.
THE REDEMPTION SQUAD
Snodin
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LEVEL 5:
PANDORA'S BOX
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One thing you could say about Mighty the Armadillo is that he loved to work. When he wasn't exploring new territory or aiding a fellow hero on a mission, there was always something for him to do, and he liked it that way. So it became a surprise to no one that whenever the Search and Rescue Division of the Redemption Squad was temporarily off duty, he ventured forth into Pandora's various other job units in search of something to do to occupy his time. One such job was lifting heavy cargo around in the deepest regions of the space colony; only heavy machines and men piloting mechs could handle such a job; Mighty was special, in that he could lift something as large as a whole space ship and carry it around with nothing more than his bare hands.
No one could ever imagine that such a simple job in such meager conditions could be the backdrop of one of Pandora's greatest catastrophes.
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The space colony was broken down into three major sections: Colonies A and B were the half-circles that were separated to give the colony its planetary shape; they were connected by a long tube, with the "Core" at the very heart of this connection. The Core was perfectly circular and less than half the size of the A and B half-circles, but it was where the colony's main power plant lied. There, both half-circle sides received a fair share of power. But just what kind of power gave life to Pandora was a mystery to most of its inhabitants. Mighty, unbeknownst to him, was about to find out.
The Core, early afternoon.
As per usual, Mighty was carrying three cargo boxes, each weighing about eight tons and all stacked together over his left arm, down a hallway that led to the main power plant, much to the amazement of on-looking humans dressed in military-like suits and goggles. He paid them no mind as he entered through a doorway and into a massive cargo room, where stacks upon stacks of unlabled boxes much like the three he was carrying piled up against the walls. He paused only once to ask where to place his cargo, and as a human in a white suit pointed the way, that human watched in awe as the puny armadillo gently paced his cargo in the designated spot without breaking a sweat.
"Sheesh Mighty," said the awed human. "Are there more like you in your world? Cause we could sure use a whole crew of you guys."
Mighty humbly smiled. "I know at least one other guy that can lift like me. But he's kind of busy at the moment. I'm all you got, sorry."
"No need to be sorry, I'm just really impressed. How much can you lift?"
"Oh, um... I never really measured my strength to tell you the truth. I just, sort of, do what's necessary. It's like, my willpower is my strength, you know?"
"I see... Well, if you ever wanted to do this job full-time, let me know."
"Aw shucks," blushed the armadillo slightly as he awkwardly scratched his nose. "I'm not really doing this for money, I just like to be useful... Are there any other crates that need moving?"
"Well, we do have this one energy capsule that needs to go down to the main base..."
"No problem, I'll just-"
"But you need special authorization to be down there."
"Really? Why? What's down there?"
"Well... Let's just say it's not something you see every day. Tell you what, I'll go get the crane and take it down myself."
"Aw, is it really that top secret? I'm awesome at keeping secrets! Just let me do it this one time. Please?" The human was hesitant, until the little armadillo frowned, "My whole rescue team's on break. I've got nothing else to do..."
Finally, the man gave in. "Alright, you can tag along. Just stick close to me and I'll get you through security."
"Great! Thanks, man!"
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As he had hoped, the cylindrical capsule was far too heavy for most creatures to lift, but for Mighty it was like picking up a dime. With his temporary boss beside him, he became the first civilian to enter the main level of the power plant, where only Aperture Science technicians could tred. It was dark and the walls were plain, not much to look at except for the hundreds of staircases leading downward to a circular room where computers walled in a giant glass bulb in the center.
Mighty's job was simple: take the capsule to one of the empty spaces near the bulb and place it inside its gap, almost like shoving a giant battery into a machine. But the armadillo couldn't help but be mesmerized by the warm, yellow glow emulating from the center of the room. He was almost afraid to look directly at it; the light seemed to be as bright as a sun.
"What is that?" he muttered to a nearby human on sight.
"That?" the human asked as he glanced at the giant bulb. "That's the main power capsule. Don't worry about it, it's stable."
"So... what do these smaller capsules do, exactly?"
"They provide the main capsule with oxygeon."
"Oxygeon...?" he was puzzled; why would an energy source need oxygeon, he wondered? But then, this strange sound filled his ears, almost like the sound of a woman humming a lullaby. "...What is that?"
"I just said."
"No, I meant... who is singing?"
"Singing?" stirred the human as he turned from the computer he was at.
"Don't you hear it?" asked the concerned armadillo. "It sounds... so sad... Like someone's singing a sad song."
Another human, monitoring the stability of the cores, replied, "It's nothing, Mr. Armadillo. Your job is done, you may go now."
But that just wasn't enough for Mighty. He couldn't just ignore this sad, sweet song. As his eyes wandered around, they met with the glowing orb in the middle of the room. To his amazement, the light didn't hurt his eyes. In fact, it was quite inviting. As he stepped closer and closer, the humming grew louder and louder. He could swear he heard drum beats now, a soft and slow tempo to match the song.
