Chapter 14: Intermission 3: Shadows of the Stars

Shadow Man looked on from across the bay, standing at the top of a building, seeing the efforts of his master having crumbled into oblivion. “Farewell, Doctor. Once more, I have failed my master.”

He wasn’t terribly proud of it in this case, but faking his own demise was one of his skills. That being said, this time had been fairly dicey - the young lady’s strike had been excellent, and faking his death after taking a hit like had been tricky. Once she and her companions had moved on, Shadow Man had doubled back to the Metro for some quick repairs, and then used the old tunnels to head for the surface. He hadn’t been sure what his plan was - an ambush, perhaps? If Zero couldn’t get the job done, what could he possibly do?

And then he saw the battle off the coast - both Tartar and Wily’s plans thwarted in one fell swoop. As far as Shadow Man knew, Dr. Wily didn’t have a backup AI in place. Wily’s digitised mind had suffered significant degradation over a lengthy period. The good doctor’s best days had been long, long behind him, leading him to make errors that his robots had to step in to correct.

But Shadow Man had sworn to serve his master until the bitter end for either of them. Once more, however, he had outlived his master.

This left him at a crossroads. With both Tartar and Wily gone, Kamabo would likely cease to exist as an entity. And this time, he had nowhere to turn to. Shadow Man had never known life without a master of any kind.

He blinked as he detected a familiar signal fast approaching his position. No… It can’t be…

He turned towards the signal, seeing a subtle streak of green light heading towards him. It stopped in its tracks only a few feet away, reforming into a humanoid figure.

Shadow Man gasped, immediately falling onto one knee in reverence. “Lord Terra! I thought-”

“-that I had been destroyed?” While the robot standing before him had seen some notable upgrades and changes, the voluminous green hair and the blue and orange armour was a dead ringer for Terra, leader of the Stardroids, and his old master before Dr. Wily, under the command of Ra Moon, and the Black Hole Empire. “You would be quite correct. But the Empire managed to recover the remains of myself and my comrades from across this solar system, including from the remains of the Wily Star.”

“And what of Sunstar, my lord?”

Terra frowned. “Sunstar… Recovering and restoring his remains has prove significantly more challenging due to his self-destruction. It will take a few more years for his full restoration.”

“Why now, my lord?” Shadow Man asked. “It’s been over 12,000 years. Humanity is gone. If you and the other Stardroids were repaired…”

“It is because this system is currently under the protection of the Star Marshals - Duo in particular,” Terra sneered. “Now that he is no longer distracted by Trio, Duo has been… Proactive in his efforts to undermine the Empire. That has slowed progress to an agonising degree. He is currently not in the system, allowing for some reconnaissance, but I had to come alone to survey the situation as not to draw his attention. As you said, Earth has changed quite a lot in these last thousands of years.”

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He turned towards the ocean, “I presume that’s the last stand of Dr. Wily.”

“Yes, my lord, as far as I know,” Shadow Man nodded. “His digitised mind has been degrading, and I don’t believe he ever created a backup.”

“Hmm. A pity. He was useful,” Terra frowned. There was a moment of silence, as Terra seemed to be contemplating something. “You’re coming with me. You will be repaired, upgraded and assigned to perform reconnaissance duties on this planet. You will also provide all the information on this planet we have been missing during the interim.”

“It would be my honour, Lord Terra, but I’m not sure I am worthy of-”

“Nonsense,” Terra shook his head. “You have become more than just a nameless Kuiper Droid, Shadow Man. You have survived where others have perished. I too have been humbled by failure. Mega Man defeated me as well, I cannot claim to be more worthy than you are. Speaking of whom…”

“I have no idea here Mega Man is… Assuming he wasn’t destroyed by the apocalypse that claimed humanity,” Shadow Man said. “There’s a new ‘Mega Man’, now, by the name of ‘X’. One far more powerful than the original ever was - he wiped out an entire army of Robot Masters all at once with almost little effort. There’s also Dr. Wily’s magnum opus, Zero, an exceptionally powerful robot as well, but from what I saw of the battle, he has turned against his creator.”

“That’s concerning… The fact that you were outclassed by such powerful robots-”

“Truth be told, Lord Terra, I was not defeated by X. The cephalopod species that have evolved to replace humankind are naturally talented in the art of battle, and engage in it for sport. A young Octoling woman was able to best me in battle, even when I overclocked my systems,” Shadow Man sighed. “She is a most worthy adversary. With the right armaments, they are capable of defeating combat-optimised Robot Masters. I understand if you believe I am unworthy after-”

Terra laughed, crossing his arms. “Now this is a story I want to hear in full! It seems Earth took quite a while to produce most promising fruit.”

“M-My lord?”

“Shadow Man, imagine an army of these creatures serving the Empire, all as trained and capable as the young lady who defeated you, and armed with the best equipment the Empire can provide.” Terra grinned when Shadow Man’s eyes widened. “Yes, now you understand. Your defeat is proof of an opportunity that the Empire can benefit from. But in order to seize it, I must have evidence that invading Earth once more is worth the risk. You will help me provide it to my superiors.”

Shadow Man tipped his head forward reverently. “If that is what you wish, my lord, then so it shall be.”

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