Chapter 17: Brotherhood
Part 1
Within the halls of this amusement park castle attraction turned mobile fortress was the Hallow Jacks and Marionette Jacks marching in complete synchronization. With permanent grimaces on their faces, they monitored the surroundings, following their protocols and orders given to them by Folly... As well as Sempronio.
A line of varied Jack series bots marched down the halls, passing by dual cabinets before turning a corner and continuing down their path as they found nothing out of the ordinary.
Slowly, one of the doors to the cabinets opened. Just as slowly, a young boy peeked his head out, watching as the Jacks disappeared from his sight and the sounds of their heavy footsteps grew fainter.
Rokku breathed a sigh of relief.
Feeling that the coast was clear, he climbed out of the cabinet, armed with his new 'weapon', a pipe. He closed the door silently by using his pipe to push the door close.
"That was a close one." Rokku thought in his head. "It's a good thing I'm small enough to fit in there..."
As the boy snuck around, his expression contorted. He repeated what he had just said again in his head, almost like he was rewinding and replaying the voice clip. He then grabbed his face and audibly groaned.
"AAAAGH! I JUST ADMITTED THAT I'M SMALL!" The self-loathing teenager fumed in his mind.
His oh-so terrible realization and reaction to such quickly disappeared as he heard brand new footsteps approaching him from the end of the hall leading to the main lobby. Eyes widened like a deer in the headlights, he panicked and scurried back in the cabinet like an alerted house mouse.
Just like before, a group of Jack series bots marched past the cabinet with grimaces and cold, focused protocols set in place. But soon, they would turn the corner just like the previous group. As soon as the coast was clear, Rokku would poke his head out of the cabinet with an annoyed look on his face.
"At this rate, I'm going to end up living in here..." He whined to himself. He shook his head rapidly and pried himself free of the cabinet after opening the door entirely. "I gotta get moving! Model M needs me!"
Deciding not to stay in the cabinet any longer, Rokku took a risk and ran towards the direction of where the first floor lobby was at. He remembered that the Hallow Jack dragged him down a lot of floors. If he was to get to Model M, he had to be quick and get back to where his previous prison cell was at.
However, a lone Hallow Jack would emerge from the corner, separating from its group. It appeared to be following its protocols, marching about but just going the opposite direction. However, it stopped at the cabinet. It turned its head before tilting it downward. The cabinet door was open. This door was not opened before.
The Hallow Jack tilted its head back up and looked straight ahead. A small cackle emitted from its forever grimacing mouth. Its eyes rapidly flashed between the usually yellow glowing eyes to alarming red eyes. It would soon remain yellow as per usual. Back hunched and gloved claws out, the scarecrow themed bot started walking forward... No longer marching.
Folly hummed to herself as she watched her show unfold. Numerous screens manifested before her, some feeds being from cameras placed around the newly fortified castle attraction with other feeds being from flying mechaniloids with cameras.
She witnessed her numerous Mavericks terrorizing the residents of Kairos City, even combating the police. She internally commended the officers for their efforts. Through pure skill and the use of their special mechaniloids designed to face Maverick threats, they were able to destroy a couple of her own forces. It made her show all the more intriguing knowing that the police were competent even without a Mega Man present.
"Dance, dance, dance~!" Folly cheered, twirling her newly made cane. "Make the people dance~! Ha Ha Ha~!"
She sneered intently at the screens, flashing a toothy grin.
"Come and get me, heroes... I'm waiting for you..." Folly whispered delightfully before extending her arms from side to side. "I will prove my worth to all who oppose me..."
Having just passed the main lobby, Rokku watched from above, witnessing the Hallow and Marionette Jacks march down the facility. He might've just been imagining things, but he thought they were moving faster than usual. He could barely see them when he hid in the cabinet, mostly focusing on the sound of their footsteps. But he thought their sounds were slowly and rhythmic. From what he's seen after leaving the cabinet, the Jack bots had a goofy and admittedly charming soldier-esque march as they patrolled the fortress. This is still true even now... But he thought they were moving faster.
He disregarded these thoughts though, believing that this was a state of "temporal illusion". His mother, being a teacher, told him about this and he's experienced this a couple of times when he sparred with his father. Given all that he's going through, and the fact that his heart is pounding so fast that it might break through his chest at any given moment, he assumed that this was the result of that temporal illusion where he perceived the audio and vision in his body to be distorted and out of whack.
He didn't see any more Jacks pass by and the footsteps were faint once again. Deciding that it was time to go, Rokku popped open the ventilation grille and jumped down the ventilation. Once again, he both praised and cursed his small stature as he might've been unable to fit through the vents otherwise.
Landing on the floor resulted in a loud noise as Rokku fell to his knees, dropping his pipe on the ground. He underestimated just how high he was from the floor. When he crawled into the vents initially, the vent grille was at ground level, meaning he could just crawl in there. But here, he dropped down about 20 feet from above.
His heart shook from the noise. Landing on his feet and collapsing on his knees with a loud thud was bad enough, but the metallic pipe clanging on the ground was even worse.
"!"
Just around the corner was a Hallow Jack, pointing at Rokku dramatically. Rokku turned to see the Hallow Jack screech upon seeing the boy. Emitting from the Jack's mouth was a loud siren akin to that of a police car. It began wildly waving its arms, looking around to attract its brethren to its location to deal with the intruder.
The boy's worries were well warranted.
Panicking, Rokku grabbed the pipe and ran towards the Hallow Jack, smacking it across the face with the pipe. Despite being knocked down, the Jack's siren noise did not stop. The whimpering boy panicked more. He thought smacking him with the pipe once would at the very least deactivate the mechaniloid, but although he used all the strength he could, all he did was knock it down. It hit the ground hard, for sure, but it wasn't enough.
"Um...! UM...!"
The poor lad didn't continue smashing the fallen Hallow Jack further. The mere thought sickened him for reasons he couldn't discern at the moment. Rather than strike it again, Rokku opted to run away, nearly losing his footing as he turned to run away. No matter what he thought he should've done to the Hallow Jack, he knew that if he stuck around the area any longer, he'd be surrounded by Jacks.
He ran as fast as he could, becoming a panting mess. Just ahead was a split passage. Continue straight or take a right to a corner. The latter option was a terrible one as Rokku saw a group of Marionette Jacks cackling as they emerged from the corner. Straight forward he must go.
Rokku narrowly dodged one Marionette Jack as it attempted to swipe at him. Or maybe it was attempting to snatch him up. Rokku couldn't figure out what it was trying to do and he didn't exactly care either. He just wanted to leave.
He could hear more groups of Hallow and Marionette Jacks chasing after him. He was growing tired, but he didn't dare stop even if it pained him to keep going. He didn't know what these psychotic robots would do to him if they caught up to him. He just needed to escape.
