Chapter 29 - Press Meeting

Goompas let out a deep sigh, turning to face the collage of young and old faces alike of the scientists he had employed for this idea. He interlinked his fingers, setting his hands to the back of his head, staring up at the ceiling for a moment. He let out another sigh, nodding a bit.

"Alright, we can't let this interfere with the plans. Raijouta, you come with me. Everyone else, aside from Malone, Stabler, and Andehshun. You all prep the Wandering Souls. Dr. Silas, you get to work on establishing the teleportation grid. I want it up as quick as possible, I want those Reploids teleported directly into the conference room during my speech. The press will go frantic." He glanced around the room at all the faces.

"Get to work!" He clapped his hands together loudly, nodding to Raijouta.

Cicero slammed his hands down on to the elevator rails as it ascended up the passage. He stepped quickly from the platform, glancing back at it as it made its way back down the long shaft, steaming filtering upward from the notches on the top. He stood before the door, watching as it opened. He stepped through, shaking his head as it closed behind him.

'Why hadn't I ever noticed it before..'

Cicero sighed a little, shaking his head. He made his way down the hallway toward his office, where he would begin to pack his things up and resign from V.P. of the Global Utopia of the People. He averted his gaze to the floor beneath him, rubbing his hands together.

'A utopia with a democratic government.. I always figured Utopia being freedom from powers, and yet.. I'm helping run this establishment. Yeah me. Dammit.. I'm everything I hate. Good thing I'm leaving.'

"Cicero?" A familiar voice called from down the hall.

Cicero looked up and saw that the voice belonged to Sherrie, his and Goompas' secretary. She was holding a stack of papers in one arm, her head tilted to the side. She stared at him as he walked toward in her direction. He was getting uneasy from her constant gaze, because she finally looked down at the bundle of papers in her arms.

"There is a press conference meeting in about ten minutes or so, Cicero. You should probably get some sort of statement ready in case the President wants you to speak."

"What's the conference for?"

"Goompas refused to tell me. He just said that there was going to be a press conference today, said he had something important to tell the world. I thought you might know what he was going to announce."

Cicero's eyes suddenly shot wide open and he slipped past Sherrie and ran down the hallways to his office, Sherrie called his name out after him, but he just continued to run, all the way down the hall, taking a sharp left turn and then a right one, straight into his office.

Cicero breathed heavily, his back placed against the smooth surface of the wooden door to his office. He quickly regained his composure and made his way across the room, opening the slightly hidden side door into the President's chambers. He slid it closed behind him, making sure to latch it shut. He stepped over to the pile of folders just in front of Goompas' desk and began digging through it quickly. He winced a few times, feeling the edges of the folders splitting his hands open with bloodless wounds.

'Folders are NOT paper! How do they give paper cuts!'

Cicero grimaced as he finally extracted the folder from the pile. He winced as he held the folder in his right hand, silently inspecting his fingers and palms, shaking his head lightly. Small little gashes covered almost the entirety of his hands, the fingers were split in-between each other, and also along the knuckles.

'Ow.. Despite this, I have to hurry to the conference room before Goompas.'

Cicero slid the manilla folder underneath his suit, between it and his white dress shirt underneath. He got to his feet and made his way out of Goompas' office. He slipped past Sherrie's desk without her noticing and bolted down the hallway. He stopped in front of the door reading 'Conference Room A' just above the doorframe in glittering golden letters on a black plaque.

Andehshun paid little heed to Goompas' announcement. They had little to nothing to do with his project, so he didn't listen in. Malone and Stabler looked up only once, when the President had said their names, but they returned to work upon hearing that they were to be left alone. Andehshun stood at the right side of the table containing Paragon, while Malone and Stabler were at the end working efficiently on the Reploid's legs.

'I made sure to give you an extensive amount of memory, Paragon. So you should have an almost limitless amount of armors at your fingertips.. Just hope you never have to use any of the more dangerous ones.'

Andehshun tapped the gem set in the center of the helmet, the blue gem glittered brightly

for a brief moment before the glow faded, Paragon's visor sliding down over his half covered face. Andehshun produced a set of six microchips from his lab pocket, inserting one into a tiny slot on the visor's edge.

