Chapter 11: Duel In The Desert

"You realize that this is nothing personal. We have our seperate reasons for following our missions, and both of our reasons are equally important to us. It is simply that our missions conflict, and that is why we must fight. I hold no grudge against you, but I will not go easy on you... to fulfill my duty, I must win." -Colonel of Repliforce to a Maverick Captain, six months before the Fourth Maverick Uprising

"And then there was one." Pharaoh Man muttered to himself as he watched the light on his computer's map signifying Bright Man's location wink out. Only three of the original ten beacons on the world map were still lit... a blue one on Tokyo, a red one signifying Doctor Cossack's castle, and the last yellow one at Pharaoh Man's own location. For a moment, his eyes strayed north of the red light, then he grunted and took the map off the monitor. No point in brooding over such things. What was done was done, and now Pharaoh Man's job was to continue the mission until his own fight with the "blue bomber." With a gold-and-black regal headdress, Pharaoh Man was one of the more intimidating Robot Masters designed by Cossack... and one of the most powerful. And with the fate of the entire Rebellion resting on his shoulders, he was going to need every last ounce of that power to win the fight.

"Dust Man, Skull Man, Dive Man, Ring Man, Toad Man, Drill Man, and Bright Man... you all fell to him, one by one." Pharaoh Man looked over the pictures of his brethren that were now displayed onscreen. "I can not do the same, my brothers. You will be avenged... the doctor's hopes shall be fulfilled... and I will kill Mega Man. I can promise you that much." Turning away from the computer, he left the room and walked down the long stone hallway towards the room where the hostages were being held. Though this hall looked deceptively unguarded, in reality both walls held multiple false portions behind which a Mummira sentry robot watched. None of the hostages had been foolish enough to try and make a break for it so far, a fact for which Pharaoh Man was glad; like the other Robot Masters, he preferred to keep the Rebellion as bloodless as possible. Mega Man notwithstanding, of course.

"Pharaoh Man." One of the captives greeted him, a man in his forties with a thick mustache. "To what do we owe the honor of a personal visit from you? You haven't come by since we were first lodged here."

"I'm here to inform you that you will all be freed very shortly." The golden Robot Master smiled slightly under a half-mask covering his lower face at the surprised looks on all of their faces before continuing. "Mega Man will be coming here soon. He has killed all of the other Robot Masters and released all of their hostages. None have died so far. Let's keep it that way, hmm? Just be patient, and you'll be out of here soon. Don't suddenly start being stupid and try to escape ahead of time."

"May I inquire... as to WHY we are being freed now?" The speaker asked. Pharaoh Man shook his head.

"Silly human, because there would be no POINT in your remaining captive once Mega Man arrives. The moment he sets foot in my domain, a secret exit will open in the back of this room. It will lead you outside to the sands, where you will find vehicles enough to transport you all back to Cairo safely. None of the robots will try to stop you unless you try to return here, which I doubt you will do, as it would be pointless, stupid and suicidal all in one."

"Very well. We shall wait for that." The speaker bowed stiffly. Pharaoh Man returned it and left, returning to his control room.

"The doctor should be calling soon..." He muttered, sitting in his chair. "Might as well get it over with, actually. Computer, connect me to Doctor Cossack's castle. I wish to speak with him."

"Acknowledged. " A few moments passed while the connection was made, and the computer spoke again. "Doctor Cossack is not in his control chamber at the moment. Please wait..." Pharaoh Man blinked.

"Not in...? That is most unusual... nothing to be done for it, though, I suppose." He sat back in his chair and twiddled his thumbs. Several minutes later, Doctor Cossack's face appeared onscreen.

"Pharaoh Man? What's the problem? Is there something going wrong with the hostages?"

"No... no problem." Pharaoh Man shook his head. "It's just that you usually call around this time."

"Oh... oh, yes." Dr. Cossack mumured, sounding distracted. "Sorry, Pharaoh Man... I've been busy setting up the castle in preperation for Mega Man's attack... it's keeping me stretched pretty tight."

