Chapter 7: Rail Ridin'

"I hate shoddy public transportation." -Zero Omega, summing up a mission to destroy a Neo Arcadian supply train

"We are enormously pleased with your progress so far, Mega Man." Councilor Martel complimented the Blue Bomber smoothly. "Recovering three of the territories in as many days… very commendable."

"It's what I do." Mega shrugged. "I've pretty much gotten used to it by now. I appreciate it, Councilors, but could we move on to business? I don't really need the fancy talk and compliments; save those for your public appearances. I've got a job to do, and you've got to tell me how to do it."

"Blunt, but true." Martel smiled. "Very well, then, as you wish. We have decided, after much deliberation…" He glanced back at the other members, and for a moment his smile became a sardonic smirk. "…That the captured territory of the highest priority at the moment is the European train system."

"That would be… Charge Man, correct?" Dr. Cossack remembered. Martel nodded.

"Correct. While not of the same immediate danger as the previous three, the longer it remains under enemy control, the more danger of a disastrous collision and/or severe alterations to the system. Thus, we now wish you to reclaim that location. This would normally be problematic, considering the size of the system, but we have discovered from spy satellites that Charge Man tends to stay on one train, and operate everything else from there... The 1301." Roll frowned.

"What exactly is he doing with all the trains?"

"Transporting supplies, mostly." Martel explained. "All the stations are under Charge Man's control, and a great deal of product is shipped daily through those, so everything that was being held at them at the time of the attack is his now. Obviously, he is only interested in metals, electronic parts, weaponry and the like. He's been keeping all the trains running on their normal routes so far, so he hasn't altered the system drastically… unfortunately, even with the satellites we have been unable to discover the point at which the supplies leave the train… they just seem to vanish. We have thus been unable to use any means to track them and discover Proto Man's location."

"He always was a master at hiding important things." Mega nodded somberly. "If he's managed to keep it from you this long, you're not going to find anything no matter how long you try. So there's no point in risking him causing more trouble in the hope of doing so."

"Such… was our thinking, yes." The white-haired Councilor admitted, a little startled by how quickly the robot boy had realized that. "With that explained, then… your next mission is to destroy Charge Man. Good luck, Mega Man." The screen blipped out.

"Might as well be going, then." The Blue Bomber shrugged, then paused. "Hey… wait a second…" His sister raised an eyebrow.

"Is there a problem?"

"Yeah… he never said what stations the 1301 stopped at!" Mega shook his head ruefully. "Guess I'll have to call them back…"

"Actually, there appears to be a call from Dr. Corbun incoming." Bright Man called. "Shall I put him on?"

"Excellent." Dr. Cossack smiled. "Go ahead, Bright… perhaps we can ask him."

"Hello, chaps." The British robotocist greeted them. "Hope I'm not calling at a bad time."

"On the contrary." Mega Man smiled back. "There's something you might be able to help us with… but you look like you have something else you want to tell us first. Go ahead."

"All right… we might have a good surprise coming up, as opposed to all the bad ones we've been having lately." Dr. Corbun grinned. "I assume you're all familiar with that odious decree the UN passed. Well, me and X thought it would be a good idea to drub up some support for the Robot Masters who are still on our side. In about six days or so, we're going to be opening up a little idea of X's to remind the public that this current Rebellion is not the be-all end-all of robotics. I think you'll enjoy it. Now, then, what can I help you with?"

"Well, the UN told me to go after Charge Man next, and said he tends to stay on one train… but they never told me where it stops at." The Blue Bomber admitted. "Are you familiar with the train system?"

"You've come to the right guy, my friend!" Dr. Corbun grinned. "Back when I running Sennet Robotics, I rode that system on a weekly basis all over the continent! Did they tell you what train it was?" Mega nodded.

"The 1301."

"1301... Around now…" The British robotocist thought for a moment. "It should be stopping at… the station in the city of Lyon soon."

"Thanks, doc." Mega smiled. "Now, I just have to bring down Charge Man… wonder what tricks he'll pull out. Some of these Robot Masters have been pretty interesting to fight… like Stone Man." He raised an eyebrow. "That brick trick, for example."

