I walked through the empty hall as the voice from the strange intercom continued to speak.
"Yes, we're here with the first ever edition of 'Trial by Combat'! Today's contestant, you know him, you may or may not loathe him, the mighty Mega Man!"
Cheesy edited fanfare played, making me wonder whether or not I had an audio disable function.
"The contestant will face off against a number of intense trials in this brightly lit labyrinth, and if he manages to survive, he will face off against the host, yours truly, Flash Man."
I stopped and looked around. Nothing nearby, just a long hallway of brightly lit stones.
"But we can make this more interesting, can't we? And what would be better than a little incentive to make this quick? Allow me to introduce the timer. I'm thinking, oh...20 minutes. That's how much time Mega Man has to get to the end and defeat me. Otherwise, we've already got robots ready at Light labs to destroy the building, and your poor, pitiful friends waiting innocently without a-" He suddenly stopped, and began coughing violently. "My apologies, everyone. We're...experiencing some technical...stupid vocal processors..." He continued to cough, now louder and more frequently.
There was a pause as he continued to hack as he moved away from the microphone. I waited for a moment, before his voice returned, just a little more serious this time. "But seriously, the clock's ticking. You should probably run."
I quickly raised my pace to a jog, hurrying to the end of the hallway, where it dropped down into a lower tunnel and upper tunnel, the upper one being guarded by a circular robot with a cannon on one arm. It stuck its cannon out, and a shot was fired, traveling in a low arc across the gap. I jumped over it as it approached my legs, then fired a quick series of shots, which destroyed it quickly.
"That's just one of the challenges our competitor will be facing today! Tick-tock!"
I ignored him as well as I could, hurrying through the halls. After I reached a small jump up to the next tunnel, two more shots fell at steep descent into the area. I froze and kept myself still, as more shots followed. When it finally seemed like they had to reload or something, I jumped up and hurried without pausing. I hopped up a series of outcroppings made to be something like stairs, then hurried to the edge of a short hallway.
There was nowhere to go from here. It ended abruptly, only leading to a straight downward drop. As I took precious seconds to figure out what to do, a bright light flashed from the wall on the other side of the pit. It was a large, cheesy, light up arrow pointing down.
I took a glance down, sighed, and jumped.
"Yes, the path now splits. Straight down becomes down one way or down another. What you'll find on any given path: who knows? That's what makes it fun."
I groaned, having survived the jump, and hurried down one path, continuing as I tried not to let the disorienting light patterns throw me off. I came across another circle robot, which fired a few shots at me. I took one as it caught me off guard, but I quickly responded with a number of my own to destroy it. I continued down another intimidating straight down descent, and landed in a small hole. As I stepped up out, I noticed something. I walked over to sort of wall that extended downward from the ceiling above, and looked through a small space just big enough for me to walk through.
I was met with a sight that almost made me wet my pants. (and I am aware that, as a robot, that is impossible.)
A massive machine walked around, looking uncomfortably similar to a giant pair of pants. At its top was a humanoid robot apparently piloting it. It's head resembled a motorcycle helmet, with a lone red eye in the center of the visor. It looked down at me, and began directing the machine in my direction, forcing me to drop back to safety.
Flash Man's voice returned, fresh and cough-free. "Oh yes, those. I don't suppose you've been introduced to the Sniper Joe. Quite a fascinating robot. Probably the most advanced design Light and Wily came up with. Well, apart from us Robot Masters, of course. The first fully automated soldier. Just give them an order, they'll carry it out without pause. A detail that was supposed to correct a flaw with the first robot master...but that's not important."
I frowned as he continued. "They're fierce, and they aren't going to hesitate to destroy you. So! Good luck!"
I grumbled under my breath and looked through my weapons. I didn't want to risk using Crash Bombs, since they could be really valuable. I couldn't imagine leaves or bubbles being that useful, so I loaded up an Atomic Fire and charged it up to full before letting it fly.
The ball of flame approached at high speed before the machine jumped lightly over the attack, which then slammed into the wall behind.
I blinked in surprise.
"Ooh, that stings. I really feel for you there. But, while I have your attention, just thought I'd suggest hurrying up a bit. No pressure, but you've got...11 and a half minutes as of now."
I looked back at my weapons. One last option.
"I swear if its weakness is wind..." I muttered.
Air Shooter Loaded.
I stepped up to my exit and took a second to compose myself. "Alright. Let's try not to get made into paste."
I hurried out as the robot leaped into the air above me. I didn't slow down, just barely making it out from under the impending doom. I quickly spun around and fired the Air Shooter into the large legs.
For whatever stupid reason, the winds swept into the various ports and openings, and quickly caused the legs to spark and crumple. The machine fell to the ground with a crash, tossing the driver out of it, which landed softly on its feet.
I now had a closer look at this robot, which stood before me unfazed. It was about as tall as I was, and covered in green armor. On one hand was a gray buster, designed with a very thin nozzle, likely for more accurate shots. In the other hand, a massive shield, much like a typical ballistics shield, was held in the air with ease. The robot continued to stare at me.
I nodded. "You want me to move, huh?" I loaded my buster. "Let's try this."
