Chapter 11: Assault on Skull Fortress!
(Issue #12)
Dr. Wily was as giddy as a kid in candy store. Why wouldn't he be, though? His trojan horse had successfully corrupted his greatest adversary into his greatest ally! Kaos may have relied on Petrified Darkness to do so, but it was through his genius alone that made him able to do such a feat. Now came the part of making sure that Mega Man would become the face of his new army to conquer the world.
Humming to himself as he applied the last few touches of his polisher, Dr. Wily looked at the fruits of his labor. "There you go! Good as new, Mega Man! I vant you to look your best as you conquer zhe world for me!"
Mega Man's eyes shone a deep red, and wrapped around his neck was a purple scarf, giving him an incredibly sinister visage. Just as Wily continued to gloat over the mind-controlled Mega Man, an alarm began o blare. "Vhat? Vhy is my proximity alarm going off?" Not able to see that the anti-virus upload process was 99% complete, he walked to a nearby security camera. "Perhaps it was just a bird. Or a squirrel. Or a... SWEET MERCIUFL SKULLS! It's an invasion! Attention all robots! Intruders are approaching the fortress! DESTROY THEM! NOW!"
"Strike hard, strike fast! Stay close and watch each other's backs until Roller Brawl comes with our secret weapon! FOR MEGA MAN!" Elec Man declared as he led the Robot Masters and Skyborgs on a massive assault.
"FOR MEGA MAN!" All of them declared. At this, the Sniper Joe sentries were about as dangerous as newborn kittens, getting sliced, frozen, blown up, and burnt to ashes. As two Prop Tops attempted to squash them under their bodies, Hex sprung into action, creating a ribcage out of energy to protect her allies.
"I've covered for you! Trigger Happy, Whirlwind you know what to do!" Hex instructed.
"Heh heh! On it!" Trigger Happy answered, taking aim with his Golden Gatlings. In a few moments, one Prop Top was shredded to bits by energy bullets.
"You got it!" Whirlwind replied, blasting a rainbow beam that made the Prop Top explode. As more Sniper Joes approached, the other Robot Masters and Skyborgs fought back. Cut Man sheared off the arms of one Sniper Joe, Hot Dog released a bevy of Fire Barks alongside Fire Man, incinierating enemies with help from Oil Man.
With those minions dealt with, Guts Man ran to the gate, using his strength to crumple it like a can of soda. "Knock knock! Is the doctor in?" Their charge was interrupted, however, by a platoon of Sniper Joes, relentlessly firing buster shots to keep them pinned behind barrels for cover. Making matters worse, Pipis had been called in, all sending mini drones
"Blast it! There's no way for us to get inside pinned down like this!" Elec Man grumbled.
"I'll handle the line! You and the others get into position!" Time Man suggested.
"Understood. Guts Man, get the door! Cut Man, cover him! Skyborgs, take care of thosee Pipis! Robot Masters, ready yourselves!" Elec Man ordered.
"You got it, boss!" Trigger Happy replied, seeing the Pipis as nothing but targets. Cynder and Whirlwind quickly took to the skies. At this, the former Skylanders began their attack as the Sniper Joes focused on the immediate threats of Time Man, Guts Man, and Cut Man. Cynder began to rapidly dash while charged with electricity through Pipis, shattering some to bits while others were slowed down by the shock specters she had summoned in the process. Whirlwind, on the other hand, sent a Rainbow Thunder cloud out, having it release ball lightning to paralyze some of the robotic birds, before having it release several exploding rainbows and destroying a good chunk of them. Trigger Happy continued to release pain by firing his Golden Gatlings upon the little birds that got released from the eggs. On the ground, the Pipis found themselves melted by Hot Dog's fireballs, while others were blown up by skulls courtesy of Hex. All the while, Time Man was able to get to business.
"Time Slow is up!" At Time Man's note, the Robot Masters noted that the Sniper Joes up top had been halted. "Hit them!"
At Time Man's urging, Elec Man ordered, "All right Robot Masters. LIGHT THEM UP!" At this, bombs, electricity, oil, fire, and ice were all sent to the Sniper Joes, obliterating them. Meanwhile, Guts Man struggled to pry open the doors as Cut Man held two Rolling Cutters out, ready to slice into anything that could cause further problems.
"Good news, guys! All Pipis taken care of!" Hot Dog happily said as the Skyborgs returned, earning a pet from Fire Man.
"I got your back, big guy! Let's see Dr. Wily's robots try to cut out this middleman!" Cut Man assured Guts Man.
"Your...puns...are..." Guts Man grunted as he struggled to pry the door open. "AWFUL!" He roared as with one mighty push, he forced the doors open. "But the anger gave me the boost I needed, so thanks for that!"
"N-no problem. Don't mention it," Cut Man nervously answered in response.
"Everyone chat later. Let's move in!" Elec Man instructed as he led the charge. "And Dr. Light was worried. HAH! We're tearing through Wily's forces like Cut Man through twigs!"
"Don't forget that there's 13 of us this time!" Fire Man agreedbefore giving a warning. "But we should still be careful. Dr. Wily's a slippery little snake, and he's had a lot more time to prepare for an assult from us. There's no telling what surprise he-"
Fire Man's musings were cut off when what looked like a giant dragon emerged from the ground. Its main body was round and yellow, with blue joints connecting to short green limbs. A long green tail with a spike on the end emerged from its rear, and its head had horns and fins. "See? This is the kind of thing I was talking about."
