Chapter 9: Oil Crisis
In a pleasant neighborhood of Tokyo, Japan, the sun was rising. Yawning, people emerged from their houses to pick up their newspapers. Most of them, anyways. From one, there was nothing… and then the house practically shook with the repeated screams of "IDIOT" from within, causing the other denizens of the neighborhood to shake their heads and go back inside for more coffee.
"Augh! I'm sorry for putting my life on the line to save humanity from hordes of killer robots, Roll!" Mega Man cried, dodging behind a table. "I'm sorry for being one of the few people in existence who could bring down Yamato Man! I'm sorry that he was good enough to actually hit me!"
"You know very well that's not exactly what I'm angry about, bro." Roll sighed and dropped the chair she had been waving around while yelling. "Impaled, Rock. You were IMPALED this time. Sheesh. You are just so lucky that he didn't hit anything vital, or you wouldn't have made it back here this time at ALL. That could have been it for you right then and there."
"You don't think I don't know that?" Mega stood up. "I do… but it's necessary, Roll. And getting angry with me about it doesn't change that."
"I know." Roll covered her eyes. "I just… I worry. Sorry, bro. I've been trying not to get so worked up this Rebellion… and I'll try to keep that up. This one just got to me. That's all. Of course, it would help if Blues would check in once in a while!" She growled. "We've got no idea what shape he's in at ALL aside from seeing the enemy territories going down even when you miss the real target. He said he'd come back if he was in trouble, but so far, nothing!"
"I'd take that as a good sign, sis." The Blue Bomber suggested. "Blues does stick to his word… which means if he hasn't come back yet, he doesn't need major repairs. He's doing fine."
"Yeah, probably." Roll conceded, smiling. "Sorry."
"It's okay." Mega Man looked around the otherwise-empty lab. "Hm… woke up early today. The Cossacks not here yet?"
"Nope. Dad's not even awake yet." The robotic girl's smile changed into a wry smirk. "Actually, I probably woke him up with my yelling. Rush and Eddie, too… heck, I wouldn't be surprised if even Beat stirred a little."
"The volume WAS impressive." Mega chuckled. "Speaking of Beat. How are things going with him? What with the circuit plates I've been bringing in and the ones you guys have been making, he's got to be almost ready to go, right?" He blinked as Roll's face fell. "What's wrong? Is something up with those circuit plates?"
"Something… yeah." Roll shook her head. "Not so much an error as… something wrong with our entire game plan in regards to them. The worst thing about it is, none of us saw it coming until now… it should have been obvious right from the start, but we were completely blind to it until yesterday. Talk about a bonehead mistake… and we're supposed to be intelligent robots and robotics geniuses. I couldn't decide whether to laugh hysterically or break something."
"Roll." Mega held up a hand. "You're telling me all about how bad it is, but not WHAT it is. What's the problem?"
"Okay." Roll sighed. "You know how we're doing this. You bring back as many Plates as possible, while we replicate them here. The idea being that we replace the ones that get destroyed when you pick the wrong one." Mega nodded. "The problem is, though… like I said, they're destroyed. And we're making them in advance, too. So how do we know WHICH ones to make?" Mega blinked, then groaned.
"Oh, NO. You found this out yesterday. Are you saying…"
"Yeah. The circuit plate you brought back from Wind Man's turned out to be a duplicate of one we had already recreated." Roll confirmed grimly. "So we've only got five, instead of six like we figured… and any one of those others that you bring back could also turn out to be one we've already made."
"That's a downer." The Blue Bomber glanced over in the direction of their father's bedroom. "How'd dad take it?"
"See that dent in the wall?" Roll pointed. "For once, that wasn't one of us. Remind me to ask him why he keeps a PICKAXE in this lab, of all things." Mega winced. "Yeah. After that, he chucked the thing out the window in disgust and decided we'd stop the circuit plates altogether and focus on Rush's other upgrade for the next couple days until it was done. At least with THAT, there's no real way for us to bungle it horribly that we can see."
"Point." Mega agreed. "So how long until it's ready? I'm guessing it's not completed now." The robot girl shook her head.
"Yeah… no way we're letting the guys pull another all-nighter like they did on the Jet Armor. Another day should do it, though… it'll be ready by the time you get back after today's mission."
"That should work just fine." Mega Man nodded. "Jet Armor's still working great, by the way. I'd still prefer the Rush Jet, but since that one's unavailable… ah well. We cope."
"Yeah, we do." Roll nodded. "So, who's the next one? Only three left now… which means according to the usual pattern, most or all of them will cause you to come back in bad shape."
