It was a sunny day in Legion; the bustling city metropolis that rested beneath Legion Headquarters, the centerpiece for the continent's government.
The people walked along at their own pace. Each and every one of them enjoying their relative peace. However, one stood among them who did not move as the masses did. It was something almost undetectable, but his steps were more careful, almost alert.
He was your average fifteen year-old kid. He wore a black trench coat, blue jeans with cargo pockets, and a simple black leather belt around his waist. His shoulder-length hair was jet-black, his eyes a light cerulean. He carried a grey duffle bag over his shoulder, probably holding his personal effects.
He walked through Legion thinking to himself, now that he was in Legion what his next move should be. At that moment he was walking through the center of town, which was essentially a massive crossroads for people from every stream of life. Several streets and sidewalks emptied into this area, and in the center stood a large fountain, atop it was a massive statue of Legion's founders, the Sage Trinity.
"Five years have passed since then," he said to himself as he looked to the clouds lost in his thoughts. "Mom. Dad. Are the two of you watching me right now?"
No answer came.
"Don't worry about it, I'm doing just fine," the boy spoke to himself as he became lost in his thoughts once again.
His thoughts were interrupted as an explosion erupted from down the street. As everyone panicked, the boy moved to higher ground to see what was happening. His eyes widened in horror as a massive form lumbered down the street.
Mega Man ZX Soundtrack - Babel Tower
"What are those things?!" he said as a wave of fear ran through his core.
What lumbered down the street could only be described as a group massive metal behemoths. Their massive arms were as thick as tree trunks, their hands with three fingers and thumb, its legs shook the earth with each step. It was heavily armored on all sides and stood taller then a two-story building. Their heads were square with simple-looking optical sensors. There were five in total, and all were massive in bulk. As they lumbered down the street, several dozen malfunctioning galleons followed around them.
As the galleons raised their arms and the behemoths raised their heads from their bodies, the boy's instincts took over and he dove behind a nearby vehicle for cover. Personal experience had taught him that when mehcaniloids, especially malfunctioning ones, raised their weapons, shots were about to be fired.
The moment he tucked his head to his chest, blood curling screams filled the air as the mechaniloids began to open fire upon both human and reploid alike.
All amidst was chaos. The normally docile mechaniloids were out of control, people were running in terror fearful for their lives, and humans and reploids left and right were dropping like flies at the ends of plasma blasts and laser cannons.
The boy pressed himself to the side of the car hoping not to be seen.
Oh man. Is this it? Am I really going to die here? he asked himself, his heart was racing and his thoughts blurring.
Suddenly, a shrill voice rang through the air meeting the boy's ears. "Mommy! Mommy get up!"
The boy peeked around the vehicle and saw a small girl reploid clutching to the side of a bloodied human body. As his mind tried to process what was going on, the clattering of the mechaniloid's footsteps neared the two more and more.
Crap! What do I do? There's probably five of them over there and only one of me. Plus I'm only human, and I don't even has as much as a plasma rifle to fight with. What could I possibly do?
He didn't have time to come up with a response as five galleons converged on the two, forcing them against the wall of a nearby building. They armed their plasma guns, and if they weren't stopped the two would die where they lay.
Through some form of synapse that snapped through his mind, the boy suddenly bolted across the battle-torn street and poised himself between the girl and poised galleons in an attempt to stop them.
"Leave them alone!" he shouted as he stood defiantly in defense of the two behind him.
The mechaniloids were unmoving. Instead they raised their weapons, the boy braced himself for what was to come.
The last thing he knew was a brilliant flash of white before his eyes.
Meanwhile in the Guardian Base.
Vent and Aile, the chosen ones of Models X and Z, rushed to the command room when the alarm was sounded.
"Prairie, what is it?" Vent asked as he entered the room.
"Guys, something bad is happening down in Legion," Prairie said with a worried tone. "We've just detected a massive insurgence of mechaniloids. They've begun attacking citizens."
"We'll get on it right away," Aile said as she and her brother saluted before leaving.
"Wait! Commander, we've picked something else up!" Gardenia, First Operator for the Guardians said as she pulled up an Area Scan.
"We're not completely sure what it is," Tulip, Second Operator for the Guardians said, "but it appears to be similar to Biometal."
