Scenario C
Participants:
Tengu & Clown (RPD)
Evil Eight (W)
C. Comrades (C)
Location: Pyongyang,
N. Korea
SA Troops: 1387
RPD Troops: 815
Wily Troops: 781
Day 1
Pyongyang was the home of The Arch of Triumph, the largest Arch
in the world. Well, it was. The General sent his troops to The
Arch, for it was a symbol of hope. Now it remained a symbol of
Triumph, but Triumph of evil. The city was evacuated and all that
remained was the SA troops that lingered, 1,387 to be exact.
The Doctor asked us to go to the desolate town to search for supplies.
Unfortunately the only money that comes in is drug money, which
in war time isn’t a lot. AM stares at the wasteland and sighs.
All the blood that was spilt, all the innocents…He knew
somewhere the General was smiling. It sickened him. He had vowed
revenge against the General. He wanted to be the one who crushed
his CPU.
Jet noticed AM’s attitude and decided to comfort him. “Are
you okay AM? I know it’s a horrible sight, but you seem to
be somewhere else right now.”
Her eyes met his. “I’m just thinking about Vi. It’s
been so long…” he drifted away.
“AM, I know it hurts. It will hurt you for the rest of your
days. But as a leader you must be strong. War is war. Innocents
are always the first to go. Be it the Jewish in World War Two or
those victims in 9-11. You will have your revenge on this General.
I swear it,” Zymeth said unexpectedly. AM knew the pain Zymeth
had experienced in life. Yet…
“It matters not. We are here on a mission. We need supplies.
I suggest we get started,” the Lord said. We all agreed.
The Comrades have been united with the War. Well…except
Rebel. No one knows where he went. It disturbed everyone, especially
AM. He and Rebel were founders of the team. They were practically
brothers. All they knew is that when the war is over there would
be plenty of changes. It only just started and already innocence
was lost.
The bodies were everywhere. Some were whole…but most were
torn apart. Zymeth went to the first body he found and searched
it for valuables. Geoff looked disgusted.
“What the hell are you doing?! That’s grave robbing!
That’s not right!”
“No. I’m not grave robbing. I’m doing a service.
The second these bodies are buried, their valuables go with them.
Then, if I decided to get their non needed Worldly possessions
I will be grave robbing,” he replied to the robotic submarine.
Jade nodded. “As horrible and wrong as that may be, he has
a point. It’s a world where the dog eats the dogs. We have
no choice. AM, do you agree?”
AM paused. He contemplated the choices he had and finally nodded.
So the Comrades started looting the corpses. At least most did.
Jet did not want to participate in it. She decided to search the
town for any energy. She was accompanied by Geoff.
“Here’s a tasty ring. Wouldn’t want to waste
it that would really be a crime. Thank you sir, I’m in your
debt,” Zymeth mused to a corpse. And he laughed.
“…Zy, would you stop that! There is a limit to what
I can take!” Zapper pleaded with Zymeth. Looking defeated,
he sighed.
“…fine. I suppose you don’t appreciate the humor,” the
walking skeleton mused. And he went to the next corpse.
Jade smirked under his mask. “I guess we know Zymeth’s
weakness: Zapper.”
Sean, who had stayed silent for most of the trip, suddenly called
the group over to him. “Look at this. It’s the remains
to a Sniper Joe! We can use these for spare parts. I can tinker
with it once we get back. In fact I have found numerous robotic
parts. All of them bearing the Mark of Cutman. Perhaps I can see
how Cutman upgraded them…” he went on. Sean had become
the team mechanic, and right now he probably had the most important
job of all.
--------------------
Soon night fell and Jet and Geoff returned with nothing. Overall
nothing was to be collected. If anything they had only a few pieces
of jewelry and a few dollar bills, which together would barely make
$200. The team made camp on the remains of the Arch.
AM took another look at the sky. They were lucky not to be attacked
by and Sniper Joes, for there were plenty around. He thought of Cutman,
how he wished to kill him. He thought of Rebel, how he wished his
safety. He thought of Vi, how he missed her so. He thought of Gary,
who he missed the most.
And Zymeth, also staring, thought of his love. His previous life.
At the end of the day, they all just sighed.
--------------------
Day 2
It’s another day, and hopefully another few dollars for the
Comrades. Locating another sector of the city ravaged by the Scissor
Army, the seven of them continue their search for money, tools, and
any other materials that they or Dr. Cossack could use. As much as
they didn’t like the idea of looting the abandoned buildings
and the bodies of the fallen, they knew it was a necessary evil,
since they weren’t going to get money in any conventional manner;
the Russian government had seen to that. Jay and Silent Bob have
been able to raise some funds with their drug money, but selling
weed on the street corner only gets you so much.
Jet’s probably liking this the least. Not wishing to loot bodies,
she’s gone elsewhere, combing the local junkyards and landfills,
away from all of the death and destruction. Dust has gone with her,
partly to keep her company, partly in case of an enemy attack, and
partly because Zymeth’s habit of playing with the bodies was
starting to gross him out as well. Plus, the local junkyard is more
in his element.
“How much longer is this war supposed to last, anyway?” Brightbabe
mused.
“Who knows? With any luck it’ll be over without us being
dragged into it at all.” Dustman knew that wouldn’t be
the case, but he wanted to help ease Jet’s fears at least somewhat.
After all, Cutman wasn’t going down that easily – he
never does. Besides, the Comrades had a score to settle with him
as well. After Cutman’s cowardly slaughter of the Parrs, the
Comrades, especially Drill, were determined to see him pay dearly
for what he’s done.
But right now, Cutman and the Scissor Army are the least of their
worries as a pair of arms extends from out of nowhere, grabbing Dust
and Bright by the neck and delivering a very painful electric shock.
“In the name of the Robot Police Department, you Cossack bots
are under arrest!”
The two Comrades strain to look in the direction of their attacker.
Standing about ten yards away is Clownman, the robotic jester with
the extending electrical arms, now teamed up with the RPD. Flanking
his side are a pair of RPD Joes, guns drawn.
“Weren’t expecting to see the cavalry so soon, huh?” Clown
sneers. “Just make it easy on yourselves, traitors. Surrender
now and you won’t get hurt… too badly.”
