Mega Man Eclipse 2

Chapter 17: Merva at the Chemistry Lab

The Chemistry Lab was a very dangerous place, but it was even more dangerous with all of the security settings offline and the lab plagued with deadly Mavericks. Velga and Vuro were unable to come with Ragammia due to the hero swap device being damaged because of Ragammia's skirmish in the forest. They wouldn't be able to switch with a broken device. Ragammia entered the chemistry lab, but the door shut behind him with all of the lights switched off. The only lights that were on as Ragammia climbed the corkscrew staircase was the green pool of acid below him. He stored a charge shot in his buster to illuminate some of the area and found enemies called Mosquitrons (Mosquito designed mechaniloids with the AI of an Enertron) flying above him. Ragammia quickly fired his charge shot at the enemies and dispatched them quickly before they could steal his health.
"Ragammia! The acid below you is starting to rise! Get past the enemies quicker!" Said Athena, as Ragammia dashed up the staircase and defeated the other Mosquitrons on the stairs. There were a few gaps in the stairs that Ragammia had to cross, however, and he was forced to dash jump across them. The acid wasn't far below him now and was melting the staircase, but Ragammia was almost to the door that allowed him to exit the area. He quickly jumped off the back wall and dashed to the door and entered it before the acid covered the whole staircase. He then found enemies known as Ooze Demons, purple blob-like mechaniloids that shot small blobs of acid at their enemies and could corrode Metal easily. When they spotted Ragammia, they began shooting acid at him and some began melting through the steel floor, which left Ragammia with no need to kill them. However, since they were very weak, Ragammia found it easy to subdue them with single buster shots.
"There's two elevators that will lead you to the roof. Be careful, as the security system isn't functioning as I said before and that it might not warn you of hazards. The security system is also interfering with the map on this area." Said Athena.
"Okay. I'll try the left one." Said Ragammia, as he approached the elevator and rode up it. But once he got to the first floor, the door made a "ding" noise, and the door opened to a bunch of Gunner Blasters, Enertrons on advanced, unshielded versions of the Shield Blasters that were excellent in range and power. Ragammia quickly threw himself on the wall of the elevator as the mounted turrets quickly blasted a number of holes through the back of the elevator before the doors shut and the elevator traveled higher.
"I'm sorry! As I said before, I can't get a clear map on this area!" Said Athena. The elevator opened on the second floor a minute later, and Ragammia got on the side of the wall as more Gunner Blasters fired through the elevator wall before it traveled to the third floor. Ragammia was expecting more Gunner Blasters, so he charged up his buster and when the elevator doors opened, he blasted the Gunner Blasters waiting for him with it, eliminating them.
"You're almost to the roof." Said Athena. But a few seconds after she said that, the elevator shut off and stopped moving. The track it was moving on was starting to flicker.
"Ragammia! That elevator will fall! Get out of there, now!" Said Athena.
"I get it!" Said Ragammia, jumping out the hole the Gunner Blasters had made and off the top of the elevator before it fell and crashed to the ground. Ragammia had noticed that the acid from the first shaft was melting down the elevator he was on as he jumped off the wall. He then continued jumping until he found something stuck in the wall.
"What's this?" He Said, using his saber to dislodge it. He realized after he brushed it off that it was another Weapon Tank.
"Great! This should help you some more!" Said Athena, as Ragammia continued jumping up the wall towards the Trapdoor that had Celestia's symbol on it. But there were more Mosquitrons flying overhead as he neared the top. Before any of them could began feeding off of him, he blasted them away with his buster and finally got to through the trapdoor, which shut after he got through it. He could see a crescent moon as he stared at the lower buildings around him on the roof.
"Merva! Show yourself!" He Said. Suddenly, Merva teleported on the other side of the room with a cape covering her.
"Ragammia! I'm surprised that you made it here!" She Said.
"Surrender, Merva! You won't be killed if you do." Said Ragammia.
"Never! I actually found something worth fighting for and that's Princess Celestia and my career!" Said Merva.
"That's not what you're fighting for. You're just putting up a fight because you don't want to get punished for murdering and hurting innocents." Said Ragammia.
