Rockman Evolution
By Ysionris Gavotte

Prologue

Death. When humans attempt to associate death with setting and weather, they imagine dark, damp days, where the moon fails to glow, the sun refuses to shine, the clouds blanket the earth, and the fog takes the air. But as the fires burned in the town of Chiron, death came in the clear daylight, with sunny weather, under the blue sky and above the green grass. What the inhabitants of Chiron failed to understand was that death could come to them at any time and any place, without mercy, without ambiguity, without warning. There was no omen in the sky, no ill signs, nothing. What came just came, and was finished with their work as fast as they had arrived.

They paid for their mistakes with their lives.

Chiron was not by any means a large human settlement. Merely created by those who wished a peaceful way of living, many of them had abandoned the idea of commerce, and used a method of control that could almost be called communism, except that idea had died out years ago. That idea brought no sympathy from the attackers, however, as they stood in a circle, among the wastes of Chiron, and around a single, unharmed, female individual.

Most of them stood in arrogant forms, undisturbed by the bodies around them. They gathered with an air of overconfidence. The victims had been killed in different ways. While slashes covered the majority of the victims, there were also various bullet wounds, even bodies that had been burnt. While most were blessed with swift deaths, other wounds indicated that the victim had suffered greatly before being put out of their misery.

The predators of the day, the Rockmen, looked over their captive as she knelt subconsciously, with Rockman Reaper grasping a hand over her neck, using what telekinetic power he had to attempt to analyze her. Reaper’s form was like the god of death, with a black cloak around his equally dark armor. His bloodlust eyes shined a brilliant crimson, like the eternal fires of hell. A scythe was perched on his back, and a particle beam gun was holstered at his side. He was one cruel Rockman formed piece-by-piece. Second in command of the group, he was placed in the position not because of his ability to lead, but his ability to fight.

Reaper’s telekinetic ability was not usually used for tasks as this, but rather, to possess the bodies of the victims he had slain, and to use them for his own combat purposes. As he often said, “Hey, the dead don’t die again.” Reaper wasn’t necessarily reading her mind, but rather, attempting to analyze and break down her metabolism, her genetic structuring, blood type, and match it with the information they were given for this mission.

“Matched,” Reaper nodded as his hand extracted from the human. She fell into a short trance, in which Reaper took this opportunity to push her downwards, and she fell face flat into the ground. She probably wouldn’t have realized it, in her subconscious state. Reaper scowled in disgust, signifying his extreme dislike for humans. The human was another village girl, dressed scarcely. The weather in Chiron was usually hot and humid, and the other townsfolk had also worn skimpy clothing. Her eyes didn’t focus after Reaper let her go, an aftereffect of the trance Reaper forced onto her mind.

“What do we do now, Eclipse?” Rockman Axis asked. Third in command, Axis was usually reserved, thoughtful, cunning, brooding. He tended not to get into arguments, and not to start conversations. Although he seemed to be a decent Rockman by nature, many have said that his plotting nature is the birth of his plotting to undermine the leadership of his superiors. He carried a double-bladed gunblade at his side, which could easily be used as a weapon for both close-range and long-range.

Mistress Eclipse, as she was called, was indeed a Rockman, but of the female nature. The commanding officer of the group, she was intelligent, demanding, and levelheaded. Her talent to lead and to fight allowed her to be handpicked by the Rockmen Directory to be the leader of the elite caste of Rockmen. While she is widely respected and feared, many loathe her, although none ever make it evident enough for her to know and to have their throats slit. Eclipse rarely fought, although she carried twin pistols and an army knife at her side.

“Well,” Eclipse shrugged, “we have orders to bring her back unharmed. If we had to lay waste to Chiron just to get her, we might as well stick to it. She must be important to the Directory. They don’t send pros like us out on blue milk runs.”

