the wall as
hard as he could, leaving a human fist shaped imprint in the spot he
hit. He then proceeded to storm down the hall in a similar manner that
Jay had just displayed.
--------------------
Drew passed the room that Kalinka had been staying in. He stopped. He knew that this was going to be hard on everyone, but the hardest on her. He reached into the bag on his back, and pulled out the folders he had saved from the Citadel. They mean something to me. But I know they will mean to much more to her. It'd be selfish to keep them. He then walked into the room, and over to Kalinka.He then looked over her shoulder, and saw that she was drawing pictures. Not so much pictures, as they were "plans," or wishes at least. Caricatures of what appeared to be a skeletal robot with shears getting hit by lightning, with the words lightning circled numerous times. Lightning? Strange...but I should keep it in mind.
There was a bureau up against the wall, with a small shrine to Cossack and his creations on it. Drew pulled out the folders, and set them down on the top of it. "Kalinka, if you ever feel you need someone to talk this out with, remember I'm here." He then left the room, noticing Kalinka didn't even look up from her work for any of time he was in there.
Kalinka then got up and went over the the bureau, to see what Drew had placed there, after she finished her drawing. She then said to herself, "DCN-027?"
--------------------
Searchman's War Journal : New Directives
Last thing recorded before deactivation : general pain. Corporal damages
: 85% and rising. System shut down for security.
...
/Reboot system/
I opened my eyes to see one of the scientists saved from Chelyabinsk,
and Astroman next to him. According to the background, we're in Deep
Impact's base; more precisely, in my room.
"Can you hear me, Search ?" inquired Astro. I nodded, before
resetting my vocal module.
"I can't feel my lower body."
"That would be because I didn't repair it yet." stated the
scientist.
"Naop here requested to activate you ASAP."
A thought races in my brain. "Query : What about the Evil Energy
in my systems ?"
The scientist nodded, thoughtful. "We isolated what remained of
your power core for now. When you and your teammates are rebuilt, we
shall try to add regulators in your systems.
"And before you ask another question, we used one of your base's
emergency generators to keep you running. It should work for now."
"Thanks a lot, Dr Périphérique." stated Naop. "If you
don't mind, I must talk with Searchman for now."
Périphérique -was he of French origin ? that would be a coincidence-
nodded and left us.
"Remark : He mentioned the other Impacters. What happened to them
?"
The Tyrant looked away before sighing and looking straight in left
head's eyes.
"Only AstroChan is still active. The others got destroyed in the
fight against the SA."
"And we're now in our base. Deduction : we lost the Citadel. What
happened to Cossack ?"
"Cossack ... is dead. And the Comrades as well. And they got Skull,
Koala and Frost as prisoners of war."
Despair level : maximal.
"Request : Who's left with us ?"
"The TT are all safe. Half of the Gladiators are out of commission,
and Slash and Artillery are still on their feet. However," and
Astroman clenched his fists, "the Assassins fled, probably to
Wily's side."
Situation : critical.
"With Frost captured, they will find the base's location. Date
of possible attack : unknown."
He pondered that information before rising his head again. "Don't
worry. We'll leave this place ASAP so it doesn't end up like the Citadel.
"This raises another question : will you stay the Cossackers and
fight ? I'd understand if you, or any other Impacter, decided to leave
- the War hasn't been kind on you."
I pondered this question : Cossack was dead, and the RPD, the SA and
Wily had a number on our heads. The safest solution would be to hide
away until the end.
But it didn't feel right. I wouldn't be able to look at myself without
shame if I left my comrades in such times. Besides, I still wanted
revenge on Quint.
"You can count me in. Query : can you move me to the computer
?"
Naop nodded, and carried my shell -and the small generator- to the
machine. I quickly typed from my left arm, and several datas appeared
on the screen : a detailed stock of DI's meager stock of spare parts,
and blueprints for an upgraded body for me.
"Périphérique and the others will have to adapt this a bit."
explained, as I printed the schematics. "Once I'm back to activity,
we shall prepare the plans for the following part of the War."
"Initiate shutdown."
Last thing I saw before shutting off was Naop moving towards the generator
- and apparently deactivating it.
--------------------
Deep Impact's War Journal : With great power...
The roboticians had made
a great job on us ; there is no need to deny it.
They were able to adapt most of our blueprints, and what wasn't in
our spare parts was easily found in the scrapyards surrounding Monsteropolis.
However, we were still in need of repairs, so all of us Impacters were
in the repair bay for the night.