The chip had the design of a lightning bolt on the front of it. The visor began glowing as the chip was inserted, and data flashed across the visor, before fading away. The chip ejected automatically, and Andehshun quickly replaced it with the next chip, this one had a small fire emblazoned on it. The same thing occurred, as it did with the other four chips as Andehshun inserted them. The last chip finally ejected from the tiny slot, all six were replaced back within Andehshun's right lab pocket.

The welder whined to life, showering sparks all along the floor on the left side of the table. Malone was finishing the attachment of the left leg. As he finished, he passed the welder over to Stabler, who quickly touched it to the right leg, welding it together as well, sending showers over the right side of the table.

"Almost finished?"

Malone glanced over at Andehshun, nodding as Stabler clicked off the welder. The two of them pushed their safety glasses up on to the tops of their heads, setting the welder down on a side table, detaching the tube at the bottom that was supplying it with the gas. The two patted the legs that were now part of the body.

"It's finally done, Andehshun."

"Completely?"

"Of course."

"Finally.."

'Satoshi.. Your greatest invention is coming to life again.. After he was destroyed in 22XX.. Four centuries later, he returns. I only wish you could see the improvements we've made to him.'

Andehshun set his hands down on either side of Paragon's head at the front of the table. Malone and Stabler took a step away from the table, both on either side of it. Andehshun took a long glance at the completed frame of this new Reploid. He gave a curt nod to both Malone and Stabler, both nodded back.

"I want you two to begin the second project."

"Which is?"

"Another reploid."

Andehshun pulled a roll of blue paper from his pocket and handed it over to Stabler, who unrolled them. Malone quickly joined him, both staring at the blueprints with a careful eye. They nodded and Stabler rolled it back up, sticking it into his pocket.

"We'll get started right away, Andehshun."

"Thank you."

Malone and Stabler turn away from the table containing Paragon and step to the one closest to it. They began collecting materials needed for their new assignment. Andehshun watched them for a minute before sighing heavily.

'A double dose of Grathnoc technology.. Hopefully those two can finish your brother quicker than it took us to finish you, Paragon.'

Goompas and Raijouta make their way up the ramp to the elevator. They step inside of it and wait momentarily, the notches rotating down and steam erupted downward, the cool smoke filtering upward around them as the elevator took off, making its way back up the shaft.

"How do you think the public will respond to this, Raijouta?"

"Mass hysteria and panic, sir."

"You're so positive.."

"Your sarcasm isn't amusing."

"Neither is that retarded headgear."

Raijouta's eyes turned to slits as he repositioned the headset. He two earpieces laid flat over his ears, and a small microphone extended from the right earpiece, curving across his jaw and laying an inch out from his mouth. The sound of conversation was coming from the earpieces. Raijouta pulled a small remote from his pocket, holding it out to Goompas.

"You might need this, sir."

"What is it?" Raijouta sighed, "It's to teleport in the Reploids once the grid is finished."

"Ah. You keep it. That's probably what the headgear is for, so you know when to hit the button."

"Of course, sir."

Raijouta replaced the remote into his pocket as the elevator slowed to a halt, steam once again erupting from the notches. The two of them stepped from the elevator platform and slipped out through the door. The notches on the elevator rotated back around and slid back down the hallway, the steam rising up to the shaft ceiling.

Sherrie rubbed the back of right hand into her eyes, yawning loudly. She had been up as long as Goompas had, but unlike him, she hadn't taken a break. She was busy in Cicero's office, placing the massive pile in the center of his room into six piles. The piles were color-coded, which also meant, they were classified according to what section of the government they had to deal with.

'Red for Security.. Blue for Naval Military.. Green for Non-Sea Military.. Black for Confidential things I don't know about.. Yellow for Foreign Affairs.. And Purple for personal.'

Cicero stood calmly in front of the podium within the conference room. The cameras were flashing and he was waiting for a minute before starting. He slid the folder down through the bottom of his suit jacket and placed it lightly in front of him, just in front of the microphone. He flipped it open, the soft movement reverberating through the microphone to the press. They all watched on eager to hear what he had to say. He looked out through the crowd and wet his lips.

"Reploids.."

Sherrie took the six stacks from the floor of Cicero's room and placed them evenly upon his desk. She dusted her hands off and made her way to Goompas' room. She sighed as she saw that his pile was even bigger than Cicero's. She got down on her knees and began sorting through the large pile. After a few minutes, she had the stacks sorted, but there seemed to be some missing. She pushed the stacks up against the front of Goompas' desk and got to her feet, counting the last few ones remaining on his desk. She set her hand to her chin, glancing at his desk.

