Chapter 8: Prince Of The Slime
"Why does everybody always underestimate the green, scaly guys? Listen up, blue boy; sooner or later, you'll realize looks aren't everything. Just because somebody LOOKS like something you'd keep in a cage doesn't mean they can't bite you REAL bad where it hurts. Just a little advice." -Snakeman.exe, Netnavi
"Well, that's half of them." Roll sighed. "I suppose that's a good thing... although I think my brother dearest made a bit of a bad choice with going after this particular one too early."
"In a way, you could also call that a good thing." Dr. Light replied cheerfully. "At least Ring Man is dead, and Rock is still alive." Roll snorted.
"Please, dad. I'm in no mood for platitudes, or whatever." She glared down at Mega Man's mostly-repaired body; though almost all of the internal damage had been fixed, the multiple gashes recieved from the Ring Boomerangs were still very evident. "He must've used an E-Tank... there's no way he could have survived this much energy loss otherwise. Stupid, stupid, stupid..."
"Stupid? Using an E-Tank?" Dr. Light frowned at this pronouncement. "How is preserving his life stupid, Roll?"
"Not that, dad..." The female robot rolled her eyes. "It's how he fell right into Cossack's trap that's so stupid. Quite obviously from this much damage, I was right. Cossack was banking on Rock NOT going after Toad Man and Drill Man. The whole thing was a complicated trap, and Rock was the one who took the bait by avoiding what he THOUGHT was a lure."
"Well, perhaps he will heed your advice more next time." The doctor attempted to pacify her. Roll just sighed again.
"Yeah, maybe... and maybe it'll rain toads, too. Idiot. He'd BETTER listen to me next time, or maybe while I'm repairing him I'll accidentally cross a few wires and make him moonwalk. And I don't mean as in Gemini Man." Dr. Light laughed as he began to finish the repairs.
"That would teach him SOMETHING, all right... but it might not be exactly what you were aiming for. We're almost done here... where did you put that Ring Boomerang we found?"
"It's over on that table... I washed it off, of course." Roll glanced at the deadly weapon they had discovered embedded in her brother's leg. "I don't think he even noticed it was there. Complete doofus when he goes into battle mode, I tell you. We going to hold onto it?" Dr. Light nodded absently as he stitched up some synthskin.
"Yes... Rock might want to keep it around for something. He gets like that sometime. And if not, we can always give it to Blues as a welcome-back present when he returns... he would probably like it to make into an amulet or something."
"He likes wierd things like that, all right..." Roll agreed. "It'd look pretty good with that yellow scarf of his, I suppose. Are we going to wake up sleeping ugly here anytime soon?"
"Just a few more seconds... there." The doctor grunted as he put in the last stitch. "That should just about do it... and he's been in stasis long enough. Yes, I suppose we should wake him up now." He shook Mega until the robotic boy began to stir and opened his eyes.
"Morning, dad. Sis. Didja get that Ring Boomerang out of my leg?" Roll smiled innocently.
"What Ring Boomerang?"
"Oh, I don't know... that one, perhaps?" Mega pointed at the weapon in question on a nearby table.
"Nuts."
"Please... you'll have to do better than that to get me." Mega jumped off of the operating table. "And before you say 'I told you so,' I'll admit right here and now that you were right and I was wrong." Roll pouted.
"You're taking all the fun out of this, you know."
"You'll live."
"Children..." Dr. Light covered his face with his hands for a moment. "Enough. Please."
"Oh, all right..." Mega walked over to the Ring Boomerang and grabbed it, then flung it with an expert toss.
"HEY!" Roll yelled as she dived to the side, the deadly projectile making a cut in her dress before it sank into the wall with a grinding noise. Dr. Light groaned even louder than before.
"MORE property damage, Rock?"
"Property damage, heck!" Roll spat angrily. "You almost took my arm off, you imbecile!"
