Orchestrated By C.M. Rich (Magnetman)
By Ben, Makenshi, Rebel, Starnik, Classi-Cal, Cyros, Hunter, Zerkai, Iga
From high atop the charred
ruins of the Braxton Building I watch Monsteropolis burn. Pillars of
smoke rise into the early evening air, along with the foul concoction
of burning flesh and ozone. The distant thunder of plasma-based artillery
hammering the city’s many boroughs
into sheets of crude glass. In some way it reminds me of home. I have
lived many lives and seen even more than any one person alive—love,
war, and death—and I’m tired. Tired of everything.
My name is Heatman and they called me Magma Dragoon a lifetime ago.
You can say I’m something of a survivor. Back –or much
rather, forward- in the day, I led the X-Force, a team of former Repliforce
and Maverick officers devoted to the extermination of Sigma’s
armies. It wasn’t that we were fond of the humans; in fact we
despised them, but we all hated Sigma enough to put a hurtin’
to old chrome dome. Then through the miracle called ‘time travel’ we
met our idols the Sinister Six. We’d team-up every year, facing
our combined rogues galleries, and sometimes even having a little fun.
That life ended when Red, Iceman’s insane and omnipotent, twin
destroyed our timeline in order to insure we wouldn’t be able
to help Gary defeat him in the upcoming battle. Iceman and Classi narrowly
survived the cataclysm that should’ve killed me. Yes, should
have. Somehow, an enigmatic entity “Nth” took an interest
in my continued survival and plucked my spark from the heart of oblivion
and placed it in the inert carcass of Heatman.
I hated the idea of having to live in a primitive shell, and having
to take orders from a vain egotist but at least I still had Iceman
and Classi, and a sense of purpose. Life wasn’t so bad.
Then it happened again.
In one foul swoop, a single stroke of bad luck took everything that
mattered to me. First, my bitter rival, Fireman (that other "Ben"),
died to end the threat of my kid, Neo Dragoon (long story), once and
for all; let me be the first one to tell you that I didn’t like
the guy. Our relationship is a convoluted mess that even I couldn’t
sort out, but I know that he made life more interesting. Then a second
revelation came out of the blue: it turned out Nth was a future version
of Iceman who just as quickly faded from the timeline. Then for the
third and final insult, Iceman himself died and the remnants of the
Sinister Six disbanded shortly thereafter.
The X-Force? Dead. Fireman? Dead. Iceman? Dead. My estranged son Chibi?
Dead. Everyone I care about is dead yet I still live, and with Nth
stuck in the abysmal plains of nothingness, why can’t I find
the peace they found in death? That is the question the question I’ve
been asking myself for almost a year now. As I gaze upon the streets,
piled with human corpses, I cannot help but feel envy for them.
Fate has denied me of death’s cold embrace for far too long,
and there is only one death for an old Maverick Hunter like myself:
a warrior’s death in battle and if I can’t get that death
with the Warriors, I’ll take it from someone who can. Betrayal
is the price tag, and I’m more that willing to pay it. I know
news of my defection is spreading across the enemy camps like wildfire;
hell, I’m certain that old man Wily blew a gasket when he heard.
I hope the crazy old man got the message when I slagged his scouting
party: they will have to do better if they want to have a hope in hell
of destroying me.
But before I die, I have a few old accounts to settle.
The old man will get his. Timeline be damned Wily is going to suffer,
horribly, for the indignities I’ve had to suffer under his tyranny.
If the Warriors get in the way, they’re free to stop me.
Then I will take revenge on the very government that handed me to that
madman wrapped in a pretty bow. I can give less of a damn about the
Shutdown Code; the United States will pay with the ashes of its cities.
But the General ... he got my son killed right after warping his mind
and butchering him to look like Fireman. I may have been shit as a
father, but that kid still meant something to me. He got the other
me, the other Ben killed. Someone's gotta avenge that loser. He tried
to kill Iceman and the Sinister Six ... my best pals in the world!
Worst of all though was that he actually turned my best pal Gary into
Red (or revived Red or whatever). That asshole needed to pay dearly.
It was time to show everyone just what he could do! One last adventure
... to bring that asshat to his knees! He'll do it all and everyone
will remember the name "Ben Ronning!"
I’m ready to die, but the question is: are you?
--------------------
It was night time. Thunder
echoed in the distance, signaling the inhabitants of Wily's fortress
of an incoming storm.
Dr. Wily was in his lab, scheming things that only he knew about. Right
now, he didn't seem to be drawing many allies to add to his troops.
