Silence reigned as the two stared each other down. Prometheus's black and red armour glinted maliciously in the evening sun, a turquoise scythe by his side silently humming its dark intent. Both Omega and the foe he faced were experienced fighters, each with a reputation for brutality and ruthlessness throughout centuries of blood-filled battles. Two titans. Two monsters. The air was thick and heavy, even as it whistled across the barren skyscraper roof and down to the city below.
The Grim Reaper stared down the God of Destruction,. The god stared back.
"You..." Prometheus said finally, "hurt my sister."
A chuff. "So I did."
Pacing. "She keeps secrets well. But not from me, Omega."
The crack of a knuckle. "Oh."
"Yeah. I know." The whipping of a turquoise cape.
Golden hair streaked against the sunlight. A sabre appeared from nowhere, as did armour the colour of old blood. "No reason to hide anything against you now, is there?"
A maniacal grin was his response, "Neat trick with the sword there! Hah ha hah haaa! Too bad you're not the only one with a new trick or two!" he smiled, indicating the armour he wore, a set that didn't entirely match up with what Omega remembered from the Legion database. A flourish of the scythe signaled his enemy's intent."Bring it on!"
Death, in the form of bladelight, streaked across the roof of an otherwise unassuming building, no one the wiser to the brutal conflict happening upon its peak. Pink and blue screeched against each other in an energy blade blitz, the two close range combatants eagerly dueling with reckless abandon.
Omega wasted no time with frivolities, chasing after his opponent each time an opening appeared. Prometheus responded in kind, leading the red reploid around the rooftop in a vicious dance. Energy levels spiked among the combatants, anger fierce in each of their eyes. Almost as if there was some connection between the two, both fighters countered and attacked each other fluidly. It was as if they each knew the other's move instinctively, the dance of death well-practiced by both. But one was faster than the other in this little game and eventually, it showed.
Prometheus grunted as a wayward slash scattered blood from his arm, harrying with his scythe even as he jumped backwards for some distance. Omega was forced to give the other some leeway lest he allow a worse wound upon something more vital of his own. He huffed even as his opponent batted away the damage as if it were no more than dust.
"That all you got, eh? I thought someone with your reputation might be a little more fearsome!"
Omega growled in response. He tensed, ready to leap right back into the fray. As he did, an odd motion by Prometheus distracted him. The reaper mega man had made a movement towards his side... ah. Another communicator.
Time was of the essence for both sides. Both had called for friends it seemed; whomever's allies arrived first would decide the victor. Unless, of course, the battle ended before any reinforcements came. The two dashed at each other once more.
Omega gritted his teeth as a strange sensation assaulted his mind. Prometheus was going to feint and then attack from the right. He adjusted his stance accordingly only to realize that Prometheus knew exactly what he did and changed his own tactics as well, defending. Slight dizziness assaulted his senses. He saw through red eyes, into red eyes. Whose eyes were whose?
Prometheus was tiring, that much was certain. He could keep up with this rapid pace of battle, but eventually it would start to wear on him. For some reason Omega could almost physically feel that tiredness as well. He knew this was a fight he could win, but something kept him off kilter, and it took precious minutes in battle for him to understand what was going on.
Data. His mind, for whatever reason, was processing far too much data.
"Viral," he shot, "do something about this!"
Prometheus blinked as Viral screeched a positive, if somewhat unclear response. However, the reaper recovered his composure quickly, "Oi, talking to yourself already? Pretty bad when you have to give yourself a pep talk in the middle of a fight!"
Omega didn't even dignify with a response, instead snarling and jabbing at the taunting menace before him. Prometheus, of course, dodged it, whirling around to bear his scythe against Omega yet again. While it was true that both combatants had longer range attacks when necessary, neither had given enough quarter for these to be implemented. Omega's saber cracked, but another one was already sweeping in for a block. The damaged one was thrown into his enemy's face, or would have been had the black Mega Man not deflected it with an expert twirl of his staff.
"Not bad," Omega had to admit. He lessened his assault, falling into a stance a short way away from his foe.
