Someone had managed to do something.

It was Break Man's immediate conclusion upon examining the logging plant. The machinery was nearly intact, with some dents and scorches only making for cosmetic damage.

But all the worker robots that Cut Man had been in charge of were either destroyed or inert. The majority of them had internal damages, some severe enough to cause explosions. Some had overheated, some had been overloaded with electricity, a few had been physically beaten into malfunction, and others looked like they were hit with different forms of energy weapon—something different and stronger than any military or law enforcement could possibly have.

Who did this? He couldn't seem to find any further clues to that.

Near the drying ovens, a few stray Rolling Cutters were lodged in the ground, but other than that, there was no trace whatsoever of Cut Man. There were more dents, scorches, and even lines cut into the ground. There had been a battle, and whoever won probably took Cut Man.

Someone out there had the means to undo Dr. Wily's plans. And as his right-hand robot, it was his job to let him know.

Dr. Wily turned away from his monitors upon hearing the teleporter reactivate. Break Man approached. "What did you find?"

"Not Cut Man," Break Man began. "There was a battle at the logging plant where he was stationed. He lost."

"What do you mean 'he lost'?"

"The only sign that Cut Man had been there at all were some lost Rolling Cutters. I think someone took him."

"Who!?"

"I don't know, but whoever they are, they have weaponry that was able to outgun even the military. Many of the worker robots were rendered inactive even before they lost Cut Man's signal."

"This can't be possible… Cut Man was backed by the forces that integrated themselves into my control chips! Are you saying whoever did this was able to overpower those as well?"

"It appears so. There was no trace of them, either."

"Impossible, impossible, impossible!" Wily roared, turning back to the monitors. "I'll have to go there myself and see—" Wily stopped short when Elec Man's signal disappeared suddenly. "Verdammt noch mal!" Wily turned harshly over his shoulder, glaring. "Break Man! Go immediately to the power plant! You're under the same orders as when you investigated the logging plant! Find out who's doing this!"

Break Man nodded and returned to the teleporter without another word.

Dr. Wily immediately started encoding a message to the four other Robot Masters. If someone really was beginning to dismantle his operation, they needed to be on their guard.

They needed to make these interlopers pay.

Mega Man supported the inert Elec Man as he returned to the lab via teleporter. Gancena and the Pokémon returned a second later.

Much like before, Roll approached Mega Man and Elec Man immediately. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. Help me with Elec Man."

Cut Man stepped forward. "Let me help, too."

Mega Man nodded. "I think he has more damage than you did."

Mega Man squared himself underneath Elec Man's torso as Roll and Cut Man each took one of his arms over their shoulders. Roll looked towards Gancena. "And how about you?"

"We're fine," Gancena said. "I got the brunt of it this time, but we're fine." She followed them to the work table they laid Elec Man on. Gancena shuddered when she saw oil staining Mega Man's back.

Dr. Light glanced over Elec Man. "The Rolling Cutter did more damage than I anticipated," he observed.

"I-I'm sorry, Dr. Light. I had to—"

"I can still repair him, Mega Man. It will simply take longer than it did for Cut Man."

"Elec Man was super-scary when he was under Wily's control," Cut Man said. He looked at Gancena. "You said you took the most damage?"

"Yeah. Zapped me really well. I'd still be hurting if I hadn't had an apple. Speaking of…" Gancena slid her backpack off her back and opened it. "Heck. I've used quite a few apples already… I bought a square dozen last time I restocked and now I'm down to like three. I still have things the Pokémon can use, at least…"

"I can get you more in the morning," Roll volunteered.

"You're sure?" Gancena asked.

"Yes."

"Thank you. I'll probably need it, honestly."

"In the meantime," Dr. Light said, "you should all rest, hopefully for the night. We've been monitoring the other Robot Masters and the only significant change is that the storm over the power plant has subsided."

"The chip," Gancena said. "If Cut Man's had a Thoughtless in it, Elec Man's probably does, too. We need to get rid of it immediately."

