The Mii Fighter Chronicles

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Invasion

"So, there was a crash after all. I thought some things felt familiar."

Erin sat at a small wooden table, sipping from a cup of hot chocolate. Doctor Light sat across from her, scratching at his beard, while Rock sat on her right, running his hand through his messy brown hair. Rock's sister Roll sat on Erin's other side, her blonde pigtails hanging behind her ears as she sipped a cup of oil.

Erin glanced sideways at Rock and bit her lip, trying to control the rising blush she could feel in her cheeks. Her chest fluttered with barely contained excitement and she kept finding herself straightening the orange shirt that Roll had retrieved for her. From the day she and her brothers were introduced to video games by R.O.B. 01, Mega Man had always been her favorite, and now here she was, sitting in his house, right at the same table.

She shook her head and tried to turn her attention back to Doctor Light. "That's right," she said. "My brothers and I were some of the only ones to survive the crash. R.O.B. 01 gave us the Deep Diver and Chibi-Robo, both of whom were programmed with codes to keep us together." She held up the gamepad and amiibos that Rock had found in the woods with her. "He also gave us these."

Doctor Light sat forward curiously and took the Samus amiibo, turning it over in his hand. "I see," he said. "This looks like the work of Professor Hector," he said.

Erin nodded. "We only have a few of them. We started with twelve, then we found six more. My brothers have the rest, wherever they are now."

Erin looked down, trying to mask the worry on her face. When she had left her brothers, they had been surrounded by enemy ships. She had no idea if they were alive or dead at this point.

"Hey," Rock touched her shoulder. Erin tensed at the contact and looked up into his bright blue eyes. They were more intense when expected. "They'll be okay," he said seriously. "I'm sure they will be."

Erin stuttered a half-hearted "thanks," her surprise mixing with her worry to make her voice squeak.

Doctor Light and Roll both had their eyes fixed on Rock, a degree of concern on both their faces. Doctor Light cleared his throat. "Yes, well, Rock didn't find any wreckage in the area, so your brothers either escaped or were captured. Either way, it seems your first order of business is to find and rejoin them."

He picked up the gamepad and switched it on. He fiddled around with it for a few seconds. "It appears this device can sense amiibos. I assume other gamepads as well?"

Erin nodded. "Yes, that's correct."

Doctor Light switched off the pad. He leaned forward and studied Erin's face. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Erin said, stretching her arms and back. "Those restores you gave me worked wonders. I'm ready to go any time I need to."

Doctor Light smiled. "Well, then, I guess there's not much point to keeping you here any longer. If your brothers have been captured, Bowser's castle is just a couple days' journey to the northeast of here."

Rock got to his feet. "I'm coming with you," he declared.

"Rock," Roll said, speaking up for the first time. She glared at him over her oil. "I really don't think you should. You still haven't gotten over what happened with . . . ," she lowered her voice to a mumble, "the others. I don't want slipping even further down this hole."

Rock stared at his sister for a second before turning and grabbing his helmet off the nearby counter. "I'll be fine, Roll," he said. "Her brothers are in trouble. I'm going to help her find them."

"Her brothers aren't ours, Rock," Roll said, getting to her feet. "Saving hers aren't going to bring ours back. It's not going to change what you had to do."

"Hey," Erin said, rising cautiously. "It's okay. I'm a pretty good fighter. I can handle myself."

"No, Rock's right," Light said, looking back and forth between his children. "You've got the entire Koopa Klan to contend with, plus these glitches you speak of. You're going to need some help." He got to his feet and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I think you do need to go with her."

Roll looked at her father hopelessly. "Doctor Light, you can't be serious. I don't want to lose another—"

Doctor Light placed a hand on her shoulder as well. "Roll, your brother needs this. He'll be okay."

Roll's lip trembled, her eyes glistening. She turned and stormed out of the room, slamming a door further down the hall. Doctor Light watched her go and let out a shaky breath. He turned back to Erin. "She'll be okay," he said. "We've recently gone through some difficult times in our family."

He picked up the gamepad and amiibos and handed them both to her. "You two should both head out," he said. "I had a landspeeder, but it was . . . sabotaged by an old colleague of mine."

"That's okay," Erin said, taking the gamepad. "Thanks for all your help."

Doctor Light smiled. He patted his son on the shoulder. "Be careful out there," he said.

Rock nodded, not looking his father in the eye. He fixed his helmet on his head. "We will," he said. He stepped out and around the table and out through the front door without another word.

