Chapter 14: Whatever It Takes
(Issue #16)
"Those...those madmen!" Xander noted in horror. "They actually did it. They blew up the hall with their own men inside!"
"And think about all the innocents who may still be there," Theo added.
"D-daddy," Roller Brawl cried as she thought about Dr. Light's condition. Simone recognized the sadness in her eyes, and proceeded to give her a hug.
"It's okay, kid," Simone said gently. "It's okay to cry."
"No," Roller Brawl replied. "I have to be strong. That last bomb may have caved in the lecture hall, but there may still be hope yet! I'm not saying they're dead unless I see it with my own two eyes!"
"That's a pretty optimistic view, kid," Blues noted. "But it won't mean much if we don't have a plan of action."
"Then it's good that I have one," Mega Man answered. "Me, Rush, Pharaoh Man, Quake Woman, Quick Man, and Theo will see if we can dig the doctors out."
"You got it, Mega Man!" Pharaoh Man agreed as he gave a salute.
"Elec Man, Pulse Man, Simone! You see if there's anyone else who needs to be evacuated within the rest of the rubble!" Mega Man continued.
"As you wish!" Elec Man nodded.
"Roller Brawl, Nocturne, Blues, and Xander, make sure no more Onyx Axes come after us in the mean time!" Mega Man finished.
"You got it bro!" Roller Brawl replied as she fist bumped Mega Man.
"Don't worry about that, Mega Man! Lord Obsidian betrayed me, so I'm definitely itching for some pay back of my own!" Xander noted as he cracked his knuckles.
"Excellent!" Mega Man smiled as he Pulse Man and the others prepared to go. "Good luck everyone!"
"Pulse Man, wait!" Roller Brawl quickly interjected before they could leave. "If I'm going to fight, I'll need some protection. May I have your Pulse Stopper?"
"Knock yourself out!" Pulse Man answered as he let Roller Brawl copy the Pulse Stopper.
"Thanks!" Roller Brawl said. "Now! Let's Roll, everyone!"
As Mega Man and the others made their way to the rubble, Mega Man continued to explain what his plan was. "Quick Man, if we find the doctors, we're going to need someone to get them out as fast as possible, and your Quick Boomerangs should be able to take care of any rubble that pins them down. Understood?"
"Clear as day, Blue Bro!" Quick Man answered.
"Quake Woman, you're able to drill through stuff right," Mega Man made sure to confirm.
"Yes. I was made for geological exploration and stabilization," Quake Woman confirmed.
"Good. Then I'm going to need your Quake Drill to get the job done! We're going to dig through this rubble!" Mega Man revealed as he copied the schematics.
"But," Quake Woman factually stated. "It is most likely that the doctors are dead."
"There's always hope! Pharaoh Man, you're built to explore dangerous tombs, right?" Mega Man stated. "You and Rush help us guide us to the doctors and get them out!"
"Yes!" Pharaoh Man agreed. "We must hurry to Dr. Cossack, for Kalinka's sake if nothing else!"
"Theo, can you be a look out? We'll be occupied trying to get the doctors out, so can you make sure we don't get ambushed by any remaining Onyx Axes?" Mega Man asked.
"I understand," Theo acknowledged. "I'll do my best to protect you bots!"
"Alright, let's get moving!" Mega Man ordered as he and Quake Woman began to drill through the rubble.
"Hey! Robots! Humans! Follow my voice!" Simone called out. "If you're stuck, let us know so we can get you out!"
"You heard her!" Elec Man agreed. "We can't help you if we can't hear you!"
"Those bastard bots are over there!" An Onyx Axe screamed as he ran towards them gun in hand. However, it didn't take long for Simone to quickly disarm and knock him out.
"Thank you, Simone," Elec Man said gratefully.
"I promise all of you!" Pulse Man continued. "We're here to help you!"
"One more thing! If there are any functional robots, help get any humans you can find out to safety!" Elec Man concluded. At this, some damaged robots began to move out and began to pick up some of the wounded. Simone looked at the injured, and was horrified to see children among them.
"What have we done?" She could ask, her voice heavy with regret.
Grumbling, Lord Obsidian coughed before managing to dust himself of some of the rubble. "Accursed robots. They've ruined everything! If it hadn't been for them, I'd-!"
"Lord Obsidian!" He heard Suna call out. "What happened? Thanks to you, a lot of our men have been badly injured, and I get the feeling we won't have long before we have to get out!"
"No matter, Suna," Lord Obsidian grumbled. "You can drop the act. There's no one but us around here now, isn't there?"
"You're right," Suna noted. "Sergeant Night."
"But I know one thing," Sergeant Night continued as he clenched his fists. "Those robots ruined everything. When I get my hands on them, I'll keep them captive until I get their precious scientists! Then I'll tear them apart one by one as their doctors are forced to watch their precious children die in front of them!"
"Sergeant Night, sir," Suna interjected. "With all due respect, maybe save the violent revenge fantasy for later, once we get out of here?"
"I...yes," Sergeant Night acknowledged. "Perhaps it's for the better that we get outta here right now. Make sure we don't get caught in the process."
"HEY! Lame Obsidian!" His ears picked up. "Too chicken to face us so you decide to blow us to bits instead of facing us like a man? You're really not a leader at all!"
"That's...the cyborg!" Sergeant Night realized as his temper grew ever shorter. "She's one of those responsible for this mess! Come on, Suna! We can at least take care of one of those pests!"