Ash, Biran, and Floss immediately perked up and stood between Elec Man and Mega Man, already preparing to attack.

Dr. Light sighed. "You're right… I'm going to open Elec Man's main access panel…" Dr. Light did so and reached for the circuitry tongs again, ready to remove the Wily chip the moment he saw it.

It was installed in the same place as Cut Man's, and Dr. Light wasted no time in its removal. It shattered while still in his grip, and the shadows of the Thoughtless washed over the inert Elec Man and tried to reach for Dr. Light, only for Roll to yank him away. Haunter dashed in front of them, his hands spread protectively, a Shadow Ball forming in front of him.

Ash and Biran immediately caught the Thoughtless in their usual combination while Floss prepared a Moonblast. Gancena charged a shot from the Super Scope while the Thoughtless shifted forms, the tallest part of it turning vaguely into the shape of Elec Man with pinprick eyes and a gaping maw.

Gancena and Haunter fired their attacks at the same time, and the Thoughtless lost what little of its form it had before Moonblast wiped it away until it was just little specks of shadow dissolving off Elec Man's body.

Floss was the first to relax, exhaling in relief. Bits of the chip were scattered over Elec Man's open chest.

Dr. Light almost began his approach, but Roll gripped his sleeve firmly and took a careful step closer. "Elec Man's circuits are processing something…" she observed.

Ash climbed Gancena to get a better view, and one by one the others, save Mewtwo, peered in. There were indeed sparks jumping occasionally around Elec Man's chest.

Dr. Light went over to a desk, pulling thick rubber gloves onto his hands, and lifted Elec Man's head briefly to access a panel on the back of his head, plugging several cables from one of the main computers in. Data showed up on the screen instantly. "It's extra electricity trying to run off. It could have been from the Thoughtless' time with him or even from Ash's electrical attack."

Ash's ears perked briefly before falling slightly. "Is that bad?" she asked.

"Not necessarily. It doesn't seem to have done any further damage…" Dr. Light paused to examine the monitor more closely. "Yes. Yes, Elec Man will be fine. And since the Thoughtless is dealt with, now would be a good time for you all to rest."

"You're sure?" Gancena asked. Even though she was definitely exhausted from the fighting and the damage, she was still worried about the Robot Masters. The longer they remained out there and active, the more damage they could do.

"For now, yes. Mega Man, I would recommend you do the same for as long as possible. We'll notify you if something happens."

"Notify me, too," Gancena said. "I don't want Mega Man going out there alone."

Mega Man felt an odd twinge at that. He wasn't quite sure what brought it on, but his first thoughts were closer to annoyance and frustration rather than concern and understanding. Maybe he did need to rest after all.

"All right, Dr. Light. Good night."

The power plant was virtually a mirror of the logging plant: many scorched areas, many destroyed and disabled worker robots, several cuts on the ground and blotches of oil. The generator Dr. Wily had ordered Elec Man to build was nothing but scrap and its connections to the power grid had long since been severed.

Break Man had to conclude it was the same group of people who had defeated Cut Man.

Seeing nothing else worthy of investigating, Break Man vanished in a blink.

Dr. Wily turned in his chair as soon as he heard Break Man return. "Well?"

"Same damages, with no sign of Elec Man."

"Rraugh!" Dr. Wily roared, turning sharply back to his monitors. "Verdammt, Verdammt, Verdammt!" He hastily grabbed a microphone and set up a relay to the remaining Robot Masters. "Attention, all Robot Masters! We can now confirm that someone is either brave or stupid enough to attempt to interfere with our plans! Cut Man and Elec Man have already been defeated, and we cannot afford to lose any more power before we set out on our conquest! Everyone must be on their guard, and if anyone tries to disrupt you, alert me immediately and take no prisoners!" He slammed the communication channel shut.

Dr. Wily seethed for a moment, mind racing. Who in the world could have—

Dr. Light.

Damn him, Dr. Light probably came up with some new robot powerful enough to take down the Robot Masters! But how did he manage that in such a quick time? Damn him and his sense of righteousness—

"What would you have me do, Dr. Wily?" Break Man asked.

