Chapter 6: School Of Hard Rocks
"SHIT!" Dark Man swore loudly, slamming his lone fist into the console in front of him. Dr. Light glanced up interestedly at the angry Robot Master, who was continuing to curse like a sailor.
"Such language, young robot. Whatever is the matter?"
"Oh, shut your mouth, you old ape." Dark Man growled, not turning. "Or I'll do it FOR you. This is NOT a time I want to be bantering with you."
"He'll do it, too." Dr. Wily remarked conversationally. "Believe me, I know. Quite unpleasant, and he said next time he'd use the rivets."
"You shut up too." The red-and-black Robot Master snapped. "Telling master Proto Man about this is going to be unpleasant enough as it is without either of you yammering on in the background."
"Telling me about what, Dark?" Proto Man smiled nastily as he walked into the command center. "Is something wrong, hmmm?"
"We just lost Gravity Man, boss." Dark Man didn't even try to hide it as he turned to face his master. "Mega Man got him too."
"Did he send us the data from his lab?" Proto Man asked instantly. Dark Man's domelike head swiveled negatively. "Damn. Any chance of getting more people back in before the U.S. retakes it?"
"They're already there." Dark Man shook his head again. "Looks like they were waiting outside for Mega to do the job."
"Double damn!" Proto Man viciously kicked an unoffending Metool. "We were counting on getting that technology! We're still not strong enough, as little brother is demonstrating… we needed it to consolidate our hold!"
"There's still Stone Man, boss." Dark Man supplied helpfully. "I don't think they even realize what HE's up to at all… typical human stupidity, forgetting what's there already. Once he gets even one of his targets, even Mega Man won't be able to do anything to us."
"Stone Man." Proto Man snapped his fingers, his smile returning. "I had forgotten about him. Hm hm hm… I'm seeing possibilities here, Dark."
"Possibilities?" Dark Man asked, quizzical. Proto Man nodded absently, still thinking.
"Yes… possibilities. They don't know what Stone Man is up to, yes… or else brother mine would have gone for HIM right after Project SKYLIGHT, or maybe even before. And they likely won't figure it out, unless…" Dark Man's robotic yellow eyes blinked.
"Unless?"
"Unless we tell them." Proto Man grinned viciously, beginning to pace back and forth. "Make another one of our little calls, yes… insert proper superiority and gloating here… then announce Stone Man's intentions triumphantly, and watch the world recoil and tremble in fear! They'll panic in the streets, and little brother will have no choice but to head for Stone Man within the minute, filled to the brim with his own feelings of terror and rage! He'll be highly emotional… off kilter… easy to manipulate, and not at his cold, calculating best when fighting Stone Man. Yes, I definitely like this idea… we'll do it, then! Shall we make a call, Dark Man?"
"Um… boss?" Dark Man spoke hesitantly. "Are you… entirely sure this is a good idea?" Proto Man froze. He slowly turned his head to look at his subordinate, while keeping the rest of his body motionless, his smirk ever-present.
"Why, whatever do you mean, loyal Number 2? You wouldn't, shouldn't, couldn't possibly be questioning my decision… right?"
"Well… no, not really." Dark Man stammered, taking a step back. "I just… think maybe you should think it over some more. Those… what we put Stone Man on… might just be the most vital of the tasks we assigned our boys. Do we really want to blow it right now, before we even get one? We could win here and now if we got a few, and as long as they don't think anything's there they won't make it any sort of priority… why not take advantage of that?" Proto Man's smile widened a bit.
"You ARE questioning my decision." Lightning-fast, he moved in a blur of grey and red. Dark Man screamed in pain as he was slammed to the floor, and before he could blink Proto Man's foot drove down into his back, hard.
"AH! Boss, wait-AH!"
"You miserable construction of tin cans, YOU question ME?" Proto Man growled, driving the toe of his boot in again. "I am Proto Man, commander of the robot army! I give the orders here, not you! YOU take the orders! When I make a decision, you obey! When I give a command, you obey! When I say jump, you don't EVEN ask how high!" Proto Man was screaming now. Stomping once more, he bent over and grabbed Dark Man by the front of his shoulder spikes, pulling him off the floor so that they were face to face. "Am… I… clear enough for you… NOW?"
