Heh. Heh. You get it?
The title? Play on the lyrics of the 1958 Rock and Roll Christmas song Run Rudolph Run?
Anyone?
...I thought it was pretty good.
Alright, joke's on me, it seems. Apparently I can't possibly find an image with a short enough URL that Wattpad will let me put it in. It's really freakin' annoying, but I guess what can you do...
.
.
.
I can put the URL in anyway so you guys can still access the picture. SUCK IT, Wattpad.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjkw_i9j_3XAhUHxiYKHc2yBd4QjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gamerdome.net%2Fconsole%2F6419%2F19262-mega-man-christmas-carol&psig=AOvVaw00jjYiACPIT_Cn_9GZjKCD&ust=1512915280318484
Alright, whatever, let's just do this.
---
Quick Man smiled. "Don't be ridiculous, you're not racing against me. I would finish four times before you made it a quarter of the way."
I sighed. "Glad to see you're being realistic."
He ignored me. "So to make it fair, I'll just give you a time limit. Flash told me you like those." He gave me a wink.
I tried not to react, and simply kept my mouth shut.
"You'll have to beat the time limit to face me again. But we'll make this quicker, I think. Flash Man had more distractions for you." He pulled out a boomerang and proceeded to clean it.
I frowned. "Alright, so what do I-"
"Go." Quick Man sped over to me to whisper the word in my ear before disappearing just as quickly.
I sighed. "Right."
I ran forward, reaching a small drop which took me lower. From there, I found myself looking down. The ground zigzagged up and down much like a set of bleachers, with a significantly lower platform below me leading to a higher one. Glancing down into the first drop, I found a small machine lying on the ground. I jumped down next to it, right as a thin gray robot popped out of the machine, directly towards me.
I barely jumped out of the way, and then the machine produced another robot. They seemed to simply pop out and move in place, likely equipped with some kind of electrical shock.
I jumped out of the pit that was quickly becoming crowded, and up to the next platform. Below me was yet another machine, but on one side of it, the ground simply dropped off. It was likely that was where I was supposed to go.
I carefully performed a short jump to clear the machine, landing just beyond it. I hurried off the ledge, and found a long corridor awaiting me. As I ran through a series of stair-like platforms on the ground, I noticed the lights starting to dim. Unsure of what to think, I kept moving, hoping that I would notice all the changes in the ground before I encountered them.
I jumped over one ledge, and found a large robot emitting a lot of light. At further observation, it turned out to be burning a fire in its head, which was shaped a lot like a teacup. It had somewhat short arms and legs, and stood idly on top of a small platform, probably waiting for me.
I carefully put myself on the same level as the robot, then rapid fired several shots into it. The machine blew up, which was good. Then the darkness returned, which was not good.
I found myself struggling to make my way through the black void, tripping a few times on small changes in the ground.
Eventually I found another of the same type of robot, which was in a more awkward position to shoot at. I had to get closer, which this time meant that it would likely try to hit me.
I began to ready a charge shot. When I reached a certain point in front of it, its body visibly shifted. It raised an arm to its head, and then chucked a ball of fire it had collected.
I quickly stepped out of the way, and blasted the charge shot into it at close range. It was quickly destroyed, and the area was bathed in darkness once more. This time I had glanced ahead before hand, and now hurried ahead. It was a little complicated now, but I was able to make my way through the darkness before the lights in the tunnel returned to normal.
I stood before another drop when I was suddenly stopped from going over. I glanced over to see Quick Man holding an arm in front of me. "Whoa, speedster. Be careful in there. I'm told the traps are...unpleasant."
I shook him off and jumped down. I wanted to ignore him, but the back of my mind wouldn't let me remain calm. I landed, very on edge. I glanced up when a humming sound filled the air, watching a laser streak across the air a good distance above me. Another beam started shortly afterward, and I quickly started moving. I jumped over a platform in my way, and then moved around it to get to place where I needed to drop again. I quickly fell down the path.
I was forced to traverse several more rooms where the massive lasers would begin blasting across, and from one time I got particularly close, I believed that they would pretty much decimate any robot that entered their path.
