Chapter 29: Crystal Snail: The Last Giga Capsule: They Call Her JACK!


That night, a 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray was speeding down the streets. A woman was driving this old kind of vehicle. She has long blond hair, and is wearing a cowboy hat, denim shorts and a tank top. She surveyed the humans and Reploids walking down the sidewalks of the city.

'This dimension is interesting, to say the least…' The woman though to herself. This woman is JACK, but her real name is Janis Alectos Carotenas Karinato, an ace CIA agent. She secretly arrived in this dimension with the help of the Catians because she was asked by the CIA to accompany the Catians to this dimension to established peace treaties with the people of this dimension. She never knew this dimension has advanced robots that act and think like human beings. To be honest, ever since she helped defeat the Dogsians, she was bored out of her mind with just doing routine missions, so this dimension is the perfect place to try out the foods.

However, she spotted some familiar people walking down the streets. It was her former apprentice, Manami Kinjou along with her friends, the Catian Eris, the boy Kio Kakazu, and Aoi Futaba along with three unfamiliar people, but the most notable of them is a girl who wore ancient Japanese clothes and a man about Kio's age wearing blue armor.

'Hmm… Manami and her friends are here in this dimension as well? Who are the strange people with them? I know it doesn't feel right, but I got to follow them and give them a hello. I haven't seen them since the final battle with the Dogsians.' JACK smiled to herself as she silently followed Manami and her friends to X Estate. To her surprise, X Estate looks like the one from Jessie. She waited until Manami and her friends entered the building for about 30 seconds. She parked her car in the parking lot and placed a protective barrier around it so nobody can attempt to hotwired it and take it for a joy ride.

She entered the lobby and walked up to the bellhop. "Excuse me?"

"Yes? May I help you?" The bellhop responded.

"Yes, what room are those 7 people staying in? They have two people that has blue armor and wore outdated clothes." JACK asked politely.

"Oh, you mean X? Why X is the reason Reploids are created because he is the last creation of the good hearted Dr. Thomas Light. Are you a friend of his?" The bellhop smiled.

"Well, I know the four people with this X guy. I wanted to say hi to them. Can you show me where they are?" JACK smiled softly again.

"Right away, Miss…" The bellhop stopped, feeling a bit rude that he doesn't know JACK's name.

"It's JACK." JACK told him.

"Right, Miss JACK. If you take the elevator to the penthouse, you'll find them." The bellhop instructed.

"Thank you." JACK nodded as she took the elevator up to the penthouse.


As she exited the elevator, she noticed the Assist-Roids cleaning the place while X and the gang were chatting and eating some sweets, well X can't eat since he's a Reploid. She noticed Manami and greeted "Heya Manami, long time no see."

"Eh?" Manami blinked as she looked up and gasped. "J-JACK-sensei!"

"Huh?" Charlotte blinked two times as she looked at JACK and then back at Manami. "You know this woman, Manami-chan?"

"Yes!" Manami nodded vigorously. "She was my mentor in the CIA before I became involved with the Catians. What's she doing here?"

"Well, let's just say I'm on a mission for both the CIA and Catians to explore this dimension and established peace treaties with the people of this dimension." JACK grinned.

"It's true." Qoone smiled softly. "Me and the CIA have given JACK this mission. I'm sorry I didn't tell all of you."

"No, you have your reasons. So it's okay." Kio told her with a smile.

"So your name is JACK?" X asked, looking at her. 'Why isn't she embarrassed wearing these type of clothes?' He thought to himself.

"Correct. But my real name is Janis Alectos Carotenas Karinato. JACK is just a code name." JACK smiled as she walked up to X. "So you're X, right? The reason Reploids are created?"

"Uh, yeah…" X nodded meekly. "So you and Manami know each other?"

"Yep. She was my apprentice in the CIA before the Catians arrived to my Earth. But let's not go into details. So they say you're the last creation of a kind hearted scientist named Thomas Light who can choose and think for himself."

"Y-Yes… Dr. Light was my creator who made me to choose and think for myself." X nodded.

"Ahem!" Cecilia cleared her throat, getting JACK's attention. She doesn't like JACK being closed to X. "We might as well tell you about what's going on in our dimension."

And so, X and the IS girls along with Momoko, Eris and their friends told JACK about what's happening, about how Sigma became the leader of the Mavericks, about how he started the first Maverick War to mass genocide all humans to make a omniverse for Reploids, how X and the IS girls along with others from other dimensions managed to stop Sigma from succeeding, and about the X-Hunters and how our heroes got all of Zero's parts back from the X-Hunters and how Momoko and her friends got to X and the IS girls' dimension.

"I think I get it now…" JACK smiled. "Your friend, Zero who sacrificed himself for your victory in the first Maverick War and he's currently being rebuilt after you acquired all of his parts? I got to admit, that takes guts to sacrifice yourself to save the world."

"Yes. And Zero is a hero for protecting his friends." Houki nodded with a smile.

"Still, you can't help but wonder who made Zero… Like how he was found in that lab where Sigma went Maverick?" Karin titled her head and thought about it.

