CHAPTER FOUR

Androids and…Puffballs?

A few people took notice of a large shadow in the sky. It was high enough that one could barely see it, but there was no doubt that it wasn't their eyes playing tricks on them. Rumours spread almost immediately amongst the young and naïve about what it may have been. Some said it was just a regular old air liner, others said it was a large military jet, but most of them came up with the most ridiculous thought of all: it was a UFO carrying a squadron of aliens to take over the world. That comment was immediately laughed off, but there wasn't much of a chance of it going away.

The truth was that this ridiculous claim was actually half-right: the object was a flying battleship that had entered the Earth's atmosphere and did indeed carry a squadron of aliens, but though it looked intimidating with its sleek yet rusty-looking exterior (as well as large silver mask on the bow), its passengers were not there for world domination. Many of them were curious to explore this vast world that they had only just arrived at. The ship's captain and his companion were there for an entirely different reason.

No one on the ship, however, was expected the two flashes of light that appeared on the exterior landing platform or the two androids that stepped out and observed their surroundings. The blue one looked over the side of the ship and rolled his eyes.

"Maybe you'll wanna try warping us closer to the ground next time." he groaned.

"Cut me a break, will you, X?" the red android shot back. "You probably wouldn't have done much better."

"Probably not, but at least I'd warp us somewhere other than in front of a giant freakin' laser cannon!"

X and Zero delved off to the side as said cannon fired a gigantic laser beam right as an alarm sounded throughout the entire ship.

"Good goin', man! Awesome!"

"Shut! Up! X!"

Numerous threatening-looking creatures toting thick metallic armour and blades began running toward the two androids from entrances to the ship's interior. The two of them smirked.

"Engaging combat mode! Set blasters to stun!" they both barked.

Their hands shifted into small cannons and they began to battle. At the ship's command room, the captain and his companion stared down at the two through the massive window. The captain sneered.

"It would seem we have uninvited guests." he muttered. "A little early in our expedition, but I suppose it was going to happen eventually."

"Pu-puyo?" asked his partner.

"No need for that, my friend. They will come to us and we will show them the might of our world."

With their attackers subdued, X and Zero entered the ship and dashed through the hallways.

"It might be worthwhile to look into the ship's log while we're here." said Zero. "There has to be some reason why there's a gigantic battleship hovering over Earth."

"Isn't there always a reason?"

"Yeah…but there's also this thing called building suspense."

"Very dramatic. Anyway, to the command room?"

"To the command room…so we might have to barge through the ship's captain to get there."

"I'm sure he'll be lovely…"

The two pressed themselves against the wall and remained perfectly still as a small group of guards ran down the hallway, then continued to move as quickly as they could, X subduing one guard who happened to be lagging behind the others. After much patience and utilization of stealth tactics, the two found themselves in front of the door to the command room. Zero glared at X and pressed a finger to his lips, knowing full well that X was the kind of person who'd make a big ruckus just for the sake of doing it. X himself just rolled his eyes.

"Don't gimme that look." he whined. "I'm a lot more useful than you give me credit for, you know."

"I know, but there's a reason I never trust you to do things quietly."

The two opened the door and dashed in, aiming their arm cannons all about in case there happened to be someone or something waiting for them. There wasn't, and thus Zero proceeded to the main terminal and hooked himself up to it.

"Alright. Let's see what these bozos are up to…" he muttered.

While Zero hacked his way into the terminal, X looked out the window at the Earth below. It looked so much different than how they knew it. Plenty of water, lots and lots of green, and best of all, no Mavericks.

"Y'know, I really didn't think that time warp thing was gonna work." he said. "But I'm glad it did. I wouldn't mind staying here after we finish the job."

"You and me both, buddy. If I have to deal with Sigma one more time, I think I'm gonna tear my hard drive out…and bam. Got it."

The information that he found was a flight log, and the contents were somewhat strange.

"Seems kind of obvious, but this thing didn't come from Earth." Zero pondered. "In fact, it says that they've travelled almost a thousand light-years to get here."

"Okay, so these guys are aliens." X shrugged. "Doesn't give us any juicy intel, does it?"

"No, but this does: they're looking for Saya, too."

At this time, X raised an eyebrow and quickly came over to examine what Zero was talking about. It was true. There was a profile of Saya displayed clearly on the screen with a plethora of information about her.

"Huh…well, we figured that out. Now let's figure out how to land this puppy so we can…"

"Leave? I think not."

