Megaman X: Elysium Rising
Chapter 24: Into the Darkness
By Genoscythe
"Look, I don't know much more than you already do at this point," Stealth Claw growled. Having a blade pressed against his neck wasn't one of his more enjoyable pastimes, so he was feeling just a little bit stressed at the moment.
"That's interesting, because I've never even heard of something called Elysium until tonight. You're saying you haven't either?" His silver captor said in a toneless voice.
"Bite me!" Claw retorted. He had sworn his loyalty to the Purifiers, and he wasn't going to break it now because of a stupid mistake on his part.
"Maybe I should just cut your throat instead," the hunter said. "Or, better yet, I'll take you in and find another way to make you talk." The silver Maverick Hunter touched a button on his helmet, opening his comm. link. "This is Endymion. I've found the intruder. Ready to take him into custody." Stealth Claw could just barely hear an 'Affirmative!' on the other end.
"What, torture? I thought you Maverick Hunters were supposed to be the 'good' guys," he said chidingly.
Endymion scoffed. "You're still thinking in black and white? Sad." Was all he said.
"I'm just saying what I've heard," Claw said. "All the humans call you heroes, defenders of justice or whatever. Do they realize that we're almost the same? They probably don't care, as long as you're the ones protecting them. After all, they still outnumber reploids twenty to one. Majority rules, right? Even if they're as weak as balloons..."
"You like to talk," Endymion observed plainly.
"And you don't," Claw said in return. "This little chat's been pretty one-sided, yeah?"
"I don't need to talk to you. I just need to keep you subdued."
"Jeez. Before you kill me, try to download some personality, alright?" Stealth Claw's jeering was met with silence. "Hey, are you a robot?" Silence. "Are you a reploid, or a robot?" He asked again.
"No," Endymion said simply.
"No what? No, you're not a reploid, or-"
"Shut up!" Endymion suddenly yelled, smashing Claw's furry face into the ground again. "You're making things difficult. I'd kill you if we didn't need you for questioning."
"Yeah, you made that pretty clear already," Claw murmured into the metal floor. Endymion slammed his head down again just for good measure. After several long, awkward moments of silence, a doorway nearby opened and three Maverick Hunters stepped out wielding flashlights and arm restraints. With a mechanical motion, they slapped the restraints on Claw's wrists and hoisted him to his feet.
Stealth Claw's entourage guided him to the dark stairwell they had emerged from, all the while Endymion's blade pressed against the back of Claw's neck. The feline's ears twitched as he heard a two-way comm. transmission between Endymion and one of the Maverick Hunters. His ears were tuned for both the normal spectrum of hearing, and the spectrum used to broadcasting transmissions. In fact, one of his favorite past-times was once sitting atop a radio tower and listening to the different stations being broadcast around the island. Soon after, the Purifiers found a better use for his ears.
The transmission was this, "Are you sure this guy's a mav? He doesn't have that freaky glow in his eyes."
"Maverick or not, he attacked Douglas. He also confessed to me that he was sent by Sigma."
"He confessed? What the hell are we taking him in for, then?"
"It isn't easy to explain. You shall find out soon."
"Whatever you say, Captain."
"He has a strong will. This could be difficult."
"Everything sentient eventually breaks. We'll get him."
"That isn't what I'm worried about. He's still dangerous."
"How? The restraints are working fine."
"There are ways around those arm restraints, Hawkins."
"Like what?"
"You'll see."
"Why don't you just stop him, then?"
"Because he's listening to our conversation," Endymion finished cryptically, and then severed the link. The Maverick Hunter on Stealth Claw's right side stiffened, presumably Hawkins. Despite his shock, Claw couldn't help but curl his black lips in a smile. The little reploid was scared of him.
As Endymion had predicted, Stealth Claw had a means around the metal restraints on his arms. His gauntlets were built with small super-heated blades built to spring out at his command and sever any form of handcuffs a captor might put on him. However, he was biding his time until they were out of the cramped stairwell and closer to the emergency exits at the lobby below. He hoped this would throw off Endymion as well as give him a clearer path to freedom.
