Chapter Eight: White Fury, Black Emptiness
Author's Note: This begins from Zero's POV...
This was a nightmare. It just had to be... here she was, not two meters in front of me, and... she wasn't Sierra anymore! Somehow, somehow Wily had done something to her to change her; that had to be it! But... but why did she build this... abomination?
"Sierra!" I called out to her. "What's wrong with you? Why have you done this?" It just didn't make sense!
"I am Dr. Wily's builder and robot designer now."
"What the hell are you talking about?" I shouted at her blank face. "Wily's the one who kidnapped you and tried to kill your own grandfather! How could you do this?"
"She doesn't have to answer that, do you my dear?" asked Wily with an insane grin that made my blood boil in fury.
"No I do not, Doctor."
"What is this?!" I couldn't take this anymore! I saw Rock stiffen behind me and place a warning hand on my shoulder. I shook it off immediately... this was no time for comfort! I tried to take a step towards her, but the new robot, Bass, countered me by moving in front of her.
"Move," I commanded. "NOW."
"No, I will not," said the black 'bot, piercing raven eyes boring into my green ones. "You will not come near my creator. If you do, I will be forced to destroy you."
"Just try it, rookie," I sneered. "You don't know anything about fighting."
"Wanna test that theory?" he shot back, mirroring my own demonic grin.
"Why not. Let's go!"
"Zero!" Rock exclaimed. "You can't possibly win against him! He's way more advanced than the both of us combined... you'll be roasted in less than a minute!"
"Point taken Rock." I didn't have the time or the energy to spare arguing with him. "But this is my fight... you will stay out of it. I lost Sierra, and I will get her back. Alone."
"But, Zero..."
"Better listen to him, brother!" Protoman cut in, "You'll be facing me." He walked slowly towards my concerned friend, who narrowed his eyes in response.
"Fine."
Satisfied that Rock wasn't going to interfere, I turned back to Bass. I was the first to raise my emerald energy saber; he activated his own, which was deep lavender that added eerie highlights to his jet-black armor.
Time froze for a moment as we eyed one another in preparation, each sizing up the opponent. After a long time, which seemed like hours but in reality was a nanosecond Bass charged. I dodged easily, not intending to block the blow. The first step in battle is to know and analyze your enemy. Instead of going at your opponent head on, one should evade and study their technique and choice moves before adding your own to the deadly dance.
"Coward!" he shouted to me once he came at me again. "Just try to hit me!"
This time I flipped backwards as he swung a wide uppercut. So far his moves were flawless and fluidly followed-through, but nothing is perfect and therefore neither was he. I indulged him with a simple parry-and-block when he tried to slash at my midsection, throwing his blade downward at the floor. The metal tiling screeched in protest as the plasma of the weapon seared and melted it but Bass hardly skipped a beat with another uppercut aimed at my leg.
"You're not bad," he said, seemingly a bit surprised.
"Nice to know you think so!" I grinned, blocking a high slice that was meant to knock away my head.
"You're pretty arrogant, Zero... that's gonna get you killed! You shoulda listened to your friend!"
"I fight my own battles, rookie! And I win them, too!"
"So I'm a rookie huh? Well, ROOKIE THIS!"
And with that he executed a super-fast series of slashes and swipes that I could barely block in time. I was finally able to get away from the flying blade, but not without gaining some scratches in my armor and a deep cut to my sword arm...
"Dammit..." I cursed. "Too fast..."
"What'd I tell you?" Bass taunted me. "Don't mess with me, man! Just leave quietly and live with a defeat under your belt."
"NO WAY!" I shouted as I raced in blind fury with my sword ready. A momentary berserker, I swung again and again at the black robot. It appeared that my sudden attack gave me a few seconds' advantage, scoring me multiple hits. However, my frenzy dulled my awareness and I only snapped out of it when plasma bolt hit the side of my head.
"ZERO!" someone screamed, then all went black.
***
"You'll be facing me, brother."
"Fine then," I spat back at Protoman. With him in my path, there was no way I could help Zero... and so my only option was to go forward... through him.
"Let's get this over with."