"Hmm... different feel than the Cut Blades, Quick Boomerangs and Shadow Blades... I'll have to practice a bit more before I can throw them correctly, seems like." Mega mused to himself, completely oblivious. Until Roll whacked him soundly between the eyes, that is. "OW!"
"Don't do that again." She smiled. "Anyways... gonna get going again now, I assume. Don't tell me I have to tell YOU to pick Toad Man or Drill Man, or I'll hurt you more."
"No, that's quite all right." Mega shook his head. "It's definately one of those two, then the other next time. Question is, which should I take first? The Rush Jet's probably more useful, but as we've already established, any guesses based on that kind of thing don't work. Frackin' Cossack."
"So, how ARE you going to decide then?" Roll asked impatiently. Her brother thought for a moment.
"Hm... ah, I know. Dad, you got a quarter?"
"You're going to flip a coin to decide who you're going after?" The female robot asked incredulously as Dr. Light rummaged in his labcoat pockets and finally produced one, which Mega took.
"Basically, yes. Thanks, dad." He flipped it. "Heads, Drill Man; tails, Toad Man." He caught it and put his palm over it, waited for a moment, and revealed the coin as... tails. "Toad Man it is, then. Hey, Rush!"
"Arf!" The robotic dog ran up, barking happily. Mega bent over and scratched him behind the ears.
"You're gonna get your Marine mode again soon, boy. And Jet mode soon after! Sound good to you?"
"Ruff!" Rush barked affirmatively.
"Me too. All right then, let's be off, shall we?"
"Ratton and Puyoyon patrol patterns still holding steady. All units are at 100% internal operations energy. There have been no incidents so far." The computer reported. The squat, green figure sitting before it nodded.
"Excellent... no changes." Toad Man was a round robot master with no real head; his eyes were set above his chest. "Everything's running orderly and efficient, as it should be. What about Swallon and Coswallon flight patterns? Have there been any problems with those?"
"None of great importance."
"None of...?" Toad Man blinked indignantly. "Computer, with perfect efficiency, ANY discrepancy is of great importance. Tell me of every incident. Now." Were it possible, the computer would almost certainly have released an exasperated sigh at that point before obeying.
"Five hours, twenty-one minutes ago; Swallon 34 lost Coswallon 34-1 due to a falling branch. Coswallon 34-1B was immediately sent out to replace it. Three hours, fifty-seven minutes ago; Swallon 19 encountered a hawk. One hour ago, Swallon 10 shorted itself out due to flying into a raincloud, along with Coswallons 10-1, 10-2, 10-3 and 10-4. Swallon 61, along with Coswallons 61-1, 61-2, 61-3 and 61-4 was immediately sent out to replace it." Toad Man nodded.
"Very well. In the future, computer, don't leave ANYTHING out when reporting to me. Now, then. How are the two Escaru? Do they still remain in standby mode as I left them?"
"Affirmative. The Escaru remain in standby, and the control pods rest in their power packs directly above them in the ceilings to maintain a full charge of energy so they will be ready to activate at a moment's notice."
"Good, good. And the human hostages?" The green Robot Master pressed. "Are they behaving? Being good little Mega Man lures? I always did like fishing..."
"There have been... zero escape attempts, zero fights, and zero suicides. The human hostages appear to be completely unharmed and docile. The most activity was when one of them discovered a bit of algae in their water supply." Toad Man snorted in disgust upon hearing this.
"Blech. Humans. It's perfectly good water, but they have to go making a big deal about it. They're so... inefficient. But I suppose I should be expecting that by now. That will be all for the moment, computer." He leaned back in his chair, pointy-toed feet easily leaving the floor, for a moment before making a frowning motion with his eyes and returning to his prior position. "Hold on... I almost forgot. Computer, was there a warp signature detected leaving Ring Man's territory in Canada at any time after DLN001 Rock/Mega Man arrived there?"
"Yes."
"Was it Mega Man's warp signature?"
