Note:Note: This and the next chapters are reposts from the other edition that I have decided to move here due to not enough traction on that one.
Thanks to Random Action Hour for the many references, otherwise I'd be grasping at straws in this chapter (though really, even if it's old, go check them out. They're hilarious). While I don't want to do it too much, I'm going to try to not cram in so much in one set of chapters like last time (really, looking back on it now, I hate it) to hopefully make this volume an easier read for you. That said, I'll also try to not skimp on quality, so hope you enjoy!
Chapter 4-Strange Changes Part 4
Mega Man © of Capcom
It had been long since he had come here. The ocean breeze was felt lightly touching and teasing his back, and should he have been endowed with the sense of smell, he would've surely detected the strong scent of salt perpetuating the air. Unfortunately, he wasn't granted with the sensation of sand beneath him, but hardened metal instead. Currently, Mega Man and a small collection of human forces were placed on an old, abandoned oil rig that lay a good few miles off the coast of the Pacific, the Blue Bomber's past experiences with the madman Wily being the only leads that they could go off of. Strange activity had been reported going on out here, yet the only way to confirm it was to come out here themselves. Still, to everyone's chagrin, they all predicted that a long, arduous search was ahead of them.
Though not everyone with him was a 'soldier'. "So, run that by me again what Wily was doing at one of the other rigs?" Agent Stern questioned the Blue Bomber, he in turn running through his memory banks.
"Well, apparently he was a 'Mr. Peister' before he tore off the mask." Really, he had no idea that the old man had such a way with prosthetics. Let alone fat suits. Then again, he wasn't exactly counting on giant squids and clams of unusual size being at such a level of the ocean. If anything, the metallic piranhas were the most 'normal' thing down there. "Of course, it turned out the real Mr. Peister was found and Suffice to say, he wasn't exactly happy at having both his rig attacked, as well as being stripped by Cut and Guts Man." Geez, poor guy. That was yet another anomaly in that case. Along with everything already thought of. Oh, and the supposedly new laboratory that grew legs and…on second thought, everything involving that particular incident was weird.
Who knew there was a way to actually talk to giant kraken sized squid?
"If it wasn't for the fact you couldn't lie to us, I'd say each and every part of that was bullshit." Stern declared, the younger, tan woman with him seeing fit to step in.
"Well, whatever the case, even if it ended well for you guys, I'm personally not to keen on having a close encounter with any sea life."
"Oh really?" Mega Man questioned. "Why not?"
"Truth be told, the ocean as a whole scares the crap out of me." Roslyn confessed. "Heck, I'm still nervous about going too deep in a swimming pool. I mean, yeah, in me and Gil's line of work, we sort of have to know stuff like that, but still…"
Despite an understanding of said fear, Mega found he couldn't exactly relate. Truth be told, even despite the whole mess that took place, what he had witnessed and seen down in the depths of the natural bodies of the Earth was quite a sight to behold. It was only in the aftermath of everything did he finally get a chance to reflect on what his optics beheld. Not once in the few years he had been functioning did he believe that a clam could grow to such a size, let alone a cephalopod of such massive size be dwelling at depths that resided above the one-thousand feet. Dancing streams of seaweed, the sun reflecting on the sands below, an immediate desire to return struck him the second it was all over.
A chance that was pushed to the back of his mind due to an incident involving robot dinosaurs invading the city. Something, always something. Then again, that was what he was for, wasn't it?
Regardless, such oddities would have to be reflected on later. For now, a search was underway.
"Hey," the cerulean machine, tan woman, and green coated man turned towards one human soldier he in turn nearby a stairwell that lead into one of the lower levels of the rig. "I smell something down there." He stated, nose wrinkling. "Oil." At first, such an answer was thought to be insultingly obvious, yet what he said next gave everyone pause. "It smells fresh."
No questions were asked, everyone making a descent downward, one after the other.
Flashlights were immediately cut on, Mega Man's own optics adjusting to accommodate for the influx of darkness that perpetuated the small space below. Indeed, while the outer and upper levels didn't indicate such, in here, the adjective 'abandoned' fit more than well enough. The control panels and various monitors that resided in the small space were coated in a thick layer of greyish-brown grime, keys clearly unable to be used and rust coating the pipes that connected from the ceiling of this area to the floor. A dial contained in a glass compartment that lay above the panel had been completely smashed out, glass fragments scattered around, said dial bent and rendered without any means to function as it was intended. And frankly, nothing here would probably ever function again.
