The Business of War

Dr. Wily War Journals 6


BACK AFTER THE MESS

NEAR BERGEN

The Fatalists felt the detonation more than they saw it : riding a bionic shark is no easy task, even for such a strongman as Lento. Once they were away enough from Bergen, Lento directed the beast to the land, through the method of a good punch on the head.
While Riff was calling back the Castle, the remaining Fatalists were trying to control the overgrown fish from getting away : Wily would sure like to work on a proof of "unusual robotic activity"...

"I have to say, this was a very good idea, Riff." said Warpman. "Quite awesome, as well."

"Heh, thanks." replied Riff. "That will give us something to brag about... Riding a robot shark..."

They disappeared in a beam of light, along with their animal companion.

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SKULL CASTLE

For once, the Fatal Five felt proud : every robot standing in their path was backing away. They were purposefully omitting the fact that it was a robot shark who produced that effect, though.
They met up with Karasû before entering Wily's lab. He seemed to be in a good shape, but he was looking ... unsure.

"Nice to see my companions back", he said at the quintet. he pointed at the beast : "Is that my replacement ?"

Staccato laughed. "Absolutely not, fellow warrior ! He was going our way, and free-willingly took us with him."

"Lento unsure of shark's fate." admitted the behemoth. He was nervously toying with the leash he quickly made out of Hammer Joes' chains. "Will Wily dissect him ?"

"I hope not." admitted Riff. "We need him to keep our quarters."

They entered the room together, only to meet a gloomy doctor. Now was not the time to joke around.
Riff set his weapon at the level of his forehead, in a close imitation of a military salute.

"Sir, we're back from our mission in Bergen, which went successfully."

"Explain yourself", requested the German doctor.

"The origin of the robotic activity was a closed lab, specialized in bionic implants. We managed to bring back an experiment subject." The Fatalist leader motioned Lento to come in closer with the shark. Wily's eyes widened.

"We request permission to keep it as a "pet" once you're done studying him."

"I'll think about it." Wily was looking thoughtful by now. "What of the RPD, and Saturn ?"

"Drastic Measures and Shiken Max apparently made it out. Saturn went missing in our escape; if he doesn't come back to us, there's the possibility he goes back to his former Team, along with Cossack."

"Traitors everywhere..." muttered Wily. Then, he seemed to notice the Fatalists were still present. "Alright. You're dismissed." Wily raised from his seat, and snapped his fingers. Hammer Joes came in and dragged the shark further in the lab. "I'm glad to see you know where your allegiances lie..."

"Sir ?" Riff was confused. "We're loyal only to you, sir."

"I'm glad to hear it. You should speak some sense into your comrade ... Henry, isn't it ?" With that, the scientist left, ready to work on a new subject.

Once the Fatalists were out, heading for the repair bays, they surrounded Karasû.

"Okay, what happened ? Spill the beans." requested Warpman.

"Quite a complicated tale. To sum it up, Wily's latest plan was to blow up Monsteropolis. Spark-Chan, the Warriors, and Henry got in his way." replied Karasû.

"Destroying Monsteropolis ? But ... that's insane !" yelled Riff. "And where's Henry ?"

"He still has to be punished. I say we do something to help him out of this." said Karasû.

They all nodded. Henry was their comrade, and he seemed to have done the right thing.

"Okay. Karasû, here's what you will do ..." Riff continued to mutter for a few time, before Karasû nodded. "Meanwhile, we'll get ourselves repaired. Ready, Karasû ?"

"A bit risky, but I think it will work." admitted the raven-bot.

The Fatalists split once again, four leading to well-deserved repairs, and the other one going to plead Henry's cause in front of Wily...

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Price of Disobedience

Things were looking pretty grim right now. The Warriors were waiting for the Doc’s arrival, under careful guard by several dozen Joes. After what they just did, it was understandable, but it didn’t mean they had to enjoy it.

Airman glared at one Joe that kept staring at him, saying, “What?” before the Joe decided to move somewhere else. Another Joe took his place and began staring like its predecessor; Airman sighed, thoroughly annoyed.

Quickman and the rest had a similar experience with the Joes, feeling their cycloptic eyes on their chassis’s. The scarlet speedster was getting anxious from the waiting. Surely Wily would have done something to them by NOW. And there was the fact he didn’t scream blood murder the moment they came back, which was completely normal. The only way he would be that calm was if he was VERY angry. There was no mistake that they were all uneasy as a result.

The tension finally broke when the old doctor himself strolled on in. His face was twisted into a venomous scowl as he looked over his creations. He looked upon each one, finally ending with his gaze upon Quickman. Laughing nervously, the speedster asked rhetorically, “Eh, what’s up Doc?”

Wily was not amused. With two pairs of Joes flanking him, he approached the tall robot and stared into his eyes. “Tell me, Quickman… just what where you thinking when you decided to betray me like this?”

Quick didn’t have a reply to this. Nor did he have time to make one up as Bass stormed in, fully repaired and buster charged to maximum.

