[Exemplary] Family of Steel - Carved from the Blighted Oak

[Proto Man]

This part of the Tangled Green was different from anywhere and everywhere else.

There was no life.

Whatever ecosystem had existed before had left behind zero traces, aside from the twisted remains of dead trees still implanted into the gray, lifeless soil. If it was daytime, the place probably would have just felt uneasy, but in the light of the moon, the gnarled trees and the piles of detritus took on a whole new sinister meaning. The preteen android tried to ignore all the moving shadows in his peripheral vision as he closed in on the signal from the puck. When he found it, it was inside what remained of a collapsed tree. Proto Man found no traces of a hidden compartment … only the puck jammed into the rotting pulp.

As he removed the little device, the red robot took a moment to scan his surroundings one more time. He could tell he was being watched, but since he lacked infrared or night vision, he could only speculate as to what was out there in the dead forest. Once he had convinced himself that he was okay for the time being, Proto Man opted to download the video diary and play it on his HUD. After a short delay, it started to play, and almost immediately, the prototype Robot Master knew he wasn’t going to enjoy it.

“W-w-wood Man here… it has been a few days since I managed to follow one of those elven scouting parties out into the Green. The actual tracking part was quite easy, which raises a lot of questions in my mind about the talent of their Sentinels.” Wood Man paused to chuckle, but the laugh was weak and almost halfhearted. “I knew almost immediately when they passed into the blighted forest. While I lack the nuance of human senses, the change in environmental factors was drastic enough to raise every single alarm in my system. The different was visible as well… this infection has a terrible effect on what it infects.

“Rather than try to describe the flora, I’ve simply recorded a few images and videos on this puck.” The woodland machine winced and clutched at something outside the view of whatever recording device he had used. “S-sorry for that… anyway, I pressed on behind the elves. By the time I realized they’d stopped, I was only a hundred feet away from them when they were attacked by the monsters. There had to be at least three dozen of them…they descended upon the elves like rapid dogs. I wanted to help, but it was clear from the first engagement that the night elves were doomed to defeat.

“The blighted creatures appear to have been elves… they were wearing the tattered remains of elven robes and carried matching weaponry.” Wood Man paused, almost as if he needed to collect his breath, despite the fact that he had no lungs. “I concealed myself until the fighting ended. I couldn’t destroy Mega Man, so I know I had no chance against those creatures,” the frown on Wood Man’s face showed how conflicted he still felt about his decision. Proto Man wondered what he would have done if he had been in the other Robot Master’s shoes.

“Rather than flee, I decided to feed a desire to learn more, so I crept to one of the dying elves. The Sentinel had been stabbed several times, but the fatal wound had been caused by the jagged teeth that had torn through her neck and the underlying blood vessels. I’m not a healer, so I could only watch and listen as her gurgling screams faded away into silence.” Once again, the machine paused and frowned. Proto Man had seen that same look on the face of humans when they cried, but no tears streaked down from the woodland machine’s cheeks. “I watched the Blight consume the dead elf. Before my eyes, her flesh turned an ashen tone and her body was twisted and mutated into a nightmare version of its original form. After only a half an hour, the corpse stood up, retrieved its sword, and shambled off into the diseased forest.

“I knew I needed more data, so I wanted to examine a still corpse, but after a few minutes, it started to stir. Before I could properly react, it attacked me with the sword it had failed to defend itself with.

“I managed to knock it away and escape, but it cut open my right thigh,” Wood Man reached down once again to touch something outside the view of the recording device. “I thought I was safe until I noticed that the wound wasn’t normal. Much like an untreated human wound, the slash started to fester, and I now know that I have been… afflicted by the Blight. I went through an initial state of panic, which was only worsened when I reached out to Quick Man. He didn’t see those creatures or watch as they murdered their former kinswomen… I don’t want that to happen to me.

“I will be strong… My first reaction was to excise the infection, but it simply regrew within a few hours. It seems benign for the moment, and while I am a machine, I do not believe for a second that this pestilence won’t find some way of doing me harm. I have to stop it. This ecosystem and its inhabitants rely on me to find a cure or some other means to prevent its spread.

“I am the perfect test subject. I know I can make a difference...

I just have to be strong.”