The Business of War

All for Nothing


Scenario F
Participants:
Nox, Tenguman, Clownman (RPD)
Magnetman (MM3)(SA)
Cosmic Gladiators (W)

Location: New Delhi
Max. Cossack Scrap Value: 8716
SA Infantry: 1161
RPD Units: 1394
Wily Bots: 590


11:58 PM
New Delhi, India

When the Scissor Army's attempt to exterminate humanity began, the capital cities and major metropolitan areas were the first and hardest to be hit. Their heavy reliance on technology had led to major civilian and police casualties; the cities had fallen into chaos, largely deserted, with only the sounds of gunfire and screaming in place of the hustle of daily life.

New Delhi had remained one of the few exceptions, mostly thanks to the major RPD base located in the heart of the city. This had allowed the RPD to maintain a tactical advantage over the opposing forces and save thousands. Ever since the SA had stepped up its efforts against other armies, attacks on the city had been reduced, perhaps because the city held no real tactical secrets or key supply points. With the recent growth in the SA's ranks, however, the uneasy silence over New Delhi would soon be broken.

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

Another day would soon begin in the city, another new battle would be waged, another list of casualties would be released. The events of the war had fallen into a sort of rhythm, and bleak news was considered the norm. At any moment, people could be moved out of their homes and into a shelter, their lives torn up by the roots and left to wither. Some were inevitably left behind in the rescue efforts, while others refused to leave for fear of losing everything they had.

Yet, as Sunstar stood at the forefront of his battalion, scanning the scarred city, something seemed...off.

"Hey Dark Moon, do you believe this?" he asked his fellow Gladiator and co-commander for this attack.

"What, the silence or the fact that we're serving that scum Cutman?"

"The silence. With all the battles going on, you would think there would be chaos. Instead, we get...this," Sunstar said, gesturing to the dark skyline.

"It does not matter. We are here to take the RPD base, and this might be a sign that they are unprepared for an assault from two sides."

"It might also be a sign that they are luring us into a trap, and the General might have signed our death warrants. This is the RPD we're talking about here!"

Dark Moon remained calm. "Do not worry, Sunstar. We have numbers and the advantage of surprise. The RPD is unaware of Wily's surrender, and they will not be expecting us to work together."

"Okay, but do you really think they would leave two powerful officers like us on our own without at least one SA goon watching us?" Though they were commanders here, Sunstar and Dark Moon were still subservient to the will of General Cutman. Any sort of rebellion would surely mean death at his hands, he had no incentive to transform any of them into a mindless CO.

"I would still not be worried. Focus on the battle, and do what you do best: destroy those who would oppose you."

Sunstar regained his composure, and turned to his friend. With a couple of nods of his head, he immediately made and about face and gave the order to his troops to charge.

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

Time: 2:00 AM

A lone group of SA Joes swept through a tight alley, knocking down doors in search of families in hiding. Their efforts had been largely unsuccessful; it seemed like the people had been swept up in a rapture, leaving everything behind them. The only thign they had found were remains, both human and robot.

Two Joes in front of the group approached the next house in line. A quick thermal scan of the house revealed what they had been searching for: a human. Giving the signal to advance, the pair broke down the door, aimed at the human, and fired several bullets into him. After the form did not move and began to lose heat, the two turned to exit, satisfied with their work. However, in the span of a couple of milliseconds, their vision had been obscured by a well placed Thunder Claw. In the span of a second, the two had been slain by both Tenguman and Clownman of the RPD.

"Well that was easy Tenguman," Clownman said, satisfied with his work.

"Yes, but I hope it will get harder. Just dealing with grunts is tiring." Looking up to the second floor impatiently, Nox's figure emerged from a place near the "human" the Joes had fired at.

"Yes gentlemen, that was good work," Nox replied, "but don't forget, we are here to reinforce the troops. Killing the Joes is just the first step. And besides, they would not have come straight to us without this decoy I put together. But there is no time now..."