Something of a sad sentiment, Mega Man thought.
"Hey," a voice spoke, a uniformed man gesturing towards a puddle of a thick, black substance on the ground not too far from the panel. Mega, Gilbert, and Roslyn knelt, the two latter humans registering that the other soldier's nose was indeed correct in its assumption.
"Well, someone's been here at least." Krantz noted, the Blue Bomber reaching to touch the surface of the oil, getting some on the tips of his right pointer and thumb. "Only question is who."
"Looks like more than one." Gilbert added, directing his flashlight to the north of the small room. They were few, yet a small collection of screws and bolts were shoved into their own little corner, kept out of the immediate line of sight. "And they've been doing a little bit of tuning up." Still, this didn't exactly bring him much closure. "Whoever they were, they're gone now. And God knows to where."
"Well…that's what I'm here for, right?" Mega interjected, Stern not even acknowledging him, though he felt Krantz place a hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah. Course you probably need to get used to going through that processor yours. We've got a lot of ground to cover."
It was perhaps somewhat childish, yet the affirmation gave the Blue Bomber a small sense of accomplishment.
Though perhaps it was too soon for any of that. Indeed, if his initial suggestion of potential hiding places were indeed correct or not (this one outright falling into none of that category), it still didn't change the fact that there would potentially be a LOT of ground to cover.
Ground that couldn't be covered in one day.
A Day Later
It was but a small thing that came to him, and it had yet to truly flourish, but nevertheless, he felt it beginning to develop.
"Mega?" he heard Krantz's voice echo along the moist, scarcely traversed walls that composed of the cavern. "You all right?"
"Y-Yeah." Mega in turn confirmed. "Just have something on my mind. But nothing major." At least it wasn't major for now. Nor comprehended as to why such a thing would come up. Ultimately though, more pressing matters lay at hand.
The skirmish between Tomahawk Man and the creature that lay in the depths of the Skull Fortress had come to be known to him, which only pushed him to want to speed up the search, lest he be regrettably absent for such a thing again. It was nothing short of a miracle the Robot Master wasn't torn to pieces (at least no more than losing an arm and leg), and he inwardly swore that such a thing wouldn't happen again if he could help it. Not alone at least.
"So, if this is a hideout, where's all the technological stuff?" Stern questioned, looking to the Blue Bomber.
"Well, it was more of a stopping place for him." The cerulean android clarified. "The van was what held the dream transmitter, but when I, Cut, Guts, and Proto came out, we all ended up here."
"So, even if that's the case, this would still be a familiar location for them." The tan agent told her partner, of whom simply huffed.
"Even with all of us here, God only knows how deep this place actually goes."
Unfortunately, that was true. A troop of combatants were present to better the search, yet even for Mega Man, much of this darkened opening into the deeper portions of the Earth was mostly untraveled and unknown. "Perhaps I should go on ahead."
"What stopped you before?" Stern questioned. Krantz elbowed him in the side, Mega Man in turn leaving the collection of human forces behind, traversing further until he disappeared into the lightless portions of the cavern.
As said light began to become more and more sparse, the Blue Bomber's optics adjusted even further, his eyes now resembling that of two, bright search lights that cut through the dense blackness that lay before him. Yet this did little to serve him, for all that he could see were rises and falls in the hidden formations of Earth, stalactites beginning to appear on the ceiling above, dripping with collected moisture, and then his steps had to be more precarious as stalagmites stationed on the ground began to block the way before him.
'Wonder if this was an everyday thing for Tempo back in the day.' He paused for a moment, surprised that such a thought even came to him.
Of course, such things would have to be reflected on later (thankfully, to his relief, somewhat), as his audio receptors began to register something amidst the numerous droplets falling from the stalactites resting above his helm.
Voices.
Voices seemingly engaged in a rather heated conversation.
…
"This is all your fault!" the orange locomotive hissed, crossing his arms, small streams of smoke bellowing from his funnel.
