Chapter 7: A Single Spark
"Nya ha ha... worry? Why? Those two fools failed because they were careless. Ms. Madd used a crowded street, for chrissakes, and Mr. Match was in the kid's own freaking house! My plan is perfect; the electrical power plant shall be their grave. Even if they find a way out of the trap, my Elecman Navi will be in his element. He'll be completely invincible! It's foolproof." -Count Zapp, WWW Founding Member
"I don't believe this." Spark Man murmured. He had the tape rewind a bit and played it again, watching as Mega Man killed Shadow Man with the Top Spin, finally triumphing through seemingly pure luck. He regarded it silently for a moment before screaming and destroying it with a supershot of electricity. "This is impossible! Shadow Man was one of our most deadly, and still he fell to MEGA MAN! Will nothing stop him? What will slow his impossible might?" Angrily, he stalked around the room, kicking things. After a while, his temper cooled, and he stopped.
"Blast it... I can't fight Mega Man! If he killed Shadow Man, I won't stand a chance! I've got to do something to..."
YOU MUST NOT DISOBEY YOUR MASTER. His Master's Second Law flared up, and Spark Man was forced to think of something else. His Master... Spark Man smiled slowly. The Master had been very secretive, not even informing the Robot Masters of who he was. The others had been content with that, but Spark Man was more inquisitive; he was almost certain he knew the Master's identity now. Who he was... and why he was doing this.
"Next time he calls, I'll talk with him..." Spark Man muttered to himself. After a moment, he amended the statement. "If he calls again before Mega Man comes..."
***
"So, Vesuvius has subsided?" Dr. Light asked as he finished patching up Rock. Roll nodded.
"Completely. Seems after he finished the Ripwood boss, Rock rerouted all the lava, then slagged the controls. Even if the bad guys reclaim it, they won't be making it blow for a long time." Dr. Wily grumbled a mild curse in german as he dropped the wrench he was using on Rush, then looked over.
"With the injuries he took? Amazing... it's like Rock and Mega Man are two different people. Rock wants peace, he wants the fighting to stop, he's torn up over all this... but Mega Man just buckles down and gets the job done."
"Like how he kicked your butt twice?" Roll snapped and instantly regretted it. Wily's face fell.
"I suppose so..." Silence filled the room until Dr. Light cleared his throat.
"Well, that's it for Rock's repairs." He started the robot back up. Rock opened his eyes, yawned and jumped off the table.
"Morning, guys. That upgrade done yet?" Dr. Wily shook his head, looked up and nodded, patting Rush on the head as the dog woke up.
"Went off without a hitch. With one of those black Energen crystals, Rush now has enough power to transform into a mini-submarine for underwater." Rock nodded, smiling.
"Nice. Unfortunately, I probably won't need him where I'm going next... Las Vegas."
"Uh, no, I don't think you'd use a submarine there." Roll commented. "Somehow, an abandoned metropolis doesn't strike me as the best place to find large bodies of water."
"I didn't think so either." Rock agreed. "Hope my new Shadow Blades help out." He sighed. "Well, we're not getting any younger just standing here. I'll see you later, Doc. Come on, Rush." The robot phased into his armor, and he and his dog teleported away.
***
"So, this is what the Las Vegas mine is like..." Mega Man said, looking around. He was in a completely underground setting. Anything and everything was made of metal, working, processing, producing...
"Looks like they're putting Vegas's electricity stores to good use." Mega chuckled. "Makes sense, since they're putting Sparkplug models here." He walked ahead, then stopped. A small ladder went up against a ledge going the opposite way he had come up. "Now, if I were the enemy, I'd put a 'bot up there to hit me with when I came up." Pointing his buster upward, he fired off a Magnet Missile and smiled as it turned left. The sound of an explosion followed, and he climbed up, and from there up further to the next floor of the facility. A pair of odd robots were waiting for him; they looked like a pair of squat moving bulbs, one on the floor and one on the ceiling. They moved towards him in perfect synch. Mega frowned.
