The Business of War

Orchestrated By C.M. Rich (Magnetman)

Maidens, Knights and Curses

By Lennon, Classi-Cal

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Scenario B
Participants:
SparkChan (W)
Wily Rescue Force (W)
Mesmer Geminiman (SA)

Location: Cape Canaveral, Florida, US
Max. Cossack Scrap Value: 9,331
SA Infantry: 1,529
RPD Units: 1,431
Wily Bots: 545

Undisclosed Area:

"Excellent..." Geminiman said examining his latest round up of Scissor Army units, now all sporting a new coat of paint to match his own. "You 1529 troops have proved yourselves to be the most valiant of champions from the outcome of the battle in Toronto. Without you, we would not have conquered it so easily. As such, I have decided that I shall promote you..."

The Joes simply stood motionless as the white knight went on, their expressions as blank as always while Geminiman seemed to lack any sense of care but talked more to fuel his own ego.

"From now on, you are all members of my Holy Order of Elysium, which means that I've had a slight upgrade added to you all as you have now all become my personal order of holy warriors. You should feel honored, well that is if you could feel at all."

A hologram of Cape Canaveral appeared before the Order as their leader stood over it, glaring at it with his soulless eyes.

"Gentleman, this will be our new mission, Our general has informed me that there is a large force of RPD units situated within Cape Canaveral in Florida, further investigation has also indicated that there maybe a weapons facility or R&D lab located there. Due to the lack of any commanding officer within the area it almost seems like there will be trap lying in wait. However we cannot let the RPD get away with having a development lab so we will invade them and secure whatever the fools are working on and crush whatever tactics they may have lying in wait for us."

Areas on the holographic map began to light up as the white knight continued his briefing of his troops.

"It is estimated that the enemy are of almost even number to our forces, however with careful planning their numbers will mean nothing. We divide our troops and deploy them at these entry points and move to the objective point, once we encounter the enemy will take advantage of the terrain and surroundings and lure our enemies into traps allowing whatever they are trying to protect completely unguarded and ready for the taking. Is that all understood?"

There was an absolute silence in the room as the white knight glared at his soulless army and grinned.

"Good... Well then gentleman, let us create hell!"

In a bright white light, the Holy Order of Elysium disappeared from their hideout and now Cape Canaveral was in the white knight's sights.

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

"Hey! Watch it!", NeedleGal fumed. The plate of needles set on her forehead forcing her to stick to Magnet. It was kind of a hilarious moment... the two bots somehow always managing to bump into eachother in this embaressing way.

"Really... I'm not... trying to... er.." MagnetMan spoke softly, quite the opposite in reaction... just trying to carefully pull from her. Maybe sometimes these magnets on his helmet were a little much.

The team just stared at the couple nervously fumbling about, Needle growing impatient and angry while Magnet just tried to pull her off without touching her inappropriately, or coming off as some sort of lech. Finally he was able to contract back some of the energy of the magnets... the two burst away from eachother. Needle's face was flushed red... quick to point to them all daringly.

"Just shut up about it!" She stormed, "I don't want to hear anymore!" and from there she stomped out of the room leaving the Mechs blank. Magnet stood bewildered for a moment... then too left his own way. The Mechs couldn't help but burst into a fit of snorts and giggles as the two bots left the scene.

"Ah... allow me to go give him some real tips to set his love arrow aflame in her heart." GeminiMan sung out from his lips.

Gauntlet just rolled his eyes, the brother of Needle not about to let the Mech 'heart throb' give pointers on bagging his sister. "It was just an accident. Funny, but it's not like they intended to be stuck like that. Don't bug him.

Spark-Chan just smiled, she knew NeedleGal was embaressed so she excused herself from the group and went to see if the tougher female of the group wasn't too embaressed. Of all places Needle had went into the kitchen... mindlessly looking through the cupboards.

"You know, snacking when you're upset would only make it worse." Spark greeted her with a health fact.

"Come on Spark, don't give me that." Needle pouted as she found nothing of good in the cupboards, resorting now to the fridge. Spark-Chan came up to her side.

"It's perfectly natural to be attracted to someone, no need to be ashamed." She giggled... the silly scene fresh in her mind. She wasn't meaning to tease... but it certainly was cute to witness.

"Look, I don't like Mags like THAT. We're team mates. He's a good guy and all... but it was just a few bumps lately. I just think if his head wasn't looking downward all the time... then maybe he would have seen me coming." Pulling out an E Drink... she turned to look at Spark, the motherly type of the Mechs.

Spark-Chan could only smile softer, believing she was giving her good advice and telling her the truth about Needle to her... for her to understand. "He may walk with his head down, but you don't seem to see him coming either. Perhaps... you really might like to bump into him sometimes."

Needle squinted to Spark, almost narrowing her eyes... but didn't feel right glaring at someone so sweet and mindful. She let out a soft sigh then turned the table around. It was only fair.

"What about Gemini?"

Spark-Chan didn't quite understand. "What about Gemini? Do you like him??"

Needle refrained from curling her lip, "No! I mean... you like him don't you?" Knowing the green haired electrical bot would say yes automatically she deepened the question fast. "Not just as a friend. You've know him for a long time... I mean... as in like a boyfriend. Someone... you want to be with romantically?"

Of course the question threw Spark off her normal thought pattern. Like GeminiMan... romantically? Well of course not... they were just friends. She never pursued it. She thought this was an easy question, "Not at all. I may have known him a long time... and though we're very close it is completely plutonic."

"But we all know he likes you, Spark-Chan. What would you do if... he asked you to be with him finally?" Almost in a curious tone... Needle stared... her lips parting from the can after a few sips.

What if GeminiMan wanted to be with her? You know, Spark-Chan didn't know the answer. Her mind told her that it was a simple no... that they were friends. From this thought... Spark-Chan's mind changed drastically, the General appearing before her... slowly engulfing the image of the young woman bot who questioned her.

"And that's what befuddles me. Somehow, the human condition has infiltrated your mind, despite being initially free of it. What I want to know, from a purely scientific standpoint, is did you choose to adopt such a mindset? Of your own…free will?"

"I…I am myself. I know who I am, and I'm comfortable with that."

"Are you? Are you really, truly pleased with your direction in…life? Somehow, I doubt it."

"Yes…I am."

"…No…You're not."

Spark could only think of how she was programmed. Why, for some reason... did she never seem interested? Why was her concern about protecting people... like they were children? Why was she blissfully unaware when someone showed obvious attraction to her. It was almost like she was forced to choose this way. To brush off suitors... to further develope her skills in the kitchen and with family oriented values.

Like she was married.

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

"We're heavily outnumbered, but the aerial map we recieved showed us where three possible bunkers might be. Our job is to sneak in unnoticed and take down one of the labs." It wasn't her ideal mission... but after her talk with QuickMan, she felt that she should atleast stick around a little longer.

"Tch," Forte spat, glaring at the womanbot he was forced to teleport with. "I don't need your help. I could do this alone. We're going to head for the east most wing of the space center. It's the closest mark on the map."

"Look Forte, we have to be cautious! There's a great possibility that they're anticipating enemy attack and might have moved the real plans inward. It could be a trap." She tried to bargain with him... but he roughly grabbed her arm.