“I certainly hope so,” Rockman Magnum muttered. Known for being a cowboy and a lone wolf, he was aloof, arrogant, flaunting, and dangerous. He seemed much older than any of the other Rockmen, with white hair and black eyes. He even dressed his role as a cowboy, with a tipped hat and a trenchcoat. Two energy revolvers lay at his side, never seen away from his side. Despite the obvious annoyance that it brings to his comrades, he enjoyed to twirl them around once before holstering the revolvers again on an occasional basis.

“Afterburner,” Eclipse ordered, “We had explicit orders to ensure the settlement has no survivors. Obtain a visual confirmation of the deaths of every human in the area, then report back here. If you are to encounter any human living in the area, you are to kill on sight.”

“You know,” Rockman Afterburner chuckled, “Had it not been for the last order, I probably would’ve bitched about it.” He leapt into the air once before wings erupted from his back, and he took off with a loud bang of his rockets, soaring into the sky. Coated with green armor, Afterburner was the fastest of all the Rockmen, and his demeanor matched his abilities. He talked fast, and was known for his foul mouth. While he was arrogant and cocky, he wasn’t necessary vile. Two gattling guns were hooked to his arms, allowing him to dish out rapid damage to all units in his line of sight.

“Nataku,” Eclipse resumed giving orders, “Attempt to scout the outside of the region, and see if there are any signs of approaching reinforcements.”

“In Chiron?” Reaper scoffed, “Come on. Chiron has no importance to the rest of the humans. It’s just a little town that wouldn’t help during the war.”

“The humans rely on emotional deceit, Reaper,” Eclipse explained slowly, as if she was concealing impatience, doing so without looking at her subordinate, “If the other humans come and try to save Chiron in their moment of need, the inhabitants of Chiron may be coerced to supporting them.”

“You’ve certainly thought about this a lot,” Reaper chuckled, crossing his arms.

“It’s called early intuition,” Eclipse pressed her lips in a flat line, “Nataku? Don’t mind Reaper. Go on ahead.”

“Understood,” Rockman Nataku nodded, and closed his eyes. His entire body seemed to shimmer, until he suddenly disappeared. Then, there was a shimmer in the air, as what seemed like a figure made of glass was moving across the area. Nataku had the ability to use an adaptive camouflage, allowing himself to become invisible to the enemy.

Nataku is the Japanese name given to a Chinese artificial god. It was said that the god was created from flesh, but a soul refused to reside in it; therefore, Nataku had no emotion. Likewise, Rockman Nataku had no emotions, and it was an advantage in a sense; he could easily put his feelings beside him, if he had any feelings at all, and continue to do his job. Although Nataku had no emotions, he did understand the concept of friendship, brotherhood, courage, vendetta, and the like. With white hair and purple eyes, he seemed almost unnatural, playing his role as an “artificial god” to the fullest. He also wielded a katana that could easily halve his enemies.

The last and youngest member of the crew was Rockman Freedom. Although he was among the elite caste of Rockmen, he was commonly known as a defect. He was naïve, emotional, and childish. He often had problems with his own body as they initiated painful convulsions. Although he had a large amount of notable potential, he had a major lack in experience. However, he shared a special bond with Nataku, whom he looks up to as an older brother, guardian, and mentor. Nataku looked toward Freedom as an emotional guide, often asking questions about certain emotions that are reflected. Two daggers were sported at his side, which almost seemed underpowered…but a weapon was a weapon, and they could kill as efficiently as Freedom could ever want it to.

“Okay, okay,” Reaper gave a grin, “My favorite part of each mission. The kill count.”

“Damn,” Axis muttered, “Not this again.”

“The Directory deemed it necessary this time,” Eclipse explained, “I don’t like to compete as to who made the most kills, but it’s for the record this time.”

“Well, that wouldn’t be very fair,” Magnum scowled, “You sent Afterburner and Nataku out to scout. He would get an unfair advantage if he spots anyone.”

“Wouldn’t that indicate your lack of ability to terminate your targets?” Eclipse gave only the slightest hint of a smirk. Magnum scowled again, but did not complain. Eclipse had jabbed his sore spots, and Magnum could only submit.