"I...fine," Suna sighed. "Let's get this over with." With that, she followed her leader's furious footsteps to the source of his anger.
"YOU!" Sergeant Night pointed to Roller Brawl.
"Yes," Roller Brawl did a spin and a mock bow. "ME!"
"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Sergeant Night screamed.
"I think I do," Roller Brawl shrugged her shoulders. "Saved a bunch of innocent lives, kicked the butts of several bad guys, just like I normally do!"
"No!" Sergeant Night retorted. "You have done nothing but be an obstacle to mankind's salvation!"
"Is it time yet?" Xander asked as he saw Blues keep an eye on Roller Brawl.
"No, we need to wait for the fight to stop before we can jump in," Blues explained.
"I dunno what dictionary you use, but salvation usually doesn't mean blowing up a bunch of innocent people and threatening them at gunpoint," Roller Brawl countered.
"Mankind won't thank me today, but they will when they're safe from the mechanical menace you and your abominable ilk represent, you traitor!" Sergeant Night ranted.
"Okay, I could understand why you see Xander, Theo, and Simone as traitors, but why me?" Roller Brawl asked.
"Because you rejected your flesh for metal, and that's what a traitor would do!" Sergeant Night raved. "Mankind ill needs a turncoat such as you!"
"Oh, so you think a girl shouldn't become a cyborg if there's no other way to save their life, eh?" Roller Brawl retorted. "But I'm through talking! Have at you!"
"With pleasure!" Sergeant Night smirked as he heard Roller Brawl ready for combat.
Back at the Lanfront Ruins, Dr. Wily was preparing the last bits of programming into the mechanical apparatus he'd put Spyro's brain in. Looking at it, it certainly held quite a few similarities to the dragon himself. His spiky hair was a fiery orange, and his eyes, currently closed, were a deep red. Large wings capable of granting flight were attached to his back alongside a prehensile tail, and for the most part, it resembled Mega Man and Roller Brawl's designs, albeit with dragon claws on his toes and hands, and his color scheme was purple and orange. His buster cannon would be similarly themed after a dragon. To complete the ensemble, his helmet consisted of a wavy mohawk like his own crest, and two horns grew out of the sides of the helmet.
"Ra Moon! Start the procedure in 15 minutes!" Dr. Wily ordered.
"As you wish," Ra Moon said dutifully.
Any sense of anticipation was replaced with shock when a strange beam of light burst through the roof and reached the ground. In the light's place was a figure Dr. Wily had never seen before. This was a living skeleton, but with several pieces of golden equipment on it. His left eye was gold with a red pupil while his right eye was a normal eye with a black pupil. His attire consisted of a golden chestplate with a purple cape flowing from the top, golden shoulder pads, golden boots, golden bracers, and purple gloves. The most obvious thing about him was the black handlebar mustache that somehow grew across his face.
"So this is where you've been hiding Dr. Wily!" The skeleton spoke in a refined voice.
"Who are you?! And what is your purpose?" Ra Hermes ordered the intruder to answere.
"At ease, my good friend! My master has business with yours, so allow us to converse in peace!" the skeleton calmly responded. "Kaos was quite curious to understand what your plans are for the great Spyro!"
"You needn't worry yourself," Dr. Wily quickly explained. "I merely wanted to level the playing field between me and Dr. Light! I needed a Skylander cyborg of my own if I'm going to stand a chance against him, ummm..."
"How rude, I forgot to introduce myself!" The skeleton realized. "My name is Count Moneybone! And I hope you're aware Kaos will not take kindly to any attempt at betraying him, right?"
"I...I am aware of zhat!" Dr. Wily protested. "I am keenly aware of Kaos not appreciating getting tricked. But for him to be in my side, your presence will be a problem! How am I going to convince him that Dr. Light is the one vorking for you as long as you're here!"
"Hmmm," Count Moneybone pondered. "I understand. But just remember your place!" At this he teleported out.
"Ummmm..." Bubble Man asked. "What the heck even happened right now?"
"N-no matter!" Dr. Wily quickly focused. "Keep setting this place up!"
Just before Sergeant Night was able to fire, he was suddenly blasted by a powerful energy blast, and Suna attempted to retaliate, the gun was shot out of her hands with pinpoint accuracy.
"Sorry, but you're not touching my little sister!" Blues declared as he kept his buster ready.
"And it's time I get back at what the two of you did!" Xander replied as he held the smoking gun, trained on Suna.
"Alright, Nocturne! Shield mode!" At this, Nocturne flew to Roller Brawl before making her wings surround her, forming a compact buckler shield. Unsheathing the Leech Claw on the wrist holding the shield and morphing her right arm into the Brawl Cannon, the three readied for battle.
"Xander, so nice to see you again!" Sergeant Night said with a faux-friendly tone. "No hard feelings I hope!"
"No hard feelings?!" Xander spat furiously. "IS THIS SOME KIND OF TWISTED JOKE?!"
"What do you mean?" Sergeant Night asked in faux-curiosity.
"You tricked me! Made me think you actually cared about what I thought! I trusted you!" Xander ranted furiously. "Was my organization all that you were after? Were we just meant to be your SCAPEGOATS this whole time?!"
