Season 6
"THE MACHINE WARS"
PART 3
"OUR DARKEST HOUR"
Author's note: The following story uses characters from the animated TV series "The Transformers"; however, the story is not a crossover between the two TV series "Captain N: The Game Master" and "The Transformers". What I have done is adapted "The Transformers: The Movie" to fit in Videoland, the game universe that Kevin Keene was pulled into. The TF characters are the same as they are in their own TV series. However, I have dropped quite a lot of characters and plot from the TF movie, having no use for them. I hope you enjoy this unique, yet familiar, story.
Saturday, September 9, 1995, 7:23 AM
Dr. Wily pounded his fists on a control panel. He was furious. Overnight, most of his forces had been destroyed. He had quite a bit left, but he wasn't sure if it was enough to conquer the world. He stood up and walked over to his new Warp Zone Shifter. "Almost done. Just a few more days of work." Of course, it took a lot of work on his part to build a new Shifter. The schematics for his old Shifter had been destroyed when Skull Castle was blown up over two years ago. All Dr. Wily had to go on were Quinn Mallory's timer schematics and his own memory. Converting sliding to warping wasn't easy, for the two technologies weren't as similar as they sounded. But he had done it. Soon, he would be able to test his new Warp Zone Shifter. And then Videoland would be his.
Rock and Roll were on patrol a few miles from Dr. Right's laboratory. "These new bodies are neat!" Roll said. Rock grinned. "Yeah. And you look cute!" Roll slapped him. "I'm still your sister!" Suddenly, a humanoid robot teleported down in front of them. Rock immediately pushed Roll behind him. "So, you are the famous Mega Man!" the robot said. "I am Terra, and you will soon be my slave!" "Leave, Roll!" Rock yelled. "But - " "Go home!" "You're just sending me away cuz I'm a girl!" Roll yelled, but left anyway. Mega Man began firing at Terra. When his normal shots bounced off, he powered up his Mega Buster and fired...to no effect. Terra fired at Mega Man. The blast sent his reeling backwards. "What?!" Mega Man yelled in surprise. "My Mega Buster has no effect on him..."
A few hours later, the world was attacked by warrior robots from space.
Rock awoke in a repair machine. His eyes slowly opened. "Where am I?" He got out of the repair machine and walked over to his creator. Dr. Right was working at a computer. He turned and faced Mega Man. "Mega Man, our world is once again in chaos. The alien robots call themselves 'StarDroids' and have conquered most of our major cities. They are constructed of alien material which render our weapons useless. But, I have done some analysis and constructed a new weapon for you. It will replace your Super Mega Buster." Mega Man tried it out. "It is called the 'Mega Arm', and it allows you to charge energy in your fist before you fire it." Tango teleported in. "I have also created a new assistant for you. His name is 'Tango'." Tango teleported out. "I'll enhance this item replicator to make powerful items for you. Collect as many P Chips as possible and return to my lab to exchange them for power-up items. Good luck, Mega Man." Mega Man turned and ran off, then teleported away.
Mega Man got Roll, Blues, Riff, Kevin, Lana, and Mike to help him. With all of them working together, they defeated Mercury, Neptune, Mars, Venus, the Rock Monster, Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto, Uranus, Terra, Enker, Quint, Punk, Ballade, and, of course, Dr. Wily.
After Sunstar was destroyed, the group just stood in silence. "Guess that's it for the StarDroids." Kevin said. "Man, we kicked their ass." Mike declared. "Dr. Right, come in." Rock said. "Dr. Right here." the scientist said inside Mega Man's helmet. "How are you progressing?" Rock grinned. "We wiped the floor with 'em!" "Excellent! I'm on my way over. I would like to study this alien technology."
"This technology is incredible!" Dr. Right exclaimed, examining a bulky machine. "Let's make off with it before Wily shows up and learns how to use it." Mike suggested. "Good idea." Dr. Right said. "We'll teleport it back to my lab and - " "Dr. Right!" Dr. Wily yelled. He ran into the room. "That technology is mine!" "Dr. Wily!" Dr. Right yelled. Dr. Wily tackled him, and the two scientists fell to the floor. "Midget fight! Midget fight!" Mike yelled. The two scientists rolled over to the machine that Dr. Right had been examining. They accidentally activated it. "Dr. Right, look out!" Lana yelled. Dr. Right and Dr. Wily were caught in a blast by the machine. Everyone watched in terror, not knowing what to do. The energy field surrounding the scientists grew bright green - so bright that they could no longer be seen. After a minute, the light died down. Everyone gasped at what they saw. Dr. Right and Dr. Wily were lying on the floor, but their appearances had changed. The two scientists got to their feet. Dr. Right was over five feet tall. He had snow white hair, including a mustache and beard. Dr. Wily had undergone the same transformation, though he lacked a beard and still had a bald spot on his head. On each of his hands were five digits instead of the previous four. "Dr. Right?" Lana asked. "What happened?" Dr. Right asked in a new voice. "Let's get you back to your lab." Kevin said. "And buy you some new clothes." Mike added. "You don't look very professional walking around in the buff." The good guys all teleported away.