Doctor Light sighed. He extended his hand and shook Erin's. "Good luck," he said.

"Thank you," Erin said again. Something occurred to her. "Hey, um, we met Pac-Man recently and he told us we needed to find eight game masters. Rock, is he—?"

Doctor Light smiled a sad smile. "I believe so. Help him remember, if you can."

Erin nodded. She packed up her pad and amiibos, reattached her gun arm and headed out the door. Her stomach fluttered a bit as it set in that she was about to go on an adventure with Mega Man.

Heavy steel doors covered in spikes swung open, revealing a long, luxuriously furnished throne room lined with thick stone pillars. Heavy square blocks with angry sneering faces hung in the air at various points, their eyes closed as if asleep. Koopas in black spiky armor formed two lines along the center of the room, each one holding a spear. Piles of bones lay in each corner.

At the far end of the room, Bowser, king of the Koopas, sat crosslegged atop a golden spiked throne. The heavyset turtle beast grinned, baring his sharp teeth. His enormous green shell forced him to sit forward awkwardly, keeping him from completely reclining. His vibrant red hair stuck up over the green skin of his forehead. On either side of him, Koopas in helmets and wielding hammers held thick ropes binding a number of prisoners.

A clawed hand pressed into Reggie's back shoving him forward. Reggie stepped through the doorway, followed by Brawler, Mario, Villager, Jazz, and their captors. A Lakitu flew overhead on a cloud, holding Chibi-Robo in a bag at the end of his fishing line.

A squat Koopa with thick blue wings of hair sprouting from the top of his skull pushed his way through the prisoners and led them down the throne room toward Bowser. Reggie and his friends followed, occasionally being prodded in the back or by the soldiers along the side. The lead Koopa stopped a few feet from the steps leading up to the throne and fell to one knee.

"My father, lord, and king," the Koopa said. "My fleet encountered your sworn enemy Mario traveling with these companions in a strange flying machine. We believe they were going to use it to attack this castle and rescue the captives."

Bowser sat forward, a hungry smile upon his face. "Well done, Ludwig," he said. He stood and stepped forward with heavy, earth-shaking footsteps.

One of the captives to Bowser's right lurched forward. "Mario!" she cried. A young woman with long golden blonde hair and wearing a flowing pink dress and golden crown, there was no question in Reggie's mind as to her identity: Princess Peach.

On Bowser's left, a man nearly identical to Mario but taller and wearing green looked nervously at his captors. "Bro," he said, "What are you doing here? You were supposed to save the seven kings and get their wands first before facing Bowser."

Mario looked up at his brother in confusion. "Luigi?" he said. "What are you—"

Bowser's heavy yellow gut stepped in between the two plumbers. "So, Mario," the turtle said in a rumbling gravelly voice. "My old foe. I must say, I'm a little disappointed how easy it was to catch you this time. I'm starting to think those first few times you faced me were a fluke."

Mario stared up at Bowser, no recognition on his face. "I'm sorry, but I don't know . . . ," Mario stopped. He continued to stare at Bowser, a trickle of familiarity rising up through the cracks. "Bowser?" he said slowly. "I've fought you before. Seventeen . . . eighteen times . . . no, some of those were fakes, weren't they? I only fought you twice."

Bowser rolled his eyes. "Gee, somebody's good at pointing out the obvious. Is that supposed to throw me off or something?"

Mario blinked, as if he were trying to make sense of a confusing puzzle. He looked past Bowser at the captive princess. "Princess Toadstool?" he said. He looked at the Koopa who had introduced them. "And you're with the Koopalings . . . Kooky, right?"

Ludwig scowled and rolled his eyes. "Ludwig," he growled.

Reggie and Brawler glanced at each other with raised eyebrows.

"Enough," Bowser said. He wrapped his large scaly hand around Mario's throat and lifted him off the ground. "I've waited a long time for this, Mario. At long last, I have fulfilled the dreams of my father and my people. The Koopa Klan has risen from the shadows of the Mushroom Kingdom and taken their rightful place at the top. You and your new friends can do nothing to stop me."

An explosion rocked the castle. Bowser stumbled, releasing his grip on Mario's throat. The plumber collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. Another explosion hit, startling one of the Thwomps awake and sending it crashing into the marble below.

"What's going on out there!" Bowser roared.

The door swung open and a single Goomba came running into the throne room. "Lord Bowser! Lord Bowser! We're under attack."

