Triple M: Legend of the Chosen One

Episode 4, Act 1: "School Days..."

The weekday started off like any other day. Michael, Rachel and Rebecca went to Ultima’s Academy while Duke (whose face was miraculously repaired by the Professor) was back at his family’s farm as Chief Web Designer & Net Security Technician. Michael was on his lunch break and happened to be passing by the girl’s locker room when a flier caught his eye.

"1st Annual Double Team Hoverboard Scavenger Race this weekend at Booster Canyon. All couples welcome." He stared at the notice for a moment. "Grand prize is a three-day, two-night stay for four at the fabulous Rolas Resort in beautiful Helio Central." He stood there lost in thought. "If I remember correctly, it's supposed to be one of those five-star beach resorts." Michael looked at his watch. "I should tell the others about this. We never got to go to the beach because of what happened last weekend, so this should make it up to them." Michael was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't hear Zack coming from behind.

"Well, well. Thinking about entering the race?" he drawled.

"What's it to you, Powers?" Michael said brusquely, readying himself for the usual taunts.

"Do I sense a bit of hostility? Relax, I'm not here to pick a fight. I'm just here to wish you luck." Zack had a suspicious grin on his face.

"Uh..." Michael was a little taken back by the comment. "Thanks, I guess." Against all his core instincts, Michael took his eyes off of Zack and turned back toward the flier. A few seconds later, he felt his legs being swept from underneath him, causing him to fall forward. Unfortunately, Rachel was just coming out of the locker room at that exact moment. As expected, Michael's face implants itself in her...

"You pervert!" Michael knew it was coming and was determined that he wasn't going alone. The split-second before Rachel's fist connected, he aimed himself right into Zack's path. WHAM! As soon as he went airborne, to Zack's astonishment, Michael collided with Zack and they both ended up slamming into the far end of the hallway. Zack, who was not used to Rachel's attacks (he had never ticked her off while they were dating), winced at the dull pain in the back of his skull. Michael, however, cricked his neck back into position and calmly stood up.

"Shake it off, Powers. That's what you get for trying a cheap shot." And with that, Michael casually walked toward his next class.

...

"Are you serious?" Rebecca exclaimed. Michael was able to meet Duke and the others for a quick afternoon snack. "Helio Central is one of the leading areas in energy-efficient research on the planet. The entire area is pretty much solar-powered."

"I guess that's why it's near the equator." Duke chimed in. Rachel's eyes became glassed over in thought.

"I could get a major full-body tan over there." she said dreamily. Michael cleared his throat.

"Hate to break it to you, but the print says 'Double Team'." It took a few seconds for those words to process.

"You mean to tell me that to participate, you need a partner?" Rachel frowned. Everyone knew that out of their hoverboards, Michael's was the only one capable of holding more than one person. "But that means..."

"That means that Michael must be one of the people on the team. He’s the only one who knows how to operate it properly." Rebecca stated. "I know the mechanics of Rush, but I'm not any good at this type of competition. So, I guess I'm out."

"Same here." Duke agreed. "I mean if it were just a simple back and forth trip, sure. But racing is a whole different story. Which leaves..." Rachel's jaw dropped.

"Are you serious? I have to team up with this perv?" she exclaimed jerking a thumb toward Michael.

"Come on, Rach." Michael said. "Our plans of going to the beach were scrapped, so I figure that winning this race will make it up to you guys." Rachel pursed her lips in thought. The others could see that she was struggling between the thought of being alone with Michael and to actually be able to go to the beach. She gave a sigh of defeat as she nodded in agreement.

"Hold up, dude," Duke said. "What’s it mean that it’s a scavenger race?”

“It pretty much means you race through certain areas taking pictures of hidden landmarks to prove that you made it to checkpoints,” Rebecca explained.

"Alright, now that's settled," Michael said fired up with anticipation. "Let's get started!"

...

Over the next few days, Rebecca, Duke and the Professor were hard at work upgrading Rush in an area of the lab. In the training simulator, Michael was giving Rachel a crash course in the sport of hoverboard racing.

"Isn't there any safety harnesses besides those footholds?" Rachel complained. "Do I really have to hold onto you to keep from falling?"

"Look, I'm going to say this again," Michael repeated for the tenth time. "In double-team hoverboard racing, there's the navigator and there's the pilot. The pilot's job is to be in front and steer the hoverboard from obstacles and to keep an eye on the road. The navigator's job is to make sure that the pilot stays on course and keep an eye on the hoverboard's systems via holographic display. The hoverboard senses the rider's body position and angle and automatically adjusts to keep the riders upright. That's why if there are two riders, they must move as one unit or else the hoverboard's balancing system might crash in mid-flight.

"Since this is also a scavenger race as well, the navigator's job is to also keep an eye out for the landmarks. You'll be able to take pictures with this." Michael holds up what looked like a thin white headband. Instead of wearing it like an upside-down U, he placed it sideways so the center was resting on his ear. "Just press this," he says pushing a small button on the headset. Instantly a small rectangular screen with a red crosshair etched in the middle appeared in front of his left eye. "It'll automatically take the shot of whatever you're looking at, time code the picture, and store it in its memory bank.

"So basically it's just an extremely portable digital camera." Rachel summarizes.

"Pretty much." Rachel's face said that she wasn't really keen on the idea of being forced to hold onto Michael. Michael smiled. "Look, it's not like we haven't been together on a hoverboard before." Rachel's eyes widened in surprise. It was the first time that either of them had ever referenced that first meeting three years ago. There was an almost awkward silence.

"Michael?" she purred softly in an un-Rachel-like whisper. She looked deeply into his eyes.

"Yes, Rachel?" Something about her face slowly coming closer to his had Michael's heart beating faster.

"I..." Their lips were just inches away...

"Ahem." Duke had just come in. "I’m not interrupting anything am I?" Michael and Rachel looked away from each other in embarrassment.

"Er...what’s up, Duke?" Michael asked.

“Just wanted to tell you that Rush is ready to be unveiled.”

“It’s about time,” Rachel huffed impatiently with her usual swagger. She started for the door. Duke glanced at Michael and gave him a mischievous grin.

“Duke, what are...?” Michael asked as Duke slowly peeled off his glove. Then without warning, he slapped Rachel’s butt with it.

Her head whipped around at Michael. “Michael, you...”

"Duke!" Michael cried in astonishment. Rachel raised her fist. "Rach! It wasn't me!" Michael protested.

"You pervert!" KAPOW! Michael's body flew headfirst right into the wall. Rachel blew on her fist, turned on her heel and stomped away.

"What the hell was that for?!” Michael yelled. Duke shrugged.

“You two were about to get it on, right?” Michael looked at him, stunned. "I figured you two weren't ready for that yet."

 

Slightly strange episode that one was.

Hey, is this based on the first megaman with the real robots, or the one with Lan and Megaman on the internet, with cross-fusion?

If it is the first, this story is a new experience for me.

Now I have posted, quickly post another episode.

 

Episode 4, Act 2: "Grand Prix..."

(Note from author: I'm getting to that. But to answer your question, the first one.)

The guys joined the girls after Duke helped Michael pull his head out of the wall. Walking in, Michael noticed the hoverboard was covered with a white linen sheet. Rachel was already pestering Rebecca to show her early. Upon the boys’ arrival, she quickly fell silent.

"We spent the past few days working on it,†Rebecca said, “but it’s finally ready. Behold!†With a flourish of flair, she whipped off the cover to reveal…

“A robot dog?†Instead of the usual red metallic skyboard that they were used to, in its place was a cybernetic canine coated with full body armor. It was virtually hairless and sported a shiny crimson helmet. Michael was stunned. Rachel, however, gave a squeal of delight and started to snuggle the dog’s synthetic face.

"Oh, it's so cute!" she cooed. Michael crossed his arms and gave Rebecca a stern look.

“But, where’s my hoverboard?†In response, Rebecca smiled. She motioned for Rachel to back up.

“Rush,†she enunciated, “Jet Form.†Rush gave out a happy bark and before their very eyes, its legs and body twisted and changed positions until it became what looked like a dogsled.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!†Michael shouted in disbelief. “You transformed my board into a pet? What were you thinking?!â€

Rebecca kneeled down to pet Rush’s head, whose eyes rolled back in contentment. “Oh come on. You’ve got to admit that he’s adorable.â€

Michael turned to Duke. “And you actually went through with this?†Duke raised an eyebrow.

“Have you ever tried to talk Rebecca out of anything once she’s had her mind set on it?" Michael reluctantly shook his head. He stared at Rush, shocked that his hoverboard was now a sentient being.

“Other than the fact that we now have a new family member that probably needs to be housetrained,†Michael says, “what exactly does this version of Rush have that the old one didn’t?†Rebecca gave Rush the voice command to change back into its animal form.

“Well,†she starts as Rush starts to chase its tail, “for starters its navigation systems have been upgraded, its engines are more concise and Rush is now whisper-mode enabled. There's virtually no lag time in its reaction time and its auto-tracking capabilities are more precise." Michael looked down at the canine that was just starting to carefully sniff his butt.

“So all I gotta do is just say ‘Jet Form’ and it’ll change into its hoverboard form?†Rebecca nodded. “Does it have any other forms I should know about?â€

Duke removed his hat and brushed his sandy, straw-like hair. “We’re kinda still working on that part.â€

"What about its energy source?" Michael asks, shooing Rush away from his gluteus maximus.

"Runs completely on solar batteries. It's not unlike your body's own system."

"Interesting." Michael lets out a disappointed sigh. “Yeah, this is just great. I've got a mad scientist for a sister, a dog for a jet, and a jock who thinks he's a cowboy. The only thing that could surprise me now is seeing Rachel in a..." Rachel quickly grabbed the back of Michael's neck.

"I'm sorry, Michael." she said mock-sweetly. "What were you about to say?"

"I was going to say 'in a good mood,'" Michael gagged. "I swear." Rachel satisfied with the answer, released her death grip. "Well, it's getting late. I think we're set." Rebecca shook her head.

"Not quite." She reached into a compartment behind her and took out two small earpieces. "These are for the both of you." Michael and Rachel took them and looked at them curiously. "They'll allow you to communicate with each other and us, no matter where you might be."

"Kinda like old-fashioned walkie-talkies?" Michael asked. Duke and Rachel looked at him as if he was crazy.

"What are walkie-talkies?" Duke asked.

"They're ancient, wireless, mercury-canistered powered, antennae-protruding, communication devices that were in high use a millennia ago." Rebecca explained. “Of course, this was all before we invented the instant messaging systems.â€

"Oh," was all Duke could say. Rachel, however, seemed to be focused on something else.

"Hey, Michael? Can I talk to you for a sec?" Rachel motioned her head outside. Michael, curious, only nodded. As Michael and Rachel left the lab, Rebecca and Duke grinned at each other.

"You think she's going to admit it?" Duke asked. Rebecca shook her head.

"Not likely. But if I know those two, there's probably going to be some lovey-dovey stuff before Michael screws it up." Rush, who didn’t seem to mind being ignored, trotted toward its recharging station, jacked in, and went into hibernation mode. Night was already upon Ultima when Michael and Rachel headed outside.

"What's up, Rach?" Michael asked when they were finally alone. Rachel looked up at the full moon, hesitant about what she wanted to say. In the end, she just gave Michael a warm smile.

"I just want to wish us the best of luck tomorrow, that’s all." She starts to walk away but Michael grabs her shoulder.

"Come on, Rach. We've known each other for more than three years. Something's on your mind."

"Well, it's just..." Rachel's face was starting to redden with embarrassment. "Do you remember when we first met?"

Michael let out a snort of amusement. "How could I forget? I'm just glad that my towel didn't fall off."

"That first time we went on Rush, you asked me if I was going out with anyone and I told you I was."

Michael stared at her with a confused look on his face. "What's that have to do with anything?"

"I don't know. I guess what I'm getting at is..." Rachel started to stutter. Michael waited patiently, trying to decipher what was going through her mind. Finally she blurted out, "After we win, do you want to go out with me?" Michael froze in astonishment.

"Wha...but..." Michael stammered. "...I...hubbawha?"

"Not on a date,†she clarified, “but just to, you know, hang out?"

"Oh," Michael replied with a shrug. "Uh, yeah, sure. I don't see why not." Rachel looked relieved.

"Okay, cool." Rachel turned to leave.

"Hey, Rach?" She stopped in her tracks.

"Yeah?"

"About that promise..." Rachel got panicky all of a sudden.

"Um...I...I better get going."

"But..."

"I'll see you tomorrow morning." Before Michael could say anything else, Rachel ran out of sight.

Michael scratched his head, more bewildered than ever. "What was that all about?"

...

Booster Canyon was a plush little village residing within a carved out portion of a giant mesa. The area was surrounded by labyrinth-like chasms that stretched on for miles. Sections of the layout were scattered with the occasional non-rocky oasis. Victorian style houses were lined up from block to block. But all the real action was taking place near the outskirts of the town.

The starting point of the entire race began in a sports stadium, complete with giant viewing screens, sold-out seats and food vendors. The participants and their respective crews were in the middle of it all, preparing their boards through numerous systems checks. Michael and Rebecca had set up their communication station as close to the teleportation point as possible. Duke was busy installing last minute required components into Rush. Rebecca was carrying a clipboard going down the systems checklist and the rules. The race was about to start in thirty minutes and there was no sign of Rachel.

“Where’s Rachel?†Michael huffed impatiently. “She should’ve been here by now.â€

“Bro, relax,†Rebecca said. “She wants to win this as much as any of us.†She glanced toward the teleport point. “Speaking of which…†Rachel’s form seemed to materialize right before the group’s eyes.

“Sorry I’m late!†she apologized. “I had some things I needed to take care of.†She was wearing dark leather from head to toe. Tall boots that came up to her knees. Her long blond hair was tucked into a high leather collar. Good-bye preppy. Hello biker chick. Michael couldn’t help but stare. Rachel frowned.

“Quit gawking, Michael," she scolded. "You should be focusing on the race right now.†When Michael didn’t respond, she marched up to him and slammed him across the back of his head. “Get whatever perverted fantasies you’re having out of your head,†she scolded. “You’ve got more important things to think about.â€

“Yeah,†Duke shouted from beneath Rush. Like a mechanic, he was flat on his back looking at the underside of Rush’s systems. He slid out from underneath and stood up, wiping some sweat from his brow. “A few required components had to be put in before you could be cleared to race. First off, there’s an altitude locking system that’s going to prevent you from flying over obstacles, boundaries and the like. In other words, no flying. Second is the onboard tracking system that’ll allow us and the officials to see exactly where you are. If you're getting off course, we communicate with you through the headsets that Rebecca gave you last night. And finally, there's the new weapons module."

"Weapons module?" Rachel repeated.

