An SF unit rested atop a watchtower, keeping an eye on the camp’s
perimeter with his enhanced visor, in every possible spectrum.
Inside one of the several shacks, some Cossackers were gathered.
Almost everyone had been dispatched to their missions. Allying
themselves with the remains of the RPD was their only option if
they wanted to succeed. With most of the world under the control
of the SA, their only alternative was to play Russian roulette
with them, with an all out offensive at the SA’s most important
bases. It was all or nothing.
However, someone had to stay and watch over the camp. Their leader,
Dr. Cossack, who was believed to be dead by their enemy, was still
settled there, along with his daughter and colleagues. His citadel
was gone, and the RPD didn’t provide a better alternative. Staying
with them would surely prove to be a mistake in the future. It
was better to settle at the Amazon, where they could remain hidden
until the SA was defeated. Assuming it could be defeated…
After his meeting at London, with the RPD and Dr. Light’s robots,
Dr. Cossack had returned with a plan they had all agreed upon.
Astroman helped by quickly assigning missions to his fellow Cossackers,
there was no time to loose. In the end, only his team had stayed
behind. But he wasn’t about to pass on the opportunity to bring
down the SA and their General. His motivation was the same as it
was at the beginning of the war, but the cumulated anger and constant
frustration, were constantly building up.
His team had endured the war. Sometimes achieving their objective,
and sometimes failing. In spite of that, he was grateful that his
three team-mates were still alive. But things were bound to change
if they kept on fighting for too long. So having this in mind,
Astro was decided to make this mission count, to make it the final
mission. He had already contacted people who would help him defend
the camp, while his team went on to help whichever team needed
them the most. He would have loved to be there at the fight against
Cutman, but he was willing to settle for anything that would help
bring down his army.
Inside the shack, along the scientists and the TT, a group of rough
looking guerrilla fighters was present. Astro was having a conversation
with their leader.
“I appreciate you help, guys. We really ought to be somewhere else
right now.” Astro told their leader.
“It’s the least we can do. After all, your comrade ShadeMan gave
his life to save our group.” Spoke their leader, who was a young
tomboyish woman. “We are on the same side, and the SA has made
us take refugee inside the jungle as well. We understand your predicament.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Astro made a pause, just a few seconds
long, not really sure how to word what he was about to say. “But
look… while I admit that you probably know your way through the
jungle much better than we do, please don’t hesitate to call us
if you get the slightest suspicion that our enemy might be nearby.
We’ll leave the big guy as a lookout.” He was referring to their
SF unit.
“Understood. We are humans after all.” The girl admitted. “If anything
comes up, we will delay them as much as we can.”
“Ok, but please call us immediately.” Astro was getting pushy.
“I’ve already lost the doc once… no, twice, but that’s not the
point. I don’t want those bastards to find out he’s still alive.
If anything goes wrong with our current mission, we can’t afford…”
“Naop, please!” Dr. Cossack interrupted, pounding his fist on the
table. He felt that Astro was starting to lose his composure. “There’s
no need to trouble these gentlemen any further. I will be safe,
and this mission will not fail.” He reassured them, with confidence
in his words. He might not have been one hundred percent sure,
but he had to talk as if. After all, he had to be tough, or everyone
following him would only lose confidence as well.
“No, good doctor, it’s perfectly fine.” The lady spoke, with a
gentle tone. “We understand what you’ve been through. All those
news reports… they can’t brainwash us. We haven’t believed in television
for decades! They don’t know what it is to be on the front line!
We have lost people, like you have. We’ve lost leaders to this
war.”
Astro sighed. He was relieved to see that not every human was against
them. There was still hope out there. “Thanks guys, it means a
lot.”
With that, the Tyrants stepped outside the shack, leaving the scientists
and the guerrilla behind. The camouflaged guerrilla people saluted
them. But then, as soon as they set foot on the moist jungle soil,
something wasn’t right…
A loud blast was heard, and the watchtower was ignited in flames…
the SF unit didn’t even have a chance to warn them either. To Astro,
this probably meant that the lookout never saw the enemy coming.
As to why, he had his suspicions. For now, he just wished to be
wrong, and that somehow, the big guy could have survived to help
them in the battle that would ensue…
--------------------
RPD Headquarters, London.
As one of the RPD members chosen to stay back while the others were
heading towards Elysium and Desert Gulch, Junkman sat on a windowsill
with a depressed look on his face. Even after giving Crorq the key
info he found in the factory under Berlin, he was shutdown during
the General's attack on the RPD's old headquarters in Monsteropolis.
Thanks to Dr. Light though, Junkman was revived and without the Shutdown
Code to deal with, there's going to be hell to pay.
But, he still had to deal with the loss of his fellow allies. Even
though some of the wounds were not fatal, the RPD decided to not
repair them at all. That made Junkman angry beyond words. Then, he
had to arrest Slashman after the events of Berlin. Slashman was then
asked to team with Junkman despite being a Cossacker. With the current
situation as is, Junkman had no qualms about being with an old friend.
As Junkman sat there and wonder what he could do next, Slashman came
in and tried to talk to him. “You OK?” he asked. “Yeah... I guess
so. I just wish I could have helped out in the final assault, you
know.”
”Eh. If we were sent there, the whole place would have been destroyed
thanks to us because, you know, we wreck things in a spectacular
fashion.”
That was when one of the remaining officers came running into the
room. “Officer Junkman, Slashman: I have received a distress signal
from the Cossacker Camp located in the Amazon. Crorq has asked me
to send you two down there ASAP.”
This is the chance Junkman has been waiting for. A chance to save
his new found allies and a chance to get back at the Scissor Army
for doing what they did to not just him, but the entire RPD. Junk
and Slash quickly teleported to the Amazon jungle, where they have
to find the camp before it's too late.
--------------------
Amazon Jungle, 45 miles northwest of the Cossacker Camp.
Junkman and Slashman arrived in the heart of the jungle not knowing
which way to go. Junkman thought it was be better to go east while
Slashman thought that west was the right way. They argued for a bit
over this until Slashman realized that all of this arguing wouldn't
do a thing if they couldn't help those in need.
