Chapter 13 - Getting Equipped
The next morning found the Larson Clan home in high activity. Both Jenna and Lars were practicing swinging the Sword of the Gamemaster to get a feel for it. Olaf was talking with Mary about what the Rose family crest looked like to add it to the Heritage Room. As for Amy and Anthony...
"How come I don't need to wear my apprentice's uniform, Anthony?" Amy asked, currently wearing one of her regular red dresses with her Descendancy Medallion attached to it.
"You'll see," Anthony said, "because I have a surprise for you..."
Amy raised her eyebrows at that just as Jenna and Lars rejoined the two of them. "Quite a fine weapon you have here, Anthony," Lars said, handing the Sword back to Anthony.
"Thanks," Anthony said, placing the Sword back in the scabbard on his back. "So, is everyone ready to go?"
"Definitely!" Jenna said, excitement in plain view. "I can't wait to see what my armor looks like!"
"Then let's get moving," Anthony said, and led the three of them to the transit gates.
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Anthony and his three students found themselves on the grounds of Dr. Light's home and laboratory. Jenna and Lars soon found themselves being met by three very familiar robots...Megaman, Protoman, and Bass.
"Ah...the three Masters arrive," Bass said. "Welcome to the Light compound."
"Whoa..." Lars said, shocked at the reception.
The three bioroids stepped forward and introduced themselves to Jenna and Lars. After a while, after Jenna and Lars stopped acting starstruck, Megaman said, "Dr. Light is waiting inside his lab for you, just walk in. Bass, Protoman, and I need to get to our patrols. We'll see you all later."
After the three bioroids flew off on Rush, Treble, and a hoverjet, Anthony led the three into the building.
"Dr. Light needs to just get some measurements from you," Anthony explained as he walked in, "and then he'll be finiiiIIIIISHED!!!" He finished his sentence by tripping over something as he walked in. "Ow...what the...?" He then noticed a bioroid cat near where his feet was.
"Oh dear..." Roll said as she walked in to meet the others. "Tango! You know better than that!"
Anthony turned around and picked up the cybernetic feline, and noticed it was purring when he picked it up. "What the...all right, who told Tango I was a cat lover?!?"
"Me...sorry," Roll said, taking Tango from Anthony, and then turning towards Jenna and Lars. "You must be Anthony's students."
"Yep," Jenna said. "My name's Jenna, and this is Lars."
Just as Jenna was introducing herself and Lars, Dr. Light came out wielding a small device. "Ah, welcome. My name is Dr. Thomas Light. I overheard your names as I came in."
"We're honored, Doctor," Lars said, and then turned towards Jenna. "I STILL can't believe we're meeting these guys...and they're real!"
"You two will be seeing them on a regular basis once your training is done, so get used to it," Anthony remarked.
"Now, I just need to get some measurements from the two of you for your armors," Light said, showing them the device. "This will get your dimensions without the need for tape measures. If you could just stand still..."
Jenna stood still as Dr. Light scanned her with the device, and then Lars did the same. "This should be enough...I'll get working on your armors. Anthony, could you come with me please?"
Anthony nodded and joined Dr. Light as he walked into the lab. Roll offered Jenna, Lars, and Amy a few chairs and sat down herself to join them in a chat.
"So, how long will Dr. Light need to work with the armors?" Lars asked.
"It won't be too long," Roll said, stroking Tango as she sat. "Dr. Light already has the basic framework made, so all he needs to do is resize the armor to your dimensions."
"I just wonder why Anthony wanted me here," Amy said, looking towards the lab.
Before another word was said, a knock was heard on the front door. Roll went up to answer it and saw Ashura and Crystallis waiting on the other side.
"Morning, Roll," Crystallis said. "Ashura's having problems with his Gundam and wondered if the Doc could look at it."
"Well, he's kinda busy with the armors for Anthony's students, so he might not be able to get to it right away," Roll explained.
Ashura facepalmed at that. "Forgot about that! Sorry, Roll...we'll come back later..."
"Who's that, Roll?" Jenna asked, and noticed Ashura and Crystallis as she walked up.
"You must be one of Anthony's students," Crystallis said, extending a paw in friendship. "My name's Crystallis, from Ani-Earth."
"My name's Jenna," Jenna said, shaking Crystallis's paw.
"And I'm Ashura," Ashura said. "I'm what you might call a SIFF."
"What's a SIFF?" Lars said, walking up. "Oh, hi...my name's Lars. I'm one of Anthony's students."
After Ashura and Crystallis introduced themselves, Ashura explained. "You know about the fanfiction on Earth, right?" Jenna and Lars nodded. "Well...several authors wrote stories about characters in Arcadia using their latent talents, and chose those characters as internet personas. As such, when they wrote about those characters, they thought they were putting themselves into the fics. Those of us that were chosen as those personas are called SIFFs, which is short for 'self-insertion fan fiction'."
"Whoa..." Lars said. "How does it feel having another you?"
"Well, technically I am my own self-insert..." Ashura explained. "Anth, however, has an alternate version of himself that exists on a world called Rift Earth, so he's also a SIFF."
"I repeat...whoa..." Lars said, and then turned towards Jenna. "We have a LOT to learn about Arcadia, I can tell..."
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Anthony was surprised at what he was seeing...not two sets of armor, but four. He figured the dark green armor was for Alec once his training was complete on Earth...but why there was an extra armor was beyond him.
