Chapter 11: Mythbuster

"Professionals? Psssh. Let me tell you son, if everybody just left things to the professionals, we'd never get anywhere, human or reploid. Oh sure, a lot of the time amateur talent falls flat on its face. But every so often, it does something special… something that's never been done before at all." -Maverick rebel Andrew

"Uh… hi, Roll." Mega Man chuckled nervously as he opened his eyes to see his sister standing over him. "Before you say anything, keep in mind that I only got hit once by him."

"That would be the reason I'm not currently holding any POWER tools." Roll informed him with a grin, tapping a wrench against her palm for a few seconds before placing it down. "All right, fine, I won't incapacitate you any more. You'll probably manage to get yourself beat up enough dealing with Centaur Man. You always seem to do that with the last ones."

"That's because I save the toughest-looking for last." Mega Man explained in a mollifying tone as he stood. "Gemini, Pharaoh, Napalm… now Centaur. I want to be able to go at them with a full arsenal."

"And you still come back beat up from them… so that's probably a good call." Roll admitted. "Hate to see what you'd have looked like if you tried taking Napalm Man on with only your Buster."

"That… probably wouldn't end well, yeah." Mega winced. "Well, anyways. Hopefully, something I have will work on Centaur Man." He paused for a moment. "I assume Blues took care of the real Knight Man?"

"Yes, he did." Dr. Light nodded, looking over from his workbench. "We saw it on the-" He paused. "Well, never mind that."

"Wait, wait." Mega frowned. "Never mind WHAT? Saw it on the WHAT? Is this something I should know about?"

"Well… we know how you don't like publicity and all that, so we didn't tell you…" Roll looked away. "You remember what Dark Man did in the Fifth with Stone Man? Taped the fight and then broadcasted it on the airwaves?"

"Yeah." The Blue Bomber blinked. "Wait. Has Mr. X been doing that? With ALL of them?"

"Not just the fights… with the entire runs." Dr. Light explained somberly. "The whole thing, from start to finish… and when you get the ones wrong, he shows Blues fighting too. And he adds commentary… the kind I doubt you'd want to hear. Makes Dark Man look like a pro newsie by comparison."

"Not that that's saying much." Mega Man grunted. "So that's why he's been doing those stupid introduction things. I was wondering why he kept those up even after I stopped paying attention to him." He thought for a moment. "Has the UN been raising a stink about it?"

"Not that we've noticed." Roll shrugged. "They yell when they call, but just about the same old stuff."

"Then I don't really see it as a problem." Mega decided. "As long as the stations don't try to get me for an interview or anything. Let Mr. X put whatever he wants on the screen… it won't change the fact that I'll be putting him down, and that's what's really important, isn't it?"

"True enough." Dr. Light nodded. "Well, I'm glad you're not angry about it. You seemed to enjoy using the Power Armor to take some stress out yesterday at Knight Man's."

"It helped." The Blue Bomber admitted. "Sorry I couldn't bring another Circuit Plate back from Knight Man's."

"It happens." Roll sighed. "Unfortunately, it means our chances of bringing Beat back in action by tomorrow aren't looking very good. We've only got six of the Circuit Plates now…"

"Seven, actually." Dr. Light corrected her. "Remember, Mr. X dropped one at the beginning of all this. We have seven of nine."
"Duh… I was completely forgetting that one." Roll hit herself in the forehead with her palm. "All right then… we have seven, and we need the other two. We'll rebuild one of them today, of course… but if you want Beat ready to go tomorrow, not only will you have to bring down the real Centaur Man, but the circuit plate he holds will have to be the last one we haven't rebuilt yet… the chances of that aren't very high. Only 25, to be specific."

"Not good odds…" Mega Man shook his head. "But I'll have to try to get it anyways, and hope for the best. Beat would be a huge help when it comes to taking on X's Fortress, wherever it is… he sure was last time, in the Fifth. But I can't take the chance of just waiting around after I beat Centaur Man… whoever it may be, Wily or X, that madman's clearly unstable. I'll need to go to him as soon as I can… if I have to go without Beat because of that, well, then it sucks to be me and I'll just have to deal with it, I guess."

