Ken Masters was really not having a good time anymore.

He had always been given a rush in a fight, but someone with a history as long as his could recognize that eventually, that rush faded. And then you realized your opponent wasn't giving in, and you were getting tired.

Ryu had fought him to that point many times. But this was different because his opponent was a soulless machine, who wasn't going to stop if Ken tapped out.

He cursed himself as he ducked under a powerful attack from its cannon for not asking a few more questions ahead of time. He had been just so anxious to have a real fight that he'd jumped at the opportunity.

He had heard a few things, though, mainly about the fate of the world in the balance, which was always a good motivator.

Ken managed to weave his way into his opponent. He grabbed the robot around the waist and hoisted it over his back, performing two backward somersaults before kicking the robot behind him, sending it toppling into a row of airport seats.

His famous Hell Wheel. It was a favorite of his, but performing it now, it only reminded him that he was getting exhausted. He wiped the sweat off of his brow, and had only enough time to get up before the robot was approaching him again.

This unit has been delayed longer than acceptable. The interfering human must be eradicated immediately.

"You sure think pleasantly," Ken replied. "I oughta introduce you to a friend of mine. Well, not really a friend, more like a...destructive chaos warrior from ancient times. But we all love 'em!"

The robot was not amused. Ken was forced to fall back as it began to fire repeated shots at him. He was clearly not damaging it enough. He needed a good opportunity, but it wasn't presenting itself.

Suddenly, in the midst of the shots being fired, a blast came from behind Ken that struck the robot. The damage was pretty minimal, but the robot seemed stunned. Ken turned around to see another robot standing behind him. It was a strange thing that seemed based on a police officer. 

It had a bulky and blocky design, but it was even taller than Ken. It's body parts were mostly a navy blue, with red bands around its joints and gray limbs under its armor. Its right hand, instead of matching the white left one, was a large white cannon that resembled a revolver. On its head was a blue hat like one worn by a policeman, with a gold star in the middle.

(For reference see Fake Man on the Mega Man Wiki)

"Good afternoon, sir." It spoke in a robotic tone similar to the other robot but was higher and more upbeat sounding. "I am here to provide assistance from Dr. Light. I am a prototype law enforcement model. I am eager to serve with you in the line of duty."

Ken blinked. "Uh, thanks." He pointed to the other robot with his thumb, who was preparing to attack again. "You mind...shooting at him more?"

The police robot nodded. "Right away, sir!" it exclaimed before unleashing five more powerful shots in succession. The other machine stumbled back a bit from each blow. Ken was astonished; he was glad for the help but it was looking like this thing was going to do all the hard work for him. 

However, after its sixth total shot, it stopped and used its free hand to fiddle with the cannon on its arm. In the time it took Ken to think, "it's reloading?", their opponent rushed forward, doing away with its weapon in favor of flat-out bashing in the new robot.

It may have had a mean shot, but it was no hand to hand fighter. Within seconds, Ken looked down at its head, punched clean off, rolling up to his legs. "Officer down. Repeat: Officer do..."

He took a deep breath and cleared his head. "So much for that." He pointed a hand at his opponent, and beckoned it with a finger. "Looks like I'll have to finish this myself!"

The robot went for a rush towards him, and Ken sidestepped, before unleashing two quick punches and pulling back for a crescent kick, which connected with its head. He let the motion turn him around, and as the robot raised the cannon to fire, he spun with his back towards his opponent, just dodging a shot at point-blank range and finding himself right in front of the robot.

He smiled and crouched slightly as his hand ignited in fiery power. He slammed his fist into the robot's gut, bringing it up to the chest, and then the bottom of its head, sending it rocketing upward with a burst of flame.

"SHHHHORYUUUUKEN!"

The robot crashed into the ceiling, hanging briefly before falling back down to the ground. Ken walked up to the fallen robot and slammed a fist into its head for good measure.