"Doc...I figure this green armor is for Alec, and these two armors you just finished resizing are for Jenna and Lars," Anthony said, and then turned towards the red armor, "but who is THIS armor for?"
"You," Dr. Light said, causing Anthony to raise an eyebrow. "I made some improvements to the basic design of your armor, in fact I call this design Mastertech armor." Dr. Light then walked Anthony through the armor specs. "As you see, the 'backpack' is gone because most of the components are in these gauntlets and boots. I devised the boots to allow for greater control of the four vehicles built in, and I think you'll like what's in the gauntlets."
"I'm kind of wondering why the right gauntlet looks like an old school NES Power Glove, though made of red metal," Anthony remarked.
"Well, it actually has a microcomputer similar to Nicole built in it, as well as a dimensional communicator that Washu finally perfected." Dr. Light then instructed Anthony to put the gauntlet on. "Just say the location you want in any Arcadian world. It will auto-connect you if there's a communicator in that location, no matter what world you are in."
Anthony talked into the communicator. "Washu's Lab."
He then heard Washu's voice come through. "Washu's lab. That you, Anthony?"
"Yeah...I guess you figured I'd want to test this, huh?" Anthony said.
"Yep...glad to see it works," Washu remarks. "Hope you'll find that useful. Now, I've got to get back to my work. I'll talk to you later, Anthony."
"Later, Washu," Anthony said. "Anthony out." The connection ended and Anthony turned towards Dr. Light. "Nice!"
"Yes, you'll also find that other gauntlet useful as well," Light said. "It has a grappling weapon like your original armor had, but can be used even if the armor isn't fully active. After that incident where you had to rescue Amy from that pit..."
"Yeah, that still gives her nightmares sometimes," Anthony said. "Well...since it appears that the armors are based on what you made for me, shall I show this to Jenna and Lars?"
"Of course," Light said.
Anthony put on his new Mastertech armor, removing the Descendancy Medallion from his old armor and putting it on the new one. "Maybe I can give my old armor to Jeff," Anthony thought to himself and then turned towards Light. "Tell me when you're finished with the final touches to Jenna's and Lars's armors." Anthony then left the lab to show Jenna and Lars.
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Ashura and Crystallis were busy talking with Jenna and Lars, all four getting acquainted in the process. Ashura was busy telling them about the adventures they have had, from being trapped on the Satellite of Eggs and the Absolution to the more recent events with the new Arcadian portals.
"All that happened to you guys?" Jenna asked. "Wow..."
"Yeah, even with most of the major baddies gone on Arcadia, we still find our share of adventures," Crystallis said.
"Makes me wonder why we weren't found earlier," Lars said. "We would have been glad to help."
"Don't worry about it, Lars," Amy remarked. "At least you can help with any new things that come up."
"...and now you'll have the equipment to do it," the group heard Anthony say, and when they turned towards where they heard Anthony, their eyes widened as they saw his new armor.
"Wow! You got an upgrade!" Amy said.
"Yep...this is called Mastertech armor," Anthony said. "Jenna, Lars...let me show you the features of this armor..."
Anthony took the two through the features of the armor, as well as how to use the various vehicles and devices in it. Ashura watched in great interest, wondering if the doc could build something like this for him.
"I'll take you through how to use the vehicles when your armors are completed," Anthony said, and then saw Dr. Light motioning for him. Anthony walked over and joined Dr. Light in the lab, and then walked back out. "Jenna, Lars...your armors are ready!"
Jenna and Lars walked into the lab, and after a few minutes walked out clad in similar armors, except Jenna's was yellow and Lars's was blue. Dr. Light was following them out as Amy, Ashura, and Crystallis were oohing and aahing over the armors.
"Now," Dr. Light said, getting Jenna's and Lars's attention, "let me explain some exclusive features I put in your armors. Jenna, because of your martial artist skills, I put special impact sensors in your gauntlets and boots. When the synaptic relays in them sense you are punching or kicking something, they will send out a special sonic pulse to increase their effectiveness."
"Nice..." Jenna said, looking at her gauntlets.
"As for you, Lars," Dr. Light said, "check out that rod like device that's next to the lightsaber I gave both of you."
Lars did so, detaching a rod that was about two and a half feet long from his armor. It had a switch on the handle.
"I decided to give you a weapon appropriate to your Viking heritage," Dr. Light explained. "Flip that switch on the handle."
Lars did so, and four smaller rods appears near the end of the rod. After they extended, two laser-like fields appeared and formed two ax blades, turning it into a laser battle ax.
"Very nice..." Lars said, giving the ax a couple of swings.
"Why don't you go outside and try out those weapons?" Dr. Light said. "Roll can set up the target range for you."
Jenna and Lars nodded and followed Roll, with Ashura and Crystallis following them. As Amy got up to join them as well, Anthony said, "Amy, could you come inside the lab? I have something to show you..."
Amy was confused, but followed Anthony and Dr. Light into the lab anyway. She followed them to where something appeared to be covered by a sheet. "What did you need me for, Anthony?"
Anthony smiled, and then proceeded to uncover the covered object, revealing set of armor that consisted of a pink breastplate and pink bracers. Amy's eyes went as wide as dinner plates. "Is...is that for me?!?"
"Figured you'd be surprised, Ames," Anthony said. "Since you're my apprentice, I figured you deserved it, so I had Dr. Light create it."