Dust scowls. As everyone knows, those aligned with Cossack have chosen
to go against the now-mandated Shutdown Code law, have now been declared
international criminals. It’s likely that if they are captured
alive, they will be forcibly implanted with a Shutdown chip. Now,
it’s either death, or a life of slavery.
And to the Comrades, at least, that choice was an easy one…
--------------------
“Bright and Dust have been gone a long time, haven’t
they?” Pharaoh wonders aloud. So far, he’s managed to
find a few wallets and several rings and other precious stones. As
his name implies, Jade has always had an affinity for gems, crystals,
and the like.
“Hm. Maybe we should go look for them?” Zymeth comments
while dragging a pair of corpses behind him.
“What are you doing with those Skull?!” Drill inquires,
a rather disturbed tone in his voice. While he doesn’t really
have anything against Zymeth, his morbid antics never fail to keep
him on edge.
“What? I thought we could sell these guys to science. We make
money and they get to be of service to their fellow man. Everybody
wins!”
“Right, my fault for asking.” Drill just buries his head
in his hands.
“Nonetheless, we should look for Sean and Jet.” Zapper
chimes in. “It’s probably not a good idea for us to be
separated for too long.”
“How right you are, Communist scum!!”
Before everyone could react to the sound of the new voice, a three-pronged
blade splits the air as it plunges into the ground at Skull’s
feet. Everyone turns in the direction of the projectile’s path
in time to see a menacing figure swoop down from the sky, hovering
in the air in front of the Comrades.
“Tenguman…” Drill speaks up. “What are you
doing here? You’re working for the RPD, are you?
“Right again!” The long-nosed goblin responds, scouring
the grim scene. “This your handiwork, you criminal sons-of-bitches?”
“You know damn well this is the Scissor Army’s work!” Jade
spews. “Why don’t you do your frikkin’ job and
go hunt down the ones who did this?”
Tenguman shrugs “Because you’re on the RPD’s hit
list too. Anyone who opposes the Shutdown Code is an enemy of the
state, and as such, you are to be processed, and be either fitted
with a Shutdown chip or be terminated.”
“Sorry, Big-Nose” Diveman speaks up. “But you’re
not doing either today.”
“That’s not one of your options!” Tengu snaps his
fingers and a small detachment of ten Joe units step out from behind
the rubble. “You’re history!”
--------------------
“Any last words?” Clownman asks as Dust and Bright struggle
painfully against his electric grip.
“Just a couple…” Jet responds, “Say cheese!”
“Huh… Gahhhhhhhh!!!” Before he can say anything,
Bight’s Flash Stopper bursts to life as Clown’s and the
Joes’ eyes are filled with hundreds of thousands of watts.
The jester instinctively lets go of the two Comrades as he throws
his hands in front of his face to shield him from the intense light.
No sooner does he do so than he feels the impact of a Dust Crusher
slamming into his abdomen. He now doubles over, clutching his stomach
in pain.
“Now, what were you saying about surrender?” Dust readies
himself as the Joes recover their sight. The two of them, however,
prove no match for Sean and Jet’s combined efforts.
“Damn…” Clownman stammers as he gets to his feet.
Realizing he’s lost his advantage of surprise, he decides to
cut his losses and run. Wrapping his arms around himself into a ball,
he charges himself up into his Thunder Carnival, a large spinning
electric ball, which enables him to make his escape.
“Should we go after him?” Brightbabe asks.
“I think so. He could report us if we let him return to his
base camp.” Dust replies. And with that, they give chase.
--------------------
Meanwhile, Tenguman and his squadron have engaged the other Comrades.
Three Joes try blasting at Zymeth in vain, unable to overcome his
Skull Barrier.
“You bore me.” Skullman quips as his scythe materializes
in his hands. In one quick swing, two Joes have been decapitated. “See
you in hell.” Skull says to the remaining Joe as he raises
his buster and engulfs it in burning dark energy.
“Yeehah!!” Geoff cries as his fist slams right through
one Joe’s visor. Hardman he isn’t, but Dive is still
a beast of a robot master with incredible physical strength. “Oh,
you want to play too?” He says to the two remaining Joes approaching
him. Two Dive Missiles later, and they’re scrap as well.
Four Joes surround Jade. “Four against one? That’s not
very fair…” Pharaohman starts glowing red, alight with
scorching flames “…for you.” The area around the
Egyptian monarch erupts in fire as the power of his Pharaoh Wave
incinerates the quartet of Snipers.
Drillman fires a pair of Drill Bombs at Tenguman, who nimbly dodges
them, and advantage of being the swift aerial fighter that he is.
He returns with another Tengu Blade, which Drill and Toad jump out
of the way of.
“Hey, dodge this!” Zapper fires a capsule into the sky,
causing a Rain Flush cloud to appear over Tenguman. Although Toad
has refined the ability to control where the could will appear, Drill
knows enough to jump out of the way of the torrent of acid rain that
beats down on Tengu.
“Agh…!! Blasted little…” Tengu calls on
his Tornado Hold to blow the cloud away, but the acid seems to have
done at least some damage. He fires a second Tornado at Zapper trapping
her in the spinning vortex. “Now I have you…!” He’s
about to fire a Tengu Blade at her, but…
“Forget something?” Drillman shoots a Drill Bomb at Tengu.
Luckily for him, Tenguman reacted just in time to block the missile
with his blade arm. The Bomb explodes, but the strong alloy of the
blade seems to have deflected most of the damage, although some cracks
are visible.
“Hey!! Someone stop him!”
Dustman’s voice suddenly gets the Comrades’ attention
as Clownman is rolling toward them, chased by Dust and Bright.
Tenguman frowns under his mask. “Argh… What the hell
is that fool doing?”
“So, someone wants to play ball, huh? I have just the thing…” Jade
charges up a large Pharaoh Shot, which he throws at the balled-up
Clownman bouncing him into the air and landing at Tengu’s feet.
“Tenguman! Let’s get out of here!” Clownman pleads.
Tenguman sighs, “Fine. See you later Cossack scum! Don’t
think you’ve won yet.”
With that, Tengu flies off into the air, with Clownman swinging from
him on his long arms.
“After them!” Dust shouts. “Before they report
us back at their base!”
“Skull, you go ahead with Dust and catch those two.” Drill
answers. “The rest of us should stay here in case of another
attack. Try to be back by nightfall.”
