-> Jazz Blues <- By Emily Kelley "Dr. Light -- she doesn't have a heartbeat!" exclaimed Roll. Katie was still breating normally, and looked fine. The little robotic housekeeper checked again, but still couldn't find a pulse. She looked up at Dr. Light, not knowing what to do. "Let me see," Dr. Light said. When he took hold of Katie's wrist, though, he jumped and dropped it. "What's the matter?" questioned Roll in a worried tone of voice. "Didn't you notice? She--" Dr. Light broke off. He left the room and came back with a hand-held scanner. He switched it on and quickly ran the beam of blue light over Katie. It beeped, and a small screen on the handle showed the results. "Oh my goodness..." gasped Dr. Light, hardly believing the scanner. Mega Man and all related characters are copyright Capcom. Mega Man: The Series is copyright Mandi Paugh. Jazz is copyright Emily Kelley (me). All previously copyrighted characters, stories, etc. remain in the possession of their owners. All stories are unfinished, so, as unbelievable as this may sound, they may contain spelling and other errors. Chapter One "Go! " Dr. Wily shrieked in rage. Katie practically flew down the road, gripping the small laser tightly in her hands. She risked a look back, and spotted five Sniper Joes gaining on her. They didn't dare fire and risk destroying the little gun she had. Turning, she pushed herself to go faster. Five minutes before, Katie had been taking a walk in the woods when she heard voices. "This is perfect!" one of the voices gloated. It sounded like Dr. Wily. "Mega Man will never know what hit him!" Katie risked a glance from behind a tree. Dr. Wily and some Sniper Joes stood around a rock with something on it. The evil scientist picked up the thing, which turned out to be a laser, and fired on one a tree. It immediately exploded in a burst of purple waves. Dr. Wily put the gun and a CD-ROM disc on another rock, one that was within reach of Katie. She immediately recognized her chance, and waited for the scientist to turn back to the robots. As soon as she thought it would be safe, Katie grabbed the laser and CD and ran. She has a three-minute head start and was on the school's track team besides, but now the Sniper Joes were catching up. Rounding a bend in the road, Katie saw Dr. Light's complex. She headed for that, completely forgetting about the protective force field. She slammed into it, knocking her breathless. With a surprised cry, her momentum pulled her through. She could feel the shield's energy tingle through her body as she sank through, burning like electric fire, and blacked out as soon as she hit the ground. "Dr. Light." Roll came into Dr. Light's main lab. "Someone has breached the force field in Sector Delta-Five." Dr. Light immediately checked the surveillance monitors. A young girl with short, brown pigtails was lying in the grass. "Thanks, Roll. Mega Man, are you there?" Mega Man entered the lab, wearing sweats and a tee shirt. "Did I hear my name?" "Look at this." Dr. Light turned the monitor towards Mega Man. "What do you make of it?" "I don't know. Want me to take a look?" "That would be a good idea." Mega Man hit a button on his belt, and in a flash he was clad in his fighting uniform, complete with helmet. He left the lab and went outside. At the side of the building Mega Man came upon the girl. She was face- down in the grass, unconscious but still breathing. She seemed to be holding some sort of gun. "Are you okay?" Mega Man asked her, kneeling down. The girl stirred but didn't wake. Mega Man carefully picked her up. She still held the gun in her hand, so Mega Man took it and clipped it to his belt. Then he carried her back. Chapter Two The world was spinning dizzily. Katie tried to open her eyes, but they refused to comply. She was numb and stiff all over, and her ears were ringing. Suddenly, she remembered the Sniper Joes and Dr. Wily. She shot to a sitting position, looking frantically around the room. "It's all right, you're safe," reassured a female voice. Katie spun to see its source, and her eyes fell on a blond girl about her height. "Who are you?!" Katie demanded. "Calm down, everything's fine," the other girl told her. "My name's Roll. I'm Dr. Light's housekeeping robot. You should lie down, you've had a rough time." Katie did, and was startled to realize that she was in someone's bedroom. "What happened?" she asked, controlling her nervousness. "I'm not sure, but you came right through the force field," Roll answered. "I did " "You went through the force field. It was suffering minor technical difficulties, and you slammed into it head-on." Katie