"Well, go ahead and try it on, Amy," Dr. Light said. "You may wish to remove the bracelets attached to your gloves to make sure the bracers fit."
As Amy started to put on her armor, placing her bracelets inside a pocket of her dress, Dr. Light began to describe the armor. "Because Amy's hedgehog physiology differs significantly from a human, I did a little research to come up with the perfect armor design. As it turns out...I got the idea for Amy's armor from a fan made web comic."
"Which one?" Anthony asked, while helping Amy with the breastplate. "I may know it."
"I believe it was called 'SonicVerse - The Chaos Diamond Saga'," Light said.
Anthony looked up at that. "By Sonic Adventurer? If so, I think I know the armor in question...Sonic Prototype 105, right?" Anthony could swear he heard a muffled "FANBOY!" from Amy. "What do you want, Ames? I was a major fan of Sonic before coming to Mobius for real!"
As soon as Amy's head appeared over the top of the breastplate, she said, "Well, at least you're not SONIC_FAN..."
Anthony shuddered and said, "Ugh...true..."
As soon as Amy had attached the bracers to her arms and placed her Descendancy Medallion on the breastplate, she asked, "It fits perfectly, but how did you get my size?"
"Well, when the Doc was sizing Jenna and Lars, he also got your size without knowing it," Anthony explained, and then turned towards Dr. Light. "Doc, what's in this armor?"
"Well, the armor's defenses are very different than yours, Anthony," Light said, "and are only active when the full armor is active."
"Alright then," Anthony said, and then turned back towards Amy. "Amy, activate your armor like I do. Armor, ACTIVATE!" Anthony was then covered from head to toe by red metal as armor covered Anthony's upper arms and upper legs, and a helmet appeared on his head.
"Okay..." Amy said, and then said, "Armor, ACTIVATE!"
Amy legs and red boots were covered by pinkish metal which pressed her dress skirting close to her body. Her upper arms were also covered by the metal and silvery metal gauntlets covered her gloved paws. Her head quills were also covered by a metal helm which looked like a single row of pink metal quill segments. Her eyes were covered by a red visor, and a silvery mask covered her nose and muzzle. Vents were above the nose and mouth areas for breathing and speaking. (Author's note: Looks kinda like this: http://www.planetdreamcast.com/sonic/svcomics/comics/sonicverse/sa-mct.gif except pink.)
"Whoa...cool!" Amy said, looking at her armor. "I have GOT to see what I look like!"
Anthony began to worry when he heard that, since the armor made it look like she was roboticized. Still, he followed Amy as Dr. Light directed her towards a mirror. Anthony could tell Amy was shocked by her appearance when she finally saw herself in her armor. But, Anthony could sense she wasn't afraid...
"Ames? Are you alright?" Anthony asked, placing a gauntleted hand on her own armored shoulder.
Amy looked toward Anthony, and then immediately grabbed him in a tight hug. Anthony could sense she was crying tears of joy under her helm, and heard her whisper a thank you. After the hug was released, Anthony said, "You might want to deactivate your armor briefly so you can wipe your tears there, Ames."
Amy did so, and wiped away her tears after the armor receded. Dr. Light then walked up to the two of them. "I take it Amy approves..."
"She does," Anthony said, deactivating his own armor. "Anything she should know about it?"
"Just a few details...Amy, could you reactivate your armor, please?" Dr. Light said, and Amy did so. "Now, Amy...there aren't as many features on this armor as Anthony's, plus the defenses are only available when the armor is active. This is due to the size of the armor."
"What defenses are there?" Amy asked.
"Well, besides the retro rockets on the back of the armor for limited flight, similar to Anthony's," Dr. Light explained, "your two arms have different weapons secreted in them. The right arm has a lightsaber and the left arm has a blaster. I gave you these due to your experience with a crossbow and your recent training with swords."
"Cool! How can I use them?" Amy asked, excitedly.
"There are synaptic relays inside the armor that activate the devices," Light explained. "All you need to do is just think what you want done, and the appropriate devices will activate."
Amy nodded in understanding and then looked at her right arm as she activated the lightsaber. The bluish laser blade seemed to mesmerize her. "Wow..."
"C'mon, let's head outside with the others," Anthony said. "You can practice with your armor with them."
Amy nodded, and to Anthony's surprise she didn't just run out, she activated her rockets and flew out.
"AMY!" Anthony said, trying to calm her down. He then rubbed the bridge of his nose and said, "I've created a monster..."
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Ashura and Crystallis were watching Jenna and Lars absolutely decimate the targets using their new weapons. Jenna's sonic weapons were reducing some of the targets to atoms while Lars's laser ax easily sliced through the rest. Roll was shaking her head, realizing she would have to do some serious replacements for the target range. Just as Jenna and Lars were reaching the last few targets, they were shocked to see something rocket past them and slice through two of the targets with a lightsaber and shooting the rest with a built in blaster. All present were shocked to see that the person who got the last targets looked like a metallic hedgehog.
"What the...?" Crystallis said, and then realized something. "Amy? Is that you?!?"
"Yeah!" Amy said, still hovering a bit over the ground using her rockets. "What do you think of the armor Anthony had Doc Light made for me?"
"Nice, but..." Ashura said, "it almost looks like you're...ROBOTICIZED!"
"Good thing I know I'm not!" Amy said, landing and deactivating her armor.