"...Yes." The computer replied again after a moment of processing. Toad Man released a slimy curse and pounded his armrest.
"Blast! I thought we HAD him that time! How could he have been able to defeat Ring Man without the Pharaoh Shot at his command? It makes no sense according to the parameters of his abilities taken from the three Robot Rebellions before this one! None at all!"
"Excuse me, master Toad Man..." The computer interrupted his ranting with a tone that would have been almost apologetic had it come from something possessing that emotion. "You have an incoming call from Doctor Sergei Cossack at his citadel in Russia." Toad Man nodded, all business once more.
"Very well. Allow it through."
"Toad Man. I assume you already know of Ring Man's defeat." The russian doctor greeted his creation without preamble. "You are the most logical of your brethren, after all." The green Robot Master nodded.
"Yes, and I must confess I am confused, doctor. This development was a hundred-to-one chance, to use a human approximation. How...?" Somewhat surprisingly, Cossack's face held no annoyance, but a weary amusement.
"Toad Man, by any chance are you using the statistics on Mega Man that we acquired from the first three Rebellions as your calculations?"
"Well... yes."
"I thought so." Cossack chuckled. "Well... first off, those statistics no longer apply to Mega Man. The new plasma weapon that he has... it is at least five times as powerful as his ordinary plasma bullets. He killed Dust Man with eight hits. I'm surprised you missed that part of the answer."
"Now that you bring it to mind, I suppose I should have looked at the data from the others' fights more closely..." Toad Man acknowledged. He blinked. "Wait. What do you mean, 'that part of the answer,' Doctor?" Cossack laughed again.
"Exactly what it sounds like, Toad Man. That is only part of the answer as to why Mega Man has gotten so far." His smile faded. "Something that I, that all of us failed to take into account... is the difference between a regular Robot Master and an Advanced one. Mega Man, Roll, and Blues... and that wretched soul, Doc Man... are very different from all other Robot Masters, including you and the rest of your brethren. Mega Man possesses an advantage over you, an incredibly powerful attribute that has done more for his victories than any weapon."
"And what is that, Doctor?" Toad Man asked, curious in spite of his skepticism at this kind of talk. Cossack stared right into his eyes.
"His spirit, Toad Man. His will, his drive. That cannot be measured by statistics... cannot be predicted in planning for a fight with him. Unlike you and the others, who fight because that is what your programming tells you to do... Mega Man fights of his own choice. Like you, he can not stop fighting or surrender, but for him, it is because HE can never do that, not because his programming makes him. Quite frankly, Toad Man... this begins to worry me."
"Well, I may have a chance." Toad Man tried to cheer his creator up. "It stands to reason that Mega Man will have seen through your subterfuge and attack either myself or Drill Man next. If he goes after Drill Man first, I am lost. But if he fights me without the Drill Bomb... I may have a chance at ending his life. That is all I can promise, Doctor." Cossack nodded.
"I am glad to see you are being both optimistic and realistic. To answer your question, Toad Man... he is coming for you next. Be ready... I have no doubt in my mind that you will make me proud."
"My existence is my duty, Doctor Cossack. I shall not let you down." Toad Man saluted sharply and cut the connection. "Computer, prepare the Escaru for action, and switch all robots from patrol patterns to defense pattterns. Mega Man is on his way here even as we speak."
"Acknowledged."
"Well, at least it's not smelling yet..." Mega Man acknowledged with a sigh as he looked into the rainstorm he had landed right in. The blue robot had arrived outside the most ready entrance; a brick walkway crossing the Hudson River, pouring water from the pipes out its sides. Across it was an open pipe leading further in. "Good thing the NY police were able to find this place as the main way Toad Man's robots were using to get in an out..." Mega muttered a thanks to whatever gods there might be for that luck. Otherwise, he would have had to use a random manhole and might have gotten lost in the maze down there for the rest of his life. "I just hope Toad Man's made his influence pretty straightforward... the more logical thinker he is, the better, in this case. If he's like Ring Man, I'm in trouble. Well, no use in idle speculation... huh?"