"Very funny. Well, Knight and Centaur look like real pieces of work… Flame Man, not so much." Mega explained. "So I figure I'll take him out now. Give you a break after the shape I came back from Yamato Man in."
"Just don't get cocky with him, or you'll be doing just the opposite." Roll warned. "Even if he's not as bad as the other two, it's never a good idea to get careless. Come back here the same way you did last night, and I WILL bash you over the head when you wake up this time."
"Warning noted." Mega Man rubbed his head. "I'll do everything I can to avoid that, believe me. One of these days I'm going to think back and count all the injuries YOU'VE given me… if I add them all up, there's a fair chance the total will exceed any other Robot Master I've fought."
"You're about as funny as finding Eddie in my closet covered with unidentifiable goo." Roll scoffed. "Get going, bro."
"Yes, MA'AM." Saluting, Mega Man teleported away, and Roll turned to a worktable, shaking her head.
"Suppose I'd better finish organizing last night's mess, then."
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"Shut up." Mega Man remarked before Mr. X could even begin to ramble. Ignoring him, the old man delivered his customary announcement, which Mega ignored right back. "Hm… yeah, this is an abandoned oil facility all right. Wonder why they cleared out… looks like there was still plenty to be had here. They even left some of it lying around." The Blue Bomber shook his head at the sloppiness. "Who knows. Maybe it was WW3 again… there are plenty of places humans can't go any more because of that." Straight in his path, several wide trenches in the floor were ankle-deep in oil. Carefully looking around for robots that used flames and seeing none, Mega started across. More hard-hat Metools were patrolling instead, and Mega made sure to destroy each one the moment it saw him, before it could fire. He wasn't sure if the plasma shots fired by them would ignite the oil, but he didn't want to find out. Unfortunately, a far more certain threat was soon to come; halfway across the room, Mega glanced behind him and saw a flying robot coming silently behind him, dropping small fireballs into the oil pits he had passed. Each one was now a blazing conflagration. Snarling, the Blue Bomber blew it away, then whirled around to stare in front of him as he realized what it was-a distraction. Two more were now advancing from the far end. He quickly fired, but not fast enough; one of them dropped a flame into the furthest oil pit, igniting it.
"Damn… oh well, at least I have my Jet Armor." Reaching the other side, Mega rocketed across to climb up a ladder, destroying a couple wall-mounted cannons as he went. On the next floor, he found a flat, disk-shaped robot with a hatch on its top waiting for him. "This doesn't look good…" The hatch opened, lobbing out a plasma shot. "Huh. That's all?" Firing back, however, produced an unusual effect; instead of being destroyed, the robot flew back, flipping upside down. A cushion popped out of the hatch… and promptly exploded as it touched ground again, along with the rest of the machine. "That… seemed unnecessary. Gods, I hope this one's not another Top Man…" The mystery was solved when Mega reached another oil pit; another one of the robots, when sent into it, floated gently on the oil. Its bottom-now the top-was completely flat.
"Great. More GAMES. Am I supposed to ride this thing? Is it supposed to be fireproof? I think I'll keep my Jet Armor on just in case." Strangely enough, the first trip across an oil pit progressed without incident; no fire-droppers flew in on him. While he was crossing the next, however, the enemies attacked, and again he was unable to stop them from setting the oil aflame. The moment it burned, Mega Man jumped, ready to jet if need be. Somehow, though, his ride remained up, just as comfortable on fire as it was on oil. "Huh. So I'm okay on the fire now… as long as I stay on this thing." Fortunately, he was able to make it to the other side without being knocked off, and continued further into the facility's heart. Heading down, he entered an underground tunnel, where the pits of oil were already seas of flame, set afire by humanoids who tossed fire from their heads. The platforms leading across the burning oil went in two paths, each ending in a shuttered door. "Hrm… well, got to decide sometime." Choosing one, Mega journeyed down that path, destroying everything that stood in his way until he reached his goal. Walking through the shutters, he immediately snarled "Shut up," once again.
"Excuse me?" Flame Man raised an eyebrow as he entered, dramatically as the others, and Mr. X continued his tirade regardless.
"Not you." The Blue Bomber explained. "Your boss. One gets a little tired of hearing him spew the same garbage over and over again."
"I see." Flame Man nodded. "Well, I'm afraid I can't really offer an objective opinion on that. You know how it goes."
"Yeah yeah." Mega Man sighed. "Well, we might as well get this over with. Shall we?"