"Maybe...but I'm the only guard Celestia has left! Try and stop me if you believe so, Mega Man!" Said Merva, throwing off her cape and revealing red armor and red claws. Her smile revealed that she had red fangs in her mouth as well.
"You have to hit Merva with a speeding weapon! She'll just teleport if you hit her with other weapons!" Said Athena. Merva quickly teleported again and then appeared behind Ragammia. Luckily, he was able to dodge her before she grabbed him and Merva was forced to try a ranged attack, which involved her throwing acid in a wave on the ground towards Ragammia, which hit him and knocked him on the ground.
"Urgh! This acid is damaging my armor!" Said Ragammia. Merva then teleported again and got above Ragammia before trying to dive at him, which was unsuccessful as Ragammia simply somersaulted away from her. But the third time Merva teleported, she got in front of Ragammia and bit onto his shoulder before sucking out some of his health and using it to heal herself.
"Merva can steal your health and recover herself with it!" Said Athena.
"Make sure she doesn't bite into you!"
"That is what happens to those whom I see fit to destroy. But it seems it might take a little more for me to retire you!" Said Merva, shooting more waves of acid at him. But Ragammia dodged the acid and dashed toward Merva, using the Dasshukutta to break off Merva's fangs in her mouth as she fell backwards.
"Gyah! My teeth!" She yelled, oil dripping from her mouth.
"Now you've gotten me mad!" Merva teleported behind Ragammia, this time trying to slash him with her claws, but Ragammia was able to dodge her attacks and used the Kunai Flurry to hit her, causing her to yell in pain every time she was hit with the flurry of blades.
"You're gonna pay!" She Said the fifth time she was hit, shooting an acid wave and then teleporting to try and impale Ragammia with her claws.
"Fight me, you coward!" Said Merva, before being hit again with the Kunai Flurry. Merva then began shooting two acid waves at Ragammia at the same time, causing Ragammia to jump accordingly to dodge them before changing his pattern when Merva teleported near him. Ragammia then struck her with the Kunai Flurry once more.
"That's it! This ends now!" Said Merva, charging straight at Ragammia.
"As you wish." He Responded, countering with the Dasshukutta. Both attacks caused the fighters to zoom right through each other, Ragammia gripping his damaged shoulder and Merva gagging as her body began bleeding oil before she exploded into a bunch of red orbs with a scream. The explosion, unfortunately, put too much strain on the tower thanks to the acid undermining it and the chemistry lab began to collapse. Ragammia quickly grabbed Merva's weapon data and teleported away before the tower fell over and blew up the buildings near it.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save more Enertrons..." Said Ragammia.
"Don't worry...you'll be saving them in the long term. The weapon data you got from Merva contains the Poison Gunk and the Neruhaisui. The Poison Gunk shoots a wave of acid that will travel down slopes and on surfaces while the Neruhaisui gives you fangs and allows you to steal health from enemies." Said Athena.
"That's all of the royal guards. Maybe Celestia can stop what is going on."
"That's not gonna happen." Said Corona, walking into the room.
"Princess Celestia has some of the world leaders allied with her. She's got support from most of them and has increased her castle defenses. We have to strike now before she goes on the offensive." Said Corona.
"And if we do that...we could get her to surrender!" Said Ragammia.
"I'm on board with this."
"Well I can't agree to this." Said Vuro, who entered Athena's Lab with Velga.
"Velga met some friends outside of Ponyville that might be able to help us. And what about those six ponies and that one dragon we met at the Sugarcube corner? Don't you think they might be able to help?"
"No. They could be on Celestia's side. We can't trust them." Said Corona.
"I'm not sure...Velga and Vuro could do that while we infiltrate the castle." Said Ragammia.
"Certainly. The portal will usually put you straight in the castle, but I've anchored it outside of the castle." Said Athena.
"But we still need a reason for Celestia to 'invite us,' so that she'll prepare her mechaniloid troops. We want to get rid of as many of them as possible." The entire conversation was making Ragammia think back to how this entire mess had happened in the first place, giving him an idea.
"I might have something." Said Ragammia.