The Maverick Wars continue to rage on…Even with Sigma's second demise, Mavericks are still popping up all across the world. Their attacks have not been lessened in any way, and in fact they have become even more chaotic without a leader to guide them all. But even still, the Maverick Hunters do their best to repel the threat the Mavericks bring to the world. Humans are trying to adapt to their ever-changing world, but there have been an alarmingly high number of reports telling of humans simply destroying innocent Reploids out of fear of them going Maverick.

However, not many months after the X-Hunter incident, a new hope arose in the form of Doppler Town. This town was built single-handedly by the famous Reploid Dr. Doppler, and he approached the human government stating that he had found a way to stop Reploids from going Maverick, and that he would offer his town as a sanctuary for any Reploid willing to go there. There were some objections from the Maverick Hunters based on suspicions from X and Zero regarding Doppler's true motives, but the government said that there was no evidence of any wrong-doings even after an investigation.

As such, Doppler Town was given government sanction and diplomatic immunity to be it's own state, and it would stay as such so long as Doppler can continue to do what his town is built for. Begrudgingly, the Maverick Hunters had to accept this as fact, and could only observe as Doppler brought hundreds of Reploids to his town, including a couple of former Maverick Hunters. For the time being, it seemed as though Dr. Doppler's work was a success, and more months passed as Maverick outbreaks became less and less frequent.

But one day, as X and Zero were out dealing with suspicions that Doppler was seen acting in an illegal part of the world, a large group of Mavericks launched a raid directly on the Maverick Hunter HQ itself. With the Maverick Hunter forces spread thin and their two best warriors out on an assignment, the Hunters were quickly overwhelmed by the Maverick forces before they could get a signal out to X and Zero in order to call them back. Riding a copter due to the teleporters being put out of commission, X and Zero hurried back to the HQ to repel this sudden attack…

Mega Man X: Maverick Hunter X3

Chapter 1: Day of Dr. Doppler

It was late at night in the city, and the sirens and warning signal lights were overwhelming the bright and atmospheric lights in the city. The highways were filled with stopped traffic due to the Maverick Hunters setting up a barricade so the humans don't get too close to the chaos going on at the HQ. The towering HQ was enflamed on all sides, with a lot of the windows broken through and some metal beams bent out of place. Save for some large fly-like Mechaniloids flying towards the HQ, the only other aerial vehicle in the general vicinity of the city was the advanced military copter heading straight for the HQ.

Inside of this copter were two familiar figures, the Maverick Hunters X and Zero. X was now back to his regular appearance, having adapted the features of the last armor he'd worn into his body almost perfectly, and he was in the middle of looking outside the copter door and grimacing at the destruction the Mavericks were wreaking onto the HQ he called his home. Zero, on the other hand, was leaning against a wall on the other side of the copter and trying to think about the situation with his arms folded and his eyelids closed up until the point where X stated "This has to be Doppler's doing…"

Zero then opened his eyelids as X pulled himself back into the copter, remarking in his calm tone of voice "I wouldn't doubt it X. The lead we got taking us away from the headquarters is the biggest hint suggesting his hand in this attack…But you know how the situation is X, we can't act on our assumptions against Doppler unless we find proof. For all we know, someone else could be coordinating this attack." X punched the right side of the door and turned sideways after that in frustration.

"I just wish we could catch him in an act, Zero. Sigma's last words…" X is interrupted by Zero pointing out "Are words and nothing else without proof. I know it's bothering you X, but we have to keep calm. Acting irrationally is only going to get us in trouble with the government."

Zero pulled away from the wall and walked over to X, laying a hand on his shoulder and giving him a smile before asking in a more pumped-up tone "Are you ready to take these Mavericks out?" X nodded his head and said while lifting his arm cannon up and grasping the barrel of it "Ready when you are."

