Right off the bat, I just want to say thanks to nimnitzle and DaMaverickBlast for reviewing the first chapter. Thanks guys.
In the twelve years that I've been writing fanfiction, I've discovered some interesting points in ending a chapters on a cliffhanger. The 'closer' at the end of one serves to build tension and dramatic impetus, yet the very same scene can take on a totally different tone as the 'opener' at the start of the next. The frenetic tension is replaced by a slower more detailed slow-burn build. I liken it to recalling a traumatic ordeal you went through once you're out of danger, and you're able to remember things you didn't register at the time.
LOVE IS
ELECTRIC
Part 02
The front gates, situated in the "jaw" of gaping maw of the giant forward-facing skull that the formed the entry point of the castle, shuddered as a super-charged blast blew a hole through it. Mega Man flew through the breach, into a wide corridor, then disengaged Rush from jet-mode. The red robot dog then teleported away for the moment as he set out on foot down the large corridor.
Aside from the built-in defenses and some rather pedestrian security drones, Mega Man encountered little in the way of a proper resistance- not even Mets- as he continued deeper into the fortress. Still, he wasn't about to let his guard down. He knew from past experience that Doctor Wily always had a plan, no matter how convoluted it might be, it was just a matter of working it out. The madman might have been predictable in many ways, but that didn't make him any less dangerous- especially, when it came to fighting him on his own 'turf' as it were.
He finally arrived at a large room- about 30 meters squared, and 50 meters high- just in time as heavy doors slammed shut behind him with a metallic groan of concealed motors. Unsurprisingly, his retreat was now cut-off bywhat looked to be armored blast doors. But then, fighting your way into a Wily-built fortress was always a one-way trip, as getting out meant defeating the Doctor. He cast his gaze upward as a large hatch slid open overhead, then watched as Bass gracefully dropped into the ground on one knee, before rising up to regard him with his crimson eyes.
Bass smiled devilishly at him. "I knew that it was just a matter of time before you finally came looking for your sister, Mega-twerp." The Wily Bot commented in a low mocking tone, as he slowly advanced toward the blue robot, his left hand vanishing as his forearm morphed into its blaster mode- capped off at the end by a muzzle the color of polished brass.
Mega Man's dark brown eyes narrowed. "Bass..." He began darkly, regarding the purple and black robot approaching him. "Where is she?! I swear, if anything's happened to Roll, I'll-"
He came to a halt, head tilted back and chuckled languidly. "Don't worry about her, blondy is just fine." Bass answered smoothly, his tone full of his usual arrogant bluster. "Though you really should be more concerned with your own health, because the only way you'll get to Roll... Is through me!"
Magaman glowered at him in irritation, but took a step back and set about charging his mega-buster to full power. Bass fired up the jets of his booster system and glided toward him. As this was happening, both failed to notice as a large spherical device- a bit bigger than a beach ball- dropped down through the same hatch that Bass had entered through...
The Wily bot continued his advance, preparing to fire, at the same time as Mega Man held up his own arm-cannon to let off a blast of his own. But before anything could happen, the spherical device moved in close behind Bass and unleashed a burst of energy directly at him- electrocuting Bass. He cried out in a mix of shock and pain, while the same disruptive energy arced outward from his body and struck Mega Man like a wrecking ball- sending him flying back with a cry of pain.
His entire body felt like it was on fire, even as he violently collided with the hard surface of the doors and fell to the metal floor below. At the same time, Bass toppled forward with a metallic thud, leaving both of them prone, their bodies convulsing as their power levels dropped rapidly in the wake of the attack carried out against them. Mega Man's diagnostic system registered faults throughout him. And he could tell that his opponent was fairing any better.
The purple armoring that represented Treble in the enhanced mode vanished, leaving Bass alone on the floor as he was overcome with pain. The violet crystal on Bass' chest plate flashed on and off, signaling a major fault in his systems, to the extent that his vital functions were threatened. He tried to move, but the Orb's attack had sapped him of any strength he once had. Mega Man watched in confusion as it sent a second burst of energy into Bass, which traveled from his body into his. The blue robot cried out in pain and his back arched sharply, only to then go slack.
