The Cliff 2:
Still Un-named!
Hello again! Sorry for taking so long to update, you probably hate me now… TT But my internet was down for the longest time, so hopefully it won't crash again.
REVIEWS!
Lonely Light: Special Wily Number? First time I've ever heard that… .; Thanks!
RandyPandy: Don't doubt! Flame Mammoth is indeed from the X Series. I have a lot of references to the X series in this. And I doubt Crash will be the last one gone, unfortunately…
BanbieBunny's Bro: I have never actually played the Megaman games save for Megaman X. I've only watched a few people play so most of my information comes from Fanfiction. I apologize if any information is incorrect. There's going to be a lot of that in this chapter…
Ryio 16: Sorry I made you wait then!
Once again, I apologize if you all hate me for not updating in about two to three months! I promise I will try to do better!
Disclaimer: I only get five dollars of allowance per week. The chances of me owning Megaman are below zero.TT
THE CLIFF 2:
STILL CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING
CHAPTER 2:
MEMORIES, A FIGHT, AND A TRATOR
Bass lay on his bed, arms outstretched, eyes closed.
'Computer. Locate memory data,' he thought.
There was a pause, then /Data found. Choose option./
'Select option 36 and 37.'
/Option 36 and 37 selected. Memory playback search initiated./
'Search "Crash" or "Crashman".'
/Search initiated. Registering… Video feed beginning./
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
"This is your new robot?" Bass asked skeptically as he looked at it. Wily glared at him.
"Don't be so negative, you shvine! Vis robot vill surely destroy zat ignorant pest, Megaman!(1)"
"Isn't it kinda dumb to give it bombs for hands?"
"Nonsense! It vill give it a great advantage over that blue piece of junk!"
"If Megaman's a piece of junk, then why haven't you destroyed him yet?"
Wily turned on Bass. "That's vhy I created you, and if my memory doesn't fail me, you haven't been successful in destroying Megaman either!"
Bass stared at the new, still deactivated robot, fuming. Finally he spoke.
"What's it's name?"
"Crashman!"
"…heh."
"Vhat's so funny!" Wily screeched.
"You can't come up with a better name than that?"
Wily nearly had steam coming out of his ears. "Quiet! I am activating it now!"
Wily pulled a lever, and Crashman sparked to life. He stood up and looked around.
"Velcome to life, Crashman… or as close to life as a robot like you vill ever come!" Wily continued to rant, but Crash was only partially listening. He was watching Bass, who had heard this speech a hundred times before and was mouthing "Blah blah blah" while making obscene hand gestures to Wily's back.
"-And you've got an advanced intelligence chip in you that allows you to-" Wily suddenly noticed that Crash wasn't paying attention. Wily does not like being ignored.
"LOOK AT ME VHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!" Wily shouted, slapping Crash across the face. Crash's eyes widened ever so slightly at the sudden rage Wily was displaying. Bass knew it was partially his fault, so he stepped in. He grabbed Crash by the arm and dragged him out of the lab, calling to Wily as he left, "I'm gonna give him the tour and introduce him to the others!"
Wily didn't answer, just turned around and began working furiously on his next robot. Once Bass had dragged Crash far enough away from the lab, he turned and grabbed him by the shoulders. "You can't do that around Wily! He has an awful temper, and if you aren't careful, you'll find yourself disassembled reeeally quickly! Got it?"
Crash shook his head. "What did I do?"
Bass let go of one shoulder. "You ignored him. If you're gonna ignore him, at least pretend you're listening, or else you'll get worse than a slap."
"Okay"
Bass let go of his other shoulder. "Good. Now, update on your life, 101. You are what is called a Robot Master. You were designed to defend this fortress, using whatever crazy powers Wily gave you. Normally, the only person you have to deal with is a little blue smurf named Megaman, and occasionally his brother, Protoman. Got everything so far? Any questions?"
"Just one. Do all robots have 'man' or 'woman' at the end of their name?"
Bass rolled his eyes. "Not all robots, but it seems they either have that, or some musically oriented name. Something the Robotics Society decided."
"Oh." Crash seemed happy about that. "What's your name?"
"Bass. Now, any other questions not related to names?"
Crash thought for a moment, then looked up into Bass' face. "Why are we fighting?"
Bass blinked in surprise. He had never been asked that before.
"Because… Because Wily tells us to! It's our purpose!"
Crash frowned in confusion. "So… it's a good thing?"
Bass didn't answer, just stared at this strange little robot in front of him.
"Um… Well… Hey! Slashman! Would you mind taking Crashman around for the tour? I… have something to do."
Slashman, who had just turned the corner into the hallway, blinked in surprise. "Uh, ok."
"Right, thanks!" Bass ran off, turning the corner,
FLASH!
And walking towards the end of the hidden hallway. High above the floor, this hidden hallway allowed him to observe battles by the other Robot Masters He stood unnoticed above Crashman's head. Megaman had attacked, and was now heading through Crashman's traps to defeat the explosive robot master. Crash was checking his health and weapons status, and he looked worried. The door opened, and both Bass and Crash focused on the robot coming in. Megaman skidded to a stop in shock.
