The Business of War

Orchestrated By C.M. Rich (Magnetman)

Dr. Wily War Journals 3

By Lennon, Makenshi, Rebel,

I'm Going Slightly Mad

Skull Castle
2:03 AM

As the outside temperatures rose around the Skull Castle one night, Ring Man sat in his chambers, unable to sleep. All he could think about were the recent events that plagued his mind like an annoying fly that refused to go away. The war, the RPD, the Scissor Army, Cossack, the Comrades, Wily... and most important of all, himself.

It had been a minuscule thing yet it gnawed at his conscience at a rapid pace. For what reason it symbolized, for what purpose it reflected was beyond his comprehension. All he knew that it was there, unable to go away, and constantly grew with each passing moment. The worst part was that seemed to triple during times like this, when all he could do was sit and think.

The meaning was oh so clear... he was missing that one final screw. Perhaps it was the current environment he lived in, but ever since he went under Wily's wing an uncontrollable, insatiable urge washed over him. It did not seem too bad, at first glance, but honestly nobody had a clue. A prime example was from his last mission, capturing Proto Man. After he had offered to take him back to Wily and was rejected he had gotten so... PISSED OFF. Something quite unlike him shook his sanity to the very core, causing him to lash out at the prototype when he finally got hold of him.

I'm going slightly mad.

That was not the end of it, sadly. Whenever he attempted to reflect on the past it angered him so very much. Images of Cossack in his mind set him off with a scorching temper, especially when it came to his last few days at the Russian citadel. He hated Cossack for what was happening, hated him for putting his own life on the line along with countless other robots. The idea that Cossack would rebel was ludicrous, and the very thought of him succeeding was good for a laugh. He wouldn't succeed... he couldn't succeed!

I'm going slightly mad...

Oh God, it was finally happening. No, it had already happened. A long, long time ago. It just took a war to bring it all out. Way back when Shadowyguy still led the team as Skull Man, things were fine. Then Shadowyguy was gone and AM became leader. But how? Why? AM was a nice guy but what about poor old Rebel? Did he not deserve a chance? It was like what Dr. Lecter had said. Yet, when reflecting on the issue at hand, his answer had been rather calm, merely brushing it aside as though it was no big deal. Well, that was all a lie. Deep down there were no responsibilities, only anger. Anger that yes, it wasn't fair and that he should have had every right to lead the team! After all, AM had never been assigned the leader to begin with, so it was only natural that he would suffer from being far too inadequate for the job. Too many mistakes were made, too many lives were lost... Yes, far too inadequate. SO WHY WAS THE DRILL THE LEADER!?

Ha ha ha ha ha...

He was one card short of a full deck, one wave short of a shipwreck. These thoughts were destroying his mind! Although, in many ways nothing was particularly wrong with them. After all, why should he care what he thought about them? He abandoned them, left them for dead, in order to survive this bloody conflict. If he wanted to dream about a world where the Comrades were guided under his superb leadership abilities then he had every damn right to. This kettle was boiling over.

Oh dear.

They would have been better off that way, far away from that suicidal maniac Cossack. Now they were all doomed to die! And not one of them probably even remembers poor, poor Ring Man! In fact they probably just replaced him, something that AM is always far too eager to do these days. It's all just a game, after all. AM was probably planning something... something to eliminate Rebel from the board, so he would be the only original member left and thus no one would be able to question his authority! Well, unfortunately for him that wasn't going to happen. He'd beat him to it! Then he'd show them all a thing or two, once and for all. Not a single one of those fuckers would be breathing by the time he was done. Yes, it certainly seemed as though he was only driving three wheels these days.

But my dear, how about you?

It was enough trouble to prevent himself from busting out into maniacle laughter, his plan to get revenge on Cossack and the Comrades taking place in his mind once more. Oh yes, he had already developed the perfect murder for Jet, Sean, Zapper, and Jade. He wanted to save AM for last, though. He would make bloody certain that he had the most gruesome one of all... stealing his prize, his true title! No one would mock him, for he was only just slightly mad. From this day onward, the two of them would be... arch-enemies.

And there you have it!

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Occurs at the end of The World is my Rome...

My, how I have fallen.

On a stretcher, Pride frowned. He remembered when he had been so much more powerful than before, so much that he would strut around proclaiming himself as a god, but this was just too much. After his narrow defeat by Starman a long time ago, he had to repair himself, and miraculously he was able to put himself back together, at the cost of having his powers diminish.

Now, he was badly injured, helpless to do anything except observe the object on the table beside him. It was an enormous red gem, protectively encased in a container decorated with green carvings of Roman Gods. A small yet prominent figure of Fortuna, the goddess of fortune and fate stood out on the top of the container.

His squad that had made a scene inside the Coliseum was only a diversion. The main group of Wily's forces had scattered, then converged back at a museum. The place was guarded under the control of the SA, but after an extensive stealth effort they were able to retrieve this.... thing.

He scanned the artifact, and his jaw dropped. Its component chart turned out with corrupted symbols, but the amount of energy it could provide was off the charts. No wonder the old man wanted this! This crystal could power a metropolis for a week! But how did the doctor know about this? And what was he going to do with it?

Pride reckoned that logically it would be used to support Wily's army, going for upgrades or increasing its size, but he didn't rule out the possibility that there was something more sinister behind its use.

A Sniper Joe walked up to Pride, and without a word, took it and started to leave. "Wait! Am I gonna get repaired here?" Pride called out. The Sniper Joe turned back. "The doctor is very busy, but he commends you for retrieving the artifact," he replied, and left.

Bullshit, Pride thought. He did all this work to recover some precious jewelry for Wily, and this was the treatment he got? No one gives a shit about me, he thought grimly, gritting his teeth in anger. He looked at his wounds. Outer armor was burned significantly, arms were severed by the shoulder, kneecaps were shot rendering the legs unfunctional, and his guitar's strings were ruined from his barrel rolling escape.

Finally, two repair bots wandered into the room. Pride immediately called to them. His design was very complexed, enough so that only the doctor himself would be able to give him a swift patchup, but these bots would have to do. They could at least reattach his arms and make his legs work again, and then he would be able to do everything himself. Again.

He'd go for some upgrades as well. It would take a very long time, but once he returned to the battlefield, he would have some more tricks up his sleeve to use.

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