Level 7: Tricell Mixed Branch
Since their escape from the Airship, MegaMan, Princess Peach, Rush, and Toad had worked their way down from the skies. Using Peach's parasol as a make-shift parachute, they floated down into a giant factory complex. By the time they landed, a storm had begun. With the lightning and thunder, the entire place looked like something out of a slasher movie. It wasn't the most appealing of shelters, but both princess and robot felt like following the old adage, 'Any port in a storm.' They went in through the front doors.
That was their first mistake.
MAIN OFFICE
Albert Wesker was not in the best of moods. He had recently been in contact with Bowser, the so-called King of the Koopas. Bowser had, put politely, pressed Wesker to quicken the search for the remaining balls.
"My Troopas and Bison's have already found two more!" Bowser snarled, his breath causing his image on the video conference to fuzz. "If you don't start doing your part, I'm gonna hang you out to dry!"
What Bowser didn't know was that Wesker had already found another one of the mysterious 'X' Balls earlier. He planned on keeping it a secret until the rest of the balls were found, which was also when he would cut ties with the Koopa Troop and Shadowloo. He knew M. Bison was planning to do the same.
Adding to the day's headaches was that he just received word that the control mechanism he put on Zero had been disabled. Fortunately, the construction of the 'Zero-Beta' drones was more or less finished. That, however, did not negate the fact that there was now another loose end to be taken care of.
It just went on and on. Which was why Wesker wasn't surprised when he received the following report from security;
"Mr. Wesker!" A voice on his intercom piped up, "Intruders have gotten into the building!"
Wesker looked up from his computer. "What? How did they get in?"
"Uh…" The voice sounded embarrassed. "Through the front door. The guard on duty was at the water fountain."
Somehow, I'm not surprised. Wesker thought. Bowser had 'generously' lent him some of his forces to augment his personal security, and already Wesker believed that the Koopa King was playing an elaborate prank.
What Wesker said was, "Seal off all exits and capture them. Report back afterwards or if the situation changes."
BACK AT THE LOBBY
MegaMan, Peach, and company carefully crept through the building. MegaMan had his Mega Buster readied and charged, prepared to fire at anything that might come out and attack them. The hallway was poorly lit, and there was no sign of anyone else.
"Hello?" Peach called out softly.
"I…I don't like look of this place!" Toad moaned, "We shoulda just camped out in the lobby!"
"It'll be fine, Toad," The Mushroom Princess assured her retainer, though she didn't sound very sure herself. "Maybe if we can turn on a few more lights…"
Click!
The hallway became flooded with light.
"Oh! Thank you, MegaMan." Peach said , rubbing her eyes.
"…But I didn't do anything." MegaMan replied.
"Tha' wath me."
The group turned. Standing directly behind them, its malformed hand on a switch, was a zombie. It waved at them. Then it lunged, and got its head blown off by MegaMan. More undead and genetic freaks began to pour into the hallway from behind.
"Run!" MegaMan yelled, firing at the incoming mass.
Stage 1: Clerical Floor
The group cast aside any pretense of caution as they ran down the hall. However, every door along the way had another zombie just waiting to pop out. Some were even had tools, such as mops, brooms, or large hammers.
"I've heard of skeletons in the closet, but this is ridiculous!" Toad cried.
Fighting the undead horde was a simple thing, but what the zombies lacked in actual skill they made up for in numbers and stamina. Simply hitting one wasn't enough to it. Peach and MegaMan had to literally tear them limb from limb to stop them. And while they were busy with one, the other zombies would come up and try to grab them from behind.
MegaMan blasted another zombie and yelled, "This is pointless! We have to keep moving!"
And so that was how it was for the royal-robot group. Zombies, zombies, zombies. As they went on, however, the zombies began to act more…creative…in how they tried to hinder the gang's progress.
At one point a zombie got a hold of a fire extinguisher and began to spray Peach and MegaMan. Luckily, the hose became stuck at one point, allowing the heroes to pummel the zombie effortlessly.
Further down the way several zombies had set up some kind of miniature barricade…made from other zombies. It wasn't very effective, but the smell was revolting. It took several blasts from the Mega Buster and whacks from the parasol to bring it down. Peach's nose wrinkled as she stepped over the defunct barricade very carefully.
More and more undead came at the heroes as they went down the hall. Some had deteriorated some much that were more or less skeletons…in white collar wear. And upon closer inspection (Well, as close as you can get to the undead without having your brains eaten), Peach realized that the skeletons looked familiar.
"They're Dry Bones!" She gasped.
"They sure are," MegaMan noted, smacking one. He smiled as it fell to pieces.
"No, I mean they'll get back up!"
