ShopDreamUp AI ArtDreamUp
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Literature Text
Shadowman: What are we doing again? And why are we the only ones here? This theater is huge for only two people to use.
Gyroman: Apparently it’s something called “sporking”. Supposedly an act where you poke fun at a movie, or in this case a fanfic, mainly on the story but also the acting. To answer your second question, we’re the only ones here because we are the main characters.
Shadowman: We are? So can’t we just ditch this place since no one will notice anyway? (Gyroman shakes his head) And why is that?
Gyroman: Why do you want to leave anyway? We get free popcorn for doing this! (Gyroman pulls out two big bowls of popcorn)
Shadowman: Eh, good enough. (Shadowman puts his legs on the chair in front and grabs one of the bowls)
It was as usual at Dr Wily mansion. Noises filled the two upper floors and even some of those that was programmed as youngsters was playing tag in the halls. But not all were playing around, some were just having conversations of regular life.
Woodman was running past Plantman chasing Skullman, and came up to Shadowman. Woodman was catching his breath for some minutes before he could speak. ”I was asked by Sparkman to tell you to meet him outside the library,” he said. ”He had something to tell you.”
Shadowman looked suspicious. Sparkman rarely spoke to him, and they barely got along. What could he possibly want? Shadowman was thinking of first ignoring the request, but the fact Woodman had run to him made him too. Woodman would never run, he was afraid he would trip and break his neck and die.
Shadowman: How on earth do I not get along with Sparkman? Did the author forget we are of the same generation? If anything, I should be surprised Sparkman didn’t directly come to me if he wanted to speak. Also, why “break his neck and die”?
Gyroman: From mentioning Woodman having bad fitness to a fear of breaking necks... Can we even break our necks? After all, we are robots and not humans.
Shadowman had arrived, but he felt how chills was traveling down his spine. Why? Because outside the library there was a railing that would prevent the Robot Masters to fall over 20 meters to the floor below. Where could Sparkman be?
What Shadowman didn’t know, was that all of it was a prank. Because around the corner, Crashman was sneaking up towards him. He wanted to scare the ninja, mostly because he thought it would be awesome to be able to brag about it. What he didn’t knew was that it would backfire.
Shadowman: Very subtle.
Gyroman: I can’t possibly imagine what will happen next. Nope, not at all. It’s not like we’ve read the summary of this.
Shadowman: I haven’t. You didn’t give me one.
Gyroman: Oh. Then I guess this will be a blind run for you!
Crashman was behind his victim, he raised his arms into the air. ”BOO!” Crashman screamed as he at the same time grabbed Shadowman’s shoulders. The desired effect was fulfilled as Shadowman jumped of fright. Shadowman walked forward and he turned around, he was still terrified and it had made him loose balance.
Soon, Shadowman had lost grip of the ground as he had felled over the railing. Crashman was speechless, as this prank had now turned into an accident. ”Oh shit,” he mumbled. ”Quickman is so gonna kill me for this…” Crashman was fast enough to leave the area and he sneaked into the nearest closet.
Shadowman: You’d think since I’m a ninja, I’d somehow sense Crashman’s presence. Also, a ninja have great balance and quick reflexes. If anything, I’d react quick enough to grab the railing and pull myself up.
Gyroman: Except then you wouldn’t be traumatized and there would be no fanfic and we wouldn’t be getting free popcorn. (Shadowman silently nods in agreement) Also, Crashman spoke to himself, that’s not normal.
Shadowman: This fanfic isn’t normal.
While Crashman was trying to forget what he just had done, Shadowman was reflecting over what his life have been like. My life… Have been crap… Oh well, not like I would get into heaven anyway. Shadowman just let him fall for a second. But if I would dramatically survive this, I’m going to kill Crashman.
Gyroman: To be honest I’d be pissed too if I was about to die due to some prank.
Shadowman may have acted calm, but in fact he was terrified. The fact that the Robot Masters actually could die was what made lots of the Robot Masters careful about their actions. Shadowman didn’t knew what he wanted to have as last thoughts. Luckily he didn’t need to have a last thought.
Shadowman: This fanfic really does a great job at being subtle. Normally you’d put these kind of sentences at the beginning of a new paragraph rather than ending one with it. It’s like a huge spoiler each time he does it.
Gyroman: He? Shadowman, the author’s a girl.
”Yoink~!” Shadowman landed in the arms of Gyroman. ”You know, if you feel suicidal, it’s better if you did it were no one could save you.” Gyroman laughed a little as he slowly hovered down and carefully sat down Shadowman. ”I hope you’re alrighty Shadowman.”
Shadowman wanted to thank Gyroman, but he somehow couldn’t bring it forward. It was silent, everyone looked at them over the railing of the stairs, then Shadowman whimpered short before he passed out.
Shadowman: I whimper and pass out? Also, can I go now? My fictional self is obviously not conscious anymore, so I may as well leave.
Gyroman: You did fall quite a long distance without being prepared, I’d say it’s a reasonable reaction. Also no, stay put, this was just the opening.
~*~
Shadowman woke up and he looked into white ceiling, over his face was an oxygen mask. He turned around and saw that he was in the hospital room. Shadowman sat up and removed the mask. There were no one else there except Ringman who was laying in another bed further away from him.
Shadowman: Why do I need an oxygen mask? I don’t even have artificial lungs.
Gyroman: Eh, it’s the thought that counts. Also, did you notice the random Ringman? She seems to have a thing for putting random people all over the place.
In through the door peeked Quickman, and as he saw Shadowman was awake, he looked back and pulled Crashman into the room. ”Now young man,” Quickman said in an angry tone. ”You go and apologies to Shadowman for what you’ve done.”
Crashman looked like he was about to sink through the ground, and he tried to escape, but Quickman grabbed his neck skin and pulled him towards Shadowman. ”Let me go Quickie!” he objected. ”Let me go!” Quickman pushed him forward, and Crashman made a grimace. ”Eh… Sorry I scared you.”
The young boy was clearly blushing, Shadowman liked it. ”It’s okay Crashman,” Shadowman answered. ”I’ll spare you this time, but next time I’m throwing you over the rail.” Crashman then spurted to the door and left the room, Quickman was fast to follow after him. ”Yes, next time he’s dead…”
Gyroman: If I wasn’t already aware of the story, I would by now assume this fiction was about your quest of hunting down Crashman and killing him.
~*~
Shadowman was soon out of the hospital, and he was greeted by a worried Topman. He hurried forward and gave him a semi violent hug. ”I was so worried about you…!” he shouted while sobbing. ”I thought you died!”
Shadowman: I guess Topman is a “kid” in this one. Great...
”Topman, I was saved half way down,” Shadowman said to calm him down. ”I couldn’t have died in any way possible.” Shadowman patted Topman on his shoulder and the spinner let go of his waist. ”Don’t worry, I’m fine. Do I look damaged to you?”
Gyroman: Do you think it could be because he’s the smallest of you people? I mean, even if that would be the case it’s kind of rude to assume just because you’re small you’re childish. Small people can be bossy and scary too, dear author.
Shadowman: Like Clownman. I hate that guy, he’s so annoying.
Topman studied Shadowman and shook his head. ”No, you don’t look damaged at all,” he answered. ”But you never know, you can have taken mental damage. I dunno, I don’t think you should be near heights for a while.” Topman looked up at Shadowman with the eyes of a worried child. ”Please Shadowman, promise me you won’t go near heights, okay?”
Shadowman: Again with the subtlety! It’s non-existent!
”Sure Topman, I won’t go against you,” Shadowman said with a calm tone. ”I won’t, I promise. Say, lets go do something fun, like beat the crap out of Tomahawkman in Guitar Hero.”
Gyroman: So there’s references to these kind of things, huh? I have a nagging feeling this won’t be the last of them.
Shadowman: Also notice how so far, all of the randomly mentioned Robot Masters have been either Dr. Cossack’s or those from the World Tournament. You’d think they’d be repaired and returned to their respective owners instead of ending up living with Dr. Wily and us.
Gyroman: Huh… I didn’t notice that.
Even though the Robot Masters aren’t human, it doesn’t stop them to eventually grow inner conflicts. Whenever humans are exposed to something extreme, they often develops a phobia to protect themselves. Even this part is no excuse when it came to the Robot Masters.
Shadowman: Oh gee, I wonder what will happen to me…
Gyroman: You really don’t like where this is going, are you?
Shadowman: I haven’t gotten the summary, but I can already tell what is going to happen: I will develop a fear of heights and you are going to help me get over it. There, it’s done, I’m leaving! (Shadowman gets up and walks to the door)
Gyroman: (hears Shadowman trying to open the door over and over without much success) By the way, the door is locked from the outside. We’re not allowed to leave.
Shadowman: (frustrated screaming, comes back and sits down with arms crossed) This is just dumb, I shouldn’t be here...
After Tomahawkman lost it and smashed the plastic guitar, Shadowman decided he had enough playing for today. He and Topman went different ways, Topman decided to stay in the gaming room as Cutman had just challenged him in a round of Super Smash Bros. Shadowman on the other hand decided to take a regular walk, the gaming and entertainment was on the fourth floor, and Shadowman was thinking of going down to the second.
Shadowman: There’s a Light bot amongst us too. Why does Dr. Wily have to keep everything and everyone he touches?
Gyroman: So he can be lazy and re-use us in other plans. Also, there’s another game reference.
But when he walked down the stairs, he feet became weak and he had to take support by the wall. He felt like vomiting and like he would faint yet again, but he had to fight it, as if he would faint, he would probably break his neck while falling down the stairs. Shadowman sat down on the step and he pretty much ended up being stuck there.
Shadowman: Again with the neck breaking, and now the act of vomiting have been mentioned as well. It’s like we’re partially humans in this universe.
Gyroman: Fun fact, or maybe it’s disturbing: The author once planned a fanfic where it turned out the second generation was originally humans and may have implied all of Dr. Wily’s robots are in fact originally humans.
Shadowman: ...what?
Gyroman: Yeah, Dr. Wily was going to invite 8 homeless people to his place to take cover from the rain and then he’d kill them all one by one and make them into the 8 Robot Masters of the second generation. (Shadowman gets a disgusted expression on his face) The last one to survive was going to be Flashman who got strangled by Quickman while the other 6 would look at Flashman with homicidal stares and right before he pass out he figures out who they once were and Dr. Wily’s shadow would say “welcome home, Flashman”.
Shadowman: The author is twisted.
Gyroman: She is deeply fascinated in the horror genre, she just doesn’t show it that often.
Shadowman: Let’s hope it stays that way.
”Shadowman…?” Shadowman looked up and saw Gyroman standing next to him. ”Are you alrighty?” Shadowman nodded. ”You don’t look alrighty too me. Are you sure?” Shadowman nodded again, but after a while, he shook his head. ”Does this have to do with the accident…?”
Shadowman didn’t want to believe it, but it seemed like he had, just like Topman suspected, taken mental damage, this one in shape of fear of heights. But he didn’t want to spill it out, what about his rumor? Shadowman was one of the top ranked Robot Masters, and if this spilled out, he wouldn’t be there anymore. He would be like, everyone else.
Shadowman: So far there’s been no traces as to why I’m a high ranked Robot Master, so I feel like this is unnecessary to mention.
Gyroman: I’d say it’s because of fanon.
Shadowman: …?
Gyroman: Get in the groove, Shadowman! It’s a term that describes something that is often agreed on in the fandom. Like it’s very fanon that you and Quickman are rivals, mainly due to the events in Super Adventure Rockman.
”It’s none of your business…” Shadowman told Gyroman as he stood up and starter walking down. Though, he became unbalanced and Gyroman had to catch him again to prevent him from falling again. ”Let me go Gyroman…!” Shadowman pushed him away and he started running. It actually helped as everything wasn’t as clear anymore, he didn’t see the height differences from him and the floor and he soon arrived at the second floor.
