As with anything you read here, I don't own Big O or the characters, nor am I making any money off of this. In case you're thinking about it, it isn't worth sueing because the amount it would cost you is more than the money I have to lose. So there.
By the way, if you think I got any details mixed up or spelled something wrong, keep in mind that I have only seen the dubbed version that aired on Cartoon Network, so I'm using that as a base.
Note: This story starts immediately after episode 14, and I mean immediately!
Act 14: The Awakening
The blast from Big O's beam struck the lead Megadeuce square in the chest, just below its large, off-centered head. The hundred-foot robot lost its balance and tumbled backwards into the waves, a plume of smoke rising from the hole that had been its midsection. The other two continued on, oblivious.
"One down, two to go!" Roger moved Big O forward, partially leaping over the line of Military Police vehicles.
Dastun cringed as the Megadeuce cleared the shore, then turned to a subordinate.
"How long until those other two are in range?"
The young officer stuck his head inside the nearest vehicle and queried the driver.
"At their present rate, one minute twenty seconds, sir!"
Dastun turned and looked at Big O's receding backside.
"He's likely to be done with them by then."
Big O had closed a significant portion of the gap before the other two robots reacted to its presence. The one on the right stood stock still for a moment, then launched a barrage of missiles from ports on the underside of each arm. Roger quickly brought Big O's armored forearms up, and easily blocked the shots. The megadeuce to his right began circling around, passing him and continuing on towards the shore.
"So you want to play rough, eh? Fine by me!"
Big O's right pile-driver came out, then Roger slammed the fist down, into the sea floor, and dropped the hammer. The blast caused a section of the submerged ground to shift, throwing the other robot off balance. In the time it had taken to right itself, Big O was upon it. The left pile-driver now extended, and Roger landed the blow straight into the face of his opponent. He was remimded oddly of his brief battle with the Sea Titan as the headless robot fell backwards. He turned back towards shore, setting off in pursuit of the third and final Megadeuce.
"Sir, the target is in range!" called one of Dastun's aids.
"Fire, then! All units, fire at will!"
The dozen or so vehicles parked on the shore let fly with a massive missile barrage, but when they struck the robot was merely thrown back for a moment. It stumbled, then continued relentlessly onward. It was practically a stone's-throw away when it stopped, and lowered its arms.
Dastun had a sinking feeling.
"Get back! Move, now!"
He and his officers ran as twin beams surged from where hands should have been, incinerating several of the Military Police vehicles. The rest broke formation, turning to get a clear shot at the towering Megadeuce. It was turning to fire again when two massive grappling hooks slammed into its back. Big O dragged the robot backwards, away from the shore.
It turned, and fired the twin beams again, severing the chains halfway along their length. Beck had used this trick with his Victory Deluxe; that time it had thrown Big O off-balance and landed Roger flat on his back. He had no intention of repeating the mistake. One of Big O's column-like legs moved back to stabilize it, preventing a fall.
"Nice try pal, but I know every trick in the book. How do you like this one?"
Roger targeted the hostile robot's head, and fired with the eye lasers. It burned a gaping hole in the side, but the Megadeuce was by no means finished. It returned fire, and Roger barely had time to bring his arms up to block the blow. When he lowered them, however, he fired off two of his three missile racks, obliterating the entire front side of the robot. It fell backwards, smoking, and narrowly missed crushing more Military Police vehicles when it landed.
Inside Big O's cockpit, Roger was a tad pleased with himself.
"Three to one odds, and it still wasn't my worst fight. Let's head home, Dorothy. It's been a long day, and I-"
His next words cut off as something struck Big O from behind.
"What the-?"
"It appears that your long day is not yet over, Roger," said Dorothy as Big O turned to face its unknown attacker. The first Megadeuce, with the off-center head, had gotten back up. It was firing from shoulder-mounted missile tubes, despite the massive chest damage.
"What does it take to stop this thing?!?"
Roger turned Big O and fired his eye lasers twice, destroying the missile tubes before the robot could fire another volley. He then emptied the last of his own missile payload, charring the awkward head of the machine beyond reckognition. It fell backwards a second time. Roger moved over and delivered a pile-driver to the robot's head to make sure it stayed down.
"Now, If there aren't any more interruptions..." Roger began, but was cut off by Norman's face on one of the viewscreens.
"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt your business, Master Roger, but the Military Police have detected several more disturbances across the city. The nearest one is just outside East Dome 7."
"Thanks Norman, we're on it." Roger started Big O walking in that direction, then turned to Dorothy. "This just gets better and better..."
"I fail to see how this qualifies as 'better,' since you now have more fights ahead. In fact, I would consider this as getting worse." Dorothy followed with one of her blank stares.
"Dorothy, of all people, I would think you would recognize sarcasm when you heard it."
She turned to face him as Big O cleared the line of Dastun's troops, going in the opposite direction.
"What do you mean by that?"
"You have to be one of the most sarcastic people I know. Even your method of getting me out of bed."
He was, of course, referring to her morning piano sonatas.
"How can that be? Humor and, by association, sarcasm, are human things. Things that I, as an android, are not capable of."
"I'm starting to wonder just what androids are and aren't capable of, Dorothy. You remember that case I've been working on? The one with the murders?"
"Yes."
"Well, it appears that the person who committed those murders was an android. And androids are not supposed to be capable of harming a human."
"We are not."
"Well, this one was. Where do you think my gunshot wound came from?" He didn't bring up the fact that the android in question was, as near as he could tell, an exact duplicate of Dorothy, save for its behavior.
"Perhaps androids are capable of much more than we thought..."
Dorothy's sentence trailed off, as she stared into the distance. Roger glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, then concentrated on piloting his Megadeuce through the streets.