Chapter 3: Guts and Honor
It was a pretty warm day. Despite the storm and small incidents, the parade was back in full swing. Each day featured different things to look at on the streets. It was never stale...for most people.
"I'm hoping the parade ends already," Rokku muttered.
He was walking beside Aimer as they entered the commercial district. It was a fifteen-block portion within downtown. The parade took over the primary street of this district and traffic was altered immensely as a result. But after hearing the parade for a good couple of days Rokku had grown to find that the parade has gone on too long...
"Oh, come on. I think it's kind of cool~" Aimer said, elbowing his rib, making Rokku flinch at the jab. "You guys get to have a week of parades just to celebrate your island's 50th anniversary. And every day it's something new? Pretty cool if you ask me~ I even saw a really tall bear float one time~!"
Rokku gave Aimer a small look, confused, curious, but also weirded out. Aimer chuckled and explained herself, "I... May have taken a look at the parade the day I found Model M~..."
Model M chuckled as well. "You were supposed to come to the Quarry to find me and you took a detour?"
"T-To be fair! I went downtown to buy some things too!" Aimer retorted. Her face was very flustered as she tried to defend herself. "I thought I could afford some brief time in the city before I went to the Quarry. I wasn't expecting to find some sketchy bots trying to find you too!"
Rokku joined in on the laugh. "Makes sense! Selena Island's supposed to be a pretty peaceful place!"
Model M shifted a bit in Rokku's pocket. "That reminds me. Where are we looking first, Rokku?"
Rokku shrugged before placing both of his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner. "I dunno. This is less of a scavenger hunt and more like a game of hide-n-seek. Don't scavenger hunts have hints that lead me to the next hint until I find the prize?"
"Yeaaah, Mr. Dwight didn't give us much..." Model M admitted.
"That's just how it goes, boys," Aimer replied. "You gotta find some Guardians and then you pass. The best thing you'd get from the others regarding hints is something like "The others won't be as easy to find as I was!"... Or, you know, something like that."
"At least he didn't have me look through the entire city..." Rokku said with a sigh of relief. "...Actually, I kinda wish he did. I've lived on Selena Isle all my life, but I've never explored all of Kairos City before."
"Really?" Aimer tilted her head. "I find that a little hard to believe- Wait. On second thought, that sounds believable..."
"Kairos City doesn't look like it's small, though." Model M pointed out...verbally. "It'd probably take you all day to find all four Guardians in the city. I think that's why you're restricted to just this district."
"Yeah. The one with the parade going on," Rokku pouted, his arms now slumped beside him. "They're not going to be in any of the stores, but rooftops were fair game. That's what Dwight said. What I'm looking for is a Guardian with the number "2" on their helmet... Oh, and to give them this pebble."
He held out his right hand with the black pebble in hand. It definitely looked like a legit rock and not something fabricated. But it was pretty unremarkable aside from that. "If Dwight gave me a pebble, I wonder what Guardian Number 2 is gonna give me..."
"Well, you'll just have to look long and hard. The commercial district's like, what, fifteen blocks?" Aimer asked. "Just don't ask me for any advice. I can't help you at all...except for holding stuff, apparently."
Rokku nodded in response but noted her pouting at the end of her sentence. The teen felt a little overwhelmed, admittedly, not having a clue where to start. If this was a normal test, he wouldn't have to worry about finding a specific Guardian first. Dwight was right. He definitely spiced up the test.
After about 10 minutes of walking around, Rokku eventually spotted a familiar uniform in the distance. The trickiest part of this test thus far was the fact that Rokku ran into other Guardian members, but they weren't associated with the test in any way. They were out there on patrol, keeping a look out for any dangers given the recent events. Rokku, with Aimer right behind him, ran towards a small fence in front of a coffee shop. In this fence's area was where customers could sit outside the shop, drink and eat. This Guardian, a man of average height and in his early-to-mid 20s. His helmet had a big yellow Number "2" sticker, plain to see.
Rokku, happy to see the numbered sticker, let out an exclaimed, "Finally~! We found you!"
The Guardian smirked as he sat comfortably on the chair, sipping his cup of coffee. "You're the kid taking the test, huh? I'm Antoine. I'm actually from a branch in Europe, so I'm pretty close to home unlike a lot of my Guardian companions."
"Nice to meetcha," Rokku greeted before holding out his right hand with the pebble. "Mr. Dwight gave me this to give to you."
Antoine took another sip of coffee. "It's going to be sad when I have to go back to my branch. The coffee in this city is out of this world. Oh yeah, that pebble. I got something in exchange."
The Guardian reached into his pocket and pulled out a nice-looking silver pocket watch and held it out to Rokku. The boy, in exchange, gave him the pebble. Antoine couldn't help but chuckle, "A everyday pebble for a nice-looking pocket watch. Not what I call a fair trade, ha ha."
Rokku held the pocket watch by the chains. He opened up the watch, but there was nothing to found inside but a broken watch stuck on 2:22. It was definitely very ancient given how it was made. A pocket watch nowadays would've likely been digital or if it were to look like the one in Rokku's hand, it would've been done for the retro aesthetic. But this was definitely at least a century old.
"Keep your hands on it and give to my buddy, Willard." Antoine told Rokku. "You can find him at- Whoops! Almost revealed too much there. Good luck now."
Antoine took another sip...but held the mug upside down when he realized it was empty. He curses himself and gets up to get a refill in the shop. Rokku and Aimer looked at each other curiously before shrugging. Two Guardians down, three more to go.
Rokku moved on and continued looking around. He was a bit let down when he found a Guardian with the numbered sticker on their helmet but was told by Aimer that the number was not the next one after 2. Again, if this was a normal test, this would not be a problem. At the very least, Rokku could keep a mental note to run to that Guardian as soon as he could since he knew where they were at.
"Dwight said that rooftops were fair game," Model M noted out loud. "Do you think that's a possible hint?"
Rokku pondered it. He was willing to take anything at this point. It's been nearly 15 minutes since he last saw Antoine.
"Hmm... The Guardians I'm looking for can't be in any stores which likely means that they couldn't enter any either." Rokku thought about it out loud, earning Aimer's attention. "Antoine was found outside a shop, after all... But if there's going to be a Guardian on any rooftop, it'd probably be on the roofs where you don't need to be inside a building to get on a roof."
"Like... A fire escape?" Model M asks.
"That, or some stairs." Rokku shrugged.
"I really hate that I can't help out, you guys," Aimer whined out loud."I feel pretty useless right now watching you do all the hard work...
Rokku held out his hands to reassure her. "Don't worry about it, Aimer. I'm glad you're here with me even if you can't help me out too much."
"Why's that?" Aimer asked, unconvinced with his reassurance.
"Iunno, I just am." Rokku admitted. "We're friends, aren't we? And friends hang out."
Aimer smiled. That's right, they were friends, she thought. She decided to laugh not only at her own thoughts but Rokku's words as well. "True. I guess I'm not used to hanging out."
"Hey, neither am I." Rokku said.
"Really? A nice guy like you?" Aimer said, now unconvinced over his claims.
"Yeah," Rokku said with a shrug. "I'm usually with my parents. The closest I could say is Dirige and his employees, Elliot and Annamae... and maaaybe Sprocket too? Don't really know a lot of people my age as weird as that sounds."
Aimer gave it some thought, but then shook her head. "Nah, it's not that weird. I don't know a lot of members of Sentry my age either. I'd probably find more people my age in the Guardians or the Hunter's Guild than Sentry, to be honest~ And I guess once you pass this test, that'll make you the first Guardian I know who's around my age~"
"How old are you, anyway?" Rokku asked with his hands in his pockets and a casual but curious look on his face.
