Chapter 10: Little Asteroid of Horrors
"This is live footage of the destruction following the energy wave that ripped through the city not long ago. So far there are no confirmed casualties owing to the earlier evacuations but emergency workers continue to extract injured stragglers. We're told that this scene is being repeated in various places around the world, some urban and some deserted, and experts fear what future waves may bring."
Mega Man's fist slammed down on the lab table as the news report filled him with horror and rage. Dr. Light said "Please sit still Rock. I'm trying to work as fast as I can but it's difficult with you squirming."
"I know, I know but I just want to get out there and stop this."
"I agree but you can't go off without at least some basic repairs."
"Hmm, that can't be right can it?" Roll mused as she finished analyzing the Guardian data
"What's that?" Dr. Light asked as he put the finishing touches on a very impatient Mega Man.
"I've pinpointed the location of the Master Unit but the computer is indicating it's in outer space."
"Albert did say something about a mobile fortress."
"Yes but I can't find it on any radar or satellite records."
"Then it's shielded somehow" Mega Man said as he hopped of the table the instant Dr. Light let him "That won't stop us though. Get me up there and I'll do the rest."
Both Dr. Light and Roll looked at him with concern. "Rock" Dr. Light said "we really don't know what's up there. Are you sure you shouldn't wait for the others to be repaired…"
"We don't have time! We've been lucky so far but what if the next attack actually kills people? I have to go now and see if I can stop this madness."
Dr. Light's expression softened and he now had tears glistening in his eyes. He quickly wiped them away and started up the teleport system. "Our prayers go with you, my boy."
"Thanks" His determined expression transformed into a grin and he flashed them a thumbs up as the blue energy surrounded him "I'll see you soon!"
When he rematerialized, he was standing on a barren crater covered waste. The black sky was littered with dazzling stars and the Earth resembled a giant blue and green marble. Mega Man couldn't help but pause at the overwhelming experience of actually being in space. His mouth formed the word "Amazing" but no sound penetrated the vacuum.
Forcing himself to focus on his mission once more, Mega Man began to traverse the surface of the asteroid. He bounced across rocky terrain in the weakened gravity searching for a way in. Suddenly, he felt a painful surge of energy pass through his body and he was hurled forward into a large rock. He picked himself up and turned around just in time to receive another burst of energy in his chest. He was slammed hard against the rock again by a laser that had risen from a crater behind him.
He blasted said laser to pieces but spied others rising from the other craters around him. Mega Man jumped and narrowly avoided the beams. He landed behind the rock and it was quickly shattered by the many beams. Mega Man began picking them off as quickly as he could but was being attacked from behind as well. Working as fast as he could, he rotated on the spot and fired upon anything that moved. After a few minutes of this, the assault finally ceased.
And I'm not even inside yet he thought as he continued his search for an entrance. He checked the craters but they only contained the security equipment and didn't seem to lead inside. His thoughts were interrupted by a nearby explosion. He poked his head out of the crater he had been examining and saw the casing of a bomb that seemed to have narrowly missed him.
He looked up and saw a flock of bird bots rising from over a certain ridge. Surmising that they had to be coming from somewhere, Mega Man began to head in that direction while dodging bombs and blasting birds. He jumped and let the low gravity carry him right into the center of the flock. He spun and fired Harvest Thorns in all directions. When he landed he had taken most of the birds out and the few remaining were freaking out. This made it easier to use simple plasma to dispatch them.
Smiling at his own prowess, Mega man made his way to the edge of the ridge and saw a metal ledge beneath him, probably landing pad of some kind. He jumped down to it and faced a thick, metal door with a glass plate next to it. Remembering what Dr. Wily had said about needing the Guardians energy signatures, he pressed his hand to it. His body tingled with the absorbed powers of four robots and the door slid open. He stepped into the small room and the door slid shut behind him. He could tell that the gravity was far more earthlike in here and he could hear the second door opening in front of him.
"The gravity I can understand but why would robots need air? Oh well, at least I can talk again."
He was standing in a plain light grey corridor which stretched out of sight with several paths branching off from it. He took a few steps forward and the floor glowed under his foot. He jumped back on instinct and a laser missed him by inches. Another tile lit up and Mega Man leapt back to the air lock while feeling a laser graze his foot.
"Ow!" he looked at his smoking and slightly blackened foot and said "Well it's not too bad but I can't afford to do that again."
Mega Man summoned an Item 2 and surfed his way along the corridor. No more lasers fired now that he was no longer touching the floor. He tried to look down the side corridors as he sailed past but it wasn't always easy. What he did see didn't look important, just more nondescript hallways but it was hard to know which the right way to go was.
