Chapter 6: The High Dive
"Fefnir, if you call me 'just a girl' again, I'm going to rip out your core processor and make you eat it. I'd like to see YOU fight well in the water. Or you, Harpuia. War under the waves is a whole new world, and you both know it. Phantom might have managed, but he's dead now. That just leaves Zero... and I look forward to his arrival." -Neo Arcadia General Leviathan, during the Dark Elf Incident
Dr. Thomas Light's house and laboratory were located on the very outskirts of Tokyo, Japan. The good doctor and his family all preferred it that way; big city life was not a very attractive proposition to any of them. They preferred the peace, quiet and tranquility of living out in the forest. Around noon on the fifth day of the Fourth Robot Rebellion, however, that valued peace, quiet and tranquility was shattered by the noise coming from a single car that made its way along the road to the house.
"Excuse me? Now, I KNOW I didn't hear that correctly. Surely, you couldn't be THAT insane, old buddy." Dr. Trent Corbun laughed at the driver of the car. "Yes, I know you have to show some respect to your home culture, but come on. Chinese food trumps Japanese food on so many levels, it even overrides that!"
"Are you TRYING to make me hurt you, doctor?" Darwin Vinkus' hands were clenched tight on the steering wheel. "Because if you are, then I have to congratulate you upon how close you are coming to succeeding. Even if this wasn't my country, I'd still stick with japanese food over chinese food any day... and I'd put BOTH of them over the stuff they serve where YOU come from!"
"Hey, don't knock the tea and scones!" Corbun protested in mock outrage. "You cheeky blighter! Why, I'd challenge you to a duel of cuisines if I had any ability to cook. Unfortunately, I don't even know how to boil water without burning it, so we'll just have to agree to disagree." Vinkus snorted. "What was that? I suppose YOU know how to cook something edible?"
"Well... no, not really." The UN representative admitted. Corbun nodded triumphantly.
"As I thought. So we'll forego the whole thing than, shall we? At least I hope so, for poor X's sake; he'd probably have to be the judge if we went ahead with it, and I wouldn't wish that on anybody. You REALLY don't want to know what burning water smells like, trust me." The third occupant of the car laughed.
"No, I don't suppose I do, doctor." Mr. X looked out the window of the car. "I believe we are almost there."
"How can you tell?" Vinkus asked, curious. Mr. X pointed out the window to a gaping, blackened hole in the foliage, unknowingly cause by Blues when he had tested the Mega Buster for the first time.
"That is how. Somehow, I do not believe it is a natural occurance."
"You won't get any argument from me there. Ah, here we are." Dr. Corbun agreed as Vinkus parked the car in front of the Lights' house, and all three men piled out. After a curse-filled moment spent extricating Vinkus' coat from the door (much to Corbun's amusement), they rang the doorbell and were admitted by Roll.
"Hey, guys! Great to see you again. Come in, come in." The female robot brought them inside, where Dr. Light greeted them and bade them sit on a couch, which they did gladly.
"Good to see you again, fellas. We were wondering when you were going to stop by and pay us a visit."
"I've been busy with the UN, what with this entire mess." Vinkus shook his head disgustedly. "Damn Cossack anyway for dropping this Rebellion on us. I suppose it just goes to show you, never drop your guard and think it's all over with Robot Masters." Roll coughed, and Vinkus flushed.
"Present company excepted, of course." Dr. Corbun remarked lightly. "I'm sure Darwin meant to add that, Roll. You can say a lot about him-and I usually do-but total bigot isn't one of them. Yet. Where are the rest of the family, anyways? Surely they're not still in stasis?"
"Rock is, but he'll be waking up soon." Dr. Light explained. "He got back very late last night from battling Skull Man. Rush is examining your cane with a great degree of interest, X..." The billionaire frowned and pulled the walking implement away before it became a chew toy. "And Eddie is outside watering the garden."
"What about Blues?" Mr. X asked. He blinked as Dr. Light and Roll's faces both fell.
"Blues... isn't here any more." Roll sighed. "He took off again... said he was going to sneak around and see if he could figure out any secrets about the Rebellion and Cossack that might come in handy. If you hear anything about a guy calling himself 'Proto Man', that's him." The three visitors looked at each other uncomfortably.
"I... see." There was silence for several moments after that, until Vinkus cleared his throat and spoke again.
