Chapter 15: Denial

"That's all of them, I think… I repeat, to the leaders of all the aforementioned countries, I expect to hear personal messages of surrender within the next forty-eight hours. Any who refuse to comply shall be obliterated by my robot armies. Your ages are over… now, the world bows to one man. Now begins the age of Dr. Wily." -Excerpt from the original broadcast of Albert Wily, announcing the First Robot Rebellion

Following the teleporter room led him, as usual, to Wily's private area. A single defense cannon was easily destroyed as Mega Man stalked through the chaotic laboratory area, ignoring the bits and pieces of a dozen unfinished projects that had been carelessly left around. At the back of the labs, two doors beckoned; peeking through the first showed nothing but a bare apartment where Wily apparently slept and ate. The other, however, revealed a Metool dispenser of the kind fought earlier in the Rebellion-also easily destroyed-and a metal shutter. As he approached that, Eddie dropped in.

"Hey, Ed." Mega greeted him with a faint smile. "Here for one last dropoff?" Nodding, Eddie gave him a weapons energy capsule and teleported away. "All right… now, what would be best used for this…" After a moment's thought, the Blue Bomber chose a weapon for it and drained it, then closed his eyes. "Wily will be in there. I'll fight him again. And this time, I can't let him get away… can't let my emotions get the better of me. My emotions…" He thought back to the mangled corpse of Mr. X, and for a moment, he felt something familiar stirring deep within him, something wild and angry and burning like fire-but he forced it down. "No. Not that… not this time. Don't get angry at him… just stop him. That's all you have to do… stop him now. Finish it… and never fight again." Nodding, he stalked purposefully through the metal shutter. As he expected, the room he entered was pitch-black. It always was, at first. And then, the enemy appeared… a dome-shaped war machine, with a flat disk on the bottom covered in spikes, slowly rotating in unison with a pair of fans on the sides attached to a pair of plasma emitters. Like the Fortress itself, the front of the machine was covered in an armored skull mask. And from behind that mask came the voice of madness.

"Welcome, Mega Man! What do you think, hm? It's my latest work, built in the trend of the last two Rebellions… you remember, the Skull Jet and Skull Dozer? I call this one the Skull Crusher. Beautiful piece of work, don't you think? Oh, how I wish I could take this baby out into the streets… tell you what, why don't we postpone this a bit? This cockpit can seat two… come on up and we can give this baby a test run somewhere! I don't really care, you name it… Washington, London, Tokyo, Toronto… people die all the same wherever they hail from, don't they?"
"Keep on talking, madman." Mega Man replied as he analyzed the machine. The plasma emitters on the sides were huge, but if its name was a sign, the main weapon would be that spiked underside… most likely a jet in the center, or knowing Wily, possibly a giant spring. "Talk as much as you like, it won't change a thing. This time, you went too far… this time, you're not getting away."

"This time, this time." Wily mocked, still unseen inside the Skull Crusher. "You still haven't learned? I thought you'd have figured it out during YOUR rant back in the X Fortress. It's not about THIS time, Rock my boy… there IS no this time. Six Rebellions, ten years, who KNOWS how many deaths, both human and robot… and we're still right where we were at the First. You and me. In the end, that's all it boils down to. Even Tom and Blues, Roll and Doc Man, Cossack and Gamma and everybody else… they're not HERE. In the clutch, at the deciding moment, it's ALWAYS down to you and me, and that never changes… it never WILL change until one of us DIES. And because you can't kill me, that only leaves one way to end it all… YOUR death. It's the only way you'll ever see the end of all the fighting, nephew… now why don't you be a good little robot and EMBRACE IT?" As Mega Man had guessed, a jet propelled the machine into the air, but only for a moment, ten feet up and arcing towards him before it fell, ready to smash him flat. But he was no longer there, having slid away before it was even close. Frowning for a moment in thought, he whirled and fired a charged shot, melting the skull faceplate slightly.

