Chapter 12: Crashing Cossack's Castle
"And so it ends." Dr. Sergei Cossack whispered bitterly, observing the map of the world on his computer. All eight of the yellow lights representing the locations of his Robot Masters had gone dim, leaving only the red light at Cossack's position, and the blue light at Tokyo. "The Mega Man triumphs over his foes once more, and comes to put a stop to the evil by destroying the mastermind..." Cossack looked out a window into the snowy blizzard raging out there. "And he waits, and plans, and fears. I wonder what shall become of me once Mega Man has captured me." Dr. Sergei Cossack was now in many ways a broken man. None of the arrogance and confidence that he showed during his broadcasts was real, not a single scrap of it. The real Dr. Cossack lived in depression, regret and misery. "I have failed." And yet, if given the chance, he knew he would do it all again. For what was at stake here, Dr. Cossack would have started a million Rebellions. And for what was at stake here, Dr. Cossack was ready and willing to ride out this one to the bitter end, when Mega Man came knocking at his door. The doctor's eyes rose once more, filled with the old determination. He WOULD keep fighting to the end. Mega Man would recieve no quarter from him. "I shall fight until I can not fight any more... and not a moment before. This, I vow." That was all; he did not vow victory or triumph. Watching Mega Man's progress thus far had worn all of that out of him, slowly and gradually. All Dr. Cossack could hope for was that his efforts would be enough.
"Computer. Confirm that every single robot in this castle is active and on full alert." Dr. Cossack ordered.
"Confirmed. All robots are such, running on the patrol patterns that you designed yourself."
"My Fortress Guardians?"
"Melee Moth, The Cage, and the Skeeters are all at 100% operational capacity and also on full alert, waiting in their guard stations. All entrances and exits are set to lock down once anything has entered and not to cease until either the enemy or the Guardian has been destroyed." Cossack nodded grimly.
"And the Falling Hand?"
"Also at 100% operational capacity. It is on stand-by awaiting you, ready to go at any time."
"I've done all I can, then." Cossack sighed. "From this point on, it all rests in the hands of fate. I can only pray that they roll the dice in my favor. Computer, how long ago was Pharaoh Man killed?"
"Sixteen hours."
"And how long does it usually take Mega Man from destroying a Robot Master to depart for the next one?"
"..." The computer took a few moments to complete the more complex calculation. "Based on time recordings using Mega Man's warp signatures from all eight Robot Master deaths... average time is fifteen hours, forty-five minutes, nineteen seconds and two milliseconds."
"Well, he took a lot of damage..." Cossack thought to himself. "All right. Computer, wait half an hour more. As soon as that has passed, open a call to Doctor Light's home in Tokyo."
"Acknowledged." With that done, Dr. Sergei Cossack sat back in his chair, steepled his hands, and waited.
"Uh... Blues?" The girl stirred. "Cold again... I'm... what's going on? Where is the..."
"Shh, don't talk too much." Proto Man told her. "I'm afraid the hovertransport is gone... two more Robot Masters attacked about a half a day or so ago. I got them good, but the vehicle was already busted up beyond repair..."
"That's okay..." The girl smiled faintly. "You... carried me before. If you can... stand to do so again... I can manage it... too."
"Right now, all you have to do is stay alive, missy... please stay alive." Proto sighed, kicking a log out of his path. "You can't die... you're the most important thing in the world, FOR the world, right now."
"That's... that's not all, is it?" The girl struggled to remember. "My father... told me something once... about robots... rules?"
"You don't need to be worrying about those right now." Proto told her firmly. "Just relax. Are you hungry? Thirsty?"
"No... I'm fine." She sighed. "But... I want to know. Please, Blues... tell me. Please?" The scarf-wearing Robot Master chewed on his lip for a few seconds, then sighed as well.