"What do you mean?" MegaMan got his answer when the Dry Bones he smacked reassembled himself. "Oh."
"If there are Dry Bones' in this building, then Bowser's gang aren't far behind," Peach reasoned as they continued on, "We have to get out of here!"
"I think that ship sailed a loooong time ago, Princess." Toad gulped as he jogged to keep up with his longer-legged companions.
Eventually the four came to a large set of elevator doors at the end of the hall. Toad rushed up and pushed the button. "I hope this thing goes up!"
"I just hope it goes period!" MegaMan said, looking behind. The zombie horde was closing in. "And soon!"
Not more than two minutes later the lights above the elevator lit up, and the doors opened…and dozens of zombies poured into the hall!
Stage 1: Complete
"We shoulda taken the stairs!" Toad wailed as the zombies and skeletons mobbed the group.
WITH WESKER
Wesker was typing at his laptop when another one of Shadowloo's Bison Dolls entered. He finished the paragraph was working on then looked at her.
"We've captured the intruders." She reported.
Finally, some good news. "Who are they?" He asked, adjusting his sunglasses.
"Two organics, two robots," The Bison Doll replied, "One of them looks like a smaller version of the 'MegaMan X' unit we read about in Zero's memory banks."
That was interesting. "Take the organics to the labs for testing. Send the robots to the factory for reprogramming, and to be analyzed for mass production. How many Zero-Betas have been produced?"
"We have over one hundred ready."
Just one hundred? Wesker had hoped to have more. If robotics had been his specialty, he could have found some way to increase production. Still, a hundred of the amazing Zero was nothing to sneeze at. Too bad the reploid wasn't organic, or he could have found some way of cloning him…Which brought to mind another project.
"How has Dante responded to the K-cells?" Wesker asked, bringing up the file of that project.
One of Wesker's latest innovations was to use Koopa Troopa DNA to make subjects more…docile. Malleable. In short, perfect soldiers. He wanted to see what would happen if a half-demon received a dose. But
"Unfortunately, Dante has, once again, shown no change in his body's chemistry at all." The Bison Doll reported.
Wesker stared at her. "…Again? That's impossible. There must have been some kind of reaction," He began to type furiously. "Even demon cells would have to work a little after an injection of that size…have you been monitoring his status?"
"We have, per your orders. But…it's like the K-cells vanish as soon as they make physical contact." The Bison Doll said, looking a bit unsure.
Wesker grunted and folded his laptop. "I'd better examine him myself. And what of the newest capture? The ape, I mean?"
"He's in the labs as well. Would you like to see him?"
Wesker nodded. He needed to get out of this stuffy office anyway. As he and the Bison Doll left, neither of them noticed a pair of glowing eyes in the shadows…
MEANWHILE
Dante eyes opened. Then closed. Then opened again. And then they closed again. It wasn't blinking, as the time between open and closed was too long. After about three minutes of this indecision, Dante's eyes opened and stayed that way. They focused as consciousness became dominant, followed by a splitting headache and some backache.
"Oh…god, what happened?" The half-demon moaned, sitting up. Looking around, he saw that he was in some empty room. No furniture, no windows. Just a pair of lights attached to the ceiling.
"How did I get here- wait." Dante then remembered his duel with Meta Knight. The little gumball must have kidnapped him! "Awww, don't tell me I actually lost to that runt!" Dante took a brief moment to pray that Trish nor anyone else he knew- especially his enemies! –heard about it, unaware that the fight's outcome had already been posted on the evil alliance's homepage.
"Hello? Help! Is anyone out there?"
Dante was distracted from his moment of agonizing to hear the sound of pretty voice. It was coming from the room's only door. Testing the knob, he was intrigued to find that it was unlocked. He tapped the door and it swung open. After waiting a moment, he poked his head out, and found himself looking down a hallway that was a damp dark blue. Doors no doubt leading to other rooms like his lined the walls.
"And the plot thickens." Dante murmured. The son of Sparda saw a light from one of the doors and went towards it. "Anyone in there?"
There was the sound of high-heel slippers hitting the floor. "Who's that?"
"Just some guy," Dante answered, thinking, She sounds hot. Hope it's actually a girl. "You need some help?"
"Yes! I've been captured, along with my retainer! Could you please let us out?"
"Have you tried the knob? Maybe it's unlocked." Dante suggested.
"There is no knob!" A slightly obnoxious voice answered. Dante figured it must have been the retainer Peach mentioned.
"Weird, my room had one." Dante muttered, more to himself. Little did he realize, said lock had mysteriously vanished. "All right, I got this. Stand back!"
Dante took out Rebellion and held it up, point straight in the air. After about six seconds of scrutinizing, he…swung it down at the door!
SHWACK!