"Well, I see you have seen Amy's new armor," Anthony said as he walked out to join the others. He then saw the results of Jenna's and Lars's attacks on the targets. "I see you two have gotten used to your weapons..."
"Yes," Jenna said, "and I'm amazed at how light this armor is. It didn't interfere with my movement at all!"
"Did you activate the full armor?" Anthony asked.
"Er, no..." Jenna said. "How do you do that?"
"Like this..." Anthony said. "Armor, ACTIVATE!" Anthony was soon covered in full armor. "Now you two..."
Jenna and Lars nodded and said, "Armor, ACTIVATE!" Soon both were covered in full armor similar to Anthony's, except Jenna's was yellow and Lars's was dark blue. Once the armor was up, Jenna made a few practice moves, and saw her movement was still not hindered.
"Okay, as I already told you," Anthony said, getting the two's attention, "in your full armor mode you'll have no access to the four vehicles I've told you about. In fact, we shall practice with those vehicles now. If you could deactivate your armors..."
All three of the humans deactivated their armors and Anthony then continued. "Alright, you're probably going to be using this vehicle the most, so we'll practice with the jet sled first. That vehicle is Device 2...since the vehicles are named after the same devices in the game Megaman 2. You activate it the same way as the armor, calling it 'Device 2'."
Jenna and Lars nodded in understanding and all three activated their jet sleds. Jenna and Lars noticed the vehicles weren't moving, but were just hovering. "Anthony," Lars asked, "how do we get these things to move?"
"The synaptic receptors in your armor will react to your thoughts and muscle movements," Anthony explained. "Just think where you want to move the vehicle, and it will move accordingly. Alright, follow me!"
Anthony then jetted off and Jenna and Lars followed, leaving Amy to talk with Ashura and Crystallis.
"Man, I envy you, Amy," Ashura said.
"Thanks," Amy said. "I can't believe Anthony actually had this made for me!"
"Well, you are his apprentice, Amy," Light remarked as he joined the group, "so it's only proper. Now, Ashura," Light said, turning towards Ashura, "Roll tells me your Gundam needs work..."
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Anthony was surprised Jenna and Lars managed to keep up with him. It also seemed that Jenna and Lars were enjoying the ride on their new jet sleds as well. The three were currently jet sledding down one of Neo-Chicago's downtown streets, and Anthony asked them to stop once they reached what looked like a city park.
"Alright, let's try out the fourth vehicle," Anthony said, motioning for them to move towards the nearby lake.
As the three of them moved towards there, Lars asked, "Anthony...I don't remember a device 4 in Megaman 2..."
"There wasn't one," Anthony said. "The jet ski was in Megaman 5, and Dr. Light added it as a fourth vehicle for the armor."
"Cool!" Jenna said. "Bet you that vehicle is fun in Minnesota."
"Well, these vehicles are only for transportation between areas or for emergencies," Anthony explained, "otherwise you might find yourself without power when you need it."
"I understand..." Jenna said. "Well, let's check this out. Device 4, ACTIVATE!"
As Jenna's jet ski formed, Anthony and Lars activated theirs, and the three of them practiced maneuvers with their jet skis.
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"Dr. Light informed me that he's made a set of Mastertech armor for Alec," T-Bone said while reporting to Major Sharpe.
"Excellent," Sharpe said. "Alec also appears to be progressing quite rapidly with his powers. He even practices them during times when he's supposed to be off duty. Looks like we may have our Gamemaster 2 sooner than we expected."
"Cool...though I'm still going to have a hard time dealing with four Gamemasters, sir," T-Bone said.
"You got used to being an anthro wolf, Lieutenant, you can adapt to this as well," Sharpe remarked.
"I guess, sir," T-Bone said. "By the way...did you receive that report from Dr. Light on the medicine that was developed for Alec?"
"Yes...trichlorodicathelene..." Sharpe mused. "Amazing that we stumbled upon such a medicine. We even got all the necessary data on it. In fact, I'll need to talk with our medical wing to give them that information. Return to your duties, Lieutenant. I'll inform you when you need to report to Mr. Bault again. Dismissed."
As soon as T-Bone left with a salute, Sharpe left the office and headed towards the medical wing. There he saw one of the doctors giving Alec his regimen.
"Sir," Alec said, standing to attention upon seeing Sharpe.
"At ease, Lieutenant," Sharpe said. "Have you finished receiving your regimen?"
"Yes, sir," Alec said.
"Then report to your quarters and relax for once," Sharpe said. "You've been practicing enough."
"I apologize, sir," Alec said. "It's just hard not to use these powers, and I wanted to make sure I was in top shape with them."
"Well, even the Gamemaster has to rest from using them, Lieutenant," Sharpe said. "Now, report to your quarters and rest. That's an order!"
"Yes, sir," Alec said, saluting and leaving the medical wing.
Sharpe shook his head in disbelief at Alec's overworking himself, and then turned towards the doctor, handing him a folder. "Here's the complete information on trichlorodicathelene I received from Dr. Light."
"Thank you, Major," the doctor said, looking through the information, and then suddenly standing up. "Sir, we may have a problem..."
Sharpe, looking back at the doctor, said, "What's wrong?"
"Well, sir, the maximum safe dosage here says 450 mg," the doctor explained.
"What's wrong with that?" Sharpe asked.
"Well, sir...the dosage we have been using was 600 mg..."