"Well, we shouldn't worry about it too much. The important thing is that we got Zero's parts back and that's all that matters." X smiled cheerfully. Suddenly, the phone ranged. Cecilia walked up to it and answered it.

"Cecilia here, what is it?" She was talking to a Reploid navigator.

"Cecilia, we got big trouble at the crystal mines. A Maverick General named Crystal Snail has taken up residence there and is planning to have the Mavericks mine the crystals to strengthen their armor. You have to head there ASAP." The Reploid navigator told her.

"We understand. We'll head there right now." Cecilia has a serious expression as she hung up. She turned to the gang. "Looks like we got a new mission on the same day when we completed the Morph Moth mission."

"Then we must stop this Crystal Snail fella from causing any more havoc." Ringo stood up and clenched her fists. "We must go to the crystal mines, brave companions!"

"Ugh, can it wait until later?" Orihime moaned as she took a bite out of her dumpling.

"No, we have a job to do and we have to do it even if we completed a mission and came back home." Ling placed her hands on her hips and glared at Orihime.

"Fine, fine…" Orihime mumbled as she got up. "Let's go kick some Maverick butt…"


(Crystal Mines, 8:50 PM)


Our heroes teleported in the Crystal Mines. X got out his wrist computer and it showed a map of the area. "According to this reading, we can find Crystal Snail deep in the Energen Mine."

"Sounds easy enough. Let's go then." Manami smiled, but X raised his hand to stop her.

"Hold on, Manami. The floors of this mine are sometimes slippery, so we should watched out step. Otherwise, game over for us." X advised.

"Right, we better use our RepArmors to fly through the stage even if it is narrow." Laura suggested. X then got another reading. It was an odd one.

"Hold up. I detected another reading… It is of unknown origin…" X inspected the reading on his map.

"Wait, could it be another Light Capsule?" Cecilia gasped in alarm.

"Could be, we should navigate through the mines just to make sure." X suggested.

"Alright, X-Squad, move out!" Ling proclaimed. X sweat dropped.

'I thought I was the leader of our squad…' X thought to himself as our heroes began their trek through the area.

When they got to the first section, X's friends used their RepArmors to fly down the tunnel, avoiding the slippery crystal floors. X was nervous at first, but he manned up. "O-Okay… Here goes." X took a step on the floor and slipped, he yelled in surprise as he slid down the floor and jumped off the floor, landing near his friends. He walked up near the hole and looked down. He shuddered. "That could have been me." He sighed in relief.

"Well, you said it yourself, X. We need to be careful or else, game over." Charlotte closed her eyes and smiled.

"R-Right. Let's keep moving." X nodded timidly as our heroes continued on.

After navigating through the next section, they discovered Ride Armors. "Awesome, we can use the Ride Armors to navigate through the mines." Ling smiled energetically as she hopped into the Ride Armor and got it operational.

"Yeah. We might be able to get past some enemies with them." X nodded as everyone else hopped into the Ride Armors. Orihime has some trouble operating it, but after Houki taught her how to operate it, they pressed on.

They defeated a crystal robot with the Ride Armors and after discovering that their Ride Armors can't get past the crystal robot's room, they ditched their Ride Armors and pressed on.

As they walked down the next area, X's gem lights up and it traveled down a huge pit.

"Could that be where the Light Capsule is located in?" Laura wondered.

"Could be. Wait here, everyone." X issued as he jumped into the pit. He slid down the walls and discovered a secret passage, after destroying some Maverick Mechlanoids, he was pleased when he found a Light Capsule.

X walked up to the Capsule and the hologram of Dr. Light appeared. "Enter this capsule, X. It will give you a helmet module upgrade which can help locate hidden passageways. I pray that you put this helmet upgrade to good use." Dr. Light stated as his hologram disappeared. X entered the capsule and like always, light surrounded him and his blue helmet became white and yellow with his helmet gem becoming larger and orange.

"At long last, the Giga Armor is complete." X smiled as he inspected his complete Giga Armor set. "Those X-Hunters better watch out because I'm coming for them!" He wall climbed back up to his friends.

His friends saw X in the complete Giga Armor set. "Alright, the Giga Armor is now complete!" Karin smiled. "X, you look cute wearing it."

"Y-You think so?" X rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Uh… Thanks. Well, let's keep moving. We're bound to find Crystal Snail." Everyone nodded in agreement and they pressed forward.


The gang fought more Maverick Soldiers and Mechanaloids until they came across the same door leading to a Maverick General.

"We'll find Crystal Snail if we go through here…" Momoko frowned.

"Yeah. And he's not going down without a fight…" Maron frowned as she readies her mallet.

"Let's go, everyone!" X shouted esthetically.

"Roger!" Everyone acknowledged as they went through the doors and into the heart of the mines.

"Welcome, Maverick Hunters!" A voice laughed. The gang looked up to see Crystal Snail standing on a crystal pillar. With a grunt he jumped down from the pillar. "I am Crystal Snail, a Maverick General. This Energen Mine is under our control, so I will tear you limp from limp for trespassing!" He got into a battle stance.