"One of the rules of the race is that there's absolutely no handheld weapons of any kind allowed," Michael explained. "So I left my Laser Saber back at the lab. That means you've got to leave your weapon with these two. Other than that, anything goes." Rachel's eyes widened.

"You mean, we could get killed for this? Isn't that a little dangerous?"

Michael shrugged. "That's what makes hoverboard racing a dangerous sport. Minors under 15 years of age aren't allowed to own a competition style hoverboard. You need a good year or more experience before you even meet the requirements to race."

"And you're telling me we're supposed to do this all without safety equipment?"

"Like I said, that's what makes hoverboard racing..." Michael began. Rachel held up her hand to shush him.

"I get it, I get it," she mutters. "I can't believe we're actually going to go through with this." Rebecca looked up from her clipboard.

"It says here that the winners of this race will be whoever crosses the finish line after taking a photo of each checkpoint. There're four checkpoints, each one symbolizing an aspect of natural balance: Bluebell Wisp, Fire; Crystal Coral, Water; Sugar Clouds, Wind; and Hammerhead Obelisk, Earth. Take the shots as soon as you can, but make sure they're clear ones. If they're blurry, the picture doesn't count." At this point, Rush wakes up from its lazy stupor and starts to growl.

"What's up, Rush?" Michael asks curiously. The others look in the direction that Rush was baring its teeth. Across the field stood Zack Powers, who was giving the group his icy intimidating glare. On one side of him was a human-shaped figure completely shadowed with a black occult robe. On the other was what looked to be a shimmering purple wolf-like robot. "Don't tell me," Michael groans. As in response, the animal transformed itself into its hoverboard form.

"His name's Treble," Zack said with an amused expression plastered on his face. Without another word, Zack and his partner hop onto Treble and rode out of sight.

"No freakin' way," Michael says. "How is it that Zack has a robot hoverboard too?" Rebecca shook her head.

"He must have already had one." Her eyes narrowed. "Not surprising since he's filthy freakin' rich and all." Duke starts cracking his knuckles.

"Michael, Rachel. I've got three words for you: Layeth thy smackdown."

...

Minutes later, all the participants were at the starting line, doing any last minute maintenance. Michael and Rachel were making a final systems check.

"Energy canister levels are normal. Solar input normal. Jet propulsion system is charged." Michael mentally goes down the checklist. "Everything looks normal. But..." Rachel glanced at Michael's worried expression.

"Relax. Everything's going to be okay."

"Easy for you to say." Michael grumbled. "If anything comes flying our way, I'm the one who's going to get hit first."

Rachel patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry so much. Focus all that perverted energy you have into winning this race," she teased.

"Ha ha. Funny. You know, I should be the one comforting you. You're the one who didn't seem keen on the idea of leaving your weapon behind."

"I just feel so...so..." Rachel desperately searches for the word.

"'Naked?'" Michael suggests. She gives him a quizzical look.

"I was going to say 'vulnerable', but that's an interesting word to use too."

Michael gave a nervous laugh. "Sorry, I guess I'm more edgy than I thought."

"That's why we're here, bro!" Rebecca said over the earpiece. "We're your eye in the sky!"

"Trust us, dude," Duke added. "With us behind you, you've got nothing to worry about!"

"Why does that thought not comfort me?" Michael asked rhetorically.

"RACERS TO YOUR POSITIONS!" Michael and Rachel stepped onto Rush, making sure to keep an eye on Zack. Zack noticed them and gave them his sly grin. Rachel, as the navigator, wrapped her arms around Michael's abdomen.

"Michael? Have you been working out?" Rachel wondered as her hands made contact with his six-pack. Michael stiffened at the feeling.

"Um...y-yeah." he stuttered. Rachel smiled at his reaction.

"What's the matter?" she asked coyly. "You're not sensitive are you?"

"Uh...L-let's just say I'm not used to b-being felt up like this." Rachel giggled.

"Oh, I get it. You're getting all flustered because it’s been a while since a girl's actually been this close to you, huh?"

"Hey, you two!" Rebecca shouted over the communications line. "Quit flirting and get ready to jet!"

"RACERS READY?" The entire starting line was filled with the sounds of hoverboards activating their gravity repulsion systems. "Keep an eye on Zack for me, okay?" Michael asked Rachel.

"ON YOUR MARKS..."

"Don't worry, if he tries anything, you'll be the first to know." Rachel replies as her eyes narrowed. Zack's grin hadn't wavered yet. It was almost as if he had something planned.

"GET SET..."

Michael tensed with anticipation. "Let's Rock n' Roll."

"GO!"

 

Another one please.

Also my knowledge of Megaman's first generation is small, but I know in the Net-Navi one, Roll is someone else's Navi, not Lan's.

As it is obvious that Michael is Megaman, why does he have Roll in the training room?

 

Episode 4, Act 3: "Speed Demons..."

(Note from author: Alternate reality/time-line. That's how. :xp:)

The sides of the canyon were a brownish blur as the racers sped toward the first checkpoint. The walls opened up to reveal constantly erupting volcanoes and magma flows. The air was clouded with dry, musty ash and the sky itself was as red as a collapsing sun. "Really, what was I thinking?" Rachel complained as she and Michael skimmed across the burning lava deposits. "Why did I decide to wear leather in this sweltering heat?" Michael, who didn't like the heat either, sped as fast as Rush would allow.

Thanks to his years of experience, he was able to pilot the hoverboard with the greatest of ease. Many of the contestants behind them weren't so lucky. Many race officials and emergency teams had to quickly tend to many participants that didn't even get ten feet into the course without combusting into flames. Rachel was so busy complaining about the heat that she almost didn't catch the humongous magma boulder barreling toward them. "Quick! Pull left!" Michael didn't question her call and sharply angled the board. The boulder sailed safely out of harm's way. Unfortunately, it wasn't over yet. A few more equally daunting fireballs flew toward them.

"Damn, there’s too many of them!" Michael maneuvered Rush toward the incoming volley. “Rush, Activate Weapons Module!” Rush’s eyes flashed a neon green tint indicating that it was processing the instructions. After a few seconds, Rush’s mouth opened revealing a protruding cannon nozzle. “Rach, don’t worry about them! Concentrate on finding that landmark!” Michael fired a spread shot, blasting the firestorm out of the sky. But the onslaught kept on coming. "Where are all these bloody things coming from?" Michael yelled in frustration. He fired off a few more shots to give him some breathing room.

"Bad news, bro!" Rebecca spoke suddenly. "Someone’s hacked into the environmental controls!"

"What?! Wait, what do you mean environmental controls?” Michael exclaimed. “You mean that all of this is artificial?”

“In the area you’re in right now, only the erupting volcanoes are artificial. The heat, geysers and inactive volcanoes are real.”

“So what are you saying? Someone’s specifically targeting us?” Jet-streams of flame burst out of the charred ground in front of them almost taking them by surprise.

"Don't know, but that's why you're experiencing all that unexpected turbulence. Duke's just started working on a counter-program that might help. Whatever you do, don't stop for anything!"

"Not planning to!" Michael replies. "Rach, did you take the shot yet?"

Rachel’s eyes dart rapidly back and forth across the landscape. “I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be looking for!”

“Look for anything out of the ordinary, something out of place.”

"Um..." She quickly looked at the racing map display. "Maybe if we get a higher point of view, I’ll be able to find it from the sky!”

“We can’t! Rush can’t go any higher because the altitude’s locked in place, remember?”

“You don’t need to fly in order to get a different viewpoint." She pointed toward a black rocky formation slanted at an angle. "Gun it." Michael wasted no time speeding forward. It was when they were a few seconds away from the incline that he noticed what the formation really was.

"A geyser..." he whispered. The instant Rush hit the peak, a giant burst of flame shot out from underneath them. Michael and Rachel screamed as they were rocketed upward. Using their momentum, Michael gunned the jet propulsion system as hard as possible allowing Rush to glide through the air. “Do you see it now?”

Rachel’s eyes quickly scanned the area from the fresh point of view. A flash of blue caught her vision. "I think I see it!" she exclaimed. She activated her camera lens and zoomed in on the landmark. A small, white-hot flame flickered like a tongue out of the earth's gaping mouths among the normal orange-red fiery blazes. "Okay, I got it!"

"You sure?" Michael asked as they begun their descent. As Rachel double-checked, Rush started emitting a high-pitched whine. She accessed the holographic display panel and checked the system's diagnostics.

"The heat shields are at critical levels!" Rachel warned.

"Already? It's hasn't even been twenty minutes!"

"It must have been that blast that sent us flying! We need to get out of here, now!"

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Unfortunately, they made a splashdown in the middle of an active magma flow, depleting the shields even more. Worse, the flurry of hailstones began their attack again. "Where's the exit?"

Rachel rechecked the course map. "Five miles due east!"

"You mean past that active volcano?" Then he noticed that the closer they got, the thicker the onslaught became. "That volcano! That's the source of all those fireballs!" Michael’s body was tense with anticipation. “Do we really have to go through with this?”

"We've got no ch...AAAH!" Rachel's shoulder got nicked by a flying ember, leaving a severe burn mark along her skin.

"Rach!"

"I'm fine!” Rachel shouted as she winced in pain. ”Just go!" Rush's engine roared with power as it skimmed toward its destination.

"Come on, come on! Just a few more seconds..." Michael said through gritted teeth. The canine's whine gave a constant shrieking, indicating that its engine's overheating. Then it happened. A boulder the size of a 747 careened toward the group. "Damn! That thing's freakin' huge!"

"Rush," Rachel cried, "blast it!" Rush fired off a volley of plasma shots. The attack was just as effective as if they had thrown soap suds instead. There wasn't any room or time to maneuver.

"No choice," Michael whispered. He closed his eyes and flung his arms forward.

"Absolute Zero!" His fingertips went numb as an arctic blizzard shot itself from his hands, encasing the fireball in solid ice. “Let’s try this again!” Rush fired off another round of energy pellets, shattering their obstacle into pieces of ice shards.

Rachel looked at Michael curiously. “Are we allowed to do that?”

Michael shrugged. “To fight the artificial, fight back with the supernatural,” he replied. While his hands were still glowing blue, Michael gripped Rachel’s burned shoulder. The sudden sensation of cold on her bare skin caused a gasp to escape her lips. “Does that help?”

She massaged her deltoid, grateful that the wound no longer stung. "Yeah, thanks." A few seconds later, the scenery changed from the fiery pits back to the earthen canyon walls.

"One down, three to go."

...

"How's that anti-hacking program coming along Duke?" Rebecca asked. While Michael and Rachel were facing the aspect of being incinerated, Duke and Rebecca were doing all they could on the sidelines. The cowboy hacker stared at the screen lost in thought.

"Whoever's hacked into the system is no amateur, I'll give him that much." He typed as fast as he could; his fingers were a blur of motion. "From the way he's been playing all of this, this guy's had either government training or he's some type of prodigy." Duke’s eyes rapidly darted left and right like a typewriter.

"So, you can't stop him?" Duke flashed her a confident grin.

"Becky, you're talking to the guy who was able to hack the government’s computers and proved that Area 51 and the MIB existed. The punk's gonna get what's coming to him." Rebecca smacks him across the back of the head sending his sunglasses flying.

"I told you before, don't call me Becky." She grabbed her microphone. “Michael? You two okay?”

“Well, considering that we just almost got crushed by a meteor rock,” Michael said, “I think we’re all just hunky-dory.” Rebecca smiled ruefully.

“Whatever. Just so you know, there're only twenty teams left in the race.”

“How many started?”

“About two-hundred. Anyway, you’re almost to the next checkpoint. You’ll see it in the next couple of minutes. Just to warn you though, things might get a little wet...”

...

Rush crashed on the surface of the water with a big splash soaking them from head to toe.

"Great, now I'm wearing drenched leather,” Rachel complained. “This thing’s going to shrink like crazy." On hearing this, Michael turned his head to look at the state of Rachel's clothing. Rachel proceeded to slap Michael clear across the face. "Keep your eyes on the road, you idiot!"

"Sorry Rach,” Michael apologized. “Hey, Beca? How's Duke coming along?"

"He's giving it all he's got at the moment,” Rebecca said over the comm line. "Keep it up, though! You’re in second place!"

“What?" Rachel asked. “Is that even possible?”

“You think that the hacker’s helping us for some reason?” Michael inquired. Rachel’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.

“Either way, I don’t like the looks of this.” The only sounds that were audible to them were Rush’s engines and the constant crashing of waves underneath them. “What am I supposed to be looking for this time?” The area they were in now seemed almost straightforward. They were cruising along an ocean landscape that had pieces of multi-colored coral scattered around like a minefield.

“If I remember correctly, we’re supposed to be looking for a crystal-like coral.”

“It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack,” Rachel complained, “or at least a coral reef.” As Rachel strained her eyes for anything out of the ordinary, Michael became aware of something rapidly approaching their position.

“Rachel, do you hear...” Before he could finish his sentence, Michael felt something sharp graze his cheek. He instinctively got into a fighting stance, bracing for another attack. “What was that?” A few seconds later, another object struck him in the back of the head.

That’s when he saw his opponent: an bronze and gold-plated robot that had two sharp points protruding from his head forming a 'V'. What was more astonishing was the fact that it was running on the water's surface right beside them! “Not another robot!” he groaned.

“Ah, is that any way to greet your friendly, neighborhood Quick Man?” Quick Man pulled the 'V' off his head, multiplying them into numerous boomerangs. “Let’s see who fast you really are!” He flung his projectiles at the group. The razor-sharp weaponry sliced through almost anything in its path: Rush’s helmet, Michael’s hair, Rachel’s outfit...

"What is with you jerks and always ripping my clothes off?!" Rachel screamed. Michael pushed that comment to the back of his mind for later deliberation. He activated Rush’s side-cannons in the hope of being able to attack back.

“Rush, lock-on and fire!” Rush started its relentless attack at Quick Man, but attacking him was like attacking the speed force itself. He easily dodged the plasma fire without even losing any momentum.

"Oh, please. Is that all you've got?" The Robot Master sped across the water until he was directly in front of them. As Michael activated the front cannon, Quick Man started chucking boomerangs right into their path. The team couldn't get a clear shot due to the fact that they were busy ducking and dodging.

"Damn it, Michael!" Rachel raged. "Why'd you tell me to leave my whip behind? I could've wiped the floor with him by now!"

"He might be good at throwing things; let's see how good he is at close-range combat." Diverting all power to Rush's propulsion systems, he attempted to get close to their opponent. Soon, they were neck-to-neck. Rachel unlocked her footholds, grabbed Michael to steady herself, and swung a roundhouse kick at Quick Man denting the back of his cranium. Caught off guard, the machine almost stumbled but managed to stay on top of the water's surface.