"SKREEE!" With a fierce shriek, a pack of blue bird robots dived at the surprised hero. The leader was almost as big as Mega, while the others were only the size of baseballs, but they all had sharp beaks and claws which they used to inflict damage before being destroyed.
"Aw, man... down to 80% energy already? I'm gonna have to be more careful, or I'll wind up just another piece of garbage here..." As he moved across the walkway, more birdbots swooped down, along with Metool-like walking heads that fell from the heavens before launching dagger-tipped umbrellas. "Either somebody's a fan of that old supervillain, the Penguin, or he's just got a twisted sense of humor about this rainstorm." Shaking his head, Mega jumped the projectile and wasted its wielder. Unfortunately, the storm was growing heavier, and the birds were unaffected by it, seeming to become even more accurate with their dives. And all that BEFORE he saw what the condition of the walkway further on was...
"What the hell is THIS?" Mega asked the heavens as he stood in front of the large gaps of broken brick. "Why on earth would this be part of the design plan? It makes no sense... wait." He smacked hismelf in the head. "DUH. It might not make sense for human use, but Toad Man probably knew I was coming and did this. He couldn't take out the entire bridge, or I wouldn't go on at all. No, he had to leave just enough so that I'd be stupid enough to try and cross." He smiled grimly. The Hudson below was in such a state due to the heavy storm that if he fell in, the blue hero would be instantly blasted away to who-knows-where. The ocean, maybe. Not fun, but what choice did he have? "I need a raise." He continued muttering to himself as he crossed. Fortunately, there was only one pack of birds that attacked while he was in the precarious position. Still, by the time he had finally reached the end of the walkway and the way into the sewers, Mega was down to 50% of his energy.
"I just hope it's better inside than it is out there..." Dropping in, he immediately found himself face-to-face with a humongous rat. "YAAA!" Yelling, the blue hero jumped back and was about to fire when he realized the rodent wasn't mechanical. It was a live rat. Squealing, it turned and ran in fright. Mega watched it go and laughed weakly. "Now I'm harrassing the wildlife... if you can call it that. What's next? Do I interrupt a family of leeches during their dinner?" He dropped further down into some running water and frowned at a robotic leech hanging from the ceiling. "Close enough." A single supershot incinerated it before it had a chance to drop down and sink its fangs into him. Next on his hit list was another rat, this one a robot enemy. It was destroyed as easily as the leech.
"I might not be in such bad shape after all..." Mega realized. "If these types of weaklings are the only guards Toad Man's got down here in the sewers themselves, I could make it to him without another scratch." Indeed, the rats and leeches showed themselves to be a remarkably pathetic defense force, even when the battlefield was changed to their advantage by waterfalls from above that threatened to wash Mega over edges into dark, unknown depths. Following the paths down another level, Mega smiled as he landed in a dry pipe.
"My luck just keeps getting better and better..." He turned around. "Or NOT..." The way onward was filled by a tank-sized, decidedly grumpy-looking robotic snail. Slowly, its eyes opened to glare at him. "Roadblock. Figures. Well, everything comes crumbling down in the end..." With those words of wisdom, Mega attacked the snail's shell... and watched in horror as the plasma supershot was deflected. "No way... is that entire THING plasma-deflective?! DAMN Cossack anyways!"
"Now, that is impolite. And illogical." A voice from below the snail's eyes croaked. "You could be using your energy much better in a futile struggle to avoid defeat than by pointless cursing."
"Well, if it isn't the frog prince." Mega spat as he avoided a large bomb launched from the top of the shell. "Where the heck did you boys find enough plasma-deflective metal for one of these? Last I checked, the stuff wasn't available on the shopping channel for ninety-nine ninety-nine plus shipping and handling."
