The Business of War

Orchestrated By C.M. Rich (Magnetman)

Winds of Fate: The Deathly Blizzard

By Seven Mercenaries, Armored Assassins

---

Scenario H
[(\./)]
Participants:
Seven Mercenaries(SA)
Wily Rescue Force(W)
Armored Assassins (C)

Location: Murmansk, Russia
Max. Cossack Scrap Value: 7411
SA Infantry: 1179
RPD Units: 1430
Wily Bots: 475

The RPD watchers huddled against the furious cold. "Dammit." One of them spat. "It wasn't supposed to snow this hard today."

"Well, we're in Russia, man." Another one of the watchers piped in. "Weather's supposed to suck here."

"I was situated in Florida..." The other countered. "They transfered me here."

"Damn... that sucks..."

"Tell me about it..."

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

Meanwhile, in the city, the Cossack division of the Armored Assassins were resting in a back ally.

"Who do you think we're up against, Fox?" Zapper asked the large Russian.

"Well..." Blizzardman replied, charging up his snow generator. "I'm not sure, Zap."
He discharged the attack, sending a furious snowstorm down the ally way into the surrounding city block. The city was covered in snow by now, as Blizzardman had been creating heavy snowfall in various points of the city. Movement was extremely limited if you were a large army, which was just the advantage the Armored Assassins had hoped for.

"Russia is my turf..." Blizzardman said with a laugh. "They'll regret invading this winter-ridden country."

"Those human watchers are going to be miserable." Knightman laughed at their misfortune.

"Oh, I made you all these." Blizzardman walked over to the van and pulled out a mass of white cloth. "Here, take these."

"Aw, sweet, Fox!" Regdar immediately donned the white trench coat after receiving it.

"Where'd you get these?" Knightman asked, looking over his coat as he put it on.

"I have a special connection..." Blizzardman said mysteriously. "He specializes in uh... very big and tall. He takes highly customized orders." He donned his own trench coat, easily the one requiring the most fabric to put together. One could have pitched a tent with it.

"I'll say." Zapper chimed in, putting on her coat and realizing that it was made for the entire width of her body. It covered her torso and her horse body much like the coverings placed on Crusaders' mounts during the Crusades.

"What's with the coats, anyway, Fox?" Knight asked.

"Cover, of course." Blizzard said calmly. "What color is the snow around us?"

"White." Zapper responded. Then it clicked. "Oh! So we're using camouflage?"

"Yes." Blizzard confirmed.

"Yay!" Zapper reared up on her back legs, waving her arms in the air. "I like surprises!"

"I do too." Knight said. "Death comes swiftly to the inattentive."

"Then let's not be caught off guard." Blizzard said. "T. Hawk, you should get into position."

"Right." T. Hawk wall-kicked up the ally-way buildings until he reached the roof top.

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

"This is just PERFECT!" Doc Robot fumed in obvious sarcasm. "This isn't the weather forecast for today!"

"Pipe down, Doc. You're gonna fry your circuits, even if it is cold out..." Expressman said. "Besides, all this overcast kinda screws ME over personally. It's a good thing that I charged my solar energy cells before coming here."

"Unit Barrageman thinks Unit Doc Robot should stop whining..." Barrageman's voice lacked emotion, but the delivery was scathing nonetheless.

"Relax guys." Multiman piped up. "We've got everything under control."

"Oh, so you've started already?" Expressman observed.

"Yep." Another Multiman answered for the first from behind a corner. "Someone has to take the initiative for you ouzos."

"I had a plan, but this blizzard throws a wrench into the whole thing!" Doc fumed. "Well, let's sit down. I'll get a new one ready. Let's not let the weather ruin our grand scheme, eh?" Doc grinned optimistically.

"Y'know," Expressman said with a teasing look in his eye. "Ever since that Spark-Chan showed up you've been tripping..."

"Shut up!" Doc Robot snapped, instantly loosing his cool. "I just thought up a plan so brilliant, not only will it make Wily's hair stand on end, he'll grow some hair, and that'll stand on end, too!"

"Unit Barrageman thinks Unit Doc Robot is full of shit." Barrageman droned.

"Hey!" Doc wheeled on Barrageman. "Who's the brains of this outfit, half-wit?!"

"Unit Barrageman's logical unit is processing an insult..." Barrageman sounded offended through the monotone.

"I see Wily gave you an upgrade." Doc rubbed salt into the exposed verbal wound. "Normally that would have sailed right over your head."

"Guys... GUYS!" Expressman held out his hands. "Let's act like reasonable robots and get the job done."

"Yeah! I'll show that Spark-Chan who's Wily's no. 1!"

"I'm sure you will, Doc." Expressman said assuringly. "God, he's so temperamental. "

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

*A FEW TIMES AGO*

"The mission is clear. Find. COSSACK. Find him…NOW." So were the words of the General.

The Mercs were meditating on a proper way to complete this mission as they headed to their quarters in Elysium.

"Let's sum up what we know about Cossack for now." started Quint. "Apparently, his base is located in Siberia, away from our detectors and teleportation systems."

"We can't go and search right now" stated Buster Rod. "Too vast."

"What's your suggestion, then, Iga ?" replied Enker. The two of them were close friends, even as teammates, and knew of the other's thought-process.

"First we take a base near Siberia. It'll work as a relay and an advanced base for the hunt."

"Good. Now, where is that perfect spot ?" Punk demanded.

The Officers gathered around the map, when Ballade, known for her methodical way of thinking, designated a small dot near Scandinavia.

"Murmansk. An ice-free seaport for the whole year." Ballade was always concise when speaking - always to the point.

"Nice idea, Kay, but how do we take control of it ?" threw Mega Water. "There's a large number of the RPD, and the blizzard makes it near impossible to attack by land."

"I may have the perfect way..."

The Captain ostentively pressed a switch near the communicator on the map table.

"Captain Quin there. Prepare the "Davy Jone's Locker" plan. We're coming."

He then gestured his teammates to follow him to the teleporter area.

"It's time to show the world why I was ranked Captain..."

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

*PRESENT DAY*

A ship was sailing several miles away from Murmansk, taking cover from the blizzard.
A good thousand of robots were standing still on the deck, waiting for orders.
After a few minutes, the Mercs came out of the vessel's entrails, four of them carrying gasmask-like items in their hands. They walked closer to the ship's side, and with a nod, Ballade, Buster Rod, Quint and Enker put on their masks.
Then, the six of them dove, soon followed by the scissor Joes.

After a few minutes, the ship was empty. Following a signal, it moved on its own, following a preset destination...

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

With the blizzard storming around, and the absence of ships, Murmansk was rather peaceful. For now.

They came out of the sea, and started to shoot at the patrolling RPD forces in sight. Troops of the Scissor Army, covered with seaweed, walking out of the sea like the ghosts of sailors claiming revenge.

The Officers then came out, with Mega Water rising of the sea on a water column. He landed, and the column became a reservoir for his Liquid Lashes, which he put into effect by destroying the nearby ships.