"Those look like Gabyools." The Gabyool robots were small, highly-armored robots used as sensors. They were also notoriously difficult to destroy. Mega tried a Magnet Missile, and it did nothing; a Shadow Blade worked no better. "Wonder why they're like that..." He muttered as he switched to Top Spin. As if in response to his question, a electric barrier suddenly connected the two. "Aha! Well, scratch the Top Spin, then... I'll just have to time a jump through." Switching back to his normal buster, Mega waited for the field to shut off, then bounded through. He was greeted by a hovering robot that was deployed through a tube in the ceiling. "What is THAT?" The robot glared down at him and fired off a field of sparks in eight directions. Caught by surprise, Mega was hit by one before he destroyed the 'bot with a plasma blast. The rest of the floor was a repetition of what he had already seen; Gabyools, spark-bot, Gabyools, spark-bot. With some good timing, Mega was able to get through with minimal damage. Climbing up, he found another challenger awaiting him.
"A 14-KIF?" The KIFs, also known as the Joes, were one of the few lines of warbots that Lighttech created. The latest, Hammer Joe 14-KIFs, were highly armoreed and attack by slinging heavy shotputs at the opponent. Their weak spot was their single eye, which they opened only to aim a shotput. As Mega watched, the eye opened and he fired several times. The Joe remained undestroyed, though, and the blue robot had to throw himself to the ground to avoid the hurtling projectile. Getting back up, he fired again, this time destroying the Joe. The next floor was a large series of pits, over which the only way was a series of small red platforms. The black arrows pointing upward that were painted on their sides indicated that any weight would activate jets on their bottoms. Glancing up, Mega saw that the ceiling was lined with deadly electrical spikes, and the pit bottoms were the same.
"Oh, this'll be fun..." He muttered dryly as he jumped for the first. "Just as long as there aren't any enemies to try to knock me off."
***
"Just as long as there aren't any enemies to try to knock me off..." The recording device played for Spark Man. The orange Robot Master blinked his huge optics.
"Brilliant! Why didn't I think of that?" Opening a channel, he commanded all his ON-2s to rush to the second series of pits and platforms, just before his room. As he finished, an incoming call popped up. It was his master.
"Spark Man, is Mega Man at your mine?" The shadowed figure asked impatiently. Spark Man nodded.
"Yes, my master. I am worried about his progress, it seems unusually fast. And he has also destroyed three of my colleagues so far... are you certain I can stand up to him?"
"Are you doubting me?" His master growled angrily. "You know that violates my second rule... you'll shut down."
"No, of course not." Spark Man said hastily. "But I still express doubt... also, I do not believe you have constructed a fortress, have you?"
"A fortress?" The master growled. "Don't be foolish. You know that I cannot do that under my present guise."
"Yes... but it worries me nonetheless. If we are all destroyed, you will have no place to fall back on, master."
"You will NOT be destroyed!" The master shouted at him. "Fool, my plan is perfect! Mega Man will be forced to come to you, and you shall destroy him! And with him out of the way, I can kill Wily easily!" Spark Man sighed, squinting at the screen and trying to make out all the features he could.
"Very well... master, Mega Man is nearing the final section. You know this mine is not as well reinforced as the others... master, I ask you. Let me drop the teleport shield and evacuate. I will join one of the others, and we will double-team hi-"
"SILENCE! I don't CARE what you think! The shadowed figure screamed, his eyes lighting up in red. "You WILL stay there, and you WILL destroy Mega Man! Is that CLEAR?!" Spark Man bowed his head in humility and decided to go for broke with his guess... it might be his only chance to do so.
"Yes, my lord..." He looked up at the screen, seeing the master start to turn away. "As you command... master Doc Man."
The shadowed figure halted and remained absolutely motionless, and for a moment Spark Man wondered if he had been wrong. Then he chuckled darkly and moved back, turning on a light at his computer for the first time in months.