Shadowman: I’m kind of a douchebag here.
Gyroman: You are. (Shadowman pushed Gyroman) I’m just agreeing with you!
Shadowman sat down on the last step and he took a deep breath. Urk… How could this happen? Shadowman looked into the empty ceiling, he thought back to were Crashman had jumped on him from behind. A blood vein came up on his forehead. I honestly need to kill him…! It will be the first thing to do tomorrow.
Shadowman: Yes, Robot Masters totally have blood veins. We’re totally humans that act all animé. Ugh…
”Ah, there you are!” Gyroman had followed him down the stairs. ”I honestly thought you could hide better, I mean, you’re the ninja man!” Gyroman laughed again as he sat down next to Shadowman. ”Tell me…” He then said. ”What’s the problem? Something you ate? Allergic reaction? Did someone bully you? Are you in pain?”
Gyroman: Can Robot Masters even have allergic reactions?
Shadowman: No, because we are not part humans. We are built to close the gap between man and robot, yes, but we do not get allergic reactions and we do not break our necks!
Shadowman looked at Gyroman. Sure, Gyroman was that irritating hyper active Robot Master, yet he seemed like a very caring one at the same time. But that wouldn’t let Shadowman drop his guard. ”I’m okay, that’s all,” Shadowman replied to his many questions. ”Honestly Gyroman, you don’t need to stalk me.”
Gyroman: Well that certainly described what fictional you felt about fictional me. I’m kind of hurt.
Shadowman: Dude, it’s just fake. Even though I do find you annoying at times.
”I’m not stalking you, I’m just following you,” he replied and Shadowman made a face palm. ”Besides, I don’t believe you. You don’t sound so convincing.” Gyroman pushed Shadowman a tiny bit. ”Spill the beans. I won’t tell anyone, I think.”
Shadowman: I think the word the author is looking for is “nudge” and not “push”.
”Now that doesn’t sound very convincing,” Shadowman told him. ”Look, I appreciate that you care, but it’s nothing, really.”
”Nu uh~!” Gyroman protested. ”Otherwise you wouldn’t had shook your head just recently!” Shadowman stood up and walked to the third generation’s dormitory. ”Shadowman, tell me! I won’t tell! I promise!” Shadowman ignored him. Gyroman thought out a new plan. ”I saved your life, you owe me one. I don’t want anything special, I just want to know what’s wrong.”
”…I hate owing people stuff…” Shadowman mumbled to himself. ”Fine, you want to know?” Shadowman turned back to Gyroman. ”I’m afraid of heights. There, are you happy now? Go ahead, laugh all you want. I know it’s ridiculous for me, the almighty Shadowman, to be afraid of heights. Go, tell everyone. …I know you want to…”
Shadowman: I wouldn’t say I’m almighty. A force to be reckoned with, yes, but not almighty.
Gyroman: You’re awfully honest today. (Shadowman pushes him again) Dude, if you don’t want to be poked fun at, don’t give me the opportunity because I will take it!
Shadowman walked through the door to the dormitory, leaving Gyroman outside. He didn’t laugh, he didn’t grin, he didn’t even smile like he usually did. But he did on the other hand run up the stairs with all his might. For what reason? He himself didn’t know.
Gyroman: Do you have any idea how hard it is to run with these kind of feet? There’s a reason I fly pretty much everywhere.
Shadowman: Besides, you look really dumb when you run. (Gyroman punches Shadowman on the arm and gives him an angry glare)
~*~
“Shadowman, aren’t you going to do anything today…?” Topman asked as he saw Shadowman sitting in the one man’s sofa zapping through TV channels. “Shadowman…?”
Shadowman looked at Topman. “Hm…?” he asked confused. “Ah, no not really. I’m just not in the mood, besides, it’s just lunch, I might feel like going out later if lucky.” Shadowman then returned to the TV were he stopped to look at some Gintama.
Shadowman: Great, not only do we act animé, we watch it too.
Gyroman: At least it isn’t Naruto.
“…I’m feeling a bit little like Gintoki at the moment, that’s all. But you know him right, he always turns into the better later on.” Topman then nodded, not sure if he understood or not, but left him to himself. Shadowman sighed as silence flew through the dormitory. “What would you do in this situation Gintoki…?” he asked the TV.
Shadowman: And now I speak to myself as well.
“If I were that natural perm, I would tell you to suck it up and do something about it,” Shadowman jumped in his sofa as he turned to Gyroman who had sneaked in. “Hi, Shadowman!” How dare he?!
Shadowman: “How dare he”? Is that supposed to be me thinking? Also, since these dormitories seems to be generation exclusive, shouldn’t I be thinking along the lines of “how did he get in here without anyone stopping him”? Not “how dare he”.
Gyroman: Thinking reasonable questions is dumb.
Shadowman stood up in the sofa. “Gyroman…!” he shouted surprised. “Ah, I wasn’t speaking for myself, I swear…!” Yeah, right you weren’t! His inner self told him. “What are you doing here Gyroman?” Shadowman then asked. “This is the third generation’s dormitory.”
Shadowman: Here you clearly know I’m thinking to myself with that italic writing. So does that mean the “how dare he” was supposed to be the reader’s thought?
Gyroman: I don’t know. This was after all written a looong time ago.
Gyroman grinned and nodded. “I know,” he answered. “I’m here to kidnap you~!” Before Shadowman got the chance to say anything, Gyroman had already taken his arm and pulled him away. “Now come here Shadowman, I know what to do against your problem.”
Gyroman: Fictional me sure is blunt in this one, and awfully cheerful too. It’s kind of disgusting.
Shadowman tried to protest, but as Gyroman was gripping his arm harder, he only whined in pain. He’s strong…! Shadowman turned around, now semi willingly following after him. “Were are you taking me anyway?”
Shadowman: More italics to represent my thoughts. Also, I’m slowly turning into a wimp by letting you boss me around, I could have just replaced myself with someting else by now.
Gyroman: Can you do that when someone’s holding you though? Doesn’t seem possible to me.
Shadowman: To you, yeah, but I’m the ninja here, you could trap me inside a room and I’d be able to switch places with anything. (Gyroman gives him a questionable stare) Okay, not exactly all the time, but that grip I could easily get loose from!
Gyroman turned his head to him and winked. “A se-cret~” he answered as he continued to pull Shadowman after himself. They walked up a floor, and in into the fifth generation’s dormitory, Gyroman walked up to Stoneman who was leaning against a wall. “Stoneman, I got something for you.”
Gyroman pulled up an instruction book of… Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask…? Stoneman shone up as he ran after the book as Gyroman threw it out the door, reviling a passage behind him. Shadowman was just waiting for a small fanfare for finding a secret path. “Starman, if Napalmman asks for me, say I’m in one of the holograms room. Okay?”
Shadowman: (sigh) Another video game reference.
Gyroman: I got to admit, the whole expecting a fanfare part was fitting.
Shadowman: It’s only because she referenced a series known for small fanfares right before it.
Gyroman walked through the passage. “Okay, I will~” he answered back, but his attention was then concentrated on his pet mouse, Pet.
Shadowman: We can have pets? Also, why the name “Pet”? Unoriginal much?
Gyroman: The story is that it’s a secret between us fifth generation Robot Masters. I think.
Shadowman: I’ve been meaning to ask, Gyroman: How do you know these kinds of things? First you tell me about sporking, then the author’s gender, then the horror story, the term fanon and now this.
Gyroman: I… I don’t know really. It just comes to me, it’s like someone’s inside my head.
(The two looks nervously at each other before returning to the fanfic)
“Gyroman, were are we heading?” Shadowman asked confused, but he really didn’t need to ask as he was soon blinded by a bright light. When he received his sight back, he saw green, lots of green. Was that grass? And that a tree? “Gyroman… Is this, the outside?”
Gyroman: Hold on! A tree? As in one tree? So basically there’s a huge building, filled with deadly robots and a crazy scientist who have tried taking over the world for years… And it’s out in the OPEN? So how come no one’s come to stop us?!
Shadowman: And here I thought I would have to be the only one to rant…
Gyroman: It doesn’t make sense! There’s a shit ton of robots living there, seeing as we have at least up to the World Tournament guys, so it’s at least 8 times 6, not counting potential maintenance robots. How much is that?
Shadowman: (Shadowman has his face buried in his hand) 48.
Gyroman: 48! The damn building is at least 4 stories high, the height between the first and second being 20 meters and lets assume it’s the same with the remaining floors and we get a hella fucking tall building standing out in the open, with skulls on it! Due to how we all have dormitories, which seems rather large to boot, lots of hallways and shit; it’s not just tall, it’s wide! It’s like Scrooge McDucks stupid Money Bin building, you can’t fucking miss it!
Shadowman: Okay, I get it that you’re upset now, Gyroman, but can we just continue with this now? I want to get out of here as soon as possible.
“You bet it is~!” Gyroman replied happily. “I’m gonna cure you from your fear Shadowman, trust me.” Gyroman released Shadowman from his tight grip. “I’m gonna let you absorb the wonderful atmosphere out here first, then we are going into training, alrighty?”
Gyroman flew off the building, soaring into the clear blue skies. Shadowman felt a soft breeze blow in his face, he froze a little, but he also felt relived by it. He heard a clonk and saw that Gyroman’s helmet had landed next to him. He looked up and saw that Gyroman had flat blue hair formed after his head, but three long pieces of hair was sticking out of the top of his head. “You know Shadowman, the wind feels even better if you remove your helmet,” Gyroman told him from above. “Try it out, it feels great~!”
How did they remove their helmets anyway? They didn’t flew off during fights, and neither when people were pulling their helmets. Shadowman put both hands on his head, examining the helmet. Was there some kind of button to press? There didn’t seem to be one though. Shadowman experimented by small rapid pulling, but all it did was giving him a pain in the neck.
Gyroman: We can’t remove our helmets, right?
Shadowman: Sure can’t. I don’t really see why we should anyway since they are there for a purpose and that being to be more armour to protect us. Spending time to put each and every string of hair onto our heads would take forever, so I can see why Dr. Wily never gave us hair.
Gyroman: So… Why does Megaman have it?
Shadowman: Well, he wasn’t originally built as a fighter. He was built to be Dr. Light’s assistant, and I guess also his son, so I guess he wanted him, Roll, and I guess also Protoman, to look more human than the rest. I guess he realized how time consuming it was and gave up after that.
Hours went, and when they were down, the sun had started to rise. “Wow, that took longer then I thought,” Gyroman confessed. “But then again, you did it Shadowman.”
“Hardly,” Shadowman answered. “It have to go faster, and of course I had to manage it without your help. I wouldn’t say it’s a success, because I needed your help more then half the time.”
“Aw, why do you have to be such a pessimist…?” Gyroman questioned him with a disappointed face. Shadowman tried to defence himself, but Gyroman interrupted him. “Now we have to get back quickly, otherwise there will be trouble.” Gyroman released the rope around the tree, and it flew back at the castle wall, whipping it real hard. So hard it actually left a mark in the wall. The two of them just had to laugh at it for a while before they went inside and they sneaked down the stairs. That morning, Shadowman and Gyroman slept like logs.
Shadowman: Wait, hold on a second. I used the rope to balance walk down to the ground, but you took it away before we got in. So… how did I get back up?
Gyroman: I swooped you up in my arms like my waifu and flew you back inside.
~*~
Rumors had started to go around the mansion, people started suspecting rather awkward thoughts about Shadowman and Gyroman. Some suspected they were planning to take over the whole place, some thought they were thinking of a way to get rid of Crashman (because all knew he was now on Shadowman’s mind), and some were suspecting they did something totally different in (what it was varied between all of them). Only Shadowman and Gyroman knew what they did. Okay, one more did know the real answer.
