The Business of War
Orchestrated By C.M. Rich (Magnetman)
The Siege of Himeji Castle
By Cyros, Lennon, Classi-Cal, Gauntlet
Scenario G
Participants:
Geminiman (MM3)(SA)
Bass(W)
Wily Rescue Force(MM3)(W)
Location: Himeji, Japan
Max. Cossack Scrap Value: 6614
SA Infantry: 1323
RPD Units: 1049
Wily Bots: 359
For the RPD, the job was never finished. There was no time to rest.
Every day something new came up, even between the great battles
occurring all across the globe.
An arms stockade in North Dakota was the site of one such occurrence.
Wily’s troops suddenly appeared in the area, making an offensive
to reach the various weapons that lay within the mountain bunker.
The RPD would not let such terrorists to lay their filthy hands
on their most precious treasure.
But luck was not on their side today. Their squad was inadequate
against the phalanxes of Wily’s various fodder robots. From Metools
to Joes to Heavy Stampers, the old fashion police bots didn’t quite
live up to their intended function. There would be no Neo officers
or Special Forces to bail them out this time around.
Most of the kills, however, were not by the massed produced battle
machines themselves. That honor was the Wily Rescue Force’s. More
accurately, it was Multiman’s, whose copies were currently breaking
through the last line of defense.
“Oh yeah! Now this is what I call a throw-down!” More copies of
the rounded machine were swiftly created, and the blocky officer
bots were soon nothing but scrap. The rest of the WRF closed in
with Barrageman at point. Without a word, the green behemoth aimed
his twin cannons and blasted away the reinforced doors effortlessly.
These worthless defenses couldn’t stand up to them at all!
Inside, the resistance was as meager as it was outside. All the
defenders were outdated. Obviously, this place was not valuable
enough to warrant better security, despite the resources it contained.
Wily, however, would put all these weapons to good use.
“We have secured the stockade!” shouted a gleeful Doc Robot. “Multiman,
Expressman, Flashman! Get the goods ready for transport back to
the fortress!”
While the two original WRF members shouted in the affirmative,
the blue robot with yellow trimmings simple gave a cold nod. A
month of working with these guys, and he STILL didn’t find them
pleasing company. In fact, the only one that didn’t grind his gears
was Expressman; everyone else, especially the clockwork Wily, gave
him a hard time.
It wasn’t a surprise, though. Flashman had deliberately thrown
a wrench in Wily’s plans. He should have been in a garbage chute
by now. Would have been better than this, he reasoned.
He did, however, work without complaint. Crates upon crates of
weaponry were moved out of the safety of the bunker, where they
disappeared in thick beams of light the minute they cleared the
rocky shield. In a matter of minutes, a whole store room of arms
had been delivered straight into the arms of Wily.
Doc Robot looked over his teammates with glee. “Excellent work,
Rescue Force!” His gazed passed over Flashman and his mood went
sour. “Oh, and you too, I suppose.” Flash grunted and looked away
while Doc continued his congratulatory speech. “Master waits for
our return! Let us return!”
“Yeah, can we stop by the repair bay first?” asked Expressman,
rolling his shoulder. “I think that last guy’s lucky shoot knocked
something loose.”
“Unit Barrageman assesses that Unit Expressman’s injuries are superficial.
Repairs are this time would not be necessary.”
The slim purple machined looked up and glared. “Whoa whoa whoa!
Not necessary? First it’s only a loose part, but then it’s a lost
limb! I’m getting this fixed pronto!”
“Unit Barrageman thinks that you are overreacting.”
“Overreacting my foot!”
“Previous statement still stands.”
Their light argument continued, even as they teleported away.
--------------------
“You have done excellent work once again, Doc Robot!” Wily grinned as he looked over the spoils of war his machines he collected. “And to think the RPD would just leave them sitting there! Why, they must have thought they were useless; what blathering morons!”Doc Robot gave off a creepy laugh. “Oh yes, most definitely Master Wily!” The spoken doctor waved off his creation for a minute as he finishing reading the manifest of the WRF’s latest raid. Once again it went off without a hitch. And despite some social issues with the actual Force, Flashman was doing his duties more efficiently than ever.
Indeed, things were looking up for Wily, even with the loss of his planet side fortress. Good thing the General didn’t think to find his old space fortress and lay waste to it. Now that he was safely off world and with no signs of the Marauder since the start of the war, he felt almost god like as he gaze upon the blue sphere outside his window.
But it still wasn’t enough. Like always, he wanted more. “I think I have a new mission for you and the Rescue Force, my handsome fellow.”
--------------------
“Himeji Castle, aka White Heron Castle, one of the greatest historical landmarks in Japanese history, known for its impeccable defensive capabilities, most notably the confusing maze layout of the interior gates and outer walls to prevent intruders from entering the main keep… this really is my kind of castle.” Geminiman grinned as he stood outside the balcony of the castle keep and watched as the RPD forces hurry to the castle gates to lay siege upon it.While the current orders of the SA were to find and eliminate Dr Wily, Geminiman’s orders were different from the rest of the army this time round, he was to continue with the occupation of cities and further the Scissor Army’s grip on the world. Perhaps this was due to his known rampage in Kalingrad against the Wily Warriors which resulted in his first defeat. Maybe the General believed to would be best to keep him in line if he just fought the RPD.
