Mega Man was worried. Even though he had transfered Wily to a more secure prison further south in California, the thought of dealing with Dr. Cain bothered him. Since when was Cain able to steal the Skull Capsule from Wily and take control of his robots? Would he be able to rebuild his own? Mega Man counted down the robot masters Cain had built and tried to remember whose weakness was whose. In the past, Mega Man hadn't been able to figure it out.
"Well, it's not like I have their powers anyway." Mega Man said to Auto. "All the clues we have so far is that a bunch of robots stole thirty million dollars from the bank and transfered it to several unknown accounts - we know it couldn't be just one account, or someone's savings would suddenly be thirty million more and of course that's suspicious. The digital trail was erased, so the police can't trace it. Did you find anything on these robots' CPUs?"
The blue bomber referred to the three torn up machines sprawled out on the repair tables in the lab. Pump Man, Burst Man and Burner Man lay there, each hooked up to the computer pillars beside the heads of the tables that served as scanning devices. Auto happily worked on each of them, letting the data in their heads show itself on the screen in each computer.
"Well, Magnet Man was too damaged to scan, so he's at the robot museum now." Auto said. "As for the others, the past month of their memories was encoded, but even after getting past the security measures, there's just nothing there. It's all deleted. I found a couple of directives that detailed their scheme on the bank, but that's it."
"Just like Cut Man in Russia!" Mega Man exclaimed. "That means that Cain, not Wily, is trying to find whatever Bass is looking for. It must be some powerful weapon that Wily hid out there!"
"Didn't you say before that Gemini Man and Sword Man's memories weren't deleted like Cut Man's?" Auto mentioned as he pushed more buttons on the computers beside the captured Wily-bots. "They might have been working for Wily-"
"-And some of the Cain controlled robots killed them for it!" Mega Man exclaimed. "I have to tell Bass! He could be walking right into a battle zone!"
Before the conversation could go any further, a red light began to blink on the lab's main control monitor, and the screen screamed at them the words RED ALERT. The blaring alarm continue until Mega Man ran over and slammed a button. The screen turned from the flashing letters to a view of the middle of Monstropolis, where Auto's shop stood. The Eddie-shaped building was being pummeled and blasted by several Wily-robots.
"My shop!" Auto yelled, throwing his hands atop his head. "Aaaugh! What are they doing? I'll give them what-for!"
With a few karate chops and high kicks in the air, Auto imitated his favorite kung-fu moves from the films. For further effect, he pulled out his Japanese fans and swung them about ferociously. Despite the urgency of the situation, Mega Man had to hold in a laugh.
"Um, how about you leave this to me, Auto?"
"Right, right. That's why you're the expert!"
The blue and cyan streak flew upwards as Mega Man teleported out, landing almost instantaneously outside the front of Auto's shop. He found himself greeted by a vicious swipe to the face. Mega Man's instincts were quick, and he dodged just as Slash Man was about to hit him. He blasted off three shots to push Slash Man back.
"Graawwrrl!" Slash Man snarled. "You're fast, Mega Man, but you can't stop us!"
"Oh yeah? Prove it!"
Mega Man accepted the challenge as bravely as ever, blasting off at Slash Man once more before aiming left at Yamato Man. The sneaky shogun wasn't going to be sneaking up on him any time soon.
"Just get the building, Yamato!" Slash Man snarled once more (did he ever talk normally?) and flung an abrupt claw at his companion. "I've got this guy."
"Just like you did the first time you fought him?"
The spiky robot roared at Yamato, making his fury very clear. "I said, GO!"
The ear-bursting loudness of Slash's cry was followed by the armor-busting fully charged Mega Buster. An angry Slash Man jumped forward at Mega Man, ready to render him to pieces. He tackled Mega Man and began slashing away, taking a serious pounding from Mega Man as he did. Thankfully, Slash Man's abrupt conversation with Yamato Man had allowed Rock to equip his ultra armor.
Despite this, he couldn't just sit there and let Slash Man rip him to shreds. He shot a buster pellet into Slash Man's chin, then fired off a one-two punch that knocked the Wily-bot back. Jumping to his feet - and dodging one last swipe from the spiky-bot, Mega Man made sure Slash Man wouldn't be any more trouble. A flood of plasma bullets ended Slash Man's attacks.
