Will the World Be Safe Again for Honest People... And Robots? Let's Read Mega Man 2!

[Loki]

Chaper 4

Mega Man heard Dr. Light over the radio that was built into his helmet. Dr. Light was cheering. "All right, Mega Man! Good work," he said. "I watched the whole thing on my monitor."

"And now you've got the Metal Blade," he went on. "Terrific! That's a precious weapon: It's the only one that will have any effect on some of Doctor Wily's robots."

"Where to next, Doctor Light?" asked Mega Man.

"There's no question about it," said the doctor. "I'm going to key in the password for Flash Man's empire. Ready?"

Mega Man nodded.

"Good luck, then--here you go!" The doctor's voice faded out.


Mega Man looked around. Flash Man's empire was not a pleasant place. It was could--a damp kind of cold--and gloomy. A dim blue light washed over his suroundings.

Mega Man saw that he was in the midst of a group of old, ruined buildings. He would have to find his way through them, but the going would be treacherous. Loose bricks lay every which way, and tall towers looked like they were about to topple.

Mega Man checked his energy level. Dr. Light had supplied him wih enerfy pellets, the same kind he'd taken when he was a robot. Dr. Light had told him o be sure to keep his energy high.

He took two pellets, since his reading was a little low. Then he checked his weapons and started out.

It was a relief to be out of the banging, clashing world of Metal Man. But Flash Man's world was just a little too quiet. Mega Man listened hard. He couldn't hear a thing. There was total silence.

Suddenly, a loud stomping noise shattered the quiet. Mega Man looked around wildly. Where was the noise coming from? He couldn't see a thing.

hen he looked up, just in time to see a giant foor about to smash down on top of him.

Mega Man put on a burst of speed and ran out from under the robots foot. When he'd gone a safe distance, he turned to look back.

There was the most gigantic robot Mega Man had ever seen! It was ten times his size, towering high above him on massive legs. Its feet were the size of a small car, and is legs were like silos. "That must be Mr. Big." said Mega Man. "Doctor Light warned me about him. He's one of Flash Man's helpers.

Stomp! Stomp! Mr. Big kept on coming straight at Mega Man.

"Prepare to be flattened!" he roared.

Mega Man looked around desperately. The robot was coming toward him so fast that he didn't even have a chance to fire.

Then he spotted a tiny crack in the broken-down brick wall behind him. "Aha!" he said. "This is one time I'm happy to be as little as I am." The huge robot reached out to grab him, but Mega Man jumped into the crack just in time.

Mr. Big stopped and looked around. The giant robot was confused. Mega Man figured he must have looked as tiny as a mouse to the robot. And now he was just like a little mouse who had disappeared into his hole.

Mr. Big shrugged and stomped off in the other direction. Mega Man took a moment to check his weapons' energy levels and gear them up. Then he took off after the robot, leaping from brick to brick between the big buildings.

Mega Man moved quietly, sneaking up on the stomping robot from behind. When he had a clear shot, he fired the Metal Blade.

A hit! Mr. Big roared.

Mega Man fired again. The robot tried to turn and come after Mega Man, but his main circuits had been damaged.

Mega Man fired one more time, and this time Mr. Big fell down and didn't move again. The blades fired from the Metal Blade had cut through the robot's giant legs as if they were butter.

Mega Man looked at the fallen robot. "You may be big," he said. "But you know what they say!"

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

Mega Man knew he had to keep moving. He had to find Flash Man.

He ran past the robot's fallen body and spotted an elevator moving up the wall of one of the tallest buildings. "This'll make my trip much faster," said, hopping on.

He rode the elevator to the very top, hopped off, and ran through the building. At the end of a hallway he spotted an Energy Barrel. It was marked with a big E on its side.

Dr. Light had told him that he would see these along the way. Each barrel contained nutrients and vitamins--the same kind of quick energy that was in his energy pellets. As long as he kept finding barrels, he could keep his energy level up. Mega Man grabbed the barrel and powered up. Then he kept on running.