"Try it now." Dante said, sheathing the blade.
The door swung open slowly, and Princess Peach stepped out, followed by Toad. Dante gave her a once-over.
Thought so. Pretty hot. But…pink? She looks like something out of a kid's show! He thought.
"Thank you for helping us out," Peach said, "I'm Princess Peach, and this is my royal mushroom retainer, Toad. Who are you?"
"Name's Dante," The son of Sparda introduced, giving Peach an overly dramatic bow. "May I have the honor of escorting you out, my lady?"
"That's very kind of you to offer," Peach replied, and pointed down the hall. "You can help us find our friends. They were taken somewhere else. Come on!"
As the three went off, Dante thought, If she's a real princess, that means I could make a real killing on this. Royals always throw money at hot heroes like me!
Stage 2: Animal Testing
The three walked down the hallway- Peach tentatively, Toad nervously, Dante without a care- in complete and utter silence- save for Dante's humming the theme song for the Devil May Cry anime series. This went on without pause for several minutes.
Then Dante frowned. "Okay, I'm bored. Something needs to happen."
"Don't say that!" Peach berated, "We were attacked by zombies earlier, what if more show up?"
"Zombies would be cool," Dante replied nonchalantly, "Besides, if any do attack us, I can-" (He sliced his sword through the air at imaginary foes) "-to 'em."
Just then, at least 6 doors ahead of the trio opened up. Then zombies came out!
"Well, you got your wish!" Toad groaned.
Dante smirked. "Finally."
Dante threw himself at the undead pack before them. Peach's eyes widened and she quickly opened her parasol. The princess and retainer took refuge behind it, and thus were shielded from the barrage of torn up undead pieces of flesh that resulted in the ensuing carnage. It lasted for about five minutes.
"Yeah, that did it," Dante sighed, stretching. "Can't believe how tense you get when you sleep on a hard floor. Nothing helps you loosen up like a little melee!"
Peach folded her parasol up as she and Toad stared at the scene before them. Dante was standing the center of what looked like…well, there was no single name for what they were. Oddly-shaped chunks of zombie flesh, an undead jigsaw puzzle.
"Yeah…probably took it a little too far," Dante admitted under the force of their gaze. "Just a little antsy for some reason. Felt like I hadn't moved for months."
In spite of that little display, they moved on, though Peach made sure to give Dante some extra space. Sure enough, they encountered more undead, but the subsequent batch of zombies were…odd. Oddly-shaped, to be precise. They were becoming less like rejects from a horror movie and more like poor references to the Cthulu mythos. All were dealt with, and not just by Dante. Peach got a few good hits herself. But one question still remained…
"What are these things?" Toad asked, "I've never even heard of monsters like them!"
"Yeah, they're unnatural, all right…" Dante muttered, a thoughtful look in his eye. This is starting to remind me of those creepy experiments that Wesker guy did during the last dimensional-merger…could he be involved in all of this?
Dante didn't have much time to think on the subject, as he and the Mushroom Kingdomers had a new challenge ahead of them. Three new challengers, all of the same type.
Nemesis T-type, to be exact.
Peach gasped. "Not more of him!"
"You've seen a Nemesis before!?" Dante asked, bringing out his guns. Without another word, he unleashed a wild, unending slew of bullets at the three Nemesis'. Peach, for her part, threw as many turnips, radishes, and other vegetables from Super Mario Bros 2 as she could pluck out of the ground at time. Apparently a patch of farmland had been put in that specific spot.
The standoff lasted for several minutes until the Nemesis' began to walk forward. Unbothered, Dante took Rebellion and began to hack at the gruesome guards with abandon, swiveling around their meaty fists to avoid being pummeled with hit-and-run tactics. Peach did something similar with her umbrella, only she limited herself to jumping from one pair of shoulders to the other. Eventually, they were able to bring down the Nemesis trio.
Stage 2: Complete
Passing by one door, Peach heard a primal roar. "That sounded like…"
Curious, she opened the door (Shouldn't someone be locking these?), and went inside. In the room, she saw a large wooden barrel chained to the floor. It shook slightly as something inside the barrel tried to break out.
"Donkey Kong, is that you?" Peach asked, approaching the barrel. She and Toad began to pry the top of the barrel off with limited success.
"Hey, what's going on?" Dante asked, entering.
"A friend of mine is being kept in this barrel," Peach explained, and winced as the barrel rocked, "Oh, DK, hold still!"
"Yeah, we're working as fast as we- Ow! Splinter!" Toad cried, sucking his finger.
But Dante wasn't paying attention to the Mushroom Kingdomers. He was staring intently at the other side of the room. There was another door there, and it had opened to reveal…
"Wesker." Dante murmured. Well, that explains all of the freakish mutants crawling around here.