Mega Man snapped around, trying to find out where Yamato Man went. Instead, all he saw was Auto's Eddie-shaped shop covered from head to toe in vines. Mega Man gasped. If he didn't act soon, he would be too late.
"Plant Man! Oh no-"
Mega Man quickly equipped the slash claw so that he could put a stop to this. Before he could react to what he saw, Yamato Man slashed his spear across Mega Man's neck, sending him sprawling to the ground. Instantly Mega Man's darker colors faded back into his normal blue and cyan. With a flash of light, Mega Man was unable to move, and lay there stiff, flat on his back. The clattering of hooves against the street told Rock who it was before he even saw Centaur Man's face staring smugly down at him.
"Watch this, Mega Man." Centaur Man taunted. "Surely you can see the show from down there."
He could. Mega Man gasped with horror to see the vines tighten around Auto's stop, forcing the walls inward. The structure crumbled, and the metal walls groaned and screamed as they bent in. The legs of the shop were squeezed the hardest, and they buckled. Without its supports, the structure had no choice but to forfeit to gravity and slam into street below.
"No!"
Mega Man waited only as long as the centaur flash held him. Re-equipping his ultra armor, he was on his feet before either of the Wily-bots guarding him could do so much as blink. A quick buster shot at Yamato Man, and Mega Man was ready to take on the half-horse-bot. His grin turned almost into a smirk. His armor protected him from the centaur flash, so that leveled the battle to a more even state - or as even as it could be with two versus one.
"You're a mighty warrior Mega Man," Yamato Man brandished his spear with pride, stabbing out at Mega Man and sending him jumping back.
"But you can't stop our new master!" Centaur Man finished for him as he sent out a spread of plasma. This wasn't so easy for Mega Man to dodge. "You might as well just give up now!"
"A true warrior can never give up." The Japanese robot rebuked his companion, almost sounding proud of Rock. "No, Mega Man will remain until the horrid, bitter end!"
"Until I win you mean!"
With a charged blaster shot that shone as bright as the light of justice in him, Mega Man destroyed Yamato Man. This attack left his back facing Centaur Man, and he found himself the unfortunate victim of several shots in the back. Mega Man rolled across the pavement, injured but not out of the fight. He clasped his left buster, shakily getting back up. His teeth clenched tightly with determination.
"I've got this one, Rock!"
Several gyro blades surrounded Centaur Man, and the angry robot lifted on his hind legs, stomping and trying to escape.
"Arrgh!" he snapped, stomping in anger. "That's not fair! You stupid Team 5 piece of -"
BOOM.
Centaur Man exploded, leaving head and limbs strewn about the street. Gyro Man, up in the air above the scene, laughed a mildly haughty laugh. After all, it was good to fight with a hero like Rock instead of just being another member of Team 5.
"Glad I showed up, huh? It would have been better if I was here before the shop collapsed, though...sorry-"
"Gyro Man!" Mega Man yelled, his eyes widening in horror. "Watch out!"
"Huh?"
Six brick red flying wedges surrounded Gyro Man, and only as they flickered did he finally notice that he was trapped. One instant later, and an electrical surge blasted through Gyro Man, tearing through his system and shutting down his propellor. The worst part was Gyro Man's eyes. They turned completely blank, not so much as flinching when his metal body smacked against the ground.
"Mega Man..." Gyro Man gasped. "I can't see..."
There was nothing Mega Man could do. Even as Gyro Man said this, the six pieces came together and formed the most boring biped machine in Monstropolis. Everything from his shapeless limbs to his unibrow was precisely and definitely indistinct and uninteresting. But Rock knew better than to underestimate him. Echelon Man had the most powerful attack of any Cain-bot, and Gyro Man was lucky to not be an electricity based robot master - those robots felt better than most the wrath of the echelon heatshock.
Right away Mega Man knew to fire off a charged shot, only he didn't get the chance. Spiked vines lashed out at him and held his arms. Rock couldn't move. He realized with horror what Plant Man was trying to do. Echelon Man had been designed to kill Mega Man, and he was coming closer...
"Oh no you don't!" Mega Man peppily exclaimed. "I won't let you!"