”Fine, fine. We'll go west. Just remember what will happen if you
goof this up, bub.” said Junkman. Slashman just shook his head and
lead the way through the jungle.
It took about an hour for them to get through the dense jungle floor
before they spotted something that was out of the ordinary: an SA
Joe, standing alone there probably standing watch while they attack
the Cossack Camp. Slashman wanted to sneak up and plant his claws
in his neck, but Junkman held him back.
”What? Why did you that, Junk? I was gonna sneak up and kill him
silently.” exclaimed Slash. “Because I don't like sneaking around
and junk...” as he said that, he was forming his Junk Staff and this
time, it also formed an axe head. “This is for our friends!”
The axe came around so quickly that the lone SA Joe didn't see it
coming. It came so fast that before he knew it, he was split in half
like a tin can. Slash stood there amazed at what kind of power Junk
wielded. “Dude... Since when did your Staff become an axe?”
”It was when the RPD upgraded me and the others. They gave my staff
two different forms, a Power type and a Speed type. This gives me
more flexibility with my weapons. Now, come on. We gotta reach those
Cossackers before the camp falls into Scissor Army hands.”
--------------------
Back at the camp…
The anti-teleportation field had already been put into effect. The
Cossackers didn’t even bother trying to teleport, from the minute
they saw the SA coming at them from all sides.
The guerrilla was the first to act, they were always on guard. Even
though they were only human, they managed to put up a fight. The
first wave of Forest Joes was taken by surprise by the men firing
at them from the treetops.
Astro had not wasted any time either. The TT had immediately gone
back into their hut, taking the humans with them. Hoping that their
old strategy would work, Astro signalled Ground to dig up a tunnel
for the doctor and his crew. Then, when everyone had gotten into
the tunnel, the remaining Tyrants - Tengu and Astro - went back outside.
They were going to do battle until the doctor had been safely taken
out of the anti-teleportation field. This would hopefully deceive
the SA.
Joining forces with the guerrilla, Astro and Tenguman were protecting
the camp from all sides. Their success was limited, but at least
the SA had only managed to destroy a few of their cabins. They focused
on forming a circle around the remaining buildings, actually managing
to keep the Joes at bay. This didn’t last long, however…
To their surprise, the frozen bodies of some guerrilla fighters were
sent flying in their direction. It seemed the production of Frost
Joes had not stopped with Kalingrad. As the guerrilla was starting
to dramatically decrease in numbers, Tenguman could only wonder where
Pirate had gone at a time like this.
As if on cue, the gigantic fists of the SF unit came crashing upon
the first squad of Frost Joes, completely crushing them. Astro “winked”
at his airborne team-mate, as if answering his question. Tengu deducted
that Aku was the one piloting the SF unit.
The three reunited Tyrants succeeded in protecting the guerrilla
from the lethal frost beams, and for a minute, calm retuned to the
camp. This, however, was not the end. And Astro was certain.
After regrouping, Astro had a brief talk with the guerrilla’s leader,
who was codenamed Rosa. “Look, I appreciate your help, but you will
only get slaughtered if you stay any longer.” Astro began. “They’re
taking their time to prepare a second wave, so I suggest you use
this advantage to escape.”
“Not a chance.” Rosa replied bluntly. “We will stay and fight alongside
you.”
“Right…” Astro would have bitten his lip, if he had one. He didn’t
like the idea of sacrificing any more lives for their cause. But
the girl was too stubborn, and they didn’t have time to argue.
After deciding on their formation, the guerrilla and the Tyrants
advanced outwards from the camp. Tengu took flight, serving as a
scout, and warned his leader of the only apparent threat: from how
the trees moved, and the birds flew, Tengu could tell someone was
progressing through the jungle, and was headed in their direction.
Astro and Rosa ordered everyone to go into hiding. They were only
a few dozen of meters away from the camp, and once they hid among
the foliage and remained silent, ready to ambush the upcoming threat,
the peaceful sounds of nature were heard, as if no battle had taken
place. The sound of a waterfall on the distance was normally soothing,
but Astro was on his toes. He kept waiting to hear from Groundman,
the doctor’s safety was his first concern.
They all waited for their enemy to appear, ready to engage them.
But Astro was relieved to see Slashman and Junkman as they cut through
a wall of vines. Immediately, he jumped out of his hiding spot in
order to stop the guerrilla from harming them. This would have cost
him his life, since the startled duo, under the impression of an
enemy ambush, attacked him without mercy before even figuring out
who he was. Junk’s axe-staff had broken him in half.
Fortunately for everyone, the “damaged” Astro Man vanished, proving
to be nothing but a holographic copy. Relieved, both sides dropped
their guard. “Hey Slash, I’m sorry I startled you… these guys were
ready to blast you.”
“Heh, no problem Naop…” Slash responded, still a little nervous.
“This is Junkman, by the way.” Astro shook hands and greeted their
new ally.
Just then, the ground started rumbling, and everyone got back into
position. But again, it was an ally who appeared. A visibly tattered
Groundman emerged from below. The soft and humid soil of the jungle
posed no resistance to his drills, but it still meant an effort to
him for some reason. Something had damaged him.
“What happened!?” Astro asked desperately, as only five the humans
emerged from Ground’s tunnel. Only the doctor, Kalinka, Drew and
the dynamic duo had made it out alive, and this worried him to no
end. It could have been Cossack! Astro could only guess that luck
was on their side.
And before Ground could pull himself together, the Ground started
rumbling again. “They’re coming!” was all he was able to say, before
a group of ten or so drilling mechaniloids came out of similar tunnels.
And behind them, hordes of Wily-bots followed.
The guerrilla formed a circle around the Cossackers, just as Tengu
made a quick trip to the skies, only to get shot at by hundreds of
Joes stationed at the distance. They all had appeared out of nowhere.
“Hey Naop, things are about to get hotter…” the aerial Tyrant warned.
A series of levitating mechanilods were seen above them, flying in
all directions. Soon, they dropped napalm-filled bombs into the jungle,
igniting a barrier of flames around the camp. The Cossackers and
their allies had just run out of easy exits. Their only alternative
was to fight their way out.
