The Robot Masters were holed up in the deepest level of Skull Fortress—a cavernous bunker with super steel walls. Astro Man was panicking so much that Bomb Man had powered him down out of kindness, though he wasn't the only Robot Master on edge.
"I don't mind the rain, ribbit," croaked Toad Man, "But earthquakes are too much!"
"Will we never see the sun again?" asked Bright Man miserably, the bulb on his helmet softly illuminating the large underground space.
Snake Man was pacing up and down the bunker, shaking his head. Crystal Man sat cross legged on a crate of energy cans, his eyes closed as though mediating. Wood Man just smiled placidly.
"We'll be smashed like pennies on a train track down here," Air Man growled.
"It'll hold up, don't worry," Crash Man reassured them confidently, for he, Stone Man, and Drill Man had built the bunker themselves.
"Yeah, until magma starts bursting through the walls," retorted Ring Man, exchanging a dark glance with Magnet Man.
"That will be totally rad!" cheered Gyro Man.
"We will be totally dead," muttered Gemini Man, rolling his eyes.
"…Is this really what happens when the Moon falls towards Earth?" Top Man asked Elec Man quietly.
"I don't know," Elec Man responded in a defeated voice. Mad science always tired him out. "Probably."
This careless answer grated on Top Man's nerves. "How can you be so cold?" he demanded. When Elec Man didn't respond, Top Man persisted, "Did you talk to Proto Man? What does he think of this?"
A warning tone entered Elec Man's voice. "Top Man, it's going to be fine."
Top Man was frustrated by this vague answer too. He looked around the bleak, featureless bunker. "Elec Man, If we die—"
"Don't get sentimental, we're not going to die!" Elec Man interrupted crossly.
Top Man stared at Elec Man, but weirdly took comfort in his harshness (despite the blunt rejection to share feelings)—for if Elec Man wasn't worried, he wouldn't be either.
In the underground shelter above the bunker, Dr. Wily was still pounding away at the Gravitron's control panel.
"Hey uh, Doc, isn't it about time to put the Moon back where it belongs?" Proto Man asked tentatively. As of yet, Dr. Wily had not issued any demands. "Keep this up and there won't be much of the World left to take over."
"Getting nervous Proto Man?" Dr. Wily leered, turning toward him. "Just a little more chaos and massive destruction and then I'll make my move! Uwahahaha!"
Sheets of rain poured down the hoverjet's window during its return to Skull Fortress, which was much more unsteady than the first trip. Sometimes the hoverjet made sudden nose dives or pitched, as if Mega Man and Roll were riding a giant mechanical bull.
"We've got to be the only ones out still flying…" Roll muttered as she fought the controls during their descent.
In defiance of the rain, Skull Fortress stood as solidly as an indestructible weed with deep roots—though the surrounding badlands had become torrents of gushing water, making it look like a jagged rock amid muddy rapids.
"My stealth suit only covers me, Roll. Stay put and be ready to fly!" Mega Man called as he strapped on the Stealth Glider.
He opened the plug door and dove out into the storm. If anyone had been within earshot, they would have heard the hammering of rain against the Stealth Glider's wings, let alone notice a small halo of spattering water above his invisible form, but there was already enough confusion for Mega Man to be too concerned about this possibility. As it was, he felt quite glad to have a roof of sorts over his head and a mauve wind visor shielding his eyes.
With a small splash, he landed at the base of Skull Fortress next to a large vent just big enough to squeeze through if he folded the Stealth Glider's wings.
This has to work! he thought desperately as he tore off the vent's grille.
Mega Man edged through the labyrinth of boxy duct tunnels, which groaned and shook around him, sometimes compressing suddenly and scrapping against his Stealth Glider. Listening hard, he could pick up the distinct sound of Dr. Wily's gleeful laughter, though it took some time to pinpoint which direction it was coming from.
Finally, after dropping down several floors, Mega Man found Dr. Wily's underground shelter. Through the slats of the grille, he could view the entire room below—Dr. Wily, Proto Man, Cut Man, Guts Man, Dark Man, Quick Man, and Shadow Man were all gathered around Dr. Wily's Gravitron, which was pointed at the ceiling, issuing a violet ray.
Dr. Wily had his own panel of CRT screens displaying news, which he watched jubilantly. "Exxxxcelllent! Tidal waves, volcanos, hurricanes, earthquakes, heh heh! The people of Earth will beg me to be their master!"
"Yeah, the master of disaster!" cried Cut Man, stumbling as another tremor shook the room like a giant tumbler.
Mega Man used the disturbance to quietly remove the grille, then leaped lightly to the floor of the dark shelter.
By the time Dr. Wily knows whats happened, I'll have that tachyon capacitor back to Dr. Light, he thought hopefully as he crept toward the Gravitron, reaching out for the white lantern-shaped device within its base.
A strange jolt ran up his arm as though his fingers had been smashed with a hammer. The stealth suit's cloaking device short circuited, and his blue arm flashed into view.
Cut Man and Guts Man, who were standing next to the Gravitron, glanced over at him.
"Oh, Mega Man," muttered Guts Man absentmindedly. Then he and Cut Man did a double take.
"Mega Man!"
Mega Man hastily stepped back, caught red-handed. Shit! The Gravitron field must be interfering with my stealth suit!
Guts Man lunged, lifting Mega Man off the floor in a spine-breaking body lock.
"Crush him! Smash him! Break him into a thousand pieces!" screeched Dr. Wily from a safe distance, shaking his fists.
A ball of electromagnetic energy crackled in Dark Man's hand, but he held back from firing, observing the situation with his unblinking eyes instead. Proto Man was also watching Mega Man with a strange, inscrutable expression on his face. Even Quick Man (who was very competitive) did not immediately budge. Meanwhile, using the commotion as cover, Shadow Man backed silently into the shade of a computer bank and vanished like smoke, completely unnoticed by Dr. Wily, Proto Man, nor any of the Robot Masters.
Cut Man was the only one to respond to Dr. Wily's order. "Hold him still so I can slice and dice him!" he shouted as he rushed in, but Mega Man kicked out, his titanium boot striking him in the face. Then Mega Man used the Stealth Glider's fast yellow laser weapon to fire Guts Man into the remaining Robot Masters at a speed even Quick Man couldn't dodge, knocking them over like bowling pins.
At least my blaster still works! he thought thankfully as he pried the tachyon capacitor from its holder.