"Not a bad shot for a human," Quick Man said. "Let's see how you deal with this." He throws a well-aimed boomerang directly toward Rush's steering mechanism. The projectile skimmed across the ocean's skin and lodged itself right into the underside of Rush, causing the poor canine to let out a yelp.

“Rush, what’s wrong?” Michael asks with a concerned expression on his face. That’s when he notices the steering wouldn’t respond to his commands. “Oh crap.”

"We should do this again sometime." Quick Man gives them a mock salute before speeding away out of sight. The group finds themselves barreling straight for a concentrated mass of coral.

“Let’s ram through it!” Rachel roared.

“Are you kidding me? The shields are still weak! At this speed and velocity, we’re going to blow up on impact!”

 

Yikes! Wow... Michael's not very smart.. in some cases it's really obvious Rachel will smack him upside the head if he does or says something.

 

Episode 4, Act 4: "Reaction Flux..."

"Michael, if we die because of this, I'm going to kill you!" Rachel screamed in his ear.

"Not what I wanted to hear right now." Rush’s steering and altitude were locked. They had no weapons or items on them. The shields needed time to recharge. And they were heading straight toward a massive field of corals that could probably destroy Rush on contact along with any other living thing in a five-mile radius. So Michael decided to go with the only option that came to mind. “Hang on! I’m going to try using Absolute Zero to steer us!â€

"Are you crazy?!" she shrieked. "It'll be a wall of ice that'll kill us if you try that now!"

“Michael, Rachel?†Rebecca’s tone was strangely unperturbed over the communication line. “Could you two keep it down? Duke’s having a hard time concentrating.â€

“How can you be so calm?! We can’t steer Rush and shields are still at critical levels!â€

Michael could almost envision Rebecca shaking her head impatiently. “Big brother, take a deep breath and repeat after me. Rush...â€

“What good will that do?â€

“Just do it. Say, ‘Rush...’â€

Michael rolled his eyes. “Alright, fine. Rush...â€

“Stop.†The sheer simplicity of the action had Michael mentally smacking himself.

“Stop?†he repeated. Rush activated its front propulsion jets, screeching to a complete stop inches from the coral reef. “You’ve got to be kidding me. That actually worked.â€

Rachel was just as stunned as Michael. She socked him in the shoulder. “You idiot! Why didn’t you just do that in the first place instead of panicking?â€

“Like you should talk. All you could think of was committing suicide!†Rachel crossed her arms and gave him an irate glare at the back of his head.

“Well excuse me for thinking when you obviously couldn’t.†Michael would’ve retorted with some other unwitty comeback, but decided to focus on the issue on hand.

“Okay, look. Can you reach the boomerang?†Rachel gets down on her knees, bends over the hoverboard and reaches for the anomalous object. Her fingertips just barely make contact.

“I can’t get it from this position. The only way I can think of to dislodge it is if we can get to solid ground.â€

“You know we can’t do that yet,†Michael argued. “We have to get the picture first,†Rachel sighed.

“It’s never easy is it? Now stop staring at my butt and help me up.â€

“What? I wasn’t...†he starts to protest.

“Kidding,†Rachel says as Michael helps her back to a standing position. “Just kidding. Anyway, any ideas? We’re wasting time as we speak.â€

“I’ve got a couple of ideas. For instance...†Michael crouches down and places his hands on Rush’s surface. “You might want to brace yourself,†he says with a devilish glint in his eye.

“You wouldn’t.†Michael ignores her and starts to concentrate on the new ability that he knew flowed within him. “Michael, I’m serious, don’t do it.†His body starts to radiate with a white-colored aura.

"Nimbus Wave!" The water burst underneath them sending Rush and its passengers skyrocketing. While in mid-air, Michael shouted "Rush, Beast Mode!" As the impaled canine transformed from hoverboard to its animal form, the boomerang disengaged from its location and sunk into the sea with a light splash. Rachel, who was not used to being blasted off her feet, took advantage of the situation and managed to spot and snapshot the landmark from her position. "Rush, Jet Form!" Rush quickly changed back to its hoverboard form allowing Michael and Rachel to land safely onboard. "Did you take the shot?" Michael asked.

She nodded with a determined look on her face. "I say we find that lousy hunk of metal and clobber him," Rachel growls slamming a fist into her palm.

"No need. It looks like he's the one who's coming to us." Michael pointed toward a fast-moving form rapidly approaching. “So, fight or flight?†Rachel tilted her head to the side.

“What do you think? After him.†The team sped toward Quick Man like an arrow toward its bull’s-eye.

“You slowpokes haven’t had enough yet?†the Robot Master mocked as the group loomed closer. He starts to reproduce a few boomerangs.

“You know, you idiots are really getting on my nerves,†Rachel snarls angrily. Michael, who agreed wholeheartedly, aims his arms at the water’s surface directly under Quick Man’s blurry footwork.

“Absolute Zero!†The ocean’s skin crystallized into a thick layer of frost. Without the necessary friction to stay upright, Quick Man started to slip and slide on the ice. “Rach, would you care to do the honors?†Michael asked while he steered Rush into position.

“Heyheyhey!†Quick Man yells, his limbs flailing about in a futile effort to stay balanced. Rachel blew on her fist and arched it back in brief preparedness. Rush and the group air-slides directly in front of their opponent as the helpless robot ended up right in the path of her fist.

KACHONG! Before Quick Man knew it, his head had been completely dismembered from his mechanical frame and was soaring out of sight. “I think that’s a new record for you,†Michael commented.

...

The next area involved shredding through the sky on almost invisible neon paths across a gaping chasm. But that was the least of Duke and Rebecca’s problems.

“What do you mean that you can’t get through?†Rebecca asked.

“I didn’t say I couldn’t get through." Duke was staring intently at his monitor, his eyebrows furrowed in thought. "What I said was that my counter-programs were able to negate any further hacking into the environmental controls, but our saboteur was able to block my attempts to trace his source and location." Rebecca reclines her chair, stretching out her back.

"So in other words he countered your counter?"

"Don't worry. Give me a few more minutes and I'll be able to come up with a counter-counter for his counter."

Rebecca rolls her eyes. "Whatever, Duke." She glances back at her screen displaying Rush's diagnostics information. "Rush's weapon energy tanks are almost completely depleted. It needs time to recharge."

"Well, that's not going to happen anytime soon," Duke says looking over the tracking system. "They're already past the third checkpoint already, but Rush had to divert all its power to staying afloat. At the rate they're going, they'll stay in the top three but only if Rush keeps going without resting."

"That's not good. Rush might overheat from the strain." Rebecca grabs the microphone. "Hey guys, ease up on Rush a bit. His power's starting to bottom out."
Instead of the usual confirmation that the message got through, all Rebecca heard was white noise in response. "Guys? Do you read me?" She tapped the mike and tried again, but to no avail. "Duke?"

Duke started to massage his temples in frustration. "I can't believe this! Our communication's been jammed!"

“What?! By who? You said the hacker couldn’t get through anymore!â€

“I said that he couldn’t tap into the environmental controls. I didn't have enough time to put up another firewall for our stuff.â€

Rebecca threw up her hands in exasperation. "That's just great," she says sarcastically. "Who knows what trouble those two could get into?"

...

"Beca? Come in!" Michael tapped his earpiece, but nothing happened. Michael, Rachel and Rush were finally at the last checkpoint and were now searching for the final landmark. "It's no good, someone's jamming the frequency." Rachel sighs.

“Guess all we can do now is to finish this race as soon as...†Before either of them could react, Michael felt his body being slammed off the hoverboard and into the canyon floor with a sickening thud.

"Michael!" Rachel started to force Rush into a U-turn. She almost didn’t notice the pile of rocks tumbling from above, stopping just in time avoiding being crushed. The avalanche reverberated throughout the canyon as it blocked Rush’s path, sealing Michael in on his own. When the dust cleared, Rachel found herself facing a dam made of boulders. “Rush, blast through it!†The vehicle attempted to send out a plasma shot, but all that came out were yellow sparks. Confused, Rachel checked the diagnostics and was shocked to discover that Rush’s weaponry was completely drained. Without warning, Rush dumped Rachel off of its back, automatically returned to its animal form, and immediately collapsed.

“Crud. I should’ve been keeping a closer eye on you.†All Rachel could do now was wait for Rush to recharge its solar energy reserves and pray that Michael wasn’t in any dilemma of his own.

...

Michael painfully lifted his head to get a look at his attacker. Humanoid in form, its knees were bent backward like horse's legs and it had a canine-looking head. Instead of fingers, its digits were replaced with sharp, lethal claws. Michael struggled to his feet.

"An Anubis? Boy, talk about your mythical creatures."

"I...am...Verocity..." the creature said in a slow, clunky voice. Michael shook his head.

"'Verocity'? What, they couldn't give you an original name?" Again, faster than Michael could react, Verocity became a huge blur, tossing Michael into the air and ramming him into the canyon wall. The creature then proceeded pounding the young adult’s body; its lightning-fast kicks were a motionless haze; every passing second came numerous heavy blows to the ribcage. It finished off the combo with a gigantic slash to the face, knocking Michael down. Michael was stunned to see that he was actually bleeding. He never got damaged enough to bleed before.

"Alright, you asked for it!" Michael shouted. He channeled his growing fury and rage into his next attack.

"Absolute Zero!" Ice and snow started to form on his fingertips, but to his surprise, the attack immediately fizzled out. Verocity let out a sluggish chuckle.

“Fool...Elemental...drained...†With a blood-curdling howl, it quickly closed the distance between them and grabbed Michael by the throat, its claws barely impaling his neck arteries. Taking advantage of the close range, Michael started to focus on a Plasma Cannon Punch. Unfortunately, the effort was too time-consuming. The monster flung Michael over its shoulder and straight through a rock formation.

Running on adrenaline pumping through his system, Michael flipped himself back into standing position. Fists clenched, he charged at Verocity. As the two started another struggle, Michael fought with everything he could think of. His entire world became react and counter, react and counter. To the creature, though, it were as if they were fighting in bullet time; Michael's movements were as slow and predictable as if his limbs were moving through molasses. The entire fight was almost a mismatch. Frustration and weariness started to take its toll on the young warrior. Then came the fatal mistake.

Michael saw an opening in Verocity's defense and swung a Plasma Cannon Punch right for the midsection. In one swift movement the speedster used its razor claws to catch Michael's arm and...

SLASH! An unbearable pain shot through Michael's right forearm as it became disengaged from the rest of his body. The demon let out a victorious roar, sinking its claws through the boy's stomach. Michael lost his bearings, his vision blurred with blood and tears.

“Nimbus Wave!†he cried out instinctively. His body started to float upward, hopefully giving him enough time to regain his senses. Unfortunately, Verocity countered by using its speed and momentum to rebound off the canyon walls, tackling Michael in mid-air.

The next sensation Michael felt was his body slamming into the ground, followed by Verocity's claws piercing through his shoulders, effectively pinning him. Michael closed his eyes, searching for the fury, the adrenaline rush that usually would overtake him that he needed to win. But all he felt was complete exhaustion. Michael couldn't summon enough energy to struggle. Anyone else would've been screaming in agonizing pain, but not Michael. He gritted his teeth as he fought to stay conscious, but it was a losing battle. The earthen surface underneath was smeared as blood flowed from his stump of an arm.

'It can't end like this.' Michael could barely keep his thoughts together. 'Damn it, it can't end like this!' He was barely aware that Verocity was charging up its own attack. And with its claws still impaled through his body, there was no chance that it would miss. Michael braced himself.

"Reaction Flux!" Verocity's entire body vibrated rapidly. Michael finally yelled out of anguish as he felt his entire body vibrate as well. He could almost feel his very molecules losing its cohesive bonds and start to rip apart. He felt an overwhelming calm wash over him, the same feeling most people get when they know they're almost dead and there's no point in worrying about it. There was no point in denying it, he was dying. He saw a bright light engulf his vision. He closed his eyes as he prepared to finally cross into the afterlife...

 

Episode 4, Act 5: "Robot Wars..."

"Anything?" Duke and Rebecca were frantically trying to figure out how to unblock their frequency. Duke slammed his fist in frustration.

"Nothing! There's only one way to..."

CRASH! A crimson projectile came flying in out of nowhere, smashing through a window of their station. As it fell to the floor, it let out a hollow CLANG.

"What the hell is that?" Duke exclaimed. Rebecca picked it up and started rotating it in her hands. On closer inspection, the crimson object turned out to be a head of a robot. A yellow "V" was plastered straight in the middle of the forehead.

"Quick Man," she muttered. As Duke looked at her in curiosity, Rebecca reached carefully inside the hollow disembodied head. After a few moments, her hand came out holding an I.D. chip.

"What's that for?" Duke asked. "And more importantly, how the hell did this thing end up here?" Rebecca let out a snort of amusement. In response, Rebecca turned the head sideways and pointed to the unmistakable imprint of a fist embedded into the metal.

...

Rachel could hear all the commotion going on the other side of the boulder wall, but dared not say anything in case it might distract Michael. She could only imagine how the battle was faring, but it sounded like her hoverboard partner was losing.

"Figures," she thought to herself, "the dork can't do anything right." She crouched down to glance over Rush’s energy levels and let out a huff of impatience as the charger showed it was only at two percent. "Despite all of these upgrades, they should have at least put in a better charger." She stood back up, bored at the inactivity.

“Well, I can’t just stand here doing nothing. Maybe that landmark’s around here somewhere...â€

...

WEEEEOOOOOWEEEEEEEOOOOOOWEEEE

Verocity's head snapped up in shock as a strange, musical whistle pierced the air.

"Proto Crasher!" A blast of white-hot plasma energy streaked through the sky, landing front and center right in-between the monster's eyes. Verocity roared out in pain, instinctively removing his claws from Michael's shoulders.

"My...eyes..." The next thing Michael knew, he sensed his head being lifted and a cool, refreshing liquid flow into his throat.

"Don't know how this'll interact with your system, but..." Michael's body felt a slight energy boost, enough to stay conscious. He slowly opened his eyes attempting to focus on his rescuer. It looked like a human with a dented red and white crash helmet, but his face's synthetic skin was torn up revealing metal skeleton underneath. The eyes were completely enveloped by an opaque visor that had multiple cracks; a ripped yellow scarf hung around his neck and his right forearm appeared to be some type of handheld cannon. The entire body looked like it had been beaten through numerous encounters; flecks of red paint dotted the almost silver frame. In the being’s visible hand was a glowing blue can with a large “E†plastered on it.

Verocity shook its canine head and growled at the newcomer. "You...traitor..." The humanoid gently placed Michael's head down and stood to its full height.

"Hey, I never said I was on your side you Egyptian reject. Look, I'm grateful that he reactivated me, but I'll tell you what I told your so-called master: Take your world domination plan and shove it."