As he was pondering this, the end of the line suddenly came into view. The path stopped abruptly with a balcony and Mega Man slammed right into the rail. The momentum caused him to flip over and he grabbed on to keep from falling. He hung from the balcony railing by one hand and tried to figure out what to do but these thoughts were quickly interrupted as the rail surged with energy. Mega Man cried out in pain and let go.
He landed hard and was disorientated for a moment. "This place isn't friendly at all. Ugh, it feels like the floor's moving…wait a minute, it is!"
Indeed he had landed on a conveyor belt and he was quickly drawing near to a large spiked wheel that looked as if it could grind him into scrap. Mega Man rolled off of the belt and sighed with relief. Then he realized he was still moving but in the other direction. The whole room was crisscrossed with such belts and both walls were outfitted with the grinders. As if this wasn't bad enough, the moving floors were picking up speed.
Mega Man spotted a door on the far side of the room and he tried to summon another Item 2. However, as he tried to jump on it the belt carried him away and the board took off without him. He was dangerously close to the grinders and so he jumped/stumbled onto another belt. He was now being carried away from the grinders and prepared to jump the next step to the door but the belt reversed direction. He lost his balance and discovered he was now heading back to being scrap.
"Oh come on!"
With only seconds to act he summoned and leapt onto an Item 1. From the safety of the platform he leapt onto another Item 2 and sailed to safety. In seconds he had sailed to the door and it slid open as he approached. He surfed right through it before the Item disappeared out from under him. He tumbled to the floor but this floor was stationary.
He climbed to his feet and observed he was in yet another hallway. He started walking down it when suddenly a panel in the wall next to him opened up and a robot slid into view. It was sort of like a metal barrel and Mega Man was puzzled for a second before he realized that the curved panel was actually a shield. Said shield moved to the side and the robot behind it released a jet of flame that Mega Man had to jump to the side to dodge. He tried to fire back but the shield was already sliding back into place and his plasma simply bounced off.
As Mega Man was wondering what to do, the robot released another stream of fire. He ducked and fired back. The robot began lowering fire toward where Mega Man crouched but it was stopped the assault when the plasma connected. The shield slid back into position and Mega Man sprang forward in an attempt to get behind it. The robot spun as he passed and his plasma shots hit the shield again. Suddenly, he felt a surge of heat and pain from behind him and he saw another fire spewing, shield toting robot behind him.
"Ah nuts!" he exclaimed as he fell prostrate on the floor to get under the flames.
Now both robots were attacking and they were tilting their flame throwers down toward him. Mega Man rolled to the side and quickly stood up. The robots tried to adjust their aim but wound up blasting each other. The one Mega Man had already hit took worse damage from this exchange and fell uselessly to the floor. Mega Man quickly turned his attention to the other one and pummeled it with plasma shots. The shield slid back into place but it was heavily damaged.
He was waiting carefully for the robot to become vulnerable again but it did something new. It suddenly ran forward and slammed him with the shield. Mega Man was thrown back and he became entangled in the remains of the first robot. He managed to sit up and had to instantly shield his face from a stream of fire. His crossed arms grew painfully hot and he knew that he had to do something. He quickly dropped his buster arm and fired a few Rolling Cutters. The fire ceased and was replaced by smoke and sparks as the battered robot fell to the ground.
As he stood up, he saw more panels opening along the walls and knew that more robots were going to join him. Not wanting to deal with an onslaught of annoying fire breathers, Mega Man made a dash down the corridor with all the speed he could muster. He passed the robots but suddenly stopped cold. The air around him was thick with energy similar to static electricity and Mega Man was suspended in this field. He was unable to move except for how he rocked back and forth as the energy pulsed.
"Y-ye-yeouch" he stuttered "G-got to g-g-et out of he-re b-before I'm r-roast-ed."
He noticed a control panel in the wall ahead of him. He struggled to aim his buster and fired a thorn. It missed the panel due how the force field wouldn't let him stay still. He felt a burst of flame some very close to his backside and he took aim again. Doing his very best to time it correctly he fired and this time he connected with his target. The panel was destroyed in a shower of sparks and Mega Man was released.
"And now for you guys" he turned to face the robots as he whirled up a Cosmic Cyclone. The high powered winds created quite a storm in the cramped space and his enemies were sent flying. Rather than try to finish them off, Mega Man chose to conserve his energy and make a tactical retreat. The corridor ended in a dead end with branching paths and he chose the one on the right and passed through another door.