I barely made it out of the final room, making a final drop to an ordinary room. No lasers began to fly. Nothing tried to hurt me.
I took a moment to catch my breath. As I did, I felt something against my feet. I glanced down and noticed nothing other than the deactivated body of Flash Man at my feet. His face was blank, and I could still see the hole from where he had been stabbed.
I knelt down next to him. I swallowed, and then held out a hand, resting it on his shoulder.
I felt a small tingle in my arm. TIME STOPPER DOWNLOADED.
I stood, looking down at him. "Sorry about that. I, uh...I hope you're okay."
It was fairly obvious he wasn't.
I approached the large Wily door, the final one. I made my way through the hallway, and entered a new room. It was vast and flat (Author note: Not video game accurate, but whatever), and Quick Man stood at the end tapping his foot.
"You're lucky, Mega Man. You think this is a joke? You only finished with a few seconds left. I don't think you're taking this as seriously as you should."
"Quick Man, just stop. Please, let us-"
"Maybe you didn't notice..." He zoomed up to me and punched me in the gut. "...but I don't like to stop."
He slammed me with several attacks, moving so quickly they were barely visible. I was knocked back a good distance, struggling to one knee.
Quick Man sped to a halt again, smiling at me. "That's what I thought. You're still weak and miserable. I don't understand you, Mega Man. Why do you still fight?"
I stared directly at him as I pulled myself to my feet. "Because...I have something to fight for. Something that won't let me lose."
His smile turned into a frown, and he quickly punched me again in the shoulder, causing me to spin a couple times before falling.
Relax, I told myself, You can handle him. You just have to beat him like you beat the others.
Quick Man stretched a little, looking ready to charge.
After all...
TIME STOPPER LOADED.
Quick Man took off.
No one's perfect.
I used the weapon, and a strange feeling swept over me. The air was quiet around me, disturbingly quiet. I looked forward, and could see Quick Man still running towards me. But now it was like he was moving at a nice jog. He was still moving forward, but I felt confidence building up, looking at him running like anyone else.
I shook myself together, and looked at him. "Now you've got to have...something..." A thought occurred to me. I waved my hand at him, but his face remained forward, determination still firm on his face.
It all made sense now. The way he zipped around from place to place. The reason he always moved to a distance.
He could move fast, but his eyes still operated at the same speed as everyone else.
I glanced at my ammo, and noticed the Time Stopper had run down to about half. "Crap." I hurried off to the side, readying a fist as I released the flow of time. Quick Man's speed skyrocketed again, but only before I connected a swift hook to his face. He was thrown off balance, being carried by his momentum several feet before tumbling to the ground and rolling.
I turned around with just a little bit of swagger. I watched as he got up a little awkwardly. Either he wasn't used to pain, or I had hurt him more than I thought. He gave me a soft glare. "Alright. Lucky shot."
He sprinted forward again, but I paced myself. I flashed the Time Stopper again, and connected a spinning kick to his stomach. When he got up and charged again, I did the same with a solid punch.
Quick Man's face now wore a definite frown, and he seemed to be shaking. "What are you...doing to me?"
I just looked at him, as his feet wavered a little on the metal floor.
"ANSWER ME!!" He roared, hurling a few boomerangs at me. I barely managed to dodge them, before he sprinted towards me. He kicked me in the chest at high speed, knocking me to the ground. He caught his weapons in his hands as he slid to a stop.
"Whatever you're doing, it doesn't matter. I will win, and do you know why? Because that's what I was MADE TO DO! I was made to DESTROY YOU, Mega Man! And if you think knocking me down a little bit is going to change anything...!"
He raised a fist over my head. I activated the Time Stopper once more, moving out of the way.
Quick Man's hand slammed into the floor, causing him to clutch it in pain.
He slowly stood up, trembling even more than before. "That's what it is. The Time Stopper. You're using the Time Stopper."
He turned around slightly, giving me a glance at one eye, which was filled with an infuriated rage. "You cheap son of a-" He began before charging at me, knocking me down again. This time, he didn't hesitate to attack relentlessly.