"Noooo!" Dr. Wily moaned as the Gravitron powered down, the violet beam connecting it to the Moon fading.
Proto Man, looking harassed, elbowed Dr. Wily out of the way, took deliberate aim, and fired—but instead of hitting Mega Man, the plasma fire missed by several feet, striking the Gravitron instead.
One of the power cells immediately overloaded with a small explosion. Dr. Wily leaped hastily backward as a shower of sparks singed his lab coat, aghast.
"Hey thanks, bro—" called Mega Man, reactivating the invisibility on his stealth suit. "it's been a blast, but I gotta fly!"
Extending the wings of the Stealth Glider, Mega Man jumped, using the extra lift to propel him back through the vent as blue plasma bolts grazed his armor in near misses.
"Proto Man, how could you miss? He was right there!" Dr. Wily demanded suspiciously a moment later when they could be sure Mega Man was no longer in the underground shelter.
"I had moonlight in my eye," Proto Man responded crossly, for the room was still shaking.
Dr. Wily rounded on the other Robot Masters, who had just finished detangling themselves and were now standing up. "Get him you mechanical menaces! Get my tachyon capacitor back while I repair the Gravitron!"
Panic gripped Washington D.C. Though Secretary Fowler had been in contact with Dr. Light and assured everyone that Mega Man was once again on the case, Dr. Wily's latest scheme was beyond any politician's grasp. Sure, the people were taken care of, but the damages to infrastructure would be fathomless if these confounded storms continued!
Senator King paced the white marble halls of the Senate office buildings by himself, hands stuffed in his camel hair overcoat's pockets, wishing his robotic bodyguards were allowed within Capitol Hill. Emergency lighting lit the way as the power had gone out hours ago, while tremors shook the chandeliers.
A United States Capitol police officer approached briskly. He had average build with plain, nondescript features.
"Sir, may I have a word with you?"
King glanced at the officer, prepared to brush him off, then did a double take as he looked into his sharp black eyes.
"Fake Man? Is that you?" he hissed, noticing the badge with its serial number '100.' "What are you doing here?"
"We need to talk."
"Now? In the middle of all of this? You know how busy I am."
"I'm busy too. All available units are on damage control. You've been difficult to get ahold of. Now is the perfect time, everyone is distracted."
King hesitated, but he wasn't entirely unhappy to see Fake Man—everything had went wrong ever since the Moon began falling, and Fake Man was an ally. "In my office."
They took off together down a dark hall, their footsteps echoing eerily among the stillness of the building, the wind howling outside.
"I'm only now just on break," King muttered. "Lemming keeps trying to call me for advice. I should be president instead."
"…You know that's impossible."
"I know! Just being facetious. I don't know what to do. It's like the Lunar Laser crisis all over again, except this time the National Security Council is actually leaning in favor of allowing the Robot International Police in to stop Wily! You know what could happen if they snoop around—"
King opened the door of his empty office, then froze, for a silvery orb drone was waiting for them. King sighed, now understanding, for he had been avoiding Centum for days.
"Burner Man's told me everything about your contract with the Sniper," Centum's cool, crisp voice cut through the darkness.
Fake Man had a completely vindicated look on the animatronic mask he was wearing as he stood guard at the office office door. He had suspected King of wrongdoing for quite some time, he had even warned Centum of the possibility that King might be traitorous.
King, knowing he was caught, felt no reason to deny the accusation. "How am I supposed to do my job? You know the elections are coming up. I wasn't going to have anyone killed—just scare my opponents off a little, cause some light fear mongering about foreign robots to turn public interest away from R.I.P.," he added with a disinterested shrug. "Kill two birds with one stone."
Centum wasn't impressed. "That robot is not 'foreign' to this country, and you've been reckless. First the Sniper, then sending the Grey Devil after Brain Bot… I assume you're hiding Ballade, whether you'll admit to it or not. You're lucky no lasting harm has been caused or we wouldn't be having this conversation. If your job has become difficult, you should have come to me instead of handling it your own way. I should remove you from your position."
King tensed, feeling as though he were turning to lead. "Don't do that, please…I want this!"
"You didn't earn it, so don't act entitled."
"I'm not, I'm not…" King said hastily, attempting to deescalate the situation. "You know how important my job is, how well I've protected the Syndicate. And I am loyal to you. The ballet was a mistake—how was I supposed to know Ballade would get carried away?"
"Dorian…"
"King," King asserted.
"Fine." Centum paused, the orb hovering motionlessly above King's desk. "I want to know why you ordered Ballade to sabotage the ballet in the first place. That mission was very important to me."
King stared coldly at the camera orb for a moment. "…I've heard rumors that had you succeeded in eliminating that man, you would have given up crime."
"Who have you heard that from?" Centum asked, perhaps a little too sharply.
King didn't respond, keeping his cards close to his chest. Instead, he pressed, "It was your motivation for forming the Syndicate, wasn't it? And if you quit, where does that leave us?"
Fake Man looked taken aback by this startling accusation. It couldn't be true. Centum was their leader, if he gave up crime—
Centum was now on the defensive, his temper cooling. "I've never told anyone anything like that…however, there is some truth in it. This was never meant to be forever," he admitted. "But I see how that could be interpreted. Rest assured, no matter what my future plans for the Syndicate may be, I will never abandon you to the law. Going forward, I hope you will bring up matters like this directly to avoid a repeat of that night at the ballet. What Top Man went through—" Centum stopped himself. He suddenly sounded forlorn, and extremely tired. "The blame rests on me, for I was blinded by vengeance, and Top Man paid the price."
King felt victorious. He cared little for the ballet incident nor its aftermath, but by making Centum feel in the wrong, he had rescued his position as senator.
Fake Man looked as though he had accepted Centum's answer, but was still slightly shaken, his black eyes darting between King and Centum's orb in a questioning way, as though not sure who to trust.
Sirens blared outside, and the building creaked, as though struggling against its foundation. The phone on King's desk began to ring.
"That'll be Lemming," King said, giving Centum a wan smile. "It looks as though I'm needed here."
Centum's orb drifted away from King's desk, as though ceding it to him. "Of course. We must all do our part to fight Wily. I've asked every Robot Master on hand to do what they can against the disasters…we can discuss other matters later when this is all over."
The orb deactivated, Fake Man catching it in one hand then placing it inside a brief case. He cast King one last sweeping look with his serious black eyes before departing through the office door and down the hall.
