Mega Man made his way readily into Wily's Fortress, using the three Items to make his way through various obstacles. He knew they were loans, and that he would have to return them to Vinyl or face Air Man's wrath, so he did his best not to damage them. Thankfully, none of the enemies shot anywhere near the Items, so it was relatively easy to keep them in good condition.
He had a bit of a problem when he reached the chamber of the first Guardian, which turned out to be a long hallway of precision jumping on single block platforms. The Guardian itself warped in behind him, a large green dragon. It stared at Mega Man for a time as he stood on the first single block platform staring at the second...and took pity on him, picking him up and flying him to the final three platforms, which were well within jumping range of each other. Shivering, Mega Man did his best to fight the dragon from there, and was eventually victorious...but was left feeling somewhat guilty.
Item 2 proved most useful to him for progressing through the next part of the Fortress, eventually reaching the chamber of the next Guardian, which turned out to be the blocks of the walls of the chamber itself, coming to life as mini-bots that flew towards him in pairs. After destroying 28 of them, the path to the next section opened up.
A long passage downward led Mega Man into another aquatic segment, which he faced as best as he was able. He faced the precision jumping portions the only way he could think of...by closing his eyes and taking leaps of faith, trusting in his proximity sensors, danger scanners, and internal gyroscope to guide him right. Oddly, it worked wonderfully - especially in the long downward tube filled with the Spike-balls of Instant Robotic Incineration - and he was out of the water without incident. The Guardian he came across next was a giant tank with Guts Man's face. On an impulse, Mega Man switched to Quick Boomerang, and discovered that it worked wonders.
In the next sector, Mega Man found new fear in the form of illusory platforms blended perfectly with the regular path. Thankfully for the sake of his psyche and life, none proved to be over bottomless pits. However, some were over spikes...although Bubble Lead - Bubble Man's weapon - proved ideal at finding the hidden gaps at range. A few more sections had moving platforms with precision jumping, but Mega Man was able to handle it. The Guardian of this sector proved to be several turrets walled off against his approach. With very careful maneuvering, Mega Man was able to take them down before he took too much damage.
In the last sector, Mega Man found Air Man, Crash Man, and Wood Man waiting for him. "So you have made it this far," Air Man stated flatly. "It seems we will face you now."
"We can't let you get to Dr. Wily, after all," Crash Man pointed out. "Our prime directive is his safety and goals."
"Even Quikie and Bubble Butt are coming back soon," Wood Man added. "They may not care about the conquest...but this is something else." He stepped forward. "And like I told ya, I'd fight you here. So come on, Mega Brah...let's get this started."
Mega Man nodded, raising his buster towards Wood Man...but then he lowered it. "No..."
"No?" Wood Man asked, confused.
"I...I won't fight you," he said finally. "You're...you're my friend. You helped me face my problems...and the nature of this conflict. I...I can't fight you."
Wood Man smiled softly. "Dude...you really know how to get mushy. I don't think I could fight you now either..."
"But...but I have to stop Wily," Mega Man continued.
"And we can't let you do that," Air Man replied.
"As we can't ensure his success this time around," Crash Man added, "we must either destroy you or die trying, thus ensuring his escape."
Mega Man scratched his head, struggling through this. "What if you didn't have to fight me to guarantee his escape?" he asked finally. "What if...I promised to let him go?"
All three robots blinked at him. "Explain," Air Man stated finally.
"I'm here to stop Wily from taking over the world," Mega Man explained. "I don't have to capture him to accomplish that. That's just the most efficient means to do so. But if I just get to him and he flees, activating this Fortress's self destruct mechanism, then he'll have to wait a year or two before he's able to conquer again. So I've still guaranteed a year or two of peace, which accomplishes my mission."
"It's only a delaying action," Crash Man pointed out.
Mega Man nodded. "True. But...if it means I don't have to fight my friends, it'll be enough."
The three Robot Masters considered this carefully. They were about to make their decisions in that regard when a nearby door opened.
"There won't be a need for that," Dr. Wily stated as he stepped out, a full suitcase by his side.
Vinyl walked right out the door and straight up to Mega Man. She then held out her hoof demandingly. Mega Man agreeably handed over the Items...only to get a punch on the kneecap. "Dr. Wily, I'm here to-"
"I'm throwing myself on Dr. Light's mercies," Wily interrupted Mega Man, who stared at him in shock. Picking up his suitcase and Vinyl's, he smiled softly. "I surrender."
That was a surprise ending to the chapter. Had me tearing up about the sentimentality between Megaman and Woodman too.
I wasn't expecting that
This is how Wily teams up with Light to create Gamma in the third game isn't it?
Didn't see that coming.
WILY! You're not supposed to plead for mercy or anything like that until AFTER Rock defeats you!
STUPID CLIFFHANGERS!!!!!!!
SAAAYY WHAAAT!?