"All right... but it's not nice. Basically, all robots, even the most advanced ones like me... are subject to three Rules of Robotics. Violating them is strictly forbidden... in anything below the very best of the best Robot Masters, it's instant shut-down. Advanced Robot Masters, like myself, have shown ability to bludgeon past the third and second rules... but the first is still adamant. Screw with that, and it's mind freeze... death, basically. Or maybe a coma is a better analogy... but either way, the poor sap who does it ain't going to be coming back."
"What are they?" The girl demanded. Proto Man rolled his eyes.
"Full of questions today... you must be feeling better." She actually laughed falteringly. "Well... the third rule is basically that we have to obey any orders given by a human, unless they tell us to hurt ourself or other humans. We all broke this one pretty early on."
"Then... why are you obeying me?" The girl asked with a trifle of impishness in her tone. Proto laughed.
"I'm telling you because I WANT to, missy, not because I have to. Now, then. The second law is that we have to act to preserve our own existence, unless that would result in harming a human. I've never busted this one myself, although I probably could if I have to... my brother Rock has done it several times, though. Crazy git. And the first... a robot must not harm, or through inaction, cause harm to come to a human. This ranges from anything to shooting a bum, to just standing and watching a guy fall off a building without helping. It's the absolute one... no exceptions."
"But..." The girl gasped in realization. "That means... that if I were to die out here... then you would..."
"I would die too." Proto Man affirmed. "As a result of failing to save your life." She closed her eyes, trying not to cry.
"No... you can't, Blues... you've done so much for me... you just can't die..."
"Well, the feeling's mutual." Proto reminded her cheerfully. "And as long as you stay alive, I'll be fine. Now you've got another reason to keep breathing! So I want you to get some more rest, okay?"
"Okay... I will." Settling back down, the girl was soon asleep once more. Proto Man looked over the snowlands still ahead of him.
"A ways to go... I just hope we get there... that we get to Cossack's before it's too late."
"Eight Robot Masters down. Eight Master Weapons." Mega Man said, sitting on the edge of the table, legs dangling. He shifted through them one at a time. "The Dust Crusher. The Skull Barrier. The Dive Missile. The Ring Boomerang. The Rain Flush. The Drill Bomb. The Flash Stopper. And... the Pharaoh Shot." He lingered on the orange shades of the last one before returning to his standard blues. "And four E-Tanks."
"Gotta catch 'em all." Roll turned around in her desk chair and clapped. "Very nice, bro. Excellent repertroire. However... I hate to say this-and I really do-but all of that isn't going to mean a thing until you've dealt with the source of the problem. Doctor Cossack is still out there, and as long as he is, the threat still remains. Unless you want to do this all over again eventually, you're going to have to go there and bring the big man himself down."
"Yeah, yeah. I know." Mega sighed, hopping off the table. "The Robot Masters-all of them-were just tools. Means to an end, along with their hostages. Cossack always was the real enemy, but as long as he had those hostages, I couldn't move against him. Now, though... there's nothing keeping me back. Cossack's run out of lifelines. I'm going to end this Rebellion, just like every one before it."
"Are you going to be okay, Rock?" Dr. Light asked, concerned. The elderly robotocist was sitting at his computer. "You've been strange ever since it began... and Sergei is human, not a Robot Master. You'll have to bring him in alive and unharmed... and judging from the way he has been acting, that will not be easy at all."
"I brought Wily in twice, didn't I?" Mega gave his father a reassuring smile he didn't feel. "And the third time was Gamma... which Cossack does NOT have. I'll be fine, dad... if I can take care of complete psycho jobs like Wily and Doc Man, I can take care of a guy like Cossack."
"Beep!" Eddie ran up, beeping wildly. Mega laughed and shook his head as the little suitcase robot jumped up and down.
"Nope... sorry, Eddie, but I'm firm on what I said. You're not going anywhere dangerous until you're armored enough to take some heat, and that's final... even if it means you can't come along to Cossack's. All the help you can give me is nothing compared to keeping you alive, little buddy." He patted Eddie on the head. "Don't worry. I'll be fine... and I'll have Rush helping me out, too."