He was standing in a square room with no obvious exit. He turned around to try another way but the door was now locked. Several things happened at once; giant robotic worms began to slither out from panels in the walls while the ceiling began sprout spikes and lower itself toward the floor. Mega Man began blasting the worms but soon felt one coiling around him. He blasted it apart but was instantly attacked by two more. He tried to stay on his feet as they tangled around him. He glanced up and saw that the spiked ceiling was already half way down.
Mega Man glanced around the room and formed a mad plan. He threw the worms off of him using a cyclone and then dove for one of the panels the annoying bots had emerged from. Using a Rolling Cutter, he hacked and sliced until he had pulled the panel free. It was a tight squeeze but he managed to crawl inside. Holding his buster ahead of him as best he could, he continued to crawl forward. He saw another worm wiggling towards him and he blasted it. He shut his eyes against the blast and felt little bits of metal pelting him. When everything settled he continued forward, crawling over and around the ruined.
"Well, this is turning into a fine outing I must say" he muttered sarcastically "I just hope I can find that Master Unit soon."
After dealing with and crawling past the remains of several more worms, he finally emerged into a factory like room where the robots were being assembled. Various mechanical arms and devices were constructing all sorts of small robots. All of the bots were inactive at the moment but Mega Man quickly made his way for the door all the same. Suddenly, one of the construction arms grabbed him and lifted him off the ground. At the same time a pair of arms, with a saw blade and a welding torch respectively, approached him.
"This place simply isn't very friendly" Mega Man said as he shot a Rolling Cutter upward and sliced through the arm holding him. He dropped to the ground as the saw passed over his head. The torch went right for him and he had to slide under it to avoid the deadly cutting flame. "Still loving the new slide function" he said as he turned around and blasted the torch attachment right off the arm.
Before anything else could attack him, he threw himself at the door and it mercifully slid open. He was in yet another plain corridor with no indication of where to go. "Wish I had an E-Tank or something, my energy levels won't last forever. I'll just have to be extra careful from here on out."
He began walking forward very cautiously. He paused when he felt the floor shift under him. He jumped forward as the section of floor he had just been standing on shot up and slammed into the ceiling. As he was watching this, the wall next to him began to move and a he fell backwards to avoid being crushed by the horizontal column. He crab crawled his way out from under it but then did a back flip as a piece of ceiling shot downwards at him.
"How does anyone actually get around these places?" he thought aloud as he slid under more columns from the walls "Good thing Dr. Wily has given me a bit of practice with these not-so-fun houses."
Several near misses later, he emerged in a crossroads with corridors branching off to the left and right as well as continuing onwards. At the end of the left hand corridor he spied a door with a security panel on it, similar to the one on the air lock. He began moving in this direction on the lookout for any more traps or enemy robots. After a few steps he paused and then summoned an Item 2.
"Better safe than sorry" he said as he traversed the corridor.
He arrived at the door and placed his hand to the panel. Again, he felt a strange tingle and system reacted to his absorbed data. He entered what turned out to be an elevator which immediately began moving down. He took stock of his energy levels again and realized he had used up all of his Item function.
"Hopefully I'm finally done with the traps"
After he said this, the doors opened and he stepped into a large round room with a very high ceiling. In the center of the room, a very large multicolored refractor hovered over a bank of computers and machines. Above this was a large black orb with thick black wires connecting it to the machinery above and below. A large red eye, similar to the eye on many of the ancient robots he'd faced, glowed on the sphere's front. A series of platforms ran up the sides of the circular room with strange energy pylons on them.
The red eye glowed brighter and a mechanical voice said "We meet at last Mega Man. I am the Master Unit over the planet Earth."
"We don't have a master and we certainly don't want you!" He fired at the sphere but his plasma shot was blocked by a force field.
"I'm afraid that things will not be that simple. I am impressed that you made it through my fortress. Its sole function is to protect me while I oversee the activities of those under my command."
"I've had some experience with fortresses before."
"It is now time for you to experience death, Mega Man."
As it spoke, the room began to rumble slightly as a large panel slid open in the floor. Mega Man gasped as Juno's head rose through the opening and his jaw dropped lower as the rest of his him came into view. Juno's head was now attached to a large silver torso supported by what resembled a giant spine. This was on a flat, heavy base and two massive arms hovered at his sides.
Juno smiled as this new body glided around the room and towards Mega Man. "We meet again my blue friend."
"I thought I finished you off!"
"Thought is the operative word here. I survived and am now one with the Master Unit's systems. I intend to use every function and power available to me to destroy you."