Wesker's eyes narrowed. "Dante." How did he get out of his cell? From behind, the Bison Doll came and moved towards the barrel, preparing to restrain Peach via Street Fighting. It was at this moment that the barrel exploded, sending Peach flying into Dante ("Whoa, let's have dinner first!") and sending Toad head-first into the Bison Doll.
Donkey Kong was angry. He was so angry that it was very possible that steam might pour out of his ears. With everything that had happened to him lately- Being attacked during his banana hunt, shot at, stuffed into a barrel-that the urge to break something, anything, was so great that threatened to overwhelm and smother the universe.
Then he saw Wesker.
Wesker's muscles tightened as three hundred pounds of ape fury bore down on him.
Donkey Kong vs Wesker
Donkey Kong leapt up and swung two big fists at Wesker. Wesker disappeared from the spot, much to DK's confusion. Wesker reappeared directly behind DK, and began to hammer some blows into the ape.
CRA-CRA-CRACK!
Donkey spun like a helicopter rotor, backhanding Wesker three times before sending the villain flying. Wesker recovered, landed on his feet and shot towards DK with amazing speed, gun in hand.
POW!
However, the added momentum made the collision with Donkey Kong's fist even more painful. Wesker even felt his teeth shake, threatening to pop out.
It's about ten- no, twenty times worse than being hit by Redfield! Wesker thought trying to right himself. Standing up, he thought, It would be too dangerous to go at this beast head-on in this state, and I can't take the risk of killing him. I'd better mix things up…
At this point, DK wasn't waiting for Wesker to make his move, and was in fact charging the man on all fours, intent on unleashing primal power on him.
What followed next was a series of quick blows as Wesker used his enhanced speed to zip around Donkey Kong, just narrowly avoiding being pounded into paste. This lasted for about seven seconds, as Wesker ended up tripping on DK's tie on the eighth second. On the ninth second Wesker was already getting back up, but Donkey Kong wasn't going to let that happen, and began to slap down on Wesker endlessly. A garbled cry of pain barely came out from Wesker as he felt the hands come down on him again and again. Enough was enough…!
Wesker vanished, and DK stopped, frowning at the floor where Wesker had been. Only his sunglasses remained. He heard a 'whoosh' from behind and turned, seeing Wesker coming at him…eyes glowing blood red…!
THWACK!
Donkey Kong headbutted Wesker. And thus, Albert Wesker went down and didn't get back up.
End Battle
Donkey Kong picked up Wesker's limp form with one hand and give it a sniff. Still alive, he it smelled to him. He tossed Wesker aside, conveniently hitting the Bison Doll. Toad, having just been saved from the Bison Doll's wrath, quickly rushed over to Princess Peach's side. She and Dante were staring at Donkey Kong in both awe and terror.
"…Whoa." Was all Dante said.
"Donkey Kong!" Peach called out. When she had the big ape's attention, she said, "We're leaving. Would you like to come with us?"
DK nodded, patting his chest with a fist. He knuckled towards the door Wesker came out of and glared at the others. He then gestured, as if saying, "Let's go, this way."
"So, now we're taking point from a monkey?" Dante asked sardonically, "Trish is never gonna believe this one…" He trailed off when he saw something on the floor. Picking it up, he saw that it was a card key of sorts. Dante pocketed it, as it could be useful.
And with that, the group, now with extra knuckle-dragging, left the room, closing the door behind them. Wesker then pulled himself up, his head throbbing like no tomorrow. He pulled out his cell phone, took a moment to replace his shades, and made a quick call.
"Security, this is Wesker," He said, "The prisoners have escaped. Have all hands on the alert."
MEANWHILE
Pikachu cautiously crept around the huge factory. Staying to the shadows, he listened as machinery all around him worked, filling the air with a cacophony of pounding hammers, hissing welders, and turning gears. Eventually he noticed a door that was ajar. From the slight crack Pikachu heard a an odd whirring noise accompanied by a faint, green glow. Curious, the little yellow mouse went in.
There, he saw what looked like a little boy in a blue helmet incased in some sort of vertical glass box. A beam of light was continually shown upon him. Lying next in a horizontal box was some kind of dog.
Pikachu's ears twitched as he stared. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he didn't like the look of it. It occurred to the electric Pokemon that neither box had air holes. They would suffocate! Acting quickly, Pikachu puffed his cheeks and set out quick bolts of lightning. The boxes crackled slight, then opened, sending the blue boy falling to the floor.
MegaMan groaned as he reactivated. Getting up, he found some sort of yellow rodent sniffing around him.
He then remembered what had happened. "Peach! Toad! Rush!"