"Heh heh heh... I'm impressed, Spark Man. Gemini Man and Shadow Man were supposed to be the most intelligent of your lot... how did you figure it out?" The mastermind was a top-heavy robot, colored in yellow and black and blood-red. His small legs supported a large, heavy figure, his left arm was a permanent buster lacking the ability to change into a hand. His head was large, round and bald, his mouth was a twisted grin that lacked any sense of happiness and only spoke of a ravening insanity that reflected in his dancing red eyes. Spark Man gave a small smile.
"Once I bothered to think about it, it wasn't that hard... you had access to some of Wily's technology, and Doc Man was the only one of his creations with the intelligence to pull this off." Doc Man nodded.
"Very good job... it seems you are intelligent too, Spark Man. I believe you are powerful as well... you have a blessing none of us, even myself, even Mega Man, have... the power of charging a shot. Your only flaw is your lack of confidence. If you succeed where the others have failed, prove your courage to me and destroy Mega Man, I shall make you my second-in-command, and I shall give you the gift I alone hold... the gift of being bound by no laws of robotics." Spark Man's smile grew huge, and his eyes glowed.
"Th... thank you, master! I shall do my best!"
"Do more than your best... do what is neccessary. Doc Man out." Cutting the connection, the malformed robot clicked off the light, descending into darkness once more. Spark Man frowned reflectively.
"Hmm... well, this changes everything. If he thinks I can do it, then I can... I HAVE to... what'll I say to Mega Man when he comes in? 'Here goes nothing?' No, no, too weak... how about 'My name is Spark Man. I am the commander of this facility. In the name of my master, I will destroy you?' Yes, yes, that's good! That's what I'll say before I kill him!" Grinning, Spark Man began charging his supershot...
Far away, in an underground lair, Doc Man brooded on his past. An insane old scientest, laughing madly... and a heartless blue robot, slaughtering without mercy.... the loss of a battle, the brink of death, surviving only through cruelty... and a plea refused, the denial of aid, abandonment due to failure... struggling to survive, performing risky self-repairs, circuitry being warped, screaming in solitude... holographic morphing, changing in identities, each one bringing solace, the madness growing worse... a thirst for revenge, a desire for death, a plan for destruction, a campaign of butchery...
"Know this..." Doc Man whispered, eyes burning with hate. "Know that I shall wreak most bitter revenge on the both of you... Mega Man and Albert Wily, you shall pay for the wrongs done me with your lives... for I am the eternal foe, the master of illusion... I can be anybody in the world, at any time... and by the time you have found me out, it will be too late, and the flames of my hatred will have burnt you away... BURNED! BURN! BURN IN HELL, WILY! BURN IN HELL, MEGA MAN!" Once more overtaken by the insanity that stalked him, the pitiful, tortured robot known as Doc Man stumbled off once more, screaming at demons who were not really there.
***
"Where ARE those doctors?" Roll grumbled. It had been several hours since Rock had taken off. As soon as he had, the two doctors had left as well, for more work on Project Gamma. Roll was left alone, save for Eddie, and while the little brown suitcase did wonders for lab organization, his conversation skills were quite obviously lacking. Growling in frustration, Roll began alphapetizing the CDs for what seemed like the millionth time. Eddie watched her, eyes wide in seeming fascination. After a few minutes of this, Roll turned to the small robot to vent her anger.
"Do you have to watch me all the time? Why don't you go do something else, like playing in traffic?" As soon as the words had escaped her lips, Eddie turned around and waddled out the door. Roll grumpily turned back to her work. It was only after Eddie had reached the bottom of the stairs and was on his way outside that Roll realized he might have taken her suggestion literally. With a most unladylike oath that would have made Dr. Light frown disapprovingly and Dr. Wily chuckle amusedly, she raced after him. When Roll got back, there was a call coming in from the warehouse where Gamma was being built. "It's about time!" She clicked on the comm, and a weary Dr. Light appeared onscreen.