When Junkman noticed they were surrounded by the flames, he then
came up with an idea that he's been dying to use.
Junk pulls out his walkie-talkie and radioed RPD Headquarters. "Guys.
It's time." That was all he said before a group of RPD police
bots rushed to their current position. They had teleported along
them, but had been stayed behind, in order to take the enemy by surprise.
After a while, as soon as they got there, they started firing on
the incoming Wily bots that were rushing in, almost like if it was
a full forced attack on the group.
Junkman then decided that the time for action came now. "Look,
we're sitting ducks here, Naop. We have to go through the flames
if we want to get out of here." Astroman thought there was some
other way to get through, but that was before he saw Tenguman try
to fly through the fire and get badly burnt from the flames. This
convinced Astroman to go with what Junkman suggested.
"Hey, Junk. I suggest we head to the edge of the anti-teleportation
field" said Astroman.
"Good. Let's go and take out as many Wily bots as you can. Just
make sure you don't stay too long in the flames." With that
said, the group of robots headed towards the flames ready for battle.
Junkman formed his Junk Staff and before hand, turned it into his
Power Type style to make quick work of the incoming Wily bots that
stood in his way. The others took care of business as well as they
fought through the flames and they too reached the edge of the anti-teleportation
field.
Junk was the last one to reach the edge of the field. "I hope
you have a good idea, Naop. Because this could be one battle we may
lose."
Astroman thought about what to do and then said "You know, I
wish I had a plan right now..." At this point, it was all they
could do.
It had been harder for the human part of the group to get through
the flames. But they were now by a river-bed, with a waterfall nearby,
so they had the opportunity to freshen up, while the RPD backup tried
handling both the Wily-bots and the SA.
Astroman was panting, also next to the river, when and equally exhausted
Dr. Cossack approached him. “What do you suggest we do now, Naop?”
he asked full of worry.
Astro took a moment to catch his breath and decide, but Tenguman
approached him as well. “There’s no way around it Naop… you’ve been
avoiding it since the beginning of the war, but there’s nowhere left
to go now!”
“Damn!” Astro knew his partner had a point. But after what had happened
to Mexico City, he had made sure to keep his second hometown safe,
isolated from the war. This was very selfish, but even Dr. Cossack
understood what he did. This was his only way to fight the war with
a little peace of mind. The lives of the Mexican people would never
be recovered, but at least he knew the genocide would not repeat
itself in Tech City. After swallowing, Astro came up with an answer.
“We will take you to Tech City… there’s no time to loose.”
“Are you sure Naop?!” the doctor was worried of the consequences
it might bring. All of Astro’s plans could crumble if the war got
into their city. And the doctor was one of the few people who actually
knew about the importance of this “plan”.
“No time to loose…” Astro repeated, and then spoke several voice
commands through his com-line. He had always kept this ace up his
sleeve. In a matter of seconds and before he could argue any further,
Dr. Cossack, and all other humans including the remains of the guerrilla,
were teleported out.
Only the robot masters were left standing by the river, and the RPD
forces fighting in the distance. This puzzled the Drastic Measures
duo, but Astro had no time to explain. A loud sound of clapping hands
was heard, as if a whole crowd had been watching them. The Tyrants
realized that their biggest problem had just showed up.
“Who the hell is that?” Junkman questioned, pointing up.
“Good day, Tyrants!” A gigantic Mysteryman appeared on top of the
waterfall. “I must congratulate you for getting this far! And kudos
for getting the old man to safety! But excuse my curiosity, why did
you stay behind?”
“I knew you’d show up, fish-bowl head. It’s almost as if I could
feel you now!” Astro shouted. “To answer your question… we had to
stay to finish you off once and for all. I’ve had enough of your
pathetic attempts.”
“Tsk, tsk… after what happened last time we met, I wouldn’t be so
cocky if I were you.” The illusionist warned. “But let me spice things
up a little. I have a confession to make, and perhaps it’ll serve
as a motivation for you, so I don’t end up moping the floor with
you like I did last time…”
Everyone was on their toes. Astro, Ground, Tengu and Pirate – who
was still piloting the SF unit – knew that Mystery had changed, but
they didn’t know what to expect. Junk and Slash didn’t know their
enemy, but this made them be just as alert.
“Spit it out already!” Astro demanded.
“Well, for starters… we already know where the good doctor is headed.”
Mystery admitted.
“Son of a bitch...” Astro muttered. “Knock him off that cliff!” the
TT leader ordered his team, aware that every second counted, now
that he had confirmed another one of his suspicions.
“The bastards… they’ve got Artillery.” Tengu deduced, while launching
a tornado hold at the cliff, causing the giant Mystery to disappear
in a cloud of smoke and reappear as soon as the dust cleared.
“Hey! Don’t be impatient, Naop.” Mystery chuckled. “You didn’t even
let me finish my explanation. I’m trying to be polite, so you could
at least demonstrate some manners!” he fired a couple of shots from
his ‘Mystery Buster’, which was rarely good for anything. Only this
time it did manage to do real damage to the terrain, causing the
Tyrants and co. to jump away from the blast.
“No need to explain, freak show!” Astro retorted. “I don’t need to
be a psychic to know that you’ve already hacked our com systems,
and are probably monitoring our teleportation satellite.”
“Ha, as witty as ever, aren’t you?” Mystery conceded. “Our troops
are probably flooding the streets of your beloved city by now…”
“I don’t think so!” Astro talked back.
“Care for a bet?” Mystery offered.
“Screw you!” Astro vanished, revealing the copy that had been taking
his place, and allowing everybody to notice that the real he was
hovering above the waterfall, already launching an Astro Crush upon
their enemy.
The water from the waterfall spouted wildly, along with the shattered
pieces of the cliff. As expected, Mystery was nowhere to be seen.
Only his maniacal laughter was heard.
“Should we be going now?!” Tengu approached his leader, who was panting
from the anger and frustration he felt. “You know they could have
gotten into the city. It’s not impossible.”