"You're...a...fool..."

"Takes one to..." Before he could finish the insult, the creature zipped straight at the cyborg, its claws ready to tear through its mechanical torso. The robot stood completely immobile at the incoming threat. Then at the last second, he punched his cannon's muzzle right into Verocity's overgrown schnoz. "Down, boy." The monster’s eyes widened in horror as the cannon charged to life.

KABLAM! The monster’s head was blown clean off, leaving a headless corpse that started disintegrating into ashes. “Pitiful. I can’t believe someone with your potential would have trouble with an underdog this weak.â€

Michael raised his head with great difficulty. "Wh...who are you?" was all he could say before he slipped back into unconsciousness. The robot looked back at Michael and sighed.

"You've got a long way to go, B.B." He turned around just in time to notice a rusty-red orb rise from the remains of Verocity.

"Weapon Copy System Initiating," came an electronic voice emitting from the robot's head.

The orb of light flew straight towards the humanoid. "Thanks, but it doesn't match my style." Before it could make contact, he whipped out a battered red and white shield deflecting the magic entity right toward Michael's unconscious body. During the usual flashing light show, the stranger started talking again. “I know you can hear me even in that comatose state, so I’m going to give you some much needed advice. First off, you’ve got to learn to stop fighting head-on. That strategy’s probably worked for a couple of fights, but that’s not going to cut it later. Secondly, stop wielding those damn powers of yours as if you’re all-powerful. Everything takes energy and if you don’t conserve them, you’re going to wind up powerless like you did.

“And finally,†the robot enunciated, “don’t let up your guard. Your very existence has caused a major imbalance in the timeline. That day your parents were murdered, you were supposed to die along with them. But you didn't, you survived. As long as both you and that I.D. chip in your head remain functioning, the Robot Masters and the Elementals that have been attacking are going to continue to come after you and your friends.†As the light finally faded, the stranger had returned the shield across his back and was now facing toward the boulder barrier. He charged his cannon again and fired off another plasma barrage, melting and incinerating the rocks.

The dust cleared to reveal Rachel, who was just about to blast through the rocks with a fully-charged Rush. She had realized that it took a few minutes for Rush to warm up its charger before it could start regaining energy. While she was waiting, she successfully found the last landmark. Her eyes widened as she saw the state of Michael’s beaten form.

“Oh my god,†she whispered. While Rachel stood in shock of seeing Michael’s beaten up body, the robot carefully picked Michael up and placed him gently on the hoverboard.

“Listen, we don’t have much time. The moment you get back to the lab, tell Rebecca to activate the SubCon Program Roll Control, Extension 727. Ask about the Robot Wars.†At Rachel’s confused look, he replied “Trust me, you’ll understand.†He pulled the battered shield out from behind him again. This time, he reached into a hidden compartment and produced what seemed to be a rolled-up bundle of golden cloth folded up inside itself. Rachel didn’t know what to think as he thrust the package into her hands. “Don’t ask questions. His predecessor wanted him to have this. Now move!†he ordered in a hurried voice. Before she could blink, the humanoid’s body shifted into a transparent pillar of light and rocketed into the sky with a BLOOPBLOOPBLOOP.

“...achel? Michael? Can you guys read me?†Rebecca’s voice rang out from the earpiece snapping Rachel out of her stupor. “Come on, you two! Answer!â€

“Rebecca?†Rachel let out a sigh of relief. “Man, it’s great to hear your voice. We’ve got a medical emergency here.†She propped her unconscious teammate against her to keep him from falling off, revved Rush up at maximum burn and started speeding toward the finish line as fast as she dared. “Michael was attacked while we were in radio silence.â€

“How bad is it?â€

Rachel glanced at the dry, crusty blood that was smeared over Michael’s blazer and shuddered. “Let’s just say it’s a good thing you specialize in artificial limbs.â€

After a few seconds of silence, Rebecca replied, “Alright, I’ve alerted the medical officials. The finish line’s only five minutes from your position. They’re standing by at the ready. FYI, Duke’s got all the systems back online and working properly.â€

“And the hacker?â€

“Disappeared without a trace. It’s as if he were never there.â€

“The guy’s good,†Duke added, “I’ll give him that much. If I had more time, I could’ve been able to identify our intruder.â€

“You could’ve, but we didn’t have a month,†Rebecca teased. While Duke and Rebecca started to get into another friendly verbal joust, Rachel slowly unwrapped the bundle of cloth that she was holding while Rush flew on auto-pilot.

To her amazement, the package was revealed to be a bright, gleaming sword. It was obviously ancient, but extremely taken good care of. The sword had a pure golden hilt encrusted with rubies and sapphires. The blade itself seemed to be made of a transparent metal with a silvery core in the middle.

“Wow,†she whispered, “this has got to be worth a lot more than Michael’s Mega Gem.â€

...

Later that evening, Rachel and Rebecca were back at the lab. Duke had to go back home due to family issues, but he asked to be kept updated on Michael’s condition. They had placed Michael’s body in a stasis chamber to prevent any more degeneration until Rebecca had time to create some new body parts for Michael. Unfortunately, even with her advanced knowledge of biotechnorganics, she didn’t know exactly how to create a new arm for Michael. The only person who knew was the Professor, but he was on a business trip and was going to be unreachable for an entire week. The girls put the race out of their minds and were now focusing on the baffling events that had just taken place. Rachel had told Rebecca everything she knew, but since she didn’t know anything that happened beyond the barrier, there wasn’t much to tell.

“So, let me get this straight,†Rebecca began as she examined the sword; “Some robot walks up to you carrying Michael’s body, tells you about some program that I’ve never heard of, then gives you a sword that seems to be worth millions and teleports out before you can say anything?â€

Rachel gave an impatient sigh. “I told you, unbelievable, but it happened. I thought you’d make more sense of the situation then I could.†Rebecca nodded, as if she were agreeing with her. Without another word, she placed the weapon down onto a table, headed straight to a control console and started to type some seemingly random stuff.

“I’m going to initiate some safeguards, just in case this SubCon program ends up unleashing a virus into the systems.†After a few minutes, Rebecca said, “Computer: Activate SubCon Program. Extension 727.†The girls were taken by surprise as the holographic simulator started to activate.

“Virtual uplink complete. SubCon Program: Roll Control online.†They cautiously entered the simulator’s doors, not sure of what to expect. The room was completely void of any artificial programs except a lone holographic entity standing with its back toward them. The figure turned to reveal a cute, blond teenage girl wearing a black blazer over a red dress. Her emerald-colored eyes met theirs. “Hi there!†she greeted enthusiastically; “We haven’t met face-to-face before, but it’s finally nice to meet you. I’m the Subliminal Consciousness Program, Roll Control.â€The two girls stood stunned and speechless. ‘If she were brunette and wore glasses, she could be Rebecca’s twin sister,’ Rachel thought.

Rebecca was the first to regain her composure. “What exactly are you?†she asked, peering over her specs.

“I’m an interactive avatar that resides in the I.D. chip located within Michael,†Roll explained without hesitation. “My main functions are to act as Michael’s subconscious, regulate certain special functions, and to retain the persona and memories of everything that happened since the I.D. chip was first activated.â€

“Wait a minute,†Rachel said slowly. “Are you saying you have access to Michael’s thoughts and memories right now?†Roll nodded politely. Rebecca had a mischievous grin on her face.

“Could you tell us what he really thinks about Rachel?†Rachel gave Rebecca an incredulously look.

Roll smiled. “Between us girls,†she said in a stage whisper, “he really likes checking out her...â€

“That’s not important right now!†Rachel interrupted whose face started to redden. “We’re supposed to be asking about the Robot Wars!â€

“Usually I wouldn’t be able to access that type of information in my data bank,†Roll said. “However, since you used the extension code, one of two things probably happened. One, you probably just guessed at a random number but that’s pretty unlikely since the only living person who knew about the SubCon program was Michael himself.â€
“And the other?†Rebecca inquired.

“No one’s supposed to know about the data stored in the I.D. chip except a select few. But only one person knows that specific code.â€

Rebecca crossed her arms with controlled patience. “And that would be?â€

“My eldest brother. How he survived an entire millennium is beyond my comprehension.â€

“Hold up. Your brother’s a robot?†Rachel asked. “Because let me tell you, he looked like he’s seen better days. Besides, I thought you were supposed to be a holographic program stored on the I.D. chip.â€

Roll shrugged. “Most of the data stored are memories that were copied and downloaded from the original robots of the era, including mine. But as a precaution, certain memories were blocked and repressed from being viewed. Some aspects of the Robot Wars weren’t supposed to be released to the general public.â€
“Whatever,†Rachel said impatiently. “History was never my forte, so could you give the abridged version?â€

“Either way, this might take a while.†Roll closed her eyes as she started to load her databanks into the holographic matrices. The environment around the trio started to shimmer and blur as the human girls waited with nervous anticipation. After a few minutes, Rachel and Rebecca found themselves standing in a laboratory not unlike the one outside the simulation. However there were major differences. The entire area wasn’t well organized. Instead of the artificial limbs that looked human, in their place were robotic-looking arms and legs that were scattered about. The calendar tacked on the wall stated that the year 20XX, with the X’s being smeared with some type of fluid making the digits unreadable. And in the center of all of this stood two men wearing lab coats, both looking in the mid-40s, streaks of gray already glaring against the fluorescent light. One had a thin, twisted mustache; his head was almost balding, but the hair sprang out wildly to the sides, giving him an insane appearance. His body looked extremely scrawny compared to the person beside him. The other man had an uncanny resemblance to Santa Claus, except instead of a Christmas suit; he wore a white lab coat. Wisdom seemed to radiate from his very presence. They were hunched over an operating table that was occupied by a humanoid form.

“The Robot Wars all began when two men were able to successfully create the first robot with near-human artificial intelligence,†Roll narrated. She pointed to the scrawny man. “This was Dr. Albert W. Wily. He specialized in robot design and architectural structure.†Then sotioned to the tall, rotund man. “And this was...â€

“Dr. Thomas Xavier Light,†Rebecca whispered with a stunned look on her face. Rachel looked at her in surprise.

“You know him?†Rebecca nodded slowly, turning to face Rachel.

“I should. That man’s my great-ancestor.â€

 

Can you answer one question please?

Will I be seeing a Mega-man Michael crossfuse type thing?

 

Episode 4, Act 6: "Blue Bomber..."

(Note from author: Eventually...but not with what I have written up at the present time. :cryinganime:)

“Hold on. Back up.” Rachel looked at Rebecca as if she had just belched the alphabet. “There's two things wrong with that statement. I may be ignorant when it comes to history, but I'm not totally stupid. First of all, I remember my professor mentioning that Dr. Light was a bachelor and never had kids. Second, how is it that your family name changed from Light to McMann?”

“I didn't believe it either at first, but then I did some digging. Turns out there was a sperm bank not that far from the city. So, the family might have been different, but we're still technically descendants.”

“Huh. Go figure.” As they watched the scientists go about their business, Rachel walked around the oblivious workers to get a better look at what they were working on. That's when she noticed an odd familiarity with the robot that was lying there. “Oh my god, it's him.”

Now it was Rebecca's turn to look at her funny. “What are you talking about?”

“That robot they're working on,” Rachel said, pointing toward the metallic humanoid. “There's no mistake; that's the robot that I met at Booster Canyon.”

“My oldest brother,” Roll said. “His name is...”

“Proto Man.” Dr. Light wiped the sweat off of his brow. “Our first achievement, Albert.”

“Meh heh heh,” Wily chuckled. “Finally, we’ll get the fame and the recognition we deserve, Tommy ol' boy.” Dr. Light looked at him sternly.

“I agree this'll be a breakthrough in science, but maybe we should run a few more tests before we reveal this to the public.” Dr. Wily, however, completely blew off the warning with a “Pfft.”

“That's always the trouble with you, Tommy; you're always too overly cautious. Come on, live for once!” Wily goaded. Dr. Light didn't look all that convinced.

“That's just it, though. The Independent Determination chip isn't fully perfected yet. It would be a mistake to go into mass production with a prototype like this. What if something goes wrong?”

“Look, Light,” Wily sneered, his fists clenched in annoyance, “I'm continuing the work whether you're in or out.” The scene starts shifting and swirling before the girls' eyes.

“Despite his instincts, Dr. Light agreed with Dr. Wily and started their work on the new robots,” Roll continued, “They soon were creating robots that would improve the human lifestyle, assigning them to specific areas that would be able to do increase the workforce tenfold. They made a total of eight robots, calling them 'Robot Masters'...”

“That's not true,” Rebecca interrupted. “All records of that era stated that there were only six Robot Masters that were created in that generation: Ice Man, Fire Man, Elec Man, Guts Man, Bomb Man, and Cut Man. The usual eight-robot generation series didn’t start until the year afterwards.” Rachel shook her head.

“And how exactly did you know that?”

Rebecca rolled her eyes. “It's kinda been in the history books for awhile now. You should pick up a book every now and then instead of flirting with Michael all the time.”

“Flirting?!” Rachel shouted angrily. “With that pervert? Of all the...”

Before Rachel started to go berserk, Roll cleared her throat, causing the blonde teenager to fall silent. “Well, what most people didn't know is that there were two others: Time Man and Oil Man,” she continued as if there was no interruption. “They weren't officially Robot Masters in the records due to the fact they were programmed to guard non-populated areas. But they were Robot Masters just the same.” The environment finally became sharp and vivid again. It was the exact same laboratory. There wasn't much difference other than the additions of new gadgets and appliances. Dr. Light was still hunched over the operating table, but instead of Proto Man, the space was being occupied by a different humanoid. Wily was nowhere to be found.

“After a few months, Dr. Light was able to create the Beta version of the I.D. chip which he promptly installed into the next robot that was built.” The humanoid looked almost like a regular teenage boy. Dark brown hair, smooth synthetic skin; if it weren’t for the absence of fingernails and fingerprints, it would be almost impossible to tell that he wasn't human. “This was my other brother, the so-called “Forgotten Hero” of legend.”
“He's kinda cute,” Rachel commented. Rebecca gave her a sidelong glance.

“You do know he's a robot, right?” Rebecca asked incredulously.

Rachel shrugged. “I call 'em like I see 'em. What's this guy's name?” she asked jerking her thumb toward the motionless body.

“His name is...” Roll began. But the instant the words were about to leave her vocal synthesizer, white noise blasted throughout the air causing Rachel and Rebecca to cover their ears. Furthermore, a mosaic technicolor box appeared over Roll's lips preventing the girls from seeing what she said. After a few seconds, the noise stopped and the box disappeared. As Rachel and Rebecca uncovered their ears, Roll gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry, it seems some type of restriction in my programming’s preventing me from directly telling you his name.” At their disappointed looks, she quickly added, “What I can tell you though is that his nickname was the 'Blue Bomber'.”