An indefinite time after shutdown, I ... woke up, in lack of better
terms. The five of us were standing in a black area. Detail : we were
in our
"original", non-Robot-Master bodies.
My friends wore different expressions of shock and surprise on their
faces. Approximatively fifteen seconds later, a column of light appeared
in front of us, and a large robot walked out of it. About three metres
tall, covered with bronze, and wearing a gladiator-styled helmet.
"Honour", muttered Neolan.
The giant nodded. "You are correct, Aquaman."
Blaze was the second to get a hold back of his voice. "Why're
you here ? To laugh at us after the death of Cossack ?"
"That, I will never do. I am here to inform you the Defense and
the Jury have agreed on helping you."
"Wait, who's the Jury ?" asked SKY.
"Every coin has two sides. Let's say ... the Jury and the Defense
are both sides of the coin. No further explanations.
"We were pleased to see all of you Impacters fought for good,
two of you working along with the Officials. But the recent disappearing
of your brother-in-arms, the capture of Frostman and the fall of the
Cossack faction may cause too much of a disequilibrium for the War.
"This is why I was asked you to provide you ways to counter the
Scissor Army. But..."
"... There is a price." I completed.
He nodded. "Exactly. As a fee to get the means to defeat the Army,
you will have to fight until the Army is defeated. Understand that,
if you accept these presents, you may have to fight till the very end.
Do you accept it ?"
We looked at each other, and then nodded back at Honour. It was a fate
we had all accepted when we joined Cossack.
"Very good, then. Once you wake up, you may find yourselves ...
changed."
On these words, he disappeared, and the environment faded away shortly
after.
--------------------
When I awoke, several changes had occurred on my physiology. The most obvious was when I opened my eyes : several visors were tracking the moves in my vision, and instead of a dual vision of what was in front of me, my second head was set in my back.Standing up, I saw my body was now a bit thinner, and my legs were shaped in the way of a Joe Ride Armor's.
At that time, my friends woke up as well, and similar updates had occurred on them.
"Honour does know his stuff when it comes to upgrades." stated Maha. He looked little like his original design.
"So, how about we go and test this in our training field ?" suggested Blaze. We all nodded and followed him.
These upgrades would be really convenient in the War to come. Our chances of success against the SA had just raised by a small, yet significant number.
Set facial expression to "smile".
--------------------
Fixer-Upper
Mars grumbled as he sat
up on the repair table. Unlike the rest of the CG, he'd accually tweaked
his armor before put it on, effectively removing some of the other
componants and almost totally removing the armors ability to use most
of the V1 Mars' abilities, the invicble dash attack move in particular.
Terra had brought over the armor in case the damage to Mars's Semi-Neo
Armor was worse then it looked, which gave Renard an idea.
Sometime later, Renard stood looking into a mirror as he admired
his hanidwork. He'd almost 100% dismantled the orignal Mars
body and used the shards to put his armor more on par with the
others in terms of total abities, even moving the treads from the
V1 armor's feet to the Neo Armor's. Jupiter walked in and stopped
dead in his tracks. "Whoa,
what the hell did you do to yourself?!"
"You remember how i tweaked the Neo Armor after i bought it on
E-Bay? Until now i hadn't noticed i'd removed the parts that gave it
most of the V1 abilities." Mars replied. "So i used what
was left of the V1 armor to solve that problem."
"Well, that explains why you haven't used that one dash attack
thing. Whatever, hurry up, we're heading to Cairo for our next mission."
"Er'right, i'm coming." Mars said, then followed Jupiter
out of the room.
--------------------
Skull's battered corpse
lay in the corner of Blizzard's office. After the team got back to
the Flying Fortress, Blizzard and Toadgal had gone straight to his
room for some alone time. Blizzard was overjoyed that she was in his
room once again, and alive, this time, but one thing still bothered
him.
"Why the deception, love?" Blizzard felt wounded by Zapper's
neglect to tell him what happened to her. "I nearly killed Astro
and all his teammates because I thought you were gone."
"I know... I'm sorry, Reg... It seemed like the best way to do
things at the time, and Mesmer said that we couldn't tell anyone." Zapper
shifted in the couch as she sat next to him.
"Ah, well, what's done can't be undone, and you're safe, that's
what matters most." Regulus hugged Zapper. "I thought I'd
lost you forever..."
"I told you I'd be back." Zapper poked him, grinning.
"Yes, yes you did." Blizzard admitted.
The two robots sat on the couch taking in the joy at being brought
together again. Regulus was the first to speak up.
"Zap?"
"Yes?"