In any case, the White Knight had arrived in Himeji with his Holy Order and promptly took the castle in a surprise invasion and repelled all efforts the RPD had attempted to retake it. His idea was exhaust all the RPD forces by having them try take the castle from him, after time they will eventually wear out all their forces and forced to leave the city and with the castle. But he also had another motive for seizing this castle.
“Soon, this castle will be a sanctuary for my beloved. When she is mine, the castle will be already be made in perfect condition to fulfill her every need.” He turned back into the keep to observe a very large painting of Sparkchan that he had painted and positioned above his throne. It had been a month with absolutely no sign of her. He checked every mission log. Ever report. He even had one clone at Elysium in case word came from any dispatched team, ready to leap into action at even a moments notice. It sat before it’s monitor still, just waiting.
“You miss mommy, don’t you?” a small voice popped out from the knight’s shoulder and he turned to see Shoryu sitting there looking at the painting.
“She never understood my true love for her, but someday she will come around and I only wish that she be happy with all that I have done for her. I’m sure you feel the same way too, Shoryu, there is not a child in this world that does not miss their parents.”
“I wish mommy would understand that her side is wrong. But she’s so stubborn about it.” Shoryu seemed frustrated while the White Knight patted her on the head to comfort her.
“Don’t worry; I will make her understand the error of her ways.”
“Sir, the RPD forces have arrived at the castle gates they are over 1000 units strong, we have proceeded to engage them from atop the walls.” A Holy Order Joe reported to the White Knight, whom turned to smile and sat down at his throne.
“So it has begun then, this will be most entertaining. Move the throne to the balcony, I wish to observe the battle.”
The Joe bowed soon more Holy Order Joes showed up a proceeded to lift the Knight’s throne with him still sitting in it to the balcony before bowing and pulling back to where they had appeared.
“Oh, and another thing, could you fetch me a cup of tea?”
--------------------
Forte went to see his creator a while later than the Wily Rescue Force left. The month before was a complete mess but at east his sister and her cohorts were detained and 'straightened out'. In act as soon as he came to get his task... he found Wily and his sister sitting together in conversation. He was glad she got what was coming, but who wants to see Wily and their own sister closer than what was comfortable visually?"I heard something about GeminiMan. Are you going to let me out of this damn place?" the black and gold bot raised his brow.
Wily moved his arm from around Classi-Cal and pat her knee as if to pause their conversation.
"Zat ist true. I vant you down in Himeji. Destroy GeminiMan vith any means necessary." the old man smirked.
Forte's crimson eyes laid upon Classi-Cal. She smiled to him in return. She no longer wore her Spark armor... but her original Classi-Cal design.
"What're you looking at? Going to cause me more pain in my side?" He burnt holes through her with his glare, she only giggled.
"Ah, no not at all Forte-Hun. Just enjoying to see my younger brother get ready to bring us a victory. I have complete faith in your abilities."
Oh, well, she seemed much more flattering. She didn't even recognize GeminiMan's name spoken. Forte felt at ease that this woman was no longer a problem. Now if only the WW was made into wimpy figure skaters or something... cause if they even dared to mess with him... he would certainly tear them to shreds.
"I think some tea would be a nice touch, I think I'll go make some." Classi stood and began to walk out. Her mind no longer on anything but Wily and those affiliated with him.
"Zere vill be no more trouble makers. I assure you. I've tolerated Classi-Cal's ideologies und vas almost persuaded to be just as veak as her. But now ve're back on track."
Forte nodded. Now he wouldn't ever like it to happen to him, the wince on his face obvious as he left himself. Too bad for the trouble makers... but he was going to watch his back just in case. Forte wasn't as loyal as most thought. He'll do what he wants when he wants. He caught a last glimpse of his sister walking to where the kitchen area. Mindless... empty... Did it matter which side to fight on anymore?
--------------------
So Gemini was preparing for war... shouldn't everyone be ready? Shoryu spent her whole time by General CutMan's side, commenting on the sidelines. What was a 12 inch spider about to accomplish in a war like this? Her size had never stopped her from being determined. She climbed down her webbing onto a window sill, overlooking the 'battle area'."Look Mr. Gem, I can be helpful." the young spider said as she rubbed her front legs together. The Gemini still sitting in a gleeful state looked over to her.
"Just being here is helpful. Your mother will be so happy to see you."
Her red eyes flashed in happiness, hoping Gemini was right about her mom returning. Starting from the lefthand corner of the window she started arranging some webbing, climbing up and hooking it at an angle. Shoryu continued on, artistically crafting her simple spider web.
"So how does this help us little Sho?" Gem mused.
She giggled as she finished the last touches... finally climbing off to look back at her work. A string of electric current ran through a few of the strings. Gemini saw it as well and realized it was probably a painful little snare the cute spider made.
"Interesting," she spoke with his head on his hand, "I definately see a resemblance in you and your mother.
Shoryu agreed. But for now her mother was just in the wrong state of mind. Up in the sky with Wily. Her mother feared that man... so she couldn't possibly be in the right state of mind. Sure this Gemini guy got kinda weird ever since the war started, but Spark belonged with her family.