The human-faced removed their masks. Robots don't need to breath, but none of them wanted a bowl of cold seawater - and salt, as on human face, could have a nasty effect on their skins. And it wasn't the kind of scar they wanted to brag about.

Then, Quint drew out his rapier, and sent this message to the Joes, his blade pointed at the sky : "Scissor Army ! Seize control of the port, and fight to defend ! Elysium awaits !"

Quint exulted as the Joes ran out to follow his orders. The psychological effect of this attack would be a nice thing later on : the seaports would never be safe anymore...

Now, for the hard part... he thought.

The Mercenaries splitted in three groups, ready to support their soldiers : Enker and Mega Water headed to the eastern part of the line, as Ballade and Buster Rod went to the western zone.
A large smile on his face, the Captain and Punk ran off to the southern front.

So much work to do, and the day had just started...

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

The three brawlers of the Armored Assassins stood together. Centaur, Blizzard, Knight, all were ready to crush any foe that stood between them and the mission. Blzzardman got a sudden beep on his com-link.

"Yes?" The Russian answered.

"Fox, we've got company." Regdar explained. "Judging by the big guy that's with them, I'd say the SA sent the Seven Mercenaries after us."

"Punk's there?" Blizzard asked. He had heard rumors of his strength, and now he had the benefit of SA upgrades.

"Big, scary-lookin', red guy?" Regdar described him.

"Dammit." Blizzard knew the 7M was going to shove a wrench into anyone's plans. "Keep low. If you can take out any of the lightly armored officers, do so without hesitation."

"Will do..." T. Hawk responded.

"Bad news, guys." Blizzard told his friends. "The Seven Mercenaries are here."

"No way!" Centaur said in disbelief.

"I'm afraid so." Blizzard confirmed.

"Halt, identify yourselves!"

Several RPD units had heard the discussion and had now zoned in on the location of the noise. They aimed their busters at the group, which humored them by raising their hands.

"You've no business here. You are hereby under arrest until we have decided whether or not you are an enemy."

"Oh, of course, Comrade." Blizzard said all too calmly. "Centaur, why don't you show them our credentials real quick?" He looked back at her, only she and Zymeth could pick up the faint flicker in his eyes.

Zapper turned on her accelerator, jumping her body into light speed and heightening her reflexes to match. The snowflakes stopped falling around her. She ran over to the RPD and trampled anyone who got in her path. She reached the end of the crowd and fired a spread shot at the rest of the crowd before her accelerator threatened to overheat.

Within a second, the RPD squad had been cut in half by the mythological Robot Master.

The RPD units calculated that the odds of victory were not even a full percentage, and attempted to withdraw to the safety of reinforcements, but Blizzardman would not allow them quarter. He shot a Blizzard Attack at the squad, slashing most of them to ribbons and freezing the few unlucky survivors in place. Knight took pleasure in removing each one of their heads as they stood fixed to their spots.

"Fox." Regdar called back.

"Yes?" Blizzard answered as usual.

"Wily's here, too. I see Multiman, which means there's at least twenty I don't know about."

"Where are they?" Blizzard asked.

"Pretty close." Regdar said. "Let me give you the coordinates..."

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

"I've got it now." Doc Robot said. "Here's the new plan."

It had only been five minutes since Doc had to change his plan, but the rest of the force was now growing impatient.

"C'mon, Doc..." Expressman groaned. "We haven't got all day."

"A good plan needs to account for all the key points involved." Doc Robot stated as though he were quoting scripture.

"Does your plan involve the Seven Mercenaries?" A Russian voice pitched in from the snow.

"What? Who are you? WHERE are you?" Doc Robot spun around, not seeing the source and growing a little frustrated and concerned.

"I'm here to help, provided you'll accept it." The figure walked into focus. His size was impressive, but not nearly as impressive as his ability to walk with such a light step despite that mass.

"You haven't opened fire yet, and you're begging for help. You must be from Cossack's squad, huh?" Doc spat, emulating Wily's negative opinion on their influence in the war.

"I thought you might like to know that the SA is coming from the coastline." Blizzardman said calmly, placing his hands where they could be seen.

"Guys." It was Multiman returning, or possibly showing up for the first time. You could never tell if you met the same one twice. "Punk's here."

Doc Robot turned around. "Well, Cossacker, I guess you weren't lying. But we're fine. Just stay out of our way."

"Hey, lighten up, Doc." Expressman said. "Help should always be welcome. Besides, I think this is the abnormally large Russian guy Plantman was talking about."

"Plantman?" Doc asked.

"That Planeswalker guy." Expressman explained.

"So you're the one responsible for this?" Doc Robot gestured dramatically towards the sky, hinting he was questioning the weather. He had heard that one of the Armored Assassins could produce blizzards. The large white Russian robot with a ski cap was the most likely candidate.

"My apologies if I've thrown your plans off." Blizzardman sounded genuinely sorry. "I think you would want to work with me rather than against me, though."

"Why?" Doc Robot asked.

"Russia is my turf..." Blizzardman continued. "I could have taken you out by now if I wanted to. Try and pick out razor sharp liquid nitrogen snowflakes from the regular, harmless ones in a blizzard. Oh, and I've got an ace marksman on the rooftops." Blizzardman snapped his fingers and T. Hawk stood up. They could just barely make out the Robot Master when he was wearing his white trench coat, but his high-powered sniper rifle was easy to recognize.

"Touche..." Expressman was obviously impressed. "Hey, Doc. I think we should give this a shot. I mean, we could have been in a tight bind if he hadn't given us a warning."

"Oh, alright." Doc relented. "But don't tell this to Wily, ok? I don't want to look bad working with Cossack scum. Oops." He realized the size difference between him and the robot behind him. "No offense."

"None taken." The Russian responded.

"Any more surprises?" Doc Robot asked half-jokingly.

"Not really." Blizzard said. "Come on out, guys."

Knightman rounded a corner while Centaur burst from a snowbank that had piled up near a car.

"I like your style..." Expressman admitted. He nudged Multiman. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be watching our backs? Not like you can say, 'I can't be in two places at once.'"

"Oh, shut up." Multiman glared back at Expressman. "I'm the only unit that we need here, anyway."

"Ok, here's the new plan." Doc Robot gestured for everyone to gather around him. "Version 3.0, I guess. We'll have Multiman flank the city from the cardinal directions while we assist in any way possible. You there. What's-your-name?"

"Blizzardman." The Russian responded.

"Blizzardman. I suggest you use your home-team advantage to strike from within the city. You'll be great at causing massive amounts of chaos."

"Doc Robot, if I may suggest something." Blizzardman leaned over to the mastermind and began whispering in his audio receptor. The Doc's eyes lit up.

"Oh, THAT is sinister!" Doc clapped his hands together. "And I have just the trap to supplement it! Change of plans! Barrageman, you will accompany Multiman-I'll say five you- to the docks." He pointed at Multiman, who grinned. "Be covert about it. After you get there, stick to deep water and begin doing what you do best. Then, I'll give the signal, and every Multiman unit behind the SA will strike, full force!" He started giggling with glee. "This is great! This is PERFECT! Wily is gonna flip when he sees this plan! I wish I had a camera..."