The two androids turned toward the door and spotted two short creatures blocking the exit. One was round and pink with red feet and large eyes, while the other wore a metal mask that looked the same as the mask of the ship's bow. He also wore a small cape and held a golden sword in his hand. Of course, X and Zero had pictured someone a little more intimidating to be the captain of this kind of ship, and then had to bite their lips to keep themselves from bursting into laughter. The small knight narrowed his yellow eyes.

"What seems to be so amusing?"

"Nothing…anyway, you wanna elaborate on why you're hovering your big and admittedly badass battleship over Earth?"

"The Halberd's location is of my concern only."

"And you are?"

"I am Meta Knight, captain of the battleship Halberd, and you, my unfortunate friends, are trespassing!"

Meta Knight slashed his blade through the air and pointed it at the two. Despite how he had just said, he wasn't warning them to get out. He was challenging them. X smirked.

"Well, friend, we'd be more than happy to give you a good fight. You up for it, Zero?"

Zero rolled his eyes, but couldn't help smiling at the same time. He may not have been as arrogant as X could be, but he certainly loved a good fight. He spun his wrist, an energy blade appeared in his hand almost instantly, and he made the first attack on Meta Knight. The small knight simply blocked the attack and demonstrated the skill neither X nor Zero predicted: phenomenal speed. He slashed through the air so quickly that they could see the air parting to make way for his blade. Nonetheless, Zero was no slouch when it came to speed, either, blocking Meta Knight's attack and following it up with a charged shot from his arm cannon.

"Not bad." Meta Knight responded as he swerved around the blast. "Tell me: who is your teacher?"

"Don't have one." Zero replied, blocking Meta Knight's blade as it came around for a slice at his head. "I was programmed with sword skills in mind."

"I see. Kirby! Take care of our blue friend, if you please."

The little pink creature zipped toward X and suddenly pulled a giant wooden mallet out of nowhere.

"Holy man, that's huge!" the android yelled before he vaulted away.

The mallet slammed against the ground, causing a resounding shockwave that shook X's circuits but not enough to knock him off his feet.

"Puyo-puyo!" Kirby shouted.

"Uhh…what?" X asked with a raised brow.

Kirby dashed forward and jabbed with his stubby arms, generating a quick amount of punches in just a matter of seconds. X just barely managed to block the blows before retaliating with a charged shot from his arm cannon which slammed into Kirby and knocked him a good distance away.

"Boo-yah!" the android cheered. "Doesn't get any better than this!"

Kirby got to his feet almost instantly, rushed forward, and opened his mouth incredibly wide. All of a sudden, a large gust of air pulled X straight toward Kirby, and he was powerless to resist as he was sucked into the little alien's mouth.

"Wha…what the hell are you doing, you little freak?!" Zero shouted.

Kirby made a swallowing motion, and much to Zero's relief, X suddenly popped up in a cloud of dust from nowhere, clattering to the ground with an incredibly dazed look on his face.

"What in the world…" he mumbled before shaking off his dizzy state and looking back at his opponent. "…holy cow, that little pipsqueak jacked my arm cannon!"

Indeed, Kirby now wore a helmet very similar to what X was wearing and had an arm cannon on his right arm, which he now aimed and fired several rounds at X.

"Whoa!" the android yelled out as he dove out of the way. "Little guy's got guts…and accuracy!"

"As do I, 'Zero'!" Meta Knight shouted to his opponent.

Zero blocked Meta Knight's blade and retaliated with a quick slash that nicked the small knight's mask, causing a light fracture.

"Hm…you're better than I imagined. Perhaps I have underestimated you." Meta Knight grumbled.

"Yeah." Zero scoffed. "People tend to do that."

"In that case, I shall not hold back on you any longer. Prepare yourself!"

"Likewise!"

They lunged at one another and locked blades. Sparks flew and grunts were released, but Zero and Meta Knight were of equal strength as they attempted to shove the other away…that is, until X was suddenly launched into the dueling pair by a charged shot from Kirby.

"Jeez…little pink marshmallow's knocking me all over the place!" X panted.

"I was kinda busy with something. You mind getting off me?!" Zero growled.

"Yeah, I was busy, too. I was busy getting my ass handed to me!"

Zero got back to his feet and pounced at Meta Knight with his blade raised, only for the small knight to whip his cape forward and plunge the entire room into darkness. Zero looked all about for his opponent but found absolutely nothing, even after activating his thermal sensors and heavily scanning the environment.

"Damn. This guy's good."