"As you wish. You don't seem to be wounded from your jaunt through my territory… I hope you don't think that means I'll be a pushover!" Raising his arm cannon, Flame Man began launching fireballs.
"A pushover, no… not quite." Mega Man smiled slightly. "But at this point, chances are it's just a matter of finding the right weapon." Drawing the Yamato Spear, he watched as a high-speed spearhead was launched at the foe. Flame Man watched it too, slamming his cannon into the ground; a moment later, a wall of flames erupted, blocking the spear's bath and dropping it. Mega Man scrambled back as a second wall came from beneath his feet, leaving him with singed boots.
"Not going to be quite that easy." Flame Man informed him, switching back to fireballs as Mega scrambled to his feet. "It's hardly a guarantee that you HAVE to have a weapon that will easily topple me, even this late in the game. You should know better than to assume that."
"I know… but the odds are still in favor of it." Mega Man dodged the fireballs easily. "I was just testing out my new weapon anyways… figures it didn't work. Same with the Tomahawk, most likely… plain steel just won't get through your firewall. The Plant Barrier's out of the question, of course… any idiot can tell that flowers against fire is a bad idea. No… you look like you'll need something else elemental to bring you down."
"You sure like to talk." Flame Man commented. "Fortunately, I like to listen. Go ahead, then… try something else."
"All right. I figure I've got two options left… here's the first." Mega launched the Blizzard Attack, and the firewall came back up. For a moment it looked like it would work, but the snowflake shuriken were melting even as they emerged from the other side, and within moments they fell to earth as a wet splat. On the plus side, this time Mega was able to avoid the second firewall that came from beneath him.
"Not nearly cold enough to reach me, I'm afraid." Flame Man shook his head. "Nice try, though."
"Eh, it was worth a shot." Mega shrugged, dodging fireballs again. "It worked with Ice Man and Fire Man. That just leaves this, then…" Switching to his last weapon, he unleashed the Wind Storm. Spinning across the ground, the miniature tornado hit a firewall, but this time the barrier went down, blown out like a candle by the high winds created. Continuing on, the Wind Storm slammed into Flame Man, flinging him away into a wall, which he bounced off and slammed into the floor. "Looks like that's the one, all right."
"Ow…" Flame Man pried himself up and glared at his enemy. "This isn't over yet…"
"Maybe not quite… but the odds are even more in my favor now." Mega Man fired again. "We can play it out all the way to the end if you want, which I'm sure you will… but unless you've got something else, this IS already over. All that's left is the cleanup." As he had predicted, four Wind Storms later, Flame Man stopped getting up. Examining his body showed that Mega's choice had been correct once more; the Circuit Plate was his. "Got it… I just hope they haven't rebuilt this one already too. Back home I go, then."
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"Hmph… looks like it's time. No sense in missing it… I've spent enough time out of there already." Darwin Vinkus muttered to himself as he heard the grandfather clock in his home ring out noon. "Ill-health or no ill-health, without me in there Edmund has to hold all of their leashes by himself. If I don't get back in there to help him soon he'll go off the deep end-especially with a Rebellion going on." Chuckling, Vinkus got to his feet and walked to the one room in his house he hadn't entered since his injuries; the largest one in the building, a huge meeting hall filled with desks, each bearing the flag of a different country. It seemed empty at first, but as soon as Vinkus flipped a switch on the wall near the door, half of the desks were occupied by men and women of all nationalities, all of them familiar faces. A haggard-looking older man with a long mane of snow-white hair, seated behind the flag of the United States, smiled in relief as he saw Vinkus.
"Ah, Councilor Vinkus. So glad you could rejoin us. Welcome back to the Presiding Council of the United Nations." In years past, UN Councilors had all been forced to remain in the same physical location in order to convene; now, though, modern technology offered an alternative. Each member of the Council had an identical meeting room built into their house that, when active, transmitted a realtime hologram of their actions into the rooms of all the other Councilors. Taking a seat behind his desk bearing the flag of Japan, Vinkus smiled as well.
"Good to be back, Councilor Martel." Currently the presiding member, Edmund Martel was Vinkus' most respected rival on the Council; their violent opposition on most political matters, particularly trust in robotics and Robot Masters, was tempered by their knowledge of the other being the only Council member who could be counted on to keep his head and help restrain the others during a crisis. One by one, the other Councilors filed in and took their seats. "Councilor Arcian! Might I have a word with you and a few of the others later, after today's meeting?" Vinkus' smile turned unpleasant as he hailed France's representative.