“With pleasure.” Skull smiles.
“Aright. We’ll see you later.” Dust says as he
and Skull pursue the fleeing robot masters.
--------------------
Skull and Dust both ran after the RPD Robot Masters, struggling to
keep up with Tengu’s flight path. Thankfully Clown was slowing
him down, but only just enough for Skull and Dust to keep up. Suddenly
Dust noticed Tengu land, as though to investigate something. The
two took cover behind a few of the broken buildings littering the
area. Dust peeked around the corner, only to see a small brawl occurring.
Tengu and Clown had been fired upon by Wily troops that inhabited
the area. The two Robot Master started making scrap from their bodies.
“Damn! Skull, Wily’s still active here too.” Sean
said, obviously unhappy.
“No no, they might provide us some distraction…” Skull
darted around the other side of the building to watch the same battle
Sean spotted. He looked around for something to give him an advantage.
He was looking for one man in particular.
Zymeth had done his homework. He had read up on one of Wily’s
operatives called Omniman, and his friend Golemman. According to
the very limited data that he acquired from his very brief visit
with the Scissor Army, Omni and Golem were still functional in this
area, and had very exploitable traits. This visit only held minimal
results, however. All Zymeth got from this visit was limited information
on all the active operatives of the various sides of the war. In
return he promised General Cutman limited assassination services
if the General called on him, so be it they were not directly involved
in Zymeth’s affairs, such as Cossack’s Comrades, as not
to give away Zymeth’s possition. Thankfully Cutman had access
to much better assassins, such as Wraithman, so his services, if
any, will be small. Consequently, so was the data he was armed with.
However, he couldn’t find them anywhere. Zymeth cursed under
his breath. Suddenly his eyes lit up. Omniman lurked off near another
building, obviously intent on accomplishing something other than
fighting with Tengu and Clown. Sean rounded the corner, looking for
Zymeth. “Skull, they’re almost-“
“Dust, I’ll be right back. I have to do something.” Zymeth
interrupted.
Sean sputtered, “You can’t just leave-“
“Dust…” Zymeth said, “I need to do this,
trust me.” Sean hesitated a moment, but nodded. Zymeth nodded
a silent, “Thanks” and ran off towards the building he
saw Omni disappear behind. Dust continued to monitor Tengu and Clown,
who were still embroiled in fighting off Wily’s troops.
--------------------
“Okay, I want all of the troops stationed outside the city
by sundown!” Omni ordered, “Meet Golem there.” A
green, plain Sniper Joe saluted and walked off. Omni turned around,
now alone, to find and collect more men. He stopped dead as a datapad
clattered to his feet. He picked it up, warily.
“It’s from the SA.” Zymeth said, leaning against
a building off to Omni’s right. Omnit whirled on the skeletal
robot, pointing his element controlling buster towards him. Zymeth
raised his hands, “Before you shoot, I thought you might like
to know that Wily’s in grave danger.” Omni was stricken
instantly by the comment, but he didn’t lower his weapon.
“How do you know that? From who? HOW!?” He said, his
composure lost thanks to Skull’s cryptic warning. Skull chuckled.
“I know because of that datapad you have now. I wrenched it
from a SA officer’s hands.” He was lying of course. He
just stole it as he left the SA outpost he had visited to meet the
General. On it he put false assassination orders, given by Cutman
himself. “The SA plans to take out Wily as soon as they can.
It doesn’t have the orders in specific, though, but their intentions
are clear.”
“Why are YOU telling me this?” Omni said, still holding
up his buster.
“I just don’t want Wily to die.” Skull said, still
lying. “He’s such a brilliant man, it’d be a shame
to have General Cutman rob the world of his genius so soon.” Omni
was completely taken by Skull’s flattery.
“I’ll kill that man…” Omni hissed.
Zymeth motioned for him to calm down. “I think it’s obvious
that the SA’s your biggest concern right now. Think of how
proud Wily would be that you lead the troops he’s given you
against them, in order to protect him.” Omni’s eyes lit
up at the chance to prove his loyalty to Wily.
“Thank you, Skullman.” He said. Zymeth nodded and the
two exchanged polite bows. The turned and began walking away when
suddenly another idea popped into Zymeth’s head. He though
of the panels that the RPD Watchers always carry with them. What
a price that would be. But Sean would never condone killing the humans.
“Omni.” He called out, forcing the elemental robot to
spin around. “I thought you might like to know that Tengu and
Clown’s Watchers were the ones who gifted the SA with the knowledge.” Omni
though for a moment and then nodded in understanding. Zymeth walked
closer to him and said, quietly, “I just want you to know,
that despite the side of the war I’ve taken, I’m still
pulling for Wily. Don’t let Cossack’s side in on it though,
it might put me, and thereby Wily in danger.”
“Alright.” Omni said, staring into Zymeth’s color
inverted, yet seemingly honest, eyes. Omni spun on his heel and ran
off to find more troops, leaving Zymeth alone to his thoughts. He
finally spat out the manic chuckle that had been creeping up his
throat. He couldn’t help but think of his luck, both in finding
Omni himself and finding him to be so damn thick.
--------------------
Sean blasted his Dust Crusher at a few more of Wily’s soldiers
that had stumbled across his location. They were obliterated by the
explosives instantly. “Damnit, Zymeth…” He muttered
to himself, “what are you doing?” He looked around the
corner, only to see Tengu and Clown finish off the last of the attacking
forces and prepare to take off. “I can’t wait anymore…”
Dust flicked on his radio and put his hand up to touch his earpiece. “Skull!
They’re getting ready to take off! I need you back!” He
whispered.
“Understood. Start chasing them and I’ll catch up as
soon as I can.” Skull’s voice sounded back. Dust sighed
and started running and jumping after them as they took off. “Zymeth
shouldn’t have any trouble catching up…” He thought
to himself, regarding his bulky and top-heavy armor. He continued
to chase them and finally Skull kept his word to regroup. Dust noticed
he was rather pleased about something, but he brushed it off, reasoning
it was probably about something morbid.