Suddenly, the air in gront of him was filled with flying Boomeroids, little boomerand shaped robots that Dr. Light had told him to watch out for. They seemed to be self-propelled! Mega Man ducked and dodged, firing back with the Metal Blade.

What a great weapon! The Boomeroids blew into tiny pieces as the Metal Blade's flying blades cut them down.

Mega Man looked up ahead. There was a giant tower with the Big W. He knew he was almost there.

Mega Man came to an iron gate. He used his superstrengh to lift it, and it rolled up and then slammed back down once he was through. Another gate blocked his path, but it didn't even slow Mega Man down.

Suddenly, Flash Man appeared in front of him, dashing around and firing rapidly. Mega Man had never seen anything move so fast! And each time Flash Man fired, something strange happened. As each shot left Flash Man's weapon, Mega Man found he was momentarily frozen in his tracks.

But Mega Man activated the autofire mechanism in the Metal Blade to fire again and again at the enemy.

And then it was over. Flash Man was destroyed. "You've got to be more than just a flash in the pan to beat me!" said Mega Man, smiliing.

Game Hint
˙ɯıɥ oʇ ǝsolɔ ʇǝƃ oʇ sǝopɐuɹoʇ ǝɥʇ dɯnɾ ʎllnɟǝɹɐɔ 'uɐW ɹı∀ llıʞ o┴

[Adam]

He's all hopped up on enerfy pellets.

[Loki]

Transcribing by hand, please excuse any typos.

[Serephine]

Originally Posted by Loki

Transcribing by hand, please excuse any typos.

Make babby do it, make him earn his keep.

[LBD_Nytetrayn]

...I thought someone had transcribed it already. I know James Rolfe has a series of videos where he, in all seriousness, reads the entire book from beginning to end.

Also, I misread that game hint as "To kill All Man..."

[MCBanjoMike]

I think there's a typo in that game hint. It should read, "to kill Air Man, run towards him while shooting."

[Jeanie]

Look, we all know, you can't beat Air Man.

[Prinnydood]

Mega Man should keep the autofire on the Metal Blade for the whole story.

[Loki]

Chapter 5

Two down, six to go!" said Mega Man into his radio.

"That's right, Mega Man," answered Dr. Light. "But please be more careful. I thought you were down for when Mr. Big attacked."

"He just talks big. And Flash Man was no problem. These superrobots of Dr. Wily's aren't so tough if you know how to fight them," said Mega Man, boasting a little.

"Did you get Flash Man's Time Stopper?" asked Dr. Light. "What a weapon! It just freezes your enemies in place."

"Got it!" answered Mega Man, holding it up so that Dr. Light could see it over his monitor.

"Good!" said Dr. Light. "You'll need it." He paused for a moment, checking over his notes. "It looks like your next battle will be with Bubble Man. Get equiped with all your weapons. Ready for the password?"

"Ready!" Mega Man answered. And then Dr. Light's voice was gone. Static was all Mega Man could hear over his radio.

Mega Man looked down. He was hovering over water! There was water everywhere, as far as he could see. Frantic, he kicked with his feet and waved his arms, moving through the air until he was over a wooden pier.

He landed running. He was going to have to keep his wits about him in Bubble Man's world!

The water lapped against the pier he was running on. Mega Man wasn't ready to start swimming, not yet. But suddenly, he ran out of pier!

Mega Man lept off the end of that pier and jumped onto the next one. He kept on running. Then, up ahead, he saw a giant frog! It was huge, and green, and very mean looking. That must be Croaker. Doctor Light had warned him about the robot henchmen he'd find. This was one of Bubble Man's fiendish helpers. Mega Man tried to run past Croaker.

Just the, Croaker opened his mouth. "Ribbit! Ribbit!" he croaked.

That's the loudest grod I ever heard," said Mega Man. Then he noticed something. Every time Croaker said ribbit, five little Croakers jumped out of his mouth. And the little Croakers headed straight for Mega Man.

