I felt the ground clang under my footsteps as I led our group into the newest room. There was a quiet whirring, like a machine being kept online. The lights were dim, only bright enough to clearly see about ten feet in. We readied ourselves for anything.
I heard a faint noise from across the room, and I quickly aimed my buster at the source. I silently nodded toward the sound to notify the others. We slowly approached until we were completely in the dark. A quick shout to Elec Man filled the darkness with crackling sparks. It wasn't incredibly bright, and the light flickered frequently, but it did the trick. I caught sight of the first real target and trained my weapon on it.
Until I caught a small fire sparked nearby it, and grew to offer much more light. In the new lighting, I discovered just who our surprise guests were.
"Guys!" I smiled, lowering the buster. Fire Man wiped his forehead with the side of his cannon and walked forward to give me a bro hug.
The rest of us happily interacted as the reunion continued. We shared a few brief summaries of our exploits, and after a moment I stepped off to the side to think.
When I got away from the others, I remembered the noise. Unfortunately, whatever was making it picked that moment to remember us, too.
The lights flared to full power, blinding me as a series of loud and painful mechanical noises echoed across the room, and a droning hum started that continued long after the other noises slowed and stopped. I carefully adjusted my eyes to the new lighting, and looked at our new threat.
It was a large red machine, which hovered a short distance above the floor, likely the source of the hum. Its front section resembled the nose of a plane, coming to a rounded point a good distance away from the main body. A number of thick metal ducts of a dull gold color extended from the base of the machine to the back. A massive cannon of the same color extended down from its hull area.
After an uncomfortable silence, Wily's voice began to echo through the room. "You finally made it! Well done, Mega Man. And friends..."
He cleared his throat. "Anyway, thank you for all your efforts. I appreciate that you made my investments worthwhile. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to finish this very soon. I've grown tired of playing with you, Mega Man."
The machine began to move forward, and its cannon roared to life. A shot fired from it, a massive ball of energy, which, bizarrely, traveled in a curved path, dipping down to the ground before rising into the ceiling.
Soon afterward, a number of those shots followed, leading us to hurry out of the way. Fire Man lit up his flames and launched a large burning wave towards it, which seared against the cockpit area with minimal damage.
Ice Man desperately launched his small ice shots, which unfortunately dissipated harmlessly against the metal surface. Guts Man didn't have any ammo, so grabbed Bomb Man and threw him onto the machine (much to the latter's frustration).
Oil Man slid up beside me. "This isn't workin', Mega Man."
"Yeah..." I muttered. I dropped down to avoid a shot as it began to rise, and caught sight of an open door behind. "I gotta get through there."
"Go ahead, pardner!" Fire Man shouted, continuing to launch as many shots of the Fire Storm as he could, "we'll handle this 'ere machine."
I nodded and made a break for the doorway. On the way, the cannon swiveled and turned itself to me. It locked on to me, and fired a shot that approached with devastating speed. I braced for impact.
I opened my eyes a second later to see Time Man straining himself, holding onto my leg. His alarms rang like crazy, and they were wobbling unnaturally. The shot had slowed to near stopping speed directly in front of us.
He looked up at me. "I can't hold this. Go, while there's still time!"
I pulled myself together and jumped off of the ground, time returning to normal immediately after letting go. Time Man was hit by the attack, and launched into the air before smacking into a wall with a devastating crunch. He dropped limply to the ground.
I made my way through the door, looking back to see Bomb Man throw his explosive into the mess of technology in the back. Immediately afterward, a door slammed down in between me and the room.
Now alone again, I quietly walked through the hallway, arriving in another dark room. It was almost entirely empty, except for Dr. Wily standing on the other side, a scatterbrained smile across his face.
"You've done well to get this far, Mega Man. I'm very impressed."
"Enough." I replied, raising my buster. "Whatever you've got planned, shut it down."
He rolled his eyes. "Please, we both know you can't hurt me. And if that's true, you might as well listen into a little story."
I didn't lower my weapon, but I knew what he said was true.
"Where should I begin? Where any good story does, I suppose. Once upon a time, in a world light years away, there existed a race of powerful creatures. An alien species, which were masters of technology, creating advanced weaponry with their superior intellect and understanding of the universe."