Aimer frowned, looking at him with one eye opened as she crossed her arms. "Isn't it rude to ask a girl her age like that?"
"That's what I heard anyway..." Model M stated... But that was all he said given the tone of Aimer's voice. He...wasn't experienced this field, that's for sure.
Rokku flinched at both her question and the look on her face. For some reason he couldn't explain, she looked...scary right there. "I-I, uh... I-I thought it was only rude to ask adults that?"
Aimer stared at him for a while as they kept walking. But she soon closed both of her eyes and smiled, "If you wanna know, I'm 12. But I'll be turning 13 in August."
"Oh?" Rokku blinked. "So, your birthday's only 2 months apart from mine, huh? Mine's was five days ago, June 23."
"Happy belated Birthday then~" Aimer giggled. "Wow. Two days later and you meet Model M and I, huh?"
"Pretty wild..." Rokku trailed on with a nervous grin on his face.
"Alright, so rooftops, right?" Model M interjected. "Where're we looking first?"
Rokku shivered. He was hoping the third Guardian was on a roof. If they weren't, then he'd have to come back to the roof. If there wasn't a single Guardian on there, then he'd have wasted his time...on a roof no less.
Rokku and Aimer began looking on the roofs in the commercial district to find the third Guardian-let alone A Guardian. The bright side was due to the fact that Rokku's search was limited to the commercial district, there were only a couple of rooftops he needed to check, especially since there were only so little roofs that he could check that did not require interior entry first. In due time, Rokku and Aimer had indeed found the third Guardian on the roof to a very popular yet expensive restaurant. Places like these had roofs where people could eat out.
"There you are!" Rokku called out to the Guardian with a number "3" sticker on their helmet. "I got a pocket watch with your name on it!"
"Is that right?" The Guardian, a guy appearing to be 18 years old. He had a sly smile on his face and sharp eyes... Features that reminded Rokku too much of that Folly girl he met last night. But Folly was a girl, and this guy was definitely older than her. Even with his Guardian uniform on, this guy looked to be very pretty. Practically fashion model material. His hair was long, but not quite as long as Aimer. His raven hair was long and thick enough that it couldn't be kept under his helmet completely. Said hair was tied into a braided ponytail.
Rokku, quivering at the guy's tone, immediately talked back, "W-Well, uh... No. Not really. It's just a figure of speech..." The guy chuckled. "At ease, my friend. My name is Willard."
"Unfortunately, your 'buddy', Antoine, already kind of spoiled that for us," Aimer admitted. She noted his thick accent. Sounded like he's from somewhere in Asia.
Willard placed his right hand on his cheek and held his right elbow with his left hand, "Hmm... That sounds like Antoine... Oh well. It can't be helped. But what can be helped is the pocket watch in your hand. If you would so kindly hand it to me, we can proceed with the trade."
Rokku handed him the faulty but ancient silver pocket watch to Willard...and in return, Willard gave Rokku...a glove. It was a black glove with purple fingertips and a gold wrist-cuff attached to it. Something about the glove...made Rokku a little uneasy.
"That glove is a replica of the gloves I once saw a beautiful woman wearing during my North America visit." Willard explained. "She seemed a little odd, but her beauty was indisputable. Whomever her romantic partner shall be, they will be quite lucky. Ahhh... In any case, you have two more Guardians to find. I hope you pass your test."
"T-Thanks!" Rokku replied before making a mad dash towards the exit after pocketing the glove. "I don't wanna be on rooftops anymore...!" Aimer chuckled and followed after him. Three out of Five Guardians.
"Two more to go," Model M noted once they were back on the ground.
"More like one more to go," Rokku said with an eager grin.
"Uh, no, there's definitely two more," Aimer said with a confused look.
Rokku waved his index finger, that grin still on his face. "I found the fifth Guardian earlier, remember!? I know where he's at! All I gotta do is find that fourth Guardian then the test will practically be over!"
"Well, when you put it that way..." Aimer grinned herself.
Rokku placed his hands behind his head once again, winking at Aimer. "Why don't we get a quick snack before we find that fourth Guardian? I recognize this part of the city. We gotta be nearby a hot dog stand. I bet they got Chili Dogs on the menu!"
"Hmmm... I am hungry..." Aimer admitted, looking down.
"Great! Then let's go!" Rokku took her wrist and led her away from the expensive restaurant they left out of. She let out a small yelp as she was suddenly tugged away by the would-be Guardian.
Technically, the two of them were out of the commercial district, now being in a place known as Iota Park. Or rather, they were right outside Iota Park, hanging by the sidewalk where they were getting some hot dogs from a vendor. As Rokku desired, he got a Chili Cheese Dog with plenty of ketchup, plenty of mustard, and definitely plenty of chili cheese all over his hot dog and bun. Aimer just took a basic hot dog with ketchup on it. Aimer paid in EC (Energy Crystals or E-Crystals) while Rokku paid with Zenny coins.
Zenny was pretty much like Yen in Japan or the United States currency system but expanding across the entire world. No matter where you went, people can accept Zenny the same way people can accept EC.
Rokku took a giant chomp out of his chili dog as he walked beside Aimer who took normal bites off her hot dog. "Mmm~ Love this stuff! Up there right next to pizza as my favorite food in the world~"
"I never had Chili Dogs before," Aimer admitted. "Never looked all that appetizing to me..."
"Huh?" Rokku expressed shock. "How come you didn't try one when we bought our dogs?!"
"Uhhh, because it never looked all that appetizing to me, like I said?"
"Oh. Right..." Rokku pouted. "Well, it's better than it looks... And even then, it looks deliciouuus~"
Aimer watched him take another big bite, with one smaller bite being enough to finish it off. She was only halfway done with hers. He must be a big eater, she thought... But she also noted that he didn't have a big gut to prove her thoughts either...
"I don't think I'm too picky of eater. I usually like eating salad... Salad with boiled eggs and fried egg chunks... And plenty of ranch sauce~" She almost drooled at the thought. "I know some of my co-workers at the base tend to make fun of me, saying I'll become a salad if I keep eating it... But I'd rather eat that then the terrible mash potatoes that a certain guy likes making. Everyone hates it but he keeps making them... Blegh."
Rokku listened to her talk and found himself engaged as he chucked the last chunk of his meal into his mouth and ate it. He's only known her for about three days now and he felt that she knew more about him than the other way around. Not that he minded telling her about himself but... He wanted to know more about his 'friend'.
"Hey, what's your story anyway?" Rokku asked.
"...I'm sorry?" Aimer looked at him after swallowing her own bite of her hot dog.
"You were talking about how you don't know many Sentry guys your age, right?" Rokku asked. "How did you end up in Sentry?"
Aimer frowned and looked away. "A-Ah... Erm... It's... a little hard to explain..."
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to..." Rokku assured her. He didn't want her to be uncomfortable.
"No, no! I want to!" Aimer reassured him. "I owe you that much anyway. See, it's hard to explain because... I don't remember a whole lot."
"What do you mean?" Rokku asked. "Like...amnesia?"
Aimer shook her head. "No, but I did consider that as a possibility. Ultimately, I just think...I was too young to remember. I had two foster parents and they cared about me a lot. Their names were Bernard and Penny, and they worked at Sentry just like I am. We lived in North America at Sentry's main base in Empire City. It'd probably be weird to be living at a military base, but for me, it was pretty normal... I was even tested because my IQ was unnaturally high for my age. It's how I became a part of the R&D department as a scientist. But... Three years ago, my parents were killed in a war in a country that doesn't even exist anymore... There were no survivors of that incident..."