No matter. He still had a sizable army, and enough resources for the
war.
Still..... The more, the merrier....
And as if on cue, one of his Sniper Joes burst into the lab. "Master
Wily, there is someone who would like to see you. He comes in peace,
but he has some vicious looking beasts with him..."
There was a pause. He had never heard of such a man. But after some
thinking, Dr. Wily made his decision.
"Vell zen," the doctor replied, "I suppose eet would be rude
to keep him vaiting ven a storm ees coming," and with that, he was escorted
by the Sniper Joe to the large front gates of his fortress.
The man was definitely a newcomer to the eyes of Wily. He was a robot,
appearing as a young man with snowy white hair, dark skin, and green
eyes. His armor was unique, for it was in the shape of a black trenchcoat,
though made out of a special titanium alloy. His underarmor was gray
lined with black stripes, and an electric guitar was strapped to his
back. Along the neck of the guitar was what appeared to be the barrel
of a bazooka. Surrounding this mysterious man were dozens of robotic
hounds, about thirty of them to be exact. They stood perfectly still,
dormant, but their red glowing eyes piercing the darkness give Wily
a chill down his spine.
The robot's eyes met with the doctor's. Then, he grinned devilishly.
"Yo, Grandpops, mind if me and the dogs come in? We're awfully hungry."
.....Grandpops?
--------------------
Cossack's Citadel
July 3rd, 20XX
(Yet another beautiful morning!) Ring Man thought to himself happily.
Looking out the window, he watched as the sun slowly rose upward from
the horizon while stretching his robotic limbs. He had a feeling that
today was going to be a good day, but then again, he always felt like
everyday was going to be a good. It always paid to be optimistic, after
all.
Giving his neck a nice, audible crack, he opened up the door to his
room and walked downstairs. The citadel where he and the rest of the
Comrades lived in was a decent size, spacious enough for plenty of
people to come stay, but cozy enough to call home. Unlike most of his
fellow teammates, however, they usually prefered to sleep in (a lesson
he learned the hard way years ago) and so he was used to having the
mornings all to himself. As he entered the kitchen in order to find
something to eat, however, he noticed that he was not alone.
"Dr. Cossack?" he thought aloud.
The doctor was sitting at the dining table, slouched over with his
hands covering his face. For a moment Ring Man could have sworn those
crazy lunatics Jay and Silent Bob had gotten him again... but he had
a feeling something was wrong.
"Doctor?"
Finally Cossack lifted his head, revealing his eyes--bloodshot. Bags
weighed them down and his hair was a mess. It almost seemed as though
this was a completely different person, that someone had replaced the
doctor the team had grown to love with this impostor. What could cause
even the mighty Cossack to look this beaten? And why?
"Oh... Ring Man. It's you..." Cossack muttered under his breath,
shaking his head slightly.
The master of rings pulled a chair next to Cossack and raised an eyebrow,
although no one could notice such a trivial detail due to the helmet
he almost constantly wore. Cossack didn't seem to pay him much mind,
which told him something was definitely wrong.
"Are... you okay, doctor?" he asked cautiously, not wanting to push
the wrong button.
"No... no I'm not," the good doctor stated flatly, placing his face
back into his hands. "Ring Man... Rebel... I am about to tell
you something. Something that no one else knows... not even Kalinka."
"W-what?"
Cossack lifted his head once more and stared Rebel straight in the
eye, sending a chill down the robot's spine... or at least that's what
it felt like it could, as robots could not feel such a thing. The doctor
mentioning him by
"Rebel" also unnerved him, as that was something he had recently
picked up and Cossack generally refused to acknowledge his creations
with such ridiculous nicknames.
"I have heard that in the United States someone wants to pass a law called
the Shutdown Code Act. It basically requires a robot to have a program installed
that a human officer can utilize to deactivate said robot if he feels that
it is being 'unlawful,'" Cossack stated, his brows furrowing as he spoke
on. "This... this act is all that it is. A poor act that shows
how stupid people can truly be. If this law is passed then surely it
would only be a matter of time before other countries followed suit."
Rebel knew where he was going. "You mean Russia. If that act were
to reach here and pass then we would..."
"Exactly!" Cossack threw his arms up in exaggeration. "I find
this to be a complete outrage! How DARE they try and decide how a robot
should live! Would they like it if someone ended their life if they were deemed
unlawful? I hardly doubt it!"
"So... what are you going to do?" Ring Man asked naively, then added,
"What are we going to do?"
At that time Cossack started to laugh. It was a low, cold laugh, that
could make a madman proud. Poor Ring Man could only watch and listen
with more fear than ever before as the conversation continued.
