Chapter IV: Corruption

Not even five minutes after attendance was taken, Principal Roswell's voice sounded over the intercom to gather all of the students in the courtyard and that school was cancelled due to the attack. Walking down the hall, he meets up with Sierra, who seemed distracted and almost walked into the trophy case when he pulled her away from it.

"You okay, Sierra?" Shiroji asked her, concerned. She shook her head and looked up at him, smiling.

"I'm okay. I was just thinking about something was all."

"What about? The incident where you turned into a Vibrant?" He asked innocently.

"No... Not that... I was thinking about Mega Man actually. I saw him on the way to school." She replied, making Shiroji skip a heartbeat.

"Really? He never really talks to anyone except to make sure they were okay... What did you two talk about?" Shiroji asked, knowing full well what they talked about this morning.

"Well, he DID ask if I was okay from the incident at my birthday party... Then we got to talking about the other Seekers... Funny part is that he agrees with me. Well, for the most part anyway."

"I'm just surprised that you actually TALKED to him... You're the most anti-Seeker person I know." He said teasingly, poking her in the side making her pull away slightly and giggle while she playfully smacked him in the stomach. With that little touch, however, he winced and buckled slightly, causing Sierra to worry.

"Are you okay?!" She said, lifting up his shirt revealing a rather nasty bruise. "Shiroji! What the hell happened to you?!"

"It's nothing." He told her, blushing slightly and putting his shirt back down. "I ran into one of the Vibrants this morning and one of them attacked me when Mega Man came and saved me. I'm okay though." She began to protest and lift his shirt again to inspect the bruise when he insisted that he was fine. Still not convinced, they both walked to the courtyard.

Once they were all outside, everyone started whispering and muttering to each other, pointing towards three big white trucks, each accompanied by two Seekers in uniform, and Principal Roswell talking to someone in a dark blue jacket with white shoulder pads, cuffs and gloves. On the chest of his jacket was a golden star with wings, indicating that he was ranked as a commanding officer of NES.

About a few minutes later, someone came and tapped Shiroji on this right shoulder. As he turned around, the first thing he noticed was the guitar case strapped to his back and his loud blue shoulder-length hair and matching blue eyes. If the hair and guitar wasn't loud enough for you, he also wore a black leather jacket and skin-tight black jeans and combat boots with a chain around his waist.

"Shiro! Wazzup brotha?!" The boy said in a heavy northern accent, raising a hand in the air to high-five him, which Shiroji happily returned.

"Hey Zack! What's up bro?!" He asked him, nodding his head toward the principal and the Seekers. Zack just shook his head.

"Nothin' good bro... nothin' good. They won't let anybody leave until they questioned all of us! They think that the attack was planned!" Zack replied, obviously pissed off.

"Why in the hell would they think we PLANNED this?!" Sierra replied, possibly more pissed off than Zack. "I mean, sure... we get the idiots who start the bomb scares and stuff... but NOBODY would go so far as to try and LET themselves become Vibrants! I swear these guys are just a bunch of asshats who are just looking for a promotion!" Shiroji had to try and calm her down before the Seekers started to notice.

"Sierra, I understand that you're upset, but you need to relax!" He told her, grabbing both of her shoulders. She was still upset, however she knew he was right and started to calm down slightly. Once he let go of her, he couldn't help but notice Zack shaking his head and smiling.

"Man, she's gotta fire in her bro! You might get burned one day if you're not careful!" He said teasingly, but got a playful punch to the shoulder by Sierra in the process.

"Shut up, Zack!" She said playfully. "Why do you always got to be such a punk?" Zack was about to reply when Principal Roswell started speaking over the courtyard's speaker system.

"Good morning students and staff! As you all know, the school was attacked by four Vibrants this morning. Due to these events, NES has dispatched an investigation team to collect information. If anyone has any information on the attack, please step forward. The rest of you will be escorted to the auditorium where a movie will be played for you while you wait for the investigation to end." With that announcement about thirty or so students, along with Miss Zanders, himself and Sierra, walked up to the principal and waited while the rest of them followed the teachers into the auditorium.

"Why are you coming too?" Shiroji asked Sierra, who looked up at him.