"Oh! Uh… of course, Councilor Vinkus." Louis Arcian cringed a bit as he nodded. Though he was Vinkus' political ally in distrust of robotics, the Frenchman was more often an aggravation, being even more loudmouthed and dimwitted than most of the Councilors. Those traits had eventually prompted Vinkus to administer a physical reprimand with an oak cane after the Fifth Rebellion, causing a fear of the older man in Arcian that had lingered ever since.
"Ahem… well, it looks like we're all here. This meeting of the Presiding Council on the United Nations will now commence. Edmund Martel presiding." Martel announced. "First off, let us all welcome Councilor Vinkus back to our number, returning to us after his extended stay in the hospital. I'm sure we're all glad to see him returning to us in good health." The other Councilors chimed in with similar comments, some of which might have almost been heartfelt.
"Thank you all." Vinkus smiled graciously.
"Next up…" Martel sighed. "There is, once again, the matter of the latest Robot Rebellion to deal with… to be specific, of the Light Family's treatment of the crisis, Mega Man in particular."
"There is some issue with the Light Family over this?" Vinkus raised an eyebrow. "This is the first I've heard of this… of course, that's hardly surprising considering my absence from this Council. Regardless, if I might have a few details…?"
"I'm sure you remember the previous Rebellion… the Fifth. Due to the unique nature of that incident, Mega Man agreed to place himself under our command and direction for the duration of the crisis." Elizabeth Coombe, the British representative, explained. "So far, however, he and his family have neglected to do so during the Sixth; indeed, we have yet to see Mega Man at all. Conveniently, he has arranged to be out fighting the next enemy every time we call the house." A faint smile played around Coombe's lips. "And yet, his progress is as efficient as ever; five of the Robot Masters have fallen so far, and I believe he should be dealing with a sixth even now as we speak here."
"Very well." Vinkus nodded. "I fail to see why this would be an issue of argument, though."
"It's an insult, is what it is." Arcian snapped. "The robots and their creator are blatantly ignoring our authority. We are the United Nations council, after all… should we allow them to just keep on disrespecting us?"
"I don't think it's a matter of disrespect so much as maintaining a professional approach." Coombe retorted. "As I've told you before, Councilor Arcian, before the events of the Fifth, Mega Man and the Light family dealt with the Rebellions in their own way successfully without us steering them. Our direction was not needed then; why would it be needed now?"
"It's not a question of whether it's needed." Salguerdo from Brazil chimed in. "It's a matter of propriety… of what's right and proper for us, and our position. After they agreed to obey our directives in the Fifth, it would be a sign of weakness if we were to let this pass."
"I'm afraid I have to disagree." Vinkus shook his head. "The Light family, all of them, have always held the utmost respect for the United Nations. They simply know what they are doing, and would prefer to remain with the methods they have established as working… relying on their own intuition. Mr. X seems to be treating this as some sort of show or game this time… a farce. There's no real need for us to step in… and if we forced it, wouldn't that show the public that we didn't trust the Lights to manage by themselves? Not at all what we want. Mega Man is a powerful icon… he's the only thing preventing widespread panic. If it's a choice between appearing weak ourselves, or making HIM appear so, then the choice is clear… we have our duties and responsibilities, to the countries we represent and the Earth as a whole."
"Well said, Councilor Vinkus." Martel nodded. "I think that says it all, really… is there still anybody who disagrees?" Some of the anti-robotics representatives were glaring at Vinkus, but none of them spoke. "Very well then, onto the next subject."
Another potential crisis averted, Vinkus thought to himself. You've still got it, old man… but for how long? Every day I have to listen to these fools babble grates on my nerves… even the period of relief my injuries granted me was not nearly long enough to give me any sort of tolerance for this rubbish. At least I managed to protect Thomas and his family… hopefully, I will not need to do so again any time soon. If these idiots stop going after them… then perhaps I will not be needed on here any more after all. We'll see… I just hope I can convince the others of the merits of what I'm considering… He glanced around the room, eyes narrowed behind his spectacles, looking at his fellow Councilors… in particular, those strongly adverse to robotics. Arcian, Salguerdo, and Romeza… those are the ones I'll need to convince. Arcian will be easy… the fool would jump off a bridge if I told him to now. Romeza, not so much, but he's got some brains at least, so he should be able to see the logic. Salguerdo will be the toughest… he'll be irritated with me after today. Maybe I shouldn't have been so quick to leap to the Lights' defense… no. No, Mega Man must be allowed to continue as he is now… we can't jeopardize that in any way. It'll be tough, but I should be able to convince Salguerdo as well… and if I have those three on my side, the others will fall in as well. Then… well, we'll see indeed…