“Yes, I know! They were probably monitoring the barrier, in case
we ever deactivated it to teleport in.” answered an angry Astroman.
“But there is no way they could get more than one platoon in there
before the barrier came back on!”
“Well… let’s just trust that the local police force can deal with
that one platoon before they get to the doctor.” Tengu said sarcastically.
He obviously didn’t like to trust the lives of his people to someone
else. But Astro was convinced to stay and fight Mystery.
“Look man, the minute we teleport into the city, a larger chunk of
the SA will be tagging along. They are probably attempting repetitively
to teleport in, now that we let the barrier down for a second. We’re
gonna have to let the RPD in as well, and that means deactivating
it for a little longer. So I’d rather take care of a beheaded army,
by taking care of Mystery right here, right now!” Astro explained
as fast as he could.
Tengu grunted, and backed away in order to look for Mystery. The
calm wasn’t going to last…
“I dunno about you guys, but I'd rather fight this moron myself.”
said Junkman. He formed some junk in his hands and fired it off at
Mysteryman and he quickly dodged the attack. Then, Mysteryman fired
off a shot from his 'Mystery Buster' which forced Junkman to dodge
those attacks.
”My, my. Aren't we the impatient one.” chuckled Mysteryman. “I don't
know who you are, but since you're around I'll give you a taste of
what I can do!” With that, Mysteryman created something that was
Junkman's worst fear: A massive thunderstorm. Junkman, being weak
to electricity, was forced into a defensive position and then memories
came flooding back...
The memories of what Cloudman did to him back in Toronto still haunt
Junkman to this day and with each lightning bolt that crashed across
the sky above, Junkman was forced to defend himself. “Ha. Not so
confident now that I know what you fear the most. As long as I can
control this little weather pattern, you'll be at my mercy.”
Slashman, having watched the whole ordeal with the Tyrants, leaped
at Mysteryman at full speed and managed to hit him in the shoulder
with his right claw. Somehow, it was the right thing to do because
once Mysteryman got hit, the storm ended and Junkman got back into
his fighting stance and now, he was angrier than ever.
”You dare get into my head again and I'll make sure you'll never
see the light of day again, you hear me?” With that said, Junkman
charged at Mysteryman at full speed.
“You got lucky!” Mystery exclaimed. “But it won’t happen again!”
he said before vanishing again, just before Junk managed to connect
a hit.
“Damn!” Junkman tried desperately to find his enemy. Mystery had
surely hit a nerve with his mind games.
“Don’t loose your cool!” Groundman warned the DM duo. “Remember this
guy is an illusionist, we’ll have to take him by surprise like Slash
did.”
“I’m afraid it won’t be that easy!” Mystery’s voice was heard from
behind, only it was multiplied at least dozen times. The robot masters
turned around to see that there were about 50 copies of Mysteryman
coming out of the jungle and into the river-bed.
“Careful!” Astro warned everyone as he descended. “They might not
be illusions!”
“So you did learn something after our last encounter…” all of the
copies spoke in unison. “The question is… what is real and what is
an illusion?” At a blinding speed, the Mystery copies launched themselves
in all directions while levitating, eventually circling them.
And suddenly, the copies changed directions and headed for each of
the TT and the DM duo. Trying to counterattack, the good guys realized
the first wave had consisted of copies, since all their melee attacks
had been ineffective, and the Mystery copies had passed right through
them. But not everyone was quick to react, and an almost immediate
second wave of copies nailed a few hits on Slashman and the SF unit
piloted by Pirateman. The copies moved so fast that they couldn’t
tell what was damaging them. To them, it seemed as if they were merely
ramming them head on.
Being the one with the lightest armor, Slash was actually knocked
of his feet, only to receive a follow up attack from the copies while
he was on the ground. The others were guarding themselves, with their
weapons. Astro kept orbiting his steel orbs as fast as he could to
use them as a barrier. At times like this, he really missed his psychic
abilities.
But soon, small cuts started appearing on them. By the time Slashman
got back on his feet, the copies were now launching at them from
all directions at random intervals. Some were illusions and some
weren’t, there was no way to know for sure. And the cuts kept on
increasing.
“Enough!” Tenguman was fed up from trying to slash at them with his
Tengu Blade, and launched a Tornado Hold, managing to disperse a
large portion of the real Mystery copies. This was an opportunity
that the others seized. Pirate managed to smash half a dozen, revealing
the true identity of their attackers: SA Joes, with their combat
knives at hand.
Astro, Ground and Slash used the opportunity to finish off some more
disguised Joes with their respective weapons. And soon, less than
half of the copies were left (including the illusions). “Let me guess…
you think you’ve won?” the remaining copies asked, only to be finished
off by Junk and Tengu. Only the illusions remained unharmed, of course.
But they all knew it was far from over. The deafening sound of marching
steps was heard from all around them. “It seems the RPD didn’t stand
a chance, huh?” Tengu said, partly to himself.
“You know what this means, right Naop?” Ground asked his leader.
Even he could tell they were in a pinch. And as soon as the SA troops
showed up, his suspicions were confirmed. They all looked like Mysteryman!
Hundreds of disguised Joes, ready to repeat them same deceitful tactic.
Astro sighed, he was sure he would regret what he was about to do.
He issued ciphered commands into his com link, which he hoped would
mean nothing but random numbers to the SA people monitoring their
systems. Soon, the Tyrants, plus Junk and Slash, were engulfed in
a bright flash, as they teleported away from the Amazon jungle…
--------------------
Tech City, CA, USA.
A small SA outpost, consisting of roughly three separate military
tents, was located among the dunes of Imperial County. The sound
of the wind blowing was all that one could here out there. And up
until a few years ago, that calm had reigned over the place in a
10 mile radius.
But the city that could be seen a few miles beyond the SA settlement
had brought more activity to the region. Tech City, an experimental
city with a fitting name. Much like Monsteropolis, this was one of
the cities that were supposed to usher the population into a new
era of technology, comfort, and ecology.