“'Blue Bomber'?” Rebecca repeated. “Who the heck came up with nickname?” However, Rachel seemed to take a slight interest in this information.

“'B. B.', he said,” Rachel muttered.

“Huh?”

“I couldn't see anything that was going on, but I distinctly remember Proto Man calling Michael 'B. B.' before he vanished. Why would he say something like that?”

Before they could give the matter some thought, the girls were interrupted by Dr. Wily's roar of anguish and rage. He stomped toward Dr. Light holding what appeared to be an electronic clipboard with digital writing glowing from its surface. “The daily news,” Roll explained as Rachel and Rebecca stared at the object curiously.

“Did you see the latest news?” Wily shoved the flat piece of metal right into Dr. Light’s face. “The media is declaring that you're the greatest robotic genius in the world today!”

“Well, that's wonderful!”

“Wonderful?” Dr. Wily shouted, his veins throbbing. “Haven't you noticed? All the stories and digital streaming are all about you! They don't even mention my contribution to the project!”

“I think it might have something to do with the fact that you had me take all the public interviews ever since you raved about some type of 'robot revolution' in the future.”

“I wasn't 'raving'; I was advertising! I figured if people saw me as an insane psychopath, people would be more interested in our creations! And besides,” Wily said, veins throbbing, “I'm right! These people are starting to depend on our robots too much. The I.D. chips we installed are supposed to cause the Robot Masters to evolve and adapt independently. If civilians start to take them for granted, the robots might start realizing that the human race is obsolete!”

“Even so, that was no excuse to start throwing eggs at city hall with polka-dotted boxer shorts on your head and your trousers dropped screaming 'You owe me for that cheesecake!'”

“Hey, that governor of ours stole my mud-pie cheesecake at the last banquet we attended! I demand to be reimbursed!”

Rebecca let out a snort of amusement. Rachel and Roll looked at her curiously. “Sorry,” she apologized still smirking, “but it does bring a hilarious thought to mind.”

Dr. Light threw up his hands in exasperation. “Oh, for crying out...What does that have to do with anything?”

“You know what?” Dr. Wily slammed the electronic news media in anger. “I'm sick of living like this. A genius like me shouldn't have to be mocked by those simple-minded fools. As of this day forward, I, Dr. Albert Washington Wily, vow to become the most-respected scientist in the entire world!”

“His middle name was 'Washington'?” Rachel asked rhetorically.

“That's nice,” Dr. Light said unperturbed, “now that we have that established, do you happen to know where my...”

“Don't you get it?! I'm done with the likes with you!” Dr. Wily sneered with an accusatory glare. “I'm going off on my own and there's nothing you can say that'll change my mind otherwise!” And with that, Wily marched out of the room and slammed the door. Dr. Light stared silently, wondering when he would ever see his former partner ever again.

Then Wily opened the door a crack and asked, “I don't suppose you have any spare cash for a cab?” The holographic surroundings started to fade and swirl again as the next segment of history started to load.

“And that's when events starting to take a turn for the worse. Every robot that was ever installed with the Alpha I.D. chip started to go rogue. A time-delayed virus started to corrupt the logic and ethic parameters within their systems and caused them to attack human society.”

“Even you?”

“Fortunately, Dr. Light was able to neutralize the virus within me before it did any serious damages. However, the others weren't so lucky. The Robot Masters' prime directive was overridden causing the domains they were programmed to watch over to become targets of destruction. Construction sites, oil fields, skyscrapers; they all became war zones. People were in a state of panic; security forces were overwhelmed by the sheer power and abilities that these Robot Masters wielded.
“Proto Man was the exception, though. Since he was the very first one installed with the I.D. chip, neither Dr. Light or Dr. Wily bothered to give him any instructions. With no primary directive, he ended up setting off on his own away from all the chaos to find his purpose in life.

“The public was desperate for a hero. The only A.I. robot that wasn't affected by the virus was my newly created brother. However, despite that he was the only one that was installed with the Beta version I.D. chip; he was only a housekeeping robot. Dr. Light spent the next few days upgrading and transforming him into what the community called a 'super fighting robot'. He was equipped with an arm cannon, armor and a 'Copy Ability' which would enable him to replicate any weapons of Robot Masters that he defeated.”

“That process kinda sounds similar to those orbs of light that Michael keeps absorbing,” Rebecca commented. “Every time he destroys one of those creatures that attack us, the orb happens to give him the attacks of whoever was destroyed. Maybe it's the I.D. chip that’s giving him that ability as well.”

Rachel nods in agreement. “I guess there's something in that thick skull of his that’s useful after all.”

“When he finally became battle-ready,” Roll continues, “he set off to defeat the Robot Masters and liberate the areas that were taken over. However, when he returned back to Dr. Light and showed him the data that he had acquired, it became evident that the virus was triggered by Dr. Wily.

“Armed with evidence that his former partner was responsible, Dr. Light took it upon himself for an explanation to the sabotage.” Their surroundings started to come back into focus again.

The group was now standing in a big office room that could've belonged to the CEO or president of a wealthy company. There was a spectacular window view of the city landscape. It was pretty clear by the skyline that they were at least 150 stories up.

“Now that he knew what he was up against, Dr. Light miraculously managed to hack his way through Wily's secret headquarters until they finally confronted each other face-to-face.”

Dr. Light walked into the room, his face expressionless. Wily sat behind his desk with his hands clasped together, a smug expression on his face. It seemed that he was expecting the unwelcome intruder.

“Albert, what's the meaning of this?” he asked calmly.

“Meh heh heh!” Wily cackled. “Tommy-boy, great to see you again. Can I offer you a drink? Something to eat? How about a quick death?”

Light shook his head, slightly amused. “Still playing the ol' insane nutsack persona, eh?”

“When you broke our partnership months ago, you lost the right to criticize me, Light!” Wily sneered.

Dr. Light wrinkled his forehead in confusion. “Uh, I thought you broke the partnership.”

“Shut up! Why are you here?”

The Santa look-alike leaned over the desk. “You know why I'm here,” he says staring Wily straight into the eyes. “I'm here to ask you to deactivate the virus that you implanted in the Robot Masters.” Wily leapt to his feet, his long mustache becoming frizzier. “Don’t bother to deny it. Only you would know the schematics of the technology. You were there when I developed them.”

“We developed them,” Wily corrected him, emphasizing the “we”.

Dr. Light shrugged. “Well, you walked away. I tried to give you a share.”

The mad scientist slammed his thick veined hands onto the table. “I went out on my own so my ideas wouldn’t be stolen by you! And I didn't need your charity!”

“We were friends, Albert. I never understood why you left.”

“You never understood me, period! You were always pretending to be nice and patient...and competent! Well, I'm sick of living in your smug shadow!”

Light raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I'm sorry, I never knew...”

“Enough with this!” Wily reached into his long white lab coat and pulled out a shiny-looking object. It didn't take any explanation from Roll to know what Dr. Wily was planning to do with it as he aimed its muzzle right between Dr. Light's calm eyes. “The only way to finally get the recognition I deserve is if my competition no longer exists!” Wily was about to pull the trigger when a giant explosion outside shook the room. “Wha...?”

Dr. Light smirked. “I believe that would be my equalizer taking apart your faulty security forces.” The doors burst open to reveal a humanoid in metallic blue armor, his arm cannon smoking from its constant use. Faster than he could react, the Blue Bomber fired a non-lethal blast that knocked Wily's weapon from his hand.

“The military's right behind me and should be making their way here in a minute. Ready to go, Dr. Light?” the robot asked calmly. Dr. Light nodded.

“Well, it's been a pleasure to see you again, Albert. I’ll be sure to ask them not to wrap that straitjacket too tight.”

The last thing the girls saw was military personnel handcuff a disheveled Dr. Wily and leading him toward the exit before the scene shifted back into its swirling time tunnel effect as the data was processed.

“Time passed. With each coming year, new enemies rose to the challenge into taking out the human race’s champion. Attackers like Bass, King and Duo were among the very few that almost succeeded. Look them up,” Roll added as Rachel opened her mouth to ask. “Each time it was found that Wily was behind the attacks despite the fact that every time he was defeated, he was thrown in prison only to escape a few days later.”

“Then that day came. While my brother and I were out on a mission, Dr. Wily’s forces stormed our home and brutally murdered Dr. Light before setting the entire building ablaze.” Roll let out a painful sigh. “It was extremely graphic and tragic. My brother never had any violent intentions toward humans, but Wily's blitzkrieg caused an override his core programming. Before I could stop him, he went off on his own in a vengeance mission to kill Wily himself.”
They were now standing in a gigantic warehouse-sized room. The remains of what looked like a domed alien-type craft lay in ruins. The blue armored robot was standing over a cowering Dr. Wily. From the sight, it looked like they had just missed a major battle. The scientist was on the ground, backing away panicky. He no longer had the smug, dominant look on his face that he usually had. Now his eyebrows and mustache were twitching in fear. “No! You can’t do this! Robots can't kill humans!” Wily cried. The Blue Bomber’s expression said otherwise.

“You murdered my father,” he growled quietly, “destroyed my home, tormented my friends and family, and have been nothing more than a cancerous sore to society." His arm cannon started screaming with the charge that was building up. He aimed. “Robot's can’t kill humans, but I'm more than just a robot.”

“But...” Wily's face changed from fear to arrogance as he realized something. “But if you kill me, how are you any different? You may think I'm insane and evil, but what is “evil” exactly? If I'm loyal to what you say is right, is that all it takes to make me “good”? You claim justice on your side, but destroying your own kind just to get to me? The I.D. chip was created to allow a robot to evolve and think on its own. Destroying each robot was like killing another life from having the opportunity to evolve, learn and adapt. Is that really justice, or is it evil? No one can truly draw the line between just and unjust, good and evil. My boy, kill me and then what? Your purpose would be gone and you'd become another insignificant piece of metal taking up space in this world.” The speech seemed to cause internal conflicts in the robot’s logic circuits, freezing him in his tracks and losing the charge in his cannon.

Unfortunately that moment of hesitation was all Wily needed. A dark, black robot wearing what looked like a wing-shaped crash helmet jumped out of nowhere and knocked the Beta chip wielder off his feet. “Bass...” was all the Blue Bomber could say.

“He who hesitates is lost,” Bass said simply. Before the blue robot could start up his weapon again, Bass grabbed Wily and teleported away in a purple pillar of light. The moment they disappeared, the entire castle started to shake violently.

“No! Get back here Wily!” he raged, oblivious to the destruction around him. Leaping out of the shadows, Proto Man landed behind the angry android, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“There's nothing more you can do!” Proto Man shouted over the increasing din. “Wily activated the self-destruct countdown! If you stay here, you're going to end up scrap metal!” The Blue Bomber knocked Proto Man’s arm away as he whirled to face him.

“What's the point?! Wily's gone, my home's in ruins and our father's been psychotically murdered! There's no reason I should even exist anymore.” Proto Man stood silent for a moment before thwacking the robot with his shield across the head.

“You idiot! You still have family who needs you! Humans depend on you to protect them! You're the only one that has ever stood up to Dr. Wily and survived! And you’re choosing now of all times to start doubting yourself? Are you going to throw all of your accomplishments away just because of what some butt-munch says?” As the girls watched, B. B. stood up and without another word, teleported himself outside. The scene swiftly changed to the outside, leaving the fate of Proto Man to their imaginations. They were now standing on a rocky cliff, miles away from the explosions.

The Blue Bomber stared at the remains of Wily’s fortress from the distance. Retinal cleanser fluid started to leak out of his artificial eyes. He fell to his knees, his entire life’s battle all for nothing. Looking to the sky, he screamed, “DAMN YOU, WILY!”

“After that day, Bass, Wily and Proto Man were never seen since,” Roll continued sadly. “Unfortunately with the disappearance of Wily, the Robot Rebellion broke out. Robots started to create robots, installing copies of the faulty I.D. chip. They in turn turned on the human population, slaughtering many. The human population dwindled down into the low millions. It became a dark time indeed.”
Now Rachel and Rebecca found themselves standing in the middle of a barren street. Ruined buildings towered over them casting dark, hovering shadows from above. The sky was blood-red and the sun seemed to be perched on the horizon, its rays seemed hazy and had an aura of unwelcome discomfort. “The surviving humans were forced to live underground. My brother and I had nowhere else to go, so we were invited to help defend them from the opposing forces. Years went by in an instant. I was forced to constantly transfer my entire consciousness into a new updated body with every passing century in order to keep up with him. We ended up forming a liberation group called the Maverick Hunters. Robots that were liberated from the virus joined willingly. One of them was Zero.”
A robot with wearing red and white armor and a torso-length ponytail stood before them, oblivious to their presence. He was carrying a neon-green sword that seemed remarkably similar to Michael’s Laser Saber. It looked like he had just finished slicing apart some enemy droids. “No one knew where he came from, but he eventually became my brother’s best friend and closest ally. I know he’s a little girly looking with the ponytail but trust me, this guy was good. Really good.”
"That's an interesting sword he's wielding," Rebecca commented. Roll smiled.

"A 'Zero Saber' we called it. It's known as one of the most powerful artifacts on the planet."

"'Artifacts?'"

"After the Robot Wars, certain weapons, armor and accessories disappeared without a trace. They were rumored to be hidden away in storage somewhere in case another war broke out."

The scene shifted again. They were now standing in what looked like a night-time desert. There was no sun, but it was light enough for the girls to see. Rachel and Rebecca were shocked to find themselves surrounded by horrific-looking robots. Among them were Frost Man, Air Man and Quick Man. They were all clearly Robot Masters and they seemed to be grinning stupidly at them. Rachel looked down and was stunned to see the Blue Bomber on his knees, his armor dented and beat up; his free arm dismembered and half of his synthetic skin was ripped off his face. However, despite the fact that he was on the verge of being destroyed, he had a determined and fiery look in his eyes. 'That expression looks a lot like Michael's,' Rachel thought.

“As much as I hate to admit it,” Roll muttered, blushing slightly, “I was lured out alone and stupidly walked into a trap, causing me to become a hostage. Zero had been taken out of commission weeks earlier and was in the process of being rebuilt. Proto Man hadn't been seen for centuries. None of the other warrior robots were strong enough power-wise. So, my brother decided to go off to rescue me on his own. And therein lay the most fatal mistake he could ever make.

“Every Robot Master that was ever created was resurrected for one final attempt to terminate him. The odds were 100 to 1, but he fought anyway. In the last few minutes he was functioning, he uploaded all of his data and memories into a remote terminal before initiating his self-destruct.” Roll looked like she was about to cry from the memory. “It was a terrible sight, sacrificing himself for the rest of the human race. I almost wish I could delete the entire ordeal from my memories. But he made me promise to recreate the Beta I.D. chip, download all of his data into it and give it to someone in the immediate family, someone I could trust. So, with the human populace finally left alone to repopulate the world, I set out to find Dr. Light’s closest blood relative.