A panel in the wall slid open to reveal a large screen. Mega Man turned to look at it, while Bass rolled onto his side, both robots only partially processing what was going on. The screen flickered to life, and an image of Doctor Wily appeared on it.
"You seem surprised Bass?" He began, looking to his creation. "Tell me something, how long did you think I would tolerate your constant failures, especially in light of your continued insolence?"
Bass's eyes went wide at this. "Think about it, I created you to destroy Mega Man- a task which you have repeatedly failed to carry out." Wily continued. "Still, it remains my intention that you fulfill the goal for which you were created. Should you prove unable to achieve this in battle, well... I always make sure to include contingency plans in all my projects."
"Mega Man," he resumed, turning to him. "Right now, the mechanism that's attacking you, it's using Bass as an amplifier to super-charge its attacks... True, the surges will eventually burn out his systems, but you'll likely cease functioning before then, and sacrifices must be made."
"Bastard!" Bass exclaimed through grit teeth.
"Y-you wont... get away w-with this, Wily." Mega Man declared weekly.
The Doctor grinned maniacally at this. "Brave words, considering both of you will soon be destroyed." Wily replied with a smile. "I'd love to stick around for the show, but you see, just in case these attacks don't finish you off, I've pre-programmed an automated signal to broadcast throughout the fortress that will trigger a critical fault in Bass and overload his core- effectively turning him into a bomb..."
Wily chuckled and continued. "As a robot, I expect you can appreciate the sheer magnitude of power required to keep a high-level android fully-functional. The output from your own core is roughly equal to the power of a small fission device, and I constructed Bass to be a match for you... Just thank about it Mega Man, that's a lot of power." He remarked. "Such that I'd wager even you, the pride of Doctor Light's genius, wouldn't be able to whether the explosion at this close a range."
"But...Why?" Bass asked weekly.
Wily's gaze turned back to him. "Why, you ask? Well, it's rather simple really, results. I'm on the verge of a breakthrough that will change everything... And I will no longer tolerate inefficiency. You've served me well enough, but you're fast becoming a liability to my plans." He continued. "I built you to destroy Mega Man, and it remains my intention that you should fulfill this task."
His bushy gray eyebrows arched upward as he gave a wild grin. "Though, I'm afraid that it just won't be in the manner you had planned for him." The mad scientist added. "Still, if it helps, Bass, you can take comfort in the knowledge that you'll finally succeeded in destroying Mega Man."
With that, the screen flickered and went dark. Mega Man looked to the orb, as the spherical mechanism appeared to be powering up to unload another attack. The blue robot felt pretty rough, and a quick look told him that Bass was in an even worse condition. The other robot looked down at his chest, brushing his hand over the purple gem as it continued to flash in a slow sequence.
...o.o.o...
Elsewhere in the Skull Fortress...
Roll felt the entire fortress begin to tremble violently, dust falling around her and the overhead light fixtures shook above her. She made her way, on slightly unsteady feet, to the door. She knelt down and got to work on prying open the security panel beside it. Eventually, she worked it loose enough to pull the entire panel- key pad and all- out and expose the wiring.
"Now, I just hope all those time I helped the Doctor in the labs will pay off..." She muttered to herself as she looked over the wires that ran from the panel into the wall. "...And that Doctor Light thought to include proper electrical insulation when he built me." He added, with a nervous smile on her face as she reached into the exposed guts of the mechanism. She found what she (hoped) was looking for, and closed her eyes as she yanked the red wire out.
When nothing happened, she opened her eyes and exhaled. Roll then pulled out out a second wire, this one being black, and crossed it with the red. A large spark fired off, and she toppled back with a girlish yelp, however, she watched with relief as the door slid open. The blonde robot quickly got to her feet, and smoothing her dress, exited through the now open door.