It was also one of the very few cities in the world that had remained
untouched by the ongoing war. But that fact was about to change very
soon…
Inside one of the tents there was a small group of robots, scientists
and engineers, guarded by a few armed Joes. Close to the scientists,
Mysteryman was keeping an eye on their work. They all seemed to be
working non-stop on several computers, with strange devices that
kept monitoring something. Results in the form of printed
wave patterns, somewhat similar to the Richter magnitude scale, kept
coming out of a printer, and into the hands of a worried scientist.
“What do you have there, doctor?” Mysteryman asked patiently. “Any
progress with the barrier?”
“Not at all sir.” The scientist confessed. “Just as General Cutman
deducted, this technology is far from our current understanding.”
Mystery pounded his fist on a desk. “What about the teleportation
systems? Any luck?”
“Well, sir…” another lab coat spoke. “After the first leak, there
has been no success.”
“Keep trying!” Mystery insisted. “Those fools actually think it’s
still me fighting them in the Amazon. But they will be forced to
come here eventually, just keep trying to get through. We should
have a decent opening in any minute…”
--------------------
Dr. Cossack, his family, and the remaining guerrilla fighters, watched
horrified at the city before them. They were up on a slight cliff,
out of harms way, with the TT building behind them, but they couldn’t
help to stare in awe at the chaos and disaster that was going on.
Parts of the city were in flames, and the sounds of sirens could
be heard all around. Had the SA really penetrated the Tyrants’ barrier?
The doctor couldn’t believe it.
After they settled into the lobby of the building, finally deciding
to take refugee before the SA got there, Drew turned on the news
on a screen above the waiting room. A very nervous man was reading
a newsflash, or rather, it seemed like a preacher’s lecture.
“It’s the Armageddon, dear people of Tech City!” the man spoke while
trembling uncontrollably. “It’s time to repent! There has to be atonement
for the sinful!” Suddenly, the man was forced off camera by some
security guards and another news person came about. After apologizing
for his colleague, and reminding the audience that his opinion was
not shared by the network, he finally resumed with the news.
“We urge the citizens of Tech City to calm down!” the news person
spoke. “Official reports indicate that all the sightings are, without
an exception, illusions of some kind. The authorities suspect it
to be the work of the robot criminal known as Mysteryman, who was
thought to have disappeared after the Technological Tyrants ended…”
and he continued on with his explanation.
It was all too clear now. The city was undergoing a massive, yet
detailed illusion. This had caused the riots, and people were even
turning against themselves from the paranoia. “How, in heaven’s name,
did he get inside the barrier?” Dr. Cossack asked himself while rubbing
his temples. From the look of things, the illusions had been plaguing
the city for a while now, a lot before the deactivation of the barrier.
Mysteryman was his creation, and he knew he didn’t have that kind
of reach, or that kind of power. Well, at least he didn’t use to
have. Only General Cutman knew what upgrades he could have gotten.
The sole thought was enough to make him shiver.
“No time to wonder, doctor!” Rosa, the guerrilla leader, warned him
while pointing out the front doors. “They’re coming!” a platoon of
SA Joes marched towards the TT building.
“Let’s find the security systems! We have to activate the defences!”
Kalinka went running towards the command center at the back of the
lobby.
But before she could find the correct panel, the Joes opened fire
at an unknown enemy, and soon, attacks from all sides made short
work of the platoon. Relieved, the doctor came back outside to greet
the Tyrants and a large number of RPD bots. More than a couple of
hundred were already marching down the street, ready to go into the
city.
“Naop!” Dr. Cossack greeted the TT leader. “How did it go? What took
you so long?”
“We didn’t…” Astro paused, ashamed of himself. “We couldn’t defeat
Mysteryman. And now, he’s probably here, along with the whole Scissor
Army.”
“What are you talking about?” Kalinka came rushing to the scene.
“Mystery was already here! Or al least that’s what it looks like.”
Astro took a moment to contemplate Tech City, and he deducted what
was going on. “Look, I don’t know how that was possible, for him
to be in two places at the same time. But I know he was at the Amazon,
just as I know that he is here now. I can feel him.”
“Do you mean…” Dr. C seemed intrigued.
“Yes, apparently.” Astro admitted, referring to the fact that he
was able to use telepathy to an extent, even as a robot master. “But
I’m not nearly as capable of using my telepathy as I would be in
my original form.”
“So what do we do?” Tengu man approached the Cossacks.
“I have to go get Pharaoh…” Astro was referring to his team’s Magicman,
who also went by that name.
“No way!” Tengu’s jaw dropped.
“Junkman, Slashman!” Astro called out, while he approached the duo,
who was now leading the RPD forces. “Can you do me a favor?”
“What is it Naop?” Junk responded.
“Please try to bring some order into this mess.” Astro explained.
“I have to go somewhere, but when I get back, I’ll take Mystery off
your hands. For now, just focus on crowd control, and try to find
those SA bastards. I hope they didn’t get the chance to teleport
more than a few hundred men inside the city.”
“We’ll do our best.” Junkman assured him.
With that, Astro went inside the TT building as fast a he could…
--------------------
Later…
Inside Tech City, the duo of Junkman and Slashman were focused on
taking control of the now riled crowd of people who managed to stay
within the city. With the Scissor Army now invading the once peaceful
city, the duo now had to take care of business.
”People, people. Please stay calm.” said Junkman as the duo reached
the center of the city. “My partner and I will take care of the Scissor
Army threat in here. So please don't loot or do anything illegal.
OK?”
After saying that, Slashman found a group of SA Joes that were nearby.
This group somehow got in with the attack on the city, but just as
quickly as they got in, they were taken out by Slashman's claws and
Junkman's Junk Staff. “That takes care of them. But, how many got
in again?” asked Slashman.
”I believe that Naop told me that a platoon entered the city first,
but then, when we got in, hundreds could have infiltrated as well.
I have to think this was a splinter group of Joes. Still, we have
to keep an eye out for anything strange. Even so, let's try to locate
the Tyrants and see if anything is going on there.”
Junk and Slash ran back as fast as they could to find Tyrants in
order to help them out with whatever they had been doing.
--------------------
Unknown place.
Astroman teleported in, at what seemed to be a control room of sorts.