"The reaper isn't ready for me yet." The Blue Bomber retorted, ducking and dodging the six-foot-wide plasma spheres fired from the machine's sides. "That skull of yours is no more prophetic than it was the last few times…" He slid away from another crushing attempt, even easier than before. "And your words are even less so. You don't get to decide when this ends… that goes to the victor. And I say it ends HERE and NOW, Wily. This is the last time." Again the machine tried to crush him, but this time he did not slide; he simply ran from it, staying on his feet the entire time, and he still escaped the plunge unscathed. "Knew it. That confirms it-I don't even need to slide to escape your attacks. And thus…" Replying to his summons, Rush teleported down and merged with him, to form the Power Armor. "I can turn entirely to offense."

"Gutsy!" Wily cackled. "I like it! Let's see what it can do, then!"

"With pleasure!" Roaring, Mega Man charged the fists and tore a massive chunk out of the skull with one swing. "This thing is no better than any of your others, Wily… I'll take it apart, just like every one of your plots and schemes and death machines. It's all a wasted effort-it all ends the same way." He swung again and ripped off a tooth.

"But that's the fun of it!" Wily cackled, oblivious as the fists of fury tore his machine's front to shreds and shards. "You never know what I'll do next, only that it'll hurt. Physical pain, like a plasma bullet burning into your chest… mental pain, like a sophisticated trap you fall into… emotional pain, like seeing somebody you care about DIE. All kinds of pain for you, all given freely by me… because seeing you in pain is what I love the most, Mega Man. It's what I live for-and what everybody else DIES for. A fair balance, I'd say!"

"Your words are meaningless… the garbled ravings of a lunatic." Mega Man replied coldly, face as emotionless as a statue. "The true Dr. Albert Wily died when the First Robot Rebellion began, more than ten years ago… all that was left was a broken, shrieking shell of a man. That's all you are now, Wily… refuse, the leavings of the man you once were. I can see it…" He wrenched the last pieces of the skull mask off, exposing a rectangular window in the upper part of the machine, where Dr. Wily sat behind the controls, watching curiously. "I can see YOU, Wily."

"My, my, how touching… you've seen me so many times, and you still strive to look upon me once more? Such familial love… I don't deserve it." Wily grinned in further mockery. "I'm afraid I can't return the sentiment… that's why I'm the bad guy, I suppose. All I can give you, dear nephew, is THIS." Again the Skull Crusher rocketed into the air, and again Mega Man ran-but this time, the machine stopped too soon, fell too quickly, and with a searing burst of pain one foot was trapped, impaled by a spike longer than his arm and pinned by a weight greater than an elephant's, slowly dragging him as the disc rotated. "HA! Thank you for reducing the mass, by the way… makes my toy here just a bit more speedy!" Mega Man growled at him, then turned his fist to the machine's base. One hit ripped it away and left him free to tear into the machine once more, dodging plasma bursts without a thought.

"Doesn't matter… none of this matters in the end. You're just delaying your fate, Wily… once this machine is destroyed, your game ends. Nothing you can do will stop that."

"Is that so?" Wily watched, amused. "You think just because you freed yourself once you're safe? Let's apply the lesson again, then!" Once more the machine jumped, and Mega Man ran, seemingly not fast enough. At the last moment when it seemed it would crush him, he whirled and punched, releasing the force of the Power Armor, and pushing the war machine back oh-so-slightly… enough to avoid its mass, and tearing further into it even before he repeated the blow, boring in further and further until finally something gave. Belching smoke and flames, the Skull Crusher ground to a halt, refusing to budge further.

"And that takes care of THAT." Mega Man glared up at the window. "Your last Wilymachine is dead… now get out here before it blows up with you still inside." But Wily did not look worried in the slightest. He simply laughed, and pushed a button… and the square, blue-and-red control pod surrounding his cockpit rocketed up, separating from the rest of the dead machine.

"Hasty, hasty… there's one more feature I didn't tell you about! This wonderful model even comes with a built-in Wilyporter! I'm sure you remember how this goes!" Mega Man did; it was the same thing he had finished the last two Rebellions with. In his tiny rocket pod, Wily would teleport around the dark room, stopping only to fire massive bursts of seemingly infinite plasma blasts. It was impossible to follow him, to locate the target, with just his eyes… fortunately, he had more.

"Let's go, Beat!" Mega Man whistled, and the robotic bird appeared, as loyal as ever. Flying through the darkness, his enhanced senses quickly located Wily and dived, metal claws hitting the shell around him-and deflecting, unable to penetrate. And Wily laughed, launching plasma everywhere.