Prometheus grinned, "So you can be positive! Hah! I've gotta admit, your sword skills are pretty top-notch, but your swords themselves aren't doing so well for some reason! Works for me though!" The Mega Man launched himself forwards, the scythe swept to the side and ready for a major blow. But in the meantime, he'd just made himself wide open.
Omega snarled in feral glee, the opportunity too good to waste. He dodged under the range of that blasted scythe, intent on using its poor close-range capabilities to his advantage. Prometheus' eyes widened for barely a moment.
Against all reason, he too grinned.
A slash of light and Omega shrieked. Of all the ways for him to be finally reunited with his original sword, having it shoved into his stomach was not how he'd hoped the meeting would go.
A vicious kick to his already wounded midsection dislodged him from the blade, another wave of dizziness rising even as he tumbled away. Blood was slick beneath his frame as he pushed himself to his feet, reason leaving his mind like the trickle of red from his midsection.
"That was for Pandora you fuck!"
Omega screeched, his eyes glowing in fury at the same time the reaper surged forwards.
"And this one is for me!"
Teal and pink lights tore through the skies, a deadly reminder of the damage the blades they followed would wreak. Omega was forced to throw himself into a series of dodges that did little to help the wound in his stomach or the others building up as their fight progressed. His healing system was suddenly on the fritz, and he had no idea why. Data was transferring? What was wrong with him!?
"Viral! What's wrong? I thought I told you to do something!" he managed to gasp out even through the battle madness claiming him.
"How dare it! HOW DARE IT! I will do what I can master!"
Prometheus didn't even lift an eyebrow, too focused on his unholy vengeance to notice the exchange. His own eyes blazed with bloodlust and protective rage, keeping a constant assault up on Omega without giving an inch. Now armed with the violet O-sabre, both mid range and close range belonged exclusively to the black mega man, and Omega's quickly summoned blades were nowhere near as durable as the original.
Then the unthinkable happened.
Prometheus, instead of a normal sweeping blow, suddenly rose into the air with fire following his sabers, catching Omega's front and lifting them both into the sky. A savage kick left Omega toppling across the rooftop. Prometheus himself seemed caught unawares. Apart from catching himself in time to kick, the man reeked of confusion. Instead of pursuing the opening, he was blinking to himself.
"Huh? A new attack?"
Omega pushed himself to his feet, utterly furious and a little shocked. If he didn't know any better, he would have sworn that it was his own attack he'd just been hit with!
Viral roared in fury, "Don't you dare! How dare it! Aha! It's finished! It's done!"
"What? What's done?"
"It was trying to steal your data, master! I stopped it! I stopped it for good!"
"Stopped what!?"
There was no time for further conversation. Prometheus was back in the game and Omega was a prime target. At least, that's what he had been.
Viral had obviously fixed whatever problem he was having because now his head was clear, and this was his game. Twin blades met the scythe and O-sabre head on. The devil reploid stared Prometheus in the eyes, eyes slit.
"Round two."
He roared as he threw the mega man off of him, beams of energy rising from the ground and providing a guard. If people hadn't noticed them fighting there before, they certainly would now. That, however, was not the reason for it. His wounds sealed over even as the beams rotated quickly around him, providing a guard. They faded, Omega smiling in sadistic glee at his foe.
Prometheus huffed and smiled right back, brandishing his own weapons brazenly, "So does that mean I won round one?"
Omega's reply was to dash straight at Prometheus. If the battle's pace was fast before, now it was insane, zephyrs of light whipping at rapid speeds between the two like a dance of fireflies, but oh such a deadly dance it was.
There was no more holding back. Omega started blasting with charged shots that blasted apart his quickly summoned guns even as his sabers sent electrified waves after the swiftly moving mega man. The red demon was practically glowing. Prometheus ducked in for an attack only to barely dodge a flamethrower spat at his face. Omega was too focused to revel in the surprised yelp. The amount of energy he was outpouring had increased exponentially, and for good reason. Both of his cores were pumping everything they had into the fight.
On the opposite side of the battlefield, Prometheus's eyes narrowed. "That looks like... overdrive?" Bringing himself to his full height, he cackled,. "Two can play at that game!"
The reaper began to glow as well, his biometal core bringing itself to full power and then some. But what he hadn't accounted for was Omega's sheer amount of hax when it came to overdoing it.