The next morning found the Larson Clan home in high activity. Both Jenna and Lars were practicing swinging the Sword of the Gamemaster to get a feel for it. Olaf was talking with Mary about what the Rose family crest looked like to add it to the Heritage Room. As for Amy and Anthony...
"How come I don't need to wear my apprentice's uniform, Anthony?" Amy asked, currently wearing one of her regular red dresses with her Descendancy Medallion attached to it.
"You'll see," Anthony said, "because I have a surprise for you..."
Amy raised her eyebrows at that just as Jenna and Lars rejoined the two of them. "Quite a fine weapon you have here, Anthony," Lars said, handing the Sword back to Anthony.
"Thanks," Anthony said, placing the Sword back in the scabbard on his back. "So, is everyone ready to go?"
"Definitely!" Jenna said, excitement in plain view. "I can't wait to see what my armor looks like!"
"Then let's get moving," Anthony said, and led the three of them to the transit gates.
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Anthony and his three students found themselves on the grounds of Dr. Light's home and laboratory. Jenna and Lars soon found themselves being met by three very familiar robots...Megaman, Protoman, and Bass.
"Ah...the three Masters arrive," Bass said. "Welcome to the Light compound."
"Whoa..." Lars said, shocked at the reception.
The three bioroids stepped forward and introduced themselves to Jenna and Lars. After a while, after Jenna and Lars stopped acting starstruck, Megaman said, "Dr. Light is waiting inside his lab for you, just walk in. Bass, Protoman, and I need to get to our patrols. We'll see you all later."
After the three bioroids flew off on Rush, Treble, and a hoverjet, Anthony led the three into the building.
"Dr. Light needs to just get some measurements from you," Anthony explained as he walked in, "and then he'll be finiiiIIIIISHED!!!" He finished his sentence by tripping over something as he walked in. "Ow...what the...?" He then noticed a bioroid cat near where his feet was.
"Oh dear..." Roll said as she walked in to meet the others. "Tango! You know better than that!"
Anthony turned around and picked up the cybernetic feline, and noticed it was purring when he picked it up. "What the...all right, who told Tango I was a cat lover?!?"
"Me...sorry," Roll said, taking Tango from Anthony, and then turning towards Jenna and Lars. "You must be Anthony's students."
"Yep," Jenna said. "My name's Jenna, and this is Lars."
Just as Jenna was introducing herself and Lars, Dr. Light came out wielding a small device. "Ah, welcome. My name is Dr. Thomas Light. I overheard your names as I came in."
"We're honored, Doctor," Lars said, and then turned towards Jenna. "I STILL can't believe we're meeting these guys...and they're real!"
"You two will be seeing them on a regular basis once your training is done, so get used to it," Anthony remarked.
"Now, I just need to get some measurements from the two of you for your armors," Light said, showing them the device. "This will get your dimensions without the need for tape measures. If you could just stand still..."
Jenna stood still as Dr. Light scanned her with the device, and then Lars did the same. "This should be enough...I'll get working on your armors. Anthony, could you come with me please?"
Anthony nodded and joined Dr. Light as he walked into the lab. Roll offered Jenna, Lars, and Amy a few chairs and sat down herself to join them in a chat.
"So, how long will Dr. Light need to work with the armors?" Lars asked.
"It won't be too long," Roll said, stroking Tango as she sat. "Dr. Light already has the basic framework made, so all he needs to do is resize the armor to your dimensions."
"I just wonder why Anthony wanted me here," Amy said, looking towards the lab.
Before another word was said, a knock was heard on the front door. Roll went up to answer it and saw Ashura and Crystallis waiting on the other side.
"Morning, Roll," Crystallis said. "Ashura's having problems with his Gundam and wondered if the Doc could look at it."
"Well, he's kinda busy with the armors for Anthony's students, so he might not be able to get to it right away," Roll explained.
Ashura facepalmed at that. "Forgot about that! Sorry, Roll...we'll come back later..."
"Who's that, Roll?" Jenna asked, and noticed Ashura and Crystallis as she walked up.
"You must be one of Anthony's students," Crystallis said, extending a paw in friendship. "My name's Crystallis, from Ani-Earth."
"My name's Jenna," Jenna said, shaking Crystallis's paw.
"And I'm Ashura," Ashura said. "I'm what you might call a SIFF."
"What's a SIFF?" Lars said, walking up. "Oh, hi...my name's Lars. I'm one of Anthony's students."
After Ashura and Crystallis introduced themselves, Ashura explained. "You know about the fanfiction on Earth, right?" Jenna and Lars nodded. "Well...several authors wrote stories about characters in Arcadia using their latent talents, and chose those characters as internet personas. As such, when they wrote about those characters, they thought they were putting themselves into the fics. Those of us that were chosen as those personas are called SIFFs, which is short for 'self-insertion fan fiction'."
"Whoa..." Lars said. "How does it feel having another you?"
"Well, technically I am my own self-insert..." Ashura explained. "Anth, however, has an alternate version of himself that exists on a world called Rift Earth, so he's also a SIFF."
"I repeat...whoa..." Lars said, and then turned towards Jenna. "We have a LOT to learn about Arcadia, I can tell..."
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Anthony was surprised at what he was seeing...not two sets of armor, but four. He figured the dark green armor was for Alec once his training was complete on Earth...but why there was an extra armor was beyond him.