"Biometal?!" Vent stated. "Is it another Model W fragment?"
"That doesn't seem to be so," Marguerite, Third Operator for the Guardians said. "We have records of all the Biometal's energy signatures, but this one doesn't seem to match any of them at all."
Prairie thought to herself, thinking who else from ages past could possibly be reincarnated as a Biometal. If it isn't a Model W, then who could it be?
"Vent! Aile! Get down there immediately!" Prairie ordered after leaving her thoughts. "Save as many people as you can and get out of there!"
Vent and Aile both saluted before leaving.
As the two Model ZX Mega Men left, Prairie was left to her own thoughts as she tried to figure out the current situation.
What on Earth is going on? First there's a mechaniloid insurgence, and then our scanners pick up a new Biometal signature. I have a very bad feeling about this.
Mega Man ZX Soundtrack - Metallic Soul
When he awoke, he found himself in a world of white. Nothingness, yet full, branched off in all directions indefinitely. He seemed to float in the vastness of this world, if it could even be classified as. As he hung he felt at complete peace, the kind of peace you could only find after much struggle and hardship.
"Hello? Where am I?" the boy asked as he looked around. "Is anyone here?"
"You are with me," a calm voice said.
The boy turned. What he saw was like something from a dream.
Standing, or for use of a better term, floating before him was the silhouette of a human-shaped figure. He wore a long coat with a high collar, a skintight suit, and a beret-like hat. Nothing else could be seen, as his face and very being were hidden by the same ethereal light that illuminated this strange world.
"Do not be alarmed," the silhouette spoke.
"Who are you?" the boy asked. Most who were blinded to the world's true colors would panic at that very moment, but he felt a certain affiliation to the specter that stood before him.
"I am a remnant of times long past," the silhouette spoke. "My serial number is TK-421, but my real name is Elpizo."
"Elpizo..." the boy spoke. "I remember a name like that from history. I'm not completely sure though."
"So stories of an age past still live to this day?" TK-421, Elpizo, spoke.
The boy looked off into the distance. "They do. But a lot of things have probably been left out. There are a lot of questions left unanswered."
Elpizo tilted his head in thought. "I see. Do you ever wonder what the past has done to affect your present?"
"Only every day," the boy said, facing Elpizo. "There are so many things about this world that just don't add up. Its almost like a puzzle missing some of its pieces."
"I assume you're wondering why you are here," Elpizo spoke.
"Kinda sorta," the boy said shrugging his shoulders. "I'm a little concerned about my body and those two people right now, but I suppose that can wait. I don't have much of a choice."
"Then I suppose all I can do is skip straight to the chase," Elpizo said. "The balance of power in this world will soon tip, and it will soon be brought into chaos."
The boy followed what Elpizo was saying. "Continue."
"I have been reborn into this world in a new form," Elpizo spoke. "However, I need a compatible human, a Chosen One, to help me restore the balance."
"So I'm this Chosen One then?" the boy asked.
Elpizo nodded. "It would seem that fate has chosen you to wield the mantle of hope. The fate of this world rests on your decision, and I'm afraid if you do not choose correctly, then this world's future looks grim indeed."
For a moment, the boy stood in thought. His eyes closed as he contemplated the very meaning of his once insignificant existence. Then he snapped out of it.
MegaMan Zero Soundtrack - Awakening Will
"IfI can bring this world to peace," the boy said as his eyes snapped open. "Then I will follow you to the ends of the Earth."
Elpizo chuckled. "Those are very strong words. However I'm afraid you cannot follow me. I will have to follow you."
The boy cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean?"
Elpizo pointed to the boy's heart. "The answer lies there. Listen, and you shall see."
The boy nodded, he closed his eyes and held his hand to his heart. He could feel its beat, but he could also feel something... more.
"May I ask your name?" the silhouette spoke, the boy's body glowing from within..
"My name..." the boy spoke as the glow reached its peak, its light nearly as bright as the sun, "is Neal."
The silhouette nodded. "Neal. A name for the hero you are destined to become."
Neal felt a warmness fill every fiber of his being. It was as though the thoughts and prayers of those living and deceased held him aloft.
Then, the world of white ended.
Neal's eyes snapped open. He once more stood amidst the chaos that had been wrought by the attack of the crazed mechaniloids.
