-The New Diggers Series-
By Macrossgrn
"Finally! Done at last!" he exclaimed, wiping an oily glove over his forehead, streaking his skin with dark black marks. After taking a step back, he grinned as he looked over his crimson-colored creation. Separated within seven different pieces, it was a powerful suit of armor. "Oh, wait... now I need a refractor to power the thing. Where can I get one?" he asked himself, shaking his head. Stepping out from his place within the confines of the old city, but near the gate leading to the downtown area of Kattlelox City. Taking a quick look around, he shut the door tightly behind him, locking it and putting the key in his pants' pocket, before running to the nearby gate, slipping back into the confines of safety. Other than to visit what was left of the Main Gate, or to go to the Power Plant, no one visited the old city now, especially with those feral dogs that had settled in there.
"Hey Rick! Where have you been, your late to work!" yelled a kid, from across the street. The kid then ran over to him, while Rick suppressed a laugh. "Well, go get to working, Rick, you know you have to." Rick couldn't help it, and he began laughing loudly at the kid, his short brown hair falling in front of his eyes. "Alan... I have the day off today." He managed to say, as he grinning at the kid, who tripped over his own feet and slowly picked himself up, holding his head. "Oh..."
"Well, Alan, I'll see ya later. I've got a few things to do today." With that, Rick ran off toward the southern gate, and into Apple Market, heading for the Junk Store. "Hey, do you guys still have that large blue refractor?" he asked the couple who stood behind the counter. "Yeah, you're lucky, we still have it. Nearly had it bought from us, too, about an hour ago" replied the woman behind the counter, as her husband went to get the refractor in question. "Let me guess, Rick, you've finished with your Digging equipment finally?"
"That's right. All I need is the refractor to power it, and then I can test my equipment." Rick said, smiling as the refractor was brought into view. "How much will I be paying for it?" he asked, looking back to the woman behind the counter. "Well, it'll be 5000 zenny. Half off, 'cause you worked here for us for so long." She smiled, and Rick pulled out his zenny for her, counting off 5000 from his credit chips. "Here you are, then. Take this, too." She said, handing Rick a small barrel-type item, with a red plus on its back. "An energy bottle? Thank you!" he grinned, taking the refractor and the bottle and slipping them into his backpack. "You're welcome, kid. Now, I want to see you in your equipment when you go digging, we'll wait for ya by the ruin outside of Apple Market, okay?" The man behind the counter said, beginning to close up shop. "Take the cart over there, and the tarp, so you can cover up your surprise, okay?"
"Will do, and thanks! I'll meet ya out there!" Rick exclaimed, running out of the shop and all the way back to the gate to the old city, passing by traffic, kids, and two women who chat near the mailbox everyday. Finally reaching the door to the building, he goes in quickly, dragging the hover cart behind him, and goes about putting all the equipment onto it, slipping the tarp over all seven pieces before magnetically clamping it onto the cart, keeping the tarp in place. "There... This ought to surprise 'em!" and with that, he set the energy bottle and the refractor onto the cart, next to the armor beneath the tar, and begins running back to Apple Market. He remembered back about four years ago, when the kid in blue armor had arrived in town. He, his sister and his grandfather had been rather nice people, he found out. Whenever Mega Man wasn't out on a Dig, he was busy defeating pirates. When he could, Rick would follow them around, to see and learn as much as he could. He'd even met Roll once, when she was busy fixing up the van. "That was fun," he smiled to himself, remembering when they'd finally gotten it up and running, as he waved goodbye to Roll when she left, going off towards City hall when she heard that Mega Man had defeated the Pirates there.
Of course, after that it wasn't much fun, since his apartment had been destroyed in the fighting downtown, thanks to that huge spider 'bot. He'd been forced to stay with his cousin up in Uptown until the place had been fixed. Uptown was great, but rather boring, until he watched the lake battle between Mega Man and those pirates again. That was when Rick decided to become a Digger, and he began working in the Junk Shop. He had a real aptitude for design and electronics, the owners soon found, as he had been working on several projects at once. When a few experienced and powerful Diggers showed up at the Junk shop door one time, during the time when the Sub Gates had been opened, they had sold the owner a few reaverbots from the Sub Gates. They were deactivated, but mostly intact. In fact, Rick managed to put one of them together, after immobilizing its weapon systems and its ability to move around. He learned a lot about electronic systems and AI, too.
