A/N: Due to some decisions, I decided to remove Yugioh GX so I won't receive some backlash from Yugioh fans who hated GX (Save for some who liked GX) and decided to replace it with Haruhi Suzumiya. So without further ado, here is Chapter 37 and part 2 of the Chill Penguin Redux.
Chapter 37: Chill Penguin Redux: Part 2 of 2: The Bonds of Friendship: Our Determination to Fight
"It can't be… You two are alive?!" Ling gasped in shock.
"Cecilia, Ling. You know these two girls?" X asked Ling and Cecilia.
"Yes." Cecilia nodded. "Tatenashi is the IS representative of Russia while her sister, Kan-chan is the representative of Japan. They're two of our closest friends. We thought they were killed during the Phantom Virus Tragedy!" Cecilia gasped in shock and wondering how did two of their closest friends survive the tragedy of 2035.
"How do you know us, human scum?" Kanzashi asked coldly as she readies her sword.
"Yeah! There's no way we would be acquainted with inferior humans like yourselves!" Tatenashi nodded in agreement as she pointed her spear at our heroes.
"W-What are you two talking about?" Silica blinked in fear as she took a step back.
"Kan-chan! Tatenashi! Don't you remember us?! It's us, Ling and Cecilia!" Ling reasoned with them.
"We keep telling you, we don't remember being acquainted with pathetic disgusting humans such as yourselves!" Kanzashi frowned as she slams her sword down on them, forcing the gang to scatter.
"What's with you two?!" Kirie growled as she glared at the Sarashiki sisters. "Is that any way to greet old friends who thought you two were dead?!" Kirie received silence from the Sarashiki sisters. "That's it! I'll knock you two senseless if you keep continuing to ignore our questions!" With an Amazon war cry, Kirie charged at Tatenashi who smirked as she directly gave Kirie a lower punch in the chest, making her spit saliva in pain and before doing an air kick that send her flying towards her friends a bit, knocking her out for the rest of the fight.
"K-Kirie-chan!" Yukinari gasped in alarm.
"What's going on?!" Leafa panicked as she readies her katana, the SAO players readied their weapons. "Who are those two girls attacking us?!"
"I don't know…" Kirito frowned as he readies his duel swords. "But somehow, Ling and her friend knows them, so they must be acquainted as friends."
"Why?" Cecilia demanded with a despondent frown. "We fought the Phantom Task together before the Phantom Virus Tragedy!" She switched to her RepArmor and got ready for battle.
"Our orders by our master is to eliminate you three and ensure the Mavericks' success of the hacking of the Mother Computer." Tatenashi grinned darkly as she slams her spear down to make a stand.
"We don't have to do this!" X protested as he readies his X-Buster. Sinon noticed his choice of weapon.
"X… Where's your sword? Don't you have one?" She questioned him.
"This is my weapon, it shoots energy shots from it." X explained to her.
"So it's like my shooting skill?" Sinon blinked and almost drooled at the thought of using a weapon you transform your hand into. "So you earned my trust a little bit more." She acknowledged.
"Thanks. Now where was I?" X turned to the Sarashiki sisters. "We don't have to do this! Aren't you two and Ling and Cecilia friends? Why don't you remember them?" X demanded.
"We don't acquaint ourselves with human lovers such as yourselves, now die!" Tatenashi yelled out as she leaped up and slams her spear down towards Silica and Pina who panicked and dodge rolled out of the way.
"Please don't do this!" Koyomi panicked as Kanzashi charged towards her with her great sword ready. However, Asuna got in the way and blocked Kanzashi with her rapier.
"You're not bad for a SAO player who is now trapped in the Mother Computer…" Kanzashi frowned as she swings her sword after swing, Asuna used her reaction time moves to leap over the swings.
Asuna shouted out "Streak!" And she slashed Kanzashi one time with a powerful slash from her rapier.
"Upper Swing!" Liz shouted out her Battle Skill as she swung her mace at Kanzashi two time, but she blocked them two times and swung her sword vertically at her, forcing her to back flip out of the way. 'Shoot, that girl is stronger than she looks!' Liz gulped as Kanzashi charged at Liz and Liz was forced to duck and cover over the swings of Kanzashi's sword.
Tatenashi made her spear spin like a drill. "Now then… Time for an extreme tickling lesson!" Before she can attack, she was hit in the back. Growling, she turned to see Strea with her great sword smiling.
"My, aren't you and your sister the friendly bunch?" Strea lifted her great sword, still smiling cheerfully.