Roll did her best to navigate the winding tunnels. However, she came to a stop when she saw that there was a large hole all the way through the central section of the fortress. Putting her hand up to shield her eyes from the sunlight spilling through the newly created hole in the domed roof... Just in time to watch as the last of the debris fell from Wily's Skull Flier as the aircraft rose up and flew away.
"He's abandoning the Fortress... under his own power?" She mused aloud. "Something's really wrong here, that thing should be full of holes and spitting out smoke... But it looks untouched." Roll observed as she watched the skull-faced craft vanish into the distance.
The blonde-haired domestic robot turned to the nearest doorway. "If that lunatic is leaving without a fight, then I better get the heck out of here... before something really bad happens."
...o.o.o...
Mega Man heard the distant sound of gunfire and explosions, though the racket was largely muffled by the heavy doors presently entrapping him in the room. Before he could think any further on the matter, the Orb unleashed a burst of energy into Bass- drawing an agonized scream from him in the process- before arching out to blast him. Mega Man cried out, slumping down in pain.
The Orb began powering up for a third blast, just the sound of a some kind of machinery powering up could be heard just beyond the doors. The metal soon began to hiss and crackle, though another attack prevented either Mega Man or Bass from registering this.
...o.o.o...
"This is taking too long." Fire Man snapped in frustration. "I'm deactivating my safeties, so let's see if two-hundred percent is strong enough to get through this!" He exclaimed, before projecting an intense outpouring of fire from his arm-cannons, literally giving the doors 'both barrels'.
"Are you crazy?" Proto Man exclaimed. "You're pushing your systems too hard, you'll end up burning out your Fire Storm ability..." He protested frantically. "You could even wind up burning out your core and destroying your CPU with this stunt.. You can't help Rock if you're dead!"
Ballade silently observed the two robots, battle-ready and his weaponry powered up, while a large area of the massive doors began to glow faintly, rewarding Fire Man's efforts.
"Three-hundred percent!" He declared with effort. "Mega Man- our fellow Light Bot, your brother- is trapped in there!" Fire Man continued, resolute in the face of his fatigue- his knees bending slightly and his shoulders hunched as he kept his arms outstretched, the micro-servos that controlled his artificial musculature and his internal cooling system working over-time to keep him functioning.
A dull red 'circle' began to form in front of him as he continued. "As far... as I'm concerned, there's no point in talking about who might possibly die, not when Mega Man will die, unless I can get us through these doors in time..." Fire Man continued insistently. "It's as simple as that!"
The section of the doors were starting to glow as the color of the metal slowly became an increasingly brighter shade of red under the barrage of flames hitting it. "Time is a luxury we don't have!" Fire Man went on, as beads of sweat trickled down his temples. "And you can't tell me that Mega Man wouldn't do the same for any one of us if he was in our place!" Fire Man continued defiantly, even as his knees started to buckle under the considerable strain of his exertion.
The were all basked in the halo of light radiating outward from the doors, with Proto Man's black visor reflecting the bright reddish-orange glow from the near-molten metal. Ballade squinted his eyes, before he finally turned away, the glare becoming intolerable for his visual input systems.
"Fire Man's right!" Ballade interjected, with a determined look. "Mega Man has saved more lives than than could ever be counted- including myself- we owe it to him to follow his example!" The reformed Wily Bot exclaimed with fervor, his whole body tensed in anticipation.
Proto Man, the first robot created by Thomas Light and Albert Wily and the basis for the generation of thinking machines the two men would usher in, was at a loss. The declarations- from a fellow Light Bot and a former Wily Bot, respectively- hit him like a slap in the face. The red and gray robot gave a silent nod, resigned to the realization that he was alone in his pragmatism. It truly seemed that his brother's optimism was 'contagious'... He gave them a simple nod, before he turned back to the doors.
"Right on!" Fire Man cried out, sweat pouring down face. "Besides... These doors... are nothing before before... the power of my Flames of Justice!"
The super-heated metal was glowing so brightly, that it was like looking at the sun, and the surface was starting to visibly warp and ungulate. "The doors, they're giving way!" Proto Man declared, just in time as Fire Man's torches sputtered out and dropped to the floor. "Quick, Ballade- blow the doors!"