MegaMan looked around and saw the second container. Reaching inside, he pulled out Rush and reactivated the robotic dog. Rush got to his feet and shook himself.
"C'mon, boy, we've got a princess to save! Again." MegaMan said, and went for the door. Rush followed close behind.
Pikachu stared at the departing robots. Did that blue boy say Peach? He knew the princess? Pikachu wasn't sure what was going on, but if one of his friends were in danger, he was going to help out!
Stage 3: Parallel Assembly Line
MegaMan, with Rush close behind, ran down the railways and catwalks as an immense multi-part assembly line operated all around him. A klaxon began to blare and a red light flashed as he made his way.
"WARNING! WARNING! SECURITY BREACH! SECURITY BREACH!" A raspy voice on the P.A. system bellowed, "ALL HANDS BE ON THE ALERT!"
"I wonder if they mean me…" MEgaMan considered aloud, "Better be on my toes!"
That's when the catwalk he was on suddenly exploded. With the floor under him taking a nose dive, MegaMan tumbled onto a conveyor belt and found himself being shuffled forward. This wouldn't have been so bad, but he also had to worry about numerous robotic hands, welding torches, and other doohickies trying to reach out and violate his personal space. Activating his Mega Buster, Rock fired at the invasive appendages. He jumped and did an odd dance to avoid those that were out of his line of fire, but it was becoming too much. The speed of the belt wasn't helping either. It wouldn't be long until something grabbed, burned, or cut him open!
"CH-AH!"
FZZAPP!
There was a huge surge of electricity, and suddenly all of the machinery shut down. Even the conveyor belt stopped moving. MegaMan looked around, trying to find the source of the power surge.
"What caused that?" MegaMan asked, looking down at Rush. His dog just shrugged. "Well, whatever it was, let's take this chance while we have."
And with that, the robots set off. Their progress, though less troublesome without the assembly line's attempts at 'MegaMan-ipulation', still had its own difficulties. The power outage had caused most the lights to go out, forcing MegaMan to move slowly or trip over and get tangled in one of the frozen robot arms. As he tip-toed across, he heard something moving off to the side. Looking, he could make out the silhouettes of wrench-wielding creatures fiddling around with the machinery. The lights soon came back on, and MegaMan got a better look.
Giant moles! With turtle shells! They began throwing their wrenches at MegaMan, which he blasted out of the air with his Mega Buster.
That's when the assembly line kicked into gear again, forcing the robot to dodge both robotic arms and projectile tools. As he leaped over one claw, he summoned a Mega Ball and kicked it at another arm. The arm's wielding torch exploded as the ball connected, causing a piece of shrapnel to fly off and strike one of the turtle-moles.
"Ack!" The Rocky Wrench cried out, clutching his eye. "The goggles! They do nothing!"
MegaMan ignored this as he pushed on. As he moved, something occurred to him. Where was this belt taking him?
He got his answer as he saw a huge pit coming up ahead. The end of the conveyor belt was sticking over it, dumping anything on it into the darkness below. With no idea of where that darkness led to, MegaMan felt the wisest course of action was staying out of the pit- a hard task, when on the aforementioned conveyor. Knowing how comical he looked, MegaMan turned around and began to run in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, the belt was speeding up. Looking around, MegaMan saw another catwalk and prepared to fire a grappling hook. The hook wasn't very useful in combat, but it came in handy when traversing difficult terrain. HE just hoped the railing was strong enough to hold his metal body.
Then a wrench struck him in the head with a 'clang' and MegaMan fell back into the pit. With a fearful yowl, Rush dived after him.
MegaMan fell for about 5.9 seconds before landing on his feet, with Rush landing besides him. He was in some kind of large arena-type chamber. He could windows for people to look in with up above.
There was the sound of footsteps approaching drew MegaMan's attention to what was before him.
Two tall figures, both identical. Red and white armor, arm and legs similar to his own, and a long, blond pony tail that went down to the floor.
MegaMan had seen this person before- no, not a person. Robot. He had seen the unfinished design specifications in a file from one of Dr. Wily's computers.
Looks like someone had finished it. And made another. And then he rembered the assembly line. How many more have been made?
The two robots stepped forward, their arms becoming Buster Guns. MegaMan tensed himself, preparing for a hard fight.
"Pika-CHU!"
A bolt of lightning shot down from above and at the approaching Wily-bots. The two tried to doge it, but their hair absorbed a bit of the voltage. Pony tails weren't meant to be frizzled, from the look of things. MegaMan looked up to see that yellow mouse from falling down, and caught it in his arms.
"Hey, little, guy," MegaMan greeted, "Did you fall down here too?"