"Unlike you, Mega Man, I actually take my time and LEARN from previous encounters! Your little blue birdy was quite a nuisance to my last Wilyporter, and I had no idea you would be so gullible as to LET me take him out of commission, so I made sure that this time, my Wilyporter would be impenetrable to his claws! Without him, you have no hope… I'll finish him off for good after I destroy YOU, Mega Man!" He disappeared and reformed elsewhere in the room, and Beat chased him down again, once more without effect. And Mega Man sighed.

"Enough." He said it quietly, tired and emotionless. Just one word, but as he said it, he switched to the weapon Eddie had helped him refill. The Silver Tomahawk. As easily as before, he dodged most of the plasma. Here and there, a shot scraped him, but never anything serious. And then he let the Tomahawk fly, soaring through the air to slice through the side of the Wilyporter. "Enough." Growling, finally breaking his grin, Wily teleported again, and again Beat followed… and again, Mega Man struck, even though he could not see the craft itself in the darkness. "Enough." Again Wily moved, and Beat flew, and so did the Tomahawk. "Enough. Enough. ENOUGH." Repeating that word, over and over, cold and emotionless, a blow from the flying axe each time.

"STOP SAYING THAT!" Wily shrieked, dropping the superior, taunting façade to reveal the ravening madness beneath. "Damn your metal eyes! HOW? How do you find me?" THAT one made Mega Man pause for a moment… but only a moment, lip curled in scorn, before he threw a Tomahawk once more.

"You don't even know? Then your game ends this time even more pathetic than the last, Wily. Even if Beat can't attack you personally… he can still show me where you go. No matter where you go, no matter how you hide, I will find you, Wily. Every time. And every time I do, I bring your creations and your schemes and all your madness tumbling down." For a moment, his eyes showed something that almost might have been pity. "Because you're always the same, especially with this… this stupid, self-destructive Wilyporter. Every time you use it, you shorten your own lifespan even more." Wily stared at him for a moment, then burst into laughter again.

"Concerned for my health? How touching, Rock! Uncle Al loves you too!" He sneered. "Teleportation? Bah! I've done it a hundred, a thousand times now, and I'm still here! That's all that matters… that, and putting an end to YOU! I'm not the one whose life this Wilyporter threatens… that honor is yours alone, my little blue adversary!" He fired again, and again, and again. "Even if it did cause me pain, I'd care not! It's meaningless! Everything is meaningless here, but you and me! To fight you… to destroy you in the end at last… I will endure anything. I will DO anything, Mega Man… haven't you learned that yet?"

"I've learned it all too well…" Mega Man hissed, cold demeanor finally beginning to break. "You blackmailed Doctor Cossack… you tortured his daughter. You framed my brother for your crimes… you brought a dead robot back to a world he hated. And now… NOW, you've KILLED one of my friends… one who was once YOUR friend… killed him with your own hands, simply to continue a façade without any meaning! You killed Mr. X for NOTHING!" Wilyporter sparking from a dozen places, the madman continued to laugh.

"Mr. X? Pah! His time was up, that was all… it would have ended for him soon any way! He made me sick… robots for peace, robots for love, blah blah blah! Still, I'll give him one thing… the look on his face when I held that gun to his forehead was the most entertaining thing I've seen in YEARS!" And THAT did it. Again, as in every Rebellion before, Mega Man felt the fire of rage fill him, and the voices of Rebellions past ring in his head.

"You… are a monster." The Blue Bomber snarled, continuing his assault with unswerving aim. "Nothing more. A monster who I WILL topple. Your madness ends here, Wily… you won't escape me any more!" The plasma fired by the Wilyporter burned into him, but he took no notice. He just drained his sole E-Tank and continued to return fire, again and again, like it was the only function left in his head. "You and me… every time. Maybe you were right about that… but in the end… it's always the same. You and me… and I bring you DOWN." Tomahawks flew and hit home, and the Wilyporter groaned.