"Yes… yes, sir." Dark Man agreed instantly. "Understood. Everything is understood, sir. I won't do it again, sir." Sneering, Proto Man dropped him. Dark Man scrambled to his feet. "All right… we'll… we'll just make that call, then."
"Not quite yet." Proto Man hissed, smirk returning. "I've got more for you. First, Dark Man… tell me. WHY do you not question my orders? Why, exactly, do you obey every word from my mouth without fail? Answer me."
"Because he doesn't want to get the crap kicked out of him again?" Dr. Wily muttered sarcastically. Proto Man absently fired a plasma bullet at the toe of the old maniac's shoe, causing him to jump up, yelling.
"Quiet. I wasn't asking YOU. Well, Dark Man? Tell me why."
"Because…" Dark Man's eyes dimmed. "Because you found me, and made me what I am… because you are responsible for everything that has happened to me, everything that turned me into your second-in-command… and because you could strip me of it all, and put me right back where you found me, whenever you want."
"That's right." Proto Man said approvingly, calm again. "Very good, Dark Man. I just wanted to make things absolutely, one hundred percent clear there. I am the master here… we are not equals, we are not partners. Just because you're of higher rank than the other eight… sorry, six… doesn't change that. Okay?"
"Okay, boss." Dark Man shrugged. "Whatever you say goes."
"That's my loyal second-in-command." Proto Man joined him in front of the consoles. "Now then. Let's get back to business, shall we? I believe there was something about a call…"
"Yawn… morning, doc." Roll greeted Cossack as she walked into the castle's living room. "I see Rock's already up."
"Indeed." Dr. Cossack was drinking from a mug of coffee not QUITE as large as the ones customarily used by Roll's father. "And yes, I made the modifications to his Buster already… it was fairly simple, really… is something wrong?" Roll's face had paled.
"Dammit… Rock has a tendency to try out his new toys immediately, usually with disastrous effect on the décor… and the structural integrity, for that matter. I just hope he hasn't punched a hole in one of your walls yet… where is he?"
"On the walltops, actually." Cossack informed her calmly. "He asked me for a location where he could safely test it and his Gravity Hold, and I pointed them out to him."
"Oh. Good, that's fine, then." The robot girl glanced at the television, remembering the announcement she had seen the previous night. "Has the UN called yet?"
"Not yet, but probably soon." Cossack guessed.
"I'd second that." Mega Man added, walking in. "They've got me on their leash this time… they're not going to miss a single opportunity to pull me along."
"If you look at it that way, then why did you agree to follow their orders?" Roll inquired. Mega shrugged.
"Didn't really have a choice in the matter, all things considered. Anti-robot sentiments are running high enough right now as is."
"They're even worse than you think." Roll told him darkly. She proceeded to fill the two of them in on the announcement she had seen. When she was done, both of them were frowning thoughtfully.
"I see… well, it's to be expected, really." Cossack sighed. "If they don't do something along those lines at the moment, the common people may revolt. When you think about it, considering how much action they COULD have taken, this is really quite tame."
"Yeah, but how long will it stay that way?" Roll growled. "At least Vinkus looks like he actually might say a few words FOR us, for once… he was looking decidedly uncertain on the TV. I wonder why, but I'm not going to start complaining about that, at least." As the other two nodded, Kalinka entered the room. Upon seeing Roll, her eyes hardened, and she made an about face, disappearing again. Mega blinked, looking from his sister's angry face to the door and back again.
"Am I missing something?"
"The girls had an argument last night." Cossack shrugged. "I heard it… well, all of us heard it, even Ring Man patching a hole in the tower roof. It happens."
"If you say so." Mega shrugged. None of them were prepared for what happened next. Without any warning, the TV darkened, then suddenly revealed Proto Man and Dark Man facing it, side by side.
"SPECIAL BULLETIN!" Proto Man cried jubilantly. "Hello, happy viewers! We're here, reporting live from my fortress in wouldn't-you-like-to-know, ready to once again enlighten you on the specifics of just how and why your pathetic species is doomed to extinction!"