After an eternity of shoving and darkness and stairs, a beautiful rectangle of light appeared in front of them. Stealth Claw was shoved again, this time into a dimly lit hallway. This hall was lined with doors, and they soon stopped at one.
"This will hold him for now?" Endymion asked Hawkins.
"I think. It's an old lab, but it's got a thick door. As long as we keep two guards, it shouldn't be a problem," Hawkins replied as he pushed open the door. A dilapidated white room appeared before them. Already, Stealth Claw could see at least three exits. It would be far too easy to just have them lock him up and then slip away unnoticed.
Before either of the three hunters could continue their shoving spree any longer, Stealth Claw's gauntlet blades sprung to life, shredding the restraints. In the next instant, his serrated claws were out and tearing through one of the Maverick Hunters' necks. He turned invisible just as Endymion slashed his blades forward, missing his head by a few short inches.
Stealth Claw leapt off into the darkness, leaving his two surprised captors in front of the open door and dead hunter.
This wasn't fun, Pyre Mystic decided. The Lifesaver (whom she was still apprehensive of) had told her to stay inside the med lab after the lockdown had started. The minutes crawled by, minutes spent in total darkness. Mystic couldn't stand sitting down, let alone sitting down with nothing to play around with. So, finally, she decided to take a tour of the HQ. If Mystic weren't as scatterbrained as she was, then she would have realized that a tour around a building in the midst of a lockdown wasn't the safest idea. But then again, Mystic would prefer death over boredom anyway.
With a tiny flame in her palm to light the way, Pyre Mystic fumbled around the med lab until she felt the handle of the door. She opened it with painstaking care, not wanting to bring down the wrath of the Lifesaver on her, wherever he was. To her annoyance, the room she emerged into was exactly the same as the one she had come from. Picking up the pace, she made her way down the hall and through the door on the other side.
After a thoroughly boring series of corridors and waiting rooms, Mystic emerged in the lobby, a large room extending out from the main building. What appeared to be a skylight covered the vaulted ceiling, but it was covered with a heavy blast door now. The only interesting thing in the lobby was a door on the other side of the room marked 'Authorized Personnel Only' in bold, unfriendly letters. Beneath it, a considerably smaller high voltage warning told Mystic everything she needed to know.
Turning the old-fashioned doorknob, she found herself at the peak of a flight of stairs that descended down into total darkness. With her palm to light the way, she made her way down and into exactly what she had predicted. Pyre Mystic had reached Cain Laboratories' main generator. Stumbling through the dank basement, looking at all the different computers and panels on the walls, she finally found what she was looking for.
'Manual Lockdown Override' the label said, and beneath it sat a perfectly harmless little switch. Mystic grinned. Just because she had to lay low didn't mean she couldn't help her comrades from the inside.
"Hey, Captain!" Stealth Claw heard from around the corner. It was Hawkins.
"What?" Endymion responded.
"I was goin' down to my girlfriend the other day, and I said to her-"
"I don't want to hear it, Hawkins," Endymion growled.
"But it's a good one, sir! Billy loved it."
"I'm not Billy. Now, get moving before I silence you myself." Endymion commanded. A humble 'Sorry, sir' could be heard echoing down the hall.
Stealth Claw waited patiently as Hawkins rounded the corner, and smiled wickedly when he found that the hunter was oblivious to his presence. He waited, and waited, and waited as the small humanoid made his way down the hall at a pace that could be easily outdone by a one-legged turtle. Claw growled in impatience, and Hawkins's head snapped up. Cursing at himself, Claw decided that now was as good a time as any.
He dropped from the ceiling, an invisible ripple. Hawkins whipped his automatic rifle about wildly, not knowing where to shoot. A moment later, the ripple in the air caught him, and thrust its claws through his chest. He gave a cry of alarm before Claw slashed his throat, silencing him forever. The tall feline grabbed him by the ankle and dragged him into a lab on his right. For a moment, Claw entertained the thought of skinning him and hanging him up on the ceiling to freak out his pursuers, but he soon realized that there wouldn't be time for that. Already, he could hear Endymion's muffled footsteps pounding down the hall outside.
