The skyline of Midgar was dominated by a single structure: the headquarters of the Shinra Electric Corporation. From almost any point in Midgar it lurked over the horizon, a foreboding reminder of the omni-present influence the mega-corporation had on the lives of Midgar's residents. Mega Man could not imagine having to see something like that on the horizon every time he left Dr. Light's lab, constantly making him feel small and insignificant. The tower was having an unusually intimidating effect on him right now. Perhaps it was because this mission was so unusual, different from the usual routine of tracking down robot masters and Dr. Wily.

The first floor of the building was actually inviting. There was a shopping area and exhibits of the various vehicles Shinra built. Mega Man ignored the confused glances of shoppers and Shinra employees as he made his way to the reception desk. Although the people of Midgar saw robots all the time, they had clearly never seen anything like him before.

"Can I help you?" asked the receptionist, trying and failing to hide her confusion behind a mask of politeness.

"This is sort of awkward…" said Mega Man. There was probably no non-awkward way to do this, but he favored the direct approach. "My creator, Dr. Light, had some prototype robot designs stolen from his personal hard drive. I tracked the hacked files to Shinra servers, and they are being stored somewhere in this building."

The receptionist lost all of her composure and could not muster anything more than an expression of dull confusion.

After a pause, Mega Man asked, "So, is there someone I can talk to about getting them back, or…"

The receptionist yelled, "Security!"

Two beefy men in suits and sunglasses emerged. "You need to come with us or leave the building," said one of them.

Mega Man readied his buster. He had no doubt he could take them, but he was unsure of how to go about this. He rarely had to fight organic life forms and did not want to hurt them more than he had to. As he was deciding what ability to use against the, a flash of bluish light sailed across the room, striking the two guards and freezing them solid.

Mega Man turned to see Samus Aran, her arm cannon smoking with the frosty trail of her Ice Beam.

"Mega Man?" her voice had a tone of surprise hidden from her face behind her visor. "What are you doing here?"

"Shinra stole something. I'm here to get it back."

"Same here, actually," said Samus. "Some Phazon samples went missing from a Galactic Federation lab a few days ago. I tracked down the thief, who told me he delivered them to Shinra."

"Looks like we can help each other out." As Mega Man said that, several robotic grunts stormed into the reception area, weapons drawn. Samus and Mega Man assumed combat stances, their backs turned to each other as they brandished their arm cannons at the robots.

There was a clanging metal noise as something hit the ceiling. Mega Man and Samus looked up to see a chain had wrapped itself around one of the lamp fixtures. At the end of the chain was a muscular blonde man in leather armor. He swung across the room, arcing towards the robots. The threw a cross-shaped boomerang that curved around and hit each grunt one by one, shattering each oth them into rubble.

"Simon Belmont," said Samus. "You sure know how to make an entrance."

"What are you doing here?" asked Mega Man.

"These thieves have stolen an ancient tome of vampiric secrets, guarded by the Belmont clan for generations."

"Well, looks like we've all got stuff to take back from Shinra. Shall we go together?"

Simon and Mega Man nodded. Samus went up to one of the frozen security guards and pried a frost-covered ID badge from his jacket. "My scans indicate the most likely place they keep everything is a lab on the 67th floor."

The unusual looking trio entered an elevator, which speedily took them dozens of floors up in a matter of moments.

"We've probably activated all of the buildings' security forces," said Mega Man. "They'll be waiting for us at the top."

The elevator stopped. "Wait a second," said Samus. She switched her cannon to the Wave Beam. She fired several purple wisps of energy, which passed harmlessly through the elevator doors. After a moment the doors opened to reveal a slew of destroyed robot guards standing outside the elevator, still smoking form the Wave Beam's impact.

"Let's get going," said Samus, feeling a little impressed with herself. The best part of running into fighters from other worlds was getting to show off every now and then.

The three made their way for the lab, encountering more security forces along the way that did little to slow them down. The lab looked nothing like Dr Light's or even anything Samus had seen used by the Federation. In addition to hi-tech machinery were ancient relics and old manuscripts. Arcane lights flickered in synchronicity with the crackled of electrical currents from the devices. Whatever Shinra was working on involved the study of both the technological and the supernatural.