I fired a few quick shots, but it quickly lifted its shield in defense, deflecting them all. I fired several more shots at the shield, but like the strange construction helmet I had encountered recently, they didn't even leave a scratch. When I ceased fire, the shield moved aside, and the Sniper Joe fired on me. I carefully dodged, but when I turned to fire, the shield was back up.
I couldn't figure out how I was supposed to beat it. It fought very defensively, and refused to let me progress.
I snapped my fingers. "It's a machine. It's running on a simple program."
I opened fire on the shield, causing it to take refuge behind its defensive wall. "Defend when attacked..."
I let up fire, but jumped into the air and attacked again as it emerged to retaliate. "...Attack when vulnerable."
A few shots found their mark, and the robot stumbled back before falling in a dismantled heap.
I took a breath. I did it. "That wasn't so hard."
"Nine minutes."
I silently cursed my stupidity, then hurried to the end of the room and dropped down another short pit, finding myself in a large horizontal corridor. I walked forward to the end of my platform, but there was nothing around. I glanced down, and found a large number of Sniper Joes wandering about in the leg mechs, patrolling the thin hallway that I would surely be smashed in if I tried to cross.
But I was above them. If I could maintain that advantage, this could be easy.
I looked forward, finding a number of very small platforms emerging from the wall ahead of me, leading over the large numbers of enemies.
I took a deep breath, stepped back several feet, then leaped for the first landing with a running start. I barely made it, grasping hold to the opposite end of the slick stone, and managing to pull myself up without losing hold. The next several weren't nearly as long, and by the end I felt enough confidence to simply land on the block itself feet first.
I reached the final block and came to another short hall, that lead to a strange looking wall. I rapped against it with my fist, but that did nothing. It didn't open when I approached it, and simply firing at it wouldn't budge it.
I looked through my weapons again. "Let's try it..." I muttered.
Crash Bomb Loaded
I launched one of the bombs into the wall, where it implanted itself in the metal for a few moments before exploding. I turned my head away from the burst, then looked back when it seemed to be clear.
The wall was gone.
I grinned, but then inspected the ammo energy on the Crash Bomb. I almost shot one into my head out of shock. It had consumed a significant portion of the meter. After a quick glance, I determined that I'd probably get six more shots with it if I didn't get a refill.
Unfortunately, I couldn't worry myself about that now. I had to move.
I quickly jumped down, finding myself with the large door at the end of all the Robot Masters' challenges. I smiled as I leaped up to it, causing it to slide upward, and I stepped forward, through a short hall, then into another room.
The area was divided up into two sort of staircases, with one set of large ascending platforms rising to a point before falling down and starting another set. A robot I assumed to be Flash Man stood at the opposite end, atop the second set of steps. He was covered in blue armor, yellow highlights in various locations on his boots and body. On his head was a blue helmet with a bright yellow dome on the top. It glistened in every little light that hit it. On one hand was a bright silver weapon, looking fairly simple, but intimidating nonetheless.
He smiled and applauded as I entered, and looked over at a timer on the wall as I stepped forward. "Excellent job, Mega Man! I'm impressed. And just over five minutes to spare!"
"Enough." I stopped him. "Let's go already."
He looked at me with a playful curiosity. "What's this? The peaceful hero Mega Man, so anxious to fight? What brought this about?"
"You know exactly what. We're on a time crunch, so let's do this already!"
This caused him to look at me with a bit of confusion. He glanced back at the timer, and then to me again. He held up his arms. "Oh, that. Yeah, allow me to explain. The timer is just a ploy."
I raised an eyebrow.
"I know you have no reason to trust me, but it's the truth. Wily figured that putting you in a desperate situation requiring you to make short simple plans, he could cause you to slip up. But, uh, it seems your smarter than he thought."
I raised my buster.
"Wait wait wait, please, it really is just for show, it's all just..." He hung his head and audibly sighed. His voice returned, but notably lower pitch and with a calm and rational tone. "It's just an act, Mega Man. Honestly, I could care less about this stuff, it's just supposed to get to your head."
I lowered my weapon, but still kept it ready. "Well you succeeded."
Flash Man looked around. "The timer doesn't mean anything. There's no one watching, except for maybe Dr. Wily. And honestly, I'm just the best actor in the group. However, I'm a creature of science. I believe that some of Wily's defenses could be a lot better if he just let me inspect them. But he's the boss..."
I sighed. "Okay. I understand."
Flash Man looked up at me and nodded with a smile. "Thank you. Now unfortunately, I still must destroy you, but I thank you for letting me do it as myself."
I lifted my weapon and fired. After launching them, I blinked. Suddenly, I saw the shots hit the wall, as if Flash Man had never been there. Something tapped me on the shoulder, causing me to jump. "Peek a boo." Flash Man smiled behind me, before his weapon unloaded a rapid fire series of shots at point blank. I was thrown off my feet, unable to focus on anything in the constant storm of attack.
Finally, he let up. "Surprised? I've got a little talent. Wily and Light always wanted to be able to work with time, to manipulate it. Their first design was good, but I'm even better."
I grumbled as I got to one knee. "What are you...doing?"
He knelt down in front of my face, and smiled. "I do this."