"So... Mega Man has defeated Skull Man? I already knew he had rescued the hostages at the WGPP... that's two out of eight, not counting Cossack himself. A good start... but far from finishing the job."
"ROCK defeated Skull Man." Roll corrected Vinkus sharply. A moment later, however, another voice contradicted her from the top of the staircase.
"No, Roll. Counciller Vinkus was correct. It is Mega Man who is killing the Robot Masters and stopping the Robot Rebellion, not Rock." He walked down the stairs in full battle armor. Dr. Corbun smiled.
"Very well, then... as you wish, Mega Man. It's good to see you again after all these years... but something tells me you're not going to be sticking around here for long... am I correct?"
"You got it, doc. I'm off to the coast of Norway... time to deal with Dive Man. If any big ships go past there, that situation could suddenly get a lot worse. So I'll take care of the problem before it happens." The blue-armored robot explained.
"That is a very sound theory." Mr. X approved. "We will all be wishing you luck, my friend. When will you be back?"
"Probably not for another day or so, I'm afraid. So I'll see you all another time soon, hopefully. Until then..." Mega warped out. Dr. Corbun watched the blue beam of light fly up through the ceiling and shook his head.
"He's focusing on getting the job done... putting whatever feelings he really has about this Rebellion aside until it's over. An efficient way of dealing with it... as long as it doesn't get out of hand."
"I doubt that it will." Dr. Light smiled. "I have complete faith in Rock... in Mega Man. I don't doubt even for a moment that he knows what he's doing, and that he's doing the right thing." Vinkus glanced at the ceiling again.
"Let's all hope that you're right, Tom."
"D-four." Dive Man announced in his deep bass voice. The computer he was sitting in front of responded immediately.
"Miss. F-nine." Dive Man frowned darkly.
"Patrol boat, hit." In front of him on the screen were the twin grids of an ancient game from the twentieth century known as Battleship. "I have your number now... I attack D-seven."
"Battleship hit." The computer said cheerfully without a trace of anger in its voice. They were at the very end of the game; each had only one ship left, with one hit on it, and both knew the area in which it was in. Dive Man closed his eyes as he waited for the computer's choice. "...F-eight."
"Miss!" The Robot Master smiled triumphantly. "I win, as I now attack point D-eight!"
"Battleship hit... battleship sunk." The computer played a sound file of a mournful trumpet, and Dive Man leaned back in his chair.
"A simple, uncomplicated game... for a simple, uncomplicated mind, I suppose." Dive Man knew that he wasn't the smartest of Doctor Cossack's Robot Masters, nor the most powerful. Those honors belonged to Pharoah Man or Ring Man, most likely. This knowledge did not affect Dive Man in the slightest. After all, neither advanced robotic brains nor deadly land fighting abilities could trump his superiority when under water. On land, yes, he was as slow and useless as a block of lead, and not too much brighter when you took away his automatic processes. But when you put Dive Man under the waves, he could take on anything and everything you threw at him and come out the winner. Confidence in that knowledge kept Dive Man happy.
"I won again... to be expected, I suppose. I do not recall ever losing a single game of Battleship to that computer... although that one almost fixed that. Still... playing against an opponent more mechanical than myself gets dull after a while. Perhaps I should see if one of the human hostages wishes to play... they would undoubtably be grateful for something else to do aside from sit around that room. But no, they would be scared of me... too afraid of the evil and violent Robot Master to play a good game. I'd be wasting my time. But no, there are a lot of them in there... there has to be at least one of them who will be brave enough to play the game well enough. But no, I can't let a hostage out... if Dr. Cossack found out about it, he would be enraged beyond my ability to comprehend it. He would make me into an anchor, most likely... so much for that idea." The hulking blue Robot Master sighed and turned to his computer again. "Might as well check again... computer, run a scan for any large vessels in the area."
"Acknowledged." The computer began humming as it processed the request. A moment later, it gave him the results.
"No large vessels found within a ten-mile radius of this location." Dive Man shrugged.
"It was worth a shot... a chance to catch more hostages would please Doctor Cossack greatly." The computer screen blinked.
"Incoming call."
"Speak of the doctor..." Dive Man raised a nonexistent eyebrow and accepted the call. The familiar orange-bearded face of his creator appeared in a window almost immediately.
"Ah, Dive Man. How are you doing, and what is the situation at your locale right now?"
