CHAPTER 3

Breaking The Cycle

The Reploid mess hall. It's hard to think that machines might require something like a mess hall, but they're intelligence seemed to demand that they recharge in a more 'civilized' manner. There were various tables lined up in rows, with the reploids sitting together, talking, socializing, drinking energy drinks or energy bars, which literally gave their power supplies a much needed boost.

Axl grabbed his tray from the line and sat on the same table as Zero and X. X was sitting in front of Zero, and seemed quite happy.

"Hey guys," Axl said. Zero nodded in greeting.

"It's good to finally have a day off, huh?," Axl said happily.

"Yeah," X said. "Commander Signas said that the mine operation actually helped our image a bit. And since there haven't been any attacks from the R.L.F. recently, the Commander thought it would be best to give everyone a break."

"It is strange though," Zero said after taking a sip of his drink. "Ever since Wreck was destroyed, the R.L.F. have become very passive."

"Maybe we scared them," Axl said.

"I'm not so sure," Zero said thoughtfully.

There was a sudden hush in the mess hall. The trio looked around to see what was going on and realized that Ina was walking towards them. She stopped beside their table. After what seemed like a moment of hesitation, she sat beside X and began eating her spaghetti and meatballs in silence.

"Isn't that Ina?," asked one reploid in a hushed voice.

"You mean the reploid hater?," asked another.

"What is she doing here? She never comes to eat here."

"She's sitting with X. Maybe something happened back at the mission?"

"What? No way."

"I heard that she single-handedly destroyed 100 of the R.L.F.'s soldiers."

"What?!," asked another in a hushed voice. "A human?! No way!"

"Seriously. It was all over the news! I also heard that some of them tried to surrender, but she killed them anyway!"

The entire hall was suddenly caught in excited murmuring. Ina let her fork down and slammed her right fist against the table. It left a pretty deep dent. The entire hall was silent.

"Next reploid to look at me funny gets a missile up their ass," Ina said.

This took their attention elsewhere.

"Popular, aren't you?," Axl asked as Ina resumed eating.

"Shut up," she said.

"That arm isn't really yours, is it?," Zero asked, staring at Ina's right arm.

"So, what of it?," Ina asked.

"I've heard that you truly despise reploids," Zero said. "I was just wondering if that arm had anything to do with it."

Ina looked at Zero squarely in the eyes.

"What are you, Sherlock Holmes?," she asked.

"I'm pretty good at deducting, if that's what you mean," Zero said. Ina chuckled.

"It's not just the arm," Ina said, clenching her right fist.

"There's something else?," X asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Ina said as she stood up.

"Does it have to do with Marduk?," Zero asked. Ina suddenly glared at him.

"Who told you that?," Ina asked.

"You just did," Zero said. Ina growled, and left, throwing the tray at another reploid's face.

"What's the matter with you, Zero?," X asked. "You didn't have to go and scare her off like that."

Zero simply shrugged and resumed eating.

Ina was standing outside the mess hall, her back against the wall. She was staring at her right arm; her inhuman arm.

"Eating with reploids," she said, making an expression of disgust. "What the hell was I thinking?" But it seemed like a good idea at the moment, although why exactly was a mystery to her.

"Damn that Zero," Ina said as she left.

Colony 0-5, Council Room

Lina entered the council room to find Marduk once again staring at the Earth.

"Do you really want it that much?," Lina asked.

"I only wish it were really that peaceful," Marduk said.

"The virus assimilation has been completed," Lina said. "He has already taken over the body."

"And the anti-virus?," Marduk asked.

"Placed on the walls as you ordered," Lina said. "I still don't think you should do it. Let me take care of him."

"No," Marduk said. "This is my duty."

"As you wish," Lina said, bowing slightly. She left the room.

"I guess I should go too," Marduk said. He sighed and jumped down from the catwalk. "I suppose it will be interesting."

Marduk arrived at the entrance of a large room. The hatch was currently closed. Lina was standing beside him, along with two other reploids that were bodyguards.