Rokku frowned. "I-I'm sorry."
"Me too," Model M added. "No one should have to go through that..."
She continued on, "Recovering wasn't easy, but Sentry has always been family to me. I can't forget my foster parents but... I can't think about it too much either."
Rokku stayed silent. He wasn't sure what to say. He eventually said something though, "You're...kinda like me, huh?"
"What do you mean by that?" Aimer asked after he broke the silence.
"...My parents adopted me too... I don't know the exact details with how Grandpa died but I heard it happened somewhere in the Great Desert. You know, in Africa. I want to go there one day and see where he was for myself. But... I gotta get my airship up and running first..."
Aimer finished her hot dog completely and swallowed. "Wait, you have an airship?"
"It's a long story. I'll tell you about it some time." Rokku told her before patting her on the back. "Now come on, we gotta find that fourth Guardian."
Aimer nodded with a determined smile and followed her friend as they searched the commercial district for Guardian Number 4.
They'd eventually find the fourth Guardian...hiding underneath a big truck in front of a bus stop that was temporarily closed and relocated elsewhere due to the parade. Just like Dwight, Aimer recognized this particular Guardian. "Candice?!"
The young woman, Candice, shrieked and bumped her head beneath the truck. Rokku winced at that, imagining how painful that felt. She soon crawled out from underneath, groaning, and rubbing her head. "Owww... You took so long trying to find me that I dozed off under there..."
"Um... Candice?" Aimer began. "Of all places you could've hide in, why did you hide underneath a truck?"
"Oh, Aimer! You're here with Mr. Rokku here!" Candice greeted. "I don't remember Dwight telling me about you joining him... Ah well, I didn't know where to hide! This is the first time I've ever participated in one of these Guardian tests! I had to pick a hiding spot and stay there until either the test taker found me or the person who administrated the test called it off. I've been in there for a while..."
Rokku rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry... Uh, Candice. We didn't mean to take so long. But since you got the number 4 sticker on your helmet, then I'd like to exchange this eerie glove for what you got!"
Candice raised a brow at the 'eerie glove' comment, but she didn't give it too much though. "Well, at least you're finally here... I can head back to the Ground Base and chill out finally... and take a shower too while I'm at it. Here you go."
After Rokku gave away the glove, Candice gave him...a 20-pound kettlebell with a handle. The guy didn't really notice Candice struggling to hold the kettlebell, so when Rokku grabbed it, he almost plummeted to the street with a high-pitched yelp. He held it up steady, grimacing at its weight.
"You gave me a medicine ball!?" Rokku cried in shock.
"No, that's a kettlebell," Aimer corrected, expressing similar shock that Candice would give Rokku THAT of all things. A pebble? A little weird, but fine. An ancient pocket watch? Fine. A glove from a girl that for some reason makes Rokku uneasy despite never meeting here? Slightly odd but still fine. But a kettlebell?
"It was the closest thing I could find in the office!" Candice retorted. "Just find the fifth Guardian so you can pass your test already! You HAD to have run into him at some point!"
Aimer giggled. "It's funny you should say that~..."
Candice would eventually leave once the matter was taken care of. Rokku, carrying a pretty heavy kettlebell around, was trying his hardest to maintain a normal face but was wincing every step of the way.
"A-Alright... Let's just find that last Guardian already...!" Rokku growled. "I know I saw him nearby the entrance to the mall...!"
As the parade continued on downtown, a shady man in a dark cloak and a hoodie watched from a darkened alleyway, hiding behind a garbage bin. The parade had extended to City Hall as well. He noticed two large and long parade puppets running side-by-side with people underneath said puppets: a purple European-themed dragon and a green bird appearing to be a vulture. The cloaked figure hid further behind the bin after seeing them and reached to his left ear plate.
"The props are in position," He said in a raspy voice. "I repeat, the props are in position."
"Good. Very good."
Back in the warehouse, Vulcan had his hand on his own left ear plate, walking past a good portion of his men getting a very large ceratanium-plated container inside the cargo of one of their Raider airships. "Hurry it up! I want that behemoth deployed before those pigs get in the way of our plan!"
Vulcan watched as his Raider underlings made haste with the load, but he couldn't help but laugh. "Hehehe... Bah, who am I kiddin' here? With this guy under our employ, none of them will be able to stand up to him! Not the Guardians, not those Hunters, definitely not Sentry, and especially that snot-nosed Mega twerp! HA HA HAAA!"
"Sir, should I give the order?" The voice came from the other side having...heard all of Vulcan's dialogue just now.
"Yeah, yeah," Vulcan replied in annoyance. "Give those people hell... Especially those that defy us!"
Vulcan began roaring in laughter as the door to the cargo closed and the airship began taking off from the warehouse.
In the alleyway, the shady man took off his cloak, revealing his uniform that was affiliated with Vulcan's group. With a dangerous looking black Buster-Rifle in his hand, he called out to his Comm Systems. "Our boss just gave us the green light! GIVE THEM HELL HE SAID!"
Suddenly, the dragon and bird parade puppets stopped completely. The people watching were confused as other parade floats and people ahead of them kept walking, but the groups behind them were now stationary and just as confused as the spectators. One by one, pairs of fingers peered from underneath the puppets... Sharp, claw-like fingers... All of a sudden, the parade puppets were tossed into the air and underneath where neither humans nor reploids, but something else entirely.
These brown, black, and dark gray colored entities looked like mechanical scarecrows, complete with faces resembling pumpkin carvings, and pointy-tipped big hats resembling that of wizards or witches. Although their heights appeared to be about the same height as Mavericks like the Galleons, their limbs were thin but strong-looking, and their big hands looked like gloves but sharp, pointy, and lethal. Even their boots had tips that pointed upward. The most notable feature about these creatures were their eyes and mouths glowing yellow much like a pumpkin's would if it had a lantern or some form of light inside.
If their sudden appearance wasn't frightening enough, a large mass of these mechanical creatures started letting out eerie, mechanical-sounding cackling as they started dispersing from their positions, hands out as they chased a couple of people. The people screamed and fled in terror from these unexpected monstrosities. From above, some familiar pink portals appeared and dozens of these scarecrow looking creatures came diving to the ground, landing completely unfazed from the high heights and they joined their brethren in the havoc.
Raiders affiliated with Vulcan's group started causing mayhem of their own, working with these mechanical foot soldiers as they tossed bombs to buildings and shot everywhere. Many miraculously avoided the attacks, some weren't so lucky...
The shady man came out the alley and aimed towards the large building of City Hall. "Keep any opposition off our backs! I need our interior squad to City Hall on the double!"
Quickly, numerous police cars came to the scene and immediately fought back against the Raiders and the scarecrow creatures, and soon enough, some Guardians came in to assist the police and winning the battle that so suddenly began. This entire area was a warzone in less than a minute.
"Are they terrorists?!" One Guardian cried.
"Captain! I heard one of them talk about City Hall!" One cop said beside the Captain. Some mechaniloids, ground and aerial kinds, that were affiliated with the police arrived on the scene as well and fought back, but the Raiders shot down the ground forces while the scarecrow creatures, with their sinisterly joyful laughs, leaped to the air and latched on the aerial bots and sent them crashing to the ground. The cop talking with the captain got her shoulder grazed and cried out as she took cover. "AGH! I-I think... They're after the mayor!"
"...What the hell is happening?!" The captain cursed under his breath as he took down one Raider while the scarecrow bots approached him and his crew with their eerie laughs. Even as they took one down, they kept coming and coming, and they were spilling further into the city too...