"More than good…"

Zero gritted his teeth and swung behind him upon hearing Meta Knight's voice at his right audio receptor, but his blade only made contact with thin air. X meanwhile continued to fight against Kirby, both of whom could see each other perfectly and continued to briefly light up the room every time one shot at the other. Zero attempted to use this to his advantage, but there was still no sign of Meta Knight, thus confirming that he was a master of stealth on top of being a skilled swordsman. It also didn't help that X and Kirby kept filling the room with loud shouts and crashes every time one of them attacked, so Zero couldn't listen for any movement, either.

"For crying out loud, where is this guy?!"

"Decisions, decisions. Here. Let me help you."

Zero had no time to block Meta Knight as he dropped from the ceiling and slammed into him, sending the red android smashing through the nearby window and onto the deck. Zero could swear that he saw sparks shoot out of his body as he crashed against the metallic surface, but he had little time to sit there and writhe in pain as Meta Knight came flying out of the smashed window, his cape somehow having transformed into small bat-like wings and his sword raised and ready to impale his target.

"Heads up, short stop!"

Meta Knight was forced face first into the ground as X suddenly appeared out of nowhere and slammed his fist into the small knight's back.

"Well, you took your time giving me a hand." Zero scoffed.

"You're welcome." X replied with a smirk.

Meta Knight shook off the shock of X's attack and prepared to engage Zero again, only to see that both of his opponents were snickering. He quickly realized that his mask had broken off as he felt the cool wind against his face and then looked down to see said mask in two on the ground. He sighed.

"I fail to see how my true physical appearance is that humorous to you."

"It's simple." X chuckled. "A menacing and badass voice is coming from a guy that looks just like the pink marshmallow up there."

It was true. Meta Knight's true face looked almost exactly like Kirby's except for the fact that his skin was dark blue instead of pink. Meta Knight himself scowled before producing another mask from behind him and setting it on his face as Kirby landed next to him.

"Now, if there are no further objections…"

There weren't any, so the conflict resumed. With far more space to do so, Meta Knight shifted his cape into wings again and made use of hit-and-run techniques, swooping in and taking a few slashes at Zero and quickly pulling back before his opponent could counterattack. Kirby and X continued to exchange shots from their arm cannons before Kirby rushed X with the hammer again. X dodged, only for what seemed to be a giant star to come shooting out of nowhere. Kirby jumped on top of it and rode away and out of sight, leaving X to sit there for a brief moment and try to figure out what just happened.

"He was beating me around the bush and then he just decides to go and…wait a minute."

The distinct sound the star had made when it came to Kirby was coming back, but at a much higher frequency. X's eyes darted all around, trying to see where Kirby was coming from, but when he looked up, he saw a fairly good reason for him to start panicking as Kirby, still riding on the star, was coming surging down toward him like a meteor.

"Hoooooooooly shock…"

X had next to no time at all to react to Kirby's ambush, so no one could really blame him for not getting out of the way in time. The Warp Star slammed into the ground and erupted into a massive explosion, vaulting X screaming into the air.

"MAN, WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS…oh, yeah. I picked a fight with a marshmallow."

X went hurtling back to the ground headfirst, Zero just barely managing to catch him before he made contact and probably severely damaged a processor.

"That makes us even."

"Thanks RIGHT SHOULDER! BLOCK!"

Zero didn't even need to turn around. He held his blade behind him and blocked Meta Knight's attempted sneak attack. He spun around and struck at him again while X continued to occupy himself with Kirby until the former two locked blades. Meta Knight very quickly gained the upper hand and shoved Zero away, and before the android could recover, he was slashed so quickly that he had no idea how much damage Meta Knight had done…until his sword arm fell off.

Zero stood utterly dumbfounded at what had just happened, X sharing the same feeling as Kirby finally knocked him off his feet. In one swift motion, Meta Knight had his blade pressed against Zero's neck.

"If you value your life at all, you would be quick to accept defeat."

X was tempted to shove Kirby off of him and get back to fighting, but Zero held out his remaining hand and shook his head.

"Forget it, X. They got us."

"You can't be serious!"

"I'm serious. Stand down. We didn't travel back to cause trouble."

Suddenly, Meta Knight sheathed his blade.

"Travel back? Whatever do you mean by that?"

"We utilized a machine called the Phase Distorter 3 developed by a Doctor Andonuts to travel back from the twenty-second century."

"Time travel? Intriguing…how is that possible?"