“I did one hundred seventy-one,” Eclipse nodded, “Reaper?”

“Ha!” Reaper clapped his gloved hands together, “I beat you! Two hundred fifty-eight.”

“It isn’t anything to be proud about,” Freedom frowned, placing a finger to his brow.

“Yeah,” Reaper laughed cruelly, “This is coming from the kid who can’t make a kill.”

Freedom opened his mouth as to argue, but Axis silenced him with a wave of the hand. “Don’t mess with him, Reaper,” Axis warned, “If Freedom decided to rip you apart for that, I’d stop him…only before he beats you an inch from death.”

“Oh,” Reaper said in a mocking voice, one that imitated fright, “I’m so scared. Freedom’s going to come and jack my ass.”

“Enough,” Eclipse snapped, then in a far more reasonable voice, “Axis, what about you?”

“One hundred sixty-nine. Came a bit short today.”

Eclipse nodded, turned to Magnum. “Magnum?”

“Two hundred seventeen,” Magnum said as he drew his revolved and gave them a twirl, “Afterburner said he nailed two hundred sixty-seven of them…it’ll be more if he finds anyone.”

“Damn!” Reaper spat, “I swear, that guy only wins because of his gattling guns. He has absolutely no skill at all.”

“Are you finished complaining?” Axis muttered, “You’re just not fast enough.”

“I’m not the one who has the lowest kill count so far, Axis,” Reaper turned on Axis.

“Remind me to change team members when we return,” Eclipse cut their argument short, beginning to feel impatient, “I’m sick of even listening to you. Freedom, how many did you terminate?”

“One hundred twenty-two, Mistress,” Freedom replied, “Nataku told me he terminated two hundred three.”

Reaper laughed. “Look who’s last place, Axis. As if Freedom is going to own me anytime soon.” Axis rolled his eyes, didn’t bother to reply. Eclipse showed slight relief to that, giving a nod in Axis’ direction, although only Freedom saw the motion.

“Make a grand total of one thousand four hundred seven,” Axis calculated quickly in his head, “That is seven more than what intelligence had reported. Under the circumstances, I think we have a full kill count.”

Afterburner returned as he landed in the midst of their group, disappointment evident on his face. He didn’t need to say anything for the others to understand that there were no survivors. As always, the Rockmen did their job efficiently.

“Well, then,” Eclipse nodded, satisfied with what she saw, “Our work here is wrapped up. Now, we simply have to return to the Directory.”

“Air transport won’t be able to pick us up on the return trip,” Axis informed, “We’ll have to go on foot, or hijack vehicles along the way.”

“Or I can decide to take the air and get there way before you guys do,” Afterburner laughed, “Air superiority ahoy!”

“Try that,” Reaper said sourly, his face grim, “And I’ll shoot you out of the air.” It was commonly known that Reaper enjoyed taking vehicles out for a spin…and crashing them when he was done with them.

Nataku suddenly materialized in the midst of the group as he deactivated his stealth camouflage, causing several to flinch for a moment. His emotionless face turned toward Eclipse. “There were no reinforcements in the vicinity, Mistress,” Nataku reported, “However, there were two merchants in the vicinity…” Nataku paused, then added, “…I eliminated them just in case.”

“Lucky bastard,” Afterburner muttered.

“Thank you,” Eclipse nodded, ignoring Afterburner’s remark, “Then our orders are simple. We will return to the Directory with our captive…”

“Anyone wonder why the hell the Directory would want a human captive?” Reaper asked, looking around and crossing his arms.

Eclipse opened her mouth to speak, but Reaper had brought something into momentum, so Magnum got there first. “And it wasn’t just any human. We had to watch what we were shooting. We were briefed about exactly which human to get. We had pictures, biological readings, everything. Hell, it’s taking up a quarter of my computer back home.”

Freedom looked confused. “I wasn’t aware that the briefing would take up so much space. The briefing only takes up a…”

Magnum scowled as he closed his eyes in disgust. “I was being sarcastic, moron.”