Perhaps the temporal illusion he assumed he was experiencing was still in effect, but he felt that the footsteps were getting closer and closer. Was he slowing down? Or were they just that much faster than him? Either way, just like a modern Reploid, even a Human who's been upgraded to have mechanical parts as per the global law could run out of breath. He was going to reach his limit, but he didn't dare look back.
As he turned a corner, he briefly ran into the wall, not turning fast enough due to his low stamina, but he managed to keep going anyway after breaking away from the wall. He would run until he found himself in a big open arena. Although he didn't wish to, Rokku stopped at the center, breathing and panting heavily. He realized he just ran in circles. He was now on the second floor's lobby. He could see the first floor's lobby just from over the railing.
"Oh no...!" He muttered to himself as he realized what he had just done.
He turned around to see the swarm of Hallow and Marionette Jacks cackling loudly as they ran towards Rokku, claws outstretched in a 'grabby' gesture. Although very tired, Rokku grabbed his pipe with both of his hands, holding it like a baseball bat. His arms violently trembled. He had grown too accustomed to the power of Biometal. If he had Model M with him right now, he wouldn't be so tired, let alone a trembling mess.
But he didn't have Model M. And he wouldn't have him if he let these creepy bots capture him again.
"I-I won't give up..." He whispered, gripping the pole tightly.
Readying himself for a fight, Rokku closed his eyes, forcing some tears to leave his face; tears forming from fear, stress, and strain. But he'd get determined quickly. He knew what he had to do.
The boy took a step forward, ready to swing at the Hallow Jack in front of him with his pipe.
"TAKE TH-"
Suddenly, the roof burst open, causing numerous debris to fall down to the ground. But falling before the debris was someone massive. They landed right in front of Rokku, causing the ground to shake so violently that the boy was forced to fall on his bottom. The individual stood before the swarm of Jacks, back towards Rokku. But as the smoke cleared, Rokku's vision soon became clear. He recognized this individual.
"COME AND GET ME!" The man shouted.
He grabbed some fallen debris and chucked it at the Jacks. Instantly, many of them were destroyed by this single piece of debris. The Jacks all stared at each other, ceasing their cackling. But they looked at the giant and ran towards him. Futile efforts as he merely swiped his arm and knocked them away.
With the Jacks destroyed in less than 10 seconds, Rokku sat there flabbergasted. He looked frozen stiff. The man then turned to face Rokku. He was armored up and had a massive metallic jaw. Despite this, he flashed a big grin and gave Rokku a thumbs up. Despite the man's hulking image, the man was skyscraper levels of tall. He was well over 7 feet to be certain.
"Hey there, little man!" A voice greeted. The voice did not come from this man, however, but it was the voice of a burly foreman all the same. "Lucky us! We found you already!"
Rokku blinked and muttered softly under his breath, "...A-Alphonse...? Model Gu...?"
The 7 plus foot tall Alphonse walked over to Rokku and extended his giant hand. After some silence, Rokku took his hand...before being quickly yanked up to his feet. This disorienting action frightened him and his feet was violently wobbling as the big man talked.
"I'm glad to see you're alright, Rokku." Alphonse said, placing his hands on his hips. "I was worried that the Jester was torturing you."
"H-How... How did you find me...?" Rokku asked, still in disbelief as his legs ceased wobbling.
"For starters, we all saw a moving castle deployin' a buncha bad bots out on the city!" The voice, which belonged to Model Gu, explained. "Dealt with a mad scientist enough times to know what a bad guy's hideout looks like!"
"As for how we found you now?" Alphonse shrugged with a slightly nervous expression. "I'll admit, I bust down the roof just to break in here. I didn't think I'd find you so quickly around here."
Rokku's eyes widened and his brows furrowed immediately after he explained. He realized something right then and there,
"...This guy coulda crushed me!"
The mere thought of Alphonse accidentally crushing the guy he was meant to rescue worried him...oh-so-much.
"Hey! Where's Mega!?" Model Gu asked. "Why didn't ya protect yourself with your superpowers!?"
Rokku frowned and looked at the ground. "M-Model M... is captured. He and I were being held in the same place. Folly promised to keep us in the same room... But then those Trouble Trio jerks came in and separated us. That cyclops robot guy said something about how "the party cannot be undoomed" or whatever..."
He meant "the party cannot be undone".
"Do you know where he's at?" Model Gu asked.
"I don't..." Rokku shook his head. "But I bet he's with the Trouble Trio...!"
"So, if we find the circus troupe, we find Mega..." Model Gu muttered.
"That's a good enough plan for me...!" Alphonse grinned, slamming his fist into his palm.
Rokku stared at him, trying to process everything...
"Hehe... I remember we once had to save Mega back then too... He saved us, and now we're saving him again!" Model Gu chuckled. "I love it!"
Alphonse smiled. "You helped me, Rokku. You didn't have to, but you made the effort. I am glad to have been able to return that kindness in turn. It would be an honor to help the great legend that is Mega Man... So come along, kiddo!"
Rokku smiled and grew teary eyed once again. But before he could say anything, Alphonse yanked him again, causing the poor boy to yelp once again. This time, Alphonse and placed Rokku on his back. The Model Gu Chosen One wasn't his father, but being on Alphonse's shoulders sure brought back memories. Helping all the more was that Alphonse was over 2 feet taller than him.
Without delay, Alphonse began marching forward.
"HA HA!" Model Gu laughed as Alphonse jumped and reached the third floor. "At this rate, we're gonna get to Mega Man before any of my brothers get here!"
"Brothers...?" Rokku muttered aloud. "The others are helping too?"
"Of course, kid!" Model Gu exclaimed. "You and Mega got kidnapped! Did ya think we'd just stand by and watch that Jester girl terrorize these innocent people!?"
"I went on ahead of the others," Alphonse confessed. "They should be here any minute to assist! In the meantime, become my guide, young Mega Man!"
Rokku beamed brightly and pointed straight ahead. "R-Right!"
An Hour Ago...
In the same room where Rokku began his Guardian test, the room was filled with Dwight, Candice, Markos, Vaude, Aimer, and the six liberated Biomatches. They were all looking at a big monitor with Dwight resting his arm on top of it as everyone observed the footage being displayed. The night had taken over, and Kairos City was once again under siege. No Gravers in sight, however. It was just Mavericks of a wide variety, mostly Hallow Jacks and the newly deployed Marionette Jacks; a line that only Vaude was familiar with.
"The enemy is attacking once again..." Markos growled.
The footage, being recorded by a fellow Guardian as they shot down the Mavericks with their Guardian-issued Buster-Shots. In the distance was an amusement park attraction- A castle; one which was fortified and decorated in a way that it was nearly impossible to not figure out who had been responsible for the vandalism.
"Is that...a castle?" Coupure scrapped his head.
"It looks pretty but... It doesn't look very nice either..." Jack frowned.
"That girl. She's at it again." Raiden folded his arms with venom in his voice. He then turned to Aimer. "You had a plan, so let's hear it."