"Doc...I figure this green armor is for Alec, and these two armors you just finished resizing are for Jenna and Lars," Anthony said, and then turned towards the red armor, "but who is THIS armor for?"
"You," Dr. Light said, causing Anthony to raise an eyebrow. "I made some improvements to the basic design of your armor, in fact I call this design Mastertech armor." Dr. Light then walked Anthony through the armor specs. "As you see, the 'backpack' is gone because most of the components are in these gauntlets and boots. I devised the boots to allow for greater control of the four vehicles built in, and I think you'll like what's in the gauntlets."
"I'm kind of wondering why the right gauntlet looks like an old school NES Power Glove, though made of red metal," Anthony remarked.
"Well, it actually has a microcomputer similar to Nicole built in it, as well as a dimensional communicator that Washu finally perfected." Dr. Light then instructed Anthony to put the gauntlet on. "Just say the location you want in any Arcadian world. It will auto-connect you if there's a communicator in that location, no matter what world you are in."
Anthony talked into the communicator. "Washu's Lab."
He then heard Washu's voice come through. "Washu's lab. That you, Anthony?"
"Yeah...I guess you figured I'd want to test this, huh?" Anthony said.
"Yep...glad to see it works," Washu remarks. "Hope you'll find that useful. Now, I've got to get back to my work. I'll talk to you later, Anthony."
"Later, Washu," Anthony said. "Anthony out." The connection ended and Anthony turned towards Dr. Light. "Nice!"
"Yes, you'll also find that other gauntlet useful as well," Light said. "It has a grappling weapon like your original armor had, but can be used even if the armor isn't fully active. After that incident where you had to rescue Amy from that pit..."
"Yeah, that still gives her nightmares sometimes," Anthony said. "Well...since it appears that the armors are based on what you made for me, shall I show this to Jenna and Lars?"
"Of course," Light said.
Anthony put on his new Mastertech armor, removing the Descendancy Medallion from his old armor and putting it on the new one. "Maybe I can give my old armor to Jeff," Anthony thought to himself and then turned towards Light. "Tell me when you're finished with the final touches to Jenna's and Lars's armors." Anthony then left the lab to show Jenna and Lars.
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Ashura and Crystallis were busy talking with Jenna and Lars, all four getting acquainted in the process. Ashura was busy telling them about the adventures they have had, from being trapped on the Satellite of Eggs and the Absolution to the more recent events with the new Arcadian portals.
"All that happened to you guys?" Jenna asked. "Wow..."
"Yeah, even with most of the major baddies gone on Arcadia, we still find our share of adventures," Crystallis said.
"Makes me wonder why we weren't found earlier," Lars said. "We would have been glad to help."
"Don't worry about it, Lars," Amy remarked. "At least you can help with any new things that come up."
"...and now you'll have the equipment to do it," the group heard Anthony say, and when they turned towards where they heard Anthony, their eyes widened as they saw his new armor.
"Wow! You got an upgrade!" Amy said.
"Yep...this is called Mastertech armor," Anthony said. "Jenna, Lars...let me show you the features of this armor..."
Anthony took the two through the features of the armor, as well as how to use the various vehicles and devices in it. Ashura watched in great interest, wondering if the doc could build something like this for him.
"I'll take you through how to use the vehicles when your armors are completed," Anthony said, and then saw Dr. Light motioning for him. Anthony walked over and joined Dr. Light in the lab, and then walked back out. "Jenna, Lars...your armors are ready!"
Jenna and Lars walked into the lab, and after a few minutes walked out clad in similar armors, except Jenna's was yellow and Lars's was blue. Dr. Light was following them out as Amy, Ashura, and Crystallis were oohing and aahing over the armors.
"Now," Dr. Light said, getting Jenna's and Lars's attention, "let me explain some exclusive features I put in your armors. Jenna, because of your martial artist skills, I put special impact sensors in your gauntlets and boots. When the synaptic relays in them sense you are punching or kicking something, they will send out a special sonic pulse to increase their effectiveness."
"Nice..." Jenna said, looking at her gauntlets.
"As for you, Lars," Dr. Light said, "check out that rod like device that's next to the lightsaber I gave both of you."
Lars did so, detaching a rod that was about two and a half feet long from his armor. It had a switch on the handle.
"I decided to give you a weapon appropriate to your Viking heritage," Dr. Light explained. "Flip that switch on the handle."
Lars did so, and four smaller rods appears near the end of the rod. After they extended, two laser-like fields appeared and formed two ax blades, turning it into a laser battle ax.
"Very nice..." Lars said, giving the ax a couple of swings.
"Why don't you go outside and try out those weapons?" Dr. Light said. "Roll can set up the target range for you."
Jenna and Lars nodded and followed Roll, with Ashura and Crystallis following them. As Amy got up to join them as well, Anthony said, "Amy, could you come inside the lab? I have something to show you..."
Amy was confused, but followed Anthony and Dr. Light into the lab anyway. She followed them to where something appeared to be covered by a sheet. "What did you need me for, Anthony?"
Anthony smiled, and then proceeded to uncover the covered object, revealing set of armor that consisted of a pink breastplate and pink bracers. Amy's eyes went as wide as dinner plates. "Is...is that for me?!?"
"Figured you'd be surprised, Ames," Anthony said. "Since you're my apprentice, I figured you deserved it, so I had Dr. Light create it."