“The reasons of the Directory are beyond us,” Nataku said simply, noting frustration forming on Eclipse’s face, and anger forming in Freedom’s expression, “Their reasons are for our salvation. Understanding of our objectives is not necessary. What is necessary is our performance and attitude, and our abilities to achieve these objectives efficiently. We are here to carry out the wishes of the Rockman Directory and ensure the salvation of our kind…” he turned to Eclipse, “…Is this what you wished to say, Mistress?”

“Couldn’t have put it better myself,” Eclipse gave a wry smile at Nataku. Nataku just nodded.

“We should leave now,” Axis said, “We have a schedule to keep up with, and humans may come soon.” He looked around warily, as if he expected humans to show up as he said this.

“I concur,” Freedom nodded, “We should get out of this place as soon as possible.”

“We should form two groups,” Eclipse said, “One will be decoy, and the other will return to the Rockman Directory first…” she activated the holographic projector on her helmet, and a map of the region bounced into view in the middle of their group, right above their human captive, who was beginning to come to, “Axis, Nataku, Freedom, you three will take this route…” a blue arrow stretched its way from a red dot labeled Chiron the map and went through a valley, a plain, and then to a red dot labeled Orion, “…You will be taking the prisoner through this route. Reaper, Magnum, Afterburner, and I will take this route…” a red arrow stretched its way from Chiron and headed away from the valley, but then curved, and met with the blue arrow at the exit of the valley in the plains, “…We should be able to cover your tracks when we reach the plains. Any questions?”

“Yeah,” Afterburner said, “Why did you give the captive to Mr. Senile, Emotionless, and Crybaby? Shouldn’t we get the prisoner? We’re far better in terms of combat.” Freedom tensed and glared again, but Axis and Nataku kept their cool.

Eclipse gave a terse laugh. “Because I think Axis, Nataku, and Freedom should have a chance to prove themselves, that they are effective in their level-headed judgment, instead of blasting everything away. Besides, I have a feeling that if we had the captive, she wouldn’t last long in our company…” she paused, then added with a smile, “…If anyone wishes to contradict me, please speak up now.”

Everyone seemed satisfied with the answer, despite several disgruntled expressions from Reaper, Magnum, and Afterburner.

“Axis will have tactical command of blue team,” Eclipse said, “I’ll have command of red team. Stay off the COM channels. Try to run as quiet as possible. We’ll be dispersing random COM signals as to attract attention our way. If everything turns out to be successful, you should be able to return to Orion without firing a shot, and the prisoner completely intact. I assume you are capable of doing this?”

“You can count on us!” Freedom said enthusiastically, eager to prove his skills. Afterburner tried to stifle a laugh, but Reaper didn’t bother with tact as he just laughed. Nataku placed a hand on Freedom’s shoulder before Freedom could do anything, which cooled him down relatively.

“We should leave now,” Eclipse nodded as the girl finally came to, and she looked around for a second, dazed. Then, realizing that she was in the company of Rockmen, she screamed as she tried to run away from the general direction of Reaper, but Axis quickly grabbed her before she could run away, and nudged her into a gentle arm-lock. It wouldn’t hurt unless she tried to squirm her way out of it.

“We don’t mean you any harm,” Axis said smoothly, “We are here to escort you to Orion. Please refrain from resisting, and we will not harm you in anyway.” The girl stopped struggling, but raw fear was still evident on her face. Human bodies were littered all of Chiron, and Orion, the city of Rockmen in which they were to bring her to, was definitely listed as the last place a human like her would want to visit. Nataku formed a rope out of thin air, a rope that looked quite magnificent, as if it was created out of silk. He proceeded to bind the girl’s wrists behind her back with it.

“We’ll see you all back in Orion,” Eclipse nodded, and the two teams quickly left in different directions out of the town of Chiron. When the human vultures came to pick the loot of the devastated town, the sight of the bodies kept the message in their minds that the next victims could be them.