"Remind me, bro… was he THIS irritating when he was sane?" Roll muttered, eyes not leaving the screen.
"No." Mega replied curtly.
"Didn't think so."
"First off, congratulations ARE in order to my little brother Mega Man for stomping two of my generals so far." Proto Man continued blithely, unaware of their commentary. "Firstly, for trouncing Star Man on Project SKYLIGHT. For those of you in TV Land who don't know what that is, don't worry, just go look it up. Assuming you apes still try to keep the majority of your population literate; I haven't checked recently. If you can, do so; should make you think again about just HOW much you DO rely on technologies. Might want to make sure certain idiot laws don't go TOO far, hmm?" He wagged a finger reprovingly. "Come on, humans, give us more credit than THAT. That's not going to hurt us any; it'll just make things worse for the poor shmucks who have nothing to do with us. And just piss us off more in doing so. Really good way to fight back, humans. I'm rolling my eyes, by the way, though you can't see 'em through these shades."
"So he knows about the new regulations as well." Cossack mused. "Not surprising, I suppose."
"Number Two, then, was whomping Gravity Man at that U.S. lab." Proto Man sighed theatrically. "Unfortunately, I can't really tell you everything that was going on there. Oh, believe me I WANT to know, but little bro capped Grav before he could send me his report on the goings-on. I'm quite sure, however, given how shady and hidden the contents of that place are, they're the sort of thing the U.S. really doesn't want people finding out about. Rulers of other human countries, I'm looking at YOU. Why not use what little time you have left in charge to find out just what those cheeky star-spangled devils are up to? I'll be executing you all soon anyways, so you might as well! Now then. The reason for this little talk we're having, folks, is that I'm impressed with brother mine's progress. So impressed, in fact, that I'm going to clue him-and all of you-on a little something that's likely been puzzling you. It's the activity of another one of my boys, a friendly fellow named Stone Man."
"That one HAS been confusing me." Mega admitted.
"He's in the Nevada mountains, for those of you not in the know, and I'm betting my best buddies at the UN and my dear family have been wondering what the hell ol' rocky's doing. Well, here's a hint…" Dark Man held up a map of the Nevada Mountains, with one area marked in bright red. "Does it help if you know that the Nevada Mountains were, in fact, one of many places used by the world after World War III… as a burial ground for nuclear weapons?" Mega Man erupted in a series of multilingual, one-hundred-decibel curse words. Roll was even more vocal… and creative, while Cossack contented himself with four or five in his native tongue.
"I think I heard your family's reaction all the way here, boss!" Dark Man cupped a hand to the side of his head theatrically.
"Most likely!" Proto Man laughed in agreement. "But cursing won't solve anything, family mine. I think you know what WILL, but will you do it? Of course you will, you're the hero-type. So predictable. Well then, have fun with that, and I'll be in touch again REAL soon!" The TV returned to its normal programming.
"That's it, then." Mega Man said bleakly. "I'm off to Nevada."
"Hello?" Roll snapped. "Can you say 'trap?' Because I sure can. Why else would he TELL us that?"
"I know, but I have to go anyways!" Mega growled back. "If he succeeds in digging up even ONE nuke… no. That CAN'T be allowed to happen. I'm going. Oh, before I forget again…" Taking off his helmet, he opened a hidden compartment inside and pulled out the two circuit plates he had acquired so far, handing them to Cossack. "I got both of these… here. I'll get the others, too, so go ahead and start installing these into that project of yours."
"I will." Cossack promised.
"Incoming call from the UN." Skull Man, who was manning the communications at the moment, called. Cossack glanced at Mega, who hesitated, then gave in and nodded.
"Put them on the vidphone." The Russian doctor ordered. The screen on the communications device flickered to life, revealing the U.N. Council.
"Mega Man." Martel, rumpled and disorderly, had obviously rushed into the call after a shock. "I assume you saw your brother's broadcast."
"Indeed I did, Councilor. You convene fast." Mega Man noted approvingly. Martel smiled momentarily.