"Hey, hey... looks like we got our little schemer back in action." Expressman said, relieved. He was worried all the mounting frustration at Spark-Chan's attention from Wily was starting to wear on his processor.

"That Spark-Chan will look like a total amateur when I'm done controlling this port!" Doc Robot cheered.

"Hey, Doc..." Expressman dusted some snow off his armor. "Where do I fit into all of this?"

"We'll take a group of Hammer Joes and wait in the main city, waiting to ambush the Scissor Army when they show their sorry heads." Doc Robot replied. "We'll keep in touch so there's a sizable distance between our groups." He turned to the AA. "We don't want to waste any manpower in this assault, so we can deal the power distribution as evenly as possible. Leave no RPD unit standing and show the SA no mercy!" He flung his clenched fist into the air.

The groups split up, Expressman traveling with the Doc while the AA team went off to do their usual surprise attacks. Barrageman and five Multimen walked off toward the docks, away from the heated battle on the shores. Doc Robot felt like jumping up and down he was so happy at these turn of events, but after glancing around he realized no one was nearly as ecstatic about it as he was, so he just hummed to himself.

"Wily will be so happy to see our victory." He thought to himself.

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

A small attack squad of 15 Scissor Army Joes were traveling around the main engagement, hoping to make it into the city and perform small ambushes on the RPD forces. They moved silently through the snow, killing was their only mission. They were passing by a large snowbank when the snowbank started to shift. All the Scissor Joes pointed their rifles at the strange snowdrift, assuming there was an ambush set up.

"Attack!" The Scissor Joes heard five similar voices all scream in unison.

Half the squad turned around only to be met by a Multiman assault. One managed to wrench a rifle away from a Joe and began firing at the squad, catching a few in the back. Just as the Joes were turning around to return fire, Barrageman leaped from the snow bank and tore into the crowd with his ion cannon. Within seconds, the force was dead.

"Sweet." Multiman said. "Weapons."

All five Multimen grabbed an SA rifle and Barrageman held the other rifles. They carried on towards the ocean that lay ahead of them.

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

The defensive battle between the SA and the RPD had gone on for several hours, with no side relenting. Each side had suffered minimal casualties due to the defensive nature of the battle. Each side fought for the port. Two special force units had been brought to the lines to support the RPD army stationed in Murmansk, and they knew what Punk had done to SFs before. They assisted with their impressive fire-power, keeping the SA at bay rather than tearing into them. Compounding the problem was the unseen sniper that had a tendency to pick off units whenever they strayed too far from cover. The first time the sniper struck, everyone was concerned. A group of five SA Joes had tried to gain a closer position by running from cover to cover. They had been shot down within seconds of leaving their safe spot. The RPD was concerned at first, withdrawing after the sniper fire, but they soon realized that the shooter only attacked SA-units, and they grew accustomed to the good Samaritan sniper.

"Enker! Can't you help out with that Mirror Buster a bit more?" Quint yelled at his anti-sniper friend through his com-link.

"I can't!" Enker said with frustration. "This barrier only extends so much!"

"Why don't you try and take out our sniper, then?" Quint suggested.

"Hey, that's a good idea." Enker replied.

Quint looked up at Punk. The towering terror had no problems barreling his way past the RPD. He had taken a few good shots from the Special Force units on the way there, but he'd have to deal with it. With his strength he may have been able to take them both on, but not while they were surrounded by their lesser units. They were untouchable for now.

"Let's find a place to set up a teleportation relay in the city." Quint said. "Then we can ask the General to teleport reinforcements straight into the city. We'll take this place by storm!"

"Good idea." Punk agreed.

The two Mercenaries ran off, avoiding unnecessary scuffles as best they could.

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

"This isn't exactly what I expected..." Enker said as he prepared to sneak through the RPD's lines. "But we'll have to deal."

Suddenly, the pier they had taken cover on was blown to pieces, sending the Mercs into the salty drink as shrapnel flew everywhere.

"What the heck?" Enker yelled as he fell into the water.

It was then that the remaining 7M saw exactly what the heck was going on. They looked around, trying to pin the explosion on something, when they found Barrageman stomping up the shoreline. They saw the scattered remains of several dozen SA troops as the one-robot artillery unit made his way to the sandy beaches. They soon saw an even more horrifying sight, however, as hundreds of enemies, each one looking exactly like the other, glared at them. The teeming mass began to move forward. It was impossible to pick a single one out of a crowd. The Scissor Army looked to the destroyed pier, hoping that their officers would resurface. Instead, a large robot lumbered out of the water.

Barrageman spread several blasts around him, living up to his name and assaulting SA forces with a barrage of ion blasts. Several squads turned their rifles on Barrageman, but as they opened fire, hundreds of Multimen rushed from the sea and swarmed the army. The SA was pinned between the RPD and two of Wily's Robot Masters. Ballade, Buster Rod, Enker, and Mega Water recovered their senses from being knocked into the water and began fighting the Multiman army. Enker contacted Quint.

"What's wrong, Enker?" Quint responded to the emergency call.

"Quint! We're being attacked!" Enker replied.

"I know. I told you guys to hold off the RPD until we got a relay set up." Quint replied.

"No, I mean we're being flanked!" Enker sounded panicked.

"By whom?" The SA Captain was now concerned.

"By hundreds of giant robots that all look the same. There's another one that has heavy fire-power."

Quint searched his databases. "Dammit!" He cursed under his breath.

"What?!" Enker demanded.

"Wily's Rescue Force is here. That's Multiman and Barrageman!" Quint replied.

"What's that mean?" Enker asked.

"Multiman can reproduce himself, and it doesn't matter if you take out the original Multiman, because EVERY Multiman is the original! Each one can reproduce its own copy. And Barrageman is a huge threat, too. He's got intense firepower."

"What should we do?" Enker asked his captain. The report Quint gave him sounded grim.

"Get the hell out of there! Try and break through the RPD lines. You'll stand a better chance once you're in the city, but you won't last long being hit by both sides!" Quint shouted back.

"Gotcha." Enker turned off his com-link. "Rush the RPD! get into the city! We'll all die if we stay here!" Enker gave the word to the army stationed at the docks.

Enker used his shield to cover the other 7M from the sniper fire while they attempted to flee into the city. The shield worked, granting them safety from the sniper's attention. The other units were not so lucky. Without the cover of Enker's Mirror Buster, they had to flee from everyone's weaponry. Their numbers suffered heavy losses from the retreat into the city. The Scissor Joes split up as they made it into the evacuated city. Buster Rod heaved a sigh of relief, but immediately started panicking again after he heard a deafening explosion from a nearby street. The four Mercenaries rounded the corner to find a decimated Scissor Joe squad. One of them had stepped on a land mine, apparently, and then whole battalion paid for his fatal mistake.

"What the hell's going on here?" Mega Water fumed.

"It's a Crash Bomb..." Ballade said quietly as she picked up the shrapnel piece. "Does that mean Crashman's here?"