"Stop stalling Classi-Cal. You did nothing in London but jack around, you're not going to make me look bad by slowing me up and getting us killed!" He called her by her Wily given name, refusing to see her as anything more than his failed prototype.

The 'siblings' continued on... sneaking around the broken building of the Cape. Civilians seemed to be completely evacuated. This made hiding easier... but they still had to be on guard for any RPD units or Special Forces prowling around on duty.

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

Skull Fortress:

“That wretched woman, she’s up to something, I know it.” Doc Robot mumbled while pacing back and forth in front of the rest of the Rescue Force who only rolled their eyes at their leader’s paranoia.

“I think you’re just getting jealous that she might knock you from Dr Wily’s favourite robot position.” laughed Expressman

“She has to be up to something, I mean she’s a Mechanical Maniac for crying out loud!” the Rescue Force leader yelled in his fury.

“Allegiance doesn’t mean anything anymore given the current scenario. We all have a current goal at this moment and that’s to defeat the Scissor Army. Given the presence of the shutdown code I don’t find it all that hard to believe that she’s with us now rather than with the RPD. I mean, she was originally built by Dr Wily so it would be only natural for her to come home when she as nowhere else to go.” Expressman continued to reiterate his point that he was going to follow Wily’s judgement rather than settle on past enemies.

“But that’s just it! I saw her collaborating with the Scissor Army in London! She is going to backstab the doctor any minute now!” Doc Robot kept on ranting, beginning to get on the nerves of his fellow associates.

“Unit Barrageman does not believe such an action is possible for Unit Sparkchan. Action is deemed out of character.” The weapons specialist of the Rescue Force added in his overly robotic tone.

“See, even Barrageman thinks you’re overreacting, and he’s not exactly the brightest one of our group.”

“Shut up! I’m going to follow her to Cape Canaveral, she’s going to slip up sooner or later and I must be there to catch the evidence!”

“But isn’t Forte already with her, I don’t really think we should interfere…” Multiman spoke as Doc Robot marched out the door, ignoring him completely.

“I suppose we should probably follow him and make sure he doesn’t get into any trouble.” Expressman sighed as he and the rest of the Rescue Force followed suit.

Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA:

The township appeared to be empty and desolate, not a soul was to be found as the Holy Order of Elysium marched into the perimeter of the cape. There was no screaming at the sight of his glorious army, nor were any indications of the existence of an enemy, just the sounds of the waves crashing into the shore, it was almost as if the entire town never existed.

“The stage has been set, and it is remarkably… dull, scenic.... but dull” The white knight lamented, as he marched further into the township. “I suppose we’ll encounter more enemies when we get closer to the target location. For now, we shall tread carefully; we must keep a look out for some sort of troublesome trickery that the enemy might have pulled.”

The Joes obliged to their knight’s orders and began to advance at a cautious pace towards their target locations while small groups of about 5 Joes proceeded a bit further to act as lookouts for any enemies in hiding.

“Sir, there appears to be no trace of the enemy presence, permission to advance in an orderly fashion?” asked one of the recon units, causing the white knight to sigh.

“Surely the RPD have not simply clumped all their forces to protect the lab, that would just ruin the element of surprise, there has to be some sense of finesse in defending a strategic area. Where is the ambush? Where is the trap in all this?”

“Report from the search party, it appears we have located 3 potential areas in which could be our target location. Requesting orders on to which areas to investigate.” Another soldier asked.

“So that is your tactic then, clearly you are trying to hide a needle in a haystack so to speak and our fates appear to be balancing on which area we search for…” The white knight grinned and then split into his six clones, “Unfortunately, when it comes to being a multiple places at once, not many can do the job quite as beautifully as I do. We will aim to search all 3 areas, if the enemy are smart, they would have distributed units equally at all 3 areas to not make one look obvious, as such I will do the same. We will head towards the two areas on the outside of the cape and then proceed to the central one, luring all the forces into one big mass in which we will then unleash our surprise amongst them all.”

Four of the Twin Terror’s clones quickly disappeared and headed to meet up with their other invading parties and then at that moment shots were fired at the Holy Order and a couple hundred Police Bots and half a dozen Special Forces revealed themselves to the White Knight and his Order.

“I was wondering when the curtain was about to be raised. Come now, the audience is crying out for a good performance, I hope you lot do not disappoint!”

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

An old garbage can was aflame inside, several men hovering around it along with a few moths. Just a few RPD troops trying to get the wear off the day of keeping this area secure.

"It's almost crazy, all of this going on" said one of the younger men. He folded his arms in discomfort.

"I've been saying this ever since I was young. We never needed robots! I still will never trust one as long as I live!" the oldest of the men huffed in anger. A few nods and soft voices in agreement followed.

Spark-Chan and Forte were stopped nearby for a moment, allowing her to listen in as Forte now looked at the map.

"They hate us..." Spark whispered to herself.

"So?" her partner coldly replied.

She turned her head to him, not sure why she'd even bother to waste her breath. But she did decide to atleast make some sort of conversation.

"While I was reading the map, I saw Wily's notes at the bottom. Forte, what does it all mean?" He wrote in chicken scratches... added with several strange numbers and letters arranged in certain ways.

"Nothing," was his reply, and grabbing her wrist he pulled her with him to sneak around their hundredth empty building. Just in time to atleast hear one thing.

"We just need to hope for the best guys, hope and pray for our friends and family." One of the men stated. It caused Spark to really take it in. Hope... ...hope.

Finally they were within sight of the base. Like Forte had thought, there seemed to be a lack protection at this eatern side. Did they really think that the ocean acted as a barrier of sorts to intruders? The black and gold bot grinned then handed the map back to her, Spark trying her best to uncrumble the horrible creases he made on it.

"I'm serious Forte, I need to know what we're going in for. What has Wily written down for us?" but despite her questions he didn't reply.

"Two, three.... four. Four Special Force Units here at this one gate... and..." He squinted, scanning in deeper of the picture before him. "Only one on the far end. Now you listen to me Classi-Cal." He turned, his red eyes looming down at her as he began to form his right arm into a buster cannon.

She looked up to her 'brother' then across from him over to the base. It didn't seem right. So a base containing some ultimate information, equipment, and artillary for this war, was basically unprotected. If she was part of the RPD she would have MUCH more of them Special Forces around than the handful they saw.

"I'm gonna blast the attention from then all to me, and as soon as I get them running this way, you skip out and sneak in as fast as you can. This is an easy mission and I want to get back as soon as possible." He acted as if this plan was the only possible scenario and that everything would work out great. But she was filled with doubt.

"Forte, you have to think it through! We are in THEIR territory. They have the upper hand! If this stuff is so important then why guard it so lazily. Even I can see that!" Her voice rose, "Besides! The Special Forces are strong with just one Unit, you can't take on 5 by yourself!"

By that time he had grabbed her by the hair and shoved her against the building they were hiding behind. Forte hated listening to this girl. So frightened she completely stopped moving. It didn't hurt... but if anything ached it was inside her chest.

"Wily put ME in charge of this, meaning that you just shut your trap and do as I tell you. I'm not going to play nice with you Classi-Cal. As your predecessor... it was my job to detroy you. You're only alive by the grace of Wily and this war against the other factions. Have I made myself clear!?" Forte growled lowly... the female bot's widenned eyes stuck on him. She nodded very slowly... and the large hand grasping her hair set her back onto her feet.