Several hours passed of racing to keep up, and both RMs were starting
to get rather tired. By the looks of things so was Tengu. Night had
fallen rather ominously during the chase, and Dust couldn’t
shake the feeling they wandered in a few huge circles. Finally Tengu
started landing, Clown in tow. The two ducked behind another building,
peeking around the corner to see what was happening. They had landed
on a small office building, which seemed to be a temporary personal
hideaway for them, judging by the sparse RPD units that littered
the area. Obviously they had counted on not being found.
“I’ll try to keep a tab on the radio signals in the area.” Dust
said, fiddling with his bulky forearm. Skull nodded in agreement.
“I’ll try to thin out the crowd a bit.” Zymeth
answered, gleefully. Sean admired his dedication but was somewhat
unsettled by Zymeth’s willingness to leap into bloodshed. Sean
once again shrugged it off. After all, Zymeth really was a soldier
at heart.
Zymeth made quick work of the scarce guards in the area, waiting
for them to commit mistakes such as investigating an odd noise alone
or wandering out of the other’s eyesight. He couldn’t
get all of them without being caught, be he did accomplish his goal
at thinning their ranks. Sean finally finished tinkering with his
various gadgets and contacted his friend.
“Skull, that’s enough. I think we can get in now.”
“Right right.” Skull said, cheerfully.
They regrouped and snuck into one of the windows on the third floor
of the building, using their jumping skills to reach it. They darted
off into the dimly lit building, searching for their targets. The
saw a figure in one of the hallways and hid in an adjacent room.
It was Clownman, and walking beside him was a human dressed in a
police uniform with “RPD” patches on it. Dust whispered, “Watchers.
I should have figured they’d be here too.”
“From the looks of things he’s not to happy with Clown.” Skull
responded, amused. Clown and his superior left the hall and the two
Comrades tailed them. They followed them cautiously, taking out a
few generic RPD troopers in the process. Finally they followed them
into a large, hallowed out room in which their equipment was set
up. The other watcher was in there, but Tengu was nowhere to be seen.
The cautiously entered the room, hoping not to be seen. Unfortunately
they were.
“There you are!” Tengu shouted from the hallway, behind
them. The two Comrades sprung to the side, dodging a three-bladed
shuriken. The watchers both bolted into another room, and a makeshift
security door slammed down behind them. Tengu leapt into the room
past Skull and Dust, slamming his hand on a control panel to seal
them in. The security door slammed behind them, trapping them with
the two RPD bots.
Tengu chuckled as he floated in midair. “Come to face us alone
have you, villains?”
“What a couple of rubes!” Clown jeered, assuming a battle
stance.
Dust readied his buster and Skull flourished the bulk of his cloak
behind him.
“Skull, any preference?” Dust asked.
Skull looked between the two RPD bots. “I don’t like
the colorful one.” Dust grinned and nodded in agreement. Skull
grinned back, and suddenly the both sprung away from each other,
firing their busters at their respective targets. Tengu darted downward,
dodging Dust’s shots, while clown leapt to the side to avoid
Skull’s.
Tengu barrel rolled past Dust’s barrage and hurled himself
at him. He flung a shuriken at him, which transformed into a moving
tornado. Dust leapt out of its path, following that up with another
leap strait up. He slammed the barrel of his buster right into the
side of a very surprised Tengu’s face. Tengu was knocked out
of his flight path, but he landed on his feat and somersaulted right
back into the air.
Skull swung his scythe fast and menacingly, forcing the nimble clown
to fight defensively. Clown jumped backwards, flinging his stretchy
arms forward, charged with electricity. Skull flung his arms in front
of him, creating a barrier of energy. Clown yelped as his hands made
contact with it, yanking them back afterwards. Skull laughed at him,
frustrating Clown that much more.
Dust launched a Dust Crusher at Tengu, who easily dodged the awkward
projectile. But it detonated, sending shards of shrapnel scattering
across the room. Tengu avoided it, but a piece found its way to an
unlucky Clown’s forehead. Tengu charged agin, swinging his
three-bladed weapon at Dust frantically. Dust’s heavy armor
absorbed the slices without much ill-effect, but it was slightly
damaging nonetheless. Dust once again slammed his buster into Tengu’s
frame in retaliation. This time, Dust unleashed several buster shots
right into the aerial bot’s chest, sending him sprawling.
Clown smacked Skull across the face with a Thunder Claw, inciting
a yell of rage. Clown yelped again as Skull fired a volley of shots
from his buster. A few of them found themselves impacting Clown’s
tiny frame. The jester leapt to the side as Tengu did the same. As
they passed the slapped hands together, exchanging targets. Tengu
closed distance with Skull quickly, flailing his shuriken. Skull
met his blades with his own, and the two began clashing their weapons
together, sending sparks scattering.
Clown lunged at Dust, his long arms stretching in front of him. Dust
hopped out of the way and Clown’s arms slammed into the ground.
Dust fired a few shots, but Clown retracted his arms hurling himself
at Dust. Dust put his arm up to intercept his kick, and flung him
backwards. Clown nimbly landed on his feet, still smiling. Clown
leaped again, but this time he was met with a Dust Crusher to the
abdomen. Clown stumbled backwards, cursing under his breath. It started
becoming apparent that the newer Robot Master wasn’t going
to stand much of a chance against the more experienced Dustman.
Tengu found himself in a similar situation. He was now locked in
a melee brawl with Skullman. Zymeth had many years of practice in
medieval war, and was an experienced halberdier. The scythe wielding
Skull deflected every attack only to counter with his own. Tengu
found himself quickly being overwhelmed, and launched himself backwards.
Skull sliced Tengu across the stomach while he retreated. Tengu launched
a last ditch attack, in which he held a shuriken in front of him
and sent a strong blast of wind in Skull’s direction, flinging
Skull backwards.
Meanwhile Clown latched on to the pipes on the ceiling, preparing
to lunge at Dust from a higher vantage point. Dust just smirked.
He turned on the heavy vacuum adorning the top of his head, aiming
towards Clown. Clown’s smile melted as he started being pulled
towards his potential killer. He held on for dear life to those bars,
but Dust didn’t ease the pull of his vacuum. The pull caused
his arms to stretch out, given their nature. Suddenly he became aware
of another presence. He looked to his right, horrified to see Skull
leaping up to his level, his scythe poised over his head. Clown screamed
as Skull swung down with both hands, severing Clown’s arms
from his torso.
