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.
was that Count Shade Man Von Count?
7247055 Yes, Shade Man happened to be Count Von Count
Glad Shade Man didn't turn out like this
At first I thought this was more fitting:
But then I was all:
I guess Shade Man went down for the count.
I always thought it was "Ah ah ah!" not "A ha ha!"
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
Mitternacht makes for a great song for that.
As much as I love this chapter, I'm eagerly awaiting the showdown between Mega Man and Bass. And if anything, I kinda see it playing out like the end of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle with Mega Man and Bass racing/fighting each other down a crumbling highway.
... I'm not sure how I feel about the guy who introduced the Dark Chip mechanic doing a Count von Count impression, but it's still fairly interesting.
Why suddenly I think in "Sombra Oscura" from the calico videos...
Since Bass also has a variable weapons system, I wonder if he'll also have robot master powers.
Question: Isn't it supposed to be On in this case? If he was in the road why, he'd be... six feet under. Ah ha ha!
At least we knew both of them... had a laugh. Ah ha ha!
Guess Rock had a... spark of an idea there. Ah ha ha!
7247080 how about this? (using phone, so spare me.)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ManZPk6CSIs
Mitternacht. NICE!
That was one hell of a song. Thought it was Rammstein at first.
This chapter was indeed badass; Shade Man was one of my favorite Robot Masters in 7 next to Slash Man. Bass is on a different level.
That was hilarious
Next up: RACE THE WIND!
7247387 Three! Three bad puns! Ah ha ha!
And here is two! Two attempts at bad puns! Ah ha ha!
Without Mega Man, Rush... is not an adapter.
Rush, why is your namesake a subroutine? It's not hard!
Mixture of Hellsing and Sesame Street?
7247425
7247073
Seven! Seven mentions of Count Von Count! Ah ah ah, wait, that's not funny.
This is the first time I've found a Count von Count tribute annoying, Probably because he was trying to be annoying and it worked on Mega Man as well as me.
I'm guessing Mega Man won't be getting the Proto Shield like he could in the game???
7248056
How could he accomplish that?
7248111 You mean in the game????
7248160
Yes.
music pairing was perfect went beautifully with the chapter
7247799 ha
This is why you don't count your chickens until they hatch. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the great work. Deus tecum.
...The fact you made The Count from Sesame Street's personality into a psychotic and chilling rendition makes it even scarier...Also, by the gods was that a good song!...Can't believe how far Hellsing ultimate came from the original.
7249954
Actually, Hellsing Ultimate is a direct adaptation of the original manga. "Hellsing" is the version that was toned down for anime.
The Count? Huh. Fun.
I was expecting THIS.
Can you blame me?
7248193 I copied this from a walkthrough online on how to get Protoman's Shield.
First, go to ProtoMan's room in CloudMan's stage (right before the outdoor part before the boss, there will be a ladder. Use Rush to get to it). ProtoMan will comment about using weapons to find areas. Then go to ProtoMan's room in TurboMan's stage (this one is at the very top of the area with the traffic light platforms; go through the wall just before you reach the top of the ladder). He will mention something about the Super Adaptor.
After you go to these two rooms (doesn't matter with order you go to those), go to ShadeMan's stage. Continue like normal until you reach the Pumpkin mini-boss. Shoot the small orange core of the Pumpkin (NOT the eyes on the outside). After you defeat it, it will open a hole on the bottom. Go down until you reach the room with a lone green Sniper Joe. Defeat the Sniper Joe, and instead of going down the ladder, go right through a secret passage and enter the gate you find. If you did everything correctly, ProtoMan will challenge you to a duel.
Once you defeat ProtoMan, he will give you the ProtoShield. This can be used at the same time as the MegaBuster (don't forget to select it), and it will block many enemy shots (like those birds that hatch from the egg; let all of them run into the shield and they will die).
7249961 I was talking about animation quality wise, but thanks for trying to keep more people informed of the superior version.
Heh, I only ever saw the Count in YouTube I am way more familiar with the muppets. A Gonzo vampire would have been funnier.
I have to wonder, after defeating Shade Man, if Megaman was worried about being hit by lightning or something.
0:34-0:38
Seven Seven Megaman Games Ha ha ha
I was gonna say, the reality altered Shade Man was much better than the original in the lab haha.
still shocked how CREEPY you managed to make a robot with count count's personality to see, like he'd be pretty decent for a castlevania boss with the way you handled it.