"Ruff!" The red robotic dog looked up from a corner of the room, where he was chewing on an old hubcap, upon hearing his name. He spat out a strip of rubber and barked again. Mega sighed.
"Yeah, I've got Rush. Anyways... I don't suppose there's any news from Blues now?"
"None whatsoever." Dr. Light shook his head glumly. Mega shrugged.
"Rats... I had actually figured that might happen. Blues isn't done with whatever he's doing, I guess... I was kinda hoped he would make contact now that all the Robot Masters are taken care of, but oh well. Blues will report right on schedule, I guess... and for him, that means exactly when he wants to, and not a millisecond before then. He's Blues... what can I say."
"Incoming call." Roll broke in tersely. "Source... it's coming from Cossack's Castle."
"Also right on schedule." Mega responded with a grim frown. "Go ahead and put him on." Roll nodded and okayed the call, and Dr. Cossack's face appeared on the monitor, still wearing that superior smirk.
"I must congratulate you, my admirable adversary. You have done far better than I could have forseen... all eight of my Robot Masters now lie dead at your feet. Tell me, did it it make you feel good to kill them?"
"Don't give me that bull." Mega growled. "I killed them because I had to, no other reason. They were threats to humans... as are you, Cossack. As are you. And now they're gone."
"Is that a threat?" Cossack raised a curious eyebrow. "That sounded awfully like a violation of the First Law..." Mega snorted.
"Forget it. You can't get me like that, doc. I'm not going to kill you... but I WILL take you down. On THAT, you have my solemn vow that it will come to pass... like it or not."
"The word of a robot." Dr. Cossack threw his head back and laughed, long and deep and more than a little bit mad. "The word of a machine! Of a construct! A solemn vow!" The Russian robotocist put his head down, smirk even broader than usual. "Well, then, Mega Man. I will put your vow to the test. Let us see what it is worth, shall we?" He extended his arms in front of him, palms outward. "Come, then! Come to my castle in Russia, and we shall see whose will is stronger, and who shall triumph over whom! I assure yoou most wholeheartedly, Mega Man... that you will not find me or my castle easy prey for your Buster." Mega didn't waver an inch.
"If it's a battle of wills, Cossack... you cannot win. For my will to stop this... to stop all Rebellions... is as ironclad as my body. Against that... your pathetic goals and dreams of revenge are as nothing."
"Are they, now." The smirk had disappeared, and now Cossack was staring at Mega with a completely blank face, eyes burning. "I think, little robot, that you should not speak so loudly about things you know so little of. You have made your vow... now I shall make mine. One of us will not walk away from this castle. I will not stop, I shall not cease fire, I can not give up until either you are dead... or I am. To this, you have MY solemn vow, Mega Man."
"You will not have a choice in the matter." Mega Man predicted. Cossack gave him one more smile with all the warmth of Antarctica in winter.
"We shall see. I await your arrival." The connection died. Mega Man closed his eyes and remained motionless for a moment before opening them once more and moving away from the phone.
"Well, that's that... you heard the man. It would be quite discorteous of me to delay such a gracious invitation."
"You're not going to wait for the UN's orders?" Dr. Light asked hopefully. Mega shook his head.
"Nah. They know this is my job... there's no point in making myself go through unneccessary red tape. I'm going."
"Don't die." Roll said in a voice barely above a whisper. Mega gave her one last reassuring smile before teleporting away with Rush.
One man and two robots converged on one point, readying themselves for the finale.