“After explaining the situation, I was accepted as guardian of the family who I protected as long as I could function. In the last few minutes before my data became fully corrupt and inoperable, I downloaded all my memories into the I.D. chip as well and handed over the last known remaining piece of an era that was long forgotten. Then my program remained in hibernation until the installation of the I.D. chip into Michael reactivated me.”

“The human population was finally able to move out of underground and started to slowly rebuild their cities again,” Rebecca concluded. “That would explain why we live in the society we live in today. But it doesn’t explain why with all that technology back then, why is it that we’re no more advanced than you were in that era?”

“What you probably didn't know is that after the fallout of the era, technology started to regress,” Roll explained. “With very few scientific minds left, discoveries that people once took advantage of had to be recreated all over again. Most of today’s machinery aren’t as current as you might think.”

“What do you mean?”

“Take the teleportation system for example. Back in our era the machinery was pretty common. The only real difference was that only robots and machinery were the only objects stable enough in order to survive the transition. Anything organic would usually end up in a comatose state or become completely obliterated in the process.”

“So in other words...”

“In other words, the world is basically going through a 'Re-industrial Revolution'. The only difference between now and then is that since both science and magic coexist (even though 98% of the global population still don't believe in magic's existence), technology's growth rate has been increasing more dramatically than a thousand years ago.”

“Yeah, kinda too bad that even after all this time, we still don’t have hovercars,” Rachel said. “Hoverboards, maybe, but no hovercars.” Then her watch alarm tone started to play. She looked down in amazement. “Shoot! Is it that time already? I almost forgot all about it.” She winked at Roll. “I'm sorry about this, but we’ve got to leave.”

Rebecca looked at her own watch. Her eyebrows raised in shock. “You're right! I almost forgot we had a self-defense class today!”

Roll smiled. “I understand completely. However, there’s one last thing before you go.” Rachel and Rebecca gave Roll their undivided attention. “Could you promise not to tell Michael that you know about me? He’d probably freak out if he knew you had access to his head.”
Rachel nodded in agreement and waved goodbye to Roll as she headed toward the exit. “Thanks for the info and all, but it's probably not going to sink in until later. Anyway, I'll meet you there, Rebecca. Nice meeting you, Roll!” she says with flourish of her naturally blond hair, leaving Roll and Rebecca alone.

“If there's anything else you need to know, just ask,” Roll says, smiling.

Rebecca grinned back. “Thanks for the offer, Roll. But I'll have to take a rain check. I still have to figure out how to...” A thought occurred within an instant. “Actually...”

“Yes?”

“I don't suppose you have any schematics on that arm cannon your brother had?”

“It's called a 'Rock Buster',” Roll clarified.

“A 'Rock Buster'? Let me guess,” Rebecca said in a weary, semi-sarcastic voice, “it was originally created to bust rocks.”

Roll shook her head. “To be honest, it was named after him.”

“Named after...” Rebecca repeated. “Wait a minute. I thought you couldn’t say his name.”

“At the moment, my programming won’t allow me to say his name directly. Doesn't mean I can't hint toward it.”

Rebecca rolled her eyes. “Okay, whatever. Anyhow, could you please upload it into the database?”

After a few seconds, Roll stated, “Upload successful. But you’re not seriously planning on attaching a mechanical arm to him, are you? I don't think it’d be compatible...”

Rebecca had a twinkle in her eye as she said, “It's like you said before, technology might be similar to back then, but there have been upgrades since. When it comes to integrating biology with technology,” she said giving her an astute wink, “it's what I was born to do.”

 

What is the Doc doing? It seems as if Rebecca has taken his place.

 

Episode 5, Act 1: "Upgrades..."

(Note from author: He's got his own life outside of the viewpoint. What he's doing at the moment isn't important.)

“Your majesty! Your majesty! It’s terrible!”

“Wait, wait! Slow down, squire! What’s happened?”

“I was on my way to Sir Thomas’ safe house as you ordered, but when I got there...Oh, the horror! The entire village was in flames! Creatures from outside the realm have broken through our barrier, killing and slaughtering many of our people! The royal guards did everything they could, but their powers were too strong! Our efforts were futile and useless. All we could do was wait until they left before searching for the survivors.”

“You’ve done a body count?”

“Yes sire. Sir Thomas' family is no more...”

“I was afraid of this. How could we have been so careless? Hiding them in plain sight seemed such a good plan, but I never expected outside forces to interfere. The warrior’s bloodline was supposed to last until the foretold crisis. Without a champion, I’m afraid that our very reality is in jeopardy. And now with all of the descendants dead...”

“...‘Cept one.”

“What?! Who? We might still have a chance!”

“My liege, ‘tis the princess’ chosen.”

“The child? He survived?”

“However, the entire royal fleet cannot find him anywhere. The royal court is consulting the oracle, but all she’ll reply is that “Destiny’s Force has finally set fate into motion.” What it means, I do not know.”

“Heh heh. That’s the difference between you and me.”

“Sire?”

“I didn’t end up king by being ignorant. Destiny’s Force is the ultimate weapon of legend. But it can only be obtained by combining the Trinity Blades of Reality: Calibur X, the Blade of the Warrior; Spiritual Light, the Blade of Holiness; and Elemental, the Blade of Ultima.”

"Forgive my ignorance, but what does that mean?"

"It means that the child has left the realm into the outside world. For what purpose, I haven't the foggiest. But, mark my words, he will return in due time."

“Your majesty, what about the princess?”

“Tell her...that she is still to marry at 21, whether the chosen one returns or not...”

...

“What? Why is it so dark? Where am I?”

You were never supposed to exist...

“Huh? Who said that?”

Only a chosen few can wield the Elementals...

“Elementals? Wait, what are you talking about?”

Light shines within you. Not just your heart, but in your soul...

“Okay, creepy voice. Whatever you say.”

You cannot begin to understand what fate has in store for you...

“If that’s the case, could you stop with the enigma thing and tell me already?”

As long as you exist, the Robot Masters and the Elementals incarnate will continue to cross your path until you send them back whence they came or they destroy your very being...

“At least that made sense. Anything else?”

Before you return to the realm of light, remember this: At the final crossroad, you must choose between the life you live now or the life destiny has chosen...

“What? Wait a min...”

...

After much trial and error, Rebecca was finally able to create a new forearm for Michael. Attaching it was pretty easy for her. Michael was now laying on the operating table recovering, but still unconscious. Rebecca was busy studying the sword in a far-off corner of the lab.

Deep molecule scans showed that the hilt was made of pure gold, encrusted with ruby and sapphires. The blade was composed of titanium alloy while the core itself was a composition of adamantium and vibranium. The entire length of the sword was covered with an almost invisible layer of coating that would allow the weapon to withstand virtually any temperature or weather condition and still retain its shape and strength. Other than the high value of the sword, the only thing worth of interest were the words “Titanium X” engraved at the bottom of the hilt.

While Michael was still asleep, Rebecca managed to make a few improvements to her portable data analyzer as well. Using the data from the I.D. chips that she acquired, she was able to include the function of automatically detecting Robot Masters. And as an added bonus, she had the watch custom made to have a cute chibi-monkey face on the front and dubbed her new creation "Data". Michael let out an involuntary groan, causing Rebecca to jump.

"Hey! You're finally awake!" Michael sat up and took a deep breath.

"How long was I out?" Michael asked.

"It's been almost a week." His eyes widened.

"A week! What about..."

"School? Don't worry about it. You've been given an excused leave of absence."

"Huh? Why?"

"Turns out the headmaster had a side bet going on with the leading members of other foreign academies. He bet that the winners would be students enrolled in his jurisdiction," she said smiling. It took a few seconds for him to realize...

"You mean, we won?" Rebecca nodded. Then he remembered. "Where's Rachel?" Rebecca's smile faded as she turned back toward her research table.

"She's been here every day waiting for you to wake up. She's been worried about you." Michael was stunned.

"Really?" He pursed his lips together in thought. "What exactly happened?" Rebecca lifted Michael's Titanium X and peered at it closely as she gave him a rundown of the events that had happened and the information that they had learned, casually avoiding the fact that she and Rachel had gotten most of it from Roll.

Michael nodded with interest. Suddenly he asked, “What about Zack?”

“Huh?” Rebecca took a few seconds to realize what Michael was talking about.

He raised an eyebrow. “You guys did keep an eye on him, right?”

Rebecca smiled sheepishly. “Um, yeah. Sorry, we kind of forgot all about him when the whole hacking thing started. Then there was the whole deal of you almost dying and all...”

Michael cricked his neck a few times with his left arm before realizing the sudden absence of weight in his right. He intently stared at his right palm before slowly turning it to the back.

“Hey, I distinctly remember my arm being cut off. Did you...”

“I was able to find weapon schematics and...” She stopped mid-sentence. “You know, I think it’s better if you see for yourself. Try charging a Plasma Cannon Punch.”

Michael didn’t know what to expect as he closed his eyes and started focusing his energy into his new attachment. As he clenched his fist, the new attachment burst open, blue metallic half-pipes the length of his forearm encased his entire limb inside an arm cannon. “The hell?!” Michael exclaimed panicking.

Rebecca giggled at his reaction. “Relax, bro. I took the liberty of giving your arm an upgrade.”

Michael, no longer shocked, wiggled his fingers within the cannon. “Even though I know this hand is artificial, it’s still hard to believe that I even lost my arm at all.” He ran his left fingers over his right arm, amazed at the fact he still retained his sense of touch.

“Well, most of your body is technically artificial, so it shouldn’t feel all that different,” Rebecca responded as she placed the sword back onto the table.

“It does, though. If I had to describe it, this new arm is a whole lot lighter than my old one.” Scanning over the articulate detail, he noticed a dim-lighted rectangular strip of yellow along the side of the cannon.

“That’s an energy indicator showing the power of your charge,” she stated noticing what he was looking at. “Go ahead, try it.” Michael stared at his arm, concentrating on building up a charge. As he felt the energy start to flow into his fist, the yellow bar started to light up in increments. The longer he held his focus, the more the bar lit up until finally the entire cannon started to vibrate with contained energy.

“Okay, I got the charge. Now what?”

“You should have felt a trigger pop up within the cannon. Basically, when you want to fire the charge, just aim and pull. Simple as that.”

“But what if I want to lose the charge without firing it?”

“Just quickly extend your fingers outward.” Michael did so, causing the energy that had built up to drain out, the lit up display going dim again. "Since your fist is no longer exposed, the cannon can propel the energy that you charge instead of physically having to swing your punches."

"Does it do rapid fire?"

Rebecca nodded. "Every quick shot that you take is equivalent to one of your souped-up punches. You can rapid fire and all, but since they all drain your internal energy, you'll get tired faster. Charging up the cannon first before firing powers up your shot exponentially, but like I said, huge energy drain." Then she smiles. "On the other hand, your blast becomes this massive..."

"You didn't do this on both arms, did you?" Michael interrupts. "Because you know I'm usually a close-range fighter. I might want to ram my fist into something every now and then."

"Don't worry, you can still use your Plasma Cannon Punch with your left."

"Fine," Michael grumbled, "but it's going to take some getting used to. I usually swing with my right."

“Now try activating one of your powers.”

“Elementals.”

“Huh?”

“These powers are called Elementals,” he clarified.

Rebecca peered at him over her glasses with interest. “And how would you know something like that?”

“Uh...” A confused look washed over his face. “To be honest I have no idea. I just know.”

“Whatever, just activate it already.” As Michael switched his focus to building up Absolute Zero, the entire cannon’s color dissolved from its original metallic blue to crystallic ice blue. “I figure with the cannon, you’ll be able to aim your attacks better instead of firing wildly like it usually does,” Rebecca explained. Michael nodded in agreement as he released the charge, the cannon fading back into its original color.

“So how do you get this thing to disappear?” Michael asked, a twinge of worry struck his mind with the thought of carrying a gigantic barrel on his arm in public. Rebecca waved the question aside.

“Don’t worry about that. Just extend your palm out for a few seconds.” Michael complied and within a matter of moments, the cannon’s shell split open and disappeared within the arm’s compartment as quickly as it appeared.

“Not bad,” Michael said, obviously impressed. “So what’s with the sword?” he asked as he grabbed Titanium X off the table.

“Don’t know. According to Rachel, it’s yours.”

Michael’s eyes widened. “Mine?” He let out a snort of disbelief. “Yeah, right. I wish I did own a sword like this. It looks expensive to use, though.”

Rebecca shrugged. “Believe it or not, it’s yours to use.”

“Yeah, I can see it now. Being stopped at every security checkpoint because I’m lugging this ol’ thing around,” he replied sarcastically. He twirled the sword around in his hands, getting a feel for the weapon. “I’m impressed, though. This thing has a good balance between being light with agility and heavy with brute force. Whoever created this knew what they were doing.”

“Can’t say I’m that familiar with swords, so I’ll take your word for it.” Michael grabbed his Laser Saber that was lying on a nearby table and started wildly swinging both swords together in unison. “Hey, watch it!” Rebecca shouted as the Laser Saber barely nicked her glasses.

“Hey, question,” Michael says as his arms stop their whirlwind flourishes. “This arm cannon isn’t going to interfere with any of my sword attacks, will it?”

Rebecca nodded. “I thought of that. I installed the safety feature allowing the ‘Rock Buster’ to sense if you’re holding something preventing it from activating.”

“Wait, ‘Rock Buster’?” Michael shook his head as he placed the swords back on the table. “That name’s kinda lame.”

She crossed her arms in impatience. “Alright, smart guy. What would you call it?”

Michael stared at his arm, the cannon safely hidden from view within. Smiling, he replied, “I think ‘Mega Buster’ sounds a whole lot cooler.”

Rebecca rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah, that’s a whole lot better. You know, I could’ve just left you with a bleeding stump.”

Michael starts to retort, but ends up letting out a sigh and nods in agreement. “You’re right, Beca.” Michael gave Rebecca a hug. “Thank you.”

Rebecca returned the gesture warmly. “You’re welcome, little brother.” As they broke the embrace,
Michael stretched out his limbs and yawned.

"Well, alright. I'm going to go do some training in the workout room, then take a shower." He started for the door and stopped. "By the way, did Rachel happen to get the mystery guy's name?"

“Proto Man.” Michael nodded, reaching for the control panel. "By the way," he added, "nice watch."

"Uh, Michael?" Rebecca started to say. Michael turned his head toward her, not noticing that Rachel just happened to walk right through the door at that exact moment. He went and placed his hand on what he thought was the hand scanner.