"We need to make Papa CutMan happy. I'll keep my guard!"
Geminiman smiled. What Shoryu didn’t know was that another one of him was already standing guard. He was already alerted to Wily’s latest attack!
--------------------
The first thing the WRF did when they arrived was send Expressman to check out the situation. The rest, including their "guest of honor" Flashman, remained behind with their meagre supply of Wily bots. Taking a note from Kalingrad, the machines would be lying in wait for anyone foolish enough to stumble onto their hiding places.It wasn't long until Expressman returned. He was damaged and limping. Parts of his armor had been blown off. He had clearly seen better days. "The SA has the central complex locked down pretty well, as expected. RPD's trying to get through, but I really doubt they're gonna succeed."
“What happened to you?” asked Doc Robot, astonished.
“They got the drop on me! They … really have this place in a tight grip. I barely excapred.”
"What about the outlying structures? How defended are they?"
"I saw a few SA units here and there, but it's the castle that has the bulk of the forces. I'd like to see the fool who tries to infiltrate THAT beast."
"Bass is, remember?" Surprisingly, it was Flashman who said those words. "His job is to get inside and terminate Geminiman." Looking away, his silently added, "his funeral..."
Multiman was close enough to hear the mumbling. "You say something?" Flash quickly replied no, prompting the larger robot into shaking his head. "Must be hearing things..."
"Say, where is fin head anyway?" asked Expressman. "Shouldn't he have arrived and reported in by now?" Conincidentally, the com link opened right then and Bass' voice played throughout the channel.
Bass to WRF. I've arrived at the outer perimeter surrounding the castle, but I don't see a damn entrance that isn't guarded or a battlefield. What gives?
After Expressman whispered something to Doc Robot, the latter replied, "Master said there should be an old tunnel leading from one of the perimeter buildings into an area right outside the castle maze. Expressman confirmed it and it should be open for you."
Which building? I see a dozen of them right in front of me! Doc Robot sighed.
"There should be what was once a restaurant on the first floor; that is the building."
...okay, I see it. I'll be back with pretty-boy's head; don't contact me until then, got it? The clunky clockwork Wily agreed to the request. Bass out.
Multiman began stretching his limbs. "So now what do we do? Take a stroll until we get spotted or what?"
"Master has declared that we cannot engage battle unless it is necessary! We must stay out of sight as long as possible!"
"Well that doesn't sound like fun," complained Expressman. Doc Robot glared in his suspicious way, prompting the speedster the shout, "hey, I'm just saying! No need to get all paranoid on me!"
"...Wily said he wanted us to bring back some stuff for him, if possible," mentioned Flashman. "That implies we're suppose to attempt to infiltrate part of the castle, does it not?"
Doc Robot growled... the traitor was right, for once. "Master did say that... then perhaps you and Expressman would care to take a look around, hmm?"
Inside his mind, Flashman sighed with relief. Expressman he could definitely tolerate. "You're the boss." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Express raise his fist in satisfaction for being able to do something. The two made their way toward the castle perimeter until they were out of sight. Moments later, Doc Robot turned to Multiman.
"You know what do... observe their movements. Make sure the traitor doesn't attempt anything." Multiman chuckled and wordlessly created a copy of himself, which began to carefully follow the others.
What they didn’t see was a sparking blue robot hiding behinf a wall. It was by sheer luck that he happened to be where the Wily Rescue Force chose to convene. He had heard everything. And his old rival Barrageman was there. But more importantly … Forte was coming to greet him personally. Perhaps he could strangle some information about his beloved Spark Chan from the Mega Man copy-cat.
--------------------
A Holy Order Joe entered the throne room and bowed to his commander who casually gestured for him to rise.“How go the castle’s defenses? Have you got them installed and working as I have requested?” the White Knight asked.
“Sir, as you have requested, we have the castle defenses up, running and ready to fire at the co-ordinates you have given us.”
“Excellent, proceed to fire the cannons then. I wish to see the enemy squirm as their own castle is used against them. Those Robot Police troops have been getting on my nerves … and those Wilys think they’re getting the drop on me. I think it’s time to show them what my fully fortified fortress can do!”
A series of loud explosions erupted from the castle as several cannonballs flew out and bombarded the RPD forces outside the castle as well as the Wily robots hidden in the area. Doc Robot thought he was so cleaver … but he had told Geminiman himself where everything when he was discreetly observing their briefing.
Geminiman laughed hysterically from atop the keep. “Oh this is magnificent! All this ancient weaponry is making me feel giddy. They certainly knew how to make their weapons back then. Can we fire another round?”
“As you command, sir” the Holy Order Joe said before relaying the orders to the rest of the Order and soon another bombardment of cannon fire hit the RPD causing the White Knight to break into further laughter.
“Gemmy, I was wondering, why are you using the old castle weaponry when we can teleport more advanced equipment?” Shoryu asked, still perched on the knight's shoulder
Geminiman took another sip of his tea and just smiled with glee as the outside of Himeji Castle was turning into a sea of flames, “It is very simple, there is a certain sense of class in using old ancient weaponry. All these plasma and laser weapons are not becoming for such a beautiful structure, they seem too tacky. I like the idea of fighting my enemy with style, although I do not expect a child to understand.”