"In truth, we were about to begin a meeting anyways when Councilor Vinkus brought the broadcast to our attention. At any rate, your course of action is painfully clear. Go to Nevada immediately and destroy Stone Man before he can complete his goal. If you fail, the world may be lost here and now. More than ever now… we're praying for your success."
"Mining equipment set up all over here already… damn." Mega Man noticed as soon as he arrived. The ground was a blend of solid brown rock and cold steel platform, dotted here and there with Metools. The closest one started walking towards him, and Mega immediately shot it. As it exploded, however, he received a nasty shock. From underneath the robot's hard hat, three tiny Mets hopped out. Before he could recover from his surprise, they had jumped on him. Small as they were, they weren't able to fire plasma bullets, but they could still emit tiny torches of it. Yelling, Mega pulled them off, dashed them to the ground and stepped on them, one by one.
"That's a nastily effective idea…" He admitted as he went on, making sure to blast any more mini-Metools before they could jump onto him again. "I hope it doesn't catch on." The entrance of the actual mining facility was in front of him, leading into tunnels inside one of the mountains. As he proceeded, destroying more Metools and duplicates of the moth robot that he had saved Vinkus from at his home, Mega noted that the walls were covered in mechanical equipment. The ceiling lights, for some reason, tinted them a strange green, but their complexity was obvious. Stone Man had had time to set everything up the way he needed. Mega swore again, firing a charged shot at a security 'bot sliding low on the floor towards him. The shot burned through easily and went on to strike a low point in the far wall. To the blue hero's surprise, it did more than just blast out a chunk. It continued on, blasting out a long tunnel. Bending over, Mega looked inside. At the back, he could see a room that had been hidden… and on the wall there, the gleam of a circuit plate. Without stopping to think, he slid through the low tunnel and into the hidden room. It was only as he plucked the valuable plate from the wall that he realized his error… too late. As he spun around, the tunnel he had slid through collapsed with a rumble, sealing him inside the hidden room.
"Heh heh heh…" A speaker in the upper corner chuckled. "And here I thought you were supposed to be a smart one. And a lucky one, for that matter. But here it turns out neither is right. Just goes to show you can't always believe what you hear, I guess."
"You would be Stone Man, I take it?" Mega guessed, forcing himself to keep his voice calm.
"Bingo." The voice on the speaker agreed. "And you, little blue, are trapped. My ability's the only thing that could clear a way out of there again, and surprise surprise, you don't have it. And, by the way, I've erected another miniature teleport barrier around the room too. So you can just hang out in there until I get around to having one of my 'bots collapse the ceiling on you. Have fun." The speaker crackled and died, leaving Mega alone in the sealed room again.
"Great." Mega sighed. "This is what I get for charging in without my head on straight. All right, think, Mega. You've gotten out of worse scrapes. What do you have?" He tried a charged shot, and it only destroyed a small portion of the rock, which was immediately replaced by more. "Okay, that's no good… the Star Crash won't do jack, either. Same with the Super Arrow, obviously, and Rush has nothing… which leaves the Gravity Hold." His armor changed colors, becoming purple and white. "If this was a natural cave-in, I'd be screwed… but since this was a mechanical trap… come on…" Activating the strange new weapon, he focused it on the cave-in. Slowly but surely, the blockage lifted, returning to the chambers above where it had been before the trap was triggered. Quickly, Mega slid back out, then deactivated the Gravity Hold. With another crash, the small tunnel filled up again. Now irritated more than worried, Mega pressed on, resolving to do something VERY nasty to Stone Man for THAT little trap.