Aimer nodded.
"Alright. The bad news is I can't contact Rokku in any shape or form. I think Folly jammed his communications line." Aimer said. She then held up an index finger and smugly grinned. "But, the good news is I can track Model M's energy signature. It's how I found him when I first came to the island. I've confirmed that he's currently being held in that fortified castle attraction. If Model M is there, then Rokku's bound to be held there too!"
Alphonse sat in the way back, listening to everything. He had his hand on his chin, thinking deeply as he looked at the castle on the monitor.
"Let's hope that Model M and Rokku are held in the same place." Keegan stated. "We wouldn't want to be storming the castle to find the Biometal without his Biomatch around!"
"And vice versa..." Vaude added.
"I will admit that I'm making a big assumption..." Aimer confessed. "But judging on what I know about Folly from what I've personally observed and what I've been told from Rokku and Vaude, I don't think she'd separate them. She has to have plans for both of them."
"What if she's planning on washing their brains like she did to us!?" Jack whimpered.
"All the more reason to act quickly," Raiden began. "If that jester is in the castle, then we must apprehend her!"
"Don't forget about the city." Markos reminded everyone. "The Guardians and my Sentries may require the assistance of you... Mega Men."
"We haven't forgotten, Commander." Aimer told him. She then turned her attention to everyone else. "I think Alphonse and Detona should go with Vaude to help the Guardians and Sentries with the incursion. The rest of you storm the castle for Rokku and Model M. All you need to keep me updated on anything, especially on the boys! I will be out on the field too, so keeping me updated is important for my plan to work!"
"Understood, Aimer." Raiden nodded.
"...I should be storming the castle myself." Vaude folded his arms. "I'm the one who failed the kid in the first place."
"Talking down to yourself isn't going to help." Aimer chastised. "You're the senior Chosen One, aren't you? You lead Alphonse and Detona in the city. Keegan, Jack, Coupure, and Raiden should be more than enough to save Rokku and Model M."
"She's right." Markos agreed. "Your sentiments towards m- Mega Man won't go unnoticed, but the people need our assistance just as much."
Vaude sighed and looked away, saying nothing else on the matter.
"Hey, great plan and all," Detona said nonchalantly. He proceeded to point his thumb behind him without looking in the direction. "But, uh, I think the big guy just bailed on us."
Everyone turned to see that... Alphonse was no longer in the room.
"Wait, huh!?" Coupure cried, eyes practically bulging out of his face. "How'd a big guy like him leave so quietly!?"
Aimer rushed out of the room and outside of the Ground Base. As the others joined her, they all witnessed a Sentry-issued jeep speeding off towards the city. Aimer immediately knew who that was.
"ALPHONSE!" Aimer cried.
"Looks like he was impatient... I share his impatience...!" Keegan grinned with enthusiasm.
Aimer groaned and rubbed her temples. "Alphonse...! You...! Ugh...!"
"Hey, boss lady, no need to get all worked up." Coupure chuckled nervously to attempt to calm her down. "Maybe I should go with snow white and bomber man."
As Vaude and Detona shared a glare at Coupure, Aimer just sighed. "Fine. Sure. Whatever. I don't know what Alphonse is planning, so I think you joining Vaude and Detona might be a good idea if he's going rogue..."
"Alright, then let's get going already!" Vaude looked at Detona and Coupure and tilted his head towards the vehicles.
Vaude walked ahead and grabbed his motorbike after megamerging with Model PM. The motorbike had two sidecars attached; one for each side of the bike. The sidecars resembled go-karts.
"Let's light this candle!" Detona cheered with a slasher smile, following after Vaude.
"Uh, what he said!" Coupure agreed.
Detona and Coupure jumped into their sidecars after megamerging with their Biometals, Model Bb and Model Ct respectively.
As Vaude revved up his bike, Coupure looked down at his sidecar and had a realization,
"Wait, how was Big Al supposed to fit in this thing anyway!?"
However, his question went unanswered. Vaude soon took off after Alphonse, his bike kicking up some dirt. Aimer coughed a bit and puffed up her cheeks. Raiden, however, placed an assuring hand on her shoulder as he walked ahead of her.
"We all have our assignments." Raiden called out before turning to those that remained. "We have a Biometal and a boy to rescue. It's about time we pay them back for liberating us before. Let's move out!"
"Yeah!" Jack cheered and rushed over with Raiden to one of the Sentry pickup trucks.
"Yes sir!" Keegan fist pumped.
Aimer sighed. It was now or never, she supposed. "R-Right!"
Joining with Candice and Dwight, Aimer went to one of the Guardian pickup trucks while the others grabbed a Sentry issued buggy. As everyone grabbed their rides, they soon took off into the city.
Markos watched as everyone went to accomplish their roles, though a tinge of concern grew on his face.
"Good luck."
Present time...
"Mistress!"
Entering the command center in their new fortress, Sempronio walked in, holding Model M in his hand. His partners, Tizio and Caio, were right beside him.
"We have intruders! They are tearing down our defenses!" Sempronio told her.
Folly's eyes widened slightly. She would turn around, calming her face down before her minions bore witness to her mild surprise.
"Really now? That was quicker than I had anticipated." Folly tapped her chin. A smirk grew on her face. "I expected some intruders to appear 7-8 minutes from now~"
"You're cracking jokes now!?" Caio chastised.
"You're worrying far too much, boys." Folly giggled softly to herself, closing her eyes. "You should've been prepared for this kind of outcome the moment you swore allegiance to me."
Folly then opened her eyes. "They may be early, but that just means we can-"
Her smile vanished.
Tizio's, Caio's, and Sempronio's eyes all shifted to one another in confusion. Their mistress silence was...eerie to say the least.
"Um... Mistress?" Tizio squeaked.
"... Why do you have that?" Folly asked.
The boys were confused for a moment. But only a moment. Sempronio looked at his right hand where he held Biometal Model M.
"Ah yes, this." Sempronio replied nonchalantly. "You were correct about us being prepared for "this kind of outcome". It's precisely why I chose to separate the boy and the Biometal so that your plan succeeds."
"They sent my partner to his new "holding place"." Model M spoke up. "You said you were keeping us together, but here we are separated."
Folly walked over to the boys, brows furrowed.
"Great. Just great." Folly began snarling. Tizio and even Caio shrunk at the new scowl on her face while Sempronio remained steadfast. Folly's eyes was fixated specifically on Sempronio. "It's bad enough Rokku and Model M think I lied to them about giving them a break, but now you pull this stunt. Don't you know that I hate breaking my promises?"
"You would rather keep them in one place where the intruders can easily get them to megamerge and ruin our plans once again?" Sempronio retorted challengingly. "With the boy far downstairs, we have time to implement the program into this Biometal."
Folly squinted at him, hands on her hips, even with her cane in her hand. "What are you talking about?"