'There's a folder missing..' Her eyes widened, "Cicero.."

"Activate Grathnoc Combat Unit, Zero-Zero-One. Paragon."

Andehshun voice was slow, but his enthusiasm was easily noticeable. He was activating a Reploid that had been build back in 21XX, and was more modified than his ancestor Satoshi had probably ever imagined. Paragon was more than a combat unit now, he was more like a 'one Reploid army.'

Paragon's systems slowly began to start, each one activating the next set, going down the line. Soon his sensory units activated and the visor over his eyes flashed a bright blue and then dulled down to black, heavily tinted. He worked his fingers slowly, pushing himself up to a sitting position. His breathing was normal, as was his vision, as well as his hearing. He swung his legs off of the table and set them down lightly upon the floor, the two metal clanks of metal on metal contact pulsating through his helmet into his ears. He nodded lightly, working his fingers slowly.

"Hello Paragon."

He turned his head toward the voice, and he saw someone that looked vaguely familiar. He shook his head a little bit, setting his hands on either side of his helmet, shaking it slowly. He couldn't place it, but there was something wrong. He didn't know what it was, but this wasn't right.

'Where the hell am I.. Where's Dr. Grathnoc? And why does this person look so familiar.. I've never met him before in my life..'

"I am Andehshun Grathnoc. A descendant to Satoshi."

'Well, that explains a lot.'

"Can you speak, Paragon?"

'Of course I can speak.. Can't I?' "Hello.. Andehshun."

"Ah. The voice modulator is working well. This is good news. You're a success, but I want you to try something. Satoshi hadn't given you this function when he first designed you. This is a new aspect. Activate file ElecA.exe."

'ElecA.exe? What the hell is he ta-.. Hey wait, there is such a file.'

Paragon's body shimmered with a yellow glow, the existing armor around him morphing and melding. As the glow faded away, Paragon's form looked more like that of Wily's Robot Master, Elec Man. One of the Sinister Six. Andehshun stepped over to a large computer and typed upon the keyboard, soon a status sheet of the Sinister Six appeared up on the screen. Paragon stared at it for a moment and then looked to Andehshun.

"The Schematic Analyzer, which was designed by Satoshi, but was never finished, is capable of allowing you access to all ranges of battle armor. The one you are currently in was inspired by-"

"Elec Man."

"Exactly. And the other five files currently in your memory are of the rest of the Sinister Six. You can collect armors with your visor, but the target can't be mobile. Which means, you only have four ways of acquiring new armors."

"Only four?"

"Technically five. One, scanning schematics. The simplest way, of course. You can do it through just accessing the schematics manually, or downloading it into your visor through a chip, which is how I did it. The second way is through scanning the Reploid manually, but they can't be moving. This is where three of the ways come in. They can't be in motion."

"What do you mean?"

"They have to either be deactivated, dead, or recharging. And also, they have to be all there. If any piece of their armor is missing, then you won't be able to acquire armor from them."

"What's the fifth way then?"

"I said, technically. We don't know for sure if it works or not. But I believe, you are also able to scan a Reploid while they are not moving, but still active. We aren't for sure on this one."

'Once again, I am a prototype..'

Andehshun noted that Paragon didn't seem at all comfortable with this situation. He sighed lightly, walking over to stand in front of Paragon's silent form.

"I would like to see if all six of the armors are working efficiently. Can you please rotate between them?"

"If it's necessary."

"It is."

"Mm.."

Paragon took a step back and his form shimmered with a red glow, his body seeming to get slightly taller. Flames erupted from the top of his helmet and his hands morphed into twin busters. He stood before Andehshun, the light gleaming off the red chest plate.

"The more you undergo the process, the quicker the change will become. Soon you'll be able to change without even thinking about it."

"Continue?"

"Of course."

Paragon's Fire Armor shifted away, his body glowing in a light blue hue. As the glow faded, the red had been replaced with a soft blue. The flame that had sprouted from the top of his head had vanished was replaced with a metal hood. The rubber suit had changed from Fire Man's dark grey to a very light grey, almost white.

'According to my systems, my attacks are almost ten times more powerful than that of the original Robot Masters.'

He noticed that Andehshun was still staring at him, waiting for the next armor. He accessed the next armor file and waited. His body glowed a dark orange color and his form bulked up. The blue hood morphed into a simple Metool hat. His shoulders and gauntlets jutted out, their size increasing. A gem appeared on his chest, twinkling lightly as the glow faded.