At once the slash claw came back out, and the vines were torn off. The petals that made up Plant Man's shield appeared around him, but he winced in fear. The slash claw was just as good at shredding his petals as it was his vines. He backed away with uncertainty, not ready to be weeded.
"Sorry, Echelon Man!" Plant Man shuddered. "There's no way I'm fighting that. Why did we have to bring Slash Man?"
"Then fight me!" Napalm Man exclaimed from behind. "Go, Rock! Get Echelon Man!"
He didn't need to be told, but even so he had a hard time dodging the electric bolt that Echelon Man fired off. Mega Man jumped, wishing that he didn't have to get rid of his ultra armor to use robot master weapons. Slash claw probably wasn't going to be much good against Echelon Man, so Mega Man went ahead back to his ultra armor. He was going to need all the protection he could get to defeat this Cain-bot.
Echelon Man charged toward Mega Man, running as fast as his boring legs could carry him. Mega Man charged his shot, just waiting for the right moment to fire. He blasted away, only for Echelon Man to suddenly split away into his six wedge form and dodge the powerful plasma completely (the plasma hit an unfortunately placed mailbox, littering the street with letters). Each piece of the boring Cain-bot zoomed in position to let out their main attack. As much as Mega Man tried to shoot at the pieces and free himself from the surrounding wedges, there was nothing he could do to stop the inevitable; six electrical beams shot at the bomber from all around, and he could almost feel his innards sizzling. His innards went completely crazy, and one system after another blinked rapidly off and on.
Rock wasn't the hero of Monstropolis for nothing. Even through all of this, he didn't forget his kung fu. Mega Man kicked and punched his way out of the center of destruction, then blasted away one wedge after another. As he blasted the fifth, the sixth promptly fell out of the sky, defunct. The rocket that propelled it cut off, and it landed in the rubble of Auto's shop.
"Ugh, that hurts! Oh! Napalm Man, are you okay?"
An explosion and a roar of fire told him that Plant Man was no more. Thankfully the robot's body was left in the street and not near anything flammable, but that didn't mean Napalm Man wouldn't be getting another lecture about using his napalm bombs in the city limits. Mega Man made a mental note to ask Gravity Man to invent another weapon for Napalm Man to use that was safer.
"I'm alright!" Napalm Man cruised past Mega Man, the treads on his feet propelling him to where his comrade lay. "I just need to help Gyro Man!"
"Ugh..." The green robot was trying to get up despite his shaky limbs. "That sucked...I can't believe I didn't see Echelon Man sneak up on me."
Napalm Man, ever the the one to use his new hands, converted his napalm shooters to them and pulled Gyro Man up. Then he promptly flung Gyro Man over his shoulder - really, he was in no condition to go anywhere on his own - and waved at Mega Man. Rock winced. Gyro Man's pride had been badly hurt by being taken out of the fight so quickly, and now having to go back to the lab like a kidnapped cavewoman could hardly soothe his ego any.
"Let's get out of here!" Napalm Man didn't seem to notice how awkward things were for his poor team member. "We need to get Gyro Man fixed up, and wow, you don't look so great yourself."
Mega Man looked at his armor. He was pretty banged up, and the scorch marks near his busters showed that something was short circuited in them. He didn't need to be fighting anyone again without extensive repair.
He sighed. "Yeah, I need to hurry up and get Auto to fix me before the next robot master comes...yeesh, I could have sworn Dr. Cain was going to give up!"
-t-
The day started like any other for Bass. Once again he had spent the night searching for Zero, and as light returned to the frozen slopes of very northern Russia, he still searched. He and Treble were searching the frozen mountains for any sign of Wily's masterpiece, and they were closing in - or so Bass guessed. Months ago he had managed to discover the first four digits of the teleport location that held Zero, and those had dictated that Zero was hidden somewhere in northern Russia. Missing the last five digits was a pain, but the search was still possible. Since leaving Wily, Bass had managed to narrow down the area to one focused location.
Zero is here...I'll find that girly idiot...