I swallowed. This was already making me uncomfortable.
He walked slowly to the side as he continued, "This species was also a warring race. They sought to absorb planets into their empire. They conquered multiple different planets near their own, and implemented their resources and technology. They formed an empire that was the greatest ever created several thousand fold."
He stopped. "And eventually, they turned to robotics. They sought to create an army. One that could be infinitely replaced, and one that could fight with a unique ruthlessness. They wanted warriors that could think, but still follow their commands. And so, they created them. A massive army of robotic warriors, the first true Robot Masters. They mass multiplied them and spread them across their empire. They even created generals, special soldiers that were very powerful and more advanced in design. They had an unstoppable force."
"Wily, this better have a point." I interrupted.
"Yes, yes. But it seemed they made them too well. Their autonomous intelligence leaded the generals to pursue a new purpose. They began to make slight rebellions, slowly crumbling their army. The aliens, seeking to prevent a catastrophe, took the most emergency precautions they could. They destroyed the plans for making more robots, and jettisoned the technology that still used those plans off-world, on unspecified routes. Unfortunately, it would seem they were too late."
He looked up at the ceiling. "Their robotic army held a full revolution. This species had been able to capture entire planets, but their creations were too much for even them. They were overrun, and before it had even begun, their species was slaughtered. An empire hundreds of times the scale of Rome fell in a day."
He turned to me. "Only one of them remained. And upon safely arriving on this planet, I have but one goal: to create an army that can restore my home."
This time I did lower my buster. "What...?"
He spread his arms, and his body suddenly burst with light. I turned my eyes away for a second before looking back, to find a large green creature floating in the air. It was a pretty typical alien look, all things considered. Its hands and feet were large three-digit appendages, it had one of those semi exposed rib-cages, and the head resembled a football in shape, with incredibly bright red eyes seeming to pierce through me from several feet away.
The lights began to dim until it was completely black, and bright specks like stars in the night sky began to pepper the ceiling, walls, and even the floor. I couldn't hardly tell what was right and left anymore. I tried to pull myself together, raising my buster to a defensive position.
A warbled version of Wily's voice echoed loudly through the room, threatening to split my skull with the sensation. "So...you choose destruction."
And then I ran for my life.
I could barely keep myself together. I was so confused by everything that had just happened that I couldn't think of how to fight. I couldn't even think of fighting. I took off sprinting across the floor, and found a concentrated energy ball flying at me. I barely sidestepped, looking up at what was apparently Dr. Wily, holding out its arms to create another ball of death.
I continued running, frantically trying to figure out a way out of here. The stars swirled around me chaotically, disorienting me as I went. I shook my head back and forth trying to snap myself back into reality, which ended up being a mistake. I took a direct hit from Wily, causing me to slide across the ground. I clutched my chest and struggled to my feet, before another shot knocked me down again. This time, I managed to roll over and fire a few shots. As they approached, Wily quickly moved out of the way and hit me with another blast.
My body trembled as I collapsed again. I could feel a heat building inside me. I felt like I might quite literally explode. I wanted to get up again, but my body rebelled against every action. I barely managed to lift my head.
The attacks let up, and I tried to bring myself together while I had the chance.
You can do this.
The stars spun along the ground in a strange flow.
Just pull yourself together.
I followed those stars along their path.
Get up, Rock.
They traveled up to the wall, and smoothly over the corner.
There has to be a way to stop him.
The stars continued to travel...until they reached a point where they dimmed, and the light bounced back at me.
I lifted myself a little and looked more closely. Every time I watched, this specific point on the wall caused the stars to emit a bright light directly toward me. It was weird, it reminded me of something.
I recalled stepping in. The room was basically empty, but one let thing bothered me. It was something in the back. A mirror. It didn't make a lot of sense, especially with what was currently going on.
Unless...
I raised my weapon and charged it. I honestly was betting this effort on a desperate guess. I had no evidence that what I was about to try would work, or what it would entail. But I had to try something. This was gonna be it. If I lived long enough.