"With Vulcan and his cannon fodder causing trouble for us, you must've realized that you had to raise the time table." Sempronio explained. "You captured the boy and the Biometal to brainwash them, didn't you? You must be aware of the impossibility of them willingly cooperating with us."
"Stupid Joe robot...!" Folly growled and smacked him upside his head with her cane, earning a wince from Tizio and Caio. The Joe bot rubbed the top of his head with his singular eye displaying a massive red "X" in place of the pupil for a brief moment. "Do you understand nothing of how the Nocturne Empire intends to operate? If I wanted those two brainwashed, I wouldn't have bothered trying to convince them to join us!"
Model M paid close attention. Even without an emotive face, he was surprised by the conversation between these two.
"B-But... Why wouldn't you want to brainwash them?" Tizio squeakily asked.
"Model M is the original Mega Man!" Folly barked. "No matter how much of a so-called 'nuisance' he can be, we must still respect the name! Brainwashing him would dishonor not only his legend but our code within the empire!"
She then folded her arms. "Besides, I know for a fact that brainwashing Model M would take a much longer time to do compared to his brothers."
"Oh yeah? How come?" Caio asked.
"Short version? Mega Man has too much willpower." Folly explained flatly. "Long version? My history records show that the mad doctor Mega Man fought repeatedly once attempted to brainwash him during his second major battle via a virus. It took eight of his newly created enforcers for Mega Man to eventually succumb to the virus' effects. And even then, he came out of the brainwashing almost immediately.
She then folded her arms, tapping her left arm with the index finger from her right arm. "Even if I wanted to brainwash him, and I already made my stance very clear, it's just not worth the effort."
Sempronio lowered his hand after he stopped rubbing it. His eye looked away from Folly, pondering her words and reasoning. He didn't know whether his mistress was correct or foolish.
"...Folly?" Model M spoke up. The girl looked down at the Biometal in Sempronio's hands. She noted the sternness in his voice and looked genuinely and innocently curious over what the legend had to say. "You seem to know an awful lot about me and my brothers. As far as I can tell, the people of this timeline hardly remember us from five centuries ago. So... How do you?"
"I'm flattered that DLN-001, aka, "Rock Light", is curious about my knowledge~" Folly smiled and bowed respectfully, her cane pressed against her chest.
Model M, however, gasped after she said the serial number. She continued,
"Let's just say... I'm your biggest fan~" Folly teased, winking at the Biometal and even playfully sticking her tongue out.
After sucking her tongue back in, she turned her attention to the holographic screens displayed in the command center.
"Anyway, thanks to my loyal stooges, I have to fix their mistake and move things up on the timetable." Folly stated. A small portal manifested on the ground; a portal just small enough for her cane which she'd drop into before closing it.
Now with a free hand, her eyes glowed slightly as a holographic screen materialized above the palm of her hand. Acting as a tablet, she began swiping her finger across the screen. To the common eye, it would appear to be a simple blue holographic image. But to Folly, she could see numerous words, buttons, and keys. Tapping her fingers on the screen at apparent random, her work would reflect over where her larger floating screens were.
A new screen materialized over the already existing screens. It was a camera feed within her new fortress. Appearing to control the screen with her eyes somehow, she flickered between feeds. Some feeds displayed Jack series bots roaming the premises in search of the intruders. Other feeds displayed broken remains of her beloved foot soldiers. The most notable feed was the one that displayed the floor above the main lobby, showing a massive crater with many destroyed Jacks.
Upon observing the feed for some time, she'd switch to other feeds until she found an armored giant tearing through the halls, effortlessly taking out the Jacks. Most curious was the boy hanging on for dear life on the giant's back. Her calm smile slowly twisted into a delighted sneer.
"See, Sempronio?" Folly grinned, turning to face the Joe bot as she pointed her cane on the screen with Alphonse and Rokku. "You only delayed the inevitable~"
Sempronio just glared at the screen, appearing to silently groan.
"...So it seems. I apologize for questioning your judgement, Mistress. What would you have us do?"
"Apology accepted. Now listen closely, because everything I say must hinge on you following my orders without fail~" Folly's eyes looked down at Model M, having a devious look in her eyes.
Part 2
Once in the city, all groups split up to do their tasks. Raiden, Jack, and Keegan went towards the castle, Aimer, Candice, and Dwight kept their distance, and Vaude, Coupure and Detona went to the city's center to start defending the people with other Sentry and Guardian operatives. Even a couple of Hunters that remained on the island pitched in to aid.
As Vaude rode the bike, he suddenly spoke up,
"You guys can go, y'know."
Detona, arms folded, looked at the guy clad in red and raised a brow.
"What was that?" Detona asked.
Vaude, without turning his head to face either of the boys, just smirked as he came to a stop.
"I can handle this myself for now." Vaude told them. He'd then look at Coupure and then at Detona. "I bet your Biometals would love nothing more than to save Model M. So go on. Hurry up and save them."
"This guy gets it!" Model Bb shouted. "C'mon, Detona! Let's hurry up before they hog all the fun!"
"Can't wait to cut in on the action!" Model Ct added.
While Detona was excited, Coupure just frowned. In annoyance.
"...Was that a pun just now, dude?" Coupure asked.
Like with his inquiry about Alphonse's sidecar, he received no answer. Instead, Vaude pressed a button on his bike, and the sidecars suddenly popped away from the bike. Materializing like techno-magic, the sidecars now had steering wheels and pedals.
Detona and Coupure immediately recognized the significance of this new development and wasted no time making a mad dash towards the castle fortress, leaving Vaude in the dust.
Vaude couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.
"I knew it was a good idea to have them look like go-karts~" Vaude grinned.
"But was it a good idea to leave you alone to handle the horde of Mavericks?" Model PM questioned.
"Maybe not." Vaude admitted as he climbed out of his motorcycle and materialized his Proto Shield. "But you and I both know that I'd love nothing more than to save the kid after failing to do my job. My dumbass couldn't even watch a kid for two days without him getting abducted by a weird Jester girl."
He started walking ahead, eyes focused on a Marionette Jack stretching its claws towards an elderly man trying to escape. He managed to dodge it, but he stumbled to the ground right after. The Marionette Jack appeared to have him dead to rights and prepared to slash at the man, but the Marionette's head received a couple of shots to the head, forcing it to stumble.
Alert, it turned its head towards the one responsible, but by the time it made contact, its head was blown off by a Proto Strike blast, lifelessly falling to the side.
Vaude smirked.
"But at the same time?" He continued. "I ain't blind to the obvious symbolism here. Might as well let the OGs save Model M and his chosen one."
Model PM said nothing to that. Whether he had nothing to say or was pondering Vaude's words wasn't clear. What's clear was his silence. All the same, Vaude helped the elderly man up and led him towards Guardian barricades to keep him safe.
"I work better solo, anyway." Vaude snarked. "And I know you agree on that, Proto."