"No, it means Doc Robot is here." Quint was overhearing the conversation. "He copied Crashman's Crash Bomb ability. We ran into one..."

Quint and Punk were in an old warehouse. Punk was patching up his leg. He had taken heavy damage from the explosive, but not beyond field-repair. Quint was just glad the team juggernaut learned about the Crash Bomb issue instead of the lightly-armored Captain.

"Be careful out there..." Quint said to his comrades.

"What do we do now?" Buster Rod asked the four remaining Mercenaries. Ballade remained quiet.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm taking out that miserable sniper." Enker said as he got ready to head out on his shooter hunt. "Stay low until I contact you guys."

Enker began to search for the Murmansk Sniper while the rest of his team marched on with extreme caution.

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

Expressman caught a glimpse of Enker as he stomped to the spot where the last sniper shot had emerged from. Using his amazing speed, he ran back to Doc Robot.

"Doc, the spear-guy's coming this way." He said casually.

"Enker could be a problem..." Doc said quietly. "I don't want to deal with him just yet. Although, I think one of our friends could easily take him down." He adjusted his com-link. "Excuse me, Blizzardman, could I ask a favor of you?"

On the other end, Blizzardman had just got done demolishing a Scissor Joe squad with his Blizzard attack. He was changing liquid nitrogen tanks when he got the call.

"Yes?" The giant replied.

"Enker is heaing in our direction. I think you'd be more suited to take him down than the rest of us." Doc Robot explained.

"Why is that, Doc?" Blizzard replied.

"Because he uses primarily piercing attacks, like hurling javelins." The mastermind continued.

"Ah..." Blizzardman realized where Doc Robot was going with this. "So you're saying that because my armor is spherical in nature and rather smooth, the spear blows will glance to the side?"

"Precisely." The young-at-mind Robot Master confirmed.

"I'm on my way..." The Russian turned off his com-link. He turned to his friends. "I'm going to hunt down a Mercenary. Keep an eye out for the others."

"We'll come with you." Knightman asserted.

"No, it's best you stay out." Blizzardman said. "It's Enker, he carries your weakness."

"Oh..." Knightman remembered that as invincible as he seemed, spears were highly effective at getting past his shield.

"Be careful, Fox..." Centaur pleaded.

"I'll be back." Blizzard assured his friends. "It's just a little fight."

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

Ballade spoke just after the spear-wielder left : "We must take Barrageman down."

"Yeah, but how ? He has strong-as-heck armor, and the Multiman swarm doesn't help at all." spat Mega Water.

"Every robot has a weak spot. And I know how to deal with big guys."

The two Genesis Units considered these words before Buster Rod replied : "I see where you're going. It will be hard work, though."

"Planning is the key to success" said the Team's second strategist. "Figure out a way to trick Barrageman into coming here. I'll take him down."

Buster Rod and Mega Water prepared themselves for the assault as Ballade rushed to the window of the tallest building she could find. She needed some height for what she planned to do...

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

Enker was running through the streets, trying to look for the sniper, when he felt a stronger blow of wind surrounding him.
Blizzard was scheduled, as expected, but something wasn't right : the street he currently was in had taller buildings than the other houses, and it should block some of the wind. Instead, it only grew stronger.

A snow-bot. He's here for me.

Frantically, the spear-wielder turned around, trying to spot his opponent.

That's no use. He must be using a disguise !

"Whoever you are, walk out and face me !"

He was only replied with laughter, which seemed to come from every place around.

"Like Hell I will, Skippy. Do you think I will let my advantage slip out because you want a fair duel ?"

Angered by the arrogance of his opponent, Enker concentrated his energy field to generate a Mirror Buster. If his enemy were to make a small move, he would turn him to dust ...

There !

He unleashed a stream of energy on a spot on his immediate right, to see he had hit ... nothing. A fact confirmed by the voice just behind him :

"Nice trick, comrade. It might have hurt me."

Enker immediately turned back and threw his spear, only to see it deflected by the round armor.

"Too bad, isn't it ?" mockingly asked Blizzardman.

The white robot grabbed his opponent's torso, and with amazing speed for his size, turned him backwards, grabbed his legs from his free hand and crushed the Officer's spine under his feet.

Enker yelled out of pain, and continued as he was being torn apart by the Assassin. After his legs were thrown apart, Blizzardman grabbed his torso with both hands and slammed him head-first on the ground. It was only then that he went to silence.

"They don't make opponents as strong as they used to..." considered Blizzardman. He then walked out in the snow, leaving the mutilated Officer alone. And as good as dead.

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

Barrageman's mission was doing fine : the SA was getting repelled by his weapons, and Multiman was dealing with those who planned on attacking him.
However, a group seemed to make better than expected : led by two Officers, Scissor Joes were doing a number on the Multimen nearby, and it seemed that they were heading his way.

"Consideration : Attacks coordinated by the Officers. Fact : Unit Barrageman can destroy them in a few shots. Conclusion : Unit Barrageman must get a good spot to fire on Officers by getting closer."

The green behemoth activated his boosters and flew over the swarm of Wily-Bots. He was aiming at the Mercs when one of them fired at him. The projectile didn't do much damage, however, as it lost speed. But the fact was that Barrageman temporarily lost track of the Mercs, which proceeded to retreat along with the Joes.

"Mission : Unit Barrageman will chase the Mercs. Requesting support from Multiman."

Seven of the swarm-bots in front of him, the Wily-Bot proceeded to follow the path of his ennemies. After a few metres, however, he only spotted a single Scissor Joe.

"Unit Barrageman suspects trap."

A series of explosions on his immediate left confirmed the statement. the Joes walked out of the other streets and began shooting at the Multimen. They concentrated on destroying them through melees, but their number slowly started to decrease.

More explosions occurred, and he felt strong blasts on the side of his body. Blinded, he shot at the presumed locations of his enemies, and shouts of pain confirmed his guesses.
Then, he felt a heavy load on his head. He tried to throw it off, like a mechanical wild horse, but the intruder had a firm grip.
Ballade was focusing on the armor on Barrageman's head, trying to find a weakspot to exploit. Nothing : Wily did a good job on designing it.
She didn't have much time, as Barrageman would likely shoot at her if she didn't let go.

Let's do this the fast way...

She concentrated, and changes occurred all across her armor. A low humming could be heard, and she clasped her hands on the head of the Wily-Bot.
The sonic detonation shook him off, menacing to throw Ballade away, but the effects were here : she gave a second hit and jumped out, reverting to her standard armor in the process.
The green robot loudly fell to the ground, knocked out of the fight by two waves of sonic detonations sent directly in his mechanical cortex.

As Ballade was preparing a Cracker to finish the work, buster Rod and Mega Water walked to her level : both of their armors had been damaged by Barrageman's blind shots, and Multiman hadn't exactly been nice to them.

"A good thing done" said Buster Rod, "but what do we do now ?"

"First, we destroy that thing," suggested Mega Water. "Then, we flee out of the Multiman horde and in-town. Seven Multimen did quite a number on our troops, and I don't want to fight five hundred of them."

"Agreed." was Ballade's only answer.