For nearly a minute, King let the phone continue to ring on his desk, feeling annoyed at Centum, at Lemming, and most of all, humanity and its stupidity. He didn't want the Syndicate to end, not when it had gained so much power, and he'd never let Centum leave it quietly...he was too valuable. The plan to have Centum turn against the other Syndicate bosses had failed—trust idiots like Ballade and Burner Man to mess it all up.
Overcome with peeved vindictiveness, King picked up the receiver on his desk mid ring. "Mr. President? About R.I.P…forget what I said earlier." King smirked to himself. "I think you should let them in."
On the other side of the United States, the storms were just at thick and dark, the regular earthquakes rattling buildings like blocks on a wobbly table.
It was a strange turn of events for most Syndicate Robot Masters—for once, instead of hiding in shadows participating in crime, they were out in the open, helping relive major catastrophe—though they made sure not to draw attention to themselves and avoid news crews at all costs.
Pharaoh Man was using his Pharaoh Shot to blast away debris that had piled up in the street, blocking emergency vehicles. Shade Man was soaring through the stormy skies, his keen eyes picking out disasters from afar so that he could help direct the ground units below. Even Burner Man, eager to prove to Centum that he could be useful, was out in the hard rain aiding the emergency response crews.
All the while, the Moon continued to expand in size and brightness above them.
Shadow Man dropped silently from the ceiling into a dark, underground room with white walls and smooth tiled floors. It was one of the Syndicate safe rooms—currently abandoned, for all of the Syndicate Robot Masters had been secretly deployed to help damage control efforts.
"Hello?" he called, his tentative voice echoing.
He called three more times before a silvery camera orb activated from the wall and floated toward him. Shadow Man looked toward it with relief.
"I've made a huge mistake," he announced in a completely unabashed voice, leaning against a wall as thunder rumbled outside, though the sound was nearly eclipsed by the rumbling from rocks below them.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. I think this is fine," Centum responded.
Shadow Man's face fell momentarily, worried Centum might be serious.
"…How did you even get here?" Centum asked, his question punctuated by another ominous tremor. "Only my own robots know of this place, and the world is ending outside."
"…I'm a ninja," Shadow Man responded, confused by the question. Regaining bravado, he added, "Can't you fix this? I thought you were supposed to be smart."
"No. There's no known way to control the tachyon particle stream," Centum responded dully. "Of course…you could reveal to me the location of Skull Fortress, and I could fix the source of the madness permanently."
But Shadow Man shook his head. "Ninja code: I never reveal a fellow criminal's secrets—though I may exploit them time to time," he added with a wolfish grin. "I've been thinking about your offer, human…though you could be considered a true friend of robots, I could never join the Syndicate, for if I came to work for you, you'd impose all these rules and regulations on how I steal."
There was a long awkward pause as pristine white furniture rattled across the floor.
"I am not about to refute anything you just said," Centum prompted finally. "I've been analyzing the readings I took of you when we last talked. The metal you're built with is unlike anything on Earth. Are you an alien?"
Shadow Man leaped backward like a cat splashed with water. "Mind your own business! Nosey jerk. If you really know so much, you could have stopped the Moon from falling!"
He raised his arm, about to throw a smoke bomb.
"Wait," Centum called, his voice lowering and the camera orb floating closer. "There is something you could do for me to overlook your recent rashness—something I'd consider too risky to ask of my own robots."
Shadow Man glanced sideways at Centum's orb, intrigued despite himself. "Alright, human...I'm listening."
The hoverjet passed by three small tornados in remote fields in its return home, the Moon appearing as large as a CD in the sky above. Now that Mega Man had the tachyon capacitor, the storms would not get worse—but the Moon still needed to be moved back away from Earth before the weather went back to normal.
They flew low over the northern suburbs of New York City, the bulbs of street lamps bursting on the streets below.
Mega Man pushed the tachyon capacitor into Roll's hands. "Get this to Dr. Light, fast! Wily's bots will be coming after us, but I gotta plan to buy us some time!"
After the first tremors had rocked Los Angeles, Dr. Cossack had urged Kalinka to return to the skyscraper they lived in at once and take shelter in the panic rooms of the basement.
Kalinka's room was an explosion of pink and was fully furnished with a large cable T.V., an assortment of plush sofas, poofs, and bean bag chairs, a bathroom with a whirlpool tub, a mini-fridge stocked with fifty kinds of soda, a couple bedroom-sized closets, a large makeup vanity packed with her own line of cosmetics, and signed posters from boy bands on all of the walls. It was identical to her room in the penthouse suite above, only this room had no windows, where her normal room overlooked the city. She had brought ten of her friends for company and support during this trying time—Kalinka, if not modest, was at least very generous.
They sat together around a dainty white table, munching on an assortment of snacks while watching Plum, California's peppy android newscaster, cheerfully cover the sudden storms ravishing the world. Headed by Kalinka, the group had decided to organize a junior relief effort to help rebuild after the havoc caused by Dr. Wily's mad science.
"The first thing we'll want to do is get in touch with the natural disaster response crews and assess the damage," Kalinka was instructing them, sitting primly on a pink silk cushion. "Of course, they have already made it their top priority to make sure no one is harmed and that the hospitals are fully protected, but there will still be a lot of work to do. We can help prioritize the rest of the reconstruction—skating rinks, concert halls, and most importantly, the malls!" she tittered. "Of course I can ask Daddy to donate building supplies like metal and stuff," she added with a proud smile. "He's the best."
This boast did not go without some minor detractions from her friends—for while they liked Kalinka, she had a tendency to brag too much about her father, which got on their nerves.
"I've heard your dad is like totally in deep with mobsters," murmured Tiffany in a low voice, for Dr. Cossack was working in his personal laboratory, which was nearby and completely off limits.
"I've heard your dad is a mobster," chimed in Courtney in an even lower voice.
"My dad just thinks your dad is a bastard," said Kimberly with an apologetic glance as she sipped her sour cherry cola through a straw.
"Well they've got it all wrong," cut in Kalinka tersely, flushing slightly. She stuck her nose in the air for a moment, then glanced dreamily over at the television, which was showing footage of an earthquake swallowing up an old tractor in a deserted field. "I just hope my masked hero is safe," she said tragically. "It would be just like him to risk his life out in weather like this to rescue someone!"
"Who?" asked Brittany.
"My masked hero," Kalinka repeated smugly. "Haven't I ever told you about him? He's saved me twice and is totally into me. He wears a red and gray costume with a yellow cape, and he had some sort of wrap-around shades over his eyes—that's what makes him my masked hero." She sighed.