Hallow Jacks were marching forward, letting out a symphony of manic laughter. Rushing towards them was an armored behemoth with each step practically shaking the floor. But that mattered little to the Hallow Jacks. They simply raised their firearms, simple Blasters, and began raining fire upon the enemy.
"They have guns now? Since when!?" Rokku cried behind Alphonse.
"Don't know, don't care!" Alphonse shouted as he charged ahead, raising a single arm to block the majority of the solar-bullets. His Biometal granted him exceptional armor defenses, but he wasn't invincible, and his little buddy behind him certainly wasn't. "Just hold on and keep your head low, lil' guy!"
"Don't call me little!" Rokku protested as he held on for dear life.
Alphonse's legs became tank treads and he went at ramming speed towards the crowd of Hallow Jacks.
The big guy let out a boisterous howl, "HURRRRAAAAAAAAGHHH!"
Like bowling pins, the Hallow Jacks were all knocked away effortlessly by Alphonse's might.
"YEAH! THAT'S HOW IT'S DONE!" Model Gu cheered.
"Uwaaaahhhh..." Unfortunately, poor Rokku felt like he was going to vomit from that intense ride, but he held onto his friend's back all the same.
"Sorry about that." Alphonse apologized. "Still, the horde is endless. How close are we to your holding cell?"
"I-I dunno..." Rokku answered as he was slowly regaining consciousness. "It all happened so fast when I was dragged away. I think we're almost there?"
Just as Rokku said that, something crashed through the ceiling above from behind Rokku. Alphonse immediately turned around to face the intruder, mostly on instinct to protect Rokku from any surprise attacks.
Once the smoke cleared, Alphonse was face-to-face with a large, round, and colorful mechaniloid that had the appearance of a clown, even with a jester looking hat design. This mechaniloid had four arms made of spheres with giant white gloves for hands. The legs were also made of spheres, but it appear to wear clown shoes with pointy tips at the toes.
The mechaniloid had neutral expression on its face, but it looked cartoony compared to most mechaniloids. Rokku peeked over Alphonse's shoulder to see, being reminded of Folly in terms of the jester theme, but having a face akin to Tizio and Caio; the Mettaur and Baton respectively.
"What the what...?" Rokku murmured.
"Huh. Now that fella looks familiar." Model Gu noted aloud. "Back then, the mad doc threw a clown lookin' bot against Mega back at the Robot Museum. This guy looks like he's an upgrade of that one."
"Just like that Neo Gamerizer DX..." Rokku noted aloud... Even if he got the name of that turtle mechaniloid wrong. The very first mechaniloid he fought with Model M was the Neo Gamerizer FX.
"Well, whatever it is, it picked the wrong opponent!" Alphonse roared.
"UMMM! H-H-HEY!?" Rokku cried. The boy sensed Alphonse was about to charge forward again like he did to the Hallow Jacks earlier. "Don't forget that I'm hanging off your back! If this guy is a big battle mechaniloid, then w-we should fight carefully!"
Alphonse groaned and lowered his arms. The kid was right, he thought. Ordinarily, he'd just charge right towards him and begin the fight, but he'd risk hurting Rokku. With the Jack bots, he didn't have to worry too much since they were grunts. But he thought about what Rokku and his Biometal, Model Gu, said about this mechaniloid. He could have Rokku sit on the sidelines, but they were in enemy territory. A crowd of Jacks could come swarming in at any moment.
"Darn..." Alphonse growled.
"HAHAHA! You're aren't as dumb as you look!"
Coming from the big hole in the ceiling was a bat-themed robot, Caio, who comfortably sat on top of the head of the clown mechaniloid.
"Feast your eyes on Neo Mash DX!" Caio shouted, spreading his wings out theatrically. "I was hopin' a block head foreman like you would just go right for the clown here only to lose the kid to Neo Mash's other pair of arms, but watching you struggle on what to do is good enough!"
"Bathead!" Rokku shouted, pulling himself over Alphonse's shoulder; earning a surprised eye glance from the big guy. "What did you do with Model M, huh!?"
"My name is Caio, you runt!" Caio shouted equally in anger. "If you want Model M, then you'll have to get by all of the fortress' defenses!"
Caio's wings, strangely acting like hands, clasped themselves together and he held them close to his face with 'lovey-dovey' eyes. "Princess Model M is waitin' for ya at the top! Better hurry up before we move him to another castle!"
Rokku growled loudly, clenching Alphonse's armored shoulder.
"At ease," Alphonse told Rokku. "They will not get away with this."
"I don't know who you think you are, but you shouldna messed with the Light family!" Model Gu shouted with excitement in his voice.
"The likes of you were a buncha industrial bots back in the day!" Caio grinned, tucking his wings back into his body. "You haven't got a chance against us!"
As the bathead began letting a taunting laugh, his roar of delight quickly turned into a roar of pain as he was suddenly enveloped with a surge of electricity.
"AAAAAAGHHH!"
Once the electricity ceased, Caio was smoking all over, wobbling back and forth before he fell, bouncing off Neo Mash's shoulders and hitting the ground. Neo Mash's eyes even followed Caio down to the ground.
"W-What the heck was-"
"We were industrial bots." A voice stated.
Right behind the Neo Mash DX was a single individual, pointing his finger towards Neo Mash's head. Shortly after, a group of people followed right behind him, walking dramatically behind the one in front.
These colorful bunch all had their weapons drawn; a giant pair of scissors, a lit bomb, cold breath, a puff of fire leaving twin Busters, and a smoking index finger.
Rokku immediately recognized these lot and beamed a massive, adorable smile.
The voice, belonging to a certain electric user, continued,
"Now we're so much more." Model El finished.
"Hmph. Took you long enough," Alphonse grinned.
"Took the words right out of my mouth!" Model Gu agreed.
Raiden lowered his finger and clenched his fists.
"We don't have a chance against you? That remains to be seen!" Raiden shouted.
Behind him, Coupure, Keegan, Detona, and Jack all shouted a collective, "YEAH!"
Caio shivered as he flapped his wings to get back up. "C-Crap! Crap crap crap crap crap crap CRAP!"
He then took off towards the hole in the ceiling, shouting,
"TAKE CARE OF THEM, YOU CLOWN!"
Neo Mash DX's eyes flashed and furrowed its eyelids in fury. Raiden, however, suddenly took off in a ball of lightning and bounced up the ceiling and darted right behind Alphonse before materializing back to his normal form.
"I've got your back," Raiden said as Rokku turned around to face him. "Drop off, Rokku, and let Alphonse fight. Everyone else? Eliminate the threat!"
"You don't gotta tell me twice!" Detona shouted, stepping away from the group to chuck his bomb directly at Neo Mash DX.
Immediately sensing danger, the mechaniloid spun around and used its four hands to block the blast. Immediately, the now Rokku-less Alphonse tackled the mechaniloid's back, pushing it forward as Keegan shot a wave of fire at the belly. But the blast, despite it not being blocked by the hands, was seemingly ineffective.
