Sound and Fury:
Chapter One: Unexpected Arrivals
September 23, 22XX
Five days following the destruction of the war reploid known as "Omega"
The aging doctor, clad in his usual robes, looked up from the table at the monitor above. His eyes were bloodshot, hands dirty and cracked from hours of toil on the mechanoid on the table. He took a moment to observe the data on display, and then promptly threw his welding tool against the far wall in a rather uncharacteristic loss of physical control. He was not a man prone to violent fits of anger, the type usually associated with 'mad scientists', though this may be due to the fact that not many of his plans had met with such complete and utter failure on such a level before. Yes, there was the initial incident involving X, Zero, Omega and the doctor's own exile from the metropolis that is Neo Arcadia, but that was more a set back – an inconvenience – rather than an outright defeat. At the time, Omega was still functioning, if a bit damaged, and both the reploid and the doctor were simply forced to make themselves unseen for a time. Despite what those humans had done to his body in the name of "justice", there was still an ever-present chance for a return as long as the Dark Elf remained intact, albeit imprisoned. All he had needed was time, enough time to pass for that naïve fool X to grow complacent with victory and lower his defenses, allowing for a surprise attack through which the doctor could reclaim that which was rightfully his.
And time had shown itself to be on his side – X had been disposed of, first via his 'coma' which sealed away the Dark Elf, and then when the reploid Elpizo destroyed that physical shell and freed the Elf from her long imprisonment in the hopes of using her power to crush Neo Arcadia and its human population. The thought of Zero looking on in horror as the body of his best friend was reduced to nothing more than atoms brought a warm feeling to the doctor's heart. But then, the suffering of his enemies always had that effect, which was partly why the doctor enjoyed gloating so much – rubbing his success in the faces of his enemies was always so much fun as to be criminal. Luckily, he did not overly concern himself with laws. At least, he did not use to. Perhaps it was somewhat ironic – the laws that he had been banished for violating now allowed him control over the city that had denounced him as a madman and monster. Best of all, he had used the love that the human cattle had for X to accomplish it! Wherever his old enemy was, floating among the ethereal realms that composed cyberspace, the doctor sincerely hoped the former Maverick Hunter realized that.
Copy X…, it had not been easy, putting him back together after the job Zero had done dismembering him. Warping the nearly dead remnants out of the orbiting platform that the copy had battled Zero in was tricky, and required precise timing so as not to alert Zero, but he had pulled it off by waiting until the very last second before the self-destruct reduced the structure to base molecules. And then, the doctor had waited. A whole year had passed before the time had come to make his move for control of humanity and the reploids. Which came back to the reason that Dr. Weil was now so frustrated, enough that he could lose control to the point that he would commit so pathetic and childish an action as throwing a tool against a wall in frustration. It was simply aggravating beyond all comprehension – all that waiting, all that planning, all that work – had now disappeared down the proverbial drain. Copy X had been destroyed yet again – yes, he had planned that, but would it have been too much to ask that he take Zero with him? Omega had also been completely destroyed, and the Dark Elf had been restored to her former status as the Mother Elf, now completely free of his power. Weil had toiled long and hard on the virus used to corrupt her, and now it was as if he had never done a thing.
Really, it was enough to make anyone more than a little upset. What truly made it all the more unbearable was that head been undone by a copy of all things. A mere copy! He had not been surprised when the fake Zero had destroyed Copy X – Zero had always been the stronger of the pair, Omega was proof of that, so why should their copies be any different? What was it X had said – that Zero's "heart" was the same even though the body was not? That was nothing more than the overly idealistic nonsense typical of X. A reploid was its body and nothing more. The notion that they were anything more than slightly intelligent toasters was nothing more than sentimental nonsense.
Yet, Zero had not seen the truth of it, that or he simply did not care, which struck the doctor as the likeliest of the two possibilities. The fake Zero had destroyed the original completely, leaving nothing but the tiniest pieces of particulate matter for Weil to obsess over, as he had been for the past two days. Hours upon hours upon hours, toiling away in his lab high above the skyline of Neo Arcadia, in the tower that formerly housed the Dark Elf. Weil had agonized over the scans he had made of Omega over the years, trying to re – create the bloodthirsty destroyer. Nothing seemed to work and the results of the doctor's labors lay strewn across the worktable before him in a kind of silent mockery. The neural pathways refused to align, basic motor function failed to activate, the microfusion tank did not provide ample power…, it was simply one dead end after another. The past forty – eight hours straight had been spent furiously working at a pace that would have caused most people to drop from exhaustion and now Weil was starting to face the cold, hard truth that Omega could not be rebuilt. Zero's creator, while obviously insane, had done his work quite thoroughly – whatever the means used in the machine's original construction, the final result was a weapon that could not be copied completely.