had almost a hundred questions, but she settled on one. "What happened to Dr. Wily and those other robots?" Now it was Roll's turn to be confused, although it was only simulated. "Dr. Wily was there?" "Yeah, he had some sort of gun. He shot a tree with it, and it blew up weird. I got it and ran, and they came after me." At that moment Dr. Light entered the room. "Hello," he greeted Katie. "How are you feeling?" "Tired," she answered. "Aren't you Dr. Light? It's nice to meet you. I'm Katie Lilleth. I was here on a field trip once. How long have I been out?" "A few hours," said Roll. "Whoa," Katie exclaimed, half from surprise at the time and half from an extreme dizzy spell. The world swirled and tipped. She passed out again. "That wasn't good, was it?" Roll asked. Without waiting for an answer, she checked Katie's pulse. It wasn't there. "Dr. Light -- she doesn't have a heartbeat!" exclaimed Roll. Katie was still breating normally, and looked fine. The little robotic housekeeper checked again, but still couldn't find a pulse. She looked up at Dr. Light, not knowing what to do. "Let me see," Dr. Light said. When he took hold of Katie's wrist, though, he jumped and dropped it. "What's the matter?" questioned Roll in a worried tone of voice. "Didn't you notice? She--" Dr. Light broke off. He left the room and came back with a hand-held scanner. He switched it on and quickly ran the beam of blue light over Katie. It beeped, and a small screen on the handle showed the results. "Oh my goodness..." gasped Dr. Light, hardly believing the scanner. Chapter Three Mega Man met Dr. Light and Roll in the lab. "What's up?" he asked cheerfully. Roll gently put Katie on one of the tables and pushed a large scanner into place. She motioned towards Dr. Light and arranged some more equipment. The blue bomber watched in interest, trying to figure out what was going on. Finally he went to where Dr. Light was booting up a computer. "What's up?" he repeated. "You're not going to believe this. Watch this screen, will you?" Dr. Light crossed the lab to the scanner and activated it. The blue beam scanned Katie as the portable one had done. Mega Man sat down in a chair and kept his eyes on the computer. In about half a minute's time, a picture popped onto the monitor. Mega Man instantly recognized it as his own internal structure. Except it was a little different, a bit thinner, and was topped with what appeared to be pigtails. "You mean--Katie--no way!" "It sure looks that way," Dr. Light replied slowly. "Where's Break Man? He should see this." "I already am," Break Man answered, entering the lab. "Didn't she run right through the force field? I remember that's what I did once, and you see where it got me." He grinned. "You're probably right. But still--I didn't think it worked on " At that moment Katie came to again. She sat up, and bonked her head on the scanning arm. "Ow!" she exclaimed. "Hey, what's this?" Dr. Light cleared his throat. "It's a scanner." "Why would you want to scan me?" "Well, um, have a look at this." Dr. Light turned the monitor. Katie moved the scanning arm out of the way and hopped down from the table. She studied the picture, confused. "I don't get it. Is that " The pigtails were right, anyway. "I'm afraid so. If this is right, then you're a bioroid." Katie jumped. "I'm a " "A living machine, like Mega Man and Break Man," Dr. Light quickly explained. "You can still feel emotions and things like pain, but you're a machine. It takes a certain kind of energy to change you into one. Cloning machines and force fields use this energy. You went through the force field and became a living machine. That's how Break Man became one, but I had no idea it worked on humans." Katie's eyes grew wide in surprise. She looked at her hands. They were the same, but when she pressed on one, it was as hard as metal. She stood silently for a moment, and suddenly jumped four feet straight into the air with a shout of "" Mega Man, Break Man, and Dr. Light were so surprised they almost fell over backward. "Wowie! Cool!" she continued. "This is great! You have no idea how happy I am!" "Aren't you a little enthusiastic!" exclaimed Break Man. Just to see if she could, Katie tried to turn her arm into an arm cannon. It worked. She tried the other one, and it changed too. She turned them back and looked oddly at her belt. There was a button on it, so Katie pressed it. Instantly she was wearing an outfit much like Mega Man's, except it was dark purple where his was dark blue, and magenta where his was blue. Her new helmet had a clear blue visor, like Break Man's but rounder at the edges, and her