"You expect him to defeat me?" Pharaoh Man inquired, raising an eyebrow. Dr. Cossack lowered his eyes.

"Well..."

"You've given up on me, is what you've done." Pharaoh Man said coldly. "You've already put me down as dead."

"Look, Pharaoh Man..." Dr. Cossack passed a hand over his eyes. "I'm sorry... but I don't think you will be able to win. All the other Robot Masters are dead at Mega Man's hands... and though it pains me like you cannot understand to say it, I predict that you will join them soon."

"I am the most powerful of your creations, Doctor." Pharaoh Man reminded him. "Perhaps I shall be able to triumph where the other have failed... it is worth hoping for, anyways."

"I suppose so..." Dr. Cossack sighed. "But... I still do not think that you can triumph."

"With what is at stake, Doctor, how can I not triumph?" Pharoah Man's eyes blazed. "I know more than any of the others what hangs on all of this, doctor... as the saying goes, for me, failure is not an option. Mega Man WILL die here... my losing to him is inconceivable."

"I hope you're right, Pharaoh Man..." Cossack smiled faintly. "You do have spirit... more than any of the others. I will give you that much. I will continue hoping that you are successful."

"That is all I wish." Pharaoh Man bowed to his creator, then saluted. Cossack nodded, an odd look on his face, and returned the salute.

"Very well then. Do your best, Pharaoh Man... fight your best. You are the only one left. Make me proud. That is all I can ask of you. Goodbye, Pharaoh Man." The connection died. Pharoah Man just sat there, looking at his own hands, for several minutes afterwards. Finally, he looked up with a sigh.

"Computer, bring up the patrol patterns for all of the robots in this facility... I want to look them over one more time."

"Sergei sure doesn't kid around when he makes his Robot Masters..." Dr. Light observed as he worked on repairing Rock. His robotic daughter rolled her eyes at this statement.

"Um, yeah. Duh, dad. I think that we kinda already knew that before now pretty well..."

"I know, I know." Dr. Light glanced down at Rock' face. "But this was particularly nasty. The Flash Stopper, did he say it was...?"

"That was it, yes." Roll agreed. "And yeah, I know this one hurt. We HAVE just spent the last few hours repairing his optics after the frying they got... if it had been any stronger, we might have had to remove them and give him new ones. Wouldn't THAT be fun. Heh... pity Blues wasn't there. He wouldn't have had any trouble with Bright Man... those oversized shades of his are good for something after all, I suppose. Who'da thought it, eh?"

"Blues did his share of helping out in the Third." The elderly doctor reminded Roll. "Even if he was in that Break Man diguise and fighting Rock half the time. I do have to wonder where he is now, though... it's been two weeks now since he left, and he still hasn't called back or made any kind of contact."

"You know what Blues is like." She sighed. "I don't think he'll ever lose the whole loner thing he picked up from those years in Africa... and he was plenty quirky enough even before that, from what you've told me. He said he was going to go do some spy work... probably still under cover or something. Don't worry too much about Blues... he's a big boy. He can take care of himself. And remember, he did promise that if he got hurt he would come back here."

"What if he's been captured by Sergei while sneaking around?" Dr. Light still appeared worried. Roll shook her head.

"Exceedingly doubtful. If he had been, Cossack would almost definately have bragged about it in one of his calls."

"You have a point there." Dr. Light admitted, setting down his tools. "Well, that should take care of the repairs for now. Let's put Rock's eyelids back on and wake him up." A few minutes later, Rock arose, yawning as usual even though as a robot he felt no need to do so.

"Morning, everybody. I see you managed to completely fix up my eyes from the Flash Stopper. Thanks." His sister smiled evilly.

"Well, sort of. Kind of. In a way. Your eyes were too badly damaged and we had to throw them out, but the green olives we put in as replacements seem to be working great, since you didn't notice."