"So you're Strea, huh?" Tatenshi smirked darkly. "Our master has special plans for you." Kirito and Ling got beside Strea.
"Tatenshi! Why?! Who is ordering you to do this?!" Ling cried out, trying to get through to her friend whom she thought was dead back in 2035.
"I'll give you a hint… He's someone you defeated two times in a row and foiled his plans for omniversal domination." Tatenshi mocked as she and Kirito clashed weapons for about 4 minutes until Kirito got the upper hand and used Countless Spike to give Tatenashi some heavy damage.
Before Kanzashi can hit Liz, she was hit in the back by magical bullets. Frowning to herself, she turned to see Tomoka with her hammer drawn.
"Now you'll face me, the great Tomoka Lana Jude!" Tomoka gave out her cheesy laugh before Tatenashi fired beam shots at her, causing a explosion which made Tomoka screamed in alarm and slam into a igloo.
"You talk too much…" Tatenashi frowned before she and Kirito clashed weapons for about 5 minutes. X decided to join in by firing Buster shots at Tatenashi five times.
"Switching to Light Armor!" X proclaimed as he switched to the Light Armor.
Silica and Pina were amazed by X's sudden change in armor. "X-kun! That's amazing!" Silica noticed Kanzashi running towards her. "Oh no!" Luckily, X warped in and got in front of her and blocked the blade with his hand. X let out a yell as he pushed the blade back and gave Kanzashi a leg sweep, knocking her to the ground.
Tatenashi noticed her sister on the ground and she lunged at X, intending to impale him with her spear. Sinon fired arrows from her bow, giving Tatenashi some medium damage. Next, Asuna leaped up and thrusts her rapier 10 times at the Sarashiki sisters, giving them some heavy damage.
The Sarashiki sisters panted heavily as the gang aimed their weapons at them. Kanzashi frowned deeper and has her back turned. "This isn't over, MegaMan X and IS pilots. We shall return to finish the job…" Kanzashi stated coldly as she and her sister warped out of sight.
"Kan-chan… Tatenashi-chan…" Ling lowered her head despondently. X walked up to Ling and Cecilia with concern on his features.
"You know those two, do you? The four of you must be really closed." X asked out of pity.
"Yeah… They too, were competing to win the love of Ichika. When the Phantom Task released that virus and were killed by it, we thought the Sarashiki sisters were killed by the virus, but…" Cecilia stopped to think about it.
"Could Kan-chan and Tatenashi have type S blood like we do and survived the virus, but were placed in a coma because of it?" Ling wondered.
"That has to be it." Cecilia nodded as she pounded her fist on her hand. "They too were placed in cryosleep because of the virus, but they weren't in the IS Academy where X found us 66 years later…"
"Maybe your two friends were secretly placed in a hidden area away from enemy eyes?" Leafa guessed. "I seen it a lot in movies and TV shows, so that has to be the logical reason."
"Um…" Miharu looked around carefully. "Will those two scary people be back to fight us?"
"It's a high possibility." X nodded, but with determination said "But I will do whatever it takes to free them from their master's control and remember their friends from 2035. I promised, Ling and Cecilia that I will save the Sarashiki sisters from whoever is controlling them." X told them.
"T-Thank you, X…" Ling sniffled as she gave X a hug.
"I see where this is going…" Sinon smirked teasingly. "You're the dense harem lead type."
"W-What?" X stuttered as he looked at Sinon with confusion. "It's not funny teasing me like that."
"Yep, Sinon is right… He sure is dense." Liz sighed as she shook her head.
"Let's move on, shall we?" Kirito smiled nervously, trying to change the subject.
"I agree as well." Phillia agreed, so did everyone else as they pressed forward through the Data Snow Base.
For the first time in their lives, the SAO players discovered and fought with Mavericks. Thanks to X, Ling and Cecilia's way of handling Mavericks, the SAO players managed to protect the Girls Bravo gang from the Mavericks and they pressed forward. X, Ling and Cecilia took a trip down memory lane while travesing through the Data Snow Base. They fought Mavericks who ride in Ride Armors and have to teach the SAO players how to handle those types of Mavericks, they succeeded and pressed forward until they reached the door leading to Chill Penguin's lair.
The gang stared at the door. Phillia turned to X and the two IS girls. "This is where the Maverick General is?"
"Yeah…" Ling nodded. "His name is Chill Penguin and he has the element of ice. We know how to deal with a Maverick like him before. Plus, he was the first Maverick General we fought during the first Maverick War."
"Hmm…" Kirito scratched his chin in thought.