He was surounded!

Mega Man grabbed his Mega Gun and fired away. It had no effect! Neither did the Time Stopper. These Croakers must be immune.

"Try ignoring this!" Mega Man said, firing the Metal Blade. Blades flew in every direction. Each shot destoyed at least three of the miniature Croakers. Mega Man kept firing until he had gotten past Croaker safely.

Finally, he was out of range. Mega Man was running hard, looking back over his shoulder to make sure Croaker wasn't following him.

Suddenly, he tipped off the end of the pier he was running on and fell, head over heels, right into the water.

[Googleshng]

You know... it's kind of amazing how, even in the terrible low rent tie-in novel, the metal blade is totally broken.

[Octopus Prime]

Mega Man looked down. He was hovering over water! There was water everywhere, as far as he could see. Frantic, he kicked with his feet and waved his arms, moving through the air until he was over a wooden pier.

Bubble Mans level is based entirely on Loony Tunes physics.

[Alex Scott]

But suddenly, he ran out of pier!

[Prinnydood]

Originally Posted by Googleshng

You know... it's kind of amazing how, even in the terrible low rent tie-in novel, the metal blade is totally broken.

The book is not-so-subtly hinting at their usefulness. I want to see if he'll try and use them on that ostrich in Wood Man's stage so he can find out the hard way that they aren't an instant-win weapon.

[Loki]

Chapter 6

Mega Man fell through the water, drifting deeper and deeper. This was awful! He didn't even know if he could swim. As a robot he'd been a terrific swimmer, but would he still know how, now that he was human?

He tried a few underwater strokes and discovered he could swim as well as he ever had. His helmet kept the water out. "Phew!" he said. "Lucky for me!"

And then, up ahead, Mega Man saw three Crabbots. These tiny robots looked like ugly crabs. They rode along on little wheels, their shells protecting them as they fired at the superhero.

Mega Man fired back with the Metal Blade. It was the only weapon he had that seemed to work underwater.

The shell flew oof the first crabbot, revealing the wheels below. Mega Man fired again until even the wheels were destroyed.

Then he aimed and fired, again and again, until he had taken care of all the other Crabbots.

Mega Man was swimming backward as he fired, so he didn't see the huge funnel until he'd fallen into it. He was sucked down into a pipe so fast that he could barely catch his breath.

Mega Man took a wild ride through a whole network of pipes. First he was upside down, then he was downside up. He was whirled around so much that soon he didn't know where he was.

Then the pipe spit him out as suddenly as it had sucked him in. Mega Man was very dizzy. He looked around, trying to get his bearings.

Which way was Bubble Man? Mega Man couldn't wait to get out of this superrobot's wet, wet world.

He started to swim again, hoping he was going in the right direction. Then he saw a huge tower agead, with a big initial W. Below the tower were the gates to Bubble Man's lair.

Mega Man swam through the gates. Bubble Man was waiting for him. "Mega blorble Man!" he cried. "How gurgle dare you enter my king-burrble-dom!" Bubble Man's armor was green, and he had webbed hands and webbed feet, just like a frog. He wore a special helmet that looked like a scuba mask.

He fired his Bubble Lead straight at Mega Man. A huge bubble of molten lead rolled at him. Mega Man jumped and dodged. It was hard to move quickly underwater.

Mega Man aimed his Metal Blade and fired. Bubble Man slid to the left and dodged the flying blade.

Buble Man laughed. "You'll never blurble get me, Mega Man!" he said. He fired his Bubble Lead again. A tiny bubble flew out, growing as it moved through the water. It got bigger and bigger as it came toward Mega Man.

This time Mega Man couldn't move quickly enough to dodge it. The now huge, heavy bubble rolled right over him, squashing him flat and knocking all the air out of him.

Mega Man lay still.

Bubble Man gloated. "Got you, Mega Man!" he laughed. "Doctor Wily blorble will be proud of me!"