"I was in Miss Zanders' classroom when one of the Vibrants attacked..." She admitted. Once again, his heart skipped a beat as he realized that she actually saw him fight. Now that they were gathered around the principal, he put down the microphone and started counting.

"Okay, there are thirty seven of you. Now allow me to introduce you to First Lieutenant Joshua Avery of NES's Investigation Team." The principal said as he allowed the man in the dark blue jacket to take the stand.

"Thank you Mr. Roswell. I am here to collect information from you all and investigate the crime scenes. I want you to tell me every little detail that you can about the attack, down to what the Vibrants looked like and their behavior. Any information you can provide will be a great help in our case and will help things move along quickly so we can send you all home." As he spoke, Shiroji couldn't help but take in the rest of the man's appearance. He had long black hair that reached his middle back, red eyes and wore glasses. On his face was a scar that stretched from his left ear to the center of his left cheek. He looked friendly enough from his voice, but for some odd reason Shiroji didn't trust him...

As the questioning began, Shiroji was the first to talk to Joshua while Sierra waited in line behind him with five others, the rest of them split up among the other Seekers. Joshua's friendly demeanor from earlier suddenly vanished as he questioned Shiroji.

"Okay then, let's start with where you were during the attack." He asked sternly.

"I was on the third floor of the east wing, coming out of the bathroom when I was attacked by one of theVibrants." Shiroji replied.

"What did he look like?" Johsua asked. Once Shiroji gave an accurate description of the red Vibrants, Joshua nodded his head as if believing him. "Okay, what about the blue one I heard about from the principal? I was told that he was calling the shots."

"I don't know. I didn't see him. Once Mega Man stopped the one Vi-" Shiroji started, but suddenly Joshua became more serious.

"You said Mega Man was there?! Where is he now?!" Joshua asked him, a hint of what seemed to be desperation now in his voice.

"I wouldn't know... he left as soon as he st-" Shiroji began, however he was once again interrupted.

"Don't lie to me! He MUST still be here!"

"I don't know! He left as soon as he saved me!" Shiroji replied angrily, now starting to dislike the first lieutenant who was now readjusting his glasses that were falling down his nose and sighed.

"Okay then... You may go..." He told Shiroji, who wasted no time in trying to get away from him, but stayed in case Sierra was given similar trouble. Why in the hell was he so worked up over trying to find Mega Man? I mean, I know I'm technically a vigilante, but he seemed like he was obsessed with finding Mega Man, not just interested... He thought to himself as he watched Sierra's interrogation begin to escalate as she mentioned Mega Man, even going so far as to grab her backpack and start going through it.

"HEY! What're you doing?! Give that back!" She shouted, reaching for her back pack. Joshua just pulled it out of her reach as he emptied its contents, including her phone, onto the ground to search for any clues that could lead him to Mega Man. Suddenly he picked up the phone and started going through what might have been recent contacts. Shiroji then pulled out his own phone and texted his dad:

Hey Dad... I know it's your day off and all, but I think you need to come to the school... one of the Seekers assigned here for the attack is starting to get a little crazy...

About a minute later, he recieved a reply:

I'm already on my way. One of the other Seekers there already contacted me. I'll be there shortly.

As he began to reply, Joshua noticed him and started walking over to him, his hand out stretched as he made a grab for his phone. Once he managed to get it from him, however, he was furious to find that Shiroji had locked it before it was taken.

"Unlock it!" Joshua demanded.

"No, I think I won't actually!" He replied.

"You were talking to Mega Man, weren't you?!" He asked, the obsession apparent in his voice.

"No I wasn't! Now get the hell away from me!" He said, trying to get away only to be grabbed by the wrist.

"TELL ME WHERE HE IS!" He shouted, scaring the other students. Suddenly, Sierra hit him in the arm with her back pack.

"Leave him alone you jerk! He told you he didn't know anything!" She shouted, the rage written all over her face. Suddenly, he turned around and grabbed her up by the collar of her shirt.

"How DARE you attack an officer of NES?! I could arrest you right now for assault!" He said, lifting her into the air. Suddenly he saw the one thing that he never wanted to see: Sierra was crying.