"You're not going to fool me with any of those, Roll. You never will." Rock rolled his eyes. "Why do you keep trying? You KNOW that it's not going to work... at least I hope you do."

"I enjoy irritating you." She shrugged. "But anyways. Bright Man's down now too... that leaves Pharaoh Man."

"Only one left, yes." Rock agreed somberly. "And if we were right about Cossack's game, he's going to be tough... maybe even tougher than Bright Man and Ring Man were. But I've beaten worse opponents... Pharaoh Man won't be able to stop me. And after he's taken out, all the hostages will be freed, and I'll be able to march on Cossack's castle and take the fight to him personally. And then when I catch him... this Rebellion will finally be over like the ones before it. Like Wily, Dr. Sergei Cossack's name will become a thing of the past, a bogeyman's name to frighten small children, and nothing more. And I can return to my life."

"Yeah... I suppose." Roll frowned. "But what if somebody else starts a Rebellion after Cossack?" Rock winced.

"Well... I suppose I'll have to stop them too, won't I? But I'd really prefer not to think about that right now, sis. I've got enough on my mind dealing with one Rebellion right here as it is." He thought for a moment. "And speaking of things that are on my mind... how's Eddie doing? Has he recovered from that plasma plastering he picked up at Drill Man's?"

"Complete recovery!" Dr. Light assured him. "We fixed him up while you were off fighting Bright Man. It was a bit tricky because of the damage extent, but in the end there was no permanent damage whatsoever."

"Good, good." Rock murmured. "Glad to hear the little guy's okay. Where is he, then?"

"Beep!" The robot boy looked down to see Eddie standing next to the table he was lying on.

"Hey, Ed. Glad to see you're feeling okay now... but I stand by what I said earlier. I still don't want you going out again until your armor's bulked up. I can manage until then, all right?" Eddie nodded.

"Beep beep beep!"

"I suppose I should probably be leaving now, then..." Rock phased into his armor. "Oh... I got the Flash Stopper okay, right?" Roll nodded.

"Yes... although how you're actually going to use it is a mystery to me. I mean, you don't exactly go around sporting a bloated bulb on top of your cranium like Bright Man, now do you?"

"Noooooo..." Mega looked down at his buster. "Beats me. I guess I should probably test it to find out... no other way." Before he could, though, his sister tackled him to the ground.

"Idiot, are you TRYING to blind the rest of us? Don't test it here! Take it into another room!" Mega smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry about that..." Walking out into the hallway, he closed the door of another room after him. A moment later, a flash of light was seen in the crack underneath the door, followed by Mega's reappearance.

"Yeah, it works fine. Apparently, my Variable Weapons System can make the buster emit it."

"But don't you get blinded by the flash too?" Dr. Light inquired. Mega shook his head.

"Nah... kinda an improvement and a bummer at the same time. The flash is only visible when looking in the same direction as my Buster. Harder to hit an enemy with, but better than me blinding myself too."

"As long as it gets the job done, I'd consider it a success." His sister told him. "You heading for Egypt now?"

"Yeah. I've got a date with a Pharaoh... the last of the eight. I just hope that's he's ready... I'm not holding back." Roll raised an eyebrow.

"When do you ever?"

"True."

"The desert at night." Mega Man observed, looking out over the shifting sands. "It has a kind of quiet beauty all its own... but I can't stop to look at the scenery. There's a pharaoh in there I've got an appointment with. Can't be late." Jumping off the large rock he was standing on, the blue hero set off across the sand... and immediately began sinking into it. "Huh?! This isn't supposed to be quicksand!" He spotted a sign.

Sinking sand courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Pharaoh Man.