At that moment, he stood on the crossroads between life and death. Both for him, the child reploid, and the mother if she were still alive. It may have been the adrenaline rush, but somehow, time seemed to slow down all around him.
Then he looked into his hands and saw it. A finely crafted piece of metal, so simple yet elegant in design that it could not possibly have been made by human hands.
Which of course in that instance wasn't that far from the truth.
The finely crafted piece of metal was like that of the silhouette he had seen before. The right side was covered in what looked like long bangs bearing a striking resemblance to an opera mask, a metallic blue eye on the left side. On the top was the same beret-like hat he had seen before.
"The answer lies there. Listen, and you shall see."
Mega Man ZXA Soundtrack - Determined Eyes
"Okay then! Lets do this!" Neal took hold of the metal emblem with both hands and held it before him. "Megamerge!!!"
"Biolink established. R.O.C.K. System, Activated!" Elpizo intoned as his optical unit began to glow with a bright light.
That moment from the very center of Legion, a brilliant ray of light pierced the heavens above with an otherworldly light.
A moment later the flash of light subsided, and Neal stood as an entirely new person. His original clothing had been replaced with otherworldly articles, and he could feel tremendous power course through every aspect of his being.
Neal now wore an armored trench coat with gold bands on the ends of the sleeves, and a gold-trimmed collar that rose slightly above his shoulders. The bottom of the coat itself was segmented vertically into three parts to allow for freedom of movement and was gold-trimmed like his sleeves. From his neck to his toes he wore a skin-tight black jumpsuit with white lines running in patterns like circuits and he wore black gloves. He wore Elpizo's beret-like hat on his head, the left side of his face was open while the right side was hidden like Elpizo's. He wore armored boots that stopped midway up the shins, and wore a thin amount of armor near the chest. The color scheme for most of the armor was pink-red.
Aside from his new clothing, or armor as the case may be, the most noticeable thing that changed was his hair. Instead of the jet-black hair he had before, he now had long curling golden lochs extending from the back of his helmet that extended far past the shoulders.
Neal didn't know what to think. First he was talking to a phantom, then a metal emblem appears in his hands, and now he's in a tricked-out version of his own clothing.
His mind finally snapped back, and as if by instant held his right hand at his side. In a flash of light, a golden rapier handle with a guard-like hilt materialized. It reminded him of the German Swept Hilt, used by ancient Germans during the seventeenth century.
"I'm not completely sure what the heck I'm doing," Neal said as time around him seemed to snap back into place, "but I'm just going to go with my gut."
The galleons, with their limited thought processors, tried to interpret the sudden appearance of this pink-clad warrior.
"RE-APPROPRIATING THREAT LEVEL OF TARGET."
"Re-appropriate this you metal heaps of junk!" Neal roared as he ran at the five galleons. As he neared his targets, a crimson energy beam extended from the hilt. "Oh yeah!" Neal said excitedly as he brought the blade back. "Now we're talkin!"
As Neal charged at the Galleons, they began to fire at him in an attempt to hinder his process. However, right as he was about to get hit head-on, he suddenly dodged to the left and right at inhuman speeds.
"Woah!" he said as he dodged several more shots before going forward once again. "When'd I get so fast?"
He soon remembered however that he needed to protect the two people, so then placed himself in the middle of the five galleons.
The first two opened fire, but Neal leapt high over their shots and cleaved their heads from their bodies. Another approached him from the side and fired again, but Neal parried and then thrust his rapier through the galleon's core. The next moment, the remaining two galleons redirected their attention to the two civilians.
"I said leave them alone!" Neal roared as he veered off to their left flank, and then leapt at them like a tiger and cleaved them in twain.
As the two galleon bodies slumped to the ground, Neal walked over to the child reploid clutching to her mother. After letting go of her mother, the child reploid looked up, seeing the visage of Neal's megamerged form.
"Are you an angel?" she asked wide-eyed, paying especially close attention to his hair.
"An angel?" Neal took that moment to notice that his jet-black hair was now golden blonde and curly. It was also a lot longer then before. "Not really," he said as he leaned close to the injured woman that Neal figured was the reploid child's adoptive mother. He placed two fingers on her neck, checking for a pulse.