Stealth Claw was prepped to leap out the door and slash the silver hunter to ribbons, but something else happened that completely distracted his attention. The blast doors that had covered the windows on the other side of the hall began lifting, letting in hazy moonlight. Endymion's footsteps slowed as well. Apparently, this wasn't supposed to be happening.
Manual override has been activated. Lockdown disengaged. Have a wonderful day! The PA system chimed in. Stealth Claw was confused, but he knew a golden opportunity when he saw one. He ran out of the lab, and was nearly within arm's reach of the nearest window when Endymion slammed into him and they both skidded down the hall. The silver hunter stabbed his free hand down, but Claw twisted out of the way and lashed his claws across Endymion's face. The hunter didn't cry out, but was momentarily stunned nonetheless.
Claw pressed a booted foot on his chest and pushed him off. The silver hunter's camouflage was shorting out, and now Stealth Claw could see his enemy, charging at him with blood flowing down his unreadable face. He was too late. Stealth Claw pounced into the window, blowing it to pieces and flinging crystalline shards into the night air. Not a moment after him, he heard another window break. That damn hunter was following him!
Claw suddenly realized something. He was falling straight toward the lobby. The lobby, and the skylight. You've gotta be kidding me, he thought as he plummeted ever closer. As he looked back, he could see Endymion catching up to him. He's more aerodynamic than I am. Shit, shit, shit shit shit! As he crashed through the skylight and landed with a heavy thump on the foyer, Endymion landed directly on his back. He felt pistons and gears crack under the massive pressure, and he was thrust into the ground as a dull pain rocketed through his body and his camouflage cut out.
He wasn't done yet. He rolled over, forcing the Maverick Hunter off of him as he hobbled to his feet. Endymion grabbed his tail, and he kicked the hunter in his still-bleeding face. He grunted and staggered back, while Claw took the opportunity to make a mad dash for the door, barreling over a Lifesaver on his way. However, as he looked up, he saw something that made his proverbial heart stop. Pyre Mystic stood in front of the door, looking first at the Lifesaver, and then at him.
Recognition and fear clouded her beautiful face, and he skidded to a halt so as not to run her over. He was about to call out to her, but a cold blade found its way into his chest from behind. Claw could almost see the triumphant grin on Endymion's face. Mystic's fear evolved into absolute horror, and desperately she flicked her wrist toward a potted plant behind them. It exploded, and Endymion whirled around to discover the source.
Claw kicked him with all the force he could muster, dislodging the blade and sending him sprawling into the confused Lifesaver. He stumbled forward, flashing Mystic a grin. Picking up speed, he brushed past her and kicked open the door. Before he left, he looked back and whispered, "Meet you at the usual?" She nodded wordlessly, and with that Stealth Claw disappeared into the night.
Pyre Mystic looked back at the Maverick Hunter who had stabbed Stealth Claw, and found that he was now rushing for the door. She pretended to trip (rather poorly) and stumbled into him, effectively shoving him away from his destination.
"Outta the way!" the hunter roared, and he flung her across the room. Soon, he too disappeared into the darkness. Mystic lay where she had fallen, breathing heavily. She prayed to any god willing to listen that she had stalled him enough. Moments later, the silver Maverick Hunter re-emerged from the doorway. A flicker of rage crossed his badly cut face, and then subsided into something akin to surprise. He finally realized who it was that had pushed him out of the way.
"You're the one Zero saved," the hunter said, in measured, controlled breaths.
"Yeah," Mystic responded. "My friends call me Mystic."
"And what do your enemies call you?" The silver hunter said, with more than a bit of malice tinting his voice. She gulped, trying to swallow her terror. Did he already figure it out? She found herself unable to respond. "Captain Endymion," he stated. "You'll be hearing from me again." With that, he calmly walked off to one of the lobby's elevators. Trembling, Mystic stood. She had an appointment to keep.
An hour later, after emerging from a taxi, she stood before an extremely old apartment complex. She scanned the roof, looking for any sign of Stealth Claw, but she saw nothing. Had something happened to him? The sound of voices startled her, but it was only a couple walking down the sidewalk. An odd couple, but they were harmless. At least, until the man said the word 'maverick'.