"Huh? Was the panel always this firm?" he asks, pushing slightly. That’s when the realization came to him. Without turning his head, he asked Rebecca, “I’m not...am I?” Rebecca nodded, struggling to keep her face expressionless. “No. Way.” Michael says as his hand was frozen to the surface.

“Believe it.”

“You’re joking.”

“Scout’s honor.”

“I’m afraid to look.”

“But you must.”

"Oh crap," he muttered, slowly turning his head toward a red-faced Rachel.

"You pervert!"KAPOW! As Rachel's fist connected with Michael's jaw, Rebecca sighed.

"You know he just finally regained consciousness and now you're knocking him out again?" Rachel, slightly horrified at what she did, runs toward Michael's fallen form which had left a huge imprint in the wall.

"Michael?" She grabs him by the collar and starts shaking him vigorously.

"I'm happy to see you too, Rachel," he mumbles.

 

You know the drill.

Good ending. Care to give me an estimate of how many chapters there are to go?

Now, update the next one so I can read it and post, so you can post again.

 

Episode 5, Act 2: "Warnings..."

"Dear Mr. McMann:

"You will not remember us, but we find it essential in both yours and our interests to warn you of a potential attempt on either yourself or a close acquaintance of yours within the next few days. Take the necessary precautions before setting off for your journey to Helio Central. It’s best if you don’t mention this to anyone else.

“Sincerely,

“R.G.L.

“P.S.: When in doubt, combinations work.â€

This was the message that was sent to Michael that particular Friday morning. As promised, Michael and Rachel were finally hanging out together alone. Unfortunately for Michael, it ended up with him being dragged into shopping for new outfits. Fortunately, needing a guy’s opinion on some choices, Rachel modeled some of the cute attires for him. He leaned against the door outside Rachel’s changing booth with his arms crossed and his head drooped in thought mulling over the meaning of the message for almost the entire day.

'When in doubt? I'm really doubting you right now.' When Rachel held up two different pieces of swimwear to compare before trying on and Michael stared off into space uninterested, it became extremely obvious Michael’s mind was elsewhere.

“Michael!†Michael’s head jerked up, snapping out of his stupor.

“Huh?†Rachel rolled her eyes.

“That’s like the third time you went all zen-like on me! What’s up with you today?â€

Michael was tempted to mention the letter, but decided to hold his silence for the time being. “Sorry, Rach. I still have a lot on my mind right now.â€

“You mean that whole Proto Man incident?†Rachel asks as she heads into the changing booth. “Look, it’s over and done with. Don’t worry so much about it.â€

Michael shakes his head. “No, that’s not it. It’s just...†He hesitates, not sure what else to say. Meanwhile, Rachel peels off her shirt and starts putting on a bikini top with blue wavy lines. Finally, he ends up saying, “I’ve got a hypothetical question for you.â€

Rachel glances over her shoulder into the mirror, checking to see how well her top fits. “Shoot.â€

“If you had to choose between the life you live and the life that’s been planned out for you, which would you choose?â€

Now it was Rachel’s turn to stare silently in thought.

...

“NO! I won’t do it!â€

“But, princess. You are almost of age. You must choose a suitor to marry. Your father...â€

“My father doesn’t know squat! He wouldn’t care less who I marry, so as long as it benefits him!â€

“My lady, that’s far from the truth...â€

“You tell that pompous old beanbag that I’d rather be disowned than marry! I’m not going to let him dictate who I’d like to spend the rest of my life with and nothing he does is going to change my mind!â€

...

“Rachel?†Michael calls. When Rachel didn’t respond, Michael felt a twinge of worry. “Rach? You okay?†He knocks on the door and waits a few seconds. When Rachel remained silent, he tried to open the door.

Surprisingly, the changing room handle was unlocked. That fact didn’t register until he attempted to turn the knob. The door quietly creaked open revealing Rachel with her top transitioning between off and on. Fortunately for her, her back was to him and the mirror’s angle was off. The sudden breeze of air snapped her out of her daze. As she noticed Michael’s stunned expression, Rachel quickly covered her chest with her left arm and arched back her right fist.

“You pervert!†she shrieked. CHAWONG! Michael’s form flies through the air in a graceful arc before ricocheting off the far wall and bursting through the dressing booth adjacent from Rachel’s.

“Michael...you idiot,†he muttered to himself as he painfully pushed his body off the ground. “Like you couldn’t see that coming.â€

...

Helio Central was a famous tourist attractor for not only its year-long summer weather and its long beach planes at the Rolas Resort, but for its museum/planetarium: the Planet Sanctum. Being one of the top research areas for forms of energy conservation, most of the visitors were either college students or scientists. The Rolas Resort itself looked like an amalgamation of the best parts of beach resorts from around the world. It could’ve been the perfect getaway if it weren’t for the extremely steep prices and the yearly vacancy shortages.

“Man, smell that ocean breeze!†Rachel said enthusiastically, carrying a large, heavy suitcase in each hand. “After everything we’ve been through, I can’t believe we’re finally getting a chance to relax! Three days of surf, sand and sun. It’s unbelievable!â€

“I’m more interested in the babes, bikinis and bajoingas,†Duke added, peeking over his sunglasses. Rebecca smacked him upside the head.

“Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to stare?†she asked rhetorically, giving him a dirty look. “I mean, come on. ‘Bajoingas’? You make that term up or something?â€

As the group made their way to the front desk to check in, Michael’s eyes drank in the beautiful landscaping that left him with feelings of peace and contentment. All of his worries were momentarily forgotten. 'If only life were this breathtaking,' he thought with a smile. After a few moments, he reluctantly pulled his focus back into reality as Rebecca was talking to the front desk clerk.

"Reservation for McMann?" Rebecca was saying. The clerk did some random typing for a few seconds.

“Ah, yes. The Booster Canyon winners. Your rooms are ready for you. Here are your keys,†the clerk says handing them card keys. “Would you like our bellhop to take your bags for you?†The group shrugged their shoulders. In response, a group of bellhops seemed to appear almost instantly.

Seeing that it took multiple bellhops to even drag her bags, Rachel decided it was better off that she carry her own stuff. “Don’t want you guys to complain about breaking your backs later,†she said.

The hotel rooms that were given to them were large, spacious and extremely inviting, complete with minibar, clean sheets and world satellite TV. Each of their rooms held two single beds with a small connecting hallway separating the two adjacent rooms.

After dropping off their luggage, the boys went through the hallway to find Rachel's open suitcases revealing numerous accessories, outfits and portable hand weights. “This might take a while,†she said, grinning with embarrassment.

Rebecca rolled her eyes. “We’ll meet you guys in the lobby after we finish unpacking, okay?â€

...

As Michael and Duke headed down to wait in the lobby, Michael couldn't stop himself from mulling over the meaning of the note. 'Combinations work? Potential attempt? What's supposed to happen exactly?'

Seeing Michael's dazed off look, Duke playfully punched Michael in the bicep. "Dude, cheer up! We're on vacation! Surrounded by beach bunnies and bikinis wherever you look! Whatever you've got on your mind, let it go already!"

Michael sighed. "Sorry, Duke. I've just..."

"Whoa, hey!" Duke interrupted. He peered over his mirror shades in his usual "playa" persona. "Who's that tall glass of hotness approaching?" Michael turned to see who Duke was talking about. A hourglass figured blond in a water-lily patterned sarong was making their way toward them. Her banana-like ponytail bounced around with every step. As she got closer, they noticed she had a nametag pinned to the left breast of her ocean-blue tanktop.

“Hello, my name is Talia," she greeted, "and I’ll be your personal tour guide today!†She stared at Michael and blinked a few times. Her eyes widened in shock. “Oh my god! You’re...you’re...Michael McMann!†She started to giggle uncontrollably. “I can’t believe I’m finally meeting the famous “Blue Blazer†of Ultima! You’re like just the coolest!â€

As she continues with her long self-supplied dialogue, Michael leaned over toward Duke and whispered, “Blue Blazer?†Duke shrugged.

“I guess you’re starting to get a reputation that precedes you.â€

“Why? I haven’t done anything except save a city, liberate a castle and win a race. Not like any of that was important.â€

"Either way, it seems we've met your first groupie," Duke joked.

“I’m just wondering," Talia was saying, "are you busy later?â€

“Huh? Why?â€

“I’ve always dreamed of actually being able to meet you in person and I don't get off until six and...†Talia stopped and gave him a shy smile. Michael was stunned and speechless.

“I think she wants to go out with you,†Duke whispers. “You’re lucky Rachel’s not here. She’d probably be kicking your butt out of jealousy right now.â€

"What?!" Michael exclaimed. "You're crazy, dude." But Michael knew better than to disbelieve his statement.

"Listen Talia," Michael began, "you're probably a nice girl and all, but..." His voice trailed off as the cryptic message forced its way to the front of his mind.

Immediately Michael sensed something was wrong. Using his peripheral vision, he checked for anything suspicious. He heard the hum of the weapon charging before seeing it.

“Look out!†Michael instinctively threw his body into a tackle, knocking Talia off her feet. He used his momentum to spin his body toward the point of attack. Milliseconds later, a beam of concentrated white light shot through the air right where Talia’s head used to be. Her head hit the floor with a dull thud, knocking her unconscious.

The force of the beam snapped Michael’s neck back as his face took the entire brunt of the attack. Stars and flashes of light filled his entire field of vision as he lay on the ground, struggling to get his bearings. He could hear murky voices fade in and out until finally he felt Duke’s gloved hands prop him up.

“Dude, are you okay?†Michael didn’t answer at first and started applying pressure to his eyeballs because of the intense throbbing pain pulsating from them. He slowly opened his eyes.

“How long have been I out?†He could sense people running around in panic as security forces immediately started to investigate the origin of the blast.

“What are you talking about?†Michael could hear the confusion in Duke’s voice. “Th beam just hit you like ten seconds ago.†Michael blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to wash away the darkness with his tears, but to no effect.

“Well, either there’s been a lunar eclipse or...†Michael was afraid to admit it. “...I’m blind.

 

Episode 5, Act 3: "Blind Justice..."

(Note from author: I've only got one chapter left before I finished transferring over everything I've got so far.)

"So you can't see a thing?" Rachel asked as she leaned against the hotel dresser, arms crossed. After Duke lead Michael back up to their room and explained the situation to the girls, Rebecca decided that this was the result of a technical problem and ran into the other room to get her emergency tool kit. Michael was sitting down on the bed's edge, massaging his eyeballs in a vain attempt to get his vision back. As for Duke, he went to help Rebecca in case she needed some help looking for equipment.

"Imagine skydiving blindfolded naked at midnight," Michael said, turning his face toward the sound of her voice, "without the blindfold. It feels kinda like that."

Rachel's eyebrows shot up. "It's that bad?"

Michael gave her a painful smirk. "No, not really. But it sure feels that way."

"How so?"

"It's just..." Michael lets out a sigh of frustration. "I feel sort of...kind of..." he stutters.

"Helpless?" Rachel finishes. Michael nods meekly.

"Exactly." Rachel shrugs, causing her blonde hair to ripple.

"Well, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. Last I checked, we were here on vacation, not to fight." She gave him a stern, suspicious look. "Why, is there something you're not telling me?" Michael shook his head.

"No, of course not," he said hastily. 'No sense in giving her more stuff to worry about,' he rationalized. "What makes you say that?" Michael could feel her eyes staring daggers through him as she plopped down next to him on the bed.

"You've been completely out of it the past couple of days. Like you're worried something or someone's out to get you." As Michael stayed silent, it was Rachel's turn to become flustered. "Michael, how long have we known each other?"

"About three years, I guess."

"Yeah, well in those three years, I'll admit that you've had your moments of maturity. But don't you think it's time you stop being bullheaded and start trusting me?" He looked up to face her, or at least tried to. "Look Michael, I'm your friend. If there's something bothering you, just tell me instead of bottling it up inside. I mean, I'm a big girl, you know. Whatever it is, I can handle it." Michael considered her words, contemplating a response.

After a few moments of silence, Michael finally asked, "Could you help me up, please? I'm still trying to work on my balance." As he heard the bed springs creak from her absence of weight, Michael rocked back and attempted to jump to his feet. However, his equilibrium was still off. The moment his body rocked to an upright position, he felt his center of gravity shift backwards forcing him to reach out for something to retain his stability. It's probably safe to assume where his hands ended up grabbing...

"You pervert!" Raising her fist instinctively, she swung with her usual fiery passion. That's when Michael did something completely unexpected.

He ducked.

Taken completely off guard, Rachel's momentum twirled her right into Michael causing the two of them to fall right back onto the bed. Her body landed on top of his with a soft thump. "Well, this is awkward," Rachel says, her face inches from his. Michael could feel her heartbeat start to quicken through her breast. As she stared into his blank-looking eyes, Rachel started feeling blood rush to her face against her will. She tried desperately not to think of any fantasy scenarios that started whirling around in her mind.

Finally Michael broke the silence. "Um...could you get off of me, please? It's...uh...kinda hard to breathe."

"Hey, don't stop on our account." Rachel immediately rolled off of Michael to see Duke and Rebecca in the doorway both grinning from ear to ear. "This is a tropical paradise after all," Rebecca said as she tried to keep the amusement out of her voice. Rachel's face blushed even more furiously.

"No, w-wait! It's not like that! I just..." she stammered.

"Uh huh, sure," Rebecca replied. "If you two are done with your afternoon foreplay, I'm ready to do that diagnostic now."

Michael sat up straight and waited patiently. Rebecca started to gently run her fingers through his scalp. "Um, Rebecca?" Rachel said. "What exactly are you doing?" Rebecca shook her head and gave her a loud shush causing Rachel crossed her arms in annoyance. After a few more seconds, Rebecca pushed firmly into Michael's skull resulting in a soft click. To Duke and Rachel's astonishment, the back of Michael's head split effortlessly into two halves revealing what looked like a regular human brain except it was clear, transparent and complicated bundles of colored wires intertwined together within it.

"What," Rebecca said with a smirk, "you were expecting something more sci-fi?"

"Whaddya know? Michael actually does have a brain in that thick skull of his," Rachel teased.

"It's disturbing to see his head open like that," Duke said scratching his head, "but at the same time, I can't turn my eyes away from it."

"After seeing mythical creatures and ancient robots try to kill us, THIS surprises you?" Michael asked rhetorically. Over the next few hours, Rebecca went and did a diagnostic on Michael's condition. Finally after what seemed like an eternity...

Rebecca sat back, red-faced and apparently exhausted. "Well, I've done all I could do," she said wiping her forehead of sweat. "And I've got good news and bad news."

"What's the bad news?" Duke asked.

"Well, whatever that beam was, it completely shorted out the optic nerves," she replies, leaning back, arms crossed. "It's going to be awhile before Michael gets his sight back."

