A Hiss in the Dark
"Ok I wasn't really expecting that" Mega Man said as he and Rush materialized in a new location. They were standing in a large tunnel lined with green bricks arranged in an odd fashion. "They almost look like scales…someone has really made themselves at home."
Rush spun around and growled. Mega Man turned but saw nothing. He thought he heard something scuttling in the walls and Rush turned to follow the sound. A strange hissing, almost like soft laughter met their ears and Mega Man felt a bit unnerved.
"Snake Man? Is that you?" His only answer was another round of hissing laughter and rapid scuttling "Stay on your guard boy, this could get…interesting."
They began to move down the tunnel which was set at an upward incline. A strange thumping noise reached Mega Man's ears right before an odd robot bounced into sight. It was grey with large eyes and a rectangular body almost as large as Mega Man himself. It flapped it's stubby wing-like appendages while it bounced towards him with alarming speed. Mega Man was too surprised to move and it slammed into him, causing him to roll back down the incline. He stood up as the robot came bouncing up from behind. This time Mega Man side stepped it and fired plasma at it. The robot didn't have a high defense and soon fell to pieces.
"And moving on" Mega Man said as he indicated Rush to follow him along the sloping tunnel. The floor suddenly dropped off and Mega Man was taken by surprise; he teetered for a minute before falling over the edge. The fall wasn't very fall but he was still shaken up as he face planted. He looked up to see another grey robot bouncing toward him. It looked like it was going to land on his back and squish him but Rush tackled it from above causing it to fall helplessly onto its back.
"Thanks again boy" Mega Man said as he stood up "Maybe I should just let you deal with the robot masters."
Rush barked appreciatively and they quickly moved on from the hopping robot who was still struggling like a flipped turtle. After they had passed a little further down the tunnel, Rush began growling and pounced at something on the ground in the shadows. Mega Man initially couldn't see what Rush was after but then felt a sharp jolt in his foot. He looked down and saw a metallic green snake biting him. He shot it to pieces but he could hear more slithering around. Rush was very agitated and was pouncing all over the place trying to catch one of the snakes.
Something far larger and heavier shifted in the shadows and Mega Man fired at it. The area was momentarily illuminated by the plasma as a figure recoiled. "Ow. That ssssmartss."
"Snake Man, if you want to fight me, then come out and face me directly."
"Where'sss the fun in that?" the voice hissed as the shadow seemed to melt away. Mega Man ran to the spot but a panel in the wall was already sliding shut.
"And the games continue…oh well let's keep moving."
They did so and soon came to a place where the tunnel turned into a series of rising ledges, similar to the ones in Magnet Man's area but much closer together and easier to climb. Mega Man jumped to the first ledge but was knocked back down by a large mechanical snake popping out of the ground. The ledges above also had snakes swaying about like an odd game of whack-a-mole. While they were still taking this in, the three snakes opened their mouths and released balls of energy. Mega Man and Rush jumped to the side to avoid the attack but already the serpents were preparing another round.
"Stay behind me Rush" Mega Man said as he fired upon the lowest snake. It retreated back into the ground but his attack hit the second snake. It swayed and sparked while the first and third attacked again. Mega Man dodged while firing and managed to take out the first two snakes. The third rose to attack but Mega Man impaled its head with a Needle Cannon. It sparked and flailed before a plasma shot finished it off.
Rush barked and leapt up onto the first ledge. "Ok, ok I'm coming" Mega Man said with a slight smile.
They climbed up the ledges and the tunnel continued for a ways before branching off in several directions. Mega Man paused and peered down each tunnel but discovered no clues as to how to proceed. Rush was slowly prowling around while sniffing and cocking his ears but seemed equally lost. Suddenly he stiffened and stared intently down the passage on the right. Mega Man couldn't see anything yet but the dog seemed agitated. Suddenly he barked and ran in the opposite direction. Mega Man's confusion quickly turned into panic as a massive green snake came slithering quickly towards him.
He turned and bolted after his dog as the huge serpent tried to keep up. Mega Man glanced over his shoulder in time to see it open its mouth and vomit a ball of fire. Thinking quickly Mega Man poured his energy into a Top Spin. He whirled frantically and the bulk of the flames were quickly carried away from him by the momentum. He still took some damage but he was pleased that it wasn't far worse. His moment of joy was shattered as the large head butted into him at speed, causing him to bounce painfully down the tunnel.