Dr. Right looked in a mirror. "Astounding. So, the alien device did this?" "That's right." Li Shiroshi said, walking forward. "It essentially gave both you and Dr. Wily new bodies. You're human." "I'm confused." Mandi said. "Weren't they already human?" Li shook her head. "No. There are two distinct races in Megaland. One is human. Cathy Bennett and I are examples of the human race. Humans are characterized by tall height and five digits per hand. Most of the population of Megaland is human. The other race, which is quickly dying out, is megan. They are characterized by short height and only four digits per hand, but occasionally five. Dr. Right and Dr. Wily were megan until just recently, when they were transformed into humans." "Oh. Well, at any rate, Dr. Right looks like he's supposed to." Mandi grinned. "By the way, dig the new threads, Doc." Dr. Right grinned. He too loved his new white lab coat. "Now if we can only get you to change your name." Mandi added.
Guts Man and Cuts Man were in Dr. Wily's laboratory, performing some diagnostics on a machine. They turned at the sound of footsteps and saw their creator standing in the doorway. Well, not really. There wasn't enough light. They only saw a shadowy figure. "Is that you, Dr. Wily?" Cuts Man asked. "Yes." came the reply. But it didn't sound like Dr. Wily. The voice sounded clearer. Dr. Wily stepped into the room. The Robot Masters gasped. "What happened to you, Dr. Wily?" Guts Man asked. "I've had a change...for the better."
The N Team, the Autobots, Dr. Right, Dr. Shiroshi, Roll, Blues, Mark, Mandi, and Matt were all gathered in the backyard of the N Team's house. "So it's agreed." Kevin said. "We attack Unicron and retrieve the Matrix." "Sounds like a plan." Mike commented. Just then, a warp opened. Andres Thalheimer, Mark's Internet friend, walked out. "Hey, guys." Andres greeted. "Andres, um,...this really isn't a good time." Matt said. "Why not?" Andres asked. "Because we're gonna attack Unicron." Mark said. "What?!" "Everybody into your ships." Li instructed. "Stacey, you fly the Warp Wagon." "Fly?!" Stacey yelled. "Like, no way! Count me not in!" Li smiled. "Stacey, this'll be the perfect opportunity for you to overcome your fear of flying." "Oh, all right." Stacey agreed reluctantly. "But can I at least see the pilot's manual before we take off?" "Stacey, if you'd read as a habit rather than on an as-needed basis, you'd already know how to pilot the Warp Wagon." Lana told her. "Hey, I'll have you know I read a few books every month!" Stacey yelled at her. "Betty and Veronica won't do you any good in the unfriendly skies!" Lana yelled back. "Enough, both of you!" Dr. Right yelled. "Into the ships!"
Pak was standing on the rim around Unicron's yellow mouth-region. The Matrix was hanging from the chain around his neck. Pak held the Matrix up. "Yo, Unicrap! See this! I got the Matrix! It scares ya, doesn't it?! You ain't so bad now! Who's the man?! Huh?! Who's the man?!" "You gloat too much." Unicron replied. The "floor" beneath Pak's feet split open, spilling light out. Unicron transformed into his robot form. Pak stared in shock. He ended up standing just below Unicron's chin. Unicron picked Pak up and threw him into his mouth. Pak screamed. Just then, a bunch of ships flew at Unicron. "I don't believe it." Kup said. "Doesn't this remind you of anything, Kup?" Hot Rod asked. Kup shook his head. "Nope. Never seen anything like this before." "This is it, guys!" Kevin called. "Stacey, how are you holding up?" The Warp Wagon was spinning. "I hate this!" Stacey yelled. "Let's kick his metallic ass!" Mike yelled. The ships began firing at Unicron. Unicron noticed them and attacked. He spit blue flames at them. Death Star-class laser beams lanced from his optics, blasting a hole through the Autobots' ship. Hot Rod grimly steered it right through Unicron's left optic window. All the Autobots spilled out and fell into Unicron's guts. Hot Rod got hung up on a spike and was separated from the rest. "Mark, Matt, Mandi, Andres, go in after them!" Kevin ordered. "You have got to be kidding." Mandi muttered. They did as they were told. They bailed out of their ships once they were inside Unicron. The ships hit the walls and exploded.
Hot Rod fell off the spike, even deeper into Unicron. He landed on the floor. He stood up and wandered around, then caught sight of some lights in the shadows - one blue, the other two, above it, red. "The Matrix!" Hot Rod exclaimed. Pak stepped out of the shadows. "Yeah, that's right, and I got it, which means I'm the man!" Suddenly, Pak screamed as Unicron tormented his mind again. "Destroy him, Piedmont." Unicron ordered. "Destroy him, or you shall be obliterated!" "Okay! Okay!" Pak yelled. He charged up his Power Glove and fired at Hot Rod. Hot Rod evaded the blast.