The Twin Terror yawned and got up from his throne to stretch out his legs while a clone remained seated as if he had never moved. “Of course I did enhance them a bit with modern technology. That doesn’t count as cheating, does it?”
“Is there something wrong?” Shoryu asked curiously.
“While watching this battle amuses me, there is still plenty of work for me to do. We have an unexpected gues I have to greet. Ta-Ta”
And with that, the clone marched out of the throne room in a graceful manner while the other still remained firmly in his seat laughing as events unfold.
The little spider simply nodded and remained silent. "That Geminiman was certainly an odd one." She thought to herself.
--------------------
The RockMan copy, just as everything went haywire, was already inside of the base of the castle. Sneaking about wasn't his style, whoever dared to stand in his path would just be shot down.Strangely he met with no resistance and ran through the cold corridors, relying on only a sense of direction to guide him. It didn't matter if he went anywhere, the black bot just needed to find and take down GeminiMan. How hard could it be?
"The Twin Terror has another thing coming," He whispered to himself as he jogged only further into the darkness. "This time around he won't get to run away."
Reuniting again after their confrontation in Cape Canaveral, Forte didn't have to worry about his sister messing things up, and the Wily Rescue Force was being clobbered outside. Advantage was all his. With that thought he saw a small light gleaming just down the way.
"Oh yes... this is the beginning of the end."
And he darted into the direction of the light. The Holy Order copied right from GeminiMan's ego was probably inside and he was going to blast all of their 'beautiful' faces to mimic what was in store for the White Knight.
Inside the room, his buster flashed and he pointed it straight forward with a threatening scowl, but immediately found as he spun about... that there was no one there.
"What the--" Spark's brother squinted.
All around there was spider webbing, one large spider web with a large sack smack dab in the middle. The aura the webbing gave off lit the room in a gentle brightening and dimming light. It was like a scene out of a sci-fi film. Not wanting to stick around for it he ignored it and continued on.
"Bzzt!"
A shock hit him. He stumbled forward and found he stepped right into some of the webbing. It had electricity running through it in small doses. Angrilly he tossed it off his foot. What was this mess? Even more inclined to give Gemini a peice of his mind he head towards the exit.
More webbing was spun around the next areas walls and blocking entry. It seemed he'd have to suck it up and bust through. Crossing his arms infront of himself he took a dive into the remaining webs, rolling into the next area with a disgusting zap into him from the web that clung to his body. He hadn't time to lay around or even grunt in pain, he sparked to his feet and tossed off the webbing.
Like RockMan in a Wily Fortress, Forte had to take on GeminiMan's castle. What more could there be? The few steps he took in the next room were almost fatal. The floor just underneath him crushed as soon as his mass was felt upon it. Caught off guard he used the jets in his heels to rocket himself up to a ledge, just barely hitting the old rusted and jagged spikes of the ancient castle.
Clung to the edge an echo of true evil voiced itself from around him. Forte hissed as he pulled himself up... knowing exactly who was watching his humiliating steps.
"Come out Gemini punk!" He yelled at the omnious blackness above.
"Oh, but wouldn't you like it to be that easy my brother-to-be?" the blackness replied.
What was this? Crazy Gemini still as clung to his sister as in Florida's space center... how disgusting. Now back on his feet he made it to the edge and began to inch himself along the wall towards the next area.
"You think I will just allow you to move on without more struggle?" The White Knight laughed again, and within the wall shot out spikes.
"Augh!!"
A lovely cry of pain for the Twin Terror to take pleasure in. Forte's arm was peirced. He was stuck to the wall like a pinned butterfly.
"Tsk, tsk, you aren't much fun at all. I guess I'll just have to end you here and now."
As GeminiMan prepared his swords for an encounter, the other grit his teeth and with a howl he rose up and off the spike in his arm. His circuitry sparked and the metal in him scratched loudly at the exit of the spike. But he was far from done. The black and gold bot used his good arm to lift up onto the spikes, running across them to safety. The unlucky part of this fortress was he was at GeminiMan's mercy until he found a way to get to him... wherever he was.
The next room looked just like the last, forgetting about his leaking injury to prepare him for another trap. Gemini was happier to see him suffer more so he called off his own attack. Amused enough to move on and watch the next round.
Now what? Forte stepped into the room, his step light just in case it caved in on him. Luckily it didn't... so he was able to move forward. Not wanting to make another mistake like the last... he crouched down ready to dash. As soon as he made it to the middle of the room, tripple pendulums fellt down at him with amazing speed. Immediately he haulted and rolled inbetween two of them, nearly having his face sliced off.
"So close there, are you even sure you can handle me? You can barely take my lovely home."
"Shove it Gemini! I'm gonna make you regret ever having joined the Scissor Army" Forte growled.
"Is that how family should talk?" His black eyes darkened further as his brows lowered.
When the fast swiping pendulams passed, Forte took the moment to push himself up to his knees... now crawling into the way as it head backwards right back at him.
"Suicide? That's a death I wouldn't like for you, but as family... you are welcome to it." Came yet another witty remark.
