Megaman: Reboot

Madness

A large metallic thud erupted below Ballade's feet as he stepped off the teleporter. The wind whistled through the ravines as he continued forward, the towering structure of his creator's new base of operations came into view. The center base was shaped like a skull with gates in the eye spaces, the massive doorway opening to dark caverns below. Beyond the entrance were dozens of winding pathways and rooms meant to store weapons and fuel. Ballade was fortunate enough to know a elevator that spared him having to walk through the maze. He managed to see the gloomy red blur of Quickman's figure pass by before the elevator's doors closed with a loud thud, the lights of the underground rooms whizzing through the tiny slits.

He didn't reach the bottom floor before water rushed through the doors. He pressed the button to stop the elevator, the voice of Bubbleman muffled through the doors.

"What?!" Ballade said. When the amphibious robot master didn't respond, he forcefully opened the door and a wave of water slammed into his chest with Bubble gripping the doors. They combined their strength to close the doors, and the elevator slowly drained as they ascended to the upper floors.

"I was trying to say the floor was flooded." Bubble said.

"I thought that floor was the meeting area?" Ballade said. The water had drained to their knees for them to stand.

"Doctor Wily wanted the lower floors flooded for his big plan. I could've just built him new floors if he asked." Bubble sighed.

"Don't beat yourself up. You got the job done." The purple robot master bumped the other playfully, which turned into a jabbing competition. Water spread throughout the floor as they entered a hallway lined with hazards and spikes.

"This path to the meeting room is still filled with traps, so it'll be a walk. Unless you want to run and lose a leg." Bubble said with amused sarcasm.

"I assume that's why I saw Quickman running away all embarrassed?" Ballade asked.

"I tried to warn him." Bubble simply responded, earning a chuckle from Ballade. Hidden from the endless spike pits and drone robots was a hidden entrance between two wall plates. The plates closed with a soft thud and dim lights illuminated the dirty path. Ballade kicked leftover screws and papers during their small talk, lifting up his amphibious friend every time he tripped. He recalled his brother asking for adjustments to walk out of water, but there was never time to properly change them. The path started to elevate upwards where the purple robot slung Bubble over his shoulders for the trip.

"So how are the rest of the plans going?" He asked.

"Well Metal says the rest of the castle is finished in structure. We didn't have time to set up all the weapons though." Bubble said.

"How come?"

"Doctor Wily's rushing us for some reason. He said something greater has come and he wants the castle up soon. No weapons or defenses. We aren't going to fight Megaman at all either." Bubble murmured. Ballade halted a foot from the path's end and let his smaller brother slide down the shoulder.

"Not fighting Megaman!? Enker, Punk, and I have been training every day for our chance to fight the blue bomber! I have been looking forward to seeing the one who defeated several robot masters myself! Why would he change his mind like this?" Ballade shouted, his cries echoing through the hidden pathway.

"I don't know why he said this. But we really shouldn't yell-" Bubble attempted to calm his brother, but failed to stop him busting through the wall plates. Ballade marched through the hallway with determination, a demand for answers clouding his judgment and leaving him unable to hear the pleas of Bubbleman behind him. The giant gate opened to a vacant room with a single large table and multiple thick chairs, and every Wily robot including Enker and Punk sitting around a unconcerned Doctor Wily.