He sat up and watched as the snake as the snake came to a halt with its mouth open. There was a red glow deep inside which meant more fire was to follow. Mega Man readied his buster but Rush suddenly soared overhead and rammed right into one of the beast's eyes. The snake thrashed as much as the narrow tunnel allowed while Rush reverted to canine mode and continued biting and scratching at that eye. Mega Man took the opportunity to blast the other eye but this made the beast recoil even more wildly and Rush was smashed against the ceiling.
"Rush!" Mega Man ran to catch his dog but the snake barreled forward and knocked the dog into a side tunnel. Mega Man himself was caught on the charging serpent's nose and carried along the tunnel at speed. He somehow managed to roll sideways off of the snake and into a side tunnel. He bounced to a stop and got to his feet. The tunnel was much narrower than the main one he had just escaped so the beast couldn't follow him here.
"On the other hand Rush is missing and I'm still being stalked by Snake Man so not out of the woods yet."
He began to walk along the dim passage with his buster at the ready. He thought he heard some faint laughter but couldn't tell where it was coming from. The laughter was joined by the sound of rapid footsteps and a small robot carrying a stick come running towards him. Mega Man tried to shoot it but it pole vaulted over him using the stick and it's spring like body. It landed and slammed into Mega Man from behind. He stumbled and fell onto his butt in time to see a pair of small snakes falling from above.
The green menaces began to painfully crawl all over the flailing hero. He struggled to his knees but the snakes continued to cling to him and avoid capture. All the while, Snake Man's laughter was only getting louder and more raucous. Mega Man grabbed one of the snakes and pulled it off of him seconds before it bit him. He dropped the thing and is slithered right back. All this time the pole vaulting robot was butting against him and trying to make him trip again. Finally in a fit of frustration, Mega Man kicked the little robot away while rapidly firing upwards towards the laughter. Snake Man screamed and crashed to the ground. The smaller snakes stopped moving and fell off of him and he quickly blasted them before they could revive themselves.
"Alright Snake Man are finally going to do this?" Mega Man said as he held his buster at the ready.
"We have been doing thisss the entire time" the green robot responded "The gamessss began asss sssoon asss you entered my playground."
"Playground?"
"What, aren't you having fun? Ssssearch Sssnake!"
He shouted the last two words while more of the little green snakes erupted from his buster. Mega Man had to focus his efforts on dealing with these while Snake Man again slipped away. He danced on the spot as they tried to bite his feet and he ended up crushing one under his heel. The other jumped at him but he kicked it in midair and blasted it upon landing.
"Annoying yet effective; I think I may enjoy absorbing that one."
He continued down the tunnel and dealt with a few more pole vaulting robots. He paused when he heard more slithering and hissing in the shadows to his right. He readied his buster and took a few soft steps in that direction. "Ok Snake Man, here we…." His words were cut off when a long, green tube shot out of the shadows at high speed and slammed him against the wall behind him.
"…go again" he said finishing his earlier sentence in shock and confusion…that wasn't Snake Man"
He shook his head and focused revealing the "tube" to be another of the smaller snake beasts, like the ones from the ledges. It was slithering back into the wall while its hisses greatly resembled giggles. Mega Man stood all the way up and took a step forward before being struck in the back by a ball of plasma. He managed to stay on his feet and turned to see another snake poking out of the wall a couple of yards behind him. He then had to quickly dodge to the side to avoid being rammed again by the first one.
"Well it's not a rock and a hard place but I do seem stuck."
Both popped out of their hiding places and fired their balls of plasma. Mega Man deflected both with a Top Spin. The energy balls few in random directions while the snakes slithered around to dodge them. Mega Man stopped facing the one behind him and fired a Hard Knuckle. The fist found it's mark and knocked the head clean off. Meanwhile the other one, which was much closer than it's fallen partner, clamped it's powerful jaws onto Mega Man's arm and began slamming him around.
"Nice bite, how do you like mine?" he said as he pointed his buster at the snakes head and fired several Needle Cannons. The long spikes easily penetrated the emerald scales and caused the beast to short circuit. It released Mega Man and fell lifeless on the floor.
"I'm starting to see why many people don't like snakes."
He continued on his way and was undisturbed for a while. His senses were on red alert for any enemy activity but mostly just heard occasional distant hissing and scuttling echoing down the tunnels. He was soon surprised to find the tunnel end on sudden drop off. He was standing at edge of a large pit with another tunnel on the other side but quite inaccessible. Mega Man turned to see if there was a path he'd missed when what looked like a cloud came floating out of the shadows towards him.