"Wiseass..." Mega muttered as he continued on his way, struggling to keep his feet above the ground. "I suppose I should have expected something along these lines... he's had longer to fortify his place than any of the others. At least there's no enemies... aw, hell. I shouldn't have said that." Indeed, at that moment the sand a few feet ahead of him erupted in clouds as a scorpion robot burrowed up and blasted towards him. Mega fired a charged shot, then hurdled with an oath as the robot continued on. As soon as it had gone beyond him, the scorpion disappeared into the sand once more. A few feet more ahead and another type of enemy showed up. Mega heard a buzzing noise and looked upward to see a speedy scarab robot blasting by overhead. He tried to peg it, but the scarab was too fast. Circling him, it proceeded to bomb the blue hero with packets of plasma. There was nothing he could do but dodge them until he got back on stable ground, where he was able to concentrate on figuring out a weapon that could take out the scarabs. The Dive Missile did the job, and he continued onwards. Unfortunately, his momentary success was cancelled out when he returned to the sand and two scorpions came up on either side of him. There wasn't time to hurdle him both, so while he managed to destroy the first before it hit, the other one smashed him from behind and mowed him down before vanishing back into the sand. It took a good five minutes for Mega to extricate himself from the sand, in which he had sunken up to his waist, and repeated visits from the bombing scarabs didn't help. In the end, he set off towards the entrance of Pharoah Man's base in a surly mood with an energy level of 75%. Fortunately, no more enemies got in his way, and he soon made it to the hole in a rocky stretch. "Time to go in... eh?" He saw another sign.

Balloon Utility this way, it said on an arrow pointing beyond the entrance off into the sands again. The other arrow, pointing down into the base, was labeled Pharoah Man, hostages and certain oblivion this way.

"Somebody's confident." Mega muttered. "I suppose I really should grab that Balloon... it'll likely come in handy." Sighing, he went off across the sands once more. Fortunately, it appeared his irritation sharpened his aim, and he was able to avoid any additional damage from scarabs and scorpions. Before too long, he spotted glowing green light on a pile of rocks, and found a capsule with a "B" marked on it lying there. Opening it with a Ring Boomerang, he found a weapons chip inside the bubble wrap and absorbed it. "All right... now let's see what this does." Firing it, he watched as the matter synthesizer produced a thick balloon with a propeller on the bottom about four feet in diameter. "Hmph... wonder if I can stand on it?" He could. "It's like my old Item-1, then... nifty." He frowned as the propeller suddenly stopped. A moment later, the whole thing crashed back to earth. Muttering a slight oath, Mega picked himself back up. "Well, looks like they don't last long... figures. Still, this should help. And now, back to the mission..." Making his way back to the hole in the rock with no trouble, Mega dropped in. The cavern was not a cavern at all, but a ancient passageway made of stone bricks from centuries gone past. Torches on the wall emitted an eerie blue flame. Mega shivered in spite of himself. This place was spooky.

"Maybe I shouldn't have come at night..." He shook himself. "Get a grip, Mega. The only mummies you'll find down here will be robotic." Blasting ladybug-bots as he went, Mega walked down the passageway. Before long, he came to an intersection; the straight path, or a higher one above that he wasn't able to reach. Mega smiled. "No biggie." Taking out the wire, he pulled himself up to the ceiling and jumped onto the above ledge. As soon as he landed, a portion of the wall swung out, revealing a mummy robot. "Just as I predicted." The mummy immediately grabbed a bandage on its cranium and pulled, launching the laughing head at Mega! Caught by surprise, the blue hero was barely able to dodge. When he looked back, the mummy was gone. "Sonofa... just try that one again, I dare ya..." A moment later, the wall swung back out again, along with the mummy, who had a new head. This time, though, Mega was ready, and destroyed both head and body with one shot of the Drill Bomb. More mummy-bots were dealt with the same way, until he came to the last one. As he prepared to destroy it, Mega's eyes suddenly caught a blue metallic glint from behind the fake wall. "An E-Tank!" Instead of shooting, Mega dodged the head and dived for the revolving wall segment. Just as it began to turn, his hand snaked in, grabbed the E-Tank, and came back out milliseconds before being crushed. Pocketing it, the blue hero went down a level, further into the ancient ruins. The next level down was inhabited by a family of bats, to Mega's chagrin. "Shoo! Shoo! Argh!" Blinking, he spotted a robotic Batton among them and blasted it. "Nice try." When the annoyed avian mammals had dissipated, he saw that the entire floor ahead was covered in spikes. Sitting on the deadly skewers was a robot with a cushioned bottom and a platform on top. Mega groaned. "Aw, no... not this kind of thing again... huh? Another sign..."