"Now all we have to do is land on the base." Zero remarked, and as he turned his head ready to ask the pilot how the situation was from his side before all of a sudden the copter was shot through by a series of small laser bullets. Zero swerves to the left to avoid some of the bullets as they pierce through the ship, then reaches to his back and pulls out the handle of his Z-Saber, activating the laser blade and swirling it around with one hand to deflect the laser fire before it hit him or X. The copter rocked for a moment, forcing X to grab onto a handlebar near the door before he was sent flying out while Zero magnetized his feet to the ground.

Holding his defense up, Zero moved a little to the left and looked between the blur of his spinning blade and saw that the pilot was leaning sideways with a hole blown in his head. With the pilot dead, Zero quickly exclaimed "We're going to need to find another ride to the HQ, now!" As the copter began to nosedive from the sky, X grit his teeth and leaned his head out of the door, watching as one of the fly Mechaniloids were about to make their way past the copter. "I have an idea Zero." X said with confidence in his voice.

Zero glanced out the door and saw the Mechaniloid, and with a grin on his face he didn't hesitate to say "Then what are we waiting for? Lets hitch a ride, X!" Zero then stopped spinning his sword and leaped right out of the door, with X following close behind right as the ground became too unstable for him to stand on. Both Hunters end up right on top of the Mechaniloid as it flies by, with them activating their magnetic boots right as they land so they can't be thrown off immediately.

The copter conveniently crashed down on top of a Maverick ground unit, taking them out and alerting the Hunters fighting down below of Zero and X's return, and after they look up and see them they find their motivation to fight igniting once more and turn themselves back to the battle they have in front of them. Up above, Zero runs to the front of the Mechaniloid and kneels down, stabbing his Z-Saber into it's head to strike a particular part of it's memory core and take control of it's flight, using his sword as a guidance stick.

"X, watch my back. I'll guide us to the top of the HQ!" Zero exclaimed loud enough so his voice would reach X regardless of wind resistance, but even if he couldn't reach X's ears the fellow Hunter was already hard at work repelling the Mavericks both large and small with either his smaller buster shots or his deadly charged ones, which were spherical and surrounded by a couple streams of energy, a carry-over from the buster upgrade of his Second Armor.

Zero meanwhile swerved his Z-Saber around to pull the Mechaniloid up and fly it up the side of the building, dodging fire from both friend and foe whenever X couldn't cover for him, and with how fast they were going they could just barely see the struggles their fellow Hunters were dealing with on the many floors of the HQ. Even so, Zero remarked "I hope everyone's holding out. We were an hour away from the HQ when we got the emergency call from Alia."

"I'm making my way straight to the command center to check up on them once we land." X remarked with concern in his voice for his comrades up there, and Zero stated "I'll try and do my best, but the turret fire is getting pretty heavy up here, and…X, heads up!" Zero stopped talking when he saw another Mechaniloid being blown out of the sky by some turret fire, which caused it to slam against the side of the building and explode, knocking tons of debris loose from the structure and making it all fall towards the two Hunters along with the parts of a few Hunters and Mavericks.

As the Hunters screamed from falling down, X tried to extend a hand out to catch one and missed, his eyes widening in shock as the Hunter falls to his inevitable death upon striking the ground. But with the debris being a more imminent concern, X had to look away from the falling Hunters and leap off of the Mechaniloid along with Zero, with the flaming debris taking out their ride right as they land on a large metal beam sticking out from the side of his building. X didn't waste any time in looking towards the opening in the wall and exclaiming "This ends now Zero. We're going to save as many Hunters as we can!"

Zero, who was currently standing behind X, swung his sword out to the right and stated "I'll sweep the middle floors for Mavericks, you get to the command center and make sure everyone's still alive." X cocked his arm cannon and then nodded his head, and the two of them ran across the beam before leaping off of it and flying towards the building, where two rotund purple Mavericks with a steel cannon on their backs were holding off some hunters with explosive rounds. With a charged shot from X and a quick downward, one-handed slash from Zero, the two take out the Mavericks and land cleanly on the ground.