"What is it, Kirito-kun?" Asuna asked him out of curiosity.
"…It's best if we inform the Assault Team about Chill Penguin. That way, we can outnumber him with everyone." Kirito suggested.
"Are you sure about this, Kirito?" Cecilia questioned him. "We defeated him twice back in the first Maverick War, so we know how to handle him."
"True, but won't it be better if we increase our numbers? Plus, we need to inform the Assault Team that we're no longer in our dimension and SAO has merged with your dimension's cyberworld. There's strength in numbers as they always say." Kirito suggested.
"I agree with Kirito's suggestion. The more of us, the faster it will be done. So let's head back to town." X suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement as they headed back to town to inform more SAO players about Chill Penguin's lair.
(One hour later…)
"I see…" Agil nodded in understanding when X and company told him and Klein's guild about Chill Penguin's lair. "So if we defeat these four Maverick Generals that guard the regions of this merger world, it will fix the Mother Computer and set SAO to be cleared when it detaches from the Mother Computer's world?"
"That's about the size of it, Agil." Kirito nodded. "Asuna has already begun to inform everyone that we're not in our dimension anymore and the situation at hand."
"Hmm… How tough can this Chill Penguin guy be anyway?" Klein asked, scratching his chin.
"Don't underestimate Chill Penguin." X warned. "He has the power of ice and we know how to deal with a Maverick like him. So it would be best if we lead the Assault on his lair."
"Something tells me Chill Penguin is not going to be easy…" Yukinari sighed in exhaustion.
"Don't worry about it, Yukinari-san." Miharu closed her eyes and smiled. "Maybe some food will cheer us up?"
"You're thinking about food at a time like this?" Kirie face faulted. Tomoka was pouting, Kirie noticed this and asked "What's wrong, Tomoka?"
"Those Sarashiki sisters made a fool out of Tomoka the first time, but I won't let them beat me again!" Tomoka declared. Everyone else except for Sinon sweat dropped.
"Hey, where's Strea?" Ling asked, looking around for their friend.
"She disappeared like always. So it'll be time for the operation to begin." Kirito told her. Asuna walked in with a smile.
"Okay. I informed everyone of the situation at hand." Asuna explained.
"And?" Cecilia quipped uneasily.
"They were confused at first, but they understand now. So we're heading off to Chill Penguin's lair in about 10 minutes. Make sure you double checked your equipment before the operation." Asuna began.
"Alright, let's do this, everyone!" X declared.
"Yeah!" Everyone cheered.
(10 minutes later…)
X-Squad, Kirito's group and a guild were standing in front of Chill Penguin's door. Asuna stood behind the door with a serious frown. "Everyone, I have one thing to say…" Everyone was silent for about a minute until Asuna spoke out "Let's fix the Mother Computer and go back home alive!" Everyone nodded in agreement as they entered through the door and found themselves in Chill Penguin's lair.
"What is this place?" A heavy axeman SAO player muttered in awe. Suddenly, they heard:
"So you finally made it…" Everyone looked up to see Chill Penguin sitting on an ice sculpture. He leaped off the statue and smirked at everyone. "Long time no see, MegaMan X and IS Pilots. It's time I pay you back for the defeats you given me back in the real world!"
The SAO players and Girls Bravo gang looked at Chill Penguin. Silica gasped in shock. "T-That's Chill Penguin?! But he looks like a robotic penguin of some sort!"
"Are you mocking me?!" Chill Penguin growled in anger, an anger vein appeared on his head. "I was one of the Maverick Generals who served Lord Sigma! Now I will destroy X and his friends! Starting with you!"
"This penguin has a loud mouth…" Liz frowned as she charged forward, screaming out "Let's taped it shut! Strike Heart!" She smashed Chill Penguin 3 times with her mace, making him recoil.
"Ow! Why you little rotten human! Take this!" Chill Penguin shoot ice shots at everyone, they dodged it. Two heavy axemen SAO players swung their axes at Chill Penguin, giving him some medium damage. Chill Penguin retaliated by firing ice shots from his beak, giving them some small damage.
"Take this, you foul robotic penguin we defeated two times in the past!" Cecilia declared as she fired Buster shots at Chill Penguin, giving him some medium damage.
"Locus Hexedra!" Kirito shouted out his battle skill as he used his duel swords to slash Chill Penguin 7 times.
"Why you! You won't get away with this one!" Chill Penguin growled as he made ice statues and kicks them at the gang, forcing them to dodge out of the way, Ling was hit by one of them.