"You think Mr. X… Wily… whoever… will follow last time's trend and just tell you where his fortress is once you take down Centaur Man?" Roll guessed. "It would fit the way he's been treating this…"

"Either that, or Blues will have found out and he'll tell me." Mega guessed. "He hasn't been spending ALL of his time cleaning up after my mistakes, you know… he's been looking for that fortress too. By now, he's GOT to have something on its location. You know him. Blues will come through… he always does when it comes to these matters."

"Yes indeed…" Dr. Light agreed. "Blues is very dependable, despite his need for wandering."

"Exactly." Mega nodded. "He'll have something… I'd bet my life on it. Until then, though, I'd better be off… Centaur Man needs a beat down, and it's my job to see that it's administered."

"Yeah, yeah." Roll waved a hand at him dismissively. "We know. Be off with you, hero man… and try not to come back COMPLETELY trashed. We'll have the eighth Circuit Plate done by the time you return… and we'll hope that you'll be bringing back the ninth."

"Worth a shot, eh… all right, I'll try to get my hands on it, even if the odds are good that it'll be another repeat." Mega Man shrugged. "Sometimes luck works funny at moments like these, anyways. See you when I get back."

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"Huh… he's had time to decorate this place, I see." Mega Man observed as he looked around the coastline of Greece where Centaur Man had set up shop. "I'm no archaeology buff, but I'm pretty sure there aren't any column pillars in this area… especially not ones made out of purple and yellow metal." Scores of the artificial structures were poking out of the water, serving no visible purpose. "Maybe there's cameras on there… if Mr. X displayed the previous 'rounds' on the TV, there's no way he'll be missing out on this one." As usual, the Blue Bomber ignored the billionaire's pompous opening and set off on his way. A flock of propeller-flying pelican robots were emerging from a cliffside cavern, heading straight towards him. "That looks like a good spot to head for… eh?" Detecting movement above him, Mega Man stared up straight into a falling jellyfish-robot with metal claws. The enemy grasped his head tightly, and Mega struggled to pull it off. "Stupid piece of…" He broke off as he detected heat increasing from the enemy. "Oh, you lousy-" Switching to his Silver Tomahawk, he sliced the claws off and hurled the robot away from him only moments before it self-destructed in a blast of shrapnel. One white-hot chunk of metal struck Mega on the arm, slicing into his armor. "Great. This is a perfect start. Where the heck did that thing come from, anyways? Did it just fall out of the sky, or…" A quick survey of the area explained it-he was near a high pillar, which the jellyfish bomb had apparently jumped off of. "So now I have to watch out for exploding death raining from the heavens. Super." On the plus side, the pelican-robots weren't much trouble for Mega Man as he headed towards the cave, and now that he had the jellyfish spotted he was able to destroy them before they got near as well. Entering the cavern, he saw that the path led straight into a deep pool… one with metal sides. "Sigh… into the briny deep again for me."

Despite what some would think, the Blue Bomber was fully functional underwater; Dr. Light hadn't missed a beat when programming him. Lake water or ocean, Mega Man could walk through either without a problem. That didn't mean he had to LIKE it, though. Grumbling to himself, Mega dropped down into the underwater tunnel. Metal-jawed fish and wall turrets both attacked, but the real annoyance was the beds of deadly spikes that lined various points across both ceiling and floor. Though never placed to make travel totally impossible, they seemed designed to make it as close as it could be. Which, of course, they were. "Still playing games… if they were serious, they would have put them all the way down like in Skull Fortress III." Mega shook his head. "Of course, if that had happened I'd be out of luck, since Rush Marine is out of commission. So I suppose it's just as well that they didn't." Sighing, he reached the end of the tunnel and dropped even further down… and OUT of the water. "What the heck? How did that… what in the…" Even after everything he had seen in previous Rebellions, Mega Man could not help but stare, completely dumbstruck. ABOVE him, defying gravity in a blatant mockery, a mass of water covered the ceiling, slowly rising and falling as more was pumped in and out by machines. "This… this isn't possible. It's some kind of trick… but what trick could pull this off…" He shook his head. "No, got to keep focused. Think about what's important. Maybe they used some technology from that lab Gravity Man was at in the last Rebellion or something… I don't know, and it doesn't matter. What matters is dealing with THIS Rebellion… and that means going on no matter WHAT they throw at me." Pulling out his Rush Jet Armor, Mega blasted across more spike pits to the end of the bizarre tunnel. Beyond the water, a ladder led up. "Hopefully, away from the insanity…"