pigtails poked through two holes obviously made for them. "Wowie!" Katie repeated. Dr. Light watched with extreme interest and curiosity. "Is there a mirror anywhere? I've gotta see myself!" Katie took off. "I knew this was going to be a mega day when I woke up," remarked Mega Man. Chapter Four "I don't believe this!" raged Dr. Wily. He vented his anger on a nearby Met, kicking the little hard-hatted robot into a metal wall. "I've had my whole plan ruined by a I don't even have the schematics for my Disintegrator Laser!" Dr. Wily was talking about Katie, who wasn't tall but was thirteen. He stopped pacing and sat down. "I'd believe it if Mega Man or his annoying brother Protoman took the laser, but this is too much!" Dr. Wily was using Break Man's old name like he usually did. "I'm not going to take this. I'll get my Disintegrator Laser back no matter what!" The evil scientist slammed his fist on a button, dispatching a squad of Sniper and Hammer Joes along with about fifteen Mets. "Find that girl no matter where she is and get my laser back!" he ordered. Meanwhile, Katie was trying to pick a new name. "You don't need a new name," Mega Man told her. "Oh yes I do. Your name Rock. You got a new name, and I think I will too." Dr. Light sat back and watched with an amused smile. "She has a point," teased Break Man. "Nobody asked you," Mega Man shot back with a grin. "Let's see... Rock, Roll, Tango, Rush, Beat, Blues..." "Who's Blues?" Break Man interrupted. "Your name in another country. Oh, I got it!" Katie snapped her fingers. "I'll be Jazz!" "What kind of name is Jazz?" Mega Man and Break Man asked at the same time. "It fits with the name scheme, and I couldn't call myself Country- Western. Besides, what kind of name is Mega Man?" A red light flipped on on the wall. An alarm began sounding. "The lab's under attack!" shouted Mega Man. "Let's go, Break Man!" Katie (now Jazz) tried to follow, but Mega Man stopped her. "You can't come," he told her. "It's too dangerous. You could be hurt." "So could you!" Jazz retorted, frusterated. She waited for the twin robots to leave, and dashed after them. "Wait!" Dr. Light cried. Jazz was already gone. He sighed and watched them on a monitor. Outside the lab, the Joes and Mets had made a hole in the already- weakened force field with one of Dr. Wily's many gadgets. Mega Man and Break Man met them with their arm cannons blazing. They knocked out seven Mets and most of the Hammer Joes when a supercharged shot, not their own, plowed through a Sniper Joe. "Hey!" protested Mega Man, whirling around to see the source of the shot. A little distance away, Jazz stood. She blew imaginary smoke away from the business end of her new arm cannon. "" yelled Mega Man. Jazz didn't reply, but instead fired on a Met. It exploded. The Sniper Joes still posed a problem, but the three robots soon cleared them and the left-over Mets out. After the short battle was over, Mega Man turned to Jazz. "I told you it was too dangerous. Why did you come out here?" "How am I supposed to help you guys if I never get any practice?" Mega Man looked disgusted. "Who said anything about you helping us?" "But--oh, come on!" Jazz exclaimed. She had a hurt look in her eyes. "I never said you couldn't. Just don't jump into a fight like that again, okay?" he asked, much more quietly. Break Man thought he caught something in Mega Man's voice, but he had no idea what. "What if I trained a lot? could I help you?" "I don't know." There was a long, tense moment of silence. "Let's forget this and go home, all right?" Break Man suggested. Jazz looked at the ground. "I can't, not like this." Mega Man and Break Man exchanged a glance. "Where you live, anyway?" asked Mega Man. "The city orphanage. I hate it there and I'm not going back." Without another word Jazz headed back to the lab. Chapter Five That night, Mega Man lay awake in Break Man's room. Jazz, needing somewhere temporary to stay, was in Mega Man's room now. Mega Man decided to move into his brother's room until she left. "Break Man, do you think I was too hard on Jazz?" Mega Man asked the red robot. "A little," Break Man answered, "but she shouldn't've followed us." Mega Man was quiet. "You know, this reminds me of a story," Break Man said. "Hmm?" Break Man turned on his back. "Yeah, there were these three blind guys and an elephant. One man felt the elephant's leg and said, 'It's a tree.' The second blind man put his hand on the elephant's trunk and said, 'No, this is a fire hose.' The last guy got ahold of the elephant's tail and said, 'You're all wrong. This is a rope.'" Mega Man was thoroughly puzzled. "What's