"With pleasure." Punctuating the statement was a shower of blue plasma bolts, most of which were evaded easily and the rest just glancing off of my armor. I returned fire with a low power shot, gaining me time to get a power boost as the red and grey 'bot ducked for cover. I felt my armor melt back into its original blue color, then a golden aura surrounded me as my power was channeled into my cannon. I could feel my energy rising substantially, until finally my aura faded and my cannon was glowing, red-hot.
Protoman eyed me nervously as he peeked out from the rubble in front of him, but before he knew it I had covered the small distance between us. Now my cannon was right in front of his face, and there was no way he could block at point-blank range if I decided to fire.
"Stay out of my way, Protoman."
"Easy there, little brother! No need to get all violent!" I could tell he was getting REAL nervous, so I took advantage of this.
"So tell me, 'brother,'" I asked in a low tone. "Why are you one of Wily's goons?"
"I told you already," he growled. "I was programmed that way, and there's nothing I can do about it! So just go ahead and kill me... end it all. I don't care."
I hesitated. Why was he just giving up? There was something wrong here...
Then I heard the plasma bolt from some ways away... My head shot up just in time to see Zero hit the ground with a wound to his head... and Bass beginning to advance for the kill.
"ZERO!" I screamed.
"You're too late, Rock," said Protoman quietly from his fixed position. "You can't save him. Just finish me off and go. Please."
I shot a puzzled glance at him. Had he just called me by my name? I tried to search the eyes from beneath the dark visor of his helmet, but found nothing.
:"Another day," I promised, more to myself than to him, and re-aimed my bolt at Bass. Once he was in my sights I fired, letting loose a firestorm of red energy that hit the black robot square in the back and throwing him to the ground face-down.
"Sierra!" I shouted to the girl beside Wily. "Do you see what you've done?! Bass was going to kill Zero, and you were GOING TO LET IT HAPPEN! LOOK AT HIM, SIERRA! HE'S DYING!" My voice cracked from the anguish in my heart, for I would lose my only two friends in a single day...
No... I thought. I won't let that happen... I'll never say die. Zero's not dead yet, so there's still time... to save him at least. I began to swiftly make my way to where Zero had fallen...
...but was hit hard in the back by a blast powerful enough to paralyze me.
"You're not the only one who can power up, Mega Man. You never should have turned your back on me. I really hate doing this but it's my job... you had your chance to kill me, but now I have no choice but to kill you now."
"No..." I choked. "Dammit... is there no nothing in your heart that tells you this is wrong? Have you no sense of what is right and wrong?"
"You're so naïve, Mega Man... no, Rock," he correctly, his voice stone cold but not harsh. "You forget that we robots have no hearts. We're just machines, and it's all we'll ever be. I don't need a sense of 'right' and 'wrong'. It's all opinion, and my programming only allows me to follow orders."
"To hell with damn programming!" I shouted as I tried in vain to get up. "You're wrong! We're not just machines... we were activated with personalities and emotions as well as a conscience from our brain chips! They weren't 'programmed'! We developed them ourselves, through experience and learning... I know you have emotion in there somewhere, Protoman... Wily's just repressed it... made you think you don't have it!"
"Enough!" Wily shouted at us. "Protoman, finish the job now! I can't take any more of this whining!"
I shut my eyes tightly, feeling that this was indeed the end. Silence followed, but I heard no whirr of powering up, nor just a simple burst of energy from a cannon.
"Protoman! Do not defy me! FIRE! How dare you disobey!"
Still silence. I opened my eyes, straining to see my executioner standing over me in the dim lights of the hangar. He appeared frozen in place, but after a moment began to shake slightly.
"FIRE, PROTOMAN!"
"I... can't do it..." I heard him murmur. "Why can't I do it?"
"THIS IS THE LAST TIME I WILL ASK YOU!" Wily roared in raging fury at being ignored by his follower. "FIRE NOW!"
Instantly Protoman snapped to attention at the power of his master's anger, and began to power up obediently. I shut my eyes again, feeling a tear sting one eye. I had failed not only to save Zero, but also to save Sierra... and my very own brother. One I never knew I had...
The sound of a fully charged plasma bolt shrieked into existence, and a choked sob erupted from my throat.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes... another cliffhanger... please don't kill me! Review review! I should have the next chapter out by tomorrow... if not earlier... Cya! ~Sierra Omega~
Author's Note: This begins from Zero's POV...