"Mr. Armadillo! ...Where are you going? ….Wait! STOP! Come back here!" Whoever's voice that was wouldn't matter to Mighty, because at this point he was long gone. All he could hear now were soft drum beats and a woman's sad song in his ears.
He stopped right in front of the bulb; at last he found the source that haunted him. Inside there was little more than a yellow and red, fiery light- like a flame or a bonfire, concentrated into one big ball. But as his eyes gleamed at it in awe, he saw it flicker- dancing, it seemed- and for one brief moent, he thought he saw the flames shape themselves into a white-hot face.
"Oh!" he gasped in horror. "S-someone's in there!"
"Mister Armadillo!" sceamed one of the robed scientists, who dared to catch up with the little animal. He tugged at Mighty's arm and pleaded, "Please step away from the power source, Mister Armadillo. That is a direct order!"
But it was too late, his thoughts were now completely on the... the thing... in the bulb. "She's crying," he murmured.
All at once, his heart broke for the creature. Its plight had suddenly reminded him of home- where a mad scientist made it his daily mission to entrap helpless little animals and lock them in small roboticizing chambers, thus turning them into killing machines. Suddenly, this whole thing was starting to make sense to him: "She's trapped... She needs to be free."
"Mister Armadillo?"
"Stand back! I'm going to free her!"
"Mighty, please! Don't..."
He readied his fist. "Don't worry, Miss, I'll save you!"
"Mighty, NO!"
SLAM- BOOM!
White-hot light filled the room, temporarily blinding everyone including the armadillo. They shielded their eyes, and when they opened them, they were all surprised to see that no harm came to them or their equipment. In fact, everything was exactly the same... save for the shattered glass all over the floor.
Mighty looked up, and to his wonderment, the big ball of flame suddenly shifted, morphine itself into the shape of a four-legged animal. It wasn't until the flames sank into the white fur of their host when the animal's appearance was recognized: a great, white wolf. A white wolf with coal-black eyes, red markings on her face, and a strange stone shield hovering just inches off of her back, with some flame tongues still sticking out from its edges. Her tail was long and plumed, with a black tip that resembled that of a paintbrush. She fluttered her eyes, and came alive.
"My God," gasped the human by Mighty's side. "She's out."
Indeed, she was- she realized it in that moment, and took a flying leap from her shattered cage, clearing both man and armadillo, before landing softly on the ground. As her paws touched ground, a soft glow poured out of them and like magic, a patch of grass surrounded them. Mighty was breathtaken.
"Quick!" called out the scientist. "Seal all the doors! This is a state of emergency! Don't let her get away!"
But the wolf was as fast as the wind; as the doors to the room and the halls began to fall, she took off in a white flash, trailblazing grass along the way. She was already gone by the time the last gate fell, and soon afterwards, everything went dark.
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From outside in deep space, Pandora looked like a dying star; usually emulating purplish light from its millions of windows, those lights were now rapidly going out, until the whole planet-sized complex was dark and stilled like a moon in a sunless sky.
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As darkness fell upon the bewildered armadillo and the humans in his presence, one voice in the dark fell upon him, the voice of a fearful and judgemental human: "Jeeze, Mighty... What have you done?"
..
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At long last, freedom.
It had been ages since she felt cold earth beneath her toes, the smell of grass and the wind sweeping her face. Like a flaming bullet, the white wolf tore through the snaking tunnels of this cold, steely dungeon, leaving a trail of stardust and magical greenery in her wake. Stretching her legs never felt so good, so fulfilling. She didn't know where she was going, but she didn't need to. Wherever her nose took her, she went. She had to spread her life-giving magic.
She just had to.
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All around Pandora, there was darkness. No electricity, no ventilation, no running water for that matter.
But there was plenty of panic.
Humans and non-humans alike were all scuttling around in pitch blackness, bumping into walls and into each other, wondering if this blackout was caused by faulty machinery, or worse- an outside force. But at least one individual kept her cool, and she knew just who to call in this situation.
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Mega Man, fully armored, was on his way to Counselor Vance's office, when he heard the muffled cries of a familiar voice ring out: "Help! Is there anyone out there!?"
He skid to a halt at the door to a gymnasium. He recognized the voice as Raz, the Psychonaut. "Raz!" he called back. "Can you hear me?" He knocked, and someone from inside knocked back.
"Boss-bot! Is that you?" said the muffled voice from behind the door. "Get us out of here!"
"Who's in there with you?"
"I'm here, Commander," said the muffled voice of Jade. "Don't worry, we're fine."
"WE'RE TRAPPED! TRAPPED LIKE RATS! WHERE'S THE KEY TO THIS STUPID DOOR?"
"Calm down, Raz! I just got a call from Counselor Vance. She probably knows what's going on."
"It's probably just a fluke in the system," said Jade's voice calmly. "We'll just wait for the power to turn back on."
Mega Man turned away and whispered, "I'm not sure it's that simple."
"What was that?"
"Nothing," he replied to Raz's increasingly anxious voice. "You guys, just sit tight. I'll take care of this."
Mega Man took off running just as Raz's voice continued to shout about not liking to be kept in the dark, both figuretively and literally.
