The Mega Man: Legend

Ch. 24: Eight is Greater Than Six

"Yes, Bomb Man. I'm giving a conference to discuss the future of the Robot Masters. I will be working to try to keep you happily busy in your jobs. I bring them to be a symbol of their peaceful future."

He turned to me and rested a hand on my shoulder. "And I want you to be there too, Rock."

I swallowed. "Me? Like, Mega Man?"

"Yes. You are the perfect line between human and robot. You grew up with them. Developed experiences among them. That's what I want. Robots working alongside humans to advance society entirely."

I stood for a moment. I wasn't too comfortable with large crowds, but this was really important right? I was a hero, so my being uncomfortable shouldn't stop me.

I was starting to hate being a hero.

"Sure. I'll do it."

"Great." Fire Man slapped me on the back. "Now let's git on down there, pardner!"

---

There was a surrounding murmur echoing throughout the stadium. I took a deep breath and looked up at the open sky above the seats. Anxiety was rushing through me, but having my armor on made me feel a little more confident.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Bomb Man giving me a smile. "How are you doing, man? As in, how you're handling everything."

I shrugged. "I guess I'm fine. I've seen a lot of weird stuff. Heck, you tried to blow me up a few weeks ago."

He lightly punched me in the arm. "Hey, don't remind me." For a moment, we were silent. He spoke up again. "Listen, I'm really sorry, man. I don't know what our future is, but I really hope that we can stick around. I wanna get to know you more."

"Yeah. Same here, man."

After a moment, there was a sound of feedback from a microphone. "Looks like they might be gettin' ready to start." Bomb Man pointed me over towards the stage that had been set up. "We better get going. Oh, and Rock?"

I looked at him. "Yeah?"

He smiled. "You got this. We'll be right beside you."

A smile couldn't help spreading over my face. "Thanks, man."

And a few moments later, we stood quietly on stage while Dr. Light began his press conference. He discussed for a long time about the purpose of robotics, the importance of the robots having human based AI, the three laws of robotics, and the repercussions of the events of the past few weeks.

"I understand that the actions of the Robot Masters while under Wily's control were very frightening. I myself have witnessed that potential firsthand." Elec Man shifted slightly, obviously feeling awkward at the comment. "But that does not change what they were meant to do."

Light took a breath, before continuing. "I'm sure some of you noticed my prototype robot, Oil Man. With the help of him and his brother Elec Man, we were able to restore power to our city quickly and remove the threat of the Emerald Spears."

He pointed a hand towards the seven of us. "Ladies and gentlemen, these robots are meant to help lives. I give you my very word that I will never allow anything to happen to the people of this city that is in any way like what occurred with Doctor Wily."

"Now, Thomas..." A voice echoed throughout the stadium, sending people turning frantically. I frowned and stood from my chair.

"...You shouldn't make promises you cannot keep." Suddenly, the back of the stage behind Dr. Light was projected with an image of Wily's face. The stadium quickly filled with people frantically talking among themselves.

"Hello again. I see you remember me. That's good, because I shouldn't have to explain everything now."

"What do you want here, Wily?" Light yelled. 

"To become more than you would have limited us to. I have a brilliant mind Thomas. And just because I wasn't the big expert at making the robots, doesn't mean I can't pick up a few things."

In a circle around the crowds, flashes of light appeared and disappeared, leaving cloaked figures in their place. The crowd tried to move away from them, but they blocked all the exits.

"Do you like them Thomas? I designed them myself. You had some input of course, from when we worked together, but I perfected them. They are the ultimate weapons. Much better than your 'work' robots."

I ran my eyes around the circle, counting the figures as well as I could. "Eight of 'em." I muttered. "Wily bumped up his numbers."

I looked up and saw a small robot flying above the stadium, pointed down towards the stage. It must have been projecting the image. I raised my buster and shot at it. It dodged the shot, and before I could fire another one, I suddenly felt something holding me back. A quick glance behind me revealed another sinister cloak. I felt something tap against my chest, and I looked down to see a metal, curved object being held there.

"Try it again, and I cut you open, pal." A voice came from under the hood. 

"Nine of you?" I grunted, before looking out at the crowd to see one less figure standing among them.

"Nope, your counting eyes are good. Surprisingly enough." The voice remarked with a bit of snark to the tone.

"Then how did you..." In an instant I felt something hit my face, and the grip on me was released. When I spun around, the figure was far backstage.

"Sorry. Trade secret." He called out, and then in a blink of an eye, he was gone again.

Wily's image returned to the stage. "Oh yes. I see Mega Man is here. Just the robot I was looking for. I have a challenge for you, boy. My robot masters await you. Manage to defeat them, and you will have an opportunity to stop me. Lose, and my masters and I destroy everything you know."

My teeth were clenched tighter than I ever had before. Wily continued. "Oh, and in case you consider skipping out, my Robot Masters will begin their attack. I will send you the first coordinates as soon as I receive your answer. If anything besides Mega Man comes to those coordinates, the attack begins."

There was a fearful silence. After a moment, Wily chuckled. "Well, that's that. I hope you know what's smart, Mega Man. You'll need to, if you hope to survive."

All of the figures teleported away in an instant, and the small robot flew away. Everyone in the stadium was in complete silence.

Fire Man finally spoke. "Well. This here sucks."

---

It begins! The action continues with Chapter 25, coming after a while! Until then, check out other stories and give me some feedback. Thanks!