'Guts Armor.'

"Magnificent, and the final one."

'Bomb Armor.'

Paragon activated the last file, his body glowing again in an orange hue, this one lighter than the Guts Armor glow. The Metool hat changed form and morphed into a small metal mohawk in the middle of his head. The bulky shoulders changed into smaller shoulder pads, attached to the chest plate. The gauntlets faded away entirely, his hands fitted with orange gloves. The glow faded away, Andehshun nodding in satisfaction.

"Excellent. The program works efficiently. I just hope you're able to get used to it."

'Don't worry about that..'

"Paragon, I would like for you to go over there with those five other Reploids and wait. They are going to be teleported up to a conference room in a few minutes, I would like for you to accompany them."

"Of course."

A white glow enveloped Paragon's body as he made his way toward the other five Reploids on the other side of the room. As he passed by Andehshun, the glow faded away and Paragon was back in his normal armor.

Goompas entered into the press conference room, staring silently at Cicero who was standing behind the podium with a folder open in front of him. He cringed as the press yelled out his name and began taking pictures of him. Raijouta pushed the door open made his way up on to the stand, standing to the side and behind of Cicero. Goompas followed and stood beside Raijouta, letting Cicero finish whatever he had been saying.

"I can't tell you exactly what the President is planning on doing, for I am not him. But I can tell you one thing. I do not agree with the things he has decided to do, and knew nothing of this entire operation until yesterday, whereupon I found this folder on the podium before me. Thank you."

The press went wild as Cicero closed the folder and slapped it against Goompas' chest, who took it. Goompas stepped toward the microphone as Cicero exited the conference room, slamming the door shut behind him.

"I have a question before you being, Mr. President."

"What is it?"

"Did you know that your Vice-President, Cicero, is planning on resigning?"

"News to me.." 'Dammit Cicero.. I need you in office with me.'

"Alright."

"Okay.. You all know about the Reploid Program, I'm sure Cicero explained it in detail to you before my interruption. This is a necessity. The Global Utopia of the People needs this. You've all read the news broadcasts about the character 'Robert Sebastian' rumored to be creating Maverick Reploids. It's true."

"What!"

"But he's an esteemed scientist!"

"Yes, yes. All true. There have been attacks on New New York, although they are in remote areas, they are still attacks. No attacks have yet to have been reported here, but it is only a matter of time. We need something to be able to combat this. And through researching the past, we have come to understand that the only thing capable of destroying a Reploid is another Reploid. We have created a group called the 'Wandering Souls.' A group of five Reploids, all esteemed during their eras, that we believe will be able to combat this threat. Also, another esteemed scientist, Dr. Andehshun Grathnoc, has created a Reploid capable of being an army in itself."

"Amazing.."

"I said the same thing myse-"

"Sir, they're ready."

"Send them in right away, Raijouta."

The crowd stood silent as six beams of energy lit up the side of the room, each one landing and exploding harmlessly upward. Six forms appeared from the energy beams, standing silent as they appeared.

"Welcome the Wandering Souls. Dynamo, Forte, Storm Eagle, Flame Stag, and Slash Beast. As well as Paragon, the one Reploid army."

The crowed exploded into questions, all of which Goompas shunned away as he silenced the crowd by waving his hands back and forth quickly. Raijouta stood behind him, shaking his head a little, smiling to himself as the roar of the press was dulled by his headphones.

"People, people. I know you all have questions, but we don't have time for them. I have to get these six Reploids prepped for their debut appearance when the first Maverick attack is reported."

"One question, please Mr. President."

"Okay, just one."

"We all want to know.. Why did you pick ex-Mavericks for this unit?"

"They only went Maverick when Sigma was around. Their systems have been purged of all traces of the virus. Storm, Flame, and Slash are all free of Sigma's control. There will be no mess ups this time around."

"Thank you, sir."

"Raijouta, if you would."

"Of course." Raijouta tapped the remote once more, all six of the Reploids quickly zooming from the room as energy beams once more.

Goompas waved to the crowd and exited the room, with Raijouta following along behind him. He stood just outside the door, hearing the press inside the room asking each other questions, trying to figure out just what exactly is going on.

'This should be one hell of a party I've got myself involved with.. But this party is going to suck.'