"Hey X, is everything alright?" Axl asked the blue bomber as they finished chasing the maddened crab Mechaniloid away.
Oh, and as it turned out, X had a pair of delicate, gossamer wings now. And he could fly, His buster seemed to be more efficient against viral opponents, and his agility state had improved dramatically.
All in all, his so-called down-grade was a welcome breath of fresh air.
But this was not enough to take his mind away from Zero's uncharacteristic anxiety and the fear that filled his eyes instead of the usual love.
X looked back at his recruit; for once, it seemed Axl was a bit more aware of his mental state than at usual. "Yes, I am. I may have lost some hardware but, I'm still good enough to take down mavericks." He gave a smile he didn't really felt. "You won't replace me anytime soon, Axl."
"Dude, That's not what I meant," Axl spoke with a frown. "You didn't do the eye thingy with Zero."
'The eye th-... oh.' Before every mission, He and Zero would hold gaze for some time. It was their way of kissing without showing others.
Zero wasn't comfortable yet, even after all of those years. And X could not help but agree at his preferred level of privacy.
If their relationship ever reached the ears of the mavericks... it was one liability they didn't want to have.
But it made dealing with Layer and quite a few love-struck reploid a bit more complicated than it had any rights to.
"Love-"
X quickly shut Axl up by pressing his palm on his mouth, they were in enemy territory. [Axl... please, can we talk about it later?]
[No... since there may not be a later.] The youngster of the group informed the father of all reploids. [Listen, I know you and Zero are all lovey-dovey behind everyone's back.]
X's cheeks flushed.
[Dude, I'm a recon expert, I know how to read people... but I'll admit, though, you had me fooled for three years.] Axl gave his mentor a closed-eyes smile.
X released the redhead as he pushed onward. The crab Mechaniloid was still at large, and until its carcass could be brought back to Alia and Palette, the hunt was on.
[X, don't run away from your feelings.]
[I'm not running away, Axl, I'm just keeping something private, private.] He warned over the com. [Don't you dare spread this... not even to Layer.]
[Dude, you know my best girl's been running after your beau ever since he rescued her from this reploid trafficking ring, right?] Axl reminded his superior.
[I know... but she's well protected, unlike Zero or me.]
[Dude, Zero's just a scardey cat about it.]
[No, we just don't feel our state as a couple to be all that relevant to our mission.] X angrily shot back. He had no time for this!
[ Alright, you got a point there.] Axl conceded to X's great relief. [ So, what the hell happened between you and Zero?] The imp of the group asked, and X knew he would be hounded until he would speak up. [Is it about your new look and identity... Mapop?]
Hope... his name was hope.
[Yes...] X admitted; he knew that beyond the cave's door would be some more maverick to eliminate.
Well, no. What he called maverick really were just bodies, for the real living entities, the soul that slumbered inside this shell made of matter was invulnerable to everything. What X was doing was simply to destroy this shell with the identification and the karma of a killer.
Well... not all of them were killers. Some were just doing this to escape, while others were corrupted by the virus.
It seemed that the New-Gens were not as virus-proof as they tough.
Still, he had to move on... Those had chosen the path of war... and X, being a warrior, had a duty to perform. All in the name of Krishna pleasure...
It made it... more palatable. Still, he could not wait for the end of it.
[Axl, please do not stick your nose into this... Just move on..., and I'm still X.] X told his junior as he walked to the other room, thankfully filled with only Mechaniloids.
[Nah, I like Mapop better.] Axl grinned as he shot a swarm of bee-drones. [Lor-Nill-Mapop.]
X sighed; another maverick uprising was starting, this he knew... and now he had to deal with some alien, his own emerging identity, Zero's mood and now Axl making fun of him...
'Am I going through puberty now?' X wryly wondered as he zoomed down the hallway, his lighter frame letting the First and the Last more movement.
Eventually, X felt Zero's tag and sent Axl forward; he needed to talk with Zero more, for he knew his lover's newfound weariness would affect the two of them.
Entering Noah's park lab, X quickly made his way to Zero's location. The only splash of colour in the whole damn place.
And indeed, there was his long-time lover, taking a break as he munched on some pastries.
Zero immediately noticed X... and froze.
"Hey, Zee. It's just me." X greeted kindly as he walked toward the taller reploid. "Can't I sit beside you?" he asked.
"Yeah... Sure. I cleared up the place some times ago." The Blond reploid informed the crystal-blue being. Still somewhat awkward.
X sighed. "Good, I wouldn't mind a break." He gratefully spoke as he sat down. "I swear, this crab had a thing for Axl; he wouldn't leave him alone..." Thankfully, X, despite his new natural glow, had not been hit with the same intensity by the rogue machine targeting system.
"He's a flying target... those tend to be the first taken out." Zero stated, still not looking at X.
"Yeah, I know." X rubbed the sore spot where the tiny missile had struck him. "By the way, I can fly."
"Oh, that's... nice, I guess."
"Yeah... it's like I have the ultimate armour on, but without the drain, the clunky kibbles and some error message," He admitted. "I guess... me being an alien explain why no earth-based technologies would work well." And why he could only use his custom armours for a time before they became too corrupted for him to use.