Clown careened screaming towards Dust, who cut his vacuum off and
caught the dismembered jester. He flung Clown behind him, and Skull
opened fire with repeating buster, knocking him into the deep folds
of unconsciousness. As Clown’s horribly disfigured body hit
the ground both Comrades turned their attention towards Tengu. Tengu
assumed a battle stance, still prepared to fight. Dust and Skull
nodded at each other and Skull charged at the wounded Tenguman.
Tengu was obviously prepared for Skull’s assault, as the RPD
officer deflected all of Skull’s heavy swings. Skull leaped
at Tengu again, and their weapons clashed again. Suddenly Skull leaped
up into the air, performing a back-flip. Tengu kept his eyes on Skull,
anticipating another attack. However, when Skull’s cloak finally
stopped blocking Tengu’s vision, it revealed a Dust Crusher
hurtling towards him. Skull had back-flipped over the projectile,
obscuring it with his cloak. Tengu tried to block it with his less
vulnerable shoulder, but it collided with the same wound Skull had
opened before. It pierced his armor and detonated, sending shrapnel
flying through his insides. Tengu’s eyes rolled back in his
head as he collapsed, unconscious but still technically alive.
Skull landed next to Dust again. Zymeth and Sean exchanged a glance
for a moment, and then began laughing. Sean fiddled with one of the
consoles as Zymeth admired Tengu’s perforated remains and Clown’s
arms still dangling from the ceiling. The security doors slid open,
clearing the way. Zymeth and Sean both ran after the Watchers, hoping
to catch them. The scene in the room down that hallway was horrifying.
The two Watchers’ remains were strewn about the room. One was
covered in severe electrical burns, while the other’s leg had
been frozen and snapped off. Both of them were covered in severe
lacerations and were bleeding profusely. “I love the atmosphere.” Skull
said, sarcastically.
Dust was still stunned. “Dear God. Who did this?” Skull
looked around the room, as if thinking of the culprit. Of course
the answer came to him naturally.
“The wounds make me think of Omniman.” Skull said, suddenly
serious. Dust averted his eyes from the gore. “Hey come on
now, Sean. It’s just a little blood.”
“A little!?” Sean responded, on edge. Skull looked at
the ground.
“Well…” he said, reaching for a panel, “let’s
not waste their deaths. It seems whoever did this neglected to collect-” Skull
was cut off as an electrical surge shot through his arm as he touched
the Watcher’s console. “AHHHH!” He exclaimed.
“They’re reactive to DNA. They have scanners. Only the
watcher can touch them. They’re unusable to us, Skull.” Dust
said, still somewhat queasy.
Skull glared at the console, disgusted. Suddenly he got an idea. “DNA
you say?”
He said, cheerfully, “Well I see the proper DNA right here.” Dust
forced himself to look over at Skull, just in time to see him cut
off the corpse’s hands. Dust turned away in revulsion. Skull
pocketed the hand’s wedding ring, hoping that Sean didn’t
notice. Using the man’s hands like potholders, he picked up
the console and began jabbing at it with the man’s bleeding
finger.
“Hmmm…” Skull said, frustrated. “I can’t
do this. I have no idea how the hell these things work. Sean. I hate
to ask this of you, but…”
Sean looked up, horrified. “Skull? No-no I can’t.” Skull
offered him the Watcher’s hands, and Dust backed away. “Skull
please… I can’t…”
“What’s wrong? Disturbed because of the idea, or because
it has practical use now? With this, we can figure out how these
panels work. It’s a great advantage…” Skull said,
a tone of comfort in his voice. Dust looked up, surprised. He had
never seen Skull emit the level of compassion that he was now. It
was almost as if Skull realized how horrified he was at that. Still,
Zymeth continued to offer the bloody dismemberments. Hesitantly,
Sean took the hands and the console from him.
Zymeth started doing the same to the other Watcher. “Bachelor.” Zymeth
thought to himself, a little disheartened. Sean fiddled with the
panel, still disgusted. “I can’t do anything but shut
people down. Clown and Tengu are both already down though.”
“What about the RPD troops under their command?” Skull
asked, now rummaging through the body’s pockets.
Sean ignored his pillaging and jabbed the bloody hand at the screen. “Yeah,
I can do that.”
“Let’s make it happen then.” Skull said, cheerfully.
Sean smiled. “You don’t have to tell me twice.” Sean
hid a few buttons and a message scrawled across the screen, signifying
that every RPD robot in the area had been deactivated. Sean looked
out the window to make sure, and he saw their now-lifeless bodies
collapse to the ground. Sean tossed the bloodstained console away
from him and said, “That aught to help out the war effort.”
Skull nodded in agreement and said, “While we’re here
and in possession of these, we might as well see how they work.”
“What?” Sean asked, believing his bloody task had been
done.
“Honestly, how long do you think the RPD will take to figure
out these guys are missing and they shut down their consoles? It’s
not like you could report in for them. They’re a bit… messy
still.”
Dust looked down, “Maybe an hour or two if we’re lucky.” Skull
nodded. “Then this is our only opportunity.” Sean sighed,
frustrated. “Alright. Hand me that one over there and his… his
hands…” He looked down, still shaken. Suddenly Skull
kicked the console over to him and jammed the man’s hands,
now free of their bones and muscles, towards Sean.
“I made you some gloves.” Skull said, obviously amused
with himself. Sean grudgingly took them and started working. He had
the feeling that the contents of his stomach would have been evacuated
by now if he weren’t mechanical.
--------------------
Many minutes passed. Sean continued diligently working on the console,
fearing he may run out of time. He had the outer casing off then,
and was fiddling with and memorizing its components as well as how
they were strung together. Zymeth, meanwhile, was rummaging through
the contents of the Watchers’ wallets. He had collected over
$200 from them, as well as a few credit cards, subway stamps, and
family photos.
“Awww.” Skull mused, “He had a wife and two kids.
They’re in for a surprise by the end of the week.” Sean
looked up and glared daggers at Zymeth. He shrugged and said, “Hey,
they’re probably better off.” He put the pictures back
in the still-full wallet and pocketed it along with the other one.
Suddenly Dust let out a frustrated sigh. “They cut it. It’s
fried.”
“Oh that’s a shame.” Skull said, walking over to
him. Dust quickly removed the gloves and tossed them away, shaken. “Keep
the fried remains now that they don’t shock you. They might
be nice to have. I’d like to get other people looking at it
too. What’d you learn anyway?”