After catching his breath, he stood back up and looked around. The airport waiting area was pretty tattered, with some chairs in all manner of places. Nothing seemed to be on fire, thankfully, which was always something of a concern for Ken.

He glanced down at himself and noticed his suit was in tatters. All of its joints were torn, the sleeves were ripped up, and even his shoes were splitting at the sides. "Huh. I really overdressed." He looked down at the robot. "Didn't expect you to give me so much of a workout!" He laughed.

It was then that he noticed a young woman nervously peeking from behind a service counter. She seemed unsettled as she looked at him. He blushed slightly and waved. "Hey...that was...that was normal. Plenty of people do that." He scooped up his tie and turned to head toward the exit.

(Author note: More details to come regarding Ken and Ryu's appearances later)

---

Ra Devil was very smash-y compared to its Wily counterparts. The room we were in was fairly small, so there wasn't much we could do to get away from it. We continuously hopped over the debris left behind from previous punches or pounds that hit the walls around us.

Proto Man aggressively kept firing on it. He repeatedly aimed for its eye, while we hoped that my own dodging around might keep it distracted. However, Ra Moon's programming was smarter than that strategy. It went for sweeping strikes that threatened both Proto Man and myself. It sometimes blatantly ignored my jumping around to focus on Blues.

At one point, I decided to change things up. I planted myself right in front of its line of vision and began charging a shot. I continued charging as it glanced at me. However, it continued to try to crush Proto Man with all its effort. "Come on!" I shouted. "I'm right here!"

That was when it threw a full-force punch that Proto Man wasn't prepared for. He took the hit directly, being smashed into the wall. He crumpled to the ground and then was thrown brutally into the wall behind the Devil.

I faltered and lowered my weapon. "BLUES!" I shouted. I glanced back at Ra Devil just as it swung an arm toward me. I had lost my concentration, and I loosed my shot as I fell over to avoid the sweeping blow. The charged blast missed, sinking harmlessly into the body, and dealing no damage.

I was left helpless on the ground as it raised a fist to prepare to crush me. I glanced up. I couldn't get out of the way in time. I braced for impact.

---

The lightbulb robot was finally settling down from his celebration and looked back at his brother Pharaoh Man to see how he was doing.

It was then that he noticed the robot lying face down in the dirt, a bit of smoke rising from his back. "Uh-oh."

Wood Man and Flash Man approached him slowly. "Come on, pal," Flash began, "Let's not make this any harder than it has to be."

He shook his head. "Not a chance. A-after what you've done...there's no way I won't stand up to you! I, Bright Man, will fight for my master!" He pointed his cannon at them.

Wood Man sighed. "How I wish it did not have to be this way."

Flash smiled and charged at Bright Man. "Not so fast!" The red robot shouted, "My Flash Stopper will bring your systems to a halt!" He spread his arms and the lightbulb on his head flared up with intense light. Both Flash and Wood Man froze in the midst of their motion. Their systems had locked up in response to the intense light.

"I may not be the best fighter, but my power will give me the few seconds I need!" He exclaimed, aiming at Flash Man. Right as their systems came online again, he fired at the robot in front of him. However, Flash was already in the process of dropping down, and slid underneath the shot right up to Bright Man's legs.

"Unoriginal." He smirked as he pointed his cannon up and unloaded a series of shots right into Bright Man's chest. The robot stumbled back from the attacks. Flash stood back up and his cannon began to glow. "You call that power? Because this..." He used his Time Stopper, freezing Bright Man in place as he was about to fall backward.

Flash walked up to him and steadied himself before swinging his leg into his face. "..THIS IS POWER!" He shouted as time returned to its normal flow. Bright Man flew back with considerable speed, and the lightbulb on his head smashed against the ground.

"Alright." Flash Man smiled. "Who else wants some?"

"Glad you asked." The two robots turned to see a red robot, with a magnet on his head standing calmly. "I'm eager to see what you have to offer."

