A Different Place

Chapter 54 - Two Times Two Equals...

Dantz pulled the Self-Contained Repeating Dantz-o-Matic out of his pouch and started firing at the pirate Glyde's immense mech. He'd fought some massive Reaverbots before, but never anything this huge! The Dantz-o-Matic rattled off its shots as Dantz darted around the large machine, which was much too large and lumbering to be able to keep up with him.

The Digger knew that he was, at best, a minor annoyance for the giant Enarban Fell, but every little bit counted. That was an old Digger's proverb he'd heard during his youth at the Shala-Kun Mines. At least, he thought so. It was possible Dantz had just made that up on his own at some point, but since he was a Digger, after all, it was just as good as anything else.

The other robot, the one that looked like a Reaverbot, was busy physically attacking its opponent. Dantz was careful not to get in its way as it took on Glyde. He didn't know who the blue-clad pilot was---well, he knew the pilot's name was Gary, not much else---but he hoped that he could win this battle. He, Dantz, would be doing everything he could to ensure that outcome.

Ducking under a swung robotic fist, Dantz leaped onto the metallic arm and climbed it, eventually gaining a clear shot at the robot's head. Dantz let go with the Dantz-o-Matic, emptying his entire clip. This process took a good three or four minutes, during which he had to jump from the robot's shoulder onto its other arm and then back again.

Since it was now completely empty, Dantz tucked the Self-Contained Repeating Dantz-o-Matic back into his backpack, nearly tumbling off the Enarban Fell as he did so. As he recovered himself, Dantz could see his fellow Digger, MegaMan, firing short bursts at the large robotic frame as well, though he had wisely stayed on the deck. Still, Dantz was confident that he was in a good attack position, as far as it went. He would have no problem finding shots all along the Enarban Fell's body, while at the same time making any kind of counterattack difficult if not impossible.

After he had re-established his footing atop the large contraption, Dantz lined up his shot and started letting fly with the Dantz Blaster, which, he could now admit, was pretty much the same thing as a regular Arm Cannon. Of course, Roll hadn't tweaked MegaMan's Arm Cannon to the maximum limits of power and efficiency like she had Dantz's. Shot after shot impacted on the Enarban Fell, at several different points, but at nowhere near the rate of fire Dantz had enjoyed from the Dantz-o-Matic. He cursed himself for not re-loading after his Dig in the Main Gate, but who could have known what kind of scrapes he'd end up getting in? All part of a Digger's life; nearly every minute a struggle for survival.

Dantz blasted a couple of Birdbots which were trying to scale the Enarban Fell's body. They squawked as they were knocked back down. Dantz was about to return to his assault on the massive machine, but one of the Enarban Fell's clamp-like hands picked him up by his right arm, coincidentally, the arm which was attached to the Dantz Blaster.

"Whoa! Hey, let go!" Dantz fired into the Enarban Fell's hand, a futile attempt since it seemed that no damage was caused, at least not to Glyde's fearsome combat robot. Dantz himself felt a charring sensation as his preferred weapon backfired, sending waves of scorchingly hot energy back into its own barrel. The hand tightened its grip on him, causing even more pain to shoot through his hand. "Aaah!" Dantz cried. "Stop it!"

As if responding to Dantz's shouted order, the Enarban Fell drew back its hand and flung the Digger forward. Dantz realized that Glyde must have had a target in mind for his living projectile as he smashed into Gary, knocking the prince away from his Reaverbot's controls. Dantz's armor protected him from the brunt of the impact, but Gary, who had been wearing nothing more than his aquaamarine-colored jumpsuit, was a bit more rattled. Dantz pushed himself off of the prince, asking, "Are you all right?"

Gary groaned. His eyes seemed unfocused; perhaps he had hit his head on one of the iron railings on top of this robot? He may have been knocked off one of the control panels as well. Dantz fell back onto his knees as the prince's Reaverbot was struck by another physical assault. Dantz figured that at best, Gary was suffering from some sort of concussion.

This meant that he, alone, was the only one currently able to pilot the robot. Dantz studied the controls, which seemed rather foreign to him. Still, he had to do something, as his own weapons were now useless, and MegaMan by himself had little hope of defeating the large Enarban Fell. Dantz looked at the Dantz Blaster, which now resembled a crushed tin can more than anything else. His hand throbbed from within it. Well, he considered, since he had only one hand to work the controls with, that likely meant he could only screw up half as much, didn't it?

Dantz pushed one of the control sticks forward. The Reaverbot thrust its left hand out, actually striking Glyde's mechanical monstrosity, but then continued pivoting to the left, moving around swiftly and in a complete circle. Dantz tried to stop the motion, but he had pressed the lever a bit too hard, so the restructured Reaverbot made another loop around before he was able to un-stick the control.

This left Glyde with an opening. He punched Dantz's conveyance twice, causing the Reaverbot to shudder. Dantz tried another button on the control panel, but this one did nothing. He pressed it again firmly. No, it was still not responding. Sighing, Dantz tried to launch another blow before Glyde could strike again. He managed to land another left hook on the Enarban Fell, but this time, he stopped the machine before it could spin around in another circle. This was a difficult procedure, operating the controls with one hand. He could conceivably throw a right-handed punch as well, but this proposition was far too complicated with a completely-encased and unworkable right hand.

"Step aside."

"What?" Dantz asked as he turned around. The middle-aged woman was standing on the platform behind him. What was her name, again? Alaine.

"Step aside and let someone work those controls who understands them." She brushed Dantz aside and assumed the spot which Dantz had just vacated. Alaine began working the panel like an expert, which Dantz guessed that she probably was. "Tend to my nephew. Take him to safety."

Dantz did as she ordered, noting that the Reaverbot now seemed to be holding its own against the larger Enarban Fell. He lifted the blue-clad prince gently and carried him away from the battle.

Some aberrant sounds were detected by his auditory sensors, but nothing seemed to require his direct intervention, especially considering his new directives. It was probably simply the carbon units warring amongst themselves again, nothing that need concern him. In fact, now that it crossed his upper memory, perhaps that did concern him, but he had been ordered to set out to the nearest island, and he had done so.

MegaMan Juno had simply walked out of his former sanctum, in his new humaniform shell, of course, and to the coast of his protectorate island. Lacking any sort of vehicle, the Bureaucratic Model had simply walked into the surf, getting deeper and deeper in the salt water until he was completely submerged.

Now he was over 128.4 miles from what the carbons called Kattleox Island, it seemed futile to try and return to stop the carbon's meaningless battle. He still had 278.3 miles until the next island, so Juno stepped off of an outcropping and slowly sank to the next level of sea floor. He needed to complete his directives, or Mother would be displeased.