This is gonna be the first arc, and a short one at that, not to feature another Power Ranger team besides the Arcadia Rangers. It will also feature a new character from a brand new series, which means I need to modify my disclaimer. Speaking of which... Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, Ace Attorney, Sonic the Hedgehog, Skies of Arcadia, Shovel Knight, Mega Man, or Shantae.
Chapter 10: The Genesis Unit
Miles walked out of the training room in the massive Egg Fortress. While the Rangers had been able to use the weapons given to them by their Arcadian predecessors through instinct, they knew full well they were not yet masters and had to practice with their weapons in order to truly master them. That, and a little extra training in his preferred style of Horse Kung Fu never hurt, even though he was a master of the horse spirit. Miles soon spotted Cinos reading a copy of "Journey to the West". "I didn't realize you were so literary," Miles said, causing Cinos to look up from the book.
"Oh, yeah," Cinos replied, "Growing up, dad made sure I experienced as much of the world as possible. Plus every piece of culture I absorb improves my ability to live as a human." Miles raised an eyebrow at the though of a robot being able to grow up. Cinos must have noticed, because he chuckled. "When dad first constructed me I resembled a baby, and once a year he would slightly improve my exoframe and endoskeleton, so as to give me some semblance of growing up. He's always been devoted to making me as human as possible. Heck, I'm even anatomically correct."
At that moment, a call came in from the central command chamber of the fortress. All nine Rangers, as well as the three knights who had joined them, converged. "We have a situation to discuss," Orbot explained, "Wily is putting one of his long-term plans into action." "What's the issue?," Diego asked. Orbot brought up a vid screen. "Thanks to Cinos's work, we have information on a number of projects Wily is working on. One of them involves stealing some sort of Doomsday machine and using it to bring the resistance to heel. I'm afraid this situation requires immediate attention."
Phoenix thought for a moment. "How far off course would we have to go?" "That's the good news," Orbot said, "Our present course will take us right to where the machine is located. We can make a stop, end Wily's plans for the machine, and be back on course to the next Control Tower without missing a beat." He brought up a world map. "The machine is located in a small archipelago collectively known as Sequin Land. The machine should be in the center island, which appears to house some sort of grave site." "All right," Phoenix said, "Let's take the Skyboats down there."
"Be careful Rangers," Eggman said, "Wily likely expects you to be coming to stop him." The Rangers nodded, and got out their Moon Crystals, while Cinos pulled out an artificial Power Coin. "Lunar Morphers! Moons, give us strength!" "Chrome Morpher! Energize!"
"Sailing through the sea and skies! Blue Wave Ranger!"
"Uniting with the coming storm! Yellow Lightning Ranger!"
"Preserving the bounty of the land! Green Life Ranger!"
"Never fearing the finality of death! Silver Void Ranger!"
"Burning with inner passion! Red Fire Ranger!"
"Planning with cool determination! Purple Ice Ranger!"
"Striking from within the dark! Black Shadow Ranger!"
"Bringing change to the world! Gold Chaos Ranger!"
"Bearing the symbol of progress! Chrome Metal Ranger!"
The Rangers all mounted their Skyboats and headed down to the islands. "Check it out," Vera said, "There's a bustling town, and tropical jungle, a dense forest, a desert island, an artic tundra, and... Some sort of black gunky blob." Cinos then picked something up on his helmet's scanners. "Looks like we have someone in trouble on the desert island." "Alright," Phoenix said, "I'll go with Cinos to check it out, the rest of you hit that grave site." "Roger that, Nick," Diego said, "Be careful." The two groups split off to check out the two different islands.
Deep inside a cavern connecting the islands, Wily's drones were hard at work. As he oversaw the remodeling of the machine he had taken, Bass approached him. "The Genesis Unit just arrived. And we have word that the Eggman Fleet is just overhead." "So soon?," Wily said, "They certainly responded quickly." "Turns out we made a miscalculation," Bass replied, "This site is on their flight path to the next Control Tower." Wily stroked his chin. "I should have considered that when I made this plan. I need time to get this machine retrofitted with my personal touch. Have the Genesis Unit track down the Rangers and distract them." Bass nodded, then headed out.
It didn't take Cinos and Phoenix long to see the source of the signal. Not far from a docked sailing vessel was a young woman, bound in steel rope. Cinos got out his Metal Claw and freed the woman. As she got up and stretched herself out, Cinos couldn't help but blush at the sight of her. Her tight pants showed off her supple legs, and her tube top didn't exactly leave much to the imagination. What Phoenix was more interested in was the fact that she was wearing a tricorn hat and had pale violet skin. The woman turned around to look at her rescuers and smirked.
"Well, well," she said, "Rescued by fellow pirates. Didn't think there were any more of us sailing these waters." "We aren't," Phoenix said, pointing up to the overhead Eggman Fleet, "We're more Air Pirates. My name is Phoenix Wright, and this is Cinos Robotnik." "Pleased to meet you," the woman replied, "My name is Risky Boots. Thanks for the save. To be honest, there was no way I was getting out of that situation on my own, and that crazy doctor and his crew took out all of my Tinkerbats." "Wily," Cinos muttered, "We came here because he had stolen a Doomsday machine to use himself."
