//------------------------------// // Let's Watch Mega Man: 2-3 // Story: Wily's Wittle Wub // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// As the group brought out more popcorn and drinks for the upcoming show, the screen showed that Mega Man was going after Quick Man next. Wily rubbed his hands eagerly. "Oh, this is going to be interesting!" he cackled. "Quick Man moves faster than even robotic optics can track. Let's see how Mega Man handles this!" Vinyl clapped eagerly, also wanting to see this battle. On the screen, Mega Man progressed down a narrow passage, evading the occasional obstacle. Shortly thereafter, he had to increase his rate of fall, as laser beams shot out of holes in the walls, and it was plain they'd shear right through his armor and destroy him on contact. "Whose idea was the lasers?" Protoman asked. Smirking, Air Man raised his hand. "I thought Vinyl would like the light show." "So that's why they flash in rainbow colors," Wily replied, watching Vinyl stare with her mouth hanging open happily at the flashing laser lights. Further in the area, the lights went out, except around robots with flames in their heads. They threw flame and illuminated the area around them. Mega Man was forced to choose between evading harm and moving in the dark. To the surprise of Wily and the others, he chose to take the hits. "Is...is Mega Man afraid of the dark now?" Crash Man asked, surprised. "Good lord," Protoman groaned. "You're turning him into Ice Man." Eventually, the lights came back on, and Mega Man once more had to run from the lasers. Finally, he reached Quick Man's chamber. Entering the chamber, Mega Man looked around. "...Quick Man?" he called out, clutching his buster with his other hand and shivering. Hearing a clacking noise, he spun with a shout and fired. A hole appeared in the table the noise had come from. On the table was a note and a computer chip. Walking forward, Mega Man read the note. Yo, Mega Dude! Got bored waiting for you, decided to ditch the whole 'take over the world' thing. Went surfing. Sorry to disappoint. Have my weapon chip to make up for it. QM Staring, Mega Man thought about what he'd just read before finally picking up the weapon chip and installing it, teleporting out. Wily stared in disbelief as Vinyl giggled. "...Quick Man ditched us to go surfing?" he demanded. "Ten bucks says Bubble Man ditched to go hang at the beach, too," Protoman said quickly. "Looks like we're going to find out," Air Man stated as the screen indicated Mega Man was going after Bubble Man next. As soon as Mega Man warped in on the platforms suspended over a waterfall, he started freaking out. "Maybe we should go easier on him," Wily murmured. "I want to beat him...not break him." "Perhaps you should take a break from taking over the world after this attempt?" Air Man suggests. "Give him time to detox." "Probably a good idea," Wily muttered as he saw the way Mega Man raced across the falling platforms, only to freak out over having to then drop downward. He seemed to calm down once he was in the water, however. Once Mega Man reached the end of the underwater section, he had to race across more platforms suspended over a bottomless pit, this time with enemies riding the waterfall down to knock him off. Eventually, he reached the final chamber...which wasn't underwater. "Isn't Bubble Man supposed to keep his area flooded for best combat potential?" Crash Man asked. Seeing Mega Man approaching a table with a note and a computer chip on it, Protoman chuckled as Wily groaned. "Looks like I win the bet," he teased. Wily groaned as the initial screen returned. "Well, at least I know Metal Man's eager to fight." Mega Man beamed into a factory on a conveyor belt. The entire area seemed to consist of conveyor belts, spiked crushers, and drills that came out of the ceiling and floor without warning. It wasn't until towards the end of the area that Mega Man encountered any robots trying to attack him...which turned out to be clowns riding giant gears. "Come play with us!" they called out, making Mega Man scream and run for it. "That was just creepy," Air Man stated as Vinyl shivered. Finally, Mega Man reached Metal Man's chamber. Mega Man glanced around nervously as he entered the dimly lit chamber. "Welcome, Mega Man," Metal Man stated eagerly. "Are you ready to...play?" The floor started moving, revealed to be a conveyor belt drawing Mega Man towards Metal Man, who slowly started to walk towards Mega Man, grinning madly as he ground two of his metal blades against each other. "S-stay back!" Mega Man shouted, backing away and shooting at him. "Stay back!" "Your pea shooter isn't very fun," Metal Man countered, bringing up his metal blades and hurling one, buzzing right by Mega Man's neck, nearly touching. "Come, you can do more! Entertain me!" Mega Man fell backwards, the conveyor belt carrying him forward. "Let's take this slow," Metal Man chuckled. In desperation, Mega Man seized on that, loaded up Quick Man's weapon, and started blasting Metal Man with Quick Boomerangs. Metal Man roared as he staggered back, the lights going out as the conveyor belt stopped. "Oh...now you've done it..." Metal Man breathed. "Now it's time for me...to Freak Out..." Lightning flashed, and Metal Man's entire body sparked as he altered configuration. As the lights remained dark, his eyes glowed red. The sounds of heavy machinery moving could be heard, along with blades grinding against each other. "And now..." Metal Man breathed, his voice deep, resonant, and menacing, "...we play..." Mega Man let out a loud scream, which was cut off by a crashing sound. The lights came on. Metal Man lay on his