Zero then dashes forward and uses swift but precise sword slashes to take out some more Mavericks while X runs to the left and goes through the hallways of the HQ to make his way to the command center. Keeping his buster charged at all times, X fires upon any Mavericks he comes across and obliterates them quickly, making sure to not even nick one of his fellow Hunters in the process, though he could not avoid causing some damage to the building as he did so due to the piercing properties of his charged buster.

As X ran through the hallways, he glanced to the left and right occasionally and saw some fallen bodies of his comrades, with medic Reploids doing their hardest to try and patch the Hunters up while they still could, even putting their own lives at risk just to do their job. The explosions and gunfire on the battlefield showed no signs of stopping, and X hated hearing the painful cries of his fellow Hunters. With an angered look on his face, X did not care if it was Doppler's doing or someone else…He was going to take them down with all he had.

After a few minutes of hard fighting, X makes it to the command center, and is surprised to find that for the most part, everything is intact. The biggest damage was focused on the roof, which was blown completely off with many flying Mechaniloids trying to launch attacks on the command center. But they are being repelled by a few large artillery cannons and Signas, whose arm cannon fired off large burst of explosive energy that blew up any of the smaller Mavericks that fell from the Mechaniloids. The navigators were all barricaded behind a set of force fields in the center of the room, and Alia was one of them.

The moment X entered the room, Alia saw him and exclaimed through the explosions "X! You finally made it back!" X was both surprised and relieved to see Alia was alive, and with a gasp of relief he then ran and slid under the gunfire to get between the barricades and end up where Alia was at, lifting himself up and turning around quickly so he could kneel down and lean against the central computer. Alia wasted no time in saying "I'm guessing Zero's fighting valiantly against the Mavericks down below."

"Yeah. Alia…Can you tell me what the situation is? Your message was cut-off when you reached us." X asked, keeping things professional for the time being since the situation was dire. Alia nodded her head and then lowered her right hand down to a metal pocket attached to her hip, pulling out a data cube that she had stored and showing it to X before explaining "Not long after this Maverick attack happened, I analyzed the behavioral pattern of the Mavericks and focused in on a single Mechaniloid that's organizing the attack. That helmet upgrade you got from Light's armor is perfect for using this data to seek out the Mechaniloid and destroy it."

X didn't hesitate to grab the data cube from Alia's hand and scan it with his eyes, downloading the data into his mind and finishing once his eyes glowed. Nodding his head, X then said "I can stop this threat now, but are you sure you'll be alright here?" Signas answered for her by stepping in front of them and blowing up a Mechaniloid with his arm cannon, remarking while surprisingly keeping his cool "I can hold the line here X. Just destroy the enemy commander before they can do anymore harm."

"He's right. Signas has fought for an hour straight without taking a single scratch…And I don't think he's going to stop anytime soon." Alia said with faith in Signas' capabilities, and X didn't waste anytime in slipping between the barricades and then dashing past Signas while stating "Good luck Signas!"

"Heh…Now that you're here X, we don't need luck." Signas said proudly before he focused entirely back on the battle at hand. X ran back through the HQ while using the info Alia gave him to try and find the Mechaniloid. But after but a few minutes of running around, X is called out by a voice that was familiar to him. "X! You're alive!" The voice was very hot-blooded, and thankfully X did not have to stop at all for the person in question, who was a violet colored Reploid with green kneecaps, a yellow and purple arm cannon, and a visor with a red circular scanner on it attached to his helmet.

With a smile on his face as this person ran beside him, X exclaimed "Mac! You managed to survive the onslaught!" Mac grinned and stated as he aimed his arm cannon to destroy some Mavericks "Like I'm going to go down anytime soon! So you and Zero answered Alia's call, yeah?"

"Of course. Zero's taking care of Mavericks a few floors down, and I'm off to defeat the commander." X stated with joy in his voice that his friend was alive, and Mac grinned and looked at X before stating "Well it's a good thing I ran into you. I've got some important information to give to you. I heard some of the Mavericks stating that they were able to coordinate this attack thanks to a traitor within the Maverick Hunter HQ itself."