"Okay, the mall's close by. I think the Guardian's still there...!" Rokku winced as he squinted to see a Guardian indeed standing by the primary entrance to the mall. As with most malls, there were multiple entryways, but there was always a bigger and most accessible entrance to be found at the front, of course.
"Well, you're almost done," Aimer said. "The hard part's almost over~!"
"Nothing can stop us now!" Model M cheered.
...And just then, the three of them heard screams that filled the entire city followed by explosions and gunfire. They immediately looked in the direction. Over twelve blocks from where they were was where the action was taking place.
The parade in the current area stopped completely as a result of this and people began fleeing too from the sudden attacks from afar.
Model M wanted to curse his terrible timing.
"Oh no...! What's going on!?" Rokku cried out.
"An attack!? Now!?" Aimer cried. "It looks like it's coming from City Hall!"
The three of them were afraid this would happen. Those trio of bad reploids were likely related to this somehow. They just knew it. And not even a full day after the bank robbery last night were they now experiencing a massive attack.
Rokku grits his teeth. "Whoever's behind this is gonna regret it!" He shouts. He then uses his strength to toss Aimer the kettlebell, surprising the girl as she caught it and, just like Rokku before, almost fell to the ground. She had an even harder time holding the kettlebell up than Rokku did. "Aimer! M and I are gonna deal with this!"
"B-B-But your test! It's not over yet!" Aimer cared FAR more about the people's safety than a Guardian test, but she thought she'd bring it up anyway.
"I'll redo it or something!" Rokku shouted as he broke into a run and pulled Model M out of his pocket.
"Aimer! Call Sentry! The Guardians! Anyone that can help keep the people safe!" Model M cried out.
Rokku held his Biometal companion tightly in his hand. "Alright, Model M! Time to power up! MEGAMERGE!"
In a bright blue flash of light, Model M and Rokku performed a successful megamerge. Aimer watched as Rokku ran as fast he could to stop this attack. Dropping the kettlebell, she reached into her ear plate and made some contacts.
"This is Aimer of the R&D department! This is an emergency!" She shouted. "We have a Maverick attack at City Hall! All personnel, please respond immediately!"
Rokku never had a chance to test the limits of his megamerged form, but if there's one thing that he has tested was his lack of tiredness despite how fast and hard he was running, just like back when he was running to Aimer's trailer the day he met her. He wasn't running at supersonic speeds nor was he capable of doing so, but he was running fast enough. Rokku himself could run pretty fast for someone his age, but he'd get tired out normally. Even megamerged, he likely wouldn't be able to outrun a well experienced Olympic runner, but again, he was running fast enough.
Closer and closer, Rokku was approaching City Hall where the battle had likely originated from. Along the way, he met people fleeing and police officers and Guardians alike helping lead people away from the battles. An evacuation had been in place just as the battle happened. It was very unfortunate that this attack was not predicted sooner for the evacuation efforts would have gone along much smoother. But what's done was done. Rokku had to work with the hand he's been dealt with.
It was then Rokku witnessed a mother running with her daughter in her arms. The mother took a nasty trip and her daughter tumbled to the ground in front of her. Behind the mother was that scarecrow creature chasing her. The mother had turned to see the menacing robot cackling eagerly as it pounced at her with their claws bared.
"NO!" Rokku shouted as he released a Charge Shot at the robot, making it grunt in pain as it was blown back from the blast. It hit the back of its head against a light pole that bent in half as a result of the impact. The robot was done for.
Rokku ran to the daughter and helped her up before going to the mother and attempting to do the same. "Are you two alright?" The daughter was freaked out over Rokku's appearance, but the mother winced and wailed in pain. "M-My ankle...! I-It's twisted...! Ah...!"
"It must have twisted when she fell..." Model M noted.
"Don't worry ma'am! I'll get you both somewhere safe!" Rokku told her. He was initially puzzled on how he should carry the mother, but he proceeded to lift the mother with both his hands, holding her bridal style. It surprised him how light she was... But he quickly realized it wasn't that she was light, he was just that much stronger now that he was megamerged. So much so that he perceived her as being light-weighted.
As the mother wrapped her arms around Rokku's neck, he looked at the daughter who was very timid towards him.
"She must think we're one of the Mavericks..." Model M said. It was something he heard from Aimer. Even with Biometals and Mega Men becoming public knowledge, many would still be mistakenly grouping them with the Mavericks like Galleons. It pained M to hear that people would consider him Maverick if he had a body in this new century.
"Follow me, little girl..." Rokku told her in a nice voice. He pointed his head to a nearby police car with officers leading other people to flee. "There. We got some officers who can take care of you and your Mom. Stay close to me now!"
The girl was reluctant at first, but she proceeded to follow after Rokku when her mother told her to trust the kind man. Rushing to the police car across the street, Rokku told the officers about the mother's twisted ankle and urged them to take her to a nearby hospital to have it treated. With the two taken care of, Rokku turned back to the direction he was heading towards.
"Hey Rokku," Model M began. "Check out that weird Maverick."
Rokku went to the scarecrow bot he destroyed when he saved the mother and her child. The life in the bot was completely gone, evident by the lights in the eyes and mouth being nonexistent. Right next to the scarecrow bot was a computer chip of some kind. It must have fallen out when its head was rammed against the broken light pole. The fact that its head was cracked open like an egg with its hat being on the ground next to it was proof enough to support the theory.
The young Mega Man bent over and picked up the computer chip. "A computer chip?"
"That's normal." Model M told him. "Every basic robot has a computer chip like that... We should definitely hold onto this though. Aimer might be able to get something out of it if she analyzes it."
"Hm." Rokku nodded in agreement. The computer chip vanished into blue data bits. It was something he couldn't explain but Rokku had the chip in his 'inventory'. He could store key items like this into an 'inventory' and bring it out when needed. That was the best way he could understand how this worked. It was a very video game like concept, but he has experience in that field. It was definitely a Mega Man ability. "Aimer's the best person to give this chip to. If it can help us with taking down these bozos, then I want it in her hands."
The young hero pressed onward, taking down numerous Mavericks that came his way and protected those that needed his protection. The upside was that these scarecrow Mavericks only attacked with their claws and acrobatics, they had no long-range option. The downside was that these guys were not light hitters and Rokku had taken a couple of hits in order to save a life or two, but he came out on top regardless. He'd also collect some more computer chips when he could, and he presently had four Computer Chips in his 'inventory'.
"Nooo! Stay away!"
Rokku, his armor cracked and having scratch marks in some places, turned to the direction of the scream, and noticed three of those scarecrow bots surrounding someone nearby a dead end between two buildings. The bots continued with their joyful cackling, inching closer and closer as the source of the voice was backed against a wall with no chance of escape...
...That is, without a hero on the scene. Rokku leapt over the three bots, demolishing the middle bot with a charge shot, kicked the left one that pounced at him and released a three-round shot against the right one that also pounced after. He kept attacking the other two until they were destroyed like the first one.
Rokku turned behind him to meet a girl dressed in a professional black business suit with a skirt and boots. Though it was faint, she notably had a reploid symbol on her forehead, revealing what kind of person she was. She looked terrified but also relieved at the same time. Her hair was two-toned colored, being predominately black on the...front side of her hair, but the back side of her hair was white. Her black eyes blinked as she witnessed the armored hero take care of the scarecrow bots that were about to slice her to bits.
"O-Oh, thank you!" The girl exclaimed, running to him, and shaking his...non-Buster hand. Her actions resulted in Rokku being very surprised. "Thank you, thank you, thank youuu!"