"My apologies," Elec Man said sheepishly. All of the were forced to take cover from the fire it breathed out, with Ice Man and Oil Man hiding behind Guts Man.
"I was here first, soldier!" Ice Man stated.
"Move over, Ice Dude! I'm made of OIL! It ain't like you can melt!" Oil Man argued.
"I can't take extreme heat! Why do you think I hate saunas?" Ice Man replied.
"But ain't Fire Man weak to your Ice Slasher?" Oil Man pointed out. The dragon continued to breathe fire, only for a blast of black lightning to catch its attention when it struck between its eyes.
"You go on ahead boys and find Mega Man! We'll take care of this insult to our kind! Just come back here when you've got him back!" Cynder replied, her face contorted into an angry scowl as electricity crackled between her claws. The dragon certainly didn't take kindly to this, and it roared in anger, releasing another blast of flame
"Understood! Robot Masters move out!" Elec Man acknowledged. The Mecha Dragon ignored the retreating Robot Masters in favor of the Sky-Borgs that attacked it. Hot Dog charged into its body while set alight, managing to disconnect one of its arms. Trigger Happy was quick to follow up with another flurry from his Golden Gatlings, taking out one of its legs. However, it seemed his willy-nilly firing had a side effect, as Trigger Happy's buster began to smoke.
"GAAH! My arms are burning!" Trigger Happy winced, gasping when he saw the robotic dragon preparing to swipe with its tail, aiming for him and Hot Dog. Hex saw this and attempted to block it with an energy ribcage, but the dragon was a lot stronger and sent both of them flying back. "Ow."
"It's...certainly a lot more powerful than I thought it would be," Hex admitted.
"Come one Whirlwind, there's got be something we can do!" Cynder noted as she continued to attack the dragon with vicious fury. That was when the Dragon released another trick, spitting out a bunch of eggs, and miniature versions of itself swarmed the two former dragons. A few good hits sent them careening to the ground, and the mini dragons began to swarm the others. Hex began to move forward, bone staff in hand as she began to smash the little dragons, and Trigger Happy and Hot Dog followed suit, Trigger Happy managing to cool his arms enough to use them again.
"We've got to hold on until they come back with Mega Man! Roller Brawl should be here soon with our secret weapon!" Whirlwind noted.
"Yeah. But when are they going to be here?" Hot Dog asked.
Seeing the dragon and its baby army, none of them had a good answer to that question.
"I thought my Mecha Dragon would take care of your Robots, Thomas. Clever of you to make more cyborg Skylanders like Roller Brawl. But what my minions don't destroy, I'll simply rebuild for myself! Or use them as parts for my own creations. Either is fine with me," Dr. Wily noted. "But I won't let Dr. Light's own robots ruin my plans. Mega Man, go forth and destroy your brothers and bring their remains to me!"
"Yes sir," Mega Man replied, no hint of emotion left in his voice.
As the original Light numbers continued their way, the familiar "BOO-WIP" of teleportation came through their audio sensors. It was Cut Man who laid eyes on the Blue Bomber first. "Uh-oh! Heads up, guys! Rock's here!" When he laid eyes on his brother, Mega Man changed his hand, and took on a sadistic grin.
"Quickly! Subdue Mega Man. Then upload the last of the anti-virus program!" Fire Man instructed.
Dodging Mega Buster shots from their reprogrammed brother, Cut Man reminded him of how they did last time. "Yeah! Let's 'subdue' the guy who tore through us when he was a nice bot!"
Mega Man had no such qualms, switching to Air Shooter and releasing a bevy of tornadoes against his brothers. "I must destroy you! I will destroy you!" Mega Man parroted his corrupted program. Mega Man may not have had as much raw speed as Elec Man, but that didn't matter, since with his Time Stopper, he was able to negate speed entirely.
"There's no way we can get him to stop on our own power. Time Man, find a way to slow him down!" Elec Man instructed.
"I'm trying, but whatever's giving him that boost in speed is also giving negating the Time Slow!" Time Man noted. While the two tried to stop him, Mega Man switched to Atomic Fire, and a blast of flame soon reduced Elec Man's legs to nothing but ash.
"ELEC MAN!" Guts Man cried in concern as he ran towards his brother.
As Mega Man towered over Elec Man, Mega Buster ready to fire, Elec Man tried to appeal to the good robot inside. "Rock...don't...We came to save you..." Elec Man told him.
That seemed to strike a chord in Mega Man, as for a few seconds, he seemed to hesitate, straining as he said, "I...must... do it."
That hesitation was enough for Guts Man to quickly come through and grab Mega Man. Holding his buster arm to the ground, Guts Man told the Robot Masters, "I got him! Hurry up with the installer before he can change weapons again!" Oil Man slid with the installer in hand, and held it to Mega Man's head, the rest of the data transmitting into Mega Man. As soon as the anti-virus finished installing, Mega Man's eyes changed from red to blue, but he seemed to be stuck on the ground, unresponsive.
"Did...did it work?" Guts Man asked, trepidation in his voice.
As Mega Man slowly got up, he saw the injured Elec Man and ran to him. "ELEC MAN!" Seeing his brother held up by Cut Man and Ice Man, he asked in concern "D-did I do that?"
"Hey, don't be too hard on yourself man! The main thing is that you're back!" Oil Man noted with a thumbs-up.