“Bass!?” Wily shouted in surprise. “What are you doing-” The ebony robot shoved Wily aside forcefully and unleashed his rage on his target; the blue and yellow form of Flashman.

“DIE.”

Flash heard Quick’s warning a split second too late as plasma filled his vision.

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Darkness. Black as far as he could see. Complete and utter nothingness.

This place again…

Cyros, or what constituted as him, floated in the void. The last thing he could remember was Starnik shouting as someone barged into the room, before an intense flash a purple blinded him. Then, the darkness.

So from those facts, either he was knocked into a coma like last time or… he was finally dead.

He sighed. I guess I had it coming sooner or later. Not that he was happy about it… there was still so much he wanted to do, to accomplish, but now that wouldn’t be possible. And his friends… I can’t even help them now. I’ve failed again. Damn it all...

How long had he been here now? Days? Weeks? Years? Was the war still even going on? Did the General succeed or perish? The RPD? Wily? Cossack? Time was meaningless in this void and there seemed to be no way to learn of events in the living world. The answers therefore remained out of his reach.

If this place was truly the afterlife, it sucked royally.

A tugging sensation brought him out of his thoughts as light exploded all around him

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He felt his eyelids twitch as they began to force themselves open. Though blurry at first, he could make out the outlines of various metallic objects. As focus returned one more, he found out that he was in Wily’s personal laboratory.

So much for being dead, thought Flashman.

Judging from the feeling of his limbs being spread out and the ceiling lights above him, he figured that he was in the middle of being (or just been recently) repaired. Most of his body felt numb and unfamiliar, even though his sensors detected the same body structure he had prior to Bass’ attack. He flexed his hands…

Wait, hands?

Flashman turned to his right and his eyes went wide. The round egg-shaped buster that was once his right arm had been totally redone. Now it resembled his left arm, hand and all, only with the silver metallic colors of his old weapon. A quick check of his drivers confirmed that it could still transform into his arm cannon if needed. Not that he could at the moment, for it was disabled.

In fact, it looked like several of his systems were disabled. But his pain receptors seemed to be working overtime.

His heart fell as he saw the open panels on his arms, legs and chest. Various wires attached to key points from some machine he could not see. The memory of what he had done came back, and he knew what was to come.

“You’re awake, aren’t you?” That voice… “Then that means you should feel this.”

Flashman could not help but scream as high levels of voltage and current raced through his systems. Warnings went off in his head about electrical damage, yet he could do nothing to save himself. The volatile flow of energy ceased and he laid slack, taking short gasps of breath to cool down his systems.

“That hurt, didn’t it?” Wily’s wrinkled face soon came into view, a sadistic look plastered on his mug. “Now that I have your attention, there are a few things I’d like to discuss.”

The doctor shoved uncomfortably close to Flashman’s face and spat as he spoke. “Such as why you assisted Quickman with his little scheme!” He pulled away and pressed an unseen button, which started the flow of energy and caused more screams to erupt from Flash’s vocal processor.

Another press ceased the torture and he went slack again. Wily continued speaking, pacing around his creation. “I find it surprising when a nice, loyal machine such as yourself is suddenly found in the middle of a mission that it wasn’t assign to and manages to deliberately send my ten nuclear Multimen teleporting into space!” Wily’s words were now saturated in anger. Flashman looked on timidly, unable to hide his fear.

Once more Flash was put through pain as Wily continued his explanation. “I found the remnants of the laptop which you used after Bass’ attack nearly destroyed you… to think that Heatman had left such a device for you miserable cretins to use! But I digress…” He turned off the torture device once more, giving Flash a moment of piece. “The fact of the matter if that you have not only disobeyed me, but directly interfered with my plans. What I ask is… why…

Fear flowed through Flashman as the doctor glared at him. What could he say? The truth? A lie? Whatever the option, Wily would probably just send enough electrical current through him to permanently shut him down. But what would be the point of repairing him then? Why could he just leave him alone?

“I asked you a question, robot!” Flashman screamed once more as Wily turned on the device once more. “You should be grateful I didn’t melt down your traitorous chassis after Bass finished with you! Now, answer me!”

This time it didn’t stop. The damage to his body was steadily increasing, and yet all he could do was scream. Never before had he felt this much pain. He was always avoiding conflict, always avoiding getting hurt. But now it felt almost right to be tortured like this, the feel the physical pain as horrible as the emotional pain he had suffered for years.

But there was a part of him that pleaded stop, and so, over the blinding pain, he yelled, “Quickman forced me to do it!”

The pain stopped. Flashman fell to the table and breathed hard. He had lied… lied horribly. Quickman did not force him to do anything. He had betrayed Wily at his own free will. Yet he put the blame on his friend, just to stop the pain. He felt horrible for it…

Wily, however, had no knowledge of this and smirked. “Funny. That’s what he said.”

Flashman blinked in confusion. Starnik said that too?