As Nox finished his sentence, more Joes began to open fire on the house, attempting to catch the people inside. Joining Tenguman and Clownman, the trio went into action. Clownman made use of his spring-like limbs, Tenguman his bladed hands, and Nox with a dagger formed from his staff. The battle took less than two minutes, and the three of them had won without a scratch. They then set off to meet the soldiers defending the RPD base while avoiding any further confrontations.

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

Sunstar looked over the battlefield, satisfied with how the assault was going. Yet he couldn't help but feel bored; without any Commanding Officers, he felt his presence wasn't necessary, so he had just been watching the battle unfold. What did it matter anyway? The Scissor Army would be held up on a pedestal above them anyway by the General, and the Wily soldiers would just get swept under the rug. This battle had no meaning to him, no stakes were being risked.

"Hey, what has Wily done for you anyway man?" a voice in his head asked.

"I don't know," Sunstar thought in response.

"Exactly! You can't be sure he has done anything at all!"

"But he has taken me in as one of his own soldiers along with Dark Moon."

"Against your will. At least Cossack let you move without having some retard breathing down your neck."

Sunstar smirked as an image of Doc Robot crossed into his head. "But what does it matter? Cossack's army is finished now. You can't go back. The RPD won't accept you, and Wily's done nothing for you."

"So...are you suggesting I throw myself at the feet of the Scissor Army?"

The train of thought was interrupted by the appearance of Dark Moon. "Sunstar, our soldiers have reported seeing a couple of RPD officers on the field. They are likely going to meet the rest of the troops. Shall we cut them off?"

The voice seemed to laugh at hearing this news. "Well, you can think about it. While you're killing those guys, consider who might give you the thanks here."

Sunstar shook off the voice, and turned to Dark Moon.

"It's about time. I'm getting tired of looking without touching."

Sunstar and Dark Moon took to the streets and made their way to the RPD base.

The three RPD officers managed to get some of the way to the base without being confronted, thanks largely to the speed at which they moved and the assistance of a few RPD soldiers familiar with the surrounding area. Their brisk pace came to a halt when one of the soldiers made a motion to stop moving.

"What's the problem?" Tenguman asked the guard.

"Sir, there is a family. Someone appears to be escorting them, but I do not recognize the uniforms they are wearing."

Someone was indeed there, a small group of soldiers flanking a couple of families. The uniforms were of an unknown country and made of only green cloth with only a torch-shaped pin on their jackets. The families were being escorted into a tunnel that appeared to have been only recently made.

The RPD's position was soon given away as one of the soldiers glanced to them. The rest quickly drew their weapons while the families fled into the tunnel in terror.

"You! Are you with the Scissor Army?" Both sides shouted to each other, currently in a standoff. Any sudden movement could be taken as a threat.

Nox calmly took the first step forward. All weapons were suddenly aimed at him.

"We are with the Robot Police Department. We mean no harm. I see you are not with the Scissor Army, unless the General has gotten soft for humans."

The soldiers lowered their weapons, but still kept them drawn. On closer inspection, it was clear the soldiers were humans.

"Sorry buddy, we don't have time to talk," one of the soldiers replied in English.

"I agree with that sentiment," Tenguman said.

Nox took another step forward. "Why are you in such a rush? Who are you and where are you going?"

The same soldier shot back with, "None of your business."

"Sir, I only wish to help. It appears you were trying to get some families out of the city. "

"Yeah, so?"

"Are there any more?"

"Shouldn't matter to you."

One of the other soldiers cleared his throat. "Mike, shut up with all the secrecy stuff already! These guys could help us. Hey you, what are your names?"

"You may call me Nox. The two officers behind me are Tenguman and Clownman. We are officers of the RPD."

Clownman gave a small wave of his hand, while Tenguman just stood there.

"Okay. You're right in saying we were trying to get those families out of here, and there are about fifty to sixty more people a little ways back. We have to escort them in small groups or the SA could notice us. I think you could help by just watching our backs while we get the rest out."