It was a long climb up, broken only by a halfway room in which Eddie delivered an energy capsule to refill what he had lost to the jellyfish. Unfortunately, things weren't any better when he emerged at the top of the Cliffside he had headed into-the path ahead went past a pool at the bottom of the waterfall, in which robotic submarines lobbed shots at him. Climbing up the ladders at the side of the waterfall, dodging more falling jellyfish the entire time, Mega reached the top again only to find a giant squid-bot launching missiles at him.

"Okay, change of mind." The Blue Bomber growled as he brought it down. "They're going all-out now. This is getting annoying. Well, looks like it was the last one, at least…" Beyond the squid's remains, a ladder dropped down one level to a metal shutter. A second shutter… was set in the cliff wall eight feet above the first, directly across from Mega's current level. Impossible to get to, unless one had Jet Armor. "Hm… looks like one's deliberately more difficult to access than the other. Question is, is that the right one, or is it a trick…" He thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No, he wants me to worry about it… I'll just pick one." Deciding, he equipped the Jet Armor and flew across to the upper door. Stepping through and dropping the armor, he found himself in an open-roofed arena, like many of the others in this Rebellion. Centaur Man was waiting for him.

"You seem to have run into a spot of trouble." He observed, looking over Mega's injuries. The Blue Bomber shrugged.

"Occupational hazard. Fairly routine. I might as well ask before we really get going… got the circuit plate?"

"Hm… this is the first time you've asked one of us that instead of just checking after the fight." Centaur Man smiled knowingly. "Perhaps you wish to know it more now than you did than… perhaps this one is important? Maybe even key? To the timing of something else… no, I don't think I'll be telling you this that easily. Maybe after you beat me, you'll find out. Until then…" Rearing up on his hind legs, the quadrapedal Robot Master struck a dramatic pose and charged, all four legs thundering. Assessing the enemy robot's height, Mega decided against hurdling unless it was truly necessary; instead, he slid out of the way while throwing out a charged shot to start things off. Flinching ever-so-slightly, Centaur Man changed his course, veering to the side in front of Mega Man and pointing his buster arm out. "Say cheese." A bright flash of light blinded the Blue Bomber momentarily, and Centaur Man rushed forward, trampling him. Grunting in pain, Mega Man fell, but still managed to fire a charged shot upward as his enemy passed. Centaur Man grunted, but kept going, then turned to face him again as he rose, raising an eyebrow. "Hm. You're quite tough."

"Same… to you." Mega Man admitted. "Let's try something else… I suppose I should have known the Mega Buster alone wouldn't cut it."

"Indeed you should." Centaur Man agreed, rushing forward again. "How many times has the final Robot Master of a Rebellion been defeated by your Mega Buster alone? None. You should have known that before you even came here, fool!" As he slid away, Mega Man fired a shot of the Flame Cannon, aiming not at Centaur Man himself but right to his side, where he was already turning to intercept again. A pillar of fire rose in front of Centaur Man's face, and he recoiled slightly before charging forward, rushing through it and ignoring the pain as he froze Mega Man in his tracks with another burst of light and crushed him again. "Unfortunately, that alone won't be enough! Even among the most challenging opponents of previous Rebellions, you've never met one quite like me!" Ignoring the flaming counterattack, he again trotted away and turned to look at his opponent. "Well? Anything else?" He blinked as a flying spearhead embedded itself in the wall next to his head.

"Sorry about the aim." Mega Man apologized, standing up again. "The next one won't miss." His words were proved true as a spearhead slammed into Centaur Man's shoulder. Without even pausing a moment, the quadrapedal Robot Master charged once more.

"Another Robot Master would have been knocked back by that." He boasted. "But not I! I'm different from every one you've fought before!" He winced as another spear slammed into him, but continued to bear down on the now-stationary Mega Man. At the last second, the Blue Bomber tensed up and leaped over his head, firing again down onto his back.