"I asked you to FIGHT! And you come here, and you HIDE behind the powers of other robots! Robots that were my BROTHERS! You have no honor, Mega Man. YOU ARE NOTHING! I WILL DESTROY YOU, BECAUSE I...HATE...YOU!"
His last exclamation was accompanied by a powerful slam from both fists into my chest. He began to breathe a little more slow and controlled. He got to his feet, looking at me as I stumbled up to stand.
He frowned. "No. No, you should be down. I've torn you apart before, and I will do it again. Why...why do you do this, Mega Man? Why do you invite your own DESTRUCTION!?"
I shifted one leg to maintain balance, and looked down at my weapons. Out of Time Stopper. Unfortunate, so I would have to make do.
I looked at him. "I don't want to hurt you Quick Man. Or any of your brothers. That's what keeps me going, because I know that if I try hard enough, eventually you'll all be free. Free of Wily's control."
Quick Man stood there, silent. His eyes pointed right at me, but he wasn't truly looking. "Huh." A smile crept across his face. "Ha ha. Ha ha ha."
He drew a boomerang and held it to my throat. "All you've done now is make things so much worse. You're a coward, and it's not enough to just destroy you, now. No. I will tear everything you care about, have EVER cared about, away from you. You will feel your heart go out as you watch people suffering, and then I'll come and remove it myself. You are a coward. And I will be the one who ruins your very existence."
I shrugged, as I switched to my regular weapon. "Maybe. You'd have to pay better attention, first."
He cocked his head in confusion, before quickly glancing around him, locking eyes with a Crash Bomb I had stuck into the ground.
The explosion shook the room, and I closed my eyes.
However, I didn't feel hardly any heat, and the wind that blew over me didn't feel like it shock waves.
Perfect.
I opened my eyes as Quick Man still stood over me. Behind him, I could see the fire and smoke from the explosion sizzling several feet away.
Quick Man faced it, laughing. "You think I'm that stupid? I have reflexes you can't even imagine. A dumb trick like that isn't going to-" He stopped as he turned around, looking down the barrel of my buster.
"NNNGRAH!!!" I released a powerful charge shot at point blank. The attack left a searing hole in his chest, causing him to fall back.
"No. This hasn't...It can't. I'm...I'm superior." He was struggling to move, but the movements were slowing.
He looked up at me. "This isn't over. I will see you again for our final confrontation, Mega Man. And that will be much sooner than you think."
And he fell face first to the ground.
---
When the sensation of teleportation ended, I was immediately wrapped in a bear hug.
From Guts Man.
"Way to go, little guy! Ya really showed 'em!" He squeezed around me eagerly, steadily crushing me in his massive arms. I struggled underneath, managing to tap him on the underside of one arm, as hard as I could. After a second, he seemed to get the message.
I felt the pressure relieve around me, and I dropped a few feet to the ground. I was experiencing the relief when he gave me a big pat on the back, which knocked me flat on the ground. "Sorry about that!"
I stumbled to my feet as he backed up. "Sometimes I miss when he wanted to kill me."
I looked over, surprised to see the rest of the Robot Masters also gathered, and they swamped me with high fives and hugs (specifically ones that weren't body crushing).
I pulled myself away for a moment. "What are you guys doing here?"
Fire Man's fire flared to life on top of his head. "We're gonna help ya take down the big man!"
Dr. Light walked over, nodding. "We can't waste much time. Wily could try anything, so we need to take this opportunity to strike first. I'm going to patch you up, and then you're going to stop him."
I looked at all of them. "You really want to do this? These guys are built to fight-"
Oil Man stepped forward. "Don't matter to me. Ah been itching to see some action, yo."
Elec Man nodded. "We're gonna show Wily that he doesn't get to mess with us. If he comes after Mega Man, he's gonna find he's targeted a whole lot of robots."
"Hold up!" A voice came from the door. We turned to watch Ice Man hurry in on his little legs, skidding to a stop. He quickly straightened up into a salute. "Here and ready for duty, sir!"
Oil Man rolled his eyes. "Loosen up, Popsicle."