"LET GO OF HER YOU BASTARD!" Shiorji shouted, rushing at Joshua with a fist drawn back and ready to strike. He knew it was a bad idea, but it was too late as he swung and hit him in the face, knocking his glasses off and causing him to let go of Sierra. Enraged, Joshua grabbed Shiroji by the wrist, his fist drawn back.

"You insolent little brat!" Joshua exclaimed, his expression one of malice and insanity. It was enough to scare anyone.

"Let go of me!" Shiroji snapped, trying to rip his arm from Joshua's grasp only to have the grip tightened. It hurt so much that he felt it would snap if he continued to resist.

"Time to show you some manners!" Joshua told him as he raised him by the arm off the ground. Before he could do anything else, however, Zack jumps onto Joshua's back and puts him in a choke hold, making him release Shiroji.

"Shiroji! Go call your dad!" Sierra shouted, grabbing Joshua by the leg to stop him from advancing on Shiroji.

Outraged, he looked for somewhere he couldn't be seen. Suddenly he spotted the circuit shed for the courtyard's speaker system and, making sure everyone's attention was off of him, he ran for the shed, pulled out the ParCon, and held it in front of him.

"Shift! M3G4!" he said, pressing the button and was suddenly engulfed in the dark aura once again and emerging as Mega Man. Once he was transformed, he walked out of the shed and, with a burst of speed, he jumped over the others and stood in front of Joshua, who had somehow managed to get Zack off of him and had him suspended in the air by the strap of his guitar case. Sierra was being held back by two of her friends.

"That's enough!" Shiroji told him, making him let go of Zack. Joshua's face twisted into a maniacal grin.

"So you finally showed up, have you?! Now I can take you in for attacking the school!" He said triumphantly. Shiroji just glared at him.

"I had nothing to do with those attacks. In fact, I was the one who prevented them. Now let these children go home and I will personally share everything I know with you." Joshua didn't seem to hear him.

"Yeah, like I'm going to believe a vigilante who wants to play hero! Now hold your arms out so I can take you in!" He said, pulling out his hand cuffs. "Or would you rather do this the hard way?" He asked, raising his left arm with a red ParCon on his wrist. "Either way is fine with me! I'll finally be promoted to Colonel if I can bring YOU in!"

"THAT'S what you're after?!" Sierra shouted, tears of rage in her eyes. "You treat us like dirt and manhandle us just for a PROMOTION?! You make me sick!" She seemed to strike a nerve as Joshua activated his ParCon.

"Shift! Volcanus!" Suddenly Joshua was wrapped in flames, which slowly took the shape of Joshua's body and started forming an orange bodysuit with red boots and gauntlets, both were still on fire. A red helmet with a yellow crown formed on his head with an orange gem on the center of the crown and a yellow visor covering his eyes. Aside from his boots, gauntlets and helmet, he had no other forms of armor except a belt that held two revolver-styled blasters and a large battle axe on his back.

Suddenly, he makes a rush for Sierra and tries to grab her, but Mega Man pulls her into his arms and jumps away. He looks down at her and notices her blushing as he held her close to him to protect her. Once he landed, he set her down next to Miss Zanders, who understood what he wanted her to do right away and, along with Principal Roswell, directed the students away from the courtyard's square. Shiroji then looked up at Volcanus.

"Are you so twisted that you would hurt a defenseless girl?!" Shiroji shouted, his rage only intensifying as he saw Volcanus laugh.

"My only goal is to bring you in! I will do whatever it takes to do so!" He said, grabbing his axe and swinging it off of his back. "Even if I have to take a hostage or two to make you cooperate!" Suddenly he rushed at Shiroji, who jumped over him and kicked Volcanus square in the back to jump away. He had no intention of harming a Seeker if he could avoid it. Once again, Volcanus charged at him, only this time he was sidestepped and had to quickly turn on the spot to swing his axe at him, only to have Shiroji jump up and stomp down on the blade of the axe to catch him off guard and push him back.

"Don't make me have to hurt you, Volcanus. I have no intentions of fighting you and neither should you!" Shiroji told him, still holding a defensive stance. Like clockwork, Volcanus rushed at him again. Once again, Shiroji dodged him only to find that Volcanus wasn't stopping and was rushing at the other students. Finding no other solution, he rushes at Volcanus as fast as he could, pulling both blasters out of their holsters.

