As Mega Man drove and he heard the new music, he felt a chill run down his spine. He glanced around worriedly, wondering what would happen...and gasped as the sun literally dropped below the horizon. A Blood Moon rose to zenith as the world was plunged into night, not a single star shining. The flaps and screeches of innumerable bats filled the air, and a wolf-like howl echoed from the distant hills. He clung tight to Rush, trying to calm himself down.
Take it easy, Rock, he thought to himself as Rush turned on his high beams. It's just an effect. There aren't any real vampires, werewolves, or mummies out there. It's just a world drop for the Robot Master...who will probably fit right into this setting somehow-
A figure seemed to materialize in Rush's high beams as it lunged forward, striking Rush hard on the side of his head, causing the cycle to careen out of control and off the road. Mega Man barely held on as he struggled to keep from crashing, finally pulling the cycle to a halt. He then took a few breaths as he called up the memory file, taking the time to analyze the figure he'd seen.
It was definitely robotic, with how the bone white claws of its hand had clanged against Rush, but it had looked far more organic than any other Robot Master Vinyl or Wily had made. The dark purple figure had been hunched over on the road, crimson wings furled on its back. A long, whip like tail ended in a narrow spade-shaped blade which had, indeed, gouged Mega Man's left arm without him realizing it. His right hand went to the injury as he continued his review.
There had been three blue gems catching the light, one at each of the creature's ankles and one in the center of its emaciated torso. Its neck was long, with a truly demonic looking visage on its head. The eyes were sunken beneath a bone white mask, glimmering yellow like gimlets. Two horns rose up from its head, with large bat ears on either side of its head...and acidic saliva dripping from its fang-filled maw.
"That's 20, 20 seconds you cannot spare!" a grim voice echoed through the air. Mega Man lunged to the side, kicking Rush away as Shade Man slammed into the space they had just occupied. He winced as he felt that bladed tail slash his back. "A ha ha!" Lightning flashed in response to Shade Man's laugh, illuminating him ever so briefly.
"Rush, run!" Mega Man snapped out as he got to his feet, drawing his sword rather than his buster, since he couldn't see Shade Man clearly enough for ranged attacks. Immediately obedient, Rush reverted to canine form and raced away, seeking a place to hide. Before Mega Man could plan anything more, he heard another flurry of movement, followed by a startled whimpering yelp. "RUSH!"
"That's one, one combatant down!" Shade Man proclaimed. "A ha ha..."
"What'd you do to my dog?" Mega Man demanded angrily, rushing towards the voice, only to get backwinged against a large boulder.
"It's your own fault," Shade Man replied. "In a situation like this...you split up? That's one, one trope you shouldn't have followed! A ha ha..."
Mega Man growled deep in his throat. Shade Man was pissing him off. He needed some way to counteract Shade Man's advantage of darkness, especially since his alternate vision modes didn't work in this altered reality state.
Hearing something, he quickly lunged to the side, rolling. A loud impact struck the ground nearby, and he heard the lash of that tail striking stone.
"That's one, one of my attacks you've dodged! A ha ha..."
As the lightning flashed again, Mega Man managed to get a look at Rush. He wasn't as damaged as he'd feared. His primary power core had just been extracted from his chest compartment. Given Rush's modular design for all his various forms, he was actually designed for such a thing, so all Mega Man would have to do to fix him would be stick the power core back in. His systems would take care of the rest.
An idea began to occur to Mega Man. He needed light, and the lightning from Shade Man's laughs only provided him with a brief flash. Switching to Thunder Coil, he fired off several shots straight up into the clouds he now realized were gathered there.
"That' 20, 20 wasted shots that didn't even come near me!" Shade Man laughed. "A ha-yipe!" The lightning that flashed in response to his laugh was far brighter and continued to flash rapidly, a direct result of the extra charge Mega Man had filled the clouds with.
Having a clear sight of Shade Man, Mega Man acted on the rest of his plan. Lunging in, he froze Shade Man's tail tip with a Freeze Cracker shot before using Junk Shield to smash it to bits.
Shade Man flapped away as the charge of the clouds returned to normal. "Hmm...a clever assault...however, that was only two! Two damage you managed to do to me! A ha ha!"
As the lightning flashed again, Mega Man smirked. Shade Man hadn't noticed the actual goal of his attack. He knew none of those three weapons would be the Robot's weakness, and would do minimal damage. He'd accomplished what he wanted. Switching to Wild Coil, he began to charge it up, both in his limbs and his sword. "Your next attack will be your last!" he called out, keeping his eyes open.
Shade Man smirked. "I think not, Mega Man. I think my next attack...will be the last you see. That's one, one of us who is grossly overconfident! A ha ha!" As lightning flashed again, Shade Man swooped through the clouds, looping around before diving in for an attack.
Just before he hit, Mega Man unleashed the charge, backflipping over Shade Man before coming down, cutting his wings off before reversing the sword, driving it through Shade Man's chest, right through the central blue gem from behind.
Shade Man froze, feeling his energy rapidly drop. "One of us...was indeed...overconfident...how did you...track me?"
Smirking, Mega Man lifted up Shade Man's tail, showing him how the blade had been destroyed, leaving a sparking tip.
Shade Man stared at it for a time. "Well...that's one! One on me! A...ha...ha!" With his last laugh, lightning struck him, causing him to explode, his ethereal form bonding with Mega Man, granting him the Noise Crush weapon.
Sighing in relief, Mega Man walked over and restored Rush. "That's seven! Seven Robot Masters down! A ha-" He cut himself off. "Dammit, they're rubbing off on me!" With that said, Mega Man clambered back onto the Rush Cycle, riding off into the sunrise, hoping the next Robot Master wouldn't be as terrifying.