Dr. Wily sighed. As long as Break Man remained loyal to him, he would still have an edge. A swathing shadow rose from beneath the desk, almost humming. Yes, he would…

Dr. Wily turned back to Break Man, who had not moved. "First, you are to organize a unit of reinforcements out of the robots we've already made here. Then, you must all be prepared to move out at a moment's notice. Understood?"

"Yes, Dr. Wily. It will be done."

As Break Man retreated, Dr. Wily turned the entire situation over in his head… and a new idea arose. It'd been a genius idea to tell Break Man and his upcoming unit to be ready at a moment's notice. They may very well be needed sooner than he'd originally though.

Dr. Wily observed the radar briefly and contacted Ice Man. "Ice Man, are you there?"

"Yes, this is Ice Man, Dr. Wily."

"Have you seen the interlopers yet?"

"No, sir."

"Good. Have you or any of your worker robots seen anything of interest at your current station?"

"Not that I'm currently aware, sir. Do you have a concern about the area?"

"No, no. I simply have a new assignment."

"I'm all ears, sir."

"Despite the apparent loss of Cut Man and Elec Man, we must let the people of the world see our might. I would have you and your battalion move somewhere more temperate and freeze it completely over." He glanced at the shadow hovering nearby and subtly vibrating. "All I would need is a moment to decide where would be the most strategic. Will you do this, Ice Man?"

"Of course, sir! We eagerly await your orders, sire—I mean, sir!"

"Worry not, Ice Man. 'Sire' is just fine," Dr. Wily finished, grinning wickedly. "In fact, I insist."

Gancena dreamed that night, of following Mega Man, chasing Robot Masters, firing in an almost arcade-like way at any worker robots that got too close. The Pokémon ran alongside her, waiting for orders she periodically gave. Even Mewtwo was there, and Gancena could only think she was pleasantly surprised.

Then, crossing to their position from a distance was another robot with similar build to Mega Man, clad in a gray bodysuit and red armor, leaping into the action like a red raider come to save them.

His presence startled Gancena so much that she immediately woke up.

For just a moment, she looked around, trying to find him again, before realizing that she'd been dreaming. Around her, Haunter, face flat on the floor, and Floss, next to him with a spare blanket, using her Doll as a pillow, were out like streetlights at sunrise. Mewtwo wasn't in the room. Ash lay on her back under the blankets like a toddler, and she stared at Gancena's outburst.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, Ashie, I'm sorry," Gancena whispered.

"No, I was awake," Ash said.

Haunter raised his head to look at them. "Everything all right, Captain?" he whispered.

Gancena nodded. "Yeah. Odd dream more than anything. Go back to sleep."

Haunter hummed and returned to his original position.

"Sorry, Ash," Gancena said again.

"Odd dream?" Ash repeated, tilting her head.

"Yeah. Just about what we've been doing."

"Okay." Ash rolled over. After staring at the ceiling for a moment, she pushed herself up and stretched. "I'm going to check on everything."

"Ash, you don't have to."

"I want to. Just in case."

"All right, squishy," Gancena said, tugging her close to give her a smooch. "Go do your patrol."

Ash hopped off the bed, walking over to the door and pausing. She looked back, pointing at the knob set three times her height. Gancena almost got up when Haunter stretched his hand from where he was to open it for her. Ash whispered her thanks before slipping out. Haunter carefully pushed the door, leaving it cracked just enough so Ash could push it back open without needing the knob.

Gancena smiled, said her thanks to Haunter, and slipped back to sleep.

Ash briefly scented and listened around the top floor of the house, then the bottom floor, then the path to the lab, finding nothing out of place on the way. She heard the voices of Roll, Cut Man, and a new voice—Elec Man, she guessed—before she saw them at the monitors with all the radars and stuff they were using to keep track of the Robot Masters.

"I don't think we're getting anywhere," Elec Man said. "I wouldn't be surprised at all if Dr. Wily encrypted information about his current location."

Roll sighed. "I had to try."