But what he didn't count on was Forte's plan to capture the blade. Within inches of contact Forte darted aside again and leaped upon the pendulam, riding it right up to it's starting point. From this point of view he was able to catch GeminiMan in the shadows. He smirked himself as he formed his buster arm once more. Gemini could have all the fancy upgrades he wants... but Forte thought himself to still be better. With the range closing in he charged a blast.
"Not so fast!" A laser beamed out and broke the hook the pendulam swung on. His beloved's brother plummeting below.
Forte scrambled from the wreck but on his way to leave this area Gemini shot the other pendulams as well... the large blades attempting to crush him. What a nightmare... He was so close... but he probably had to defeat the maze before he was rewarded a true one on one.
"I don't like ingrates, and after I let you into my home. How unappreciative. I will just force you to... experience..." The laughter chased after him.
--------------------
The anti-Megaman managed to make it outside of that trap infested room and looked up to see the main keep in the distance, no doubt that was where the White Knight was waiting for him. But first he had to conquer this man-made maze of a castle.The outside of the castle was at the very least, less threatening than the inside of various chambers, due to all the gates and solid walls. He quickly realized that there would be no room for traps and proceeded to run out in the open in an effort to get himself closer to the keep, but just as he began to pick up some speed something blasted him at the side of the head.
“Oh come now, just because the outside of the castle is free of traps does not mean it is completely safe!” Geminiman’s mocking tone echoed throughout the inner castle walls.
Bass grunted as he saw lines of Holy Order Joes firing plasma rounds from a distance up in the higher levels of the castle at him. It was just as Dr Wily had mentioned, while he was out in the open trying to find a way around this labyrinth, the enemy had him in their sights and were free to mess with him or gun him down at their own leisure.
“Quickly now, I wouldn’t want my brother-in-law to fall at the hands of my servants, that would just be an unfit end for someone of your prestige.” The White Knight laughed as Bass dashed along the inside walls to try and gain some sort of difficult angle for the Holy Order to fire shots.
“It will take more that stop me Geminiman! I am the strongest robot alive!” he boasted while swerving around a corner and making a dash to another building. He air-dashed his way into the door of the building and broke through it with ease but was then promptly greeted with a very sharp pain in his chest as a pendulum blade swung into the entrance of the building and pierced the anti-Megaman’s body.
Coughing out blood, Bass pulled himself off the blade and clutched his gaping chest wound as he began to slowly lose his pace and stumble further into the room until he noticed several suspicious holes in the wall, he was familiar with this trick already and quickly moved to avoid the incoming trap.
“How the hell can a person live inside this place?” Bass yelled out in frustration as he dove through the tiny gaps created by several lances shooting out of the walls. He rolled into a ball and landed safely only to see jets of flame shooting out in front of him.
He had absolutely no time to recover in between traps, once he got through one trap, another would be waiting for him, flame spouts, arrows flying from the wall, oversized saw blades, collapsing staircases, springboards that threw him into various sharp objects, there was just no end to them, and when he got outside, the Holy Order would rain fire upon him until he got into another room with even more traps. It was getting ridiculous.
--------------------
“Foolish Geminiman, his castle defenses are nothing compared to the Master’s! We will soon discover all of this castle’s dirty little secrets so that we can remember the safest route like the back of our hand.” Doc Robot chuckled to himself as he, Barrageman and Multiman had also successfully infiltrated the castle.The three robots snuck under the shadows of the castle walls so they could not be seen easily and then found themselves at the castle’s courtyard, which had now been littered with the corpses of RPD officers and robots along with several scorch marks and smoke coming from the ground and a cannon pointed at the front gate.
“What the hell happened here?” Multiman wondered out loud, it had looked like a large scale battle had occurred, but there were no remains or signs of any Scissor Army units.
“Unit Barrageman has detected to existence of mines in the courtyard.” The hovering tank voiced in his usual monotone.
“Mines in his own castle…” Doc Robot thought, “I suppose he had some of his soldiers also shoot some of the mines as well to set them off prematurely so that could trick more units into running into them. Stay alert! We do not want to be spotted so soon.”
The WRF continued into the castle to examine more of its defenses but unknown to them a cloaked Geminiman clone was pursuing them ever so carefully, waiting for the right time to strike.
--------------------
“This is just… horrible…” Flashman was disgusted at the scene inside one of the castle buildings.There were robots pinned against the wall as their bodies had been skewered by one of the wall traps of the castle, while others had been dismembered in various ways, some in which the time-stopping robot could not have even imagined until recently.
“Well, if there’s anything good from it, it’s that we know where most of the traps are in this room and how to avoid them.” Expressman replied, although he too was not all that comfortable walking around so much death.
“Let’s just find something seemingly valuable and get of here.” Flashman said in which Expressman agreed with a nod and the two carefully navigated through castle.
“You know, you’re acting awfully calm for someone who clearly does not want to be here working with us.” The speedster mentioned casually.
“Orders are orders…” Flashman said in a grim tone, his torture at the hands of Wily were still etched into his memory. As a result he seemed almost too obedient to the mad scientist.
“I feel somewhat sympathetic, lately I’ve become somewhat accustomed to doing the right thing. But in the end, we’re the doctor’s robots. I guess you can’t really run from your destiny.” Expressman replied, but his partner didn’t seem to want to respond, “You’re not much of a conversationalist now, are you?”