Weeks Before the ARTS Convention
Xander had been struggling. He knew well enough that it was Dr. Wily who was responsible for all the damaged caused, but even with his brother's support, he couldn't get people to see that regulations had to be made for the protection of everyone. It wasn't just him after all who suffered. Ice Man's actions had left some people with serious frostbite. Guts Man, Cut Man, and Bomb Man making buildings collapse had resulted in hundreds of fractures, all of whom were innocents who had done nothing. Fire Man, even though he never directly aimed for anyone with his fire, still left collateral damage in the form of serious second-degree burns. And, well, he was a shining example of the dangers of Elec Man. Even then, no one seemed to be taking his request seriously, calling him an "out of place Luddite" or "paranoid old geezer".
"Why won't they see it?" Xander asked. "I'm not asking for an end to robotics, but for more caution to be used when making them!"
"Maybe because it's just a few of us," Theo explained. "Our voices are just silenced by the spectacle of what can be done with the advancement of science. They're too preoccupied about whether they can that they don't stop to think if they should."
"True," Xander stated. "Maybe if I dig a bit deeper, I may be able to find some more people who share my viewpoint." Posting on a dark web forum as his alias of "EmeraldSpear1220", Xander was surprised when he got a message from a "OnyxAxe0722". "Huh?"
"To EmeraldSpear1220, I agree with your beliefs. To be honest, I've been looking for someone able to speak up about the problems with the rapid advancement of science, and you seem to perfectly understand exactly the problem with these scientists who think that they simply advance unrestrained with no concern for the populace at large," OnyxAxe0722 began. "Quite frankly, you're the kind of person I'd like to work with. We can do something about this by sending a message to the ones in charge of the advancement of science! We'll scare them into making the regulations you so desire!"
"Big brother, do you see?" Theo said in excitement, "There are people willing to help us! Our concerns can be heard!"
"Yes! Yes!" Xander said, a tear falling from his remaining eye. "We can prevent the excessive loss of life now!"
"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Sergeant Night laughed as he saw Xander's furious expression. "Let me give you a little wisdom. 'A worm doesn't know he's bait, until he's been eaten'." That only made Xander grit his teeth even more, knowing he'd been nothing more than this madman's intended patsy.
"Let's just get this show on the road!" Roller Brawl replied as she quickly began to fire Sergeant Night with the Brawl Cannon. Immediately, Sergeant Night blocked the shots before running towards her, with Roller Brawl quickly holding up Nocturne to block his punches.
Seeing Suna getting ready to ambush her from the side, Xander quickly leapt towards her and tackled her to the ground. "YOU! All the good intentions I had! You've made them all crumble to dust!"
"It's your fault for not knowing what you got yourself into!" At this, Suna head-butted Xander in the head, making him let go of her while in pain. While Suna prepared to fire, Xander quickly dodged out of the way. The two fired at each other, but neither were able to get a good shot in. "You should've known that Sergeant Night wasn't meant to be trusted!"
"If I knew he was Sergeant Night, I'd never have been part of his mad plans at all!" Xander retorted. Shooting the gun out of her hand, Xander holstered his gun before running towards her, letting out a primal scream of fury as he raised his fists. The two got into a brawl, punching and elbowing each other with all their adrenaline-powered might, running concurrent to Blues and Roller Brawl's duel against Sergeant Night.
"Come on, Blues! We have to make sure this guy can't do anything else to anyone!" Roller Brawl encouraged her partner.
"You got that right, little sister!" Blues agreed. "But it's not going to be easy!" Indeed, while his shotguns hadn't managed to penetrate the shields, they still had more tricks. Altering them into more of a pistol shape, he began to rapidly fire black and red balls of crackling energy from them. Blues had the better defense while Roller Brawl proved more mobile. While Blues focused on drawing fire thanks to his recolored Sniper Joe shield and Blues Buster, Roller Brawl worked to chip at his armor with her Leech Claws and Brawl Cannon when she had the chance. "What's the plan for the Onyx Axes after this is all said and done?"
"We'll leave them for the proper authorities to take care of them!" Roller Brawl declared as she and Blues were finally able to shoot the guns out of Sergeant Night's hand. "Maybe also mention to the police about how this guy's apparently a dude named Sergeant Night."
As the police and other first responders arrived, they were greeted to a horrifying scene. The building was up in flames, and all the people and robots all seemed to be in a state of utter despair. Many people were badly injured, and everyone would need some form of psychological counseling after all was said and done.
"T-this is madness..." Agent Krantz muttered, horrified at the scene strewn before her.
"Keep your head on, kid," Agent Stern firmly stated. "You'll see plenty more heartbreaking things in this line of work."
"Agent Krantz! Agent Krantz!" Roll cried out as she ran across the police tape along with Kalinka.
"Hold on girls!" An officer called to them. "You can't do-"
"It's all right!" Agent Krantz assured the officer. "We'll handle this."
At this, Roll held Kalinka's phone towards Roslyn, quickly saying, "I have all the data you need on Kalinka's phone right here! But they set of a bomb, and-!"
"Roll! Calm down, sweetie!" Roslyn interrupted, working to comfort the housekeeping robot. "We'll get this settled.
In the meantime, Agent Stern showed a surprisingly un-stern side. "What's your name, honey? Are you hurt?"
"K-Kalinka Cossack!" Kalinka sobbed, fear and grief beginning to overwhelm her. "My Poppa was inside...with the bomb!" The events the day took their toll, and she collapsed in a heap, Stern quickly catching her bridal style.
