Chapter 1
Approaching the coast, pillars of smoke could be seen from the ocean. "Holy shit." Tracy said, slowly, as she looked out the view port. Squid-like machines used their tentacles to rip the sides of buildings open. Swarmbots also terrorized the streets, snatching up runners, and even, outright slaughtering the elderly, and ones considered "too young for use".
Protoman and Rush were the first to swoop in, dropping the swarmbots by the dozens, with automatic fire. A squidbot tried to end his assault, by throwing a hunk of concrete at him. He ducked low, watching it sail overhead, inches from his helmet. Ejecting his staff, he hurled it, like a javelin, into the machine's "head-region", dropping it to the ground. Rush dropped altitude as they passed the dead beast, as Protoman brought his hilt back to his palm, magnetically.
When The Phantom lowered, Megaman jumped to the asphalt, (Grey and Orange) running through the streets, slashing down gearbots, and aiming for the monstrous tentacles. Oval-shaped robots flew overhead, torching the ravaged buildings. Megaman, planting a foot on a gearbots back, pounced upward, burying daggers into one, using it for transportation. Holding on with one hand, (Blue) he laid waste to pursuing swarmbots, while the people struggled to get to the ship.
They were saving a lot of people, but for every two that made it to safety, ten more were snatched away. All Tron could do was cover them with an automatic rifle, trying desperately not to hit the civilians. She was frustrated, she would have given anything to have her Mech, right now.
A squidbot grabbed a handful of people, jumped to the sky and began to fly north. (Grey and Red) Megaman torched his ride, diving down to meet the machine. Landing on it's side, he held on for dear life, hitching a free ride.
"Scott," Tron said, over comms, "Follow Megaman and find out where those people are being taken. We'll do what we can here." She tossed Dr. Light a gun, "Time to play hero, Doctor." She said.
Making their way through the city, Alex and Scott noticed that the carnage wasn't limited to one area. They shot down stray bots as they passed by, but it was to little affect, there were just too many. The squidbot's tentacles flailed, wildly, as he tried to rid himself of his tag-alongs.
"Just hold on!" Megaman yelled, to the captives. "We'll get you free!" The people were panicked, and only continued to scream.
The machine slowed, approaching the docks. When it got low enough, (Grey and Orange) Megaman cut the tentacles, dropping the humans, safely. Once they were clear, (White and Green) he poured a heavy dose of acid on the squid. It crashed to the ground, sliding across the cement, as Protoman and Rush dropped down, beside him.
Inside the large shipping containers, they could hear the crowded people screaming and pounding on the steel. They also spotted six containers, dangling above the water, held by cranes. Hundreds of security droids began to emerge, investigating the crash.
"We might be a little outnumbered, here." Megaman said, as the three became surrounded.
"This shouldn't be an issue." Protoman stated. "I deal with this kind of thing, on the regular." He put his finger to his helmet. The EMP blast sent the droids to their knees, along with Megaman, who lay gripping his head and writhing.
Proto shut it off, immediately. "Oh, shit, man. I'm sorry, Alex!" He said, helping him up.
Megaman shoved him back, "Nice plan, asshole!" He replied.
The droids were still reeling, as they opened fire on them, thinning the herd. The others regained their bearings, and began to attack. The surviving humans got out of harm's way, in a timely fashion. (Orange and Yellow) Megaman sprayed a storm of explosive orbs, into a group of his enemies.
The hail of flying debris grew, as Protoman latched a crash bomb to one of his foes, and magnetically tossed it into a gathering of droids. He broke left, as Megaman made his way right, (White and Blue) freezing the outside ranks, to use as a barrier. Jumping onto a shipping container, Proto rained down discs on the security droids, while Rush weaved through the crowd, ripping them to shreds.
Two droids remained, as Megaman (Black and Yellow) grabbed the skull of one, frying it's core. Proto gripped the other, with magnetism, and flung it out into the ocean. Megaman watched it soar, and eventually splash down in the water. He turned to Scott, "You couldn't just shoot him or something?" He asked.
"After everything I went through, to get Magnetman's chip, nah. I intend to treat myself sometimes." He replied.
Megaman couldn't help but grin, as he activated his comms, "Tron, come in."
"My name is Tracy." She replied. He could hear the gunfire in the background.
Protoman dropped hi head, chuckling, as he jumped to the ground.
"Alright. Tracy, we're at the docks, there's about a thousand captives , in shipping crates. How soon can you be here?" He asked.
"The Phantom's almost full. If you get them out, will you be okay waiting for a bit?" She responded.
"Yeah, we'll be here, when your ready." Megaman replied.
"Well, you were half right." A voice said, from behind them. They turned around, quickly. "Parts of you will be here." He finished.