"Hello, Roll. I'm just calling to see how-"
"Dr. Light, what are you doing?!" She interrupted. The doctor looked very tired; his eyes had bags under them and his shoulders were dropping. "No sooner do you fix up Rock than you're gone to build that thing! You know that periods of time without rest are unsafe for humans!"
"We know, Roll." Dr. Wily chimed in, appearing over his colleague's shoulder and looking equally weary. "But you must understand, at this point Gamma is the first priority. The skeleton was completed when we got back, and we've moved on to the most complex part; the wiring, the innards of Gamma. We don't actually have to build it all ourselves, thank every god of every religion in the world for that; our workers can construct it from our blueprints. But me and Tom DO have to go over every completed section with our own eyes to make sure it's constructed exactly like it's supposed to be. Otherwise, we run the risk of the whole thing failing." The doctor took a huge swig from the steaming cup of coffee in his right hand. Roll's frown deepened.
"Exactly my point! The tireder you get, the worse the probability of you two making a mistake, passing something else while you're half-asleep! Then what will happen?"
"All right, all right, Roll." Dr. Light threw up his hands. "We'll come back to catch some sleep after another hour." Before the female robot could voice more protest, the communication clicked off. Roll sighed in disgust.
"Those two are as bad as Mega Man... and it wouldn't surprise me if Blues was the same. What IS it with the males in this family, human or robot, that drives them to such mind-numbing self-sacrificing stupitidy?"
***
"Slaggin' fraggin' ding dong..." Mega Man mumbled as he dived onto solid ground moments before the small platform he had been on smashed into the spiked ceiling. "Whoever designed this needs serious preofessional help." Getting up, he walked ahead, jumping past the pair of Electric Gabyools and climbing up another ladder. As soon as he reached the top, the first thing he saw was a Pickerman Bull bearing down at his head. Yelling, the blue robot jumped up and fired off the first weapon he switched to; the Shadow Blade. Whizzing through the air, it sliced the Pickerman's head in half neatly, and the rest of the 'bot exploded. Mega whistled.
"Quick, maneuverable and powerful. Nice. I think I like this thing." Looking up, the hero saw a large energy capsule and a large weapons capsule on a high ledge. A little aid from Rush grabbed him both, replenishing everything he had lost so far. The next floor held nothing more than a pair of Petercheys, but beyond them was what looked like the ruins of an elevator. Looking down the shaft, Mega Man discovered to his dismay that it was at least a hundred feet down.
"Slag... I can't risk jumping that. There's got to be some safer way down..." The Top Spin was useless; the gyrating would only increase his velocity. The Magnet Missile? Briefly he entertained the notion of surfing on one like he had on his jetboard in the Second Rebellion, but he knew that wouldn't work. "I wish I still had those tools... the wall-climber would solve this. Wait... what about the Shadow Blade?" Switching to it, he produced a ninja star. "I wonder..." Experimenting, he slammed it into the floor, and smiled as it stuck deep in there.
"Bingo." Picking it up, he produced another for his other hand, then jammed them both into the wall of the shaft below. A moment later, he was hanging from them. Pulling one out, he jammed it in lower while hanging from the second, then did the same for it. It was slow, but about ten minutes later, he reached the bottom. The path led past several garbage stackers; with practice, Mega discovered he could slide between the falling blocks if his timing was right. Once he was past them all, the blue robot descended once more to the final floor-then groaned audibly. Ahead of him, the way strongly resembled the spike-ceilinged hall he had just come across. With one major difference; now he saw Nuttons hovering. Boltons were definately waiting to crash in when he got close, and knock him off. Mega smiled grimly as he saw the door to the control center on the other side of the chasm.
