Roll slowly looked around. At first glance the construction site looked perfectly normal: the only thing broken was an incomplete building frame that had fallen apart, and all the equipment seemed to be in working order.
"We've detected Guts Man at this location," LaLinde said. "He could be anywhere, so be sure to keep your guard up."
"Are you sure he hasn't left?" Roll asked. "This place looks a lot better than where we found Bomb Man."
"We'll scan again to be sure," Light said.
As she waited, Roll heard something. A shadow moved over her, and she looked up to see a large boulder falling straight towards her; she slid out of the way just in time, and then aimed her buster in the direction it had come from. Standing atop a large mound of rocks on a tall hill was an incredibly large robot with an equally oversized jaw, clad in red, yellow, and black armor, with a distinctive construction helmet build into his head.
"Uh, nevermind," Roll said, "he's here."
"So!" Guts Man yelled down. "I hear you bested Bomb Man! You must be tougher than I realized if that's true!"
"Please, Guts Man! Surrender peacefully, and I'll take you back home to have your programming restored!"
"What? What kind of weak talk is that?! The only way I'm leaving here is if you robot up and make me stop!"
Hefting another rock, Guts Man hurled it with ease and watched as Roll dodged to the side before running forward to get in range. She nimbly evaded each stone he threw at her, charging energy as she closed in, and fired as soon as she was close enough—Guts Man put out his free hand to catch the blast, taking some damage but not missing a beat as he threw the next rock.
"Are puny attacks like that all you've got?" he shouted. "Maybe beating Bomb Man was just a fluke!"
Roll scowled as she dodged. Activating the Variable Weapon System, she equipped the Hyper Bomb data and lobbed one right at Guts Man. It bounced off his chest armor, right into his hand, and he laughed as he threw it back to explode in mid-air between them.
"W…what was that?!" Roll asked.
"Huh, so you took Bomb Man's bombs as your own," Guts Man said. "But it looks like you haven't learned how to time 'em properly!"
Roll grunted and formed another bomb. She held it for a second this time before rearing back, and decided to aim this one at the foot of the pile of rocks. There was still a small delay, but the explosion succeeded in blasting the stones apart, sending Guts Man sprawling momentarily as well.
"Hehe! I'm a fast learner!"
Guts Man sprang to his feet. After shaking his fist for a moment, he turned to a nearby bulldozer and used both hands to lift it over his head.
"Uh-oh…"
Roll ran as fast as she could, grabbing hold of a nearby barrier to steady herself as the bulldozer smashed into the ground not far away. She looked up to see Guts Man approaching, and so she readied another bomb, waiting just a minute before giving it a toss. This one hit the arm of a crane that was parked along Guts Man's path—the explosion pulverized the support to bits, letting the load of girders plummet as the Robot Master passed beneath them.
But that's probably not enough.
As expected, Guts Man pushed off the beams in a matter of seconds. Roll managed to time a Hyper Bomb as he emerged, stunning him momentarily, but as she formed another he picked up one of the girders and threw it like a javelin. Dodging just in time, Roll tossed the bomb she held, but she had waited too long and it exploded before reaching Guts Man. He came charging through the smoke with surprising speed, delivering a punch that sent Roll flying.
"Is that all?!" Guts Man bellowed.
The landing dazed Roll. As her head cleared, she saw yet another rock being flung towards her, and dropped a Hyper Bomb on the ground as she scrambled to her feet. The blast blew apart the rock just as it made contact, giving Roll some cover as she circled the construction site.
"Keep pushing," LaLinde said. "Guts Man's armor is tough, but sustaining a direct Hyper Bomb hit like that should have shaken up his internal components. You're nearly there."
"But don't get reckless!" Light said. "You've taken a lot of damage too—you need to be sure to keep your distance, Roll!"
"It's okay!" Roll said. "I think I know how to finish the fight without getting too close. Just give me a second!"
Guts Man stayed where he was, fists clenched as he looked around for some sign of Roll. She snuck up the nearby hill to the pile of rubble Guts Man had previously used and, quickly as she could without getting spotted, gathered it all up near the edge and set a Hyper Bomb behind the pile. The explosive went off, triggering a rockslide—Guts Man spun around and grinned, walking forward into the oncoming avalanche.