"U-Um... You're welcome, miss..." Rokku blinked again. "Glad you're alright. You should evacuat-"
"I really thought I was done for!" The girl continued on, acting as if Rokku wasn't talking just now. "Those scary Hallow Jacks actually abducted me from the sky! Yeah, can you believe it? Flying Hallow Jacks! They had wings and goofy aviator goggles and everything."
Rokku had yet to see anything like that. All the Hallow Jacks he's fought have been- Wait, what did she call these things?
"Hold on, these scarecrow looking robots are called 'Hallow Jacks'?" Rokku asked, pointing his thumb at one of the broken bodies.
The girl nodded. "Yup! My name is Merrie Jane! That's M-E-R-R-I-E! I've been secretly investigating these guys for quite some time now!"
Rokku's eyes widened. "What?! You have?! What do you know?!"
Before the girl could explain herself, another explosion occurred just two blocks from where they were, making the girl shriek as the Mega Man looked in the direction of the explosion.
"Rokku, we gotta take care of that!" Model M alerted.
"Shoot!" Rokku cursed. "Listen, I—HUH!?" He then turned to the girl...but his eyes widened when he saw that Merrie was no longer standing there... He turns to his left to see Merrie fleeing in terror.
"Ah, the one person who might know what's going on...!" Rokku said with an exasperated groan. He frowned and turned to run towards the explosion.
The best info he got was that these scarecrow bots were known as "Hallow Jacks". Sounded like "Halloween" but replacing "een" with "Jack"... They definitely looked like Halloween robots. Halloween wasn't gonna happen until four months from now, but knowing how stores like to be ahead, Rokku believed that the perpetrator was celebrating Halloween super early. At least, that's what he jokes about in his head. It was one of the few things that kept this young teen sane while he's running headfirst into a war zone.
Arriving in the area of City Hall, the cop cars were either destroyed or empty as the cops in that area had fled inside the building to protect the Mayor and keep any Raiders that he breached inside away. More cops were on their way, but for the moment, this area was a Raider-only zone. Even the broken police mechaniloids proved that these Raiders were too much.
"Back off!"
Rokku was suddenly shot in the chest which pushed him back. Standing from afar was a Raider affiliated with Vulcan, holding a powerful looking Buster-Rifle. He had a raspy voice and started laughing, "Let's see you dance, Mega Maaan!"
He started shooting at Rokku some more, but the hero began dodging the shots. "Wait... That guy. He's not a Maverick like those Hallow Jacks! He's gotta be a Raider!"
"A Raider!?" Model M exclaimed. "But... That means...!"
"I can't shoot them!" Rokku cried out. "Mavericks are one thing but..." The hero's hesitance earned a shot to the back of his helmet, knocking him to the ground. A fellow female Raider comrade had taken a shot from a nearby corner. "We were expecting you, boy!"
"The Mega Man arrived just as we anticipated!" The raspy voiced Raider announced in his Comms. "All other forces in the area, converge on the Mega Man! Destroy him!"
Rokku growled and got up as more Raiders came to try and take him out. He rushed towards one Raider and gave him a good rising upper cut with his fist. "I may not be able to shoot you, but I can definitely punch and kick you!"
It was about time Rokku put his fist-to-fist training with his father to good work. He was lucky these Raiders were more focused on shooting him and trying to use plasma knives to attack, otherwise Rokku might be outmatched. He admits in his thoughts that he needed more training since he was making missteps and taking shots and hits from the enemy on occasion, but he believed he could take them on.
"Raiders and Mavericks working together!?" Model M shouted. "I bet these Raiders were responsible for stealing from the bank last night!"
Model M and Rokku had told Aimer everything they knew about that night, but Aimer got additional information from the officers on the scene and some fellow witnesses that were willing to talk. The Jester Mega Man Rokku confronted that night definitely contributed to the bank getting robbed that night and the uniforms these Raiders were wearing matched the description Aimer got from one eyewitness.
"I believe ya, M!" Rokku said, giving one Raider a good right hook before he had a grenade thrown at his back. "AGH!"
He was sent hurling to the ground. Again, really thankful he was megamerged. That would have definitely killed him there... But was this pain worth it? Rokku didn't know, honestly.
"Kehehe..." The raspy voiced Raider laughed as more Raiders surrounded him. He constantly tossed an inactive grenade into the air before it landed back into his hand before rinsing and repeating. "This Mega Man is no trouble at all. The bar was set far too high."
Rokku coughed and turned on his back before getting on his knee, glaring at the Raider. "I probably should be the last person...saying this given my track record but... I wouldn't be bragging about this until I'm down and out..."
As if on cue, the raspy voiced Raider was shot with a surge of energy that caused him to cry out in pain before he fell to the ground. The other Raiders were alert and confused, but they soon shared the same fate as the raspy voiced Raider. Rokku was equally confused, but he did not share their fate. All of a sudden, armored soldiers in blue arrived on the scene with their own Buster-Rifles.
"Raiders taken down!" One said underneath their masks. They looked more well equipped than the Guardians or Hunters.
"After the others!" Another cried out.
"Are they...Sentry guys?" Rokku asked as he got up on his feet.
"Sounds like they arrived on time!" A voice in Rokku's ear plate said with cheer and pride. The voice belonged to Aimer.
Rather than be surprised by the sudden voice in his ear, Rokku pressed onto it. "Aimer, this was you?"
"M told me to contact some assistance, right~?" Aimer teased. "We got word that Raiders were working alongside these weird looking Mavericks. Meant we could use our newly developed non-lethal stun shots! Courtesy of yours truly~!"
"Aimer, you're amazing!" Model M replied.
"Model M says you're amazing, Aimer," Rokku relayed. Although she could hear Model M speaking normally, his voice was not going to go through the Comm Systems. So Rokku would have to relay whatever Model M says in order for his voice to be heard in some capacity.
"Tee hee, I know~" Aimer pridefully replied. "How's things on your end?"
"Aside from some of your guys saving my bacon?" Rokku asked as one Sentry soldier approached him. "We're A-OK. I collected some chips along the way that I'd like you to check out later."
"And we met some girl!" Model M added for Rokku to relay. "She seemed to know some things about this attack!"
"Model M says..." Before Rokku could finish, he was interrupted.
"Hey, you must be the Mega Man Aimer told us about!" The Sentry soldier said from beside Rokku. "Good work, but we will be taking things from here!" The remaining Raiders on the scene were being taken out by the other Sentry soldiers, completely paralyzing them with their specialized shots that took them down in one clean hit. Rokku's own shots would've likely killed them, so he never took the risk. He wished he had something like that to make future encounters easier.
Rokku, observing his Sentry allies taking care of business, nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, you sure are."
Just when things seemed to be shimmering down in favor of Rokku and the others, the raspy voiced Raider's arm twitched violently as he touched his ear plate and muttered,
"Deploy...the...behemoth."
On cue, something high from the sky came falling. Rokku was the first to notice something off despite not hearing the raspy Raider talking. His eyes widened and he ran to the Sentries out in front of City Hall. "LOOK OUT!"
The Sentries looked at Rokku but were quick to flee when he pointed to the sky, and they saw just what was about to crush them. Strangely, mini rockets appeared underneath the falling object, slowing it's descent ever so slightly. It wasn't slowing it down enough to make for a clean landing, but it was enough to where it wasn't going to destroy the street completely. It fell to on top of numerous cop cars like a heavy safe falling from a 5-story building window and the impact caused the vehicles to explode, the force being enough to send a good chunk of the Sentry soldiers flying to the ground, knocked out from the pain and shock.
The young Mega Man and the remaining couple of Sentry soldiers on the scene looked at the ceratanium-plated container in silence, the container being unaffected by the flames from the cars it destroyed. They had no idea what was going to happen or if anything was in there and ready to come out.