"She'll be fine," he said after a moment's analysis. "When she comes to, if she can move, tell her to clear out."
The girl reploid smiled a bit. Neal then got up and walked away.
"Where are you going mister?" the girl asked.
Neal turned to her and smiled. "I'm going to kick some mechaniloid butt."
"Thank you mister angel," the reploid girl said as Neal walked away, a smile on his face.
On the roof of a building above the now ruined square, Vent and Aile watched with widened eyes as the pink-clad hero began cutting down the mechaniloids, while at the same time protecting the people on the ground.
"Vent, are you seeing this?" Aile asked.
"I do," Vent said. "Do you have any idea what it is?"
"I sense Biometal," Model X spoke as it floated out of Aile's pocket. "But not one I've sensed before."
"Any idea who it is?" Model Z asked as it floated out of Vent's pocket.
"I don't know," Vent spoke. "Whoever it is, they seem to be trying to protect the citizens."
"Should we step in?" Aile asked.
Vent motioned for her to wait. "Hold on. Lets see where this goes. I don't want us to fall into one of Albert's little traps. Until then lets help the civilians get to safety"
Aile huffed. "I hope you know what you're thinking."
As soon as he had finished protecting the mother and child, Neal ran to the nearest batch of galleons before they could finish off a group of cornered civilians.
"Hey metal heads! Over here!" he shouted drawing the galleon's attention away from the helpless civilians.
The galleons turned from their original targets and raised their guns to the pink-clad figure. All at once they began firing rounds at him.
"Okay Elpizo," Neal quickly spoke hoping his words would be heard. "What do I do now?"
"Didn't you know what to do before?"
"I was acting on the spur of the moment. Just tell me how to fight while protecting them."
"Focus on dodging their attacks. For those you can't, erase them with your rapier."
"Dodge and erase. Got it!" Neal said as the bullets neared his position.
Neal leaned right, then jumped to the left, parried three more bullets that came at him, and erased another bullet that would've hit him in the head.
As another wave of bullets came at him, Neal jumped over them, rolled under a second volley, and sliced into the first of six galleons. As the civilians got out of the line of fire, Neal continued to dodge, erase, and attack the galleons.
While Neal continued to eliminate galleons, all the while learning to use his newfound power, Vent and Aile were on the ground to help the injured out of the area, but without the Biometal's power so they wouldn't draw attention to themselves and the citizens into the line of fire.
"Vent! How many galleons do you count?" Aile asked as she helped an elderly man up from the ground.
"I count at least three dozen," Vent said as he hung off the side of the statue. "The pink guy is cutting them down though, so the number is probably less."
"Vent! Have some respect for public property!" Aile shouted, as Vent was hanging onto the side of the statue like a kid would.
"Aile! This really isn't the time for your goody-two-shoes bit," Vent said as he dropped down to help a man who had fallen into the water.
Neal had just cut down the last of the galleons down, their metal bodies lying across the town square. Aside from a few plasma burns on his chest and legs and some oil on his coat, he was relatively unharmed.
"Wow Elpizo! This is so cool!" Neal said acting like a little kid with a new toy. "I feel amazing! Almost like I could take on the world!"
His thoughts were interrupted as a shrill scream rung through the air.
"For now you'll have to settle with a few tricked-out Golems," Elpizo said, "cause we've got company!"
Neal looked towards the center of the park and saw a brown-haired girl in the clutches of a metal behemoth. She was wearing a blue shirt, tan pants, and had her hair in a ponytail. He quickly bolted to the statues in the center of the square, took hold of "Albert's" outstretched arm, then swung himself high into the air and readied his weapon.
"Don't worry miss, I'll save you," Neal said as he dropped onto the behemoth's arm. He quickly raised his hands, then plunged the E Rapier into the behemoth's arm.
"GUOOOOOOOOO!" was the behemoth's cry as the attack caused his grip on the girl to loosen.
Her scream signaled Neal to jump down and catch her, but a man wearing a similar outfit with long hair caught her first.
"Phew, that was close," Neal said, knowing that if she hadn't been caught, or that if she landed the wrong way, that she could've been seriously injured. His thoughts were interrupted as another behemoth suddenly swatted him to the ground with a bone-crushing blow. Rather painfully I might add.