"Nice try!" he shouted, swatting a rock away just as it rolled up to him. "But you'd need something a lot heavier to scare me! Just wait til I…"
He stopped as he knocked aside another boulder to see a Hyper Bomb rolling behind it. Guts Man managed to leap aside and avoid the explosion, but as he landed he saw another bomb in the mix. Another jump carried him clear, but the next time he landed, one of the rocks hit him and threw him off-balance, leaving him completely unprotected as another bomb rolled right up to him. The blast knocked Guts Man on his back, letting another few boulders bounce onto him as they went by. Wearily, Guts Man pulled himself into a sitting position; he could hear his mechanisms creaking, but it only served to make him angrier.
"No way…am I going down!" Guts Man said, hauling himself to his feet. "You hear me, Roll? I won't lose!"
Roll hopped on top of a bulldozer. "I don't care about winning! If you just come home, then you can tell everyone that you beat me. We don't have to keep fighting!"
Guts Man snorted. Grabbing a rock, he said, "I already…told you…"
He lifted it over his head. As he moved to throw it, his arm buckled, and he dropped the boulder with a surprised grunt. Roll formed another bomb.
"Fine," she said as she tossed it.
Guts Man reached out, thinking he could knock the bomb away in time. He was mistaken. Roll jumped down and slowly walked forward, stooping to place her hand on one of Guts Man's broken pieces and download his weapon data. Her clothes turned brown and white once it was processed.
"Where's the next one?" Roll asked.
"Roll," Light said, "perhaps you should come home first."
"I'm okay, Dr. Light. I don't want to waste any time in getting this done."
"Going by our readings, you're in dire need of repairs," LaLinde said. "Not to mention your Hyper Bomb is almost out of ammunition. You won't last another battle."
Roll couldn't think of an argument.
"It won't take long, Roll," Light said. "Please, come home."
After thinking it over a few more seconds, Roll said, "Alright…bring me back."
She took another look back at Guts Man. Then, the world rushed around her as she was teleported to the lab.
It didn't take long for her to find Cut Man: the orange and white robot stood on a boulder in the middle of the wrecked park, twirling his scissor-shaped blade around in one hand as he waited for Roll to arrive. He grinned when he saw her, attaching the weapon to the top of his head.
"There you are!" he shouted. "Dr. Wily said you'd be coming for me! I figure the only way you were able to beat Bomb Man and Guts Man was by surprising them, but you'll have no such luck with me!"
Roll armed her buster. "Please, Cut Man: I'd rather take you home safely! Give up, and we'll have Dr. Light restore your programming right away!"
Cut Man's smile faded. "…Hm. I mean, I guess it would be nice to get back to plain ol' tree-cutting. I'm not really cut out for this 'world domination' business."
Roll looked up sharply. "R…Really?"
"Yeah…yeah!" Cut Man extended his hand. "Forget this. I want to go home."
Smiling, Roll came forward to take his hand. "I'm so glad! After how stubborn the others were, I was worried that you'd all—"
The second she was in range, Cut Man snatched his blade off his head and swung, leaving a gash down the arm of a very confused Roll as she stumbled back.
"W…What…?"
Cut Man laughed. "Wow, you're so gullible! Of course I wouldn't give up so easily! Did you really forget that we've been totally reprogrammed? Guess you're not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed!"
He continued laughing, though his mirth tapered off quickly as Roll just stood there, motionless. When she looked up, she was wearing a scowl that nearly made Cut Man's circuit board freeze up.
"Uh…"
"You jerk!" Roll shouted as she opened fire.
Cut Man was caught off-guard by the sudden volley of shots. He was blasted off the boulder, quickly springing to his feet and taking off. Turning, he threw his blade through the air, but Roll hit it with a blast, robbing it of all momentum and making it drop straight to the ground. There was no time to retrieve it: two Hyper Bombs were flying his way, so Cut Man had to keep running. The blasts detonated right behind him—no shots followed, so he slowed to a halt and waited for the smoke to clear.