Mega Man influenced even Rick's suit of armor. Though not the same color, it was about the same size, and was easily small enough to fit almost anywhere Mega Man had. It was skin-tight, however, and Rick didn't have quite as much control with it, yet. Mega Man looked as if his armor was actually his skin, he remembered, while his armor definitely went on over clothes. "Still, I might give him a run for his money sometime" he thought, making his way past the kids who were playing in the Apple Market area, heading to the southern gate quickly. "Here we go!" and with that, he pushed the gate's door open, and he dragged the cart into the clearing with him, and over to the dig site, where the couple in charge of the Junk Store were waiting.
"So, this is what you did with those Reaverbots a while back?" the man said, looking at the pile covered by the tarp on the cart. "That's right!" and Rick undid the magnetic clamps, and the two gasped in surprise at the armor that was laying within the cart, as Rick rolled up the tarp. "With a functioning AI speaking system, two total weapon systems, an auto-mapping feature on the left arm, a reinforced exoskeleton for enhanced maneuverability, and the same type of armor those reaverbots had, I think I should be able to do well as a Digger." He smiled, and then grinned, opening a panel in the chest of the armor, and inserting the refractor, he shut the panel again. "I call it Nova, thanks to its colors." He began, putting the chest armor on, and then the helmet, leg pieces, and then the arm pieces. As soon as all the pieces were attached, a voice, female, rang out softly. "Nova power armor AI version 1 operating at 20% capacity. Weapons are at default safety mode. Auto-mapping feature is on. Visor shielding is not operational at this time."
The two shop owners were staring in shock. "I... I've never seen anything like that! Or heard anything like that, either!" the woman said. She was the old-time digger, too, and not her husband, who had spotted for her. "I know, I made it with my own designs. Nova, please activate transmission scrambler." The light in the middle of the chest armor glowed softly as the armor complied. "Transmission scrambler program on. No transmissions may be sent to or received by this unit." The voice from the armor replied. "Now, I don't have to worry at all about losing control of Nova here." Rick said, stretching a bit to get a feel for the limits of his new suit of armor. "Hmm... It looks as if I'll have to change some of the layout of the interior... it's a bit stiff to move. Still, it works!" he grinned, and tried doing a tuck and roll, to the side, and to his amazement, it worked out perfectly. The couple clapped and smiled.
"Well, Rick, looks like you're ready for your first dig. You may not have a spotter, but one isn't really needed for this first ruin. After all, almost everyone has been in here, and the reaverbots are easy to destroy with the right weapons. And you have the right weapons, from the looks of it." The woman smiled lightly, walking over to give him a pat on the shoulder, a small metallic thud ringing out from the pat. "Remember, this is a test dig for yourself, so don't go in too far, or get into much trouble. You don't want to damage your Nova permanently." Rick nodded at her comment, and tried jumping. The Leg coils worked perfectly, thanks to having taken them off from a Large Sharukurusu that one of the diggers brought back years ago, from the Sub Gate. "Thanks!" he said, landing carefully, and on his feet, no less, grinning at how well the shock absorbers were working. "I'll go in after a few more tests, and then, after about 10 minutes, I'll come back to the surface, okay?" he began running in place, letting the hydraulic system of the legs moving, getting its gears and servos into readiness. "Nova, power up Weapon System one."
"Acknowledged. Weapon System One is now initialized." The armor replied, as the Energy Vulcan Cannons on his shoulders came to life. The couple who owned the Junk Store stepped away, even as Rick turned toward the ruins of the old gate. Nothing had ever torn them down except for specialized robots that were run by operators. Taking note of the buttons he had in his right hand, where the firing mechanism for the EVC system was, he pressed it suddenly. Bursts of yellow energy flowed from the weapon outlets, and although a silencer and several layers of sound shielding muffled the system, the sound was still a little loud to him. The weapons had no impact on the Ruins of the old gate, other than a few chips flying off from it at the attack. He began stepping backwards slowly, only to find the guns turn off after the first step. "Good, the safety mechanism is active." He said, looking to the other two. "Nova, power down Weapon System One." The armor complied, and the yellow glow within the cannons was halted as they were powered down.