"So, that's Cossack's castle..." Mega Man muttered as he stood in the snow, which was up to his waist. The monolith in front of him was entirely surrounded by at least hundred-foot stone walls, possibly two-hundred. They may not have looked like much compared to modern weaponry, but Mega knew that the stone was likely just an outer coating disguising much tougher metal defenses. Over the walls, just the top of an armored inner structure could be seen, with spiral towers at each corner. A much larger fifth tower was at the center of the fortress, and each corner also boasted some kind of gigantic cannon to ward off air attacks. Mega looked at the entrance and shook his head. "No way I'm going to be stupid enough to take the straight path. Gotta be some kind of back entrance..." He set off through the snow, destroying sentry robots as he circled the fortress. At the moment, the weather was peaceful and calm, but he knew it wouldn't last long; already, clouds were advancing rapidly. The blue hero found what he was looking for along the west wall; a ladder leading up into an overhang. "Here we go... knew there had to be something. There always is." Grunting, he clambered up inside the overhang, which appeared to have been used as a lookout in ancient days. Now, though, it was guarded only by robots. Dispatching the pair of spinning wheeled guards, Mega climbed further up onto a ledge cut partially up the massive outer wall.
"So far, so good... but I'm not inside yet by a long shot." A telltale rumble betrayed the accuracy of his suspicions, signifying an incoming snowstorm. Already, slippery ice encrusted the ledge, making Mega's walking highly dangerous... a situation which was decidedly not helped by several deep pits filled with rocket-bots that launched out of them to try and knock Mega in as he jumped. The Skeleton Joes stationed along it weren't helping either. Off in the distance, other ancient russian ruins could be seen dimly, but Mega mainly had eyes for his enemies. Still, their presence could not be completely ignored. "Those places must be archaeological gold mines... I wonder if anybody's gone through them... I'll have to mention it to Vinkus or somebody once I've locked up Cossack. Aw, man... this looks fun." One last large gap was between him and an icy metal catwalk that led further up. The Skeleton Joe on guard was easily taken care of, but the jump looked far more hazardous. Mega sighed, realizing there was no choice but to chance it-then slapped himself. "What am I thinking? There's no reason to play by Cossack's twisted game if I don't have to-and I don't." Pulling out the Balloon utility, he created one and used it as a stepping stone to cross with no problem.
"Easy. I'll have to thank Cossack for making this thing... maybe he didn't count on me bringing it." Reaching the next level on the catwalk, he groaned anew. "Or maybe he did." The next ladder hung far out away from the wall, at least fifteen feet. There was no way to access it except the Balloons. "Guess he took out a section... this is SO a trap." Wary, Mega began crossing; he couldn't use any weapons while keeping the Balloons equipped. Sure enough, a cluster of spinning canlike robots flew towards him the moment he was in the air. Mega immediately jumped back onto the catwalk and took them all out, THEN crossed to the ladder. "Too bad I'm on to Coss-aw, crap." It was starting to snow; flakes were already drifting down at a moderate rate. "I gotta pick up the pace before this turns worse-I SO do NOT want to be out here in a blizzard." Moving back towards the castle wall, he saw a series of ladders overhead, some longer than others. And all of them boasted a deadly clamp that moved up and down them, closing at regular intervals. "Oh, this looks fun." As it turned out, only the farthest ladder out led up; since the Balloon was unsafe to use now in the storm winds, he was forced to jump from ladder to ladder like "Some kind of freakin' Tarzan Man." Finally, he managed to get to the last one, and climbed up to see the door inside in front of him. The only thing between them was a huge road paver. Mega shook his head.
"You're in the way, pal. Looks like you're gonna be the first one to taste my new weapon!" Turning bright orange, he began slinging Pharaoh Shots at a high rate. Seven of the uncharged shots were enough to reduce the road paver to a smoking wreck. "Not bad... eh? Aw, man..." The 'door' was, in fact, a metal shutter with Dr. Cossack's emblem above it. "He WAS counting on me coming this way... well, no help for it now. I've got to get inside." Entering, he emerged in a completely darkened room. The floor felt... wierd. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that he was standing on a network of interlocking thick metal pipes. "What's this for... I have a bad feeling about this... YOW!" Suddenly, the lights flashed on, revealing a gigantic, hovering war machine. The beast was designed to look like some kind of massive metallic insect, with spreading wings and a pointed tail. It sported a menacing pink and red paint job.