"Yeah… you've got some notable differences." Mega Man landed easily behind him. "You're a big target… and because of those four legs, you're not as agile as a normal Robot Master. You can take a hit, I'll admit, but you can't dodge one… rock bottom in that regard. And that design has other weaknesses too… I'll bet you can't even jump without a running start. If I can just dodge you enough times while keeping a constant stream of fire going, you'll run out long before I do."

"Is that so…" Centaur Man turned around and frowned as he switched weapons again. "Well then… perhaps I should get serious. At least you're not changing back to your Mega Buster… that would make this fight more boring. As opposed to, say, MY Scatter Buster…" He fired a plasma shot that soared way over Mega Man's head by several feet. As it struck the opposite wall, however, it shattered into multiple plasma bullets "Let's see you dodge THAT!" Two of the plasma bullets slammed into Mega Man's back, but he continued forward, charging and preparing his own weapon. Another bullet accompanied him as well, flying back over his head at its creator. For a moment, his eyes flickered up.

"Nice modification, but you'll be tasting your own fire that way-HUH?" In the moment his eyes had looked up, Centaur Man had completely vanished. Stunned, he skidded to a halt and looked around, only to be ground underfoot as Centaur Man ran him down from behind. Got to use an E-Tank… how did he… "How did you DO that!" The hero yelled aloud as he slowly rose, draining one of the precious energy canisters to restore himself.

"How? One last gift from my creator." Centaur Man smirked and vanished again, then appeared several feet behind where he had been standing. "Another teleportation device, this one modified like my Buster… short-range, but instantaneous. I never showed that in the tournament, because I was saving it… saving it for YOU." He looked calmly at Mega Man. "Now you know everything I can do… just as I know all YOUR tricks. Let's see if you can find the right one to beat me… only one of them will work, as always. The question is, which one? Do you know?"

"I do." Mega Man replied firmly. "Now that you're out of surprises, I know exactly what will stop you."

"Do you now…" Centaur Man wondered. "Well then… shall we continue the game?" He fired again.

"This isn't a game… it's all too serious." Mega Man retorted, waiting as it approached.

"Wrong. The deaths, the initial chaos… that was real. But everything after that…" Centaur Man coolly stared him down as the shot soared overhead. "You've known it all along. It's been a game… a sham. A joke. It's just the same things as before, repeated to you… you've been through it all already!" The shot burst, and at the exact moment that it did, Mega Man slid, intending to dodge. However, Centaur Man fired again then-not plasma, but a blinding flash that caused the Blue Bomber's slide to veer out of control into one of the plasma bullets. Satisfied, Centaur Man teleported again. "You've known it all along… you're not taking this seriously at all! And that is your downfall when you come up against something that IS new!" Appearing behind his enemy, Centaur Man charged and smirked as he felt his hooves strike home… then gasped in pain as a massive, heavy weight slammed into his side, spikes digging in. Nearly knocked over by the massive blow, he barely managed to keep himself upright on two legs, then teetered back over onto the other two. Quickly clearing his opponent, the quadrapedal Robot Master turned back to stare as Mega Man retracted the heavy chain mace that had left a huge, bleeding dent in his lower body.

"Not quite as big or as heavy as the original, but it looks like it still does the job." Mega Man judged, looking at the wound. "What was that you were going on about? Being different? Looks to me like you're going down… just like every one before you." Centaur Man clenched his teeth.

"You're wrong…" He began teleporting around madly, shifting locations over and over again. "Wrong! The others fell to you because they were all repeats… their forms may have been different, but they were all the same! The overbearing coward, the placid dullard, the battle-mad maniac, the cheery fool, the challenger who wants you personally, the quiet observer, the honorable warrior… you've fought them all dozens of times! You defeated them before, and so you did so again! THAT's why you won, Mega Man… because it's all the same! It never changes! Only I am original!" Without warning, he fired his blinding flash, then charged instantly, not giving him an instant to recover. Even before he hit, however, the Knight Crush swung out, slamming into him, but not in his main body. This time, the brutal chain mace targeted his front legs, snapping them like branches. First one, then the other, failed him. Screaming, Centaur Man toppled in front of his enemy, who was already standing back up.