Bowser glared down at Mario. "What is this? Is this supposed to be some kind of trick?" He looked up at the Goomba. "Who is it? Who's attacking us."

"An army of robots, sir. They're being led by—"

The Goomba was cut off as a pixellized white sword flew through the open doorway and stabbed straight through the Goomba's small body.

"They're bGHeing led by Ume," the white glitch Reset said, appearing in the doorway. His pixelated face contorted into a smile. "Hope I'm nBRot intruding."

"Guards!" Bowser shouted. "Get him."

The Koopa sentinels lining the room turned their spears on the intruder. Reset simply threw back his head and laughed. He stepped aside to let and army of square-headed robots file into the room. One after another, they all just kept coming until more than a hundred were lined up in the throne room and the corridor beyond.

The air around Reset rippled and he vanished, reappearing beside Villager and Jazz. "I have soIAme personal bMGusiness witAh these twRRo," he said. He snapped his fingers. "FiEnish themTT."

He slashed through the ropes binding Villager and Jazz. The air shimmered and the three were gone.

Bowser and his forces backed away from the army of Bombermen, taking their captives with them. The robots stood perfectly still, staring at their foes with blank indifference. With one solid movement, every Bomberman pulled a bomb out of thin air and raised it over their heads. The bombs' wicks ignited in unison.

Doctor Albert Wily's hands trembled as he replaced the breastplate after putting the finishing touches on his latest creation.

"Now," he said, stepping back and gazing in awe at the seven completed robots lined up in stasis tubes before him. "All I need is one more, and then I'll be ready to take my revenge on Doctor Light and that annoying blue robot. Hmm, I'm a little short on metal now. Perhaps I can put all that wood in my basement to good use."

"Actually, that won't be necessary," a female voice said from behind him.

Doctor Wily spun, his lab coat swishing through the air. A slender, green pixellized figure stood in his doorway, her arms folded across her chest. "Who are you?" he sneered. "How did you get into my laboratory?"

The green figure stepped nimbly toward the mad scientist. "That doesn't matter," she said, a sultry tone in her voice. "We have a common goal. You want to destroy Mega Man. I have an interest in the robot's destruction as well. I propose we join forces. Use each other to further our own ends."

Doctor Wily sniffed, ruffling his thick gray mustache. "Why would I need help from you? I've got all the strength I need right here." He gestured to his seven robots.

Reboot smiled, looking over the robot masters. "Yes, yes, your second attempt to defeat Mega Man. I have a spoiler alert for you. You lose. This time and many more times after that."

Wily scoffed. "What do you know? I am the greatest inventor in the history of the world. No one can stop me."

"I'm sure," Reboot said. "At the very least, it can't hurt to have a little assurance of that statement, can it?"

Wily scratched at his huge cleft chin. "And what exactly do you have to offer?"

Reboot produced a small green case and flipped it open to reveal eleven tiny amiibo figurines. Doctor Wily stared into the box, reaching inside and pulling out a tiny replica of Mega Man. "What is this?" he said.

"These figures will give you all the powers of these heroes right at your fingertips."

Doctor Wily's thick eyebrows raised. He stared at the Mega Man figure, then studied the other amiibos contained within. He reached in and picked up Bowser. He looked up at Reboot. "All of their power?" he said.

Reboot smiled. "Every last bit of it."

A greedy look glinted in Wily's eye. "Show me." He handed Bowser and Mega Man to her.

Reboot nodded and turned to the seven robot masters. She stepped up to the first, a red and gold armored robot with a buzz saw blade attached to his forehead. She tapped the Mega Man amiibo to the stasis pod's control pad. The robot inside began to shift and change, pixels swarming around and reshaping it. Soon, the robot had become a perfect replica of Mega Man himself.

Reboot moved down the line, tapping an amiibo to each of the pods. Air Man became Toon Link. Quick Man became Sonic. Flash Man, Crash Man, and Bubble Man each became Sheik, Ike, and King Dedede respectively. Finally, she tapped the last pod, transforming the newly finished Heat Man into Bowser. Reboot switched on her gamepad and tapped its screen. One by one, the copies opened their eyes and looked around.

Doctor Wily stared in awe at what had become of his creations. "Amazing," he said. He glanced at the amiibos still left in the box, consisting of Rosalina, Lucario, Shulk, and Meta Knight. "What about the others."

Reboot didn't respond, walking down the line and stopping at the pod containing Sonic. She raised her hand and touched the glass. "Don't worry," she said. "I have a special use for those."