SNIPER! (Ducks behind his desk as paper wads are thrown at him.) Okay, so I'm slowing down on updating. Junior year sucks, okay?! Oh well. At least you people reviewed, and that makes me happy. Okay, now for the disclaimer. I own Issen. Capcom gets everything else.
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"Sir, our latest intelligence shows that Issen has moved into the northern regions of Africa, and will reach Cairo within a few days. Your orders Sir?"
"We're going to attack when he reaches the Nile River crossing at Cairo. I want seven tanks on the ridge, and as many Ride Armors as possible on the plain. Sniper Joe's are worthless against him."
"I understand sir. What should we do if he's cloaked?"
"Bomb Cairo of course."
"B-bomb them sir? What about the civilians?!"
"Look, we have direct orders from the UN council to destroy Issen, no matter what. They probably won't be too happy with us, but oh well. I WILL see Issen dead even if it kills my career."
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If one looked out from the top of any building in Cairo, they might have noticed several tanks rolling through the desert. They would have also noticed ten Ride Armors meeting up with them and setting up an ambush. What they probably wouldn't have noticed was the wander who was about to walk into said ambush.
As Issen approached the crest of another sand dune, he noticed several signals on his sonar. Unfortunately, the warning came too late as several plasma blasts hammered his immediate position. Before another volley could be fired Issen flung his poncho to the side and applied his armor. Leaping high into the air, he began firing his busters at the Ride Armors. Unfortunately, the blasts only served to ruin the Armor's paintjobs. More plasma sliced through the air, followed by cannon shells and AP (anti-personnel) mortars. Issen, still in the air at this point, began his decent to the desert sand. The shells and plasma passed over Issen's head by a few feet. The mortars, however, exploded in the air and rained down destruction from above. Issen took several hits and ground his teeth from the pain. Luckily, the blasts only hit his back and did little real damage. Having charged his busters during the fall, he activated his Boost and dashed toward the nearest Ride Armor. Two quick swipes and the machine had no legs.
'Wow. These Armors are a lot weaker than the last ones. Their commander probably cut their budget.'
The tanks fired their cannons again, but refrained from using mortars because of Issen's proximity to their fallen comrade. With his Boost still active, Issen was able to slide gracefully underneath the volley of fire and began tearing into the other Ride Armors. One made a grab for Issen, but found air in his place and a blade in its engine. A second Ride Armor used its plasma cannon on Issen, but the silver robot simply absorbed the energy and returned the favor twice over, toppling the machine. By now, Issen was tired of beating down his enemies and decided to test his new weapon. His armor turned a silvery blue as tossed the grenade.
"FLASHBANG GRENADE!!"
There was a flash of light as the grenade hit the ground and detonated, blinding almost everyone within a quarter of a mile. Issen, having covered his eyes to avoid blindness, made a mad dash for the city. He looked back at the battle site once he was across the river, noticing that the military vehicles were slowly being collected and prepped for transport. Then he noticed his poncho in the sand.
'Dang it... Guess I'll have to buy a new one. There's no way I'm going back there just for the poncho.'
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"Sir, Issen has escaped again. He's moving across the river as we speak, and will be out of our current range in twelve minutes. Should I order the bombers to strike?"
The Major grimaced. "No. The general has decided to pull us out. Stupid chain of command..."
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The market place was brimming with activity. Travelers buying up souvenirs, salesmen shouting out their wares and said items price, but mostly families trying to survive in the harsh desert. It was easy however, even among the hustle and bustle of the market place, to see the stranger clad in dark green walking down the street. The damage to his back also pointed out the fact that he was a robot in need of repair. His red hair was filled with the desert sand, giving him a rather rumpled appearance. Also, a trail of red poured down his back from his wounds, giving him an almost human appearence...
As he walked, the crowd cleared a path for him. True, no one in the marketplace stared at him for any real amount of time, but he was still noticed by everyone. He stopped only once in the market place, in front of an old, beat up shop that almost no one was buying from. The few that were shopping at said store decided to make their transactions elsewhere. Spying a quality cloak inside the store, he moved in to check its price. Finding it acceptable, he took it off the rack and approached the owner of the store. The old woman looked him up and down once before speaking.
"I take it you liked the cloak?"
"Indeed. Do you accept Russian currency?"
The woman paled when he spoke. "Y-yes... Although I don't really know the exact exchange rate."
"That's okay. Here's all the money I have. I'm sorry if it's not enough, but I've got to keep moving. Thank-you and have a nice day."
He put the cloak on as he walked out of the shop, and once more the crowds parted like the Red Sea, giving Issen a clear path to the desert, and in turn, Cairo. Before he could leave town however, a little girl dropped her ball, which rolled into Issen's path. The child, having no fear of the stranger who stopped in front of her ball, tried to run out and get it. She was stopped by her mother, who unlike the daughter feared the stranger. Issen knelt down and picked it up, studying the ball as if it held all the secrets of the known universe on its rubber surface. His face was stern, almost emotionless as he turned it over in his hand before turning to the girl and her mother.
"I believe this belongs to your daughter."
The mother, stunned by his voice, released her daughters hand for a few seconds, allowing the youth to retrieve her property. The girl quietly reached for the ball, and Issen handed it over without a word. The girl nodded her thanks and smiled at the robot, who gave her a questioning look in return.
'Why does she smile?' He wondered as he stood once more and began walking. 'I don't know what I did, but she expressed happiness when I returned her toy. It was a simple action, yet it gave a complicated reaction. For some reason, her smile made me feel, I don't know, good? I don't understand this...'
As he exited Cairo, he adjusted his course to the south, toward the great Pyramids of Egypt. The monuments were said to be the hiding place of MirageMan, who was to be completed any day now.
It was then that he heard the beeping in his ear, signaling a call. It was ProtoMan again.
"Hello ProtoMan."
"Hey Issen. You did good back in Russia. No one's dead, they have everyone accounted for, all in all a good day. Property damage was a little high though..."
"Property can be replaced. Do you have any information on a robot named MirageMan?"
"Yes. He has the ability to create mirages of himself and send pillars of stone up through the ground. Other than that he's pretty slow."
"Good. It should be easy enough to destroy him if I can keep my eyes on the original."
"Good luck. Oh, and watch out for his charge attack. It'll send you for a loop if you get hit!" ProtoMan cut the line, abruptly ending the conversation. "Be careful Issen. We can't have you dying on us just yet, because certain people need to be found and dealt with before anyone, especially you, can have peace."
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Yeah, it was a shorter than usual, but I wanted to get another chapter up. The homework load is extremely huge, so I will be taking my time in updating until the second semester. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review!