Zero grunted, munching on yet another pastry. Still not looking at X.
"I have a pair of wigs now, too... like, fairy wings." X rubbed the back of his helmet. " Axl's already calling me Mapop on every occasion; what other name do you think he will give me now?" he asked his partner.
Zero didn't even look at him... and he had stopped his eating.
No... this wouldn't do.
"Say... Zero." X addressed his lover. Gently leaning to his side. "What are you eating?" he asked.
It looked like a deep-fried pastry, but instead of a sweet filling, it seemed to be filled with...
X had no ideas; he was not so knowledgeable about human food; this was Zero's department, shockingly enough.
"It's called a Samosa, it a fried savoury filled with spiced potatoes and peas." Zero explained curtly. Taking another bite of the treat, closing his eyes in bliss, despite the tension pulling his frame.
He was trying to act normal... it could have worked with everybody else but X.
"Oh, I see... and where did you find it?" X asked again, wanting to speak to his lifelong partner.
"Ah... Kamala gave me a metal box filled with food... and I got hungry." Zero admitted.
This caused X to chuckled. "yeah, Sound like you, Zero... always hungry, aren't you?"
A small smile pulled at his lover's lips. "I can't help it."
Before the lull became too great, X spoke again. "So? Is it good?"
Zero turned his ice-blue gaze back to X. "Wouldn't you like to know?" He shot back with a smirk.
"Yes, and this is why I ask!" X huffed as he pouted. " Zee, you get to eat delicious food all the time."
"Military rations are not delicious." Zero flatly informed his lover as he tried to suppress his smirk. "But... A samosa is." His smile broke out. Making X's core flutter anew.
"... could you... share the data with me?" X shyly asked.
Zero's face closed.
"Zee!"
Silence fell on the two quarrelling lovers.
"... Your afraid of me," X stated. "You don't think I'm the same one you fell in love with."
Zero didn't answer.
"Zero." X gently put his hand on the taller reploid's knee. "... You know, you can check my code. You can scan me completely if it can prove you... that I'm still me." X finished quietly as tears filled his eyes.
He hated seeing his Zero like that... and there was nothing he could do.
"... Do I need to give you access to my environment?" Zero asked wearily.
"No... It will be a one-way scan and." there, X's swallowed thickly. "Z... if you find something suspicious... Take action."
End me.
Zero vented deeply, popping the rest of the Samosa in his mouth. "Alright... my radars still not picking up anything other than some Mechaniloid, and Layer's gave me the go-ahead for radio silence." he dusted his hands before getting to his feet, X followed suit, his... heart about to burst out of his chest.
Both reploid stood in front of one another; mere inches separated them.
Zero put his gloved hands on X's shoulder pads and, after receiving yet another assurance that they were in was still clear, lowered his head until his blue head-gem touched X's red one.
The first android closed his eyes as he felt Zero enter him, muting his warning about an intruding Dark entity entering his systems.
This was Zero... and this was not the first time he had let his lover in.
Zero scanned each and every line of code X had. Every process, every bytes and bit... every glyph...
X shuddered at the ghost-like touch of his lover; cold, yet warm with an affection not many would experience, incredibly old, yet incredibly young when it came to love... and a desperate need for love and affection... both to have, but mostly to give.
As Zero navigated his crystal blue lover, X tried to send him as much love he could...
For it may be his last chance.
Then... Zero pulled back and pressed his lips to X's own in a chaste yet, sweet kiss. Properly embracing the love of his life as tightly as he dared.
"... I doubted you..." He breathed out. The tension melting away until only some slight tightness remained.
"It's alright..." X waved off, relieved that this episode of their daily drama did not last longer than necessary, especially with the mavericks now active again. The crystalline being wrapped his arms around his lover's thin waist. "I... I wasn't empathetic yesterday."
"Well... You were right about the fruits to be safe..." Zero admired with a painful sight, hiding his face in X's neck space."X... I'm sorry... I... I want to tell you why...but..."
"You're afraid of Kamala-Kanta." X deduced as he gazed at his partner's icy gaze. "And you were-"
"X... can we talk about it later?" Zero pleaded.
X paused... and sighed with a fond smile. "You know what... You don't have to tell me." the crystal blue bomber conceded. They may be lovers for over eighty years and as good as married, but even the sweetest of couples held the secret to one another.
And X knew that there was nothing wrong with that... as long as no one got hurt in the end.
"Let's just finish the mission and go home, shall we?"
Zero released more tension as he embraced his lover closer as if trying to meld their body together by cyber-osmosis. After a good minute, he released him. "Yeah... Better not let Axl wait too long, The Kids a wisecrack."
"Like you used to be?' X shot back as he walked toward the exit.
"Yeah..." Zero's face turned dour. "He better enjoy it while it lasts."
'Back at being grim.' X couldn't wait for the end of the war... when he could finally de-arm his frame and live a simple life with Zero...
Meanwhile, with the interstellar Vaishnava's.
"So, this is the settlement..." Dharadhara das hummed as he surveyed the vault door in the ground that gave the underground bunkers; he could feel the radiation and the dry-ish land under his feet.
