Radiant Falcon Fan Works #9

well, that was a hell of a system crash.

eternity cross continues...

soundtest 18: previously on... (beta mix) – robot demo 1 (Cyberbots: Fullmetal Madness)

-=message from [unrecognized codec]=-

"Greetings. My name is Colonel Kyle Thorne of the Repliforce. When the last we met, my companions entered combat with three ruffians calling themselves robot masters. We'll see how this battle ends up."

=STAGE 9 PART 2=

TIME TWISTED

[-READY-]

FRAME: JUST OUTSIDE OF ADVENT HOTEL, MOSCOW; 20XX

"Gemini Split!"

A battle was brewing between the robot masters Gemini Man, Snake Man, Crystal Man on one side, and Roll Light and her friend Strider Hiryu, alongside their futuristic companions Axl and Zero on the other. Gemini Man had used his special trait to clone himself in two split parts, alluding to his namesake. One was fake and darker colored, the other was real and lighter colored. The trouble was that they were both corporeal, which meant they both were made of the same physical material. They both rushed at the robot girl, who had already sent Crystal Man to a knockout state via Crystal Eye((1)) ball to the face, both copies saying "you're coming with us, Roll. At least come quietly."

"Normally I would, but we're in the middle of something right now. Can you come back at a later time?" was her response, which Hiryu corroborated, claiming "have you seen a man looking like me, but wearing a gray jumpsuit instead?"

"Roll has something we want. Monty, tell them so that we don't have to repeat ourselves."

"we're looking for a Soul Crystal. Your badge proposed that it is in your possession. Hand it over."

Roll sweatdropped. "Highway robbery, much? Besides, I didn't even know I had one. Care to explain what you need it for?"

"We are constructing a Wave cannon, as per Master Wily's wishes. We do not ask as to why."

Roll thought for a minute. In order to prevent this battle, which could result in damages that either she, Dr. Light, Dr. Wily, or the Striders would have to pay for, she needed to get a second opinion.

"Let me talk to Wily."

soundtest 19: the master of robots (Dr. Wily's A-Side Theme): Heroes and Heralds ~ Heroes ver. 1 (Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3)

FRAME: SKULL ISLAND, ELEVENTH BASE OF DR. ALBERT WILY, UNKNOWN; 20XX

Dr. Wily was a patient man. Years of defeats against his nemesis Mega Man taught him that if he wanted to strike back and be rid of that little blue pest, he'd better get to work on a new creation, one that would outclass him in every conceivable way. While most of his Robot Masters were based in different castles all over the world, the Skull Island location was meant as a research and development institute, and he had a perfect, foolproof plan utilizing his specialty in artificial intelligence. That said, it would take a few years to complete this AI, time that he didn't truly have. Then, his Skynet phone rang. Wily recognized the number as 1990, the four digits representing Roll Light. "Hello?"

"Hey, Albert; it's Roll. Care to explain why you sent three of your robot masters against me and my friends?"

"You're probably not going to believe this, but that wasn't me. I'm trying to lay low here and finish up my greatest creation, one which will destroy your brother once and for all! No offense meant, of course."

"Uh..."

"At any rate, that's not happening for another year or so. What did you want to know?"

"What's this Soul Crystal I seem to be hanging on to?"

"That might have something to do with why they're after you. Someone in my camp is building a wave cannon, but I did not authorize its construction. Wave cannons are notably too heavy and dangerous for even robots to handle. Not even you, with your upgraded systems and subsystems compared to your siblings, can use it."

"That's where your new creation comes in, right?"

"A wave cannon has to be mounted to use properly. Something like a starship's particle beam weapon((2)) or perhaps a anti-aircraft cannon might work, according to Napalm Man. No robot can even hope to use it without overloading their systems, and though one could theoretically be upgraded to use it themselves, the resulting power surge will destroy them. That's why the original shoulder-mounted gun never made it out of testing."

"And you know this how?"

"I have a copy of the schematics. Evidently one of my SWN robots stole schematics from Dr. Light's beachfront home in Japan, and I'm still trying to determine who, because I sure as hell didn't authorize it."

"Please tell me you told Rock this."

"even if I did, I don't think he trusts me enough to believe me this time."((3))

there was silence. Then, a long busy signal.((4)) "Roll?"

FRAME: MOSCOW, 20XX

Roll was silenced by a snake wrapping around her mouth. A search snake, to be exact, coming from Snake Man's buster equipment. "that is enough enunciating out of you, Roll."

Hiryu moved to get the Search Snake off from her oral cavity, but Search Snakes weren't exactly the most flexible once latched on. "you may want to let her go. She's got nothing you want."

one of the Gemini Man clones answered "She has got too much information. In our line of work, whoever has the most information wins."((5)) the other continued "And she knocked out Crystal Man with a solid kick. That is an offense. So we'll be taking her by f-OW!" the darker Gemini Man clone fizzled out through damage caused by a light sword cypher, or at least a cypher-like attack, coming via an axe kick from another of Roll's companions, the otherworldly assassin Tong Pooh.