"Things remain largely unchanged here, Doctor." Dive Man rumbled. "The hostages are being quiet, and the robots remain on the same patrol schedule. I have been hoping for a large ship to come by so we could sink it and increase our hostage count here, but no luck in that regard so far."
"Shame... oh well." Dr. Cossack sighed. "It doesn't really matter that much. As long as some hostages are kept, Mega Man will come. Which brings me to why I have called you, Dive Man. Just a few minutes ago, I detected Mega Man's warp signature. He is coming for you, and will arrive shortly."
"Is that so... well, in that case... you will not have much to worry about for long, Doctor. Mega Man's doom is nigh... he will not be walking-or even swimming-away from this." Dive Man muttered with uncharacteristic humor.
"A bit overconfident, are we?" Dr. Cossack remarked tiredly. "Do Mega Man's previous victories over your two brothers and three seperate Robot Rebellions mean nothing to you, then?"
"I do not deny that Mega Man is a powerful warrior, Doctor. You did not build me THAT stupid." Dive Man's voice would have held a faint injured tone had he been capable of it. "However, he is built for land combat, while I am designed to do battle under water, where we will be fighting. It is simply a mismatch... just as I would be an easy kill for him if I was on dry land, Mega Man will be unable to triumph against me when fighting in the ocean."
"Well, I am glad that you see things that way... in that case, you shouldn't have anything to worry about, should you?" Dr. Cossack remarked with some slight heat. "I shall leave you to wait for that, then. Goodbye, Dive Man." The doctor shut off the communication with an almost audible click and turned to another monitor in his control center, sighing in disgust. "With that kind of an attitude... he's already lost, and I'm down to five. Mega Man is doing better than I originally gave him credit for... moving too fast, succeeding too much. At this rate, he may very well succeed... he may very well win, and I may fail." He shuddered involuntarily at that thought. "No. That cannot happen... I can NOT fail. I can not afford to fail... eh?" He suddenly broke out of his thoughts as he saw something on the monitor, which displayed security camera footage around the outside of his Citadel. For a moment, he thought he had seen a humanoid figure dart behind a tree... a figure wearing armor much like Mega Man's. "Computer, send a Dokuron out there, NOW!"
"Acknowledged." The computer agreed, and Cossack turned to another monitor as it lit up, this one showing the vision of the robot being sent out to investigate. It approached the tree and looked around... and there was nothing there. Nothing at all. It investigated for several minutes until Cossack grunted and called it back in.
"Argh... I'm seeing things. I've been going without sleep altogether too much... although I don't think anybody would blame me, I should get some despite everything that prevents me from doing so... if I'm going to do this Rebellion right, I'll have to be well rested." Dr. Sergei Cossack stood up, stretched, and left his control chamber then. Had he remained just a short time after, however, he would have seen something else very interesting in the security camera footage... the sunlight reflecting sharply off of a pair of sunglasses.
"This looks like an old chemical weapons transport ship..." Mega muttered as he looked around. He had appeared on one of the only unsubmerged portions of a huge, rusted cruiser. It looked to be between thirty to forty years old, which put it at prime time for the Third World War. That would explain the large glass tubes that still held suspicious-looking orange chemicals, at least. "I really don't think I want to crack those open for a closer look... I just hope those dumb robots haven't broken any already." He looked over the underwater expanse of the ship and groaned audibly. "Damn, I wish Rush still had his Marine mode. Oh well, time to get wet... huh?" He blinked. Sections of metal catwalk still remained above the waves; most of it was gone, but he could jump across what was left. "Or not. This seems easier..." Smiling, the blue hero jumped forward. Something stirred in the water below. "What the-?" Those words were all he got out before a green mechanical fish launched itself out, jaws gaping hugely, and latched onto his head. Sputtering, Mega blew it away even as he fell down into the water. Something else glinted on the ship's floor, and with another oath, he rolled away from the buzzsaw blade that raced along it. The robot didn't seem to be much else but that; just a squat control machanism. Mega frowned and fired a shot, completely unsurprised when it bounced off harmlessly.