The battalion ran away as the Cracker detonated, disabling Barrageman for a good amount of time. The Officers were thinking of how their colleagues were faring against the RPD and the Wily Bots.

I hope they're fine. We can't allow ourselves another Madrid. thought Ballade.

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

Punk had finished patching up his leg and the duo was now ready to set off again. They left the building and were greeted by roughly thirty Scissor Joes.

"Captain Quint, we're here to assist you in any way possible." The leader spoke up.

"What's the damage report?" The Captain demanded.

"Sir, we've lost communication with Officer Enker and most of our units have failed to report in. As it stands, we're the largest attack force in operation in the city."

"Damn those land mines!" Quint muttered under his breath. "Follow me."

The small fighting force began to look for an ideal teleportation relay spot within the city. The going was slow, as they had to look out for Crash Bombs, and they soon found out that Wily had not sent Doc Robot alone. They had been jumped several times by wandering Sniper Joes. They had just put down trio of Hammer Joes and were checking the extent of the damages. They were left with fifteen units.

"Damn that miserable old man!" Quint kicked the heavy steel ball left by one of the fallen Hammer Joes. It hardly budged, and Quint rubbed his foot a little after the attack. "The city should have been ours!"

Suddenly the wind began to pick up. Before anyone could react, a furious blizzard ripped through the crowd, shredding Scissor Joes and freezing the survivors. Punk put up an arm to protect his face as Quint rolled behind him. The blizzard subsided and the two officers looked at their frozen units. They were struggling to free themselves. Just as Punk and Quint were walking over to help out, a knight literally fell from the sky, landing in the middle, crushing down on a Joe in the process. He swung a heavy steel ball with spikes from his hand. He swung the weapon in a circle around him, smashing all the units to pieces. He stood at his full height (over seven feet) and glared at the two SA leaders. A large white robot and a robotic Centaur walked out from opposite alleys to join the knight.

"Oh, you bastards!" Punk shouted. "You've ruined everything!"

"Sorry if we ruined your day." The Russian robot replied. He obviously wasn't very sorry.

Quint noticed the chilled air escaping the vents of the Russian robot. The way the air around him cooled and sank to the ground at his feet, it made him look foreboding.

"You must be Blizzardman." Quint checked his SA data files.

"I am." Regulus responded.

"That's just about all I have on you. That, and you were created to represent Russia in the Robot Master Tournament years back." Quint replied.

"You'll find information on me is scarce." Blizzard replied with a sinister laugh.

"Who cares?!" Punk interrupted the two team leaders. "Quint! Go on without me! I can take all three of these losers by myself!"

"But you need my-"

"I'll be fine!" Punk brushed off the offer. "Get that relay set up!"

"Ok, take care, big guy." Quint ran off while Punk blocked the AA from giving chase.

"Let's see..." Punk began rubbing his knuckles against each other, creating a grinding noise. "The Russian's been giving us trouble ever since we got here, so..."

Punk rushed at Blizzardman, who braced himself for the impact. Punk and Blizzard locked arms in grapple, each trying to force the other back. Punk began to push harder, forcing the Russian to lose ground. It was obvious who was stronger. Blizzard however, was extremely clever. He broke Punk's hold on his upper arms and crouched as low as he could. Punk hardly imagined such a strong robot would give in so quickly, and didn't react in time to the change in force, causing him to lurch forward, tripping over the massive Robot Master crouching before him. When Blizzardman felt Punk's chest land on his back, he stood upright as quickly as he could, launching Punk off his back with impressive force. Punk landed on his back, dazed at the insult of being tripped up by someone weaker than he. He didn't have much time to brood, however, as Centaurgal leaped onto his chest, trampling him as she escaped his grasp. He got up to chase her, but felt a massive concussive force on his back. Knightman had slammed his mace into the large Megaman Killer. He glared at the knight and rolled at him full-force. Knightman readied his shield and met the attack, managing to hold the rolling tank for a few seconds before the force began to move him back. Knightman tilted his shield forward, allowing the juggernaut to flip him over his attack. Although Knightman looked ridiculous flying through the air, at least he wasn't being steamrolled by Punk. Punk turned around to make another run, but this time Blizzard and Centaur came to assist Knightman. Together they slowed Punk's attack enough to kill his momentum. Without the initial force of his speed he had to back him up at the time of impact, Punk was beginning to get pushed back. He switched out of his rolling mode and grabbed the bottom of Knightman's shield, thrusting it up with his impressive strength and catching the knight defenseless. He head butted Knightman, sending him staggering backwards. Centaurgal shot a spread shot at Punk, but since he had Knightman's shield, he lowered it for his benefit, reflecting the shot back at her. Zapper used her accelerator to warp away from her own attack, appearing to the right of the explosion in front of Punk's eyes.

Punk was a bit confused, but began to think of more pressing matters as he saw a gray pole moving in towards his face. The pole hit him right in his face, since he didnt have enough time to react, the force lifting him off his feet slightly. He recovered from the strike, however, and turned to see Blizzardman standing there with a telephone pole. Blizzard swung again, but Punk held up his wrist, blocking the attack and crumpling the metal under his superior armor. He grabbed the pole away from him and tried to stab Blizzard with it, but the pole merely glanced off his armor as Blizzard slipped his arm around the pole and slammed his free fist down on the pole, cleaving the makeshift lance in half.

"You know, your javelin-wielding friend tried the same thing." The Russian taunted.

"Enker!" Punk raged. "I'll kill you!"

He was about to lunge at Blizzardman when a mace shot whisked between his legs, landing at Blizzardman's feet. He turned to see Knightman glaring back at him.

"You missed." Punk hissed.

"No..." Blizzardman said calmly from behind him. "No he didn't."

Punk turned to see that Blizzard had grabbed onto the other end of the chain. Knight hadn't meant to hit him, he was giving Blizzard the other end of his chain! He looked down at the chain between his legs just as Blizzard and Knight hoisted the slack far above Punk's crotch, hoisting him up and flipping him in the air.

Punk groaned as he got up. "If I weren't mechanical, I wouldn't be getting up so quickly..." He mused out loud.

Knightman attempted to recoil his mace, but Punk caught the heavy steel ball in mid-air and yanked back hard, sending Knight hurtling towards him. He wrapped an arm around Knightman as he slammed into him and used his free hand to whip the flail around, smacking Blizzardman across his side, slamming him into a wall. Knightman struggled free just as Punk threw his elbow right into the spot in his helm where the face should be. Knightman lifted off the ground and fell to the snow. Punk was about to stomp him when Zapper stabbed him in the side with her Naginata. He grabbed the weapon and wrenched it from her grasp, throwing her to the ground as she tried to hold on. He loomed over her menacingly, but Zapper wasn't fazed. Far from it, she popped a plasma shot from her buster into his face. Punk reeled back. The shot didn't damage his armor too much, but stung like hell. As his vision adjusted, he refocused on the Greek Robot Master before him, but he felt the shock of something heavy slam into his side. At first, he thought it was Knightman, but he looked to the left and noticed Knightman was getting up. The attack had come from his right. He turned to see that Blizzardman was whipping around a ball-and-chain from one of the Hammer Joes they had fought earlier. Zapper, not wanting to let Punk alone for more than two seconds, fired a spread shot at him, causing him to jump to the side. Knightman was up by now, and he had his shield back. Blizzardman rushed to his side. Now the two strongest Assassins held heavy steel bludgeoning weapons. Blizzard let loose with his newfound wrecking ball while Knightman attempted to cut off Punk's escape. Punk instead dropped to the ground and rolled at them, causing them to leap away. Punk came around to make another pass at Knightman who readied himself to jump out of the path. Punk came out of his spin, however, and leaped at Knightman, catching him off guard. He grabbed the knight by his upper arms and forced them to his sides. Blizzardman rushed up and grabbed Punk by his waist, but the juggernaut slammed his arms down on Blizzard's arms, breaking the pin. He threw an elbow as he wheeled on the Russian and then slammed his fist as hard as he could into his chest.