The next thing he knew he was dodging charged sabre blasts and random shots left right and centre when Omega decided to quit with the games and put his fists into play, slamming one into the ground and releasing energy in a sphere of shots that pelted outwards. Prometheus slashed at the wave to deflect the shots, dashing forwards to try and bring the fight to an end with another well-placed attack. His eyes met the glowing crimson obs of his foe, and he realized his mistake.
Omega was the king of close combat, and no one could deny it.
Prometheus frantically dodged Omega's other fist, barely avoiding a catastrophic attack to his face. Instead the fist went wide and downwards, the rooftop exploding in a shower of rubble at the released energy. Although the direct strike had missed, the debris from the attack collided with the reaper and sent him skittering across the battlefield and over the building's edge. Something else skittered away as well.
With a grunt of exertion Prometheus managed to hold on. His fingers strained with the effort of holding up a fully armoured Mega Man, digging grooves into the concrete surface he was desperately holding onto.
Omega began stalking forward, sabers awaiting his foe. However, his immediate target was no longer Prometheus. Instead, the red reploid was walking warily towards a small white object elsewhere on the roof, the one Prometheus had dropped in the last attack.
At the same moment Prometheus pulled himself onto the roof roaring a battlecry, Omega leaned down and grabbed the bone-like hilt of his infamous O-sabre.
The pair stared each other down.
"Round three."
And at that exact moment, the engines of a raider craft came thundering into earshot. Omega spared it a quick glance as it shot up from beside the building. He then returned his cruel gaze to his foe, tensing in malicious delight.
Another set of engines came into earshot, but farther off. The reaper broke off his stare to peer at a set of small Legion gunners rapidly closing in on their location. When he turned back, Omega's eyes met his.
"Round three... it isn't over!"
The devil reploid leaped into the open hatch of the raider ship. It closed with a pneumatic hiss. The sleek craft was then off and racing away, well ahead of the Legion airships who'd set their sights on it in the distance. While they were indeed gunships, the raider ship was built solely for speed. It disappeared into the dusty distance, the Legion ships falling behind more and more as it flew away.
Prometheus sighed from his vantage point, wiping away blood from some of his wounds. "Heh... I guess round three has just begun, hasn't it?"
Turquoise cape whipping in the wind, he turned, ready to return to Legion.
XoXoXoXoX
To say the Masters were unhappy once the security footage was reviewed was an understatement.
For one thing, there were a lot of holes. As if the data had been interfered with, many of the feeds from cameras where fights had taken were fuzzy at best and outright gone at the worst. No one could figure out how that phenomenon had occurred. The route of entrance and exit for the infiltrator were what made it even worse. What should have been secure checkpoints guarded by Legion had been easily breezed through by someone with strength far beyond the norm and a versatility that rivaled, if not exceeded, the model A Mega Men.
And then, of course, the sightings... the true clincher was that in the aftermath of those fights, the apparent losers of the duels (the bodies were being discovered quickly once they'd figured out the route) were spotted in places they should, by no rights, should have gone were they functioning correctly. Not to mention they'd been spotted active in the periods after their time of deaths were confirmed. There really was no other explanation for the phenomenon other than their worst fears.
There was, indeed, another of Albert's creations running loose. And what's worse, they knew for a fact that he was working for the raiders. Their enigmatic mercenary, the silver sell-sword who'd betrayed them all, was in the greatest possible position to do the worst possible damage.
Prometheus had finished debriefing, and shortly afterwards the call had sounded to all Mega Men for a meeting, whether they were watching via a video feed or there in person. Silence reigned.
"Well, I'm almost surprised this wasn't a surprise," Vent finally sighed.
Atlas grimaced along with many others, Aeolus in particular looking grim. Grey finally spoke up, "Looks like I've got to take down yet another family member, huh? Not like it's new to me..."
"Grey!" Aile gasped.