"It's better than nothing," Cut Man said. "I get all antsy just standing around. I feel like I gotta do something."

Elec Man then turned his head to see Ash come in. He didn't say anything.

"(Hi,)" she said, although she knew they wouldn't understand her.

Roll and Cut Man turned then. "Oh, hi, Ash!" Roll said. "You're up early."

"(It's only a little early for me,)" she chattered.

"What's she saying?" Cut Man asked.

"I don't know," Roll answered, approaching her. "Gancena said all she can say is her species' name. At least physically."

"What's that mean?"

"She and the rest of Gancena's friends can talk telepathically with humans, but it doesn't work on us, since our brains aren't like human brains."

"Uh-huh," Cut Man said. "Uh… Pika. Pika-pikachu. Pika?"

Ash's ears dropped a bit. "(You're talking nonsense.)"

"That's not going to work," Elec Man said. "You can't expect to speak a language you don't understand."

"Well, what else was I supposed to do, not try!?"

Elec Man pinched the bridge of his nose and didn't say anything.

Ash remembered that Gancena had wanted to start vocalization practice, but that had been the night Dr. Wily broke in. It'd been chaos ever since. She swallowed. She also remembered what Haunter had said, many nights ago, before Floss and Biran and Mewtwo had joined them. Basic sounds…

She ran her tongue over her mouth and exhaled, trying to make a noise like the beginning of a hiss.

"Ash?" Roll asked.

Ash stopped and looked up at her.

"Are you okay?"

"(Yeah,)" Ash said, nodding.

A set of heavy, metallic footsteps came towards the lab, and everyone turned to look at Mega Man, his mouth a solemn line.

"Rock!" Roll called. "Are you all right?"

"I'm not sure. I was trying to sleep, but… I kept thinking I was seeing things. It's like I was dreaming."

"But… we're not supposed to do that," Roll said.

"Exactly."

"All right, then. Come here," Roll insisted, tugging her brother's arm.

"Roll?"

"I'm making sure you're all right. We're running a diagnostic. Sit on the table and I'll get it set up."

"Oh. All right, then…"

Ash watched Mega Man—or should she think of him as 'Rock' right now?—sit on a worktable near a big computer—the same one Elec Man had been on, she realized quickly. When Roll went behind Mega Man to remove his helmet, Ash hopped on to watch more closely. With a careful touch, Roll opened a small panel just under the back of Mega Man's head, and plugged several cables in. Then she went over to one of the monitors and entered some commands. Ash watched the place where the wires met Mega Man's head, but nothing seemed to happen. But plenty happened on the monitors.

When it stopped, Roll said, "Whoa."

"What is it?"

"According to this, not only are you fine, but your power's actually… over capacity, somehow."

"What? By how much?"

"Everything's operating at one hundred and ten percent."

"What?"

"Exactly. Let me run it again."

The results of the diagnostic didn't change.

"This is so weird…"

"But you know what? I'll take it," Mega Man decided. "I might just need it."

Short hours later, Gancena, the other Pokemon, and Dr. Light had risen. Dr. Light ate his breakfast by the monitors, prompting a sigh from Roll that everyone noticed. They collectively watched Mega Man join him, going over everything carefully…

Haunter in particular thought that something was a little too firm about Mega Man's expression, even considering the circumstances. He glanced at Gancena, wondering if she'd noticed, but she simply finished her plate, looking lost in a different train of thought.

She was. To try and keep herself from tensing too much over the next Robot Master battle, she lightly contemplated her dream. She absolutely knew who she had seen, no question. But as far as she knew, it was… too early in the timeline for his presence to be a possibility…

"Gancena," said a voice, "right?"

She looked. Elec Man approached. She genuinely hadn't realized. "Yes. How are you feeling, Elec Man?"

"Like myself," he said, though his expression was almost solemn, a sharp contrast to his sharp grin and bellowing from the day before. "I came to apologize for what happened, since I didn't have a chance yesterday."

"There's no need," Gancena immediately said. "None of that was your fault."

"Technically, no… well. To an extent."

