Megaman: Reboot

Ambush in the Amazon

"Don't mind Enker, he doesn't know that his words can hurt. I'm Ballade, and it's an honor to meet the powerful Megaman." He said.

"Oh. T-Thank you." Rock said. He didn't know whether to be flattered by the compliment, or wary that it was a Wily bot he doesn't know giving him the compliment.

"Everyone always talks about your fighting skills and how you copied their powers to defeat them. Is that true?" Ballade carried the conversation.

"Yes, I did. Though I didn't enjoy it at all. Anyways, we have to be prepared for the others, because I have a feeling they're not going to be the same."

"About that. You mentioned that you have eight new brothers that were captured. It would help if you told me what powers they have." Ballade hinted, and Rock slowed down unsure whether to tell him. "Look, I'm not Enker. Everything is in danger of collapsing, and we are going to die if this thing isn't destroyed. You said it yourself that your brothers will be putting up a dangerous fight, so do you really think I would waste my life turning on you during a battle?"

Rock realized that he was right and tried to remember each of his brother's abilities. "There's Needleman and he fires sharp needles from his arm and head. They can easily penetrate our armor if he gets enough hits on us. Magnetman can draw metallic objects close to him as well as fire magnetic missiles. Gemini can shoot lasers that bounce off of surfaces, but I also think he can clone himself too."

"Cloning? How do you clone a robot?" Ballade interrupted.

"I don't know. I assume it's not actual cloning, because that would be impossible to conjure all the materials in thin air." Rock shrugged.

"Alright! So they're the long range fighters. What about the rest?"

"Hardman is really strong, almost as strong as my brother Gutsman. He can shoot his fists out like rockets, but he rather fights fairly. Topman is speedy, but he components are a little sensitive so if we get a good hit, he should be out quickly."

"What did you do that made him so soft?"

"He's not soft, just-!" Rock stopped himself before resuming. "Anyways, Snakeman is a trickster. He never plays fair, so he'll likely try to do something out of field. Plus he's based on an animal, so he might get close and personal if you keep your eyes off him. And Sparkman can discharge massive amounts of electricity from his arms, so if we take out the arms, we take him out completely."

Ballade had a wide grin and loosened his arms. "You got quite an assembly of fighters Megaman. Makes me want to fight just to see them in action! But that's seven of them. What about the eighth one?"

Rock reached for his back, feeling the welded spot from where the blade of the strange ninja stabbed him. "I don't know anything about Shadow."

"Hahaha! A mysterious fighter! This is going to be so much fun!" Ballade laughed, pulling a bomb from his hand.

"Don't kill any of them please. I don't want anyone dead." Rock pleaded. To his surprise, Ballade nodded and put the bomb down.

"I know we're going to die and we're saving Doctor Wily, but if I do die, I want to die fighting such powerful foes. Don't disappoint me 'super fighting robot'."

Rock felt Ballade was odd for a Wily robot. While he was most likely built to destroy him by Doctor Wily, the purple robot was more polite compared to some of the others. He even took his plead to not kill anyone into consideration, compared to Wily's first line who refused to back down at all. But to have someone who lightened the mood, even for a moment, made him feel better.

A rustle from the trees alerted everyone to activate their weapons. Two figures were running atop the branches, but he couldn't catch who they were. The shadows circled them twice before one ran in the opposite direction. Rock yelled as something pierced his leg and looked. To his horror, dozens of small robotic snakes were crawling up his legs. More snakes started attacking the others, some yelling in pain and others desperate to get the pests off. He managed to grab the snake closest to his buster and sling it away.