"Should've seen that coming," Neal moaned as he pushed himself off the ground. He had never been hit that hard before, but of course he'd never fought crazed mechaniloids alongside a warrior from ages past either.
When he turned over, the looming figures of the five behemoths loomed over him. Their tightly-packed formation prevented any means of escape.
"Oh boy," Neal moaned as he shook off the hit he took, the behemoths charging their laser cannons aimed right at him. "It'd take a miracle to get me out of this."
Author's Note:
E Rapier is the name of the sword (rapier) that Neal uses when he's Megamerged.
Back with Vent and Aile, they had seen just about enough.
"Okay, I'm pretty sure he's a good guy now," Vent said.
Aile nodded. "Yeah. If he were one of Albert's pawns, he would've already known who I was and wouldn't have saved me at all."
Vent nodded as he took out Model Z in his right hand while Aile took out Model X in her left.
"Model X!" Aile called as its eyes began to glow.
"Model Z!" Vent called as its eyes began to glow.
"Double," they both said as they crossed their arms holding the Biometals, "Megamerge!"
"Biolink established. M.E.G.A. System, Online." the two Biometals spoke.
As the five behemoths were about to fire their laser cannons at Neal, twin pillars of light suddenly blinded them.
"Now's your chance!" Elpizo said as the flash reached its peak. "Go! Go! Go!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!" Neal said as he ran and jumped between two of the metal behemoth's legs.
As he rolled out of the way, two blonde-haired warriors in red and white clothing/armor leapt over him and slashed at the metal behemoths with green energy swords.
"Kid, are you okay?" one of the red-clad figures asked as the behemoths stumbled back.
Neal looked up and recognized her as the girl he saved. He recognized the other red-clad figure as the one who caught her.
"Uh, I'm fine," Neal said as he got up.
"Thanks for the help with the galleons," the male said. "We'll take it from here."
"Who are you?" Neal asked. Based on the rumors that had been floating around recently and five years prior, he figured these two were probably the "Mega Men" that had been sighted.
"I'm Vent, and she's Aile," the male who addressed himself as Vent said.
"We'll worry about these behemoths," the girl addressed as Aile said. "You did well with the galleons, but we have more combat experience. Find a safe place to hide and we'll take it from here."
"Don't underestimate me!" Neal said defensively. "At least let me take the one I've already injured! I should have that right!"
Vent and Aile looked to each other.
"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt," Vent said.
"Speak for yourself," Neal muttered under his breath. His head was still ringing from that punch he took, but he'd shake it off later.
"By the way, what's your name?" Aile asked as she transformed her sword into a buster.
"Its Neal," he said.
As Vent and Aile charged the behemoths, Neal took a nearby rock and chucked it at the back of head of the one he already damaged. The diversion did what he had intended it for, and the fifth behemoth began lumbering away from the other four.
That's right you stupid mechaniloid, follow the birdie, Neal thought to himself as he continued to goad the behemoth in his direction.
Mega Man ZXA Soundtrack - Through the Lightning
As Neal drew his rapier, the behemoth raised its head from its body and fired a laser into the ground, then swept it along the ground at Neal. He narrowly dodged it by rolling to the side before looking at his weapon, and then at the massive mechaniloid he was trying to fight.
"Alright Elpizo, I'm grateful you gave me this power and all," Neal said talking to Elpizo, "but I think I'm going to need something more if I want to take that down."
"I may have just the thing," Elpizo spoke. "The mask covering the right side of your face acts as a visual-interface. Take the option arrow on the right."
Neal hadn't really taken the time to notice it before, but his right eye did see the world in a different light. Everything was blue-tinted, and there was a white V-shaped arrow on the left and right side. "Okay, I'll give it a shot."
As the interface changed screens, there were suddenly three pedestal-like illustrations with round spheres on them. From left to right they were pink, green, and blue.
"What are these things?" Neal asked as he dodged another laser sweep. "And why is that blue sphere shaking back and forth?"
"That's part of your interface," Elpizo spoke. "Select the blue sphere, and watch the magic happen."