"Ha ha ha... you fool, Mega Man!" Dr. Cossack's voice came from a speaker in the beast's face. "Did you really think I would not have a stock of Fortress Guardians? Meet Melee Moth! I shall leave you to enjoy playing with him... have fun!" The speaker shut off, and Melee Moth sprang to life. A focusing crystal set in the chest hummed and fired a large blast of energy. Mega jumped it and returned fire with a charged blast to the head... which splattered ineffectively.
"Heavy armor... dammit!" Running around the pipes to avoid plasma blasts, he tried attacking the tail, but it was similarly armored, as were the wings and torso. None of the other weapons were able to penetrate the armor either; even the Ring Boomerangs and Drill Bomb were unable to scratch it. Mega swore as he discovered Melee Moth had cornered him. "I don't like the looks of that tail, but there's no help for it... BANZAI!" Dropping to his rear, he slid underneath the huge warbot. A split-second later, the spearlike tail plunged into the ground where he had been a moment before, and punched a hole clear through the piping. Mega stared as he became orange-colored; there was a clean break below the beast now, and nothing beneath but darkness. "Oh, I do NOT want to get hit by that... but if this drags on too long, I'll either be cornered or falling... need to take this thing OUT!" On the last word, he unleashed the charged Pharaoh Wave for the first time. Unlike Pharaoh Man's version, he did not release a crescent shot, but a huge globular blast. It slammed into Melee Moth's chest, and spread all over... and where the energy went into the focusing crystal for the plasma shots, it sunk in with a hiss.
"Of course! Stupid! Just like the Yellow Devil... well, now I know where to aim for! Looks like you're not so invincible, butterfly!" Leaping into the air, he continued his barrage of Pharaoh Waves, relentlessly burning into the crystal. Melee Moth changed tactics; instead of attacking him directly, it began punching holes around the edges of the arena. The significance of this was not lost on Mega Man. "Oh, no you don't... think you're going to drop the floor out from under me? WRONG, BUGBRAIN!" Mega Man leaped towards Melee Moth with a Ring Boomerang in each hand. A moment later, he landed behind it, and the beast hung motionless in the air for a split second before the focusing crystal exploded in millions of shards. Now desperate, it began to punch holes frantically and mindlessly-leaving itself open to attack. "You've just been swatted!" Leaping onto the chest, Mega plunged a Pharaoh Wave directly into the open cavity. Melee Moth's entire body flashed, and then the light faded from it, the tail flopped loosely like a dead snake, and it dropped to the ground. Mega shook his head and sighed.
"Well, that's one Fortress Guardian down... and lord knows how many to go. Although I'm getting this wierd sense of deja vu..."
"Five minutes until show time, Darwin ol' buddy." Dr. Trent Corbun announced brightly. Darwin Vinkus shot him a sour look.
"It's not 'show time', Trent. It's a meeting of the United Nations. A political affair, not some kind of... circus."
"What's the difference?" Dr. Corbun asked, wide-eyed. Vinkus continued glaring at him for a moment longer, than gave up and began to laugh slowly.
"Heh... well, these days, I will admit... it is getting hard to tell. With the way they're all acting in there...."
"They have not calmed down recently?" Mr. X blinked. "I had thought that with the rescue of all the hostages, that they might have been satisfied at least in some amount... is that not the case?"
"Not even close." Vinkus groaned as he settled into an armchair with a most undignified flop that he would never even consider if any other politicians were present. "On the contrary, I'm afraid... they've grown even more rabid now that Cossack doesn't have any hold over them."