"Please," Lina said worriedly.

"Don't worry about me," Marduk said with a kind smile. "I'll be fine."

He turned to the door.

"Open the hatch!," he ordered. The hatch slowly opened in front of him. He entered the room, latched his silver faceplate on his face, and gave Lina a thumbs-up as the hatch closed behind him.

"Let's go," Lina said, and she and the reploid bodyguards moved to the next room farther ahead.

Lina entered a control room, which was a rather small room with consoles on either side. Female navigators were making quick adjustments and preparations.

"Well?," Lina asked.

"All preparations are complete," said one navigator.

"Virus shields up, anti-virus injected on the surrounding atmosphere," said another. "Gaining video feed now."

Suddenly a large screen lit up in front of them, showing Marduk standing in front of a large, bald reploid.

"Be careful," Lina said.

Marduk calmly observed the motionless reploid standing in front of him.

"I know you're awake, Sigma," Marduk said.

The reploid's eyes soon glowed red, and it stood up, measuring easily twelve feet high. Sigma looked at his new body, opening and closing his hands, and grinned.

"Finally, a new body," Sigma said.

"Yes," Marduk said. "A very well known scientist built you that body."

"How kind," Sigma said. "Now I can finally destroy X."

Marduk chuckled.

"What's so funny?," asked Sigma.

"I'm afraid I cannot allow you to destroy X," Marduk said.

"What?," Sigma asked.

"You don't seem to realize what's going on, so I'll explain it to you," Marduk said. "As you well know, X has limitless potential, thanks mainly to the fact that he can copy the abilities of others. He also has the power to learn and evolve."

"However, that potential has been constantly halted by the likes of you, and father. Between you two, X is caught in a constant cycle of repetition, unable to move on due to the haunting of the past. Which is why I plan to destroy you."

Sigma chuckled. "You think you can kill me?," he asked.

"This room has been sealed away by an anti-Sigma virus," Marduk said, summoning his claws. "As well as my blades. You have no chance of escape."

"We'll see about that!," Sigma said, and drew out a beam saber. He charged, and soon Marduk and Sigma were locked in fierce fighting. Sigma slashed down on Marduk, who dodged with a sidestep. He attacked by swinging his claws at Sigma in quick successive combos, but Sigma was able to dodge each one. They both then swung their weapons at the same time and were caught in a deadlock.

"So tell me, Marduk," Sigma said as he struggled to keep the deadlock. "If you wanted to destroy me so badly, why give me a new body?!"

"I simply thought I should give you a fighting chance," Marduk said. They both separated from the deadlock.

"This has been very entertaining," Marduk said. "But it's time I ended this fight."

Sigma growled and charged again. Marduk jumped into the air and shot forward like a torpedo, spinning quickly with his claws up front, moving so fast that Sigma was unable to dodge him. Marduk drilled right through Sigma's body, landing on one knee and sliding all the way to the other end of the room.

"It's over," Marduk said.

Sigma chuckled. "You think so, do you?," he asked.

"What?," Marduk asked.

"Sigma virus strengthening!," said one panicked navigator in the control room.

"What?!," Lina asked.

"We can't contain it!," said another navigator.

"No! Marduk!," Lina said worriedly.

Sigma's body soon fell down lifeless as a black mass exited through it's back. It took the shape of a large humanoid creature with gleaming red eyes.

"So, this is the true form of the Sigma virus," Marduk said calmly.

"That is correct!," Sigma said as his hands began to glow. "Now die!"

He launched both fists at Marduk, who didn't even move. There was an explosion that rocked the colony.

"We've lost video feed!," said a navigator.

"I see that!," Lina said. "Activate the secondary cameras! Try to find Marduk's life signs! Prepare the Gamma waves!"

"The Gamma waves, ma'am?," asked another navigator, this one shocked.

The Gamma waves were highly radioactive waves that could destroy most electronics in an instant; it would definitely destroy Sigma, but it could also kill Marduk.