X widened his eyes in surprise and stated "You can't be serious. Who would sell us out to the Mavericks?!" Mac closed his eyelids and let out a melancholy sigh before stating to X with some great deal of reluctance in his voice "X, you aren't going to like this…"

Before X could even recognize it, Mac aimed his arm cannon at X and grinned menacingly before firing off an electric shot that struck X and sent him flying against a nearby wall while wrapped around an electric barrier. As X grunted in pain and was dropped onto the ground with his body forced to kneel. Mac walked up in front of the fallen X and raised his arm cannon up, his voice becoming a little deeper as he quietly said "Oh X…You're always so trusting and naïve…"

Snapping his left fingers, Mac calls forth a small pod Maverick that splits open and unleashed a magnetic force that picked the trapped X up as he woke up from the blow to his body. Looking through the barrier, X stated with a disbelieving tone of voice "M-Mac…W-Why?" Mac grinned at X and told him "Wouldn't you like to know? Don't worry X, you'll understand soon enough. Now, time to take you back to my employer."

Tapping a couple buttons on his arm cannon, Mac commands the pod to follow him as he waves his left hand to the right and then starts to make a dash for the rendezvous point, but not long after he made his move with X in tow behind him Zero ran into the immediate vicinity and glanced to the right upon seeing X being trapped in the electric sphere, which made him remark bluntly as he leaped over some debris "Hey! Where do you think you're going?!"

Not recognizing that Mac was the kidnapper in question, Zero went after them in hot pursuit, with some Mavericks getting in his way as he did so. But against the might of Zero's Z-Saber, none of them stood a chance, especially with him steadily determined to save his friend. As Zero swung the sword in front of his face for a moment he exclaimed "X, hold on, I'm on my way!" After a few more seconds, Zero and Mac run out onto a broken metal bridge high above the HQ, and once Mac reaches the end of the bridge he doesn't hesitate to turn around and face his pursuer with his left hand held out towards the sphere X is trapped in.

Pausing a few good feet away from Mac, Zero scowls a little and says "Mac?! So you've gone Maverick on us, huh?!" Mac grinned at Zero and said bluntly "Oh please. You Hunters and your overuse of that term. I'm not going Maverick at all, I'm just being logical and joining the winning side!"

Zero asked with a firm glare in his eyes "And just who is that meant to be?" Mac chuckled at that remark and then said "Wouldn't you like to know? You're not even going to live long enough to find out."

"Hmph…It's not even that hard to guess who you are working for. I was just hoping for an admission from you before I took you down." Zero stated while grasping his sword in both hands and holding in front of him, but Mac then snapped his fingers and made the sphere go in front of him before remarking "Stupid Hunters…So desperate and paranoid. You're going to run yourselves into the ground with your paranoia before you ever come close to stopping us. And if you try and attack me, I'll just use X to block your attacks!"

Not long after that, the HQ starts to rumble as a giant Mechaniloid rises up behind Mac, with this one having a very gargantuan and armored body with a frightening head, broad piston-like shoulders with spiked balls attached to electric chains acting as it's arms, and a large UFO-like lower body that kept him suspended in mid-air. Zero looked at the Mechaniloid with little fear, and Mac exclaimed after laughing maniacally "Hahaha! Maoh the Giant, time for you to crunch Zero!"

Zero, however, responded to Mac's threats and back-up by revealing his own arm cannon and aiming it right at the pod keeping the electric shield contained and remarked "Mac, you made a big mistake. You see, the thing is…X and I know how to cover each others backs!" Firing a charged shot from his arm cannon, Zero destroys the pod and causes the shield to drop, and X widened his eyes open and it's revealed his body was glowing as he has been storing a charged shot all this time.

In his arrogance Mac did not notice this, and right after X lands on the ground he turns around and aims his arm cannon up at the head of Maoh the Giant before stating calmly "Thanks for bringing the Maverick commander to us, Mac." With a powerful charged shot, X strikes the head of Maoh the Giant with so much force that the head immediately explodes apart, with Mac turning his head around and letting out an exclamation of "NO!" as the giant Mechaniloid is covered in explosions while it drops from the sky.