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Uusually, the door to Vance's office would slide open for him automatically, but beings there was no power, he had to pry the door open himself. Once he did, his blue eyes shone through the dark like flashlights. "Counselor Vance? Are you in here?"
"I'm here Rock," said the elderly woman in her chair, holding a small phone in one hand. "I knew your internal communicator would still be working."
"What's going on?" asked the concerned robot as he entered the room. "Why is there no power in this facility?"
Vance somberly replied, "I'm afraid it's much more than this facility that's lost power. Just before all of the lights went out, I've received a very grim message from a maintenance officer: 'Amaterasu has broken out.'"
Not knowing what the message meant, the little blue robot scratched his chin. "Amaterasu? What's that?"
"Not what, Rock; who... Have you ever wondered how it is that this colony gets its power, or why there's no sun in our galaxy?"
"Uh... no? Should I have?"
"Heh. You never did question the mechanics of this place, have you?"
He smiled meekly, "I just figured it wasn't necessary."
Vance leaned back in her chair, putting on an air of calm despite the dire circumstances. "The truth is, Rock, we do have a sun. But she's not in our skies, she's underground- in the Core."
"The Core?"
"Yes, the source of Pandora's power, it's what gives us our electricity, our heat, our air. Everything is connected to it, and the sun goddess Amaterasu is the source. She's an all-powerful being who gives life and light to everything around her. And until now, she's been cooperative... but it seems she's broken out of her containment unit. That's why there's no power, not here, not anywhere."
Mega Man gasped in horror, realizing what this meant. "S-so... without her, everything on this colony dies?"
"Not unless we can find Amaterasu and somehow convince her to go back to the Core." She then leaned forward and looked at the little robot sternly. "Rock, I know this won't be easy, but I'm asking you to reason with a goddess- or to capture her, if necessary. I wish I could call for backup, but-"
"Say no more, Counselor!" replied the little robot as he saluted his superior. "I'll find this goddess, wherever she is. ...Uh... You wouldn't happen to know what she looks like, do you?"
"Just follow the light whenever you see it; odds are, it's her."
"Right. 'Cause she's a sun. Got it."
"Good luck, Rock," said the woman as her robot friend took off. "You'll need it," she softly added when he left.
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As the white wolf entered another area of the dark fortress, her light shone bright enough to make it seem like a sunny afternoon. But something was troubling her: there was a lack of organic earth on the ground, and everything was sealed by cold, blue steel. Gone were the tress, rivers and fields of old, gone were the butterflies that used to dance in her glow. Now there was nothingness, an emptiness. In that moment, she had lost herself and concluded that this was all the work of her ageless enemy: Yami, the god of darkness. Something had to be done about this.
With a whip of her tail, she gave off a celestial light, followed by a splash of color. Magically, her tail strokes painted new greenery in this steely wasteland; tress grew from nothingness, as did flowers and a small stream. This pleased the sun goddess, but it was a small victory. She had to do this to the entire fortress.
"Halt! Intruder!" came a strange, monotonous voice.
Amaterasu turned and saw two odd-looking creatures. In actuality, they were robot drones disigned by Aperture Industries with the simple function of arresting anyone not registered in their data. "You are not authorized to be here," one of them said. "Please come with us to the nearest detainment center."
The white wolf could see that these creatures had no beating hearts, no draw of breath. They were cold and lifeless. Surely, she thought, they were demons, agents of Yami. She crouched down and gave them a low growl.
"Do not allow us to use force," warned one of the cold creatures, as the two of them raised their tri-digit hands forward. Small taser sparks flashed from their fingers.
Again, the wolf growled, but louder this time. She was ready for a fight. But as she launched herself toward the demons, the battle was over in one easy swipe. In a flash, her adversaries were transformed into stone statues due to her magical properties.
She froze and sniffed them, surprised to see just how easily these demons went down. It was just as well, she thought. Besides, they looked better this way. She gave herself a small shake and moved on.
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"Aw man," groaned Mighty the Armadillo as he carefully followed the trail of grass left behind by the strang white wolf. As he searched for her, he lamanted aloud, "I'm probably gonne be banished back to my himeworld because of this. And just think of how I'll have to explain it to those guys." He then started a mock interview with himself, the first voice being a mockery of a certain hedgehog: "'Hey Mighty, long time no see! What've you been up to?' 'Oh, nothing; just breaking some important equipment and letting some firely wolf-thingy loose and causing a major blackout on a planet-sized space colony. Same ol' same ol'.' Sheesh..."
He sighed as he paused to observe a sudden change in the grass trail's direction. "Looks like she's heading upward... Where's she gonna go? This whole colony's sealed up. Unless..." A lightbulb went off in his head. "Of course, the gardens! It's got tons of windows..." He picked up his pace.
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Within two hours, both Mega Man and Mighty were on Amaterasu's path. While Mighty was using logic and following the trails of grass and flowers, Mega Man stopped to ask people if they had seen a white light. Both sources led them to a meeting point within Sector 5-C, just twenty floors beneath the Great Gardens.