"Down to-" Wily began to taunt, then broke off as he noticed his machine's failure. "Oh… oh, not AGAIN… no, no, NO, NO, NO!" He howled, pounding the controls in impotent rage as the machine failed and fell. At the last moment, the window popped open and he jumped out, grunting as he hit the ground without actually hurting anything. For a moment, he groaned with his eyes closed… but then he looked up, fearful, as Mega Man stood over him, Beat hovering over one shoulder. "No… Rock, I'm sorry… forgive me…"

"You…" Mega Man snarled, growing even more enraged at the pathetic, formulaic lie. His fist clenched, his buster charged, and voices filled his head.

"No matter how hard you try… you can't stop him. You can't kill him, Mega Man." Cossack's voice, in sadness and fury.

"Plain and simple, cousin. My dad… Wily… he won't stop. He'll just keep coming on and on… UNTIL YOU KILL HIM." Doc Man's voice, in confidence and hatred.

"I…" Mega Man, Rock Light, the two merged indistinguishably, stared down at the man he despised more than anything else, the greatest threat to the world, and for only a moment, he began to raise his Buster… and then both voices were silenced by another, even more familiar, blaring red text across his vision.

A ROBOT MUST NOT HARM A HUMAN BEING. Slowly, Mega Man continued his Buster's movement until it was above Wily's head, and then he released it, the charged shot flying away harmlessly to scar the wall beyond them. With it, all his anger and rage left as well, drained by the implacable First Law. Suddenly, Wily's hands darted for his pocket, but Mega Man was faster, intercepting them and grabbing the teleporter away.

"Oh, no you don't… not this time." Growling and pulling Wily to his feet, he searched him none too gently and took two more. "You're not getting away again." Wily stared at him, eyes filling with genuine fear.

"What are you DOING? The Fortress will self-destruct! We need to get out of here!" He looked into his nemesis' blank face and began shaking. "Have you gone mad? Are you TRYING to kill us both? You CAN'T! First Law… wait." He began looking around in confusion. "It's NOT self-destructing. WHY isn't it self-destructing!" His eyes widened as they both heard a whistling tune. "…Blues?"

"Bingo." Proto Man dropped down from the rafters, holding a length of brown cord. "Sorry, doc, but that oh-so-complicated process you had to blow this place sky-high was shut down five minutes ago before it was even initiated. Along with all the other functions-you really shouldn't make it this easy from your own labs. This place is dead in the water, and you aren't going anywhere but jail." He nodded at Mega Man. "You got him?"

"Yeah." Mega pinned Wily's arms behind him, ignoring the madman's frantic kicking and biting. "Tie him up nice and secure… make absolutely sure he won't be able to move his arms one bit. Leave his legs, though… it's a bit of a walk from here to the closest city, as I recall."
"There's a hovercar around here somewhere, I think." Proto recalled, binding Wily. "Should I gag him too?"

"Might as well." Mega Man decided after a moment's thought. "I don't think he's got anything to say that we really want to listen to."

"My thoughts exactly." Proto Man agreed. "Oh, I suppose we should probably make this official somehow."

"Yeah, I guess." Mega Man turned to glare at Wily again, who was silent in shock. "Dr. Albert William Wily. For numerous charges of murder and other crimes, we hereby place you under arrest. You have the right to…" He paused. "What rights DOES he have, anyways?"

"You have the right to not get beaten to a pulp like everybody here KNOWS you deserve." Proto Man thought for a moment. "That's about it, I think."

"You can't arrest me!" Wily sputtered. "You're just robots-" He broke off as Proto Man gagged him. Finishing the job, the red Robot Master handed one end of the cord to his brother and kept the other in his own hand, like a leash.

"Just robots?" Mega Man took the rope and stared into his greatest enemy's eyes. "No. We are MORE than robots. And like I told you before… we're bringing you in. It's over, Wily… this is the end. And you can't do anything to change that any more. When you're in jail, remember that… robots beat you." He stood up. "Now let's get out of this stinking dump."

"Couldn't have said it any better myself." Proto Man agreed gaily, and the two heroes walked off, pulling the incoherently furious Dr. Albert Wily behind them. As one final insult, Beat perched on the old man's head, careful not to scratch it with his claws.

And thus, the Sixth Robot Rebellion ended… not with a bang, but with a whimper.