"Oh yeah?! We'll see about that!" Orihime snarled as she leaped up and slams her kunai down on Crystal Snail. The Maverick General smirked as he retreated into his shell and Orihime hit it, making her shake rapidly with a shaking groan.

"Hmm… So he retreats into his shell when he is about to be attack… I got an idea." Maron motioned everyone to listen to her as she whispers the plan to them.

"…I getcha." Eris nodded as she loaded her advanced pistol. She pointed it at Crystal Snail.

"Hah! You gonna try to shoot me with that pistol, cat girl?! My shell is tough as iron!" Crystal Snail boasted with all his ego. Eris didn't respond as she fired at Crystal Snail who retreated back into his shell. But as soon as he got out, Crystal Snail was hit in the torso by Laura which knocked him into the wall. "W-What?! Why you…! That was a cheap shot!" Crystal Snail snarled as he fired crystal shards at our heroes, they dodged them.

Ling pounded her fists together as she gestures to Maron who nodded as she rushed forward and slams her mallet down on Crystal Snail, she missed him by an inch when he retreated back into his shell. That tricked him when Crystal Snail got out and Ling dashed in and punched and kicked Crystal Snail five times, knocking him into the wall.

Crystal Snail growled angrily as he leaped up and fling crystal shards at the gang, X was hit by it, but he fired two charged shots at Crystal Snail while he was in the air, damaging him moderately. Houki leaped up and slashed Crystal Snail five times with her katanas.

"Ow! Well then, try this on for size!" Crystal Snail yelled as he retreated into his shell and leaped up, the shell fired beams of light from top to bottom, forcing the gang to take cover behind some crystal pillars. When Crystal Snail got out of his shell, he was pelted with Cecilia-Buster shots by Cecilia herself, giving the Maverick General some small amounts of damage.

Charlotte spins her spear around and flew towards Crystal Snail who retreated back into his shell. Charlotte smirked as she flew up. When Crystal Snail got out of his shell, Charlotte reappeared in front of him and jabbed her spear at him six times, giving him some decent amounts of damage.

Crystal Snail flings more crystal shards at the gang, but Kio, Manami and Aoi fired more shots at Crystal Snail, giving him some small but moderate damage.

Crystal Snail cursed silently as he went into his shell and spins it around, attempting to ram into one of the heroes. He rammed into Karin who screamed in pain.

"Karin!" Suika gasped before glaring at Crystal Snail. The Maverick General flung more crystal shards at the Celestial Maiden of Wind who deflected them with her wind barrier and warped in front of him and slashed him five times with her weapon, knocking him into the wall again.

"Okay, now I'm mad!" Crystal Snail fumed furiously as he leaped up and spins around. The Hunters braced themselves for an attack, but for some reason, they feel slow for some reason.

"I feel… slow for some reason…" Charlotte moaned slowly as our heroes attempt to move, but they were slowing down.

"It must be…. Crystal Snail's… special move…" Cecilia groaned as Crystal Snail in normal speed landed on his feet.

"Hah! How do you like my special move, Hunters?! Now to finish you off slowly!" Crystal Snail charged up his attack.

'…I should use the Giga Crush to destroy him…' X thought to himself as he spread his arms and legs and at first, was running slow, but then suddenly, his speed picked up and return to normal as he let out a powerful scream.

"W-What the heck?!" Crystal Snail gawked as he stopped his attack. It seems whatever X is doing is cancelling the effects of Crystal Snail's special move.

"Hey! I can move again!" Ling gasped as she flex her fingers to see if they're moving again at normal speed.

"Look!" Kijigami pointed to X as everyone watched X unleashed a powerful bolt of energy at Crystal Snail, damaging him beyond repair!

"I-Impossible!" Crystal Snail screamed as he exploded, reduced to scrap metal. X walked up to Crystal Snail's remains and touched a piece. He pointed his X-Buster at the wall and fired the same attack that Crystal Snail used on them, the crystal light beam attack.

"X, that was amazing!" Ling giggled cheerfully as she tackle hugged X.

"Yeah, was it part of your Giga Armor's powers?" Kio nodded with a smile.

"Yeah." X nodded with a smile. "Dr. Light said to only use this attack in case of an emergency. I'm glad I did. I feel like I can use it again incase we're facing a tough foe next time."

"Well, I hope we don't encounter Crystal Snail again… His time slowing attack could spell the end of us!" Orihime stick her tongue in disgust.

"But now we have only one Maverick General to deal with and we'll take the fight to the X-Hunters themselves." Cecilia smiled with confidence.

"You're right, Cecilia." X nodded. "We got all of Zero's parts and have defeated or converted 7 Maverick Generals with two of the Maverick Generals on our side. So that leads one more to handle."

"Good, I'm tired anyway…" Sarugami yawned.

"Same here. Let's rest up for the next day." Orihime sighed exhaustedly.

X chuckled and then said "I agree. Let's head home everyone." With that said, everyone teleported out of the Energen Mines.

Only one Maverick General left and it'll be time to take the fight to the X-Hunters themselves.

To be continued…


Next chapter: Magna Centipede: Villain or Hero? Near the Second War's End

A/N: Only one Maverick General left until the final showdown, so stay tuned for more Mega updates.