A loud tearing noise rang through the snowy streets. Everyone stopped what they were doing as Blizzardman was lifted from the ground by the force of Punk's fist. Zapper was the first to react.

"Oh my God! Blizzard!" Zapper shrieked.

Blizzardman felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down and realized that Punk had rammed his fist into it, puncturing the metal. Blizzardman couldn't even move. The pain was so intense. His eyes had contracted back into the small blue points of light. All his sense of battle had drained and was replaced now by fear... overwhelming fear... fear that he would have to leave his friends forever. Fear that he would never listen to Regdar's odd musings again. Fear that he'd never again listen with twisted amusement at Zymeth's morbid humor. Fear that he'd leave Zapper forever...

So much fear...

Everyone was stunned as Punk pulled his fist from Blizzardman's chest. "One chump down..." He said, tossing Blizzard's shocked body to the side. "Two chumps to to go..."

Blizzard hit the side of a building and fell on his face. Zapper used her accelerator to warp to his side and used all of her strength to turn him over. "Fox!" She whispered softly. "C'mon, Fox!"

Blizzard's eyes flickered. They met Zapper's gaze. "Zapper..." He said softly.

"Don't worry, Fox. It's going to be ok, we'll fix you. You're gonna make it!" Zapper said hurriedly.

Regulus looked at his chest where the armor breach was made. "I... I'm... sorry, my love..."

Zapper felt her lover's strong arm suddenly grow limp in her hand as his eyes faded and eventually ceased glowing altogether.

"Reg..."

Tears splashed on the lifeless armor as the mythological robot mourned her loss. Knightman stood by, observing her grief. He had failed to protect someone who meant everything to the fairest lady he knew, and it now pierced his pride as a knight like a heated spear through his heart. His mental torment was interrupted as Punk cracked his knuckles.

"Hey, I'll let the lady weep for now. Wanna have some fun in the meantime?" Punk taunted the brooding knight.

"You..." Knightman muttered under his breath.

All the undying bloodlust from his creator, Lord Zymeth, was focusing on one target: Punk. The armored juggernaut before him had robbed so many people of so many things in one attack. He robbed the knight of his pride by killing a comrade he swore to defend. He robbed his lord of his dearest friend. He robbed a fair maiden of her own knight in armor, causing her grief no one so kind and loving deserved to be put through. To add to it all, his foe supported a cause that not not only accepted the loss of innocent life, it participated in rending those innocent souls from their bodies. The injustice of what he allowed to occur ripped his knightly pride in half and blew the tattered shreds into his face.

"C'mon, Lancelot." Punk taunted. "I ain't got all day."

"You..." Knightman repeated, hardly audible.

"Huh?" Punk leaned forward, not hearing. "What was that?"

"Burn in hell!" Knightman exploded, leaping at the towering robot.

Punk was caught off guard by the sudden hatred that seemed to pulse from the animated full-plate that now assaulted him. All of Zymeth's hatred and malice seemed to flow from the knight, and the change was so drastic and quick that it appeared as though Knightman had become possessed. Punk stumbled back under the force of Knightman's mace. He took a swing at the bloody knight, but he ducked under the blow, grabbing Punk by his feet and lifting with all his might, flipping the Mercernary several times in the air before he landed on his face.

"Die!" Knightman shouted. He brought his mace high over his head, readying himself to crush his foe's skull into a horrid mess of warped metal.

Punk rolled to the side to avoid the death-blow and tried to get up, but caught a sideways sweep attack from the towering knight, sending him sprawling to the ground. The blow burned his side. Was the knight’s hatred the burning sensation that he now felt? His contemplation was interrupted by a sharp pain in his back. He turned to find that Zapper had buried the horn on her helm deep in his back. He grabbed her head in an attempt to remove the literal thorn in his side, but a fierce blow from behind reminded him that he had taken his attention away from the knight.

“I’m not through with you!” Knightman roared.

Punk grabbed the mace he had shot into his shoulder and tried to yank on it to send Knightman off his feet, but the knight saw it coming and gave his chain some slack. Now he charged at Punk, wrapping his chain around his legs as he and Zapper both yanked on the chain, tripping Punk once again. Punk tried to get up but Knightman stomped his foot in the middle of his chest, forcing him down again. Knightman had ceased to speak coherently, and had begun to simply roar with hatred and lust for destruction. Punk began to fear for his life. This wasn't a Robot Master anymore. This was a monster. Something that had crawled from his nightmares and taken physical form. All it seemed to care about was dragging him to hell. Knightman growled as he lifted his mace high over his head, prepared to smite him in one hit. Punk took advantage of the preparation for the brutal attack and lunged forward, tackling the knight. Fear hadn't reduced Punk's immense strength, and he still outclassed the frenzied Knightman with his upgrades. Knightman glared back at him from the flat of his back as Punk lifted both his hands over his head, preparing to smash the knight's helmet in. He brought his fists down, but felt a hard impact on his back in mid swing followed by an icy cold that ran down his body. Knightman had put up his shield to protect himself from whatever was dripping from Punk and now he smashed the shield into his chest, forcing the Mercenary off of him. Punk felt another impact, followed by the deepening cold as more of the substance ran down his body, completely coating him in a horrid chill. He turned to see Blizzardman glaring at him. His liquid-nitrogen tank slots were open. He had removed the tanks from his body and lobbed them at Punk in a last effort attack. His power fully exhausted, the Russian collapsed, falling face-down in the snow.

Punk turned to face Knightman but he was too late. The bloody knight was already in the action of swinging at his frozen arm. His limb was stiff, and Punk couldn't move it away in time. The mace connected with its target, shattering the arm from its host. Punk roared with pain. Knightman responded by ramming his mace through Punk's chest, targeting his main power. The knight's mace struck true, and Punk was disabled, completely defenseless, yet still aware of his surroundings. Knightman looked pleased with himself, seeing that he didn't kill his foe with the blow. He pulled the helpless Punk inches from his face.

"I hope you remember how cold you are right now..." He said menacingly. "You'll miss that feeling when I send you to hell."