"Um, Roll?" he asked.
When he could see her again, she had the Super Arm engaged, using its raw strength to effortlessly lift the boulder he had been perched on over her head.
"Uh-oh!"
Cut Man tried to dodge, but the force behind Roll's throw carried the boulder straight to him faster than he could react. The blow connected, leaving him sprawled out on the ground as Roll stormed towards him.
"That was a dirty trick, Cut Man!" she said. "You should know better than that!"
"Roll," came Dr. Light's voice, "there's another—"
"Honestly! I can't believe you would stoop so low, even reprogrammed! Dr. Light built you better than that!"
"Roll, wait a moment!"
Scrambling back, Cut Man said, "H-Hey, hold on, Roll! It was just a joke! I'm really sorry!"
"Sorry?!" Roll said, hefting the boulder once again.
Cut Man ran as she reared back. Before she could finish her throw, however, a burst of electricity collided with the rock, pulverizing it to dust and knocking Roll back a little. Turning, she saw another Robot Master standing nearby: much of his armor was black and red, but his boots, the rings on his wrists, and his angular mask were all yellow. A lightning bolt design was on his chest plate, and a similarly-shaped protrusion sprouted from the top of his mask.
"Pathetic," he said. "I knew you were going to need help, but I didn't think you'd be losing this badly!"
"Hey," Cut Man said, "I had the situation under control! I didn't ask for your help, Elec Man!"
"Just stay out of my way. It's clear that you don't have the power necessary to overcome our sister here."
"I was trying to warn you," Light said, "we detected another Robot Master closing in! And what's worse, it's Elec Man…"
Roll took a deep breath. "Sorry, doctor: I got a little carried away. I'll try to calm down."
"We're getting you out of there! You aren't prepared to fight two of them at the same time!"
"No, I can do it! This is a chance to pick up the pace—we can't lose it!"
"…We did just restore her," LaLinde said. "There's no better time than now."
Light still hesitated. Roll raised her buster as sparks encircled Elec Man, who said, "If you're done?"
Three bolts of lightning shot from his hand. Roll didn't try to counterattack yet—she focused solely on dodging, quickly learning the openings in her foe's attacks. She knew the reason Dr. Light was so concerned, and though she wouldn't let it stop her, ignoring it altogether would surely prove fatal.
Elec Man is the most advanced design Dr. Light's ever made, she thought as she moved. Speed, durability, power…he's a step above all the others.
She tested a few shots. Elec Man evaded them with little effort, continuing to hurl lightning at her unfettered.
He destroyed that rock, meaning the Super Arm won't be much help. I'm not liking the way the buster's odds are looking, but…
Roll switched to Hyper Bombs, tossing three in rapid succession; Elec Man destroyed them all in mid-air, throwing another attack a second later to keep Roll on the defensive. That was when he finally moved in.
"Not terrible," he said. "But not enough!"
As she tried spawning another bomb, Roll was forced to jump clear of another blast of lightning, the reduced range leaving fewer openings for her to escape through. The delay threw off her timing, forcing her to simply drop the bomb and run to avoid being caught in the explosion. Elec Man raced after her.
Nearby, Cut Man watched the fight unfold, sitting with his arms crossed. "Stupid Elec Man…I totally could've cut down Roll on my own!"
As they moved farther and farther away, he glanced across the battlefield. His blade still lay where it had been shot down.
"…Hm…well, if he gets to cut in, it's only fair I return the favor…"
Roll continued to dodge, but she was rapidly losing space to run. She managed to land a hit with a charge shot, but Elec Man shrugged off the blow, driving her back towards a wall of rubble. He held both hands forward and fired a wide blast of lightning, expecting it to finish Roll. However, she managed to slide forward under the beam, engaging the Super Arm as she did. Just as she was passing Elec Man, she came up onto her feet, instantly dug her heels in, and threw a punch at the side of Elec Man's face, knocking him off his feet.
"Wh—impossible!" Elec Man shouted.