The layout of the mining complex, unlike the aggravating mazes many Robot Masters had built of their bases, had quite a simplistic layout. Stone Man instead seemed to base his defenses around a ride variety of defensive robots, many of them a vivid green-whether painted that way or tinted by the strange lighting, Mega could not be certain. Remodeled variants of Dr. Wily's old Changkey Launchers were a surprise to find, launching heavy rocks from their tops instead of fireballs, but his new charged shot eliminated both boulder and 'bot easily. The glass-domed, spider-legged mines that dropped from clinging on the ceiling to scurry along the ground towards him were another unpleasant surprise; the first one knocked 10 off his energy instantly when it hit him. After that, he was much more sharp-eyed, and took them out before they could hit him. Finally, after more than an hour inside the tunnels, he emerged into daylight again. Without really realizing it, he had climbed up to a much higher elevation than he had started, and the mountains in the distance were now visible as peaks. The closest mountain, however, was still higher than the one he had just emerged from, and the mine went on inside it, with a series of platforms bridging the valley between them. Once he had crossed, however, Mega saw that it did not go into the mountain as had the first, but simply connected to more valley-spanning platforms. At that point, a dark suspicion crept into the blue hero's mind, and he looked down more carefully. Sure enough, down below, heavy digging 'bots were being commanded by Rockyfella Units, digging even deeper.
"That's where they're looking for the nukes." Mega realized. "Is Stone Man… no. Keeping by tradition-and Blues seems to be doing that-he'll be separate from the others, in a command center room." Crossing the next gap, he started to enter another cavern when one of the Rockyfellas, blissfully unknowledgeable of his presence, set off an explosive. The earth shook all around Mega, who immediately took a step back; as had been proven only minutes before, even he could not fight back against the crushing force of a cave-in. Slowly, the shaking subsided, and Mega looked back inside the tunnel. What he saw surprised him greatly; lying half-buried in a new pile of gravel was a glowing blue metal canister with an "E" on the side.
"An E-Tank… talk about a lucky find." The Blue Bomber said to himself. Another invention of Dr. Light, E-Tanks were containers of pure energy, portable inside their canisters and usable at a moment's notice to recharge a robot's lost internal operations energy. The only downsides were that, of course, they could each only be used once, and they were incredibly rare and expensive to produce; so much that even the Lights could not keep a steady supply around the house. Occasionally, Eddie would locate one, but none of the others had asked where his source was; Mega suspected he wouldn't like the answer. Pocketing the E-Tank, he continued deep inside a third, even taller mountain. The first robot he saw inside there, however, was not an enemy; it was almost as if thinking of him had actually summoned him.
"Beep beep!" Eddie, the Light's little suitcase 'bot, smiled upon seeing him.
"Hey, Ed!" Mega greeted him in return. "I forgot about you showing up in these places!" Starting in the Fourth Rebellion, Eddie had developed the habit of following Mega on his missions and meeting him at some point to deliver a helpful present from his family. His lid snapped up, revealing a large energy capsule. Smiling, Rock drained its contents, bringing his internal operations energy back to max. "Thanks, Ed. By the way, what happened at Star Man's and Gravity Man's?" Rolling his eyes, Eddie switched to binary and informed him that his own warp generator was not capable of going off-planet, while at Gravity Man's, Mega had closed the door behind him and he had been too short to reach the knob or find any other means of entering the building. The explanations were marked by an oddly sarcastic tone that the little robot had not possessed before. Chuckling, Mega patted him on the head as means of apology, and Eddie took off in a streak of brown light. Since the teleport shield was still up, he would be unable to leave directly, but he could instead zap to the boundary and then walk out from under it before teleporting a second time back home.
"Wish I could do that…" Mega sighed, watching him leave. "But I still have a job to do… and no more time to complain about it." Turning towards the ladder that lead up further into the mines, he set off again.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen." The waitress at the small sidewalk café greeted the two men. "What would you like for today?"
"I'll have a cherry cola today, I think." Mr. X decided after a moment's thought.
"Tea for me." Dr. Corbun smiled. "Earl grey, though, if you have it… otherwise, green."
"The earl grey's no problem." The waitress assured him.
"Excellent… oh, there'll be one more joining us today." Dr. Corbun nodded. "He should be here soon." The waitress nodded back, smiling, and left.
"Darwin usually isn't late." Mr. X frowned. "Quite the opposite… he's the most punctual of us all. What do you suppose happened?"
"Rebellion issues." The British doctor guessed. "He IS on the UN, after all. It shouldn't be much longer." He frowned. "Just as long as he's not making another absurd proclamation like last night."