"Ordinarily, it wouldn't be, but considering my companion and I are cybernetic beings, we had no trouble with it."

"So living organisms cannot travel back in time."

"Not using the Phase Distorter anyway…wait a second, why am I telling you this?!"

X rolled his eyes.

"To your credit, having your arm sliced off doesn't exactly help you think clearly. Not that you didn't already, dumbass."

"Look who's talking. You're the one who got beaten by a freakin' marshmallow."

Kirby knit his brow and started hopping up and down while flailing his stubby arms about.

"pu-pu yo puyo!"

"English, dude." X groaned. "English."

"He said that he does not appreciate being called a marshmallow." Meta Knight answered. "In any case, 'Zero'. May I ask why you travelled back through time?"

Zero raised a brow.

"That depends. What are you doing here over Earth?"

"Kirby and I hail from the planet Pop Star, a vast distance away from Earth. We seek a young human girl by the name of Saya Kusanagi."

"Why's that?"

"Simple: to offer her protection. She is being hunted by a threat that could endanger not only Earth but many other worlds beyond it."

"Exactly the reason why we travelled back from the future."

Meta Knight stroked his masked chin and grunted.

"I see. Seeing as we share a common goal and how you and your comrade fought most admirably…"

He offered his gloved hand.

"I ask for your assistance in this task."

"…you cut off my arm and now you want to be allies?"

"As you stated, you are a highly advanced cybernetic being. Reattaching your missing limb should not be that difficult."

Zero rolled his eyes and sighed, but took the hand and shook it nonetheless (after picking up his severed arm, of course).

"Alright. Meta Knight, was it?"

"Correct. My pink friend over there, as I've already stated, is Kirby. And your disgustingly impulsive blue friend?"

X frowned.

"DISGUSTINGLY impulsive? …ah, whatever." he said before giving a nonchalant two-fingered salute. "Mega Man model X at your service. Call me X."

Meta Knight nodded.

"Very well. Come, men. Saya's safety must be ensured."

"This isn't good. She should have been here a half hour ago…"

When neither Saya nor the train that was supposed to be carrying her showed up at the station in Osaka, Trish steadily grew more and more concerned as the minutes passed until she knew something was amiss. Saya wouldn't have willingly skipped out on her. The two had met before and they had established a close friendship. That only left one other conclusion. It was certainly a stretch, but it wasn't impossible.

Without another word, Trish whipped out her cell phone and dialled a number. It rang for a few seconds, forcing her to roll her eyes.

"Of all the times…"

As if on cue to her irritation, someone answered the phone.

"Devil May Cry. Dante speaking."

"It's me."

"Oh, hey. What's up, Trish? You pick up Saya yet?"

"That's the problem, Dante. She hasn't shown up yet."

"Huh. Gimme a second."

Trish heard a loud thump on the other end of the line and a loud and enthusiastic "BULLSEYE!" from Dante. She smirked. Dante, the devil-hunting son of Sparda, was too preoccupied with a game of darts than saving a young girl's life, even though she knew he was just joking.

"Alright, come again?"

"Saya Kusanagi. The girl I was supposed to pick up here. She hasn't shown up."

"So what are you thinking?"

"I'm gonna head to Tokyo to look for her, and I need you to get up off your lazy ass and scout around Osaka just in case she turns up."
"Y'know I'm still back at the shop, right? The shop in the United States…which is a good half-day away from Japan by airplane?

"Dante, this is serious. You know how important that girl is to Aiko."

Dante smirked. He loved it when Trish got uptight. It was both funny and charming, two things that she seemed to excel at aside from her beauty, though he attributed that to the fact that she looked almost exactly like his mother.

"Don't get your ponytail in a knot, sweetheart. I'm on my way."

"Good…and by the way, I heard that 'the guy' is in Japan right now."

"The guy…you mean my fake?"

"If that's what he is."

"Okay, now I'm REALLY on my way."

"Good. I'll see you soon."

"That's it?"

Trish smirked.

"Kiss-kiss."
"That's a good girl."

Trish hung up with a roll of her eyes.

"Idiot…but I guess that's why I like him so much."

On the other end, Dante dropped the phone back on the receiver and lifted his legs up off the desk before slipping on his billowing red jacket. He shoved one last slice of the pizza he had ordered into his mouth before clipping Ebony and Ivory to his belt and Rebellion to his back.

"Guess she really needs me over there." he thought with a smirk. "The party doesn't really get crazy until I turn up, anyway."