Unsure of what to do, he raised his hand and selected the option that seemed to float in his field of vision. When he did, the blue sphere began to glow before flashing brightly. The next moment, a grey-tinted elf-looking creature sat in the corner of his vision. The elf-like creature had a red scouter over his right eye and a clip board in his left hand. Its hair was styled back and it wore a white lab coat.
"What is that thing?!" Neal asked, taken aback by the sudden appearance of the elf-like creature.
"That is one of the Cyber Elves I brought with me from Cyber Space," Elpizo spoke. "Why don't you introduce yourself."
"Greetings Sir Neal," the cyber elf spoke in a formal manner. "I am the Hacker Type Cyber Elf, Recon. My specialty is analyzing enemies and displaying the data on your interface."
"Well how do I make you work?" Neal asked.
"Put your desired target within visual range and select him with the interface," Recon spoke in an informed manner.
Having kind of gotten used to his interface, he raised his right hand and "tapped" the behemoth, highlighting him in his right field of vision.
"Now commencing scan," Recon spoke. He suddenly turned from a cyber elf into a glowing blue bar and appeared over the behemoth's head. As the blue bar moved down the behemoth's body, targeting information began to place itself over the interface.
"Targeting information?" Neal said to himself as a wire-frame of the behemoth appeared to the side of his field of vision. Underneath it was a red bar with a white outline, and next to it was the word "Golem 2.0".
"Hey Elpizo. What's that blinking red cylinder on the inside of the wire-frame?" Neal asked, making sure not to be preoccupied as he continued to draw the Golem further away.
"Part of Recon's ability is to display enemy information," Elpizo explained. "The enemy wire-frame is blue, while any critically weak points are highlighted in red."
"Ah. I see," Neal said as he analyzed the displayed model. "And I'm guessing the red bar underneath the wire-frame is the Hit-Point gauge?"
"A crude way of saying it, but to put it simply, yes," Elpizo spoke.
Neal took a deep breath before brandishing his rapier. "Alright then! Battle on!"
Meanwhile.
High above in Legion Headquarters, a large man with red hair and beard observed what was happening in Legion Square from a darkened room filled with monitors. At that moment, the Model F Mega Man, Atlas, entered.
"So, the Chosen of X and Z are interrupting the new Golem's trial run," Atlas spoke as he watched a monitor. "I should've known they'd interfere with the field tests."
The large man glared at one screen in particular. "Why was I not told?"
"Told what?" Atlas spat in a tired manner.
"That there was another Mega Man!" the large man shouted.
"WHAT!? WHERE?!" Atlas spat as she pushed her way past him and looked at one of the monitors. On it was a pink-clad blond-haired warrior wielding an energy rapier.
The large man scowled at the very though of another Mega Man. More so one he didn't know about. His thoughts raced as to how this would play into his plans.
Albert that fool! Nothing in his reports indicated the existence of a seventh Mega Man! It was bad enough that the ZX siblings and that girl defeated his forces before, but now there's another Mega Man to contend with.
He continued to glare at this Mega Man with disdain. The fact that this one had eluded his notice for so long angered him to no end.
If he joins up with them their numbers will be equal to those of my Mega Men. I need to either convert him to my cause, or eliminate him as a factor altogether.
"Atlas," the large man spoke as he ended his thoughts.
"What?" Atlas responded dryly.
"Once the battle ends, bring your forces around the pink Mega Man," he spoke. "Bring him in, dead or alive. I don't care what you do, but bring me his Biometal!"
Atlas huffed. "Fine. But my troops better be ready for me or I'm not going anywhere."
"Don't worry about that," the large man spoke. "You'll find your personal battalion in Hangar F. Just be ready, and do not fail me again!"
Atlas grumbled to herself as she walked out of the darkened room. Meanwhile the large man was left back with his own thoughts.
"I don't know who you are," he spoke to himself, "but you will not live long enough to interfere with my plans."
Mega Man ZXA Soundtrack - Rockin' On
As Neal stood poised against the Golem, a message in large red lettering with under and over-lines flashed on his visor.j
WARNING. WARNING. WARNING.
"Elpizo was that really necessary?" Neal asked as the Golem raised its head to fire its laser cannon.
"Just trying to be traditional," Elpizo said exasperatedly.
Neal jumped out of the way then dodged right avoiding the sweep. "Traditional! Since when?!"
Elpizo chose not to answer.