stomach, offline. An automated message played. "Unit DWN-009, Metal Man, has been remotely decommissioned for Maker violations. He has been classified as NSFW - Not Safe For Wubs - and his build data and personality profile have been purged from the network. Master Weapon system disabled and destroyed. We apologize for any inconvenience encountering this unstable robot has caused you. Thank you for your patience, and have a nice day." Mega Man stared at the collapsed body for a time, then promptly beamed out. Wily had turned away from the screen, holding a shivering Vinyl and stroking her. "There there," he whispered softly. "It's alright now. The bad scary robot is a pile of scrap now, and he can never scare you again. Everything's alright now. Shh...shh..." Vinyl buried her face in Wily's chest, shivering until she eventually slipped into slumber. Wily decided to take her straight to bed, leaving Protoman, Air Man, and Crash Man to watch Mega Man go after Wood Man. Mega Man beamed into the forest and glanced around, finding...a straight path with no robots attacking him. "Hello?" he called out, confused. Uncertain - remembering what happened when Wily's fortress was absent of enemies - he proceeded cautiously. The path remained straightforward, with signs over ladders that stated, "Not bottomless!" Confused, he continued to progress through the forest and underground path, eventually coming to a bamboo path over a deep path where monkey bots could be seen finishing a bridge to cover the gaps, slanting up and down so Mega Man didn't even have to jump. The bots left as soon as they were finished, and Mega Man progressed - unopposed but confused - to Wood Man's chambers. Within, he found several bean bag chairs sturdy enough for robots, a faint cloud of smoke around the ceiling, aromatherapy candles, lava lamps, and Wood Man laying back on one of the bean bag chairs taking a hit from a hookah. "Yo, Mega Dude!" he called out. "Have a seat and relax!" "I'm...I'm here to fight you," Mega Man pointed out. "I'm not gonna fight you, Mega Dude," Wood Man countered. "Besides, you aren't really in any condition to fight just now, are you? Look at yourself! You're shaking like a leaf. Pop a squat and chillax, bro." "But..." Unable to resist the directive, Mega Man sat down on one of the bean bag chairs. "But you're trying to take over the world!" "Does it look like I'm conquering anything?" Wood Man asked. "But...you're evil!" "Dude, you're puttin' too much weight on the whole thing." Wood Man took another hit from his hookah. "This isn't a battle of good and evil, Mega Bro. It's a battle of ideals." "But...but Dr. Wily's trying to take over the world!" Mega Man snapped. "How can that not be evil?" "Don't you read comics?" Wood Man inquired, seemingly tangentially. "Well...yeah," Mega Man admitted. "X Men was always my favorite." "Would you call Magneto evil?" "No!" Mega Man countered firmly. "Certainly not!" "But he was trying to take over the world," Wood Man indicated. Mega Man raised his hand to counter. "I'm not trying to argue with you, dude," Wood Man interrupted. "Just getting you to open your mind a little. Taking over the world? Classify it as 'wrong' all you like...but that don't make it evil." Mega Man sat back in the chair, lost in thought. "Look, I'm not saying it's bad you're trying to stop Dr. Wily," Wood Man pointed out. "We're robots. That makes us tools for our makers. Wily made us to take over the world. At your request, Light remade you to stop us. When it comes to us there's no good or evil there. We're just soldiers on opposite sides...and it's no fun fighting a soldier on the verge of breakdown." Mega Man blinked for a time. "But...but I'm supposed to fight you..." "If it makes you feel any better, I'll fight you in Wily's Fortress," Wood Man promised. "But not here. Right now, you need to rest. Chill like the penguins, robrah." He offered the hookah. "Take a hit. It'll help you relax." Mega Man accepted the hookah. "What's in it?" "An electronic impulse inhibitor made from mixing the robo-hallucinogen in my leaves with tree sap," Wood Man explained. "Slows your robo-brain down a bit, lets you think your thoughts through a bit more." Nervously, Mega Man took a hit. "Whoa..." he breathed. "That's...wow..." He sank back into the bean bag chair. "You need this, brah," Wood Man reassured. "especially after Metal Head. That dude was totally cray-cray." He chuckled. "He was practically Cray-Chry." "What?" "Outside joke," Wood Man commented, waving off the inquiry. "It's only funny if you don't try to make sense of it." Mega Man couldn't help but chuckle at the illogic of that. "See what I mean?" Wood Man asked. The pair relaxed for a while longer, staring at the lava lamps. "Why am I doing this?" Mega Man asked finally. "Why am I fighting this fight?" "Well, there's two possibilities," Wood Man pointed out. "Either you're trying to stop Dr. Wily, or you're trying to protect humanity." He took another hit. "Cause, good or evil, right or wrong, if anyone succeeds in taking over the world, humanity as they know it is going to change. And most of humanity's gonna see that change as harm." Mega Man leaned back. "...I don't think any one person should rule the world," he commented dryly. "Then that's your goal, brah!" Wood Man pointed out. "You're fighting to protect humanity. Keep that in mind. You're a protector." As Mega Man lay back, he smiled. "Thanks," he said softly. "I...I did need this." "Told ya," Wood Man replied with a smile. "Teleport grid's back up. We can both leave whenever we want." Mega Man stared at the way the smoke formed patterns amongst the uneven ceiling. "Let's stay a while..."