"So, what's the magical topic of discussion for all these brilliantly frenzied minds, hmm?" Dr. Corbun raised an eyebrow quizzically. "The worldwide tax rate? Melting of the glaciers due to our grandfathers' idiotic global warming? The world's supply of toilet paper?"
"Cossack himself." Vinkus shot a glance heavenward. "Now that Mega Man's out bringing him back-"
"You mean he's gone already?" Mr. X broke in. "I would have thought he would have taken a longer rest before moving... did all of you give him the order to attack this fast?"
"No, as a matter of fact." Vinkus shook his head. "Mega Man left all by himself without so much of a how-de-do from us. For some reason, though, I don't believe a single one of us will have any sort of issue with it. Including myself... we do owe that robot a lot, after all. Now, may I finish?"
"Sorry." Mr. X apologized.
"All right. Now, then. Since the word got out that Mega's going to be bringing Cossack out of that castle in chains soon, all the nations who were attacked-and some who weren't-are all yelling at each other and arguing over who gets jurisdiction over Cossack after the Rebellion. I swear, every single member there wants their country to be the one who decides Cossack's fate."
"And that would be?" Dr. Corbun inquired.
"Nothing nice, that's for certain. Of course, the death penalty's still not an option since it was outlawed in 2049, but at least thirty percent of them want to lock Cossack up for the rest of his life and throw away the key." Mr. X looked surprised.
"What? But they let Wily out twice before his death, didn't they? And his Rebellion crimes were much more extensive than Cossack's..."
"Yeah, but if he had survived the third, he would have recieved a unanimous life sentence with no bail. When he revealed his true colors there, he threw away his last chance... not that he needed it."
"So... that still doesn't sound like enough to make them overreact so much to Cossack." Dr. Corbun frowned.
"Well, here's the thing... nobody expected another Rebellion. Everybody thought that when Wily died, the Rebellions died too. When Cossack busted this on us out of the blue, it basically surprised the hell out of everybody. A lot of them are still running on the adrenaline from that, and they're not thinking straight. They're just thinking "Rebellion" and not really comprehending that Cossack hasn't killed a single person or done more than holding them hostage. It's all just blending together in their skulls... no, I'm afraid things do not look good for Dr. Sergei Cossack." He looked at a clock and got to his feet with a sigh. "It's time. Wish me luck... and sanity, for that matter." Dr. Corbun nodded.
"You took some Advil?"
"Two pills ten minutes ago." Vinkus nodded back. Both men rose and shook his hand.
"Luck."
"Luck. We'll be watching on the Tv."
"Thanks." Vinkus smiled briefly before walking away through the door. A short while later, he arrived in a huge chamber representing the United Nations meeting room. The politician flipped what appeared to be a light switch near the door, and holographic representations of the other councillers shimmered into existence. At the same time, all of them in their seperate homes saw Vinkus' representation come on as he seated himself. Counciller Martel from the United States smiled in greeting.
"Ah, Counciller Vinkus. There you are. Is that everybody?" Nobody responded. "Very well. This meeting of the United Nations is now in session. Counciller Martel presiding." Immediately, as if he had activated an electric charge in each of their seats, the councillers sprang to life, each apparently trying to scream louder than any of the others. However, if listening to the noise long enough, one could almost begin to make a sort of sense out of it, for all of the shouts were about one subject. Dr. Sergei Cossack, and what was to become of him.
"Well, that didn't take long at all..." Vinkus muttered to himself sardonically. I should have taken three Advil. The noise would, of course, drag on for quite some time, and most of what they were all saying would be almost identical. Things did not look good for Dr. Sergei Cossack.
"At least this is an improvement over the outside temperature-wise..." Mega Man said as he looked up the long green vertical shaft above him. "Might as well get to work." Choosing a ladder, he climbed up, dodging clamps and spinning cocoon-bots. Upon reaching the top, however, he was only greeted by an even more unpleasant sight. An extremely long hallway, with the floor completely covered in spikes after the first ten feet or so. The blue hero sighed as he casually wasted a skull-headed security robot and picked up a large capsule of Weapons Energy for his Pharaoh Shot. At least that was one good thing. "Now this looks familiar. Wily put this same kind of thing in Skull Fortress III... and I'll deal with it the same way. Yo, Rush!"