Dust tapped his head and said, “It’s components and blueprints
are all up here, friend. Now let’s get the hell out of here.
I can’t take any more.”
Skull nodded and said, “You go ahead, I’m going to take
this scene in a little longer.” Dust agreed and ran out of
the building, for nothing else than escaping the grizzly scene. Zymeth
scared the hell out of him, but at least he was useful. But Skull’s
macabre antics always rattled him. He couldn’t help but be
wary around him, mainly due to his twisted persona.
Meanwhile Skull dipped his fingers back into the body’s open
wound, collecting more blood. He stood up again to finish the message
he was scrawling on the wall. He smiled to himself, proudly, and
put the other fried data pad they had used to deactivate the RPD
units on the floor next to the body. He turned and walked to the
nearby bathroom to rinse the crimson from his hands. After that,
he hurried to meet up with Dust, and the two ran off to regroup with
the rest of the Comrades. On his way out he passed the message he
had taken the time to scrawl.
“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought
against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels.
For Elysium.”
--------------------
Dust and Skull left the temporary base of the RPD, walking past deactivated
bots as they left. As they traveled, Zymeth would play with different
corpses or inactive robots that they passed while Sean would uncomfortably
rub at his hands even though he removed the blood earlier. Using
a dead man’s hands had to of been the creepiest thing he had
ever done. Eventually they came across Jade and Geoff close to midnight.
Both were sitting down amongst the debris around a small fire.
“So, where is AM and the others?” Sean asked as he sat
down to rest.
Jade answered, “Out scouting. They figured we should at least
have some information when you guys get back on the Scissor Army.”
“Why bother with the fire?” Zymeth questioned as he took
a seat. “It’s not like we need it for warmth. Also isn’t
a bright light the opposite of what you need for stealth? Please
tell me you at least know that.”
“Don’t worry,” Jade replied rolling his eyes. “The
others have been sending back constant reports about our surroundings.
No active robots have been found anywhere nearby. The SA seems to
be on the other side of town. The fire is mostly here for comfort.”
“I personally prefer the darkness,” Zymeth said with
a grin. “But I can see how you prefer fire. Many appreciate
how pure its destruction is. Flames burn everything away and leave
identical black ash no matter what the object; you could be a Sniper
Joe, a Robot Master, or a human but after a quick cremation no one
would be able to distinguish tell the difference between your remains
and the residue left in a fireplace.”
“That wasn’t exactly what I was thinking,” Jade
said. “However it is kind of nice to actually have a conversation.
Geoff has hardly said a word the whole time we’ve been waiting
here.”
“Hey!” Geoff finally acknowledged the rest of the group. “I
can only listen to you ramble about magic for so long!”
“So this is what you’ve guys been doing while I’ve
been gone?” Drill asked while crossing his arms.
Jade and Geoff both almost jumped up when they heard their leader’s
voice. During this discussion Drill, Toad, and Bright all managed
to return to the group unnoticed.
“So how did your scouting mission go, AM?” Dust asked.
“Not bad, we made a few discoveries,” Drill answered. “The
majority of the SA troops seem to be about a mile North East of here
and Wily’s forces have already engaged them in battle. They
don’t seem to have any Robot Masters with them so this shouldn’t
be too bad.”
“Yeah, Wily’s forces could probably finish the fight
on their own,” Zapper joined in. “The RPD also was up
until recently attacking and being pushed back by them further and
further into the city, but then they all fell down on their own.
That confused the hell out of the SA troops.”
“Looks like our efforts paid off,” Skull said with a
grin.
“What did you guys do?” Jet asked.
“Before I answer that question,” Sean began. “Let
me tell you this, Zymeth enjoyed what happened a lot. Now, do you
still want to know the answer to that question?”
“No, probably not,” Jet answered.
"Smart answer" Sean replied as he once again rubbed his
hands nervously.
Zymeth stood up smiling and readied his weapons, “So now that
we’re done catching up, shouldn’t we go back to fighting?
We can’t let Wily’s army and the Scissor army have all
the fun.”
“Skull’s right,” AM said with a sigh. “We
need to get going.”
Jade bent over and quickly put out the fire while the others stood
up and brushed off the dirt that gathered on their armor. As soon
as the fire was out, Drill ran off and the rest quickly followed
his lead.
--------------------
Day 3
Cossack’s Comrades had spent the first hour and a half of the
new day finding the battlefield. During this time they found a few
small groups of enemies that they immediately made quick work of.
A handful of SA soldiers were hardly a match for seven robot masters.
After the battlefield was found, Drill made them climb to the top
of a nearby building. Large sections of the walls had already been
blasted apart by the fighting and the group was a little worried
that the roof would not support their weight. However, they all chose
to climb anyways for three reasons. First they would have an element
of surprise. Also the CC would then hold the high ground and have
an advantage. The final reason was for dramatic effect, none of them
could deny the fact that they all thought attacking from the rooftops
would be somewhat cool.
“Lets tell the Scissor Army we’ve finally arrived,” AM
said once they all reached the roof and he gestured to the battle
going on below. “Zapper, why don’t you tell them for
us?”
“No problem,” Toad Girl replied with a grin as she walked
toward the edge of the roof.
Above a portion of the battlefield, a cloud of acid rain formed.
It had only been visible for a few moments before the warriors below
felt the downpour eat away at their armor. Some took out shields,
many hid behind debris, others simply waited for it to end, and a
few fell to the ground. It didn’t take long for the Scissor
Army to find the source after the storm ended and they immediately
opened fire upon the broken down building. Parts of the remaining
wall and roof were blasted away
“Guess they aren’t as dumb as they look,” Zapper
said as she ducked down to avoid a few shots.
Then, as Toad Girl again stood up, the side of the building closest
to the fighting began to collapse. Zapper slipped and was about to
fall with the debris, but Zymeth grabbed her arm and quickly pulled
her up.
“Thanks,” Zapper said.
“No problem,” Zymeth replied with a grin. “Now
since it looks like we’ve lost our cover. May we join the action
before the rest of the building falls?”
“Fine,” AM said. “No point in staying up here any
longer.”