After a while, the container suddenly broke apart as a giant individual busted out of his containment, screaming, and roaring violently. But this wasn't any giant individual. Despite looking like a Maverick or even an enemy mechaniloid, this was actually a giant Mega Man.
A little over 7 feet tall, this Mega Man was heavily armored and clad in red, black, and yellow. At certain parts of his body, such as his gauntlet's wrists, shoulders, boots, and waist, there were black and yellow construction-tape like designs wrapped around. He also wore a big construction hard hat that looked similar to that a Mettaur's, with the notable difference being a red gem replacing the green plus symbol on the front of the helmet. There was also a giant red gem on his armored chest. The biggest feature of this individual was his large and heavily plated jaw. His face, or what little of it that could be seen, was completely shadowed and blackened. Only his eyes were visible... And those eyes of his were dilating and glowing a bright yellow color similar to that of the Hallow Jacks and even Inverse.
Rokku shrieked at the size of the Mega Man. "HE'S FREAKING HUGE!"
"Ha ha ha..." The raspy voiced Raider laughed while paralyzed on the floor. "The behemoth will destroy you insects... Most of all you Mega runt...!"
The Sentry soldiers by Rokku ran towards the big Mega Man and began shooting actual energy bullets at him. "A Maverick! Destroy it, quick!"
"No... It can't be..." Model M voiced, his voice trembling not in fear but in utter shock and awe.
"What is it, M?" Rokku asked as he readied his Buster as he witnessed the giant swat a couple of Sentry soldiers away, knocking them out too once they hit nearby buildings HARD.
The remaining Sentry soldier started to run away to keep his distance from the behemoth and he reached into his ear plate. "This is Sentry ground forces reporting in! I need-"
Before the soldier could finish his request, the giant lifted his left leg and stomped on the ground, making it shake violently. It was like a miniature earthquake! It sent the Soldier falling face flat to the ground, smashing his visor's lens. The vibration of the ground even forced Rokku on his rear, unable to do anything until the quakes stopped. When he got back up, he left the paralyzed Raiders behind and hurried to the Sentry soldier who had fell.
"Hey! Are you alright!?" Rokku asked the soldier. He was the one who had approached him earlier. He turned him over and saw that his eyes were visible due to the broken lens, but he wasn't hurt. "He's out cold...!"
"It's...GUTS MAN!?" Model M cried.
Rokku was confused by what his Biometal partner meant. "Huh?" Rokku was closer to the behemoth Mega Man that Sentry had confused for a Maverick. Up close... Yeah, this guy was way too tall for Rokku's liking.
The Mega Man raised both of his fists and proceeded to slam both of them to the ground. Rokku, noticing this, picked up the fallen Sentry soldier and leaped in the air to avoid the quake, hoping by the time he landed he'd not tumble and fall like earlier. His hopes worked out for he landed just as the quakes stopped. He placed the soldier down against a building, away from the battle.
"Model M, what are you talking about?" Rokku asked.
"Get in close!" Model M told him. "We need to talk to him!"
"Wait, you want me to get closer to the giant guy who looks crazy armored up?" Rokku asked, practically shaking in his boots at the thought of getting any closer at the roaring Mega Man.
"YES!" Model M shouted, making Rokku wince.
He didn't understand why his Biometal friend was so set on talking to this 'Guts Man' individual, but he could faintly hear the pain in his voice. Despite Rokku's own fears, he did as he was asked and ran to the giant. To his surprise, the giant Mega Man wasn't attacking him this time. He was just roaring and hollering out.
"GUTS MAN!" Model M cried out while Rokku had his Buster prepared in case of anything bad. "Can you hear me!? It's me! Rock! Mega Man!? SAY SOMETHING!"
The giant continued to yell, clutching his head and gnawing at his teeth that were barely visible due to the large metallic jaw. He stopped yelling briefly, sounding like he was in great pain judging by the sounds coming from behind his teeth.
"He's not answering...!" Model M whined. "I know it's him! It has to be!"
"You think... This Guts Man guy became a Biometal just like you?" Rokku asked, not keeping his eyes off the giant.
"I'm sure of it!" Model M cried matter-of-factly. "But why isn't he talking...?"
The Guts Man Biomatch looked at Rokku and roared again, raising his hand to slam down on him.
"Hold that thought, M!" Rokku cried as he dashed and slid between the giant's legs and avoided being smushed like a bug. He's never fought another Mega Man before. He's met one before, with Folly very likely being one, but never fought one. This was going to be a first...and he was intimidated. But why did that Raider call him a "behemoth"? Because of his large size? He was pretty huge...
Regardless, Rokku shot at the giant's back. Despite the size of his opponent, Rokku's shots were still capable of harming him... But the giant didn't flinch. The shots didn't bounce off nor were they absorbed by the armor. That guy tanked his blasts. The giant turned around and his right arm suddenly turned into silver plated machine claw seen on a construction truck. He slammed his claw into the street's pavement and lifted up a giant chunk of road with the claw. Using his other hand, he grabbed the chunk and chucked at Rokku's direction.
Rokku was charging up his shot for the Guts Man Biomatch once he noticed that he didn't flinch with normal shots, but he had to use his charge shot for the chunk of rock that was hurled at him. Fortunately, his blast was powerful enough to destroy the chunk and avoid being crushed by it.
"We need to lead him away from here." Model M said.
"I'm not disagreeing with you there," Rokku said, shooting normal shots at the Guts Man Biomatch as he started running in hopes of getting him to chase him. He was right, and the Mega Man started chasing after him, still roaring and screaming. "Those Sentry and Raider guys are still there. I can't risk them getting hurt. Better to find a new playground to play in."
Rokku led the Guts Man Biomatch away from City Hall but also away from the people where they were fleeing. The city was empty save for the cars that were left behind. As Rokku ran, the giant knocked away the cars that were in his way.
"C-CAN'T...HOLD...IN...!"
Rokku kept running, but he definitely turned his head to hear the guy talking all of a sudden.
"What...?!" He muttered.
"I...AM...ALLL...!" The giant shouted as he kicked a car towards Rokku. "AL...PHON...SE!"
"Al...phon...se?" Model M inquired. "Could that be...The Chosen One's name?"
Rokku stopped in a plaza area which was empty due to the lack of people in the area. He was struggling to think of a good place to fight this guy and avoid the damage but... The collateral damage might be inevitable. The plaza was wide enough for where Rokku had a fitting enough battle scene to take him out.
The Guts Man Biomatch suddenly stumbled to the ground, clutching the top of his head and roaring out. Rokku had been observing this guy's behavior. He heard the Raider call him a behemoth, but after considering it, he realized that the scummy Raider called him that because of his monstrous roars. With Model M's words about this Mega Man likely using a Biometal with Guts Man's soul and hearing this guy talk just now, he had conjured up a theory.
"...Model M, I think something's very wrong with your friend's partner." Rokku said.
"You noticed it too, huh?" Model M asked. "He's not in control of his actions... He can't be..."
Rokku frowned and reached to his ear plate. "Aimer! Can you hear me?"
After a moment, her voice was heard. "Yeah, I read you! What's going on!? I saw something fall from the sky! I can't even get in touch with the Sentry soldiers I sent there!"
"Those guys are knocked out," Rokku explained, shouting over the roaring Biomatch. "Listen, Model M and I think we're fighting a Mega Man just like me, but he's like...brainwashed or something!"
"What!?"