The two remained silent and carried on into castle.
--------------------
“Well that was a rather disappointing end to the RPD, I must say. I expected them to at least reach the bottom of the castle keep.” Geminiman said as he finished his cup of tea and finally got off his throne.“Report sir, the Wily Rescue Force are proceeding further into the castle grounds, we have them locked in our sights and ready to fire at your command.” A Holy Order Joe spoke but the Twin Terror simply yawned at this news as he already knew of the Rescue Force’s presence and had a clone tailing them.
“Bring me some news that I don’t already know. The Rescue Force are of little concern for me at the moment simply let the traps deal with them for a while and then I will take care of them afterwards, now tell me, how is my dear brother-in-law progressing?” he said in a whimsical manner.
“Sir, he is rapidly closing in towards the castle keep, but not without sustaining severe damages.” The Holy Order Joe reported.
“Good, I suppose I should actually go and greet him face-to-face soon.”
Geminiman grinned and then signaled his servant to follow him out of the throne room.
--------------------
The castle keep was now within his grasp, with his usual look of arrogance, Bass triumphantly dashed towards his location determined to finally rid himself of that annoying Geminiman.“He will pay dearly for forcing me to run through this maze like some sort of lab rat!” He thought to himself as he dodged the plasma rounds of the Holy Order in which he could now clearly see firing at him.
With much pleasure and satisfaction, the anti-Megaman vented his frustration at the White Knight’s body doubles and opened fire on them with his rapid fire buster, making sure to leave a permanent mark on their faces in preparation to deface his enemy.
The gates to the keep were in his sights now. He had finally made it, this time he will not let the Twin Terror escape, and he will settle the score that was left at Cape Canaveral. Geminiman was his to destroy. After disposing of the last Holy Order member sniping at him he stood victorious in front of the castle keep and screamed out.
“I made it threw your stupid maze, you girly-man! Now come out at fight me!”
“Congratulations, dear brother. You certainly have proven yourself worthy of my attention.” The White Knight voiced from within the keep, “I think a reward is due for your hard work, oh mighty black knight…”
Bass did not like the sound of Geminiman’s tone as he faced the opening keep doors, prepared to fire upon the smug looking robot the moment he saw him, but he then froze at the sight before him.
“Welcome to the castle keep Bass, I hope you like my welcoming gift…” Geminiman smirked as he lit the fuse of a cannon pointed right at Bass’ direction.
“You damn son of a…” the Black Knight screamed before a large explosion erupted in his face, he was able to fire off a plasma shot into the cannon before it fired but it was too close to him so the result explosion had done a number to his armor.
Angered, he slowly picked himself up from the ground and searched the smoke to find the White Knight, but alas, found nothing.
“The bastard ran away…” he spat out while clutching one of the many wounds he had sustained from the various traps in the castle. “He can’t have gone far.”
Bass ran out of the smoke to find his target only to see a shattered reflection of himself and fragments of glass all over the ground. He then turned to see similarly shattered walls in a narrow formation, he could only conclude that this was to be the entrance or exit to some sort of mirror maze the Twin Terror had formed.
“I am sick and tired of your pathetic little games, Geminiman!” the black and gold robot yelled out and proceeded to shatter another mirror causing lots of shards to scatter past him and cut him in various places.
“Oh, but where is the fun in all that?” Geminiman mockingly replied before laughing maniacally from a point hidden in the mirror maze, “I’d be careful if I were you. Considering all that damage you took from the earlier, you probably wouldn’t want to shatter all the glass in this room. A shard made find its way into your insides and do some particularly nasty things to it…”
Bass was getting sick and tired of his enemy’s constant taunting. Not even Dr Wily went this far with Megaman when ever he stormed through Skull Fortress.
“You know what, screw your damn maze, I am through playing by your rules!” the black knight screamed out and quickly activated his air dash and promptly decided to smash threw the glass walls that simply stood in his way regardless of all the damage it would do to him, if he stayed inside that maze any longer Geminiman would have gotten away and he would have made a fool out of himself.
“Impatient as always brother, well I certainly don’t have any arguments with fighting you in this weakened state. I shall bring a swift and graceful end to you.”
The White Knight prepped himself for battle as Bass finally smashed through the last mirror, he was not a pretty sight, the anti-Megaman had looked as if he had just set himself on fire and run into a giant blender, his face with mangled into pieces, robotic blood was seeping through the many cuts sustained in his body and his fins were broken off at various points.
“Well you have made it brother, no more tricks, I believe we shall settle this battle here and soon I shall claim my beloved for my own and keep her safe in this castle, if I can destroy you here then I know that she will be safe from your father’s vile clutches.” The White Knight spoke as he bowed with finesse towards his opponent before aiming his arm cannon at him.
“Feh, I have nothing more to say to you. You’ve put me through hell trying to get here so I want nothing more than to just rip you into shreds!” The Black Knight replied as he aimed his buster ready to oppose his foe.
Within seconds, the two robots fired their busters and charged towards each other and their pride and ego clashed in a heated battle between the black and white knights.
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Elsewhere Doc Robot and his two fellow members of the Rescue Force were still scouting the remains of RPD force that tried to recapture the castle."Didn't expect to run into you guys again so soon."