Then there was a faint beeping inside Mega Man's helmet. Dr. Light's voice came through.

"Mega Man! Mega Man!" the doctor yelled. "Come in, Mega Man!" Dr. Light sounded frantic.

Mega Man blinked.

"I knew you weren't dead!" said Dr. Light. But he didn't sound so sure. "Now! Take an energy pellet and get your Metal Blade ready!"

The energy pellet took effect at once. Mega Man burst into action. He aimed to Metal Blade straight at Bubble Man and fired over and over.

Bubble Man tried to get out of range, climbing the giant net that decorated his lair, but it was took late.

Mega Man couldn't be stopped. Within seconds, Bubble Man had been destroyed.

Mega Man picked up the Bubble Lead. He beeped for Dr. Light. "Doctor Light!" he said, when his radio lit up. "Thanks! I thought it was all over for me."

"Oh, you would have been fine," said Dr. Light. "But I'm glad I could help out. Now, are you ready to take on the next villain?"

Mega Man felt full of energy. Finishing off Bubble Man had made him feel invincible. "Sure!" he said.

"All right," said Dr. Light. "It's time to meet Air Man."

Game Hint
˙ɐʌɐl ǝɥʇ ɹǝʌo ʇǝƃ oʇ ıʞS-ʇǝſ ǝɥʇ ǝs∩

[Octopus Prime]

A huge bubble of molten lead rolled at him.

Yes it did! And it didn't lead anywhere!

[Prinnydood]

I couldn't help but substitute expletives in for Bubble Man's various blurbles and blorbles, which made for very interesting reading.

[Loki]

Chapter 7

Mega Man couldn't see a thing. He was surrounded by a damp, misty white fog. He beeped for Dr. Light. "Where am I, Doctor Light?" he asked.

But the doctor didn't answer. There was just a lot of static coming over the radio. Then, Mega Man heared what sounded like a weather report. He listened hard.

When it was over, Mega Man thought for a moment. "Hmmm... high winds? Gales? Hurricanes likely? Tornado warnings for all areas? Sounds like stormy weather ahead!"

Then he knew where he was. He was in Air Man's empire, and he was standing in the middle of a could. He started to run, following a pathway that appeared beneath his feet.

Finally, he found his way out of the cloud and into a blue, blue sky with plenty of other fluffy white clouds everywhere. It was beautiful, but Mega Man felt a shiver of fear. He wasn't used to being so high up.

Suddenly, his walkway ended. Mega Man looked around. Everywhere he looked he saw blue, blue sky and puffy white clouds. Everywhere, that is, except straight in front of him.

Straight ahead of him was a Cloud Climber. What a strange creature. Its huge red faced frowned at Mega Man. Spikes grew out of the top of its flat head, then disappeared, then grew again.

Mega Man knew there was only one way for him to go. He'd have to jump right onto the floating Cloud Climber and use it as a stepping-stone.

He watched and waited until the spikes weren't in his way. Then jumped and ran across the flat top of the Cloud Climber. The Cloud Climber was furious.

The fown on its face turned into a scowl, and miniature Cloud Climbers began to pop out of its ears. They swarmed over to Mega Man, surrounding him. Mega Man felt trapped. He had nowhere to run! There was only one thing left to do. He'd have to fight them off.

Blam! Pow! Mega Man fired. The miniature Cloud Climbers turned into puffs of smoke. Mega Man breathed a sigh of relief.

He couldn't stop to rest, though. He had to keep moving if he was going to find Air Man. Mega Man jumped quickly to another large Cloud Climber, running fast, and then to another. Mega Man was on his way.

Then Mega Man heard a loud chop-chop-chopping noise. He looked up. Above him was a Roto-Chimp. What a strange creature! Half monkey, half helicopter. It rode through the air on a Thunder Chariot, a puffy white cloud equipped with a platform to stand on and a superpowered propeller underneath. The Roto-Chimp fired tiny, deadly looking missles at Mega Man.

Mega Man ducked and ran faster. The missles kept coming.