As soon as Drill finished speaking, Skull ran off the roof and landed
on the ground after a series of jumps off the crumbling remains of
the building. His Skull Shield immediately activated to absorb the
incoming fire as he shot at the SA with his buster. The rest quickly
followed.
“Does anyone here remember the Lord of the Rings movies?” Drill
asked with a grin.
“Yeah,” Jade answer. “Why?”
“Who’s up for counting and comparing our kills?” AM
responded as he stabbed a SA Sniper Joe.
“Do any of you think you can beat me?” Skull challenged.
“Oh, you are so on,” Geoff said while firing off a few
missiles.
--------------------
The Comrades sprang into battle, all doing their best to defeat the
SA troops dominating the area. Wily’s troops were, for the
moment, fighting along side them, though they were demonstrating
a tendency towards ‘friendly fire’. Drill and Skull were
the first ones to make contact with their enemies, followed closely
by everyone else.
Drills hands were quickly replaced by his namesake weapons, and he
proceeded to slash and hack at the SA robots using his whirling melee
weapons. Drill dove underground to avoid the shots fired at him,
springing up from underneath one of the SA soldiers, splitting him
in half. Drill shot a glance at another SA trooper, and launched
a Drill Bomb in his direction. The Trooper raised his shield to defend
himself, but the bomb burrowed into it, becoming lodged. The trooper
tried to throw his shield away, but it exploded taking him and his
neighbor out of commission. He lobbed another bomb into a crowd,
having it burrow strait through one Joe and detonate on another.
Skull sprinted through the ranks, flourishing his scythe and lopping
heads and limbs from their owners. A grenade landed near his feet,
but a quick activation of his Skull Barrier protected him from harm.
The culprits took shelter behind a large piece of rubble. Skull laughed
to himself as he leaped over this piece of debris, finding five SA
Joes behind it. Still airborne, Skull rained down automatic buster
shots at them. Two of them died before Skull hit the ground, and
in a cold manner he proceeded to gun down the other three, taking
a step to the side to avoid their returned fire. As their lifeless
bodies slumped to the ground he darted back into the fray looking
for more victims.
Dive hoisted a soldier above his head and hurled him at a group of
others firing at him. They made contact and the five Joes hit the
ground hard. His chest popped open and two Dive Missiles hurled at
them, taking out the entire dog pile. Dive smirked to himself happily.
A few shots hit him square on the back, due to his large stature,
and he spun around, firing homing missiles in their direction. They
hit a few Joes, but he wasn’t sure if they were the same ones
who shot him. Then again he didn’t really care. The goliath
turned and assaulted a few more Joes.
Pharaoh was busy as well, floating a few feet of the ground. Sword
in hand he fired a few Pharaoh Shots to take out the distant Joes
firing at him. He raised his hand above his head, creating a huge
ball of flames. He hurled it at a small group of Joes, completely
obliterating them all. He raised his hand and shouted “Yes!” Boot
steps alerted him to more Joes behind him. He whirled around and
charged his sword with red hot energy, his cape dramatically bellowing
behind him as he charged forward. With a few slices the four Joes
were in pieces as his burning blade cut right through their armor.
Bright raised her hands and the bulb on her head lit up brilliantly
as she used Flash Stopper. The gang of SA troops that was in front
of her stopped dead, their robotic eyes going haywire from the attack.
She jumped backwards and opened fire with her slow but powerful buster,
taking out one soldier with every shot. One Joe had his leg blown
off and he slumped to the ground. Eventually the effect wore off
and they returned fire at her, and she leaped out of the way of their
shots. She hid behind part of a building. She closed her eyes and
took a deep breath before jumping back into the fray.
Dust backed away as he fired his buster at an oncoming group of SA
Joes. They packed together to form a tighter defense. He took the
opportunity to fire a Dust Crusher into the center of the group,
which exploded sending metal shrapnel everywhere. The bits of metal
flew right through the unlucky Joes, and they all stumbled from the
blast. Dust fired another one, polishing off the rest of the group.
He fired a few more Dust Crushers into the fray, trying not to hit
any of the Wily troops in the process.
Toad took a huge leap forward, springing into a crowd of Joes. She
landed on one, practically crushing him with her momentum. From his
now-shorter shoulders she leapt forward and tackled another one,
knocking him down and injuring him pretty badly. She was pretty good
at using herself as a projectile. She finally hit the ground and
was about to fire a Rain Flush probe into the air, but she might
hurt some friendly targets. Instead she dropped down on all fours
and fired one strait at an SA Joe. The Joe easily sidestepped the
clumsy projectile, but the one behind him caught it flat on his back.
It burst open spilling its contents in a huge splash, catching him
and three others in a wave of pure acid.
--------------------
The Comrades continued on fighting with the numerous SA troops. Wily’s
forces began dwindling, but Omni and Golem made the scene soon after.
Golem’s game plan was simple, as he just crushed the Joes to
death with his hands. Omni, ignoring Cossack’s Comrades completely
for some reason, fired his multiple element weapons at them. Dust
noticed and readied a Drill Bomb, but Skull grabbed his arm.
“What are you doing Skull?” Drill asked, perplexed.
“Let’s just say I convinced him that the SA is more a
threat to him than us.”
Skull said, mocking the Wily bot. Drill nodded and chuckled in understanding.
Suddenly two halves of a SA Joe flew by them as Dive tossed his remains.
“That’s it? I’ve got 24!” Skull said. They
both looked at Drill.
“Eh, 32.” Drill said, shrugging. Dive and Skull exchanged
glances and Drill hopped off, laughing to himself. Skull pitched
a severed Joe arm at the fleeing RM.
“You bloody liar!” Skull shouted, playfully. With that
they rejoined the battle.
Bright and Toad met up in the combat, and put their skills together.
Bright stunned them while Toad slammed a Rain Flush probe into the
heart of their blind group. They ran into Dust eventually, who sported
a large dent on one of his shoulders.
“What happened?” Bright asked, concerned.
“I ran into Golem by accident.” Dust replied, still calm.
“Oh, I’m sorry…” Toad said, sympathetically.
Dust waved it off and asked, “You mind if I join you?”
With that Dust started fighting with them too, polishing off whatever
Toad’s Rain Flush didn’t get and conserving her some
ammo as well.
