A Different Place

Chapter 26 - Mega Man Vs. Cut Man

Mega Man clambered over the lip of the precipitous cliff. "All right, Cut Man," he said, "you may have beaten me down in the lumberyard, but I'm back, and Dr. Light upgraded me!" The champion of Monstropolis looked stunning in his new blue suit of armor, his Mega Buster worn proudly on his right arm.

Cut Man clapped his arms twice in front of him, a motion which also caused the sharp shears attached to the top of his head to close twice as well. "I beat you once, Mega Man, but I didn't finish you. That was my mistake---one I intend to correct." Cut Man snatched the scissors from atop his head and hurled them at his brother robot.

"Hah!" Mega Man dodged, sliding under the razor-edged weapon. He raised the Mega Buster and fired a plasma bullet at Cut Man.

"Arrggh!" Cut Man shouted as the bullet impacted with his armored chest.

"Well, I'm back," Dantz said as he entered the Flutter's living room. "I gave the the lawyer my deposition."

"How did it go?" Roll asked, keeping her eyes glued to the set.

"It was a little tough," Dantz said gingerly, remembering his abusive ordeal at the hands of the Quarrwump City Police. "Mr. Fleecem says we have a good case. He thinks we'll win even though I won't be there to testify."

"Yeah?

"Mmm-hmm," Dantz murmured. "He says the fact that I would be in fear for my life if I set foot in Quarrwump City again also works in our favor. Plus, it means we can go on that Dig we've been planning."

"That's good news," Roll said absently, playing with her lower lip as she watched the television.

"Yeah," Dantz said, flopping down on the side of the couch opposite Roll. "Oh, no. Are you watching this show again?"

"Shut up," Roll advised. "This show is the BEST. You just can't appreciate its goodness."

"I hope you didn't think I came here alone..." said Cut Man ominously, gesturing to his right.

"Ha, ha, ha," laughed a large, bulky robot, stepping out of the trees. He wore an orange hard hat, and the sheer size of him made it obvious he was the strongest of mechanical men.

"Guts Man!" Mega Man shouted. "You fiend! How could you destroy the Monstropolis City Orphanage?"

Guts Man chuckled evilly. "With my fists."

"This dialogue is so corny," Dantz complained. "And where is the ocean? I don't see any water at all."

"In Mega Man's world, there's hardly any oceans at all," said Roll. "They have these large landmasses called 'continents' that sometimes spread for thousands of miles in every direction."

"What a joke!" Dantz dodged forward as Roll launched a halfhearted punch in his direction. "I'd start to get nervous if I couldn't see the ocean from wherever I stood."

"You can't see it NOW," Roll pointed out.

"I could if I looked out the window," Dantz shot back. He took a careless look at the screen. "Didn't these guys already die?"

"This is a rerun," Roll said. "From the first season."

"Okay, refresh me on the story."

Cut Man threw his weapon at the trees, mowing them down one by one. Then, Guts Man used his hideous strength to heft one of the trunks, swinging it at Mega Man like a baseball bat. Mega Man jumped out of its path, nearly getting whacked by Cut Man's shears in the meantime.

Roll groaned. "Okay, here it is in a nutshell: Dr. Light and his partner, Dr. Wily, were successful in creating the first artificially intelligent robot, Mega Man. That means that Mega Man was able to make his own decisions regardless of user input, okay?"

"Sure."

"After that, Dr. Light and Dr. Wily made seven more robots, including Mega Man's sister Roll---"

"Gee, I wonder why you like this series so much, Roll," Dantz interrupted.

"---and each robot had a different industrial purpose---shut up, you doofus---and they were called the 000 Series, because of their serial numbers. But Dr. Wily was jealous of Dr. Light, so he re-programmed all the 000 Series Robots to obey his will, which was to try and take over the city."

"Gotcha so far."

The Flutter's engine groaned, and the deck began vibrating mildly. "Are we taking off?" Roll asked.

Dantz nodded. "Yeah. Barrel's flying. Now that I've given my deposition, we we can head out to the Forgotten Ruins."

"Sounds like a plan," Roll said, stretching out lengthwise on the couch. She took off her puffy red hat and rested her blond head in her Digger's lap. "Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah, so Mega Man was able to make his own choice and resist Dr. Wily's re-programming. Dr. Light hooked him up with the Mega Buster and some armor and sent him off to fight the re-programmed robots."

"That doesn't make any sense, Roll. Why didn't Dr. Light just build an army of robots to protect the city?"