"It took me a while to figure out how to tell your location by the sound of your hooves, but I did it in the end." Mega Man rose completely, rubbing his eyes with his left hand. "There are some things you can see even while blind… such as your weakness. Like I said, you can take a hit, but you can't dodge one…" The Knight Crush slammed down into Centaur Man's buster hand, completely smashing it. "Which means the slow-but-powerful attack that can punch through even your defenses will hit home. And by the way… just for the record… you're not different either. If we're putting it in terms in personality, like you described your comrades… you're the one who feels some instinctive desire to help me, even though his programming says different. Like Pharaoh Man and Crystal Man before you, you gave me hints even while doing your best to beat me… and like them, you've failed. Game over for you." Slowly, Centaur Man closed his eyes and chuckled.

"You really are something." Opening his one good hand, he revealed a circuit plate. "And you've won this. You chose correctly… I'm the real deal." He tossed it to Mega Man easily, then stared straight at him. "If you're right… if something in me does want to reveal some truth to you… realize this. It's without my current knowledge… I know you are my enemy, and I don't know any hidden truth to impart. Perhaps it's my old self… who I was before my master changed me. Reprogrammed me. That being said…" His eyes narrowed. "Have you figured whatever it is out, then?"

"Yeah." Mega Man nodded, pocketing the circuit plate. "I have."

"Then I have no purpose any more… all my combat capabilities are destroyed by you." Centaur Man closed his eyes. "Finish it." After a moment, he felt the bite of a spiked mace against the side of his head, and then there was no feeling left… and then he stood on a featureless gray plain, surrounded by his brethren who had already fallen, and facing a grinning robot clad in black.

"Pleased to meet you… won't you guess my name?"

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"I assume you all watched what happened on the TV." Mega Man guessed as he teleported back into the lab at his home. The two Doctors were both sitting in front of a workbench with Beat's inert form there as well. "So you know I got a circuit plate… and you rebuilt the eighth one. Now all that's left is to see if this is the last one." He tossed it to Dr. Light, who nervously caught it.

"Please be careful, Rock… we built these things durable, but there's no point in tempting fate. Now, let's see here…" He began examining it, and a broad smile crossed his face. "Then again, it seems fate is looking out for us. We beat the odds, Rock… this is the one. Beat will be back in shape by the time you wake up tomorrow."

"No kidding." Mega Man grinned as well, shaking his head. "Who would have figured… after all that garbage, all those missed Robot Masters and repeat plates… we actually pulled it off. It'll be good to have aerial assistance again. Well then, I'll be sacking out… how do I look?"

"You've seen worse." Dr. Light pronounced after a moment's examination. "Some optics damage, but not as much as Bright Man caused… as for your body…" He frowned. "Had to use an E-Tank, I'll bet."

"Yeah." Mega Man rolled his eyes. "Does it show?"

"The hoof prints are a bit of a tip-off." Dr. Cossack explained with a slight smirk. "In particular, the one right between your eyes."

"Roll'll have a few words on THAT subject, I'll bet…" Mega sighed. "I might as well pass out before she gets around to seeing me. Wake me up if Mr. X starts making a broadcast-"

"Too late, bro." Roll slammed the door open, with Kalinka in tow. "You're right about my having some words for you about that fight, but they can wait. X is on the air right NOW."

"Man, he doesn't wait around." Mega Man growled, hurdling the stair rail. Ignoring his father's protests about parkour inside the house, he glared at the television, where Mr. X was rambling.

"-And with that somewhat puzzling conversation, the eighth contestant left the field." Mr. X shook his head mildly. "I don't quite know what you've figured out, Rock, but it won't help you. As for the rest of you… ladies and gentlemen, I'm sure you're quite relieved to hear that only YOUR contestant remains in the tournament. Correct? If you are… then you are fools, you silly spectators. To those of you who know different, my congratulations on learning from the lessons of the past."

"Here it comes." Roll growled.