"I'm sorry... but at the least... tell me what these symbols mean." Spark tried to remain focus... her voice still sounding quite squeaky from her sudden encounter. "U92P94, is it an access code or a password?"

"Sometimes you might as well be a human, most robots would figure that out right away," Forte grew impatient and turned from her, now looking out towards the idle Special Force units. Slowly he lifted his arm and took aim at the fencing, start some havok to stir the units into his direction. Spark-Chan leapt over to him and grabbed his cannon.

"Please rethink this! I don't want you to get hurt!" She begged. Pride was nearly killed with one blast from the Special Force unit in London, how could Forte withstand all of these? Suddenly unseen particals in the air began to fuse and surround the base of his arm's buster. She let go just intime to witness his arm glowing a deep magenta in plasma energy, a wicked grin overcoming her brother's face. Finally when the charge was at it's fullest, the energy surrounding his buster was sucked into the base and shot right back out with incredible speed. The plasma charge destroyed the gate he aimed at and the Special Forces called in an alert immediately.

"Get in, and get out!" He yelled as he ran forward, meeting now with the forces. Spark ran behind him but stayed out of view as all five of the units were now moving forward to surround Forte. What could she do!? He was insane! He'd get killed! But her worries were unfounded as Forte began to take them on without any troubles. She watched a little longer, her sibling cutting through the units, dodging most every hit and return with a devastating kick. She noted how both herself and Forte seemed to have great strength in their legs for combat.

Influenced to move forward, she jogged out and passed the fighting, still having to hide behind obstacles to keep from sight. Spark-Chan made it through the hole blasted through the gate and towards the facility in question. Forte was grumpy, hot headed, and unreasonable... but he was risking his life for her to get in and out. Even if she felt ill about this mission... she had to oblige him.

Once she got up to the large vault-like door, she took one glance to the lock which was electronical. The conductor on her right hand extended, allowing for her to press it in. Spark sent a powerful charge into it, overloading the security system. The lights around the facility flickered as well, several bulbs bursting in the surge. Her sensers detected no one in the area other than Forte and the units fighting him nearby, further making her worry about the contants of this bunker. Twisting her body around, Spark began to kick the door with her heel until it finally gave way to her.

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

The Rescue Force had carefully positioned themselves away from sight both the RPD and the team of Forte and Sparkchan, whom they were involuntarily spying on with exception of Doc Robot who was still convinced that Sparkchan was up to something.

“She just left Bass to fend for himself against those Special Forces!” he shrieked.

“I’m pretty sure Bass just brushed her off and told her to infiltrate the base while he held off the Special Forces. Remember, he prefers to fight on his own, I can relate to that.” Multiman mentioned while sneering at his team-mate’s jealousy

“Yes, but you can create your own team of yourself to fight with, so technically you’re not on your own.” Expressman retorted.

“Let’s not get into that argument again.” Doc Robot brought up while turning to face the rest of the Rescue Force.

“So how long are we going to spy on the two of them exactly? We do have better things to do, I mean seeing as there are 3 places to search for these blueprints or whatever we’re supposed to be looking for it would seem a lot more productive to assist them by looking at the other bases, it is what we do best after all.” The speed demon asked.

“We are the Wily Rescue Force! We rescue Wily, it’s in our name!” Doc yelled back at Expressman, much to the surprise of the rest of the Rescue Force.

“Jeez, what’s wrong with you, Doc? This really isn’t like you at all. Not even the Evil Eight get you this riled up.” Multiman asked sounding a bit concerned.

“That woman is up to something…” he repeated, turning to look back at Bass still putting up a decent fight against the Special Forces. “She’s on her own now, if only I had an opening to be able to sneak in and see what she was up to.”

…

“Enemy encountered. All troops into formation, for Elysium!” A Scissor Army Joe yelled as the RPD emerged to attack the other unit of the Holy Order of Elysium Geminiman deployed to investigate the other side of the township.

“Report, We have encountered the Scissor Army. Proceeding with orders to neutralise the threat… Open fire!”

Forces took shots at each other in the middle of the street, there was little time to analyse a strategic ground for either side to take hold of and the battle quickly became a shootout between the Scissor Army and the RPD.

“Not really all that elegant, I must say…” a Geminiman clone said as he arrived on the scene of combat. “Perhaps I slight change of scenery will make a difference…”

The clone fired a blast of laser energy at the end of a tall building and broke through the internal structure of it so his following laser could topple the debris on to the battlefield. He then quickly faded into invisible mode so that the Special Forces quickly responding to the sound of his laser firing wouldn’t single him out immediately.

The plan was successful as the debris landed into the middle of the street, creating the opportunity for the Scissor Army to quickly gain higher ground on the RPD as the clone then appeared on the top of the debris with his laser pointed towards his prey, smiling.

Back on the other side of the township, the White Knight blocked an incoming blast from the Special Forces as he gathered his Order into a formation to counteract the RPD forces that had ‘ambushed’ him. While one couldn’t really call it an ambush when he had expected it, he couldn’t deny that the attack force meeting him was well-equipped.

“Well met, I must say. However your attack still lacks finesse!” He cried as his Holy Order proceeded to return fire at their opposition before retreating back into a defensive position while a new set of Joes came out to the front to return fire.

Geminiman laughed at the RPD robots as they were beginning to falter to the formation tactics and number of the Scissor Army but the damage was not entirely one-sided as his Order were beginning to take significant damage from the Special Forces.

“This fight still feels rather dull. Simply shooting back and forth doesn’t make for much of a spectacular battle if I do say myself.” The White Knight yawned, “Tell me, how the rest of my Order fares on the other side of the township.”

“Sir, your other unit is also currently engaging the enemy which reports state are of a similar build to this group we are currently fighting. Of course seeing as you already have a clone over there you must know this. However our search party as discovered reports of a group of Wily robots within the area, possibly searching for same objective we are” One of the Joes replied.

“Wily, eh? I wonder…” Geminiman thought as a look of glee came to his face once more. “I want that group of Wily robots looked on further. This group of drones the RPD have left me with leave me in disappoint. I need another commandeering officer to satisfy my lust for carnage. Perhaps they can provide me with something to cure my bloodlust…”

The Joe saluted to the White Knight as he then processed the orders to the other unit while the Twin Terror smiled, “Or perhaps the fates have organised a chance meeting for me…”

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

The large door fell before her, the electrical lock being what made it any sort of obstacle. She would never get used to breaking and entering, but with people waiting in the wing for her she just needed to bite her lip and move forward with plans. In the end, there was a goal above all else: return to Shadowman and the rest of her team. Though strangely as she pictured her family in her mind, she couldn't help but hesitate with thoughts of Benny and Starnik. Thoughts of Wily....

"U92P94......UP.... 9294..." The green haired one calculated in her head. If she couldn't figure this out without Forte's help then she might find herself in a very bad situation. He said that any normal bot could figure it out. Why couldn't she?

Spark jogged down the dark corridor, lucky for the emergency lighting within. Still the eerie sense of no lifeforce near or around her. This was a trap she was walking into, there had to be. Reaching a staircase she cautiously descended, finding another large door. This one had a very strange control panel on it, to which she moved up to inspect.