"The Skyborgs. We have to report back to them," Elec Man reminded them, though it seemed to take a lot of effort to speak. "Have to help with the dragon."
"They're in danger?!" Mega Man asked in shock. Ripping the scarf off him, he took command "Come on, everyone! Let's take it down!"
As the Robot Masters ran back, they soon saw a surprising sight. While the Skyborgs seemed a little worn out, they saw that the help had arrived, and the Mecha Dragon was nothing but scrap metal. Unsurprisingly, Roller Brawl was there, but the real surprise was Quick Man. He still sported the wounds from the buster shots, but oterwise seemed to be okay for the most part. "Yo, what's up?"
"Um...why is Quick Man here?" Mega Man asked.
"That's...a long story, Blue Bro," Roller Brawl began.
Earlier
"I'm flattered you want me to come with you, but you don't seem to be that happy about our date," Quick Man joked as he and Roller Brawl rushed in.
"This isn't a date, and that's only a possibility once this whole thing is done," Roller Brawl sternly reminded him.
"Come on, Roller Babe! Don't be like that!" Quick Man complained. "I even asked Dr. Light to remove the 'Destroy Mega Man' and 'Fight Mega Man' orders in me!"
"And I appreciate that, but you know I'm still not completely sold on you being on our side yet, right?" Roller Brawl pointed out. "It's not exactly easy to trust the guy who attacked my family, tricked my brother to getting brainwashed, and was a speed-obsessed jerk to us!"
"Okay, okay. I was a definitely a jerk, but I promise I'm not leading you into any traps," Quick Man admitted. "But you may want to ready your weapons. Dr. Wily's got a Mecha Dragon ready to torch the Robot Masters, and he immunized almost everything in the base to time-changing weapons, so don't think that your friend Time Man can do anything."
"Good to know. So what will work?" Roller Brawl asked.
"Its belly is a helium balloon. My Quick Boomerangs should be able to do the trick! But if it's about to fire, you should be able to interupt it with a Crash Bomber," Quick Man cockily answered.
"Alright then. Let's do this thing!" Roller Brawl noted as charged in. And she definitely arrived right on time, as the Mecha Dragon's babies had begun to overwhelm the Skyborgs, still adapting to their new bodies. The Mecha Dragon cleanly had no mercy, as it readied another blast of flame. "HOLD ON!" Firing a Crash Bomber into its mouth, she was able to interrupt the fire stream, and soon, she and Quick Man began to use Quick Boomerangs, with her taking on a white and light pink color scheme. As the Quick Boomerangs all began to tear the Mecha Dragon apart, she ran to her friends. "Was I too late?"
"Just on time! Let's finish these insults to dragons everywhere off!" Trigger Happy replied. At this, the 7 of them all made mincemeat of the little dragons in no time.
"And... that's what happened." Roller Brawl finished. "But honestly, I'm just happy to see you again, Rock." Without a hint of hesitation, she hugged Mega Man in the tightest embrace he'd felt from her.
"VHAT?! QUICK MAN? Fighting alongside that blood-sucking cyborg to save Mega Man?! That lovestruck, corroded TRAITOR!" Dr. Wily could only sputter in complete shock. How? How was that even possible? A robot willing to alter its own programming to be with the one he loved sounded more like something from a cheesy sci-fi soap opera. Not only that, but it seemed that Mega Man had been turned back to normal. Now not only were Mega Man and Roller Brawl in his fortress, but they had insider knowledge thanks to Quick Man. "No matter. This place is a fortress! And there's still a few tricks not even that lovesick traitor knows about!"
"I'm...happy to see you too, but what's going on? I'm so confused," Mega Man asked, befuddled as he hugged the former vampire back.
"This is Dr. Wily's castle. Dr. Light was able to deduce that Dr. Wily's plan was to corrupt your programming with his Robot Masters' weapon data," Time Man explained, Quick Man giving a sheepish grin at the 'weapon data' part. "But he wasn't able to upload either the anti-virus software or the tracking program in time. So we were asked to come rescue you."
"Does that mean...AUGH! I was right next to Dr. Wily a few minutes ago! Everything could have been over by this point!" Mega Man huffed in frustration.
"Don't sweat it, Mega Man! This also comes with a bunch of support item data. Dr. Light said it could come in handy! Roller Brawl's got it scanned in already!" Cut Man reassured his brother.
Seeing the floating platform, jet, and wall climber data he'd acquired, Mega Man figured. "Yeah...these should help us navigate the castle and get to Dr. Wily in no time." Looking at Elec Man, still being held up by Cut Man and Ice Man, he asked in concern. "But what about Elec Man?"
"No need to worry, sir! Me and Cut Man will stay with him!" Ice Man reassured him.
Putting a buster on his chest, Fire Man agreed. "Should any more of Wily's force try to attack them, I'll cover them personally."
"Alright. Guess it's on us 12 then. Everyone ready?" Mega Man began taking control. Hearing the affirmations from everyone, he switched to Item-2. "I'll create some item-2 jets. Can you do the same Roller Brawl?"
"You got it! And don't worry, Rock. I've got my eye on Quick Man!" Roller Brawl answered, pulling Quick Man by the boomerang on his head, and seeing him grunt in pain.