"It did nothing!?" Keegan shouted.
"Then that means you aim for the head, firefighter!" Coupure grinned and threw a giant pair of scissors towards the mechaniloid.
Using two of the four arms on his right, the mechaniloid punched the scissors down to the ground, sticking it to the ground. It then jump in the air, dodging Alphonse's punch and getting right behind him.
As the five of them fought the mechaniloid, Raiden proceeded to shot streams of Thunder Beams towards the horde of Hallow and Marionette Jacks closing in on them. The blast instantly took them out, either causing them to explode from being overloaded or helplessly falling over.
"Like I said, I got your bac-" Raiden turned to Rokku to find him on the ground, covering his head. He was shivering, hands clenching his hair.
Rokku peeked and looked up at Raiden. Noticing that he was gazing down at him, he immediately closed his eyes again,
"S-Sorry... I-I'm just... Lightning..." Rokku stammered.
Raiden didn't quite understand what he meant, though he made the attempt.
"Don't worry," Model El spoke up. "My lightning will not harm you."
Rokku chuckled nervously. "I-I know, I know. It's just... Erm..."
"Save it for later." Raiden told him. His tone of voice might've came off as insensitive. He himself thought this even if he most certainly did not intend for it to come off like that. But fortunately, Rokku didn't take offense for his tone. He imagined the boy understood the stakes, evidenced by him smacking both of his hands on his cheeks to "hype himself up" so to speak. "We have a Biometal to rescue, and that Biometal needs a lively host ready. Can't have you falling asleep on us."
"I understand, sorry." Rokku apologized, watching as Raiden shot another stream of Thunder Beams at a new wave of Jacks appearing.
Alphonse roared as he slammed his fists into two of the hands of the Neo Mash DX. The clown robot proceeded to use its other two arms to punch Alphonse's hips. While the two giants fought, Detona slid beneath them and chuck a bomb behind the mechaniloid, forcing it to fly towards Alphonse and fall on top of him.
"Hey! Easy on the bombs, partner!" Keegan shouted. "You could cave us in or something! We already got a hole in the ceiling!"
"Everyone's a critic!" Detona retorted.
"This...is...FINE!" Alphonse shouted as he lifted the mechaniloid from on top of him and threw the mechaniloid behind him, forcing it to fall on its back.
Using its four arms, it immediately got back up. It glared at Alphonse who was getting up and pulled back two of its arms to prepare for a massive double punch. However, the lower arm was suddenly frozen solid, causing the mechaniloid's eyes to widen in shock.
"Nuh-uh-uhhh!" Jack said after shooting an Ice Slasher at the arm. "Bad clown!"
"Good idea!" Keegan shouted and proceeded to shoot his Fire Wave at the frozen arm, shattering it instantly.
Coupure just grinned and threw a couple of Rolling Cutters are two of the arms on the Neo Mash DX's left side, cutting them off of its body. Alphonse then grabbed the remaining arm and let out a roar as he tore the final arm from the Neo Mash DX, leaving it armless.
"An invincible body ain't possible!" Alphonse shouted, slamming his hand to the wall and grabbing a chunk of metal with his Super Arm ability. "Everyone, let's finish it off!"
Jack used his breath to shoot a number of Ice Slashers at Neo Mash DX's armless body before it made the attempt to jump away, encasing the body in a cluster of ice. With everything but the head frozen, Keegan shot a Fire Wave, Alphonse chucked the metal piece he had grabbed from the wall, Coupure threw a massive Rolling Cutter, and Detona chucked a Hyper Bomb at the incapacitated mechaniloid.
With a massive explosion, the Neo Mash DX was obliterated by the combined might of five of the six Chosen Ones. However, bouncing on and off the ground was the head of the mechaniloid, blinking helplessly.
Alphonse grinned and turned his left arm into a massive, armored clamp-like contraption. With the clamp, he picked up the head and effortlessly crushed it, officially destroying this revised robot.
"Mission accomplished!" Coupure shouted.
"Mission very accomplished!" Detona grinned.
"Hold up there," Keegan intercepted. "The mission isn't accomplished until we rescue the Biometal!"
"Even then, the mission isn't truly accomplished until the city is safe from the Jester's incursion!" Raiden told them.
Rokku walked over to join the group, staying close to Raiden.
"Thank you all for coming to help," Rokku said. "With you all here, I think we can get Model M back!"
"With all that said," Model El began. "We need to get moving, on the double."
"Hey! Let's take the ceiling!" Jack pointed to the hole that the Neo Mash DX made.
"It's risky," Model Fi noted.
"But Mega is waiting at the top, isn't he?" Model Ic recalled. "This is the quickest way!"
"We're not gonna make like a detective team and split up, are we gang?" Model Ct asked.
"Bad idea! We stick together!" Model Gu shouted.
"Agreed." Raiden said. "We'll take the ceiling, but let's be quick about it. There's bound to be more of those robots on our tail on this floor and they might swarm the hall up above and get the drop on us."
"Alright. Everybody up!" Alphonse ordered, having long reverted his clamp arm back to a normal one.
On the screen containing the camera feed, Folly sat on the command chair and watched keenly as the 'heroes' made their way to the ceiling. She rests her left cheek in her left fist, smirking the whole time.
"They demolished Neo Mash DX." Tizio whimpered.
"As expected." Sempronio noted. "The might of the Light Numbers as a group should not be taken lightly."
Folly chuckled slightly. "Oh absolutely. But they are putting on quite the show, all the same~"
Sempronio, standing right beside his mistress, had his single eye glance down at her. He said nothing, however, and turned his attention back to the feed. They all watched as Alphonse made a big jump and grabbed onto the ledge of the broken floor on the upper level and pulled himself up after a bit of comedic struggle, complete with rapidly wiggling legs.
"Speaking of, I'm sure poor Caio is retreating to you-know-where," Folly continued, snapping her fingers. "The heroes are approaching quickly. Places everyone! We can't afford to mess up, not once!"
Without delay, Sempronio and Tizio left the room in a hurry.
Despite her orders, she smiled at the footage a little while longer before getting off of her chair...
The group of heroes ran across the corridors, all but one shooting and attacking any and all opposition in their way effortlessly. After destroying swarm after swarm, eventually the Maverick horde ceased coming. Well over 5 minutes of running since the last wave and no enemies whatsoever.
Rokku ran alongside his partners, panting heavily as he went.
"Sounds like someone is getting tired!" Detona teased.
"I... I can keep going..." Rokku huffed and puffed.
"Don't tease the guy!" Coupure told Detona.
"It's not nice!" Jack said. "He doesn't have Biometal like us!"
"That's right." Keegan agreed. "Even as a humanoid, he's still lacking the benefits of being a Mega Man."
"But he won't have to wait long...!" Raiden said. "We will get Model M back."
"Anyone thought about that? How come super powered people gets to be called "Mega Man"? Model Ic asked.
