//------------------------------// // Round 8 // Story: Wily's Wittle Wub // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// X-P0N3 waved to the crowd as they cheered. "Well, that last round was a little short, but pretty cool in its own right! Here's hoping this next match is longer!" Riding Item 2 down, she approached the first combatant, a hefty orange and green robot with numerous other colors as highlights. He had a heavy duty fan built into each shoulder and one as a buster on his left arm. His helmet structure was somewhat reminiscent of a knight's, but with a topknot. Only his blue eyes were visible beneath. "What can you tell us about yourself?" "I am Wind Man," the robot replied easily. "My weapons design is, admittedly, mostly defensive, designed to keep enemies and their projectiles away, as well as blow their projectiles back into them. The energy focused into my turbines can even partially redirect plasma blasts." "That's impressive!" X-P0N3 praised. "But what else can you do?" "Should combat close to melee range, I am heavily armored and have high physical strength, as well as being very difficult to move," Wind Man continued. "While I am not that fast, I feel my capabilities more than make up for it." "Don't you think it's a little overconfident to announce your capabilities to this extent before the match?" X-P0N3 inquired. "It makes the match more interesting," Wind Man replied confidently. "A noble if foolish sentiment!" the other robot shouted from his side of the arena, deliberately pitching his voice so everyone could hear him. This one closely resembled a humanoid skunk, colored black and dark brown and covered with thick fur, with two white stripes running from the top of his head all the way down to the tip of his tail. "However, I need no such advantage in combat, so I shall oblige! I am Skunk Man, future King of Robot Kind! My invincible arsenal of Breeze Grenades loft lightly in the air before bursting upon my foes, a chemical cloud of stench that no body - man or machine - can handle it without experiencing a total collapse!" He proceeded to laugh confidently. "My lightweight and speedy build will run circles around your hefty frame, and my power will crush you!" X-P0N3 stared at him for a time. "So...you're light weight, and your full arsenal is lightweight explosives?" "This fight will be over in the blink of an eye!" Skunk Man proclaimed as he cackled. X-P0N3 rolled her eyes and glanced apologetically at the audience. "So much for a long fight, huh?" she told the audience before turning back to Wind Man. "Take your time with the next guy, alright?" "Certainly!" Wind Man agreed as the audience burst into laughter and Skunk Man leapt into a mad jig of fury. "You shall pay for your disparagement of me, tiny pony!" Wind Man clambered into the arena as Skunk Man flipped through the air to land lightly on his feet. X-P0N3 raised her hoof. "Ready...FIGHT!" Skunk Man immediately began running circles around Wind Man, showing off his speed. "You couldn't hit me if you tried!" Skunk Man proclaimed eagerly. "I don't have to," Wind Man stated blandly as he activated his shoulder fans, not bothering to turn and aiming them down towards the ground. The intense blasts of air blew Skunk Man right off his feet to slam into the ring boundary. "So you can think!" Skunk Man proclaimed as he climbed back to his feet. "But it will do you no good!" He hurled a sloshing balloon. "Taste my Breeze Grenade!" Wind Man tilted himself upward and once more put his shoulder fans on full blast. The wind blew the 'grenade' off course, slamming into the boundary surrounding the arena where it burst, the chemical cloud filtering easily through the shield as a cloud of ungodly stench that floated towards the rapidly fleeing and screaming audience. X-P0N3 rubbed her chin. "Huh. Forgot to code the shields for chemicals..." "Ha ha ha!" Skunk Man proclaimed proudly. "My weapons trump even the vaunted technology of this arena! None dare to oppose me-" "Skunk Man has been disqualified for attacking the audience," Mr. X proclaimed bluntly from his box. "WHAT?" Skunk Man shouted, enraged. "This is impossible! Where in the rules-" "The First Law of Robotics," Mr. X stated bluntly. "I will not stand for this!" Skunk Man screamed. "Then sit down," Wind Man instructed, lifting his buster and triggering it in reverse. The powerful suction pulled in the entire chemical cloud before it could reach anyone in the crowd. Cheers greeted this as he shut the fan off. "How'd you do that?" X-P0N3 asked eagerly. "My non-combat function is to purge pollutants and other contaminants from the air," Wind Man explained. "My homeland has great need of such services." X-P0N3 smiled as she pulled out her tablet. Ensure Wind Man survives the world takeover attempt, she wrote down. He will be most useful in Sky Lagoon should he choose to emigrate. "NO!" Skunk Man roared out, charging towards X-P0N3. "I will not have my victory stolen from me!" A quick blast of wind from Wind Man's shoulder turbines tripped Skunk Man up, sending him sliding forward to stop at Wind Man's feet. "You need to cool off," Wind Man stated, reaching forward. "So I'm going to show you why most Robot Masters aren't designed with tails." He grabbed hold of Skunk Man's tail. "Unhand me, you peasant!" Skunk Man screamed. "I am a God amongst robots, and I will not be manhandled by a-" Wind Man proceeded to smash Skunk Man into the floor on either side of him repeatedly until he stopped making noise, making sure the final impact left him on his back. Seeing the starry-eyes X-P0N3 was directing his way, Wind Man rolled his eyes as he jammed his buster into Skunk Man's mouth. I have to say it... "Puny god." With that said, he put his buster back into normal function, spraying the collected chemicals straight into Skunk Man's systems, shorting out his entire body. X-P0N3 clapped eagerly at the show before raising her hoof. "Winner...WIND MAN!"