"We'll have to double dip. There won't be enough energy for all of us!" Mega Man instructed. With that, both he and Roller Brawl formed two Item-2 jets each, his being red and hers being black. Trigger Happy and Hot Dog Stood on one, Quick Man and Roller Brawl were on another, Mega Man and Bomb Man took another, and Guts Man stood on one while carrying Time Man and Oil Man. Whirlwind, Cynder, and Hex all chose to use their normal methods of flight, and all went over a giant spike pit. However, they soon found that Dr. Wily had been clever, and found three hallways.
"Which one is it, Quick Man?" Mega Man asked.
"I'm...I'm not sure," Quick Man admitted. Seeing the looks from the others, he quickly added. "I only know of Wily's sanctum where he activated us, and the Mecha Dragon outside. Guess he thought we might have turned turncoat and didn't tell us anything much!"
"That's...fair enough," Mega Man conceded. "So do each of us go through one door each?"
"We'll go through the one on the right!" Trigger Happy volunteered.
"And we're happy to handle the left," Whirlwind suggested.
"Alright. Guess that leaves us on the middle one," Roller Brawl suggested. As all three made there were through the other hallways, none were sure of what to expect.
As the three female Skyborgs made their way through the hallway, they found themselves swarmed by an army of of Lightning Lords, feeling like they were being attacked by bootleg versions of Lightning Rod. The trio pushed their way through, not willing to give up.
"Any idea what we're facing here?" Whirlwind wondered.
"Not a one. This doctor's a far cry from Krankcase, that's for sure," Hex noted. "A robot made of wood certainly seems like Krankcase, but a zippo lighter and a scuba diver certainly don't give much in the way of theming."
"Still, let's not give up so soon. We still need to make our way through this place," Cynder reminded them. As they continued to fly, they soon found the only way through was a pool of water, one that wouldn't gel well with their flight gear. Taking the plunge, they found themselves being swarmed by crime-prevention Big Fish alongside Ankos, leading to a pool teeming with Shrinks. As they made their way through the watery arena, they emerged and made their way through the hallway, and found themselves facing what looked shockingly familiar. The pools were shallow and formed a T-shaped pattern, with flooring made to resemble water-soaked wood. That was when memory struck: it was just like the inside of the Leviathan, all the way back to rebuilding the Core of Light. In time, they soon saw a sphere of energy form, and a familiar hologram came out.
"HA HA HA HA HA! Hello Sky-losers!" The fake voice of Kaos bellowed out, all the deeper to seem scarier. The holographic face, with its hood, markings on the forehead, was unmistakable. "Long time, no see!"
"No way! Kaos?!" Whirlwind asked in utter shock. "How are you here?"
"Oh, if it isn't my annoying little Dragacorn! You've certainly changed yourself nicely! New hair?" Kaos taunted.
"Cut it out Kaos, this isn't even slightly funny!" Cynder retorted. "We lost our home, and from the sounds of it, you've got total run of the place!"
"True. But I want more! The Darkness promised me the universe, and I'm happy to have a puppet do the work for me on this world, while I find more minions to do my bidding! I want to keep rule over Skylands, but that doesn't mean I can't send aid. And I think you know why I asked Dr. Wily to make this arena," Kaos monologued.
"You want us to do battle against your minions? Roller Brawl told us how you made her fight a Darklander version of Drobot! Do you think we're going to forgive this?" Hex answered, venom lacing her voice.
"Do I look like I want forgiveness from Sky-lamos like you?" Kaos rhetorically asked. "No matter. My minions will still take care of you! Evil Water Dragon! Evil Amphibious Gillman! Evil Ice Yeti! ALL AT ONCE! ATTACK!" At Kaos's instructions. First came a black dragon tinged with deep blue highlights. He had giant horns, fins on his back, frog-like digits, a harness wrapped around him, and sails on his head and tail. Second came a humanoid fish, with fins on his head, rockets on his back, and wielded a giant harpoon gun, one with four-pronged spears. Finally, there was a furry, four-armed, ape-like creature. "I'm just going to leave them to fight you, and honestly, I don't care if they win or lose. Just tell Roller Brawl that I'll be coming for this world next!" At this the hologram vanished.
"Ride the Lightning!" The dragon called out first, immediately spelling it out as the Evil Water Dragon.
"Fear the Fish!" The fishman answered, revealing who was the Evil Amphibious Gillman.
"Armed and Dangerous!" The ape said last, revealing it as the Evil Ice Yeti.
"I suppose this would've been as bad as it was for Roller Brawl if this was our first exposure to what happened to our friends," Hex somberly noted. Taking up a battle stance, though, she held the line. "But we have each other, and Roller Brawl. The Skylanders aren't gone yet! And we'll take out these insults to our friends. Right girls?"
"RIGHT! LET'S DO THIS!" Whirlwind and Cynder replied in tandem. At this, the minions of Kaos attacked. Whirlwind went up against the evil version of Slam Bam, dodging icy bullets that would've left her stuck in an icy prison if she stood still. Releasing a thundercloud, she tried to work to stun the ice yeti, but he quickly formed a shield of ice that tanked the hit. Snapping her fingers, she quickly had it send a burst of explosive rainbows that were able to send the yeti flying back. However, he quickly began to slide forward, taking a page from Oil Man's trick book by sliding on ice. At this, he coated his fist in ice, and Whirlwind was thankfully able to avoid the ice blast aimed at her wings, but she did find herself missing her right leg, which hadn't been so lucky.