Ride the Hover, if you dare! It proclaimed.

"I hate Pharaoh Man." Mega grumbled as he walked towards the robot, whose eyes were closed in apparent slumber. As he approached, though, the Hover's eyes blinked open, and it fired a plasma shot at him. Mega jumped over it and onto the robot. "Figured you'd do something like that. Now, giddyup!" The Hover hummed, then moved forward across the spikes. More Battontons dived down, and several times Mega was forced to switch Hovers, but he made it across the spikes without taking TOO much damage and went down another floor. "How deep does this place go, anyways... aha, here we go." Emerging into one more tunnel, he smiled and sighed at the same time. "Here we go... and oy, this looks fun." By the blue torchlight, he saw a metal shutter at the far end of the tunnel... which was lined with spikes and featuring more Hovers. "Might as well get going..." Jumping on the first one, Mega set off. He immediately saw a problem. The section of floor ended in a pit that the Hover would fall right into! There was another Hover and more spikes on the other side, but a ledge made a low ceiling... too low. He wouldn't be able to make the jump... "Wait... ledge? DUH, idiot." Hitting himself in the head, Mega Wired himself up onto the ledge. "There's going to be a mummy here." There was. "Can I call 'em, or can I call 'em?!" Destroying it, he jumped onto the next Hover and continued. From there, the way was a combination of Hovers, spikes, pits and mummies. Nothing too difficult, but Mega did collect a few hits.

"Well, here I am... let's see how I stand on energy." Mega frowned as he checked his energy readings. "60%... nothing too serious, but still not something I'd really like to be fighting a tough Robot Master on. Now, what was it Blues said to do in situations like this... oh yeah, pack an E-Tank!" Mega grinned. "Stupid me... I forgot, I've got four of them. I'll just use one if this gets too dicey..." The smile disappeared. "But enough of that. Can't let my guard down... it's time to settle this. Here I come, Pharaoh Man."

It was another blizzard in northern Russia. Tons of snow blasted downwards from the heavens with deadly force, burying anything foolish enough to be outside. Well, almost anything. Through the blinding whiteness, a single massive form came plowing through inexorably, stopping for nothing. A hovervehicle, heading south. Inside, on the floor, two forms were lying still.

"Snrrrrx!" Proto Man snored. The small girl lying nearby shifted uneasily, but didn't wake. She had remained mostly asleep for the last few days, while Proto occasionally awoke from stasis in order to scrounge up food and water for her. Those were the only times he had turned the hovervehicle off of autopilot. Fortunately, the craft had good air conditioning, so the girl's temperature had dropped a bit. She was still in very poor health, but at the moment, her life wasn't in immediate danger.

Shadow Man, as it turned out, had actually been a stroke of good luck, not bad. During their fight, Proto had managed to get enough information out of the ninja robot to figure out that he had brought along the hovervehicle in order to take the girl back to her prison alive once he had her. After that, Proto had dispatched Shadow Man by using the colors of the Gemini Beam to let the snow hide him. Another Robot Master, Spark Man, had been guarding the hovervehicle, but by distracting him with the girl, Proto had been able to take off the electrical fool's head with one swipe from the Shadow Blade. The hovervehicle had been a true blessing for the two weary fugitives. Not only did it more than triple their speed, it kept the girl in a relatively safe place and allowed Proto Man to catch up on his own much-needed stasis. Now it was nine days since they had made their escape. Proto Man mumbled in his sleep, dreaming about being back at home with the rest of his family once more.