Dive met up with Drill, and they each used their explosive projectiles
to their fullest effects. Drill fired a shot which burrowed into
an unlucky Joe, who Dive then proceeded to pitch at another group,
followed by a few more missiles. The Joes collided along with the
Dive Missiles, casing the Drill Bomb to detonate as well, destroying
all of them. “Alright!” Drill exclaimed.
“I wouldn’t be so happy. You only get the point for the
one you shot. Hahahaha.” Dive said, sarcastically. Drill gave
him an elbow to the side and they ran off. Though, Drill really wished
that Ring was there to help them.
Pharaoh and Skull found themselves together as well, and they both
used their outdated but effective weapons rather efficiently. Severed
Joe parts littered the area they were standing in. Skull and Pharaoh
exchanged glances, and they both got an idea. Skull jumped behind
a large amount of SA Joes, distracting them while Pharaoh charged
another Pharaoh Shot. The Joes turned around to see that Pharaoh
had hurled the ball of fire strait at Skull, and the ball took out
almost every Joe between them. Skull activated his Skull Barrier
just before the shot hit him, sending the ball of fire hurling in
another direction, taking out more Joes. “So who gets the points
for those ones?” Pharaoh asked.
“I’ll split them with you 50/50.” Skull responded.
The two laughed and continued their slaughter.
--------------------
Literally hours passed, and the Comrades began getting low on ammo
and energy. Thankfully the heat of the war began dying down at the
SA troops began pulling out. The Comrades met up and let Omni’s
troops finish off the remaining SA Joes.
“94.” Dive said, triumphantly.
Dust kicked the dirt and said, “78”
Pharaoh laughed and said, “I lost track.”
“I forgot we were counting.” Bright said.
“No one matches my sheer bloodlust. I killed 112” Skull
announced.
“Well I killed off 118 of them.” Drill said, happily.
Skull crossed his arms.
“Fine, you win. But in the end, aren’t we all winners?” He
asked, happily.
Toad raised her hand. “Yes?” Drill asked.
She smiled and said, “I got 130!” Everyone stopped and
looked at her, dumbfounded. “I win, right?” She asked,
suddenly concerned. Skull burst out laughing.
“Congratulations, Toad, you beat me in sheer bloodlust.” Skull
said, shaking her hand. Toad just smiled, still somewhat confused.
All of the Comrades were feeling pretty good about themselves at
that very moment. This battle was finished, with SA carrying the
defeat, and the RPD troops wiped out. Suddenly they all became aware
that the Wily troops were still active, and that where they stood
they were surrounded.
--------------------
It was late. The sky was slowly filling with hues of purple, orange,
red and pink as the sun was setting. Night would be upon the destroyed
city very soon. But at least the fighting was over for now.
The Comrades had just won their first victory against not only the
SA, but the RPD as well. They had earned a moment to savor their
win, but it didn't last long.
"What do we do about the Wily troops?" asked a slightly
nervous Zapper.
"We'll figure something out." AM replied.
"We better figure something out fast then. Look! " Jade
said.
They had been spotted by Wily's troops who were now slowly surrounding
the team. Everyone was on edge, except Skull. He seemed pretty calm
even though they were in a bad spot. A VERY bad spot. Low energy,
low ammo and some of the Comrades had already taken some damage to
their armor. Needless to say, they weren't exactly prepared for another
battle.
"Who's up for round 2?" Asked Dive as he was about ready
to launch a few dive missiles into the surrounding troops.
"Hold on a moment." Zymeth said.
Omni was now walking slowly towards the Comrades. As he approached,
he waved his hand to the troops and they all seemed to back down.
He then walked right up to Drillman.
The two stared at each other for a moment. Omni then glanced at Skull
then back to AM and then he spoke.
" Greetings Comrades." He began. "It seems we are
in debt to you for the information about the threat to Wily."
Everyone except Skull had a confused look on their face right now.
"Information?" Asked Sean.
Zymeth quickly cut Sean off before he could say any more.
"It was our pleasure to assist you in helping the good doctor." He
finally said.
"Indeed. As repayment for your help, you're free to go for now." Omni
finally said as he stepped aside.
"Thank you." AM replied still a bit confused, though he
knew Zymeth had something to do with this. "Let's go guys." He
said.
They were hesitant, but the Comrades went along on their way. They
all nervously kept a watch on Omni and the soldiers as well as they
passed a number of them. Omni kept his word though. Not a single
shot was fired upon the Cossack Comrades as they made their way out
of the city.
Once they felt they were at a safe location with a small group of
trees they decided to stop and rest a bit. It was dark by now anyway.
The Comrades had indeed had quite a day.
"Well I'm glad that's over with for now." Said Jet as she
turned her light bulb on just enough to see everyone.
"Yeah. That was kinda creepy." Zapper added.
"Care to explain what exactly happened back there Zy?" asked
a curious AM.
"Yeah. That was odd to say the least." remarked Dive as
he leaned against a tree and lit a cigarette.
"I may or may not have perhaps misplaced some information of
questionable authenticity." Zymeth stated.
"You tricked him in other words?" AM asked.
"Does it really matter so long as it works to our own ends?
We got out without having to fight all 3 factions."
Everyone was quiet after that. How could they argue after all? Zymeth
was right. They got out and they were all alive and intact.
--------------------
Day 4
After a long trek back the Comrades were back at the Citadel. Though
they were all glad to be home again, they all had their own reactions
and emotions about what they had witnessed in battle. Though Zymeth
enjoyed such scenes of mass destruction, everyone would agree it
was one of the most morbid sights the Comrades had ever laid eyes
on.
"Such a pity to have to leave such lovely scenery behind..."
commented Zymeth.
"I'm not so sure "lovely" was the word I was looking
for."
Sean said.
"Well. Whatever you call it, I didn't like it one bit!" said
Jet who was a bit shaken up by what she'd seen.
"We're back now though." declared AM, "We should get
some rest and see what needs to be done around here."
After a moment or two, they all agreed and went off to do their own
things elsewhere in the citadel. The war had officially began and
they still weren't sure how to react to everything quite yet.
They say first impressions are everything. If this is true, then
it's a safe bet everyone was having some doubts about the war. Though
they won their first battles, would they be able to keep it up? Or
were the Comrades in over their head? They didn't know one way or
the other.
For now though, they earned some much needed rest and time to reflect
on what would come to be known as the war of their time.