Suddenly, Zero runs in front of Mac and holds his Z-Saber up close to Mac's neck as he turns his head back around, and calmly Zero says with a firm expression on his face "You're under arrest Mac for conspiring against the Maverick Hunters. There's nowhere for you to run." Mac grit his teeth and stated "H-How…?!"

X walked up beside Zero and replied with "Alia's data cube contained information pertaining to your decision to betray the Maverick Hunters, so after I downloaded the information all I had to do was lure you out while pretending to go after the Mechaniloid while Alia contacted Zero and had him get into position. Then while your guard is down, you'd lure out the Mechaniloid commander and give us a chance to destroy it."

"Now…We're going to take you in for questioning in regards to your alliance with Dr. Doppler." Zero said while not holding back on his Z-Saber, and Mac just grit his teeth and then started laughing quietly at Zero's threats, leading to Zero commenting "What's so funny?"

"…You aren't going to take me in. You think you'll ever find evidence of my allegiance that you can use to invade Doppler Town? Hehehe…HEHEHEHEH!" Mac burst into eerie laughter before X raised his arm cannon up and proclaimed "There's nowhere for you to run, Mac!"

"Wrong…" Mac bluntly remarked, and without earning he suddenly stepped backwards and purposely fell right off the edge of the bridge before either Zero or X could grab a hold of him. "NO!" X proclaimed as he kneeled down at the edge and swung his hand out to try and grab Mac's hand, but as the traitor fell towards his inevitable death on the ground he proclaimed as hard as he could "All hail the Doppler Army! HAAHAHAHAHAH!" His laughter echoed throughout the air until his body crashed against the ground. X and Zero, though they felt relieved that the HQ was safe, were also disappointed that they couldn't bring Mac into custody…

With the chaos of this Maverick attack at an end, the Hunters began their slow recovery. A few hours passed as the technicians worked to get the communications arrays fully functional, and once they were done the first thing Signas did was contact the government and mention everything that happened regarding the attack, including the details of the report X and Zero submitted regarding Mac's last words. However…

"What do you mean we aren't allowed to act on Doppler Town?" Signas inquired in a rather bothered tone of voice as he stood near the central computer and looked up at a hologram projecting about eight government authority figures shrouded in shadow along with one video feed of Dr. Cain's holographic form on one of the squares. The central authority figure remarked in response to Signas' question "You still have no genuine evidence regarding Doppler's involvement with the Mavericks."

"Is the report I submitted not good enough? Mac stated that he was working for Doppler's Army." Signas calmly remarked, and another government figure, a female one, said afterwards "But it's only a report. You have no video footage or audio recording of this 'admission'. A report is not good enough." "Even though they are the words of X and Zero?" Signas inquired immediately afterwards.

"No one is above laws and procedures Signas…And while X and Zero are certainly trustworthy, we can't make an exception to our rules, not even for them." The central government figure remarked, and Signas already had a reply repair as he took his right fist out and punched down on top of the keyboard in front of him, remarking as he did so "I lost thousands of good men today. The time for procedures has long passed."

"We understand your losses Officer Signas…But many humans died in the initial attack on the HQ as well. We are just as interested in attacking and stopping the perpetrator as you are, but there's no way to override diplomatic immunity without some hard evidence. But if it makes you feel any better, we have already made the decision to help compensate the Hunters for their losses today. In a few moments, Colonel of Repliforce should be there with a few hundred of his finest men and technicians to help you repair the HQ."

"…Repliforce, huh?" Signas said while folding an arm behind his back and laying a hand on his chin, and one of the older government figures remarked "I assume this isn't a problem, Officer Signas?" Signas shook his head and remarked "Not at all. That just surprised me. I will be ready to await them here."

"Excellent. Signing out then." The eight shadowed figures sign out, leaving Dr. Cain there on screen to hear the disgruntled sighs of Signas. "I dislike this situation as much as you do Signas…But be patient, a solution will come up eventually."