"Ah… yes." Dr. Corbun coughed. "I had forgotten about that, or I would have told you. I wasn't involved that much on the Rockyfella's construction. From what I know, the designers got the idea from what you told the history books about Wily's Yellow Devil… they couldn't reproduce the technology anywhere near perfectly, of course, since they were nowhere near as good as Wily, but they got a weaker version of it out… that 'brick trick', as you put it."

"Yeah… that explains that stupid 'Brown Devil' taunt he made, though." The Blue Bomber shook his head. "His weapon's interesting, though… It seems Blues, or whoever's in charge-I'm still not totally sold on the obvious-made more modifications to Stone Man's weapons chip than I'd thought. It was specifically adapted for the form of the Power Stone… since I don't have those three plasma-deflective chunks following me around, the matter synthesizers in my Buster create substitutes. They're just cheap replicas, though, so they're not plasma deflective, and I can't control the orbit as well as big brown could. That's always been the trouble with Weapons Copy… simple stuff, it's fine, but it can't capture all the nuances of the more complicated techniques perfectly."

"Still handy to have around, I'll bet." Dr. Corbun guessed. "I wonder how it'll handle Charge Man."

"Only one way to find out." Mega shrugged. "Still, using new weapons each time is one of the more interesting… and I suppose sometimes even fun parts… about this business. The only fun part, really… and a few years ago, I wouldn't even have admitted that. Guess I'm changing with the times."
"Guess so." Dr. Corbun agreed. "Well, I won't keep you any longer. Give 'im hell for me!" The Blue Bomber smiled darkly.

"I always do."

"So, he's off to Charge Man's now…" Dark Man muttered, watching the screens. "Of course, he goes for one of our 'suppliers' now that the big threats are out of the way… well, excluding Napalm Man…" He frowned. "Now that I think about it, it's about time I checked on him again. I haven't heard anything from Napalm Man since me and the boss called to yell at him, and that worries me."

"Dealing with incompetent underlings is one of the prices of our career path." Dr. Wily advised him. "It happens to the best of us."

"And the worst, if you know so much about it." Dark Man growled, not turning around. The deranged doctor nodded calmly.

"Oh, yes, I've had my share of fools. It's my son Doc Man who got it worst, though… when I got copies of the Sennet models, I found out he had had to deal with TWO idiots AND a crazy. None of them were as bad as your Napalm Man, of course, but still."

"Yeah, yeah…" Dark Man muttered. Strangely, the dome-headed Robot Master didn't seem to be responding to any action on Wily's part with violence as he usually did. Dr. Light frowned, then spoke up.

"You seem morose. I take it things aren't going as planned?"

"What do YOU think, doc?" Dark Man snarled. "We lost Stone Man too, and before he could get any more nukes. If we hadn't called that in, we would almost certainly have gotten some… and now we've got squat. And after seeing him fight, I've become convinced that your kid… the master's little brother… only has a chance to be beaten by one of our top three. While his avoidance of Napalm Man is understandable, I WISH he'd have the decency to go after one of the Mean Greens."

"Gyro Man and Crystal Man?" Dr. Light remembered a conversation he had overheard earlier between Proto Man and his subordinate.

"Yeah. But nooooo, he just keeps picking off the less-powerful guys one by one. If he goes after Wave Man next, I think I'll have to go slaughter a small town or something to avoid overloading my circuits."

"Now there's a good stress-release exercise if I ever heard one." Dr. Wily grinned wickedly, looking like he had during previous Rebellions for a brief moment. Before either of the other two could respond to that, the doors to the command center whizzed open, and Proto Man skipped in.

"Hey, Dark. How're things going?"

"Stone Man's toast, boss." Dark Man shrugged. "Your bro's heading for Charge Man's right now to do the same to him, most likely."

"Losses of war." Proto Man shrugged easily. "It happens."

"It didn't have to…" Dark Man muttered, and Proto Man frowned.

"What was that?"

"Nothing… it's just that… well…" The dome-headed Robot Master turned around in his chair to face his master. "Boss, I'm not questioning your orders or anything… believe me, I'm not… but I want to know WHY we made that call? What was the point that was worth losing the nukes?"

"That's a fair question." Proto Man's smile returned. "You want to know what was accomplished in that that was worth giving up the nukes. Tell me, Dark Man, do you remember what our number one objective is?"