"Well, go ahead and try it on, Amy," Dr. Light said. "You may wish to remove the bracelets attached to your gloves to make sure the bracers fit."
As Amy started to put on her armor, placing her bracelets inside a pocket of her dress, Dr. Light began to describe the armor. "Because Amy's hedgehog physiology differs significantly from a human, I did a little research to come up with the perfect armor design. As it turns out...I got the idea for Amy's armor from a fan made web comic."
"Which one?" Anthony asked, while helping Amy with the breastplate. "I may know it."
"I believe it was called 'SonicVerse - The Chaos Diamond Saga'," Light said.
Anthony looked up at that. "By Sonic Adventurer? If so, I think I know the armor in question...Sonic Prototype 105, right?" Anthony could swear he heard a muffled "FANBOY!" from Amy. "What do you want, Ames? I was a major fan of Sonic before coming to Mobius for real!"
As soon as Amy's head appeared over the top of the breastplate, she said, "Well, at least you're not SONIC_FAN..."
Anthony shuddered and said, "Ugh...true..."
As soon as Amy had attached the bracers to her arms and placed her Descendancy Medallion on the breastplate, she asked, "It fits perfectly, but how did you get my size?"
"Well, when the Doc was sizing Jenna and Lars, he also got your size without knowing it," Anthony explained, and then turned towards Dr. Light. "Doc, what's in this armor?"
"Well, the armor's defenses are very different than yours, Anthony," Light said, "and are only active when the full armor is active."
"Alright then," Anthony said, and then turned back towards Amy. "Amy, activate your armor like I do. Armor, ACTIVATE!" Anthony was then covered from head to toe by red metal as armor covered Anthony's upper arms and upper legs, and a helmet appeared on his head.
"Okay..." Amy said, and then said, "Armor, ACTIVATE!"
Amy legs and red boots were covered by pinkish metal which pressed her dress skirting close to her body. Her upper arms were also covered by the metal and silvery metal gauntlets covered her gloved paws. Her head quills were also covered by a metal helm which looked like a single row of pink metal quill segments. Her eyes were covered by a red visor, and a silvery mask covered her nose and muzzle. Vents were above the nose and mouth areas for breathing and speaking. (Author's note: Looks kinda like this: http://www.planetdreamcast.com/sonic/svcomics/comics/sonicverse/sa-mct.gif except pink.)
"Whoa...cool!" Amy said, looking at her armor. "I have GOT to see what I look like!"
Anthony began to worry when he heard that, since the armor made it look like she was roboticized. Still, he followed Amy as Dr. Light directed her towards a mirror. Anthony could tell Amy was shocked by her appearance when she finally saw herself in her armor. But, Anthony could sense she wasn't afraid...
"Ames? Are you alright?" Anthony asked, placing a gauntleted hand on her own armored shoulder.
Amy looked toward Anthony, and then immediately grabbed him in a tight hug. Anthony could sense she was crying tears of joy under her helm, and heard her whisper a thank you. After the hug was released, Anthony said, "You might want to deactivate your armor briefly so you can wipe your tears there, Ames."
Amy did so, and wiped away her tears after the armor receded. Dr. Light then walked up to the two of them. "I take it Amy approves..."
"She does," Anthony said, deactivating his own armor. "Anything she should know about it?"
"Just a few details...Amy, could you reactivate your armor, please?" Dr. Light said, and Amy did so. "Now, Amy...there aren't as many features on this armor as Anthony's, plus the defenses are only available when the armor is active. This is due to the size of the armor."
"What defenses are there?" Amy asked.
"Well, besides the retro rockets on the back of the armor for limited flight, similar to Anthony's," Dr. Light explained, "your two arms have different weapons secreted in them. The right arm has a lightsaber and the left arm has a blaster. I gave you these due to your experience with a crossbow and your recent training with swords."
"Cool! How can I use them?" Amy asked, excitedly.
"There are synaptic relays inside the armor that activate the devices," Light explained. "All you need to do is just think what you want done, and the appropriate devices will activate."
Amy nodded in understanding and then looked at her right arm as she activated the lightsaber. The bluish laser blade seemed to mesmerize her. "Wow..."
"C'mon, let's head outside with the others," Anthony said. "You can practice with your armor with them."
Amy nodded, and to Anthony's surprise she didn't just run out, she activated her rockets and flew out.
"AMY!" Anthony said, trying to calm her down. He then rubbed the bridge of his nose and said, "I've created a monster..."
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Ashura and Crystallis were watching Jenna and Lars absolutely decimate the targets using their new weapons. Jenna's sonic weapons were reducing some of the targets to atoms while Lars's laser ax easily sliced through the rest. Roll was shaking her head, realizing she would have to do some serious replacements for the target range. Just as Jenna and Lars were reaching the last few targets, they were shocked to see something rocket past them and slice through two of the targets with a lightsaber and shooting the rest with a built in blaster. All present were shocked to see that the person who got the last targets looked like a metallic hedgehog.
"What the...?" Crystallis said, and then realized something. "Amy? Is that you?!?"
"Yeah!" Amy said, still hovering a bit over the ground using her rockets. "What do you think of the armor Anthony had Doc Light made for me?"
"Nice, but..." Ashura said, "it almost looks like you're...ROBOTICIZED!"
"Good thing I know I'm not!" Amy said, landing and deactivating her armor.