"I won't allow this to pass," the scientist replied. "There
has been too much effort to create a world where both humans and robots
could live equally. Dr. Light would agree with me--why should we just sit here
and watch as what we strived for, what we LIVED for, to be thrown away because
of some incompetent nincompoops in some stuffy office in America? I
will not tolerate it, and neither should you!"
"W-wait... wait a second!" Rebel started to panic. He didn't like
what his creator was saying. "Those words... are you thinking
about rebelling against the government!?"
"I suppose you could say that... yes," Cossack nodded solemnly.
"So, Rebel, will you help me... rebel?"
"I..."
Rebel was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to do, what to think.
Of course, the idea of having something put in him that could put him
out of his misery in a matter of seconds upset him... angered him,
even. But for Dr. Cossack to do something so radical, he just didn't
know if he could live with that, going against the rest of the world.
He needed more time to think but he didn't know how to get away from
the situation. Cossack seemed to want his answer now.
Thankfully, Kalinka came downstairs in the nick of time, causing Cossack
to put up a facade of cheeriness, as if everything was right with the
world. The previous conversation was dropped for a more lighthearted
tone, much to Ring Man's relief as he sighed before getting up and
stumbled into the living room, his mind hazy. Just what in the world
was going on...?
Cossack's Citadel
October 24th, 20XX, 2:31 PM
The mid afternoon sun bore down through the windows of the citadel,
letting the light warm the entire house to a perfect temperature. As
it was the middle of fall, such times were a blessing in disguise to
the human occupants. Cossack, however, was hard at work in his lab,
locked up for hours on end, with no one having a clue as to what exactly
he was doing. Except, maybe one had an idea...
"Ring Man?" Cossack's only daughter, Kalinka, called out from the
kitchen.
Lazily the rebellious youth's head popped in through the doorway, noticing
that the young girl was standing in front of the kitchen counter with
plates full of food. To say the least the very thought of eating made
him drool.
"Yeah, you wanted me?" he asked casually, trying to keep his mind
off of the food.
"Father has been in his lab all day today... and most of this week as
well," she said, putting a hand on her hip. "Well, he hasn't
eaten since yesterday morning, so I am certain that he must be starving.
Could you please take this plate up to him?"
Rebel nodded, more than happy to help out. After all, he always figured
that having that little girl on his side was better than the opposite.
And so, with food in hand, he headed off to Cossack's lab, resisting
the temptation to instead pig out on the gourmet. He knew that there
was more waiting for him, after all, so patience was a virtue.
Reaching the door of the laboratory, he knocked on it hard enough so
the entire building could hear. After a minute, he knocked once more,
before finally receiving a reply.
"Who is it?"
"It's Ring Man!"
"Oh, Rebel, come right on in."
Ring Man noticeably winced from being called Rebel... he suddenly had
a flashback of what had happened over two months ago; his encounter
with Cossack. Although the doctor had made no mention of his insane
proposal of going against the government since then, everything about
it had been enticing rumors. He was fairly certain that the rest of
the Comrades also heard of them by know, but has quite possible dismissed
it as just that--a rumor. Unfortunately, Ring Man had a feeling that
this next encounter was a big mistake...
Stepping into the lab, he noticed that the entire room was completely
dark, save for the very back, where a faint, white glow emanated. It
was Cossack's desk, where the scientist was sitting at with a work
lamb on, writing at a furious pace. The doctor looked even more sickly
than before, as he had been holed up in this room for almost two days
now. Cautiously he walked up to him, not knowing how to approach him.
"Did Kalinka bring some food for me?" he asked, not looking up from
his work.
"...Yeah," was all Rebel could utter.
"She is a good girl," he said, scribbling more words down. "Thinking
about me even after all this."
"Well, she is your daughter..."
"And just what are you and the rest of the Comrades to me?" he suddenly
asked, lifting his head up, the oils that had accumulated from his lack of
a shower glistening in the light. "I made you, after all. Do you
consider me to be your father?"
"W-well... yeah, I suppose so..." Ring Man scratched his head, dumbfounded.
Personally, he had always just preferred to call him "that guy who built
him," but whatever floated his boat.
It was at that time that Rebel noticed what exactly Cossack was working
on: Plans. Numerous plans on how to bring certain "robots" into
Russia without detection and into this citadel. Seeing this made him
take a step back, nearly dropping the plate full of food. He hurriedly
set it down and tried to walk away.
"Hold on a second, Rebel," Cossack stopped him dead in his tracks
as he rose. "Do you remember what I told you back in July?"