It was here, on a street where urban housings were placed under a ceiling with a holographic sky, where Mega Man saw a light in the distance. He quickened his pace and stopped to spot a brilliant white wolf, bathed in flame, standing atop a five-story buulding. As he moved closer, he could feel a sudden surge of energy in his body, a testament to his solar-powered battery.
"Yep," he muttered to himself, "that's definitely her."
The local people who called this place home also gathered nearby to stare in wonder at the strange, glowing being. "Everyone, stand back!" warned the little blue robot as he tried to push them away.
"Look, it's gonna jump!" pointed a man in the crowd.
To everyone's amazement, the white wolf launched itself through the air, almost floating, before landing softly on another tower. Again and again, it lept like a grasshopper across the skyline. She was fast. Too fast!
"Rush! Here, boy!" signaled the blue bomber. In a digitized flash, his robotic canine partner appeared. "Jet mode," commanded Mega Man, and Rush flattened himself to resemble a hovercraft. Together they flew after Amaterasu, who was picking up speed.
Her nose caught a familiar and unmistakable scent in the dulled air: Peaches. Following this scent, she would surely reach her destination. But just as she was about to jump to her next platform, a flash of red and blue came before her.
"Stop!" cried out Mega Man on his red robot dog.
Amaterasu paused in mid-air, floating softly to the ground. She looked up at this strange creature. It was cold, lifeless, just like those other demons. Was this her next challenge, she wondered?
Rush lowered himself until he was hovering just above her head. Mega Man said plainly, "Amaterasu, you have to go back where you came from. These people need you."
Confused by this talking demon, Ammy snarled.
"Fine," frowned the blue bomber, "I guess we do this the hard way then." He raised his left arm, transforming it into a blaster, and aimed it at the wolf. His color pallete changed from light shades of blue to white and pale blue. "Ice Slasher!"
Quick as lightning, the fiery shield floating just above the wolf's back transformed into a golden sun-shaped intrument, dubbed "Snarling Beast." It flung itself in front of her and absorbed the ice beam, much to her adversary's surprise. She then jumped high into the air to spin her body downward while her shield acted as a projectile. Rush veered right, saving himself and his master before the golden shield could cut through them. Now, with the white wolf brandishing a weapon, they were the ones on the run.
"Okay, so ice attacks won't work," Mega Man thought aloud. "Let's try this..." His color pallete changed once again, to that of magenta. "Shadow Blade!" Amazingly, he was now equipped with ninja stars three times his cannon's size, and flung them at the wolf. She retaliated with her own unique sword slashes, from the same intrument as before only now it was shaped like a sword of lightning. With his weapons deflected, Mega Man changed tactics and color again, to that of white and forest green and, "Leaf Shield!"
As quickly as his projectiles changed, so did Ammy's. As a hurricane of leaves came her way, she cut them down with her fiery sword, the "Seven Strike." The razor-sharp leaves barely even touched the ground, as they desintegrated in the air upon touching the blade.
Now Mega Man was getting frustrated; even with an array of weapons at his beck and call, he couldn't think decide which one would be effective. "What if I just take away your toys?" he mused, as his armor changed colors once again, this time to purple and lavender. "Black Hole Bomb!"
He fired a black projectile, which hovered behind the sun goddess and began to expans into a small but effective black hole. The white wolf grounded herself, digging her claws into the earth while trying to resist the black hole's gravitational pull. For a moment, it looked like she was going to be subdued; but then a voice cried out, "Commander, stop! Don't hurt her!"
"Mighty?" As Mega Man's attention turned to the red shelled armadillo coming his way, his concentration on the black hole was shattered. This gave Amaterasu a moment to paint into existence a "Cherry Bomb," which was pulled into the void and exploded, thus negating its effects. The small blast knocked the blue bomber off his dog/hovercraft, and when he righted himself he found himself face to face with an angry wolf, her lightning-shaped sword ready to strike.
"STOP!" screamed the armadillo, as he threw himself between the combantants. Amaterasu growled in frustration; this creature was innocent, and as such could not be harmed. But now it was blocking her intentionally from the demon, a dilemna which caused her to let out a sharp bark.
"Mighty, get out of here! She's dangerous," warned the blue robot.
"You don't know that," replied a defiant armadillo.
Seeing as how the small animal would not leave the battlefield, Amaterasu was left with one choice: to flee. With two horizontal brush strokes of her tail, she created a vast "Veil of Mist," which covered the whole area and blurred even Mega Man's vision. As her enemy and the bystander struggled to see, she sped past them and was gone from sight as soon as the mist cleared.
Mega Man paused to regain his bearings once the smoke cleared, only to realize that his target had vanished. "She got away," he sighed.
"...Good."
The little blue robot's eyes flashed in shock. He turned around and stared down his companion. "What was that?"
Mighty crossed his arms and gave his Commander a dirty look. "I'm glad she got away. Who are we to trap such a rare and beautiful creature? She deserves to be free like the rest of us."