Gancena's brow furrowed. "How do you mean?"

"It's true that Dr. Wily's programming was overriding any and all previous directives, but… the intensity with which I was attacking you all and trying to defend my post… it still felt like I was consciously deciding to be so… harsh. I don't know why."

"That might have been the Thoughtless in you," Haunter remarked, floating a bit closer. "They feed off many things: fear, anger, even the primal urge within to just… ignore the consequences and destroy. Would you say you felt any of those?"

"I… I was certainly frustrated when I realized you'd been impeding my progress," Elec Man said, glancing away, "but… I was not afraid. All I'd known before was Wily's orders. But when I was repaired, I realized that wasn't supposed to be the case. It was… jarring."

"Either way, Elec Man," Gancena said, "I accept your apology."

The instant Gancena stopped speaking, an emergency notification started beeping. She stood up immediately and sprinted into the lab, leaving the others behind. "Who've we got, Dr. Light?" she asked.

"It's Ice Man," Dr. Light answered, the Pokemon filing in. "And we're receiving a report that part Long Beach, California is completely frozen over, with the affected area rapidly expanding."

"Then we need to go right now," Mega Man said.

"Right!" Gancena called. "Let me get the armor on," she said, sprinting to the work table where her armor was kept.

"Hurry!" Mega Man shouted, his voice laced with urgency.

Haunter, Floss, and Ash followed Gancena, all hoping to help her get it on faster.

"I'm bringing you four in your Poké Balls," she immediately said, pulling on a boot. Floss grabbed a gauntlet and Haunter her helm. Ash could only think to hold the other boot steady for her. "It's going to be cold, so odds are I'll have to limit the time you spend outside. No one's freezing on my watch."

"I should be able to move freely," Haunter reminded. "Put Ash and Floss on Biran's back. They'll have a better time enduring from there."

"That's about what I was thinking, yeah," Gancena said. "I'll let you guys out once we're there."

Mega Man and Gancena appeared on a slice of the California coast, indeed frozen over as far as they could see. Even the ocean had gained a cover of translucent ice, but waves constantly broke it into huge pieces, water rushing over and under its surface.

Gancena immediately put up her mouth guard and remarked to Mega Man, "I'm not feeling the chill as much as I thought I would. What's the temperature?"

"Sub-zero. But your armor's insulated. So's mine," Mega explained. "Still, be careful out here. Go back if it gets too cold."

"I've done worse, probably," Gancena said, tossing Biran's Poké Ball. Biran shook himself briefly and Gancena stepped to his side, grabbing him by the shoulder on her final step when her foot began to slide from under her. "Whoa!"

"And be careful about the ice itself, too…" Mega Man added.

"…Eeyup," Gancena said, standing back up. "Not a problem for Haunter, at least…" she added, taking and tossing his Poké Ball. Then she held up Ash and Floss' Balls, opening them so they'd appear squarely on Biran's back, as planned. Both of them briefly shivered anyway and pressed close, scooting towards Brian's neck.

"You two need to let me know if you're freezing, okay? Your safety is extremely important!"

Just then everyone could hear the sound of multiple rudders spinning through the air. Several small penguin-like robots and a few bigger green ones with arms had spotted them and were closing in.

Gancena whipped open her Super Scope. "Let's get started!"

Dr. Wily's communications beeped again. "Yes?"

"Dr. Wily, sire, this is Ice Man! Troops are falling at the edge of our area. It's likely the interlopers, sire, and I'm reporting to you as requested."

"Excellent. Thank you, Ice Man. Reinforcements will be sent straight away. In the meantime, remember what I said."

"Taking no prisoners, sire! They'll be dealt with one way or another! Permission to return to duty, sire?"

"Permission granted." Dr. Wily closed the communication with Ice Man and activated the intercom instead. "Attention, reinforcement unit, prepare to move out to the incoming coordinates! Break Man, come to me for further orders before your departure!"

More of the flying penguin bots and limbed helicoptering bots flew in over the cascades of ice, firing energy bullets as they went.