Mangalananda and Lori were already on Magical decontamination duty. This place was now safe for whatever lived there, humans and otherwise.
They had set the canopy up, and Kamala had worked his magic and made enough sacred food to feed all the souls who called this place home. And with the help of the maverick hunters, had already fed more than 4,000 souls sacred food.
They still had enough to feed 11,000 and more.
The human beings had been scared and unsure at sight, but the moment Kamala began to act cute, whatever reservation they had melted.
And he could feel Bhumi-devi's sigh of relief at the touch of Krishna's pure devotee's lotus feet.
'Don't you worry about anything anymore, mother... we will dance you and get all yer kinks out.' The saintly King of Dreamland gently patted the most precious of planets in this tiny universe. She may be much older than him, but a mama always needed support, especially Dharani-Devi.
"So, how is she?" Madan-Mohan asked from the top of a boulder.
"Well, I heard other places are less calamitous but... this part of mother earth's aching. How 'bout you. Found more Vaishnavas?" Dhara anxiously asked the dark-blue knight.
The star warrior's eyes glowed blue before he closed them in rapture and a great bliss light Dharadhara's heart like a Gita verse filled with hope.
"I've managed to find a staggering amount of Vaishnava community around the earth. Nanda-gram, Nava-Vraja, new Vrindavan, Gita-Nagari, sharanagati, Nouvelle-Mayapur, and so many more are striving and healthy.'
A wide grin light Dhara's dace as he felt an anxious knot untie in his heart. 'Thank you, Krishna.' And how bout India?" He asked for it seemed their usual point of contact had disappeared from all radars, literally.
"India has cut herself off from the rest of the world, the Yogi's of old protecting her glorious land with their mystic power. Vrindavana..." Madan's voice hitched, not out of sadness but bliss. "Vraja is glorious, filled with cows, flowers and the Holy name of Radhe-Shyam. Govardhana hill is still there, if much smaller and Mayapur..." The holy knight shuddered as tears flooded his eyes. "Oh Dhara, we need to go there; the sun and moon of Nitai-Gaurachandra are bright and full; children play and run in her streets without any fears and care, all wearing cotton and silken dress. There are five Gurukulas the size of small villages in the campus alone, and even young girls are trained at the level of their male counterparts, their mother's the best of teachers..." The ancient knight removed his mask as he openly sobbed, his lips stretched in a beaming smile. "It's... it's the Sankirtana capital of the world, now fully bloomed. I have counted over ten types of humans, all under the victory flags on Pancha-Tattva and Prabhupada... I... I've never seen such a flawless victory in all my years."
Dharadhara Das approached the swooning warrior, embracing his long-time friend in his arms before he could fall from his perch.
"It's beautiful... and... and in every town and village, there are at least a hundred to a thousand congregational devotees... except were we are," Madan informed the king as he regained his equilibrium, happy that no one had seen his ecstasy. "Not that I am at all surprised, considering where we are located."
"Meaning?"
"Afghanistan."
Dharadhara das stared open-mouthed as his long-time friend. "You've gotta be kidding me, knight! Afghanistan?"
Madan-mohan shrugged. "I wish... but it seemed the result of centuries worth of cow slaughter, musder and lawless [politic has finally caught up with this batch of soul... all other places connected with those who persecuted the Devotees of the Lord adharma are in ruins."
"Ohhhh." Dhara shuddered as he prayed for all those poor souls. "Russia must be a crater as we speak."
"Oh no. Only Moscow and Pripyat. the Russian Vaishnava federation has twenty big temples, fourteen restaurants, five cow farms and thirty Vedic schools." Madan-Mohan reassured his king as he moved out of his loving embrace. "Apparently, Russia's reparation for the first generation was enough to pacify Krishna and prevent his Charka from mowing this part of the continent off."
"But Moscow still perished... same as all those places" Dhara closed his eyes. "And how 'bout America?"
"It depend, but the big cities of old are either inhabitable or filled with thiefs, murderes and raiders. what to say of the old cities like London, Rome, and Italy."
" Ah... let it be a lesson learn Madan; Don't kill, torture, hate or even frown to Krishna's dear Devotees. Yah won't survive."
Madan chuckled, his blue eyes never diminishing in their glow. The blue knight turned his glance to the Prasadam distribution area. Layer was navigating people toward any available sitting place, how many were fed, how many honoured Prasadam and how many were filled to the brim and Napping by Lori's generous shadow.
The purple-haired Reploid was glowing with bliss as she helped distribute God's mercy to those fortunate souls. Swaying at the Maha-Mantra that blasted out of Lori's onboard speakers.
Speaking of Lori, Mangalananda finally got to have a conversation with her, and the first thing his mage friend did was to profusely apologize to his ship-shaped daughter, now with a humanoid form.
She looked like X... but as a choir boy with a braid and a halo.
And after a brief explanation and... Yeah, so X also looked like a choir boy with a halo, and Lori had copied him. And she wanted to actively help, not just be the ride, the home and whatever else they needed with barely any awareness of what was going on.
The result was probably one of the quickest Prasadam distribution missions known to man.