"Ok that's unexpected"
The words had no sooner left his mouth when the cloud burst apart to reveal a rocket that launched itself at him with amazing speed. Mega Man flattened himself against the wall of the tunnel while the rocket zoomed past. He looked up to two more flying down the tunnel at him more clouds were rising out of the pit. Mega Man ducked so the rockets sailed over him while he tried to shoot down the clouds. Unfortunately this only destroyed the cloud disguise and the rockets within hurled themselves at him. He managed to jump over them but landed right on the edge and heard more rockets approaching as he tried to regain his balance. He spun around and fired upon them but the resulting explosion sent him toppling over the edge.
He screamed as he plummeted into the darkness but his voice was quickly joined by a triumphant howl. Rush flew into view and scooped Mega Man out of the air. "Rush! You're alright!" The dog barked happily and Mega Man went on "You truly are a bot's best friend. Now let's go catch us a snake!"
Rush barked again and soared down the tunnel on the far side of the pit. They dodged a few minor enemies and came to a stop in a large room with no apparent exits. The room was lit far better than the tunnels behind them and Mega Man stepped off of Rush with his buster at the ready. Rush began to growl and pace erratically. Mega Man looked at him quizzically before realizing the floor was vibrating. The vibrations grew rapidly stronger before the huge snake from the tunnels burst through the floor. Snake Man was standing on the massive serpent's head laughing like a maniac.
"Hi Mega Man, I'm sssso glad to sssee that you've made it here."
"Oh so I'm sure you wouldn't have enjoyed seeing me fall to one of your traps?"
"It would have been hilariousss but now we can finish this like real robotssss!"
"Then what's with the basilisk there?"
"You have your pet and I have mine."
With that the large snake opened its mouth and spewed a torrent of flame. Mega Man rush jumped respectively to the left and right to avoid being cooked. It turned its head, and thus the fire, towards Rush while Snake Man jumped down and scuttled towards Mega Man on all fours. Mega Man fired upon him but the enemy robot rolled to the side while generating more small snakes.
"I'm sssure that my now you're well acquainted with my cute little Sssearch Sssnakes."
"Cute isn't the word I'd use" Mega Man said as he ran backwards while trying to shoot them. They zigged and zagged around his shots while Snake Man scuttled around releasing more. They began to once again crawl all over him and he used Top Spin to shake them loose. He then fired on Snake Man who almost appeared to glide out of harm's way.
Meanwhile Rush was flying around the giant snake trying to avoid its fire. It was alternating between fireballs and the steady stream in its attempts to destroy the metal hound. As Rush again avoided being barbequed, the stream of flame passed directly between Mega Man and Snake Man.
"Thisss issss one hot party, isssn't it?" Snake Man said with a smile
"You're really weird" Mega Man said as he continued trying to blast his slippery foe. "Your pet could just as easily end up destroying you instead of me."
"Let'sss jussst ssssay I like high sssstakesssss" Snake Man hissed right before being brushed by one of Mega Man's plasma shot. He popped to his feet and fired a barrage of Search Snakes.
Mega Man was hopping around to avoid the pesky fiends when Rush soared right under him and they took to the air together. They flew in an upward spiral around the large snake and blasted it while always staying just ahead of the flames. Snake Man was now crawling all over the beast trying to better direct its attacks.
"This thing is tough" Mega Man said as they looped around a fire ball to safety "Most of my attacks are simply bouncing…" he fell silent as remembered how easily the Needle Cannon dealt with the smaller snake back in the corridor. "You're right Snake Man; it can be nice to raise the stakes… or in this case needles."
He switched to Needle Cannon and began peppering the mammoth serpent with the spikes. They penetrated the metal scales with ease and the monster began to thrash and spark.
"No! That'sss not fair!" Snake Man hissed as he clung to the creature's flailing back. "That'ssss not…"
His sentence was cut short as he turned to face Mega Man at the exact second another needle was launched. Though it wasn't Mega Man's intent, the bucking monster carried Snake Man right into the needle's path and it was embedded deep in the robot master's forehead. The next few seconds saw Snake Man freeze up, twitch and fall to the floor. Mega Man watched in horror but nearly fell off of Rush as the dog dodged another fire ball.
"Right boy, first things first…"
They continued their areal dance around the great snake but a hail of needles soon weakened it and it collapsed back into its hole. They then landed by Snake Man's body and found that he was in bad shape indeed. "N…n…ni..ce….sssss….hot"
Mega Man instinctively held his hand but Snake Man's eyes went dark a few seconds later. Mega Man absorbed the Search Snake data with mixed emotions but ultimately knew it was the only way. He retrieved an E-Tank from Rush and split it between himself and his canine friend. As they finished the replenishing drink, the familiar glow of a teleport began to form around them.
"Six down, two to go" Mega Man said as they were beamed to the next asteroid.