"Good thing I'm a robot, and Dr. Light can just rebuild me. Walking's gonna be hard though," Whirlwind noted. Still, she was down, not out, and was able to send a gust of wind to knock him off balance, and then retaliated by condensing the air around him, fogging his vision. As the yeti blindly swung around, Whirlwind seized the change to electrocute him, defeating him, and leaving him to erupt into experience orbs that flew up. She saw that her companions were still doing okay, thankfully.
"Come on! The real Gill Grunt was better than that!" Cynder taunted as she weaved through the trio of harpoons Gill Grunt tried to send at her. Indeed, the Gillman seemed to struggle to hit his target, something that definitely begun to frustrate him, while she had no trouble blasting him with lightning. That was until he decided to fly through the sky, and the two engaged in a dog fight. That was where it seemed the Gillman had the original's experience, and fired in more unpredictable patterns, and began to splash her with boiling water. While it didn't hurt as much as it would've with flesh, it still made her systems overheat, and she was forced to land.
"I am better than the original! Kaos made me that way!" The Gillman retorted. As Cynder struggled as she began to cool down her systems, the evil Gillman didn't hesitate to try to impale her with his harpoons. Dodging each of them, she waited for the chance to retaliate, and when the Gillman reloaded, she took it.
"Maybe, but not sharper!" Cynder quickly dashed forward as she coated herself in electricity, going straight through the evil clone of her friend with a Black Dash and making explode into experience orbs that flew up, like his companion. All that was left was the Evil Water Dragon.
"You truly are a far cry from your original. The original would always be better than you," Hex noted as she sent a bevy of explosive skulls at the dragon, who angrily retaliated by zapping them with electric breath. Sliding forward, he released a trail of slime behind him, and Hex knew what his plan was, and quickly defied it by floating up. "Is that really the best you could do?"
"Shut up! I can do more than my original could do!" The Evil Water Dragon retorted. Quickly rising up on a giant wave, he charged it with lightning and began to surf on it, aiming to take out all three in one go. However, Hex was able to interrupt the formation of the wave by creating a bony arm of energy and using it to swipe the wave, turning it into water as the Evil Water Dragon fell down.
"Perhaps, but you seem to lack his control. Even he could restrain himself. I'm fairly certain all the dolphins truly were just jealous him. That's why they claimed he would shock them during their races," Hex continued, speaking down to the Evil Water Dragon.
"QUIET! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANY MORE ABOUT STUPID ZAP! HE LOST TO KAOS! YOU ALL DID!" The Evil Water Dragon screamed in frustration. As he released a bevy of electric bolts, Hex retaliated by not only spinning her staff to send a number of orbs, she also proceeded to block every bolt with the Bone Storm. The orbs all made their mark, and soon, the Evil Water Dragon was defeated.
"They're gone," Whirlwind noted, exhausted.
"You okay?" Cynder asked in concern.
"We're robots except for our brains, Cynder. She's alright," Hex reassured her fellow Undead.
"Yeah. But did we really lose completely?" Cynder wondered.
"Not really. We did lose that fight, but we won't let him take this world. And if there's a way to get to Skylands and take the fight to Kaos, we'll do just that!" Whirlwind replied.
"Well said. But we should at least make sure to be ready to leave," Hex noted.
"So many drills!" Hot Dog noted as they weaved through the Moles. "Not as good as Drill Sergeant though!"
"Yep! Drill Sergeant was better than these things!" Trigger Happy agreed. He'd been on Telly-hunting duty, shooting down any that tried to approach them as they made their way through. The high number of annoying enemies grated on his nerves, and there wasn't much to look forward to.
"Any idea what's on this end?" Hot Dog asked.
"Nope! And that's the fun of this!" Trigger Happy answered back. "Let's see what this guy brings, and we'll smash it!"
"Right!" At this, Hot Dog and Trigger Happy continued to make their way through the hallway. When they found a ladder, they quickly jumped down it, only to find nothing but what looked like a blocky hallway. When nothing happened, the two readied their weapons, unsure of what could come next. When blocks began to come from the walls and join together, Trigger Happy remembered an idea Dr. Light had for a home security device.
"No way! I though Dr. Wily was happy to rip off the Robot Masters, but now he's copying the Pikopikokun?" Trigger Happy asked in surprise.
"The what?" Hot Dog asked.
"An idea Dr. Light had. Hidden block robots that would tackle any intruders that went in a hallway without a passcode," Trigger Happy explained as he shot one down. More began to form as they all made their way to the former Skylander duo. At this, Hot Dog called for more Magmutt Minions, working to incinerate them as they approached, and sending a couple of them out to explode some of them. Trigger Happy used his marksmanship to his advantage, firing shots that bounced off individual robots and pierced through them.
"There's too many of them! What do we do now?" Hot Dog worried as the numbers began to increase
Trigger Happy, seeing their number go into the tens, began to ready a massive blast. "Hot Dog get behind me!"
"You're gonna do it?!" Hot Dog asked in anticipation.
"YEAH!" Holding his Golden Gatlings together, he began to charge all the mini-cores in them, and once all were ready, he cried out, "GOLDEN YAMATO BLAST!" At this, a giant wave of fiery energy emerged from the busters, incinerating most of the drones to nothing, but also pushing him back a fair distance. Huffing as the heat was released from his systems, Trigger Happy was shocked to see more form around them. "Darn it. I can't fire right now, and we've still got more boogies inbound!"
"Let me help! I've got a hot trick of my own!" Hot Dog suggested.
"Let me guess. That attack?" Trigger Happy said, a slight smirk on his face.