"Enough," echoed the voice of Thomas, his red brows drawn tightly. "I believe this does not much change the current situation apart from making it even more imperative that he, and any raider he associates with, are to be exterminated with extreme prejudice." Drawing himself to his full, intimidating height, the larger of Legion's wise men slammed his ornamental broadsword on the ground. "From now on, Mega Men, those of you whom are not preoccupied with the fighting tournament must assist us wise men with the eradication of all raiders, and this unpredictable D.A.N. character! I don't know or care where he came from, when, or why, but it's clear that while he's not acting as Albert would have wanted any of his replacements to, he's a danger to everyone, especially with that A-trans ability. Top priority, if you will excuse me saying this Guardians, must be to eliminate him and these lawless raider scum once and for all!" The sword slammed again.
"You don't need to ask us twice," Aile affirmed.
Mikhail spoke up, "Even for those of you going into the tournament, it's imperative that you keep an eye out for any nasty business. First and foremost you're not just there to compete, you're there to defend the crowds if anyone tries to pull anything. Understood?"
"Understood!"
"Roger!"
"Mission parameters accepted."
Mikhail nodded once everyone had confirmed. "Very well. Be cautious, Mega Men! Let us pull through this together. You are all dismissed. We will make you aware of any new information as it comes up."
The meeting adjourned. The grim mood pervaded even after each of the Mega Men left the room an went their own ways. Most went off to train. However Prometheus, along with Pandora, had spent more than enough energy for one day and decided to retire for the evening. They were very much alone once they reached their room, the door closing swiftly behind the two.
Seraph was waiting for them.
The twins stopped dead. Prometheus was the first to react, "I take it you've already heard the news, huh?"
"Very astute of you. Yes indeed, I've heard that someone with a trans ability is running about. However..."
"It's not one of Albert's."
The chief of the cyberspace police seemed surprised. "Oh? You already knew? And here I thought I was one of the first one to hear that side of things, what with Albert now under our jurisdiction. I thought you might have at least suspected him though."
The siblings stiffened at the mention of their hated foe, "I hope he got what was coming to him. If he didn't..." Prometheus threatened.
"He's being properly punished for his actions."
"Good," the two relaxed, "in the meantime, though... we know for certain it wasn't one of Albert's because, well..." Prometheus looked at his sister, who nodded at him to continue, "I'm not sure exactly how to bring this up, but... well, you're the expert on the netherworld and everything."
If they thought Seraph had been tense before, it was nothing compared to how defensive he looked now. "What has that got to do with this?"
What followed was a quick explanation of recent events that left their audience of one shaking in anger and worry. "You can't be serious. I thought that data of him we destroyed in Area N... That netherworld image of him..."
Pandora, wordlessly, brought out her mechaniloid-core pendant, the shape glinting ominously. "You knew it was... probably too easy. And you were right. But he was... different than what I expected from what you told me. I thought I could change him. But in the end, the result was the same as you'd warned."
"A dangerous, merciless criminal you are more than lucky to have survived." Seraph sighed. His fists were clenched so hard they vibrated with every adrenaline-powered pulse of his heart. "This is a matter that, if I had any say it in, would result in every available resource of ours going into disposing of him."
"He nearly killed my sister, Seraph, he is mine to get revenge on-! Wait. What do you mean, 'if you had any say in it'!?" Prometheus roared.
The former Neo-Arcadian looked truly distraught as he turned to the pair, "You heard me. I no longer have a say in this matter." The angel reploid paced the room anxiously, speaking to himself just as much as the other two in the room. "How to explain... You can probably imagine how, as a policing force for the... 'other side', we have a 'no interference unless absolutely necessary' policy concerning dealing with the still-living."
Pandora hummed, "Makes sense, I suppose..."
"Well, to make a long story short, I'm being buried by red tape. The bureaucracy has decided that the netherworld, not being entirely of cyberspace, and all machinations therein, should be the responsibility of reality and those still alive. They seem to figure that since it's not a digital, afterlife entity, it's not our concern, and neither are any machinations contained within, ie Omega. Add on to that that, because of the previous loss of data concerning Omega, no one is really sure whether or not he truly died, therefore whether or not he's part of our jurisdiction is completely up to debate."