Mega Man ducked behind a cloud.

When the Roto-Chimp flew by, Mega Man knocked him off his Thunder Chariot and jumped aboard.

"This is the only way to go!" said Mega Man, sailing along happily through the sky. His cloud started to sink, so Mega Man switched Thunder Chariots and kept on going.

KaBoom! Mega Man whirled around to see a bomb falling very close behind him. He looked up. The bomb had been dropped by a Bomb Bird--a fat, birdlike robot flying overhead. Mega Man fired back at the Bomb Bird, but he couldn't tell if he'd gotten it or not.

Suddenly, the Thunder Chariot Mega Man was riding dived into a huge cloud. Once again, Mega Man was lost in the mists. He couldn't see a thing.

[LBD_Nytetrayn]

"Roto-Chimps?" It's amazing how many names minor Mega Man characters can wind up with...

I remember them being labeled as "Lightning Lords," I think in the manual, maybe in Nintendo Power. But they're known in Japan as "Kaminari Goro."

[Prinnydood]

I love that Roto-Chimp picture.

[Torzelbaum]

Originally Posted by Prinnydood

I love that Roto-Chimp picture.

I keep hearing 'Ride of the Valkyries' whenever I look at it.

[Loki]

Chapter 8

The cold, clammy mist surrounded Mega Man, closing in on him. He didn't like the feeling at all. If he had still been a robot, it probably wouldn't have bothered him. But he wasn't a robot. He was human, and he hated the way the mist got into his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

Most of all, though, he hated the way it blinded him. He heared creatures flying overhead, but couldn't see anything.

That meant he couldn't aim his Metal Blade, and if he couldn't aim there was no point in firing. Mega Man couldn't wait to get out of the cloud he was in.

Finally, the mist began to thin. Soon Mega Man was back out into the blue, blue sky.

Now when the Bomb Birds attacked, Mega Man fired right back. Blam! Kepoww! The Bomb Birds were destroyed, and their bombs fell harmlessley into the clouds below.

Mega Man smiled. Air Man's henchmen were no match for him!

But then his smiled faded. Mega Man gulped. Up ahead was a nasty-looking creature with quickly spinning blades set into its middle. It grinned at him as it made it's blades spin faster and faster. The Fan Fiend!

Suddenly, Mega Man was knocked off his feet by hurricane-force winds. The Fan Fiend drew nearer, blowing hard.

Mega Man toppled off his Thunder Chariot and fell. Down! Down! Down! Where was he going to land?

Whump! His fall was broken as fell right on a nearby walkway.

He ran along the walkway, dodging little clouds that seemed to be trying to trip him up. Then he saw it, parting the mists. A huge tower with a gigantic glowing W blinking on and off.

He was almost there.

Mega Man blasted through the gates that led to Air Man's inner chamber. And then he came face-to-face with his enemy.

Air Man was the scariest-looking superrobot that Mega Man had ever seen. It wasn't that he was big. It wasn't that he was strong-looking. It was his mouth.

His mouth was a huge, gapping hole that took in air and then blew it out in terrible gusts. Even though he was a robot, his body seemed like it was made out of clouse. As he moved wisps of fog evaporated off his pointed shoulders. Miniature tornadoes flew through the air, pointing their tails right at Mega Man.

Air Man stood with his back against the wall, spitting out hundreds of tornadoes. "Demolishing you will be a breeze, Mega Man!" he shouted.

Mega Man dodges the tornadoes. He tried to get closer to Air Man, but everytime he approached, a tornado would knock him down and spin him around.

Mega Man gritted his teeth and kept on coming. Finally he was within range. He aimed the Metal Blade and fired. Fwooosh! Splat!

All the air was let out of Air Man and he collapsed like a popped balloon. The wind died down at once.

"I guess it's going to be a nice day around here, after all!" said Mega Man. He helped himself to Air Man's Air Shooter--a large cannon that fired tornados. Then he noticed Air Man's Jet-Ski--sort of a snowmobile that floated on a cushion of air--he took that, too.