"Pi!" Pikachu nodded, and squirmed out of MegaMan's grip. Landing on the floor, he glared at the two robots, his little cheeks crackling. It was strangely adorable. He unleashed another jolt of electricity, but this time the two robots were ready and avoided it. They shot forward together, one at MegaMan and one at Pikachu. Pikachu narrowly zipped out of the way to avoid being a fuzzy-yellow soccer ball, while MegaMan blocked a punch before ducking a roundhouse kick. This new type of robot was good! He began to charge up his own Mega Buster, preparing to fire, when the robot slashed at him with some kind of beam saber. MegaMan jumped back to avoid losing his arm and fired. It missed, and the robot continued his assault. Off to the side, the second robot was also attempting to get at Pikachu, but the little mouse was just too fast. With lightning-fast speed and precision, Pikachu zipped in and out his attacker's reach, landing small, electrical shocks whenever he could. MegaMan had started to adopt a similar approach. He focused on staying away from his own opponent and landing quick, shots with either his uncharged Buster or the MegaBall. Luckily, whoever built these robots hadn't bothered with advanced AI, so the simple strategies worked.
Until MegaMan's attacker got lucky and knocked MegaMan off his feet with his own Buster Gun. The taller robot was on him in less than a heartbeat.
Panicking, MegaMan put his hand on the robot's chest and activated his Weapon Copy system. Much to his amazement, he felt a new tool being added to his arsenal, and even better, this stunned his would-be assassin.
+Zero Saber Obtained+
A vibrant green blade of energy appeared from his Mega Buster, and MegaMan swung his arm across as hard as he could. The bisected robot fell to piece; top half to the right, bottom half to the left.
Pikachu, however, had ended his battle with a decidedly louder approached. There was a rumble of thunder as the Electric-type's body became the center for a pillar of lightning- a pillar that the second Wily-bot couldn't get away from. The voltage, combined with damage from the smaller shocks, fried the robot's circuits and wiring until they melted and hardened into something normal made in a kiln. When the dust settled, the robot was lying on the floor, most of its artificial skin gone. Rush sniffed at it.
MegaMan wasn't sure what to say. For a little critter, it packed a huge punch. He was glad that tiny thing was on his side, for multiple reasons.
Oh well, no point to staying around here. MegaMan broke one of the windows with the Mega Ball, and used the Rush Coil to jump up towards it. Much to his surprise, he found that the little mouse was following him.
Stage 3 complete
Peach, Dante, Donkey Kong and Toad raced down one hallway as red lights flashed and klaxons blared. Dante was in the lead, Rebellion readied to cut down anything that got in the way. At the end of the hall they came across a door with a sign displaying EXIT in neon-red letters at the top. Dante took it down in two strokes and kick.
"Hey, was that locked?" Toad asked. Dante shrugged in response.
Exiting, the gang found themselves in a large courtyard surrounded by a tall, electric fence with barbed wire. Spotlights had been positioned at every corner. The grass was surprisingly well-kept. It was all sandwiched between two buildings.
Peach stared at the other building, opposite of the one they left. "MegaMan must be in there. Do you see in entrance?"
That's when the wall of the other building exploded in a fantastic display of lights.
"There's one." Dante commented dryly.
Three figures leapt out from the hole in the wall and landed before Peach's pack. The princess recognized them immediately.
"MegaMan!" She cried, "And…Pikachu?!"
"Princess Peach!" MegaMan said, "You're all right! How did you escape?"
"This man saved me." Peach explained, gesturing to Dante.
MegaMan regarded Dante. The man looked human enough, but for some reason he was getting an inhuman reading from his scanners. Dante, for his part, was also giving MegaMan a once-over. He had heard the name 'MegaMan' from Zero during that incident in the Marvel universe, but wasn't quite sure what to make of the short, blue robot.
Funny…the guy Zero mentioned sounded a little taller…
Then MegaMan noticed Donkey Kong. "Gorilla!" he cried, aiming his Mega Buster.
"Relax, he's with us." Dante shrugged.
DK stood over MegaMan, knuckles on the ground. The big ape smiled, or more specifically, his teeth showed as the edge of his lips moved upwards. MegaMan took a step back.
Meanwhile, Peach had found Pikachu and was giving him a little hug.
"Why, Pikachu, I didn't know you were here!" Peach cooed, "How have you been?"
"Chaaa…" Pikachu replied, which meant, "Just fine, thank. And you?"
Not one of them realized that they were being watched. In a secure location not far away, Wesker watched both parties interact on a closed-circuit television set. He heard a door open up behind him.
"All preparations have been made." He heard the Bison Doll say.
"Have the remaining Zero-Betas been readied for transport?" Wesker asked, not turning his head.
"I said all preparations were made." The Bison Doll said stoically.