"Shh. It's alright, kiddo. You have a seat in my car where you'll be safe," Gilbert said to soothe her. "I'm sure your Poppa's fine. I'll find out myself." Roslyn smiled at the gentle side Stern showed towards Kalinka.
Turning to Roll, she focused on the task at hand. "I'm sure Dr. Light and your siblings are alright as well."
"I-I'm s-sure y-you're right," Roll stammered as her electronic nerves settled. "Let's make sure these bad guys get caught. For them."
"For them," Roslyn agreed. "Show me agin what you've got."
"HEY! We've got people coming through needing immediate medical assistance! Clear the way!" A strangely familiar voice called out to Roslyn, and said agent gasped when she saw who it was. "ROSLYN?!"
"SIMOME?!" Roslyn asked in shock. Indeed, Simone, Pulse Man, and Elec Man were guiding a group of evacuees, human and robot alike. "I haven't seen you since you vanished from the police academy! What are you doing here?"
"Fixing the mistake I and my compatriots made," Simone said sadly. "I was such an idiot. All this destruction, all this pain, it's all because we didn't think anything through!"
"What do you mean?" Roslyn asked her old classmate.
"Well-" With that, Simone began to recap everything that happened through the entire kerfuffle.
As Theo continued to take care of any remaining stragglers within the Onyx Axes, Mega Man and Quake Woman, with help from Pharaoh Man and Quick Man, continued to dig into the rubble. Quick Man helped by trying to take off as much of the loose rubble as he could with the limited strength Dr. Wily had built him with.
"Your efforts to aid in the excavation are appreciated, but not very helpful," Quake Woman noted.
"So what? The doc's down there, and I have to help him get out!" Quick Man countered.
"I do appreciate the aid," Pharaoh Man replied honestly. "Strange how Dr. Wily thought he could turn Dr. Light's designs against. I don't think he ever saw the reverse coming true!"
"Just goes to show how powerful emotions can be," Mega Man noted, with Rush barking in agreement.
"Just keep going for three more feet," Pharaoh Man focused. "There's some instability ahead."
As Mega Man and Quake Woman continued to dig, a small rock hit Quick Man, and he realized, "Not good you guys! I think we're about to have a cave-in!"
Hearing this, Quake Woman immediately got to work, pointing her drill towards the ceiling. "Countering with focused tremors. You may proceed with digging."
"Thank you," Mega Man said gratefully. As he, Pharaoh Man and Quick Man moved deeper through the wreckage, they found themselves in pure blackness until Pharaoh formed a small fireball from concentrated solar energy. "Doctor Light? Doctor Lalinde?"
"Doctor Cossack? Are you there?" Pharaoh Man asked.
Hearing coughing, all three were relieved to see the three doctors safe and sound. "We're here Mega Man!"
"DOC!" Quick Man cried in relief. Quickly rushing towards Dr. Light, he carried him to Mega Man, whereupon the two Robot Masters engaged in a deep embrace, with Rush nuzzling the trio. "I was so worried when Roller Brawl told me what happened."
"You're okay," Mega Man noted in relief.
"I'm fine!" Dr. Light coughed. "Mikhail will need help out, though."
"Are you badly hurt, Dr. Cossack?" Pharaoh Man asked in concern.
"I'll live, Pharaoh Man," Dr. Cossack assured his Egyptian-themed creation. "My leg's just a little injured, but where's Kalinka? Did Roll get her out safely?"
"Yes," Pharaoh Man was happy to confirm, making Dr. Cossack smile. "It's only because of them that the proper authorities have been contacted."
"TEMPO!" Dr. Lalinde cried in relief. "Oh, Tempo! My baby girl. I was so worried about you!"
"Why?" Quake Woman asked in her equivalent of confusion. "You were the one in danger, not me."
"Whether she acts like it or not, she's still your little girl," Dr. Light noted.
"I know that now, Thomas," Dr. Lalinde conceded. "I was selfish to think otherwise. When this is all over, I'll put that spark I took away back. Even if she won't be exactly the same, she'll at least be somewhat normal again."
"Umm, docs?" Quick Man noted as he broke from the hug. "I don't want to break up this happy reunion, but it looks two bombs didn't get disarmed!" Unfortunately, Quick Man was right, as an undetonated explosive remained next to them ready blow up at a moment's notice.
While Mega Man's group tried to figure out how to deal with the last explosive and Elec Man's group handled aiding the last of the civilians, Roller Brawl's group had been in a difficult fight. After all, it still seemed Sergeant Night had trick after trick up his sleeve. This time, remote controlled explosives were sent towards them, and it was only thanks to Roller Brawl using the Pulse Stopper that she was able to protect herself, Nocturne's shield mode not enough to protect her. After they got launched, they also helped partially short out Sergeant Night's armor.
"You interlopers!" Sergeant Night spat at Roller Brawl. "I'm going to make you all ex-interlopers when this night is done!" At this, he altered his right arm, and it suddenly formed into a spiked flail with an energy chain connecting the handle and ball.
"Go ahead and try!" Roller Brawl taunted. Jumping towards him, Roller Brawl readied another bevy of Pulse Stoppers, while Proto Man served as a diversion with the more powerful Blues Buster compared to the Brawl Cannon. All the while, Xander and Suna continued grappling across the rubble.
"You're no longer welcome in the Onyx Axes, Xander!" Suna spat. "You could've worked with us and helped us see your cause go through!" At this, she picked up a piece of rubble nearby and slammed it into his right arm, shattering it.