"Ruff!" Landing next to his master, Rush looked over the spikes and immediately transformed into jet mode without even being commanded to. Mega chuckled as he stepped on board.
"So, you recognize this setup too, eh? Off we go, then!" As they blazed down the hall, Mega looked out a huge glass window. The snowstorm seemed to be calming down now; the flakes were drifiting past slowly, almost gently, to settle on the ground so far below. Shaking his head, Mega turned his attention back to the task at hand and shot down a cylindrical flying robot. A few minutes later, he was climbing up the ladder on the other side to the next floor. "Oh, this looks like loads of fun..." It was another vertical shaft, even longer than the last one. The difference was, in this one, there were several ladders on opposite sides of the walls, and the only way to get to them was by stepping across "stepping stone" blocks protruding from the walls. And those blocks stuck out sai-like prongs from their four sides in turns every few seconds. "This is a nasty setup... Cossack's a smart one, I'll give him that. However, he still seems to be forgetting about his own utilities." Climbing the first ladder, he then fired the Wire up, which grabbed into the bottom rung of the ladder above him and dragged him after it. The handy grappling hook helped him again on the next floor, nabbing him a large energy capsule that put his internal operations energy back up to 100%, a welcome bonus after Melee Moth. There were a couple of Batontons guarding it, of course, but the Wire also proved itself handy at grabbing enemy robots and smashing them into walls and ceilings. Jumping a few small spiked pits and destroying a strangely pink-colored mono-wheeled 'bot, Mega continued on.
"Ah... and this puts my Wire energy back up to full." Mega smiled as he grabbed a second large weapons energy capsule. Now, except for a small dent in his Ring Boomerang supply, he was at full power. "And I'll probably by needing it... my instinct's telling me it's getting close to time when Cossack puts another Fortress Guardian in my way." He frowned at a clamp coming down the ladder towards him, and again at a section of the wall that appeared to be more constructed out of green metal bricks, unlike the rest. "Eh? This was only covered up recently... let's see what's behind it. Drill Bomb time!" The powerful, penetrating explosive broke apart the section of wall easily, revealing a cubbyhole with an E-Tank. "Score! That's five I have now! Things are looking good..." Dodging the clamp, he finished his climb and found himself face-to-face with another metal shutter. Again, Cossack's emblem was on the wall above it.
"Looks like my instinct was right on the money. Let's see what's in here..." Once again, he emerged in a room that was completely dark. "Farg it. What's-OOF!" Out of nowhere, Mega was suddenly struck by a force equivalent to a football player at full throttle. Falling on his rear, Mega felt something BIG go rushing past him. A few seconds later, it came again, slower this time. Mega was able to slide under it. However, he also felt several more of the... things... several feet above him. The third time, they were all moving quite slow, and drifted together harmlessly. Suddenly, the lights flickered on, and Mega was greeted by the sight of a purple metallic cube roughly fifteen feet wide on each side. Cracks running horizontally around the entire cube seperating it into thirds made him realize what he had been hit by-the pieces of this machine blasting around seperately before unifying into this.
"Ha ha ha... what do you think of this Fortress Guardian, Mega Man?" Cossack's voice came from inside the machine. "I call it The Cage, for reasons which you shall soon discover. Have fun!" From an almost-unnoticable hole in one side, a bolt of energy suddenly flew at Mega. It was followed by several more, and the blue hero had to do some fast dancing to dodge them. The Cage slid apart into its three sections once more and began blasting around. This time, though, Mega was able to see them, and was thus able to dodge them easier while he thought over his options.