"Two, actually." Toad Man corrected him, the snail simultaneously launching its eyes at Mega in a boomeranging arc. The rest of the war machine remained completely still until they returned. "There are two, so don't get too happy if you somehow manage to destroy this one. As for your question... well, let's just say several trucks shipping valuable cargo across out-of-the-way roads met with... accidents."
"Roadside banditry. Why am I not surprised by this. Oh well, it's all slag now!" Mega crowed as the eyes on the snail exploded and the rest of it died with a hum.
"WHAT?!" Toad Man croaked incredulously over the fading intercom. "How did you..."
"Simple." The blue hero explained. "While you were running your mouth off, I fired small shots at every point that was exposed outside the shell. Not only did the eyes get damaged the most, but I also noticed that when they were disconnected, the rest of the snail went cold. Thus, I figured they were the control unit and power source. I was right, wasn't I? Tell me I was right." All Toad Man told him was a rather rude suggestion before the speaker gave out as well. Mega shrugged. "Oh well. I'm pretty sure I was right anyways..." Climbing over the shell without any fuss, he continued down the pipe. And back into the waterways. "Figures..."
"Beep BEEEEEEP!" A frantic, familiar noise drew Mega's attention to the water, where Eddie was being carried along helplessly by the current, his legs paddling uselessly against it. Mega groaned.
"Aw, geez... Eddie, just teleport! Forget it this time!" As the little suitcase robot disappeared down a side tunnel, the whine of a teleport showed that he was following the advice. Mega put his hand to his face. "Looks like I'm not the only one who's having a hard time with the water here..."
Then he began to laugh uncontrollably.
"Do you think he's doing okay?" Roll asked her father as she served him and their guests some tea once more. "Rock, I mean."
"Worried about how he'll fare against... who was it again, X?" Dr. Corbun asked the billionaire, taking a sip of his beverage. Mr. X smiled as he took his.
"Toad Man, doctor."
"Ah yes, the frog prince... I wouldn't worry, Roll. Rock beat Serpos-sorry, Snake Man-didn't he? And snakes eat toads. Shouldn't be any problem at all."
"That's hardly a sound basis to be making a judgement on." Vinkus snorted. "You could just as well say that any Robot Master with an emphasis on speed would be no problem after he defeated Quick Man in the Second Rebellion."
"Sounds good to me!" The british robotocist agreed happily, more out of a desire to annoy Vinkus than actual belief. The politician just muttered something that was probably more than vaguely insulting under his breath as Roll laughed, Mr. X smiled tolerantly and Dr. Light just shook his head.
"Please, you two... enough bickering for now. There's enough verbal combat in this house already with Rock and Roll. Just because Blues is gone for now doesn't mean you need to fill the abscence. Would you believe I actually enjoy peace and quiet once in a while?"
"Not while they're around, you won't." Roll grinned. "And even afterwards, you can count on everybody else around here to keep things interesting for you." On cue, there was the whine of an incoming teleport accompanied by a brown beam of light that formed into Eddie, sitting on the coffee table. He was covered in water, green slime and other, less identfiable (thankfully) substances. All five people wrinkled their noses simultaneously at this.
"Oh, Eddie... what happened NOW?" Dr. Light sighed. The suitcase robot turned to Roll and explained in a stream of binary. She groaned.
"He says he fell in the current and was unable to even reach Mega at all. Perfect. He did manage to kill a fish robot by crashing into it, though, so I suppose that's something. Come on, you, let's get you cleaned up... at least it's not salt water this time." Grabbing a towel out of a cabinet, she wrapped Eddie in it to prevent further leaking on the carpet and carried him to the lab. The four men waited until she was gone, then simultaneously burst into laughter.
"Ha ha ha... if it makes you feel any-ha ha-better, Tom, fatherhood with non-ha ha ha-robotic kids isn't that much better! Ha ha ha!" Dr. Corbun was almost falling out of his chair.