"Care to say that again?" a red Robot Master with a u-shaped magnet affixed to his forehead snarled, going over to the train based DWN.
"Your sense of direction is more than a little lacking. Dare I say, it's absolutely repulsive!" Charge Man groaned. "Oh, and look at this!" he continued, looking at his internalized clock. "We're far behind schedule! We would've been out of here an hour ago if not for you!" he said, pointing an accusing finger to the magnetism-based Robot Master.
"It was YOUR suggestion to come in here!" Magnet Man retorted. "This cave is teaming with metals and all sorts of minerals! It's completely throwing my sense of direction off!
"As if you had any to begin with." Charge Man argued. "We should've just forwarded through the desert as I suggested."
"Oh, what? So you could ogle at the train tracks?"
"You forget that there is ALWAYS a destination at the end. The train stations were abandoned, without any of these 'interferences' that are clearly a problem." The locomotive sighed. "It's surprising that even in such a day and age, long begotten markers of the past are able to provide for those in need of direction. Really, it was foolish that humans even abandoned such at all."
"Well, whether it's in one of those old stations or another cave, I'm fed up with staying in here!" another amongst them growled, towering above them and, should one have simply been able to get a glance, appeared to be composed of brick-like rock. "When's he supposed to contact us anyway?"
"About an hour ago." Charge Man informed Stone Man. "Of which he hasn't."
"And," Magnet Man added in. "He said that if he couldn't get to us, then we're to head out as soon as possible."
"Of which we haven't been able to due to some 'complications.'" Charge Man huffed, Magnet in turn glaring at him.
"Then why can't we just smash through here to get to the other side?" Stone Man questioned.
"Believe it or not, that's NOT the path of least resistance." Charge Man answered. "Neither of us is aware of just how deep this cavern goes, let alone whether or not there are multiple paths that lead to absolutely nowhere." He then turned to Magnet Man. "You going on in would be suicide."
"As would you continuing to talk." The red Robot Master snarled. "If it wasn't for my ability to tap into the Earth's magnetic field, we wouldn't have even been able to migrate all the way here from the fortress! We'd all be lost and stumbling around like headless chickens!" he argued. "Bear in mind, each and every group of us has gained such from ME!"
"But we're not birds, are we?" Charge Man went on. "Nor are we heading south. We're heading forward and away. In fact, you took us even closer than we were before!"
The two of them were practically ready to go and rip the other's throat out, Stone Man in turn wishing to turn this entire place into rubble. Though despite this, the last among them had been usually quiet. "I don't suppose YOU have anything you wish to add?" Magnet Man asked the blue, stout Robot Master.
Hard Man in turn simply shrugged. "You guys did it for me." He answered.
"We've done EVERYTHING for you!" Stone Man told him. "You've barely lifted one finger since we up and headed off from home!"
"Hey, you think it's easy lugging all this around?" Hard Man retorted, gesturing to his thick armor plating. "Besides, I did stuff!"
"Name one." Charge Man demanded, folded his arms across his chest (an action that neither Stone or Magnet Man thought was possible due to his oddly shaped frame).
"I broke through some of the rocks in the last caves we were in!" he answered. "And…and I got…I got…"
It was then that all the other machine's eyes widened.
"And I-"
"Shut up!" Magnet Man hissed, his audio units, yet also his magnetic pulses picking up yet another source.
"What is it?" Stone Man asked.
"It's…hard to distinguish." The red DWN confessed. "But I believe someone's coming."
"Is it Proto?" Hard Man questioned, voice hopeful.
"I can't be sure." Magnet answered. "But…it could be blue boy."
"I'm blue-"
"Not you."
The owner of the steps seemingly was, or at least would be aware of their presence soon, said steps and their echoes growing louder and louder.
"Shit!" Magnet hissed, he then looking to everyone. "Hide!"
No one argued with that. While they held no idea where they were going, at the very least, there was plenty of refuge available for them. And should it indeed be 'him' that was approaching…well, all the better, as this would serve as a little 'greeting' for him.
Note: Battle scene coming up, as well as one the next episode. Again, reviews are the best encouragement for me to continue, so any input is welcome. Thank you!