"If that's not a Gabyool, I'll eat my helmet." One of Lighttech's most popular models, Gabyools were designed to be mobile security cameras. Their tiny size and near-impenetrable armor made them well-suited for the task. Unfortunately, spikes or electric pulses (or, in this case, buzzsaws) could easily be attached to make them a very effective threat. "Something else Cossack's taken from Wily..." Usually, only one of his special weapons would be able to penetrate a Gabyool's hide. Both the Dust Crusher and Skull Man's force field, however, proved ineffective. Shrugging, Mega hurdled the Gabyool and continued on, spotting charging fish-bots from a distance and blowing them away before they could reach him. After crossing a bed of spikes, he came across a sight that was both familiar and bizzare. A Metool's hard hat resting on the ground, undoubtably concealing the robot underneath... and a snorkel's j-tube for breathing poking out from it. Mega cautiously approached, and the robot raised its helmet revealing that it also boasted a pair of flippers on its feet. It immediately launched itself upwards into the water, firing plasma. Mega groaned and killed it.
"Aqua Mets. Pssh. As Blues said about those flying Mets in the Third... stupid design. Just exposes the vulnerable undersides even more." More Swimming Metools and some heavily-armored jellyfish stood in his way next, with spiked floors waiting for him to slip up. Mega blasted the Mets and hurdled the rest. As he stopped in front of a lone spikepit, the blue hero suddenly heard the sound of an incoming teleport. "Huh?" Looking up, he saw a streak of purple light descend from the sky and form into a huge war whalebot. Without waiting for him to respond to this surprise, the whale opened its gaping mouth into a nasty smile and spat out a large missile, which snaked out and smashed right into Mega, exploding away a good 15% of his energy.
"Why, you big... say AAAH!" The blue hero responded by feeding his attacker a charged blast. It coughed up a puff of smoke, followed by another missile. Mega jumped it and gave the whale a second helping. "If that's all you can do, buddy, then they're gonna be serving up whale cakes for breakfast pretty soon!" Apparently, the whale realized this also, and changed tactics. From the blowhole on its top, a large object blasted into the air and split into four mines that sank back down towards Mega. At the same time, the whale's mouth used a powerful suction to try and pull its enemy in. "No, thank YOU! I don't particularly feel like a Pinnochio experience right now, but thanks for the offer!" Fighting the suction, Mega maneuvered between the mines while firing more charged shots down the whale's throat. With one last groan, the massive warbot sank down onto the spiked pit, exploding all over its body, and did not rise again. Mega walked across the hulk of slag, using it as a makeshift bridge, and continued on.
"Ah, good... a chance to dry off." Mega smiled a few jellyfish later as he saw a tower on the ship rise up out of the ocean. Clambering up a ladder, Mega was greeted by Eddie. "Heh... I was wondering when you were going to show up. I'm happy to see you, Ed. What have you-" He fell silent as Eddie stumbled, and with a despairing wail, fell into the water below.
"Beeeeeeeeeeeep!" Groaning, Mega slapped his forehead, then dropped back down after him and fished the little suitcase robot out of the drink by his leg. Once they were up on dry land again, Eddie let out another embarrassed beep and opened to reveal, among a great deal of water and some seaweed, a large energy capsule that replaced the energy Mega had lost to the fish and whale. "Thanks, Ed... but I think you'd better get that armor upgrade-and some waterproofing-from dad before you come help me again." Eddie nodded and teleported away. Climbing onto the top of the tower, Mega observed that the liquid in the glass tanks was now purple. More importantly, a road paver was stomping towards him. Fortunately, the big lug was a good distance away, and Mega was able to whittle down its armor before it could get to him. Behind it, the tower ended in a sheer drop down into the water again. Mega winced, then shrugged.
"Oh well... no helping it, I guess. BANZAI!" Launching himself off, he curled into a cannonball as he plummeted. Ten seconds or so of flight later, he impacted the water with a tremendous splash that sprayed water over a mile-wide radius. "Who says you can't have a moment or two of fun while on a mission?" Progressing forward, he discovered more plasma-deflective jellyfish. They weren't alone, however; the hero narrowed his eyes as a stingray glided towards him and adjusted its swim path for a direct collision. He fired... and missed, overshooting its flattened form. Before he could shoot again, the stingray hit. Mega glared as it swam away, not turning for another strike. "Must operate on a set pattern for the most part... they only change their path to try and run into an enemy as they continue. Pretty stupid... I must admit I'm not going to expect much from Dive Man's intelligence. Ah well, they can't all be geniuses... Heracles wasn't too bright either, and neither were Sennet's Smashbody models." Suddenly, Mega noticed something else. The water level... was strange.