"I know it's bad," Lina said. "But it'll be worse if Sigma gets loose in this state."

"Ma'am," said another navigator.

"What is it?," asked Lina. The navigator pointed a shaky finger at the screen. Lina looked and gasped.

Marduk was still alive; in fact, the only thing gone was his faceplate. He had both of Sigma's large arms under his, but what really surprised them was the blue aura that surrounded him.

"My god," Lina said.

"W-what is this?!," Sigma asked in horror as he tried to get lose. "What kind of power is this?!"

Marduk looked up at Sigma, and Sigma gasped. Marduk's forhead was shining with two letters, one on top of the other; L and W.

"I-it can't be!," Sigma said in horror. "W-what the hell are you?!"

"You could say I'm an, irony," Marduk said with a grin. His shoulders opened up, revealing a pair of small laser cannons on each one. "My purpose was so mixed up I changed it. It's one of those strange gifts that you and X also possess."

"What?!," Sigma asked.

"Goodbye, Sigma," said Marduk. He fired two large beams of energy at a screaming Sigma. Again there was another explosion, and once again they lost video feed.

"What happened?!," Lina asked.

"Sigma's termination confirmed!," said a navigator. "We can't tell whether Master Marduk's alive!"

"Open the hatch!," Lina said as she quickly left the control room. She entered the containment room before the hatch had opened completely. The smoke was blinding.

"Master Marduk!," Lina called, quickly filling with panic. "Marduk!"

"Calm down, Lina," she heard Marduk say. "I'm all right."

The smoke cleared, and Lina was relieved to see Marduk, standing tall and proud in front of the slag that was now Sigma. She picked up the cracked silver faceplate.

"I'll have it mended," she said.

"No, it's okay, leave it like that," said Marduk.

"But…," Lina was about ask why when Strikewind entered the room, interrupting her.

"We found him," he said simply.

"Good," Marduk said. He walked towards Lina and took the faceplate from her.

"Would you like to come with me on a trip?," he asked her with a calm smile. Lina blinked.

An uncharted desert in the northern hemisphere…

"How did this happen?," asked Lina as she waited outside beside a ship.

"Must have been after the colony crashed all those decades ago," Strikewind said. "Messed up the Earth's entire climate."

Marduk was standing in front of a latch that was once hidden in the sand. He reached down and pulled, revealing a ladder that went deep underground.

"No," Marduk said when Lina approached. "I want to go in alone." He jumped inside, leaving Lina and Strikewind with puzzled expressions.

It was quite a long drop, and when Marduk landed he cracked the floor. He stood up and opened the door in front of him.

Inside this room was a large and impressive assembly line, full of various kinds of armor. Many mechanical limbs worked tirelessly on new ones, while on the wall the screens showed untold numbers of calculations and progress reports. In the middle of this vast laboratory was a single large, cylindrical machine that shined with many kinds of lights and circuits.

"It's been a long time, father," Marduk said.

It was as if he had given the command to stop. The entire lab just froze at the sound of his voice. Then the voice of a person whom Marduk cared for very much was heard.

"Marduk?," he asked.

The sound of his voice swelled Marduk with emotion, and brought him back happy memories of a time when he knew nothing, when this same voice lectured him, and formed the basis of his beliefs.

"Father," Marduk said tearfully. "Dr. Light."

Suddenly a holographic projection took shape in front of Marduk. The shape of an old scientist with a large white beard and a warm expression.

"Marduk, it is you.," he said.

"It's been a long time, professor," Marduk said.

"Why did you come?," Dr. Light asked.

"I wanted to see you again," Marduk said. "I also wanted to tell you that everything you've hoped for is finally happening."

"What do you mean?," Light asked.

"Sigma is dead," Marduk said. "X has learned so much, and he's become such good friends with Zero. The time has finally come for X to embrace his full potential."