"You see, it's really quite simple." Mr. X wagged a finger. "Have past Rebellions ended with the defeats of simple Robot Masters? I think not. No, something else is required… something further. Beyond the Robot Masters… comes the fortress. In past Rebellions, my good friend and scapegoat, Dr. Albert Wily, filled this role in those gloriously gaudy Skull Fortresses of his. Sometimes he even enlisted the help of another to further add to the ranks… his greatest creation, Doc Man, or an innocent Doctor in Russia…" He grinned mockingly. "How are you doing there, Sergei? I hope young miss Kalinka is in… good health?" He chuckled, and Dr. Cossack growled something unrepeatable in Russian. "Back to the main point… In the absence of the good Dr. Wily, and without any such buffers myself… I, of course, must take up the position. It wouldn't be right without an even number of contestants, after all… and so I, the tenth contender, shall clash in the grand finale against the undefeated champion, Mega Man-" Suddenly, the screen began to fritz out, and waves of static poured across it.

"What the heck?" Roll irritably crossed over to it. "Fine time for the thing to crap out on us!"

"Don't kick it!" Dr. Light warned. "That's what you did to the LAST one, and we STILL haven't found all the pieces of it! Besides, it looks like it's clearing up… what is that…"

"That's… not Mr. X!" Kalinka gasped. "It's-"

"We interrupt this broadcast for a VERY special report!" A familiar voice to all of them announced with a sly chuckle. Sunglasses glinted, and a yellow scarf waved, as Proto Man sat behind a massive desk. Next to him, fiddling with a keyboard, was Dr. Trenton Corbun.

"Highly improper of us, I know…" Dr. Corbun admitted, grinning like a sunbeam. "But I'm afraid we just couldn't stand to listen to that blowhard's bragging for even a second longer. Dreadfully impolite."

"For those of you unfortunately not in the know, my name's Blues Light, AKA Proto Man, though not if the cops come calling." Proto Man bowed flamboyantly. "My assistant is Trenton Corbun, world-renowned robotocist and former Gamma Team member. And the two of us, ladies and gentlemen, have hijacked your airwaves right out from under the nose of the man who invented the process, or so he'd like to have us believe. I'd like to see some legal proof, though I doubt it'd be THAT easy to drag him into a court."

"So that's why Trent wanted to know how he did that!" Dr. Cossack snapped his fingers. "Albert told me for my role in the Fourth… it seems he's managed to make an override for it as well!"

"Much as we'd like to gloat about pulling one over on the old buffoon all day and night, we'd just be following in his tracks." Dr. Corbun shook his head mournfully. "Why don't you get to the point then, Blues?"

"Gladly." Proto Man pulled down a wall map, displaying southern Asia. "This, my friends, is the Himalayan Mountain Range. And right here, on this very spot…" He gestured with a wall pointer. "This was the site of the very first Skull Fortress, Skull Fortress I. After the first Robot Rebellion, it was blown of the face of the planet, and good riddance. But it seems some people just can't learn from their mistakes, because hey, guess what. There is NOW yet ANOTHER Fortress built on that very same location, but THIS one's got a big neon X on top! Can anybody possibly guess who that fine piece of real estate belongs to?" He tossed away the wall pointer. "That's right, folks, it's the big bad blowhard himself, Mr. X! I'm sure he was going to announce this himself, because hey, that location can't be a coincidence and he has a weakness for high drama. Unfortunately for him, so do we, and we just couldn't resist stealing the old man's thunder. Let's hope it infuriated him, huh? Now then, bro. I'll meet you at the usual spot at… shall we say noon tomorrow… for the battle plans. Rest assured, ladies and gentlemen, the brothers Light are on the case! That looks like all that needs to be said… cut the connection, doc." The image fizzled and died, and was replaced by Mr. X, completely motionless and looking profoundly offended. Without a word, that broadcast was cut as well, leaving returning to regular programming.

"You know, I think that made listening to all his chatter almost worthwhile." Mega Man chuckled, observing the amused smirks on the faces of the others. "Trust Blues and Doc Corbun to pull something like that."

"What's the usual spot?" Kalinka inquired.

"That means out front… that's where we me and him met before Skull Fortresses III and V." Mega explained. "About a mile away. Tomorrow noon, huh… will I be up and ready in time to make that?"

"If you let us start working now." Dr. Light answered.

"All right, let's get to it then." Mega Man nodded. "Tomorrow noon… that's when we finally start bringing this charade to an end."