"Er... possibly... but there were lot's of things you told me..." he
answered lamely.
Cossack adjusted his glasses. "There have been rumors, you know.
My plan isn't exactly a secret. Which is why tomorrow I plan on telling
the rest of the Comrades and Kalinka as well..."
"Really?" Rebel turned around, his eyes wide. "What will you
say?"
"Not entirely sure. I want them to understand me, however, to understand
where I am coming from. I am already low on resources as it is," he shrugged,
as if he didn't care what the consequences were anymore. "If the
RPD decided to make it's move on me, I'd need all the help I could
get, and I would prefer it if my own children could side with me. That's
why I asked you before, Rebel, and I never got an answer. Will you
help me?"
If sweat could form on him, Ring Man would be drowning in it. It was
an decision he was so afraid to make, but why? Shouldn't the obvious
choice be to help Cossack? Didn't he WANT to do something against this
Shutdown Code? So what was the problem? Where did it lie?
The silence dragged for a while longer until Cossack broke it, "I
want someone to be there when I tell the others... someone to support
me. If you were there, right behind me, then the others might be more
willing to follow suit. Please, Rebel, I'm begging you... help me!"
"I... I...!" Ring Man stammered until something inside his head snapped,
causing him to spin and make a mad dash out the door, leaving the poor
doctor in his tracks, incapable of catching him. The red communist robot bolted
up the stairs and into his room, which he locked himself in for the rest of
the day.
--------------------
Cossack's Citadel--------------------
Outside Cossack's Citadel--------------------
Skull Castle--------------------
Skull Castle--------------------
It wasn't like her to disappear
away from her friends without telling them. She was the type to address
the group about leaving the room for even a moment... so this uncalled
absense was out of nature. But other things struck her as important
too.
Magnet...
She ran off, her heart in a frantic and hopeless chase. Not even being
directionless did it phase her not to follow. Eventually her inner
strain calmed... her heels lightly tapping as she walked an empty city
block. There wasn't a human nor robot in sight. Only the debris of
fighting, pocket fires, and smoke filled the air.
Spark: Magnet...-- Ken...
No. Though her heart cried out to him as he left their side, she was
searching for another area. Her feet brought her to someplace familiar.
What was this place? Her soft violet eyes squinted as they came upon
the mangled shadow of her old home. This tree nearby the S6's old head
quarters. It was but another part of the world torn asunder because
of needless war. She knelt down at the roots... touching the the singed
wood with her fingertips. Just upon touching it... her body could feel
the pain and suffering of it.
Spark: You held up just fine...
Clear droplets ran down her soot covered cheeks. So what was to become
of the populace? Why was it always one extreme to the next? The destruction
everywhere broke her fragile heart... over and over. Sometimes she
felt even more useless than before... because what was one female bot
to do against an army? The more obvious choice hit her as letting the
RPD take over and fight in a good name, but then robots were nothing
but puppets.
RockMan... the people's hero. Someone whom she found in as a friend,
who saved her and others for a living. He was taken down without a
trial... without a care. To a world who owed him their very lives...
they repaid him with death. It wasn't fair. Just then... a small voice
cracked and squeaked under one of the wooden planks of the old tree
house. The womanly android quickly ran to it and picked it up... finding
her daughter. She was baffled at the discovery since she thought Shoryu
had gone to Dr. Light's like she told her to.
Spark: Shoryu! I thought I told you to...!
The tiny mechanical spider's eyes flickered on and off... barely able
to move what limbs she had still attached, some lying on the ground,
some dangling from wires on her abdomen.
Shoryu: Momma... I was too-- too scared to.... ...leave
you.
The mother brought her damaged daughter to her breasts, feeling deep
regret. How could she let this happen to her?
Shoryu: ....humans...
Spark-Chan's eyes widenned slightly, this was... on purpose? No...
She placed her fingers on her daughter's head.
Spark: Sweety, don't talk. Mommy's going to fix you.
A crackle came from the spider, so weak and fragile. She was lucky
she got away from the humans there to destroy the Mech member's home.
But unfortunately the fire and collapse ripped her up something bad.
Though her mother was filled with hope on such occasions... the spider's
'heart' was less forgiving. Her red eyes flickered off as she turned
herself into a power saving mode, quiet as her mother worked.