Gyroman: Totally different? Like possibly the naughty stuff?
Shadowman: Why are you even suggesting that?! We don’t even have those kind of parts!
Napalmman had gotten back when Gyroman was still asleep, the mission took longer because while during his mission he ran into trouble (you know, a certain blue Robot Master), but he did successfully finish his mission and returned back with heavy damage. He had to rest, and when waking up, Gyroman was gone. But Napalmman knew Gyroman, he had to be outside, and what did he see?
Surprised of it, but after a while of thinking, it wasn’t as awkward anymore. Napalmman knew Shadowman a little bit as well, and he decided to keep it a secret as well. What Napalmman also noticed was how happy Gyroman looked and Napalmman actually wished luck for Shadowman. He also knew that Gyroman yet was unaware of his return, so he decided to continue this act, because it actually looked like the training was helping. He returned back inside and disappeared into his room.
Shadowman: I’d love to know when I got to know Napalmman.
Gyroman: I bet she was preparing people for her Robot Master Apocalypse fanfic, since you and Napalmman was going to be the main characters there and I’m the antagonist and you both had a deep relation with me.
Shadowman: Please don’t tell me another one of her sick stories she never wrote…
Gyroman: Well, if you say so. Except I’ll tell you everyone dies in it except Napalmman. There’s also deadly penetration of butts in it.
Shadowman: Once again, I wish that I could puke.
~*~
Days went by, and the restoration went by extremely fast. To us humans, to cure a phobia usually takes years of training. Luckily, that doesn’t count for Robot Masters.
Shadowman: “To us humans”... That’s weird, things haven’t been phrased like that previously. Also, how does she know it takes years of training to get rid of a fear? Doesn’t it vary based on each human’s pure will and desire to change?
“You’re doing great Shadowman!” Gyroman cheered. “You’ve almost done it. Just a little more!” Shadowman had just a couple of meters to go, and the fact was, he wasn’t scared at all. The sun was sky high, and he hadn’t used Gyroman’s help at all.
The training had gone really well, and Shadowman seemed to have gotten more courageous actually. He played gymnast and made a back flip and made a nice finish. “Yes!” he shouted in joy. “I made it!” He jumped down the rope and raised both his hands into the air in a victory pose. “I feel like I’m undefeatable!”
As must as that was a lie, they were both enjoyed of the final result. The fact it only took them one weeks and every day training to cure his fear. It’s so astonishing, it should be in a world record book. The two Robot Masters did a classic high five, and they headed back up. Shadowman looked at the rope.
Gyroman: There’s more than one way to high five? I didn’t know that.
“I don’t think this is needed anymore,” Shadowman said and summoned a shuriken, he cut the rope that was out of sight at once. “Thanks Gyroman, I appreciated your help.”
Shadowman: It would have been hilarious had the tree been torn up by its roots when I cut the rope, seeing as the rope made a crack in the wall last time.
Gyroman was smiling. “No problem Shadowman,” answered. “I had lots of fun helping you.” Gyroman was playing with his fingers. “Say Shadowman, are you gonna ignore me now?”
“Well to be honest, in the beginning I actually thought so,” he confessed. “But I owe you for this. Maybe I can help with your fright?” Gyroman tilted his head. “You know, Crashman.” Gyroman waved his arms in denying the offer. Shadowman gave him a look which was questioning his answer.
Shadowman & Gyroman: What.
Shadowman: This have never been mentioned ever, and we’re supposed to believe this? Wouldn’t it have been more reasonable for it to be Gravityman instead? I mean Geminiman is terrified of Snakeman, to an extent, for the reason Search Snake being his weakness. So… why Crashman of all? Is it because he’s the “villian” in this?
Gyroman: Hrm… My memories tells me there’s supposed to be a forgotten fanfic where Crashman accidentally does something that harms me greatly. Before that, he and I are best friends apparently.
“No, not really,” he answered while laughing nervously. “As much as I like to, I don’t wanna be near that guy. He just gives me the chills.” Gyroman and Shadowman walked back inside, and no one was in the dormitory (except Napalmman, but they didn’t know of him). “Ready to go back to your normal life now?”
Shadowman nodded and smiled pleased. They left the dormitory, and outside Gyroman did something Shadowman didn’t see coming, he kissed him on the cheek. Shadowman jumped of surprised. “Gyroman…!” he replied. “Did- Did you just kiss me?!”
Shadowman: Wait, what?
Gyroman: ...I’m as confused as you are right now.
Gyroman giggled. “Yeah,” he replied. “Quickman would pay me ten bucks if I did.”
Shadowman: ...what. What. Whaaat. I thought Quickman was the responsible one!
Shadowman suddenly got an urge to do something against Quickman, and so by the same way. “If so,” he began. “I’m paying you fifthy bucks to make out with him, in public were everyone can see it. It would also be a big plus if exactly everyone saw it too.” Gyroman was about to leave, but Shadowman stopped him. “And…” He raised a finger to point out there was more. “You can call me friend in public.”
Shadowman: Hold on, wait, no. That’s dumb. Why would I do that? Why the sudden make out request?
Gyroman: Dude, I’m the one doing the kissing. If anything, I should be asking these questions. Besides, why do I need money to begin with?
Gyroman made a Cheshire grin and ran of to find his victim. He disappeared down the stairs, and soon, Shadowman was smiling. Not just any smile, a smile that said: I got a friend, a good one.
(The screen fades and becomes empty of words)
Shadowman: That’s it? We’re done?
Gyroman: Seems like it.
Shadowman: Yes! Finally!
(A text suddenly pops up on the screen that says: “What did you guys think?”)
Gyroman: Um… Different? It could have been better?
Shadowman: I would have liked to know more about everything. There’s too many things referencing the author’s own universe that no one will understand unless they’re the author.
Gyroman: The characters did also feel a bit bland every here and there. It’s like they were placed into animé stereotypes.
Shadowman: There was also too many unnecessary references. To be honest, if it was me, I’d just ditch all the references.
Gyroman: Also, it was a bit too homo for my taste.
(The text on the screen changed to: “I appreciate your commentaries and I can agree on several pointers there.” A click could be heard from the back of the theater and the text changed again: “The door is unlocked. You can leave now.”)
Shadowman: Thank you, supposedly omnipotent white screen.
(Shadowman and Gyroman leaves the theater. Soon a heap of maintenance robots rushes in to repair the damage the two caused.)
(The screen flicker a new text for a couple of seconds: “This was fun. I think I’ll have to do this again sometime.”)
Gyroman: Apparently it’s something called “sporking”. Supposedly an act where you poke fun at a movie, or in this case a fanfic, mainly on the story but also the acting. To answer your second question, we’re the only ones here because we are the main characters.
Shadowman: We are? So can’t we just ditch this place since no one will notice anyway? (Gyroman shakes his head) And why is that?
Gyroman: Why do you want to leave anyway? We get free popcorn for doing this! (Gyroman pulls out two big bowls of popcorn)
Shadowman: Eh, good enough. (Shadowman puts his legs on the chair in front and grabs one of the bowls)
It was as usual at Dr Wily mansion. Noises filled the two upper floors and even some of those that was programmed as youngsters was playing tag in the halls. But not all were playing around, some were just having conversations of regular life.
Woodman was running past Plantman chasing Skullman, and came up to Shadowman. Woodman was catching his breath for some minutes before he could speak. ”I was asked by Sparkman to tell you to meet him outside the library,” he said. ”He had something to tell you.”
Shadowman looked suspicious. Sparkman rarely spoke to him, and they barely got along. What could he possibly want? Shadowman was thinking of first ignoring the request, but the fact Woodman had run to him made him too. Woodman would never run, he was afraid he would trip and break his neck and die.
Shadowman: How on earth do I not get along with Sparkman? Did the author forget we are of the same generation? If anything, I should be surprised Sparkman didn’t directly come to me if he wanted to speak. Also, why “break his neck and die”?
Gyroman: From mentioning Woodman having bad fitness to a fear of breaking necks... Can we even break our necks? After all, we are robots and not humans.
Shadowman had arrived, but he felt how chills was traveling down his spine. Why? Because outside the library there was a railing that would prevent the Robot Masters to fall over 20 meters to the floor below. Where could Sparkman be?
What Shadowman didn’t know, was that all of it was a prank. Because around the corner, Crashman was sneaking up towards him. He wanted to scare the ninja, mostly because he thought it would be awesome to be able to brag about it. What he didn’t knew was that it would backfire.
Shadowman: Very subtle.
Gyroman: I can’t possibly imagine what will happen next. Nope, not at all. It’s not like we’ve read the summary of this.
Shadowman: I haven’t. You didn’t give me one.
Gyroman: Oh. Then I guess this will be a blind run for you!
Crashman was behind his victim, he raised his arms into the air. ”BOO!” Crashman screamed as he at the same time grabbed Shadowman’s shoulders. The desired effect was fulfilled as Shadowman jumped of fright. Shadowman walked forward and he turned around, he was still terrified and it had made him loose balance.
Soon, Shadowman had lost grip of the ground as he had felled over the railing. Crashman was speechless, as this prank had now turned into an accident. ”Oh shit,” he mumbled. ”Quickman is so gonna kill me for this…” Crashman was fast enough to leave the area and he sneaked into the nearest closet.
Shadowman: You’d think since I’m a ninja, I’d somehow sense Crashman’s presence. Also, a ninja have great balance and quick reflexes. If anything, I’d react quick enough to grab the railing and pull myself up.
Gyroman: Except then you wouldn’t be traumatized and there would be no fanfic and we wouldn’t be getting free popcorn. (Shadowman silently nods in agreement) Also, Crashman spoke to himself, that’s not normal.
Shadowman: This fanfic isn’t normal.
While Crashman was trying to forget what he just had done, Shadowman was reflecting over what his life have been like. My life… Have been crap… Oh well, not like I would get into heaven anyway. Shadowman just let him fall for a second. But if I would dramatically survive this, I’m going to kill Crashman.
Gyroman: To be honest I’d be pissed too if I was about to die due to some prank.
Shadowman may have acted calm, but in fact he was terrified. The fact that the Robot Masters actually could die was what made lots of the Robot Masters careful about their actions. Shadowman didn’t knew what he wanted to have as last thoughts. Luckily he didn’t need to have a last thought.
Shadowman: This fanfic really does a great job at being subtle. Normally you’d put these kind of sentences at the beginning of a new paragraph rather than ending one with it. It’s like a huge spoiler each time he does it.
Gyroman: He? Shadowman, the author’s a girl.
”Yoink~!” Shadowman landed in the arms of Gyroman. ”You know, if you feel suicidal, it’s better if you did it were no one could save you.” Gyroman laughed a little as he slowly hovered down and carefully sat down Shadowman. ”I hope you’re alrighty Shadowman.”
Shadowman wanted to thank Gyroman, but he somehow couldn’t bring it forward. It was silent, everyone looked at them over the railing of the stairs, then Shadowman whimpered short before he passed out.
Shadowman: I whimper and pass out? Also, can I go now? My fictional self is obviously not conscious anymore, so I may as well leave.
Gyroman: You did fall quite a long distance without being prepared, I’d say it’s a reasonable reaction. Also no, stay put, this was just the opening.
~*~
Shadowman woke up and he looked into white ceiling, over his face was an oxygen mask. He turned around and saw that he was in the hospital room. Shadowman sat up and removed the mask. There were no one else there except Ringman who was laying in another bed further away from him.
Shadowman: Why do I need an oxygen mask? I don’t even have artificial lungs.
Gyroman: Eh, it’s the thought that counts. Also, did you notice the random Ringman? She seems to have a thing for putting random people all over the place.
In through the door peeked Quickman, and as he saw Shadowman was awake, he looked back and pulled Crashman into the room. ”Now young man,” Quickman said in an angry tone. ”You go and apologies to Shadowman for what you’ve done.”