Mystic darted into an alley, and watched the two. Did they know about her, too? The brown-haired man exuded a kind of roguish confidence, and the dark-eyed woman with him seemed to possess a kind of strength that no ordinary woman had. They were definitely Maverick Hunters. Mystic held her breath. Paranoid! She berated herself. You're just being paranoid! All this undercover stuff is getting to your head! As she heard them enter the building, she grabbed a ladder on the fire escape and began to climb.
Reaching the top brought back a bitter flood of memories. This was the spot where Claw had first found her, where he had taken her back to the mavericks. She remembered him sitting atop the large blank billboard, just like...
Just like he was now. "Hey, babe," he said off-handedly. Sliding to the ground, he hobbled over to her, where she immediately crushed him in a hug of epic proportions.
"You stupid kitty," She said, her voice muffled by his fur. "I thought you were done for."
"I know," Claw replied, resting a hand on her head. "I did too. If it weren't for you, I would be."
"You were the one that set off the lockdown?"
He nodded. "And you were the one that turned it off?" She nodded as well. "Then that's two I owe ya."
"You don't owe me anything," Mystic replied. "You gave me a home. I don't think I can ever pay you back for that."
"You're giving it one hell of a try," Claw said lightly, gingerly sitting on the ground. She began to sit in his lap, but he gently pushed her off. "Not now, babe. I'm hurting in places that I don't have a name for." Giving him a mock-hurt expression, she sat down beside him. Claw began sifting through his thoughts, trying to make some sort of order out of them as he snaked his tail around Mystic's waist. Finally, he knew what he wanted to say.
"I don't like this plan of Diamond's," he said grimly. "I just can't stand thinking of you with someone else, even if you're just trying to kill him."
"I'm really sorry, Claw," she soothed, scratching behind his right ear. "I have to do this. It's the only useful thing I can do for the Purifiers. Besides, think of how much safer the world will be without Zero."
"You just want to know what it's like to be with one of your own kind, don't you?" He said, trying to keep his voice from sounding too accusing.
"No!" Mystic said instantly. "That's not it at all. It's just that Sigma and the Purifiers..." she stopped momentarily. "Well, the Purifiers have been really nice to me. I wanna start carrying my own weight for once."
"Are you sure?" Claw prodded. "Because I'd get a human chassis in a heartbeat if you wanted-"
"Hey!" She interjected, tugging on the ear she had so recently been pampering. "It's not about what I want, because I want you to be happy."
"Well, then we've got a problem, because that's exactly what I want. If all we want is for each other to be happy, we're just gonna keep going in circles like this."
"What am I gonna do with you?"
"You could scratch me some more. I liked that." She resumed scratching behind his ear, earning a content purr from deep inside him.
"Love?" She called to him.
"Yeah?" He answered.
"Why aren't you like the other Purifiers? You don't have that freaky glow in your eyes, and you act...well, normal."
"Tough question...and I don't really know. I think the virus is being rejected by my systems, or something like that. It's been happening to a lot of people lately. I think the virus is finally starting to die out," Claw said hopefully.
"Isn't that a bad thing?"
"Not really. Sure, we might not get as many people to join our side, but we'll still have people like you and me, people who believe in our cause simply because we know it's right."
"But...didn't you used to work for the NTDA?"
"That was back when I thought I was alone, when I thought there was nothing I could do about the humans."
"It's not hard to see what the humans are doing to this planet. I'm sure there were others like you."
"Yeah, there were. That's what got me into the Purifiers." He finished, and Mystic rested her head lazily on his shoulder armor. However, no matter how much she tried, she couldn't get the silver Maverick Hunter and his accusing gaze out of her mind. She had taken too big a risk. He knew. He at least had a vague idea, and vague ideas always manifested into more than just that.
End of Chapter 24
AN: Hopefully there's some action to tide you over after all the talking. Things are going to start picking up, and Malakai is coming back into play soon (for all those people wondering where he went). Also, I'm going to go into more detail on how Drake died, I just thought I'd give you all a teaser there. I fixed the last surviving Thoth, too (thanks again, Ri2). 14 days of school left, so that means A: You probably won't get any more chapters from me until after that, and B: After that, you can expect a massive boom in chapter production. After all, that's what summer's for.