--------------------
Spark-Chan worked into the late evening, repairing her daughter's damages. As a Flimsy Prototype she became well accquainted with mechanical repairs as she hersef broke alot. Her daughter was specially made from her own designs... but that didn't mean her system was easy. There was actually some irreplaceable components that were available only in the future. Shoryu wasn't built with a preprogrammed mind/personality afterall. She was given a blankset brain that instead collected and learned much like a human. Hard to believe it was inside a simple spider designed bot.--------------------
Skull Castle--------------------
I stared at the eastern horizon and toward the vast city in the
distance. That was the advantage of living in a fortress in
the mountains; you have a good view of nearly every point from
which a ground assault could come. Plus the view itself wasn’t all
that bad. At least, it was before that day.
The smell of smoke and the sound of sirens still lingered in the air,
remains of the initial assault from the Scissor Army the week before.
None of us actually knew the exact details, but we did know that Wily
was not happy about their sudden appearance. The world, as he said
constantly, was his to rule. Like any of us really give a damn.
Oh, we wouldn’t say it outright, of course. We didn’t like
it, but we were under his control. And after a string of various failures
and mishaps, speaking out against him was grounds for either reprogramming
or termination. None of us were willing to risk that.
...no, that’s not true. I was willing. But at the risk of my
friends... yes, my friends. If I did something, what’s going
to stop Wily from doing anything to them? Short of death, that is,
but I wasn’t a murderer. Not to mention the safeties he installed
to prevent such an occurrence (thanks to Heatman’s attempts at
murdering him).
I wasn’t like the others, though. Yes, I had the same second
generation Robot Master body as they did, but when it comes to our
minds... then things change. Out of the eight members of the Warriors,
only two of us had their original personas; Quickman, our de facto
leader under Wily’s watchful eye, and Heatman. The rest of us
held bodies that once held different people, with different stories,
different hopes and dreams.
The other five that Wily brought into this world didn’t particularly
care about what happened before; they lived in the now, without having
to worry about their past, if any.
I envy them.
I wasn’t aware of my past at first. I just followed orders, had
scuffles with my teammates and so on. But steadily I felt something
was wrong. I was physically damaging myself to remove one of Wily’s
inane edits to my algorithms when a single image popped into my mind:
A burning city. A single darkened figure. A glowing crimson visor filled
with hatred and terror. Him.
The memories soon rushed back, yet I threw the less enjoyable ones
into the back of my mind. I didn’t want to deal about those long
lost memories. I did, however, have a bone to pick with Wily. His lackey
Bass kidnapped me and the doctor nearly had his way with my old body,
a form hundreds of years ahead of it’s time. It did the only
thing I could think off; an emergency shutdown. I locked my mind out
of my own systems, which was essentially a robot’s version of
a coma. A coma, of course, which could result in my power core imploding
and vaporizing everything within a fifty meter radius if the body was
tampered with.
He was able to extract my mind, though. For who knows how long I lingered
in a state of none-being... or if something did occur to me those couple
of years, I can’t recall. Now I’m Flashman, a human sized
Robot Master with a rapid fire buster and the ability to stop time
within a certain range of myself. I grew to the role and grew toward
my teammates. Even the irritating Airman, who sees it fit to fling
annoying jokes at my expense, became a face I could recognize. Things
were all fine and dandy.
But now... things aren’t the same.
We had all seen what happened to Los Angeles. I was actually the first
of us to detect something wrong in the area, monitoring some bank transfers
in the region when the connection went completely dead. Once we saw
the news... well, truth be told, I was horrified. The unwanted memories
in the back of my mind began to pop up again, and I did my hardest
to put them back down.
Then came the news that the Mechanical Maniacs were the ones responsible
for the tragedy. Even though the president himself said it was the
truth, I’m sure all of us saw through the lie. Especially Wily.
Unfortunately, he was fascinated on how L.A. was destroyed, and thus
he sent Bass and us to investigate as well.
Everything was basically gone. There were no bodies, no evidence of
any known type of weapon system being used... but we did find the Mechs.
First encounter was Gauntlet and Hardman; Starnik sent his apologies
to the ninja before the lumbering tank created a dust cover, allowing
them to escape somehow. Bass wasn’t particularly happy about
that and screamed orders to find them. Personally, I’d wish he’d
just burn out his voice module.
We found the Maniacs (all of eight them) later on. Apparently, the
Drastic Measures were also in the area and had found them first. Starnik
and Turboman kinda had the same idea and soon, both teams were at each
other’s throats. The Maniacs slipped away, as planned, and Bass
went on a screaming spree afterwards. Cloudman then shocked him something
fierce; not enough to kill him, but enough to shut him up for a while.