"U92... and P94..." These letters and numbers, if they reminded her of anything it was chemical compounds. Was that it? The poor girl actually was confused by it since her basic knowledge of those weren't of the extended chart but the basic. Chemicals... or metals... something important enough to try and steal. Finding another slot in this door she jabbed her conductor in to surge what was left of the electricity in it. But as she began to power up it hit her... and hit her very hard.

"U92... Uranium! P94... Plutonium!?!?"

These horrible compounds, biohazards to both the living and machines. Wily wanted something like this on his side of the war. To what!? DESTROY the world!? This is when she realized she couldn't just let him be and leave to allow him to do it. It'd be irresponsible of her, irrational!

A silent buzzing entered her mind. Almost impossible to hear, yet it shook her whole body. Was it the loss of breath she was reacting to? Or was it something behind this door. The current that she was trying to use on this door like the one before began to move back into her wrist. Something was very wrong. It was as if the earth below her was trembling. Spark-Chan pulled her conducter back in time to feel an immense heat build up in the area.

With her violet eyes widening, she knew that this place was going to be blown sky high. So the trap was set like a cage, and even more elaborate than just to lure her in. Another large door shut from behind her, locking her inbetween the two. There was no lock to the large door that dropped on her escape route... infact it looked thicker and heavier. Her grip on the map tightened to that of the tightness of Forte's from before, fear scampering about all corner of her mind.

No... she couldn't die. Not yet! Not when people she loved lived. Not when people depended on her. Using the only power she had left to destroy this barrier, she ran up and began to kick the huge door in. It hardly seemed to budge but she wouldn't given up. It grew so heavy with heat within seconds... and a fireball ready to incinerate her was on the way. Filled with adrenaline from the moment... she could withstand the heat with such strong focus on this door. Kicking, pushing, clenching her teeth all the while her kicks became more airborne.... running back and applying as much force as she could.

As soon as she burst free, the fireball consumed her path and blasted that very area to bits. Fire and scrap metal chased her out of the facility. She barely made it out when the whole back entrance exploded.

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

The explosion caught the attention of both the RPD and SA alike and the battle had temporarily ceased as both sides attempted to learn what had just occurred.

“Report: The Decoy Lab Bomb has been detonated. Intruder Status is unknown” a Special Forces unit spoke to the rest of his team, “However we can identify the intruders as the Wily Bot Bass and rogue RPD officer Sparkchan.”

“Sparkchan…” the sound of his beloved’s name echoed through the White Knight’s head for what almost seemed like an eternity. While he anticipated that she may have been in the area, the mere utterance of her name had triggered something within Geminiman’s mind. Something… unstable…

“She’s here… I have found her!” he shrieked with laughter, beginning to sound even more inhuman than usual. “My dear sweet Sparkchan… at last you will be mine!” his volume of laughter was getting increasingly terrifying as he quickly pulled out his two swords with their burning element charged and struck down a nearby Police Bot with so much force that the blades got embedded into the torso of the robot which immediately tried to free itself but it was too late as Geminiman had placed his laser right at the chest of the unit and burned a large hole right through it allowing him to remove the swords from the remains and then faced the rest of his opposition.

“My love needs me… and all those who stand between us shall meet a very gruesome end…” his eyes were darker than the blackest pitch but his expression showed the White Knight was fixated on one point and one point alone. His vision had narrowed to a straight line to the sight of the explosion and he then promptly threw a clone straight forward into a Police Bot that had moved into his line of sight with so much force it ripped off the top half of its body.

“My Holy Order! Initiate Special Tactic: Illusion Dance!” The form of the Holy Order had then revealed itself to their enemies as a flash of light occurred and before the sights of the RPD, there were now hundreds upon hundreds of Geminiman. “We move as one to that point! Everything that impedes our path, be it man, machine or building, we will tear straight through it with overwhelming force! We will not stop until she is in my sights and in my arms!”

The Holy Order proceeded to move almost in the form of a stampede, crushing all in their path as the White Knight headed front of the army, his laugh becoming more monstrous than ever.

“She’s here! She’s here! Soon I will hold you! Embrace you! I will not let you escape me! I cannot ever let you leave my side once again! You will be MINE! Whether you like it or not!”

The RPD forces tried to form some sort of barricade to stop the White Knight but it was all for naught, all that stood in his way was promptly cleaved, shot or blown away by the blitz tactics of Geminiman and the Holy Order.

Nothing would stand in the Twin Terror's way... Nothing...

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

"Classi-Cal!?" Her brother cried out in shock... seeing the building he forced her into blow up like a set time bomb. He thought to make his way there but was still busy with the Special Force units. It wasn't an easy task to brush these off... instead he decided to wait for her to appear from the debris. Maybe he should have listened to her. The enemy knew where they were now definately, and they still didn't have the objective.

Spark-Chan made it out... but the wave of heat behind her knocked her out into the street. A large metal shard of unrecognizable matter was lodged deep into her side, herself covered in soot and other scraps from the flames. For a moment... she thought she was dead. She felt numb and saw blackness... but it wasn't long until she felt a horrible stab of pain inside her. The poor woman let out a cry of agony, covering her mouth to muffle the sound with teary eyes. His hand moved down her body to find the alien matter... almost shouting when she felt it in her.

She wasn't human, she wouldn't bleed to death if she removed it luckily. But with the leak of her internal fluids... she couldn't help but fear what her insides... would look like so damaged. It hurt too much to move...

"Don't just lay there!" The pain in her side became worse as something grabbed a hold of the metal peice. She yelped and grabbed the hand... her eyes pleading to whoever grabbed it. She found it was her brother, Forte. He ripped it out with ease... and despite her loud cry it actually didn't hurt as bad anymore.

"Stand up! Now!" Forte demanded, but refrained from grabbing her if she was still capable. His sister slowly sat up.... but there was no time as the Special Forces units he smashed through were chasing him. He took out two of the five, but couldn't truly fight them with her beside him. Letting out a soft annoyed growl he picked her up into his arms and ran off.

They needed to find a safe place for the moment, then attack a new base when they were ready. But how much time did they have left? On the way of retreat... Forte himself could pick up the signal of a more familiar power. Wily troops were here? Since when? Becoming miffed that someone might have come to steal the show... he ran right into the stakeout of the Wily Rescue Force.

Forte set her to her feet, though she grew limp in the knees. MultiMan caught her and helped her sit and rest for the moment.

"Why the hell are you here!?" Forte huffed.

"None of your business! We are the Wily Rescue Force, and to help the Master is what we do!" Doc Robot retorted.

"Whatever," the black bot replied, "Just stay out of my way."

Spark-Chan thanked MultiMan quietly and assured herself she was alright. Holding her wound she stood up.

"I lost the map, but I know where to go Forte. I just need to--" Before she finished she could see a fire escape ladder on the building they were by. Walking over towards it she decided to head up. The group just quietly curious to what she was up to.

It was painful scaling the large building's structure, the wound in her side constantly warning her that she needed medical treatment. Luckily she herself was the team's medical assistant... so she could verify her injury wasn't life threatening. Instead she pressed forward with her will and forced her body to act.

Once at the top she ducked down and head towards the edge. Her right leg gave out causing her to fall onto her bottom, leaning against the short brick was for support. With her hand still cupped onto her side she took a peek over the edge. From there Spark could see fighting out across the cape. If Wily's troops were on this side... then the RPD must either be fighting Cossack's men, or worse... the Scissor Army had come. As she watched from her perch on high, she could see that several buildings laids smoldering, dust and small fires scattered everywhere. It looked like SA handy work.