"To conquer the world." Dark Man replied automatically.

"Correct." The son of Light flopped into his own chair. "But now can you tell me… what the largest impediment in the way to that objective is?"

"Your brother." Dark Man answered just as quickly.

"That's right. One thing I've learned from this idiot…" Proto Man jerked a thumb at the caged Dr. Wily. "…Is that no matter how elaborate your plans, no matter how unstoppable your arsenal… if you don't concentrate everything on Mega, and I mean EVERYTHING, he WILL bring it all down. Now look at what we did from his viewpoint. We just did what seems like an extraordinarily stupid thing. HE'll try to find a reason for us doing it as well. And what do you suppose HIS thoughts will end up at?" Dark Man pondered it for a moment, and his eyes lit up.

"Confidence?"

"Exactly." Proto Man leaned back. "He'll think we threw those nukes away because we didn't NEED them. He'll immediately dismiss that thought as exaggerating our threat, of course, little gloomy gus that he is, but in the back of his psyche, that idea will still burrow in like a worm. He'll be less certain of himself… more cautious. And that'll only get worse as time goes on. In other words, Dark, we're focusing less on direct physical warfare, and more on psychological, with one target in mind. Before we can conquer the world, we HAVE to conquer my brother. That much is pure, unshakable truth… and if we play our cards right, we can do it. Now then… how's everybody doing? Especially Napalm Man?"

"I was about to check on him…" Dark Man admitted, punching a few buttons. "Now, let's see here… HUH?"

"TELL me he's started." Proto Man growled, clutching his face.

"No can do, boss." Dark Man's eyes flashed again, this time in anger. "Wait until I get my hand on that idiot!" It was not Napalm Man himself, however, who answered the call he sent, but a subordinate Warmonger.

"Uh… hello?"

"Hello." Proto Man grinned tightly. "Where. Is. Napalm. Man."

"Uh… he's out attacking a tree." The Warmonger reported. "Idunno why."

"Well, at least he's making an effort." Dark Man sighed. "He's attacking the tree because we told him to, you idiot. Go get him in here."

"But…" The Warmonger's eyes dimmed. "You just said… you told him to attack the tree, not come talk to you." Behind his shades, one of Proto Man's eyes was spasming.

"And NOW we're telling you to bring him here." Dark Man explained patiently.

"Oh, okay." The Warmonger disappeared. A few minutes later, Napalm Man's face popped up.

"Uh… hi, boss. I'm doing what you said."

"So tell me then, Napalm Man." Proto Man growled. "Why aren't the trees burning, if you are?"

"Well…" Napalm Man shifted his feet. "Every time I blast a tree… all this machinery pops up and puts the fire out." Dark Man and Proto Man glanced at each other, then back at Napalm Man.

"…You didn't deactivate the safety measures the humans built into the place in case of natural fires, did you?" Dark Man asked finally. Napalm Man blinked in consternation.

"Uh… no?" Proto Man turned away, sighing.

"This job is suddenly a lot less attractive than it used to be. Dark Man, educate this dolt. I'm out of here." As Dark Man began giving the brainless lackey step-by-step directions, Proto Man stalked out of the control center, waving his arms in the air and muttering to himself.

The streets around the train station in Lyon were nearly deserted; nobody was taking chances on being around if the local authorities decided to try and confront the robots occupying it. Thus, the only man to see a bright blue streak of light descend from the heavens and materialize as Mega Man was a single drunk hobo, who responded by declaring himself the Grand Turnip of China and passing out. Ignoring this, Mega walked into the station.

"Is that…? Yep, that's the 1301..." Mega muttered, scanning the first train he saw. "Looks like it's not done loading… good." Nearby, he saw several cargo hooks loading heavy steel drums onboard. More importantly, he saw somebody he recognized standing on the roof of the train, yelling orders at the subordinate Railroader model controlling the station. "Charge Man."

"Move faster, you fool!" Charge Man was screaming, pumping his fist. "Time is everything to us! Master Proto Man needs this as fast as possible, so work harder, you buffoons!" Narrowing his eyes, Mega Man contemplated his course of action. There was no way he would get close enough for a fight without being spotted… so instead, he simply loosed a single charged shot. Unfortunately, as he did, Charge Man turned around. His eyes went wide, and he ran out of the way of the shot.