"Fine with me, buddy. Let's tango!" Flash raised his weapon, but Wood stepped forward and lowered it.

"Wait, brother. I feel a sense of foreboding."

The robot smiled. "Your bro's pretty on point. You have no idea how screwed you are." He raised his hands toward Flash and flicked his wrist.

A force that seemed to envelop his whole body overtook Flash and flung him a considerable distance away in the blink of an eye. "WHAT THE-" he yelled before being conveniently censored by the sheer distance that had formed between them.

Magnet Man smiled and looked at Wood. "You might be a little tougher. Made of real wood I hear! But you've got parts in you. I'll just have to be more meticulous."

---

Heat Man was barely hanging on at this point. He had worn himself out fighting Gemini Man, and the robot always seemed a step ahead. Gemini's illusions were frustrating to figure out. And they were all incredibly annoying like he was.

Heat ignited once more and rocketed towards a line of Geminis, that all moved aside easily and fired lasers at his back once he had passed through. "Come on...tell me you've got more than that!" One of them shouted as Heat tumbled into the dirt.

"Yeah, some of us still haven't gotten to play yet!"

"You want to take turns? If you get hit you step out?"

"Sounds fair to me!"

Heat sat up and looked at his opponent's many copies laughing amongst themselves. He could barely turn his heat on at this point. He wouldn't last long without it.

That was when one of the most commanding, heroic voices he'd ever heard overtook their conversation.

"Hear me, villains!" All the clones turned around to see a robot, clad in what resembled blue medieval battle armor. A large spike metal ball jutted out from its cannon arm, and it clutched a blue and gold shield with intensity. "I am Knight Man. I have bested over 1000 robots in combat. I am designed to fight for chivalry and honor." His eyes narrowed in his helmet. "This...pitiful bullying is unbecoming."

The copies looked at him with a frown. "Who's this kook?"

"No idea. Our master doesn't know anything about him."

"Who cares?" One punched his fist into his palm. "Let's show him he can't just interrupt our fun like that."

"No, sir!"

"Not cool, man!"

They formed a circle around him, multiplying to over twenty. "Come on! Show us what you got!" They all taunted in unison. "Just try and take us down! We'll overwhelm ya!"

Knight Man said nothing in response. He shifted his cannon arm, and the spiked ball fell to the ground with a heavy THUD, a sturdy metal chain running from inside the cannon down to the ball. He looked around at them for a moment, and then turned sharply on the spot. The weapon jerked into the air and swung violently as he spun a circle. It passed quickly through copy after copy in a matter of about a second, before finally coming to the real deal.

The actual Gemini Man practically crumpled like tinfoil around the ball. He was pulled off his feet and his body was dragged with it for a brief moment before tumbling off into the dirt, rag dolling across the ground for several feet. 

The Gemini copies froze for a moment, then began muttering comments as their images began to disappear.

"Fair enough."

"Yup. Well played."

"GG, bro."

Knight Man retracted the ball and walked over to Heat Man, who was now struggling to get up. He offered his hand to the robot, who looked up at him in awe before taking it.

"Thank you...but...who are you?"

Knight Man's helmet only left his eyes visible, but Heat could have sworn he was grinning. "My lad...WE are what you would call...the cavalry."

---

Magnet Man was having fun now.

He had been anxious for a chance to show what he could really do. He had given only a sampling with Mega Man and Proto Man because Skull had to be in the way. Not this time.

Several robots had tried to approach him. The same number had been blasted over a half a mile, or swamped by magnetized debris. One he had even stuck onto the back of the giant Hard Man (who seemed to not have even noticed).

Quick Man had been surprisingly difficult. Despite his mastery of magnetics, the robot evaded his capture multiple times. However, he simply expanded his magnetic field to mess him up a bit, and finally had him held in the air, crunched together by invisible forces.