"Do you even have to ask!?" Model Ct retorted, almost sounding offended.
"If anyone's deserving of having their name bein' used for super powered people, Mega Man is it!" Model Gu stated.
"Even if it means his title is being misused?" Model Fi asked.
"This kind of title can give Chosen Ones this misconception about might being right." Model El noted. "I'm sure a certain Biometal on this island would loathe that..."
Rokku didn't catch that last part from Model El, but he did think about the "Mega Man" title. Was he himself deserving of it? But he quickly shook his head before his thoughts got further. He wouldn't talk down to himself again. He promised himself and he promised Model M.
"Well, I think everyone here deserves to have the title." Rokku interrupted. "I may not have known him as well as you Biometals did way back then, but I know that Mega Man was a hero. And I think it should be okay if heroes like you guys are called that too!"
"Heh! Maybe the big ol' blue's gonna agree with ya!" Model Bb laughed.
Up ahead, the group came up towards the door. Although appearing to be one of those automatic doors, the mechanisms within did not unlock the door.
"We got ourselves a massive door here." Raiden stated. "We're getting closer, I'm sure."
Everyone stepped aside as Alphonse stepped forth, sticking his fingers in the gaps of the door until he was able to get a firm grip. Once this was done, he'd use his Super Arm ability to give himself herculean strength and pry the doors open. It put a massive strain on the door, evident by the loud sounds of cracks and snaps.
As Rokku watched, a thought came to mind.
"Hmm..."
"What is it?" Raiden asked, looking at him.
"I was just hoping Merrie Jane would be alright." Rokku said, placing his hands on his hips. "The last time I saw her was during that fight at the old mill..."
Detona perked up. "Hold up? Are you talking about that glasses girl? I vaguely remember chasing her for some reason."
"Yuh-huh." Rokku nodded.
"I would be weary of her, Rokku." Raiden told him, folding his arms as he turned his attention back to Alphonse as he was getting closer to getting the door open.
Rokku looked at him, tilting his head. "Eh? Why's that? I know Aimer said she was kinda shady back then but... Iunno, I-I think she's okay now. She's been helping us this whole time. Why would she do anything bad if she's wants to stop these obviously bad guys?"
"Just be cautious." Raiden sternly advised. "My memories are as vague as Detona's, but I barely remember trying to save her from a bat mechaniloid. And it looked an awful lot like the bat I shot at earlier. The Gravers going after her is one thing, but a minion of the Jester going chasing her too is what's making me wonder about her... The Jester and Graver are clearly not in sync, so there's something more to this. No matter what, you remain vigilant, got it?"
Rokku pondered Raiden's words. Aimer appeared to have known her to some degree, but he hadn't really seen what she meant. He thought she was on the up and up. Why else would the Gravers hunt her down? She did spy on them, and she was on the run since that one day.
Still, he'd put a pin on that.
Alphonse had successfully pried open the door, letting out a loud grunt as he spread his arms apart.
Needless to say, the door would not close again until an engineer came to fix it...or replace it in its entirety.
"Nice going...big...guy..." Coupure's congratulations were cut short at the sight of the room up ahead.
The room, the command center, was not empty. It was filled with Jack series robots. However, they were all wearing armor pieces on their lanky bodies. Armor pieces resembling that of Model M's megamerged form. But the armor pieces lacked Model M's heroic blue colors. These armored pieces were monochrome. These bots looked like skeletons wearing armor with how lanky they were.
But outside of the horde of these new Jacks, in the center was a hermit crab looking mechaniloid, and on top of it was Tizio, Sempronio, and Caio; the latter resting on the arm of Sempronio. The massive hermit crab mechaniloid was clad in bronze and white, looking...somewhat incomplete over all.
Model M was being held Sempronio's hand as well. And Rokku, taking time away from the shock value, took notice.
"MODEL M!"
"You've all fought valiantly!" Sempronio boomed. "But your efforts were for naught!"
"I told ya you had no chance! I told ya!" Caio laughed.
"Mistress Folly calls these guys "Mega Jacks"!" Tizio cheered. "Thanks to you guys, this was a rush job, but they'll be more than enough! You know why? Because our... Uh... Neo Yadokargo Proto mechaniloid will-"
Raiden pointed his finger at the trio and shot a Thunder Beam at them. Sempronio immediately threw Caio towards the thunder bolt, much to the latter's fury.
"WHAT THE HECK!?"
"YOU HAVE YOUR WINGS CLOSED THIS TIME! YOU'LL BE FINE!" Sempronio shouted back, jumping off the hermit crab mechaniloid's shell.
True to Sempronio's word, Caio was unaffected by the Thunder Beam this time. His wings acted as a shield and with them closed around him, he would not get hurt unlike the last time where his wings was open.
After getting hit, Caio bounced off the head of one of the Mega Jacks. He'd then ascend to the skies after getting up from the ground,
"You've got NO chill, do ya Electro Bozo!?" Caio shouted angrily. "Can't even let us do our dramatic speech!"
"Enough!" Sempronio shouted. "Tizio! Give the order."
Tizio, who remained on the shell, pointed one of his floating sphere hands ahead and cried,
"CHAAAARGE!"
Raiden grimaced.
"Model M is the target!" He shouted. "Strike hard, strike fast! Stay-"
"I CALL DIBS ON THE ENEMY CRAB!" Alphonse shouted before turning his legs into tank treads and his left arm into a heavily armored and powered clamp arm.
He blew right through the Mega Jack horde and directly towards the Neo Yadokargo Proto. Winding up his clamp arm, he viciously swing at the exposed part of the robot not covered by the shell. The Yadokargo had no time to cover itself with the shell before Alphonse bashed its face in and sending poor Tizio flying towards the ceiling. If not for his nigh-indestructible Met helmet, he would've been destroyed. Instead, he bounced off it and fell beside Sempronio, shocked.
"H-He took Yadokargo out like it was nothing!" Tizio cried.
"No wonder those Gravers called Alphonse a behemoth...!" Sempronio replied, his eye noticeably twitching.
Suddenly, Detona hopped in the air and began chucking Hyper Bombs everywhere in front of him.
"Bombs away!" He cried, eliminating a mass army of Mega Jacks.
One of the bombs even hit Tizio and Sempronio, separating them. More importantly, Model M flies out of Sempronio's hand, soaring into the air.
"NO!" He shouts as he caught his balance and made a mad dash to retrieve the Biometal once again.
"Model M!" Jack cried and shot some Ice Slashers to freeze some of the charging Mega Jacks. Despite sharing Model M's armor, they did not possess any firearms. Their incomplete nature might've been the primary reason.
Raiden, noticing the Biometal, smirked. He turned himself into a lightning bolt and shot itself towards the ceiling to grab the flying Biometal. To his own shock, Caio snatched Model M in his talons and flew away from Raiden as he materialized back to normal in mid-air, staring in shock and awe.