His thoughts wandered off to how powerful the pony-tailed robot might be. He found himself thinking with delight about how nice it would be to fight Zero and prove once and for all that Wily would never be able to destroy Bass, the one good thing he had ever built. Zero might have been designed to destroy him and Mega Man, but so had King, and everyone knew how that had worked out in the end. That brought up Proto Man's advice and a subsequent growl. There was no need to fight Zero. All he had to do was not activate him and just destroy him. Bass desired with all his heart to fight Zero, relishing the thought of destroying Wily's crown piece and proving that the old man was a failure, and that lightning didn't strike in the same place twice.
Still, as much as his mind struggled, he couldn't find a logical reason to ignore Proto Man and activate Zero first. Nobody needed to see what Zero was capable of, and any scientist could just examine him if they were that curious. The same went for discovering whatever information was on Zero's hard drive. The dark robot couldn't help but growl again. Proto Man being right was something he couldn't stand.
How is a killer supposed to tell me what to do anyway? Bass huffed. I can't wait until that bastard turns himself in and get turned to scrap by the feds. At least then he'll finally stay the hell out of my hair.
Bass sent out more scans as he walked across the side of a mountain. So far, he hadn't picked up anything yet on this hill, but he figured he would go and do an overall scan before looking more deeply. He didn't want to waste too much time looking in one place and let Wily-bots find Zero first. If these peaks prevented Zero from being discovered by his powerful search functions, then he could just get mummiras from Dr. Cossack and have them explore the mountains. The ones that died first would be the ones that found Zero.
Thunk. Thunk-thunk.
For now, Forte would have to be content just sticking those alert mechanisms in the dirt. Once again, it was handy to be a robot, but even then sticking two foot metal spikes into the frozen tundra wasn't a fun or easy task. These would serve to alert Bass and Crystal Bot back at the lab if anything was moving in the areas already searched. It was something that kept Bass from entirely enjoying the search for Zero, but if he didn't do it then someone could just activate the red-armored bot and have him disappear while Bass was looking elsewhere. Oh how boring this was!
All the same, Bass hoped that Zero might be activated by one of Wily's minions. Then Bass would get a nice fight with Zero. He grinned as he shifted the five spikes to a better position under his arm. He had a ways to go before he could place the next one, which was fine by him. He hoped that he could just find Zero and forget about the stupid spikes, but he had to be at least a little cautious.
Bass looked down. He had come to the far side of the mountain, and the ledge he was standing on ended. He was going to have to start going down if he were to continue. It was only a slope and not a steep cliff, so he wouldn't have any trouble holding on to the spikes. Still, he wished that Treble were there and not scanning some other part of the mountain range.
And then it happened. Bass froze, and the spikes fell aimlessly out of his arms. After months of searching and scanning, something had finally happened and he could now sense the presense of not only something Wily, but something very powerful. He couldn't believe it, but his expectation had finally come true: a signal was detectable from the next mountain over.
"Zero!"
The squealing sound of a teleport went off behind him, and Bass turned around immediately to find a confident and completely tacky robot grinning at him. This was a strange, orange robot, basically humanoid. He had an antenna sticking out at an angle from the helmet on his head, and several square patches on his arms, legs and chest glowed different neon colors in random patterns.
"Hi there, Mr. Fish!" the stranger said. "I am Algorhythm Man, and I owe you-"
"Screw you!" Bass roared. "I don't know or care who you are. I've got business to deal with, so stay the hell out of my way!"
Who was this Algorhythm Man? Some creation of a Russian robotics scientist? A friend or foe? Bass sure didn't care either way. He figured he might as well just tell Pharaoh Man to come send some Mummiras in case this ugly robot was any trouble. Let them deal with it while he teleported to Zero. Only neither of those functions worked.
How is the comm network down? Robots generate network! And the teleportation field...argh!
With Algorhythm Man's laughter, Bass turned back to him with an angry scowl.
"You should listen to me, Bass." Algorhythm Man taunted. "I've been looking for a way to get my revenge when you humiliated my master Nikola Cain, and now the day has finally come! You won't be able to teleport or communicate with your friends until you have faced a new, stronger Algorthyhm Man!"