"Goodness..." she breathed out softly. But the reason she was here wasn't to watch the fighting. In and out, her brother's words were... and so she had to make sure her coordinates were right. The map was no longer with her so she had to rely of memory and from her strategic point uptop this building.

Uranium and Plutonium. The words imprinted in her mind loomed with and consumed her pain. She was fearful of Wily obtaining the materials and blue prints for these nuclear devices... but more so scared of General CutMan getting his claws on them. If she herself could get the plans... she could taken them and burn them away for no one to have. Yes... she'd do that.

Crawling back towards the fire escape... she climbed down and landed on her heels... stumbling back standing alright.

"I'm glad that we have more support here," the girl attempted to smile to Wily's Rescue Force, "I know that we can do this together. I know I could never do it alone." She was known to be modest, but Doc wasn't about to lighten his jealousy of her.

"We're not fooled girl! We know what you're up to!" he cried. She could only blink in confusion of the robot. The others seemed to be motioning to her to just ignore him. Fingers swirling by their head's side's indicating he was out of his rocker.

Loud humming and the sounds of shooting seemed to be knocking on their door from their hiding spot. Actually... inside of it was a familiar buzzing of a laser. If it sounded like anyone it sounded like...

"Gemini...!?"

Could it be!? The SA was on the way... and GeminiMan, Lennon, was stationed right here in Cape Canaveral!? Oh, how she hoped and longed for being reunited!

"Lenny!" She half yelled and whispered to herself, she ran out to the corner of the building... as it just then seemed to be cracked right in half. The bricks gave way and the upper floors began to topple and rain down on the hiding group. Caught off guard Forte once again grabbed her and pulled her out of the way. The group ran away from the falling building, the crash of it sending them all flying into an already broken structure.

Smoke and dust covered them in a cloud, the sounds of coughing mixed inbetween. She could feel the rubble below and some on her, Forte seeming to be nowhere among them as they A-OKed eachother's safety. With a few more coughs to clear her throat... the glint of something caught her eye in the haze. A light emerging from the smoke and brining her to it's full attention. A soft gleam... slowly forming before her.

".....Gem...?" Spark felt was the correct reply. Was it true? Wincing to get up to her feet... looking right to him as the dust settled to her waist.

He smirked, his armor a crystal white, bathed and splattered with the war's carnage.... blood? Blue eyes that filled her with happiness were consumed with dark recesses... No... it couldn't be? Her Gem!? Her Gemini!?

Sparkchan couldn’t believe her eyes at the sight that stood before her. Her team-mate, her knight in shining armour, her closest friend… was now facing her, his eyes were endless voids, his expression resembled that of a crazed stalker complete with a spontaneous twitch, his presence twisted into something completely different from what she was used to.

“Sparkchan… my beloved… I have come for you…” he muttered in creepy echoing tone.

“See, I knew it! She’s was in league with the enemy!” Doc Robot exclaimed proudly whilst pointing at the electrical robot, which simply remained speechless.

“Um Doc, I don’t think she looks very happy at Geminiman’s appearance” Multiman retorted as he prepared himself to fight.

“So he was right… you are aligned with Wily now… is it against your will? Or is what he said true… Are you are the bride of Wily?”

“She’s the Bride of Wily?” Doc Robot was taken aback by this statement, it just sounded so absurd, “What nonsense to you speak of? Master would never marry a vile temptress such as her!”

“You will not speak of milady in that fashion!” The White Knight fired his laser at Doc Robot thus triggering Bass and the Wily Rescue Force into battle while Sparkchan still stood in disbelief.

“Do you remain silent about the matter?” Geminiman asked as he immediately dodged the attacks of the Wily robots and once again split into his six clones which all but one promptly went invisible.

Classi-Cal was speechless, not because she didn’t know the answer, but because she still could fathom why Geminiman was acting this way.

“Very well then, it looks like I’ll just have to make my point clear!” he shrieked as his Holy Order faded back into visible mode in their Geminiman forms. “Everything you touch, everyone you meet, everything and anything you have ever loved… I will curse it with a cruel and painful fate until you are finally mine, and mine alone!”

“Behold the beautiful people!” The White Knight laughed in reference to his Holy Order as they proceeded to rain rifle fire at the Wily bots below them and soon the real Geminiman was concealed within a whole army of look-a-likes.

“Two can play at that game!” Multiman cried out and immediately replicated himself continuously until he felt that he was capable of matching up the Holy Order and then charged straight into the fray creating a massive clang of metal as robot after robot collided with each other in an attempt to overpower the other.

Meanwhile, Expressman shot off away from the crowd of soldiers and attempted to take shots at the large cluster from a distance, but then all of a sudden a blur appeared right in front of him and something collided into his gut.

A large snapping sound was heard as the speedster came to a sudden halt and collapsed to the ground in a severe about of pain.

“So this is what it feels like to be winded…” Expressman looked up to seeing Geminiman clutching his right arm which looked like it had gone limp. “You on the other hand look like you’ve seen better days.”

“If all it took was one Shooting Star punch into your gut to immobilise you, then the loss of my right arm is no big deal to me!” the White Knight shrieked with psychotic laughter and morphed his left arm into his arm cannon and fired several shots into the fallen Expressman. But then a large number of explosions occurred around him as Barrageman descended upon the Twin Terror, both cannons pointed at him.

“Unit Barrageman will terminate target.”

“Hmph, I will not allow your interference to tarnish such an elegant execution!”

Suddenly a large number of the Holy Order appeared and opened fire at the airborne tank, forcing him to pull back from his rescue attempt.

“I never reveal my full number of troops all at once in combat, there’s just no beauty in that.” The White Knight then turned to see that Expressman had recovered and fled a fair distance from him and he then laughed once again. “There is no beauty in retreat either, Expressman! I will hunt you down and see to it that you suffer for the sake of milady!”

Expressman ran as far as he could, but his speed had diminished due to his injuries, he found himself next to Doc Robot who was back to observing the battle scene as Barrageman and Multiman were fighting valiantly against the Holy Order.

“They seem to have everything under control wouldn’t you think?” he panted, still grasping his stomach from the punch he had received earlier.

“Indeed, and considering the commotion that brought everything here, the RPD won’t be too far behind, and if that’s the case… who would be left to guard the two bases those blueprints are held in?” Doc Robot smirked.

“What happened to all that, Sparkchan’s a traitor obsession that was going through your head a while ago?”

“That woman is defenceless now, frozen in fear at what’s carrying out in front of her. She won’t be able to work her devices at the current moment. What matters now is that I have the ability to outshine her and claim my rightful place as my Master’s favourite. Bride of Wily… Don’t make me laugh!” The Rescue Force leader said in a determined tone before sending out a signal beacon and soon a large number of robots gathered around the Rescue Force. “It’s a good thing I had these robots teleported in nearby, with this amount of support, we should be able to break through the fighting and defend ourselves against any incoming opponents.”

“Well then let’s go!” Expressman shouted as he noticed Geminiman, still carrying his limp arm gaining ground on the group of Wily bots. The group made haste and began to charge their way through so they get out of the battle with little casualties and moved deeper into the township. However the White Knight was still hot on their heels…

“I don’t believe I gave you permission to leave!” he yelled malevolently at the duo and took aim to shoot them until a purple blast of plasma flew past his face and he turned to see Bass firing rapidly at him.