"Looks like you're ready. I wouldn't suggest that system though, when you enter this ruin, though. The guns aren't accurate against small targets, and I doubt you want to be defeated by a bunch of Mirumijee." The man said. He knows what he's talking about, Rick thought. After all, he was cornered by a bunch of them back when Mega Man first came to Kattlelox, from what he'd heard. "Look in every opening in the walls that you find. There might be money or refractors hidden away in there. Also, the reaverbots leave refractor shards on the ground when you defeat them; pick them up, they might be small, but they're still worth money. If you get into trouble, run away. You'll be much more likely to survive that way." The woman said, and Rick nodded at her words. "Thanks for the advice. I'll be back soon!" and with that, Rick strode over to the ruin, and inside the doorway, climbing down the ladder, and into the ruins.
As soon as he landed at the bottom of the ladder, he spoke, turning to look around the small chamber. A doorway in front of him, a hallway to the left, he noticed, and he turned to the hallway, deciding to start down that way. "Activate Weapon System Two, Nova" he said, and the cannon on his left arm enveloped his left hand's metallic glove, a soft yellow glow emitting from within the small barrel. "Weapon System Two now activated. Auto Mapping features online" the voice said, and Rick smiled. This was going perfectly so far, he thought. With that, he took his first steps, keeping them into a slow run, which kept the sound low, toward the hallway. Suddenly, a buzzer-type sound emitted from his right arm, and the small light on it, underneath the energy bar of his armor, turned from green to red instantly. "Guess that means there's a reaverbot or two active somewhere close" He mumbled, looking around carefully... and then he noticed the ledge off to the left of his stance. Stepping back to the right and turning to face them, he noticed what type they were.
Zakoben, he thought, just as one came into view, and then another alongside it. Suddenly, the popped up and onto their backs, a hole opening up in the middle of their bodies. "Weapon System One online now!" he told Nova, and the shoulder cannons became active as Rick pushed the triggers, both cannons flaring to life as streams of energy bullets slashed through the bombs as they were launched, and straight into the Zakoben. Two hits each, he noticed, was all it took to destroy them, as they burst into flames before exploding quickly, a few multi-colored Refractor shards falling off the ledge and onto his part of the floor. Depressing the triggers, he walked over to the shards, and picked them up easily. His armor spoke as he picked up the last one, which were inserted into his right arm's armor, where the approximate worth was determined by the armor. "100 zenny" it told him, and he smiled. "So far, so good." He whispered, turning back to face down the corridor, and begins walking down it once again. A Zakoben appeared just as the buzzing sound on his arm went off, and a few bombs were launched his way.
"Damn!" he thought, wincing as he was pushed back from the force of the attack. While it didn't do much damage, according to the energy meter on his arm he glanced at, it did rattle him. His right hand, however, squeezed into a fist, which made his fingers press into the triggers for the Vulcan cannons. "Take this!" and at that, the guns flared to life, a long, steady stream of energy slamming into the Zakoben for a second and then past as it blew up instantly. Releasing the trigger, no shards were found after the explosion, although a second Zakoben 'bot zoomed out from around the corner. Instinctively, Rick raised his left arm, and fired with his buster gun at the bot. It took about six shots, he noticed, before it too blew up. Running toward the exploding reaverbot, he picked up the shards as they fell, running into the dead end in the corridor before another Zakoben noticed him.
Hey, a hole in the wall! He thought, and smiled, looking into it, and finds a large amount of Zenny, which was instantly scooped up and examined by his right arm's sensors. "2500 zenny" Nova said, and Rick grinned. "About time to get back to the surface, I think." He said to himself, even as a Zakoben turned the corner, facing him. Both froze for a second, before Rick pulled the trigger on his right hand, blasting the reaverbot away with the Vulcan guns. Then, all was quiet again as the trigger was depressed once more, and the red light on his left arm turned back to green. There were no refractors from that 'bot either, he noticed, as he retraced his steps back to the ladder, and then with heavy steps, began his ascent up to the surface.
