Chapter 7: Jungle Fury

Mega Man and Rush trekked through the African jungle with extreme caution. The sun was quickly setting which meant that an ambush was more likely to be successful. The only reason he was in this sort of situation except Beat had gone missing. All they could find was a note saying that Roll would be next so Mega Man had immediately set out to nip this problem in the bud.

Mega Man held his lantern higher as Rush put his nose closer to the ground and sniffed around for a moment. He barked and led Mega Man deeper into the trees. By now it was completely dark with only the lantern as a source of light. Mega Man was really nervous by now but was not going to waiver in his duty.

Rush seemed to be confused; he kept pacing back and forth and sniffing the air around a certain tree. He glanced at his master with a confused look on his face. Mega Man stiffened when he heard something move in the tree's branches. He held his lantern up high and found a short light orange robot sitting in the lower branches. He had what looked like a lion's mane and long sharp claws. Sitting next to him was a cage with a terrified and gagged Beat in it.

"You came. I thought you would."

"Why go through this elaborate game? Why not simply attack me?"

"Where is the fun in that? I wanted to see how see how skilled you were at hunting. It was very clever of you to bring the dog."

"Let me guess, now that I've found you I'll be the hunted and you the hunter."

"Of course, prepare to feel the wrath of Slash Man!"

He dove at Mega Man with his claws extended and the blue bomber barely had time to dodge. Slash Man bounced off of a nearby tree with the agility of a cat and lunged at Mega Man's back. Mega Man had to drop to the ground in order to avoid the lethal nails. Mega Man stood up quickly to find his foe directly in front of him. He yelled "Slash Claw" and he swiped through the air with vicious speed. Mega Man screamed as the nails penetrated his stomach, leaving deep gashes.

Mega Man responded with a barrage of energy shots that knocked Slash Man backwards but the agile predator quickly leapt into the air and released a mass of red goo that cemented Mega Man to the spot. He struggled to no avail and knew that Slash Man had him cornered.

"That was disappointingly short. I had hoped you would put up a bit more of a struggle. Slash Cl…"

But the attack never came; by the dim light of the lantern Mega Man could see Rush and Slash Man locked in a savage wrestling match. The faithful dog was clawing and biting at every inch of his enemy that he could reach. Slash Man in retaliation was trying to tear Rush to pieces and both robots were showing signs of wear.

"Get off of me you stupid mutt!"

Mega Man was proud that Rush was trying to protect him but worried that he might not survive his act of heroism. He felt that the sticky substance was already dissolving but it wasn't going fast enough. He fired a Thunder Bolt in an attempt to speed it up and it worked; he was free. His restored mobility came not a moment too soon as Slash Man managed to throw Rush off of himself and slashed open his side.

"Hey speedy try this on for size!"

Mega Man fired a Freeze Cracker and Slash Man was frozen solid. He followed through with Thunder Bolt and Slash Man exploded. Mega Man hurried to Rush's side and examined his canine companion. He was hurt very badly and was in immediate need of repairs.

"You were magnificent boy! If you hadn't stepped in it would have been the end of me for sure. Just give me a minute to free Beat and we'll be on our way home."

Rush feebly barked his appreciation and Mega Man smiled as he affectionately patted his friend's head.