that got to do with anything?" "Absolutely nothing," Break Man replied with a cocky grin. He burst out laughing, and Mega Man did too. "Don't worry so much," Break Man advised when he stopped laughing. "Things'll work out in the end. You know they always do." "Okay." Within minutes, the titanium twins were asleep. The next morning, Dr. Light suggested that Mega Man take Jazz to meet the N-Team. Mega Man agreed, and Dr. Light set a warp for the Palace of Power. They arrived at the other side of the warp. Kevin, Princess Lana, Simon Belmont, and Kid Icarus were all waiting for them. Dr. Light had told them about Jazz and they were all very eager to meet her. "Hello, Jazz," Princess Lana greeted, extending her hand. She was the ruler of VideoLand while her father was gone. Jazz remembered her manners. "Hello, your Highness," she replied pleasantly, shaking Lana's hand. "Welcome to the Palace of Power. I've heard all about you. You're the first living machine to first be human, and also the first female, right?" Jazz nodded, noticing how formal the Princess was. "We're very glad to meet you," finished Lana. "Thanks," Jazz smiled. "I'll introduce you to everyone," volunteered Mega Man. "This is Kevin Keene, known to most as Captain N. He's the leader of the N-Team." "Hello," Jazz said. "Hi," replied Kevin. "This is Simon Belmont, vampire hunter extraordinare." Simon took a gallant bow. "Last but not least, this is Kid Icarus, the archer from Mount Olympus." Jazz and Kid Icarus shook hands. "Nice to meet you, Jazz-icus," said Kid Icarus. "Same to you," Jazz answered. "Let's find a more comfortable place to talk," Lana said. She led them to one of the many banquet halls in the Palace of Power. Everybody took a seat. "What do you guys do, anyway?" Jazz asked, looking for a conversation topic. "We protect the freedom of VideoLand," Captain N said. "Mostly we fight against Dr. Wily and Mother Brain. It gets hard sometimes, but we pull through. Like there was the time with the Freeze Fighters. If they touched you or threw their green powder on you, you'd freeze solid. Mother Brain hired them without telling Dr. Wily--see, they were working together--and said she didn't need him anyway. They were both awfully upset at each other." "I got frozen a lot," Mega Man added. "Also there was the one time I was blind." "And when you lost your memory," said Kevin. "The worst time of all-icus was when you died," Kid Icarus supplied. Jazz started to feel left out. Here she was, listening to a bunch of people she had just met tell her about adventures. She wished she had some good stories to tell them, but she had led a boring life up until then. The day dragged on. Finally, at about noontime, Jazz got up. "I'm sorry, I have to go now. Dr. Light wanted to run some tests on me. It was really great meeting all of you," she said. "It was nice meeting you too. Come back again soon, will you?" Princess Lana requested. "I will, thanks," Jazz answered, forcing herself to smile. "The warps are this way," said Mega Man, pointing. "'Bye everyone." The two walked down the hall. "What was that about?" Mega Man wanted to know. "I felt too out of place, I guess. I mean, here I am, most boring and nondescript person in probably all of VideoLand, and I'm in the Palace of Power talking to the most exciting and descript people in probably all of VideoLand. They're great people, but..." Jazz trailed off, not finishing her sentence and not needing to. "It's okay," Mega Man reassured her gently. "Remember, you're not so nondescript now either." They arrived at the circular metal door to Dr. Light's warp. Mega Man pulled it open, and he followed Jazz through. Chapter Six Mega Man and Jazz stepped out of the warp into the middle of Dr. Light's lab. It closed behind them, leaving them in the middle of what looked like a war zone. Tables were overturned, equipment was trashed. Roll, Dr. Light, and Break Man were nowhere to be seen. "" Mega Man exclaimed. "What here!?" Jazz gasped. "Someone broke into the lab while we were gone!" Mega Man ran around the room, trying to find a computer that wasn't now a pile of scrap metal. There was only one, and it was password-locked. Mega Man tried every password he could think of, but the computer didn't respond. A message appeared on the screen: 'Ha ha ha.' "It's not funny!" Mega Man exclaimed angrily. "Mega Man, what's this?" Jazz asked, leaning over to look at something on the floor. It was a triangular yellow bandanna. "It's Break Man's bandanna! He never goes anywhere without it--unless he has a reason for leaving it behind. I think it's pointing out that window, towards