The patterns on the wall almost resembled hieroglyphs, giving it
an ancient look, but contrasted by the computers and technology.
Astro walked up to the main panel, bellow a giant screen. With a
few buttons pressed, the screen was turned on, and displayed a very
weird ‘windows2 logo as a loading screen. The logo read “Windows
Bleed”.
This was obviously routine for Astro, who waited until the operative
system had loaded. It was nothing but a white screen displaying many
separate windows. Some had content, and some were tagged as “unknown”.
Several different icons, next to each window, indicated detailed
information. Using a special keyboard, Astro chose a window that
had a Magicman icon next to it. A menu appeared, and after a few
selections, an additional window appeared, displaying the face of
an annoyed Magicman.
“Naop? What the hell?” spoke the magician.
“Pharaoh! I need to transform! It’s an emergency.” Astro explained.
“I can’t transform you from here!” Magicman replied. “We have our
own problems man. Can’t you find a way around it?”
“There’s no alternative, Tech City will be taken over if I don’t
do it!” he insisted.
Magicman sighed with hopelessness. “Take care of things while I get
back.” He told some people behind him (probably Odin and Sergal),
while he typed a few commands into a strange device he was holding.
In a matter of seconds, the communication ended, and Magic teleported
in, the same way Astro had done. “This better be the fucking end
of the world, Naop…” he muttered as he lifted his palms and pointed
them at the TT leader.
“It will be, for Tech City, if I don’t stop it from happening. I
need to go into the ethereal plane…” Astro explained to him.
“Frankly, I don’t care. You brought this on yourself when you insisted
on getting involved.” Magicman kept a cold stare of disapproval.
Astro couldn’t help to feel angry at his stubborn team-mate, but
right now he had other things to worry about. “Do it already!” a
bright flash was seen, emanating from Astro’s body, and when it vanished,
Astro was nowhere to be seen. There was only Naop, in his original
form.
Immediately, he went over to the teleporters. “Are you coming or
not?” he asked Magicman.
“Ha! That was a good one.” Magic chuckled. “You’re a big boy, so
go clean your own mess.”
Naop kept looking at his ‘friend’ with murderous intent, while the
teleportation beam engulfed him…
--------------------
Tech City…
Just as Junkman and Slashman were about to head back, a crowd came
running out of a nearby building, followed by a visibly disturbed
individual with a chainsaw. A woman in the group stopped at the middle
of the street and turned towards her pursuer. “Honey, it’s us! Don’t
you recognize us?! The news said it was all an illusion, didn’t you
hear them?!”
“Liar!” the man shouted while charging at the woman. “I won’t give
in to your mind games, you are with the SA!” and before Junk or Slash
could connect the dots and figure what the hell was going on, they
watched the man slaughter his own wife, who screamed horribly, then
he went after the rest of the people. Some kids started crying loudly,
probably the couple’s children.
And also before they could intervene, a gust of wind sent the crazed
man flying into a nearby building. Dropping to the floor, the man
fell unconscious. The duo looked up to see Tenguman hovering above
them. “That is happening all over town.” He told them. “You just
took care of the first SA platoon.”
“So?” Slashman asked, still a bit shocked from the scene.
“You see, the barrier protecting this city is no ordinary barrier.
For us to come in, we had to deactivate it for several seconds. And
that was enough time for the SA to get in as well, in large quantities.
The RPD bots we teleported along us are probably dealing with them
already. But they won’t stand a chance if we don’t help them.”
“And what’s with the people? Why are they acting murderous?” Junkman
asked this time.
“It’s Mysteryman! Somehow, he created a collective illusion, even
before we got here.” Groundman explained this time. “But there’s
no point in trying to convince the brainwashed population. Let’s
just finish off the SA before they do further damage to the city,
and let’s find Mystery in order to stop this madness.”
Junkman and Slashman agreed, and tagged along the trio of Tyrants.
They were aiming for the city’s outskirts, where news reports indicated
the presence of ‘real’ SA soldiers. The place wasn’t hard to locate,
since the RPD was already battling them. The gunfire and explosions
were underway, and a few building had already been demolished.
“Where do we even start?” Slashman questioned when he witnessed the
ensuing chaos.
“Just fight!” Tengu said, and launched himself upwards in order to
get a better look at the overall situation.
“Look, support your men.” Groundman suggested, don’t let them get
killed so easily. Everybody jumped into the fray, battling whoever
stood in their way, and aiding the RPD.
Tengu was busy above, as if he kept looking for something. And after
a while, something caught his attention. A large number of Joes was
marching down a nearby street, trying to get past the battle zone
and into the city. Amidst the platoons, Mysteryman levitated ominously,
guiding the army. Tengu spotted a partially damaged building, and
saw the opportunity to crush Mystery and his men.
Directing his attacks at the damaged portion of the skyscraper, he
managed to bring down its upper half, crushing everything and everyone
below. Mystery included. Or so he thought…
Contemplating his work, Tengu paid no mind to the shouts from below,
until he noticed something disturbing emerge from beneath the pile
of rubble that was now the skyscraper. The dust hadn’t even cleared
completely.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Tengu turned around to see Junkman
yell at him from a couple of blocks back. Then he noticed…
The building had fallen on the SA. That much was certain. But it
had also crushed some RPD bots, and even worse yet, Groundman and
Pirateman. Pirate, inside the SF unit, was climbing the pile of rubble,
trying to get out of that mess, but when he finally reached the top,
he fell to the ground, unconscious.
This hit Tengu like a bucket of cold water. Mysteryman had tricked
him into believing there was nothing but SA Joes and himself down
there, when it fact, it was his own comrades. “Wragh!!! Damn you!!!”
Tengu shouted with all his might. In response, the laughter of Mysteryman
was heard. “Show yourself, you coward!” A strange aura surrounded
Tengu. It looked like little gusts of wind, circling his body in
a random fashion.
“No need to, my friend.” Mystery’s disembodied voice responded. “I
have a bigger fish to fry.”
“Funny to hear you mention fish, fish-bowl head.” Tengu turned around
to see Naop, in his original form, talking at the air with a blank
stare. “But I’m sorry to disappoint you. You won’t find what’s you’re
looking for.”