Dr. Light cleared his throat. "Actually, there's one more thing. I had something else planned to help you out. Or rather, someone."
I looked over at the door. A new robot walked in that I didn't know. He was mostly purple, having a generic body design like Elec Man's. He wore gold rings on each wrist, and his arms continued up to a tall shoulder pad. His head had two large gold bells like an alarm clock, and a short red antennae popped out of the top of his head. Finally, a slowly spinning clock was situated on his chest.
Something about him seemed familiar, though. I thought back as I looked at him. Suddenly it clicked. "You're that prototype. I saw the blueprints."
Dr. Light stepped over beside him. "I see. This is Time Man. And I accelerated his production in hopes he could counter Dr. Wily's plans."
There was an awkward silence for a while.
Until Bomb Man stepped forward and held out a hand. "Glad to have ya."
Time Man seemed a little flustered. He shook his head a little, and then took Bomb Man's hand. "Oh. Yeah."
The other's began to get acquainted, and as the conversation began to die down, Dr. Light spoke again.
"Time Man is designed with a unique time altering system. By ringing his alarm, he can project a temporal field that slows down time around him. And I equipped him with powerful energy bolts, as well."
Fire Man cleared his throat. "I don't mean to sound, uh, what 'cha call, ungrateful, but, I have to wonder how he's gonna be a huge help to us. I mean, they got a Robot who can FREEZE time, pardner."
Time Man's eyes widened. "They what? Why wasn't I told about-"
Dr. Light interrupted him. "You'll be alright. I have a plan."
We all looked at each other, most of us probably wondering if we were really going to be ready for this.
---
Feeling returned to his body, and memories flooded in.
And the final memory was a punch in the gut.
Quick Man bolted upright, sitting up from the operation table he was resting on. A glance down revealed that he had been repaired. He played his memories of the battle with Mega Man back again.
"Er..." He groaned to himself, turning to hang his legs over the edge of the table.
"Take it easy, brother. Save your strength." The voice of Wood Man was surprising, since Quick had not communicated with him since his brother's reconstruction.
"What are you doing here?"
The large robot stepped closer from behind the computer monitors. "I was instructed to check up on you. It seems my timing was correct."
Quick Man stood to his feet, feeling completely refreshed. "The punk beat me. I'll kill him."
Wood Man gave him a concerned look. "Wily's plan requires that you restrain yourself. We are to fight him with the others."
"This is ridiculous." Quick complained, raising his arms. "I've fought him. I beat him once. He got lucky the next time."
Wood Man snorted just a little.
"My point is..." Quick Man growled menacingly, "...that I could defeat him, if Wily would just let me. I've seen what he could do, and he'd never be able to trick me this time around."
"Have you ever considered that you suffer from hubris, brother?"
"What?"
"Hubris. You are blinded from the truth by your belief that you are superior to everyone."
"Because I am." The red robot pounded down on the operating table.
"And yet Mega Man defeated you. You must learn to pull yourself back and realize the truth. You won't win every fight you put yourself in."
Quick Man turned and walked towards the exit. "But I haven't lost yet. Maybe that works for you, but you're weak. All of you are. Even Dr. Wily lacks the will to do what he has to."
Wood Man raised his voice slightly. "You cannot defy his command."
Quick Man stopped, before zipping back into the room and up right in front of Wood. "I think we both know who in this room really wants to go against orders."
The two stared at each other.
Wood Man backed off finally. "I am tired of it, brother. The violence is meaningless."
"Yeah? Well you're the only one. Be ready to fight. 'Cause like it or not, I'm working with you. And I don't want you or any of the others getting in the way."
And with that, Quick Man walked out of the room, leaving Wood Man standing alone.
---
I love these Robot Masters so much. They're funny, they're interesting, and they make the stories themselves.
So now Mega Man's team is ready to do battle. But what will await them in their great confrontation? Does Wily have another card up his sleeve?
Or might the cards all fall out before him?
I just really wanted to use that metaphor. See you next time!
And PS, there will be one more chapter before Christmas (hopefully).