This was a nightmare. It just had to be... here she was, not two meters in front of me, and... she wasn't Sierra anymore! Somehow, somehow Wily had done something to her to change her; that had to be it! But... but why did she build this... abomination?
"Sierra!" I called out to her. "What's wrong with you? Why have you done this?" It just didn't make sense!
"I am Dr. Wily's builder and robot designer now."
"What the hell are you talking about?" I shouted at her blank face. "Wily's the one who kidnapped you and tried to kill your own grandfather! How could you do this?"
"She doesn't have to answer that, do you my dear?" asked Wily with an insane grin that made my blood boil in fury.
"No I do not, Doctor."
"What is this?!" I couldn't take this anymore! I saw Rock stiffen behind me and place a warning hand on my shoulder. I shook it off immediately... this was no time for comfort! I tried to take a step towards her, but the new robot, Bass, countered me by moving in front of her.
"Move," I commanded. "NOW."
"No, I will not," said the black 'bot, piercing raven eyes boring into my green ones. "You will not come near my creator. If you do, I will be forced to destroy you."
"Just try it, rookie," I sneered. "You don't know anything about fighting."
"Wanna test that theory?" he shot back, mirroring my own demonic grin.
"Why not. Let's go!"
"Zero!" Rock exclaimed. "You can't possibly win against him! He's way more advanced than the both of us combined... you'll be roasted in less than a minute!"
"Point taken Rock." I didn't have the time or the energy to spare arguing with him. "But this is my fight... you will stay out of it. I lost Sierra, and I will get her back. Alone."
"But, Zero..."
"Better listen to him, brother!" Protoman cut in, "You'll be facing me." He walked slowly towards my concerned friend, who narrowed his eyes in response.
"Fine."
Satisfied that Rock wasn't going to interfere, I turned back to Bass. I was the first to raise my emerald energy saber; he activated his own, which was deep lavender that added eerie highlights to his jet-black armor.
Time froze for a moment as we eyed one another in preparation, each sizing up the opponent. After a long time, which seemed like hours but in reality was a nanosecond Bass charged. I dodged easily, not intending to block the blow. The first step in battle is to know and analyze your enemy. Instead of going at your opponent head on, one should evade and study their technique and choice moves before adding your own to the deadly dance.
"Coward!" he shouted to me once he came at me again. "Just try to hit me!"
This time I flipped backwards as he swung a wide uppercut. So far his moves were flawless and fluidly followed-through, but nothing is perfect and therefore neither was he. I indulged him with a simple parry-and-block when he tried to slash at my midsection, throwing his blade downward at the floor. The metal tiling screeched in protest as the plasma of the weapon seared and melted it but Bass hardly skipped a beat with another uppercut aimed at my leg.
"You're not bad," he said, seemingly a bit surprised.
"Nice to know you think so!" I grinned, blocking a high slice that was meant to knock away my head.
"You're pretty arrogant, Zero... that's gonna get you killed! You shoulda listened to your friend!"
"I fight my own battles, rookie! And I win them, too!"
"So I'm a rookie huh? Well, ROOKIE THIS!"
And with that he executed a super-fast series of slashes and swipes that I could barely block in time. I was finally able to get away from the flying blade, but not without gaining some scratches in my armor and a deep cut to my sword arm...
"Dammit..." I cursed. "Too fast..."
"What'd I tell you?" Bass taunted me. "Don't mess with me, man! Just leave quietly and live with a defeat under your belt."
"NO WAY!" I shouted as I raced in blind fury with my sword ready. A momentary berserker, I swung again and again at the black robot. It appeared that my sudden attack gave me a few seconds' advantage, scoring me multiple hits. However, my frenzy dulled my awareness and I only snapped out of it when plasma bolt hit the side of my head.
"ZERO!" someone screamed, then all went black.
***
"You'll be facing me, brother."
"Fine then," I spat back at Protoman. With him in my path, there was no way I could help Zero... and so my only option was to go forward... through him.
"Let's get this over with."