Crashman looked like he was about to sink through the ground, and he tried to escape, but Quickman grabbed his neck skin and pulled him towards Shadowman. ”Let me go Quickie!” he objected. ”Let me go!” Quickman pushed him forward, and Crashman made a grimace. ”Eh… Sorry I scared you.”
The young boy was clearly blushing, Shadowman liked it. ”It’s okay Crashman,” Shadowman answered. ”I’ll spare you this time, but next time I’m throwing you over the rail.” Crashman then spurted to the door and left the room, Quickman was fast to follow after him. ”Yes, next time he’s dead…”
Gyroman: If I wasn’t already aware of the story, I would by now assume this fiction was about your quest of hunting down Crashman and killing him.
~*~
Shadowman was soon out of the hospital, and he was greeted by a worried Topman. He hurried forward and gave him a semi violent hug. ”I was so worried about you…!” he shouted while sobbing. ”I thought you died!”
Shadowman: I guess Topman is a “kid” in this one. Great...
”Topman, I was saved half way down,” Shadowman said to calm him down. ”I couldn’t have died in any way possible.” Shadowman patted Topman on his shoulder and the spinner let go of his waist. ”Don’t worry, I’m fine. Do I look damaged to you?”
Gyroman: Do you think it could be because he’s the smallest of you people? I mean, even if that would be the case it’s kind of rude to assume just because you’re small you’re childish. Small people can be bossy and scary too, dear author.
Shadowman: Like Clownman. I hate that guy, he’s so annoying.
Topman studied Shadowman and shook his head. ”No, you don’t look damaged at all,” he answered. ”But you never know, you can have taken mental damage. I dunno, I don’t think you should be near heights for a while.” Topman looked up at Shadowman with the eyes of a worried child. ”Please Shadowman, promise me you won’t go near heights, okay?”
Shadowman: Again with the subtlety! It’s non-existent!
”Sure Topman, I won’t go against you,” Shadowman said with a calm tone. ”I won’t, I promise. Say, lets go do something fun, like beat the crap out of Tomahawkman in Guitar Hero.”
Gyroman: So there’s references to these kind of things, huh? I have a nagging feeling this won’t be the last of them.
Shadowman: Also notice how so far, all of the randomly mentioned Robot Masters have been either Dr. Cossack’s or those from the World Tournament. You’d think they’d be repaired and returned to their respective owners instead of ending up living with Dr. Wily and us.
Gyroman: Huh… I didn’t notice that.
Even though the Robot Masters aren’t human, it doesn’t stop them to eventually grow inner conflicts. Whenever humans are exposed to something extreme, they often develops a phobia to protect themselves. Even this part is no excuse when it came to the Robot Masters.
Shadowman: Oh gee, I wonder what will happen to me…
Gyroman: You really don’t like where this is going, are you?
Shadowman: I haven’t gotten the summary, but I can already tell what is going to happen: I will develop a fear of heights and you are going to help me get over it. There, it’s done, I’m leaving! (Shadowman gets up and walks to the door)
Gyroman: (hears Shadowman trying to open the door over and over without much success) By the way, the door is locked from the outside. We’re not allowed to leave.
Shadowman: (frustrated screaming, comes back and sits down with arms crossed) This is just dumb, I shouldn’t be here...
After Tomahawkman lost it and smashed the plastic guitar, Shadowman decided he had enough playing for today. He and Topman went different ways, Topman decided to stay in the gaming room as Cutman had just challenged him in a round of Super Smash Bros. Shadowman on the other hand decided to take a regular walk, the gaming and entertainment was on the fourth floor, and Shadowman was thinking of going down to the second.
Shadowman: There’s a Light bot amongst us too. Why does Dr. Wily have to keep everything and everyone he touches?
Gyroman: So he can be lazy and re-use us in other plans. Also, there’s another game reference.
But when he walked down the stairs, he feet became weak and he had to take support by the wall. He felt like vomiting and like he would faint yet again, but he had to fight it, as if he would faint, he would probably break his neck while falling down the stairs. Shadowman sat down on the step and he pretty much ended up being stuck there.
Shadowman: Again with the neck breaking, and now the act of vomiting have been mentioned as well. It’s like we’re partially humans in this universe.
Gyroman: Fun fact, or maybe it’s disturbing: The author once planned a fanfic where it turned out the second generation was originally humans and may have implied all of Dr. Wily’s robots are in fact originally humans.
Shadowman: ...what?
Gyroman: Yeah, Dr. Wily was going to invite 8 homeless people to his place to take cover from the rain and then he’d kill them all one by one and make them into the 8 Robot Masters of the second generation. (Shadowman gets a disgusted expression on his face) The last one to survive was going to be Flashman who got strangled by Quickman while the other 6 would look at Flashman with homicidal stares and right before he pass out he figures out who they once were and Dr. Wily’s shadow would say “welcome home, Flashman”.
Shadowman: The author is twisted.
Gyroman: She is deeply fascinated in the horror genre, she just doesn’t show it that often.
Shadowman: Let’s hope it stays that way.
”Shadowman…?” Shadowman looked up and saw Gyroman standing next to him. ”Are you alrighty?” Shadowman nodded. ”You don’t look alrighty too me. Are you sure?” Shadowman nodded again, but after a while, he shook his head. ”Does this have to do with the accident…?”
Shadowman didn’t want to believe it, but it seemed like he had, just like Topman suspected, taken mental damage, this one in shape of fear of heights. But he didn’t want to spill it out, what about his rumor? Shadowman was one of the top ranked Robot Masters, and if this spilled out, he wouldn’t be there anymore. He would be like, everyone else.
Shadowman: So far there’s been no traces as to why I’m a high ranked Robot Master, so I feel like this is unnecessary to mention.
Gyroman: I’d say it’s because of fanon.
Shadowman: …?
Gyroman: Get in the groove, Shadowman! It’s a term that describes something that is often agreed on in the fandom. Like it’s very fanon that you and Quickman are rivals, mainly due to the events in Super Adventure Rockman.
”It’s none of your business…” Shadowman told Gyroman as he stood up and starter walking down. Though, he became unbalanced and Gyroman had to catch him again to prevent him from falling again. ”Let me go Gyroman…!” Shadowman pushed him away and he started running. It actually helped as everything wasn’t as clear anymore, he didn’t see the height differences from him and the floor and he soon arrived at the second floor.
Shadowman: I’m kind of a douchebag here.
Gyroman: You are. (Shadowman pushed Gyroman) I’m just agreeing with you!
Shadowman sat down on the last step and he took a deep breath. Urk… How could this happen? Shadowman looked into the empty ceiling, he thought back to were Crashman had jumped on him from behind. A blood vein came up on his forehead. I honestly need to kill him…! It will be the first thing to do tomorrow.
Shadowman: Yes, Robot Masters totally have blood veins. We’re totally humans that act all animé. Ugh…
”Ah, there you are!” Gyroman had followed him down the stairs. ”I honestly thought you could hide better, I mean, you’re the ninja man!” Gyroman laughed again as he sat down next to Shadowman. ”Tell me…” He then said. ”What’s the problem? Something you ate? Allergic reaction? Did someone bully you? Are you in pain?”
Gyroman: Can Robot Masters even have allergic reactions?
Shadowman: No, because we are not part humans. We are built to close the gap between man and robot, yes, but we do not get allergic reactions and we do not break our necks!
Shadowman looked at Gyroman. Sure, Gyroman was that irritating hyper active Robot Master, yet he seemed like a very caring one at the same time. But that wouldn’t let Shadowman drop his guard. ”I’m okay, that’s all,” Shadowman replied to his many questions. ”Honestly Gyroman, you don’t need to stalk me.”
Gyroman: Well that certainly described what fictional you felt about fictional me. I’m kind of hurt.
Shadowman: Dude, it’s just fake. Even though I do find you annoying at times.
”I’m not stalking you, I’m just following you,” he replied and Shadowman made a face palm. ”Besides, I don’t believe you. You don’t sound so convincing.” Gyroman pushed Shadowman a tiny bit. ”Spill the beans. I won’t tell anyone, I think.”
Shadowman: I think the word the author is looking for is “nudge” and not “push”.
”Now that doesn’t sound very convincing,” Shadowman told him. ”Look, I appreciate that you care, but it’s nothing, really.”
”Nu uh~!” Gyroman protested. ”Otherwise you wouldn’t had shook your head just recently!” Shadowman stood up and walked to the third generation’s dormitory. ”Shadowman, tell me! I won’t tell! I promise!” Shadowman ignored him. Gyroman thought out a new plan. ”I saved your life, you owe me one. I don’t want anything special, I just want to know what’s wrong.”
”…I hate owing people stuff…” Shadowman mumbled to himself. ”Fine, you want to know?” Shadowman turned back to Gyroman. ”I’m afraid of heights. There, are you happy now? Go ahead, laugh all you want. I know it’s ridiculous for me, the almighty Shadowman, to be afraid of heights. Go, tell everyone. …I know you want to…”
Shadowman: I wouldn’t say I’m almighty. A force to be reckoned with, yes, but not almighty.
Gyroman: You’re awfully honest today. (Shadowman pushes him again) Dude, if you don’t want to be poked fun at, don’t give me the opportunity because I will take it!
Shadowman walked through the door to the dormitory, leaving Gyroman outside. He didn’t laugh, he didn’t grin, he didn’t even smile like he usually did. But he did on the other hand run up the stairs with all his might. For what reason? He himself didn’t know.
Gyroman: Do you have any idea how hard it is to run with these kind of feet? There’s a reason I fly pretty much everywhere.
Shadowman: Besides, you look really dumb when you run. (Gyroman punches Shadowman on the arm and gives him an angry glare)
~*~
“Shadowman, aren’t you going to do anything today…?” Topman asked as he saw Shadowman sitting in the one man’s sofa zapping through TV channels. “Shadowman…?”
Shadowman looked at Topman. “Hm…?” he asked confused. “Ah, no not really. I’m just not in the mood, besides, it’s just lunch, I might feel like going out later if lucky.” Shadowman then returned to the TV were he stopped to look at some Gintama.
Shadowman: Great, not only do we act animé, we watch it too.
Gyroman: At least it isn’t Naruto.
“…I’m feeling a bit little like Gintoki at the moment, that’s all. But you know him right, he always turns into the better later on.” Topman then nodded, not sure if he understood or not, but left him to himself. Shadowman sighed as silence flew through the dormitory. “What would you do in this situation Gintoki…?” he asked the TV.
Shadowman: And now I speak to myself as well.
“If I were that natural perm, I would tell you to suck it up and do something about it,” Shadowman jumped in his sofa as he turned to Gyroman who had sneaked in. “Hi, Shadowman!” How dare he?!
Shadowman: “How dare he”? Is that supposed to be me thinking? Also, since these dormitories seems to be generation exclusive, shouldn’t I be thinking along the lines of “how did he get in here without anyone stopping him”? Not “how dare he”.
Gyroman: Thinking reasonable questions is dumb.
Shadowman stood up in the sofa. “Gyroman…!” he shouted surprised. “Ah, I wasn’t speaking for myself, I swear…!” Yeah, right you weren’t! His inner self told him. “What are you doing here Gyroman?” Shadowman then asked. “This is the third generation’s dormitory.”
Shadowman: Here you clearly know I’m thinking to myself with that italic writing. So does that mean the “how dare he” was supposed to be the reader’s thought?
Gyroman: I don’t know. This was after all written a looong time ago.
Gyroman grinned and nodded. “I know,” he answered. “I’m here to kidnap you~!” Before Shadowman got the chance to say anything, Gyroman had already taken his arm and pulled him away. “Now come here Shadowman, I know what to do against your problem.”
Gyroman: Fictional me sure is blunt in this one, and awfully cheerful too. It’s kind of disgusting.