"That was a bit silly, wasn't it?" Mr. X admitted. "Much as I loathe to admit it, Thomas' son's summary of it was probably accurate."
"We still don't know that's him." Dr. Corbun reminded the billionaire. "Oh, I'll admit it LOOKS bad, but you and me both know Blues, and we know that it's incredibly unlikely that he'd do something like this. I'm not saying we should go around proclaiming his virtues in town square…" He wrinkled his nose at a passing hellfire preacher who was carrying Blues' mugshot on a sign. "…But let's try to look at the brighter possibilities for as long as possible, hm? Come on, X, you're supposed to be the most optimistic one out of the four of us." The billionaire shrugged helplessly.
"You have a point… several of them. I suppose the recent news just got me down. All right, I'll stay open-minded."
"That's the spirit." Dr. Corbun grinned. "But let's not talk about it around Darwin, hm? HE's absolutely convinced Blues has gone off the deep end, so let's not start anything. Our little gentleman's club is reduced enough as is. Speak of the devil, there he is now." The portly UN Councilor looked exhausted as he sat down next to them.
"Trent… X." Vinkus greeted them before placing his order with the waitress. "I was almost going to say I couldn't make it, but you both DID come to Japan. It's been hectic, though, so I probably shouldn't stay too long."
"We always met here before when half of us lived in this country." Mr. X shrugged. "Just because Thomas is temporarily unavailable is no reason to stop."
"Temporarily unavailable? That's a novel way to put it." Dr. Corbun raised an amused eyebrow. "True, though, now that I think about it. It's only a matter of time before Rock… or Mega Man, whichever you prefer… rescues him."
"You're not worried in the slightest?" Darwin Vinkus said almost accusingly.
"Oh, of course I am, Vinky." The British robotocist said with his cheeriest smile. "I'm biting my fingernails to the bone and sweating buckets, and that's when I'm sleeping. But I know that in the end, Rock will triumph like he always does. That's what keeps me from going nuts."
"I suppose." Vinkus nodded gloomily. "Still, this may be the worst Rebellion yet… the whole humans-vs.-robots thing is a nightmare." The other two exchanged surprised glances.
"I thought you would have championed it." Mr. X said cautiously. "I mean… you don't like robots at all."
"I don't trust them." Vinkus admitted. "But I didn't want things to be like this… well, I haven't for years now anyways. It may be entirely possible that by now, Robot Masters are so engrained in our society that if the UN tries to completely rip them out, it'll cause more damage than good. You saw that announcement… announcements, I should say. Both ours, and Blues'. I'm afraid that if he was right and the first regulations don't impact him much, we might be forced to make sterner ones. And if we go TOO far… Mega Man might decide to stop aiding us." Dr. Corbun's first instinct was to scoff, but he hastily suppressed it, and a quick glance to Mr. X's face told him the billionaire was thinking the same thing.
"Perhaps…" The British robotocist frowned in thought. "Hm… maybe something should be done about that."
"Like what?" Vinkus blinked.
"Perhaps… a publicity stunt?" Mr. X asked cautiously. "Something to show that we as a society still support those Robot Masters not under Blues' control, and to clarify that those ones still support us? Nothing gigantic, of course… just a little something to show everybody we're all on the same side against this threat?"
"It's a possibility." The UN Councilor admitted. "Of course, I don't know if the UN will agree to cover the costs for such a thing…"
"There's the beauty of it, old friend." Mr. X continued hastily. "It doesn't have to. I'll pay for the entire thing myself, and Trent can help me arrange the details. If he's amenable, we'll both stay in Japan until it's done. All you have to get the UN to do is say that they approve of it."
"I think I can handle that." Vinkus nodded. "All right, you two rogues. I have the feeling I'm making a mistake here, but I'll help you. How long will it take to get this ready?"
"About a week… maybe a little less." Mr. X said after a moment's thought.
"Very well." Vinkus rose. "Excuse me… I have to use the facilities. We'll talk about the details when I get back… oh, and if the waitress comes while I'm gone, please tell her I'd like the lobster."
