Diamond Core [PG][Chapter 2 Up]

[PikMan]

Most of my fanfics epically fail, but I love doing them anyway. This is an idea that's been in my head longer that Criminal Element was. It's an original story that was partially inspired by Mega Man. Hope you enjoy it!

[spoiler=Prologue]Three figures made their way through the rain. Nobody paid much attention, but they probably would had they known what was special about two of them.

"All right guys, we're almost there", said one of the figures, who was a woman.

"I hope so. It's too bad that the car's in the shop", replied another, who sounded to be a 14-ish boy.

"So this colleague of yours, does he know about us?" Asked the third, who sounded about 12.

"I told him about you. We haven't introduced you yet, though," replied the first.

At last they reached their destination: A laboratory. It was fairly young, only just built 5 years ago, in 2042.

The woman knocked on the door. It was answered by a man roughly the same age as the woman. He had black hair, wore a green shird under a lab coat, and had brown eyes.

"Oh, it's you, Lucille!" He said. "Come on in, and are these...?"

"Yep", said Lucille. Soaking from the rain, she hung her coat on a hook on the wall. She had black hair as well, wore a light blue shirt, and blue eyes. "These are the robots I created."

The robots looked very human. They both had brownish-blonde hair and green eyes. The older one wore a purple shirt and black pants, while the younger had a red shirt and brown pants.

"These guys are Rook", Lucille said, "and Pawn."

"Still into that chess motif, huh?" The guy said, unimpressed.

"Oh yeah. Fascinating game, chess... Anyways, Bion, I heard that you were working on something as well?"

"Yep. Come on and see." He directed them to a chamber. There seemed to be computer screens everywhere, so much so that you couldn't see what color the wall was. In the far end of the room, there was a glass tube in which there was another humanoid figure. It was hard to see it in detail, though.

"I haven't decided what to call it yet. I'm thinking of calling it Haywire", Bion said.

"Why?" Lucille asked.

"I dunno. Just sounds cool is all."

Rook walked up to one of the computer screens. It showed some statistics about Haywire. After browsing the screen for a while, he walked away... Then immediately something on the screen caught his eye. He saw a bright spot on the monitor, but couldn't quite understand what it was. So, like any good protagonist, he pushed it out of his mind.

By that point, Lucille and Bion were done talking. The threesome left, and Bion returned to the chamber... Never to come out for two years.[/spoiler][spoiler=Chapter 1: Bion's True Colors]Two years passed. Lucille, naturally, was worried about the mysterious disappearance of Bion. But she kept mostly focused on her work. She had recently made the discovery that diamond could be used as a robot power source, and gave a so-called "Diamond Core" to the robots. By this point, advanced robot AI was commonplace ever since Lucille made Rook and Pawn. Unfortunately, robots were essentially walking computers- and thus, susceptable to computer viruses. They found out the hard way one day in June, in 2049.

On the surface, it seemed to be a normal day. Lucille, once again wrapped up in her research, was working on something Bion had started before his disappearance. It was a robot weapon system, in which the arm of a robot could transform freely between a normal hand and a plasma blaster.

As luck would have it, Lucille finally finished it today- Just in time for the explosions.

Lucille looked through the lab's windows, and it took two seconds to figure out what was causing the problem: Robots were running amok in Cyber City.

Rook had just been equipped with the cannon and figured that this would be a perfect time to test it out. He ran outside and shot at one of the robots. The others, in unison, turned on Rook. Then, from behind, an Electromagnetic grenade flew over and took out the robots. Pawn had thrown it, no doubt.

Lucille came outside. "Hey, wha- what happened?" She asked.

"I don't know", Rook replied. "Do you think we should bring one of these guys in for closer examination?"

"Probably".

Just then, a hovercraft flew into their area and landed. Rook and Pawn were prepared for any more robots. Lucille was prepared to give whoever was in there a piece of her mind. None of them were prepared when Bion emerged from it, with another robot- Haywire, no doubt.

"Long time, no see, bozos", Bion said, then quickly added, "Don't bother shooting, we've got a deflector shield."

Haywire hopped out and held his gun-arm steady. Evidently, Bion had continued the research on his own. For the first time, the heroes got a glimpse of Haywire; Silver hair, red eyes, a silver chestplate, black pants, and a jetpack.

"What were you thinking?!" Lucille burst out, forgetting that she didn't know what happened.

"Oh, just trying to take over the world. I have my reasons", Bion said.

Pawn, realizing that Haywire was no longer in the protection of the shield, charged up towards him. Haywire calmly transformed his gun-arm into a spike, stabbed Pawn through the chest, and pulled out the core.

"Who do you think you are? Leeroy Jenkins?" Haywire asked the nonmoving body of Pawn.

Lucille held back Rook, knowing that he would recieve the same fate if he tried anything.

"Well, sorry we couldn't stick around, but we've got some things to do." And with that, Bion pulled the hovercraft into the air, with Haywire following on his jetpack.

"We should probably repair Pawn", Rook said.

"I agree."

So the two took Pawn back into the lab, completely oblivious to the purple sparks coming from the hole in Pawn's chest.[/spoiler][spoiler=Chapter 2: Infected]As you would've guessed, diamond was even more expensive in the future, and its true nature as a power source made it even more valuable. So when Pawn rolled into the lab without a core, getting a Diamond Core wasn't an option. Lucille had no choice but to use the standard core which had been in use since 2038.

When Pawn awoke, Rook was delighted to see him awake. So was Lucille. Predictably, when the first thing out of Pawn's mouth was "Who are you?" They were genuinely shocked.

"It's a textbook case of 'Robot Amnesia'", Lucille explained after a minute of working on the computer. "It primarily occurs when a robot's power core is removed improperly."

"So that means", Rook deduced, "That this is all Haywire's fault."

"True, but it's also partly Bion's fault. You're forgetting, he's the real evil here."

"Yeah. You're right. Is there any way to cure him?"

"Only if we have his original core."

Suddenly, a plasma bolt struck the wall near Lucille. Both of them noticed that Pawn had a rather sinister look in his eyes, accompanied by a purple glow. Rook remembered the glow from somewhere...

Of course! The computer in Bion's lab!

But before Rook could piece this together more, Pawn fired another blast.

Lucille snuck up behind Pawn and deactivated him.


"This could come in handy, Doc", Haywire said after trying out the core. "A core that blocks out the virus? I guess that there's no more risk of getting infected, then!"

"Don't be too sure", Bion replied. "It only prevents the virus from taking control of you. It still may have some effects. They're just not... Immediate."

"Sounds all right. At least that robot I attacked should be infected by now."

"Just as long as it doesn't kill Lucille. I need her help if I'm going to accomplish the plan."

"But what about the other bot? He still has a Diamond Core. He's the only thing in our way."

Bion pondered this for a moment. "Good point. I think I know a robot that might be able to help."

"You mean that ninja robot? What if she's infected by now?"

"There's a good chance she is. Either way, she should be of use to us..."


"It's a computer virus, then", Lucille said at last.

"Great", Rook said. "Can you fix it?"

"Should take an hour and a half, but yeah."

"Why wasn't I infected then?"

"Maybe it was the Diamond Core. Pawn lost his."

"Maybe you're right."

Neither of them noticed the figure lurking in the shadows just above them.[/spoiler]

[---------------]

Interesting.

This could end up either really well, or really poorly. Be careful when posting Chapter 1.

[PikMan]

I already have the details down, mostly. I'll be careful.