"Former Commander Cain…With all due respect, but I know you're having difficulty taking our side on this considering Dr. Doppler is your dear friend." Signas commented, leading Dr. Cain to sigh and state "I know…But it is hard to admit that a friend of yours could possibly have gone rogue…That's why I'm hoping something else is going on here. Please do not try anything rash…That advice goes for X and Zero as well."

Dr. Cain then signs off, leading Signas to sigh and turn around while X and Zero entered the room, with Zero remarking as he approached Signas "Did the discussion with the higher-ups go well?" Signas could only shake his head and reply with "Unfortunately, they didn't take the report you two gave me as good enough evidence to go after Doppler. Even more, they are sending Repliforce to 'help' us out."

"Repliforce? That's an interesting decision…" X commented on, and Signas himself replied with a nod of his head and a remark of "More than like the government is using Repliforce to keep an eye on us…Or it's a genuine show of support after our losses. I hold nothing against Repliforce themselves, they do great services for the humans and Reploids, but the thought of us being considered untrustworthy in this situation just bugs me a little…"

"Then we need to find some way to convince them that we're in the right here." Zero said calmly, and Signas nodded his head again and stated "And I have just the plan in mind to accomplish that." Signas guided X and Zero over to Alia's computer, where the navigator was hard at work charting out a map of a large scale city. In particular, she marked out eight locations around the outside of the city with mugshots of different Mavericks.

"We've been keeping an eye on Doppler Town ever since he achieved diplomatic immunity for it…He's been building eight facilities for different purposes, but as of now these buildings aren't filed under the same immunity agreement as the rest of the town due to being incomplete. So right now, those facilities are the only safe spots in Doppler Town for us to investigate." Alia explained in great detail, and X remarked afterwards "It's the best shot we have of finding evidence."

"Correct. I'll do what I can to keep Repliforce out of sight of your activities just in case they were sent to spy on us. The two of you should go investigate the facilities in the mean time." Signas remarked, and Zero said afterwards while crossing his arms together "This would be a little easier if our Commander was still around…But didn't you say he's off on government related business with General of Repliforce?"

"Yes. But we'll manage just fine though without him around." Signas commented, and after examining the computer screen enough the doors open up into the room to signify that someone was entering the room. Signas lifted his head up and put on a respecting expression as he whispered "And here they are…" There were two figures walking into the room at this very moment. One was a Reploid as tall as Signas with a similar facial structure and a military-grade white suit of armor with protective plates attached to a belt around his legs. He had predominantly red arms with a bit of bulk to them, and a colonel's hat attached to his head, making it clear just who he was and what his rank was in Repliforce.

The second figure, who timidly stood beside Colonel as he entered the room, was a small girlish Reploid with long brown hair, a red and blue "dress" whose skirt extended to her kneecaps, a metallic handkerchief around her neck with a blue "R" representing the symbol of Repliforce on it, and pure white gloves and legs. She had a small navigator's communication device attached to the right side of her head, indicating what her role was within Repliforce. Zero and X looked at her with a curious expression on their faces, and upon seeing Zero in particular the girl reacted with embarrassment on her face before awkwardly glancing away.

Colonel and Signas approached one another, with Signas putting a smile on his face as he extended his right arm out and stated "It's a pleasure to see you again Colonel." Colonel, who had kept a professional expression up until this point, cracks a bright smile and then shakes Signas' hand while commenting happily "It has been too long Signas. I wish this meeting was happening under better conditions, but it is good to see you again."

The two break their hand shake off, and Colonel turns to look at X and Zero, remarking with a more professional look in his eyes once more "And you two are X and Zero. I believe this is our first meeting, isn't it?" The two Hunters nodded their head, with X being the more proactive of the two by extending his right hand out to greet Colonel while remarking "It's an honor to meet you sir. I've heard many brave tales of your successes."