"Oh well doesn't matter," Neal said as he ran at the Golem, his blade poised. As he did so the Golem launched its were-arms at him. Neal responded by back-stepping the attack before bringing his sword down onto its right thumb. After a brief struggle of force, Neal managed to slice through it and dodge before being squashed by the other hand.
For the next few minutes afterward he began hacking away at its armor, hoping to do some significant form of damage against his opponent.
"Damn! This thing's got thick armor!" Neal said as he remembered how long it took to slice through the small amount of armor on its thumb. He looked to the 'HP Bar' and saw that it only went down a tiny bit. At the left hand side it read 95%.
"What the hell! I only dealt five percent damage!" Neal moaned seeing how little the HP Gauge had dropped during the conflict.
"Well what do you expect?" Elpizo asked. "You're just hacking away at him randomly with no direction."
As the Golem launched its arm at him again, he found the hole he had previously made when rescuing Aile from its grip. Without thinking he quickly thrust through again, cutting deeper into the circuitry and hydraulics causing more significant damage. As he was about to do more, the Golem raised its head from its body and fired his laser attack again and directed it right at Neal. Without having enough time to dodge the attack, he did the only thing the allotted space would allow.
He quickly raised his blade horizontally to his body and used his left hand to reinforce his defence. As the green laser met his crimson blade, energy began to build at the apex. If he held his blade there for too much longer however, then he would be overcome and quite possibly killed.
"I'm not going to die today!" Neal roared as he mustered his strength into his blade. At the moment before his defense was overcome, he swung his blade to the right while parrying to the left. The built up energy was launched back into the laser cannon, blowing it out in a gout of flame.
"There! Take that!" Neal said as he took a momentary rest to catch his breath.
"Neal, you're starting to tire," Elpizo said as Neal fell back into a defensive battle.
"Well what can I do?" Neal asked as he dodged a were-arm sweep. "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not a veteran sword master."
Elpizo thought to himself before remembering something. "Neal, I just remembered something."
Before Neal could even ask, binary code began to rain down in his field of vision (similar to the beginning of The Matrix). As digits began to clear, a code read out horizontally across the screen.
Hawk-Bat: Aggression Form
"Hawk-Bat... Aggression Form?" Neal asked before the code suddenly began to pour out of his interface and through his body like a mercury blanket. The next moment, images began to flood his head at an incredible rate. "Woah... What was that?" Neal asked shaking his head as the images receded and the odd-looking code left his vision.
Before an answer could come, his body began to slightly-involuntarily move on its own. His hands held his blade in a two-handed guard, holding it vertically to the right side of his body. His dominant foot was placed forward while his other foot was placed to the side adjacent to his body. His knees became slightly bent and he took a slightly-crouched position.
"Huh? I don't remember learning this stance," Neal said as his body began to ease into this new opening stance.
"Well I thought that now would be a good time to showcase this style that I learned in my... travels," Elpizo said with emphasis on the last word.
Before Neal could ask more, the Golem reached out for him with its left hand.
Without even thinking, he suddenly side-flipped over its arm with his blade extended leaving several slash marks before he hit the ground. Before the Golem or Neal himself could react, he suddenly dashed under its arm and slashed at its leg in a quick series of horizontal rolling slashes. Next moment he leapt off the Golem's other arm and sliced at its chest rapidly, all the while not giving the Golem enough time to react to the rain of blows.
As Neal left one last slash at its abdomen, he quickly back flipped away before sliding to a halt.
"Man. What was that just now?" Neal asked as he took another deep breath in. All of his previous attacks had left him tired, but that sudden display didn't toll on him at all.
"Ah, I see the Synaptic Nerve Interface didn't blow your brain out through your ears," Elpizo said happily. "Normally that much data couldn't be forced into the human brain so quickly, but I suppose an intellect like yourself could quickly adapt it to your own Nervous Functions."
"Did you just say "blow your brain out!"?" Neal demanded. "What the hell did you put into my brain just then?!"
"I used the Synaptic Nerve Interface to incorporate a sword style I observed directly into your cerebral cortex," Elpizo explained. "Now that I've done so, you'll be able to call upon that sword style whenever you need it."
Neal rubbed his head with his free hand trying to ease whatever residual pain was left over. "Yeah well next time you cram something with that much information into my brain, try giving me a little warning will ya?"
