Chapter 10
The White House- 1 Year Earlier
The hulking suit of heavy armor emerged from under the rubble. It retracted, as Gutsman stood, searching for the android he was prepared to terminate. Megaman was gone, and the running patter of boots told him that Wily had been captured.
Dropping a balcony on a man was a nasty move, and he knew exactly who was behind it. If he hadn't picked up the familiar beeping, of a crash-bomb, seconds before the explosion, he would have been dead. "Fucking Bonnes." He muttered to himself. Swearing wasn't his style, but the duo was really beginning to test his patience. If only I had confirmed that pest's death, two years ago. He thought. He would not make that mistake twice.
He didn't have time to waste, though. He needed to get to the Central Terminal, before the rebels hacked into Wily's master account. Carefully edging his way toward the Oval Office, he came across two commandos, setting up defense posts. The rebels had taken the White House, he was officially behind enemy lines. He snuck up behind the two, and snapped their necks, quetly, dumping their bodies in an adjacent room. He was in luck, the enemy hadn't gotten to Main Servers yet. He sealed the door, removing his helmet.
He plugged the transfer cable, from the main port, into his upload slot. Typing in Wily's Administrative Access code, which hadn't changed in years, he waited, impatiently, as the upload proceeded.
If the rebels found out that Wily Industries was being made operational again, they would swarm it, before he had a chance to formulate a defense. Guts only hoped that Wily would hold out, at least until he could be rescued. With Quickman dead, there was no way to alert the other officers, at the moment. Guts would have to issue a mass order, personally, once he had control transferred to his headgear.
When the upload was complete, he put on his helmet and smashed the machinery into tiny fragments. He made his way, into his former office, grabbing his "go bag" and heading out the door. He depressed a small key, under the light switch, sparking and igniting the room, into flames. Even the most confident and powerful men needed an exit strategy, and his had paid off.
The fire alarms blared, as he put on his long, black coat, and headed across the grass. Once he arrived at the Eisenhower Executive Office building, he changed clothes, and began to check on the Wily Industries data. Everything was still functioning normally, work bots reported regularly, repairs were moving along well, even power was functioning.
Output readings were all showing stable, except one anomaly. There was a separate, extremely small, current within the flow of normal current. He pulled up it's status, as his eyes filled with anger. It had been circulating current since October 22, 2088, forty-five minutes after his mentor was "killed".
Wily had been lying this whole time. He was keeping Zero alive, because he needed the Directive to stay inactive. Which meant, he never had control over the androids at all. Wily had been holding a bluff over their heads, all these years.
These power hungry humans, and their android pawns needed to be dealt with. There were too many beings, with too many motives, standing between him, and the resurrection of android supremacy. He pulled up his interface, and ordered the Initiative. That should thin the opposition out, a little. He thought.
Boston, Massachusetts
Coming over the horizon, he could see that his officers were quick to capitalize on the bounties. He stood, staring out the main viewport, while Astroman piloted the aircraft. He admired the destruction, for a moment, before seeing an always troublesome sight. The Phantom came around, from the opposite side of Light Tower. The Bonnes, he though, irritatedly. It seemed as if they only lived, just to inconvenience him.
"Astro, bring that ship down, now!" He ordered.
"Copy, Sir." He replied, reaching into the turret holo. But before he could attack, The Phantom had blasted away, full speed, across the ocean, pursuing two, small, flying, figures. "What do you suppose that was about, Sir?" Astro asked.
"As long as they're gone, I'm not concerned." Guts replied, "Have your drillbots reported in yet?"
"They were planting in five minutes ago, Sir. They should be ready when you are." Astro responded.
Excellent." The General said, pulling the detonating device, from his coat pocket. "Circle the building and fire on the top floor. I want to be sure this Megaman dies, before he can make matters worse."
After twenty minutes of peppering the building, Astro turned to Guts, "Sir, he doesn't seem to be taking the bait, and neither Skullman nor Gemini is responding. What is our move?"
"A straightforward ambush will cause a foe to retreat. But an ambush from above will, almost assuredly, bring him up, to meet you." Guts quoted.
"Um..." Astro said, looking confused.
Guts rolled his eyes, "Just give it a few more minutes." He said.
After a moment, Megaman had shown his face. Guts opened the side hatch, holding the handrail, watching on. The android fought valiantly against the gunners, then locked eyes with him. Guts smiled, as he blew the structure out from under him. He gazed as the skyscraper fell into the ocean, like a beautiful disaster-piece. "That's how you stop a revolution." He said to himself.
Wily Industries- Months Later
Guts was livid. He had fallen victim to a cowardly stall tactic, not to mention the loss of an eye. He stomped up the stairwell, as the automatic fire broke the silence, outside. He picked up the pace, moving to the Executive Offices. The doors opened to mounted turrets, opening fire on him. His armor jumped into place, covering him completely. The bolts bounced off of him, as he walked up, crushing the guns in his gauntlets. Security droids ran from the rooms, trying desperately to get through his defenses. They easily fell victim to his crushing blows. Like insects, he ripped them apart, as he maneuvered the corridors
Reaching Wily's office, he stopped. What if years of solitude had warped Zero's mind? He thought. What if he suspects me of his betrayal? He turned back to the main computer, pulling up the interface. A good soldier should prepare for anything. He thought as he back engineered a root program, to corrupt the atlas signal. Can't be too careful.
He put the data card into his pocket, before pulling back the paneling, in the office corner. Zero was bathed in a green glow, frozen in place. He pulled the power supply from the wall, shrouding the room in darkness. "Hail to the King." He whispered, as Zero turned, looking upon him.
On Guts' ship, he sent a private message, to his most loyal Major. Informing him that he would be bringing him something very valuable, something he would need to protect with his life, and pray he would never have to use it.