"Marduk, even though X has had time to stabilize, he still isn't ready to go that far," Dr. Light said gravely. "You don't know what harm you could to him."

Marduk growled. For once, he was truly angry.

"And whose fault is that?," Marduk said. "It's yours!"

"What are you talking about?," Light asked.

"Look at all of this!," Marduk said angrily, pointing at the assembly line around him. "You've been treating him like a pampered child! How can he evolve when he has such aid! He has to learn on his own!"

"Marduk," Light said. "Don't think I've forgotten what happened all those years ago."

Marduk flinched.

"You are still angry at the humans for what they did, but that's not reason enough to do all this."

Marduk chuckled. "You're wrong, doctor Light. I'm no longer angry at humans. I pity them. They have lived with reploids for so long, yet they still refuse to accept, to appreciate the fact that reploids like X can and will evolve. I'll open their eyes for them."

"What are you planning, Marduk?," asked Light.

Marduk's shoulders opened, and he aimed his cannons at Light.

"You have already done your part," Marduk said. "You have taught X the same ideals you've taught me. Sigma has made X doubt the humans' cause and has opened his mind to other possibilities. Now it's my turn to guide him and Zero to their destinies."

"Marduk," Light said sadly.

Marduk fired.

Outside, the sound of a muffled explosion was heard very clearly, and the ground started to shake.

"What was that?," Strikewind asked after the tremor ceased.

"Marduk!," Lina said worriedly.

Marduk appeared from the hatch, unscathed. As he got closer Lina realized that his eyes seemed to be leaking. She reached out to clean them out, but Marduk grabbed her hand and gently put it down.

"Leave them," he told her. "I've waited a long time for these."

Strikewind was talking quickly into a headset. After a few minutes he turned to Marduk and said "We have an intruder."

"I see," Marduk said. "Took them longer than I thought."

Two guards on either side of a door were talking calmly to one another. They hadn't been informed yet of the intruder.

Suddenly a shadowy figure stood right in front of them.

"What the?," said one of the guards. Last thing they ever said.

The reploid went inside the room and flicked on the lights. Dynamo, the black and white armored reploid, smiled to himself. Too easy.

He went to work, sitting on a chair in front of the console and hacking into the mainframe. He finally found what he was looking for: the list of agents within the Maverick Hunters and Repleforce. Delving deeper, he unlocked the list that shocked even him.

"Well, now isn't this interesting?" he said with a smirk. The screen was showing him a map of the entire Earth. There were red dots all around the map, each representing a different base that belonged to the Maverick Hunters and Repleforce. But what was really shocking was the fact that in each base were at least three dozen R.L.F. spies, each one positioned in dangerous places.

"This is a gold mine," he said. He placed in a small disc and started the copy process. As he waited, he noticed another file, named "Enlightenment."

"What's this?," he asked. He went into the file and gasped in horror.

"What the?!," he said. "How did they make it this far?!"

He delved deeper, his amazement increasing.

"Targeting," Dynamo said. "Location, time of attack, estimated casualties! They've thought ahead!"

He recorded this as well and quickly ran out of the room. Just then, an alarm went off.

"Of all times!," Dynamo said angrily, and ran down the hall. There were guards on the other end of the hall that began firing at him. He smirked. He pulled out of his teeth a miniature magnet bomb that the government had given him. He threw it at the attackers. The magnet stuck to one's chest. They had a second to look at it before it exploded, killing all of them. Dynamo entered the next room.

He looked around and found himself in a large, slightly darkened room, with a large circular table in the middle, and a large window on top, showing the Earth.

"Quite the meddler, aren't you?," asked Marduk.

Dynamo gasped. Marduk was standing on the catwalk, looking at the Earth.

"How did you--?," asked Dynamo.

"This is my headquarters," Marduk said, jumping from the catwalk and facing Dynamo. He had his silver faceplate on.

Dynamo got into a fighting stance.

"Did you see?," Marduk asked.

"Oh, I saw it," Dynamo said.