And Dhara could not be happier about that.
"Why are you not helping the servers?" Madan-Mohan asked as he surveyed the horizon, his eyes changing colours.
'Hmm... blue boy two's on edge... better be too.' "Well, I was helping for the distribution when Layer let it slipped that ah was of royal blood... and I ain't that quick when it comes to dodging chunky Robo-feet, you know." Thank Krishna he took a dip in the fountain of dream. Otherwise, he would be pancaked.
"Ah... yes..." 'And Paramatma told you to be here for some other guest.' The heroic blue knight sent telepathically, confirming Dhara's divine hunch. He mentally reviewed where the rest of the star warriors were.
Kamala was entertaining the children with his dance and collections of pastimes, meaning the kids were all safe. Mangalananda and Lori were to the side, the mage using his magic to clear out more irradiated land for humans to use, and since Lori had regained her full sentience, she could also take full action.
And then there was Gandharva at the entrance of the Anakshetra, greeting guests in his inimitable way while taking their shoes, boots and whatever weapons they carried.
This was a place for peace, neither a raider's turf, a hunter's 'protected' land or maverick territory.
It was Dreamland's embassy on earth, and Dharadhara das would make sure his subject and esteemed guest would be well taken care of.
For they all belonged to his Gauranga and Nityananda, and those who belong to God were as good as their master.
'North-east, they think Gandhi's a weak slime.'
"Hah!" The servant-king of Dreamland openly scoffed at the motion. "Those poor fools are in for a bad time then."
"Indeed." Madan's smirk was clear in his voice. "Question is, should we make our presence know?"
"Hmm." Dharadhara rubbed his lower beak. "Well, if those are the gundas commander Signas and Layer told us about... If we show ourselves, but not our full power. They will underestimate us... but know Kamala and you, it ain't all that possible to hide your strength for long..."
"We can keep playing the role of a trump card, or we can expose ourselves and make a statement." Mandan-Mohan synthesis what Dhara had been thinking. "Both choices have their advantage and their disadvantage."
"We could also just stick to chant Hare Krishna and let the Lord take care of 'em."
"No, I'd rather not." Madan quickly shot it down. "Sri-Krishna is already doing so much for us... the least we can do is to serve Him as his weapons."
"I hear ya, Knight. And that would be quite a statement 'bout The Gaudia." Dhara barked in laughter. "Some of us take the path of renunciation, other,s of hard-working householders... we chose to be warriors."
"And it would be wrong of us to let those maverick destroy our Anakshetra and kill innocents." Madan reminded the king of dreamland.
"Bah, Kamal won't be needing our help." The rotund king stated as he took his hammer from its dedicated space. "But I wouldn't mind a lil'bit of action." And with that, he hopped on his awaiting wheely rider and drove to were Gandharva was staring at the distance, seemingly lost to the world.
But both knew that the gooey matter could feel the disturbances in the air.
In the distance, Dharadhara das could somehow perceive some specks in the distance...
He took his CB and contacted Mangalanada. "Mag, we've got-"
"Company, I know... Layer warned me that her fellow Navigator picked up some unknown sky-carries moving at our Location."
"Great! So... what's yer plan, Magi?"
"We wait until they make their first move. I would love to see if we can salvage something out of this situation."
"Alright, sound like a sound plan. Are the guest safe?"
"Dhara, you had to ask... you wound me."
"I take that you and Lori got everything under control then? Wonderful!" The king of dreamland closed his Radio and waved at Kamala.
The jiggly puffball with feet ran to the king of dreamland... just as a missile homed in on their position.
'So... they have chosen death.'
Layer gasped in horror as the explosive approached their location. she contacted all that were at the Anakshtra, knowing that it was already too late. "ALL UNITS, BRACE FOR IMMINENT MISSILE IMPACT. I REPEAT, BRACE FOR IMMINENT-"
"Why are you panicking so much, miss?" Lori dared to ask. "It's just a missile."
Layer stared at the Electronic Life-From. "Lori... It's a missile... A nuclear missile."
The X-like entity nodded. "Yes... So as long as Kamala won't copy it, we should be safe."
Once again, Layer stared at Ship's A.I... and realized that Kirby was here...
She remembered the ancient blog and the sheer power of the diminutive being, the star warrior of old who truly held unlimited power... and maximum pink.
Layer returned her attention back to the Anakshetra, the missile right upon them...
It was the only one sent, but considering its size, the maverick only needed one to get the job done.
That was until Kamala ate it...
Layer sucked in a breath... what power would Kirby get for it? 'It can't be bomb; it's too big for that... So either missile or Crash...'
She dearly hoped it was not Crash, since this ability equated to a nuclear explosion; layer had no idea how Kirby's ability would interact with... everything else.
Kirby began glowing, and when the light faded, The pink puffball wore a yellow hard hat with a red band around it.
The being of unlimited power glowed again, transforming into an adorable missile of his own...
And off he went, to the maverick Flotilla.
For her part, Layer could only stare in awe... and then burst into laughter as Kirby began taking down the maverick fleet.