As he reached the surface, the two shop owners were still there, laughing and smiling at the state of his armor- scratched, smoking slightly, but otherwise undamaged. Rick joined them in their laughter, grinning. "So, that's a dig? I'm glad I spent the last two years preparing!" he exclaimed, before blinking once as he remembered something. "Nova, power down all weapon systems." The glow from all the cannons diminished until they were gone entirely. "Acknowledged. All weapon systems down to safety levels. Power is at 15% of full capacity. Suggest re-energizing the refractor as soon as possible" the AI said, before going silent once again.
"Well, you heard the AI. Mind if I power the refractor up in your shop?" Rick said, laughing lightly. The two just nodded, and waved at him to follow them. Rick did, as they wanted, walking into Apple Market after them, grinning at the people who recognized him, even with the armor on. Most of them had known he'd been busy the last few years on several projects, but not one had seen any of them. "Hey Rick, that's some great armor!" one of the kids said, coming up to walk alongside him. "Thanks. Now you know what I've been working on the past couple years." What he left unsaid, however, was anything on the other two projects he'd been working on.
"Rick, it'll take a while to fully recharge that refractor. Why not get some rest until then?" the woman said, looking back to him as he took off the armor itself, setting it on another cart that the husband carted to the refractor recharger behind the counter. "It'll be about two hours, I think. Go get some rest or something, Rick." The man said, turning back to work at the counter. "The charging is free, but would you like to buy a buster part? You might want to make it more powerful or have a farther range, ya know."
"Good idea... Let's see what we have here, and then I'll decide, okay?" Rick replied, and looks through his credit chips for the refractors he had. "Let's see... Turbo Charger, a Rapid Fire unit... Range Booster, Power Raiser... Sniper and Buster Units! Let me see, here, how much for both?" he asked politely, though he knew it would cut deeply into what he had just maid in the Dig. "1200 zenny" the woman said, giving him a rather small discount. "Done!" he said, handing over the credit chip, and she deducted the amount from it for him. "Just set them next to the armor for me, please. I'll be back in two hours for it, okay?" he said, and the couple nodded, as he turned and left the store, and headed back toward the old city.
Along the way, however, he found a strange girl, around 17, he thought, in an argument with the local design genius. Walking closer, interested in this argument, he listened to the two for a few minutes. Strangely, the girl seemed to hold her ground with the designer, and the conversation turned sharply toward the fighting a few years ago.
By Macrossgrn
"Finally! Done at last!" he exclaimed, wiping an oily glove over his forehead, streaking his skin with dark black marks. After taking a step back, he grinned as he looked over his crimson-colored creation. Separated within seven different pieces, it was a powerful suit of armor. "Oh, wait... now I need a refractor to power the thing. Where can I get one?" he asked himself, shaking his head. Stepping out from his place within the confines of the old city, but near the gate leading to the downtown area of Kattlelox City. Taking a quick look around, he shut the door tightly behind him, locking it and putting the key in his pants' pocket, before running to the nearby gate, slipping back into the confines of safety. Other than to visit what was left of the Main Gate, or to go to the Power Plant, no one visited the old city now, especially with those feral dogs that had settled in there.
"Hey Rick! Where have you been, your late to work!" yelled a kid, from across the street. The kid then ran over to him, while Rick suppressed a laugh. "Well, go get to working, Rick, you know you have to." Rick couldn't help it, and he began laughing loudly at the kid, his short brown hair falling in front of his eyes. "Alan... I have the day off today." He managed to say, as he grinning at the kid, who tripped over his own feet and slowly picked himself up, holding his head. "Oh..."
"Well, Alan, I'll see ya later. I've got a few things to do today." With that, Rick ran off toward the southern gate, and into Apple Market, heading for the Junk Store. "Hey, do you guys still have that large blue refractor?" he asked the couple who stood behind the counter. "Yeah, you're lucky, we still have it. Nearly had it bought from us, too, about an hour ago" replied the woman behind the counter, as her husband went to get the refractor in question. "Let me guess, Rick, you've finished with your Digging equipment finally?"
"That's right. All I need is the refractor to power it, and then I can test my equipment." Rick said, smiling as the refractor was brought into view. "How much will I be paying for it?" he asked, looking back to the woman behind the counter. "Well, it'll be 5000 zenny. Half off, 'cause you worked here for us for so long." She smiled, and Rick pulled out his zenny for her, counting off 5000 from his credit chips. "Here you are, then. Take this, too." She said, handing Rick a small barrel-type item, with a red plus on its back. "An energy bottle? Thank you!" he grinned, taking the refractor and the bottle and slipping them into his backpack. "You're welcome, kid. Now, I want to see you in your equipment when you go digging, we'll wait for ya by the ruin outside of Apple Market, okay?" The man behind the counter said, beginning to close up shop. "Take the cart over there, and the tarp, so you can cover up your surprise, okay?"