The Rescue Force leader quickly turned to see Expressman and Flashman show up, although they didn't appear to have found anything of decent value.
"How dare you show up without a proper souvenir for the master!" he shrieked before Expressman signaled to his leader to calm down.
"Hey, hey, we just ended up here by coincidence we're still looking. Although I can't say I enjoy the decor of this place so far." the speed-based robot said as he looked around the room filled with corpses.
"You just happened to have come at an inconvenient time, Expressman" a smug voice bellowed within the room and the Wily Rescue Force quickly turned to see Geminiman in all his glory bowing before them, "Had you given me proper time to clean out the mess you might have had a different opinion on the layout of my home."
The White Knight smiled as he raised his head to glare at his unwelcome guests as their reflections shone in his magnificent chrome plating.
"Welcome to Himeji Castle, it is a sanctuary for my beloved to live happily ever after..."
Doc Robot began to laugh, at the statement, Geminiman had no idea about his 'beloved' and the recent events around her, he could not contain it anymore and laughed maniacally as his insane master would.
"You haven't got a clue, have you?" the Wily replica tried to hold his laughter but he could not control himself, "Your beloved is no longer with you anymore!"
Geminiman stood in shock as the news had reached his ears, and simultaneously all his other clones reacted similarly.
"What do you mean by that..." he asked as his normally composed look slowly turned into one expressing almost uncontrollable wrath, "And choose your next words wisely, Doc Robot..."
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Still snickering at the White Knight’s ignorance, Doc Robot voiced in glee to the former Maniac, “Your ‘beloved’ has been reprogrammed by the master! Her mind wiped clean of everything that made her what she was!”Before the Wily replica could say anymore, a loud crashing sound could be heard in the room as an enraged Geminiman had just put his fist through a Multiman that dived in front of Doc Robot. The Twin Terror then promptly switched his hand into his Gemini Laser and fired a full powered blast of energy that enveloped the Multiman copy and proceed to bounce all over the room turning it into a deathtrap.
Barrageman quickly responded by firing his Ion Cannon at the White Knight but his attack was quickly repelled by his enemy’s shield and was soon forced to fly out of the way of the incoming laser.
“Way to go Doc, look what you’ve done now!” Expressman yelled out as he quickly tried to dodge the massive beam of light that seemed to almost cover the entire area they were in. But even his speed could not help him avoid an attack of such massive size and the laser soon ripped through some of his lower leg as he dove out of its way.
Ironically enough, Flashman didn’t have enough time to use his time stopper or any of his time manipulation abilities and was now stuck with firing continuously at the Twin Terror with his Gatling buster. He was almost in awe at Geminiman’s wrath; his power seemed almost in a whole new league in comparison to when he last fought him in Kalingrad.
In the middle of all the destructive light, Doc Robot stood in fear, he was unaware of the beast he had just awoken and had been frozen in place as his mockery had now gone too far, and then emerging from the light, The White Knight gracefully walked up to the Rescue Force leader and grabbed him by the neck and pulled him closely so that he was now staring into the blank voids that he called eyes.
“Where is milady?” he asked in an almost demonic voice.
Doc Robot could only stutter feeling like he was looking death in the eye and his body began to feel like it was on fire as Geminiman was now charging his laser energy into the Wily Bot.
“Oh, this is certainly a great opportunity that has come forth!” a new voice came out.
“Mesmerman,” The White Knight screamed out, “Tell me what I must know!” The manipulative robot grinned within Geminiman’s mind and casually nodded his head before proceeding to work his magic on the captive Doc Robot.
The Wily replica struggled has he could feel his mind being invaded by the malevolent entity but he couldn’t resist and soon Geminiman’s face grinned wickedly as he then threw Doc Robot to the ground.
“He knows!” the Rescue Force leader screamed, “He knows where the master is!” Doc Robot quickly scrambled to his feet and ran in a panic, he had to go warn Dr Wily of this new impending doom.
The rest of the Rescue Force heard their leader’s cries of panic and moved to cover his retreat, Multiman after Multiman spawned to act as a barricade for the White Knight while the remaining three robots fired plasma rounds from behind while they made their way to escape but the gates had closed in front of them, trapping them with the Twin Terror in his enraged state, only Doc Robot had managed to get free.
“I will see to it, that not one of you escapes this room alive!” Geminiman yelled out in a creepy echoed voice. “Prepare yourselves for a most magnificent massacre!”
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Somewhere within the castle, Geminiman placed Shoryu into a teleportation field and then patted her gently on the head.“What are you doing Mr. Gemini? Where are you sending me back to Elysium?” she asked curiously.
“Something has come up, don’t worry, the clone I have left in Elysium will tell you everything. I’ll join up with you all very soon.” Geminiman replied in a shaky tone and before Shoryu could inquire further, she was gone.
“Prep another teleporter for me, I need to join my clone at Elysium so that I can now aid in a rescue mission!” the White Knight said as he turned to one of his Holy Order members.
“I’m sorry sir, but we cannot prepare any more teleportation devices, it’s been reported that the RPD have begun another siege on the castle, we must prepare a defense immediately.” The Holy Order Joe responded.