Many of them were easily clipped by Ash's Thunderbolts, sending them falling low enough to be taken out by whoever could hit them first.

Many features of the area had turned to veritable icy hills, and Mega Man just managed to climb one without slipping, looking over the horizon. More of Ice Man's worker robots were already flying in their direction, but he noticed, just in the distance, a swirling icy storm.

"That way!" he shouted, pointing. "That has to be where Ice Man is!"

"Forward, then!" Gancena called, right before her leg slid out from under her and she landed butt first, her head smacking against the ground. "Ow."

"Are you okay, Captain?" Haunter immediately asked.

"Yeah. Might feel that later, but the fall was mostly cushioned," she said, sitting up. "Hey, I've got an idea. Biran, use Flamethrower on the ice ahead of us for a second or two and see if that gives us more footing."

Biran inhaled and torched the area in front of him, and the ice the Flamethrower touched slumped into slush. His breath hitched and the attack stopped when he felt some of the slush surround his hoof. He lifted it up immediately and almost stumbled a step back.

"Oh," Gancena said. "It was okay for like a second." She stepped in the partly melted ice, once, then twice. Water sloshed around her boots and she almost slipped again. "…And that did not work as intended," she sighed. "Sorry, Biran."

Mega Man had an idea of his own and fired a few Buster shots in the direction of the storm. Ice broke and scattered, leaving a rougher and easier path. "How about that?" he asked.

Gancena very briefly raised her visor. "…I love it. Let's go—oh."

Just as Gancena looked to Biran to check on him, she saw him trotting around the slushy spot. When he got close to the new path, he made a point of stomping the ice beneath him as hard as he could, and found the ice breaking in a similar way. Ash and Floss cheered aloud.

"Oh! Oh ho ho!" Haunter called, applauding. "Very ingenious, my boy!"

"If I Stomp while I run," Biran called to Gancena, "I can cut a way through!"

"Then, whenever it's safe enough to do so, lead the charge!" Gancena shouted.

Biran nodded and began dashing and pounding his way ahead, though he occasionally turned back to widen and reinforce the path.

Mega Man approached, and Gancena began saying, "Thanks, Mega Man. If it weren't for you, he wouldn't have thought to do that…" but trailed off as he continued.

"Thank me later. Let's get to Ice Man!" he said, glancing back at Gancena.

Gancena followed immediately, but Haunter paused. That had been so oddly… well, rude, of Mega Man…

He paused the train of thought as more worker robots emerged from near the icy storm. Haunter flew forward, preparing to defend his friends.

"Yes, Dr. Wily?"

"Break Man. You will be joining the reinforcement unit, but not as firepower. I need you to scout out just who is interfering and report everything back to me."

"You're certain, Dr. Wily? You don't want me to join the fight?"

"Not yet. You're meant to be something of a trump card. If the reinforcements are not enough to deter them, then you'll show them what you can do."

"Even if it means losing Ice Man?"

"I've had time to think it over," Dr. Wily said, pacing. Two Thoughtless hovered around his feet. "And I've decided that it's worth the risk. Even though we lost Cut Man and Elec Man, we can still gather wood and generate electricity. We can still have the conquest without Ice Man. Fire Man may be stationed at the steel mill, but Bomb Man and Guts Man can still do some preliminary damage. Each of them is fearsome on his own. Can you imagine the destruction they could cause if they were stationed together!?" Dr. Wily laughed.

Break Man didn't answer at first, but he finally said, "I suppose I can."

"Before you go, Break Man…" Dr. Wily finally said, stopping. One Thoughtless floated up to his side. "Do you perhaps need or even want a companion?"

"No. If you want me to scout, I need to be clear-headed."

"Very well. I personally feel more clear-headed when they're around, but to each his own."

Break Man turned towards the teleporter.

"But Break Man," Dr. Wily added, "You might want to consider embracing them more. Your power could potentially multiply."

"I'm aware," Break Man said. "But for now, I have no need."

Break Man teleported away.

The wind began to whip around the group when the reinforcements arrived.