There were also several glass tubes containing creatures from various worlds. Goombas, Pikmin, and even a few Pokemon were kept in suspended animation. One tube was larger than all the rest, and contained someone the three instantly recognized.

"That's Pit!" shouted Mega Man.

Simon wasted no time. The hurled an axe which shattered the glass tube but left Pit unharmed. The angel fell to the floor, dripping in a strange, gelatinous fluid. He stirred to consciousness, shaking of a wave of grogginess.

"Where am I… Oh, hey guys!" He looked positively ecstatic to see his fellow fighters, if a bit confused. "What are you doing here? Were you kidnapped too?"

"No, we're raiding the building for stolen property," said Samus. "This wasn't like, a planned thing. We all just ended up coming here at the same time."

"They took something from all of you?" asked Pit. "I don't know who these guys are but they're jerks."

"That's becoming more and more clear," said Simon. He looked around the lab, his brow furrowed in concern and disgust. "What do you think they are working on here."

"I don't know, but we should have a conversation with whoever's in charge here," said Samus.

After Pit regained his stamina the four left the lab and ran down the hall until they found a scientist. Simon picked him up by the collar with one arm. "Where's your boss?"

"The 70th floor!" squeaked the scientist. "Please put me down!"

Simon threw the man against the wall, knocking him unconscious. The four went back into the elevator and rode it to the top. They emerged in the President's office, a spacious room with red carpeting. There was a balcony overlooking the skyline, with a helicopter perched and ready for takeoff.

A young man in impeccably tailored white clothes was readying to board the helicopter. A single, spiky lock of his blond hair drooped over his piercing blue eyes.
"Hello, I'm President Rufus Shinra," he said. "I assume you're the ones who have been causing havoc throughout my building?"

"We'd like you to answer some questions about your lab on the 67th floor said Samus."

"We'd also like a formal apology for being jerks!" added Pit.

Shinra laughed. "I'm sure you would, but I've got to fly."

"Are you sure you can't stay?" asked Samus. She pressed a hand to her visor and said, "Gunship, activate remote attack pattern Delta Seven."

Her orange Gunship flew across the Midgar skyline, straight for the building. It fired a single shot at Rufus's helicopter, reducing it to a flaming wreck.

Rufus sighed. "Very well. If that's how it's going to be… Dark Nation!" He snapped his fingers and his black Guard Hound rushed into the office. It rammed into Mega Man and Samus, knocking them both to the floor. It turned to lunge at Simon, but Pit rammed it, jamming the handle of his bow between it's jaw.

The Guard Hound growled with rage. It's swung it's head wildly, attempting to dislodge the weapon. It ripped it out of Pit's hand, flinging the angel across the room. It then eye him angrily, it's body arched in fury.

"Little help please!" shouted Pit.

Mega Man readied his cannon to fire at Dark Nation. Just before he fired, he heard a sound from across the room and pivoted to face it. His reaction was too slow, as he saw Rufus holding a double barreled shotgun. Mega Man did not have time to shoot first, as Rufus' gunfire tore threw the armor plating in his shoulder, knocking him to the ground.

Rufus turned the gun at Pit, who was trying to fend off Dark Nation with his Guardian Orbitars.

"I'd like for all of you to get the hell out of my office," said Rufus. He cocked the rifle and prepared to fire on Pit. To his surprise he saw a smile grow on Pit's face. Rufus tooka second to wonder what it meant, which gave Simon all the time he needed to wrap the Shotgun with his whip and pull it out of Rufus' hands. Rufus tried to bark an order at Dark Nation but that was to late too, as Samus shot a fully charged Ice Beam, covering the Guard Hound in frost.

Rufus put his hands up. "You win," he said dejectedly. Simon shot him a look of disapproval, then swung his whip again. It wrapped around Rufus' ankle, dragging him to the floor. Simon jumped up and wrapped the other chain around a light fixture on the ceiling. He pulled on that end of the whip, hoisting Rufus off the ground. The Shinra president was now hanging upside down by his ankle, a few feet off the ground.