"Ha ha ha... I had thought some of your stories were exaggerations, my friend... hee hee... but now I am starting to wonder!" Mr. X wasn't doing much better. Dr. Light shook his head.
"No... they're all true, unfortunately... ha ha! This house has the scorch marks to prove it!" Even Vinkus was chuckling.
"Heh heh... I must say I don't envy you living here, Tom. The bills to repair all the damage must be catastrophic." He looked at the coffee table. "Speaking of which, if you don't want to buy a new one of those, I think you might consider cleaning that up fairly quickly."
"Probably." Corbun deadpanned as the elder doctor grabbed some cleaning supplies and got to work on it.
"I suppose I should consider myself lucky..."
"Lucky?" Vinkus blinked, taken aback upon hearing this. "Would you mind explaining HOW one could consider this lucky?"
"Rush isn't here."
"That would do it, yes." Dr. Corbun agreed after a moment's thought. "You ever owned a dog, Vinky? I have, and they can always be counted on to make a bad mess worse. Especially if it smells bad, which this most certainly does."
"Once again, could be worse." Mr. X smiled. "What if it was Skunk Man instead of Toad Man?" The others all shuddered.
"Pray to whatever gods there are that no maniac will ever make THAT idea into reality..." Vinkus urged them. They all nodded quickly, Corbun in particular.
"Amen to THAT. Of course, now that I've agreed with Vinkus on something, the world's going to implode, so it doesn't even matter." He waited for a few moments in which the others obligingly remained silent, then made a rude noise. "Well, so much for any store I put in religion."
"The churches will mourn your loss greatly." Vinkus replied drily. "At any rate... I suppose that little baggage-bot's return should be considered a good thing. It means Mega Man's still alive, or he would have told Roll."
"Oh, Rock's not just alive, I'd bet." Dr. Light grunted as he got rid of the cleaning supplies, his job done. "He's probably got some frog's legs served up by now. What kind of special weapon could a toad use, anyways? Lily pad missiles?" They all thought for a moment before Corbun came up with an idea.
"Maybe an electric-powered tongue?"
"Um... I don't believe the Variable Weapons System is designed with that in mind." Dr. Light turned it down. "And besides, even if it was, that would just look... not good.... from Rock."
"I believe the technical term is 'just plain WRONG,' Tom." Mr. X told him. Dr. Light nodded.
"Yes, that's what I was thinking of."
"Let's change the subject." Vinkus pleaded. "To anything. We can change it to the tea for all I care."
"Ah, tea." Dr. Corbun lifted his cup to eye level. "One of mankind's greatest inventions in my not-so-humble opinion. Whether green here in Japan, grey back in my homeland, or any other color in any other country. It's truly a shame that it's not as popular as coffee for the caffiene value across the globe."
"I was JOKING." The politician growled. "Rather than listen to a continued dissertation on tea leaves from you, let's go back to discussing Mega Man, shall we? It is the current hot topic, after all... only this time, without the disturbing mental images, please." Dr. Light nodded.
"Well, I assume you saw that broadcast from Cossack." They all nodded. "It was a double-fake... he actually wanted Rock to NOT attack Toad or Drill."
"So, after he defeats the robot ribbit, he'll be heading to that mine in the mountains?" Corbun mused.
"Then there will only be two left... Bright Man and Pharoah Man." Mr. X agreed. "And after they are dealt with, I assume Cossack himself shall be stopped?"
"Unless he has a backup army ready to take more hostages, yes." Dr. Light agreed. "We're certainly not going to just leave him there. But one thing at a time, after all... I wonder if Rock's defeated Toad Man yet."
"I never did like escargot..." Mega muttered as he climbed over the second snailbot and beheld a large pool of stagnant water. "Hmph... some pipes must be closed off. I think I'll try not to fall in if possible anyways, though..." Climbing onto an old maintenance catwalk and walking across, he didn't bat an eyelid when a mechanical fish launched itself out of the water at him, jaws gaping, and he destroyed it. "Same model as Dive Man used... efficient, but ineffective." The biggest problem with crossing the water turned out to be a section where the catwalk had given out, forcing him to jump down into the drink. Still, he made it to the other side of the pool safely and walked through the familiar, if oddly copperish, shutters.