"Oh that tears it! It's time I give you another beat down, Chill Penguin!" Ling declared as she charged in and punched and kicked the Maverick General five times.
"Can you handle this?!" Chill Penguin taunted as he leaped up and used the lever trick, making an icy wind appear.
"Ugh! It's so cold!" Leafa gawked as she shivered.
"No good! The wind is pushing us back!" A female SAO swordswoman grunted as she and her guild struggled to get through the wind.
"Let me handle this!" X struggled his hand up and fired a level 3 charged shot from his X-Buster, knocking Chill Penguin from the lever and landing him on the ground.
"Take this! Hi Ougi!" Leafa declared as she slashed Chill Penguin 3 times with her katana. (A/N: If you don't get it, Hi-Ougi is the Japanese name for the Tales series' Mystic Artes. Kudos to Bandai Namco for referring it in Hollow Fragment.)
"Watch out for Chill Penguin's chilly breath!" X warned as Chill Penguin did said attack, but the gang dodged it.
"Penetrate!" Asuna yelled out her battle skill as she thrust her rapier at Chill Penguin 3 times, giving him some medium size damage. Chill Penguin slid on his belly and tried to ram into Silica, but X managed to get her out of harm's way.
"You alright, Silica?" X asked her while checking for wounds. Silica blushed madly.
"Y-Yes! Thank you very much, X-kun." Silica stuttered shyly as X puts her down and fired Buster shots at Chill Penguin, giving him some medium damage.
"You're really getting on my nerves, you dumb penguin!" Kirie growled as she leaped up and slams her foot down on Chill Penguin's chest, giving him some large doses of damage. Two swordsmen swoop in and slashed Chill Penguin five times with their swords. Chill Penguin tried to do the lever trick again, but was stopped by Cecilia's Buster Shots.
"Darn it!" Chill Penguin snarled before he noticed X charging up his X-Buster. "Oh not again!" He gawked.
"Chill Penguin! Go back to the scrap yard where you belong! And stay there this time!" X let out a heroic scream as he fired the powerful Charged Shot at Chill Penguin, it drilled through the evil Maverick General and he screamed in agony as he exploded, reduced to scrap metal. X walked up to one of Chill Penguin's remains and touched a piece. He got Chill Penguin's weapon again and fired the shot at the wall, surprising Kirito's group, the Girls Bravo gang and the guild.
"We did it! We beat the first Maverick General!" Silica cheered.
"Yeah. So there's only three left, right?" Sinon smiled softly.
"We're on a good start here." Yukinari smiled softly.
"Yes. Let's go home and rest for a while before the next mission." X smiled softly.
"Can't argue with that." Ling grinned toothly.
'Don't worry, Kan-chan and Tatenashi, we'll save you two and save three of our friends from their nightmares!' Cecilia smiled with confidence as everyone left the base and returned to town.
(Meanwhile… in a unknown location…)
A Reploid boy who looks like Middy, but is purple and white was typing in some data and he was observing X and his friends' victory over Data Chill Penguin. "It seems the Maverick Hunters and their otherworldly friends have defeated the first of the four Data Maverick Generals." He frowned.
"Kekeke! It doesn't matter, we will be successful in the end!" Geemel crackled like a manic before turning to the Sarashiki sisters. "But, I wonder if they're doing their jobs probably. Lord Sigma found those two girls to counter the Maverick Whisperers." He frowned.
"Doesn't matter. We made four allies in the merger world that has the SAO MMORPG cyberworld and the Mother Computer cyberworld… But I'm getting bored around here…" Zain complained. Suddenly, Sigma, still in shadows appeared on the screen.
"Zain… I want you to confront the Maverick Hunters and their allies at the central area of the Mother Computer once they defeated the three remaining Data Maverick Generals. Meddy will provide support." He ordered.
"About time. I was getting bored anyways. X and his friends will provide me the challenge I need!" Zain smirked if he can even smirked as he went off to plug into the cyberworld.
"You are so wise, Lord Sigma." Meddy smirked darkly. "But what are you going to do about that girl, Strea? You are interested in her for some reason."
"Don't worry. I will make her realize her true enemies and regain her memory." Sigma laughed evilly.
To be continued…
Next chapter: Deal with the Devil: The Strongest Guild?! Dark Meeting Between Strea and Sigma!
A/N: Uh oh. What does Sigma want with poor Strea? Anyway, next chapter will be Alberich and his humiliating first defeat by X and Kirito, and the dark meeting between Strea and Sigma. So see you there, MegaMan X fans.