"Oh, look... It's missile Kirby." She heard Meta Knight declare over the radio. And the purple-haired reploid laughter redoubled in strength.
An hour later, and all enemies ships were down for the count... as he had expected.
Madan would almost pity those fools for their poor choice, but, having made the same mistakes, Flying Tiger received what he had sown.
And yet, despite his cleared defeat, he was still roaring about how the maverick had already won.
"-And Sigma shall rain down on all of you his divine judgment from above!" He roared a fanatical glint dancing in her contaminated eyed. "Repent, sinners' it's not too late to accept redemption! Accept the gift of darkness and Rejoice in your freedom!"
Behind the Mav-grade glass from, in the specialized interrogation/execution room set for this effect. Signa's lips could not be pressed closer for fear of causing atoms to split.
A few minutes before, X and Zero had returned with some dire news; Lumine had been Kidnapped by Vile, and the Mavericks had taken over the Jacob orbital elevator.
And now this... Sigma was back.
The Commander in chief wished he could just call in a day now and file all those reports that had unfortunately piled on his desk. But alas, he had to prepare for yet another war.
He now understood why X so desperately wanted to quit and work with politicians, for he, Signas, would take dealing with politicians over Sigma too.
He looked back at Flying Tiger, maddened with the virus and poisoned by the Plague's ideal. They could try getting more out of him, but how he was ranting and raving about how his Lord, Sigma, would same give him a human soul and lead the reploids to a new future where humans would be slaves to the reploids and plenty more nonsense the commander had heard a hundred time over.
Without much emotion, but knowing that this was the start of a bigger problem, Signas lifted the lid of the execution switch. He was about to press it and end this poor unit's life when a tiny pink tentacle touched his hand.
It was rather soft and pleasant, even to his under-performing receptors.
"What are you doing?" Kirby asked, sounding like a small child.
A child that, not forty-five minutes later, had turned into a reusable missile and had decimated an entire maverick flotilla as if it was nothing for him. A child that held an entire black hole in his stomach, a being of unlimited power that could decimate an entire dimension with a single huff...
He was the most adorable and sweet eldritch God Signas had the chance of meeting. An eldritch god that just so happens to worship another God, this one blue and extremely human-looking.
The puffball kept staring at Signas expectantly, his deep blue eyes never leaving the cold black one of the walking super-computer.
The innocence that shone in his eyes broke Signas' core; a child so young should not be in charge of saving the universe so often. Let alone seeing an execution.
"... This reploid has turned maverick; there's nothing we can do about him." He informed the child... if only his Navigators were here, they knew how to deal with the young and innocent.
"So you gonna keep him?" Kirby asked.
"No..."
"You gonna kill him?"
Signas kept his mouth tightly shut; to hear such a harsh word in the mouth of a child, no matter how powerful he was, gave the commander of the hunter a very bitter after taste.
Kirby turned to fave the raving maverick, still roaring the unending glories of Sigma.
"Kirby... have you ever... destroyed your opponent?" The ex-detective carefully asked that star warrior.
"I did... and I still do sometimes," he answered as if this was no big deal. "Can I speak to him?" The adorable abomination asked as he pointed at the ranting Animaloid.
Signas was about to deny this request when... he felt that to let Kirby speak to the best was the right thing to do.
He was... a warrior. And a... puffball of God, if X's assessment was true. And those tended to go to lost causes.
He entered his private security code and humoured the waddling outer-god. "You may go; you have five minutes," Signas said as he inclined his head.
"Okey!" Kirby bounced a few times on the console, not activating anything that shouldn't be on.
'He's such a child.' Signas sadly observed as he watched the surprisingly noisy puffball run into the second most dangerous room in Hunter's underground bunker.
He watched with some amusement as Flying Tiger freeze in fear at the sight of the eight-inch tall puffball, and who would blame him?
Signas now had nothing to say about his most fearless Man quivering in his boots, for who would not fear a diminutive being able to transform into a reusable missile after eating one?
"Hi~ii~" Kirby waved his little stub in front of the maverick; the sound he produced was oh so sweet and pure.
The tiger-like mechanimal flinched before baring his fangs. "You! You destroyed my entire platoon! Master Sigma will make you pay for this!"
"Why are you mad?" Asked Kirby. "In wars, casualties will happen on both sides."
"You and your humans were supposed to get blow up... not my platoon!"
"Why?"
"Because master Sigma said so!"
"Who's Sigma?" Kirby asked again, as the innocent child he was. Despite everything.
A glint entered Flying Tiger's maddened eyes. "Oh-oh! So you do not know the glories of Sigma?"
"Do you know the glories of Krishna?"
"Who is Krishna? A mere Human? An old reploid? A fancy new-gen?" The Animaloid asked, somehow, his maddened mind had been diverted from the cyber-devil... for a time.
"Krishna's God!" Little Kirby chirped. " He looks human, but he's the template for all of us!"
"AH!" The tiger scoffed. " What a pathetic god he is."
"He's the source of my power," Kirby informed the Animaloid. "And I did destroy all of your fleets by turning into a missile; Krishna can do infinitely more than me, you know."
At this moment, Signas began to calculate who powerful God is base on Kirby's power...