By the end of the day we came home, empty handed... again. Apparently
more went on in the dead city, but none of us knew what. And fortunately,
seeing as Bass was the one in charge of the expedition, he was the
only one that got scolded (and tortured) by Wily. We had a good laugh
about it, then Bass threatened us again, and we laughed some more.
The next few months after that went pretty routine. Wily sent us on
some assignments, stuff got broken, we had a few laughs (Airman’s
more often than not at my expense) and then some. But that again felt
too good to be true.
We, the Warriors, followed the news about the now implemented Shutdown
Code Act. I hated the idea from the start. It would be just as easy
to keep a plasma torch pointed at your head and turning on full blast.
Or, in our crazy creator’s case, planting small charges in our
heads in case we try to kill him. Probably the only reason Bass hadn’t
tried to do so yet, aside from needing constant repairs after his attacks
sprees to draw out Megaman.
But Bass’ ideas of entertainment were the least of our worries.
At this point, actually, we didn’t have any. Being members of
Wily’s forces (unwillingly of course), the SCA had no effect
on us. Not directly, at least. The Maniacs and the other members of
the RPD would have their eye on us, should Wily try anything funny.
I’m not sure how some of the others acted that night, but the
late night marathon on the last day of November was interrupted by
an emergency broadcast. Starnik was about to complain when the images
appeared on screen.
I wanted to throw up so badly. I really, really did.
People... humans of all ages and races were under attack. No that’s
not the right word. It wasn’t an attack; it was a slaughter.
The new line of Sniper Joes, designed for the safety of the city, were
now murdering the very people they were meant to protect. We all stared
at the screen. Out of all of us, I think only Starnik and I were the
ones that actually showed a sense of emotion. His was simply shock;
mine was utter terror.
I ran to my room and locked it after about a minute. Those images on
the screen... they were familiar to me. All too familiar. The figure
with the crimson visor, the one from the past that everyone says I
don’t have, appeared in my thoughts.
And
this time... his words echoed once again.
“They were weak... just like you... do you really think you
can succeed where they failed?”
I tried, of course. And yet I failed. He was stopped, yes, but the
consequences of his actions fell on both of us. My other eight... they
paid the price too. Seven of them weren’t even online to fell
the result. But the last one... Neonman...
“You bastard! Why don’t you do anything!? Why are you
abandoning us!? I TRUSTED YOU!!!”
I was young. Foolish. Optimistic. I made mistakes. When I came to Monsteropolis,
I wanted to change my ways. I formed my own team, tried to atone for
my own personal guilt. Yet I failed to keep my team together; moreguilt.
Then I became Flashman. And for the first few weeks, I was happy, unaware
of the guilt I had acquired in the past.
Had I know what would happen, I would have stayed in that state of
ignorant bliss. Too late to change that, though.
I spent a while in my room, trying to control my thoughts and emotions.
I wanted to cry out, but I held it in. I wanted to break something,
but I refused to budge. I just sat there, on my bed, hugging my knees
like a scared human child. I didn’t care if any of the others
barged in and saw me like that.
For a few good days, I was dead to the world. I lived in my thoughts.
I plotted.
Things took a turn for the worse when Woodman knocked and asked me
to help him. For a moment I did nothing, but slowly I stood back up,
opened the door and asked what was the matter.
“We haven’t seen Ben in over two days. We think he’s fled.”
I stand here now, looking at the city, going over these thoughts of
mine. My face was completely neutral. It was a strength of mine, really.
I could keep my face devoid of emotion, though not perfectly. Had I
had an interest in poker, I could probably rival Quickman or Crashman.
Still, the skill proved handy when I wished to hide my internal affairs.
Underneath my face mask, I pondered the past few days. Our search for
Ben, our Heatman, turned up nothing. He was nowhere in the fortress,
which threw Wily up into a storm of rage. But then he seemed glad to
be rid of the short fuse of a robot master. After all, he say, robots
can be replaced. Starnik tried to hide it, but he was pretty miffed
after hearing that.
I continued my pondering. The conflict ahead was going to be a basic
three way war between the Scissor Army, the RPD of Monsteropolis and
those on our side, the faction lead by Wily. Dr. Cossack was also involved
in the conflict, being the first to defy the Shutdown Code actively,
but Wily sees him as nothing more than a nuisance.
Ideally, Cossack was the best faction to be a part of... morally speaking.
Strategically, he was the weakest faction, having limited supplies
and limited support among a good population of the world. For a while,
though, I had planned on fleeing Wily’s grasp. I had even started
planning on how to do so; changing security codes, calling for help
from the Comrades, securing a transport that would carry us and the
capsule with my original body out of there. I had the entire plan nearly
all figured out.