"ACCESSING SPECIAL TECHNIQUES ARCHIVE. TECHNIQUE 04 UNLOCKED!" The voice told him as he shot ten bullets, each just hovering in front of him in a circle as he rushed to catch up to Volcanus. He brought his arms forward.

"Synchro Shot!" He shouted, swinging his arms to the side, causing the ten bullets to spread out and attack all at once as each shot made their marks: two in the back, one on each leg, one on each arm, three more in the chest and the last one in the back of the head. Volcanus hit the ground hard as he yelled in pain, clutching his body and writhing on the ground. Reholstering his blasters, he stopped and grabbed Volcanus by the foot, then swung him away from the crowd. As he turned around to make sure everyone got inside okay, he heard the sound of a flame igniting and turned around to find Volcanus just feet above him, his axe on fire. There wasn't enough time to retalliate.

Suddenly, there was what sounded like cannonfire and Volcanus was sent flying into one of the statues in the courtyard. Looking in the direction the attack came from, he sees Reaper, his three barrelled gun in one hand and his scythe in the other.

"Joshua! What is the meaning of this?!" Reaper shouted, obviously angry. Volcanus slowly got up and grabbed his axe again, as well as one of this blasters.

"What're you doing here, Reaper?! You're supposed to be off today!"

"I got a text from my son stating that you were mistreating the students."

"Well he was lying to you then! I'm only transformed because Mega Man attacked me!" Everyone, including two of the other Seekers, were objecting to the statement and were backing up Mega Man. Reaper only laughed.

"Joshua... even if they weren't backing him up... I still wouldn't believe you..." Reaper told him, walking over to Mega Man. "For one, I've seen Mega Man in action and he would never start an unneccessary fight. Secondly, my son would NEVER lie to me!" he shouted, rushing at Volcanus and engaging in the fight with him. It was an amazing site to behold as he watched Reaper wield the scythe one handed as he swung at Volcanus and fired his gun whenever he saw an opening. Volcanus was obviously scared now and split the axe down the middle to create two single-bladed battle axes and attacked once again. The scary part wasn't the fact that Volcanus looked terrifying as he swung his weapons in his rage... but the fact that Reaper was smiling!

Reaper found an opening and kicked Volcanus away, and raised his scythe in the air. "Dread Scythe!" He shouted, swinging the scythe down, sending a shokwave in its wake that hit Volcanus in the chest. Reaper suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Volcanus and kicked him again and rushed after him.

"Death Star!" He shouted, grabbing Volcanus and throwing him to the ground, then followed up with a combo so fast that it left a five pointed star pattern of energy in its wake as he attacked him. Volcanus then Shifted back into his human form and stared in rage at Reaper, who walked up to him and snatched the golden star off of Joshua's jacket.

"You won't be needing this anymore. Effective immedeately, you are hereby demoted to Second Lieutenant and are relieved of your command! Now you and your team will return to headquarters and I will be there shortly to fill out the report." He said, loud enough for everyone to hear. As he walked over to Mega Man, he held a hand out in the friendly gesture of an handshake. Shiroji was hesitant on this.

"I wanted to apologize for my colleague's behavior. I assure you that the appropriate disciplinary measures will be taken, including some jail time, for his actions." He told Shiroji, still holding his hand out. After a moment, he shook Reaper's hand, causing the crowd behind them to clap. Suddenly, someone grabbed him from behind, shocking him a bit. Once he realized who it was, however, he was glad that he had a helmet that covered his entire face because he could feel his face growing hot from how red it must be as Sierra was hugging him.

"Thank you so much! I was so scared!" She told him, tears still in her eyes.

"I-It was nothing!" Shiroji replied, trying to sound calm and collected as he scratched the back of his head only to press a button accidentally, making the lower part of his helmet split down the middle and part towards each side of his face to reveal the lower part of his face.

"You know... I think you look better without the helmet closed like it was..." She said, turning him to face her. "It makes it easier..." She was inching her face towards his, blushing as much as he was. "to thank you properly..." and everyone gasped at what happened next, including Reaper.

She kissed him on the cheek.