"Will do, and thanks! I'll meet ya out there!" Rick exclaimed, running out of the shop and all the way back to the gate to the old city, passing by traffic, kids, and two women who chat near the mailbox everyday. Finally reaching the door to the building, he goes in quickly, dragging the hover cart behind him, and goes about putting all the equipment onto it, slipping the tarp over all seven pieces before magnetically clamping it onto the cart, keeping the tarp in place. "There... This ought to surprise 'em!" and with that, he set the energy bottle and the refractor onto the cart, next to the armor beneath the tar, and begins running back to Apple Market. He remembered back about four years ago, when the kid in blue armor had arrived in town. He, his sister and his grandfather had been rather nice people, he found out. Whenever Mega Man wasn't out on a Dig, he was busy defeating pirates. When he could, Rick would follow them around, to see and learn as much as he could. He'd even met Roll once, when she was busy fixing up the van. "That was fun," he smiled to himself, remembering when they'd finally gotten it up and running, as he waved goodbye to Roll when she left, going off towards City hall when she heard that Mega Man had defeated the Pirates there.
Of course, after that it wasn't much fun, since his apartment had been destroyed in the fighting downtown, thanks to that huge spider 'bot. He'd been forced to stay with his cousin up in Uptown until the place had been fixed. Uptown was great, but rather boring, until he watched the lake battle between Mega Man and those pirates again. That was when Rick decided to become a Digger, and he began working in the Junk Shop. He had a real aptitude for design and electronics, the owners soon found, as he had been working on several projects at once. When a few experienced and powerful Diggers showed up at the Junk shop door one time, during the time when the Sub Gates had been opened, they had sold the owner a few reaverbots from the Sub Gates. They were deactivated, but mostly intact. In fact, Rick managed to put one of them together, after immobilizing its weapon systems and its ability to move around. He learned a lot about electronic systems and AI, too.
Mega Man influenced even Rick's suit of armor. Though not the same color, it was about the same size, and was easily small enough to fit almost anywhere Mega Man had. It was skin-tight, however, and Rick didn't have quite as much control with it, yet. Mega Man looked as if his armor was actually his skin, he remembered, while his armor definitely went on over clothes. "Still, I might give him a run for his money sometime" he thought, making his way past the kids who were playing in the Apple Market area, heading to the southern gate quickly. "Here we go!" and with that, he pushed the gate's door open, and he dragged the cart into the clearing with him, and over to the dig site, where the couple in charge of the Junk Store were waiting.
"So, this is what you did with those Reaverbots a while back?" the man said, looking at the pile covered by the tarp on the cart. "That's right!" and Rick undid the magnetic clamps, and the two gasped in surprise at the armor that was laying within the cart, as Rick rolled up the tarp. "With a functioning AI speaking system, two total weapon systems, an auto-mapping feature on the left arm, a reinforced exoskeleton for enhanced maneuverability, and the same type of armor those reaverbots had, I think I should be able to do well as a Digger." He smiled, and then grinned, opening a panel in the chest of the armor, and inserting the refractor, he shut the panel again. "I call it Nova, thanks to its colors." He began, putting the chest armor on, and then the helmet, leg pieces, and then the arm pieces. As soon as all the pieces were attached, a voice, female, rang out softly. "Nova power armor AI version 1 operating at 20% capacity. Weapons are at default safety mode. Auto-mapping feature is on. Visor shielding is not operational at this time."
The two shop owners were staring in shock. "I... I've never seen anything like that! Or heard anything like that, either!" the woman said. She was the old-time digger, too, and not her husband, who had spotted for her. "I know, I made it with my own designs. Nova, please activate transmission scrambler." The light in the middle of the chest armor glowed softly as the armor complied. "Transmission scrambler program on. No transmissions may be sent to or received by this unit." The voice from the armor replied. "Now, I don't have to worry at all about losing control of Nova here." Rick said, stretching a bit to get a feel for the limits of his new suit of armor. "Hmm... It looks as if I'll have to change some of the layout of the interior... it's a bit stiff to move. Still, it works!" he grinned, and tried doing a tuck and roll, to the side, and to his amazement, it worked out perfectly. The couple clapped and smiled.
