His Maverick hunter unit had reached the Maverick boss ahead of Zero or X; They were told to return to base, but his commander thought they could handle it alone. After all, there were five of them, and only one of it. They charged through, guns blazing, meaning to blow the Maverick to bits.
Then it let out a series of earsplitting screams. The Hunters covered their ears and clutched their heads, helpless against the relentless sonic attack. The giant bat continued to screech, sending waves of sound through their armor, hitting them with powerful walls of force. The young hunter saw blood coming from his commander's ears, smoke coming from his head, and the commander's eyes go blank. He was dead. The rest of the hunters struggled to aim their weapons at the Maverick, rushing at it in panicked frenzy. They were blasted back, and then they didn't move. The young hunter stood alone. His head was throbbing in pain, his ears were ringing from the onslaught of sound, his entire body was shaking from the tremendous vibrations. He felt something warm inside his ears; they were shorting out from the overload. Smoke poured from the sides of his head, accompanied by a burnt smell. Blood trickled from his ears, just like the commander. But unlike the commander, it never passed his mind to give up. He trudged toward it on shaky knees, almost blinded by pain, saber clutched in one trembling hand. The Maverick screamed again and again; but he continued as if he was no longer affected by these things. He walked right up to the Maverick, a battered figure, all but defeated. He hadn't even the strength to raise his saber.
The maverick gripped him by the neck with both hands and squeezed. It never occurred to him to scream out in pain, even to gasp for breath; his mind was too dulled and tired to do so. This is it, he admitted to himself. I'm about to die. He let himself hang limp while the Maverick bombarded him with high-pitched screams. But they no longer reached him. The young hunter was swallowed by a deep, numbing silence. Memories flashed by just behind his eyes. He was surprised at how far away the rest of the world seemed; how clear it looked. He could look at his fallen team and remember it forever.
The giant bat snorted, lifted him over its head to hurl him at the far wall with deadly force. He felt the motion, while he lay limp there, in acceptance of impending death. He didn't feel sad. He didn't feel afraid. He didn't even regret being there, coming to that place only to be killed. He was devoid of all emotion, empty in the all-encompassing quiet he now felt.
And then, he realized that he still had his saber in his hand. Suddenly, he had a plan.
The giant bat threw him.
At the last moment, he air-dashed back and buried his blade in the Maverick's face. Dark liquid gushed out of the gaping hole left by the deactivated weapon, and the Maverick fell dead. He was left to fall on his knees, unable to stand, his saber still in his shaking hand. It was then that X and Zero arrived, just in time to see the carnage of the four fallen hunters and the defeated Maverick. The young hunter was still kneeling, too deep in shock to respond to anything. Zero went in front of him and said something; but he couldn't hear. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound issued from his crushed throat. A blank stare was all that could be seen in his eyes. Zero had picked him up, and his head had lolled on Zero's shoulder, eyes still open. His hand dropped, and his precious saber fell to the ground...
Disclaimer: Mega Man X, the game where X and Zero, as well as most of the concepts used in the making of this fic are from, was made by Capcom and should not be associated with me. Blackout is my character, though. Please ask permission first if you'd like to use him.