Here he growled, "If we had finite proof that Omega was completely and utterly destroyed, but broke the laws of reality and returned to life, not one person on the other side would have any objections to my forces overpowering him and forcing him back to cyberspace. Sadly, without any evidence, it cannot be said for certain if he died, or was just severely wounded and forced to retreat. The destruction of the barrier between reality and cyberspace was an occurrence even before he was supposedly slain. Alas, because of this the creation of the netherworld as a permanent existence cannot be used as evidence either way. Not to mention, due to the fact that it currently seems stable, no one sees it as a threat anymore...This new trans ability of his, though... we've, no, I've received no information of it apart from your testimonies. If anything is proof the the netherworld still exists, that would be it."
"But this is Omega! If he's so bloody dangerous then why aren't your guys being allowed to do more?"
Seraph sighed despairingly, "Because those idiots seem to think that taking care of reincarnation cycles and memory databanks is more important. In a way they're right, but..."
"Figures. Even in the afterlife the politicians wreck everything." Prometheus grouched.
Seraph smiled wanly, "Hmph, some things never change. And you'd better respect your elders you whippersnapper, I used to be one of those politicians. That being said," a cheeky smile, "just because I'm not allowed to do much officially, let's just say our little meeting has been... off the books. I came here wanting to confirm with you about Albert not being involved, out of professional respect, but your warning concerning the true nature of this dilemma is more than appreciated. I will continue to help where I can. While I am chiefly here to help with inter-dimensional cyber elf affairs now, as the story goes, should I... come across a situation where I am needed to defend myself or others from such disreputable characters as the God of Destruction, then I suppose there's really not much I can do to help it, now can I?" The cyberspace chief shrugged his shoulders theatrically.
Pandora giggled, "I wish I knew why more politicians couldn't be like you."
Seraph saddened, "Because, my dear, the price I payed for my current wisdom was far more innocent blood than could ever be acceptable." He appeared deeply regretful at this; the subject was dropped instantly. Pandora and Prometheus knew all too well about innocent blood being spilled. Seraph seemed greatly uncomfortable, "Excuse me, friends, perhaps the time has come for me to leave. Thank you again."
Prometheus grabbed his shoulder before he could leave, "Hold on. It's okay, we more than understand, trust me. Before you leave though... concerning Omega..." Prometheus rooted through on of his pockets, bringing out the aged looking red biometal, "I didn't tell anyone else this yet, but I was having a strange... well, reaction when I fought him earlier. Would you mind giving Model O a quick check-up to make sure nothing is going to go wrong?"
Seraph instantly brightened, more out of curiosity than anything, "Well certainly!" The cyber elf enforcer took the object gingerly, his expression scrunching into a cautious but determined grimace. Several minutes passed as he twisted, turned, and generally fumbled about with the object as he examined it.
A few more moments and he passed it back with a look of consternation, "Well, safe to say I wasn't expecting that."
"What?"
"Well, for reasons you can probably guess, it seems that the Model O reacted with Omega's presence. The DNA data has been updated, which is incredibly concerning to me, but even more so some new capabilities have been unlocked thanks to the DNA upgrade. But, the personality data," and here Seraph looked both very concerned and confused, "I don't know how else to say it, but it's been... obliterated? Shredded? Perhaps... rejected, for lack of a better term. I think Model O was trying to download Omega's personality data, and perhaps his memory files, but something must have wrecked the connection between the two. Or, better yet, purposefully denied and destroyed it. I suppose I can understand why; if this connection went unstopped, it might have completely downloaded Omega's data and personality and left behind his body as an empty and mindless shell. Would very likely has ended our God of Destruction problem right then and there, but I suppose it couldn't really have been that easy."
Prometheus hummed, "I wonder if that's why when I was merged with Model O I sorta felt a... connection, to Omega? I thought it might have just been me at first, but now that I think about it, it was kinda like we were thinking along the same wavelengths, or sharing the same instincts, almost like an unspoken conversation, yeah? Like, how do I describe it..." Prometheus flailed.
"You were almost mentally, if not physically, megamerged with him?" Pandora suggested.
"That's it exactly," Promethues replied, snapping his fingers.
Seraph smiled, "Your terminology is a little beyond me I'm afraid. Well, whether for better or worse, I don't' think you'll ever have such a connection again," he said, "Model O probably became stronger because of the impromptu data exchange, but if anything, if also became less life-like. It might very well mean that, were Omega to die, he would never be able to transfer his data to the biometal," mused the cyberspace police chief.