Knowing this might be her only opportunity, Roll tossed two Hyper Bombs as her foe recovered. She shot one, setting them both off in a chain reaction, and then returned to the Super Arm to pick up the nearest piece of rubble and hurl it. Staying low, Roll moved into the edge of the cloud of smoke, quickly preparing another charge shot. Elec Man soon emerged with a furious yell. Roll managed to shoot his leg, but her foe wasn't as badly wounded as she had hoped: he immediately retaliated, just barely missing as Roll retreated.
"Darn it!" Roll said. "I really thought I had him there!"
Electricity flew off of Elec Man in random arcs. "I told you already, Roll! Your power isn't enough to beat mine! Be stubborn if you want, but I'll shut you down one way or another!"
Dancing around bolts again, Roll thought, He's not as precise now. I might be able to get in a shot or two, but it wouldn't help all that much, and I'll just get cornered again. A Hyper Bomb might do more, if I could throw it that far, but…
An idea occurred to her. Waiting until what seemed like the best moment, Roll spawned a Hyper Bomb and waited. Just as it was about ready, she switched to the Super Arm and reared back, readying all of its tremendous strength for one throw. Before she could, something cut her from behind. The blow stunned her to the point that she dropped the bomb, and just as it exploded at her feet, Elec Man hit her dead-on with one of his blasts. As she worked to process the pain she was registering, Roll was vaguely aware of being launched up and back, Cut Man laughing at her, and Elec Man finally ceasing his assault. She landed hard. For a moment, her systems felt entirely out of synch. Light was shouting, but she couldn't make out a single word.
"I told you to stay out of my way!" Elec Man said.
Cut Man shrugged. "Well excuse me! Just thought I'd help you out there, brother."
"Hah! Help from you? Don't be absurd!"
"I dunno, it looked like she got you pretty good a second ago."
"Shut your mouth!"
Roll slowly picked herself up as they argued. Under her breath, she muttered, "Ow…I don't think I can take another hit like that…"
"You have a chance to retreat, Roll!" Light said. "We'll repair you and come up with a new strategy, and then—"
"Thomas, we don't have another strategy!" LaLinde interjected. "She's all we've got!"
"Which is why we can't let her be destroyed! If nothing else, she can live to fight another day!"
"Dr. Light," Roll said, "I'm okay, really. If we let them go, it'll probably just be even harder to stop them next time. I'll find a way to stop them here!"
"You must think of your own safety!" Light said. "Please, come back!"
Her foes finally turned back to her. Light continued to plead with her as she tried to think of a plan. Elec Man said, "I'm surprised you can stand after that. Next time, you won't be so lucky!"
Roll sighed. Reaching towards her helmet, she said, "Sorry, Dr. Light…but I have to focus."
She shut off her communicator as Elec Man readied an attack. Cut Man shoved in front of him, throwing his blade at Roll. She dodged, landing a few shots on both of them as they fumbled, and then ducked as the blade boomeranged back around. Elec Man threw Cut Man back and unleashed another blast. Roll just evaded, not taking the risk of counterattacking; Cut Man's blade appeared between the bolts, slicing through her ribbon as she threw herself on the ground. Elec Man stepped aside as it flew back, shouting at Cut Man. Roll's eyes widened.
That's it! If I can just distract him…
She fired as she circled to one side. Elec Man and Cut Man easily avoided the shots, and more electricity was flying at her before she knew it. Roll slid past it and activated the Hyper Bomb. Just as Cut Man threw his blade, she created one of the explosives, and carefully wove between the incoming attacks as she counted down. The blade turned around, and Roll threw the bomb. It bounced off the ground, up into one of Elec Man's blasts, and exploded just before him, not close enough to cause damage but just enough to make him flinch. When he opened his eyes, he saw Cut Man's blade flying back through the smoke. He screamed as it sliced clean through his shoulder.
"Whoops!" Cut Man said as he caught the weapon. "Eh, guess you gotta be more careful there, huh?"
Clutching his wound, Elec Man spun and glared at Cut Man. "You…imbecile…! I've had enough of you!"
Cut Man staggered back as Elec Man pointed in his direction. Before he even had the chance to run, a powerful blast of lightning punched through his body, tearing him to pieces that fell in a mess on the ground. Elec Man took a deep breath as he turned back towards Roll.
