The Mega Man: War Games

War of the Moon Part 3

The crowds had cleared out long ago, which thankfully meant Ken could focus on the matter at hand. Not that focusing helped him understand much.

He carefully moved aside as he watched the robot before him throw out punches. He had to stay relatively close or else he would have to deal with several energy blasts from the cannon on its arm. He occasionally threw out a kick or two, but for the most part, he stayed back trying to figure out how best to handle it.

With a sudden movement, the robot grabbed him by the leg and hurled him backward. Ken was unable to stop himself and crashed into a column. He winced and looked up at the robot. It once again prepared to fire a charged shot at him. He didn't want to put himself or anyone else at risk from the attack, so he had to counter it.

He had never been quite as proficient as Ryu with the move, but he had no choice now. He concentrated his energy and drew his hands back before throwing them out, shouting, "HADOUKEN!". The blue fireball launched out just as the shot was fired from the robot.

Surprisingly enough, the two met exactly in the same spot and broke one another apart. A burst of energy pushed against Ken, sliding him back into the column once again. The robot had not even budged.

"Hoo boy..." He muttered. "Ryu, what on earth did you get me mixed up with?"

---

Proto Man and I were holding our own against Skull Man, but of course, someone has to go and get involved.

Skull was a devastating fighter. He blocked attacks with ease, planned each attack to put himself in the best position possible...and then there was his weapon.

Whenever we created distance, he spread his arms and a series of skull-shaped plates emerged from his body, and rotated around him at high speed, glowing with blue energy. The barrier was difficult to penetrate, somehow even worse than Wood Man's Leaf Shield. The skulls seemed to redirect whatever hit them directly back at whoever fired it.

I was very glad to have Proto Man working with me. He was quiet but efficient. Compared to 90% of the robots I worked with most of the time, he was a relief. Sometimes it felt weird to think that he was technically my brother. But I decided that, for now, when it came up, I would have to ignore it. There were more important things at the moment.

Proto Man seemed to be much more conservative with his attacks than I was. It was as if he continuously studied the robot, awaiting an opportunity. While I would normally do the same, it felt like it was hard enough just to avoid his attacks.

I was surprised when I backed up into Proto Man after a moment. "Oh! Sorry!"

He shook his head. "Forget about it. I have an idea. You've got those boosters, right?"

I nodded. "For sliding, yeah."

"Fire a fully charged shot at him, but be ready. I'm gonna need a ride."

I didn't even have time to ask him what he meant, as he put a short distance between us, firing some buster shots at Skull Man's seemingly impenetrable Skull Barrier. "Right. Whatever." I composed myself and began to charge a shot as Skull Man dropped his defense and fired multiple shots at Proto Man.

I fired the shot after a moment of charging. The blast came very close before he threw up another barrier, which launched it back at me. I braced myself before seeing Proto Man jump in front of me with his shield ready. "Now!" He shouted.

I was barely able to process the command and come up with what to do, and I dropped to the ground and began to boost across the ground quickly, closing the gap between us. Proto Man positioned himself, riding on my legs with his shield in front of us. We gave Skull Man little time to react, and he jumped to the side to avoid us. Proto Man quickly aimed his buster over at the robot and landed a few good shots on his chest.