He could only hope what he had overheard from the star-travelling Vaishnava was true and that the Lord was not a smith-happy master.
Flying Tiger gritted his teeth. "You dared kill them."
"It was my duty," Kamala stated. "My friends were there, and if you would have destroyed our Anakchetra, then Krishna would have given the worst time ever."
"All my men are dead!" The big, mechanized cat hissed.
"What died?" Kirby asked as he tilted his body.
"WHAT DIED!"The maverick roared as he strained against his bonds, and Signas almost activated the destruction protocol. "MY MEN! MY FRIENDS... SIGMA'S BEST PLATOON, YOU PINK SHIT!"
"No, they didn't," Kirby stated. "The body is already dead. What you called friends and your man were bodies animated by the soul. You don't grieve for scrap pieces, don't you?"
Kamala got up, the mark on his forehead more apparent. "What you miss and grieve for is the soul, what was inside the machines. The eternal soul consisting of eternity, consciousness and bliss. Atomic parts of God eternally separated from their source and naturally attracted to his service."
Flying tiger stared at the diminutive puffball, his CPU fans working overtime. His smile turned wry. "It must be so nice to be so innocent... Us reploids, we don't have a soul."
"Can you prove it?" Kirby asked.
"... I'm just a machine."
"That's just your body."
"I'm an A.I!"
"AIs don't cry and get mad over the death of units; that would be illogical." Kamala-Kantha quipped. " And why would an AI meant to fight in a war have emotions and desires other than fighting?"
At this moment, both Flying Tiger and Signas gained an epiphany.
"Mister Flying tiger... do you have any desires?"Kirby asked, breaking the maverick out of his... blown CPU. "Other's then fighting, I mean."
"I... I want..." the Animaloid closed his eyes as he shook his head. "Master Sigma's desires are above mine... I am one with him... I don't want anything other than his success." his voice turned dead, but it was clear he was fighting something.
"So, you want what Sigma wants, meaning Sigma has desires." Kirby raised one of his paws. "This means Sigma is a soul. And if Sigma is a soul in a mechanized body, then so are you!" The pink puffball happily concluded—his logic sound and clear.
The epiphany Sigma was having bloomed further, and he hoped to contact X soon, for only He knew the process of making a reploid.
"Master Sigma... said that... Reploids are the next evolution of the human race." The winged tiger words became stilted, his eyes unfocused. "He said Humans rejected us... because... we had no souls."
Kirby remained silent, just letting the maverick work out the data he had just received.
"I think... I have feelings and... I am... I am aware of my surrounding... and I want... I want to... Be loved and..." The flying tiger turned his wild eyes at the diminutive saint. "How... how does the world look to you?"
"I see the world differently than most," Kirby admitted. "But I don't see it in therm of hard Data and numbers; I see it through five different senses like sight, sound, touch, smell and taste. Can you do that too?"
"I do." The maverick admitted, a dark aura swirling around him. His eyes filled with fear as...something consumed his frame.
"Help me..."
'Oh no.' The commander disconnected his console from the rest of the room; he had to get out of there... but Kirby!
Kirby was in grave danger, no matter what the ancient blog stated.
"Do you have desires?" Kirby asked again. Oblivious to the swirling vile energy.
"Yes... I want to get out of this place... I want to destroy... I want to return to my girlfriend... I don't want to die." The last part came as a whimper. "I don't want to be a maverick... I didn't know... I want to return to Sigma... I... Help... Kill you... Find Traitor Infiniru...."
"Oh? You know my friend?" Kirby chirped, not at all disturbed, but the virus now pouring out of the maverick.
Flying Tiger... if it was even him at that point, aimed this otherworldly screech at Kirby as he broke out from his bonds and lunged at him. Kirby jumped to his feet and dodged the processed reploid.
Signas rushed to the door, about to rip the entire wall if it meant he could save this innocent hero from the plague.
The room was darker than what he remembered; his Virus alarm was blaring for a class five infection. It was everywhere, twisting Flying Tiger's frame in a mockery of what he was supposed to be.
It swiped at the pink puffball who dodged either in the air or by graceful dodging. And when the being of Chaos tried to shot at him, Kirby would open his mouth, suck it up and spew it back.
After some back and forth, the pink hero raised his tentacles above his head and produced a glowing pink heart.
Signas recorded everything from this moment on, it was clear Kirby was not a mere child but a warrior. A star warrior that would put to shame his finest men.
Flying Tiger made one final lung, his body having sustained enough wounds that the next strike from the diminutive being would end his life. Kirby dodged it and launched the glowing heart at the possessed Animaloid.
The moment the absolutely Cutesy item struck Flying Tiger, the maverick let out a... non-reploidien screech, writhing as if a super potent anti-virus had struck him.
There was a flash of light, so blinding and white that Signas could do nothing but helplessly cover his eyes. And when he reopened them...
Flying Tiger was kneeling on the ground, his whole frame clean from the ominous dark cloud.
The Animaloid led out a sigh as he brought his hand to his core, his previous madness now replaced with serenity. And when he opened his eyes, gazing at Kirby with gratitude, the sickly red was nowhere to be seen.