Before my very eyes, he disappeared, and suddenly, I felt my body flare up in pain all over. It felt as if I had been struck with dozens of attacks at the same time.
Flash Man stood behind me now, his buster smoking. "Still confused, I see. I'm freezing time itself, Mega Man. Only the area right around me, yes, but freezing it all the same. And it's remarkable what you can do when one nanosecond feels like all the time in the world."
Over the next few moments, I felt myself being beaten around, and blasted to bits, as I desperately tried to land just one hit. But every time I tried, he would disappear, or I would be in too much pain to properly execute. Flash Man landed free hit after free hit, and I couldn't stop him.
After yet another failure, I found myself on my back against a wall, with a sharp pain in my gut. I couldn't move. Flash Man walked over to me, his weapon ready. "I thank you for giving me this opportunity. It's a shame it must end here."
He looked over at the wall. "Huh. It reached zero. I guess that timer really was meaningless."
I watched as he took a step forward, then froze. His face turned to confusion, then anger. "What...the..."
A voice came from behind him. "Oh, I think it does mean something, Flash."
From the robot's chest, a metal blade erupted, sticking through his entire body, before being yanked out suddenly. Flash Man quickly collapsed forward at my feet.
"It means you're too slow."
Flash Man's assassin turned out to be a tall, red-clad robot. His knees were decorated with golden pads, and rather than a weapon as a hand, a golden attachment was on his wrist. He held a short curved weapon in his hand, which I couldn't identify with just a glance.
A confident smirk looked down at me under a red helmet with a large, v-shaped gold decoration. He tossed his weapon a short distance into the air, and caught it with ease. "Sorry about that. But Dr. Wily shares my desire to keep things moving."
He took a bow. "It's an honor to see you again. I'm honored, Mega Man, the great warrior of peace." He chuckled.
I grunted, shifting uncomfortably from my vulnerable position. "Again?" I managed.
He looked at me with a hand over his heart. "Oh! You don't remember the robot that held a blade to your throat? I'm hurt."
He tapped his chin. "Although, you've probably had a number of us do something like that, so I suppose that makes sense." His eyes widened, and he shook his head. "I'm getting off topic. I'm Quick Man. I would ask if you want to see why they call me that, but-"
In mere instants, his body became a blur, striking me in the chest and knocking me across the floor. I winced as I strained against my complaining circuits to push up off the ground.
His voice sounded from over my head. "I assume you already knew that."
I felt myself being moved around, thrown into walls, and punched before slamming into the ground, sending splitting pain up my back. I let out a scream, unusual given my upgrades allowing less notice of pain. All the while, Quick Man laughed and taunted me.
"Come on, Mega Man! Show me this incredible skill! Show me the robot that defeated five of my brothers!"
I opened my eyes slowly, finding him looking into my face. His look wasn't happy anymore. Dead serious.
"You're just a helper robot. You weren't designed for combat. Why do you think you belong here, fighting with warriors? You're an embarrassment to our kind. And to think you were one of the first..."
I growled, and tried to swing at him. He sidestepped without the least effort, and swung a powerful kick into my stomach, causing me to curl up to guard the tender area.
"A weakling. You can't hope to stop me. I can't even imagine how my brothers failed to beat you. Then again, I am the superior." He let a little smile return to his face.
He yanked me up by the chest, and stared into my eyes. "I'll ask one more time. For your sake, I hope you'll comply."
He drew a fist back behind his head. "Show me your skill. Show me the FIGHTER YOU THINK YOU ARE!!"
He punched me, before dropping me to the ground. I barely stood as it was followed up with a storm of attacks, finishing with a new pain erupting in my side. I glanced down to see his weapon emerging from my side, digging through my damaged body.
I clutched the area and dropped to my knees. I tried to look up into his face. My head was pounding. My vision glitched, filling with static in small squares.
"You can't. You're not strong enough. And I'm ashamed that Wily fears you."
He yanked the blade out of my midsection before stabbing it into the metal. It stood upright as he let go and stood to full height. "But I won't end it here. No, I want to see you fight. As does my final brother. So I'm giving you one little chance."
He dropped down to my eye level. "As soon as I leave, you have two hours. After one, you will receive a set of coordinates. The final Robot Master awaits you there. If you aren't at those coordinates once the two hours is up, Wily will destroy your city, and I won't hesitate to finish you off myself."
My vision had almost gone out completely. I heard his footsteps walking off. They stopped. "I was created to destroy you. We all were. The least you could do, is give me the pleasure of making it a challenge."
He began speaking in a different manner, as if to someone else. "Yeah, I know. I'm about to leave. You just worry about yourself, number zero."
Then his voice was gone, and I was alone.
---
Whooooooooooooooooooooo dang...
I really wanted to get that out. Quick Man is pretty much my favorite, and boy is he fun to write. I enjoyed making his character, and I can't wait to keep going.
Oh yeah. The story.
Oh no! Is our hero defeated? Can he recover from his injuries? And if so, how will he stop the powerful Quick Man, and this final unknown Robot Master?
And who is number zero, anyway?
-A few moments later to let the excitement die down-
I love writing this story. Thanks, readers!