A Different Place

Chapter 53 - Guelly Vs. Enarban Fell

Glyde stood up in the Enarban Fell's cockpit, an unwise move, since the small chamber was not large enough for a grown man to actually stand up in. "Ow!" the pirate yelped as his cranium struck the metal ceiling. "Who is that?" He could see a lone figure standing atop the large combat vehicle---or was it a Reaverbot?---that now faced him. Suddenly, the figure vacated its place, and a different person, still barely visible, mounted the large monstrosity.

"See if you can zoom in on whoever that is," Glyde ordered one of the Birdbots.

The viewscreen's camera centered on the Enarban Fell's new opponent, a tall, athletic man with midnight black hair and ice blue eyes. He was clothed in flattering garb, just shade lighter than those eyes, which was all the same color. He grabbed the Reaverbot's controls.

"Oooh," Glyde said with interest. "This is a cute one! Let's try not to hurt him---not too bad, at least."

The Birdbots exchanged perplexed looks with one another.

"Never mind that now," Glyde said impatiently. "Attack!" He leaned forward on his control, sending the Enarban Fell barreling towards its foe. "Fire the cannons!"

Birdbots began pummeling their panels, sending waves of bullets at the Reaverbot. Seemingly miraculously, the pilot was untouched by the brutal assault. Glyde growled and thrust the Enarban Fell's right fist forward. Unfortunately, the opposing pilot caught the blow, holding the arm fast. Glyde jerked back on the lever, but the robotic limb was caught tightly. "Let go, you jerkface!" Glyde hollered. Thinking fast, he threw another punch, with the Enarban Fell's left arm, of course.

This one was a success. The Reaverbot was thrust away, losing its grip on the Enarban Fell. Glyde cheered, pumping his fist into the air as he resumed his offensive. He had no idea who this newcomer was, but there was no time to worry about that at the moment---he needed to take care of business first. Glyde began raining blow after blow on the bulky robot, but unlike in his earlier battle with Tron, this strategy was having little or no effect. The other machine was simply shaking off the powerful pummeling, giving back its own share of blows.

Glyde's eyebrows lowered in anger as he redoubled his attacks. "Hey! Get that chest cannon operational again!" he called over his voicelink. "This isn't going to cut it!"

"Keh-keh, sir!" said one of the maintenance Birdbots. "The chest cannon will be ready to fire within three minutes!"

"Make it two," Glyde commanded pompously, landing another hit on the Reaverbot's torso. Once his precious Enarban Fell was working up to snuff, that cute little pilot would be toast!

"Let's go!" MegaMan shouted as he climbed onto the ship's deck. "Tron needs our---" His voice cut off as he saw the two huge robots clashing in front of him. "Uhhhhh."

Dantz crawled out of the trapdoor that led to the bridge. "What? What's the matter? Whoa! What is that thing?"

"If that's what I think it is, it's a re-programmed Reaverbot named Guelly," MegaMan explained. "Last time I fought it, it was really tough. I was lucky I won."

"You fought that thing and won?" Dantz asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," said MegaMan, looking around the deck. "I wonder where---there she is! Tron!" He jogged over to the other side of the deck, where Tron stood watching the battle. Another, older woman, one MegaMan thought he recognized, was standing next to her.

"Oh, how wonderful," said the older woman. "The titleless orphan. A thrill to see you, of course." It might have been his imagination, but she seemed to twitch a little as she gazed upon him.

"Thanks," MegaMan squeezed out before he recognized the bile in the woman's tone.

"What's going on here?" Dantz said, puzzled. "Who are all you people?"

"Well, this is Tron Bonne, you remember her from the contest," said MegaMan, "and this is...uhh...is..."

"Alaine, princess of Garrdan Island, brother to King Garland," the older woman said haughtily. "My nephew Gary is the one saving all of you currently, although I wouldn't have bothered, myself."

"Gary?" asked Dantz.

"Yes, the Prince of Garrdan Island," said Alaine. "In his recklessness, he decided he wanted to marry young Tron here, despite the fact that she already has a boyfriend, and a low-born one at that."

Both Tron and MegaMan spoke up to protest Alaine's classification of their relationship as Dantz looked at them both quizzically. Then, he said to MegaMan, "You mean you let Roll kiss you like that even though you have a girlfriend? Man, that's pretty rough..."

"What?!" demanded Tron. "You let that little tramp kiss you?!"

"Why do you care?!" MegaMan shouted back. "You're not my girlfriend, remember?!"

Tron placed her hands on her hips, casting an accusatory glance at him. "That's not the point! If you lie down with a dog, then you're gonna catch fleas, get it?!"

"Hey!" shouted Dantz. "Don't call Roll a dog! She's a great girl; sometimes, she's just a little...aggressive, that's all."

"All of you, shut up!" said Alaine sharply, in a tone accustomed to command. "My Gary is in battle for your sake, and all you can talk about is who is and is not in love with whom? Maybe I should just call him off and leave you to the pirates' tender mercies."

The three of them stared at her.

"Okay," said Tron, "I think we'll be...slightly better off if Gary wins this fight than if Glyde does. Agreed?"

Dantz shrugged and nodded, but MegaMan kept silent. "I don't know," he said. "I...guess so."

"Of course you will," Alaine said. "After all, it's not like we were only coming here to elicit swift and painful revenge upon you all, is it?" She looked so earnest that MegaMan felt a small sense of foreboding.

"Hey, I've never even met you before," Dantz said, waving his arms defensively in front of him.

"Never mind," said MegaMan, shaking his head, "I suppose we should go give him a hand."

Both Diggers shrugged, charging up their Arm Cannons. As they charged the two mechs, with the intent of attacking only Glyde's, or at least, so Tron hoped, she turned to Alained, still standing huffily at her side. "I hope they get out of this okay," Tron said.

Alaine said nothing, staring icily at the two Diggers as they joined the battle.