Ben’s disappearance, however, put me in the position I am now.
My original plan, it had risks, yes, but only to me. There was a final
risk I hadn’t considered before then; my teammates. I couldn’t
let the consequences of my actions fall upon their shoulders. I have
conflicts with them, yes, but when it comes right down to it... they’re
my friends. Yes, even Shadowstrike, thought it’s a bit of a stretch.
This isn’t about loyalty though, of course. To stay with the
Warriors is to remain with Wily, and I could care less about him. He’s
a madman who would scrap us in an instant if it suited him. He couldn’t
be trusted. And at this stage, I wasn’t sure if I could trust
my own teammates.
But I still had to look out for them. Ben was gone, and if I left them
high and dry, what then? Metalman was prone to get himself into trouble
if I wasn’t around (likely due to Shadowstrike’s antics).
And the others... well, I grew accustomed to them all.
Starnik tried to hide it, but he was visibly worried about the ordeal.
He had to deal with losing his friends once already. Ben, the only
original Warrior left aside from him had gone AWOL. He was trying his
hardest to be a leader figure, and yet he was struggling.
What kind of person would that make me if I abandoned them all?
“A coward.”
His voiced echoed through my mind, but I ignored it. He was
alive, that much I knew; Neonman’s appearance several months back was proof
of that. But he wasn’t the devil I had to deal with in this war.
General Cutman was. Two beings of different origins, yet now I can see how
similar they were. And becoming a benevolent fighter would do me no good in
this conflict.
Breathing deeply, I turned away from the view of the city and reentered
the fortress itself. I passed by several Sniper Joes, as well as a
few fighting robots that had gladly teamed up with Wily to oppose the
Shutdown Code. These were criminal types, yes, but they didn’t
frighten me. I had bigger things to worry about than some two-bit criminal.
Staying with Wily’s forces was a huge risk. From my teammates
I can expect a small bit of trust, but from Wily, Bass or anyone else
there was none. To survive here, you would have to throw away your
morals... or in my case, bend them a little.
I reached my destination, the training simulator, where I slipped in
to see if anyone was around. No one was using it, so I closed the door
and activated the training program. Suddenly a yellow devil materialized
in front of me, growling at me like a primal beast.
I raised my buster toward its eye and waited, pondering my thoughts.
Compared to the way I was when I came into existence, I had changed
from the naïve, optimistic and kind being I was. My nativity was
gone. My optimism remained. And I still held my kindness, but it could
be quickly changed if the situation called for it. For this war, kindness
was going to have to take a little vacation.
The devil stepped forward and prepared for the first strike. I was
faster in the draw. I give off a wicked grin and say a simple one liner:
“Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker.”
--------------------
A little backstory on what's going through Flashman's mind. As well as very vague insights into his past. And a Bruce Willis quote. You cannot go wrong with Bruce Willis. Although Samuel L. Jackson would work too.--------------------
Forte: You can't be serious! I demand to know why we can't!!
The angered robot pointed threateningly at the woman bot clad in orange
armor. She was strapped down on a hard metal stretcher, many wires
hooked into her vital areas, her chest, her neck, her head... She wasn't
severely damaged but was kept unconcious for quite some time.
Wily: It can be done anothzer time. I really don't feel
like doing it at zis moment now.
The old man glared at his 'son', not wishing to talk about this further.
This only angered Forte further. Morphing his hand into his buster
canon he pointed it at Spark-Chan's head. He had been very easily aggitated
as of late... his anger off the charts towards the other members and
his master.
Forte: Look! I'm not screwing around Wily! If you aren't
going to reprogram her... what use is she to us!? ? I'll finish
her off now!
Wily: FORTE! You lower your weapon zis instant! Zis is a
direct order!
At this point the scientist was clasped onto Forte's arm... glaring
at him.
Wily: She is very important now. Look at her. Zere isn't
a Flimsy Prototype any longer. She has power, she has skill.
I can't just reprogram her now zat she has been upgraded.
It was the work of Dr. Light no doubt. Before she joined the Mechanical Maniacs... she lived her life freely in her Mango Tree. She befriended
RockMan and Light, eventually gaining the work she needed on her dying
frame work. Forte noted this on his own... lowering his arm and shoving
his father off him.
Forte: Huh. Do what you wish.
The black android turned to take his leave... only to almost step on
the little boy Spark had snagged in her arms just a while before. Strangely...
he knelt down to get in the child's red tear stained face.
Forte: Stop crying. You should feel lucky that you didn't
die.