"Well, Rick, looks like you're ready for your first dig. You may not have a spotter, but one isn't really needed for this first ruin. After all, almost everyone has been in here, and the reaverbots are easy to destroy with the right weapons. And you have the right weapons, from the looks of it." The woman smiled lightly, walking over to give him a pat on the shoulder, a small metallic thud ringing out from the pat. "Remember, this is a test dig for yourself, so don't go in too far, or get into much trouble. You don't want to damage your Nova permanently." Rick nodded at her comment, and tried jumping. The Leg coils worked perfectly, thanks to having taken them off from a Large Sharukurusu that one of the diggers brought back years ago, from the Sub Gate. "Thanks!" he said, landing carefully, and on his feet, no less, grinning at how well the shock absorbers were working. "I'll go in after a few more tests, and then, after about 10 minutes, I'll come back to the surface, okay?" he began running in place, letting the hydraulic system of the legs moving, getting its gears and servos into readiness. "Nova, power up Weapon System one."
"Acknowledged. Weapon System One is now initialized." The armor replied, as the Energy Vulcan Cannons on his shoulders came to life. The couple who owned the Junk Store stepped away, even as Rick turned toward the ruins of the old gate. Nothing had ever torn them down except for specialized robots that were run by operators. Taking note of the buttons he had in his right hand, where the firing mechanism for the EVC system was, he pressed it suddenly. Bursts of yellow energy flowed from the weapon outlets, and although a silencer and several layers of sound shielding muffled the system, the sound was still a little loud to him. The weapons had no impact on the Ruins of the old gate, other than a few chips flying off from it at the attack. He began stepping backwards slowly, only to find the guns turn off after the first step. "Good, the safety mechanism is active." He said, looking to the other two. "Nova, power down Weapon System One." The armor complied, and the yellow glow within the cannons was halted as they were powered down.
"Looks like you're ready. I wouldn't suggest that system though, when you enter this ruin, though. The guns aren't accurate against small targets, and I doubt you want to be defeated by a bunch of Mirumijee." The man said. He knows what he's talking about, Rick thought. After all, he was cornered by a bunch of them back when Mega Man first came to Kattlelox, from what he'd heard. "Look in every opening in the walls that you find. There might be money or refractors hidden away in there. Also, the reaverbots leave refractor shards on the ground when you defeat them; pick them up, they might be small, but they're still worth money. If you get into trouble, run away. You'll be much more likely to survive that way." The woman said, and Rick nodded at her words. "Thanks for the advice. I'll be back soon!" and with that, Rick strode over to the ruin, and inside the doorway, climbing down the ladder, and into the ruins.
As soon as he landed at the bottom of the ladder, he spoke, turning to look around the small chamber. A doorway in front of him, a hallway to the left, he noticed, and he turned to the hallway, deciding to start down that way. "Activate Weapon System Two, Nova" he said, and the cannon on his left arm enveloped his left hand's metallic glove, a soft yellow glow emitting from within the small barrel. "Weapon System Two now activated. Auto Mapping features online" the voice said, and Rick smiled. This was going perfectly so far, he thought. With that, he took his first steps, keeping them into a slow run, which kept the sound low, toward the hallway. Suddenly, a buzzer-type sound emitted from his right arm, and the small light on it, underneath the energy bar of his armor, turned from green to red instantly. "Guess that means there's a reaverbot or two active somewhere close" He mumbled, looking around carefully... and then he noticed the ledge off to the left of his stance. Stepping back to the right and turning to face them, he noticed what type they were.
