Brash Buster

Ceasefire

(First written from April 20th, 2022 to June 26th, 2022)

  1. Ceasefire
    1. Glossary
    2. Story
    3. Afterword

Glossary

This section details various relevant parts of the story. Underlined entries have links to pages that explain them in further detail.

  • Battleship Re-Class: A character/enemy from the Kantai Collection (AKA KanColle) series.
  • Beetle Ball: An ability used by Beetle Borgs in Mega Man RPG Prototype. The user throws a small ball of dirt at the opponent.
  • Beetle Borg: An originally-unnamed enemy from Rockman & Forte: Mirai kara no Chōsensha (a video game from 1999; translates to “Mega Man & Bass: Challenger From the Future”), given the name in Mega Man RPG Prototype.
  • Bombomb: An enemy from Mega Man, a video game for the NES released in 1987. Also known as “Bombombomb“.
  • Bulb Blaster: An enemy from Mega Man 4, a video game released in 1991. Also known as “100 Watton“.
  • Dark Elf: A character from the English translation of the 1992 video game Puyo Puyo. In Chaos Zone, she is an acquaintance/friend of Schmitt who has been through many experiences.
  • Energy Boost: An ability from Mega Man RPG Prototype. Heals the user or an ally.
  • King K. Rool: Referred to in the story as just “K. Rool“. A major villain from the Donkey Kong video games (first appearing in 1994’s Donkey Kong Country), and the vicious leader of the “Kremlings”. King K. Rool as a character is written by the character “Beta Shadow” though I wrote a single ex-Kremling in this story.
  • The Raptors: A trio of Velociraptor who are villains in Extreme Dinosaurs, a television series from 1997. The three of them can also command several Cyber-Raptors. The Raptors and Cyber-Raptors appeared in Chaos Zone as characters written by the user “ch4s3man”, though I wrote a single reformed Cyber-Raptor in this story with permission from ch4s3man.
  • Schmitt: A character from the Rockman X Mega Mission collectible card series. A robot created by Dr. Doppler, originally designed for a malicious scheme, but as Dr. Doppler has changed his ways, Schmitt has been trying to adjust by fighting as an aggressive vigilante.
  • Serpent Column: A level from Mega Man 3, a video game for the NES released in 1990. Only known as the stage where Snake Man is found in-game, the name comes from Mega Man RPG Prototype. The location is made up almost entirely of green metal pillars with scales like a snake, and many of these pillars are in fact the bodies of long mechanical snakes.
  • Skullmet: An enemy from Mega Man 4, a video game released in 1991.
  • Sponge Circuit: An item from Mega Man RPG Prototype. Makes the holder immune to water attacks, but weak to electric attacks.
  • Surfboard Showdown: A level from Make a Good Mega Man Level: Episode Zero, a fan-made Mega Man game released in 2020. The location is almost entirely water, with only a few rocky areas above water level.

Story

(The story begins on April 20th, 2022, in an area named “Surfboard Showdown”)

(Fast-forward to April 21st, before sunrise)

(A portion of the conversation isn’t directly written, but is summarized when it cuts forward with the next section)

(Fast-forward to April 25th, in a location called “Serpent Column”)

(Fast-forward to later that day, in a quiet forest)

Afterword

When I wrote “Ceasefire” in early 2022, Schmitt was one of my least developed characters; most of his appearances were simple action scenes, where he didn’t have much time to show his character, and often wasn’t even the focus. I wanted to write a story that gave a chance for Schmitt to show unique character traits from the base of his cunning, snarky speedster personality.

Meanwhile, I had recently become interested in Battleship Re-Class through KanColle, and wanted to find an opportunity to introduce her into my writing and show my idea of what her personality and life was. With my aforementioned conundrum with Schmitt, I felt this to be a good opportunity, and I wrote “Ceasefire” around how I felt the characters would approach the situation uniquely.

One early element of the plot – Schmitt’s plot to confront Re-Class before she can act again – was a way of putting a twist on an element of action shows geared towards younger audiences (such as Masters of the Universe and the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles television series): The idea of an antagonist who is defeated, proclaims that they will return later, and make good on that promise. With Schmitt’s past in Rockman X Mega Mission having him involved in reconnaissance, I felt there was a good opportunity to set up Re-Class as one of these recurring troublemakers before Schmitt threw a wrench in her plans.

Shortly before wrapping up the morning conversation at Surfboard Showdown, I realized giving Re-Class a change of heart and attitude through just a single talk would seem sudden given how her past actions were influenced by her entire upbringing. Because of this, I decided to extend the story to Serpent Column, showing that Re-Class could still easily relapse into her old ways, and having Schmitt try to stop such from happening as he realizes that he doesn’t entirely know how to help Re-Class on its own. I really enjoyed how this extra element took the story a step beyond just befriending a past foe.