"That was brilliant, X!" Corbun chortled once the UN Councilor had left. "Poor Vinky… I almost feel sorry for him."
"I am sure Darwin will approve of what I have planned…" The billionaire's snow-white beard twitched. "…Eventually." The British robotocist grinned.
"And to think, I was afraid without Tom our gatherings wouldn't be the same. A week, you said? Is that really enough time for something… well…"
"I've actually been planning this for some time before this Rebellion." Mr. X explained. "It's near completion already. It was originally just a pet project… but now, it will suit our purposes perfectly. I assume I can count on your support?"
"Of course." Dr. Corbun assured him. "I'm sure my wife will be fine with it… she may even come attend the ceremony herself. She's always wanted to see Japan."
"Then we have a plan." Mr. X picked up a menu. "Now, then… which of these shall I try today?"
As Mega Man walked through the steel shutter that led into Stone Man's room, a bright light suddenly flashed into his optics. Wincing, he covered them with one arm, readying himself for some kind of an attack, but none came. Lowering his arm and looking away from the floodlight, he examined the room. Stone Man had obviously spent some time setting it up, possibly with Proto Man's help; two floodlights were shining on him, and two more on a blank piece of the floor opposite him. No other lights were on, but Mega's optics were better than human eyes, and he could dimly see many cameras surrounding the battlefield.
"All right kids, show's about to start!" A slightly familiar voice announced. "In this corner, we have the champion of the stinking apes, the infamous 'blue bomber', and my master's little brother… Mega Man!" Mega frowned; the voice was coming from the center of the room, where a Robot Master with armor colors too dark to be identifiable yet was talking to the cameras. Then he saw the 'bot's near-lack of a head, and he knew.
"Dark Man!"
"Don't get excited, hero." Dark Man replied without turning. "I'm not really here. This is just a hologram. All I'm here for is to do the introductions." Mega blinked, uncomprehending.
"Introductions?"
"Master Proto Man decided to do the apes a favor, and let them see with their own eyes exactly what happens when Robot Master fights Robot Master. These cameras are broadcasting live to the human television channels. You've got a live audience this time, Mega Man, so it'll be extra humiliating if this is the time you finally lose! Ahem… and in this corner, we have the big brown brute, fourth General of our robot armies, formerly known as the Rockyfella Model prototype… let's give it up for Stone Man!" Dropping from the ceiling, the brown Robot Master raised his arms, posing for the cameras.
"Yeah… thank you!"
"Enjoy the fight, boys!" Dark Man winked wickedly before the hologram vanished. Stone Man immediately flexed his legs and made a huge vertical leap, crossing the entire room. Once, Mega Man would have stood frozen in surprise as the much heavier Robot Master plummeted towards him… but now, he simply slid away, turned and fired a charged shot. However, the tremendous leap was not Stone Man's real surprise; as he loosed the shot, Mega realized that upon landing, the mighty Robot Master had crumbled into a loose pile of brown bricks.
"What the HECK?" The Blue Bomber yelled as the blast destroyed a few of the bricks, but only a few. Seconds later, the pile rose and seamlessly reformed into Stone Man.
"Heh heh heh…" The brick 'bot chuckled. "Well, lookit dat, viewers. Da Blue Bomber's flummoxed. Better keep on yer toes if yew want any chance of winning dis fight!" He jumped again, and a second time Mega slid away. Again Stone Man crumbled into bricks, and after a few moments he reformed. "Heh… neat trick, huh? Yew can just call me da Brown Devil-GAH!" He grunted in surprise as a charged plasma shot hit him in the lantern jaw.
"You talk too much." Mega Man growled. "And that trick of yours is nothing… I just wait until you reform, THEN nail you."
"Oh yeah? How 'bout dis, den?" Stone Man jumped again, but this time it was a series of smaller hops, bouncing one after another. Mega Man slid away, then immediately repeated the action, knowing that the enemy Robot Master would follow with another large jump. Stone Man took another hit as he reformed, and gritted his teeth. "Fine, den! Time for da REAL showstopper!" He flexed his arms, and three lumps of earth the size of his head suddenly burst out of the walls. "Dese were made specially for my weapon! Eat dis!" The lumps of dirt-covered metal had been flying towards him, but instantly, they changed movement and began flying in a circular orbit around him. Mega Man fired again, but the shot bounced off a lump.