"She's not trapped, Mighty! Counselor Vance told me she willingly shares her power with us. And besides, you and I have no say in this; the Council ordered us to take her back to the Core."
"Hmph, typical robot behavior, always taking orders without question. You don't care about how she feels about all this."
"Do you not understand what's going on? Every minute, the air around here is getting thinner. If we don't act fast, this whole colony is going to die."
"See, Rock, that's where you and I differ- aside from the whole robot thing. You're willing to sacrifice one life for the many, but I believe that all life is precious, even the ones we don't fully understand."
"I'm not sacrificing anyone, Mighty! She's a goddess; she's immortal!"
"I don't care! Even immortals should be able to roam free!"
"Then WHY are you helping me capture her?"
"I'M NOT!"
A moment of silence fell upon the robot and the armadillo, as they stared fiercely into each other's eyes, neither one backing down as the tension swelled.
"I heard her crying, Rock" Mighty gently explained while maintaining his stern gaze. "I heard it, and it was the saddest sound I've ever heard in my life, sadder than even the cries I heard in my world whenever Eggman trapped my friends."
The robot boy in blue sighed as his eyes softened. "...Okay, I see where you're coming from now. Look, we'll try it your way. Maybe you're right, maybe she just needs help with something. I'll let you try to reason with her. Either way, we have to convince her to go back to the Core."
"...And if she doesn't listen?"
"...I have my orders."
The armadillo narrowed his eyes and turned his head away in defeat. "...You do what you have to do. I'll go on ahead."
Rock watched as Mighty took off in a dash in the direction of the grass trail. He followed after him slowly; it seemed fair to give both the wolf and the armadillo a head start.
..
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The Great Gardens.
It had occurred to Mighty that the gardens were unlike most areas around the colony. For one, it was the only place he knew of where actual earth was. There were other patches of earth elsewhere, but it was most prevelant here. And because there was earth, it was full of plantlife as well. Funny, he hadn't given it much thought before; but after seeing the white wolf and her power over light and plants, these gardens felt much more significant now.
It was still very dark, so it seemed that he had beaten the wolf here. His steps were methodical, so as not to trip over a rock, or twig, or stumble into a stream. But he didn't count on avoiding any insects that might have been crawling under his feet, because at one point, he heard a tiny voice cry out, "Hey, watch it!"
"Huh?" peeped the armadillo, as he took a step back in alarm.
Leaping onto his nose was a tiny green creature- a grasshopper perhaps, or even a flea. Whatever it was, it was so small that he could only make out a flat green hat on its head, possibly made from a leaf. The whole creature had a leafy green tint to it, and it hopped at great length.
"What's the big idea?" squeaked the creature. "Think you could just stomp around wherever you want, just 'cause you're bigger than me?"
"I-I'm sorry," blinked Mighty. "I didn't see you; I can barely see anything."
"Yeah, I know!" it squaked again. "I was having a good day too, then suddenly 'pow!' The lights went out! Is that furball on break or something? Where is she?"
"Are you talking about Amaterasu?"
"You know Ammy?"
"Well, n-not really. But I know she-"
"Wait, hold on! ...I thought I saw... There!" The little green bug jumped off of Mighty's nose and began to bound over tall grass blades. "Come on, slowpoke! Follow me!" it beckoned.
Seeing as he had no other choice, Mighty followed, but with a much more careful step.
.
As the pair drew closer to a large opening in the wood, they could see a faint light growing brighter. Sure enough, it was Amaterasu, thought her light wasn't quite as brilliant as before. They found her sitting at the top of three stairs that led to a great big tree- a peach tree, to be exact. The flames of her shield were the only things shimmering as she looked up at the tree in wonder and concern.
"Hey! Fleabag!" squeaked the green bug as it made great bounds up the stairs. Ammy turned around to see it land firmly on her snout. "You didn't forget your ol' pal Issun, did you?" it chirped.
Suddenly elated, the white wolf began to pant with what could only be described as a smile on her face. Their reunion was short lived when Ammy's focus went back to the peach tree, her joy dampened.
"She hasn't woken up in a while," chirped Issun. "I'm thinking maybe a little sunlight will perk her right up. Don'tcha think?"
Ammy norted. Her eyes narrowed.
"What was that? 'It's not safe?' What're you barking about?"
With a snarl, Ammy turned around with her body crouched, poised to strike. But to her surprise, it was the red shelled armadillo standing before her, not the demon she had expected.
"Sorry," frowned Mighty. "Am I interrupting something?"
Ammy relaxed herself, but remained tense in her face.
"We're standing in the presence of a great spirit," explained Issun. "She's an old friend of furball's here."
"Your friend... is a tree? But... how did it get here? Nevermind, that's not why I'm here. I came to ask if... if Amaterasu could return to the Core."
"What!?" Issun burst. "Are you crazy? You want her to drag her tail all the way back to that dank, cold dungeon?"
"I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important, but it is. Amaterasu-"
"Ammy!"
"Ammy is the source of the colony's energy."
"No kidding! I was there when they bottled her up!"
"...What?"