"Then certainly you must see what my vision is about," Marduk said.

"Vision?," Dynamo snorted. "You're no different than Sigma. Just another fool that thinks he can take over the world with violence."

"Sigma wanted to replace humans with reploids," Marduk said. "He believed that Reploids were inherently better than humans. I have no such ideals."

"Really?," Dynamo asked. "Is that why you have agents on every bombardment station in orbit? Each one targeted at every major city on Earth?"

Marduk chuckled. "Just human cities?"

"What?," Dynamo asked.

"Some of the targets are also Reploid factory sites," Marduk said. "But I'm sure you've noticed."

Dynamo remained rather expressionless.. "What the hell are you planning?"

"Humans have made the mistake of thinking that reploids are unable to evolve," Marduk said. "Merely because reploids are copies of X, they believe only he possesses such power." He summoned his claws. "However, it is in the power of all reploids to evolve beyond their programming. Sigma saw this, but approached the matter wrongly."

He charged, slashing at Dynamo. Dynamo jumped back and slashed back. Marduk jumped high and landed on the catwalk.

"He tried to terminate humanity," Marduk said. "Thinking that only reploids possessed the power to evolve greatly, ignoring the fact that the evolutionary abilities of humans are virtually limitless."

Dynamo pulled out another magnet bomb and threw it at Marduk. Marduk jumped as the catwalk exploded under him. He flipped and landed with his back behind Dynamo. Dynamo turned around quickly, but Marduk was faster, and cut off Dynamo's arm. Dynamo yelled in pain and took a step back.

"Humans should not be extinct," Marduk said. "Instead, they must be led to understand that reploids will evolve no matter what they think. The only way for them to realize this is to drive them and reploids to the brink of extinction, thus forcing them to rely on one another."

"I still don't understand what X has to do with any of this," Dynamo said, grasping his shoulder.

"Reploids might have the ability to evolve," Marduk said. "But they lack the awareness that X or Zero has. I plan to turn X into a beacon of light that will lead them to this awareness."

Dynamo laughed. "What a waste of breath you are," he said. "Just another idiot who thinks he knows what's best for the world."

He suddenly started glowing a red aura, and a letter D appeared on his forehead. He suddenly felt an upsurge of power.

"How interesting," said Dynamo, looking at himself.

"There it is," said Marduk. "That's the hidden potential in all reploids. See how you've evolved? It may take longer with others, but it is still a possibility."

"Really?," asked Dynamo. He suddenly charged and punched Marduk hard on the chest, sending him against the wall. Marduk stopped himself by pressing his feet against the ground.

"Tell me, Dynamo, why are you fighting for the humans?," asked Marduk. "I never thought a reploid like yourself would care for these sort of matters."

"If I let you destroy the Earth, how am I going to get paid?," asked Dynamo. "You don't look like you could give me anything of interest." He chuckled. "And besides, if I bring your head, I'm sure they'll give me four times what I would have gotten from the data." He charged. "And with this new power, I feel pretty confident!"

He charged and punched Marduk hard on the face. The impact created a sonic boom.

Dynamo gasped. Marduk didn't even budge.

The letters W and L appeared on Marduk's forehead, and he was surrounded by a blue aura.

"Zero's and X's powers far exceed yours," he added. "I'm afraid only one of them will kill me."

He stabbed Dynamo repeatedly on the stomach and punched him back. Dynamo landed on the circular table and crushed it.

Marduk's cannons appeared from his shoulders.

"N-no," Dynamo said desperately. "Wait!"

.He fired, and Dynamo was blown to pieces.

Lina entered the room with a clipboard. She surveyed the destroyed room with mild interest, then reported to Marduk.

"We've intercepted most of the information that Dynamo sent to the human government," Lina said. "However, some of our plans may have gotten through."

"It doesn't matter," Marduk said, taking off his faceplate and looking back at Earth. "Nothing can stop this now. Events have gone just as I thought they would, and now it's time for our final act."