Wily rushed towards me, launching another blast, that I barely managed to dodge as I got to my feet. I began moving towards the spot on the wall, as Wily quickly closed the distance between us. I know it was stupid, but the only thing I could think to do was say something arrogant.
"You know..." I managed to grunt as I dodged his first charge, "...I really don't appreciate secrets." I ducked under another attack and raised my buster. "Particularly ones about FREAKING ALIENS!!"
I fired the charge shot, immediately feeling my strength leave me, causing me to drop to my knees. The blast hit the spot, and a crash filled the room, light piercing into the disorienting darkness. I strained to adjust my eyes to the change, and wobbled up on both feet to begin walking over. As I began to adjust, I could see a very small room filled with very complex machinery. There were modules and displays all around, and a smoking hole where my shot had hit the back. I walked up to the glass, then remembered something.
Looking behind, I saw the alien completely still in the air. It wasn't even facing me at the moment. It simply hovered silently.
I turned around and stepped through the hole, and sure enough, on the floor, coughing and waving away smoke, was none other than Doctor Albert Wily. Complete with his atrocious mustache.
He opened his eyes after a moment, and saw me standing over him. He leaped backward with a start, backing up to the wall and holding out his hands. "Uh, uh, pay no attention to the scientist operating the machinery."
I stared at him for a moment, and walked over to the glass again, examining both sides. "One way mirror. Should've known."
He sort of smiled when I looked back at him. "I got you, didn't I?"
"So it's all a trick?"
"Oh no, the story is real, my friend. Well, apart from the bit about me being an alien. No sir, just ordinary flesh and blood here."
I shook my head. "You're crazy."
He growled. "Perhaps so. But at least I try to achieve something. Unlike you pathetic do-gooders, who all try to keep things the way they're 'supposed to be'. Do you wonder why the Emerald Spears are so scared of you?"
I readied my buster and pointed it at his head. He quickly yelped and raised his hands in surrender. "Wait! Please, please don't hurt me, I was only messing with you. Don't hurt me..."
Then a grin flashed across his chin. "Oh right. You can't."
He thrust a hand to his dashboard, and I was caught off guard by a blaring alarm, which caused me to cover my head in an attempt to ease the pain. I looked up as Wily hurried out of the room, towards a large blue machine that began to rise out of the room where I had battled Wily's illusion. The roof above it opened up, and as Wily climbed in, his mouth moved as if he was saying something to me. I couldn't hear it, however, and his mustache made it difficult to lip read.
I stood up straight and tried to follow, but the machine took off, hovering like a typical UFO out of the room and into the sky.
After he left, the alarm stopped, making me glad as I took my hands off of my ears. However, the joy was short lived, as another noise would prove much more problematic.
Self Destruct Initiated. Estimated time until complete destruction: 5 minutes.
I groaned and began running to the door I had entered from. I hurried into the previous room, where the other Robot Masters stood in a confused and alarmed circle around the destruction of their enemy.
I hurried up to them. "Guys, we gotta get outta here."
Bomb Man shook his head. "But...how are we supposed to find a way out in five minutes?"
"There's an open ceiling in the next room. Guts Man can get us out. Come on!"
I directed them through the hallway to the room. As I pointed them in, the building shook, and the ceiling collapsed in between those that were already in the room, and those still with me. Oil Man and Time Man.
I could hear pounding on the other side. "Hang on, guys!" Elec Man shouted, "We'll get you out."
I swallowed. "Forget about it! We'll figure something out! Go!"
I could hear the footsteps finally move away from the debris after a moment. I looked around. "Help me find something."
We continued to look across the pile before Oil Man shouted, "I found somethin'!" I looked over at him, and he reached his arm through a rather large hole, in the corner, probably just big enough for us to squeeze through.
"Great. Let's get-" I was interrupted by a loud rumble, and I looked up to see debris start to collapse, and suddenly slow drastically. I looked over at Time Man, who rested one hand on each of us.
"I can't hold this. Go." His damaged body sparked violently from the use of his ability again.
Oil Man shook his head. "No way, dawg. You're comin' with us."