"Mega Man! Get him, you idiots!" Hatches in the walls of the station opened, disgorging flying robots with racks of bombs hanging from their undersides. Mega Man was forced to shift his attention to them, dancing around and firing madly while avoiding the bombings while Charge Man bellowed to start the train right away. By the time he had finished, the 1301 was already moving. Looking around frantically, Mega spotted a ladder hanging off the side of one of the rear cars. As it sped past, he made a desperate jump and grabbed hold, then climbed up to the roof.

"Phew… that was close." The Blue Bomber muttered. "All right then… Charge Man will be at the front of the train, of course. Time to get moving." It wasn't long before Charge Man deployed robots to stop him; namely, miniature locomotives with Metools driving them. "Har… cute." He changed his assessment shortly; once it got near him, the "Metrain" raised its helmet, fired a triple plasma shot, then charged forward to run him down. Fortunately, he was able to destroy it with a charged shot before THAT hit, but the plasma still stung. "Rats… have to think of a way to take those things out from a distance. But as long as they keep their helmets down, most of my weapons won't work… except…" Smiling, he switched to the Gravity Hold. The next time he saw a Metrain, he activated it, and the small robot went flying off of the fast-moving vehicle. "Bingo." That plan of action served him well as he walked across the roofs of several more cars, until he reached a hatch that led down inside one of them.

"Hm… across the roofs some more, or down below? Let's check the weapons energy…" Bringing up a display in the corner of his eye, he checked the energy meter for the Gravity Hold. Unlike the Mega Buster, which could be used an infinite number of times, the Master Weapons each had a separate energy supply. Once they had been used too many times, the energy would be out and he would be unable to use them again until he had recharged back at Cossack's or found a weapons energy capsule from a destroyed robot. The Gravity Hold was almost at that point; understandably, it was apparently a high-cost weapon. "Yeesh… down below where there probably won't be any Metrains, then." He glanced ahead and winced; the next car's roof was entirely covered in spikes. "Double yeesh. DEFINITELY down." The enemies inside the train car were the same types that had been sent to attack his home; robotic moths and mice, as well as eggs that were built on the spot by large, clucking robotic chickens. Unlike the Metrains, all of them fell easily to his Buster, and several of them left weapons energy to refill his Gravity Hold. As he walked through, Mega noted that in addition to the metal drums he had seen being loaded, the car was dull of logs and building stone… useless to Proto Man.

"Guess Charge Man didn't bother clearing this stuff out…" Mega shrugged, glancing out one of the windows. "Hey!" The circuit plate of Cossack's had been taped to it. Upon examining it closer, however, Mega realized with a groan that it was taped to the OUTside of the window. "Can't get it right now while the train's in motion… I'll have to come back for it after toasting Charge Man, I suppose."

"Having trouble, Mega Man?" A familiar voice on the train's PA system taunted him.

"Not really." Mega replied easily. "Just a short delay in picking up a bonus. No real difficulties."

"Oh, well, we all have to strive for maximum efficiency…" Charge Man growled. "Here then, I'll give you a hand." Mega Man winced as his ears were filled with the metal screeching of brakes, and the train ground to a halt. "There you go. Now get done as fast as possible, you hear?" He chuckled, and the system clicked off. Mega Man snorted, climbing back onto the train's roof.

"Like I'm going to fall for THAT…" Ignoring the circuit plate, the Blue Bomber continued towards the front of the train. After a sullen pause, it started moving again. The weapons capsules he had picked up inside the car had brought his Gravity Hold's weapons energy back up, and he was once again able to fling Metrains off to their dooms. This time they were interspersed with more of the modified Changkey Launchers he had seen at Stone Man's. These ones, though, were painted yellow, and instead of firing rocks they launched explosive spheres. A lucky shot by one of those brought Mega's energy down to 80. All in all, he was in a foul mood by the time he reached the locomotive. Conveniently, it also had a hatch in the roof he could drop in through. Inside, one last robot stood between him and the metal shutters that had been installed outside the engine room. A eight-foot-high, squat-bodied, angry red ape-bot with a missile bay covering the front of its torso. Raising its arms furiously, it opened the hatch and released a homing missile.

"A bodyguard." The Blue Bomber sighed. "Great. Let's get to it, then." Leaping into the air, he fired.