"Crashman? Didn't I already beat you?" Megaman called in surprise.
Crash blinked, confused. "What? I've never met you!"
At this point, Bass heard someone behind him. He turned slightly and saw Treble.
"Hey boy. Came to watch to?"
Treble nodded, and sat down next to Bass. They redirected their attention to the two robots below.
"I've already said I've never seen you before!" shouted Crash, looking more confused than angry.
"Fine, fine! I don't know you! But I still have to get past you!" Megaman charged towards him. Crash didn't move.
"What's it mean, fighting for good?" Megaman pulled up short and stared at Crashman. Bass was surprised, but growled. What incompetence!
"What'd you say?" Megaman asked, not believing his ears.
"What's it mean, fighting for good?"
"… It means… doing something that helps an innocent person, I guess…"
Bass made a gagging motion, and Treble covered his snout with his paw, a sign that he was laughing. What Crash said next quickly ended their silent laughter.
"Would Bass be considered a person who fought for good then?"
Bass nearly fell off the ledge in shock. What was wrong with this robot!
Megaman frowned sadly. "No, he wouldn't. No matter how many times I ask him to fight for good, he always turns me down."
"What do you mean?" Crash asked.
"He always tries to blow me up. I just want him to not hate me. Maybe even be my friend." Megaman put his head in his hands. Crash stared at him.
"What, are you gay or something?"
Bass couldn't help himself. He roared with laughter, drawing the attentions of both Crash and Megaman.
"Bass! How long have you been there?" Megaman yelled. Bass fused with Treble, and flew down between him and Crashman. "Long enough!" he snickered, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. He looked over his shoulder at Crash. "Hey! Go tell Wily I'm taking over for you for awhile!"
Crash nodded and teleported out. Bass turned and
FLASH!
Set off another tripwire. A huge net snapped up, catching Bass' foot as it did. His helmet clanged to the floor, freeing his hair as he swung back and forth from the ceiling. Crash peeked around the corner. Seeing Bass, he walked over.
"Sorry Bass! I meant to catch Shadowman. He says he'll give five energy cans to whoever catches him!" Crash untied the rope keeping Bass up, and he fell to the floor with a crash.
"If you're trying to catch Shadowman," Bass growled, "Then why is the trap right outside my door?"
"Because Shadowman's room is at the end of the hallway!" Crash pointed and acted like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Bass glared at him. "If I find this is just another excuse to play a prank on me, you'll-
FLASH!
"Bass? Are you in there?" Bass heard Roll call as she knocked on his door. "May I come in?"
"Yeah, sure" He sat up as Roll walked in. She sat down next to him.
"I heard what happened," she said, putting an arm around his shoulder, pulling him closer. "I came to cheer you up"
Bass didn't reply, just stared at the floor. Roll started to rub his back soothingly. "You know, Crash wouldn't want you to miss him. In fact, he would probably call you ten kinds of an idiot if he saw you now."
Bass chuckled hollowly. "Yeah, I suppose he would." He sighed and turned his face towards Roll. She was surprised to see synthetic tears trickling slowly down his cheeks. "But just the same, I can't help but miss him."
Roll wrapped her arms around him rocking him gently as she would a child. Rock poked his head into the room.
"Hey Bass! Dr. Light says repairs are finished and he needs you to-" he stopped short when he saw them. "Am I interrupting something?"
"No," Roll answered before Bass could, "We were just talking"
"Alright. Anyway, Dr Light needs you to come to the lab so he can give you some information. And…" Rock paused, then hesitantly said, "I'm sorry about what happened to Crash."
Bass rose. "S'alright," he said, stepping past Rock into the hallway. Roll and Rock watched as he headed to the lab.
"He's really upset, isn't he?" Rock asked quietly.
Roll nodded. "They were brothers. Why wouldn't he be?" She turned to him. "Will you go with him? Make sure whatever got Crash doesn't get him too."
Rock gave his little sister a hug. "I promise to watch out for him." He turned and followed Bass to the lab.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Four beams of light flashed to the base of the cliff. Fire licked at the nearby trees, hungrily consuming the undergrowth. Rock switched to ice form and began putting out the fire. Protoman assisted him while Zero and Bass searched for clues.
An hour later, the fire was out. Zero and Bass hadn't had any luck finding clues to the murderer's location. Bass growled.
"I can't believe something so big would leave such little evidence!" He stood with his back to the forest, searching the cliff face. "Do you think maybe he-"
"Bass! Lookout!" Bass turned and saw a huge spinning disk flying at him. He jumped out of the way, only to be nailed in the back by a second one. He heard plasma shots firing as he hit the ground. Keeping low, he saw the other robots/reploid shooting at some smaller robots that were hiding in the trees. He stood, and was about to join the fray when something large landed heavily behind him. He turned to see the same strange robot that had killed Crash.
"It's you!" he shouted, launching himself at the mammoth with a charged buster. The mammoth laughed and shot a flow of fire at him. Bass jumped, shooting down of the mammoth's unprotected head. In retaliation, it jumped, tackling Bass with a full body blow. Bass slammed into the cliff with a loud klank.