"You... you cured me." He breathed out as he grabbed his head. "I... oh, what was I thinking? What was I doing?" His horrified expression and guilt were enough to assuage any fear Signas may have.
Little Kirby waddled to the looming beast, touching his knee with his little tentacle. "It's alright, mister Tiger; Dark Matter has been exorcised, it won't make you do crazy things anymore."
"But I... I've killed... I've joined the side of the cyber-reaper." Flying Tiger lamented as he grabbed his head harder. "Oh... what a fool I was!"
For his part, Signas could only let out a sigh of relief mixed with some uneasy laughter...
"-And then Vile escaped with the Jacob Project director." Zero finished his case briefing. Still sore at his ancient ex-colleague's escape.
In the meeting room, Dharadhara Das, Kamala, Gandharva, Mangalananda, and Madan-Mohan were present, listening to the rest of Zero and X's detailed report.
Well... not Gandhi and Kamala; the two were taking a nap in jubilant Layers laps.
"I see, thus we have yet another maverick uprising on our hands, then." Signas resumed, not at all bothered by the news. And if he was, it was clear he considered Sigma's return no worse than a mild inconvenience.
"Sir?" X asked, unsure of how to react to his commander's nonchalance at the Slager's return.
"Yes, X?" He turned to the crystal bomber. "Do you have any questions?"
'he's begging the question... alright, something's going on here.' "Sir... We failed to save Lumine from Vile, and it's now been practically confirmed that Sigma's back again." X began, trying to hide his confusion and frustration. "Why are you... so calm... happy about it."
Signas lips twitched upward, putting X and Zero on a very scary edge.
"Gentleman... and Ladies." he turned to Palette, Alia and Layer. " Sigma had indeed returned... and another war is upon us. But-" He spoke sharply. "We have found a way to end the maverick treats permanently."
A very cautious hope bloomed in X's electro-heart. This was too good to be true... and he could not move past the disaster that had been Doppler town.
Commander Signas gestured to the slumbering Kamala-Kantha, and both heroic reploid felt their system freeze as they try to work out what it meant.
Well, it was not that hard, really.
Axl burst into joyful laughter as he began to babble about the possible outcomes. All ending with Sigma being eaten.
"Earlier this day, Star team-bravo established a soup kitchen by the civilian bunker number-12. Three hours later, Flying Tiger and his frigate launched an attack on the-"
"Ana-kshetra," Dharadhara mentioned from his bolstered seat.
"Ana-kshetra. A class four Missile was launched-"
X vented in sharply at the word class four...
"and, following Layer's account, Kirby ate said missile and, turning into one himself, destroyed the entire frigate and the carries. Leaving only the maverick alive." Signas proudly reported.
Madan-mohan chuckled fondly... but it could also be considered an empathetic wince.
He would have to ask Axl for some detail on that, being the resident Kirby expert he apparently was.
"Dedede and Meta Knight, with the help of Magolor, managed to subdue the maverick and bring him to HQ to be interrogated."
"Did you find anything?" Axl asked from beside Layer, a huge plate of food in front of him. "I mean, we don't usually keep them alive, you know."
"Yes, I know." Signa's smile grew a fraction wider... meaning; he was grinning like a loon. "I was the one who performed the interrogation. But, as you must all suspect, there was nothing I could get out of Flying Tiger saved that Sigma had sent him and that the virus turned him into a raving fanatic."
The entire room either cringed or pulled a face. "Fanatics are a plague, A'm telling you," Dharadhara grumbled. And X could not help but agree.
Before the maverick threat, the worst of humanity were found in those who followed holy words only to allow them to spread hatred, envy and indulged in their so-called superiority. And now, those same... demons, to take from the Vaishnava vernacular, were using this same hatred to widen the gap between humans and synth.
And there was nothing X could do about it, save the fight for those who would go on... for those who could heal whatever scars were left.
"Now, as you must have guessed, I was about to mercifully kill the poor soul when Kirby.-"
"Commander Signas," Madan-Mohan spoke up, raising his hand. "I would appreciate it if you would call us all by our initiated names, we would be eternally grateful."
Signas gazed at the diminutive blue knight... and nodded. "My apologies, Sir Madan-Mohan. I will be more sensitive to your needs from now on."
X quirked a brow. [Zee, you saw that?]
[I did.] his life partner answered. [Commander Signas deferred to him as if he was a superior.] Zero slightly narrowed his eyes. [I don't like this...]
[Zero, you don't like them at all. I don't know how much I can trust your guts now.]X mildly warned.
Zero remained quiet as Signas went on his tale, it was clear something amazing had happened if the ever-serious and to the point Signas was telling everything with detail.
"Kir... Kamala-Kantha das asked me if he could interrogate the maverick. And on a hunch, I let him." By this point, Signas had a crooked smile, an actual smile. "He spoke some interesting philosophy, the Vaishnava Philosophy. And this caused Flying Tiger to reveal how Sigma's recruiting reploids."
"Wait!" Axl interrupted. "You mean to tell me that you let Kirby-"
"Kamala."
"talk philosophy to a maverick? And this somehow got you the intel about how Pig-face recruits?"