"What's going on here... huh?" He realized what was going on a few moments later; the water was rising and falling! Looking around, he realized that the ship was forming a barrier around the body of water he was in, making it an enclosed pool. "Dive Man must have some sort of mechanism that controls the water level in here... tricky, tricky. Maybe I'm underestimating Dive Man's brains... naaaaaaaaaah. It was probably Cossack's idea." He shrugged. "Well, it doesn't really matter who came up with it, I'll have to be careful. If I mess up on a jump over a spike pit... ugh. Best not to think about that. The good thing about this is Dive Man's HQ is probably somewhere in this enclosed water... so I should reach him sometime soon." He glanced down at the chemical container under his feet; the contents were back to being orange-colored. "None of these are damaged so far... good. I just hope the hostages are in as good a condition as these are. Back to work..." Sliding under a trio of jellyfish who dived at him with grasping claws, Mega set out across the sunken ship once more.
"So, your little suitcase robot is going out to help Mega Man fight the Rebellions too now, eh?" Vinkus inquired over a cup of green tea. Dr. Light nodded, taking a sip of his own.
"Well, yes... and no, in a way. Eddie is not actually doing any fighting, but yes, he is helping out. Support duty is an important role too."
"Most definately... he is doing more than we are, at least." Mr. X sighed. "We're just four old men chattering around our tea... well, all right, two old men and two middle-aged men."
"What would you suggest we do, then?" Corbun smiled. "Have Tom build us all power suits, and we go out and wrestle the Robot Masters? I think not. Actually, that could be the plot of one of those rubbish new saturday morning cartoons. 'Super Fighting Elder Squad.' Judging by current tastes, it'd be a smashing hit."
"Trent, that statement of yours has made me seriously question the content of this tea." Vinkus shuddered. Roll raised an eyebrow, pretending that she was mortally offended by that.
"There's nothing wrong with my tea, counciller! All that's in there is water, tea leaves, sugar and crude!" She snickered as Vinkus's face blanched momentarily before he realized she was joking.
"Very funny. Your wit is almost as sharp as Trent's... and he often has to take care not to slice his own hand open on his."
"That sounded vaguely insulting." Corbun responded, unoffended. "I say vaguely because I'm not sure if I understand all of it. I suppose that means my wit's blade is getting dull. Hopefully, good counciller, you will allow me some time to sharpen it before our next duel of bladed commentary."
"Do you understand what the heck they're talking about?" Dr. Light asked Mr. X casually. The billionaire shook his head.
"Not in the least."
"I was afraid of that." Dr. Light sighed. "Oh well... let's change the subject than, shall we?" Mr. X smiled.
"An excellent idea. Counciller Vinkus, how do things go on the United Nations council concerning the Fourth Robot Rebellion right now?" Vinkus made an indelicate noise.
"Oh, things have improved some... the Transylvanian delegate and his backers have calmed down, by some coincidence. The others, though, are still as crazy they were at the beginning of the Rebellion... unable to see a thing beyond each of their own borders and their own places that have been attacked. Martel from America's doing his best to keep things controlled, but even his patience is starting to fray from all the stupidity. It's almost even getting to the point where I'm leaning towards hating politicians as a general rule, and I'm one of them myself!"
"That IS bad." Dr. Corbun agreed. "For once, I sympathize with you, Darwin. I doubt I would be able to sit through that for a day, let alone as long as you are. I don't know how you can do it... don't you ever get the urge to just take a garden hose to the whole bunch?"
"More than once." Vinkus admitted. "But there are some advantages to a career in politics, after all... one of them is being able to conceal your real emotions very well. I've given up on trying to make sense of it all... I just stay quiet, make my face look bored, listen to them all scream at each other, and count the minutes until I can get out of there... not much else to do."
"Well, hopefully, things will be getting at least slightly better soon." Roll observed. "Once Mega blows up Dive Man, the ones that are yapping about Norway should shut up. Discounting New York, that'll leave four countries left... unless the guy from Russia's at it too?" Vinkus shook his head.
"No... thank god for small favors. Counciller Mikhail's staying pretty quiet... I think he wants to avoid drawing any attention to himself and how his country is the real focal point of this Rebellion. I can't really say that I blame him for it... I'd probably be doing something along those lines too, if I were in his place. I did, when Wily was behind this... I wish I could say it was more of a relief to have Cossack, from somewhere else, be doing it this time. But I'd be telling a bigger lie than I've ever done for something political if I said that."