the newest Skull Castle." Jazz took a glance around outside. "Don't you think that's just a bit too convenient?" Mega Man shrugged. "Yes, but think about it this way. Who would trash Dr. Light's lab and kidnap everyone there? And Skull Castle's that way anyway. Kind of goes without saying." Jazz was just a bit annoyed. "Well then why'd you say it? Nover mind... Think we should go that way?" "I'll go that way. You stay here, it might be a trap." "I will not! I'm going too, whether you like it or not." Jazz crossed her arms, closing the topic for conversation. "But... Fine. If you get killed, it's not my fault." Jazz uncrossed her arms, and put her hands on her hips. "Okay. Let's go." Mega Man picked up the yellow piece of fabric and, for lack of a better place for it, folded it and put it under his helmet. Jazz opened the window, and they both jumped out. It was a ten-foot drop, and Mega Man was used to falling from heights. Jazz, however, wasn't. She landed safely on her hands and knees, much to her surprise, although she was a bit shaken up. "Dr. Wily probably took them to his castle. He usually does," reasoned Mega Man. "We could try teleporting, but I'll bet he's changed his barriers " "Teleporting?" Jazz asked. "Oh, I forgot. Your teleporter's probably not set, if you've even got one. Don't worry, we can use mine. Take my hand." Jazz did, and Mega Man could've sworn his heart skipped a beat except he was a living machine and didn't have one. "Now, could you press the center button?" "This one?" Jazz pointed to the button set into Mega Man's left arm cannon. There was a small panel of nine buttons. "Yeah." Jazz pressed it. The two robots disappeared-- --And reappeared in front of Dr. Wily's newest Skull Castle. "That's what I thought. We can't get in by teleporting," Mega Man said. "Creepy," Jazz shuddered, looking at the huge fortress. Mega Man and Jazz realized at the same time that they were still holding hands and immediately let go. Neither of them could blush, but if they could've they would've. Mega Man cleared his throat. "Let's break in through the basement." "Why the basement?" Jazz wanted to know. "It's a mega habit," Mega Man laughed. They approached the castle. It sat on a high, rocky crag. Barred windows went three levels down in the stone, and Mega Man picked one on the second level down. Climbing the mountain was no easy task. There were good handholds, but the cliff wall was nearly vertical. Some of the rock was old and crumbling, and the Bolts that popped out of holes in the stone made scaling it even more difficult. Finally, they got to a ledge. The window was set directly into the mountain. "Whatta climb!" Jazz panted. "Yeah," agreed Mega Man. He checked his energy level. It was a bit low. "Check your energy, Jazz." "Do " "On your right arm. See the meter?" "Oh, yeah. It's kind of close to the bottom." "We'd better take a short rest." They sat down, leaning on the rocky wall. Now that they weren't on the cliff's face anymore, the Bolts had stopped coming. They were probably motion-activated. "Tell me about the gun Dr. Wily made," Mega Man said. Jazz thought. "Welllll... It was small, and shaped like a regular laser, but now that I think about it, it had something stamped on it. A big 'Dr. W,' I think. When Dr. Wily blasted a tree with it, the tree blew up and there were some weird purple ripples too." "Sounds like some kind of matter disruptor. I've got enough energy now. How about you, Jazz?" Jazz checked. "Uh-huh. Let's go." She stood up and grabbed two of the bars, intending to pull them right out of the cliff wall. "No, wait!" Mega Man warned. "" shrieked Jazz, helplessly flying backwards off the cliff. Mega Man caught her as she was falling. He set her on her feet. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. "Those were electrified bars. Dr. Wily uses them a lot, because there's no way I'd want to mess with them." "Whew, that was a blast," Jazz laughed shakily. "How are we supposed to get in?" "I have an idea. You climb back onto the cliff, and when another Bolt shows up, I'll shoot it and you catch whatever of it you can." Jazz nodded. She made her way down the cliff about a meter, then stopped. As expected, a Bolt soon showed up. Mega Man dispatched it, and Jazz caught a piece of scrap as it fell past. She tossed it up to Mega Man, and got back up to the ledge. "Now what?" asked Jazz. "Just watch," Mega Man grinned. He threw the piece of metal as hard as he could between the bars. It hit a button panel, burying itself within the wires inside. Sparks flew from panel as it shorted out. The bars didn't seem to change. Mega