"I may be small, but I'm not stupid! I knew those travelers were trouble the moment they popped up out of nowhere. And of course, those evil monsters had to show up right behind them! Everything went upside down after that, and as if that weren't bad enough, poor Ammy here had to give up her sky kingdom, just so we could live! If it weren't for those portal-jumping humans, none of this would have happened!"
With a gaped jaw, Mighty was stunned. It all began to make sense now: the "portal-jumpers" as Issun called them had to be the founders of the colony. Their sudden appearance must have triggered a downward spiral for these creatures, and for Ammy. And if what Issun said about her being "bottled up," then she truly was a prisoner. He heard soft footsteps behind him, but he didn't have to guess who they belonged to. He glanced behind him to see Mega Man and Rush, both looking stern. "...Is it true?" Mighty asked his Commander. "Did they really cause this world to fall apart?"
"I don't have all of the answers," said Mega Man. "But I do know this: what happened in the past is irrelevant; our concern now is with the livelihood of this colony. Amaterasu must return to the Core. Now."
Once again, Amaterasu poised herself to strike. She was not going to let a demon control her life.
"She's clearly needed here, with her friends," argued Mighty.
Mega Man's eyes narrowed at his friend. "I gave you a chance to talk it out with her. If you're not going to cooperate, then I have to ask you to get out of my way." With that, his right hand morphed into the Mega Buster.
"Rock, you can't fight her! She's a goddess!"
"It doesn't matter. I have my orders!"
With a snarl, Amaterasu leaped over Mighty, clearing the ataircase, and right into her enemy's path.
[Battle Song: "The Sun Rises, For Great Justice Mix" -Marvel vs. Capcom 3]
Mega Man's armor changed to red and orange with a fiery blade emerging from his buster; "Flame Sword!" he declared. As he met with the white wolf, their weapons came to blows like burning duel weapons. With each slash, sparks ignited. Both were fast and agile, and neither one made a harmful cut as their reflexes matched each others' moves. It was Amaterasu who made the first switch to a snowflake aura around her neck, and blasted the robot with icy breath.
Rock faltered, but switched his color palette to shades of grey as he fired, "Thunder Beam!" These small but effective bolts of lightning neutralized Ammy's ice storm, causing her to switch out her snowflake wreath for a set of six yin/yang symbols, the "Devout Beads." Forming a whip, they lashed out at Rock with a flurry of cherry tree flower petals, which soaked up his lightning attacks. Ammy then whipped the beads again, this time catching the robot into a snare around his torso, then she flung him into a nearby rock, demolishing it.
Seeing his master in danger, Rush ran into the smoking rubble. As Ammy once again tried to lash her whip out at them, it was caught by a gigantic red gauntlet. It was Rock's fused form with Rush: the Power Suit. It was essentially Rush transformed into extra armor that attached itself to Rock's body, giving him a boost in strength. He charged at the white wolf, who was ready to block with her Tsumugari Sword, but as they met a great force surged through them, blasting the greenery around them.
Rock pushed forward with his armor and eyes glowing. "It's... pointless," he warned her as he grit his teeth. "Your solar energy is... only making me... stronger!"
POW! He managed to punch the wolf square in the face with his enormous gauntlet, knocking her back. But now, as she righted herself, she became all the angrier. Her weapon morphed into the Life Beads, a set of yin/yang artifacts that beamed red and orange. With them, she started to fire fiery projectiles toward the blue bomber, but with his massive gloves, he was able to block and deflect them. However, the nearby trees and grasses weren't so lucky; the battlefield began to burn.
"This is getting out of hand," squeaked Issun. Mighty followed him to the foot of the peach tree, but the armadillo was at a loss. The little green bug, however, started to jump around from limb to limb of the peach tree, calling out, "Hey! Twiggy! Now would be a good time to wake up!"
Mighty looked back at the fight between the wolf and robot, and aloud he thought, "Sunlight... She needs sunlight! Rock! Rock, over here!"
"Huh?" peeped the robot upon hearing his friend's voice. This momentary distraction was enough for Amaterasu to toss him with her beads across the field, and he landed head first at the foot of the sacred tree's stairs.
"Uh, okay," frowned Mighty. "Not exactly my plan, but... try to get her over here."
In his daze, Mega Man lost his added Rush armor. Both he and his red robo-dog struggled to their feet, clearly bested by the goddess. Curiously, Rock glanced to Mighty with one eye shut. "You've... got a plan?"
"When I give the word," Mighty started to say, but he then realized that the angry sun goddess was already on her way with her shield aflame. "Time-Stop her! Now!"
Rock flinched as he too saw the white wolf's fiery charge. Quickly, his armor flashed to light magenta. "Time-Stopper!" he shouted.
[Song ends]
Just as her fangs were about to sink into his steely body, the white wolf froze in place. The effect reached over to Mighty and Issun as well, but the one thing it didn't effect was the solar energy seeping from Amaterasu's shield. This was Mighty's hope, as the sunrays began to pour onto the peach tree, giving it the energy to come to life again.
