Here we go. Yet another chapter of Issen's aimless wanderings. Hope you all had a nice summer, cause school has officially started. This is my junior year, so I might not have much time to write these cool fictions that you people like so much. Sorry! On the plus side, I might be able to get one of my artistically inclined friends to do some character art for me! I hope you all enjoy this chapter of "The Rising Shadow". Please review!
Disclaimer to ward off law-suits and keep people away from my property: Capcom owns MegaMan and the others, while I get to keep Issen. Have a wonderful day.
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"In other news, the small village of Ivan'kovo, just a little over seventy-five miles away from Moscow, was attacked by a group of rouge military forces earlier this week. While the robots used in the attack were made in America, the Russian military would not comment on who they believe instigated the attack. Amazingly, there were no casualties in the attack thanks to SnowMan and another robot that appeared during the attack. SnowMan, the newest robot created by Dr. Cossack, was created to protect Russia's citizens and create a balancing force against America, Japan, England and many other countries robots. When asked about the mysterious robot that helped him, SnowMan refused to answer any questions and merely called him a friend. We'll try to keep you, the viewers, updated on this situation. This is Mary Centeno, signing off for the World News Network."
A hand picked up the remote. Its index finger quickly pushed the power button, cutting off the slew of commercials that were starting. "So, that fool Cossack was responsible for repairing Issen, correct?"
"Yes sir. The Russian military has him under heavy guard right now, so sending a Master in to eliminate him would be quite impossible."
"What of Issen? He gained more power from the Ride Armor, did he not?"
"Yes sir. The situation is getting out of control. He is headed south, and will soon reach a Russian military base. If he is able to sneak aboard an aircraft, there's no telling where he'll end up. Shall I send out a Master?"
"No... Let's test Issen's skills against the revived Master the Russians have there. Besides, we only have Four Masters currently. At most, we'll have six by the time he figures out who's really chasing him."
"As you wish sir..."
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'Total base staff is 503 personnel. Civilian count is around 724. Robots are not active, but there are around fifty that could be activated immediately upon detection. If I avoid the housing areas and aim straight for the armory, the chances of being noticed are 19 percent. Using the cloak is a must, but I should keep it to a minimum. Chances of being discovered before the objective is completed are next to none.'
Issen was hanging from a tree a mile from the base. The winds were extremely harsh, but his immense strength kept him attached to the tree. As he finished his analysis, he jumped down from his vantage point and began his run to the base. His reason for sneaking into the base was to acquire some much needed supplies. Issen didn't use his Boost system to move faster, as the energy output would alert the bases sensors. All that mattered when approaching this type of situation was stealth, not speed. Before long, he would enter the base and find the equipment he needed...
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It was late in the evening, and a half full moon cast its soft glow upon the base. Four guards were conversing near a barrel fire, their rifles slung over their shoulders as they relaxed in the fire's warmth. If any of them had been paying attention, they would have noticed a dark form jumping over the nearby fence. To their misfortune, they were not paying attention.
Issen put his back against the closest wall he could find, getting out of the moonlight that could have given his position away. His poncho was folded under his arm, leaving only the dark green suit he had underneath. By his earlier scans, he knew he was over a hundred feet from the closest armory, which was his first target. Several mines, patrol teams, and dogs were in his way. The living threats weren't as bad as the mines however.
'They're almost everywhere. Type-N2 pressure mines designed to recognize the boot print of the Russian Military. Anyone else steps on them and they explode.'
Issen reached down and flicked the ground. The extremely slight tremor gave him rough positions of the nearest mines. Unfortunately for him, the mines were randomly placed. This meant that the mines could be scattered anywhere and everywhere. Deciding to take the easy path, Issen edged his way toward the gathering of guards. With busters set to stun mode, he stepped out and fired four shots. Each shot impacted cleanly on the guards, knocking them off their feet but not killing them. A few minutes later, Issen had cut off the soles of a pair of boots and used some light adhesive to attach them to his feet. He tossed the rest of the boots into the fire and dragged the unconscious soldiers to a more secluded area, but not before pilfering their wallets.
'Mines neutralized. Now all I have to worry about is getting caught.' As if to spite him, a sudden ringing tone echoed in his mind. 'What the...'
CODEC ACTIVE. SIGNAL RECEIVED FROM FREQUENCY 128.21-PROTOMAN.
'ProtoMan? Open link.'
An image of ProtoMan appeared in Issen's view. Somehow, he knew that no one else could have heard the tones in his mind. "So, you've managed to survive for a while now. What does freedom feel like?"
"It feels good, however I must say that not having a clear objective bothers me. Why are you calling me, and why did you save me in the first place?"
"The answer to the second question is simple. The financial backer of your production wanted to use you to start a war. To prevent this, I got you out of there ASAP. As for the first question, I'm going to tell you how to use two new functions Dr. Cossack outfitted you with."
"New functions?"
"Yes. If you haven't seen a mirror lately, you now have stripes on your cheeks. Depending on the color, your attacks will have different elements. In example, when you were fighting those American robots back at the village your blades were doing fire damage. This is because you had been hanging out around a lot of fire beforehand."
"So if I stick around snow for a while, I can use Ice attacks, correct?"
"Yeah, now you're getting the picture. I'll send you a program to monitor your element status." Issen noted an indicator appearing next to ProtoMan's picture. It slowly filled up, alerting him to the download process. "Another item of interest is the balancer program. Whenever you adapt to a certain element, energy shifts from one system to another."
The meter next to ProtoMan filled completely, and a green swirl appeared next to Issen's energy meter. "The program's all here. I expect the green swirl means Wind element, correct?"
ProtoMan nodded. "Yup. If it's working correctly, you should now have the double jump ability."
"That could come in handy. Thanks ProtoMan."
"You're welcome. Oh, and if your ever in need of repairs you can contact Auto. His frequency is 102.95. Good luck on your escape from Russia!
"Thanks ProtoMan, but escaping shouldn't be a problem."
"You wouldn't say that if you knew what they had on that base."
"What?"
ProtoMan grimaced. "They've revived one of Dr. Wily's old creations. GrenadeMan was originally stationed in a Russian grenade factory. Since they found him first, they decided to rebuild him using the latest technology. I'd gather some information while your there, because they might be planning an attack on Egypt soon. See ya later."
"Wait!" But it was too late. ProtoMan had cut the link. 'Why would Russia attack Egypt? I'd better find out.' With those thoughts, Issen slid into the shadows once more.
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Well, I hope you people are content now. Please review and eat chocolate!