"Yep!" At this, Hot Dog jumped up into the air, calling out, "PYRO PINWHEEL!" Curling into a ball, he rapidly began to fire fireballs everywhere, hitting everyone of the last few robots that approached them. When one more tried to attack below him, Hot Dog slammed on the ground, reducing it to scrap metal.
"Good work. Now, let's take a breather, because I don't think I can go much farther at this point.
"Yeah, there's no way that the Mecha Dragon was Dr. Wily's last line of defense, guys," Quick Man noted, answering an earlier question from Bomb Man. As the hallway opened, all of them were forced to dodge an incoming giant fist. One that came from a machine that looked like a giant Guts Man from the chest up attached to tank treads, and having spiky shoulders the original Guts Man lacked.
"Definitely, I don't think that the Doc could ever stop making bad things," Roller Brawl agreed. A glance at the thing that attacked quickly made Guts Man see red.
"He ripped off my design again?! To Make That?!" Guts Man bellowed as he suddenly rocketed forward, leaving poor Time Man and Oil Man struggling to hold on. "LEMME AT 'IM!"
"I pity that thing," Roller Brawl noted.
"I think that they've got it under control," Mega Man figured.
"They'll be fine. Let's keep moving!" Bomb Man reassured Mega Man
"I'm all for that!" Quick Man agreed. As the four of them continued, they went through another door, and found nothing in the beginning. However, the door soon slammed behind them, and that was when worry began to take root.
"Still glad you came?" Mega Man asked.
"No regrets, Mega-YOW!" Bomb Man answered before a circular turret shot at them suddenly. "Turrets!"
"And this place is like a maze!" Mega Man noted as he and the others began to dodge the attacks.
"Let me handle this! I'll go scout up ahead and tell you the positions!" Quick Man suggested.
"No! You don't need to do that! We just need to take them out one by one!" Mega Man pointed out.
"I have to do this. I know you don't trust me, but let me show you that I can be!" Quick Man stated. "Honestly, it kinda hurts to move, but I do want to prove myself to you guys."
"You mean that? Or are you just trying to butter me up?" Roller Brawl asked, somewhat unconvinced.
"Okay, that's part of it. But I know Dr. Wily won't be taking me in after this, and you guys repaired me afterwards. I think it's time to pay it forward!" Quick Man answered. One didn't need to be a linguist to hear the sincerity in Quick Man's voice.
"Alright. But be careful, Quick Man," Mega Man acquiesced.
"Thank you," Quick Man said. Running through the maze, he was able to note the locations of the turrets, and ran back to Mega Man. "Okay, there's 9 turrets scattered about this place. They should be right over-GACK!" The interruption was a tenth turret that Quick Man hadn't noticed.
"QUICK MAN! Are you okay?" Mega Man asked in concern.
"I'll...I'll be okay. It's just a metal perforation, I'll be...gack!" Quick Man tried to reassure his new friends.
"No. We'll take care of this. We just need to navigate safely," Mega Man reassured Quick Man.
"Why safely? You've got an exploding weapon, don't you guys?" Bomb Man pointed out.
"Yeah, the Crash Bomber. Why?" Roller Brawl answered.
"Then we'll blow this place to kingdom come!" Bomb Man revealed his plan. At this, Mega Man and Roller Brawl switched to said weapon, and the trio began to blow up everything. By the time they were done, the entire maze was nothing but rubble.
"Well...that did the trick, but I'm out of Crash Bomber ammo," Mega Man noted.
"Same here," Roller Brawl realized.
"Ditto, but at least you two have the other weapons to fall back on," Bomb Man pointed out. "You two go on. I'll try to direct the others to you and stay here with Quick Man." As the two prepared to leave, they saw Quick Man weakly chuckle.
"Heh. Guess you didn't need me after all," Quick Man noted.
"You tried to help us, Quick Man, and that was pretty cool of you!" Bomb Man reassured the former Wily Number. "And while you were pretty banged up the whole while, so points for that!"
"Yeah. He's...actually got a point. I think it's pretty clear you're not on Wily's side anymore," Roller Brawl admitted, respect for Quick Man growing. "How about this? We'll have that date a bit later, but not right now. Let's find a moment where we can have some kind of calm in our lives and then have it. How's that?"
"Heh. Fine by me!" Quick Man said with a weak smile. "Go give the doc a hard time for me, would ya?"
"Will do," Roller Brawl replied as she winked to him.
As the two robot heroes made their way through the last stations of Wily's fortress, they found one more door opened up for them. "It's over Dr. Wily! No way for you to use Mega Man as a robot shield!" Roller Brawl declared.
"Yes. And you don't have any more Robot Masters to selfishly sacrifice! Give it up!" Mega Man continued.
"It's far from over, Mega Brat and Roller Small!" Dr. Wily declared from the inside of his new Wily Machine. As he fired the cannon attached to the bottom of it, he continued to rant. "You and your earthly weaponry cannot stop me! I shall conquer this planet with power from beyond the stars!"
"Are you talking about Skylands?" Roller Brawl asked. "Because you make no sense otherwise!"
"Agreed. But since you gave us these weapons, it'd be impolite of us to not give them back!" Mega Man said as he switched to Metal Blade, Roller Brawl quickly following suit.
"NOOOO!" Dr. Wily panicked as they cut through the metal around his machine's cockpit.
"Huh. I would've tried everything but never mind," Roller Brawl replied as she saw the power of the Metal Blade. With the two quickly slicing and dicing through the machine like Sashimi, Dr. Wily was forced to go back to his UFO to escape a nasty end.