“Damn it! This is not the best time! I now have the Wily Rescue Force and a new lot of the RPD to deal with. Still, at least I’ll be rid of one of these rats in short time…” Geminiman said as he looked over to a small building a small distance away from the keep.
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Bass dodged out of the way from Geminiman’s plasma shots. Despite his severely damaged systems, the fight seemed to go easier than he imagined. While it seemed odd, the black knight brushed it off as his overwhelming superiority to the white knight and fired more shots at him with his buster.“You lose, Geminiman! Even with all your tricks, trap and little schemes, you are nothing compared to my power!”
The White Knight sneered and jumped out of the way of the incoming shots and landed a swift kick into the anti-Megaman’s head and then proceeded to shoot at Bass as he was falling to the ground.
“Your arrogance is getting the best of you, brother.” Geminiman mocked, but the black and gold trimmed robot quickly landed on his feet and bounded his way back with an air-dash and crashed into the Twin Terror, reeling him back into a wall.
“Stupid junk robot, I felt nothing!” he then proceeded to point his buster at his foe, still reeling in pain and then laughed. “Farewell, brother…”
The anti-Megaman fired his buster and the White Knight was no more and Bass laughed in his glory. All the planning, all the logistics into the weakening him in order to make the fight easier, it was all for nothing. Bass was feeling so proud of himself that he failed to notice the corpse of his foe was flickering and its illusion had disappeared leaving a ruined body of a Holy Order Joe in its place and soon laughter other than his own filled the room.
“Congratulations dear brother-in-law, you managed to kill one of my subordinates in your battered state.”
Bass looked for the source of the voice and then realized that the corpse of Geminiman was that of a Holy Order Joe and the voice was coming from its still functioning voice box.
“It is however unfortunate to say that you have now fallen into my most beautiful trap in this castle. You see, when you went through that mirror maze of mine, you actually left the castle keep and into a room I had designed specifically for anyone strong enough to break through my defenses. I imagine you’re wondering why I would do such a thing. Well the answer is simple.”
Bass tried to look for a way out of the room, only to find it sealed off and Geminiman’s voice laughing from his double’s corpse.
“I’ve rigged this entire room with explosives, and considering the amount of damage you must have taken in order to get here it might just be enough to actually do you in. So while you sit there and wallow in your own demise I would like to say this.”
The anti-Megaman cursed under his breath as fate drew nearer and nearer, and in his ever-mocking arrogant tone, Geminiman finally said the last words the black knight would hear.
“I win.”
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At Elysium, Shoryu arrived to find Geminiman waiting for her. Before she could ask anything he picked her up and smiled to her.“I’ve got good news, we’ve found out where your mommy is. And we’re going to go rescue her right away.”
A small glint of happiness seemed to shine within the cute little spider robot, but there seemed to be more than that. But that didn’t matter to her at all. Her mommy was soon going to be reunited with her, that’s all that mattered.
Geminiman looked over to the Seven Mercenaries’ ship, the Marauder and then to the presence of Chimeraman and Heatman who had just arrived to take part in the mission.
“Now that you’re trapped in the endless vacuum of space Wily, you cannot escape my wrath and soon I will take back what belongs to me…”
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As the smoked cleared, Bass coughed out more of his robotic blood, he couldn’t move, he could barely hear. The explosion had left him as pathetic little scrap of metal lying in midst of the rubble that once formed the room he was trapped in.He tried to get up, but his body just wouldn’t respond. Nothing seemed to move for him, his arms, legs, even fingers just wouldn’t budge. As the sounds of the RPD preparing to invade the castle once again got louder he wondered to himself, “Is this how I will die? Tricked by some creepy pretty boy and left to rot in some Japanese deathtrap? Not even at the hands of that wretched Megaman?”
The thought seemed almost sad to the black and gold robot. Soon, footsteps could be heard getting closer and closer to him. Three sets of steps could be heard; it seemed too soon for them to be RPD officers and not enough to be the Rescue Force or Scissor Army.
“So this is what’s left of the mighty Bass? Completely outwitted, bested and left to die. I almost can’t help but laugh.” One of the figures said in a familiar voice.
“Quiet,” another voice said, one that seemed even more familiar, “Keep in mind that he is probably our best hope at helping us end this god-forsaken war, and need I remind you that the one who did this was someone that you used to consider your friend.”
“I know, I was only joking around.” The first voice said, “It kinda scares me to think he was capable of doing something like this.”
Bass felt a sharp pain in his side as the owner of the first voice kicked him and in response he cursed out.
“Hey, that was pretty fun. Hey Constance, want to try kicking the fallen Bass?”
“Enough Topman, we need to get him out this place as soon as possible, it was hard enough trying to get in here in the first place. The RPD are also getting closer to the castle as well and we don’t want to be around when they get here.” The second voice yelled out angrily.
“Aww come on, it’s fun! And we can't have him awake so,” said the Spinning Demon as he kicked Bass again making him curse once mode, louder than before.
The anti-Megaman looked up and saw the final unnamed figure push Topman away, all he could determine in his blurred vision was the gray color of most of his outfit and the scarf that flowed in the wind. It finally struck him of the identity of his savior, and the black and gold robot just laughed at his situation and then slipped into unconsciousness.
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