"It's been too long since we've had a chance to chat, old friend." Dr. Cossack smiled, and Dr. Corbun nodded.

"Indeed it has… and this blasted Rebellion just makes things worse." While the Russian Doctor's relationship with Dr. Light's other two close friends, Darwin Vinkus and Mr. X, were only casual, he had spent many years of his earlier life working with Dr. Corbun at Sennet Robotics. With Corbun as the head and Cossack as the lead genius, the company had prospered as Lighttech's main competitor until its breakup that began with Sergei's resignation shortly before the First Rebellion and ended with Sennet's bankruptcy thanks to the Third. Despite that, the two men were both close friends, but with Cossack helping Dr. Light and Corbun hard at work with US Robotics, they hadn't seen each other for more than a few minutes in months. After Mega Man had left, though, the others had vacated the room, and the two men were talking while Dr. Cossack worked on installing the circuit plates Mega Man had recovered into his latest project.

"Well, perhaps we can hook up once this mess is over and done with." Cossack shrugged.

"Yes indeed… I won't have quite so much work to deal with." Corbun smiled a bit sheepishly. "Not that my current employer will be going bankrupt or anything, but I don't think they'll be making any more Robot Masters for quite a while."

"I've been wondering about that." Cossack paused in his work for a moment. "After Sennet died, I wouldn't have guessed you'd work for one of our strongest competitors, for any price. And you didn't need the money or anything… you could retire quite comfortably at any time, especially since you discovered those Energen Crystals mines. What made you decide to forget your pride and take their offer?"

"It got me back into the field." Dr. Corbun sighed. "Look at it from my point of view, Sergei. You don't have my problem; despite what you think, you're the only other robotocist in the world who's even in Tom and Wily's class at all. Me, though… if I just stayed at home and made things by myself, nobody would ever know or care about them. I'm not a nut for fame or anything, but complete insignificance isn't fun, either. And as time passed, the contacts I'd need to get parts and tools worth a damn would fade, and that'd be it. It might be a little galling to work for a former enemy, but at least I can still build Robot Masters… and if I can still manage to remain not just on good terms but actually friends with Darwin, then there's no reason I can't stand working for US Robotics."
"You have a point there." The Russian robotocist nodded. "Then I'll wish you luck with whatever they have you do in the future."

"And the same to you in your future endeavors." Corbun echoed. "Is that the secret project I've heard about you're working on?"

"Of course." Cossack confirmed. "I trust you won't say a word to any of the others about it?"

"My lips are zipped." The British robotocist smiled, looking it over before unknowingly echoing the words of Dr. Albert Wily two Rebellions prior in a similar situation. "Very cute."

"Perhaps, but it will prove a formidable weapon when completed." Cossack promised grimly.

"So I see." Corbun murmured, scanning it. "I like the claws… those'll do some damage, I'll bet. Young Rock will be happy with it, I'll wager. Speaking of which, how are he and Roll doing at your place?"

"As well as can be expected, under the circumstances." The Russian robotocist frowned. "There is one thing, though I'm not sure if I should… well, wait, perhaps you can help me. You've raised daughters."

"Two of them, both of them fully grown and moved out now, thank whatever gods there are." Dr. Corbun admitted wholeheartedly. "Not that I don't love the girls-I do-but the teenage years were successive nightmares. Why, is there a problem with Kalinka or something?"

"Not with me personally, no…" Cossack glanced around to make sure nobody was walking in before continuing. "She and Roll are having an argument… they're not speaking to each other, and they don't even like being in the same room at the same time much."

"Oh ho…" Corbun's eyes widened a bit. "Yes, that sounds like a spot of trouble… any idea what caused it?"

"Blues… Proto Man." Cossack admitted glumly. "They're of differing opinions on whether or not it truly is him behind this Rebellion… Roll thinks it is, and Kalinka refuses to even consider it. They had it out quite loudly a couple nights back, and ever since… well."

"Well, that happens sometimes." The British robotocist thought for a moment. "Kalinka is around ten now, isn't she? And while Roll may seem like an adult mentally a lot of the time, she's even younger. Such things happen at times between children as they grow… especially girls, from my experience. It'll cool off in time, with luck… and whatever you do, DON'T get involved. One wrong move, and they'll BOTH turn on you, then resume even angrier once you're gone. That was never my idea of a pleasant way to spend a day, and I don't think it would be yours either." Cossack winced visibly.