"Wow! I wish we'd gone to Metal Man first and gotten his power! All of this would've been so much easier!" Mega Man said as he saw what happened.
"Yeah. And barely any loss of ammo!" Roller Brawl concurred. Prying open the saucer, the two looked at Dr. Wily, who had an expression of complete disdain. "It's over Dr. Wily. Time to pay the piper!"
"Agreed. And you're going to answer for what you've done to us and our family!" Mega Man continued. That was Dr. Wily began to take on a more monstrous form: his forehead elongated, his skin turned sickly green, and his eyes became more similar to insect compound eyes, shedding his labcoat in the process. All the while this happened, everything began to resemble outer space, and when the transformation was complete, Dr. Wily had become a monstrous alien, with claw-like hands, bird-like feet, and an exposed ribcage.
"And I told you, feeble Earth robots you cannot stop me! I will conquer this miserable planet with power from beyond the stars!" The alien said.
"You're a...space alien?!" Mega Man asked in complete shock.
"How is that even possible?" Roller Brawl inquired, her shock equivalent.
"The foolish Earth-creature Thomas Light never knew. That is of little consequence," the alien answered as it fired a laser at the two. "Flee now, and warn the world of my coming! Warn it of its doom!"
"How do we stop an alien invasion?!" Roller Brawl asked, utterly rattled. "What would it even be weak to? Bubble Lead? Atomic Fire?"
"I don't know! Maybe we should retreat and-" Mega Man began to answer as he suddenly found the image change when his hand passed through: clear signs of a hologram. "It's another hologram decoy."
"Are you kidding me?!" Roller Brawl grumbled. The two soon take aim at the dome above. That made the alien panic.
"No! Don't!" It replied in complete terror as the shot hit the projector. At this, the image completely faded away, and Dr. Wily sat inside a purple control cylinder.
"P-pay no attention to zhat man behind zhe hologram..." he stammered weakly.
"Evil invaders from space?" Mega Man asked incredulously. "How ridiculous can you get?"
"Yeah. That's the stuff you see in a cheap B-movie!" Roller Brawl pointed out as the two pulled out Dr. Wily, who flailed like a child throwing a tantrum.
"You both fell for it! I saw you! You vere scared!" Dr. Wily childishly whined. His whining, however, gave way to a smirk, as he used his foot to slam a button. "You should've stayed vith me, Mega Man! At least you would've gotten out alive that way!" Dr. Wily slipped into a trap hatch while the two held his lab coat.
"Warning. Castle self-destruct in 5 minutes!" A countdown alarm warned.
"5 minutes?!" The two robots parroted in shock.
"Come on, bro! We've gotta get everyone out now!" Roller Brawl snapped out of her shock as she formed an Item-2, with Mega Man following suit.
While Roller Brawl rapidly made her way out, Mega Man took a brief glance at the trapdoor where Dr. Wily had gone. "I hope, for your sake, that you manage to escape, Dr. Wily."
As the two passed on, they found themselves picking up member after member of the group. They saw Quick Man and Bomb Man still in the remains of the turret room, Guts Man and his group who'd defeated the tank with no trouble if the hundreds of smashed Mets meant anything, the Skyborgs flying to make their way out, Fire Man carrying Elec Man piggy-back style with Cut Man and Ice Man following soon enough.
"3. 2. 1. HA HA HA!" The alarm declared as the fortress exploded all of them managing to make their escape.
With everyone now at home, they all began to relax, wishing to make up for the party Quick Man had wrecked. Guts Man had gone on to perform karaoke with Bomb Man and Cut Man as an audience. Hot Dog had begun to relax, snuggling alongside Fire Man. Auto began to form a punch bowl of E-tank fluid with help from Ice Man. Cynder had begun to simply to take a nap in her civilian form, which revealed her violet hair to be cut in a short bob cut, and wearing her spiked bracelets and choker, but also wearing a purple tank top, spiked black belt, a purple knee skirt, and pink open-toe heels. Hex, on the other hand, was being subjected to joke off between Trigger Happy and Oil Man, alongside a similarly exasperated Time Man. Her civilian attire had her black hair fall to her shoulders, and she wore an elegant black dress and black heels, preferring a simply fashion. Rock, Roll, and Roller Brawl, stayed with Dr. Light to help in the repairs of Whirlwind, Elec Man, and Quick Man.
"I'm sorry you were so badly damaged. Both of you. Even with that, Dr. Wily, still managed to get away," Rock apologized.
"Don't be too hard on yourself. You did your best, and you at least made sure he can't do any more damage for the next few months probably," Whirlwind reassured Rock, having her leg prepared.
"Indeed. You were the one reprogrammed by Dr. Wily, and I know that it is far from a pleasant experience. Having your mind clouded like that certainly suits no one," Elec Man concurred, his legs in a similar state.
"And Quick Man? You know I don't really like you because you attacked my home, right? You know that's not pleasant after what happened with me right?" Roller Brawl began.
"Geez. No need to rub it in," Quick Man noted as repairs continued.
"But you did help us out, and even had your own programming changed. That's something I can respect! Dr. Light's having a conference in a few days, but how's about we set a date for after that?" Roller Brawl finished.
"You mean it?" Quick Man asked, joy flooding his circuits.