Wesker nodded. Good. Then there was only one last thing to do. He took a moment to rest his hand on the metal case beside him- the X-Ball was sealed within, and the lock would only release when Wesker put in both his genetic sample and the pass code- and pushed a button on the console in front.
Back on the ground, the escapees were busy debating their next move.
"I don't want to stay in this place any more than I have to," Peach said, "It's stopped raining, so why don't we leave?"
"Yea, I don't feel like walking," Dante said coolly, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Let's see if we can steal someone's ride, like a helicopter or motorcycle?" Please let there be a bike, that would be so awesome. "Anyway, I'd like to know what Wesker's up to, too. Wouldn't hurt to keep looking around."
"That might not be smart," MegaMan put in, "I'm not saying we shouldn't investigate this facility, but we're improperly equipped for the job. We should come back after restoring ourselves. If we're not careful, we could fall into a trap and-"
MegaMan was cut off by the sound of every spotlight turning on at once. The lights turned about until they focused on the group. In spite of the brightness, they could see an airship of some kind rising into the sky. It was a small airship, just a bit bigger than a helicopter, but it still looked like a pirate galley held aloft by booster rockets, and dozens of propellers sticking out from the hull.
"What is that?" Dante asked in a deadpan voice, raising an eyebrow.
"It looks like a smaller version of the ship you were on, Princess." MegaMan said to Peach.
"Groo-ooh!" Donkey Kong cried out, which was ape for, "Look out! Something's coming!"
A pulsing white and green beam shot out from the airship and struck Peach. When it stopped, she was gone.
"Pika-Pika!?" Pikachu gasped.
"Where'd she go?" Dante asked, his tone serious.
"She must have been transported!" MegaMan exclaimed, trying to make sense of what happened. "That ray must have been a teleporter...that's the only explanation of why there's nothing left…"
MegaMan's theory was correct, as at that moment Peach was being forcibly locked in another cage.("Not again!") When the Bison doll reported this to Wesker, the evil scientist pushed another button on his control panel. From what he had learned from his 'partners', Peach had some information on the X-balls that could be useful in the future. All that was left was to tie up the loose ends, and there was only one way to do it. While examining Zero, he had, with Magikoopa's and Shadowloo's help, accessed the reploid's memory banks and constructed a powerful android based on that data. A door on the bottom of the airship opened, and that android shot towards the remaining escapees in the compound.
"Here comes something else!" Dante yelled, taking hold of Rebellion.
The android impacted the earth, sending up dirt and grass. As the dust settled, it stood over its targets with (Figurative) blood in its eyes.
Boss battle: Sigma-class Attackeroid Version 5.8 ("Sigma")
The android shot forward, shield in hand. MegaMan saw its other hand becoming an arm-cannon and jumped back, readying his Mega Buster. The android had white, curved spikes coming out of its back, but that wasn't important at the moment, as it spun around on its heel to give Donkey Kong a kick in the breadbasket. At the same time, it fired a blast the size of a fully-charged Mega Buster shot at Dante. Dante jumped to avoid the blast, and took out his guns and began to fire them at Sigma, only to hit his shield. Sigma turned and fired another shot from his arm cannon at Dante, who was forced to roll to the side to dodge it. Sigma then rocketed towards Dante, only to stop and spun around- Donkey Kong had attempted to jump on the android, only to be smacked away. The big ape almost squashed Pikachu as he hit the ground.
"Everyone spread out!" MegaMan shouted, "Keep moving and try to slow him down as best you can!"
Unfortunately, this strategy was difficult to implement on both counts. Sigma was constantly in motion, and very adept with his shield. Whenever either MegaMan, Dante, or Pikachu would try to shoot at him, Sigma would spin around to block the attack, causing the blasts to rebound at someone else. And rather than focus on a single target, Sigma would zip around like a pinball, attacking whoever got in the way. And despite his bulky armor, Sigma was very agile. And because of said armor, any shots that did hit him barely slowed the battling robot.
After getting slugged in the chest for the third time, Dante made this comment, "you know what? This whole 'keep moving' thing ain't working."
He's right, MegaMan thought, If we're going to survive this, we can't just stay on the defensive. Aloud, he asked, "Do you have an idea?"
"As a matter of fact, I do," Dante replied coolly, and whipped out…a guitar? "Watch and learn, shorty! And see if you can hold baldy's attention for a minute!"
Unsure of what Dante was playing to do with a musical instrument (Maybe it was one of those secret cannons, like in those old spy movies?), MegaMan began to fire at Sigma. The tall android turned away from its attempts to crush Pikachu under its feet and blocked the shots with its shield. Pikachu gave the 'droid a quick shock before zipping away, but Sigma paid it no mind, focusing its attention on MegaMan. While this was going on, Dante was moving in for the kill. Gripping the guitar by the neck, he used his other to pluck the strings.