“What?!” Mystery exclaimed.
“You see…” Naop started explaining. “The barrier’s generator isn’t
here. You will never find it. You are trapped here, for all I care.”
This was also a shocker for Mystery, who didn’t speak a single word
this time. And he didn’t need to. At blinding speed, Naop fired his
trademark “Psychic Blast” at what seemed to be empty space between
Tengu and himself.
“What the…?” Tengu couldn’t believe his eyes. Mystery had been floating
behind him, concealing his presence with an illusion. But Naop knew
where he was, even though he didn’t really see Mystery either.
“Argh…” Mystery was taken off guard. The blast had ripped his arm
clean off. “You’ll pay for this!” and he vanished in a cloud of smoke.
“No point in doing that!” Naop threatened. “Listen, I have a proposal
for you.”
There was silence for a few seconds, and then, Naop continued. “Meet
me at the rooftop of our building. We will fight there, and the winner
will take the city.”
“Are you out of your mind?!” Tengu was exasperated. “He just made
me kill Kusa and Aku!!!” Tengu’s ‘air aura’ grew wilder.
“This is the only way!” Naop responded. “What do you say?” he directed
his question at the air.
“No, this must be a trick!” Mystery’s disembodied voice was heard.
“I’m not like you and you know it. And you know you want this, so
follow me!” Naop said, ready to take off.
“Wait!” Tengu grabbed him by the shoulder.
“Help me out, Kusa…” Naop could feel his friend trembling. He turned
around to put his own hand on Tengu’s shoulder. “Take out your anger
by wiping our city off the SA scum.”
Tengu’s face was shrouded in guilt. He lowered his head and let his
friend go. Naop disappeared in the distance, towards the TT building.
--------------------
At the TT building…
The people at the entrance, watched as Naop came flying back, but
instead of joining them, he landed on the roof. Then, they saw Mysteryman
do the same. Dr. Cossack headed into the building immediately, only
to have Kalinka dragging him by his lab coat, trying to prevent him
from going any further. “Don’t go!” The girl pleaded his father.
Dr. Cossack turned around to see his daughter in the eye, she was
right. There was nothing he could do. But suddenly, Jay and Bob,
who had been paying attention to the news as if it was a horror film,
called out for them.
The Cossacks looked at the screen. The news person was stating that
all the illusions had ceased, something had probably happened to
Mysteryman. Without loosing another second, the doctor headed for
the elevators once again. “No, father!” Kalinka shouted.
“I won’t go alone, Kalinka. Everybody, follow me!” the doctor instructed.
Jay, Bob, Drew, and all the guerrilla people did as they were told.
Once they reached the top floor, they were forced to take the stairs
to get to the roof. They opened the door, and ventured outside, only
to find Naop sitting in mid air in a lotus pose, with Mystery directly
in front of him, levitating. Everyone but the doctor was baffled
by the scene.
“How come they aren’t at each other’s throats?” Asked Jay.
“They are.” The doctor stated. “They are fighting with their minds.”
Sceptical, the drug dealer approached Naop, and was about to poke
him, when the doctor stopped him. “Don’t touch him.”
“Why?!” Jay was confused.
“You might disrupt him. He is into a deep state of meditation.”
“So what can we do to help?” Drew asked.
“There’s nothing we can do. Let’s just wait and hope that Naop awakens
victorious.” The doctor knew the drill, they couldn’t interfere.
“We’ll be ready, in case it’s the other way around.” Rosa said, ordering
her men to surround Mystery and point all of their remaining guns
at him.
--------------------
Inside Mysteryman’s mind space…
The terrain was bland. Arid ground as far as the eye could see, shadowed
by a sinister and purple-colored sky. The clouds above the two figures
raged on, like the majestic waves of a tempestuous sea.
“It ends here, Mystery.” Naop threatened.
“My thoughts exactly, dear Naop.” Mystery chuckled. “May the best
psychic win!” and with that, Mystery changed color, and his legs
merged with the ground. It was as if he was made of the same rocky
material. He started motioning his arms, seemingly commanding some
unseen force. Several rocks pillars emerged from the ground and started
moving freely around Naop as if they were tendrils.
Naop braced himself, and the stone tendrils impacted him. They kept
on lashing out at him, like whips. Producing clouds of dust and dirt
as they did.
Once the wind started clearing the dust, Mystery, now back in his
colourful attire, noticed that Naop was nowhere to be found. “There’s
no point in hiding, I can feel you too!” Mystery warned him.
“I didn’t intend to hide!” Naop’s voice was heard from all around
Mystery, but he couldn’t seem to find the source.
Several seconds passed, without a trace of Naop’s presence. But soon,
Mystery felt his whole body ache, and he started convoluting. Then,
he understood what had happened…
Naop had taken on the form of dust, and had gotten inside of him
thought his joints and such. “Bastard!” Mystery regretted being so
careless.
The convulsions got worse, and after a lot of struggling, Mystery
was blown to pieces from the inside out…
But this was not the end. Naop condensed into his regular self again,
knowing that the battle was far from over. Mysteryman’s pieces had
started merging with the ground, until they were no longer visible.
“Glad you could join us, boy.” A hissing voice was heard from behind
Naop, who immediately turned around, recognizing the voice that sent
a shiver down his spine.
“I invited a few of your friends to our party, I hope you don’t mind!”
the cheerful voice of Mysteryman was heard from the distance.
Naop kept trying to convince himself that it was all an illusion,
but he also knew that in the ethereal plane, all illusions were as
real as anything else. And as much as he hated the idea, he would
have to fight the figure in front of him. But he was pulled back
just as he was about to launch himself forward, to try and hit the
guy (who by the way, looked like an uglier version of himself, hunched,
and dressed with noting but a loincloth).
Two more people were now holding on to his wrists and were lifting
him above ground level. “Good to see you again, comrade!” one of
them spoke.
“Petrov?” Naop’s words escaped his lips, with an apparent tint of
hatred.
“What? I don’t get a proper greeting?” spoke the other person, grabbing
on to his left arm.