Elpizo chuckled. "Agreed."
"Well on the upside, at least I brought that thing's HP down a bit," Neal said with a small smile as he looked at the HP Gauge. It had lowered from 95% straight down to 57%.
Right as he said that, steam vents began opening across the Golem's body releasing internal pressure. The next moment without warning, the chest plate fell away to reveal a massive cannon of some sort.
"Neal! There it is! The Golem's weak point!" Elpizo exclaimed as he used the visual interface to highlight the cannon placed in the Golem's chest.
"Crap! Its charging up for an attack!" Neal screamed as the cannon began to build up energy. Before he got ten steps in, a massive blast of sound waves came barreling out and crashed right into Neal's back.
"Eyaaaaaaagh!!!" Neal screamed as the sound waves forced their way through his body. After the initial strike he was sent tumbling across the ground before coming to a stop.
"Neal! Are you okay! Neal! Answer me!" Elpizo shouted as his Biomatch lay on the ground unmoving.
While Elpizo tried to get Neal to wake up, the Golem began walking towards him. As it stood above him, it charged its sonic cannon for a point-blank strike.
"Checkmate!" Neal said as he suddenly sprang up and threw his sword like a javelin into the Golem's sonic cannon. As the energy began to spiral out of control, Neal dove into what was left of the fountain just as the Golem exploded from the energy buildup.
After holding his breath for a minute, Neal poked his head out of the water and looked at the HP Gauge. Thankfully for him, it read 0%. Of course that was kind of redundant as there was nothing left of the Golem.
A few minutes had passed since the battle ended. Neal was beaten, tired, and had no idea how he lived through that fight. The town square wasn't in too great of shape either. Those who weren't able to get away in time littered the streets, cars were blown up, and there was rubble everywhere.
"Man. Looks like I made it after all," Neal said as he slumped to his knees. He looked around and noticed four other piles of remains, obviously from the other Golems.
Well Elpizo, you certainly put me through some kind of hell, Neal thought as he got up to see if his duffle bag survived the conflict.
"Hey, for a human you did very well," Elpizo said. "You must be made of some pretty strong stuff, any other human would've been hamburger meat after that first punch."
Well, despite my appearance, I've been on my fair share of adventure. Maybe someday I'll tell you.
Neal walked over to the remains of the car he had first hidden behind. He lifted a piece of metal and found his duffle bag miraculously intact. Aside from a scorch mark or two it was perfectly fine.
Neal sighed as he shouldered the bag. His energy was spent, and the finely crafted piece of metal he used to transform separated from his body. It dropped into his open hand, which he pocketed soon after.
"Boy am I tired. Stick a fork in me because I'm done."
As he was about to walk away, a low rumbling sound met his ears. When he looked down, he saw that a few pebbles were bouncing up and down, kind of like when there was a stampede or a large vehicle was approaching.
"Crap," Neal moaned. "Why did I have to say that?"
To be continued...
Just some things to get out of the way before we progress through this story any further. These are mostly details pertaining to this FanFic, and these are being placed below to answer any questions anyone may potentially ask.
The R.O.C.K. system which Elpizo (Model E) used, stands for "Rebirth of Crystalized Knowledge". He uses the R.O.C.K. system instead of the M.E.G.A. system because he isn't technically a "Mega Man".
Vent and Aile are siblings. Both are eighteen years old, and Model Z is back in their possession.
Ashe (age 15), is currently searching for information about her past.
As for the "tricked-out Golems", they're basically like the Golems from the Zero series, except these oneshave legs.
The Interface that Neal's visor uses is like the Scouter from Dragon Ball Z, just with a few alterations.
P.S.
Sorry if the description for Neal's MegaMerge was a little vague. Its basically like Elpizo's outfit, but slightly more armored and modernized.
And just to set the records straight, Neal is an OC owned by me. The Cyber Elf Recon is also owned by me. However, I do not own the concept of Cyber Elves. Inti Creates does.
As for the sword style that Neal used, the "Hawk-Bat: Aggression Form". It is the fourth sword style used by Jedi in the Starwars series. If you had trouble imagining Neal's movements, try remembering Grand Master Yoda's fighting style.