Shadowman tried to protest, but as Gyroman was gripping his arm harder, he only whined in pain. He’s strong…! Shadowman turned around, now semi willingly following after him. “Were are you taking me anyway?”
Shadowman: More italics to represent my thoughts. Also, I’m slowly turning into a wimp by letting you boss me around, I could have just replaced myself with someting else by now.
Gyroman: Can you do that when someone’s holding you though? Doesn’t seem possible to me.
Shadowman: To you, yeah, but I’m the ninja here, you could trap me inside a room and I’d be able to switch places with anything. (Gyroman gives him a questionable stare) Okay, not exactly all the time, but that grip I could easily get loose from!
Gyroman turned his head to him and winked. “A se-cret~” he answered as he continued to pull Shadowman after himself. They walked up a floor, and in into the fifth generation’s dormitory, Gyroman walked up to Stoneman who was leaning against a wall. “Stoneman, I got something for you.”
Gyroman pulled up an instruction book of… Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask…? Stoneman shone up as he ran after the book as Gyroman threw it out the door, reviling a passage behind him. Shadowman was just waiting for a small fanfare for finding a secret path. “Starman, if Napalmman asks for me, say I’m in one of the holograms room. Okay?”
Shadowman: (sigh) Another video game reference.
Gyroman: I got to admit, the whole expecting a fanfare part was fitting.
Shadowman: It’s only because she referenced a series known for small fanfares right before it.
Gyroman walked through the passage. “Okay, I will~” he answered back, but his attention was then concentrated on his pet mouse, Pet.
Shadowman: We can have pets? Also, why the name “Pet”? Unoriginal much?
Gyroman: The story is that it’s a secret between us fifth generation Robot Masters. I think.
Shadowman: I’ve been meaning to ask, Gyroman: How do you know these kinds of things? First you tell me about sporking, then the author’s gender, then the horror story, the term fanon and now this.
Gyroman: I… I don’t know really. It just comes to me, it’s like someone’s inside my head.
(The two looks nervously at each other before returning to the fanfic)
“Gyroman, were are we heading?” Shadowman asked confused, but he really didn’t need to ask as he was soon blinded by a bright light. When he received his sight back, he saw green, lots of green. Was that grass? And that a tree? “Gyroman… Is this, the outside?”
Gyroman: Hold on! A tree? As in one tree? So basically there’s a huge building, filled with deadly robots and a crazy scientist who have tried taking over the world for years… And it’s out in the OPEN? So how come no one’s come to stop us?!
Shadowman: And here I thought I would have to be the only one to rant…
Gyroman: It doesn’t make sense! There’s a shit ton of robots living there, seeing as we have at least up to the World Tournament guys, so it’s at least 8 times 6, not counting potential maintenance robots. How much is that?
Shadowman: (Shadowman has his face buried in his hand) 48.
Gyroman: 48! The damn building is at least 4 stories high, the height between the first and second being 20 meters and lets assume it’s the same with the remaining floors and we get a hella fucking tall building standing out in the open, with skulls on it! Due to how we all have dormitories, which seems rather large to boot, lots of hallways and shit; it’s not just tall, it’s wide! It’s like Scrooge McDucks stupid Money Bin building, you can’t fucking miss it!
Shadowman: Okay, I get it that you’re upset now, Gyroman, but can we just continue with this now? I want to get out of here as soon as possible.
“You bet it is~!” Gyroman replied happily. “I’m gonna cure you from your fear Shadowman, trust me.” Gyroman released Shadowman from his tight grip. “I’m gonna let you absorb the wonderful atmosphere out here first, then we are going into training, alrighty?”
Gyroman flew off the building, soaring into the clear blue skies. Shadowman felt a soft breeze blow in his face, he froze a little, but he also felt relived by it. He heard a clonk and saw that Gyroman’s helmet had landed next to him. He looked up and saw that Gyroman had flat blue hair formed after his head, but three long pieces of hair was sticking out of the top of his head. “You know Shadowman, the wind feels even better if you remove your helmet,” Gyroman told him from above. “Try it out, it feels great~!”
How did they remove their helmets anyway? They didn’t flew off during fights, and neither when people were pulling their helmets. Shadowman put both hands on his head, examining the helmet. Was there some kind of button to press? There didn’t seem to be one though. Shadowman experimented by small rapid pulling, but all it did was giving him a pain in the neck.
Gyroman: We can’t remove our helmets, right?
Shadowman: Sure can’t. I don’t really see why we should anyway since they are there for a purpose and that being to be more armour to protect us. Spending time to put each and every string of hair onto our heads would take forever, so I can see why Dr. Wily never gave us hair.
Gyroman: So… Why does Megaman have it?
Shadowman: Well, he wasn’t originally built as a fighter. He was built to be Dr. Light’s assistant, and I guess also his son, so I guess he wanted him, Roll, and I guess also Protoman, to look more human than the rest. I guess he realized how time consuming it was and gave up after that.
Gyroman: I guess this also means that Flashman shouldn't feel so bad about being bald, since we're all technically bald.
Shadowman: Except Dr. Wily made it obvious on him, that's why he's upset.
Gyroman landed next to him, laughing. “That’s not how you do it,” he told him. “Come here, I’ll do it for you.” Gyroman took his hands and carefully twisted the helmet to the left and then to the right, and soon the helmet was off. Gyroman’s cheeks blew into bubbles short before he started laughing again. “You- You look- You look like that stupid black haired dude in that series you like…!”
Gyroman sat down as he no longer could stand up due to too much laughing. Shadowman took and felt his hair. It was going out in the back, just like his helmet. In the front were two giant bangs hanging on both sides and the color was dark purple. “Ew!” Shadowman said. “I got Sasuke hair…!”
Shadowman: Of course I get the stupid animé ninja hairdo, and of course I like Naruto in this. Didn’t I just watch Gintama mere minutes ago?
Gyroman had managed to stop his laughing, but he was still amused by it, that was for sure. “Anyway, feel the wind now Shadowman. You will notice a difference.” Shadowman turned to the meadow in front, another wind blew their way. Shadowman could feel every piece of hair on his head flowing in sync with the wind. But when it stopped, he got a sudden urge to scratch it like mad. “Oh yeah, it will take a while for you to get used to the wind I guess.”
“Does the others know about this too?” Shadowman asked. Shadowman wondered what the others hairstyle would be like. Shadowman was hoping that Crashman would have an afro, so he could tease him for that.
Gyroman: Fun fact, the author once drew a picture where Crashman have green hair in some kind of mullet style. (Shadowman bursts out laughing)
“No, not really,” Gyroman answered. “I learned about it when I accidentally got stuck in a tree with my head, so I was twisting like mad until I fell out of my helmet.” Shadowman got the picture in his head, it was hilarious, and he almost started laughing from it. “But then again, I could be wrong and everyone might know it. But I’m guessing that people like aniki and Airman can’t do that though.”
Shadowman: Wait, what? Did I see that right?
“Aniki…?”
Shadowman: I did! There’s Japanese words in this where it shouldn’t be! Ew, ew, ew ew ew, no no no get me out of here! (Shadowman tries to escape once more, once again it’s proven futile and he reluctantly sits back down)
“Yepp, Napalmman,” Gyroman answered. “We were activated the same day, while the others were later or earlier then us.”
“I didn’t knew Dr Wily activated you separately,“ Shadowman said. “Because if I’m not wrong, he activated my generation all at once, and even so Quickman’s generation.”
“Maybe he felt like a little variety couldn’t be bad,” Gyroman answered. Gyroman stood up, and put his hand on Shadowman’s shoulder. “Enough resting, now it’s time to train.” Gyroman took a tight grip of Shadowman’s arm and off they were.
“Iaaa!“ Shadowman screamed of fear. “Why don’t we use one of the hologram rooms instead?!” He tried to suggest. Shadowman took a hold of Gyroman’s leg to hopefully preventing him from falling. “What if I would fall?! What then?!”
Shadowman: I… I scream like a Japanese schoolgirl.
(Shadowman stares blankly at the screen while Gyroman just continues eating his popcorn. Soon enough Shadowman buries his face in his hands before tossing himself back in the chair in frustration and lets out a muffled screaming.)
“Calm down Shadowman,” Gyroman answered. “As long as I hold you, you won’t fall. The holograms might look like reality, but they aren’t, therefore you can’t really earn anything through it.” The only sound was the wind, a single bird coming by, and Gyroman’s motor running. “What do you think so far?”
Shadowman’s head was spinning and so was his eyes. “Please, put me down!” he shouted to the other. “This is not helping, this is torture…!” But Gyroman wasn’t going anywhere. “Gyroman! Put me down!” Shadowman punched Gyroman while still holding Gyroman. “Gyroman honestly! I‘m getting desperate down here…!”
Shadowman: I swear, this author probably sees this as a comic rather than literature. It certainly would explain A LOT.
Gyroman: She do prefer drawing over writing.
“It’s aniki,” Gyroman answered and pointed to the ground. “He’s going somewhere, but where…?” Shadowman looked down, and realized how bad that was as he started shaking. “I’m gonna ask him if it’s okay for you.” Shadowman nodded his head violently as he was clinging to Gyroman’s leg as a koala in a tree.
Shadowman: I certainly hope she didn’t picture me as an actual koala there.
Gyroman: Koala Shadowman… Sounds cute.
Gyroman flew down towards Napalmman, but the other saw them before they arrived. “Gyroman…?!” Napalmman asked confused. “What are you-” Napalmman looked at the terrified Shadowman. “Why is Shadowman on your leg?”
Shadowman: None of your bloody business!
Gyroman: Hey, don’t talk to Napalmman that way!
“Nothing special,” Gyroman answered to hide the thruth. “Aniki, were are you going?”
“Dr Wily have send me on a mission,” he replied. “He told me that he needed me to get rid of something a couple of hours of walk away. I will be back tomorrow, don’t worry.” Napalmman waved at Gyroman as he continue his trip to the other side of the hill in the distant.
Gyroman pouted as his brother disappeared, he thought of following, but as it started to tickle on his leg he remembered Shadowman was hanging on him. “Say, Shadowman, how did you like it?” His only answer was chattering teeth. “Good, that means it’s taking effect. How about we meet three times a week to do this? For every time, I go higher and sooner I also speed up as well. Okay?”
Shadowman: I get it that it’s supposed to be exposure therapy, but don’t you think that’s a little bit too harsh to start with?
Shadowman shook his head. “Please, no more…!” he answered. “I don’t care if this will be the death of my carrier, I won’t do it!” Gyroman sighed and smiled nervously as he looked down at Shadowman. “Don’t look at me that way! It sickens me! It’s enough Topman do that…!”
Shadowman: A nervous smile that makes me change my mind and comply? Geesh… How soft am I in this?
Gyroman: I bet softer than jell-o.
Gyroman laughed at the comparing. “He do it too? Maybe I should take lessons from him then, it will probably get more effective.” Gyroman looked into the skies, and saw that the sun was going down. “We should head back inside, even though I would prefer being outside.”
“Yeah, yeah, let’s head inside,” Shadowman replied rapidly. “I want to go inside were it’s safe…! Take me inside!” Gyroman followed his wish, and Shadowman was soon inside, helmet back on but he was still shaking. Starman looked questionable at him, but Gyroman was quick enough to push Shadowman out.
Gyroman: I would have probably added “into the hallway” at the end of that sentence, rather than cutting at “out”. Sounds like I’m forcing you outside again.
“What was that all about…?” Starman asked Gyroman. “He looked like he had seen a ghost. Oh yeah, there was something about Napalmman I was supposed to tell you. It was…Oh dear, what was it? …Oh wait! Pet, what were you saying? Hm?” Starman was holding the pet mouse next to his ear, and Gyroman had to go out so that he could help Shadowman down the stairs.