"It's been fun having you all here. Really. I've been begging for an excuse to smash some bots. And here you are. Although I'm a little disappointed. Isn't there anyone of you who could give me a good fight? I'm just asking for some competition, here!" He had practically begun shouting at this point.

A voice came from behind him. "Impressive...for one so limited in scope."

Magnet Man frowned and turned around. Walking toward him was a tall red robot. His boots were very large, and his upper body had a distinct "v" shape, accented by the shoulder blades of his armor that rose almost higher than his head. Despite Magnet holding Quick Man helpless in the air, the robot seemed unfazed as he walked toward him.

"What'd you say to me?" Magnet asked. "Do you know who I am?"

"Of course. I know all about you from Dr. Wily's data. Unfortunately, you don't seem to know who I am, for if you did, you would be...quivering a bit more."

Magnet shook his head. "Alright, big shot. If you think you're so good, then come on! Show me something!"

A wicked smile spread across the robot's face. Two yellow arrows were on its chest piece, one pointing up and the other down. The upward one began to flash. He extended a glove. "With pleasure."

He gave a sort of thumbs-down gesture, and then flicked it to point up.

In the time it took to perform the motion, Magnet Man felt his feet come off of the ground. "Whoa...whoa, wait just a minute here!" He shouted as he began to lift several feet off of the ground.

The robot's smile widened. "You're currently experiencing very small gravitational acceleration directly upward. Give it a few minutes, and you'll start flying into the stratosphere. But since you're so anxious to see what I can do..."

Magnet's eyes widened with fear as the robot jerked its arm up, and he was suddenly thrown upward as if out of a cannon.

Quick Man, having been released from Magnet's hold, looked at the robot with a frown. "Who...who are you?"

He looked down at him. "Ah yes. Quick Man. I thought I might see you here. I'm a fellow...or I suppose you're not anymore...whatever the case...I am among the newest line of Robot Masters from the great genius of Dr. Wily. Gravity Man at your service." He bowed with much gusto.

A few seconds afterward, Magnet came crashing down, screaming, until he was brought to a stop before hitting the ground, still screaming for a few seconds.

"Oops." Gravity chuckled.

Magnet twisted about in the air, seemingly struggling to get to the ground, but Gravity left him just high enough. "You...that's fighting dirty! You can't just...use my tricks against me!"

Gravity held his hand over his heart. "Oh, but I don't! You utilize the forces of magnetism. I am in control of gravity itself. Perhaps another demonstration would do."

If it was possible, Magnet's eyes became wider. "Please no."

---

I continued bracing myself for the hit, then after a while figured it wasn't coming. I looked up and noticed the Ra Devil twitching slightly. I took the opportunity to check up on Proto Man. I climbed over some debris and found him lying on his back in the midst of a big pile. He seemed too beaten to get up, but his buster was smoking.

I knelt down next to him. "Let me see what I can do."

He held up his hand. "No time. You have to take care of it."

I wanted to ignore him and help anyway, but he seemed adamant. "How? W-what do I even do?"

He weakly pointed at the back of the Ra Devil, where it seemed to be held in place by a series of cords that descended from a strange hub in the ceiling. "I hit it with a shot. It seemed stunned. I think Ra Moon is transferring its program into the unit. It's possible we could seriously disrupt it if we damage both the Devil and the hub at the same time."

I blinked. "How could I do that that quickly?"

He grabbed my arm. "You need to fire the most powerful shot you can. It needs to go through the Devil's eye and into the target. If it works...well, I don't know what might happen."

I nodded. "I guess...we gotta try something, though."

Proto Man looked at me. "Can you do a double charge shot?"

I thought about what he was suggesting. "Theoretically. But...it would completely deplete my systems, and I might not be able to contain that much energy anyway."

He sighed. "What if we connected you through my power core?"

"What?"

He nodded. "My core is like a nuclear reactor. It's got massive energy potential, but it risks going unstable quickly. But, if we try balancing your charge shot energy between your weapons systems and my core, we should be able to hold it long enough to fire."