"I dunno, Kali—that sounds kinda like Proton Man," said Ashley, who vaguely remembered seeing someone like that on the news.
"Who?" asked Kalinka, her eyebrows rising.
"Proton Man, like some kinda robot some mad scientist built."
"He's not some dumb robot!" Kalinka protested scornfully (though she cast a regretful sidelong look at the beaded macrame bag on her bed, where her robotic guardian Beat had been unceremoniously stowed while her friends were present). "He's some kinda super hero, like that blue guy from New York City, only waaay cooler."
"Like, I don't think super heroes are real," Ashely continued critically.
"Yes they are! And I've seen one!" Kalinka fired back.
"Is that a super hero?" asked Lindsey, pointing at the television.
They all turned toward the news again. A glimpse—just a glimpse—of a figure in green had been caught on camera. The figure was apparently responsible for freeing a squad of rescue-bots who had fallen into the Los Angeles subway system after an earthquake split the street above. The figure reminded her vaguely of her masked hero—the outfit was certainly similar with a helmet, tall boots, and gauntlets, (though not nearly as cool in her loyal opinion).
"Now there's a green one?" she whispered pensively to herself. Despite all her plans for helping disaster relief with her friends, seeing yet another super hero made her feel somehow left out. What would her masked hero think of her if he knew she was once again playing it safe on the sidelines like a little kid instead of following his example and taking action?
Proto Man piloted the Skullker as they chased Mega Man's hoverjet (visible only as a small smudgy orange blur of jetfire through the rain sodden windows), thinking of nothing but blasting Mega Man to smithereens—anything to drive the Moon out of his mind.
Cut Man sat in the co-pilot's seat (as was custom when either Dr. Wily or Proto Man weren't around). He hoped Proto Man wouldn't ask for him to take the controls, for the storm was pitching the Skullker around like a bottle set adrift amongst ocean waves. He didn't know how Proto Man could stand it, but Proto Man seemed to take the sudden turbulence as though he did this every day.
They had just traveled across New York, and though they lost sight of the hoverjet, they could see the bright lights and egg-shaped dome of the Dr. Light's laboratory below them, the only place within miles that still had power.
"Get ready!" Proto Man ordered as the Skullker descended. "Tear Light's lab apart! Get the tachyon capacitor! But leave Mega Man to me!"
"Yeah! He can't take all of us!" cheered Guts Man.
They landed in the street in front of the laboratory, which had become a shallow river with water rushing toward the storm grates. Rain drummed against their armor as they filed out the back of the Skullker.
Mega Man suddenly became visible on the front porch as he turned off the stealth suit's cloaking function. "Out for a little stroll in the moonlight?" he greeted, firing a laser down at them before becoming invisible again.
They ducked, the yellow beam flashed over them and blowing apart the orange casing on the Skullker's right auxiliary thruster.
Guts Man, who had dawdled behind in the Skullker where it was warm and dry, surveyed the smoking wreckage from the back hatch's doorframe with concern. "Whoa! Dr. Wily's not going to like that!"
"Never mind!" Proto Man snapped impatiently. "Let's go!"
Fanning into an arc, they charged toward Dr. Light's laboratory, splashing noisily through puddles.
Mega Man reappeared at the bottom of the steps leading up to the front lawn, smirking. "Sorry, but you gotta give the secret password!"
Quick Man threw a Quick Boomerang at Mega Man.
The golden boomerang went straight through Mega Man's chest. "Hey, that tickles!" he laughed, appearing completely unharmed. Kicking off the ground, Mega Man extended the wings of the Stealth Glider and began to soar on the rough wind the storm was producing.
Looking nonplussed, Quick Man caught the Quick Boomerang on its return. "…How'd he do that?"
"Wanna try again?" Mega Man yelled over the thunder, circling them lazily like a gull.
Dark Man shot an electromagnetic net. "I got him!" he called, but the electromagnetic ropes fell slack to the muddy ground, for Mega Man had vanished as soon as the net had touched him.
They began scanning Dr. Light's property warily. Had Mega Man become invisible again? Where was he now?
"He's over there!" shouted Proto Man finally. Mega Man was standing on the tail fin of the Skullker waving at them. Proto Man fired, and though he seemed to hit his target dead center, the shot once again went straight through Mega Man, and Mega Man took off into the sky while becoming invisible, unfazed.
"No, he's over there!" growled Guts Man, pointing at a boxwood bush that Mega Man had just hidden behind.
"Wait, there he is!" cried Cut Man, pointing in a different direction as he saw Mega Man jump out of sight into a ditch.
Both Quick Man and Dark Man whirled around for Mega Man had just landed in the street behind them. Then Proto Man and Guts Man turned around as another Mega Man landed in the muddy lawn—and then another.
Proto Man and the Robot Masters closed together in a tight group as more duplicates dropped from the stormy sky, surrounding them. Cut Man and Guts Man mentally tried to calculate their odds to fight them all off. Sure, Proto Man, Quick Man, and Dark Man were all good fighters, but there were six Mega Men! And not only could they turn invisible, they appeared to be both invincible and able to teleport!
But Proto Man offered up a more practical explanation. "Ugh, He's using a holographic projector!" he growled, annoyed at himself for being taken in by the trick.
"But which one is the real blue dweeb?" asked Guts Man in desperate confusion. The sight of so many Mega Mans made him freeze up inside, regardless if it were only an illusion.
"Get 'em all!" ordered Proto Man, already firing.
Bolts of plasma, Quick Boomerangs, Rolling Cutters, and Dark Man's electromagnetic net raked through each Mega Man, but all were copies. Meanwhile the real Mega Man had been gliding invisibly above them the entire time.
Always knew Dr. Light's little holographic projector would come in handy, he thought as he fired the Stealth Glider's laser at Dark Man's feet.
In an explosion of sod, Dark Man was blown backward by the impact, landing in a heap against the lattice fence surrounding Dr. Light's property. Mega Man swooped quickly in, touching Dark Man's arm with his blaster to copy his weapon while Dark Man lay dazed, bits of grass clinging to his dome.
"Hey, he's over there with Dark Man!" bellowed Guts Man.
"That's right! You win the prize!" Mega Man shouted back as he fired an electromagnetic net at Guts Man before taking off again as three different weapons were all fired simultaneously in his direction.