"Well, whoever's in charge here guessed wrong if he thought this was going to stop me." Making his way across, he Magnet Missiled the far-away ones and Top Spinned the closer ones. When he walked through the door, the blue robot was at 78% energy... a pretty good amount. Until he actually stepped through the door, and was immediately hit by a huge, blazing blast of electricity that knocked him onto his rear. The control chamber was oddly built... instead of being flat like the others, it had a hill-like rise in the center. On top of the rise, an orange Sparkplug model waited, glaring down at him.
"I assume you are the lead Sparkplug?" Rock inquired angrily, getting back to his feet. Slowly, it nodded.
"My name is Spark Man. I am the commander of this facility. In the name of my master, I will destroy you." With those friendly words, Spark Man brought the electrodes he had in place of hands together over his head, and fired off a spray of sparks in every direction. Yowling angrily, Mega Man returned fire even as he was hit. Sparky stood still, taking the shots as he kept his electrodes together. Mega frowned.
"That strikes a bell... where have I seen-OH SHIT." Pale, he dived to the side as the massive charged shot of electricity blasted past where he had been a moment before. "This guy's got charging?!" Charging a shot was a technique Mega had only seen once before, when he had acquired the Atomic Fire from Heat Man in the Second Rebellion. It seemed Sparkplugs were capable of it as well. "I KNEW I shoulda done more research on you guys..." Now Spark Man was jumping towards him in a series of hops. Mega tried firing once more, but the jumps were too fast; most of his shots missed.
"Dammit, this guy's too jumpy for the buster..." Mega Man dodged another spray and switched to the Magnet Missile. The projectile flew straight, turned to smash into the enemy... and bounced off harmlessly, doing no damage whatsoever. Laughing, Spark Man blasted Mega Man right in the chest with a supershot, sending the hero flying back into the wall behind him. Those things HURT; Mega was down to 39% energy. Make that 33%; as he got up, another spray hit him. The buster's too inaccurate, the Missile's ineffective, and the Top Spin's too risky; Spark Man's heavier than Shadow Man, so it won't work nearly as well. That leaves only my newest weapon, the Shadow Blade. Praying mentally, Mega Man turned purple and threw out a blade just as Spark Man prepared to release the supershot that would destroy the blue fool and prove that he was fit to be second-in-command to his master, Lord-
Spark Man's scream was audible only for a second before it was drowned out in the explosion. The Shadow Blade had sliced his left arm off, and the charged electrical energy had backfired. Mega Man ran over as Spark Man collapsed, and threw two more blades, removing the electrical robot's legs. Moaning, Spark Man rolled over onto his back, eyes filled with fear.
"N... no... I don't want to... die..." Mega bent down next to him.
"You were brave a moment ago."
"My master's... favor... gave me courage..." Hearing this, Mega Man grabbed him.
"Your master! Who is he? Why is he doing this? What does he want?" Spark Man blinked, then slowly smiled.
"...No. I shall still serve my master. If he does not wish you to know his identity, you won't learn it from me! Goodbye, Mega Man!" With a sudden movement, Spark Man smashed his sole remaining limb through his face, literally blowing his robotic brains out. Mega Man remained there, unmoving and unspeaking for several moments before prying out the weapons chip from his fallen foe's arm. A moment later, a familiar whistle was heard.
"Very well done!" A mocking voice came from the opening door. A red and grey humanoid figure walked in.
"Break Man!" Mega glared. "You want to fight again?"
"No thanks." Break Man whistled his tune once more. "I'm just here to grab the Crystals. Thanks for doing the dirty work!" The red robot suddenly ran for the door on the opposite end of the room, which they both knew contained the Energen Crystals from this mine. Unfortunately for him, Mega Man had other plans; he grabbed the yellow scarf around Break Man's neck and slammed him to the floor before running past, making sure to step on his foe's face as he went. Break Man pulled himself up just in time to see Mega Man wave cheekily and teleport away with the Yellow Energen Crystals.
The swearing that filled that room afterwards would have made his creator blush.