Nox walked back to the RPD officers while responding to the soldiers. "I would be inclined to help you, but unfortunately, we have...more pressing matters."

He pulled out a communicator from his cloak, and showed the soldiers two large blinking lights heading towards the RPD base.

"It seems that the big ones have finally started moving. What to do..."

"Why not just go and fight them?" Tenguman suggested. "It's the reason why we're here."

"Unfortunately Tenguman, I don't think you have the authority to say what we do," Nox replied.

"And why not?"

"I'll just say that the higher-ups trust me more than you."

"You are kidding me."

"Tenguman, Clownman, I want you both to help these soldiers finish escorting the refugees out. When you are done, come to the base as quickly as possible. In the meanwhile, I will head ahead and keep an eye on these commanders. Is that clear?"

"No, screw you kid! I'm not--"

Clownman stepped in. "Tenguman, shut up! If we do this, then this guy might not hand us over to Crorq. And God knows how much he loves us."

Tenguman sighed. "Save some for us...and I WILL get back at you for this."

"Of course. Do what you want to me afterwards, but right now help these people. Join me afterwards."

With an annoyed grunt, the proud warrior walked off.

Turning to the soldiers, Nox asked one more question. "So, who do you work for?"

"No one," a soldier replied as he went off, "let's just say we were tired of not being able to do a damn thing about thus war."

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

Sunstar and Dark Moon stood at the edge of the RPD headquarters. Gunfire had broken out from all sides, with the SA and Wily forces making a concentrated assault on the outside.

"So, like what you see?" It was that damn voice again, back to taunt him.

"I don't care in all honesty. Just so you know, I still don't know what I am doing," Sunstar thought.

"I never said you had to. You can just keep on killing, drowning my voice in the screams of humans, and keep going until you've scorched the earth!"

"No. I will do something. I don't care who or what gets in my way...including you."

"Hey, I'm just the voice in the back of your mind, saying the things you don't want to. Just acknowledging I exist might already mean you're crazy."

"Shut up. Now."

"I will do no such thing. How about this then; you could just run. Get out of here, go someplace private. Hell, maybe one of those officers will find you and you could squash them like a bug."

" Screw the SA, screw Wily, screw this battle. I'm done. Enough is enough. I don't need some goddamn voice screwing with me."

With that, Sunstar ran. He ran for the biggest and most private place he could think of--the Presidential Palace. Shocked that his friend would run away from battle, Dark Moon gave a couple of more orders to his troops, then took off after him. He could only wonder what was going on in Sunstar's mind.

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

Nox had made good time so far. In less than five minutes, he would be...

He stopped as he noticed the two large officers making a change in their direction. They seemed to be...running away.

"Officer Nox, what is going on?" The Watcher assigned to their mission barked.

"Sir, we stumbled across some refugees a while ago. I have sent Tenguman and Clownman to get them out, then I told them to help repel the armies. However, it seems the commanders are going somewhere else. I will keep track of them and find out what's going on."

"So be it. Keep reporting so we know what's going on. Be careful though; we have identified the officers as Sunstar and Dark Moon of the Cosmic Gladiators. They are both powerful, so use caution."

Nox began to speed off in another direction. He grasped the crystal on his necklace, and began uttering a phrase...

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

Magnetman appeared over the streets of New Delhi. He floated there and took note of the chaos that surrounded him. Scissor Army and Wily forces fought side by side against the Robot Police, who seemed to be losing. He even saw humans fighting the robots as well.

Contrary to popular opinion, Magnetman was not without thought. As he looked on the are all he could think about was how chaotic it all looked. How completely destructive it was. And his master’s voice rang out in his head like a bell.

Obliterate everything in New Delhi. Leave nothing standing.

Magnetman couldn’t have told you why Mesmerman gave those orders. Fact was Magnetman didn’t care. Without moving a muscle Magnetman manipulated the magnetic field around him. Immediately small bits of metal from the ground below moved upwards and began to spin around the fallen hero. This was followed by smaller robots and those fallen in battle. Now people began to take notice. Magnetman felt himself being fired upon.

