06-22-2014, 05:00 PM
Everything was a blur. One second, Proto Man and the cyborg were engaged in a standoff, and the next, hell had literally burst forth before them. The initial upsurge of lava blasted a cone of molten rock miles into the crimson skyline of the Ashen Plains. Something else exploded nearby, but before the android could get a grasp of the situation, a hand closed around his wrist. He caught just a glimpse of Heat Man’s stout figure before the other Robot Master yanked him off the rim of the volcano.
Just like that, Proto Man was half-tumbling, half-sliding down the side of the volcano. Heat Man was a few feet ahead of him, using his powers to shield them in a haphazard dome of flames as clumps of lava slammed around the mountainside like mortar bombs. Despite his efforts at multitasking, the shorter Robot Master would often drift too far ahead, causing his shield to singe Proto Man until the latter could increase his speed.
The terrible descent came to an abrupt end after fifteen seconds, when the mountain just ceased to exist beneath the pair of robots. Right behind them followed a massive, rolling wave of ash and dust that was bound to consume most of the visible landscape in the coming hours. A yelp escaped Heat Man’s mouth as he flailed his arms wildly, his eyes clearly glued out the jagged rocks that waited for them two hundred feet down.
By this time, Proto Man had regained his bearings, despite the thick ash that clouded his physical vision. He took a split-second to appreciate the fact that he didn’t have to worry about ash-filled lungs stealing his breath. After reorienting himself, the red android managed to get close enough to reach out and grab Heat Man by the ankle. Pulling the smaller machine to his chest, Proto Man aimed his buster arm down at the quickly approaching ground. The barrel of the weapon started to shimmer as the android sized up the moment he’d need to shoot in order to stall their momentum enough to prevent them from hitting the ground at terminal velocity. His system, barely able to process the surroundings visually, provided him with some scant information about their GPS location.
Perhaps sensing the other machine’s dilemma, Heat Man threw down his hand and released a shimmering sphere of fire that scorched through the dust could for several meters before succumbing to the lack of oxygen. That small opening was all Proto Man needed to figure out the moment.
“Finish Buster!” He screamed into the gray sky as the barrel of the Proto Buster flared outward, releasing a beam of brilliant yellow energy with the radius of a basketball. The column surged down at the ground before slamming violently into the uneven terrain. Rock vaporized as the beam slowly ate its way down through the solid materials. On the other end of the blast, the descent of the two robots slowed until Proto Man could release the attack and let them drop the much smaller distance to the ground.
With a thud, Proto Man landed in a dust-covered heap at the base of a broken boulder. A few yards away, Heat Man hit an outcrop and let out a whimper as he tumbled down the side. The machine landed on the dirt after sliding down three feet of jagged rock, but aside from a look of panic on his face, most of the damage seemed superficial--scraped away paint, dents, and a layer of ash.
“Are you all right?” Proto Man asked as he tried to brush the dust off his desert-themed clothes. Despite his efforts, each time he smacked away a layer of the thick particulate, another almost instantly settled onto him. He soon gave up and turned his focus to the other Robot Master, who had shambled over to him.
“I need some repairs,” Heat Man said as he placed a hand on his right knee. Proto Man hadn’t noticed it earlier, but the final part of the fall had actually shorn away a layer of steel and caused enough blunt force damage to the underlying servos to cause the robot to limp. “It’s nothing serious, but my movement is going to be hampered by this.” The matter-of-fact way in which the Robot Master spoke served as a nice reminder that, despite their increased will, the others still lacked that special something that made Proto Man one-of-a-kind.
Just like that, Proto Man was half-tumbling, half-sliding down the side of the volcano. Heat Man was a few feet ahead of him, using his powers to shield them in a haphazard dome of flames as clumps of lava slammed around the mountainside like mortar bombs. Despite his efforts at multitasking, the shorter Robot Master would often drift too far ahead, causing his shield to singe Proto Man until the latter could increase his speed.
The terrible descent came to an abrupt end after fifteen seconds, when the mountain just ceased to exist beneath the pair of robots. Right behind them followed a massive, rolling wave of ash and dust that was bound to consume most of the visible landscape in the coming hours. A yelp escaped Heat Man’s mouth as he flailed his arms wildly, his eyes clearly glued out the jagged rocks that waited for them two hundred feet down.
By this time, Proto Man had regained his bearings, despite the thick ash that clouded his physical vision. He took a split-second to appreciate the fact that he didn’t have to worry about ash-filled lungs stealing his breath. After reorienting himself, the red android managed to get close enough to reach out and grab Heat Man by the ankle. Pulling the smaller machine to his chest, Proto Man aimed his buster arm down at the quickly approaching ground. The barrel of the weapon started to shimmer as the android sized up the moment he’d need to shoot in order to stall their momentum enough to prevent them from hitting the ground at terminal velocity. His system, barely able to process the surroundings visually, provided him with some scant information about their GPS location.
Perhaps sensing the other machine’s dilemma, Heat Man threw down his hand and released a shimmering sphere of fire that scorched through the dust could for several meters before succumbing to the lack of oxygen. That small opening was all Proto Man needed to figure out the moment.
“Finish Buster!” He screamed into the gray sky as the barrel of the Proto Buster flared outward, releasing a beam of brilliant yellow energy with the radius of a basketball. The column surged down at the ground before slamming violently into the uneven terrain. Rock vaporized as the beam slowly ate its way down through the solid materials. On the other end of the blast, the descent of the two robots slowed until Proto Man could release the attack and let them drop the much smaller distance to the ground.
With a thud, Proto Man landed in a dust-covered heap at the base of a broken boulder. A few yards away, Heat Man hit an outcrop and let out a whimper as he tumbled down the side. The machine landed on the dirt after sliding down three feet of jagged rock, but aside from a look of panic on his face, most of the damage seemed superficial--scraped away paint, dents, and a layer of ash.
“Are you all right?” Proto Man asked as he tried to brush the dust off his desert-themed clothes. Despite his efforts, each time he smacked away a layer of the thick particulate, another almost instantly settled onto him. He soon gave up and turned his focus to the other Robot Master, who had shambled over to him.
“I need some repairs,” Heat Man said as he placed a hand on his right knee. Proto Man hadn’t noticed it earlier, but the final part of the fall had actually shorn away a layer of steel and caused enough blunt force damage to the underlying servos to cause the robot to limp. “It’s nothing serious, but my movement is going to be hampered by this.” The matter-of-fact way in which the Robot Master spoke served as a nice reminder that, despite their increased will, the others still lacked that special something that made Proto Man one-of-a-kind.
![[Image: proto.jpg]](http://epiqz.com/omni/proto.jpg)
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Dante's Abyss 2015
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