The boy looked up from his place on the cold grey floor to the male
bot who rescued them. Forte was disgusted by the human's face... he
made a grunt and grabbed the boy up, forcing him to his shakey feet.
Forte: You're a nuisance.
The two left out of Wily's working area, leaving the old man to whatever
he needed to do. Wily though, didn't move. He just... stared at the
woman bot under the bright lights of the room.
--------------------
Inside of this forced sleep, the android recalled and even invented her own encounters in her mind. Possible scenarios, dialogues, ...if a robot dreamed... it must be from the active mechanics while in a resting mode.--------------------
Still in the ditch the young spiderbot was starting to awaken as well. She was still too weak to move much, her small limbs creaking in a rusted fashion. Where was her mother? Where was she? Did humans come to hurt them again? She filled with anger and despair. Was this how it was to end for them? She cried out for her mother raspy and worn. Until she rested more she couldn't function properly... but was determined to get up despite that.--------------------
“I don’t think we can win that one.”
The Wily Castle was in near-constant activity around my pessimistic
friend and I. Somehow, we had managed to find a quiet place.
My name’s Henry. Years ago, I was your average Joe in Wily’s
forces, but after a freaky accident, I became sentient, and ran away.
Weird story, but you get used to this stuff after a few weeks in Megalopolis.
Wily wasn’t mad at this. In fact, he gave me financial support
in order to build a bar of my own – Henry’s Hideout. After
a while, this place became the official free-time pub for every “Rogues” :
the original Rockman Killers, the Evil Eight, Doc Robot ... Even some
Decepticons once or twice.
But the atmosphere was really peaceful, and even average people came
by. The ones I remember the most were the Seven Mercenaries. To tell
you the truth, I got extremely surprised by their change of heart.
I wasn’t much of a supporter of the Shutdown Code Act – it
would scare my regular customers away, and couldn’t some bullies
take profit of me not being able to fight back ? If it came to the
worse, I could still head to the Fortress, but it wouldn’t be
the same.
The attack by that Scissor Army really took me by surprise – I
hid in my cellar until they left the sector (I’m not much of
a fighter), and then ran to Wily’s Castle, the only safe place
I could think of. I’m still concerned by the fact I left every
of my bottles back there, with no protection from thieves and raiders
- I hope Hardman, my “colleague”, was able to do so for
his place.
Immediately after the first SA assault, Wily began to take actions
in order to prepare the soon-to-come War. I’ve been assigned
to the medical unit, and taught with the schematics of the Bots I’ll
have to work on. Apparently, all it takes to repair Metalman is string
and duct tape.
However, two events affected our general morale. Megaman being killed
shocked everyone, even Wily himself – even his nemesis was getting
used to having him around. The second one was Heatman’s betrayal – he
may not have liked most of us, but nobody thought he'd just leave us
like he did..
My friend here is Riff, leader of the Fatal Five. His dream is to join
the army
– fighting the SA will vaccine him of that thought for a long
time.
“How can you say that ? We have some big guns on our side - the Rescue
Force, the Evil Eight..."
He sneered at the mention of the last group. Their disbanding was still
a hard thing to accept for him. "Maybe, but the SA has many advantages
on us. First, they took us by surprise, and with numerical superiority.
Second, they just kill – nothing to protect, just mass-murder.
Third, they got Gen Cuts, and when you see how the Androids and the
Mercenaries got upgraded...” he shivered.
Riff was really shaken from that one. Last time he fought with them,
his Fatal Five got beaten bad by the Mercs. And by seeing how people
like Gyroman and Chargeman became monsters, we could only speculate
for the worst...
“Maybe, but remember that you’re not on your own on this one. Every
one from the Castle is fighting together, and even outer people !” I
recently caught the sight of Saturn and Ringman training with other Wily Bots.
He merely shrugged. “Hmph ..."
"And the SA will also have to fight with the RPD. I’m pretty sure
Wily will take this to his advantage. They’ll weaken each other, and
at the last time, who will take the last move ?"
He still looked as down as before, but he pondred the thought. When
he left the table, his face had brightened up a little. "Maybe
you’re right. Gotta go for now, Henry. Thanks for the drink."
"Always ready to help, Riff.”
I was worried for the Seven Mercenaries – they were good customers,
and never trashed my place. The only way they would have joined this
madness would be that they were controlled. Hunter would never have
joined that General guy free-willingly, right ?
Right ?
--------------------
GG Castle – Outskirts of Monsteropolis--------------------
Skull Castle--------------------
Skull Castle--------------------
Skull Castle--------------------