"Speaking of Dr. Cossack... has he contacted you again to say anything more, make any more demands?" Dr. Light asked. The politician shook his head.
"Nothing. I'm pretty sure you and the rest of the world would already know if he had anything more to say... subtlety and secrecy do not appear to be Cossack's style at all, judging from his first broadcast."
"Well, Wily did things the same way whenever he wanted to open his big mouth about something." Corbun observed.
"Yeah, but HE never managed to hack something so that every television showing it would automatically set its volume loud." Vinkus muttered sourly, draining the last of his cup. "We still don't know how the hell Cossack was able to do that. Nobody's been able to figure it out." Roll shrugged.
"Probably some wierd, complicated zippadeedoodah that most scientests would never even think of. Blues once said something about working outside the box that I think fits this situation... I wasn't really sure about the entire meaning of it, like a lot of the philosophical stuff of his."
"The old adage about the box... yes, that is probably it." Mr. X mused. "Anyways, I would put money on the bet that Cossack will call again eventually, if for no other reason than to boast some more."
"Probably." Dr. Light looked worried. "I just hope that gloating will be all that he'll be doing... that he doesn't try and trick or force Mega into facing the strongest ones before he's ready."
"What if Dust Man and Skull Man were the strongest? There wouldn't be anything to worry about then..." Mr. X suggested hopefully. Corbun shook his head.
"I don't think so, bud. From my experience at Sennet, I'd peg Drill Man and Bright Man as the top models. What about you, Darwin?" Vinkus thought for a moment.
"Well, I make no claims at being a robotocist... but I'd keep my eye on Pharaoh Man and Ring Man if I were out there. Tom?"
"I don't think I like the idea of betting on something that could take my son's life." Dr. Light responded somewhat coldly, before smiling. "But if you must, put me down for Dive Man and Toad Man." Corbun grinned wickedly.
"All right, then! Shall we say that everybody who didn't choose one of the two toughest has to buy the others a round of drinks when this is over?" Roll crossed her arms, looking angry.
"Permit a robot's point of view... but I dislike the idea of betting on something this important even more than Dr. Light. Rock could DIE out there, and that makes the skill of the Robot Masters much more important than a silly bet."
"Um... excuse me, but didn't you make a similar bet with me just before Skull Man?" Dr. Light asked lightly.
"Do not worry, Roll." Mr. X smiled. "Mega Man has proven himself three times over. We all know that he will not fail now... he has as good as won it already. He always does, right, Darwin?"
"I'm staying out of this." The UN counciller muttered. Roll sniffed.
"Well, I just wish I had your confidence... and I hope for Mega's sake that you are correct with it."
"Got you figured out now, blubber boy!" Mega grinned. Another one of the war whales, which Mega had named "Mobys" had attacked. He had discovered, however, that by standing close to the whale, the heat-seeking missiles would go over his head before they could adjust to hit him. A Dust Crusher into the mouth gummed up the suction device beyond salvaging as well, effectively eliminating the Moby's threat. A charged plasma blast finished it off, and the whale fell onto the spikepit below like its predecessor. However, unlike the one before, it did not come to a rest but instead smashed through, revealing a secret hole underneath. Mega glanced down it and shook his head; there were smooth walls all the way down, with no way of getting back up. "I'm sure there's something good down there... but it's too much of a risk now. Maybe if I find some way to reactivate the Rush Marine, I can come back and explore. Until then..." He sighed and jumped across, walking onward.
"Oh, GREAT." Mega moaned as he saw what the final stretch of Dive Man's domain was like. The still-shifting water was now accompanied by rafts covered in deadly spikes. Explosive mines bobbed under the water, interlaced with more stingrays. "Dive Man's pulling out all the stops here, looks like." He laughed as a raft set off a mine and was blown sky-high. "Still, once a lunkhead, always a lunkhead." As if in response to this, the shifting of the water level ceased, leaving the rafts to form a ceiling that only endangered if Mega jumped too high. A few more mines were all that blocked the way now. It took some complicated movements to evade them, but Mega managed, and walked through the metal shutter facing him. The antechamber held round porthole windows... and a cracked orange tank. Swearing, Mega bent over to the liquid mixing with the water and analyzed it, dreading the results.