"Rain Flush and Flash Stopper probably won't do squat... Cossack's too smart to leave it vulnerable to something that can hit all of it at once. Doubt Dive Missiles will be very effective either... too much Cage to go around, it wouldn't be able to effectively find a weak point. Dammit, why does there always have to be one Fortress Guardian that's based on insane genius... hmm. The Drill Bomb, Ring Boomerang and charged Pharoah Shot might be able to blow, slice or burn through that armor... how thick is it?" He looked at a segment as it slowed down and winced. "No way. I'd run out of energy before I made more than a really big dent. Wait... it's hollow! Looks like I'll have to get inside!" Right before the pieces combined again, he leaped onto the lowest segment. With a click, the pieces locked together, trapping him in. It was only then that Mega realized it was called "The Cage" for a reason. "D'OH! Stupid, stupid... well, might as well make the best of it! Look for a weak point, look for a weak point..." His eyes were drawn to a large hole near the top. A moment later, a huge red crystalline globe appeared in the hole and began emitting energy bolts. "So that's where they came from!" Dodging the bolts as best he could while inside The Cage, Mega decided that that crystal looked to be his best chance at a target; the rest of The Cage's inside seemed as well-armored as the outside. "Figures. Better use the biggest thing I have..." Charging up a Pharaoh Wave, Mega launched it at the orb. It dissipated harmlessly. "ARGH! Okay, not thinking clearly... don't go with energy based weapons, think about what would be good at removing-whoa!" The Cage slid apart again as the orb retracted, and Mega was forced to run around avoiding the mass times acceleration of the pieces.
"Okay, this thing's all one big machine in three parts, linking together to make one whole. What would mess up the gears of that... wait... mess up!" Changing his colors to dull grey, Mega leaped into the Cage again. As the pieces clicked together, he began covering the cracks with the Dust Crusher. "This should jam up your system!" He winced as an energy bolt slammed into his unprotected back, but kept going. A few more such hits later, he spun and shot his remaining Dust Crusher shots into the orb, which sputtered with each hit. "Heh... didn't like that, eh? Let's just hope this works as well on the box as it does on the sphere..." The entire Cage began to hum, but nothing came apart. The cracks started to smoke, and Mega felt the machine trying to move... but not succeeding. The orb didn't retract. "Ha! It can't get through the gunk... and it looks like Cossack only designed the weak point to retract when the pieces came apart! Fatal mistake! You're all mine now, pal!" Switching to the Drill Bomb, he fired one heavy explosive after another straight into the crystal. Already damaged by the Dust Crusher, and single-mindedly blowing its energy on attempting to split up, the machine was unable to take this added stress. Three Drill Bombs were all it took to destroy the crystal, and with a squeal, the whole thing began to overheat. Mega's face went white. "Oh, crap... it's going to explode, and I'm still inside!" He frantically fired Drill Bombs into the hole, hoping that he could punch through the outer layer of armor there in time. By the time he fired his last one, the whole thing was glowing too bright for him to see if it had worked. "Just have to hope...!" Pointing his Wire at the hole, he fired. The grappling hook grabbed onto something, and pulled him. Mega felt the scraping as he went through the sides of the hole... and emerged. A moment later, the entire Cage exploded, and the three slagged sections spun through the air like a trio of discuses into the wall. The force of the explosion smashed Mega into the ceiling.
"Ugh... huh?" He blinked. He wasn't falling back down. By sheer luck, he had not hit the ceiling after all, but had flown up towards it and landed on the small ledge that held the door leading further on. "That was WAY too close... and I've drained all the energy of two of my Master Weapons completely. If the next Fortress Guardian is any worse than this, I'm in trouble." Opening the door, he realized that he had been fighting in one of the corner towers; ahead of him stretched the top of the upper fortress wall. Fortunately, the snowstorm has passed, and the sky was now clear and blue. "Weather's good, at least... but I can't say the same for my mood. At least I'm getting closer... Cossack has to be around here somewhere."