"Uggh... Roll, what the hell do you think you're doing with that baseball bat... wait... no, no... Eddie, run for your life, I'll try to hold her off... Rush, good, get Eddie out of here... dad, help, Roll's gone nuts... no, don't pick up that golf club, what are you-" Suddenly, there was a horrendously loud explosion from the front of the hovervehicle. All motion stopped, and Proto jerked upright, awake instantly. "What the crap?!" With a fading hum, the entire machine died. Swearing sulferously, Proto Man got to his feet and exited, making sure to seal the door behind him. Once outside in the blizzard, he moved towards the front of the hovervehicle. Something very large and wide was there blocking the way and looking quite pleased about it.

"Huh huh huh... sorry, old buddy. Looks like you ran smack dab into a nasty roadblock." The massive, greyish-blue armored Robot Master chuckled. Proto Man's eyes narrowed in recognition.

"Hard Man."

"Hey hey, hoo hoo, I'm out here too! Whee, yippee, don't forget about me!" Another Robot Master danced out from behind Hard Man. This one was yellow, and it spun around crazily with an insane grin.

"And Top Man... Mr. Insano. Fancy meeting you two here. I should have figured as much... you're the only two from the Third Robot Rebellion I haven't slagged recently." Proto Man pointed his buster at them. "Something thst shall be shortly and easily remedied. Although I had actually figured that once I got into the hovervehicle, you wouldn't be able to move that bulk fast enough to catch up to me if you had a million years in which to do so, Hardy."

"You figured wrong, Break-boy." Hard Man chuckled again. "But while all this beating around the bush may be quite entertaining to you, it's dreadfully boring for me. So why don't we just cut to the chase, hm?"

"Cut to the chase, finish the race, we're both going to break your face!" Top Man laughed. Hard Man decked him.

"You shut up. At any rate, he did kinda get the point right. We're gonna pound you into the ground, little man, and we'll be taking that tiny lump of human back where she belongs."

"The HELL you will!" Proto Man snarled, firing a charged shot into Hard Man's chest. The heavily armored Robot Master just chuckled and fired off his fists in retaliation. The hands flew out towards Proto, who jumped and flipped over them before unleashing another shot. He was immediately hit in the head by three large tops.

"Forget about me, cool cat? Well, I'm hunting big game, and my shotgun's loaded, and so am I!" Top Man flung himself forward across the ground in a spin. Proto Man sidestepped it and blasted him as soon as the spinning fool stopped his motion. Hard Man was now nowhere to be seen.

"Huh... where did he-aw, HELL." Paling, Proto Man dived forward at the last moment as Hard Man smashed into the ground where he had been a moment before. "Phew... almost got me that time, you lug. Heh... almost, but not quite. Good try, though, I'll give you that."

"Thanks... and I'll give you THIS!" Grunting, Hard Man fired his fists off again. Proto Man waited until the last second, then jumped them, and the hands continued on... straight towards Top Man.

"Oh no! Whatever shall I do? Oh, I know!" Snickering, he spinned out of the way quickly. "Nice try, old Breaker, but you'll have to go to sleep a little earlier than that to trick Top Man into tasting a knuckle salad!"

"Hey, it was worth a shot!" Proto Man fired another charged plasma blast into the same spot on Hard Man's chest as the others, deepening the crater. Then, before the huge Robot Master could jump for another head press attempt, Proto jumped up and fired the Gemini Beam straight into the wound.

"No... gah!" Hard Man's eyes rolled back into his head, and he fell back. Proto Man dived out of the way of Top Man's tops.

"You've got one down, but not the clown!"

"We'll just have to see about that then, won't we?" Plunging his hand into Hard Man's corpse, Proto pulled out the weapons chip and absorbed its contents before changing colors. "By the way, it's knuckle SANDWICH, not knuckle salad, you loon." He emphasized the point with a Hard Knuckle that slammed into the dancing Robot Master before exploding, sending him flying into a rock with a sickening thud. Top Man looked heavenward as Proto Man approached.