“You do not scare me you lousy junk robot! I will destroy you with little effort.” The arrogant anti-Megaman sneered as he fired shot after shot at the White Knight with his Forte Buster. Quick to their leader’s aid, several Holy Order members quickly turned and took shots at black robot while some attempted to subdue him and hold him down while the real Geminiman used this diversion to continue his pursuit as he faded back into invisible mode.

“I will NOT be held down by you pieces of scrap!” Bass yelled as he threw off all the White Knight look-a-likes off him and then found he was looking down the edge of one of Geminiman’s burning swords.

“You look like you can provide a wonderful performance to this scene of battle!” the clone grinned, “Have at you!”

The Multiman replicas were getting larger and larger in number but, then did not worry Geminiman in the slightest, as long as he could keep his rate of destruction faster than his rate of creation he would have no trouble disposing of his rival cloning robot once and for all. He fired a large Gemini Laser blast allowing the beam to bounce off several replicas before it blasted a nice hole in the last one it hit and weakened the rest significantly enough for the Holy Order to blast a nice hole into them. But Multiman would not let up and began to push some of the more damaged members of the Order down and beat them into submission.

The White Knight simply laughed in excitement as he enjoyed the large scale brawl to its fullest, his bloodcurdling laugh echoing through the ears of his surrounding enemies as he charged up his fist with laser energy and punched straight through a Multiman and threw it into another one before firing another laser and more incoming ones. Still, the fact that Multiman was a Robot Master made a difference against the Holy Order and while Geminiman could weaken many of them, they were still at reasonably even numbers between the Multimen and the Holy Order. It was a stalemate.

“So many Multimen… So little time!” he shrieked before laughing even more hysterically as Multiman after Multiman attempted to stop the crazed former Maniac.

“Soon my beloved! Wait for me! I will destroy all that is around you and soon you’ll only have me left to confide in!”

“This is the RPD! Cease and desist! You are all under arrest for trespassing in a restricted area! Resistance will be met with destruction!” a voice sounded out in the battlefield.

What appeared to be the full force of the RPD at appeared at the horizon, a sight that was not very welcomed by either party. However, surrender was not an option for either party and now with the RPD ready to counterattack, the battle was not going to look pretty.

“You defile this glorious battle with your presence RPD! I will make sure your robots suffer ten-fold for this interruption!”

As the sun came to set, the RPD went charging into the fray.

“This is going to be long night” Multiman said as he fended off a Holy Order robot while watching the RPD descending upon them.

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

His sweet voice was lost behind his new darkness. How many times has she heard GeminiMan call out to her only to brush him off? Was it her fault that he lost himself? No... the General must have done this. Forced Gem into this way somehow... Spark's eyes had to fight from looking at the fighting displayed before her. He was there for her... he came for her...

As much as her heart stung, and as much as she longed to run into his arms, she knew that this wasn't the Gemini she grew to know and love. This wasn't her team mate in which she shared goodtimes, hardships, and laughter with. He was consumed by the wickedness of this war... While the fighting brewed, she ran off in hopes of getting the blueprints before everyone else. Unknowingly... Doc Robot too was against her. She knew that she had to get the plans and then try and stop Gem. Once they were destroyed she could spend the rest of her time convincing him who he was.

His voice was so haunting, she could still hear him. "Curse all that you touch, all that you love." It spiralled in her head as she found her way through the battle field. Several times she could have swore the massive troop of Geminis spotted her... but most of them let her alone. Why? Was she delirious? This Holy Order was unknown to her... she thought her broken heart was clouding her eyes. That all of her enemies looked like her dear friend. Squinting her eyes she tried to stay on track towards the base to the far west. The heaviest of fighting was happening there from when she saw upon the building she climbed. There definately was something there worth protecting. But to sneak in would be quite the chore.

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

Doc Robot and ExpressMan made their way to Doc's preferred Muka Muka bot, the centipede like bot above ground for the moment. The various wily bots that surrounded them sheilded them from both the attacks of the RPD and the spread out Holy Order. A moving shield of hundreds of robots surrounding and covering Doc Robot's path towards the inner bunker. Wily bots maybe flimsy and easily disposed... but with so many working in unison it was very hard to penetrate and get to him and ExpressMan.

"I think Spark-Chan is heading towards the bunker in the west!" ExpressMan peered through the crack of the Muka's temperary 'armor'.

And to their surprise, the Holy Order was surrounding her, shooting any and everything that came close to her. ExpressMan felt that GeminiMan was certainly there to take her with him unharmed. Doc was positive that they were already working together.

"If we're lucky, she'll head into another decoy! Then Master will have to accept her fate!" He laughed.

The Muka Muka switched gears once they had a clear spot of ground to enter into. The shield shot up into the air, the various Wily made bots rained down onto the opposing armies. Express and Doc got inside the hatch of the centipede contraption, and tunneled down into the earth unnoticed.

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

Geminiman had gone to slash at Bass but he soon found that his sword was no longer in his hand and Bass’ foot had just connected strongly with his chin. While he was being sent through the air, Bass air-dashed upwards like a bullet and collided into the White Knight and then kicked him back into the ground and rapidly fired shot after shot at the fallen body of the crazed robot.

“Ha, that was too easy.” Bass said triumphantly before a burning pain hit is back as he turned to see a clone of Geminiman pointing his laser at him whilst being surrounded by several Holy Order members.

“Don’t think you’ve won yet.” He smirked before they all advanced on him.

“Come on!” the anti-Megaman screamed as he unleashed a barrage of plasma at his attackers. It was difficult to tell whether or not the actual Geminiman was among the ones that got hit or if they were just Holy Order members, but then crazed laugh echoing behind him indicated that he was not.

“Don’t be so naïve, Bass, None of those robots were me, they all just looked like me. This is the full glory of my Holy Order of Elysium! I had them all upgraded to use similar illusion-making technology I use, as such they can look like me, turn invisible like me, and I even uploaded my combat data into their systems so they fight like me too. They make the ideal bodyguards, soldiers and decoys for me.”

“Do they all rant on like you as well?” Bass asked as he fired a charged shot behind him but before the blast could reach its target, another clone appeared with his shield active and deflected the attack.

“I’m not so stupid, to leave my guard down like that to a formidable foe such as yourself, you should feel honoured that I take you very seriously, which reminds me…”

Bass felt a powerful explosion at the back of his head as the clone he had attacked earlier unleashed a Shooting Star punch right in the back of his head.

“You should keep an eye on your guard a bit more.” The clone said, ironically enough he then took a shot from Barrageman you flew down from behind.

“Unit Barrageman thinks you should follow your own advice.”

The clone gritted his teeth at the sight of the flying tank and then merged with another clone to heal his wounds, picked up his sword and leapt up at Barrageman while the other clone was left to fend for himself as Bass.

The two sides kept on firing shot after shot at each other and soon the crossfire had become so complex that evading became increasingly difficult.

Then the RPD force’s shots began to litter the field of battle and soon Barrageman was forced to land on the ground to avoid anti-air shots and both Bass and the Geminiman clones took a fair amount of damage.