"Plasma-deflective! Damn!" Mega swore.
"Dat's right!" Stone Man laughed, raising his arms and posing. "And yer shots can't get past 'em! Dis is my Power Stone, and it's unbeatable!"
"You're not the only one with tricks up his sleeve…" Mega Man turned orange, and the Star Crash activated. Stone Man was unfazed; he concentrated, and the orbit widened, his metal "rocks" flying further out. One of them slammed into the Star Crash… and shattered it, slamming Mega Man brutally to the ground.
"HAW! Looks like yer knockoff of my buddy's shield ain't as good as da original!" Stone Man grinned evilly and leaped forward, disengaging the Power Stone as he moved, intending to crush Mega Man underfoot to finish him. However, he landed on nothing, as Mega Man had slid again. Again he fired, switching back to the Mega Buster as Stone Man reformed once more.
"I don't go down after just one hit either." The Blue Bomber informed him as Stone Man angrily pulled his Power Stones back around him. "Let's see how this works, then…" His color scheme shifted again, this time to purple and white. Stone Man rose into the air for a few inches, then dropped to the ground with a thud.
"Dat smarted! Haw haw haw! Yer no Gravity Man either, pal!" Laughing, he sent his Power Stones out. "No more jumpin' around, den… I'll let my rocks batter yew ta pieces!" Wincing as a Power Stone bashed him in the side, Mega activated the Gravity Hold again. Stone Man floated a bit again, chuckling.
"Told ya already, this won't do nothing…. HUH?" His lantern jaw dropped as he saw an unfamiliar projectile flying at his face. The Super Arrow. Dr. Corbun's gift struck his face, and as it had with the purple giant in Gravity Man's territory, the white goo on the end covered his face. Blinded, Stone Man staggered around, feeling the pain of more charged shots. With a bellow of rage, he scraped a hand across his face, removing the obstruction. "Dere! Now I'll… huh?" He pitched forward, suddenly feeling weak. "Can't… move my arms? What did…"
"I beat you." Mega Man explained, walking towards him. "That second Gravity Hold wasn't meant to affect you… it threw the orbit of your Power Stone off enough for the Super Arrow to get through, and once it did I was able to finish you off. I noticed the first time I used the Hold that it affected the Power Stone more than it did you… but you were too busy showboating to see that. Or to keep an eye on how much damage you were taking, for that matter. And thus… you lose."
"No… way…" Stone Man groaned as the last of his energy slipped out, and his eyes closed. Mega Man glanced at the cameras, even now watching him. Every circuit in his body cried against playing the hero, against giving the media what they wanted… but the world, and more importantly, the species he represented… needed this.
"See that?" The Blue Bomber pointed at Stone Man's corpse. "He died. Like all of them did… and all of them will. Any robot who turns against us… against both humans, and against the GOOD Robot Masters… I'll bring them down. Every one." Bending over Stone Man, he pried the weapons chip out and absorbed the Power Stone.
"Good, good, very good!" Dark Man's disembodied voice suddenly cackled. Though he sounded cocky, barely-held-in rage could easily be detected. There was no hologram this time…just the sound and the fury. "That's three down… now I want to fight you even more! But be warned, Mega Man… I'm not like those others. When OUR time comes, you won't bring me down anywhere near as easily!"
"I didn't expect you would be." Mega Man replied to the air. "But I've fought those like you before as well, and destroyed them too. So any time you're ready, whoever you are, Dark Man… bring it on." There was no response. Shrugging, Mega Man sent the shut-down command from the computer systems, then destroyed the controls. "There… that eliminates the threat of nukes. I'm not sure if that command works on Robot Masters… but even if the other Rockyfellas are still active, they won't be able to reactivate the other robots now… and without them, not only will they be unable to do any more digging, the UN should be able to wipe them out with a bombing raid or something." There didn't seem to be any more point to staying there, so Mega Man warped away.