Man cautiously tapped one. Nothing happened, so he wrenched it off. "That was cool," Jazz complimented. Mega Man took a bow. Inside was a maze of metal corridors and gates, filled with minor enemies, mostly Joes of various kinds. Jazz and Mega Man made short work of them, not getting hit once. They made a great team. At the end of the particular hall they were in was one of the gates Mega Man recognized as coming before a Robot Master. It opened obediently as the two approached it, revealing a short hall with another gate at the end. "Better charge your Mega Buster or whatever you want to call it, if you've got one. Yhere's probably something up ahead." Jazz nodded in agreement. She didn't have any experience in this kind of thing, but the two doors were ominous. They approached the next gate. It opened as usual, and let them in. Mega Man and Jazz found themselves in a dimly-lit chamber. It was very large and tall, too tall to see the ceiling. A metal panel on the wall slid up, revealing Dr. Wily. He was protected by a thick sheet of glass. "Well, hello Mega Man, and--hey, aren't you the girl who stole my Laser Disintegrator and the plans for it? What's up with the ridiculous costume?" Jazz narrowed her eyes at the evil scientist. "Well, no matter. I'd like you to meet the latest members of the Joe family--the Jet Joes!" Dr. Wily pressed a button and five blue Joes with jetpacks dropped from the shadows in formation. "They're fast, airborne, and, best of all, they're deadly!" At that moment, the three in the back shot up into the air. The two in the front hovered in place, firing at Mega Man and Jazz. "Hey--ow!" Jazz cried. "That's the first time I've ever been hit!" "Probably won't be the last," Mega Man warned. He jumped a few shots and fired his charged shot as one of the Jet Joes. It rocketed away, dodging. Jazz was having no better luck with the Joe she was shooting at. It, too, was too fast to hit. "Hold still, will ya!?" Of course, it didn't. Two of the three Jet Joes suddenly dropped down at super speed, aiming a kick at each of the two bioroids. The attack came so quickly neither of them could get out of the way. They were both knocked flat on their backs. This gave the four Jet Joes time to shoot at them. "This--is--crazy!" Mega Man protested. The fifth Jet Joe floated down. It aimed something at them and fired. Jazz could feel the strength draining from her. She tried in vain to look at her energy gauge, but couldn't move to do it. She retained consciousness, and two Jet Joes picked her up. "Dr. Wily! You--" Jazz started. She never got to finish, though, because at that moment one of the Jet Joes kicked her in the back. Painful red spots flashed in front of her eyes, and she was out cold. Chapter Seven When Mega Man and Jazz woke up, they were chained firmly to the wall along with Dr. Light, Break Man, and Roll. "Nice to see you all awake," Dr. Wily began. "I have this new invention that I've been wanting to test on someone. Any volunteers?" Not surprisingly, no one volunteered. "Okay, then, I'll have to start picking people. How about--" Dr. Wily pulled out his Disintegrator Laser and slowly aimed it back and forth along the row of prisoners. "How about you, Mega Man? You've been a thorn in my side for a long time. Or maybe you, Protoman." Break Man was not in a good mood at all. "The name's Break Man," he spat. "Whatever. Maybe I should shoot Roll. See how you all like that. No, I've got it. I'll shoot What's-her-face here for getting involved in the first place! Say goodbye, What's-her-face!" Jazz found herself staring wide-eyed down the business end of Dr. Wily's Disintegrator Laser. "" she screamed, struggling against the chains. "You can't possibly break those, they're trirainium. I'd say to ask Mega Man about that sometime, but you'll be dead so it wouldn't matter." Dr. Wily started to pull the trigger. Jazz squeezed her eyes closed. An arrow sped across the room, knocking the gun out of Dr. Wily's hands just as he fired it. Most of the wall and part of the ceiling disappeared in a wash of purple waves. Dr. Wily spun around to see the N-Team standing in the doorway. "Why do you have to mess everything up!?" he demanded. He lunged for a small computer console built into the wall and hit a button. The floor panel next to him opened. After his usual round of threats and insults, he jumped down the hole. The tile slid back into place. "Thanks Kid!" Jazz exclaimed. "Can anyone get us off this wall?" "Don't worry, I came prepared," Simon assured Jazz. He pulled a laser torch out of his backpack and set to work on her chains. Break Man looked around. "Did