He nodded, firing his Ballade Cracker explosives from the cannons in his shoulders, which blew open a wide hole through the section that Fire Man had been working on...
...o.o.o...
Minutes Earlier...
Bass wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. Whatever this thing was, what it was doing to him was more than just electrical shocks. Each time he took another blast from the thing, he could feel his systems growing weaker with each jolt. While he had been built for combat, he wasn't totally ignorant of the inner workings of his artificial body.
The attacks 'burned' his insides, yet for as much as it hurt, he knew enough to realize the truth was far more dire than this superficial pane. The core that supplied power to his body- not all that dissimilar to how the humans' organs supplied blood and oxygen- was a vast untapped reserve of energy, enough to maintain his simple mechanical functions long after his CPU and other systems that controlled his higher functions were destroyed... Meaning he'd keep functioning, even after he was dead.
His systems were far too damaged by this point, to the extent that he failed to register the fact that part of the doors had turned red hot, nor as it began to warp and crumple like melting ice...
He rolled onto his back, eyes glazed as he stared upward... Suddenly, he understood what the humans meant when they talked about the difference between biology and living. What good was it to keep the body going if there wasn't anything left of the person? Bass closed his eyes, and a chuckled weakly to himself, before opening his eyes again- only to find the world around him blurry and unfocused.
The molten metal was breaking apart, falling in on itself as it melted away- forming an opening in the hissing and smoking metal of the blast doors...
"So... this is death?" The Wily Bot muttered softly to himself, just as his body was wracked by another burst of energy from the Orb. "Is this death...?" Bass mused aloud, giving voice to his thoughts.
A fully-charged energy blast flew through the breach, hitting the floating metal sphere and blowing open the front of it, exposing the thing's innards amidst a spray of smoke and sparks. This was enough for the machine to violently explode, sending shrapnel and bits of circuitry in all directly.
Bass closed his eyed. "...Hmm, yes, I must be dieing."
Proto Man stepped precariously through the hole in the thick doors, mindful of the considerable heat that still lingered in the edges surrounding the gap. He was immediately followed by Ballade, who had to duck down to enter the chamber. He instantly spotted Mega Man, prone on the floor.
Rushing to kneel beside his brother, he activated his com-link. "Rush, this is Proto Man, I am issuing an emergency override- my instructions now take priority." He began. "Lock in on my location, use it to beam directly here for an emergency evacuation."
"Ballade, go find Roll, I'll take care of Mega Man." Proto Man instructed him, as he scooped the blue robot up into his arms, right as Rush appeared- teleporting in with a brief flash of light.
The purple battle robot nodded. "Right," he began to leave, but stopped. "Hey, Proto Man... Take care, not just of Mega Man, but yourself too." He gave a small smile, before departing.
Proto Man nodded and turned to deposit his brother onto Rush's back. The robot dog, having intuitively guessed his intent, had transformed into his jet-mode.
"Quick, Rush, get Mega Man out of here!" He instructed him, prompting a bark of acknowledgment from Rush as her fired up his boosters and zoomed off down the corridor.
Now alone, Proto Man turned to regard Bass's fallen form for an instant, then shook his head.
"No, I don't suppose Rock would be okay with just leaving him behind..." He remarked, as he walked over the now incapacitated Wily Bot. His eyes suddenly widened as his own systems detected an errant signal being broadcast directly at Bass. Proto Man rushed over to him and knelt down, and noticed that the purple gem on his chest was flashing in intervals of about ten seconds.
"The signal..." Proto Man began, his tone grave. "It's a trigger... to induce Self-Destruction!"
To Be Continued...
What is Doctor Wily up to? With this chapter, the larger plot (ie. the one going on "around" Roll and Bass) starts to creep in...
Sorry that it's taken so long to get another chapter posted. Despite the delay, I'm actually ahead in terms of content, so it's not like I just stopped writing during the gap. I just like to try and be far enough ahead of what I've just posted that I don't end up surprising myself.