The White Knight was covered in scorch marks as he was also suffering from Bass’ relentless assault; although the arrogant robot was not in the best condition either.

“A most satisfying display… it’s a shame I won’t be able to enjoy more of it.” Geminiman grinned at his unsuspecting opponent. “With the presence of the RPD being such an annoyance I feel that I might enjoy this battle a bit more from the sidelines”

The entire Holy Order soon faded into invisible mode and now the Wily Rescue Force and Bass only saw the large numbers of the RPD.

“You freaking coward! You will pay dearly for this!” Bass screamed out as the RPD Special Forces and Police Bots opened fire on him.

“If you survive this struggle, I’ll be sure to finish where we left off.” The Twin Terror’s voice trailed off from an unknown direction.

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

The base Spark had come up to was in her sights. She now could see why there was heavy fighting at this one base. It looked as if Gemini himself was here. Infact he was just about everywhere... but her scanner was flickering on and off that this was his energy being picked up. But as she looked around, she was surrounded still by these other 'Geminis'. None of them acted like Lennon... it was just his look. Only her arrogant and proud friend would make an army dedicated to himself it seemed.

"Why is Gemini here?"

She actually tried to speak to one of the clones several feet from her. It instead leapt away as another took its place and fought some RPD units. Knowing she was being shielded by them... Spark knew Gem wasn't going to allow her to be hurt. Running off into the heart of the enemy they forced their way through. There was something left inside of Gem... and she needed to tap into it.

The bunker was alot different than the one she encountered as it was located under already burning rubble. Well how in the world was she to get into it? At this area there was still a large number of Special Forces, and despite her barrier these 'clones' of Gem's Holy Order were getting demolished. With a quickly dissipating shield she had to work faster.

The actual sixth of Gem's self was facing these Special Force units, all the while with his dark eyes watching her. He'd allow her to get into the storage and steal what it was they were after. Let her obtain what she was after... and then destroy it in her hands. Because all she touched would lose meaning... and everything she did was for nothing. It made him grin as he tore into his opponent. Spark found her way into the underground by moving aside a sheet of flaming metal. He himself was curious to what she'd find inside.

Inside there was another long dark corridor. Course there were pocket fires here and there from fighting inside. Bullet marks along the metal walls and the security door already damaged and hanging partly from the wall. She squeezed past it... hoping this time she would be luckier.

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

At that same moment Doc Robot had smashed throught the bottom of the storage container and into what looked like a lab. As the hatches opened, Doc hopped out and immediately went in to search around. There was all sorts of things smashed and papers strewn about, but looked to have been like that a while. The entrance was locked off and he was free to go around. Almost like a glee-filled child he scurried.

"Sounds like things above ground are getting hectic. I hope everyone is alright." ExpressMan thought... his gut feeling that something was about to come down if they didn't hurry.

"Ohohoho!" Doc Robot laughed in excitement. He shot his arm upwards to reveal a singed sheet of blue and a paperclip full of information. "The Robot Police Department certainly had a well thought plan... but now it belongs to Master!"

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

The rest of the Rescue Force and Bass were beginning to feel overwhelmed by the RPD, Multiman was lowering in numbers of replica produced, For every police bot shot down by Barrageman, two more would appear and even Bass was kept on the edge of his feet. However when things looked like they were about to reach their end, a siren sounded from one of the Special Forces units.

“Report! Security breach at the R&D Labs, Intruder alert has been triggered. All units redirect to assist the security force!” The Special Forces unit alerted the defense force of the city and soon the RPD forces were beginning to thin out, much to the relief of the Wily forces.

“Units Doc Robot, Expressman and Sparkchan must have obtained the blueprints. We must assist in their retreat!” Barrageman voiced in a monotone before pulling back from combat whilst still firing his cannons to pick off as many RPD robots as he could.

“It's about time they got the job done!” Bass yelled out in his usual annoyed tone, “Lets go fetch them and get out of here.”

The Rescue Force turned to leave when an explosion occurred and Bass and Barrageman turned to see a Multiman replica explode into pieces and Geminiman standing in full glory over it.

“So my beloved is in danger? Well then I suppose I have to deal with that then...”

“Why you...” Multiman began to say before he felt his head get pushed back by the White Knight, his head feeling crushed under the pressure of his grip.

“An interesting thing I've noted is that as long as there are replicas of you existing you will never die. Fortunately due to the long drawn out battle you've been having and my careful surveillance to make sure none of your replicas have escaped I have deduced that after destroying you now, you'll be gone for good.” Geminiman grinned before quickly morphing his hand into his laser cannon and blasted Multiman's head cleanly off to the shock of his team-mates.

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

The RPD were moving quickly to the locations of the remaining labs but then soon came to a halt when before their eyes a large number of Holy Order members appeared to impede their path. What appeared to be the real Geminiman walked out in front with burning sword in hand.

“I'm afraid I can't allow you to proceed any further past this point....” he said in a creepy echoed voice. “I will not allow a single one of you lay a hand on my dear sweet Sparkchan!”

The RPD took no notice to the Scissor Army operative and continued their advance with weapons armed and the Holy Order led by Geminiman proceeded to charge in their direction in order to crush them.

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

“Ugh, it would seem that my presence is needed elsewhere. Lucky for you, you get to leave this place with your lives intact. But rest assured I will be back and next time I will be sure to take your heads as a glorious trophy!” The White Knight said as he felt the impacts of attacks from his clone fighting the RPD. He faded back into invisibility and left Bass and Barrageman to their own devices.

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

"Oh!!"

Spark-Chan yelped as she lost footing from the shake of a blast above. The war outside was louder than before, and her injury was coming back into her mind as she hit the wall roughly. She just needed to push herself.

The Gem outside could see his other split form running towards the rubble which now recovered the entrance. Lennon could easily just annihilate the debris in his way, lifting his arm cannon to make room for his entry, but hesitated at the thought of somehow harming her. It caused him to hold his head.

"Class..." he murmured to himself through grit teeth. Why when the thought of hurting her did it make his head throb. It wasn't a good time to be holding still, Gem found himself getting knocked to the side by one of the remaining SF units. Enraged by the interuption of following his beloved... he ran right back and thrashed it with his split self coming to join the fray. It was something he practically had built into him: protect Classi.

With the power to press forward she made it into the adjacent hall much like the last bunker she entered. It made her very nervous since the last security breach got her injured. All for the sake of blueprints of an atomic bomb or locations of plutonium and uranium. It didn't make sense that war had to come down to even this... the destruction of the planet almost. Why even fight if they make the place uninhabitable?

"In and out... in and out!" She reminded herself as she once again jabbed a conductor into the door's panel. It actually looked to be working this time around as she shot massive energy into it's circuits. Like before the electricity flickered around her. Spark let out a sigh... brushing her hair back the way a person would when they persperated in a nervous type of relief.

Unknowingly outside the RPD units were having such a hard time tangoing with Gemini's moves that they feared him getting inside the storage below. There were no blueprints or maps within, but actually a weapons cache. Deciding that it was either let Gem take it or they could take both Wily and the SA's general out in the same place...they might lose alot of fire power, but they'd possibly gain the upper hand with two downed officers.

Luckily Gem's clone half a way's away caught a transmission from nearby RPD units, his form near Spark getting the other half. He heard the basics. "Cache. Spark-Chan. Detonate." And that was enough to snap him into thinking.