anyone bring my bandanna? I feel weird without it." Mega Man grinned at his twin. "Yeah, but it's under my helmet right now." Jazz dropped to the ground, rubbing her wrists. "It's great to get down from there. Thanks for the help, everybody." "It was no problem-icus," Kid Icarus shrugged. "Getting in was a bit too easy, wasn't it?" Kevin pondered. "Getting out shoudn't be as much fun." "Did you meet the Jet Joes?" Mega Man asked. "Jet Joes?" Princess Lana repeated. "Jet Joes," warned Jazz. The five Jet Joes rocketed around a corner, sighting on them. The group had been caught completely unawares. The flying Joes had the element of surprise on their side, but they also had limited flight space. Jazz thought quickly and began giving orders. "Simon, keep at the chains. Kid Icarus, Kevin, and Lana, help me with these guys." The N-Team looked a bit skeptical, but followed orders. Kevin was a remarkable shot with his zapper, and soon had downed one of the Jet Joes. Icarus, Jazz, and Lana concentrated on another. One of Jazz's shots impacted on the Joe's jetpack, and it exploded. "I've got it! Aim for their jets and they'll be grounded!" she ordered. Kid Icarus's electric arrows were a huge help, and the boomerang that Lana had acquired on one of the many adventures of the N-Team was a very efficient way of hooking a shot around behind the Joes. Once they were rendered flightless, the Jet Joes were even easier to defeat than a Met flipped on its back. The floor shuddered, cracks spreading through it. Jazz quickly dispatched the last Jetless Joe and turned to Simon. "Hurry, this place is coming apart!" "That shot must've hit a support wall," Dr. Light agreed, dropping from the wall. He was the last to be released. "Come on-icus!" Kid Icarus urged. Oddly enough, the halls were free of enemies as the group dashed down them. A couple of times, huge chunks of building material would crash down right after they passed. As soon as the group got out the front gate, a muffled explosion rocked the mountain. The entire castle was caving in! "Everybody grab hands, we're teleporting out of here!" Mega Man exclaimed. The entire group appeared in Dr. Light's trashed lab. "Look at this place, it's a mess!" Roll protested in a perfect imitation of anger. "This will take weeks to clean up!" "It's a good thing I backed up all my data yesterday," Dr. Light moaned. "All my equipment..." "At least they left the building mostly intact," said Break Man. He said 'mostly' because the whole lab's roof was gone. Sunlight streamed into the junk-filled room. "We can probably have a construction crew rebuild the ceiling." Mega Man kicked a piece of twisted metal that had probably been part of the scanner. "I don't know about the computers, though." "Don't worry, we'll help-icus," Kid Icarus volunteered. The rest of the N-Team nodded in silent agreement. "This is going to be one mega job," sighed Mega Man. The group immediately got to work, piling all of the destroyed equipment in the middle of the room. Then they used Mega Man's communicator to call a construction company. The manager said that he'd be happy to help, and sent a crew immediately. So that they wouldn't be in the way, Dr. Light opened a warp to the Palace of Power. The N-Team, Mega Man, Break Man, and Jazz left. Dr. Light and Roll stayed to direct construction. In the throne room, the three bioroids and the N-Team each told their own sides of the story. Break Man had been with Dr. Light and Roll when Dr. Wily invaded the lab and took everyone prisoner. Mega Man and Jazz had gone to rescue them, but had been defeated by the Jet Joes and captured also. The N-Team called Dr. Light to ask him a question, but he wasn't there. They found the lab in shambles and immediately left for the Skull Castle. After they got done with their stories, Princess Lana stepped forward. She looked at Jazz, and smiled. "I was impressed with how level-headed you were when the Jet Joes attacked. You're really very brave, do you know that?" Jazz cast her gaze downward. "Oh, it was nothing..." Lana put a hand on Jazz's shoulder. "That wasn't 'nothing.' It takes a lot of courage to do what you did. Most other people would've panicked." The Princess was quiet for a few seconds, deep in thought. "Jazz, how would you like to join the N-Team?" Jazz looked up into Lana's eyes. She was obviously surprised. "I--uh-- well..." Lana laughed. "You don't have to answer now. Think about it for the night, okay? You can stay at the Palace for tonight, or until you find another place. There's an empty guest room right next to Mega Man's room. How are your energy levels?" Jazz