Roll had dashed into Dr. Light's laboratory with the tachyon capacitor tucked under her arm and Rush at her heals, taking care to step over spilled equipment littering the floor as though the place had been looted. One wall of the laboratory had a deep crack running through it, and a pipe had burst somewhere in the second floor, water trickling down the stairs which Doris was crossly attempting to mop up.
Dr. Light was waiting for Roll next to the Gravitron, his face ashen, his white hair and lab coat disheveled as Met scuttled around at his feet attempting to sweep away broken glass with one extendable arm, the other attempting to secure other fragile equipment while the laboratory shook like a laundry machine.
At Dr. Light's beckoning, Roll set the tachyon capacitor into the Gravitron's base. Dr. Light began typing frantically, a bead of sweat growing on his brow as the Gravitron powered up with a high-pitched hum. Then Dr. Light stepped back from the Gravitron, his eyes glued to a beam issuing from its barrel and through the roof.
They waited tensely, hearing the Skullker land outside, the sounds of battle barely distinguishable amidst the wind, rain, thunder, and tremors.
"It's working, Dr. Light!" Roll called out finally from the side laboratory's computer station. "The Moon is shifting back into orbit!"
Dr. Light let out a deep breath as Rush jumped up to lick his face and Met beeped joyously. "Not a moment too soon!"
Roll suddenly stood bolt up right, frowning. "Hey, what's that noise?"
Above Dr. Light's laboratory, a purple tandem rotocoptor descended from the clouds carrying Crystal Man, Snake Man, Crash Man, and Bomb Man—Dark Man had staggered off to the Skullker to call in the backup that had been trailing shortly behind.
Roll greeted the new challengers with welcome arms as she charged out onto the front porch with her utility arm raised. She had been quick to get they tachyon capacitor to Dr. Light, not wanting to miss out out on all the action.
Mega Man wasn't as optimistic about their odds—he feared the presence of Crash Man and Bomb Man most of all, for if they leveled the laboratory and destroyed the Gravitron, they were all done for. The situation was getting desperate, so he needed to resort to fighting dirty. He may not have a robot recycler, but something better had come to mind…
Trusting Roll to hold off the insurgent Robot Masters for a few minutes and tuning out the chaos surrounding them, Mega Man turned his sole focus to Proto Man and getting him alone. Using the Stealth Glider's invisibility to his advantage, Mega Man dive-bombed Proto Man while his back was turned.
But Proto Man had somehow sensed his presence, tutning at the last moment and firing point black. Mega Man lost control, becoming visible and crashing into Proto Man. They tumbled haphazardly down the sloping lawn where they soon became locked in their own battle far away from the greater struggle by the laboratory.
There was something forced about Proto Man's attacks, and he seemed distracted—Mega Man knew Proto Man's heart wasn't into this scheme, and strongly suspected being this close to his former home was throwing Proto Man off. Meanwhile Mega Man fought with everything he had—it was automatic, for he rightly felt the safety of his family—including Proto Man—depended upon it.
Still, it was a close fight—the action impossible to follow to anyone but the combatants as the storm raged around them, the Moon still appearing uncomfortably large above them. Yet just as it looked like Proto Man might win the upper hand after all, Mega Man switched the setting of Dark Man's weapon and fired a trap similar to the one used on Roll and Brain Bot (then disguised as Mega Man) in their hotel room at Sea Gulch.
A large band surrounded Proto Man, pinning his arms to his side. Proto Man struggled against the bindings as it drained his energy, then fell on his backside with a small splash as dark electromagnetic energy crackled through his circuits.
Mega Man approached him slowly, lowering his blaster.
"Call off Wily's robots. I know you want to, I just watched you blatantly sabotage Wily's Gravitron two hours ago."
Despite his predicament, Proto Man gave a small, careless shrug. "I was aiming for you."
"Uh-huh. I'd think long and hard about your next move, Proto, for it will have consequences."
"You can't make threats without leverage, Mega. Face it, you're out numbered."
"Is that your final answer?" Mega Man asked, crouching next to Proto Man.
When Proto Man remained smugly silent, bullet-sized raindrops continuing to fall upon them, Mega Man did the one thing he knew Proto Man would absolutely hate: he reached out and tugged off his helmet.
"Hey, what gives!"
"Can't blame me for wanting to look my own brother in the eyes for once."
So this is what Proto really looks like, Mega Man thought to himself. Despite what Proto had always claimed about them not being identical, the face Dr. Light had given him was similar to Rock's; his hair was a similar length, though it was reddish and swept forward in a messy side part instead of backwards like Mega Man's. Proto's amber brown eyes were even a similar shape, though there was something cold about them, like a light had gone out.
Proto gritted his teeth, glaring up at Mega Man through narrowed eyes in total humiliation. He looked a bit pathetic, his red hair becoming wet and clinging to his face.
Mega Man cradled the visored helmet, not feeling sorry for Proto at all. "I'm not giving it back until you promise not to help Wily do anything like this again."
When Proto remained stubbornly silent, rain trickling down his forehead and into his eyes while the end of his scarf soaked up mud, Mega Man could only shrug. "Well, if you're really going to be that way, I guess the only choice I have is to take you back to Dr. Light. I'm sure he'll be glad to see his long lost son—"
"Alright, I'll tell the Robot Masters to back off!" Proto spat lividly. With an effort, he lifted his blaster as much as he could with the electromagnetic energy still surrounding him. When he had finished making the call, he shot Mega Man a look that could have killed a tyrannosaurus rex. "Happy?"
"Thanks, bro." Mega Man gave Proto a quick noogie before shoving his helmet back on. "Though, I don't think I can let you off the hook just yet…after all, we're going to need help cleaning up after this one—"
Mega Man cut off as a loud drone filled the sky. He and Proto Man looked up as a second hovercraft descended through the clouds—it's model was unfamiliar, but its wings were emblazoned with golden Robot International Police emblems.
Both Mega Man and Proto Man started in shock. R.I.P. officers? Here?
Proto Man had gone rigid at the sight of the hovercraft, which landed with a gust of wind on Dr. Light's muddy, torn up front lawn. He and the other Bad Bots had no choice but to retreat now, he could even see Crystal Man marshaling his troop of Robot Master back inside the tandem rotocoptor while firing Crystal Eyes at a group of R.I.P. Robot Masters filing out of the hovercraft. Truthfully, leaving the tachyon capacitor behind was no big loss, but Proto Man was trapped and almost out of power. He'd have to think of something fast to avoid being arrested—
The force pinning his arms to his side suddenly dispelled. Proto Man looked down at the electromagnetic binding, which had vanished, then up at Mega Man, but Mega Man was no where in sight.