"I want to help him..." Rokku said with a hint of sympathy in his voice. He didn't want to fight him anymore, but he couldn't allow him to go berserk in the city either... But as he thought about his predicament, he realized that this was similar to the Raiders situation where he didn't wish to shoot at them or risk killing them due to them not being Mavericks or even Mega Men. This gave him idea he wished to gamble. "Aimer! I can hear some police sirens coming in my direction! I led this Mega Man to the plaza a couple of blocks from City Hall! Can you get some more Sentry guys over here!?"
"I can, but what's your plan!?" Aimer asked.
"I think your stun shots are gonna come in handy..." Rokku said, smiling eagerly at the giant. Model M gasped in surprise. He didn't even think about that being an option!
"My stun shots...?" Aimer repeated but gasped like M did. "Hold on! I know I created them, but I never tried them on a Mega Man! We don't know if that'll work!"
"Well then now's as good a time as any to experiment, don'tcha think!?" Rokku shouted as he ran towards the Biomatch. "I'm gonna stall him! Just get them over here!"
Rokku ran and transformed his Buster back into his hand, holding both his hands in front of his mouth like a makeshift speakerphone. "HEEEY! BIG GUY!"
The Guts Man Biomatch remained on his knee, growling and groaning. He definitely sounded like he was trying to break free of something, like a person trying to break free of restraints that are tied on too tight. But he wasn't attacking right now so Rokku had an opportunity.
"Listen! I don't know if you're brainwashed or not, but you gotta fight it!" Rokku cried out innocently.
"Fight..." The Chosen One breathed. "Fight... Fight...! FIGHT...! FIIIGHT...! HRRRAAAAAAGH!"
The Guts Man Biomatch jumped in the air and headed back to the ground, aiming to crush Rokku beneath his weight. He ran away and was flung into the air by the impact of the Biomatch destroying the pavement.
Rokku fell to the ground, the palms of his hand placed flat on the ground as he tried to get himself up. "Okay... This is starting to kill me..." He had taken quite a bit of damage from earlier fights with the Mavericks and Raiders. He may have been a Mega Man, but so was this guy. He was bigger, stronger, and... yeah, he's way stronger than him. What could he do, he thought.
The Guts Man Biomatch was about to lunge at Rokku and grab him with his two hands, but he was hit in the side of his head by a missile, making him wail in pain and stumble to the ground. Rokku's eyes widened as he looked at the source. Cop cars have arrived on the scene like Rokku told Aimer, and they were carrying bigger and badder weaponry like rocket launchers. It wasn't enough to stop him completely, but the missile stunned the guy. Even the police mechaniloids were back and armed with missile launchers of their own.
"ATTENTION BEHEMOTH!" The captain shouted with a megaphone. "LAY DOWN FLAT WHERE YOU ARE! AND KEEP YOUR HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!"
The Guts Man Biomatch groaned and raised his hands... before he used those hands to pick up a large piece of the ground he had broken earlier when he tried to stomp Rokku. He lifted up the large chunk with ease before chucking it at the mechaniloids and officers on the scene. The cops cried out as they ran away to avoid the damage as the piece had slammed down on the ground right in front of the cop cars, destroying the mechaniloids after they fired more missiles. The missiles hit the giant's hand that he raised, sending him back a bit. His attack not only destroyed the mechaniloids, but it created more cracks and quakes on the ground, the resulting quakes flipping some cop cars over while the officers fell to the ground. Before they had a moment to breathe, the Mega Man came running towards them, each step shaking the ground.
Rokku slammed his fist to the ground and readied his Mega Buster, rushing after the Guts Man Biomatch as he kicked one cop car over a group of officers which slammed right into a building, remaining stuck in that building like a dart on a dartboard. Rokku rushed over and shot a charge shot at the guy, knocking him over and turning his attention to him.
The behemoth stomped the ground hard, forcing Rokku into the air given how close he was. But the guy then grabbed Rokku's leg and slammed him on the ground twice; First on his front side and then on his back. Dangling in the Guts Man Biomatch's hand was a tuckered out Rokku, his armored cracked even more than previously. He was being held by his left leg while his hands and other leg dangled helplessly.
The Mega Man then chucked Rokku at a nearby pillar surrounding a big fountain of water in the center of the plaza before bouncing off that pillar and falling into the water in the fountain.
Rising up with the water sliding down his helmet and armor, he glared at the Biomatch. "Pain... And so much of it..."
"We can't take any more hits like that!" Model M shouted. "I don't want to take any more hits like that..." Rokku groaned as he stepped out of the fountain as if he were stepping out of a pool.
Reluctantly, he began shooting at the giant Mega Man which blocked with his hand. Rokku grabbed a broken mechaniloid arm that was shaped like a gun, leaped into the air, and smacked the hard hat with the broken arm which shattered as Rokku fell to the ground. ...In hindsight, hitting a hard hat was probably not the best idea.
The behemoth turned his arm into a machine claw again and dug into the pavement where Rokku was standing. The teen's footing was lost as he was lifted up with the ground he was standing on. With a roar, the giant flung the hero backwards with the broken ground he had dug up. Rokku managed to land his feet against a building and bounce off it while shooting the ground that would've hit him if he were a second late. Flying towards the giant, Rokku shot at his face, making the Guts Man Biomatch holler and cover his face with his hands as Rokku landed.
The cops proceeded to shoot more missiles while the giant was stunned, making him stumble and cry out some more. These missiles kept coming from both the cops and the newly arriving mechaniloids that replaced the fallen ones in no time flat
The Guts Man Biomatch continued screaming until he crumbled to the ground again, this time on his knees as he clutched his head with both of his hands now. The missiles stopped coming as the giant was now back in that state that he was in earlier.
"He must be fighting off whatever's making him do this!" Model M acknowledged. "There's still hope he and Guts Man can be saved...!"
Rokku ran towards the Mega Man and shouted at him, "Come on! Please snap out of it! I don't want to hurt you and I seriously don't want you to hurt me anymore! You REALLY hurt, big guy!"
"Hurt... Hurt...!" The man shouted. "Must...break...free!" Rokku beamed a great big smile. "That's it!"
Just when hope seemed to be there, the Guts Man slammed his fists on the ground and slowly got back up on his feet. "Destroy... Free... Chains... Bound...! FREE...! FREEEE...!"
Rokku frowned. He couldn't make out much of what he was saying. It sounded like incomplete sentences. He readied himself in case the man tried attacking once again, but to Rokku's shock, the giant was shot on the back by three beams of light.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
From behind, three Sentry soldiers had arrived on the scene and were shooting bright beams of light at him. Like electricity, these lights surged all around the Guts Man Biomatch. He slowly stomped to turn around and face the ones shooting at him, but more Sentry soldiers appeared and started shooting those beams at him too. More and more soldiers appeared as Rokku and the cops watched.
"Keep at it!" One shouted. This soldier was the one with his visor lens broken. He appeared to have awakened from being knocked out and was there to help take down the Mega Man.
Aimer came on the scene on her motorcycle, with the kettlebell in her helmet dangling on her seat. She smirked and nodded to Rokku. "Take care of him!"
The giant kept wailing in pain and tried fighting off the paralyzing blasts. He was getting closer to the Sentry soldiers... that is until Rokku came circling around with energy boiling at the barrel of his Buster. With a grin, he shouted to the soldiers, "You guys came just in time!"
Rokku prepared his charge shot, looking directly at the Mega Man that was looking directly at him as his eyes flickered from glowing and not glowing. "This is gonna hurt! Sorry about this! CHARGE SHOT! GOOO!"
Aiming his Mega Buster at the Guts Man Biomatch's face, he released a powerful sphere of energy, knocking him back with a great large cry of pain. The Sentry soldiers stopped with their shots when Rokku's charge shot knocked the Mega Man away.