But Time-Stopper was a temporary solution, and as it wore off, Amaterasu landed onto Mega Man. Now that he was at her mercy, she snarled at him and watched him wriggle under her feet. Suddenly, he lost all feeling in his fingers and toes, then his arms and legs, then his waist. What was happening? Was he being shut down? He couldn't tell, because Ammy's paw kept him lying on his back.
"Ammy," gasped Mighty. "What are you doing?" He saw what Rock couldn't see: Amaterasu was slowly transforming Rock's form from metal to solid rock! "S-stop!" called out the armadillo, but Ammy's power crept up to the robot's neck and the back of his helmet. Unable to hold back any longer, Mighty jumped from the stairs to where Rock was lying helplessly, and he was now face to face with the white wolf. Staring fiercely into her black eyes, he declared, "Don't do this, you'll kill him! ...He's my FRIEND!"
Amaterasu's eyes blinked, and all fell silent. Even the magic she emulated from her paws stopped, just as they were about to petrify Rock's whole head. She stepped back and cocked her head like a confused puppy dog. "Arr?" she omitted.
Overwhelmed, Mighty fell to his knees before her. "Please," he said in a shaking voice, his nerves finally getting the better of him. "Th-this has to stop..."
"I agree," came a feminine voice from behind him.
All eyes fell upon the peach tree, which began to glow in a light green aura. Its leaves looked brighter than ever, and many of them fell off to dance in the wind. As they did, they came together to form a new creature, with the slim body of a Japanese woman in a pink kimono with a red sash and two large green leaves for a bra. Her parted bangs were also leaf-shaped, and she sported a trio of leaves as a hairpeice atop her head. A lavender mist that resembled a sash curved over her head and was bound to her wrists, and where her feet would have been instead was a puff of green mist.
"How troublesome," mused the sprite softly. She glanced first at the nearly petrified robot, then the armadillo, and finally to the blazing white wolf. As their eyes met, a calm fell between them. "Ammy, how is it that you always find yourself in a bind?" Ammy cocked her head at the sprite before it turned to Mighty and Rock. "Forgive my friend," she said, "and my rudeness. I am Sakuya, the spirit of the peach tree."
"A spirit...?" mused Rock.
"A sprite, to be more precise," she corrected herself. "But who I am is not important; what is important is that the three of you stop this foolish bickering before anymore damage is done. Ammy, these are not our enemies. You're only confused because the boy in blue is not of our world." She floated toward Mega Man, who still couldn't believe what he was looking at as she seemed to possess no mass whatsoever. She truly was a ghost! "I apologize on Ammy's behalf," she told him. "It's been so long since her last battles against evil, she seems to have mistaken you for a denizen of darkness."
"O-Oh," peeped the bewildered robot. "Well, I've been called worse."
"I'm sure Ammy can undo this state you're in, once she has rested."
"We don't have time to rest," frowned Mega Man. "We need her in the Core, right now!"
"You misunderstand. Amaterasu is our core," said Sakuya. "This is what I've tried to explain to your human friends so long ago, when they first transformed this planet."
"Transformed...?" gapsed Rock. "This... planet?"
"Yes," nodded Sakuya. "This colony, Pandora, this is what's left of our world."
[Song: "Restart (Thank You Mix)"]
"My little friend Issun tried to explain, but perhaps I could inform you more thouroughly." As Sakuya told her story, her words flowed like the soft brushes of a paintbrush, inking and coloring in splashy watercolors of a world lost in space and time:
"The world we lived in was simple, yet peaceful. We knew nothing of machines, but we had plenty of magic; magic brought forth by the gods. One such god was our sun, Amaterasu; she watched over us in her kingdom in the sky, and brought peace to our land.
"...But one fateful day, a starship appeared from an opening in the sky. This ship belonged to a group of humans who were trying to escape the monsters known as The Combine. Our people allowed them to stay, and for a while, things were peaceful... but it wasn't long before the Combine themselves emerged.
"Just as we had feared, these dark creatures began to lay waste to our land, burning and conquering as they went. As the battle for our Earth began, the sky turned black with smoke. The earth beneath our feet began to quake. All seemed hopeless, until...
"Ameterasu, in all of her glory, came to our aid. She helped drive back the evil Combine. But though victory was ours, it came at a heavy price: our planet was completely ravaged by the war.
"To preserve us and what remained of our lands, Amaterasu made the ultimate sacrifice: she dug deep down into our planet's dying core, and with all of her might, triggered its gravitational pull.
"The goddess which was once our sun had now become the lifeblood of our Earth. Over time, more and more refugees from other worlds came to us, helping us rebuild that which was lost. Eventually, our magics and technologies banded together to create Pandora, a refuge for all lost souls. But at its core, remained our beloved goddess."
A few quiet seconds ticked by, as both Mega Man and Mighty took in the tree sprite's words. It was uncertain just how moved Mega Man was- he was a robot, after all- but Mighty was clearly awestruck as evident by his misty eyes.
"So," said Mega Man softly, "this garden here, everything organic about Pandora, that's what's left of your planet?"