Realizing this was his chance, Proto Man bolted toward the Skullker, taking Flame Man by surprise and copying his weapon as he went. He used Flame Blast to repel Time Man and free Quick Man, who had been frozen by Time Slow, a look of complete horror on his face. A Robot Master with body like a giant snowball topped with a red titanium pom beanie was skiing around on snow banks he had created, traversing quickly across the broken ground as he chased after the retreating Robot Masters. Cut Man and Guts Man (who was still trailing bits of electromagnetic net after Cut Man had hastily freed him) were attempting to beat back attacks from Roll as they ran, while Dark Man frantically waved them toward the open back of the Skullker.
They clambered gracelessly into the Skullker, Proto Man and Quick Man holding off pursuit with the last of their weapon energy. Proto Man did a brief head count for Cut Man, Guts Man, Quick Man, and Dark Man, then threw himself into the pilot's seat and took off, trusting Crystal Man had gathered the rest. The R.I.P. hovercraft followed them for several minutes, but Proto Man shook them off without much difficulty. Even running on low power and with the Skullker's recent damage, he was still an unmatched pilot. Performing dangerous aerobatic evasion techniques that R.I.P. was unwilling to repeat, the Skullker hurtled like a missile toward the lightning streaked clouds.
As Dr. Light's laboratory fell behind them, a small speck in a muddy expanse, Proto Man's mind raced.
…had Mega Man actually broken the law by letting him go? No, he'd never…the electromagnetic energy must have just faded on its own.
Yet a small flair of hope sparked inside Proto Man. Perhaps Mega Man wasn't too far gone as a hero after all.
After Proto Man and Dr. Wily's Robot Masters had fully withdrawn, Dr. Light invited the R.I.P. officers into the laboratory for repairs—their group consisting of Time Man, Gravity Man, Flame Man, Sword Man, Blizzard Man (a cheery Robot Master with long pine green skis attached to his boots that clacked a bit as he walked) and Sheep Man (a quiet Robot Master who looked like a large walking cotton ball with ram horns). Fortunately, no one had been damaged during the fight—though Sheep Man gratefully accepted a towel from Met and went off by the door, attempting to dry off the curly synthetic wool coat covering his round body.
"I can't believe you're here in America!" exclaimed Dr. Light as he looked upon the group of R.I.P. officers with bright eyes.
"It's about time!" cheered Roll, punching Time Man in the shoulder.
Time Man smiled over at Dr. Light. "Only for a brief while, I'm afraid."
"Since we don't know the location of Wily's base, we thought we'd pop over for a visit," added Blizzard Man, tipping his hat to Dr. Light.
"It's lucky you did," said Mega Man as he handed out energy cans. "We were about to be overrun!"
"Sorry to come in at the end, if we had our way, we would have been helping out all along," put in Gravity Man, grinning broadly.
"But once the Moon is back in order, we will have to return," added Sword Man.
Roll sighed. "It's too bad the U.S. government is making you leave so soon! It'd be really cool if we could count on you guys for backup against Wily all the time."
Flame Man nodded. "Yes, and we'd love to help, especially if Wily tries anything like this ever again. And perhaps someday we will. After all, laws change, and no one knows what the future would hold."
Though the gravitational effects of the Moon began to lesson around the Earth, one last tremor ripped through a suburb of San Francisco, attracting the immediate attention of all available emergency crews. Enker, Tengu Man, Aqua Man, and Knight Man, who were all in the area searching for Dr. Wily (acting upon rumors of powerful criminal robots alleged to inhabit the west coast), did not hesitate to join in the relief effort. Thanks to their combined efforts, the damage was soon under control, however the R.I.P. officers had become scattered.
Knight Man was grappling with a commuter monorail pillar that was on the verge of collapsing. If it fell, it would crush the hospital behind it as well as Knight Man, though Knight Man pushed on valiantly, refusing to think of either outcome as his titanium plated boots slipped backward. If only he could reach his communicator to call for help—
He sensed the presence of another robot next to him, and the weight of the concrete column lessened by half. Pushing together, they were finally able to stabilize the column.
Sighing in relief, Knight Man turned to thank the robot, thinking it was Enker, but did a double take.
"Yamato Man?" he said blankly, the world coming to a stand still.
The robot fled, disappearing into an alley behind the hospital in a flash of wisteria-colored armor.
"Matte! Wait!" Knight Man took a few clanking strides toward the alley, but slowed to a stop, feeling that pursuit would be as useful as chasing a ghost.
Tengu Man landed heavily beside him. "Knight Man, time to go! Ra Thor's calling us all off, Dr. Light fixed the Moon or whatever."
Behind Tengu Man, Enker was running toward them, looking pleased at their success. "We can go now, Chief Fictus of the California State Police is deploying robo-officers to the area, they will take it from here."
Knight Man turned slowly toward Tengu Man and Enker, his eyes wide as saucers behind the 'Y'-shaped opening of his helmet. "You're not going to believe it…" he hesitated, seeming doubtful of his own words. "I just saw Officer Yamato Man."
"Officer…Yamato Man?" repeated Enker in equal disbelief while Tengu Man gave a small start. "But he was sentenced to be destroyed years ago!" he whispered, for the story of Yamato Man's tragic fate was well known by all R.I.P. officers, though it had occurred before most of them had been created. He paused, stunned. "Keep this to yourself until I've had a chance to inform Inspector Headley!"
To Proto Man's complete astonishment, Dr. Wily was in high spirits when they returned to Skull Fortress. Though they had not ultimately been successful in conquering the Earth nor recovering the tachyon capacitor, the wide scale destruction Dr. Wily had caused was broadly publicized, which Dr. Wily had been consuming hungrily.
"Just wait until those fools get a load of my next scheme!" he told Proto Man joyfully, looking up from a news report of President Lemming giving a timid address in front the White House (whose columned portico had caved in). "Now that they are finally taken me seriously, I have so many new ideas for taking over the world it will be difficult to choose just one!"
"Yeah, sure Doc, just no more doomsday devices, okay?" Proto Man muttered to himself as he cracked open an energy can.
It was bittersweet bidding the R.I.P. Robot Masters goodbye and watching their hovercraft disappear to the east, but already the rain above Dr. Light's laboratory was abating, the thunder and tremors becoming less frequent.
