Zero and Reaper were leading the four of them. A silence filled the room, well hallway. Axl looked at Reaper with eyes scanning for any more injuries, but something was jamming the signal. The halls were gray and plain. The floor was stained with old blood and had the faint smell of bleach. The lights in the hall was a pale white, washing out all youth in the hunters. X looked like he wanted to say something, but he stayed silent.
Eventually the four of them reached a door at the end of the hall.
"Here we go. Behind this door could very well be the professor, or another deathtrap." X said.
"Try to think positively. This whole damn mess will be over soon." Reaper laughed weakly, her smile not quite reaching her eyes.
Zero opened the door, with everyone having their weapons drawn. Reaper walked slowly, her footsteps barely making a noise.
She wasn't prepared for the projectile thrown at her. She sliced the projectile with practiced ease. The two halves skittering along the ground and a spotlight shone on the four hunters.
Zero and Reaper was looking at a sunset. Her hair was down and cascading down her back. Her eyes were reflecting the colors of the sunset. They were having a conversation.
"I'm telling you, I had to deal with all kinds of crazy things when I was a nightwalker." She said, smiling subtly. "One time this guy paid me just to make him a goddamn sandwich."
"How much did he pay you?" Zero asked her, his eyebrows raised. He was in civilian clothes, meaning a black t-shirt and dark blue jeans.
"Too much for a sandwich." She laughed.
"Please tell me you made it worth his money." Zero said, deadpan.
"I made an attempt to." She responded.
Zero jumped in front of Reaper when more projectiles came flying towards him.
X tried to contact HQ, but now there was interference preventing the call to be made.
"I would do that X." The voice of an old man crackled.
"Isoc" Reaper sneered as blood dripped from her nose. Zero widened his eyes recoiled away in shock.
"It seems your nanites are failing you…" Isoc smiled and walked out of the shadows. Zer stood in front of Reaper, who was still standing, but was struggling for breath.
Zero, Reaper and X were talking about what happened to make her need the nanites.
"I was caught in an explosion." She said wrapping her arms around herself. "There was a maverick attack and one of the blasts hit a gas tank of a car. It was just bad luck in my case."
"What was the physical damage?" X asked as Zero wrapped his arms around her protectively.
"Both my ribs were ruptured, my spine was broken, and my eyes were blinded." Reaper listed as Zero kissed her forehead.
"I see you remember me." Isoc said as he cocked his head to the side. X noted a button on a remote that Isoc was holding.
X subtly notified Axl of the remote.
"This is a dead man's trigger. If you kill me, I let go of this button, and the bitch dies." Isoc smirked.
Reaper slashed off his arm, making it unable to let go of the button. Her legs were shaking and her eyes fogged up. Axl caught her when she collapsed.
"Not s-so tough now are ya." Reaper laughed. Her eyes turning a dark brown, almost red. Her hair was still the pale white she was known for, but that and her pale skin made the eyes look even more haunting. She coughed up blood and Axl picked her up gently, carrying her close to his chest.
Zero snapped and slashed wildly at the professor with his z-saber. X shot at the professor, but the beam wasn't as strong as X intended them to be. Fully charged, they barely dented the armor that was Isoc casing.
"It appears that the EMP is catching up to the rest of you." Isoc laughed. Zero's Z saber shorted out. Axl shot at Isoc, knocking out his eye. "You have more fight than Red Alert did, Axl. The commander would be proud." Isoc said, laughing and reeling from the pain.
"Don't. Talk. About. Red. Alert. Like. That." Axl said, firing a bullet with every word. Isoc was hit with every one. After that, his armor was cracked, exposing an EMP emitter pulsating like a heart. Zero limped over to the fritzing reploid.
Ripping open more of the chest plate, the EMP emitter was exposed fully. X ran over to defuse it.
"Axl how's Reaper?" Zero asked, looking at the emitter.
"She's in bad shape." Axl said. Reaper was pale and the scar on her stomach opened up, bleeding. She was struggling for breath, causing Ax to put her down and hold her head up. "We're losing her!" Axl yelled suddenly.
"You won't save her…" Isoc grinned. Zero responded by ripping out the emitter, effectively shutting it off. The result was instantaneous. Reaper jerked awake, turning to her side and coughing up the blood. Her skin turned metal and her eyes flashed green.
"Watch me." Zero said looking at the now-deactivated Reploid. Reaper slowly pushed herself up, but had to leaned on Axl for support.
"I don't think he can watch anything, right now." Reaper whispered. Zero looked at her. Her hair was a mess, but color was returning to her face. She had a small smile, but her eyes were clouded in pain. He took her from Axl and helped her walk out.
"...X…..Axl...Zero...Reaper...can anybody read me?" Someone from HQ was shouting over their comms.
X answered for the group. "Yeah, we're all here. There was an EMP that cut off our comms, but we're ok, for the most part, but prepare the med bay."
"What about the professor?" The person from HQ asked.
"Decommissioned." Reaper said with effort.
"Alright. Prepare for transport." The reploid on the other end replied.