At best, Weil decided, was the creation of a reploid that, while outwardly resembling Zero, would not contain half as much power. Perhaps if the doctor had access to the original program code, which also provided the source of the infamous Maverick Virus, he could build a perfect replica. Thus, it was now clear that if the current leader of Neo Arcadia wished to crush the Resistance once and for all and secure his place as undisputed ruler of the entire planet, he would have to essentially start from scratch on an all – new project. This, all things considered, was not too daunting of a prospect, since he already had a couple of projects in the works. Construction was just beginning on the Ragnarok weapon, and the resurrection of a recently deceased reploid.
Lost in thought, Dr. Weil almost did not hear the hammering sound coming from a distance. Returning to reality, the robed figure recognized the sound as that of someone – or a group of people, rather – pounding their way into his inner sanctum. This notion produced an immediate reaction, which was one of annoyance. Who in their right mind would disturb the master of Neo Arcadia? Turning to a control panel placed on the wall behind him, Weil attempted to access the security cameras located just outside the entrance. He was greeted by static. This was impossible – no one had the proper authorization to cut him off from his own security system! These systems had been designed for the express purpose of the keeping the leader of Neo Arcadia safe from any possible threat. They could only be accessed from inside the building, and doing so required verification only he could provide.
There was only one possible explanation – the Resistance. They were mounting an assault and managed to install a virus into the network. Weil could not help but chuckle – an attack on the core of Neo Arcadia constituted nothing less than suicide. Even if the tower's internal security were offline, the various drones were not. They functioned off of no one network, instead using various systems tied into the city mainframe that could only be shut down if the entire city itself were to suddenly go dark. Soon, they would descend upon the intruders, annihilating all of them except a particular crimson – armored former Maverick Hunter.
Weil had no doubt that Zero was here. The Resistance was neither stupid nor crazy enough to think that they could attack without him, at least not after their failed attack commanded by that one fool….Elpizo, Weil remembered his name as. Stepping outside his private laboratory, the doctor barked commands at the Pantheon units stationed outside.
"Defend this area! Leave none of the attackers alive!" Yet, the blue robots did nothing. It was as if they did not even register his presence.
"Are you defective, you pieces of junk?! Defend the area!"
The doctor's voice grew loud as aggravation and a tiny hint of anxiety mixed together. He was relatively helpless in his current location – he never expected any sort attack to take place here, at least not one he did not have ample time to prepare for. Weil had been so focused on trying to restore Omega that he had not bothered to prepare any other special war machines to act as personal bodyguards. It never occurred to him that there would be a need for it, not here in the very heart of Neo Arcadia. A very loud crash penetrated the walls of his inner sanctum, signaling that the intruders had broken into the main area. Quickly, he tried to activate the security system once again, only to find more static. Weil then attempted to warp out of the area using the generator that was now a part of his body, but to no avail. Somehow, a barrier had been erected over the area that interfered with the matter displacement matrix.
Growing worried, Weil opened a panel on the south wall of his laboratory, revealing a small console. Inputting an emergency sequence that only he and the late Copy X knew about, he opened a passage revealing an escape corridor that housed a private trans server at the other end. The trans servers operated using slightly different mechanics, thus making them safe for human transport, which was a fact the doctor felt very grateful for at the moment.
Hovering faster than most humans could run, Weil felt an intense surge of anger run through every last fiber of his being. He would wreak bloody vengeance upon the Resistance for this, crushing each and every last one of them. And Zero… would either suffer a slow, agonizing death after watching his friends suffer similar fates, or be reduced to nothing more than a lab rat for Weil to experiment on.
The end of the passage was now in sight and the doctor indulged in a bit of self-congratulations for having the foresight to make Copy X set up this back door. It never hurt to be prepared, after all. Once safely away, he would assemble the full might of the Neo Arcadian war machine, plus a few of his personal projects, and annihilate the invaders. After all, one could only expect a negative response after making such an impromptu and unannounced visit. A wide grin spread across his face like a plague as he considered the faces of his future victims, and he was still smiling as he opened the door in front of him….
….and found several plasma rifles pointing in his face.
"You are under arrest, Lord Weil," a smirking officer said.
The doctor found himself so surprised that it took his mind a few minutes to process what was happening. Who were these people? How did they know about this highly classified area of the tower? After the initial surprise wore off, Weil suddenly realized that these were not reploids, but humans – genuine humans dressed in the attire of the long defunct Neo Arcadia Defense Corps. It took him a minute, but he recognized the off – blue uniforms with their high collars and fastening along the left side. Save for the woman who spoke to him, all of them were wearing helmets styled after X's, though they lacked the trademark red crystal and grey line running down the center and black visors covered their entire face.