"Is this the end of zombie Shakespeare?" Another Hard Knuckle finished him. Walking back to the hovervehicle, Proto Man assessed the damage and shook his head angrily

"Dammit, it's trashed. I just hope we're close..." Going back inside, he looked at a map. "Hmm... this was where we were when it died, eh? We're still there... hm. About three days' walk away... not ideal, but I think we can make it." Sighing, he picked the girl up. She stirred.

"Uh... Blues... what?"

"Shh... it's okay. Go back to sleep." He whispered. She complied with another incomprehensible murmur as the red Robot Master stepped out into the snow. He glanced over at Top Man's body, then shook his head violently and began to walk off towards their destination.

"Not if it was the last Master Weapon on earth..."

"Here you are... and here I am." Were Pharaoh Man's words of greeting when Mega Man entered his room. The blue hero raised an eyebrow.

"That's one way of putting it, yes... where are the-"

"Hostages?" Pharaoh Man interrupted. "They have all already been freed... they were the moment you arrived. No point in keeping them here any longer, was there? No matter who wins this duel..."

"Well, that doesn't give us much to talk about..." Mega observed. "Shall we get this fight over with, then?"

"On the contrary... we have a lot to talk about. However..." Pharaoh Man raised his hand and formed a ball of glowing energy in it. "We also have a lot to fight about!" Jumping forward, he threw the energy ball directly at Mega.

"Fair enough!" Jumping the shot, Mega responded with a charged blast, which Pharoah Man also dodged before throwing another energy ball. The two of them circled each other, alternating firing and dodging, until Mega Man grunted and changed colors. "Let's try something faster, then!" Forming a Ring Boomerang in each hand, he threw them with deadly accuracy.

"I don't think so!" Twisting, Pharaoh Man adjusted his position so that both blades only scratched him while flinging an energy ball directly at Mega. Unable to dodge, the blue hero took his first hit full-on. Growling, he threw more Ring Boomerangs, but Pharaoh Man dodged them with equal ease.

"All right... if that won't work, how about this?" Turning grey, he fired off a shot of the Dust Crusher just as Pharaoh Man was in the middle of a leap. Caught, the egyptian-themed Robot Master was borne to the ground under the debris. Immediately, though, he grunted and forced himself back to his feet, resuming the attack with more energy balls thrown.

"That hurt, I will admit... but it won't be nearly enough to stop me, fool!" Another two shots hit Mega.

"So the junk won't stop you... what about this, then?" Jumping onto Pharaoh Man bodily, he activated the Skull Barrier. Pharaoh Man just smiled up at him as he calmly took the hit.

"Probably not!" Throwing Mega off, Pharaoh Man threw more energy balls after him. Wincing, Mega got to his feet.

"So, what did you want to talk about anyway?" He inquired as he moved around, trying straight plasma once more.

"Your motivations." The enemy Robot Master responded, not letting up his attack for even a second. "Tell me, Mega Man. Why exactly are you fighting this Rebellion? Why do you do it?"

"You ask me this?" Mega laughed mirthlessly. "Fine. I'll answer. It's to protect lives, and to stop this chaos. People can't be allowed to just disrupt and threaten the entire world like this. Too many innocents pay the price. Your creator, Cossack, has to be stopped. That's why I'm doing this."

"How simple." Pharaoh Man snorted, pegging Mega once more. "You sound like a comic book hero."

"And you need to shut up and actually think about what you're doing to everybody before you judge me!" Turning green, Mega launched a Rain Flush pod into the air. Pharaoh Man winced as the acid washed over him, but held his ground.

"That won't take me down either, Mega Man... nothing will! It's time I got serious with this fight!"

"Now YOU sound like a comic book villain." The blue hero snorted. "What do you mean, get..." His voice trailed off as he noticed the familiar glow forming on his enemy. "Oh... crap." A moment later, a massive blast of solar energy smashed him across the room. Pharaoh Man smiled.
"That's what I mean. You're not the only one who can charge a shot. That was the charged version of the Pharaoh Shot... the Pharaoh Wave. You like it?"