Using the storm as a cover, a new batch of worker robots emerged alongside the ones Ice Man was already controlling. Some of them were familiar: A few Bunby Helis and Adhering Suzys flew forward, along with some new foes. Several circular, disc-like robots rolled forward on their edges before stopping and revealing short limbs and small cannons that fired energy blasts in an arc. Several flying shield-like robots charged forward. Even a couple of the soldier-like robots that had participated in the kidnapping of the Robot Masters appeared. But their numbers were dotted with Thoughtless.

"Shit," Gancena breathed, taking aim. "Biran!" she yelled. "Get back here! We need to regroup!"

Biran skidded to a stop and turned around immediately.

"Ash! Get low on the ground and use Thunderbolt like you did with the Gabyoalls!"

As Ash dismounted and began her attack, Mega Man armed himself with the Rolling Cutter and threw it first at the Bunby Helis, sending most of them falling. Most of the ground-bound robots at least took damage from waves of Thunderbolt.

"Biran, Flamethrower!" Gancena called. "Floss, try Dazzling Gleam!"

Both Pokémon did as she asked. Flamethrower overheated some of the shield-like robots, and while Dazzling Gleam wasn't quite as powerful as Moonblast, it could reach several enemies at once. Both attacks clipped some of the Thoughtless, and Gancena and Mega Man aimed within those areas to further snuff them out.

A Thoughtless attempted to rush Floss and Biran, but Haunter caught it in a Hex before it could do that. Beyond that, Gancena noticed the soldier-like ones approaching and even recognized them.

"Sniper Joes," she breathed, stomach dropping. They took aim and fired.

"Ash, back on Biran!" she called. "Watch out, everyone!"

Mega Man switched back to his Mega Buster and engaged one in a firefight immediately. Gancena aimed a charged shot at the other. The Pokémon continued to focus their efforts on the Thoughtless, but it left the remaining robots open to act, and soon Biran found himself trying to gain distance rather than attack, and Floss and Ash hung on, trying to continue.

Gancena's nerves unraveled. The remains of the Thoughtless merged into a fairly small one, but there were still a lot of robots, including both Sniper Joes.

Then she got the idea. She put her Super Scope away and called out "Rune Power!" while recalling the power of the legendary birds and moving to try and align the Sniper Joes into her line of sight. The Pokemon Runestone appeared on her chest, and as soon as she had them both in a line, she yelled, "Tri Attack!"

The triple beam absolutely plowed through the first Sniper Joe and then severely damaged the second, giving Mega Man an opening to finish the second, leaving him free to take out more of the reinforcements. Haunter had since overtaken the Thoughtless, leaving him able to assist Biran.

"Ash!" Gancena called, pulling her Scope back out. "Thunder!"

Ash took a mighty leap off Biran, her whole self sparking. "PI-KA-CHUUUUU!" Lightning went up to the sky and came down in multiple bolts that downed multiple enemy robots at once.

Gancena laughed triumphantly. It was exactly the opening they needed, and they were able to move forward again. Ice Man was just ahead…

From far away and high atop a coastal skyscraper, Break Man observed the ongoing battle. As far as he could tell, there were two robots, one in blue and the other in purple, similarly armored and armed, and a handful of odd creatures. But watching them, it was clear where each type of damage had come from.

Break Man was about to make his report when the purple one stumbled in a way that no combat robot should have.

He observed her a bit longer, and watched as she raised the visor on her helmet to rub at her face. Something near his core fired up strongly for just a moment, probably trying to process what he saw.

A human? Fighting?

"Either stop or freeze!" a voice called from within the storm.

"Ice Man!" Mega Man called. "We're here to stop you! Come on out!"

The winds of the storm seemed to briefly subside… until icicles came flying out in waves, falling towards the group. Everyone scrambled to dodge—Biran to the left, Mega Man to the right, Gancena falling back, but Haunter letting himself phase through the ice as needed. Gancena managed to get out of range, but trotted off the path and slipped at the last second. No one else was hit.

"Remember the weakness wheel!" Gancena called out. "Ash, use Thunderbolt whenever you can get in range!"