"This is ridiculous. I am the ruler of Neo Arcadia as confirmed by emergency protocols!" Weil snapped out.
"He's resisting arrest, ma'am," one of the helmeted grunts said.
"Give him a nudge to help him clear his head, then bag him. We're running on a schedule," The red-haired officer responded, clearly enjoying the situation.
Weil's next sensation was as though someone had knocked the world out from under him, and he fell to the ground, clutching his side.
"Yes ma'am," the soldier responded, holding up the taser he had just used on the leader of Neo Arcadia. Weil's last conscious image was that of the weapon rushing down to greet him once more.
There was a sense of something in the air, Harpuia mused as he stood before the assembled humans. Or perhaps it was blood in the water. His armor repaired and cleaned so that it appeared to shine when the light reflected off of it when viewed from the proper angle. While it was, of course, simply proper conduct when asked to face this particular audience, part of the Guardian hoped that it would leave a positive image in the minds of those before him. Considering the situation he and his fellow Guardians found themselves embroiled in, every little bit helped.
"So you confirm for the record that you did fall into Resistance hands for a period of no less than five days?" asked Elias Swandam, an elderly human male with a thinning white mustache.
"Yes, councilor," the reploid responed, looking up at the human located on the top of the two rows of six.
"Did you undergo any sort of interrogation during this time?" Elias asked.
"No, councilor."
This answer prompted some murmurs among the twelve assembled and none of the sounds generated were pleasant to Harpuia's ears.
"Surely you understand that this is hard for us to believe, Guardian?" This question came from Isadora Gaboriau, a woman of middle – age with brown hair. "You are a high – ranking member of the Neo Arcadian military, with a great deal of knowledge regarding all of our military forces coming at least partially from the many missions you personally headed against Resistance forces. Yet, when they had such a valuable wellspring of knowledge concerning our strengths and weaknesses within their grasp, the Resistance simply patched you up and sent you on your way? This seems highly unlikely."
There were murmurs of agreement to her words, which caused Harpuia to bristle involuntarily. Did they actually think that he of all reploids would lie to such an esteemed body as this?
"My word is my bond, honored councilors. The events happened as I related them to you in my report," Harpuia said, no trace of the irritation he felt creeping into his voice.
"Perhaps it is not your word we should question as much as your ability to recollect these events properly."
That remark came from the cracked voice of Shaw Edalji, his wrinkled face looking down at the Guardian.
"By your own admission, you were inactive and thus unconscious for the entire span of time under discussion. Are you willing to deny the possibility that your neural units were tampered with during your imprisonment?"
"The full diagnostic performed on me upon my return showed no evidence of tampering with my neural processors."
"So you do deny it, then?" The elderly man's tone had an accusatory edge to it. Harpuia stiffened slightly.
"I am only stating what our own repair units reported. The Resistance has never shown itself to be technologically capable of enacting such a subterfuge."
"Just as it never showed itself technologically capable of waltzing in here, past our defenses, defeating the Guardians, and then recruiting six of our own generals to their cause. Yet they did so just over four months ago." The venom in the aged councilor's words was clear to all.
"Councilor, the incident involving the Maverick Elpizo and the Dark Elf-"
"Falls outside the purpose of this inquiry," said Carfax Melas, the youngest and newest member of the Council, who looked directly at Edalji as she spoke. "I would think that all assembled here today would know that."
There was some angry grumbling in response to this rather bold statement, but it appeared that none of the councilors wished to press the issue. Today, at least.
"Guardian Sage Harpuia," the woman continued, "in your opinion, as a loyal member of the Neo Arcadian military for several years, do you think it likely that the Resistance extracted strategic information from you without your knowledge or otherwise performed any neurological operations on your person?"
"No, councilor Melas," Harpuia answered, grateful for the small modicum of respect given.
"Now that we have firmly established that the Guardian was of sound mind after his capture, perhaps it is time we did get to the purpose of this hearing," suggested Einsford Gillette, his face just beginning to show the wear of middle age.
"Yes, a valid suggestion," Councilor Swandam agreed, briefly fingering his white mustache.
"Very well. Six days ago, you summoned the other two remaining Guardians and set yourselves against the acting leader of Neo Arcadia, working alongside a premier Resistance member in the process. These actions could be interpreted as an act of treason." Edalji's eyes never left Harpuia as he spoke.
The reploid had to bite his tongue in order to keep from snapping at the councilor. Surely they could see that Weil was dangerous. The man had been forcibly exiled from Neo Arcadia under threat of death! How could any action taken against him be perceived as anything other than acting in the best interests of Neo Arcadia?
"Guardian Harpuia of the Rekku Army, when did you decide to actively assist the Resistance in an armed assault against the human leader of Neo Arcadia?"
