Hey everyone, BassDS back here once more with a new update, and luckily it hasn't been that long in between updates, so that's a plus there.
This is going to be a very short chapter, acting as a bridge to the next one, and I do have my reasons for doing so in having it be so short.
For one, I wanted to give you all something to at least enjoy and build some anticipation for all that will be happening in the finale for Part 1. The other reason being, I honestly REALLY didn't want to break the final battle for the story into two, as I felt it would ruin the flow of the whole thing.
So yeah, with that in mind, that means the next chapter is going to be VERY beefy before we lead into the epilogue.
As for how I'm going to be approaching the next entries of Star Lovers Ꝏ, I've decided to go along with the plan I had formulated a while back, writing all of the next entry and subsequent entries in hopefully the same timeframe, then doing a weekly upload until that story is finished, then I'll repeat the process, and so on until however long it takes to full wrap up the entire overarching story I've built up in my mind for the past several years; though I will be doing additional lore-building smaller entries to bridge the gap between the main stories to enrich the overall experience, and to serve as a motivator for updating more.
But with that all being said, I hope you all enjoy this new, but short chapter as we prepare for the conclusion to Star Lovers Ꝏ: Part 1.
Until then, thank you all and take care of yourselves. Until the next update!
Star Lovers Ꝏ: Part 1 - Beginnings
Chapter 7: Prelude
"While I would love to reminisce, I am a very busy man, after all. I do believe I have something you want, then again, you also have something I need as well." Weil boasted.
"Just what is it that you want?" Ace said with a serious glare.
"Oh, it's very simple. I want the files you took from my database. If you do that, I'll gladly give her back over to you." he replied as an image of an unconscious Sonia lay inside a glass tube.
"Sonia…" Geo gritted through his teeth upon seeing her in that state.
"I'll give you an hour to bring everything to me, so I suggest you don't delay, unless you don't care what happens to her of course." Weil spoke back.
"That's going too far, Weil!" Ace struck back in response.
"Alas, life isn't fair, and we can't get what we truly want without doing something we don't like doing. Though I don't mind doing whatever I can to get what I want by any means. As for where we can meet to do the exchange, All I will tell you is to come to the bay near Alohaha; and again, I highly stress you don't keep me waiting." he said as the transmission ended.
"I've got a real bad feeling about this. Are we really just going to give him what he wants?" Jack asked as he looked over.
"I don't care...I'm doing it. Whatever he's planning with those files, I'll take care of it while I'm getting Sonia back." Geo stated.
"Geo, look, I know the situation is crazy right now, but we can't just go in and give the enemy exactly what they want." Ace sighed as he tried reasoning with him.
"If it was Tia, wouldn't you do the same? And even if we didn't turn this over to him, don't you think he'd have a backup plan or something? We can't take that risk. He...he's got us right where he wants us, so I'm ready to take the fight to him and stop this." Geo retorted back.
"That's a low blow…" Ace groan and scratched his head and mulled over the situation.
"I'm with Geo on this one. As much as I don't like it either, Ace, you and I both know Weil's a bit crazy in the head. While it may not be the best option, dealing with him right now is the only option we got." Jack rose from his chair and stood beside Geo.
"Gotta admit, I'm proud of you for being so assertive, kid." Mega said with a bit of pride. "I've really rubbed off on you over all these years."
"I honestly don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing considering he's been around you for so long, but as much as it goes against my better judgment, I agree; we need to get Sonia back, and if this Weil tries something, we'll be there to stop it like we always have." Lyra rebuked.
"They're right, Arthur." Goodall added. "If we don't act now while we have some sort of advantage, we'll sorely regret not doing so."
Ace sighed in defeat as he sat back in his chair. "There's no way I'm winning this one, am I?"
"You've believed in me before when you entrusted me to stop King, Ace...believe in me again." Geo spoke to convince him that he could do this.
Those words rung true; he HAD left everything to Geo when he sacrificed himself to stop Grave Joker; the young boy back then made sure the world was at peace this long, and he was ready to ensure that peace was maintained.
"Alright...you win." he stood up before Geo. "What right do I have to not trust in the one who save the world three times over?"
"Ace...thank you." Geo replied with determination in his voice.
Elsewhere:
"Ugh...wh...where am I?"
Sonia began to stir awake as her eyes tried adjusting to the dim lighting in the room before her eyes widened upon finding herself encased in the glass chamber as she rose to her feet.
"What's going on here!?" she asked herself worryingly.
"So, you've awakened at last." Came a voice on the opposite side of the room, shifting through the shadows until Weil emerged before her.
"You...you're that doctor Ace was concerned with! Let me out of this thing now!" she proclaimed and bang hard upon the glass.
"Alas, that I cannot do. I no longer have Subject D-44, so I'm finding myself in need of a replacement, but given what I've researched of your combat history and your contributions in aiding Mega Man,...yes, you'll do quite nicely." He said as he looked to her."
Sonia felt her heart race and sink at the same time upon hearing those words, unsure of what Weil had in store.
"Yes, with your help, humanity shall be shackled under my control; not a single shred of free will exist within the human populace. Once my files are brought to me and I can access what is hidden deep with, my project will be closer to completion, but before that, we must prepare you for your role." he retorted as he moved to press a button on the panel next to him.
Sonia looked up at the top of the tube and saw it beginning to glow brightly before it began flooding it with a high amount of yellow-hued EM waves, feeling it rush over her and causing her to cry in pain as she fell to her knees and gripped her arms.
"No!….St...stop this!"