I shook my head. "That's crazy. There's no way I would-"

"Rock. Listen to me."

I glanced down at him. He was shifting a bit, sort of sitting up in the rubble. "When I first heard about you...I hated you. I thought you were a replacement for me. It hurt me that Doctor Light didn't try harder to bring me back...even if I didn't want to go."

He sighed. "It took a while, but I eventually saw that that was a lie. You weren't a replacement. You were your own person. Designed to be someone special. And helpful. You...you are a real hero, Mega Man."

He lifted his hands to his helmet and removed it. For the first time, I saw his face. His jagged brown hair that stuck up from his head like a curved blade. A pointed, black reflective lens over his eyes. A small smile on his face.

"Even if you were a replacement...you were a better son for Dr. Light than I ever could have been. You were what he deserved."

I wasn't sure if my battle systems would allow me to cry. I was pretty darn close.

"Well, you'll have the chance to see if that's true when we go home," I told him, "so let's do it."

Proto Man opened a panel on his chest, revealing a pulsating yellow core. "There's a power cord in there. Light kept it in my body so I could drain energy from the reactor if necessary."

I uncomfortably reached inside, pulling out a cord a probably about four feet long. I plugged one end into a port near his core just as Ra Moon spoke.

Mega Man. You continue in a futile effort.

"For a super computer...it has a pretty limited vocabulary," I muttered.

Your forces may have their victories on the battlefield today, but many more battles will come. The army I have amassed and the Devil unit I have designed are merely a sampling of what can be created. And my systems are protected...you have no opportunity to destroy them, even if you could amass enough power.

"Let's blow this thing up so it can shut up," Proto Man grunted as I plugged the other end of the cord into the back of my helmet.

As soon as the connection was made, the Ra Devil's body shifted, twisting around to face us and block the hub. It raised an arm and prepared to sweep toward us.

I scooped up Proto Man in my arms and carried him as quickly as I could across the room. I barely ducked under a swipe and jumped out of the way as one of the massive arms crushed the ground next to me.

"We have to stop here." Proto Man told me. "We need time to charge it up."

I nodded, stopping beside his shield and setting him down. I switched both of my arms to Buster form and started charging. Energy began to hum, and I could see light flashing out of several spots in my body. 

"You know...more likely than not...this'll destroy us both." Proto Man told me, as he weakly sat on one knee.

"Then we'd better make it count."

As I finished speaking, the devil threw one more punch directly at us. I realized I couldn't afford to let up charging, and we couldn't move quickly with Proto Man damaged as he was. While I realized what this meant, Proto Man lunged forward with his shield up, getting in front of me as the blow hit.

We were both thrust back with tremendous power, crashing into the wall, but Proto Man managed to hold firm and prevent us from being crushed. When the Devil withdrew its arm, he collapsed to the ground, dropping his shield.

I glanced down at him, barely able to see clearly with all the warnings my monitor was giving me. His core flashed rapidly. But he nodded and gave me a thumbs up. I could only barely hear him say one last thing.

"For Dr. Light."

I looked back at the Ra Devil. My targeting systems aimed for a shot that would put the blast right through its eye and into the heart of Ra Moon.

"For Dr. Light." I raised both cannons over my head and pointed just long enough to aim. 

And I fired.

---

Only one more chapter in War Games.

This arc was one I've been building for ages. I have more that I hope to tell with this story, but for now, this chapter is coming to a close.

What will happen after all this? You'll have to wait and see.

Thanks so much for reading. While I'm stuck at home, I've felt way more motivated to work on this stuff, and it makes me feel good, because I bet I'm giving you guys something to enjoy too while you're dealing with all this. Please stay safe, but also stay positive. Wherever you are, whatever's going on, know that I'll be wishing you all the best. You guys make my writing more than just words. I can't thank you enough for that.