quickly checked. "Low." "You can go to bed now if you want. Same for you two, Mega Man and Break Man. The rest of us are going to have dinner first." All three robots nodded. "Good night," they chorused. "Good night," the N-Team wished them back. Mega Man dreamed that night. He didn't like dreams, because his were mostly nightmares, but this one wasn't. It was about Jazz, and it was a good dream. Chapter Eight The next morning, everyone met in the banquet hall for breakfast and to hear Jazz's decision. The three robots weren't going to eat, of course, but came anyway. "Not having to eat breakfast is weird," Jazz said. "This could take some getting used to. That and all the other stuff I'll never have to do again." "Where's Simoneous?" Kid Icarus wondered. "Here I am!" Simon Belmont came in and took a seat. "I had to get my hair right." Everybody else chuckled. Then Lana turned to Jazz. Jazz thought. "Have you considered the offer?" Lana asked expectantly. "I, um," Jazz stuttered nervously. She still hadn't come to a decision, and looked desperately towards Mega Man for advice. That wasn't any help. part of his mind begged. the other part said. Another small part conveyed a completely different emotion that Mega Man had never felt before. It all showed in his eyes. Jazz's mind raced. What was she supposed to do? On one hand, she hardly knew any of the N-Team, except for Mega Man. On the other, she wanted to She never felt that she did, but it was something Jazz was used to, being an orphan. Could she find that with the N-Team? She had proved that she was smart and brave, but one time out of the many possible was doubtful. "I... I... I don't think I will." She paused, but quickly went on to explain. "It's not that I have anything against any of you, you're all really great people. I just don't know if it'd work out. That's okay with you, right?" "Of course it is," Kevin said. "It's your decision." "Yeah," Kid Icarus chimed in. Jazz could almost feel the tension and nervousness drain out of her. She smiled. "Thanks, everybody. I knew you'd understand." They let the subject drop completely, and chatted over breakfast. Jazz was more relaxed than the first time she had been at the Palace of Power, and found a lot of things to talk about. She told her new friends about the orphanage, school, and her former life. After breakfast, Simon volunteered to take her on a tour of the Palace. Jazz had never been so happy. All too soon, the sun began to set. Mega Man and Jazz had promised to check back at the lab, so they said their goodbyes and warped out. Break Man disappeared somewhere; one second he was there, the next--poof, he was gone. "Does your brother always do that?" Jazz asked Mega Man when they got back to the lab. "Yeah. Wow, this place is improved." The roof was back, and there wasn't a single piece of scrap anywhere. Dr. Light turned around in his chair. "Hello," he smiled at the two bioroids. "Like the lab? It's a little empty, but that can be fixed. I also had the construction crew do some work on your old house, Mega Man. I thought that Jazz might want to stay there for a while." "Thanks," Jazz responded. "Mind if I take a look at it?" "Not without me!" laughed Mega Man. "I'll race you there!" "Last one to the house's a rusty Met!" Jazz challenged. Dr. Light chuckled to himself as the two ran away, hand in hand. * * * Next, in Jazz Solo... "Hey you there!" shouted the black-shelled, black-helmeted turtle guarding the barricade. "You can't go through here, 'cause Kamek said! Or I'll have to make you sorry!" "But I really have to get through!" protested Jazz. "Oh, yeah, why?" Jazz faltered. "Uh, well, see, uh, well," she said intelligently. The turtle snorted. "I'll bet! I think I'll have to turn you in!" He picked up a sharp, pointed hammer. "Are you gonna come quietly or what?" "What," answered Jazz, taking a fighting stance. In an instant Toad was at her side, ready to hurl Toadstools and other spells at the Hammer Brother. Tabby popped out of Jazz's backpack, eager to help in whatever way he could. "Three against one? That's unfair!" complained the Hammer Brother. "How about I even it up? Boomerang and Fire!" Two more similar turtles, one red- skinned and one green, jumped out of the treetops. "Ready, sir!" they shouted, saluting. "Attack mode! Delta assembly! Weapons ready! Targets are one human, one mushroom, and one renegade Koopa Troopa! Go!" Boomerang and Fire jumped to their places flanking Hammer so that the three formed a triangle. Boomerang drew two boomerangs, Hammer spun his hammers, and Fire breathed a stream of red flame. Jazz thought to herself.