"Councilor, it was never my intention to involve the Resistance in the internal matter of removing Dr. Weil from power."
"So, you admit to making a unilateral decision to remove the leader of Neo Arcadia from power?" Edalji was not going to give Harpuia an inch.
"Weil was clearly setting himself up as the dictator in command of the world. He used Omega to control reploids in exactly the same manner he planned to when he was exiled. These actions were the basis for Weil's expulsion from Neo Arcadia. When the Maverick Zero damaged Omega to the point that Weil's control over all reploids in existence was weakened, I took action to defend Neo Arcadia and uphold the wise judgments set down to ensure its continued preservation and function as humanity's haven against all enemies. Those are the principles I swore to uphold when I became a Guardian, and I will always fight to uphold them while my body still functions."
There was a brief pause after Harpuia finished as the councilors looked to one another and some whispered suggestions. Except for one, whose eyes had never left the wind warrior.
"Noble sentiments, Guardian, but it does not change the fact that you acted against the legitimate human authority without any sort of official sanction. You have not denied this, only offered rationale and excuses." Edalji's voice was cold, almost emotionless. There was another pause as he let the weight of his last statement sink in. Then, the oldest member of the council spoke once more.
"We have heard enough. You are dismissed, Guardian Sage Harpuia. The council will now begin its deliberations. You will be informed of our verdict."
Harpuia bowed, then turned and walked up the steps and into the corridor leading to the outside of the Council Hall. Reaching the door, he stopped for a moment in order to collect himself. After several seconds and a quick mental repetition of the oaths he swore as a Guardian, Harpuia opened the door. As expected, Leviathan and Fefnir were there waiting for him.
"How did it go?" Leviathan asked.
"About as well as could be expected. The council has not viewed our actions with any special favor."
Fefnir growled at that, his short temper at work once again.
"Dammit, we're the Guardians! We're the ones who've kept things quiet and fought the Mavericks, just like Master X trained us to! They should be kissin' our asses for getting rid of Weil! The guy was a nut as plain as day!"
"In acting against Weil, we threatened a human – something that reploids are never to do. Our mandate as Guardians is to defend all humans and once we act in contrast to that, we risk opening a door for other reploids to act in defiance of human orders. The Resistance is labeled Maverick precisely because they act in opposition to humanity's will."
"Ha! Come on, Harpuia – that door you're talking about is already wide open! That's why there's an army of Mavericks constantly muckin' things up. Those stuck-up humans in there can't treat us like we're nothing more than drones!" Fefnir argued.
"Yes, they can. Because they are humans and we are reploids. We exist because of them and our function is to serve them. Nothing more."
There was a coldness in Harpuia's voice that neither of the other two Guardians had heard before. Leviathan displayed the same reaction to this as that of a cat watching a mouse arguing with a rat. Fefnir, however, let out a loud grunt of disgust.
"You've always been a suck-up, Harpuia." He lifted his large rifle up to his shoulder. "What we need is to go wreck some Mavericks – remind those losers on the council why we are the Guardians. We bring in a good haul and then everyone will remember why we are the ones in charge of fighting. Remember how they just handed us full control? There hasn't been a human military for years, and why? We're just that good."
"Some new ones want to join in," Leviathan said, looking past both reploids and focusing on the four humans who just entered the room.
All of them were dressed in the uniforms of the Neo Arcadia Defense Corps. Two had the body armor of low-ranking infantry, while the other two were in the dress uniform of high command. The red-haired female on the right showed the markings of a colonel, while the dark-haired man she was flanking bore the rank of Master General, not seen since the Elf Wars.
He was fairly tall – roughly 6"11 according to Harpuia's estimation, clean-shaven with short, black hair, probably not yet forty, but not younger than thirty. He had a determined look on his face, as though he were a predator that just taken down one prey and now moved to another. Noticing the Guardians, he walked over to them and stopped in front of Harpuia.
"Guardian Sage Harpuia, commander of the Rekku Army, am I correct?"
"Yes, and you are?"
"You'll find out soon enough. I merely wanted to meet you fact to face before my meeting with the council."
"The council is in deliberations regarding recent incidents. I doubt they have time to see you."
The general smiled at that remark.
"Oh, I'm well aware of that, Guardian. In fact, 'recent incidents' are the reason they have asked me to address their august body. Now, I must be going. I expect to see more of you in the future."
With that, he turned and entered the corridor leading to the council chamber Harpuia had just been dismissed from. The colonel followed him in, while the two infantrymen stood guard on opposite sides of the door.
"What the hell was that about?!" Fefnir snapped.
"I think we're going to have some new friends to play with soon," Leviathan murmured.
Harpuia said nothing, hoping to hide the fact that his brief meeting with the general left him far more unsettled than the long interrogation by the council.