Zakoben, he thought, just as one came into view, and then another alongside it. Suddenly, the popped up and onto their backs, a hole opening up in the middle of their bodies. "Weapon System One online now!" he told Nova, and the shoulder cannons became active as Rick pushed the triggers, both cannons flaring to life as streams of energy bullets slashed through the bombs as they were launched, and straight into the Zakoben. Two hits each, he noticed, was all it took to destroy them, as they burst into flames before exploding quickly, a few multi-colored Refractor shards falling off the ledge and onto his part of the floor. Depressing the triggers, he walked over to the shards, and picked them up easily. His armor spoke as he picked up the last one, which were inserted into his right arm's armor, where the approximate worth was determined by the armor. "100 zenny" it told him, and he smiled. "So far, so good." He whispered, turning back to face down the corridor, and begins walking down it once again. A Zakoben appeared just as the buzzing sound on his arm went off, and a few bombs were launched his way.
"Damn!" he thought, wincing as he was pushed back from the force of the attack. While it didn't do much damage, according to the energy meter on his arm he glanced at, it did rattle him. His right hand, however, squeezed into a fist, which made his fingers press into the triggers for the Vulcan cannons. "Take this!" and at that, the guns flared to life, a long, steady stream of energy slamming into the Zakoben for a second and then past as it blew up instantly. Releasing the trigger, no shards were found after the explosion, although a second Zakoben 'bot zoomed out from around the corner. Instinctively, Rick raised his left arm, and fired with his buster gun at the bot. It took about six shots, he noticed, before it too blew up. Running toward the exploding reaverbot, he picked up the shards as they fell, running into the dead end in the corridor before another Zakoben noticed him.
Hey, a hole in the wall! He thought, and smiled, looking into it, and finds a large amount of Zenny, which was instantly scooped up and examined by his right arm's sensors. "2500 zenny" Nova said, and Rick grinned. "About time to get back to the surface, I think." He said to himself, even as a Zakoben turned the corner, facing him. Both froze for a second, before Rick pulled the trigger on his right hand, blasting the reaverbot away with the Vulcan guns. Then, all was quiet again as the trigger was depressed once more, and the red light on his left arm turned back to green. There were no refractors from that 'bot either, he noticed, as he retraced his steps back to the ladder, and then with heavy steps, began his ascent up to the surface.
As he reached the surface, the two shop owners were still there, laughing and smiling at the state of his armor- scratched, smoking slightly, but otherwise undamaged. Rick joined them in their laughter, grinning. "So, that's a dig? I'm glad I spent the last two years preparing!" he exclaimed, before blinking once as he remembered something. "Nova, power down all weapon systems." The glow from all the cannons diminished until they were gone entirely. "Acknowledged. All weapon systems down to safety levels. Power is at 15% of full capacity. Suggest re-energizing the refractor as soon as possible" the AI said, before going silent once again.
"Well, you heard the AI. Mind if I power the refractor up in your shop?" Rick said, laughing lightly. The two just nodded, and waved at him to follow them. Rick did, as they wanted, walking into Apple Market after them, grinning at the people who recognized him, even with the armor on. Most of them had known he'd been busy the last few years on several projects, but not one had seen any of them. "Hey Rick, that's some great armor!" one of the kids said, coming up to walk alongside him. "Thanks. Now you know what I've been working on the past couple years." What he left unsaid, however, was anything on the other two projects he'd been working on.
"Rick, it'll take a while to fully recharge that refractor. Why not get some rest until then?" the woman said, looking back to him as he took off the armor itself, setting it on another cart that the husband carted to the refractor recharger behind the counter. "It'll be about two hours, I think. Go get some rest or something, Rick." The man said, turning back to work at the counter. "The charging is free, but would you like to buy a buster part? You might want to make it more powerful or have a farther range, ya know."
"Good idea... Let's see what we have here, and then I'll decide, okay?" Rick replied, and looks through his credit chips for the refractors he had. "Let's see... Turbo Charger, a Rapid Fire unit... Range Booster, Power Raiser... Sniper and Buster Units! Let me see, here, how much for both?" he asked politely, though he knew it would cut deeply into what he had just maid in the Dig. "1200 zenny" the woman said, giving him a rather small discount. "Done!" he said, handing over the credit chip, and she deducted the amount from it for him. "Just set them next to the armor for me, please. I'll be back in two hours for it, okay?" he said, and the couple nodded, as he turned and left the store, and headed back toward the old city.
Along the way, however, he found a strange girl, around 17, he thought, in an argument with the local design genius. Walking closer, interested in this argument, he listened to the two for a few minutes. Strangely, the girl seemed to hold her ground with the designer, and the conversation turned sharply toward the fighting a few years ago.