"Well, I see you have seen Amy's new armor," Anthony said as he walked out to join the others. He then saw the results of Jenna's and Lars's attacks on the targets. "I see you two have gotten used to your weapons..."
"Yes," Jenna said, "and I'm amazed at how light this armor is. It didn't interfere with my movement at all!"
"Did you activate the full armor?" Anthony asked.
"Er, no..." Jenna said. "How do you do that?"
"Like this..." Anthony said. "Armor, ACTIVATE!" Anthony was soon covered in full armor. "Now you two..."
Jenna and Lars nodded and said, "Armor, ACTIVATE!" Soon both were covered in full armor similar to Anthony's, except Jenna's was yellow and Lars's was dark blue. Once the armor was up, Jenna made a few practice moves, and saw her movement was still not hindered.
"Okay, as I already told you," Anthony said, getting the two's attention, "in your full armor mode you'll have no access to the four vehicles I've told you about. In fact, we shall practice with those vehicles now. If you could deactivate your armors..."
All three of the humans deactivated their armors and Anthony then continued. "Alright, you're probably going to be using this vehicle the most, so we'll practice with the jet sled first. That vehicle is Device 2...since the vehicles are named after the same devices in the game Megaman 2. You activate it the same way as the armor, calling it 'Device 2'."
Jenna and Lars nodded in understanding and all three activated their jet sleds. Jenna and Lars noticed the vehicles weren't moving, but were just hovering. "Anthony," Lars asked, "how do we get these things to move?"
"The synaptic receptors in your armor will react to your thoughts and muscle movements," Anthony explained. "Just think where you want to move the vehicle, and it will move accordingly. Alright, follow me!"
Anthony then jetted off and Jenna and Lars followed, leaving Amy to talk with Ashura and Crystallis.
"Man, I envy you, Amy," Ashura said.
"Thanks," Amy said. "I can't believe Anthony actually had this made for me!"
"Well, you are his apprentice, Amy," Light remarked as he joined the group, "so it's only proper. Now, Ashura," Light said, turning towards Ashura, "Roll tells me your Gundam needs work..."
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Anthony was surprised Jenna and Lars managed to keep up with him. It also seemed that Jenna and Lars were enjoying the ride on their new jet sleds as well. The three were currently jet sledding down one of Neo-Chicago's downtown streets, and Anthony asked them to stop once they reached what looked like a city park.
"Alright, let's try out the fourth vehicle," Anthony said, motioning for them to move towards the nearby lake.
As the three of them moved towards there, Lars asked, "Anthony...I don't remember a device 4 in Megaman 2..."
"There wasn't one," Anthony said. "The jet ski was in Megaman 5, and Dr. Light added it as a fourth vehicle for the armor."
"Cool!" Jenna said. "Bet you that vehicle is fun in Minnesota."
"Well, these vehicles are only for transportation between areas or for emergencies," Anthony explained, "otherwise you might find yourself without power when you need it."
"I understand..." Jenna said. "Well, let's check this out. Device 4, ACTIVATE!"
As Jenna's jet ski formed, Anthony and Lars activated theirs, and the three of them practiced maneuvers with their jet skis.
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"Dr. Light informed me that he's made a set of Mastertech armor for Alec," T-Bone said while reporting to Major Sharpe.
"Excellent," Sharpe said. "Alec also appears to be progressing quite rapidly with his powers. He even practices them during times when he's supposed to be off duty. Looks like we may have our Gamemaster 2 sooner than we expected."
"Cool...though I'm still going to have a hard time dealing with four Gamemasters, sir," T-Bone said.
"You got used to being an anthro wolf, Lieutenant, you can adapt to this as well," Sharpe remarked.
"I guess, sir," T-Bone said. "By the way...did you receive that report from Dr. Light on the medicine that was developed for Alec?"
"Yes...trichlorodicathelene..." Sharpe mused. "Amazing that we stumbled upon such a medicine. We even got all the necessary data on it. In fact, I'll need to talk with our medical wing to give them that information. Return to your duties, Lieutenant. I'll inform you when you need to report to Mr. Bault again. Dismissed."
As soon as T-Bone left with a salute, Sharpe left the office and headed towards the medical wing. There he saw one of the doctors giving Alec his regimen.
"Sir," Alec said, standing to attention upon seeing Sharpe.
"At ease, Lieutenant," Sharpe said. "Have you finished receiving your regimen?"
"Yes, sir," Alec said.
"Then report to your quarters and relax for once," Sharpe said. "You've been practicing enough."
"I apologize, sir," Alec said. "It's just hard not to use these powers, and I wanted to make sure I was in top shape with them."
"Well, even the Gamemaster has to rest from using them, Lieutenant," Sharpe said. "Now, report to your quarters and rest. That's an order!"
"Yes, sir," Alec said, saluting and leaving the medical wing.
Sharpe shook his head in disbelief at Alec's overworking himself, and then turned towards the doctor, handing him a folder. "Here's the complete information on trichlorodicathelene I received from Dr. Light."
"Thank you, Major," the doctor said, looking through the information, and then suddenly standing up. "Sir, we may have a problem..."
Sharpe, looking back at the doctor, said, "What's wrong?"
"Well, sir, the maximum safe dosage here says 450 mg," the doctor explained.
"What's wrong with that?" Sharpe asked.
"Well, sir...the dosage we have been using was 600 mg..."