Wily continued. “Funny of him to take the blame for all of this. He’s more noble than I though. It’s so unlike him… but I suppose this so-called war has affected his mind, making him think this and that… hehehe, oh that fool really did it this time.”

He knew it would be best to be quiet, but he asked anyway. “…what did you do to him?”

“Hmm?” Wily looked down at the bound robot and, instead of punishing him, laughed. “I hurt him were it hurts most, of course! His pride. He and the other Warriors won’t be doing any special missions for a while. Not until they redeem themselves, the miserable scrap heaps.” He sighed and stared into space. “And you were all doing so well too… a real shame.”

Opening a nearby door, Wily let in one of his more loyal creations, Doc Robot. “As for you, Flashman… I think that Quickman’s influence upon you is quite unhealthy. That’s why I sent them away while repairing you. You’ll be reporting to Doc Robot until further notice.”

Flashman opening his mouth, as if to protest, but stopped. Wily was giving him a chance he shouldn’t be getting. If he was the old doctor, we WOULD have left him in the scrap heap. This confused Flash greatly… then again, Wily needed all the force he could muster to fight this war. And he was, after all, one of his most versatile Robot Masters.

“Just remember one last thing, Flashman…” Wily looked down upon his captive once more, getting uncomfortably close. “Remember who your master is, machine.” Flashman slowly nodded. “Then say it. Who is your master?”

He felt sick. He really didn’t want to say it, but he had no choice. He gulped and said, “…you are…” And with even more distaste, which he hid under nervousness, he added, “…Master Wily…

Wily’s insane laughter echoed throughout the room. Hearing those words had felt like gold to the mad scientist. “Yes, YES! I am your Master! And soon, this world shall see me as such as well! Master Wily, Ruler of the Earth!”

“Master Wily will surely succeed!” cheered Doc Robot. He gave off his own imitation laugh, which made Wily laugh even harder. Flashman just laid there, a bitter taste in his mouth from the words he had said moments before. Pausing, the little Wily imitation asked, “Shall I show this lowlife to his duties, Master?”

Calming down and clearing his throat, Wily replied, “Excellent idea, Doc Robot. Let Flashman get acquainted with his new teammates. Be sure to make him feel… very welcomed…” Flashman didn’t like to the sound of that one bit.

With the wires removed, his panels shut and his bounds undone, Flashman found himself escorted to some distant part of the castle by the clunky Doc Robot. There was no banter, no insults, no arguing whatsoever. Doc Robot lead, Flashman followed. The latter kept his thoughts to himself as the duo marched down the hallways.

He didn’t feel well at all. He was angry, he was miserable, he was lonely… every negative emotion he could think of, he was feeling it right now. His friends were out there somewhere, probably as miserable as he was, and he couldn’t even be with them. And Wily had seen fit to stick him with a bunch of loyalists, just because he was more useful to him than the Warriors. The bastard…

It seemed like the only positive thing to come out of this was his new hand. He clenched it instinctively, getting a feel for the new but familiar digits. Some prize this was… he couldn’t even enjoy it with the state of the world.

Doc Robot had stopped walking. Flashman looked up and saw the rest of the Wily Rescue Force, staring at him like he was one of the Maniacs or something. They obviously didn’t appreciate being stuck with a “traitor” like him. Only Expressman didn’t give him a look, only because he was busy elsewhere in the room. Barrageman and Multiman, however, towered over the blue robot like angry giants. Flashman gulped a little too loud and they heard it.

“Well well,” mused Multiman. “Looks like we have ourselves a new ‘member.’”

“Unit Barrageman does not take kindly to those who disobey Wily.” The military green machine stared holes into Flashman. “Suggest Unit Flashman to watch his actions or else he will get hurt… badly…”

Doc Robot waved a hand to his larger companion. “Now now, don’t scare him too much. Master has given him one last chance after all.” He turned to Flashman and pointed at him accusingly. “But we will be watching you, traitor. One false move and you are finished.” Flashman shifted nervously and nodded. “Now, get to work!”

He moved to get away as far as possible, but he had to stop and say, “Uh, what am I doing exactly?” Doc Robot blinked and scratched his head. Obviously he didn’t get that far in his thinking.

“Well, um… nothing at the moment! Go wait in your quarters until we call for you!”

A great weight fell off his shoulders and soon enough, Flashman was on a jog to his room. At least there he could feel at ease.

But with the feeling of eyes on him, he turned to see Multiman (one of them, anyway) looking over his shoulder. “Hey, someone has to make sure you don’t go off anywhere, buddy.” Flashman growled, but continued with the Multiman on his tail.

What a horrible day this was turning out to be… He suddenly wished he was back in his reploid form, cutting down Scissor Joes to release his pent up rage. Let the General see how he could counter THAT. But, it was just a pipe dream… like Wily was just going to put him back in his old body and hope for the best. Like he thought; what a horrible day this was turning out to be.

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