Knightman began swinging Punk around with all his might, slamming him into walls, cars, just about anything he could find. He finally slammed the broken warrior face first into the snow-covered asphalt. He felt the rage leave him as he looked at his mangled foe. Punk had passed out from the ravaging pain. It was all too much for him. Satisfied with his work, he walked over to Zapper, who was holding Blizzardman's lifeless armor in her arms. Rather than watch Punk's punishment at the hands of Knight, she had rushed to Blizzardman's side. Her eyes were closed as she just held him, crying softly.

"Milady..." The knight said softly. Despite the lust for combat, he had retained his chivalric duties as a knight. "I'm so sorry..."

"Can we go home now?" Zapper sobbed quietly. She was shaking all over.

Knightman wanted to stay and fight till the last man dropped, but he stifled the urge to press on. "Yes, Zapper..."

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

Meanwhile, Expressman was attacking a group of Scissor Joes. He looked bored as he dodged their shots with ease. The Joes were trying to coordinate their fire to cut off his movement when suddenly a buzz-saw ripped through one of them. The others turned around just in time to catch several more. There were three Joes left, and they all pointed their rifles at the new target. Two of them lost their heads to Expressman as he shot them off their shoulders. The new target, Doc Robot, threw a Metal Blade at the remaining Joe as he fired a shot, decapitating it as he dodged the bullet.

"I just love these things!" Doc Robot giggled as he flung a Metal Blade into the air and caught it again. "They're so much fun!"

"Don't forget to lay a surprise for the next group." Expressman reminded him.

"I know, I know." Doc Robot grinned as he lovingly placed a Crash Bomb on the ground. "I hope Master isn't too old for gymnastics, cause he'll flip when he hears about how well we did." Doc Robot looked incredibly pleased with himself.

A sudden call from his com-link made him jump. "Oh." He calmed down. "It's the communists." He picked up the call. "What is it?" He asked.

"Doc." It was Knightman. "Punk just killed Blizzard..."

"Aw, man..." Expressman looked sad. Blizzard had been a great help, after all.

"Oh my..." Doc Robot said. "Well, I'm not THAT kind of doctor, I'll have you know."

"I was just calling to tell you we can't stay here anymore." Knight said. "Tell T. Hawk that he can stay until he's out of ammunition and come back to base. The hit-and-run team took down Punk. I think we've done our fair share of the work."

"Oh, ok. Hey, you Cossack guys aren't half-bad, I guess." Doc Robot admitted. "I actually appreciate the help." He turned off his com-link.

"Appreciate the help, huh?" Expressman smirked.

"Hey, there's no reason to hold grudges." Doc replied. "They offered us help, we took it. Fair and simple. Blizzard's fate could have been one of ours, after all."

"No reason to hold grudges, eh?" Expressman's smile indicated exactly what he was going to say. "What about Spark-"

"THAT'S DIFFERENT!" Doc shouted, immediately losing his happy-go-lucky demeanor. "She's up to something and I'm going to prove it! I'll show you! I'll show you all!"

"Ok, Cobra Commander." Expressman laughed at Doc's overly dramatic gesturing. "What are we going to do about the 7M?"

"I've just received a report on "Captain" Quint's location." Doc Robot made quotation marks with his fingers in the air, mocking his title. "I want you to lure him into a little trap."

Expressman saw how much fun Doc Robot seemed to be having. Doc was giggling like a little kid who had just slapped a "Kick me" sign onto someone's back. "Sure thing." He said. "This one sounds like trouble."

"Oh, it'll be trouble alright." Doc said as he wrote down the coordinates the Wily bot gave him. He also wrote down a separate set of coordinates. "I want you to go here and lure him here." He said.

"Got it. Can't wait to see what the big hoo-ha's about." Expressman sped off.

Doc Robot put his hand up to his com-link. "Yes, sir?" A Sniper Joe responded.

"Bring me Madgrinder." Doc Robot replied.

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

Quint was running farther from the seaport, considering how bad his plan has turned.

His initial attack was a good idea - no one expected such a litteral maritime assault. But he got backstabbed by the Rescue force. And the blizzard, he realized it now, was surely the doing of the Russian robot...

If I get out of here, I'll need Wraithman and Mysteryman to join my "database work". They seem to know quite a lot on our ennemies - more than me on certain points...

His reflexions were cut by the sudden appearance of a RM in front of him. Average-sized, grey, red eyes, and affiliated with the Rescue Force.

"Expressman, isn't it ?" asked the Captain as he took out his rapier.

The speedster nodded, apparently unsurprised. "This is the part where we fight to the death ?"

"Correction, to your death." The Officer turned his left hand to a Buster and aimed at Expressman, who dodged the blasts by running around Quint.
The speedster then started to use his Solar Cannon, leaving the green RM hardly a room to dodge, but the intensity of the shots started to decrease as he was running out of solar energy.

"Nice, but let me show you something else !" yelled Quint as his Buster slightly changed shape. The cannon was now thinner and longer, and shot a volley of projectiles, machine-gun style.

Expressman recieved a fair deal of them and got thrown back : though not as powerful as regular shots, they virtually fired continuously - a good parrying to his natural speed. He then ran away, only to be followed by a Captain wanting his revenge.

After a few seconds, Quint lost track of his opponent, but a metallic sound came from a street nearby. He ran into it, and nearly dropped his sword out of surprise : Expressman was now perched on the shoulders of a monster-like robot, loosely designed on the GutsDozer.

"Bon Dieu !" was the only answer from the Mercenary.

"I'll let you play with this Mad Grinder for today. See you next time, Quint !" And Expressman ran away, leaving Quint alone with the blood-thirsty giant.

He immediately aimed at the robot's head with his standard Buster, but the Mad Grinder blocked the shots with his steam-roller. The giant then aimed at Quint with his boomerang mohawk, which he was too surprised to dodge.

The metal blade slashed his body, damaging his torso and sending him flying back. The impact was rather strong as he landed right on ...

"Et m-"

... right on a Crash Bomb. The detonation blew out most of the armor on his back, but he was still functionnal. And particularly mad at Doc Robot.

"Okay ... Think logical. He can deflect your shots, so ..." Quint gazed at a wall "attack from another side."

He grabbed his left shoulder, and clicking noises came from that area. He then pulled, and removed the arm, leaving a clean scar - in the way that drawing out a gun from a holster doesn't throw torrents of oil.
He threw the arm on a wall, so that it remained out of the Mad Grinder's sight.

As the shoulder hit the wall, small claws came out of it and dug into the wall. A transformation occured, and what was an arm seconds ago became an automated turret.

"Just in time, I may say." thought Quint as the Mad Grinder charged back at him. He walked back away, in order to bait the monstrosity.

Only a few metres now ...

Three ...

Two ...

One ...

Fire !

The world around the two opponents turned to a burning white and a loud screeching, as the Wrath of God Himself thundered on the Mad Grinder in the shape of a plasma rifle. The blast had taken away a great deal of the giant's armor, and completely melted his right arm.

The turret shot again, separating the torso from the tank-like structure of the Grinder. As the behemoth fell to the ground, Quint jumped on top of his head, taking his rapier with his right hand, and severed the head from the body.