"AAAAGGGH! As if I would want to get involved in filthy methods like these!" Xander retorted. "You sullied my cause, and all people are going to see is madmen who brought pain and suffering for an utterly irrational cause!" With his left arm, he proceeded to punch her in the nose, and as she winced in pain, he proceeded to stomp on her foot before kneeing her in the gut. At this, Suna began to cough up blood, and with a final haymaker, Xander knocked Suna out. After she let out a few groans, Suna slumped into unconsciousness.
"Come on, Blues! We need to at least break that armor!" Roller Brawl exclaimed.
"I know, I know!" Blues answered. "It's a work in progress, little sis!"
"Okay, I really got to know," Roller Brawl began. "Why do you keep insisting on calling me little sister? The oldest brother I know of is Rock!"
"Well, that's because he may be DLN-001, but I'm DLN-000!" Blues revealed. "In other words, I'm Dr. Light's first creation!"
"WHAT?!" Sergeant Night screamed. "Then that means that it's all because of you! You're the starting point for all of this! Now I'm going to rip you to pieces!"
"Not going to happen!" Roller Brawl retorted. "I'm not letting you take another brother from me!" At this, she sent the last of the Pulse Stoppers at Sergeant Knight, further shorting out his armor. Growling, he turned his attention back to her, and Roller Brawl proceeded to use Nocturne's shield mode to continue blocking the continuous assault from his flail.
"Another brother?" Sergeant Night wondered. "You wouldn't happen to mean Mega Menace, wouldn't you?"
"DON'T SPEAK HIS NAME LIKE THAT!" Roller Brawl spat furiously. "THREATEN MY BROTHER LIKE THAT, AND I'LL PEEL YOU OUT OF THE ARMOR AND STRANGLE YOU!"
"HA HA HA!" Sergeant Night guffawed. "You're a spirited girl, aren't you?"
"SHUT UP!" Roller Brawl spat as she began to run up to him for a tackle, which he dodged easily. Growling furiously, Roller Brawl continued trying to attack him. As she jumped, she quickly did a drop kick into him before somersaulting to the ground. "You've hurt my brother, and my father! And I'm going to make sure that you're rotting in a cell when this is done!"
"Don't count on it!" Sergeant Night retorted. "Your kind will crumble, and humanity will assert itself as supreme!" As Roller Brawl continued giving punch after punch while dodging Sergeant Night's flail, Blues hadn't been idle, sending a powerful shot into the madman's back.
"THAT'S IT!" Xander spat in furious rage, continuing to blast Sergeant Night. "This wasn't what I wanted at all! I wanted to protect people, but all you've done is spread fear and chaos!"
"Casualties of war! Something you should understand as a soldier," Sergeant Night countered.
"War? WAR?! That's what this is?" Xander demanded. "You took my cause to cause a war?!"
"Yes!" Sergeant Night proceeded to punch him with his armored left fist, leaving him to crumple to the ground as he felt the wind leave his body. Reconverting his arm into a double-bladed axe, he readied a downward strike into Xander's skull. "And now, I'll make you a martyr!"
"NOO!" Roller Brawl, her instincts screaming to stop this, proceeded to push Xander out of the way, saving him from getting cut. Unfortunately, her right arm wasn't so lucky. Pain shot through her body as her unshielded right forearm was sliced off her body, flying off her body and leaving her to scream in agony. "AAAAGGGGGGH! SON OF A CORN HORNET!" The pain was surging through her body, and she collapsed to her knees in pain.
"Now, then. To finish you off!" Sergeant Night chuckled as he prepared another strike against the downed cyborg.
"NO! I'm not letting you do that!" Blues declared as he began charging his buster. "BLUES STRIKE!" At this declaration, he dashed forward before proceeding to release a short-ranged but powerful blast of solar energy into the madman's chest that sent him flying. After the man landed, the damage was clear. The outside of his armor was exposed, and his right armor had fallen off, revealing a black and red prosthetic right arm with a ball for a shoulder, and yellow lights dotted it. His helmet had also been blown away, completely exposing his head.
"D-damn you," Sergeant Night spat as he stood up. "Damn all of you wretched robots. You may have won this battle, but the war has just begun!" At this, he jumped towards the unconscious Suna and picked her up.
"Are you two okay?" Xander asked in concern.
"I...I'm fine," Roller Brawl muttered. "I'm just getting over the last of my pain."
"And I...I'm okay as well," Blues tried to assure before clutching his chest. "GAH!"
"Blues? Roller Brawl questioned. "What's wrong?"
"My...my core..." Blues revealed. "I think...that last blast...overloaded it."
"WHAT?!" Xander screamed in shock. Quickly beginning to carry him, Xander began to reassure him. "It's fine. We'll get someone to help you out after this is done."
"Y-yeah," Roller Brawl gritted through the remaining pain as she began to follow them, Nocturne returning to her regular bat form.
"That bomb didn't go off with the others," Dr. Lalinde wondered. "Is it still armed?"
"It's been damaged by the cave-in," Dr. Cossack determined. "It's most likely not very stable..."
"I will attempt to vibrate the components apart as I did with the others," Quake Woman answered.
"I think if that's the case...Pharaoh Man and I should get the doctors outta here," Quick Man concurred. "Just in case it does go 'KABOOM'."
"WHAT?! NO!" Dr. Lalinde argued. "I won't let you get destroyed a second time!"