"The Moon is all the way back into its right orbit now," said Dr. Light to Mega Man and Roll, checking a large telescope. "And I've dismantled the tachyon capacitor—though I'm also working out countermeasures with Colossal Laboratory to prevent Wily from ever replicating this technology again."
"Too bad we couldn't stop him sooner," chimed in Roll. "Just look at this mess!"
Dr. Light stepped back from the telescope with hands in his lab coat pockets and looked at the laboratory. Now that the action was over, they faced the arduous clean up as nearly everything had been turned over.
Roll yawned openly. A second later, Mega Man and Dr. Light were doing the same. Dr. Light chuckled.
"Perhaps we should go up to bed and leave the clean up for later. After all, it has been a long day."
Though he had not slept at all the previous night, Dr. Cossack returned to his office in Citadel feeling restless and alert. There he sat alone pouring over the list of damages caused by the storms and earthquakes, his breakfast (a black coffee and a banana) untouched.
The phone on his desk began ringing—one of Citadel's receptionists had routed him a long distance call from Copenhagen. With a creased brow, Dr. Cossack picked up the receiver.
"Hello?"
"Hello Mikhail," came Inspector Headley's bright voice. "It has been much too long—I hope you are well?"
"Well enough given recent events, though extremely busy. If you're calling to offer me my former roboticist post at the Robot International Police, I'm afraid I must once again turn you down, Inspector Headley. It would still be much too hard—"
"Actually, that is not the reason I've called, so before you try to push me off, I'll cut to the chase: one of my officers reported seeing Yamato Man. Alive. In America."
Dr. Cossack's stomach froze like ice at the abruptness of Inspector Headley's shocking news. "You know that it is impossible," he replied harshly. "Officer Yamato Man was executed for breaking the law—"
"He was most likely set up by the mobsters we were after," Inspector Headley interrupted.
"That didn't change matters. We both witnessed his destruction. I have no idea why you're taunting me like this, you know how painful that event was to me."
Inspector Headley was unashamed. "Yes…it was painful—but perhaps fake."
"…Excuse me?"
"Suppose the execution was faked," Inspector Headley repeated triumphantly. "I was a detective once, mind you, and I have a conjecture—one so mad I will share it only with you."
"If it's that mad, perhaps you should keep it to yourself."
"Hear me out. Since you helped create Yamato Man, I suppose it would have been easy for you to create a duplicate so alike that only you could tell them apart. Then you could have spirited away the real Yamato Man to America while the lifeless drone was destroyed in his place! I'm surprised Officer Yamato Man let you do something so illegal, if I ever see him again, I'll have to demerit him!"
Inspector Headley's voice was chocked up with both joy and frustration.
"Hassan…stop…" begged Dr. Cossack suddenly, a lump welling in his throat at hearing his friend's emotion.
Inspector Headley, hearing the break in Dr. Cossack's voice, recovered quickly, his tone becoming earnest and accusing. "That is all only conjecture. For if it's true that Yamato Man is alive, then there's more to this tale, I'd wager. Some of our captured robot criminals with ties to the States have claimed there's a powerful robot mob based in the west coast—a mob that formed shortly after your departure to Los Angeles and shortly before America's withdrawal from the Convention to Combat Global Robot-crime. Coincidental timing, eh Mikhail?"
"What exactly are you getting at?" Dr. Cossack asked with pronounced skepticism. He was watching the white sea gulls wing over the weather beaten beach through the window.
"Absolutely nothing. It's all a pack of daffy nonsense. We all assumed you'd resigned and given up robotics out of grief for Yamato Man (a shame, but completely understandable). As if you'd ever create a robot mob—unless, of course, you meant it as a cover for your secret vigilante organization while you went after the crime lord responsible for Yamato Man's death sentence and anyone like him. Purely conjecture, I grant you—but if ever proven true, and if America ever comes under R.I.P.'s jurisdiction, I will definitely have to arrest you."
"Is this all you have to say?" Dr. Cossack replied without an ounce of concern as he wiped dust from his desk.
"Yes—for it is out of my jurisdiction anyway and concerns a Robot Master of whom I believe to be wrongly convicted—and secondly to remind you that you named Hamish and I Kalinka's godfathers," Inspector Headley said peevishly. "How is she, by the way?"
Feeling suddenly disarmed by this unexpected guilt trip, Dr. Cossack wavered, pushing his half rim glasses up his nose. "She's fine. Very smart, very ambitious." He hesitated, for something had been on his mind lately in regards to Kalinka, something personal that up until now he had no one he trusted to discuss with. "…Did your daughters ever have a super hero phase?" he asked in a low, tentative voice.
"A 'super hero phase?' Um…" There was a pause, Inspector Headley seeming to be thinking. "Nyla did at four and Laila at three, but they've grown out of wearing costumes everywhere. Now they look up to real heroes like officer Honey Woman and Sergeant Splash Woman—you're not familiar with them, of course—they were built after you left. …Why do you ask?"
"It's nothing, but Kalinka appears to be going through a super hero phase now."
"…She's seventeen."
Dr. Cossack sighed. "She talks about them all the time, especially of a 'masked hero.' I have no idea what she means."
"'Masked hero?' That doesn't narrow it down much. It's very peculiar; I always though she was a princess type."
"Yes, she was…" Dr. Cossack trailed off, shaking his head, then checked his watch. "By the way, my office will be billing you for this call."
"What? Why? You definitely make more money than me, Mikhail!"
"Yes, but you also spent most of this call accusing me of being a mobster."
"I said it was only conject—"
Dr. Cossack hung up. He took one last look at the banana on his desk before deciding he really wasn't hungry, then returned to work as though nothing had happened. He kept an eye on his watch for messages, yet he couldn't stave off the sense of hopelessness building in his stomach as he waited.
Blazing sunlight had returned to the badlands, turning the dark sheet of clouds white before breaking them up like foam on the surface of soda.
With all the sunlight, one solitary shadow flickering between striped rock formation as it stealthily approached Skull Fortress could hardly be noticed—that was until a bolt of plasma suddenly burst in front of it, smashing the jagged rock into red dust.
Shadow Man leaped backward, crouching low to the ground with a Shadow Blade drawn behind his back. His red eyes scanned the rugged landscape, a small smirk on his face.
Proto Man stepped out from behind a rocky spire, blaster drawn.