"With pleasure." Punctuating the statement was a shower of blue plasma bolts, most of which were evaded easily and the rest just glancing off of my armor. I returned fire with a low power shot, gaining me time to get a power boost as the red and grey 'bot ducked for cover. I felt my armor melt back into its original blue color, then a golden aura surrounded me as my power was channeled into my cannon. I could feel my energy rising substantially, until finally my aura faded and my cannon was glowing, red-hot.
Protoman eyed me nervously as he peeked out from the rubble in front of him, but before he knew it I had covered the small distance between us. Now my cannon was right in front of his face, and there was no way he could block at point-blank range if I decided to fire.
"Stay out of my way, Protoman."
"Easy there, little brother! No need to get all violent!" I could tell he was getting REAL nervous, so I took advantage of this.
"So tell me, 'brother,'" I asked in a low tone. "Why are you one of Wily's goons?"
"I told you already," he growled. "I was programmed that way, and there's nothing I can do about it! So just go ahead and kill me... end it all. I don't care."
I hesitated. Why was he just giving up? There was something wrong here...
Then I heard the plasma bolt from some ways away... My head shot up just in time to see Zero hit the ground with a wound to his head... and Bass beginning to advance for the kill.
"ZERO!" I screamed.
"You're too late, Rock," said Protoman quietly from his fixed position. "You can't save him. Just finish me off and go. Please."
I shot a puzzled glance at him. Had he just called me by my name? I tried to search the eyes from beneath the dark visor of his helmet, but found nothing.
:"Another day," I promised, more to myself than to him, and re-aimed my bolt at Bass. Once he was in my sights I fired, letting loose a firestorm of red energy that hit the black robot square in the back and throwing him to the ground face-down.
"Sierra!" I shouted to the girl beside Wily. "Do you see what you've done?! Bass was going to kill Zero, and you were GOING TO LET IT HAPPEN! LOOK AT HIM, SIERRA! HE'S DYING!" My voice cracked from the anguish in my heart, for I would lose my only two friends in a single day...
No... I thought. I won't let that happen... I'll never say die. Zero's not dead yet, so there's still time... to save him at least. I began to swiftly make my way to where Zero had fallen...
...but was hit hard in the back by a blast powerful enough to paralyze me.
"You're not the only one who can power up, Mega Man. You never should have turned your back on me. I really hate doing this but it's my job... you had your chance to kill me, but now I have no choice but to kill you now."
"No..." I choked. "Dammit... is there no nothing in your heart that tells you this is wrong? Have you no sense of what is right and wrong?"
"You're so naïve, Mega Man... no, Rock," he correctly, his voice stone cold but not harsh. "You forget that we robots have no hearts. We're just machines, and it's all we'll ever be. I don't need a sense of 'right' and 'wrong'. It's all opinion, and my programming only allows me to follow orders."
"To hell with damn programming!" I shouted as I tried in vain to get up. "You're wrong! We're not just machines... we were activated with personalities and emotions as well as a conscience from our brain chips! They weren't 'programmed'! We developed them ourselves, through experience and learning... I know you have emotion in there somewhere, Protoman... Wily's just repressed it... made you think you don't have it!"
"Enough!" Wily shouted at us. "Protoman, finish the job now! I can't take any more of this whining!"
I shut my eyes tightly, feeling that this was indeed the end. Silence followed, but I heard no whirr of powering up, nor just a simple burst of energy from a cannon.
"Protoman! Do not defy me! FIRE! How dare you disobey!"
Still silence. I opened my eyes, straining to see my executioner standing over me in the dim lights of the hangar. He appeared frozen in place, but after a moment began to shake slightly.
"FIRE, PROTOMAN!"
"I... can't do it..." I heard him murmur. "Why can't I do it?"
"THIS IS THE LAST TIME I WILL ASK YOU!" Wily roared in raging fury at being ignored by his follower. "FIRE NOW!"
Instantly Protoman snapped to attention at the power of his master's anger, and began to power up obediently. I shut my eyes again, feeling a tear sting one eye. I had failed not only to save Zero, but also to save Sierra... and my very own brother. One I never knew I had...
The sound of a fully charged plasma bolt shrieked into existence, and a choked sob erupted from my throat.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes... another cliffhanger... please don't kill me! Review review! I should have the next chapter out by tomorrow... if not earlier... Cya! ~Sierra Omega~