The new, stronger Algorhythm Man needed to be faster to avoid that punch from Bass. He was good enough to make sure it only hit his shoulder and not his face (where Bass had aimed it), but even that sent him sprawling to the ground. Algorhythm Man shot out several of his colored plasma pellets at his adversary, managing to get up as he did this. The shots angered Bass more than they damaged him. He grabbed one of the fallen detector spikes and dashed forward, jamming it into Algorhythm Man's power core.
It wasn't a perfect hit. Another wave of shots from Algorhythm Man forced Bass to let go, and the flash of color in his face blinded him momentarily. It was long enough for Algorhythm Man to latch onto Bass' neck and start hacking. Not a good idea. The violent programs in his head fought the hacking back with violence. Bass ripped out his hand and punched him, sending Algorthythm Man hurtling down the mountain, skidding through the snow and smacking into rocks.
Much to Bass' wrath that didn't automatically make the teleportation network clear. He pulled out one of the teleporters that Crystal Bot gave him.
This better work...
It was designed to go where teleportations were down, so it did work (and Bass ignored whatever legal issues this brought up - let Crystal hide them from Reyes!). Bass teleported to the signal, eager and impatient to discover what he had been looking for after all this time. Once his teleport beam landed, he discovered a cave in the side of a mountain, but he also discovered several robots around, including Frost Man, and Solar Man. There were other robots there, as the zipping of teleportation beams going upwards told him.
"It's Bass!" Solar Man exclaimed. "Quick! We've got to go!"
"Do not worry, Sol Man!" Frost Man exclaimed. "Frost Man will make a Bassicle!"
The giant robot lifted his hands to do just that, and once they slammed into the ground a ridge of sharp ice stalagmites made its way to Bass. With Bass' dash, it was easy to dodge the attack, but that clearly did no good. By the time it had harmlessly driven past him and faded into nothing, the three robots still there were gone. Bass tried to track them, but his tracker wasn't working properly.
He dashed into the cave. He had to see what they had done. As stupid as it was to hope that Zero was still there, Bass did anyway. The cave was normal with stalactites and darkness for several yards, but after a right turn there was a set of metal doors built into the cave wall, and they were open. Going through the open doors led to a chamber filled with shut down auto cannons. There were also a few mets there, and they peeped up at him and shot a few pellets. Bass dashed on by without giving them a second thought.
Beyond them was another room, a round one with computers for walls. The door leading up to it was also open, so even as he dashed toward it Bass could already see that things had gone wrong. There in the room lay an open capsule, large enough for even the tallest of robot masters. And it was empty. As if to mock Bass, someone had left a computer console open next to the capsule, and on the display screen was the schematics for the exact robot he was looking for.
"I'll kill them...I'LL KILL THEM ALL!"
The little mets in the hall quickly ducked down under their helmets as the most disgusting swears they had ever heard echoed in the small facility and the cave beyond. The swearing by no means stopped after a short time. Bass remembered his robot assistant and ran even faster out of the cave. Coming back into the cold mountain landscape, he surveyed the area with fear.
"Treble! TREBLE! - Treble, where are you, boy? - "
At least being away from Algorhythm Man allowed him to use his comm. Still, there was no answer. Bass grit his teeth, trying his hardest to scan for his dog. There was no way a bunch of robot masters would all go unnoticed by the loyal purple wolf. Bass swore that if they did something to his dog, then he would find a way to make them suffer in ways unimaginable. He didn't have too long to worry. It wasn't long before he noticed that Treble wasn't far at all. In fact, he was just outside the cave, frozen in a block of ice. Much to Bass' comfort some of Freeze Man's remains were also frozen in the block, so at least Treble had gone fighting, and Freeze Man hadn't gotten away with his crime.
"Don't worry, boy, I'll get you out of this mess somehow." Bass examined the ice for weak spots, grimacing. "Of all the things to happen...I swear I'm going to kill those bastards..."
Bass got up and started firing at the ice block, determined to free his companion. As he did, he realized that he was getting a transmission from Crystal Bot.
" - Forte-kun! - " the girl-bot was clearly worried. " - Rock just called and he said that Dr. Cain was not only looking for Zero, but knows where to find him! - "
The dark robot stopped. His fangs bared themselves, and he began to shake with rage. He desperately wanted to scream, but all he did was send a reply.