FWA-BOOM!
The guitar emitted a purple-ish blast of sound waves, hitting Sigma dead on. The robot was briefly stunned, but recovered quick enough and caught Dante's blade in mid-swing before kicking the half-demon away. But with his back turned, Donkey Kong was able to sneak up (As much a 300 pound ape could sneak, anyway) and give Sigma a solid punch in the back.
MegaMan couldn't believe it- The guitar was effective against the attacking android! Maybe…yes, that's it! He ran up to where Dante was and put his hand on the guitar. He activated his weapon-copying system and felt his systems assimilate the guitar's specifications.
+Nevan Cannon obtained+
"What are you doing?" Dante asked, standing up.
"Now I've got your power!" MegaMan declared, pumping his fist. "We might win this yet!"
With the inclusion of the 'Navan Wave' to his arsenal, the fight against Sigma began to turn around. Because Sigma's shield couldn't block the soundwaves of the instrument, MegaMan and Dante were able to attack the android with impunity, paralyzing it and leaving it vulnerable to blows from Donkey Kong and Pikachu. At this point Sigma abandoned its shield and settled on a new tool- a second arm cannon. With two blasters ready, Sigma began to fire everywhere, putting the group on the defensive. Thankfully, the Navan Wave allowed MegaMan and Dante to slow Sigma down whenever they could, though this time the paralysis wouldn't hold for the length of time it did before.
Soon, Sigma began to spin like a top, sending out a steady stream of buster shots as he went. Everyone was forced to hit the dirt to avoid being shot.
He has to stop eventually…even for a second, MegaMan thought, If he doesn't, his systems would overheat and explode, wouldn't they?
As it happened, at that moment Sigma did stop, releasing steam from vents all over his body. The moment he did Dante leapt into action. Taking his sword, the half-demon hunter threw the sword at Sigma, impaling the attackeroid. Donkey Kong also moved in, hammering his fists onto sword's handle, driving it further in. Then Pikachu shot out a lightning bolt at the sword, shocking Sigma. This seemed to put the android at the breaking point, as the tall attacker seemed to stumble for a bit. Realizing that this was the perfect chance, MegaMan charged at Sigma. Once he was close enough, the Blue Bomber did a spinning uppercut that caused Sigma to exploded!
Mega Upper!
BOOM!
Bits and pieces of Sigma went everywhere. Dante's sword, by some strange feat, was shot into the air, spinning, before plummeting down and piercing the earth blade-first. A large metallic ball of silicon and glasss rolled at MegaMan's feet. Realizing that it was the core of Simga's systems, MegaMan picked it up and activated his weapons-copying system.
+Sigma Shield obtained+
Taking the hilt, Dante pulled his sword free and returned it to the sheath on his back. "Not a bad fight, all in all. Now what?"
MegaMan took a moment to give Rush some petting before answering. "Now we have to save Princess Peach! We just need to track that airship and-" But the airship was gone, the sky empty. The only thing worth looking at up above were stars. "No!"
"Wesker moves fast, doesn't he?" Dante remarked conversationally, also looking up. "I wonder why he was in such a hurry to leave. We didn't do that much damage…"
MEANWHILE
"...And we should arrive at the rendezvous point in short time." The Bison doll finished as her hands gripped the helm of the airship.
"Good." Wesker replied.
Regardless of what you thought of Bison himself, you had to admit that he was very good at creating effective minions. Unlike Bowser's scatterbrained servents, Bison's 'Dolls' had been brainwashed to perfection. Each girl was loyal, competent, and undoubtedly dependable. But they were still Bison's Dolls, Wesker was certain that he had them scattered throughout the alliance to facilitate his eventual coup. A nip here, and tug there, and everything would fall into place at Bison's word.
This was why Wesker would have this Doll focus on the 'emergency' evacuation of the factory, so as to distract her while he prepared his own plans. After comparing notes from various scouts sent all over the new world, Wesker believed he had what he needed to fulfill his ambitions. He heard, no, rather, he felt a strange buzz from the case beside him.
Soon, you will be united with your brothers, and the world will be born anew again…with a new God to rule it.
Level 7 End
(A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. My mind wanders, I've been distracted, I have no excuses, etc., etc.. But I would like to say that I made MegaMan deliver the finishing blow to the Sigma wannabe to celebrate the news that MegaMAn will be included in the next Super Smash Bros game! Woo-hoo! And I've also created a 'support characters' page, which will only be viewable on my Deviantart gallery. Just find the link on my author profile, and head for the gallery folder marked Super smash Bros vs Capcom. It should be at the very end. Till next time, do the Mario!)