Outside, the ships were firing at Unicron and dodging his blasts. They were causing some serious damage. "Uh-oh!" Rick yelled. "This baby's taken too much damage! I gotta bail!" Rick ejected from his ship, and it exploded. Unicron screamed. Stacey brought the Warp Wagon over, and Rick landed in the back seat. Stacey looked at him and grinned. "Need a lift?" Suddenly, Mike grinned. "That's it! Kevin, Lana, Simon, Mega Man, Roll, Blues, eject! Head for the Warp Wagon!" Mike ejected from his ship. Kevin grinned. "I gotcha!" Everyone ejected from their ships and landed in the Warp Wagon. "You want me to take over?" Kevin asked Stacey. "Like, no way!" Stacey yelled. "I'm havin' too much fun!" The other ships all exploded, causing Unicron a lot of pain.
While the N Team attacked Unicron outside, Mark, Matt, and Andres looked at their surroundings. "Hey, where's Mandi?" Matt asked. Suddenly, they heard a yell. The three guys looked up and saw Mandi falling from a spike. Mark reached out with his arms and caught her. Mandi gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks, kind sir!" Mark grinned. "I always knew you'd fall for me someday."
Pak was firing repeatedly at Hot Rod. Hot Rod transformed and drove away. Then he turned and drove at Pak, knocking him against a wall. Pak leapt into the air and tackled Hot Rod. "Die, bastard!" Suddenly, Hot Rod grabbed the Matrix. Light spilled from the Matrix. Pak let go of Hot Rod. Hot Rod grabbed the Matrix from his neck, breaking the chain. Hot Rod grew larger. "No!" Pak yelled. He quickly punched buttons on his Power Glove. "You have failed me, Douglas Piedmont!" Unicron yelled. "I take back what I have given you!" Pak reverted back to his old self. "No!!!" A warp opened, and Pak fell into it. "Damn you, Unicron!!!" "Now, light our darkest hour!" Rodimus Prime said, pulling the shell of the Matrix apart. The dazzling sapphire gem in the center began sparking, and a coruscating globe of lightning grew around him. Unicron's components began to destruct.
"What's going on?!" Mandi yelled as the area around them began exploding. "No time to answer that now. Let's get outta here!" Andres yelled. Just then, Unicron's fingers tore into the compartment. The four humans all ducked. Mark pointed. "Look!" Rodimus showed up, the corridor behind him starting to explode. "Autobots, transform and roll out!" Rodimus transformed, his new form sharing stylistic details with his old, but this time sporting a trailer. His canopy popped open, and the four humans climbed in. "I knew you had potential, lad." Kup said, then transformed. The other Autobots present also transformed. They drove out and crashed out through Unicron's right optic window.
Unicron was having problems. He was spewing blue light from a hundred fractures. His internal sensing monitors exploded. He pulled off a leg. Kevin noticed the Autobots escape. "They're out! Everybody retreat!" The Warp Wagon and the Autobots flew away. "Destiny!" Unicron yelled. "You cannot...destroy...my...dess-ti-nee!!!" His head popped off. Then his body exploded. Stacey looked at Matt. "Now where's my damn cookie?"