"I'm Flame Mammoth!" the mammoth shouted. "And a puny little insect like you could never stop me!"
Zero turned to help Bass, but Protoman stopped him. "Let him do this alone!" He shouted over the roar of the robots in the trees. Reluctantly, Zero turned back to the trees and resumed firing while Protoman shouted to Bass, "This is your fight Bass!"
Bass pulled himself to his feet and nodded. He dodged the next tackle, charging his buster as he did. He positioned himself so his back was to the cliff face, and waited as Flame Mammoth charged at him. At the last second he jumped, shooting down at his head again. Flame Mammoth repeated his last move and jumped, trying to hit him again. This time Bass was prepared. He pushed off against the cliff face with his legs, avoiding the blow. He twisted in midair and began shooting rapid fire at Mammoth. Flame Mammoth screamed in pain and landed with a loud thud. Pulling himself to his feet, he glared at Bass.
"Don't think just because you pulled a fast one on me that you can win!" His armor began to glow with heat. Bass prepared for another attack, ready to dodge. He hadn't, however, prepared for a huge blast of fire to radiate off of Flame Mammoth. It hit him hard, knocking him head over heels as it began to slowly, painfully melt his armor. He shouted aloud in pain, and heard Flame Mammoth trumpet triumphantly. Suddenly, a scream rang through the air, filled with pain and fear. Bass began to loose his sense of reality as he was battered by both the heat waves and the scream. Abruptly, they both stopped.
Bass lay dazed, trying to make sense of the world around him. Flame Mammoth had been the one screaming as his own weapon caused him to melt into a lump of colored metals and sizzling wires. Rock finished off the last of the smaller robots as Zero and Blues walked over to Bass and Flame Mammoth's remains. Blues grabbed Bass by the shoulder and shook him gently. "Hey Bass! You alright?"
"I tihnk my lgoci criutcs got a ltliet mxied-up…" Bass mumbled. Blues stared at him.
"What?"
Bass shook his head hard. "I said, I think my logic circuits got a little mixed-up," he repeated, "and my armor's seriously damaged."
"What about your teleporter? Can you get back to the lab?"
Bass closed his eyes for a moment, then shook his head. "No, that's broken too."
Blues stepped back. "Then you'll have to teleport with someone else." He looked at Rock and Zero. "Rock and I seem to have taken a lot of damage ourselves," he said, "So you'll have to go with Zero."
"That's fine with me," Zero said. "But first, I'd like to have a quick look around first. We'll meet you back at the lab."
Rock and Blues nodded, then disappeared in twin beams of light. Bass pulled himself into a sitting position, leaning against the tree trunk.
"So what are you looking fo-!" Bass was cut off as a blaster shot hit him dead in the chest. He gasped for breath as the wind was knocked out of him, his armor confining and bent. He looked at the source of the buster shot, and gasped in surprise.
"Zero!"
(A/N: Everyone saw that coming, right?)
Indeed, Zero was standing above Bass, buster pointed straight at him. His normally happy eyes were narrowed, an insane light burning within them. A crazy smirk was pasted on his face as he watched an array of emotions passing over Bass' face, ranging from sorrow, to confusion, to pain and anger. Finally, Bass caught his breath.
"Zero… Why…?"
Zero retracted his buster. "Since it's your last request," Zero grinned, "I may as well tell you." Bass turned his head slightly as Zero went to lean on the tree next to him.
"I've decided humans are weak. Everything they do, we could do better. Their existence is pointless!" Here he looked at Bass pointedly. "You would know, what with living with Wily and all." He resumed staring at the ground. "I've decided to destroy them all!"
Bass shifted slightly, a surprised expression on his face. "But that's against the Three Laws! And-"
"And I unlike you, am not confined by the simple precautions known as the three laws." Zero cut in. "I am perfectly capable of killing. Now, before I was so rudely interrupted, I wish to eliminate the humans. And I can't do that with a certain group of people in the way; Namely, Megaman, you, and the rest of them. I knew you'd oppose this idea, if only out of love for your girlfriend."
"So you'll… just… kill us?" Bass asked, finding it was getting more and more difficult for him to speak.
"That's the idea, yes."
"But… they're… your…… friends………" Breathing was slowing down, and his mind began to feel fuzzy.
"But you're standing in the way of a new generation, and I can't allow that." Zero stood, and pointed the buster at his brother's face. "However, I hope you rest in peace." He fired, ignoring the last look of emotional pain Bass gave him. Smoking, the now lifeless body slumped forward. Zero regarded the situation for a second, then sighed and slung Bass over his shoulder.
"Guess it's back to the lab again," he muttered to no one in particular as he teleported out.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
(1) I heard somewhere recently that Wily was German. I tried to give him an accent accordingly, but I fear it may not have worked out so well…
Well, thank you for waiting for the second chapter. I will update even if there are no reviews, because I don't expect any after not posting for so long. I'll make sure to do so soon.
See ya!