"I'll stay with her and try to help her out," Mega Man agreed with his fellow Robot Masters. "Quick Man, Pharaoh Man, Rush, get the doctors to safety!"
"Tempo, no," Dr. Lalinde weakly sniffled.
"Noelle, I don't like it either, but we built them for this kind of heroism," Dr. Light said as he wrapped his arm around her. "We're just in the way here."
As Quick Man carried out Doctor Light and Lalinde while Rush lit the way and Pharaoh Man guided Dr. Cossack, Rock and Tempo tried to decide what to do. "What if we try to bury it rather than disarm it? That would contain the explosion."
"Negative," Quake Woman countered. "If we do that, we run the risk of making it detonate. Then again, so too would an attempted disarming. Either way, this is a dangerous situation."
"Well, we don't have any more time or options," Mega Man declared. "Ready to save the day?"
"Yes," Quake Woman said as the two clinked their Quake Drills together. "I HOPE we succeed."
"Just a little farther you two," Xander said as he guided Blues and had Roller Brawl follow the two.
"Big brother!" Xander heard Theo. "You're okay!"
"I...I'm happy to see that you're okay as well, but my friends need help urgently!" Xander replied. "How are the others?"
"Simone's explaining everything to the authorities, but they've managed to help evacuate the last of every in the building," Theo explained.
"Good," Xander sighed in relief. "Hopefully the doctors are..."
"Roller Brawl?! Blues?!" Xander heard. At this, he "What happened?!"
"It's fine," Roller Brawl tried to assure her friend. "Lord Obsidian, or Sergeant Night, just disarmed me." At this, Pharaoh Man, Rush, and the doctors emerged from the rubble
"Quick Man, what are you...ROLLER BRAWL!" Dr. Light said as he saw the condition of his daughter, but his eyes were soon drawn towards Blues. "Is...is that really you, Blues?"
"Yeah. It's me, doc," Blues weakly confirmed to his creator. "You may have replaced me with your precious Rock and Roll, but you're still my father, and they're my siblings. It's my job as an older brother to protect them."
However, at that moment, a massive explosion rang out, leaving the area they'd left as nothing but a giant pile of rubble.
"ROCK!" Roller Brawl cried in horror as tears streamed from her eyes.
"TEMPO!" Dr. Lalinde cried as she clung to Dr. Light's embrace. Seeing this, Nocturne and Rush began to make their way to dig through the rubble, with Nocturne trying to pick up and move rubble while Rush dug as a normal dog would.
Thankfully, a drill broke from the rubble, and soon, Mega Man and Quake Woman emerged, singed but functionally. "Well, we made it."
"Barely," Quake Woman pointed out.
"Yeah, but you saw what hope did, right?" Mega Man asked cheekily.
"Hope is non-quantifiable," Quake Woman answered.
"It doesn't have to be!" Mega Man said as Rush leapt into his arms. At this, the whole group began to meet up with Pulse Man, Elec Man and Simone.
As all of them were taken to the police armada, the group all began to reconcile. Mega Man quickly took the time to make sure that his sister wouldn't feel any other ill effects from the loss of her arm; Dr. Light and Blues were making plans to finally work to finish repairing Blues' unstable core; Quake Woman was working to assure Dr. Lalinde that she was still functional; Pharaoh Man, Kalinka, Dr. Cossack, and Roll were having a small meeting of their own; Pulse Man and Elec Man were exchanging numbers so they could talk more; and Roslyn and Gilbert were talking with the main Emerald Spears.
"I promise, I'm fine!" Roller Brawl assured them. "Dr. Light can just build me a new arm anyway, so no harm done. I was honestly more worried about dad and you, Blue Bro!"
"Still, I'm happy to see you're okay, Roller Brawl," Rock said as he hugged his adoptive sister.
...
"And with all the work I've done, I know I'll be able to repair your core without the chance of you losing your personality, Blues," Dr. Light confirmed.
"Y...you mean you never forgot about me?" Blues asked.
"I...I thought your core had failed, and I never knew where you went. I may have built Rock and Roll as my children, but they could never take your place in my heart, Blues," Dr. Light answered, tears pooling in his eyes.
...
"You have not shown this much concern for me for a long time," Quake Woman noted. "What has changed?"
"What changed was what Lord Obsidian said about me, and what it made me realize," Dr. Lalinde admitted. "I couldn't completely remove my attachment to you even after I took away your emotions. Seeing a madman using my own words to claim that you were less than human and nothing more than a glorified doll...it made me rethink my views."
"I see," Quake Woman accepted the answer. "I suppose I would be offended if I was considered a doll."
...
Thankfully, now that Dr. Cossack had been put out of danger, he'd finally gotten medically attention for his injured leg, having a cast on it.
"Спасибо for saving Poppa, Pharaoh Man!" Kalinka said gratefully.
"Thank Mega Man and Quake Woman," Pharaoh Man humbly replied. "They're the ones who did the digging."
"And thank you for taking care of my драгоценный Kalinka, Roll," Dr. Cossack continued.
"You're welcome!" Roll answered.
...
"I know Dr. Light and Auto would be fascinated by your designs, but I'm impressed by your resolve!" Elec Man complimented. "It's not often someone like you takes a stand like that! Such courage is rare to see."
"Geez!" Pulse Man said. "That's quite the compliment from someone with high standards like you! Give me your number! Perhaps I can spend more time with you and the rest of Dr. Light's creations."