"Ah… no. I'll follow your advice and stay out of it, then." His face grew grim. "On that note… what do YOU think? Of the mastermind behind this Rebellion, I mean? Is it really Blues?"

"I'm withholding judgment for the moment." Corbun shrugged. "Not enough information to make any sort of permanent decision. In all likelihood, I probably won't decide at all until Rock storms the bugger's headquarters, beats the tar out of him and finds out. And you?"

"I flip-flop." The Russian robotocist admitted. "Sometimes I think of Wily, of all the deceptions he's masterminded so far, how he fooled everybody else before… but then I remember seeing Blues, and knowing how real he seemed. I know him quite well… he was a good friend and a frequent visitor to all of us here… and all of his mannerisms, his personality, his little quirks are spot-on. If it ISN'T him, then Wily or whoever it IS is very, VERY good at faking being other people… and that's a frightening thought all by itself." Corbun shivered.

"Hadn't thought of it that quite that way… you're right, that is a scary thing to think about. Brr. Well, I'm going to have to go now… need to help X set up his little surprise."

"All right." Cossack smiled again. "Tell the good billionaire that I'm looking forward to it."

"I will." Corbun promised. "See you later, Sergei."

"Stupid freakin' gorilla…" Mega Man muttered, kicking the remains of Charge Man's bodyguard before walking into the engine room. The Robot Master stood with his back to him, working on a control panel; his structure made it impossible for him to sit in the engineer's chair.

"You made good time in getting here. Very efficient. I approve." Turning around, he glared at Mega Man. "Still, let us waste no more time here. We both know what you are here for. Shall we get on with it?"

"Sounds fine to me… all the customary banter gets on my nerves sometimes anyways!" Mega Man yelled as he fired a charged shot. Charge Man made no move to dodge; instead he bent his knees and then dashed forward, taking the hit head-on as he blasted across the engine room. Mega Man was unable to move in time, and Charge Man smashed into him, knocking him over and then trampling him.

"Ha… this will be over even faster than I thought!"

"Oh, you are SO going down for that…" Mega growled as he got to his feet. Charge Man smirked, unimpressed.

"We'll just have to see about that, won't we? That was only one of my attacks… I'm even nastier when I get a head of steam built up!" The trainlike Robot Master concentrated, and his metal hull turned a dark red. As he pumped his fist, the steam pipe on his head erupted with a whistle, launching lumps of red-hot coal into the air. One of them struck Mega as it fell down.

"Aich!" Shaking it off, he fired again. All right, think , Mega. He looks to be another heavy one, so the Gravity Hold's likely to be useless… the Star Crash should be able to deflect the coals, but I don't want to chance it on that charge… the Power Stone, though… His thoughts were rudely cut off as Charge Man blazed towards him again. With no time to think, he switched to his newest weapon and activated it instantly. Charge Man's cocky smirk disappeared and his eyes widened as what he had thought was a helpless target suddenly was surrounded by the three orbiting satellites of rock.

"What the he-oof!" One of the stones smashed into his side, and Charge Man went flying, skidded across the floor on his side and crashed into a wall.

"That definitely did the trick!" Mega Man crowed. "You've got a nice dent there!" He activated the Power Stone once more, and Charge Man grunted in pain. "Oops… TWO nice dents!"

"I'm not out of business yet!" Charge Man growled, struggling to his feet and turning red. As he pumped his fist, Mega Man activated the Power Stone a third time, and the flying rocks smashed into the hot coals as they emerged. Charge Man screamed as the blazing shrapnel bombarded him, and sank to the ground, groaning.
"…Finish it."

"As you wish." Mega Man struck him once more, and the trainlike Robot Master's battered hull collapsed with a sigh of steam. Taking his weapon, Mega stopped the train, then frowned.

"Hm… no option to shut down all the robots in the area here. I can kill the ones on the train, but that's it. Oh well… without Charge Man's leadership, they're so spread-out that the UN should be able to handle all of them." He walked to the train's door and opened it. "Now, then. I've got a circuit plate to grab, and then it's back home."