Shadowman: I’m not an old man, you know!
Gyroman: But you are afraid of heights.
Maybe I was too hard on Shadowman, Gyroman thought as he found Shadowman a couple of steps down. But I don’t trust the hologram rooms. Gyroman was Shadowman’s support as he slowly managed to get down the whole stair. Think, Gyroman, think. How can you make things easier for Shadowman? Shadowman walked in into his dormitory.
Gyroman: You know, I’ve always been curious how hologram rooms work. Like how on earth do they not just walk into the walls, does the floor move itself? Also, what about objects, does the room create something for you to hold and how does it make the texture? And since it’s all about falling, how would that be stimulated?
Shadowman: Don’t ask me, I’m not a scientist.
Gyroman stood outside for a while and was knocking his fist against his head, without hurting himself of course. Now, if he only was yellow, wearing a red t-shirt and also was a teddy bear, he would have looked just like Winnie the Pooh. Then he had his answer. “Eu- What did they say now again…? Euphelia…? Eutora…?” Heatman walked by. “Heatman, what do you usually say when you’ve got an idea?”
Shadowman: Yeah, like we wouldn’t catch that reference without the blatant mentioning.
The lighter bot looked back at Gyroman. ”Hm?” he first said confused. “You mean eureka…?” Gyroman grinned as a reply and Heatman continued his walk. Gyroman knew what to do, so he had to prepare for next training pass. Gyroman ran for all his legs managed to 50 meters up to the fourth floor, he then ran to the exercise room. He accidentally pushed Crystalman and the running band tossed him into the wall. Gyroman found the storage room and found lots of elastic rope, he then took it all to his room.
Gyroman: There! 50 meters between the second and fourth floor! So the darn place is at least 70 meters tall, that’s a freaking skyscraper! Why has no one attacked it yet?!
Shadowman: Who said it hasn’t been attacked before? It might just be that back then the fortress was successfully defended and the attackers are recovering. Also, you hurt Crystalman here.
Gyroman: I don’t care about Crystalman, I care about the fact Dr. Wily’s fortress is a skyscraper with skulls on it and there’s no mentioning of any attacks on it!
~*~
It had now gone two days since Shadowman got his first treatment against his fear. He have had thoughts of skipping class, but as Gyroman didn’t come during the whole day, and when Starman came to get him, Shadowman got suspicious. “Gyroman asked me to get you, he seems to be upset about something.” He was told.
Shadowman: To be honest, I felt that dialogue was kind of pointless. She could have just continued explaining without Starman ever speaking a line.
Shadowman headed out to their training space. The light wasn’t as bright as it was last time, the skies were pitch black, but small tiny dots in the skies lightened it up. A huge globe was the biggest lights source, it wasn’t much, but it was enough to be able to do anything in it. Sitting at the edge was Gyroman, and Shadowman felt a lump in his chest as he realized the other Robot Master was in fact crying.
Gyroman: A bloo bloo bloo.
Shadowman: What?
Gyroman: Eh, just some weird Avengers fan comic I read where Iron Man cries like that. Thought it would be fitting since I'm crying.
“Gyroman…?” Shadowman walked up to him, but when he looked over the edge, he had to back. “What’s wrong?” Shadowman sat down as safe as possible, still close enough to Gyroman. The other one dried some tears from his eyes, but they started to form soon again.
“It’s aniki…” he answered. “He haven’t returned from his mission. He said he was going to be back yesterday, but he haven’t come home.” Gyroman was drying another group of tears, it almost surprised Shadowman he didn’t shortcut. “I’m sick worried about him. What if something had happened to him?” Gyroman sounded like what people probably would call a cry baby. “I want my brother back!”
Shadowman: You are a cry baby here. (Gyroman punches him) You don’t need to punch so hard! Besides, it’s only temporary!
As much as Shadowman didn’t knew a squat about Gyroman, he still couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He looked up at the big lump in the night sky, then back down at earth. Whatever told Shadowman to do what he was going to perform was unknown to him. “Gyroman,” he called out to the other one who turned back. “Don’t cry. I may not know you that much, but there is one thing that I do know.”
Gyroman was confused, the crying had slowed down, he dried his face yet again. “What is that?” he asked.
“You don’t fit with a crying face,” he answered. “That is what I know. You shouldn’t cry, you should smile. Because that is what you do best. It’s your smile that lights up this place, your optimist is what the other Robot Masters are jealous about. Think of it, people may not act like the like you, but in fact they are just afraid of your happy attitude. I think everyone likes you, they are just afraid to show it.”
Gyroman: Oh, sempai! Please, say more nice things to me!
Shadowman: I kind of wish I could puke, because this would be a perfect opportunity to do just that.
Silence, a cricket played its melody. Gyroman then smiled again. “Okay Shadowman,” he said. “I won’t be sad then.” Gyroman then simply laughed. “I’ll keep on smiling then.”
Shadowman felt somehow relieved. He had never said anything like this to anyone, not even to Topman. Shadowman’s attention wasn’t presence, because if it had been, he would have dodged when Gyroman engulfed him in a hug. “Ack!” he shouted out loud, he tried to get lose, but Gyroman didn’t let him. “Gyroman, what the…?!”
“Wanna know something Shadowman?” Gyroman told in a now calm tone. “Even if we have only been together once before, I’m already seeing you like a brother.” Shadowman stopped struggling. “I dunno, but something tells me there is something about you that I really want to see from you. Do you have any ideas what that is?”
Gyroman: Okay, I’m sorry for this Shadowman, but I have to. (Gyroman stands up, he forms his hands as a megaphone) GAY! THAT’S SO GAY!
Shadowman: Alright, that’s enough Gyroma-
Gyroman: GAAAAAAAY!
Shadowman: Enough already!
(Gyroman flies up and starts circling around the theater as he continues to scream previously screamed word. After a short while Shadowman starts calculating Gyroman’s speed and traveling route before he starts running towards the closest wall. He kicks off from the chairs for height, into the wall before he leaps and successfully clings onto Gyroman’s foot in which he takes all the power he has and tosses Gyroman into a row of chairs which in turn causes him to lose balance (however you keep balance in the air is beyond me) and tumbles into the jungle of chairs as well.)
(The two lies silent for a good couple of minutes before two Sniper Joes enters the theater to check on their conditions. Soon enough they are sitting in their seats again with just a couple of dents in their armour. They’ve had worse, they’ve had their torsos shot open and survived.)
Gyroman: ...sorry about that.
Shadowman: Apology accepted.
“No ideas,” Shadowman replied and he tried to get lose once more. “Gyroman, would you mind release me? Your torso is hurting me.” Gyroman released him from his friendly gesture, and Shadowman then noticed something next to Gyroman. “Hey, what’s that?”
Gyroman looked next to him. “Ah, this was what I thought we would use today,” Gyroman took up a piece of the elastic rope. “I was originally thinking we would do some balance walk between here and that tree over there.” Gyroman then went into a gloomy attitude. “But since aniki hadn’t returned yet, I couldn’t collect myself to do it…”
Gyroman: Do what, tying a rope to a tree?
Shadowman looked down, to be honest, he was still scared, but the fact the ground wasn’t as visible as usual, Shadowman thought he got an idea. “We could train now,” he said. “I’m still terrified, but not as much. Maybe I can do it this time.”
Shadowman: With the ground being pitch black I honestly don’t see that being less horrifying, I’d honestly see it as more because you don’t know how long you’ll fall, if not indefinitely.
Gyroman: It’s not pitch black, it’s just very dark.
Shadowman: So there’s really no point to it being night?
Gyroman had to think, the idea didn’t sound to bad. “And as you progress, we do it earlier and earlier, so you can see as time goes!” Shadowman was glad Gyroman had understood his technique. Gyroman gave one end of the rope to Shadowman who tied it to the floor (how he did is a mystery to the human kind), and the other end was tied around the tree. The rope was just tense enough, and they were ready to go.
Shadowman: “How he did it was a mystery to the humankind”? Seriously?! So I just tied it to nothing, is that what she’s implying?
Shadowman collected himself, a deep breath. He took a simple step out on the rope, he felt how it bended after his weight, and also how his feet had to struggle to stay on. “Don’t give up already Shadowman,” Gyroman encouraged him. “I’m right next to you incase you need my help.”
Shadowman nodded, and he walked forward. Good for him he had better balance then most of the Robot Masters, otherwise he would have fell at once. Surprisingly, it went pretty well. Until Shadowman looked down that was, he had taken about 15 steps out, and it was still far to the ground. Shadowman started to wobble but Gyroman was fast enough to offer a hand to give his sparing partner new balance.
Gyroman: Aw, they're holding hands. OTP!
Gyroman landed next to him, laughing. “That’s not how you do it,” he told him. “Come here, I’ll do it for you.” Gyroman took his hands and carefully twisted the helmet to the left and then to the right, and soon the helmet was off. Gyroman’s cheeks blew into bubbles short before he started laughing again. “You- You look- You look like that stupid black haired dude in that series you like…!”
Gyroman sat down as he no longer could stand up due to too much laughing. Shadowman took and felt his hair. It was going out in the back, just like his helmet. In the front were two giant bangs hanging on both sides and the color was dark purple. “Ew!” Shadowman said. “I got Sasuke hair…!”
Shadowman: Of course I get the stupid animé ninja hairdo, and of course I like Naruto in this. Didn’t I just watch Gintama mere minutes ago?
Gyroman had managed to stop his laughing, but he was still amused by it, that was for sure. “Anyway, feel the wind now Shadowman. You will notice a difference.” Shadowman turned to the meadow in front, another wind blew their way. Shadowman could feel every piece of hair on his head flowing in sync with the wind. But when it stopped, he got a sudden urge to scratch it like mad. “Oh yeah, it will take a while for you to get used to the wind I guess.”
“Does the others know about this too?” Shadowman asked. Shadowman wondered what the others hairstyle would be like. Shadowman was hoping that Crashman would have an afro, so he could tease him for that.
Gyroman: Fun fact, the author once drew a picture where Crashman have green hair in some kind of mullet style. (Shadowman bursts out laughing)
“No, not really,” Gyroman answered. “I learned about it when I accidentally got stuck in a tree with my head, so I was twisting like mad until I fell out of my helmet.” Shadowman got the picture in his head, it was hilarious, and he almost started laughing from it. “But then again, I could be wrong and everyone might know it. But I’m guessing that people like aniki and Airman can’t do that though.”
Shadowman: Wait, what? Did I see that right?
“Aniki…?”
Shadowman: I did! There’s Japanese words in this where it shouldn’t be! Ew, ew, ew ew ew, no no no get me out of here! (Shadowman tries to escape once more, once again it’s proven futile and he reluctantly sits back down)
“Yepp, Napalmman,” Gyroman answered. “We were activated the same day, while the others were later or earlier then us.”
“I didn’t knew Dr Wily activated you separately,“ Shadowman said. “Because if I’m not wrong, he activated my generation all at once, and even so Quickman’s generation.”
“Maybe he felt like a little variety couldn’t be bad,” Gyroman answered. Gyroman stood up, and put his hand on Shadowman’s shoulder. “Enough resting, now it’s time to train.” Gyroman took a tight grip of Shadowman’s arm and off they were.
“Iaaa!“ Shadowman screamed of fear. “Why don’t we use one of the hologram rooms instead?!” He tried to suggest. Shadowman took a hold of Gyroman’s leg to hopefully preventing him from falling. “What if I would fall?! What then?!”
Shadowman: I… I scream like a Japanese schoolgirl.
(Shadowman stares blankly at the screen while Gyroman just continues eating his popcorn. Soon enough Shadowman buries his face in his hands before tossing himself back in the chair in frustration and lets out a muffled screaming.)