Metalman stood, glaring upon them, in his black nanosuit, with dark red boots, gauntlets, and chest armor. His steel, red, helmet covered everything except his yellow eyes. It bore a small, silver, circular-saw blade, on the forehead. In his hand he gripped a controller, with two keys. He pressed the bottom one, dropping the six containers into the water. "I hope one of you can swim." He said, darkly, as he crushed the device.
Protoman lowered his visor fully, sealing it, before diving in after the people.
(Blue) Megaman fired upon his foe, who rushed in, ejecting spinning saw blades from his gauntlets, slapping the bolts aside. Metalman dove at him, swiping to decapitate, but Megaman rolled clear, picking up his katana. The two went into a flurry of swings, none of which met it's mark. Megaman tried to sweep the android's legs, (White and Blue) then froze the ground, where his foe intended to land.
Landing on the ice patch, Metalman slapped hard to the ground. But not before catching his opponent across the shoulder, cutting it open. Megaman let out a yell, (Grey and Red) as he unleashed fire on the downed android. Metalman suffered a few burns, as he rolled backward, to his feet. Slinging his arm forward, he released on of his blades, slashing his adversary's ribs.
(Grey and Orange) Megaman retaliated, with a storm of razor discs, of his own. The android maneuvered to avoid them, but took cuts to his legs. He let out a grunt, putting his hands out in front of him, palms up. Saw blades ejected from his wrists, spinning on his middle fingers, "So. We have ourselves a game." He said, circling Megaman, "I've gotta warn you though. I've been at this killing thing a lot longer than you have."
Megaman said nothing, as he began shooting blades at his foe, who flipped and dodged, as he hurled his own. The sparks flew, as the projectiles collided, mid-air. Rush backed away, nervously, knowing that he was of no help in this fight.
Under the surface, Protoman could hear the people screaming, as the crates filled with water. His discs only bounced off the hinges, which were welded shut. He tried explosive foam on the top, but the reinforced steel held up. Crash bombs were out of the question, the explosion would likely kill over half of the people inside. He racked his mind while he pulled, uselessly, at the steel doors.
The blades had ceased, temporarily, as fusion recharged. The two had resorted to a classic brawl. Both of their nanosuits in tatters, and armor gouged up, they circled, blocking and countering punches. Metalman attempted a side kick to Megaman's jaw. Having his foot caught, he sprang up doing a corkscrew flip, kicking his rival with the other boot.
Megaman fell to the ground, putting his feet up to catch the android, meant to pounce him. He tossed Metalman straight up into the air, then caught him across the face with a right cross. His adversary spun and fell on top of him, face up. Looking to put an end to things, Megaman grabbed a saw blade piece, while gripping Metalman around the neck. He aimed it for his throat.
Metalman, grabbing his wrist, struggled to keep from being killed. He drove his helmet back, bashing Megaman in the face, and took the opening to jump free. Using the small amount of fusion he had, he dispensed another spinning blade, onto his finger. "As a traitor to our race, you can join the humans in extinction." He said.
From behind, an arm wrapped over his head, bending him over backwards. The stranger, with long blonde hair, grabbed his arm, twisting it out of joint. In one swift motion, he dropped to one knee, breaking his spine across his thigh, and lifted back up, snapping Metalman's neck. He dropped the dead android and raised his palms, which contained circular nodes on each one.
Megaman's eyes grew wide, as he pointed his BSTR at the "helper", who stood in a plain, white, t-shirt and khakis.
"Whoa, whoa! Don't shoot, okay! This isn't what you think!" The stranger said.
Completely out of options, Protoman made the tough decision. He fired a crash bomb to the top of each container, and backed away. When they went off, the crates were opened, coloring the water red. The ones who survived the blasts swam to the surface. When death was the outcome, "some" would always beat "all".
Coming out of the water, a wave of shock went through him, as he raised his weapon. "What the hell is this?!" He asked, looking at the stranger.
"I just finished explaining to your friend, that we are on the same side." He said, hands still up.
"Bullshit, we are!" Proto responded.
Megaman put a hand up, "Scott it's okay, his name is Maverick, he's not one of them."
"You can see how that's a little hard to believe, right?" Proto replied.
"I know how it looks..." He replied.
Protoman cut him off, "Just comm Tron and Light. You're breaking this news."
Megaman opened comms, "Tracy, Light, come in."
"We're here, Alex." Light said.
"Okay," He said, hesitantly. "Don't freak out when you get here, but we came across another android, who's unaffected by Directive Zero. He actually has it out for Wily' machines, as well."
"That's great news!" Tracy exclaimed, "Why would that freak us out?"
Megaman looked back at Maverick, "Because, he's the spitting image of Curtis Wily, from fifteen years ago."