"Well, you'll certainly love the Sky-borgs in that case!" Elec Man assured him.
...
"So if I get this right, you only wanted an audience with the doctors so they'd be more careful about what they were buildin', but your partner turns out to be a crime lord we thought died 20 years ago?" Gilbert recapped from Xander and the other Emerald Spears' testimony.
"That's right," Xander said as his head slumped down. "I may have had good intentions, but it doesn't excuse the fear and pain done in my name. I think it's best that I accept the consequences of my actions and spend my time in jail."
"Hmmmm..." Gilbert pondered. "You're right. A lotta destruction caused, and a lotta people with injuries and trauma. That ain't something that you come out of squeaky clean." Xander's expression remained unchanged. "But a lotta the people also told us how you then tried to get everyone out when Sergeant Night took over your operation, and even fought against him to stop him from causing more harm." That caused Xander to look up in shock.
"They...they said that?" Xander asked in disbelief.
"Yeah," Gilbert confirmed. "I get the feeling that you may have to simply work your sentence as protectors, but I can assure you that your actions in trying to mitigate the harm and the fact you were unaware of Sergeant Night's real motives may skew things in your favor. But know that the second you and your buddies step outta line, you bet you're going into a cell and staying there!"
"I...I see," Xander noted before falling to his knees in a dogeza style, much like Elec Man had. "Thank you! Thank you! I swear that me and my comrades will prove that your trust won't be unfounded!"
...
"Never a dull day with you, Dr. Light," Roslyn chuckled.
"Life's too short to be live quietly, Agent Krantz," Dr. Light said.
"Yeah, just outta curiosity, did you get all the Onyx Axes rounded up?" Roller Brawl asked.
"Thanks to your 'sister' and her friend, we got all but two o' them, and those would be Suna and Lord Obsidian, but we at least know that he's really Sergeant Night," Agent Stern explained. "I've got cops looking around for them, but I guess they slipped through the cracks. All-in-all, you did good work kids."
Rock took the opportunity to then ask, "Still think that all of us robots are nothing but trouble?"
"Aaaggh...my aching head," Spyro began as he awoke.
"Hard Man, he's up!" He heard a voice say. As he turned around, he saw a humanoid robot whose head resembled a spark plug. The robot also had blue eyes, an orange helmet, a white torso with orange linings, an orange hexagonal armor, black arms, black legs, orange spherical shoulders and orange feet. His hands were also replaced by giant prongs
"Hmmm, that's good to hear, Spark Man," Spyro turned to see another robot. This one was much bigger, having green eyes, a blue helmet, a thick blue torso with a yellow orb on front, a blue shoulder pad, black arms, gray hands, black legs and blue boots.
"What...what happened?" Spyro asked groggily as he held his hand to his face. It was then he realized that he didn't have paws, but hands. "Wait...what the heck?!" Looking at himself at a nearby piece of sheet metal, he saw that he'd changed to a more bipedal stance. His eyes remained red, but he wore a helmet with horns and his crest atop it, and he had adopted purple and orange armor, and wings grew from the shoulder joints on his armor. He also realized that his right hand had somehow changed when he thought about breathing fire into a strange gun.
"I sssee our guessst has awoken from his ssslumber," A raspy voice rang from a nearby door. "Dr. Wily will be pleased at this development." Turning to the door, Spyro saw yet another robot approach. His body was black and covered by mostly white armor, but his forearms were green, and for a helmet, he had a snake encasing his head.
"W-what's going on?" Spyro asked in further confusion, with panic beginning to settle in. "What happened to me?!"
"At ease, son!" A voice said, and Spyro stepped to attention. "You can relax now! You're in...good hands!" Spyro turned to see a human come towards him, this one having gray hair styled in the form of bat wings and a mustache, wearing attire fitting for an archaelogist. "My name is Dr. Albert W. Wily. Vhat's your name?"
"My...my name is Spyro," Spyro answered. "What happened?"
"My Robot Masters found you after you crashed into the jungles surrounding this temple, but you were badly injured," Dr. Wily explained. "But unfortunately, you were badly injured from your collision, and there wasn't much else I could do to save your life but transport your brain into a robotic body."
"Huh..." Spyro noted. Smiling, he turned to Dr. Wily with a look of gratitude. "Well, thank you. I owe you for saving my life!"
"Please, it's the least I could do for you!" Dr. Wily replied with a smile. "But if I may ask, what were you? The injuries you took were serious, but there's no way all of them were incurred from the collision alone."
"Okay, you deserve some answers," Spyro replied. His explanation was interrupted, when he saw two more robots walk in. One was a humanoid robot who had an overall black body, an orange helmet shaped like a spinning top, an orange torso with a small yellow area on the top center, white hands, white parts on his knee, and orange boots with small brown wheels on each of them. The other had a black body, green eyes, black lines running down his face, a light blue helmet with a four-pointed decorative on the top front, a mirroring decorative chestplate on his front torso, a white hand on his left arm, a white arm cannon on his right arm, yellow lining between his torso and legs, and light blue feet.
"Doc, we're all...oh! This our new comrade?" The top-headed robot asked.
"It can't be, Top Man," The other robot responded. "He's hardly elegant enough to be worthy of our ranks!"
"Oh come off it, Gemini Man!" Top Man proceeded to elbow Gemini Man. "It's not like Needle Man or Bubble Man are much of a looker themselves!"
"All of you, could you please leave?" Dr. Wily asked. "We shouldn't overwhelm Spyro right now!"