"Dark Man informed Wily that you've been A.W.O.L., Shadow Man. I suppose you though we weren't paying attention, but we were—er, at least Dark Man was—and with combat expertise like you've shown at the Colossal Labs, 'fraid we can't take it lightly."
"You live up to your reputation, Red Bomber!" congratulated Shadow Man in a voice that was somehow equal parts impressed and condescending. "No ordinary robot can sneak up on me like that. You could be a ninja!"
"Thanks! I try," Proto Man responded flippantly, his blaster still pointed at Shadow Man. "Enough about me, I can't let a potential spy back into the base. But one thing is bugging me: Wily reprogrammed you—I saw him do it with the Reprogramming Raygun."
Shadow Man laughed. "Since you are skilled at the art of ninja, I will tell you one of my secrets. Your mad scientist never reprogrammed me, for I employed kawarimi. Instead of shooting me, the 'Reprogramming Raygun' hit a wooden dummy of me, though I doubt such pathetic human technology would work on me anyway. Now I am on a mission from Centum of the Syndicate."
A stab of anger shot through Proto Man. "Let me guess…that bastard asked you to capture me for a reward you couldn't refuse."
Shadow Man just leered insolently with a brow raised. "No, he said nothing about you, Red Bomber."
"…Then what does he want?"
"Can't say. Ninja code."
"Ninja code?" Proto Man repeated, then something clicked. He gave a dry chuckle, his face darkening further. "So…you've come to assassinate Wily."
"Like I said, can't say—but if you get in my way…"
Two more Shadow Blades appeared in Shadow Man's fingers as though materializing out of thin air, which he flicked at Proto Man with lightening speed. Proto Man barely had time to duck.
They began fighting in the badlands, darting between the rocky outcroppings like dueling blurs.
"Too bad you sided with the Syndicate, you wasted your chance to be in Wily's army," Proto Man called with mock disappointment. "You could've been great!"
Shadow Man's boisterous laughter rang through the mesas. "Please, I've been committing crime years before bomber robots existed—your little 'army' is merely an amusing novelty of no particular significance!"
They leaped in open air of a ravine to face off head on, Shadow Man hurling Shadow Blades in dark, whistling streaks while Proto Man charged fearlessly.
As Proto Man launched toward Shadow Man, firing furiously, a Shadow Blade grazed his shoulder like a nail scratching the surface of a car. At the same time, his vision momentarily flashed red at the cut. Proto Man crashed to the sand, taken completely off guard by the extreme side effects of what he had thought were just normal shuriken.
"What the…" he muttered, completely losing all sense of direction for a moment as he clambered to his feet.
Shadow Man used the opportunity to deliver an early finishing blow—a second Shadow Blade bit into Proto Man's side, one point digging deep into his titanium skin. Proto Man drew a sharp intake of breath, for it initially hurt, then the pain evaporated while the world seemed to take on a strange, jewel-toned hue, like looking through a tourmaline. Feeling strange, Proto Man tried to pull out the Shadow Blade, but it fluttered away from him like a butterfly, his hand closing on nothing. Then he looked down at his hand. First it had six fingers, then in merged into three.
Irrationally alarmed at the distortion, he began clawing at his hand, trying to pull his fingers apart, then stopped. This wasn't real, he had seen this sort of imagery before, but where?
He looked up. Shadow Man was just a pair of eyes floating above the mud caked ground, which winked out.
Proto Man blinked hard.
There were now twelve of Shadow Man circling around him like a carousel, closing in—
Shadow Man was standing over Proto Man's form when Elec Man (who had also been informed by Dark Man of Shadow Man's defection) approached.
"Aha! Excellent timing," greeted Shadow Man, looking up at him. "You must hate this asshole worst of all. I have just defeated him in combat, and it was absurdly easy. Now which would make a more humiliating trophy to take from him—his scarf (it is of nice quality, though I prefer the drama of a flowey, floor length scarf in blood red), or perhaps a polaroid of his unmasked face?"
Without answering, Elec Man lifted his arms and shocked Shadow Man with his Thunder Beam.
Shadow Man yelped, crumpling to the ground. "What are you doing?" he hissed in disbelief as he skittered away, his blue armor smoking slightly. "I've been sent by your creator to rescue you!"
Elec Man scoffed. "As if my creator would ally himself with a petty sneak thief. Your real mission is to capture whatever robot you think will go for the highest ransom on the black market."
He fired off another Thunder Beam, and Shadow Man danced further out of range.
"Ow ow ow, this isn't worth it," he grumbled. "I'd rather face R.I.P. than deal with you. Enjoy your time here, you stuck up brat."
Shadow Man threw a smoke bomb into the sand and disappeared.
Rolling his eyes, Elec Man resolved to code Skull Fortresses defenses against all future robot ninja invasions. He looked down at Proto Man, who was lying face down in the sand, twitching somewhat like a bug smashed on a windshield.
"Elec Man, get behind me…I'll protect us!" Proto Man breathed weakly. "There's spider bats…all over the place."
Using the toe of his boot, Elec Man rolled Proto Man over, one eyebrow raised.
"Be careful, it's not real!" Proto Man gasped, now face up.
"Be careful, it's not real?" Elec Man repeated, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Am I saying crazy stuff?"
"…Yes."
"Sorry."
Elec Man was momentarily deliberating whether he should carry or drag Proto Man back to Skull Fortress for Dr. Wily to look at when he noticed the Shadow Blade still sticking out of Proto Man's side. Crouching down, Elec Man carefully gripped it by the eye and pulled it out swiftly.
Proto Man gave a violent jerk, then sat up on his own, shaking his head.
"What the hell was that blade coated with? I was hallucinating like crazy," he asked, rubbing his helmet.
"I can't identify this metal," replied Elec Man, shrugging.
They stood up, Proto Man taking the Shadow Blade from Elec Man and turning it over in his hand. It was extremely thin and felt both weightless as a leaf and as hard as diamond, the sunlight bringing out a deep blue shimmer among the smooth black metal. Then as the events of the last twenty-four hours caught up to him—the pressure of the Moon falling then the back-to-back humiliation—Proto Man discarded the Shadow Blade into sand with a disgruntled snarl.
"This day was bogus."
Next time on Mega Man Recut…
A meteor crash lands on Earth, its fragments emitting mysterious radiation that makes robots super powerful. When Dr. Wily gets his hands on the fragments, it appears his robots will finally become unstoppable—but great power comes at great cost, especially when that power is paranormal…tune in next time for Showdown at Red Gulch!