"You were pretty brave back there, Zapper. I was surprised you
actually went with our plan." The Russian said. "I'm proud
of you."
"Thanks Reg..."
"But can you do something for me?" He asked suddenly.
"What is it, love?"
"Can you stay at Blue Fox HQ and wait this war out?"
"But why?" Zapper got up, surprised at his odd request.
"I don't want to lose you again, what if you run into the Androids,
or Cutman himself? Let ME do the work now, Zap. Please..."
"No, the team needs me..." Zapper argued.
"I need you to do this for me, Zapper. You cheated death once,
but the next time might not be avoidable... If any of us dies, I'd
rather it be me. I only have you. You have your friends to turn to.
Zymeth was my only close friend and now he's gone..."
Zapper thought about it for a while. "... alright... I'll do it."
Blizzard hugged her. "Thanks, Zapper, for understanding..." He
got up and walked to the door.
"Where are you going, Reg?" Zapper asked.
"To see Centaurgal and see how she's doing." Blizzard said.
"She's not you, but... she's still my creation, and I've been
treating her terribly. I need to make up for a lot of wrongs I've dealt
people over the past few weeks... You must be tired, sweetheart, why
don't you take a nap?"
"I am kinda sleepy..." Zapper smiled.
And with that, he closed the door.
--------------------
Blizzard thought about everything that had happened during the war as he walked through familiar hallways. He didn't count on the RPD finding those clips, but the evidence was circumstantial. T. Hawk was clever not to get caught actually laying down C4, and Ring was with Wily, so he'd be a more likely candidate for blowing up Nonsteropolis. And with Ring dead and on unfriendly terms with the Cossackers, no one would question T. Hawk's confirmation. But was it right? Blizzard knew very well that humans were going to die in that bombing. Some families are probably mourning the loss of a loved one right now. Blizzard shook his head. He wasn't about to let such sentimental thoughts into his head now. Regulus had some moral conviction, to be sure, but when your income comes from producing weapons technology and assassination contracts, you can only bleed your heart so much, and Zapper was the one item of Regulus's affection. That was all that drove Regulus on an emotional level. He did feel sorry for the families of those lost in the explosion."Must be from hanging out with these idealists." The Assassin leader mumbled under his frigid breath as he opened the door to Centaur's room.
--------------------
"There! All done!" Regulus caressed Centaurgal's new cheek. He had just put the finishing touches on her face."Thanks, Reg." She smiled, happy that she could articulate being cheerful once again.
Blizzard put his arms around her. She jumped slightly. "I was so horrible to you back at the space station, Cent..." Blizzard said mournfully. "I promise to make it up to you..."
Centaur hugged him back. It felt good to finally receive some affection from him. "I thought you didn't love me because I wasn't the real Zapper... cause I'm just a placeholder..."
"No... I... I do love you, Centaur. Even if you're not Zapper, you're still so much like her. I can't help but love you for being so kind and compassionate, and you're still one of my creations. That's enough reason for me to love you."
Centaur was overjoyed. Everything was looking up. Everyone was back and she had Blizzard back again. She didn't care if Reg didn't love her as much as Zapper, she was happy to be loved.
"I promise to make this up to you, Centaur." Blizzard said.
"It's ok, Reg." Centaur replied. She paused for a moment. "I've actually been thinking about going off on my own for a while, to find someplace that I fit in."
"But you fit in here, Cent." Regulus assured her.
"No, not quite. I know there's more out there, waiting for me. I just need to search a little. I've been living thinking I'm someone I'm not, and I can't go on pretending I'm your lover, Reg. I need to let go and make my own existence." She gazed into Regulus's eyes and kissed him. "Thanks, Reg. For everything."
"And thank you for caring about me when I didn't deserve it..." Regulus held her close to him. He put his hands on her shoulders. "I'll get you ready for wherever you might go. I've got a lot of people to see, and you're no. 2 on my list. If you wait at Blue Fox HQ, I'll see you off when this is all over. In the meantime, you might want to get to know Altair a little. He's pretty much your big brother, after all."
"Ok. I will. Thanks, Reg." Centaur turned and began packing her things as Regulus walked out the door.
--------------------
"Ah, bloody hell." Regulus looked at his list. He had stepped on a lot of toes over the past couple weeks, and now his whole team was pissed at him. Wind had even refused to teleport back to base, choosing to instead back Wily. He'd deal with his insubordination after Cutman was dead. He wasn't about to let personal issues cloud his vision again. Regulus sighed. He had a lot of explaining to do...--------------------