"I'm not the kinda gal who jokes on things like that," Roller Brawl pointed out. "And remember that kiss? How's about I give you one now, just something to look forward to?" At this, Roller Brawl got up on her toes, and kissed Quick Man on the cheek. At this, Quick Man formed a massive blush and a goofy grin. "But yeah, Rock. It's my fault you ended up corrupted. I should've stopped you from getting all the weapon data, but I guess I didn't do enough."
"Don't blame yourself, Roller Brawl. You did what you could to help out your brother, and sometimes, it's not enough," Roll reassured her adoptive sister.
"She and Elec Man are right, you two. There's no need for either of you to apologize, because you did more than anyone could have asked of you. I'm just glad the two of you are safe, and if anything, I'm sorry your last support units weren't finished until now," Dr. Light gently assured them
"More support units?" The two asked in confusion.
"I'm sure they'll be wonderful 'Welcome home' presents, though!" Dr. Light said as he whistled. At this, two robotic animals came forward. First was a white and red dog, one more like a retriever, with a helmet similar to Mega Man's and a small metal rod for the tail. The next one to come was a black and pink bat with a small helmet and wings and claws much like those of a fruit bat. The dog came to Mega Man and began to lick his face while the bat flew to Roller Brawl and and held tightly onto her arm.
"Oh my goodness! She's adorable!" Roller Brawl said as the bat latched onto her, giving her a happy look.
"You built me a dog? That's...thank you so much, Doctor!" Rock said.
"So what do you wanna call your new friends?" Auto asked.
"Well, I felt a rush of joy when I got this guy, so would Rush be okay?" Rock wondered. That name seemed to fit with the pup, as it only continued to lick his face even more.
"Cute. But I always wanted a pet bat, so I could name her Nocturne? That okay with you, sweetie?" Roller Brawl responded, booping its snout. At this, the bat began to lick her finger and waggle her ears.
"Don't worry, you guys. I'll finish your repairs soon enough," Auto assured the trio in need of repairs. "After that, though, should I pack up my stuff and head back to the shop?"
"No Auto. I'm sure Albert will strike again, and we need to be ready for more threats with the coming of Kaos," Dr. Light answered. "When it does happen, I'll need all the help I can get to support Mega Man and Roller Brawl." Those musings were interrupted as the two robot children continued to play with their new pets.
Inside the Wily Capsule he'd landed in earlier, Dr. Wily grumbled. "Curses! Stupid Mega Man! Blasted Roller Brawl!" Seeing the onboard computer narrow onto an area in South America, he ranted. "I'll show them...I'll show them all!" The computer finished, revealing the destination to be the Lanfront Ruins.
Voice Cast:
Dr. Wily - Scott McNeil
Elec Man - Brendan Hunter
Hex - Courtenay Taylor
Trigger Happy - Dave Wittenberg
Whirlwind - Salli Saffioti
Guts Man - Garry Chalk
Time Man - Keith Silverstein
Hot Dog - Carlos Alazraqui
Cut Man - Elinor Holt
Fire Man - Roger Rhodes
Ice Man - Zoe Slusar
Oil Man - Khary Patron
Cynder - Tobie LaSalandra
Mega Man/Rock - Cole Howard
Quick Man - Roger Craig Smith
Roller Brawl - Cree Summer
Kaos - Richard Steven Horvitz
Evil Water Dragon - Jeff Bergman
Evil Amphibious Gillman - Darin De Paul
Evil Ice Yeti - Fred Tatasciore
Bomb Man - Ryan Stockert
Alien - Steve Blum
Countdown Alarm- Scott McNeil
Roll - Erica Lindbeck
Auto - Greg Cipes
Author's Note
Welp, here we are! The finale of the Mega Man 2 arc. And I feel this should be obvious, but Quick Man's going to be a permanent part of the cast from here on out, which means he won't be going offline in what will be Issue 49 equivalent. You may also have noted that Dr. Wily's been improving things: the Mecha Dragon has incorporated the eggs it had from Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters, and we got a fight against Pikopikokun, which wasn't in the comics originally. Also, the Alien being voiced by Steve Blum is indeed a Vilgax reference. Plus, yeah. This is the first time Kaos makes an actual appearance in the story as a proper antagonsit instead of just some plot device. If you're wondering why the girls weren't as affected as Roller Brawl was, remember that Roller Brawl thought the Skylanders were all gone, and she might not find them again. Here, they at least know that they're together again.
More importantly, the first true OC has appeared: Nocturne the robot bat, and Roller Brawl's counterpart to Rush! She's pretty much based on the flying fox bat, and has her own takes on Rush Coil, Rush Jet, and Rush Marine, which we'll go over in time when they're part of the plot. Also, Nocturne does fit into the music theme naming across the Mega Man series, with nocturne meaning "a short composition of a romantic or dreamy character suggestive of night, typically for piano", so that fits for a vampire, typically associated with night and darkness.
Next Time: Shaping the Future!
The Advanced Robots and Trade Show (ARTS) has just begun, and Dr. Light has brought Elec Man, Rock, Roll, Rush, Roller Brawl, and Nocturne as guests to the event. When the event starts, the gang get to meet some of Dr. Light's old classmates: Dr. Cossack and Dr. Lalinde, who have brought their own Robot Masters of Pharaoh Man and Quake Woman. However, all goes wrong when anti-robot extremists, led by Xander Payne, attack the convention. All the while, Dr. Wily investigates the bizarre Lanfront Ruins, noting a strange EMP field.