It took several tries - though designed by the General himself to cut through basically anything, the Mad Grinder had a very durable armor. Once this was done, the Captain kicked it, and aimed with the tip of his blade at the neck-hole. A red laser came out of it, blasting the brain circuits.

"I feel much better now." stated the Officer. He put his rapier back in its holster, walked back to his Sakugarne and took it from his right hand.

It immediately shifted back to a standard arm, which he put back on his shoulder. He grimaced as he felt the pain from the use of the plasma cannon, and carried on, now more precautionous than before, due to his lack of escort and due to his recent injuries.

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

"Holy shi-at!" Regdar gasped at he saw the fate of the Madgrinder. "That guy's got some serious fire-power... Can't have someone like that bearing down on us."

The legendary gunslinger took aim at Quint with his rifle. It was too easy, as Quint was busy hiding from a squad of RPD troops that were passing by. He must have forgotten completely that the sniper was still in play.

"Game over, partner." He said as he pulled the trigger.

*CLICK*

"What the?" Regdar look at his gun. The clip was empty. "Ah, great." He sighed. He had forgotten to load in his rush for a headshot. He felt in his ammo pouch: Empty.

"Oh, dammit." He muttered. "You got lucky this time, amigo." He called up Doc Robot.

"Yes?" Doc Robot replied.

"Quint took out Madgrinder." Regdar said.

"Why that little!" Doc began sputtering with frustration.

"I'm out of ammo, by the way." T. Hawk continued. "I'm going to head out."

Regdar turned off his com-link and began disassembling his rifle. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied a troop of RPD units. Their watcher had stepped inside a building to get warm. He was obviously very unhappy about the weather.

"Oh, this is TOO easy." Regdar said as he began descending the building through the fire-escape.

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

"NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!" Doc Robot jumped up and down in frustration. "I can't believe he took out our Madgrinder just like that!"

"Easy, Doc." Expressman tried to calm him down. "He had some serious firepower with him. Besides, we're still going to win this one. Just look around."

Indeed, the situation looked rather hopeless for both the SA and the RPD. You couldn't spit without hitting Multiman, and the small force of unorthodox robot fighters had suffered minimal losses due to Doc Robot's brilliant guerrilla tactics.

"You're right." Doc agreed. "No sense in getting angry about one Madgrinder. Master can just build another one. A better one! We'll send Barrageman after him. He won't be in any condition to-"

"Barrageman's a little out of the loop." Multiman interrupted as he rounded the corner of the alleyway, dragging a large green armored robot.

"Woah, what happened?" Expressman jumped up.

"Three of those Mercenaries ganged up on him." Multiman explained. "I tried to help, but, that purple one almost went kamikaze taking him down."

"Let's get him out of the fighting." Expressman said as he helped carry the fallen juggernaut into a nearby building.

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

"Dammit. It's so cold here..." A watcher complained as he huddled near a fire he had made in the evacuated house.

Regdar was watching him as he complained about the cold. He snuck up behind the whining watcher and drew his revolver. "Freeze!" He said as he pressed the pistol to his back.

The watcher gasped and threw his hands up. "Don't shoot me." He begged.

"Do a funny dance." Regdar demanded.

"What?" The watcher asked, dumbfounded yet still frightened.

"Do it." Regdar insisted.

The watcher performed a weird rendition of "I really have to use the bathroom," causing his wallet to fall out of his coat pocket. Regdar picked it up and opened it. $25 and several family photos.

"Family man, I see." Regdar sounded almost sinister despite his usual friendly tone. "Don't want the Mrs.'s to go through a closed-casket funeral, do you?"

The watcherfrantically shook his head.

"Then take out that wonderful little datapad you have." The gunslinger demanded. He did so.

"Now shut down your units."

"I only have control over the 30 units that are out there." He protested.

Regdar forced the revolver barrel in between his shoulder blade and collarbone. "Ow, ow. Ok, alright!" He griped.

He took out his datapad and messed around with the settings. Regdar soon heard a collective thud as the units out front simultaneously shut down. "Thanks." Regdar said as he flipped his revolver into the air, catching it by the barrel and pistol-whipping the watcher into a deep sleep in one shot. Regdar tied him up close the fire so he could at least keep warm. He knew that watcher would be requesting a long leave as soon as he got back.

Regdar left the building, walking through the deceased units. One was still standing. Regdar tipped it over with one casual gesture as he passed by, causing it to fall with a loud crash.

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

Quint looked upon his contrived "success." He had set up a teleportation relay. "I suppose we could send in Shadow Joes at night and sneak them into the country that way..." Quint rationalized.

"It seems your miserable attempts have failed, Captain." Quin theard several voices speaking all at once inside his mind. Each one seemed to speak differently, whether by intonation or how quickly they spoke. The chanting voices continued. "I bring you a gift to save you in your time of need. Look outside the window..."

Quint looked out of the window to his left to find a squad of Mesmer's Siege Joes melting down an RPD Special Forces unit. The overkill was grand.

"I-I don't need your help, Mesmer!" Quint responded.

"Punk has fallen in combat and so has Enker." Mesmer's chorus of voices continued. "My creations may retrieve them... for a fee..."

Quint didn't respond, he had a bad feeling about Mesmer's demands.

"I want Punk and Enker to be handed to me for the purposes of punishment." Mesmer explained. "It's only right seeing as how my grand minions will be hauling their broken bodies back to base."

Quint stood there gritting his teeth. "I... accept..." The SA Officer said hesitantly.

The only response was bone-chilling laughter as the Siege Joes, who had stood perfectly still during the whole conversation, seemingly sprang back to life, splitting up in order to retrieve the fallen Mercenaries. Quint followed a group, leading the way.

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

One of the commanding officers for the RPD stood by watching the city as their forces struggled against the Multiman army. "Where do they all come from?" He sighed.

A scout came up to the officer and saluted. "Sir, the opponent has the ability to replicate himself. I don't think this is a fight we can win. Our intelligence indicates that this is the work of Multiman. He's been known to work with several other powerful Robot Masters.

"We have no choice but to retreat, then." The officer frowned. Defending a city against such odds wasn't worth the resources. Today, they had failed, and Wily claimed the victory. "Order a retreat."

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

Back at the Scissor Army HQ, Quint was sitting in a simple wooden chair in a dark room. The door unlocked suddenly, making Quint jump. The handle turned, and the General himself walked in. He seemed bored, like he would rather be somewhere else. He reached into his duster pocket and took out a simple pocket watch. He opened the clasp.

"You have two minutes to explain yourself, starting when I say "now." Then, you will receive your punishment."

General Cutman looked at the watch. The quiet ticking filled the room.

"Now."

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

Affiliates Blyka's Door MMAyla MM Fan Character Database MM Fangame Network MM God Petition MM Network Protodude's RM Corner Reploid Research Lavatory RM AMV Station RM EXE Headquarters RM EXE Online RM EXE Zone RM:Perfect Memories Stage-Zero Sprites INC

Main | Fiction | Galleries | Nuts & Bolts | Forum