"She'll die."

No longer occupied with the RPD he decided to get in and save her. Blasting away the scraps and caved in walls from the staircase he descended with nothing other than her life on his mind. If she was killed here... he'd lose one of his reasons for even proving himself for. He'd no longer see her soft gaze or hear her voice speak his name. Things that would eventually drive him insane.

By the time he neared her position she was actually clamped in tightly to the door she tried to Spark Shock open. Her teeth were grit and she was whimpering with each tug. Her arm was starting it tear at how desperate she was to free herself. A feeling of deja vu hit her as she imagined a horrible fireball of fate. Heat building up around her as the place shook with explosions. But this time the fiery mass approaching her was definately going to set her aflame by how she couldn't run.

"Classi!!" Gem shouted behind her. He shot out in front of the fireball, his grip on the large door that was loosely hung on the wall from before. With an arm gripping around her waist... the both of them were engulfed by the inferno... the huge metal door he held as a shield to block them. But it wasn't enough as another explosion ripped through and forced them into the corner. Spark's conductor broke in half as thick peices of the building around them began to crush them. She screamed in surprise and fear... her arms wrapping around Gem as the door and other items encased them into what felt like a cramped oven.

With the world shaking around them, and the heat singing them slowly together, there was a quietness of their reuniting. For a brief second there was an air of relief... nostalgia. Her eyes looked up to him... her Knight coming to her rescue. His paint coat was different... his eyes empty... and yet filled with something familiar.

"Hey Lenny...." she whispered. He didn't reply... he just watched her. Why did she smile? Why at this moment? Spark-Chan continued to him, "...thankyou... "

It pulled at his inside. Just when he thought he'd never see it... it might be the last thing he'd see. It was almost a happy thought, to die alongside his sweet friend who assured him that in the end she could be happy to see him. They huddled together as they were partially crushed, but eventually were covered with so much rubble that they were being saved from the explosions and fire around them.

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

Above ground Forte and the others finished off the rest of the RPD, but the SA was now surrounding them. This focal point with the SA General was their concern. It was becoming too much.

"Tch! We can't be here much longer." Forte grumbled to himself. He kept glancing towards where Gemini had run, and where Spark-Chan was. He couldn't say if she was alive or not. Something also hung on him about if she didn't survive. No, just a set back for Wily's forces. Still he'd have to retreat and wait, he could swear he could feel some sort of energy within. Perhaps it was his sister.

Doc Robot on the other hand re-emmerged at the point where the Wily Rescue Force was first located. Though he flung around his newly stolen blue prints and papers, he found the others in a depression at the loss of MultiMan.

"It's time to leave. Return now!"

Wily's forces, what was left of them and the Rescue squad retreated.

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

It felt like forever, the two team mates quietly lay in a pile together. It was just them... and nothing else crossed their minds. They thought death awaited as the debris was slowly crushing them underneath. Weakened from battle... Gem couldn't fight this so well... but somehow was content with this end. Spark was humming softly to herself and him, her voice trembling slightly with each cracking sound of their barracade.

"Classi..." He finally broke into her song. "What are we?"

Was it a question of their mechanics? Was it a question of heart? Or a question of their relationship? Her eyes softened... the truth was perfectly fine in her mind.

"I'm Classi-Cal, Spark-Chan. You're Lennon, GeminiMan... and we're best friends ." she choked. Her soft but sad face mirrored on his own. "No matter how this day ends Len... we'll always be."

No, it couldn't end like this. He began to struggle though he had to be careful nothing fell in onto her. She couldn't die!

"I can't let you be harmed. I have to preserve you! I'm your hero!" He cried, alot of the rubble shaking and cracking around him. It actually alerted the Holy Order in the area digging to try and move that area. The two of them could hear the faint sounds of the digging and hollering back and forth.

"Is that...?" She perked up... more hopeful that they'd be rescued. Gemini had to stop moving as some dust started falling onto his lady's face and hair causing her to cough. It was too dangerous to move.

"Sir!"

At long last they could smell fresh air instead of the smell of burnt metal and musky cement. The two of them were helped out of the rubble... but once above ground her arms refused to let her go.

"Spark, you're--" He wanted to tell her she was to stay with him forever... but his heart. He couldn't fight her eyes. She was so powerful... though she was so weak.

"Classi-Cal!" Another voice called out. Forte loomed from nearby seeing her pulled from the junk pile of metal scraps and rock. A fire was still roaring behind them but at least they weren't in it. It made Spark-Chan get to her feet, her hand at her damaged side, one of her legs looking weak.

"Gemini... this isn't right. War has torn us apart but I'm still with you."

Lennon was quick to his feet as well, grabbing her wrist. He should have just taken her... but she could pull away from him easily. His hold on her was lose... just like MesmerMan was on his mind.

"Lennon please! Leave CutMan! Stop what you're doing! Come with me!" she took a step back. To her shock he began to chase her, the thought of her leaving sparking Gem into pursuit. She couldn't help but attempt to run.

"You're... you're mine!!!"

Forte waiting for her to return to him.

"Come on already!"

The Holy Order wasn't about to let her escape with their commander trying to stop her. They decided she needed to be stopped instead.


"Halt! You cannot escape!" A Holy Order soldier shouted out and fired a shot at the withdrawing Sparkchan. Barely missing her as the Wily bots disappeared from their sight.

Almost immediately snapping back into his controlled state, an enraged White Knight shot the offending soldier leaving nothing but a burning scrap of metal.

"No one shoots at milady! She is not to be harmed under ANY circumstances! She... is... MINE!" He screamed out at the corpse of the SA Joe before turning to the rest of his Holy Order.

"Let that be a warning to the rest of you! Next time you encounter my beloved Sparkchan, she is NOT to be harmed. If I see any one of you do more than look at her funny I will reduce you to nothing but a tiny scraps of molten metal!"

The White Knight turned to direction his beloved had disappeared from with a determined look on his face.

"We will soon each other soon Sparkchan... and next time I will make you feel the embrace of the White Knight. You will accept me, you will long for me! I swear on it..."

A Holy Order member returned quickly from the blockade against the RPD his armor was in pieces and the Gemini illusion was flickering on and off as a sign of the tough battle.

"Sir, the Wily forces have made a full retreat and the RPD forces are beginning to falter. I believe we can call this a victory."

"The labs are destroyed and whatever plans they may have held are now in the possession of Wily. While we have claimed this city for Elysium, our victory has almost lost all its meaning." Geminiman lamented

Another Holy Order member had rushed onto the scene with intel from the recon unit.

"Report: In the process of our search for the labs we have discovered The Kennedy Space Center and a naval base have been left abandoned and has now been secured. If ordered to we can get them both fully functioning."

"What? But why would something like a space center or a naval base be left unguarded and ripe for the taking?" the news had troubled the White Knight whose mind was already disorientated by the encounter with Sparkchan, however he had to return to the General with some news of victory.

"Search the space center for any traps and start getting it functioning immediately. I don't want this coming back to create a mess for us in the future."

The Holy Order hurried off to work and report after report came back to Geminiman seemingly indicating everything was running fine.

The cape was now within the grasps of the SA, certainly there was some cleanup of the RPD troops to do, but other than that they now had the Kennedy Space Center and the naval base to their disposal.

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