6468375 Maybe this is part of his plan.
I fucking hated the fourth guardian...
The ending's surprising and Vinyl was as cute as ever.
img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120118000157/mlp/images/7/7c/Pinkie_PieJawDrop_S02E13.png
I was expecting a lot of possible things, this isn't one of them.
Huh, that went... differently than I expected. For exceeding my expectations, I'm all too happy to see what comes next.
I wonder how you'll handle Bass.
{Bass: I don't care about justice or peace! "Who's the strongest?" That's my only conc- oh, look, a pony.}
Hot daym! I did NOT expect that.
That is a twist.
After what happened with The-Robot-Who-Shall-Never-Be-Mentioned-Again (and that speech), I don't blame him. Far less chance of Accidental Nightmare Fuel that way.
This just keeps getting better. And I didn't think it was possible after Metal Man.
Wow. Did not see that coming. Well, he's already destroyed Mega Man's fighting spirit. Maybe he feels guilty for all the trauma he's inflicted?
Well that was unexpected, but if his reason is He Who Shall Not Be Named then I can't blame him.
Hey Tatsu are you familiar with the Animaniacs?
6468589
That I am.
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
6468594
Oh good! Less explaining to do.
Pony is raised by the Brain with Pinky as uncle and Minerva Mink as mother. Brain thinks pony is an abandoned cartoon character and goes looking for the show so he can get back to taking over the world. Unfortunately he finds modern cartoons to be...well I already know how you feel about Family Guy so you can see where this is going. Depressed he returns to the WB studio. Eventually Pony fixes him and he declared war on modern cartoons.
The finish would be that the cartoon characters of old all get new series and Brain uses the knowledge he has gathered to get Pony home.
6468632
Hmm...
An interesting idea.
Doesn't fit with the PWNY-verse I'm setting up, but I'd love to see it written.
Wow just jaw dropping shocked.
6468666
I can put my focus on it in about a month. The pony would be Screwball because she is essentially an abandoned character herself. Yeah I gave up on the other idea I had for her.
6468673
Sounds like fun.
Charley horse!
Vinyl is grump at the Mega! Oh my, she's just going to be impossible to live with now. PERHAPS THIS WAS WILY'S TRUE PLAN ALL ALONG?!
Is Vinyl gonna meet Octavia?
Am I seriously the only one who thought something like this would happen, I'm not hatin'. It was still an epic plot twist however, even if my ability to predict epic plot twists predicted your epic plot twist.
BEST ADOPTION YET!
Poor Megaman. Gets no respect from Vinyl. Then again, he has been using her stuff. So, who came up with Gamma? Wily, Vinyl, or Light?
I'm so tempted to make a skyrim knee joke
6468324 Neither was Megaman
6468892 I'LL DO IT FOR YOU AND TAKE THE FLAK!!!
"I used to be a Mega Man like you, but then I took a wub to the knee."
I'm not sorry. I'M NEVER SORRY!
That had to hurt. Looks like she doesn't like him for taking her toys. Aww man. I can only imagine Mega Man hopping around on one foot. All while saying "ow ow ow. That's my knee. Ow ow ow.
Is it just me or does Wily with Vinyls shades fit perfectly?
wat
6468954 Same here.
Also, I like the avatar! Had the same one, not too long ago.
6469206 THANKS. It's been my only avatar.
I'm wondering what Vinyl will do now. And I can't wait for her to grow up and build a bass cannon.
6468787 Different points in time, remember?
6469214 The bass cannon. That would be freaking awesome.
I can also see her running to her small army of robots (including Mega Man) as well as Dr. Light and Wily when Discord shows up, and again when Tierek takes her powers. That can only ever end with Metal Man's freak mode *shudder* as well as everyone else's going completely ham on those unfortunate villains.
6469227 I think that you are on to something there.
Ahem, if I may...
what the actual BUCK?!
Vinyl walked right out the door and straight up to Mega Man. She then held out her hoof demandingly. Mega Man agreeably handed over the Items...only to get a punch on the kneecap. "Dr. Wily, I'm here to-"
"I'm throwing myself on Dr. Light's mercies," Wily interrupted Mega Man, who stared at him in shock. Picking up his suitcase and Vinyl's, he smiled softly. "I surrender."
hmmmm......what's scarier? Metal man freak out or *insert scary/creepy thing here*
Wait... WHAT!?
6464368 *thinks for a moment* Okay, that makes sense. What about Bubbleman though?
6469702
I am completely unaware of anything about that leg defect, so we can assume it's non-canon to this story.
6469703 I read the megaman wikia again about his defect, it says: Due to a design flaw in his legs he is unable to walk on land, only being able to move by jumping.
So i guess that means he can be on land, he just has to be Mr. Hoppy Hop whenever he is.
6469709
Guess so.
...well, his to scale model was a frog bath toy wearing scuba gear...