"(You got it!)" Ash called, leaping from Biran's back. Gancena's stomach dropped.

"Ah, wait, I mean—!"

Ash stopped running, sliding a bit, and looked at Gancena. "(Huh?)"

"Aw, geez," Gancena whispered to herself, scrambling up to get to Ash.

Haunter, meanwhile, boldly closed in on the storm, and found heavier icy projectiles shot his way. He made a point of physically dodging them rather than phasing through. He looked towards Mega Man, who equipped the Thunder Beam and took aim towards where the Ice Slasher was coming from.

When he fired, he got a reaction lightning-fast. The projectiles and the icy storm stopped, revealing a short robot in a blue parka at its center.

Gancena and Biran each saw and took advantage. Biran charged ahead, with Floss already preparing a Moonblast, and Gancena lifted Ash above her head. "Now, Ashie, now!"

"Pikaaa!" Ash called, her attack syncing up with another round of Thunder Beam. Ice Man seized and shook almost violently, and then Floss' Moonblast plowed him right over.

Ice Man clearly struggled to get up, and Mega Man took the chance to close in, despite the ground still being slippery. When he got close, he could hear Ice Man muttering to himself. "Come on, soldier, you're not done just yet…"

When Ice Man looked up, it was down the barrel of Mega Man's Buster. "Yes, you are," said Mega Man, and fired.

Ice Man seized up again, and when it stopped, he did not get back up.

Biran slid to a stop next to them, staring down, saying something Mega Man couldn't understand.

"Is that it, then?" Haunter said, floating near. "Is he unconscious?"

Mega Man kneeled to get a closer look. "Yeah," he concluded. Then he touched Ice Man's arm to copy his Ice Slasher's weapon data. His armor turned a deeper blue than it usually would be, and his bodysuit turned white.

"That was… remarkably simple," Gancena observed. "Guess Thunder Beam's as harsh on the others as it can be on you… At the same time, I'm glad we got through this one with no major injuries." Gancena turned around and glanced behind them. "Hey, Haunter, you don't see anything else hiding out there, right?"

Haunter turned and scanned the area carefully. "No. Should there be?"

"Not normally, no. I just want to be sure, all things considered…"

Haunter, Ash, and Gancena all kept looking. Ash didn't see anything. Neither did Gancena. Haunter continued as Gancena turned around and said, "Hey, Mega?"

"What?" Mega Man said, looking up.

Gancena almost faltered for a moment. There was something almost off about the way Mega Man was looking at her. It… wasn't quite a slip into the uncanny valley, but something about it felt… off. But she had to ignore it and continue her thought. "There's probably a Thoughtless-infused chip inside Ice Man, too. Do you think we should try to get it out here so we don't risk putting Roll, Dr. Light and the rescued Robot Masters in harm's way?"

Mega Man looked at Ice Man. "That's a good idea. Let me see if I can switch back to the Variable Tool System…"

"Ah!" Haunter suddenly called.

"What is it!?" Gancena called, turning back around.

"I saw something… like a red light traveling skyward. It was very far away… do you think that means something, Captain?"

"Uh…" Gancena racked her brain briefly. "Not… that I know? Thank you for telling me regardless."

And yet the moment she finished speaking, she realized that there was a chance she did actually know. She simply couldn't be sure…

Mega Man had some odd difficulty even getting to the Variable Tool System, but he decided he'd probably been just as distracted by what Haunter was saying. But finally, his hand turned to a screwdriver which he held poised at Ice Man's access panel.

"Okay, I should be able to get to it," he said. "Get ready to fight it…"

"Right," Gancena said. "Ashie, you mind getting back on the ground for a second? I gotta reach my Scope again."

Ash nudged herself out of Gancena's arms and crouched low, preparing to shock the Thoughtless when it came out.

When the chip was exposed, Mega Man changed his hand to a pair of circuit tongs and gripped the chip carefully. "I'm going to pull it out on three."

Gancena and her companions all prepared an attack.

"One… two… three!"