Chapter 8

Aboard The Phantom

Tracy came out of the weapons control room, removing her headgear. The sight of her battered brother standing in the corridor, holding a severed head didn't seem to bother her so much. "You look like hell." She told him simply.

"You..." He said in shock, "you blew up the General's ship."

"Yup." She replied nonchalantly, as she walked by him. "Kaboom." She added flatly.

Scott turned, watching her walking away. "Who's flying The Phantom?" He yelled.

"Robbie." She answered from around the corner.

He followed her into the command room, "Three things," he began, "one: How the hell is Robbie flying?" He stopped himself, "Actually, nevermind. Don't answer that. Two: What are we gonna do about the hundreds of people in the living quadrant?"

"I was thinking we could take them back, once things settle down." She replied, bringing up a series of holo-files on her console.

"You're joking, right?" Scott asked.

"One thing I've noticed over the years, is that Wilt and his machines operate like ants." She began, still scrolling through the files. "They cut losses and move on with operations." She popped a toothpick in her mouth while reading to herself. "Light took Hoover Dam an earlier today, meaning we wont have to worry about a loss of power, and Electronics Park could easily be made into the perfect safe haven for humans."

Scott nodded slowly. "So I take it you've figured out who we need to pay a visit?" He asked.

"Yup." Tracy responded, not looking away from her console. The three-dimensional holo of an android in black nano pants with bladed, red boots and gloves. Equipped with deadly, razor sharp boomerangs. His blood-red helmet bore curved, yellow jaw guards and an arching "V" on the front. "Quickman." She said, turning her chair to face Scott. "The quote-unquote brain of Wily's androids. He's linked into every interface of Wily's operations simultaneously. He also controls coordination of information between androids and beta-class security droids."

"Shit." Scott replied. "It seems so obvious, now."

"He would be the first person to have found us in Virginia. So it only makes sense that he would know you were still alive when Guts confronted us there." She leaned forward, elbows on her knees, "It would also explain Crashman's security and external communications being cut off, and The General still conveniently getting there so fast."

Scott was still shaking his head, "How did we not see this?" He asked.

Tracy turned her chair back around, "Don't be so hard on us." She said. "Light has thousands of files on Wily's officers in here. I've been grinding day and night trying to locate one that fit the bill, and still would have been too if it weren't for this." She clicked a separate box, bringing up a conversation between Dr. Light and Megaman.

"He should pose little threat to you." Light said. "His fusion energy only transmutes into high-octane firing fuel, making him move extremely fast. With your abilities, it should be a simple in and out. No resistance, no civilians, just him and some Beta-class security."

"An assassination." Megaman said, bluntly.

"A strategic removal." Light corrected. "He runs the network between Wily's officers. He is the reason the Sparkman strike went to Hell."

"We take him out and Wily can just communicate with his officers himself." Megaman added.

"Still a win. Wily is human, he gets tired, he has a lot to multitask already. If he has to play 'switchboard operator' for everyone, he will begin to falter in other tasks."

"Is my gear ready?" He asked.

"You leave in ten." Light replied.

"Holy shit." Scott said quietly. "When was that?"

"Twenty minutes ago." Tracy replied. "Hence why we are hauling ass west. Head to the engineering bay so I can patch you up, you're about to go for round two."

As Scott stood up, the encrypted holocomms began to chime. "You think he's gonna ask for a ride?" He asked jokingly, before answering the call.

"Do you have any idea just how bad you've fucked up, Bonne?" Guts asked through gritted teeth.

Scott could almost feel the tension through the comm waves. "General, to be honest, deep down you knew it would end this way."

Gutsman suddenly felt a surge of rage flow through him. It may have been coincidence, but hearing Scott start the conversation with that particular phrase brought him back to his final conversation with the man's human form. A conversation that haunted him for a decade now. "The two of you can take care of the problem at hand, for all I care. I have a more pressing matter at hand anyhow. But rest assured that I will spare no expense in getting my hands on you before this is over." He threatened.

Proto said nothing, only giving Guts a steady glare, before cutting comms, and smashing the device. He turned to Tracy, who sat quietly eavesdropping. "Good news is, we don't have to turn around." He said.

Tron smirked, "Bad news?"

He removed his broken helmet, letting the pieces fall on the floor, "Asshole robbed me of two minutes of repair time." He dragged his burned and bloodied body down the hall, carrying Crashman's head. His sister simply grinned and followed.

Syracuse, New York

Gutsman had been walking for miles, ignoring the constant chime of his holocomms. Quick had been desperately trying to reach him since Crash's death, but he was in no mood to be chastised by a subordinate at this moment. If Quick wanted to risk his neck dropping this on Wily, hours after the loss of the power grid, so be it. He had invested far more time and effort into the Bonnes than he felt they were worth. Megaman was the real threat in this war, and he intended to deal with him first and foremost. The more Quick focused on getting up with him, the less prepared he would be when his prey showed up at his door very shortly. This made Guts smile, as his comms continued to chime.