"HA! You're too slow!" Caio taunted. His laughter was interrupted by him getting hit by a ripped off claw arm from the Neo Yadokargo Proto. "ACK!"
Once again, Model M flies helplessly from Caio's talons. One of the Mega Jacks grabs him, looking confused as it stared down at the Biometal it had caught. But a Rolling Cutter hit it right in its face, making it fall backwards and unintentionally throw the Biometal backwards where Detona grabbed it.
"Got it!" Detona cried. "Who's da man!? I'm the man! Who's da man!?"
"You da man!" Model Bb cheered.
Their cheering was cut off by Tizio smacking Detona in the face with a massive metallic mallet.
"MINE!" Tizio cried.
"Tizio, no!" Sempronio shouted, jumping off of one of the Mega Jack's heads to reach Model M.
"I don't think so!" Keegan and Jack shouted simultaneously, shooting a combined Fire Wave and Ice Slasher attack directly into Sempronio's chest, sending him flying back down in the rapidly dwindling mass of Mega Jacks.
Sempronio had failed to catch the spinning and flying Biometal. But the Biometal was caught with two hands.
"Yahoo!" Rokku cheered tearfully, clasping Model M in his fingerless gloved hands. "We did it!"
"Rokku!" Model M cheered. "Am I glad to see you! Let's not waste any time! You know what to do!"
Rokku nodded and held his Biometal in the air. With all of his might, he shouted at the top of his lungs,
"MEGA! MEEERRRGE!"
Enveloped in a bright blue light, Rokku became the transformation sequence, synchronizing with the Biometal as the armor quickly materialized on his body, rearranging his DNA to become a brand new being.
A Mega Man.
As if to bask in the successful retrieval of the Biometal, everyone stopped and turned.
"YES!" Models Gu, El, Fi, Ct, Bb, and Ic cheered.
Tizio frowned dejectedly over his failure; his tiny body slumping. Caio clicked his tongue and flew over to Sempronio whose single glowing red eye shook with fury.
"Grrr..." Sempronio growled, his digitized voice cracking angrily. The Yadokargo was effortlessly demolished by the Guts Man Chosen One, the Mega Jacks were next to useless, and now the runt had his precious Biometal back in his hands.
"Aw great." Caio sarcastically said, floating over to Sempronio. "He's back."
"This...isn't...over...!" Sempronio growled. "TROUBLE TRIO! RETREAT!"
Tizio, alerted, raised his head (or body) and rushed over to Caio and Sempronio's side. All of the Mega Jacks were eventually defeated by the six Mega Men in the room just as Rokku retrieved his Biometal companion. They had lost.
Together, the Trouble Trio slowly began sinking beneath the floor via a familiar portal...
"It's good to have you back, Model M," Raiden said.
"Thank you." Model M replied with cheer in his voice. "I'm really happy you all worked together to-"
"Oh no you don't!" Rokku shouted, breaking away from the group to dash towards the escaping Trouble Trio. But he was too late. Sempronio gave one last sneer as he and his brothers left the scene and the portal closed. Rokku snapped his fingers. "Shoot!"
The others joined his side, all looking at the ground where their enemies had escaped to.
"Looks like those weirdo bots just bailed." Detona grumbled, folding his arms.
"That's okay!" Jack replied. "We got Mr. Model M back! That means we can help Vaude with the city!"
"Hahahaha~... Bravo! Bravo!"
A voice echoed throughout the room. Folly's voice.
Although an intercom did not appear to be present in the command center, her voice boomed as if she was using one. Everyone, alarmed and alert, looked around to find the source, but to no avail.
"You've all played your roles beautifully~! I could not have wished for a better show!" Folly began clapping. "Well done, everyone! Well done!"
"Folly..." Rokku muttered.
"But don't rest yet, boys~ The show is nearing its finale and I need my star actor!"
All of a sudden, a portal materialized beneath Rokku's feet and he began sinking down it. Unlike the Trouble Trio, however, he was sinking quickly.
"Rokku!" Everyone shouted.
Just before Rokku was sucked inside the portal entirely, he kept his hands on the floor away from the portal. Alphonse took Rokku's left hand while Keegan took his right. Alphonse was effortlessly pulling up the boy.
"Ah-ah-ah~!" Folly taunted. "Don't keep him or he'll be late! My audience demands the hero lead~"
Rokku looked up to see a second portal right above his head.
"W-Whoa!" Detona shrieked and backed away.
"Alphonse! Keegan! Let go!" Model M shouted.
"A-As if!" Keegan told him.
"We worked too hard to save you both!" Alphonse added. The portal was pulling him with strength almost surpassing his own. But he can't use too much strength or he'd risk pulling his friend's arm off.
"Folly's not gonna kidnap us again!" Rokku shouted.
"How do you know!?" Jack tearfully asked.
"She said she needs us for the finale!" Model M theorized aloud. "I'd imagine she wants a duel...! Folly doesn't like breaking her promises, so we can at least trust she won't try this scheme again!"
"B-Besides!" Rokku began. "You guys should help the city! You've all done your part to help Model M and me! So help the innocent people down in the city! Model M and I can do this!"
Rokku slipped his arm away from Keegan, forcing the Fire Man Chosen One to stumble backwards. He attempted to do the same to Alphonse, but his hand was much bigger, meaning it was much more difficult. But one look from Rokku told Alphonse that he would have to let go too. Even if he disagreed with Rokku and Model M's decision, if he didn't let go, then the second portal would force them to comply.
"Do as they say." Raiden told Alphonse. "We have to trust them."
Alphonse groaned. Despite his better judgement, he had no choice.
Rokku, however, grinned. "See ya on the flip side!"
With that, Alphonse let go and Rokku fully sunk into the portal on the ground. As a result, both portals would vanish before the eyes of the six other Chosen Ones.
"Rokku and Model M are back." Raiden told everyone. "Now we have to help the people. Let's move out!"
Detona smirked. "Hey, big guy? How about we make ourselves an exit?"
Alphonse, briefly thinking about the exit of his companion, soon grinned back. "You start us off."
Detona laughed as he grew a massive Hyper Bomb. Everyone backed off as he then threw that bomb towards the wall, creating a massive explosion. The wall was not yet taken down, but Alphonse charging forward and giving it a good hard punch finished the job. The wall was torn down, leading way to the outside.
"The castle... It's no longer moving." Keegan said.
With all the battles, they hadn't noticed that this mobile fortress was no longer...mobile.
"Well, it saves us the trouble of stopping it ourselves." Raiden thought out loud.
"Let's go, everyone!" Jack cheered. "Mr. Rokku and Mr. Model M are counting on us!"
"Plus, we probably shouldn't let Vaude handle all of that on his own any more than we have to~" Coupure chuckled.
"Alright... Let's move out!" Raiden shouted.
With that, everyone went out the newly made exit Detona and Alphonse created, jumping off and into the city's war zone...