"And the good news?" Michael asked.

"The good news is that your body's self-repair is already attempting to correct the damage. In the meantime, most of your body's systems are being given a slight boost in functionality."

"In English for us non-tech junkies, please?" Rachel asked.

"In other words, while he's blind, all his other senses should be enhanced somewhat. That's how Michael dodged your punch."

"Really?" Michael said, mildly surprised. "Because all I did was move out of the way the moment I heard Rachel's shrill tones."

"Shrill?" Rachel repeated as she took a pillow and flung it at Michael who, feeling it coming, ducked.

"So in other words, I'm pretty much screwed on sight until it comes back, huh?" Michael asked. Rebecca brushed her hair back thoughtfully.

"Well, maybe if I...but what about...no, it wouldn't be..." she muttered to herself. The gang exchanged confused looks.

"Um, was there something you'd like to share with us?" Michael asked. Rebecca chewed on her bottom lip in thought.

"There..." she hesitated as she debated whether to bring his hopes up or not. "There might be a way to give you some sort of...temporary sight."

"What do you mean by temporary?" Rebecca sighs.

"Just what I said. Temporary sight. It's not going to be perfect, but at least you'll be able to 'see' instead of stumbling around like a drunk."

"And how is that any different than how he usually walks?" Rachel quipped. Michael ignored her and shrugged.

"Well, some vision's better than no vision, I guess." After tinkering around for a few minutes, Michael's field of view burst into blinding white light. "GAH! IT HURTS!" he yelled, immediately clamping his eyes tightly shut. Rebecca's expression was mixed with confusion and alarm.

"What happened?" Rachel asked with concern. He felt a barrage of tears flowing down his face as he winced in pain.

"I opened my eyes and BLAM! All I saw was white!" Rebecca peered inside Michael's open skull at her work.

"I don't understand! That should've worked!" As Rachel and Rebecca started to panic, Duke (who had been silent the entire time) was hit with inspiration.

"Here, try these." Duke thrust his mirrored sunglasses straight onto Michael's face. "Now, open your eyes." Suspense seemed to hang in the air around them.

"Did it work?" Rebecca asked. Michael blinked a few times, but his vision still didn't seem right.

"All I'm seeing is a lot of rainbow colors."

"Here, let me see those sunglasses for a moment." Before Michael could reply, Rebecca snatched the sunglasses from his eyes.

"AUGH!" Michael yelled as he clamped his eyes shut again.

"Sorry!" Rebecca apologized as she hastily replaced them back on Michael's face.

"Do you mind warning me before you decide to burn my retinas even further?!" he shouted as the pain started to pulsate again.

"I said I was sorry!"

"Never mind about that," Duke interjected before Michael could retort, "how's your sight?" Michael took a few seconds to wait for the pain to become bearable before answering.

"Well, like I said, I can sorta see outlines of objects and stuff," Michael said as he took a good look around the room, "but nothing too definite." Rebecca nodded.

"Yeah, I adjusted your vision so it'll pick up heat signatures."

"Heat signatures?" Michael repeated. "So, what I'm seeing right now is thermal-optics?"

"Like I said, it's not perfect. But, it'll have to do until your vision comes back."

"Then how come it didn't work until Duke put the sunglasses on?" But Duke was ready for that question.

"They're special polarized lenses," he explained. "It's automatically filtering the white light into the rainbow colors you're seeing right now." Rachel and Rebecca looked at him in pure astonishment. Duke shrugged. "Well, at least that's my theory anyway."

"So as long as I wear these, I should be fine." Michael looked at Duke's hazy and colorful form. "Is it really okay for me to wear these, dude?"

"No prob, little buddy." As he spoke, Duke reached into his vest pocket and whipped out another pair of mirrored shades. "I'm always carrying six extra pairs of these babies ever since Hover Castle."

Rebecca glanced at the time. "Well, there's nothing else we can do for now and it's getting late," she said stifling a yawn. "I think we should just turn in for the night."

As she and Rachel left the room, Michael still had the ominous feeling that tomorrow he was going to end up with more questions than answers.

 

Episode 5, Act 4: "Battle in Darkness..."

"What do you mean they already left?!" Michael exclaimed. "I thought we were supposed to go together!" Rebecca rolled her eyes.

"I already told you, Duke tried to get you up, but you were still knocked out!" As the sun shone through clear blue skies, as the ocean waves splashed merrily along the seashore, as people were playing without a care in the world...

...Michael ended up oversleeping. AGAIN. The group's plan was simple: they would wake up early and head for the Solar Planetarium, its main tourist attraction. Since it was in walking distance from the hotel, the gang would hang around the place for most of the day before going back for dinner. After many unsuccessful attempts in waking Michael up, the group agreed that Duke and Rachel would go on ahead and meet Rebecca there for lunch.

Unfortunately, Michael's sight had not returned overnight, so he was still forced to wear the mirrored sunglasses to be able to "see". This left Rebecca the tedious job of dragging Michael along having the outward walking style of a drunk.

"Why are we going to a museum anyways? I thought since we were near the beach, you guys would want to go swimming, get a tan, check out the...er...sights." Rebecca sighed.

"Because Duke and Rachel didn't think it was fair for you to miss out on all the fun; so we decided to do something that we could do together," she explained.

"Oh..." Michael was stunned (and a little touched) that they would actually give up the tropical temptations just for him. "Well, thanks."

"Besides," Rebecca continued with an air of excitement, "I've always wanted to check this place out. Just never had the time."

"What exactly is so special about this place, anyway?" Michael asked.

"Are you kidding?! This is like THE place to be for interactive science & historical experiences! I mean, they have this hall of technology that just..."

"History was never my best subject, Beca," Michael interrupted, "let alone, the most interesting."

"Well, I know you'll change your mind once you see this place!" she blurted excitedly before remembering. "Oh, right. My bad."

In the entrance of the museum stood a giant triangle prism that seemed to radiate with a mysterious energy. The entire building seemed to have been built directly around it. If Michael had been able to see, he probably would have gaped around in astonishment. The building looked more like a megamall than a museum. Its high-arched glass ceiling drenched the building in warm, inviting sunlight. Thick transparent tiling separated the levels from each other. Exhibits as far as the eye could see. A food court/cafeteria with over 40 restaurants. At least three floors of answers to every question never asked. One could spend all day in the area and still wouldn't have been able to see everything one floor offered.

"Whoa! I had no idea there would be so many people here!" Rebecca exclaimed excitedly. She could see a congregation of people start to line up around the giant prism for another guided tour. "Oh look! Another tour's about to start!" Michael sighed.

"Could you at least aim me in the right direction?" She looked slightly embarrassed about forgetting that he was still mostly blind.

"Sorry, almost forgot," she apologizes, gripping his hand and starts leading him toward the tour group.

"Wait," Michael says slightly resisting her tugs, "I thought we were supposed to meet with the others." Rebecca shakes her head.

"They're probably with another tour group right now. We're supposed to meet them at the museum cafeteria in another hour or so."

"You mean I could've slept in?" Michael asked half-jokingly.

"...allow me to present Helio Central's pride and joy: 'The Focus Point'!" the tour guide was saying. "This prism is actually made of solid light waves that can absorb any source of light, converts it to energy and can be redirected to any given power source, multiplying its power exponentially! It raises..."

"Hmmm...not bad." Michael said. "I didn't think solid light actually existed."

"Huh?" Rebecca muttered half-listening.

"Well, you know. Light's supposed to be just energy waves that..." Michael began to explain.

"I know that," Rebecca snapped. It was obvious she was intent in absorbing as much information as possible. Michael barely listened to the rehearsed banter from the tour guide. He was still trying to get used to distinguishing various heat signatures at once. So instead of trying to do any more conversation with Rebecca, he tried to visualize the details that he couldn't see to somehow get a feel of the area around him. After a few scheduled stops...

"Hey Beca," Michael asked suddenly. "What's that?" He pointed toward what looked like a row of glass panels. "I'm seeing major heat signatures over there." Rebecca broke her focus long enough to glance at the display's sign from her position.

"Oh, those are old-fashioned solar panels. They're basically ancient sunbeam collectors."

"They used to be that big?" Michael gasped in astonishment. "Man, if it weren't for improvements in technology, I'd probably be lugging one of those things on my back."

Rebecca was still half-paying attention to what he was saying, so she only let out an indifferent, "Uh-huh." The tour group started to move again.

"Where are we heading now?" Michael asked.

"It looks like a hall of statues or something." The area they were now walking through had rows of life-size likenesses of historical figures, both known and unknown. Medieval knight's armor lined up on one side, samurai uniforms lined the other. It was as if a time-traveling army from the past, present and future had all decided to gather for a party.

"Hey, nice robes!" Rebecca commented as she looked over some mannequins sporting silky shimmering cloaks. "So these are what magicians wore back then." Michael responded with a non-committal grunt. She glanced back at him. "You may laugh now, but there's a whole lot of history behind magic."

"Maybe," Michael replied, "but as I recall you only know about three."

"I'm still in training, dork. Translating the text into verbal attacks isn't exactly easy. I mean, it's ANCIENT magic, remember?"

Michael gave her a piercing look. "By the way, where exactly did you get that book anyway?"

"I thought I told you already," Rebecca says as she starts giving her glasses a good polish. "Grams left it for me in her will."

"Oh, right." There was an awkward pause filled with the tour guide's rehearsed speech. "How well did you know her?"

"Why are you asking me all of this now?" Michael shrugged.

"I just never thought much about how you got your magic in the first place."

"Look, it's complicated," she snapped. "So just drop it, alright?"

"But..." Michael began, but promptly became silent. He knew better than to argue. Instead, he turned his attention to some familiar-looking clunky shapes a few feet from him.

"Hey Rebecca? What's that over there?" Rebecca breaks her gaze from the wizard's uniforms to see what Michael was pointing at.

"Oh my god," she whispers. "It's..."

"It's what?"

"It's the Robot Masters," she replied in wonderment. "Almost every single one of them. That's Quick Man over there." She pointed toward a familiar-looking crimson robot. "And over there," she motioned toward a hulking round robot, "that's Frost Man, right?" Michael focused in the direction Rebecca was pointing at.

"All I can see are dull purple outlines right now. But, yeah, I kinda see what you're saying."

"You mean your sight's back?"

"Figure of speech." Michael said impatiently. "Anyone else that looks familiar? We might have to take them on later." Rebecca nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry about it. I uploaded the info about all the possible Robot Masters into Data."

""Data"?" Michael repeated.

"My watch." He stared in disbelief.

"You gave your watch a name? I know you're into technology and all, but..."

"What's wrong with that?" Rebecca crossed her arms defiantly. "I think the name suits it."

"Why Data?"

"It's short for "Defensive Adversary Tracking Accessory.""

"And you made up that acronym yourself?" Michael asked incredulously. "Why not just name it "Chibi-Monkey" or something?"

"What's that?"

"It's short and to the point."

"No, not that." Rebecca interrupted. "Something just blocked the windows and doors of this area. No sunlight's getting through." Michael could hear people's confused chatter around him. The tour guide was busy trying to assure the crowd not to panic.

"Rebecca, talk to me. What's going on?" Before she could reply, all the building's inner lights suddenly shut off, immersing the entire inside into complete and total darkness.

"Hey! Who turned off the lights!"

"Oh my god! We're under attack!"

"I want my money back!"

Michael had no idea what was going on. All he could hear was people panicking and the sound of giant metal security gates sealing off all exits in the area.

"The doors are locked! We can't get out!" People started to run around in a clamor to get out.

"Beca," Michael repeated in a slight panic, "what's going on?"

"Michael, it's pitch dark in here! No one can see any...Hey! Who are you?! Let go of me!"

"Rebecca?" Michael could see Rebecca's form struggling, but he couldn't see who she was fighting with.

"Help! Mi..."

"Flash Stopper!" A high-speed zipping sound rang out immediately silencing the crowd. Michael quickly looked around and saw that no one was moving. The only thing in motion was Rebecca's heat signature being carried away.

"Get back here!" Michael stumbled around as fast as he could, but there were too many obstacles in the way. Thinking quickly, he decided to use a high-risk maneuver. "I'm probably going to regret this." He set his palm onto the ground. "Nimbus Wave!" FWOOM! Michael catapulted his body into the air sailing over the crowd's heads. He winced in expectation of hitting the ceiling. Fortunately, there was plenty of space to maneuver through.

"Heh heh," the kidnapper chuckled to himself. "Too easy." And that's when Michael landed clumsily right in front of his path. He turned to face in the general direction of where he thought his enemy was.

"Let her go...right...now." Michael growled in his killer tone. The figure halted in surprise.

"What? But you should be frozen like everyone else!" Michael got into his fighting stance.

"I'm not going to repeat myself."

"The only way you could've been immune to my flash is if you...were...blind..." he realized. From what Michael could see, the assailant looked like he had an overgrown cranium that seemed to radiate some sort of heat.

"Who are you and what the hell are you doing with my sister?!" Michael roared.

"My, my. You're a rambunctious kid, ain't ya? The name's Bright Man and..."

"Let me guess," Michael starts in a monotonal bored voice. "You're one of the so-called Robot Masters from the Robot Wars era and now for some lame reason, you're here to try to kill me and destroy the world. Am I close?"

"Listen you ignorant brat, this has nothing to do with you. But..."

OOK-EEK! Rebecca's data watch Data let out a chimp-like cry, freezing both Bright Man and Michael in their tracks. "What the..."

* * *
Bright Man
Fourth Generation Unit
His Flash Stopper emits one million watts of power in order to stun enemies.
Weakness: Rain Flush
* * *

There was a moment of silence. Then...

"What the hell was that supposed to be?" Bright Man yelled.

"Rain Flush?" Michael muttered. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Shut up!" Bright Man snapped. "I wasn't expecting you to be immune to my Flash Stopper this time."

"Wait a minute, what do you mean "this time"? I've never seen, I mean, met you in my life!" The big-headed bigot ignored him.

"I had orders not to engage you if I could avoid it. But since you came to me..." He aims his cannon arm point-blank in Michael's bewildered expression. "Time for a little payback."

(Note from author: And there you have it. The transfer is complete. And that's all I have about Michael and the others so far. I'm planning to continue this after I've finished Wedding or Switched. Until then, hope this interests you just as the other fanfics did. :D)

 

This is good. I want more! Would you be so kind as to finish off Wedding? It is only a chapter or two away, right?

 

XD Just my luck to stumble upon this right after you run out of material...​

 

Bad luck Amber. Ah well. If you made it around an hour earlier, you would have seen them being put up. D.F. found someone willing to post inbetween all the chapters so he did not have to wait a week before posting again.

 

So that's why you made him blind. that was pretty convenient for him:)