“Calm down Shadowman,” Gyroman answered. “As long as I hold you, you won’t fall. The holograms might look like reality, but they aren’t, therefore you can’t really earn anything through it.” The only sound was the wind, a single bird coming by, and Gyroman’s motor running. “What do you think so far?”
Shadowman’s head was spinning and so was his eyes. “Please, put me down!” he shouted to the other. “This is not helping, this is torture…!” But Gyroman wasn’t going anywhere. “Gyroman! Put me down!” Shadowman punched Gyroman while still holding Gyroman. “Gyroman honestly! I‘m getting desperate down here…!”
Shadowman: I swear, this author probably sees this as a comic rather than literature. It certainly would explain A LOT.
Gyroman: She do prefer drawing over writing.
“It’s aniki,” Gyroman answered and pointed to the ground. “He’s going somewhere, but where…?” Shadowman looked down, and realized how bad that was as he started shaking. “I’m gonna ask him if it’s okay for you.” Shadowman nodded his head violently as he was clinging to Gyroman’s leg as a koala in a tree.
Shadowman: I certainly hope she didn’t picture me as an actual koala there.
Gyroman: Koala Shadowman… Sounds cute.
Gyroman flew down towards Napalmman, but the other saw them before they arrived. “Gyroman…?!” Napalmman asked confused. “What are you-” Napalmman looked at the terrified Shadowman. “Why is Shadowman on your leg?”
Shadowman: None of your bloody business!
Gyroman: Hey, don’t talk to Napalmman that way!
“Nothing special,” Gyroman answered to hide the thruth. “Aniki, were are you going?”
“Dr Wily have send me on a mission,” he replied. “He told me that he needed me to get rid of something a couple of hours of walk away. I will be back tomorrow, don’t worry.” Napalmman waved at Gyroman as he continue his trip to the other side of the hill in the distant.
Gyroman pouted as his brother disappeared, he thought of following, but as it started to tickle on his leg he remembered Shadowman was hanging on him. “Say, Shadowman, how did you like it?” His only answer was chattering teeth. “Good, that means it’s taking effect. How about we meet three times a week to do this? For every time, I go higher and sooner I also speed up as well. Okay?”
Shadowman: I get it that it’s supposed to be exposure therapy, but don’t you think that’s a little bit too harsh to start with?
Shadowman shook his head. “Please, no more…!” he answered. “I don’t care if this will be the death of my carrier, I won’t do it!” Gyroman sighed and smiled nervously as he looked down at Shadowman. “Don’t look at me that way! It sickens me! It’s enough Topman do that…!”
Shadowman: A nervous smile that makes me change my mind and comply? Geesh… How soft am I in this?
Gyroman: I bet softer than jell-o.
Gyroman laughed at the comparing. “He do it too? Maybe I should take lessons from him then, it will probably get more effective.” Gyroman looked into the skies, and saw that the sun was going down. “We should head back inside, even though I would prefer being outside.”
“Yeah, yeah, let’s head inside,” Shadowman replied rapidly. “I want to go inside were it’s safe…! Take me inside!” Gyroman followed his wish, and Shadowman was soon inside, helmet back on but he was still shaking. Starman looked questionable at him, but Gyroman was quick enough to push Shadowman out.
Gyroman: I would have probably added “into the hallway” at the end of that sentence, rather than cutting at “out”. Sounds like I’m forcing you outside again.
“What was that all about…?” Starman asked Gyroman. “He looked like he had seen a ghost. Oh yeah, there was something about Napalmman I was supposed to tell you. It was…Oh dear, what was it? …Oh wait! Pet, what were you saying? Hm?” Starman was holding the pet mouse next to his ear, and Gyroman had to go out so that he could help Shadowman down the stairs.
Shadowman: I’m not an old man, you know!
Gyroman: But you are afraid of heights.
Maybe I was too hard on Shadowman, Gyroman thought as he found Shadowman a couple of steps down. But I don’t trust the hologram rooms. Gyroman was Shadowman’s support as he slowly managed to get down the whole stair. Think, Gyroman, think. How can you make things easier for Shadowman? Shadowman walked in into his dormitory.
Gyroman: You know, I’ve always been curious how hologram rooms work. Like how on earth do they not just walk into the walls, does the floor move itself? Also, what about objects, does the room create something for you to hold and how does it make the texture? And since it’s all about falling, how would that be stimulated?
Shadowman: Don’t ask me, I’m not a scientist.
Gyroman stood outside for a while and was knocking his fist against his head, without hurting himself of course. Now, if he only was yellow, wearing a red t-shirt and also was a teddy bear, he would have looked just like Winnie the Pooh. Then he had his answer. “Eu- What did they say now again…? Euphelia…? Eutora…?” Heatman walked by. “Heatman, what do you usually say when you’ve got an idea?”
Shadowman: Yeah, like we wouldn’t catch that reference without the blatant mentioning.
The lighter bot looked back at Gyroman. ”Hm?” he first said confused. “You mean eureka…?” Gyroman grinned as a reply and Heatman continued his walk. Gyroman knew what to do, so he had to prepare for next training pass. Gyroman ran for all his legs managed to 50 meters up to the fourth floor, he then ran to the exercise room. He accidentally pushed Crystalman and the running band tossed him into the wall. Gyroman found the storage room and found lots of elastic rope, he then took it all to his room.
Gyroman: There! 50 meters between the second and fourth floor! So the darn place is at least 70 meters tall, that’s a freaking skyscraper! Why has no one attacked it yet?!
Shadowman: Who said it hasn’t been attacked before? It might just be that back then the fortress was successfully defended and the attackers are recovering. Also, you hurt Crystalman here.
Gyroman: I don’t care about Crystalman, I care about the fact Dr. Wily’s fortress is a skyscraper with skulls on it and there’s no mentioning of any attacks on it!
~*~
It had now gone two days since Shadowman got his first treatment against his fear. He have had thoughts of skipping class, but as Gyroman didn’t come during the whole day, and when Starman came to get him, Shadowman got suspicious. “Gyroman asked me to get you, he seems to be upset about something.” He was told.
Shadowman: To be honest, I felt that dialogue was kind of pointless. She could have just continued explaining without Starman ever speaking a line.
Shadowman headed out to their training space. The light wasn’t as bright as it was last time, the skies were pitch black, but small tiny dots in the skies lightened it up. A huge globe was the biggest lights source, it wasn’t much, but it was enough to be able to do anything in it. Sitting at the edge was Gyroman, and Shadowman felt a lump in his chest as he realized the other Robot Master was in fact crying.
Gyroman: A bloo bloo bloo.
Shadowman: What?
Gyroman: Eh, just some weird Avengers fan comic I read where Iron Man cries like that. Thought it would be fitting since I'm crying.
“Gyroman…?” Shadowman walked up to him, but when he looked over the edge, he had to back. “What’s wrong?” Shadowman sat down as safe as possible, still close enough to Gyroman. The other one dried some tears from his eyes, but they started to form soon again.
“It’s aniki…” he answered. “He haven’t returned from his mission. He said he was going to be back yesterday, but he haven’t come home.” Gyroman was drying another group of tears, it almost surprised Shadowman he didn’t shortcut. “I’m sick worried about him. What if something had happened to him?” Gyroman sounded like what people probably would call a cry baby. “I want my brother back!”
Shadowman: You are a cry baby here. (Gyroman punches him) You don’t need to punch so hard! Besides, it’s only temporary!
As much as Shadowman didn’t knew a squat about Gyroman, he still couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He looked up at the big lump in the night sky, then back down at earth. Whatever told Shadowman to do what he was going to perform was unknown to him. “Gyroman,” he called out to the other one who turned back. “Don’t cry. I may not know you that much, but there is one thing that I do know.”
Gyroman was confused, the crying had slowed down, he dried his face yet again. “What is that?” he asked.
“You don’t fit with a crying face,” he answered. “That is what I know. You shouldn’t cry, you should smile. Because that is what you do best. It’s your smile that lights up this place, your optimist is what the other Robot Masters are jealous about. Think of it, people may not act like the like you, but in fact they are just afraid of your happy attitude. I think everyone likes you, they are just afraid to show it.”
Gyroman: Oh, sempai! Please, say more nice things to me!
Shadowman: I kind of wish I could puke, because this would be a perfect opportunity to do just that.
Silence, a cricket played its melody. Gyroman then smiled again. “Okay Shadowman,” he said. “I won’t be sad then.” Gyroman then simply laughed. “I’ll keep on smiling then.”
Shadowman felt somehow relieved. He had never said anything like this to anyone, not even to Topman. Shadowman’s attention wasn’t presence, because if it had been, he would have dodged when Gyroman engulfed him in a hug. “Ack!” he shouted out loud, he tried to get lose, but Gyroman didn’t let him. “Gyroman, what the…?!”
“Wanna know something Shadowman?” Gyroman told in a now calm tone. “Even if we have only been together once before, I’m already seeing you like a brother.” Shadowman stopped struggling. “I dunno, but something tells me there is something about you that I really want to see from you. Do you have any ideas what that is?”
Gyroman: Okay, I’m sorry for this Shadowman, but I have to. (Gyroman stands up, he forms his hands as a megaphone) GAY! THAT’S SO GAY!
Shadowman: Alright, that’s enough Gyroma-
Gyroman: GAAAAAAAY!
Shadowman: Enough already!
(Gyroman flies up and starts circling around the theater as he continues to scream previously screamed word. After a short while Shadowman starts calculating Gyroman’s speed and traveling route before he starts running towards the closest wall. He kicks off from the chairs for height, into the wall before he leaps and successfully clings onto Gyroman’s foot in which he takes all the power he has and tosses Gyroman into a row of chairs which in turn causes him to lose balance (however you keep balance in the air is beyond me) and tumbles into the jungle of chairs as well.)
(The two lies silent for a good couple of minutes before two Sniper Joes enters the theater to check on their conditions. Soon enough they are sitting in their seats again with just a couple of dents in their armour. They’ve had worse, they’ve had their torsos shot open and survived.)
Gyroman: ...sorry about that.
Shadowman: Apology accepted.
“No ideas,” Shadowman replied and he tried to get lose once more. “Gyroman, would you mind release me? Your torso is hurting me.” Gyroman released him from his friendly gesture, and Shadowman then noticed something next to Gyroman. “Hey, what’s that?”
Gyroman looked next to him. “Ah, this was what I thought we would use today,” Gyroman took up a piece of the elastic rope. “I was originally thinking we would do some balance walk between here and that tree over there.” Gyroman then went into a gloomy attitude. “But since aniki hadn’t returned yet, I couldn’t collect myself to do it…”
Gyroman: Do what, tying a rope to a tree?
Shadowman looked down, to be honest, he was still scared, but the fact the ground wasn’t as visible as usual, Shadowman thought he got an idea. “We could train now,” he said. “I’m still terrified, but not as much. Maybe I can do it this time.”
Shadowman: With the ground being pitch black I honestly don’t see that being less horrifying, I’d honestly see it as more because you don’t know how long you’ll fall, if not indefinitely.
Gyroman: It’s not pitch black, it’s just very dark.
Shadowman: So there’s really no point to it being night?
Gyroman had to think, the idea didn’t sound to bad. “And as you progress, we do it earlier and earlier, so you can see as time goes!” Shadowman was glad Gyroman had understood his technique. Gyroman gave one end of the rope to Shadowman who tied it to the floor (how he did is a mystery to the human kind), and the other end was tied around the tree. The rope was just tense enough, and they were ready to go.
Shadowman: “How he did it was a mystery to the humankind”? Seriously?! So I just tied it to nothing, is that what she’s implying?
Shadowman collected himself, a deep breath. He took a simple step out on the rope, he felt how it bended after his weight, and also how his feet had to struggle to stay on. “Don’t give up already Shadowman,” Gyroman encouraged him. “I’m right next to you incase you need my help.”