"I apologize for my lateness. I could not find Hien. His tracks were too well covered."

Snake Man, who was controlling the Search Snake gagging Roll, relaxed his control over the slithering reptile, allowing her to speak once more. A long, deep breath later, she asked "Monty-kun, you have to stop doing that! Also, I told you so." Snake Man answered "sorry, Roll. We did not want to allow you to talk to Wily. You can keep the Soul Crystal."

"thanks, I guess?" Roll phrased her gratefulness in the form of a question. Hiryu, who comically stumbled over when Snake Man stopped control of his Search Snake, asked "Have you seen Hien?"

"If you are asking for a white-wearing warrior with a weird weapon pair, we may have an idea, right Yun?"

Yun Wily, the lighter Gemini Man clone, explained "We last saw him heading to the observatory at the Cossack Institute. If you hurry, you can catch up to him before he kills your friend Kalinka. Or worse."

Roll, with a fire in her eyes, exclaimed "Hiryu, tell Quint we're going to the Cossack Institute." she then noticed the two Maverick Hunters analyzing the situation form afar. "You two loafers okay over there?"

"We're trying to call our friend X back. He's supposed to be in Japan at your brother's house." Zero said, to which Axl responded "Got him! X, we're back!"

the sweater-wearing android Mega Man X said "Did you two get in trouble or something, because I heard a report that a Wily attack occurred in Russia."

Zero took the time to answer "And you'll never believe who held them off. Set a waypoint to Shibuya Terminal in Japan, 'cause that's our heading." the call ended with Axl telling the group, "Sorry to run, but we've got a mission to finish ourselves. Nice meeting you guys. Oh, and your name was Roll, right? Tell that military guy over there Zero says hi."

The young robot girl watched the two mysterious future beings leave via beams of light. "What."

soundtest 1A: Exact Cossack (Kalinka's Theme): Diamond Dust (Kula Theme) – The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match

FRAME: MIKHAIL COSSACK INSTITUTE OF ASTRONOMY AND TECHNOLOGY; MOSCOW, RUSSIA; 20XX

The Cossack Institute was a school dedicated not to robotics, though there was a small mechaniloid class being taught in the curriculum. It was a school dedicated to general technological advancements in all fields, but specifically astronomy. Founded by one of Dr. Light's colleagues, Dr. Mikhail Cossack, the place had various campuses all over Russia, but the largest one was in Moscow. It was indeed a prestigious school, but one where terrorist attacks were unheard of.

At least, until today; when rumors of a grey-clad ninja infiltrated the institute, rummaging through data from the school servers, started spreading. By the time it hit Kalinka Cossack, daughter of Mikhail and a gifted robotics expert in her own right, the school was already in lockdown. Halls were closed, doors were locked, and the school's computer and security experts began working on ways to shut him out. They failed, not because they sucked, but because he was too good. The question was, what was he looking for?

When Tong Pooh reached the place from the rooftops, she scouted the area. There were guards on the roof, looking for any suspicious individuals trying to sneak their way in. Not just human guards, but also a robot master; a DCN-series robot by the name of Ray "Skull Man" Cossack((6)), a robot built exclusively for combat. Tong Pooh figured that the best way was through the front door, but that too was guarded by another DCN robot, Simon "Drill Man" Cossack((7)), a robot built originally for excavation, upgraded to use explosive drills Based on that information, Tong Pooh thought about the back door, which was left unguarded.

Though the DCN-series were at least allies with the Light family and not the Wily legion, they weren't likely to let them in, as explained by Tong Pooh, not when there's a school lockdown and their friends' ID were at their respective homes. They would especially pounce on any alien assassins. "besides, as far as I know, the door is locked up stronger than the Grandmaster's tomb. We are not getting in that easily." she explained.

That's when a window opened. There was a blonde woman, wearing a heavy red jacket for this time of year with white pom tassels and a pair of reading glasses, waved to the group, but specifically Roll. "Hey! You guys over there! Help us out over here!"

Roll recognized the voice -and body- instantly. "Kalinka!"

"Roll! Get you and your friends in here!"

FRAME: INSIDE COSSACK INSTITUTE, ROOM 4-R

The group, after some relative back and forth with the class teacher, got the info from Kalinka. "Rumor has it that there's a man in grey who nearly killed Ring Man with this weapon, then went to the observatory, and now he's in the computer lab." Kalinka was seventeen, and though she was technically born a human, she was modified into C-Life when she was around twelve. That resulted in not only an American accent (even though she was born and raised in Russia), but also a great deal of intelligence and the ability to 'dive' into computer networks to fix internal problems. Some classmates resented her, others were accepting. She was only one of two C-Life organisms in the world today.

"are we too late?" Hiryu said. The Russian girl said "it depends on what your definition of too late is. He almost destroyed Ring Man with this weird sword. Is that a similar weapon on your back or the same one?"

"It's custom-made. By that, I also mean that I keep the blade from vibrating when not in use, if that's what you're asking."