He shook his head, "Anyways. This is a lot to think about. I think we'd best leave it at this for now. Thank you for your time," he bowed lightly. "That being said, should you ever need me again, simply use this."
Offering his palm, the Neo-Arcadian king's palm began to glow. The glow lifted from his hand and brightened even as it shrank in upon itself. A small gem formed as the light faded. This gem was offered to the rather awestruck siblings. Prometheus was the first to shake himself from his stupor and politely accept the item.
"Er, how am I going to use this?" he asked, looking down at it.
Looking up, however, he and his sister quickly noticed that Seraph was already gone, disappearing before the door had time to finished closing.
Silence.
"I guess we'll figure it out when the time comes," Pandora frowned.
XoXoX
Later that very same evening, the reaper mega man was laying in his bed as his sister's soft breaths arose from her bed nearby. He himself was far too sleepless to fall into the realm of dreams. Instead, he did what was probably a really stupid idea.
Slowly, gently, he probed the mind of the biometal glowing faintly red in the night.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, greeted his effort.
Or perhaps that's what an inexperienced, less determined mind would have found. Feeling no danger in his pastime, Prometheus stubbornly probed deeper and deeper, pushing his willpower into what ultimately should have been a futile effort.
Right when he was considering giving up, he heard an... echo, for lack of a better term. Further probing, sadly, proved as fruitless as earlier attempts. It was merely a faint shadow, whatever it was he could feel right now, and it was no greater impact than the generic smile of a blank doll sat upon the windowsill of a toy store.
It was inconsequential, really.
And yet Prometheus couldn't help but think that it felt desolate and broken.
XoXoXoXoX
Omega stepped slowly out of the raider ship and into the Blight Brouillard, tired and ready to retreat to his quarters for the day. Sadly, he had other duties to attend to first, one of which was quickly approaching him.
"So how'd it go? Manage to escape intact, I see!" Alfredo smiled.
Omega nodded, "Intact indeed. Although I must admit, it was a bit hit-and-miss there..."
"Prometheus was there! You were fighting him, weren't you? I saw it!" Both Omega and Alfredo looked around in surprise at the raider pilot, who before now had been extremely silent, "He really did it Alfredo, uh, sir, the whole rooftop he was on was pretty much mincemeat from their scuffle! He took on the Grim Reaper!"
Alfredo started, "The Reaper Mega Man! Are you absolutely sure? All sources say he was dead!"
"Legion was lying. Prometheus was there all right, and he proved... difficult." Omega answered darkly. With that he began his debriefing with Alfredo about the mission, sparing the raider some of the gruesome and boring details by giving him the concentrated version of the events. When he was finished, Alfredo nodded solemnly.
"I see. Some very interesting information there... I will talk to Scimitar about this at once. In the meantime your mission was a success! My colleagues are reviewing the collected data as we speak. Hmm, I'd say it's starting to get a bit late. You are dismissed for the evening."
Omega nodded again and was just about to leave when Alfredo suddenly spoke up again. "Ah, right! Before you go, that other matter... your codename." Alfredo quieted down his voice and told him the most popular suggestion. The red reploid considered it, but couldn't find any real objections to it.
He nodded his acceptance before walking away to his chambers. "Very well. Outheis it is!"
XoXoX
As Omega walked back to his room on the Blight Brouillard, the sounds of industrious raiders skittering about the metal ship calmed his nerves. His footsteps echoed dully through the hall as he continued on, ignorant of the furious pace of Viral's work.
That little floating rock! That nasty little biometal! Whatever it was, it had been trying to drag the dear Master's mind away! And that thing he'd sealed away, it might have gotten away too! Grr! Nasty little biometal, it was bad, it could've sucked the Master from his body! Forced him to work for that repulsive Mega Man! Good thing he was there to help. Master would never have to worry about such things ever again. Master was his to protect after all. He'd make Master better whenever something wasn't right! Master, his precious Master, he'd always make Master better! Always!
And so life moved on, unaware of the cracks forming in its grand scheme...
And lo and behold, did the God of Destruction learn that the Reaper was not to be trifled with. In other news, isn't Prometheus nice! He doesn't tell you where to shove things, he just does it for you!