"Because that wouldn't be a good idea for a TV show, dummy," Roll said, reaching up and ruffling Dantz's hair gently.

Mega Man fired a volley of shots from the Mega Buster. Cut Man was knocked back, but Guts Man withstood the assault solidly. The largest of the 000 Series Robots absorbed the shots' impact and grabbed a large boulder from nearby. He lifted the stone over his head and chucked it at Mega Man.

Mega Man could not dodge in time. He slid backwards uncontrollably, rolling out from under the rock and just managing to clutch the edge of the precipice before he slipped over.

"Oh, no!" Roll jumped, an impressive feat while lying down.

"Haven't you already seen this?" Dantz asked.

"Not this specific episode," Roll said matter-of-factly.

"So, does Mega Man end up fighting his sister?"

"Oh, umm...." Roll sounded a little embarrassed. "Dr. Wily didn't think Roll was important enough to try and subvert, so he didn't re-program her."

"Why not?"

"Uhh...because all she did was do odd jobs around the house. She didn't really do anything important."

Dantz laughed. "Not like the real Roll at all, then, is she?"

"Well," said Roll, "she's cute like the real Roll..."

Mega Man hung on to the outcropping for dear robotic life. It looked like it was all over for him, now. Guts Man and Cut Man were drawing ever closer. The only question was whether they'd finish him off with their personal weapons, or just kick him away and let the fall take care of him.

"No!" Mega Man thought. "I have to make it! For Roll! For Dr. Light! For all of the people in Monstropolis!"

As Cut Man and Guts Man drew closer, Mega Man thought he heard a faint whistling sound in the distance. It was someone whistling! But what did it mean?

A couple of plasma bullets very similar to the kind Mega Man used showered down from above. Cut Man and Guts Man were thrown backwards, and a new robot, clad only in red and white, inserted himself between them and Mega Man.

"Ooooh!" Roll gushed. "It's the first appearance of Proto Man! I've always wanted to see this!"

"I don't suppose you'd care to explain that?" said Dantz.

Roll turned her face ninety degrees so she was facing directly up at Dantz from his lap. "Um, okay, so Proto Man was the robot Dr. Light originally built to start the 000 Series."

Dantz shook his head and rubbed his temples. "Hold on. You just told me that Mega Man was the first robot activated by Dr. Light."

"Yeah, Mega Man was the first robot activated. Dr. Light built Proto Man first but never turned him on. Later on, Dr. Wily stole Proto Man and activated him---we never learned about this until the third season, though. We weren't supposed to be sure if he was good or evil."

Proto Man grabbed Mega Man's hand and pulled him back up. The red-and-white clad robot's scarf flapped in the wind. "Thank you," said Mega Man.

Proto Man smiled, although the grin's intent was obscured by his dark visor. "Don't thank me just yet, Mega Man. I only saved you so we could fight later. I've got to know who's the best."

"What do you mean?" said Mega Man.

"Do me a favor," Proto Man said as he turned away. "Don't lose to these amateurs. I'll be waiting for you."

Mega Man gritted his teeth as the mysterious robot walked away. "All right, you two," he said to Cut Man and Guts Man, "let's finish this!"

The screen blackened, and then the credits appeared, flashing past graphics of Mega Man fighting various other robots.

"You mean, that's it?" Dantz said incredulously. "I don't think they resolved any plot points whatsoever in that entire episode!"

"That's because it's serialized, you dinglebat," Roll said with affection, sitting up. "When a story's serialized, it means each individual part doesn't make sense on its own, only when taken in context within all of the others."

"They just do that because they want to make sure you watch all the shows," Dantz grumbled.

"Duuuh," Roll said, replacing her hat. "Sometimes they'll give you a hint at the end of the show what'll happen the next time, like you can guess that Mega Man's going to fight Cut Man and Guts Man in the next episode. Other times, they'll just leave you hanging without any clue at all, and you have no idea what'll happen next." She poked Dantz in the stomach. "So, are you gonna watch with me again tomorrow?"

"I guess," Dantz said quickly, sounding just a little too put-upon to be convincing.

Roll rolled her eyes. "I think someone can't wait to see what happens to---" While Roll and Dantz had been talking, the little monkey-bot they'd named Data had entered the living room, seen the images on TV, and starting hooting loudly, jumping up and down.

"What's up, Data?" asked Dantz, nearly chuckling as he saw the strange sight.

"Ki ki ki!" Data chittered, pointing at the picture of Mega Man on the television.

Roll and Dantz looked at one another pointedly. "I guess he really likes Mega Man," Roll said, looking bewildered.