Later on, back in Megaland, the Autobots, the N Teamsters, and their friends had gathered outside to hear a speech. Rodimus Prime stood before them. "Let this mark the end of the Cybertronian Wars as we march forward to a new age of peace and happiness - 'til all are one!" The other Autobots all repeated "'til all are one!" a few times. A warp opened, and Kristen, Heather, and Ken exited it. "Hey, Lana, we're back from Hoopland." Kristen said. "Larry was awesome!" Heather added. "We miss anything?" Ken asked. Lana smiled. "Not much. Just the Machine Wars." "The what?" Kristen asked. Then she saw who were there. "Wow! The Autobots! Awesome!" "Yay." Heather commented emotionlessly. A short distance away, Mark, Mandi, and Matt were waiting. "I got him!" Riff called. Riff walked by, holding a struggling Dr. Wily. "Let me go!" Dr. Wily yelled. "I have robots that will come after you if they don't hear from me!" "You don't have crap, Wily." Mandi said. "We beat all your robots, and Mega Man 7's already passed in this universe." "I will fight you!" Wily yelled. "I will triumph! Release me, I say!" Mandi drew her Zapper and pointed it at the evil scientist. "Listen, Colonel Sanders, I really ain't in the mood for your babbling. Shut up, or I'll try out an extra-crispy recipe on you." Dr. Wily didn't say another word. "I place you under arrest." Mandi said. "Now, as for your punishment, I will make you watch twelve straight hours of live-action television!" Mandi threw her head back and laughed: "Ah-ha-ha-ha!" "No, even better: soap operas!" Mark said. "Mark, that's cruel and unusual punishment." Mandi told him. "No, we should make him watch Jerry Springer with all the punches edited out." Matt suggested. "You're mean, man." Mark told him. Dr. Wily screamed and activated a teleporter in his pocket. He teleported out. "Damn." Matt said. "Yep, he does chicken right." Mandi quipped. Mike walked over. "Hey, Riff, why weren't you fighting with us earlier?" "Well, while you were off fighting Unicron, I went and defeated Star Man, Bright Man, Napalm Man, Stone Man, Wave Man, Toad Man, Quick Man, and Dr. Wily. Then I brought him here." "Mega Man for Game Gear." Mandi supplied. Mike nodded. Riff held up a disc. "And guess what. I boarded Astrotrain and got back the disc that the Decepticons stole from the Autobots." Mike took it. "Cool! I bet they know it's missing by now!" "Nah! I substituted a CD I found in your room - 'The Transformers: The Movie' soundtrack." "You what?!" Mike yelled. "Dude, it's hard to find those!" "Well, sorry." Riff said, offended. Mike whistled. "Chord Board!" The eagle flew down. Mike knocked Riff onto Chord. "Hey, what're ya doin'?!" Riff yelled. "You're gonna get my CD back even if you get blown up! Chord, go!" Chord took off, and Riff's yells could be heard even from a distance.
On board Astrotrain, Bonecrusher walked over to the other Decepticons. He was holding a disc in one hand. "Let's take a look at this Autobot disc. We may still be able to defeat them!" Bonecrusher placed the disc in a drive and checked the monitor screen. "Ten tracks. Let's see..." He selected track 10. All of a sudden, 'Dare to be Stupid' by Weird Al Yankovic began playing. Rumble and Frenzy ejected from Soundwave and began dancing. "All right, get down!" Rumble yelled.
Put down that chainsaw and listen to me. It's time for us to join in the fight. It's time to let your babies grow up to be cowboys. It's time to let the bed bugs bite.
You better put all your eggs in one basket. You better count your chickens before they hatch. You better sell some wine before its time. You better find yourself an itch to scratch.
You better squeeze all the Charmin you can When Mr. Whipple's not around. Stick your head in the microwave and get yourself a tan.
Later on, in the N Team's house, Mark and Mandi were sitting at the kitchen table, eating blueberries. Matt walked by and grinned. "Now, now, you know where eating blueberries can lead to." Mark and Mandi responded by hitting Matt in the forehead with blueberries. "They struck me with blueberries!" Matt said in disbelief. "Careful, we've got more!" Mandi warned. Matt sat down at the table. "Man, I'm glad all this is over." "Until the Hate Plague hits." Mark reminded. Matt eyed him. "Shut up." Mark and Mandi chuckled and ate some more blueberries. "Anyway, guys, it's almost lunch time." Matt brought up. "Rather than eating the stuff Romeo and Julius are making, let's get some food." "I'm with you." Mark said. "Where to?" "I was thinkin' about Boston Market." Matt said. "Nah, we won a big battle, and we nearly arrested Dr. Wily." Mark said. "We need something appropriate to the situation." "KFC!" Mandi suggested with a grin. "Excellent idea!" Mark said.
That evening, thousands of people gathered at the Megaland concert hall to hear Captain N & The Video Game Masters play a victory concert. The entire N Team, Kristen, Heather, Ken, Mark, Mandi, Matt, Andres, Dr. Right, Dr. Shiroshi, and their robots were seated in the first row. The Autobots stood in the aisles. The band members walked out on stage. The audience cheered. After Kevin and Lana tuned their guitars, and after Stacey had turned on her keyboard and Mike had twirled his drumsticks, the four of them turned on their microphones. "Good evening!" Kevin said. "Wow, what a turnout! Anyway, it's great to be here. A long battle is behind us. I wasn't sure we would survive, but we did. We've also made some new friends. Without their help, we wouldn't be here. So, our concert tonight is dedicated to them. Ladies and gentlemen, the Autobots!" The audience cheered and applauded for the robots. "Our songs tonight come from the soundtrack to 'The Transformers: The Movie'." Kevin informed the audience. "We practiced off of my copy of the soundtrack." Mike added with a pleased smile. Riff grumbled. "Let's do it!" Kevin said. "1, 2, 3, 4!" Mike started out with drums, then the others came in.
Transformers!
Something evil's watching over you, Coming from the sky above, And there's nothing you can do!
Prepare to strike! There'll be no place to run When you're caught within the grip Of the evil Unicron!
Transformers, More than meets the eye! Transformers, Robots in disguise!
Strong enough to break the bravest heart! So we have to pull together.