"Fear not, it will all be over soon, and when you awaken, you shall fulfill your role as the Master Control Unit." he grinned and turned away.
"Ngh….Ge...Geo...help me, please…" she cried his name before she felt more of the EM corruption rushing through her.
"It won't be long now, I've waited years to see my creation finally come to fruition…" he stopped and turned to back to look on at Sonia once more as he continued subjugating her to the process.
"No...stop….this…" Sonia cried as she felt her free will slowly being stripped away from her, memories of her mother, Lyra, everyone else, and Geo soon just becoming a fuzzy thought before being eclipsed by complete emptiness.
"The Dark Elf will soon arise…"
On the Wave Road en route to Alohaha:
"Deep down, part of me still doesn't like the fact that we're just walking right into whatever this guy is planning." Lyra voiced her concern from within Mega Man's VG Arm as he dashed across the Wave Roads.
"I know, Lyra...but at this point, it's all we really have to go on and it's our best bet of getting Sonia out there." Mega Man reaffirmed.
"We were gonna get drawn into this regardless; that old man is just expediting the situation at this point." Mega added.
"I suppose so." Lyra added with a worried tone.
"Best case scenario, we find where Sonia's at and get her out before Weil gets his hands on these files." Mega Man added as he looked at the glowing icon on his arm, showing the data was locked tight in his Hunter.
"Let's hope it stays on that path." Lyra replied.
"Though to be honest, with our track record, things might not go so swimmingly." Mega retorted.
"Yeah...that's what I'm worried about too." Mega Man added before he thought to himself. "I don't care what it takes, though. I AM getting Sonia out of there no matter the cost."
Before long, Mega Man had made it to the bay that connected Alohaha's beach with the opening mouth of the ocean as he looked around.
"Well, we're here and I don't see jack. We sure the old coot wasn't leading us on?" Mega asked.
Before long, the waves slowly began shifting more violently while also causing everything to shake nearby.
"Ngh...does THAT answer your question, mutt?" Lyra shot back.
"What is that thing?" Mega Man asked as he looked on at the vortex that was beginning to form in the water's body.
A large sphere surrounded by two large steel rings in an X shape began to emerge, but that wasn't all; it appeared to be perched atop a huge cylindrical pyramid-like building situated in the middle; smaller metal towers surrounding it as a metallic round platform of what appeared to be like a man-made island came to rest on the water's surface as the activity of the waves finally died down.
"How nice of him to just SHOW us where he's at while making a scene too." Mega said as they observed all the nearby beach-goers rushing to higher land as the water soon began to cover up more of the beach and sent it rushing near the resort.
"Ace said he would notify the Satella Police that handle the patrols here in Alohaha; they'll do what they can here while we deal with Weil. Now let's go." Mega Man quipped as he dashed down toward the metallic structure and came to the base of the tower.
"Should we blast out way in or-" Lyra began to ask before she was cut off by the large door slowly moving down in front of the entryway to allow them in.
"That works too, I suppose." she added.
"Be on alert; we're on his playing field now, so we need to be ready for anything." Mega Man spoke up.
As he walked in, the door slid back up and locked into place; there was no going back now.
"It's pretty dim in here…" Mega uttered.
"Well quit complaining; we need to find out where to go next." Lyra added.
"Easier said than done." Mega Man responded as he looked and saw numerous lights and noises fill the room, the accumulating glow soon revealing an army of Variants circling around and all of them charging up their busters.
"Why am I not surprised?" groaned Mega.
"I'm not in the mood to play around, let's wipe them out and get Sonia out of here. Let's do this!" Mega Man proclaimed as he prepared for the onslaught that was in front of him.
At WAZA:
"Oh?"
"Hmm? Something wrong, Tia." Dr. Goodall asked as she and the young woman walked down the hall.
"I felt her kick just now." she replied and stopped moving before she felt another one.
"Sounds like she's going to be a restless one from the looks of it." the doctor joked.
"Hopefully she doesn't take after Ace's too much. One Eos is enough." she said as she rubbed her stomach. "I suppose it's time to eat so it'll quell her down."
"Well, let's make our way over to the cafeteria. I could do with a nice cup of coffee myself before I head back to the control room.
As the two of them began walking once more, the noise of feet hitting the floor came up behind them, catching them off guard as they turned to see Rogue holding Galea in his arms.
"Solo!? Where have you been?" Goodall stated as she walked toward him. "Do you realize the trouble-" she attempted to reprimand him before he cut her off.
"I've no time for your lecturing right now; I have something to see to. Take care of her." he said as he knelt down and placed Galea on the floor.
"Now you see here…" Goodall attempted to say as Tia moved over towards the passed out girl.
"I don't say this a lot if at all…" Rogue uttered before looking up to them. "Please." With that, he rose up and warped away as he phased through the ceiling and jumped onto the Wave Road before dashing away.
"Arrogant little…" Goodall said before turning her attention to Tia and Galea. "My word, she's certainly looking a bit worse for wear."
"I'll look after her, go grab the medics." Tia suggested and received a quick nod in reply before she began to attend back to the girl that laid in her arms.
"Solo…" Tia uttered as she looked out the window.
On the Wave Road:
"I still have a lock on his EM signature...good."
"…..Zzzzzztttttzzzzzz…" Laplace communicated back to his master.
"Mega Man WILL be there if he wants his friend back; using him, it'll lead me to where Weil is."
"And when I get my hands on that old man, he'll regret having crossed me or Galea…" He thought deeply as the desire for revenge pushed him onward.
Chapter 7 END