"We've got some questions for you," said Samus casually. It had been years since her time in the Federation police, but she still knew how to keep her cool while interrogating a suspect.

Rufus cracked faster than anyone Samus had ever arrested. "I'm not the one you want to talk too." said Rufus.

"Oh really?" Samus wondered if he could see her raise an eyebrow through her visor. "Aren't you the president of Shinra?"

"We're just a middleman!" said Rufus desperately. "After the incident with Galeem, we got spooked. We wanted to know more about the world beyond Midgar, the powers of this universes various inhabitants."

"Yeah, so that's what all of the experiments were about," said Pit. "What am I missing here? I'm not the brightest, but it seems to me like you guys were just plundering various worlds to know more."

"It wasn't our idea," said Rufus. "We were contacted by a group that shared our concerns. They were comprised of scientists from various worlds, seeking to understand what binds our worlds together."

Samus did not like where this was going. The possibility that Shinra was a cog in a grater machine was potentially very, very bad news. "Who else is involved?" she asked coolly.

"We had one handler. He was our go with to the rest of the group. We were just storing stuff and making notes for him. He called the others Project: Endgame."

"Who was your handler?" said Samus, losing patience.

"Dr Wily!"

The four stood in silence. Mega Man was the first to speak, "Tell us how to get Wily." An uncharacteristically harsh expression covered his face.

"He comes over to deliver new material and inspect our findings. He's not scheduled to come for a while, but I could call him and say we urgently need his help in the lab."

The four watched as an interplanetary freighter docked in front of the Shinra building. It was boring and blocky, offering no clues as to who manufactured it or what corner of the universe it was from. Hiding behind the elaborate shrubbery that decorated the building's entrance, the four readied themselves for battle at any moment. The freigher's bay opened and out came the small, hunched form of Dr. Albert Wily. he was accompanied by a crew of robot workers bringing in crates of various sizes. No doubt they contained artifacts or creatures plundered from all the corners of the multiverse.

Wily looked down at a device on his wrist. He gawked in surprise, but then a twisted smile grew on his face. "You can't hide from my sensors, Mega Man! I know your here."

Mega Man shrugged at the others and leapt from behind the bush, followed by the others. Wily was dumbfounded when he saw the other three. "I wasn't expecting more of you. No matter. Guards, destroy them!"

Wily's robots dropped their cargo and immediately began firing at the approachers. It became clear in a few seconds they were outmatched, as energy pellets, light arrows, missiles, and crucifix boomerangs made short work of them.

Wily did not waste a second as he turned his back and fled into the freighter. Mega Man sighed. "Cowardly as ever, Wily."

The party of heroes followed the mad scientist into the freighter. They looked around for Wily, who had somehow disappeared among the crates filling the ship's hold.

"Wily is tricky," said Mega Man. "Be prepared for anything."

The sound of laughter filled the ship, though nobody could tell where it was coming from. "You'll never be prepared for this!"

Suddenly crates were thrown across the ship, a wave of crashing debris heading for the heroes. They dove out of the way and saw the source was a bipedal machine with several large cannons. Wily was in the cockpit, a look of manic glee on his face.

"As amazing as my designs are," said Wily. "My new friends have given me access to some incredible toys."

Samus activated her visor scanner to identify the machine. When she read the data entry she gasped. "That's a Metal Gear!"

"Where did Wily get a Metal Gear?!" asked Pit. He was not expecting an answer, but nobody had time to give one anyway as they all dove for cover. Wily began filling the cargo hold with machine gun and missile fire.

Once Samus found cover, she asked Mega Man, "How much of a crazy jerk is Wily? Before you answer, know that he's in a Metal Gear TX-55, which has a nuclear capable railgun. Scale of one to ten, what are the odds he blows us all up if he loses?"

Mega Man thought for a second, all the time he had as Wily kept firing. "Maybe a six? He's pretty in love with himself. I doubt he'd blow himself up."

That was too much of a risk for Samus. In her years as a bounty hunter she had seen cornered criminals do some crazy things. "We need to focus on the railgun first."