" - Sonata... - " he seethed. " - Tell Rock that I hate him...I hate him so much... - "
\\\\\\
Author's Notes:
- If you're wondering about the powers Mega Man gained in chapter one, he already deleted them. Mega Man is very ethical about getting too many powers after a team was defeated.
- I just realized that in every other story I write, Gyro Man gets pwned by someone. In Okkusenman, it was evil Crystal Bot, in Wily Ga Taosenai it was by Algorhythm Man and the data-kill virus, and now it's Echelon Man. Do I secretly hate him or something?
- I know Plant Man doesn't have whip vines in the game, but he does in his official art, so there. :P Makes sense he'd be weak to Slash Man.
- Bah, I kept typing Emit Man instead of Echelon Man. Different robots! Anyway, when Echelon Man is in his human form, he shoots a singular heatshock blast, but it's when he's in his wedge form that he does the most damage.
Character profiles!
=====Yamato Man
"Nippon Banzai!"
Good Point: Full of virility
Bad Point: Shy
Like: Japanese Sword
Dislike: English
Japanese data
Good Point: Yamato damashii
Bad Point: Bad with money
Yamato Man is the robot Japan endorsed to go to the robot championships, and he was always a very honorable, respecting robot. The emperor sent him away when he left, and all of his country cheered him on. And all of them were soundly pissed off when Wily took him over. Ever since then people have been trying to get him back, and Wily made sure to keep Yamato Man well away from Japan just to spite them all. He is one of four robots who never at any point were brought to the robot museum (the others being Drill Man, Toad Man, and Shadow Man - the first two were too useful to Russia and Shadow Man is just like that).
Never did any robot hate being a Wily-bot more, unless it was Knight Man. Yamato Man hated it because Wily reprogrammed him from being a good hearted person to being a cheat who always takes whatever shortcuts and pulls whatever cheap tricks he can (Wily is spiteful of Japan because Dr. Light likes the country). Yamato Man hates Dr. Wily, and if it weren't for Knight Man he probably would have glitched himself to death. The two became inseparable friends, and learned that they had much in common even though Knight Man was from England. These two led Team 6 together, which had problems at first because none of the robots came from the same country. However, everyone soon realized that the two (formerly) honorable robots were the smartest of them, and they accepted it.
When his scheme was over, Yamato was forced into theft to fund Wily's further research into robotic villainy, and of course he hated this. Around the time of Mega Man 9, Knight Man went to the robot museum, making Yamato Man pretty miserable until the events of Okkusenman. After the last Wily castle was destroyed, Yamato Man, Knight Man, and a few other members of Team 6 roved around trying to figure out what to do with themselves. They were attacked by some Canadian Mounties (you have to assume that in this universe people know how to fight robots) after Flame Man stole some oil, and that left Yamato Man injured. Knight Man tried to help him, but they were found and captured by Frantic Man, then reprogrammed to work for Dr. Cain.
=====Centaur Man
"Drop dead into the dimensions!"
Good Point: Decisive
Bad Point: Dwells on things
Like: Gambling
Dislike: Whip
Japanese data
Bad Point: Many regrets
Centaur Man's origins were mostly the same as Yamato's, though he's from Greece and is an older robot. He used to work in a museum and he knows a lot about art and Grecian war. He's a very graceful robot that cares about keeping himself and his environment clean. He's quiet, mostly unassuming, but can be a little abrasive at times. When he first arrived at the robot competition he had a hard time making friends. He was much the same after being reprogrammed by Wily, but since then has learned to appreciate Team 6 (and only Team 6). He spent a little time in the robot museum after MM6, but was able to escape during MM7 when Wily broke in for Guts Man.
Centaur Man helped Wily just like any horse would: by transporting cargo and moving things. He worked a lot with Team 5 in building Skull Castles, but sort of resented the work as he wanted to be free in the fields, something you can't really do when you live on islands. He was programmed well, so he only complained to fellow robot masters and never in front of Wily.
When the last Wily Castle was destroyed, Centaur Man ran along with Knight and Yamato, enjoying being free for once. However, once Flame Man got the group in trouble (hey, that guy needs his oil), then Centaur Man was captured by the Canadians. He was stolen by Signal Man when he was taken to the local Mountie headquarters.