The scene was a lot quieter than before. Just like before with the container, everyone watched the giant Mega Man with uncertainty. Before long, the Mega Man groaned and slowly got up. The soldiers and cops were quick to aim their weapons, preparing for anything bad. The Mega Man's eyes were closed but he fell back down on his knee, resting his right arm on his knee while his left hand was placed on the ground. He was panting, heavy breaths leaving his mouth before his eyes fluttered. His vision blurred before he noticed a blue armored child in front of grown adults with weapons drawn.
"...I...I'm free...?" The man spoke.
The soldiers started surrounding him, weapons still pointed as they took cautionary action in case he tried anything. Rokku, on the other hand, ran in front of the 7 foot tall Mega Man and smiled. "Hey, are you okay?"
"...My mind...is clear." The man stated, closing his eyes. Rokku breathed a big sigh of relief as Aimer stood beside him.
"That's great to hear!" Model M said. "Hey! Guts Man! Can you hear me?! It IS you there, right?!" Before long, another voice came out, but only the man, Rokku and Aimer could hear it. "Whuh...? Mega Man? Is that you?!"
"Ha ha ha! Guts Man! You're okay!" Model M cheered. If he had a mouth (or if he was seen at all), Model M would have a smile wider than Rokku's.
"Now I am! Both me and my partner, Alphonse! By the way, I'm called Model Gu now! Comes with my new life as a Biometal!" Guts Man, or rather Model Gu, replied. He definitely had the voice of a hard-working foreman.
"I go by Model M! This is my partner, Rokku!" Model M introduced.
Rokku frowned as he looked at the Chosen One known as Alphonse. "Me and M figured you weren't yourself back there, so we tried getting you to talk. Sorry, but I had to use some force to get you to calm down." Alphonse, although sounding tired, let out a small yet weak chuckle. "Ah... Do not apologize. The fault is all mine..."
Aimer waved her hand in front of the tall man. "Hey, my name is Aimer! I'm Rokku's friend and partner too!" She smiled, earning a soft smile from Rokku. "I know it's rather sudden, but do you mind coming with us so we can ask you some questions? We were told that you weren't yourself so I'd like to take you to our mobile base so we can get some intel on who did this to you two! I'd even like to give Model Gu a check up to find any irregularities in his systems!"
"We don't mind, little girl!" Model Gu replied. "Isn't that right, Alphonse?"
"Not at all." Alphonse agreed. "Anything to help."
Aimer turned to the Sentry soldiers and gave them the order to prepare the portable-transerver that'd take him to the Sentry airship docked on the island.
Before he was taken away by the soldiers, Alphonse looked down at Rokku and grinned, his big teeth being visible behind his jaw. "Thank you, Rokku and Model M. I owe you greatly for freeing me!"
"D'aaw, it was nothin'!" Rokku sorta lied. His pained body said otherwise. He pointed at Alphonse with his grin. "I was happy to help! Next time you need it again, give me a shout! I'll be waiting!"
Alphonse nodded with a calm smile. But before they were taken, Model Gu shouted out, "Oh yeah! A boy with guts like you deserves somethin' special! Take this!"
Just then, Alphonse and the surrounding Sentry soldiers teleported out of the plaza... But before Alphonse did, a orange red orb of pure data energy emitted from his body, floating there to Rokku and Aimer's confusion. But that orb flew right into Rokku's chest, and his body flashed for a moment.
"What...just happened?" Rokku asked, blinking at the strange thing that just happened.
"All Biometals have special abilities that make them unique." Model M explained. "As for me, I take the special weapons of opponents with Biometal data like me. Since Alphonse was a Mega Man and he was beaten, we just acquired his special weapon."
"Ahh, the Variable Weapon System!" Aimer exclaimed.
"That's right!" Model M replied. "From Guts Man-Er, I mean Model Gu-We got the Super Arm!"
"Super Arm?" Rokku asked. "Sounds...weird."
"But powerful!" Model M assured him. "We'll try it out when we meet any other threats! ...Wouldn't advise it against the Raiders though. Might be worse than shooting."
Well, that made Rokku concerned. He was curious about trying it out, but the fighting was over.
Parts of the city was a mess from the damage and the remaining Hallow Jacks had mysteriously fled into pink portals. Their cackles turned into terrified squeals and their expressions completely flipped from being sinister to scared. The Raiders, on the other hand, were taken by some Guardians and cops, taking them into custody.
"Oh yeah, Aimer." Rokku held out his hand and four computer chips he had collected from Hallow Jacks earlier had materialized. "I found these chips on those Hallow Jack bots. You know, the scarecrow looking bots."
Aimer took them into her hands. "Great! I can check it out while I scan Model Gu! We might just learn something about our enemy!"
"Yeah... But what about the certification test?" Model M sadly asked.
The joyful aura around Rokku quickly turned sour as he slumped. "Oh yeah... I had forgotten about that... That fifth Guardian is probably long gone by now. I guess I'll have to do the retake or something."
"Not exactly."
Rokku and Aimer turned and saw a tall looking Guardian with spiky blond hair underneath his helmet. The visor was up, allowing them to see his brown eyes and the reploid mark that his hair almost completely covered up. "You did some good work out there, Mega Man. I know you're the one who was taking the test before the attack happened."
"You... You're the one I saw by the mall!" Rokku shouted. "The fifth Guardian!"
Aimer's eyes widened as she too noticed the number "5" sticker on his helmet. Unlike the others, his sticker was on the side because his visor would've covered up the sticker.
"That's right. My name is Hareng. I'm from the Guardian HQ itself."
"Whoa, really?!" Aimer exclaimed. The Guardian HQ was the Grand Nuage airship. There was where the commander of the Guardians resided and where they traveled. There were numerous factions like the Ground forces and researchers, similarly to Sentry. "You're pretty far, aren't you?! I thought you guys were hanging around in Cinq Ville!"
"I came here to check out a Mega Man found in this quaint island." Hareng explained. "Commander Prairie wanted me to investigate. Fortunately, the Mega Man here is a good one. You even saved the other one when he wasn't himself."
"It's just the right thing to do, that's all." Rokku explained, blushing and rubbing the back of his helmet. But then he tensed up. "Oh! Aimer! Where's the kettlebell?!"
Aimer pointed to the helmet on her bike. Rokku dashed to the helmet, picked up the kettlebell, and dashed back to Hareng. Due to his new biology in this form, the kettlebell was as light as a feather for Rokku. "Here you go, Mr. Hareng! The kettlebell!"
Hareng smiled. "Good, you kept it even after all this time. Nice work!" He took the kettlebell...briefly falling to the ground before standing right back up with the kettlebell in his right hand. "And with that, I give you this."
Rokku received a small emblem with a stylized "G". This was the symbol of the Guardians. "This is your certification." Hareng said. "With everything you've done today, you've more than earned this. Congratulations. You're now a Guardian!"
A big smile beamed across the young teen's face, and he held his emblem in the air. "AWWWRIGHT! I'm now a Guardiaaan~!"
He remained stationary for a bit...until Hareng tapped his shoulder.
"Um... You still have to go to the test administrator and get your ID Card." he stated.
Rokku smiled nervously and quickly lowered his hand. "O-Oh! Uh... Right! Hehe..." Aimer, having watched all of this go down, couldn't help but laugh at the scene. She needed some levity after today's crazy Maverick festivities.
From afar, behind a fallen over cop car, a familiar ravenette, Merrie Jane, was watching Rokku and the others. "Good job, Mega Man..."
She had a...strange look before she ran away from the scene...