“Screw you!” Naop told the demon-looking guy. His face was full of
piercings with rings and all sorts of metallic objects. Also, a couple
of small horns protruded from his forehead.
Soon, another pair of hands was latching on to him, this time, from
his legs. Naop looked down to see who it was, and the faces were
familiar as well. A dragon-looking beast and what seemed to be an
ordinary kid were tugging at him. They too greeted him with a sinister
smile.
Naop tried desperately to get out of their grip, but nothing seemed
to work. Then, the first guy to appear, the one that resembled him,
warped behind Naop and grabbed him by the head, pulling it back so
he could see what was coming.
“Say your prayers, psychic!” Mysteryman was charging at him, with
his fist full of god knows what type of energy, while all his enemies
from the past and future were holding him down. Naop’s gut told him
it wasn’t good news…
--------------------
“What the hell is that?!” Slashman pointed at the gust of wind that
was systematically obliterating the SA, tearing right through them
as he passed by. The silhouette was hard to recognize, since it was
moving like lightning from one place to the other, bringing hell
to the SA troops.
“It must be Tenguman…” Junkman deducted.
“And when did he get so strong? Who upgraded him all of a sudden?”
Slash couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Beats me…” Junk walked forward, into the now calm intersection,
where a sea of dismembered SA troops laid. The cause for their destruction
had moved on into an adjacent street, where more troops awaited.
--------------------
Before his fist could connect, Mysteryman felt an immense presence
preventing him, both mentally and physically from delivering his
blow. Likewise, all of his summoned helpers were frozen in fear,
allowing Naop to get out of harm’s way.
“It’s funny, Mystery, how you didn’t summon a copy of myself…” the
presence spoke.
Mystery was too scared to turn around, but his anger and resentment
finally got the best of him, so he did turn. Before him was Neop,
the only man he hated more than Naop and his Tech Tyrants. The dark
‘recolor’ of Naop was there, in the flesh. There was no way Naop
could be tricking him, the master of illusions. This was no
copy, it was the real deal.
“Bah, I will defeat you both!” Mystery threatened.
“You’ve been a bad boy, Mystery. It’s time you get back on the right
track…” rising a single hand, Neop used an outstanding telekinetic
push to blast Mystery towards Naop, while dealing lots of unavoidable
damage at the same time. “Finish this already, Naop! It has lasted
long enough.”
“Thanks.” Was all that Naop was able to mutter, before Neop disappeared.
He then proceeded to grab Mystery by the collar with his left hand
and lift him off the ground. The broken Mysteryman was too exhausted,
both mentally and emotionally, to do anything. Neop’s power overwhelmed
him. Once again, he had been ridiculed.
After taking a while to focus, by closing his eyes, Naop raised his
right hand as it started glowing. Out of Mystery, a stream of purple-colored
energy started flowing into Naop’s hand, as if he was absorbing something
out of him.
After several seconds, the lifeless body of Mysteryman fell to the
ground. The battle was over.
As Mystery hit the ground, the crystal bowl covering his head was
shattered completely. And although he was on his back, Naop was horrified
by what he saw… or what he thought he had seen. With Mystery done
for, Naop was forced out of his mind space, and out of the ethereal
plane…
--------------------
At the rooftop, the people gathered there watched as the bodies of
Mystery and Naop fell. Dr. Cossack caught Naop, but Mystery hit the
ground with a loud thud. “Thanks…” Naop managed to say, between all
his panting. He kneeled on the ground and began crawling towards
Mystery. There was something he NEEDED to check…
Puzzled, everybody observed Naop get over to Mystery’s body, turning
him on his back, and shattering his bowl helmet with his own fist.
The usual purple ooze started coming out of it, and Naop started
peeling off the rest of the bowl, like a boiled egg. When the bowl
was all gone, Naop’s pupils were dilated. He couldn’t believe his
eyes…
Everybody came near, to witness the scene: beneath Mystery’s helmet,
a familiar face awaited. He looked exactly like Naop. Dr. Cossack
grabbed Naop by the shoulders, as tightly as he could, while he whispered
some words into his ear. “I’m sorry, son.”
--------------------
Half an hour later…
With Tenguman tearing apart the remaining SA forces, it almost seemed
that Junk and Slash's work was done. But, before heading to the building,
Junk wanted to do one thing.
Ever since the ambush in Nonsteropolis, Junk wasn't sure what to
do about honoring his fallen friends. Then Slash told him that he
could stand on the rooftop and do something.
”Yeah, I could do something like that Slash. It's just so hard to
be happy when everyone you know is gone and it's not like they were
fatal wounds.”
Slash nodded his head and pointed up there. “Just go, big guy. The
least you can do is honor them for doing what they did. We all had
to make sacrifices throughout this entire war and that was one of
them.”
So, after thinking about what to do, Junk headed to the rooftop of
the TT building and ran into Astro - back into his robot master self
- who had dealt with Mysteryman and defeated the illusion master.
“Thanks so much for your help, Naop.” said Junk. “You and your Tyrants
were a massive help in this battle. I don't know how much it meant
to me and for Slash to have your skills in battle. Now, if you excuse
me...”
”How come, Junk?” said Astro.
”I need to... do something that should have been done long ago.”
So, Junkman stood on the rooftop of the Tyrants building as the sun
set on the city. He started to look out into the horizon and asked
for Slash, who followed Junk, to stand by him. “Slash: You and I
are the last members standing of Drastic Measures. Our friends died
in honor to defend this world from the Scissor Army and all it stood
for. The least I can do is honor my... No, honor our fallen friends.”
Then Junk formed his staff and placed it on the ground. He then went
down to one knee as to pray. “This is for you, my friends. May god
lead you in the afterlife. Amen.”
”That was beautiful, Junk.” said Slashman.
”Heh. I know... I never was good at coming up at anything good for
a tearful goodbye.” So, the two stood on the rooftop as the last
rays of sunlight fell from the sky. They were the last two standing
in this war, but they have a bond that was thicker then anything
man could ever make, and that was the bond of being friends... Being
members of the Drastic Measures.