I nodded in agreement, but Time Man laughed. "You two...are wasting your own time. This mission was to beat Wily. We did that. The only thing that matters now is that our best weapon against him is able to escape. That's you, Mega Man."
I couldn't think of what to say. Everything was quiet around us, which made everything feel more real and upsetting.
Oil Man clenched a fist. "No. You ain't gonna do this. C'mon!"
"Not arguing any more. It hurts too much." Time Man responded with a grunt.
I put a hand on Oil Man's shoulder, and the robot's eyes began to water. "Please, bro. You're the closest thing to a little brother I've got."
Time Man looked at him one last time. He nodded, and manged to extend a thumbs up.
I grabbed Oil Man and pulled him into the hole with me. After we were almost through, Time Man let go of Oil Man, and the sound rushed back to life, drowning everything in the crash of more debris.
The two of us scrambled out of the hole to the other side, and fell flat on the floor. Oil Man sniffled, wiping his eyes with the back of his arm. I moved next to him, and he just stared at me. He finally let out a sentence, almost just a whisper. "He was my little bro."
I hung my head.
Guts Man rushed over to us. "It's time to go, you two! Where's Time?"
I looked up at him and shook my head. He seemed startled for a moment, but gave a solemn nod, grabbing us both in his arms, and turning to the hole in the ceiling. With a grunt, he launched the three of us up and out of the destruction.
---
Dr. Light looked down at the floor, thinking. He had a lot of time to do that. The reprogramming process would take a while.
Thankfully for him, he finally got what he had been wishing for the entire time. Mega Man's comm alert activated on his monitor. The doctor straightened up and spun his chair 180 degrees, quickly typing a few keys and putting on his headset. "Rock! Rock, are you alright?"
His voice came through. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay."
He let out a sigh of relief. "Did you stop Wily? Did you-"
"We beat everything he threw at us. He ended up getting away."
Light nodded. "That's quite alright. You did what you could. And you're all safe?"
This time there was hesitance on the other end. "We're all here, but..."
Another silence.
"...Time Man didn't make it."
Light pushed back from his computer. The statement sunk in, and continued to spiral around in his head. "I...I see."
"We...tried, but he had to save us, and..."
Light shook his head. "He was a hero, like all of you. That is what matters."
There was a difficult silence on both sides of the call. Light couldn't think of what to tell him. Was there anything he could say to make it better?
He decided that there probably wasn't. "Well, I believe you should all come home. That's probably the best thing to do right now."
"Yeah. Thanks, Dr. Light."
---
The door opened, and Michael threw down his backpack as he walked to his bed. Collapsing onto the surface, he took the time to stare up at the ceiling in exhaustion. The last few weeks had been a pain in the butt. Rock had always been a great student, so trying to cover for a guy like that missing a week's worth of school was a problem.
Not to mention Rock had been, for lack of a better word, Michael's rock to get through the misery that was the high school life.
He grabbed his phone from his pocket and began to write yet another text to Rock. Since he left on the last mission, he hadn't responded. After getting a few words in, however, he stopped, and let his arm flop down onto the bed again. He was just too tired.
After a few seconds, he heard the small tapping noise of keys being entered on his phone. Curious, he lifted the device. Despite not touching it, the partial text he had entered was being erased. After it had disappeared, it began to retype a different message.
"O...P...E...N...D...O...W...N...L...O...A...D...S?"
The message stopped. After sitting for a moment, Michael shrugged. "If I'm being hacked, it's not like I'm gonna be able to do anything about it."
He closed the texting application and pulled up the downloads page. There was a new file very recently added, labeled Warrock.
He stared at the file for a second. He looked around him, then back down at the screen.
"Well, I'm already this far." He tapped the download and executed it.
---
The first part of Mega Man finally ends! For the record, this part mostly served to cover the story of Mega Man 1 and 2. They didn't vary much from the original story, but I assure you the next part is going to be much more my own. I hope that you'll enjoy seeing more famous Mega Man characters, because things are going to get pretty wonky from here.
So I'm also going on a brief hiatus on Mega Man. This chapter took a long time to write, and I'm a little tired right now. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, stick around for when part 2 comes out!
Also, bonus points to anyone who knows what I was referring to at the end of the chapter!