"It was only a matter of time before you arrived here, after you deactivated my second Escaru." Toad Man said as way of greeting. "Shall we get this started right away, then?"
"I'm completely soaked, I've got bite marks, and I smell bad." Mega growled back. "I'm as eager to get this done with as you are. But a couple questions first. Where are the hostages, and the green Energen crystal?"
"The humans are in the hall behind this room." Toad Man replied. "Second door on the right."
"And the guards are set to deactivate once you've been killed? I believe that's the standard agreement." Mega asked just to make sure. The amphibious Robot Master shook his head-well, what head he had-and nodded at the same time, looking decidedly odd as he did so.
"Yes and no. Yes, all robots here will shut down upon my defeat. But there are no guards near the human hostages."
"You don't have any robots guarding them at all?" Mega asked, surprised. Toad Man shook his head.
"None. I have simply set an acidic rain pod to activate if the only door is opened from that side." Mega's face turned grim.
"You're a cruel one."
"Cruelty is a human emotion." Toad Man countered. "I am simply striving to maintain maximum efficiency. However, if you open that door from the hall side, the pod shall be destroyed harmlessly. As for the Energen crystal..." He pointed to a glass case set in the wall, where a familiar glittering gem was resting. "Does that satisfy all of your questions?"
"All except one." Mega smiled grimly as he drew a Ring Boomerang. "Are you ready to die?"
"Well, let me think about that one for a moment..." Toad Man croaked and rolled his eyes before leaping high into the air without warning, heavy metal body aimed to land on Mega. The smaller blue robot, though, had grown used to this trick from Cossack's robots and rolled out of the way, retaliating with the razor-edged projectile. Toad Man grunted as it sliced into his armor.
"Dodge this, then!" Raising his hands above his head, he threw a pod upwards into the ceiling. It burst, and waves of acid splashed down, scattering all over the room. Toad Man appeared to be specially designed to be unaffected by the compound, but Mega Man was not so lucky. Screaming, he threw more Ring Boomerangs.
"That HURTS, damn it!"
"That was the general idea, I believe." Toad Man deadpanned, not budging an inch as the deadly projectile was melted down by the acid. "That won't work, by the way... those weapons are too fragile."
"Thanks for the tip!" Mega snarled as he suddenly jumped forward and fired several Dive Missiles straight into the portly Robot Master's gut. Toad Man stumbled backwards, croaked and responded with more acid, which threw the missiles' targeting off. When Mega tried to get closer, he simply leaped across the room, and the blue robot was forced to discard another weapon.
"Don't even try the Dust Crusher, by the way." Toad Man wagged a finger. "Its structural integrity will be easy prey for my Rain Flush."
"All right, then..." Mega returned to his normal colors. "Let's just go with the basics, then! In your own words... dodge THIS!" The charged plasma blast flew straight and true into Toad Man's face even as he tried to jump it, and its followup hit him in the gut.
"Why, you...!" Toad Man raised his hands again, but another blast knocked him back on his rear. Every time he tried to get back up and call the deadly rain again, Mega Man's shot hit him first. With a growing sense of desperation, the amphibious Robot Master tried leaping away or onto Mega, but that only left him even more open for a hit as soon as he landed. It wasn't long before he collapsed, unable to move as Mega approached, charging the final blow.
"Sometimes, Toad Man, fancy logic can be defeated by the simple basics. Remember that, wherever you go." Toad Man closed his eyes, resigned to his fate.
"I shall." He did not open his eyes again, and thus did not see the final charged plasma blast that made his entire world go white even through his eyelids for a single second before it all faded to black.