If you get fired on, don’t take it. Use your shield to protect yourself! And use those powers of your to show those ants who’s boss.

Without even thinking about it Magnetman grabbed a destroyed car to block the shots and used shards of metal from the crowd of human and robots firing him to impale them all. With a spark of inspiration he used the now metal-ridden corpses as blunt objects against their comrades. The scrams he heard eased Magnetman’s suffering … but only for a moment.

He showed no emotion as he destroyed a platoon of Scissor Joes. Nor did he care about the RPD officers whom he crushed. His mind kept going over the instructions his master had given him.

You are my instrument now. Like a trumpet! Heralding destruction wherever you go. Show them all you mean business. And for each act of destruction you cause … your mind will be a little more at ease.

His master said it and his words proved true . The being once known as Kenta was now a whirlwind of metal. Already decimated buildings collapsed under his assault and whatever metal was used in their destruction became part of the whiling swath of destruction he now commanded. They were running now. The humans and the robots. Had he taken apart one of the larger robots assaulting him? Magnetman didn’t remember and didn’t care. With precise and invisible strands of magnetism he forced the robot police forces to open fire on the running humans. For others he ripped their guns violently from their hands and used it to massacre everyone in the area. And when he felt they had exhausted their ammunition he ripped the guns apart and the bullets out of the bodies and shredded all who remained active.

A small part of him remembered when he had friends. Friends who stood there with horrified expressions at what he’d once done when he lost his temper. But that memory was a lost boat on an ocean on anger, frustration, and pain. It left him as quickly as it came and Magnetman increased his control of the world around him. Attacks on his person had long ceased. A part of the robot master recognised some of the scraps orbiting around him for what they were. If any part of him was horrified or related about his current account, he gave no sign of it to those unlucky few who were close enough to see.

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

Magnetman’s rampage continued for hours. When he was through there was nothing left.

Now broke the small group out of their stony chamber with a great deal of effort. He’d made their “bomb shelter” quickly, and it had held up against the storm. He and those around him had lived. But none felt any victory.

“It’s all gone.” Said the Watcher in shock. Indeed, Nox looked all around and saw everything had been destroyed. It was like a large field of debris.

“Come on … let’s find Tengu and Clown. Hopefully they’ve survived this massacre…”

Nox and the Watcher started on their way until they heard a loud bang. Both turned around, startled. The soldier Nox had saved, overcome with grief at the complete destruction of the city he had fought so hard to save, had finally given up.

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

Dark Moon and Sunstar returned to the Subterranean Skull Castle just as Magnetman had arrived. It was all for nothing.

“Don’t let it get to ya,” said Dark Moon reassuringly, “We’ll get ‘em next time…”

Sunstar loudly rammed his fist against the wall. “It was all for nothing!” shouted the alien robot, surprising his peer. They had lost everything in that attack and now they had to come home humiliated. With absolutely nothing to show for their time.

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

It took hours, but Nox was determined to find Clownman and Tenguman. And he did, after a fashion. After a lot of digging they found them buried with the remains of the soldiers they were helping and the refugees they were escorting out.

“Can they be fixed?”

The Watcher remained silent for a while and then responded. “I think so. Their main processors seem fine.”

Nox used his power to dig out their remains silently. He had joined the robot police with such high hopes … he’d been able to avoid a great loss of life at Niagara Falls during Heatman’s attack. But this time … he just wasn’t good enough.

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

Magnet returned to his master’s abode. Mesmerman appeared before him and put an arm around the red robot.

“Good job, Kenta! Good job, as always. Truly you’re my most dependable servant.” Mesmerman spoke with much enthusiasm, as he always did. And then the most peculiar thing happened.

Magnetman stopped in mid flight. Although his facial expression did not change, Magnetman opened his mouth, as if to speak. Mesmerman stood there in a slight state of shock and strained his ears.

But then Magnet closed his mouth and floated back to his chamber. He had said nothing.

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