Work Text:
“AUGH!” Flash screamed. It was Wily's third war, and it was his turn to be inside DOC. They all agreed to split time before battle with the body. It sure was hard being sneaky in…
“AAH!” he screamed, feeling a wormy thing on him. Flash continued to scream. Then, he noticed the wormy thing had scales. Cold scales, against his armor. A snake. He didn't know any robot snakes, so it must be a new stage enemy.
Meanwhile, Snake was sitting in a corner, smiling and quietly giggling. He likes watching people scream for fun. It made him feel like he caught something. Well, he hadn't met all of the Wily robots yet, but scaring the ones he did so far was fun. But this one, DWN-014, Flash Man, was the most enjoyable of all. Especially given his stealth capabilities despite his normally conspicuous armor.
“AIEEE!” Flash screamed, falling to the floor as more scaly worms, more snakes, he now knew, were after him, and caught him. He wasn't sure who or what was sending these things after him, but he assumed someone was testing these things.
Thirty-one, Snake thought to himself. Thirty-one of my precious Search Snakes, and he doesn't notice. Not even one bit, where they came from. He was very pleased with himself. Dr. Wily had told him to test his new weaponized tool, but not how to do so. So he just started sneaking up on people, being told it was based on his scouting abilities. Gemini's new weaponized holograms were especially vulnerable to it, making sneaking up on him extra fun.
Snakes, so many snakes. How many, he did not know, but he was pinned to the ground, by snakes. More unusual things had happened, but this took the cake for just how absurd it was. He didn't think snakes could be a weapon, and his line had weird weapons that made Rolling Cutter look sane. Even worse, he felt hot. Scales, and hot. He felt himself get sleepy, were they trying to kill him because he was no longer needed for sneaking? Like bees smother their queen, he saw that in a documentary Wood was watching once, admiring the camera shots and cinematography.
Finally, Snake thought, smiling a little more. I caught the sneakiest guy, making me the sneakiest now. It was fun, some of the others were too easy. Like Quick, Snake thought. Quick fell for the wall trap through the halls, only to trip on one of my Searchers. Poor Lindy got damaged, and Wily won't repair him, saying I can make a new one. Wily's loss, I'm sure if Light ever wants us back, he'll repair Lindy.
Flash was finally delerious, Snake observed. Snakes, more snakes, so hot, Flash thought, feeling even more scales. I finally made it at 52, no, 54, Snake observed. That's the highest number of snakes and my longest hunt. They have him down, come back guys, Snake thought, commanding his searcher army to him, leaving Flash overheated on the floor. Snake looked at Flash, and left for his quarters, a job well done.
Flash still felt hot, but at least the snakes were gone. Where they went, he did not know as he got up shakily. He tripped, before leaning against the wall. He then checked for what other robots were in the vicinity. Impressive, he thought, the snakes didn't show up on my sensors at all, and neither did whoever used them. The mysterious sensor oversight could be explained by Dr. Wily testing them personally, along with them being incomplete. Well, Master Wily, but who cared after the war, as long as he wasn't called bag of boneface. That one was funny, courtesy of an angry Metal, who was pissed that he was weak to his own weapon and had to have a word with the evil doctor about it.
…
Seeing DWN-009, and DLWN-024, Snake was looking at his sensors, a radar of sorts. He sent out the snakes, teleporting them in again. No need to make more when you have fifty-four of the things, he thought.
There's something at my ankle, the ninja robot thought before falling face first to the floor. He didn't scream, it just wasn't a habit of his.
What nasty noise is coming from my mouth?, the other robot asked himself,trying to ready a sawblade before he realized his left arm was weighed down. No, his right, with a scaly worm thing. Both were weighed down before he felt some around his ankles, falling like his comrade did, face first. He saw a little snake robot, makes sense, Wily must be testing new stage hazards, he thought. It was looking at him, its eyes turning into a kaleidoscopic mess of colors. It looked so fascinating, he couldn't keep his eyes off, getting dizzy despite lying on his stomach. Nothing showed up on his radar-like display either.
It's probably Sneaky B* again, Shadow thought. I didn't see them, I don't even have a radar for other robots, yet I normally know where they are. But not this guy. I must do better to avoid those search snakes, to avoid losing to him again. Looking at his scenario, with a snake pinning his neck down as he felt scales on his armor, he wondered why Wily thought it was a good idea to give him a scarf, which can so easily be grabbed by the enemy, stopping him.
…
Flash was still against the wall, wishing for his bald dome because at least it was a good heat exhaust. Or even his body, which he was calibrated to use. But the new one wasn't done yet. The doctor went in order, and Air Man wasn't even finished yet. He was panting, as how else was he supposed to get ventilation in this stupid DOC, the puny chest gem? It worked for Heat, but then again, Flash wasn't made to attack from the lava sewers. He didn't even know why there were lava sewers. Placing his hand higher, he lowered his leg to a standing position. Slowly, for once, he walked towards where he thought the snakes came from, ready for his revenge, or at least an explanation.
…
Snake was viewing from a cieling beam, having climbed up there with all forty-eight other snakes without catching notice. This was fun, especially with how DWN-009, Metal Man screamed. He just watched as they exhausted themselves, Metal and Shadow, trying to free themselves from the snakes. He wondered how exactly Metal was struggling against two entire snakes, but whatever, as long as he got to watch the guy resisit. He wondered how DWN-014, Flash Man would react in his new body, would it be even more fun? Even with other targets and a few hours' time, Snake could not stop thinking of Flash.
Why, he'd never done this before, Flash thought, switching the IC chip from DOC and letting one of his brothers have a turn. He couldn't stop thinking about how the snakes managed to finally present him with a challenge, something he could work against. Who was controlling the snakes, and where were they from? The computer he was hooked up to let him think, and he imagined if the snake controller was another robot master, one of the ones from the mining project, that they'd be a lot alike. The other robot could push him to do better, and he felt something strange about being pinned down by those snakes. It was painful and scary, but he wanted to do it again. He wanted to see if he could beat the snakes at their own game. Flash, not noticing anyone else talking, went into sleep mode.