"Yes," nodded Sakuya somberly. As she spoke, she began to gently stroke the white wolf's head. "But there is a silver lining to this cloud: for all of the life that was lost, more life has come forward and has helped us sustain our world."
"But," frowned Mighty, "does this mean that Ammy still has to go back to her cell? I mean, Rock said that without her, the colony will..." He was cut off by the tree spirit's sudden burst of giggling. Both he and Mega Man looked puzzled.
"Ammy has always been with us," replied Sakuya. "There was a time when she needed to stay in the planet's core, but those days have long passed."
"So that's why she seemed sad when I first saw her," Mighty thought out loud. "She wasn't suffering... she was just lonely."
"Correct," nodded the tree sprite. "And now that she is reunited with her old friends, Ammy's strength has grown tenfold. She no longer needs the restraints of that old 'cell.'"
"Does this mean...?" Mega Man began to ask, cracking a hopeful smile.
But Sakuya finished his thought with a soft giggle and a response. "Turning the 'power' back on is all too easy. Show them, Ammy."
The tree sprite stepped aside as the white wolf rose to her feet. She took a deep breath and let out a long, songful howl: "Awooooooooooo!"
A flash of light burst from her and spread like wildfire across the gardens. As it spilled, it gave off a bright shimmer through the grass, flowers and other plantlife, with stardust sprinkled just above them. This aura of rejuvenation would not stop there; it spread faster and faster, up the walls and across the cielings, and through the doorways of the gardens and into the steely halls. Still the aura spread, fast and brilliantly, across hallways and rooms, levels and sectors, until every last corner of Pandora was alight with its glow.
With that aura came the electricity that was once lost, the air circulated once again, waters ran once more. But in addition, came the ever present stardust and splashes of watercolor that would have emited from Ammy's brush tail. Everything- yes, indeed everything, organic and non-organic- bathed in this glowing, color-rippling aura for a few short minutes, before reforming to its former state, except now everything seemed much brighter, much more refreshed, much more anew.
Cherry blossoms showered overhead, along with stardust and leaves, as Amaterasu proudly overlooked her newly regenerated gardens. Her new friends watched in silent awe, as they all bathed in the light and flower petals.
And as Sakuya had promised, Mega Man's body was now back to normal through Amaterasu's rejuvenation spell. Elated, he started to laugh and wave his arms at Mighty. The armadillo, though happy for his friend, only gave him a smile before running up to Amaterasu. He bowed his head before her and smiled, "Thank you, Ammy. This place is definitely a whole let better with you around."
"As I understand it," replied Sakuya nearby, "you were the one who set Ammy free. She never would have returned to us without you, so we thank you."
To send the message home, Amaterassu gave the armadillo a small lick on his cheek. Knowing this came from an all-powerful goddess, Mighty couldn't help but flush red- almost as red as his own shell.
[Song fades]
..
..
...But celebrations would have to wait, as Mighty now had to face the High Council. He, along with Mega Man as his witness, stood before a long table with up to twelve humans seated- Counselors Vance and Freeman were among them. These were the elected officials that governed their own sections of Pandora, and now they were to decide Mighty's fate.
"It has come to our attention," said a counselman with a long white beard, "that you, Mister Armadillo, are responsible for the blackout which not only put the lives of our citizens in danger, but also cut off all teleportation stations, setting us back both financially and critically."
"Counselors," said Rock as he stood by his guilty friend. "I know you're upset with Mighty, but I can tell you from experience that he had good reasons to-"
"We are not interested in your testimony, Commander Rock," said the old man. This made both Mighty and Rock cringe with worry. "However," added the counselor, "since the blackout only lasted a few hours and no irreversible damage had been done to our community, we will only charge you for the financial damages: twenty thousand, nine hundred and sixty-four currents, to be exact."
"Uh, hmm..." Mighty searched his invisible side pockets for cash, but only managed to pull out three golden Power Rings. "Do you accept Rings?" he sheepishly asked.
The counsel was less than amused, but whispered among themselves for a solution anyway.
"All things considered," said Counselor Vance, "I believe this experience has taught us all something...
..
..
"For once in a very long time, we've become vulnerable. We believed that our system and our technology was flawless; now we know better."
Throughout Pandora, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. No more panic, no more running into each other in the dark. All was right in the world.
"...But more importantly, it's taught us to never take anything for granted."
Shortly after the power had returned to Pandora, Mega Man- with Mighty in tow- opened the automatic doors to the gymnasium in which their friends Raz and Jade had been trapped. To his surprise, Rock was greeted with a swift and tight hug from Raz, whose eyes were watery. The robot looked to his female comrade, who only said with a smile, "I'll explain later."
..
..
"...We all owe so much to this sun goddess; it's only right that we give her the peace she deserves. After all, even gods need a break once in a while."
The Great Gardens still glittered with stardust in the air throughout the evening, with its newest member, Amaterasu, relaxing under the peach tree of Sakuya, with her long-time friend Issun hopping playfully on her wet nose.
All was right in their world.
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SAVING GAME
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NEXT LEVEL: "Ctrl, Alt, Del"
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