"…Hm?"
She was gone. Elec Man walked forward, surveying the area for any sign of her, but he had no idea where she had disappeared to.
"Are you still out there, Roll?" he called. "Stop hiding! We have unfinished business."
Taking one last look around, he began to wonder if she had actually teleported away. He turned back towards Cut Man's remains with a dissatisfied grunt, just in time to see Roll picking up one of his pieces.
"What?!"
Lightning chased her as she pulled away. She dropped the piece of Cut Man once the data had finished downloading, her outfit turning gray; Elec Man kept up his attack, but it was slower now, giving her more time to maneuver around the area as she took aim. Three replicas of Cut Man's blade shot from her arm cannon, weaving around Elec Man's bolts and forcing him to jump back to avoid being sliced. Roll pressed her advantage, gradually adjusting her angle of approach to guide Elec Man's retreat. It wasn't long before he was driven up against a line of trees.
"No…this is absurd!" he shouted. "Me, losing to you? It's unthinkable!"
Bolts flew out wildly. Roll calmly avoided each one, and then fired another blade. Elec Man dodged and grinned, raising his arm to retaliate, but he never did. The blade clipped a massive branch, causing it to drop on Elec Man and pin him to the ground. Roll fired once more to end the fight.
"That was too close," she sighed.
She came forward and reached for Elec Man's frame, downloading his weapon data and then hesitantly reaching for her communicator.
"Um, Dr. Light…?"
"Oh, thank God you're alright!" Light said. "What were you thinking, Roll?!"
Before she could answer, LaLinde asked, "Roll, what's your status? What about the Robot Masters?"
"I've taken care of it," Roll said. "Cut Man and Elec Man have both been stopped."
"You…you did it?" Light asked.
"Barely. I, um…I think I'm ready to come home now, if that's okay? I really need to recharge before anything else."
"Oh, of course! Of course, just give us a moment, Roll."
The doctors mumbled something as they went to work. Roll found herself a bit nervous to see them, but exhausted as she was, that feeling seemed miles away.
Almost…this whole thing is almost over.
As he watched the end of the fight on his screen, Wily smashed his fist into the control panel. "Confound it! Can't these pathetic robots do anything right?!"
Rolling his chair back, Wily put a hand over his face, gently rubbing his forehead.
"She's a prototype—a lab assistant! With a rush job for armor and weapons! How is it possible that she's been able to beat four of my Robot Masters so quickly? At this rate…"
He gave a frustrated hum as he glared at the ceiling.
"At this rate…perhaps I'll need Plan B after all."
With some reluctance, Wily rolled his chair back over to the console, typing into it to bring up video feeds monitoring the final two Robot Masters.
"Fire Man! Ice Man!" he barked. "Return to base immediately! Your brothers have failed, so this time we will take no chances! With the two of you working together, taking advantage of the many traps I've laid in this facility, there is no conceivable way Roll can escape destruction!"
"Roger that!" Fire Man said. "My flames of justice will burn her to cinders!"
"Hah, like I'll need his help!" Ice Man said. "But if those are your orders, I'm on my way."
As he shut off the screen, Wily snickered to himself. "Neheheh…and if somehow she does survive…I'll be prepared to confront her with something even more cunning!"
Notes:
-Tag-teaming the Robot Masters seemed like the best way to maintain a bit of variety while moving things along. Even with only four rounds to write, I was beginning to run out of steam—I shudder to think how stuck I would've gotten with six or eight. Related, I'm also forgoing the rematches: while a great gameplay device, in purely written form like this, it has a high risk of getting really boring really fast.
-Also as part of that, I feel like I should give a bit of a disclaimer that there's no guarantee your favorite Robot Master will get a lot of screentime/focus. I'm carefully arranging things so that they'll all make an appearance, but I just can't give deep developments to over 100 characters over the course of what would probably be several years. Sorry, but I'm just one guy! (And if you're specifically wondering about Time Man and Oil Man: while they won't be in the story just yet, rest assured I do have plans to include them.)