"Water... salt... caffeine... artificial flavoring...? Wait a second here..." The blue hero began to laugh helplessly. It wasn't chemical weapons... it was orange soda! The whole time, he had been worried about the escape of a delicious beverage. The purple stuff must have been grape. Leaning against the wall to catch his breath, Mega saw S.S. Fizz written on it, which caused him to laugh even harder. After a few minutes of this, he was able to stop and became serious once more. "That was good... but there's no more time for joking if I want to survive this fight." He entered the next room.
"Ah, Mega Man. I have been waiting for you to arrive." Dive Man said, turning around in a chair. "Are you prepared to lose?"
"No, not particularly. However, I am prepared to beat you and rescue the hostages. Is that close enough?" Mega replied casually. The heavy blue Robot Master blinked in confusion.
"You believe you can defeat me in an underwater duel? Not likely... but then, you are a more advanced Robot Master than I am. There is only one way to see who is correct, nevertheless. YAAA!" Shouting a battle cry, Dive Man crouched before launching himself forward as a living torpedo. Mega jumped over him, but Dive Man easily turned around and slammed into the hero's back, sending him flying.
"Oof... fast bugger, aren't you? I underestimated you because of your size... that won't happen again." He fired off a supershot which sizzled against Dive Man's armor, causing him to grunt.
"Is that all you can do? That won't be enough to sink me!" Snarling, he released a red missile from a chest hatch that immediately began tracking Mega. The blue hero was able to shoot it down, but when he turned back to Dive Man, he saw another slam attack coming. A charged plasma blast was unable to halt Dive Man's path, and Mega ate metal wall once again.
"Okay... that obviously isn't working. Let's try something else, then!" A shot of the Dust Crusher hit Dive Man full in the chest. The heavy Robot Master looked down at it, then began laughing.
"I must inquire as to what THAT was supposed to be... it hurt even less than your normal plasma blast! Technically speaking, you could destroy me with perhaps fifty of those... but you won't get the chance! All of your chances end NOW!" He fired a pair of Dive Missiles and then launched himself forward immediately. There was no way Mega Man could dodge all of these... he eagerly listened to hear the scream... "ARGH!" The next thing Dive Man knew, he was lying flat on his back, and in a world of hurt. "What... how?" Looking up, he saw Mega Man's armor was a wintry, icy blue. He was just standing there, doing nothi-wait. There was something around him... a shimmering globe of light in the shape of...
"Skulls." Mega confirmed his enemy's suspicions. "The Skull Barrier, taken from your departed brother Robot Master. A force field. Care to try that again?" Dive Man gritted his teeth and blasted off.
"Fool! I will smash through your pathetic defenses like AAAAH!" This time, the pain was twice as bad as Dive Man crumpled to the ground. Slowly, he got up. "Damn you... but I have another way to destroy you that does not involve physical contact with the Skull Barrier!" He fired a pair of Dive Missiles. "Once your shield is destroyed, you will be easy prey!" Mega shrugged, leaned against a wall and whistled nonchalantly, looking much like his brother.
"Really? We'll see." Unworried, he watched the missiles aproach... and be disintegrated without exploding. Dive Man's jaw dropped.
"Impossible..."
"Not really." Mega stood again. "Your Missiles lack the power to break through the Skull Barrier if they don't explode, and the force field disintegrates the explosion mechanism before it can activate. Face it, Dive Man. You've lost this fight already... nothing you can throw at me can work any more. It's that simple." Dive Man sighed and nodded, then saluted his enemy sharply.
"I agree... there is no reason to continue this. You have proven yourself superior. Good bye, Mega Man." A moment later, Dive Man's chest exploded in a massive ball of fire as he launched a Dive Missile without opening the hatch, and he fell to the floor, dead. Mega Man sighed and walked over to the ruined body, quickly locating the Weapons chip. Absorbing it, he looked in the metal and smiled at the navy-blue and white armor reflected in it, signifying the Dive Missile.
"That was strange... a Robot Master committing suicide... even with the Laws removed or altered, that never happened before, even when they knew they were beat. Cossack's bunch are odd ones..." He sighed and walked towards the back of the room. "But for now, I've got some hostages to free. I can think about that later..." The blue hero walked way victorious, leaving Dive Man alone in the room, the sunken ship from decades ago serving as his grave.