Shadowman nodded, and he walked forward. Good for him he had better balance then most of the Robot Masters, otherwise he would have fell at once. Surprisingly, it went pretty well. Until Shadowman looked down that was, he had taken about 15 steps out, and it was still far to the ground. Shadowman started to wobble but Gyroman was fast enough to offer a hand to give his sparing partner new balance.
Gyroman: Aw, they're holding hands. OTP!
Shadowman: Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? And what's oh tea pea?
Hours went, and when they were down, the sun had started to rise. “Wow, that took longer then I thought,” Gyroman confessed. “But then again, you did it Shadowman.”
“Hardly,” Shadowman answered. “It have to go faster, and of course I had to manage it without your help. I wouldn’t say it’s a success, because I needed your help more then half the time.”
“Aw, why do you have to be such a pessimist…?” Gyroman questioned him with a disappointed face. Shadowman tried to defence himself, but Gyroman interrupted him. “Now we have to get back quickly, otherwise there will be trouble.” Gyroman released the rope around the tree, and it flew back at the castle wall, whipping it real hard. So hard it actually left a mark in the wall. The two of them just had to laugh at it for a while before they went inside and they sneaked down the stairs. That morning, Shadowman and Gyroman slept like logs.
Shadowman: Wait, hold on a second. I used the rope to balance walk down to the ground, but you took it away before we got in. So… how did I get back up?
Gyroman: I swooped you up in my arms like my waifu and flew you back inside.
~*~
Rumors had started to go around the mansion, people started suspecting rather awkward thoughts about Shadowman and Gyroman. Some suspected they were planning to take over the whole place, some thought they were thinking of a way to get rid of Crashman (because all knew he was now on Shadowman’s mind), and some were suspecting they did something totally different in (what it was varied between all of them). Only Shadowman and Gyroman knew what they did. Okay, one more did know the real answer.
Gyroman: Totally different? Like possibly the naughty stuff?
Shadowman: Why are you even suggesting that?! We don’t even have those kind of parts!
Napalmman had gotten back when Gyroman was still asleep, the mission took longer because while during his mission he ran into trouble (you know, a certain blue Robot Master), but he did successfully finish his mission and returned back with heavy damage. He had to rest, and when waking up, Gyroman was gone. But Napalmman knew Gyroman, he had to be outside, and what did he see?
Surprised of it, but after a while of thinking, it wasn’t as awkward anymore. Napalmman knew Shadowman a little bit as well, and he decided to keep it a secret as well. What Napalmman also noticed was how happy Gyroman looked and Napalmman actually wished luck for Shadowman. He also knew that Gyroman yet was unaware of his return, so he decided to continue this act, because it actually looked like the training was helping. He returned back inside and disappeared into his room.
Shadowman: I’d love to know when I got to know Napalmman.
Gyroman: I bet she was preparing people for her Robot Master Apocalypse fanfic, since you and Napalmman was going to be the main characters there and I’m the antagonist and you both had a deep relation with me.
Shadowman: Please don’t tell me another one of her sick stories she never wrote…
Gyroman: Well, if you say so. Except I’ll tell you everyone dies in it except Napalmman. There’s also deadly penetration of butts in it.
Shadowman: Once again, I wish that I could puke.
~*~
Days went by, and the restoration went by extremely fast. To us humans, to cure a phobia usually takes years of training. Luckily, that doesn’t count for Robot Masters.
Shadowman: “To us humans”... That’s weird, things haven’t been phrased like that previously. Also, how does she know it takes years of training to get rid of a fear? Doesn’t it vary based on each human’s pure will and desire to change?
“You’re doing great Shadowman!” Gyroman cheered. “You’ve almost done it. Just a little more!” Shadowman had just a couple of meters to go, and the fact was, he wasn’t scared at all. The sun was sky high, and he hadn’t used Gyroman’s help at all.
The training had gone really well, and Shadowman seemed to have gotten more courageous actually. He played gymnast and made a back flip and made a nice finish. “Yes!” he shouted in joy. “I made it!” He jumped down the rope and raised both his hands into the air in a victory pose. “I feel like I’m undefeatable!”
As must as that was a lie, they were both enjoyed of the final result. The fact it only took them one weeks and every day training to cure his fear. It’s so astonishing, it should be in a world record book. The two Robot Masters did a classic high five, and they headed back up. Shadowman looked at the rope.
Gyroman: There’s more than one way to high five? I didn’t know that.
“I don’t think this is needed anymore,” Shadowman said and summoned a shuriken, he cut the rope that was out of sight at once. “Thanks Gyroman, I appreciated your help.”
Shadowman: It would have been hilarious had the tree been torn up by its roots when I cut the rope, seeing as the rope made a crack in the wall last time.
Gyroman was smiling. “No problem Shadowman,” answered. “I had lots of fun helping you.” Gyroman was playing with his fingers. “Say Shadowman, are you gonna ignore me now?”
“Well to be honest, in the beginning I actually thought so,” he confessed. “But I owe you for this. Maybe I can help with your fright?” Gyroman tilted his head. “You know, Crashman.” Gyroman waved his arms in denying the offer. Shadowman gave him a look which was questioning his answer.
Shadowman & Gyroman: What.
Shadowman: This have never been mentioned ever, and we’re supposed to believe this? Wouldn’t it have been more reasonable for it to be Gravityman instead? I mean Geminiman is terrified of Snakeman, to an extent, for the reason Search Snake being his weakness. So… why Crashman of all? Is it because he’s the “villian” in this?
Gyroman: Hrm… My memories tells me there’s supposed to be a forgotten fanfic where Crashman accidentally does something that harms me greatly. Before that, he and I are best friends apparently.
“No, not really,” he answered while laughing nervously. “As much as I like to, I don’t wanna be near that guy. He just gives me the chills.” Gyroman and Shadowman walked back inside, and no one was in the dormitory (except Napalmman, but they didn’t know of him). “Ready to go back to your normal life now?”
Shadowman nodded and smiled pleased. They left the dormitory, and outside Gyroman did something Shadowman didn’t see coming, he kissed him on the cheek. Shadowman jumped of surprised. “Gyroman…!” he replied. “Did- Did you just kiss me?!”
Shadowman: Wait, what?
Gyroman: ...I’m as confused as you are right now.
Gyroman giggled. “Yeah,” he replied. “Quickman would pay me ten bucks if I did.”
Shadowman: ...what. What. Whaaat. I thought Quickman was the responsible one!
Shadowman suddenly got an urge to do something against Quickman, and so by the same way. “If so,” he began. “I’m paying you fifthy bucks to make out with him, in public were everyone can see it. It would also be a big plus if exactly everyone saw it too.” Gyroman was about to leave, but Shadowman stopped him. “And…” He raised a finger to point out there was more. “You can call me friend in public.”
Shadowman: Hold on, wait, no. That’s dumb. Why would I do that? Why the sudden make out request?
Gyroman: Dude, I’m the one doing the kissing. If anything, I should be asking these questions. Besides, why do I need money to begin with?
Gyroman made a Cheshire grin and ran of to find his victim. He disappeared down the stairs, and soon, Shadowman was smiling. Not just any smile, a smile that said: I got a friend, a good one.
(The screen fades and becomes empty of words)
Shadowman: That’s it? We’re done?
Gyroman: Seems like it.
Shadowman: Yes! Finally!
(A text suddenly pops up on the screen that says: “What did you guys think?”)
Gyroman: Um… Different? It could have been better?
Shadowman: I would have liked to know more about everything. There’s too many things referencing the author’s own universe that no one will understand unless they’re the author.
Gyroman: The characters did also feel a bit bland every here and there. It’s like they were placed into animé stereotypes.
Shadowman: There was also too many unnecessary references. To be honest, if it was me, I’d just ditch all the references.
Gyroman: Also, it was a bit too homo for my taste.
(The text on the screen changed to: “I appreciate your commentaries and I can agree on several pointers there.” A click could be heard from the back of the theater and the text changed again: “The door is unlocked. You can leave now.”)
Shadowman: Thank you, supposedly omnipotent white screen.
(Shadowman and Gyroman leaves the theater. Soon a heap of maintenance robots rushes in to repair the damage the two caused.)
(The screen flicker a new text for a couple of seconds: “This was fun. I think I’ll have to do this again sometime.”)
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A couple of years ago I wrote a silly fanfic named Abduction Into The Skies with Shadowman and Gyroman as the main characters and how they bonded and became friends. It was very, very, dumb. The dumbest part being that I submitted this as an assignment, luckily that was the last time I did such a thing. ...out of three.
Being inspired by dear Dracozombie's own sporking session on Something's Wrong, I felt a never-ending urge to make fun of my own writing from the old days. It got very silly very quickly. There's on part where I'm questioning wheter or not I went too far but hey, this is not supposed to be taken serious, so let us just go as wild as possible! I could have probably gone even more wild with this, but I guess I need to save myself for my other fanfics that are in need of the good old sporking.
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I intend to make this self-sporking a trend. I should start spreading the word. You also referenced many of your old ideas, which has me very curious. I... think I remember that one about the MM2 Robot Masters originally being homeless and converted to robots, but I might be imagining it. It sounds familiar.
I hadn't thought deeply about it before, but Gyroman's actions were a little... extreme. XD I'm surprised Shadowman didn't get a full-on panic attack from that. And come to think of it, Crashman can be considered the villain of this story in a sense. He is the one who started the whole thing.
As a minor note, I thought you might've been a little hard on yourself about the Robot Masters' "biology," like the ability to remove their helmets... or break their necks. XD I can tell your headcanon has shifted a bit.
So has mine (my own happens to be non-removable armor sans their helmets, when I used to make it completely removable), but even then, I made a point to leave it alone in my own MST. Everyone's got their own ideas of how certain things work, as long as it doesn't interfere with the story, or it's not too brain-melty. The only time I made a comment on stuff like that was during that Brain Bleachy scene where Monster!Megaman almost ass pillages Quickman.
Oh, and as for the giant fortress decorated with skulls that hadn't been attacked yet, well, I think that's a problem with Megaman canon in general. XD My personal idea is that the world's a huge place and even a giant skull fortress would only take a micro-fraction of the planet's total space. I guess. Maybe.
If you have time, or feel like making this a real project, have you considered rewriting the fic having learned from your mistakes? I'm thinking of doing the same with the first chapter of Something's Wrong, though I'm on the fence about doing that or making a full-on revamp (of a revamp) that ditches all the paranormal mythical Silent Hill nonsense.
I hadn't thought deeply about it before, but Gyroman's actions were a little... extreme. XD I'm surprised Shadowman didn't get a full-on panic attack from that. And come to think of it, Crashman can be considered the villain of this story in a sense. He is the one who started the whole thing.
As a minor note, I thought you might've been a little hard on yourself about the Robot Masters' "biology," like the ability to remove their helmets... or break their necks. XD I can tell your headcanon has shifted a bit.
So has mine (my own happens to be non-removable armor sans their helmets, when I used to make it completely removable), but even then, I made a point to leave it alone in my own MST. Everyone's got their own ideas of how certain things work, as long as it doesn't interfere with the story, or it's not too brain-melty. The only time I made a comment on stuff like that was during that Brain Bleachy scene where Monster!Megaman almost ass pillages Quickman.Oh, and as for the giant fortress decorated with skulls that hadn't been attacked yet, well, I think that's a problem with Megaman canon in general. XD My personal idea is that the world's a huge place and even a giant skull fortress would only take a micro-fraction of the planet's total space. I guess. Maybe.
If you have time, or feel like making this a real project, have you considered rewriting the fic having learned from your mistakes? I'm thinking of doing the same with the first chapter of Something's Wrong, though I'm on the fence about doing that or making a full-on revamp (of a revamp) that ditches all the paranormal mythical Silent Hill nonsense.