"They are nothing compared to yours X, if I must be perfectly honest." Colonel humbly remarks, and he shares a handshake with X for a moment before then doing the same thing with Zero while commenting "And Zero…I never thought I'd get to see you after your supposed death, but it seems miracles are abound in this world of ours…"

"Heh, miracles only happen once Colonel. Still, I'm glad I get to meet the famous Colonel of Repliforce." Zero said, but then Signas had to interrupt by remarking "A meeting that unfortunately will have to be cut short for now…As you and I have much to discuss regarding the reconstruction of the HQ, Colonel."

Colonel lifted his head up and glanced at Signas, telling him professionally "You're quite right Signas. But before we go discuss things in another room, there's someone I would like to introduce Zero to." After paying little attention to the girl's presence, Colonel makes her the center of attention for a moment by stepping aside and remarking with his arms folded behind his back "Zero, allow me to introduce you to your new navigator…My sister, Iris."

Iris nervously tries to hold herself together while standing in front of the two famous Hunters, and with her arms crossed in front of her metallic skirt as she holds a clipboard in her hands she remarked in a somewhat adolescent tone of voice "I-It's an honor to m-meet you both, X and Z-Z-Z-Z…" She could barely bring herself to say Zero's name, and if she was a human her face would be very red with embarrassment. Zero smiled and calmly asked "You ok there, Iris?"

The girl could not focus her eyes on Zero's face for more than a couple seconds at a time, remarking as she did so "I-I'm sorry Mr. Zero. I'm just a big fan of yours, and when I was told that I would be your new navigator…W-Well, I didn't know how I would react once I met you." Zero extended his right hand out much to Iris' surprise and remarked gently "Well just act around me like you would any other average joe."

"I-I don't know if I could do that, Mr. Zero…" Iris stated, and Zero said "Well we'll just have to work on that then. For now, let me show you around, help you get situated with the navigational computers we use. I wish things were in a better condition though." "I-It's alright." Iris stated quietly.

"X, I'm going to take Iris around for a few bit. I'll join you later." Zero says as he turns around, making sure to whisper into Zero's ear so Colonel wouldn't hear him. Iris then slowly followed Zero close behind, with Colonel remarking not long afterwards "Make sure not to let her get into any danger, Zero." His voice was firm and quite serious, but underneath showed a great deal of care towards his sister.

Colonel then nodded his head towards X and said to him "I'll be seeing you later, hopefully." Him and Signas then walk off to discuss their own matters, leaving X alone for the time being with the mission Signas suggested he undertook regarding Doppler Town. X walked over to the computer Alia was working at and saw that she had finished setting up the map, but before he got started on the mission he asked "Hey Alia, you've been pretty quiet since Repliforce showed up. Do you not like them?"

"Huh?" Alia was confused by the question and then turned her head to look at X, laying a hand against her communicator before remarking to him "Sorry X, I've been really focused on my work here. What did you just say?" X shook his head a little and then remarked "Never mind, it's not important. So you've compiled all the information you can regarding the facilities?"

"Yep. Unfortunately, I only have pictures of the Mavericks to go on at the moment…Save for the one called Blizzard Buffalo. I think maybe you should investigate the facility he's at first, X." Alia stated while pointing at said Maverick on the screen, with X rubbing his chin a little before replying with "I've heard of him…He's a retired Maverick Hunter. He must have gone to Doppler Town for sanctuary. If he's become a Maverick now…"

"Lets not jump to conclusions X. You'll only know for sure once you find him." Alia commented, and then she tapped away on the keyboard to set up the coordinates for the teleporter. "Thankfully the teleporters are still operating properly." With one hard click of a final key, Alia had everything ready to go, and with a firm nod of his head X was ready to go. He ran out of the commander center and made his way for the familiar teleporter room, stepping inside of it ready to head off to Blizzard Buffalo's facility, beginning his new mission to seek evidence against Dr. Doppler…

Next Time: The Frozen Artist

Author's Note:

It's nice to be back to writing these kinds of stories. Good news for all of you fans of the last one though. This one will be updated every three to four days instead of being a once a week sort of deal. So look forward a more steady stream of updates for this one.