"Does a trout like grizzlies?" Mega muttered sarcastically as he pried himself out of the wall. Damn... I'm down to 10%! E-Tank, E-Tank! Downing one of the glowing blue canisters, Mega felt his energy return. This was not lost on Pharaoh Man, who immediately began charging another Pharaoh Wave.

"So... you resort to that!"

"I play to win, buddy!" Mega retorted, diving aside to dodge the blast and returning fire with a Dive Missile.

"So do I, my friend!" Pharaoh Man jumped into the air, THROUGH the Missile taking the hit, and landed on Mega, pinning him to the ground. "Now, are you prepared to LOSE?"

"Not quite!" Before Pharaoh Man could unleash the Pharaoh Wave, Mega fired a Drill Bomb into his face, point-blank. The concussive blast sent them both flying. Simultaneously, they got back to their feet and resumed fighting. "Come to think of it... you do seem to be more passionate about this than the others." Pharaoh Man snorted.

"That is simply because I am."

"Care to elaborate?" Mega asked as a Pharaoh Wave seared the very top of his helmet.

"What's to elaborate on? I understand the purpose of this Rebellion more than any of my brethren did... and I know more than them that I CAN NOT LOSE. It is that simple, Mega Man." Pharoah Man didn't even wince as he took a charged plasma shot in the chest. Mega swore.

"What WORKS on you?!"

"NOTHING that you have will deter me from my course, hero!" Pharaoh Man screamed, ripping off a Pharaoh Wave that sent Mega flying. "For the sake of Doctor Cossack, you must die!"

"Oh, SHUT IT!" Screaming as well, Mega lurched to his feet, armor purple. "Your goals are blinded... and now, your eyes will be too!" Pharaoh Man only had a millisecond of astonishment to realize what Mega meant before everything he saw was blinding white light.

"ARGH!" Clutching his optics, Pharaoh Man dropped to the ground. "No... what the hell...?"

"The Flash Stopper... fool." Glaring down at his opponent, Mega began pumping charged plasma shots into him. "Pharaoh Man, you fight for the wrong reasons! This Rebellion means nothing more than Cossack's twisted desires! All that you are fighting for are the whims of a madman!"

"Shut up!" Pharaoh Man yelled as his vision began to clear. Unfortunately, it was at that moment that Mega hit him with the Flash Stopper again, blinding him once more to the plasma.

"No, YOU shut up! You know I'm right! All you're fighting for is a fallacy... a sham... an outrage! There is no glory or honor in this Rebellion... only terror! You aren't fighting for ANYTHING, Pharaoh Man!" A third Flash Stopper, and Pharaoh Man finally fell to the ground, not getting up.

"I... didn't. I... couldn't. I couldn't do it... I've failed you... doctor. I'm... sorry..." The dying Robot Master's eyes turned to his enemy. "Mega Man... how much do you think you know about this... Rebellion?"

"I already told you. I know it all... all the damnable fallacy of it." The blue hero answered bitterly. He stopped upon seeing the look Pharaoh Man was giving him. It cut straight to his soul.

"That is what you think you know... but Mega Man... you do not know it all... you are blinded to the truth... the truth... the... truth..." His eyes closed for the last time. Silently, Mega Man bent over and took his weapons chip.

"The Pharaoh Shot... and the Pharaoh Wave." Without another word, he teleported away. But for once... he was not feeling victorious.

Inside an ancient castle, a single human man reads the report of the last Robot Master's death, and nods sadly before returning to his work, and to fortifying his fortress for an expected attack.

At a laboratory in Tokyo, a robotic boy returns home in order to be repaired before he embarks on his final mission. His father and sister both greet him, and wonder at his somber mood.

In the Russian snowstorms, a figure wearing shades and a yellow scarf treks onward, bearing a delicate cargo more precious to both his brother and the doctor than anybody else can realize.

The three move forward, each of them with different thoughts running through their minds. And when they meet... the result of that meeting shall shake the foundation of the world itself.