"that's good, because Ring Man heard this weird humming sound before he got hit. He's on the repair pod in the infirmary if you want to talk with him."

"what's he after?"

"some sort of program. I think the program name is mayo dot EXE, only it's spelled m-e..."

"...i-o-h?"

Kalinka answered "yeah! You know about it?"

"I fought against someone with that name before..." Hiryu then realized what was up. "Oh god. We need to stop him from accessing the program. Ms. Cossack, how good are you at hacking?"

"Dude, I'm C-Life. I'm also the only one who has a datajack((8)) in this school, so that might help. Get me near a computer and I can break it; is what I'm saying."

The teacher, who was unfamiliar with any of them, complained "Hey, you can't just tell my students what to do, that's my job!" to which Hiryu gave him a stern look. "Okay, you want to instruct these kids here, tell them to evacuate. We do not need any innocent casualties on our mark's hands. Your name is... Lionel Bonne?"

the teacher, whose name was indeed Lionel Bonne, said "y-yes?'

"Mr. Bonne, I'm going to need you and the rest of your kids to evacuate as quickly and as quietly as possible before we're discovered. Tell the security team outside to assist with the evac in the other classes and wait outside for a signal. Ms. Cossack, I want you to lock down the school servers. If this datajack is as powerful as I think it is, it should be done in a few seconds."

Kalinka responded, "I already did, mister. This guy's good, though; he broke the encryption in, like, five minutes."

"So what can we do, Ms. Cossack?"

"Either destroy the server, which would get us all in trouble with father, or stop the guy from trying to access it. This Hien sounds like a bad dude, based on the fact you want my classmates to evacuate."

"it's a mutual interest between myself and a associate of mine Quint. I'll tell you more about it one the mission is successful."

"Did he kill someone?"

"You catch on quickly. He's wanted by the organization I work with, and the organization Quint works with. If Meioh dot EXE is what I think it is, we can't let him access it. We've got work to do."

As Hiryu and the team of teenage girls of various races and origins following him around left the room, the teacher said "why me? They don't pay me enough for this.((9))"

[eyecatch]

notes

( 1 ) yes, the Crystal Ball mentioned in the previous chapter was a misnomer, as Crystal Man's variable weapon is actually called Crystal Eye. It's the same function, though.

( 2 ) hmm.. I wonder where Dr. Wily got that idea? Answer: R-Type.

( 3 ) considering Mega Man is so distrustful of Wily that he actively tried to kill him in Mega Man 7, this makes sense.

( 4 ) even in 20XX, on a completely different communication standard, that busy signal is still there.

( 5 ) didn't Ms. Tron teach you that very basic concept there in the original Legends title? This holds true in real life investigations, too.

( 6 ) Robot Master Bio #010: Ray Cossack, also known as Skull Man. A robot built exclusively for combat, and the wielder of an invincible Skull Barrier, which protects from all damage. He has no secondary EX weapon. Named for skeletal stop-mation pioneer Ray Harryhausen.

( 7 ) Robot Master Bio #011: Simon Cossack, the first DCN robot created by Dr. Cossack's daughter Kalinka, and her personal bodyguard in case Wily tries to kidnap her again. His Drill Bomb can detonate at any range, and the Drill Upper is a spiraling uppercut ending in a short-ranged Drill Bomb. Named for Simon, the protagonist of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, an anime series about drills piercing through the heavens (AN: I have watched the entirety of Gurren Lagann so I know exactly what it's about.)

( 8 ) a datajack is a fairly common piece of equipment all robots and some cyborgs have that allow them to connect to Skynet-based internet systems, essentially mirroring what they do in the pen-and-paper RPG Shadowrun, where datajacks are used to connect to the worldwide Matrix internet systems. Kalinka specifically requested it be installed in her own C-Life subsystems.

( 9 ) education system jokes! Someone pay these guys more; they deserve it.

-=character dossier=-

Quint

Quincy Sairasu, temporal executor of 20XX

Not much is known about Quincy Sairasu of the Time Masters. Much of his biography is conjecture and rumors. What is known is that he hails from a period of time before 20XX known as the War Against Destiny, thus predating all known robotic technology. He is still mechanical, but of a build type and technological advancement far outclassing Mega Man (though the two are otherwise very similar) so it is unsure whether he was built in 19XX or is indeed from a alternate future like he originally claimed.

A Side Theme: 'Mega Man-o-War (Alpha Version)' – Rai Mei (19XX: The War Against Destiny)
B Side Theme: 'beyond chronological (Time Master Theme)' – Shape Da Future (Jet Set Radio Future)

[MESSAGE FROM: TIME MASTER NO: 64-1992 "QUINCY SAIRASU"]

My name is Quint. Hiryu is about to go head-to-head with the rogue Strider Hien, finally bringing an end to his rampage across countries. Wait a minute, I'm receiving a report from VAVA. The area where they're dueling lies in a Chronoscopic Malfunction Hotspot! I've got to warn them! Watch me rush to their rescue on the next episode of Mega Man Eternity Cross, "TIME TWISTED PART 3"! I'll see you there!