Then he sat down to rest on a nearby cloud, his legs dangling over the side. "Come in, Doctor Light," he said into his radio. "Come in!"

[LBD_Nytetrayn]

Weird... my memory is usually pretty good on useless stuff like this, but I don't remember the Jet Sled being referred to as a Jet-Ski...

[Loki]

It's a snowmobile that floats on air! What else would it be called?

[Octopus Prime]

Mega Man gritted his teeth and kept on coming. Finally he was within range. He aimed the Metal Blade and fired.

He can not be bargained with, can not be reasoned with and will not stop, ever, until he gets Equipped With Air Shooter

[Glass Knuckle]

Mega Man fired back at the Bomb Bird, but he couldn't tell if he'd gotten it or not.

For some reason this line makes me smile. The fate of that bird has exactly zero importance to anything, but the author decided to make us wonder about it anyway.

[Prinnydood]

Then he noticed Air Man's Jet-Ski--sort of a snowmobile that floated on a cushion of air--he took that, too.

This feels like such a throwaway line. Item-2 could have at least been given a proper name drop instead of calling it that thing Mega Man just so happened to notice.

[Loki]

Chapter 9

For a minute, Mega Man heard only static. Then, through the crackles and pops, he heard Dr. Light.

"Congratulations, Mega Man!" The doctor said. "You really stood up against that guy."

"Oh, he was just full of hot air," said Mega Man modestly.

Are you sure you want to go on with this mission?" asked Dr. Light.

"What kind of question is that?" yelled Mega Man. "Of course I do! Why shouldn't I?"

"Well..." said Dr. Light. "It just seems like each supperrobot is more dangerous than the one before. And each of them has so many helpers! I'm worried about you."

"Come on, Doctor Light!" said Mega Man. "I can take care of myself." He paused. "Is there something you're not telling me?" Dr. Light cleared his throat. "Well, as a matter of fact..." he said. "Doctor Wily made an announcement over the news-beam this morning. He's not too happy about you destroying four of his supperrobots."

"What did he say?" asked Mega Man.

"I recorded it for you," said Dr. Light. "Wait a minute and I'll play it back." There was a whirrling sound, and then Mega Man heard Dr. Wily's voice.

"Mega Man!" the evil genius roared. "You little pip-squeak. How dare you even think about destroying me! I am invincible!" Mega Man shuddered at the sound of such villainous boasting.

"Just because you were lucky enough to get past some of my robots, don't think you'll get much further," the voice went on. "I've got some surprises for you!" Then Dr. Wily laughed. "You won't be around much longer, Mega Man. And then I'll rule the universe!" Ha! Ha! Ha!"

The laughter faded out as the transmission ended.

"What do you think, Mega Man?" asked Dr. Light.

"Don't listen to that sneering bully," answered Mega Man. "I can take care of anything he throws my way. And I'll destroy him, too!"

Hearing Dr. Wily's voice hadn't really scared Mega Man at all. It had just made him even more eager to get on with his mission.

"I'm ready to take on my next enemy, Doctor Light!" he said.

"Well, all right. If you're sure about this," said the doctor. He still sounded a little worried. "Get your weapons ready. You're on your way to Crash Man's world!"

[Octopus Prime]

Dr. Wily hijacked every TV in the world in order to call Mega Man a "pipsqueak".

I love that crazy, crazy man.

[Glass Knuckle]

Originally Posted by Octopus Prime

Dr. Wily hijacked every TV in the world

The random things Wily does on the side often seem much more dangerous than whatever his robots are up to. His stubborn refusal to admit that he's not a very good roboticist is the only thing stopping him from just holding the world for ransom from his space station made of lasers or something.

[Prinnydood]

"Don't listen to that sneering bully," answered Mega Man. "I can take care of anything he throws my way. And I'll destroy him, too!"

All of Mega Man's problems would be solved if he'd actually go through with this.