"Fair enough," Hard Man noted as he and the others left.
As the went out, Spark Man turned to the former dragon and smiled. "It's still nice to meet you, Spyro! I hope we can become friends!"
Spyro smiled as he waved back. "He seems nice."
"Indeed," Dr. Wily noted. "Now...you were saying?"
"Oh, yeah," Spyro snapped back as he turned to face Dr. Wily. "I'm a Skylander, someone sworn to protect the innocent from those who would wish it harm!"
"A Skylander? A SKYLANDER?!" Dr. Wily asked in shock before a grin formed on his face. "Oh thank the heavens! I'm finally able to fight back!"
"What? What's going on?" Syro asked.
"It's a long story, but I was not a good person before I met you," Dr. Wily sadly admitted. "I was jealous of my colleague Dr. Light, and in my envy, I turned his creations loose on the world, and I then tried again as payback for my last failure. But since then, I've realized the error of my ways and decided to try to make up for my crimes."
"Well, I can't exactly say I'm happy to hear what you've done," Spyro began with a disappointed expression on his face. "But if you're really trying to make up for what you did, I guess I can't get too angry about that. But what does this have to do with the Skylanders"
"Thank you," Dr. Wily bowed his head gratefully. "But as I was saying, Dr. Light found one of the Skylanders that crashed here, Roller Brawl. But unlike me, he told me that he had someone help him. Someone called Kaos."
"KAOS?!" Spyro asked in shock. "He's working for him?!"
"YES!" Dr. Wily answered. "Not a few moments ago, Kaos somehow contacted me, telling me that he's got Dr. Light and he's creations under his thumb, and will use them to conquer zhe world before he moves onto other worlds, and he's got Skylands under his thumb! I can't let that happen, but right now, I don't have the strength to fight back." After this, Dr. Wily quickly got onto his knees and begged, "Please, Spyro! Help me protect my home! I don't want him to take over my world!"
"Get up," Spyro said firmly. "I'm not letting Kaos take over another world. I owe you big time for helping me, so I'll work for you to protect this world. It may not be Skylands, but it's my home now, and I refuse to let Kaos get his grubby little hands on it!"
"Thank you, thank you!" Dr. Wily replied gratefully. "Let's meet the rest of your comrades right now! Your new brothers-in-arms!" As the two walked out, Spyro saw a strange black orb surrounded by 16 humanoid robots, 5 of them being Spark Man, Hard Man, Snake Man, Top Man and Gemini Man. "So, will you really help protect zhis vorld?"
"Oh yeah!" Spyro replied cockily. "I'm all fired up!"
Russian Translations:
Спасибо - Thank you
драгоценный - precious
Voice Cast:
Xander Payne - Chris Hackney
Theo Payne - Joe Zieja
Roller Brawl - Cree Summer
Simone Miller - Amanda Celine Miller
Blues - David Kaye
Mega Man/Rock - Cole Howard
Pharaoh Man - David Kaye
Elec Man - Brendan Hunter
Pulse Man - Chris Jai Alex
Quick Man/Dash - Roger Craig Smith
Quake Woman/Tempo - Karen Strassman
Lord Obsidian/Sergeant Breaker Night - Michael Adamthwaite
Suna - Caitlyn Bairstow
Dr. Wily - Scott McNeil
Ra Moon - Tom Kenny
Count Moneybone - Travis Willingham
Ra Hermes - Roger Craig Smith
Bubble Man - Tom Kenny
Roslyn Krantz - Tara Strong
Gilbert D. Stern - Jeff Bennett
Roll - Erica Lindbeck
Officer - Garry Chalk
Kalinka - Tara Strong
Spyro - Josh Keaton
Spark Man - Bryce Papenbrook
Hard Man - Jeremy Inman
Snake Man - Ian James Corlett
Top Man - Reuben Langdon
Gemini Man - Brandon Routh
Author's Note:
So here we are: the last chapter of what would be the Spiritus Ex Machina arc. And there's some pretty big changes compared to canon. Xander, Theo, and Simone have been put to work in a form of community service, while Sergeant Night and Suna have become the Onyx Axes and a major pain in the future.
Plus, now we get onto one of the biggest changes in canon: Spyro takes Proto Man's place as Dr. Wily's enforcer, and I don't think anyone would need to imagine how much it would hurt Roller Brawl to see the leader of the Skylanders turned against her. All the while, we see more about Dr. Wily's alliance with Kaos, and especially more of an idea of how things are going back in Skylands. Plus, while Spyro may seem a bit gullible, just remember that he's on a completely alien world, disoriented from his body changed, and just got out of a big battle; he's in a suggestible state right now, and anyone who's played Mega Man 9 knows how manipulative Dr. Wily is.
As for the other Robot Masters, Snake Man keeps his voice actor from the Ruby Spears cartoon, Hard Man took on Android 16's dub voice, Top Man took on Ken and Dante's VA, Spark Man took on Makoto's voice considering how they're the most gregarious and open-hearted, and Gemini Man was based on the Everywhere Man from The Batman.
With that, I'll be seeing all of you guys next time!
Next Time: Blues' Beginnings
As Dr. Light prepares to repair Blues with hope from Roller Brawl and Rock, he decides to come clean to his children about the first real Robot Master, and his time as a military scientist. Look to see how well Dr. Wily and Dr. Light used to work, and Dr. Light's first real experience as a father.