"I'm on it!" yelled Pit. With Palutena's gift he took to the air and aimed his bow at the weapon.

Wily turned the bipedal tank and fired a homing missile at the angel. SImon threw an expertly aimed ax that intercepted it midair, giving Pit time to fire. The expertly aimed bolt of light slashed through the weapon, short circuiting the rail gun then curving to take our some of the bigger guns. As the gunfire let up Simon and Mega Man emerged from their cover to engage Wily.

"Aim for the legs!" yelled Samus as she provided covering fire.

Simon threw another axe, this one hitting the Metal Gear's left knee joint. They leg could no longer move but the tank was still standing, and Wily was still firing. Mega Man threw a Metal Blade, hitting the same knee joint. This tore the weakened joint apart and left the tank wobbling on one leg. Wily made a valiant attempt to keep the Metal Gear upright, but it wobbled pathetically and fell to the ground.

Samus strolled up to the downed superweapon and kicked the glass cockpit in. As she pulled Wily out, he begged, "Have pity on me."

Mega Man rolled his eyes. "He always does this."

Samus looked at the quivering scientist, a smile on her face. "Hey Mega Man, is this guy wanted by law enforcement? I am a bounty hunter, after all."

Mega Man said, "Probably, he keeps trying to take over the world."

"Well then, maybe I'll get a reward for him. Unless you want to talk to us, Doctor"

Wily's pitiful expression was suddenly replaced by one of abject terror. Then he went stone cold. "I will tell you nothing. You cannot do anything to me worse than what they will do if they found out I told you anything. You will be lucky if you can keep me safe from them as it is."

Samus shot the other a worried look, and their faces mirrored hers. Something bigger was going on here. They had just found the first pieces of a massive, sinister puzzle.

Kamek approached the Devil's Machine. The Magikoopa was seriously regretting his life choices. Whe Project: Endgame had approached him, he was excited by the opportunity. Working for Bowser was starting to get embarrassing. And after he had come to be known as the guy who could not take out Yoshi? He was amazed that they took him seriously enough to ask for his magical expertise. It was an opportunity he could not pass up.

But it went downhill fast. He had been tasked to be the mediary for the creature inside the Devil's Machine, the mysterious Project Director. Kamek knew the Director better than any of their allies, but even he had no idea exactly what this entity was, or what it was capable of. All he knew was that it had lost its original body and now resided in the Devil's Machine, left vacant by Giygas. Well, he also knew that the Director was very powerful, very cruel, and not to be disappointed.

Which is why Kamek shuddered more than usual as he entered the flesh-like contraption. For the first time he had to deliver bad news. He approached the core, and saw his own reflection stare back. A voice came from the reflection, but not his own. It was eerily calm, as if totally confident in his dark power.

"Have you brought me more reading material?"

Kamek was able to keep the Director appeased by providing an impressive archive of magical texts. Whatever else the Director was, it was easily bored. As long as Kamek had tomes to provide, he could stay on the Director's good side. Perhaps that was about to change.

"I'm sorry to report a significant setback, Director. The entire Shinra operation has been compromised, and Dr. Wily himself has been taken into custody."

"By whom?" The Director sounded genuinely curious.

"Mega Man, Simon Belmont, Samus Aran, and the angel Pit all took him down. Apparently they were each independently investigating Shinra."

"This is not a significant problem." The Director's voice was calm as ever. "Shinra had valuable research, but their findings were not essential to our goal. We can have Andross and Robotnik pick up their slack. I am more concerned by the discovery of our operation by some of Master Hand's chosen fighters."

"Should we counterattack?" asked Namek, hiding his immense pleasure at the Director's lack of fury. "We might be able to keep them from revealing our action to the rest of the roster."

"We need not bother," said the Director. "It was inevitable they would find out about us eventually. Necessary, too. We simply have to move up out time table."

Namek bowed his head. "I will inform the others." He turned as politely as he could, desperate to leave the Director's presence.

"One more thing," said the Director. "Inform the others that I will soon be taking personal prerogative to act against a few of of the fighters personally. Tell them not to interfere with Shulk or Robin. I have something special planned for them. "

To be continued in "Rising Waters"