Risky nodded. "Yeah, I know about that. After all, I'm the one who was having it built. But I had the project shut down." Phoenix raised an eyebrow. "Why would you want to make a Doomsday device?" Risky sighed. "See, up until recently I always saw myself as the villainous cutthroat-type pirate. Then one day an old curse reared it's ugly head when my former boss, the Pirate Master, started stirring in his grave. Needing a way to break it, I remembered the one person who ever defeated me, a half-genie named Shantae. Since she's the guardian genie of the nearby town, she took it upon herself to stand up to me when I decided to try raiding the place."
"But did you really think simply asking for her help would work?," Cinos asked. Risky smirked. "To be honest, I considered it. I thought she might trust me. But then I realized that breaking the curse would take much more effort. Before I could break the curse, the Pirate Master had to be resurrected from his grave. So first I found the means to steal Shantae's magic, knowing even without it she would be formidable in a fight and be able to disperse it. Then once the newly formed dark magic started mutating the Tinkerbats, I managed to get Shantae to help me track down all the magic. All it took was some subtle reverse psychology, and the knowledge that these mutated Cacklebats were dangerous."
She crossed her arms. "I knew that once she got her hands on the dark magic, her pure-hearted nature would reverse the magic's polarity. Then I directed her to the source of the chains binding the Pirate Master to the afterlife. Once he was freed, it was a simple matter to push him to the point where he demanded the magic Shantae had collected. By that point the magic was useless to him, but Shantae could wield it no problem. Once she had the Pirate Master on the ropes, I had some newly made friends deal the final blow using a giant cannon." "And the curse was finally broken as a result?," Cinos asked. Risky nodded.
"But as I was working on the Doomsday machine, I realized something. Going back to evil schemes seemed contrary to my earlier declaration that I was now the master of my own destiny, since all I was doing was the same thing the Pirate Master would have done. And so I abandoned the project, and sailed around for a while wondering if I shouldn't find a new purpose. Then I happened upon a slave ship, something I despise, and, well... I think you can piece it together from there." Under their helmets, Phoenix and Cinos smiled. Just then, Cinos picked up something on his scanner. He quickly pushed Risky out of the way as several energy blasts hit their position.
"You're aim's as bad as ever S," came a snide voice. The trio looked to see three robot warriors. "You must be the Genesis Unit," Phoenix said. The monkey-like robot smirked. "You got it. I'm Buster Rod G. These are my partners, Mega Water S and Hyper Storm H." "This seems too easy," Mega Water S said, "Why are only two of the Rangers here?" Phoenix couldn't help but chuckle. "Because the other seven are right behind you." The Genesis Unit whirled around to see the other Rangers standing on a nearby dune. "We noticed you guys closing in on our buddies," Apollo said, "And decided to help out to take you down."
"Even after Phoenix gave the order for us to split up," Cinos said, "Then again, that's how a good team works. Knowing when to follow orders and when to follow your gut." All nine Rangers got their weapons out, and Risky couldn't help but raise and eyebrow. "A scythe? A boomerang? Whatever that floating orb is? I know pirates will use whatever they can for weapons, but this is taking it to a new level." Cinos chuckled. "Just watch and learn." He quickly blocked a blow from Mega Water S, then countered with a quick punch to the kappa-bot's midsection.
Apollo drove Hyper Storm H back with multiple blows from his Life Gauntlet, which was followed up by Vera striking with her Lightning Boomerang. After H stumbled back, he was then slashed hard by Simon's Chaos Blade. Phoenix and Iris joined Cinos against Mega Water S, with Phoenix slashing the kappa with his Wave Cutlass. S brought up a water shield, but Iris transformed her Void Sphere into a spear and thrust it as hard as she could through the shield, successfully piercing it and striking through Mega Water S. Cinos ran along the spear and delivering a quick strike with his Metal Claw.
Franziska struck Buster Rod G with her Shadow Scythe, twirling it around like a deadly dancer. G finally broke off from her only to get struck yet again by Miles using his Ice Rapier. G got his staff out and started striking with it, only to have it shot out of his hand by Diego's Fire Flintlocks. Diego followed up with a couple more shots, sending G sprawling. By the time the Genesis Unit recovered, their collars were already beeping. "Apollo," Phoenix said, "Time to finish this." The Rangers, save for Cinos, combined their weapons together, giving Apollo control of the team blaster.
"It's over!," Apollo declared, aiming right at the Genesis Unit, "Harpoon Cannon Blaster!" As the blast approached them, G managed to get out of the way in time. H and S weren't so lucky, and their collars activated. Since his collar was still beeping, G decided to high-tail it back to Wily. With the other two members locked away on board the Green Chameleon, the Rangers removed their helmets. When Risky got a good look at Cinos, she couldn't help but stare. "Well... That was certainly... Epic." Cinos realized Risky was staring at him and blushed. "Anyway... Odds are Buster Rod G will be heading back to Wily's hideout."
"Not to worry," Apollo said, "We managed to find the entrance before catching wind of the Genesis Unit. But knowing Wily, he's got a few of his war machines ready to take us on." "About that," Cinos said, "Dad's been studying the Swashbuckler for a while now, and gave a new option that should boost its power." The team got on their Skyboats. Risky then approached Cinos. "Mind if I tag along. I doubt I'll be able to contribute in this fight, but this is one confrontation that I don't want to miss." Cinos grinned and helped Risky onto his Skyboat, and the Rangers headed off to confront Wily again.
To be continued...
Yeah, I'm setting a potential love interest for Cinos. I hope to make it as subtle as possible, but you know me and relationships. Read and review.