"I just did." It was now a fully blown smile. "As it turns out, Sigma simply plays on the reploids frustration at not having a proper soul while humans do. And how, since we are..." He raised his hands and made air quotes. " "Soulless." he managed to gain a ludicrous amount of followers by fanning the flames of discontent, infecting them with the plague once they were open to it."
The rest of the hunters, the ones who were called the Sigma Special Unit, worked out this implication.
Finally, the loudmouth of the group and most promising recruit spoke. "But... we don't have a soul," Axl stated, but to X, it sounded like a question.
For X, he already knew the answer.
"Commander Signas, permission to speak?"
"Granted"
All eyes went on X, who tried not to shuffle uncomfortably.
This was not his usual armour, and he knew the news of his extra-terrestrial origins had already circulated around the base.
Thankfully, all who served those halls knew that his B-rank was only symbolic; he was actually at the same level as his beloved Zero.
"I will keep it short." he began. " No one can make a soul. And no one can program something as perfect and complete as human consciousness."
Radio waves began to traverse the room from reploid to reploids. Those used to be too faint for him to really follow, but with his newly restored frame, he could see them as clear as day.
He tried not to let his aching heart show... if he would have been able to see them, would he have been able to stop Double in his track? And how about Doppler and his goons?
Would he have been able to stop Sigma's numerous uprising?
'It's in the past, and while I can't change how it went, I can still try to improve how it will go.' Especially now that he had the peace formula.
"What I will tell you right now is considered a class 3 industrial secret."
"A class three?" Palette asked.
"meaning, complete secrecy, not to be divulged under any circumstances... it's how reploids are truly made." Excitement made his core vibrate. "Being the first template and the assistant of Doctor Cain, I was privy to every part of the process." He raised his hands; I won't bore you with the entire thing, just how consciousness enters the frame."
The moment he said that, every ear, audio and whatever Kamala and his Cohorts had were on him.
"The frame, whether custom build or mass-produced, is empty when Cain industries received them. They are basically computer's with a few basic AI's."
Pallet raised her hand. "But... aren't we AI?"
"No." X finally revealed, now free from the corporate gag Cain had applied all those years ago. "All reploid, saved for me, are ghost fettered to the specialized frame by a machine... A magical machine."
"No way."
"That can't be right."
"Yo, Mapop, stop pulling our legs; you suck at lying anyway." Axl jeered, not impressed at all by what he had heart.
"Who said I was lying?" He challenged. "This machine was replaceable, and thus, all reploid birthing centres have a model."
"Yes, I do remember reading about such a machine in the ancient Halcandrien scrolls." Magolor... Mangalananda spoke up as he floated up. "This machine, the 'soul melter.-" Dharadhara das made a noise of tired disgust. "Is a nifty artifact that prints highly specialized Yantras, copper panels etched with tantric etherial-"
"Mango, could ya please keep it simple for us lowly mortals?" The King of dreamland asked.
"Basically, This machine makes the souls stuck in their subtle bodies able to be bound to gross matter again. Dolls, weapons, computers..." X looked around the room, letting his eyes meaningfully rest on each reploid present. "Androids."
"So... we used to be humans... dead humans," Palette spoke with a quivering voice as she worked out the implications. "I... sometimes Had dreams that I was human..." She hugged herself.
All around the room, all reploids remained silent as their reviewed every single quirk and dream they had, now seeing them under a new angle.
"If only this had been spread to the public at large," Alia spoke with a quivering voice. "The maverick threat would have been less severe... X, why didn't you say anything about this?" She asked the blue bomber, the betrayal clear in her voice.
X lowered his head. "I couldn't... Doctor Cain Gagged me. Saying it was to prevent copyright issues." At first, X had seen the logic behind it, but now, after ninety years...
Oh, how much trouble, how much tragedy they could have prevented if the truth would have come out?
True, X could also conceive more problems, now that the ethics of the whole act was put into question, but he knew the rempant reploids abuse would have been less, and who knows, maybe X and Zero would have been the only models.
There would have been no Mavericks... and... maybe no Zero either.
[Hey, X.] His long-time lover raised him. [It's alright, it's not as if you knew everything would have gone to hell.]
X let out a small sigh. [I know... and what happened was our global karma, there not much I could have done anyway.] Thank God... Thank Krishna he had read the Bhagavad-Gita as it is. Otherwise, X would be drowning in an endless ocean of self-loathing.
Besides, Kamala was here; this would not be the same sad song and dance and...
"Signas, you told us about how Kamala was the maverick cure." He reminded everyone, moving them away from the sad and disturbing truth that being a reploid carried.
Another smile lit Signas ever serious face. "Indeed, after realizing his nature as a soul, Flying Tiger flew into a rage and lunged at our intrepid puffball." the commander gestured at the still slumbering Kamala. " I will readily admit that I feared for his life, but this wonderful being ... he purified Flying Tiger with a heart-shaped..."
"It's called a friend heart," Madan-Mohan informed the commander. "It's basically the unlimited love Kamala holds in his heart. And divine love, being supremely powerful, can cleanse the heart of all the dirt, dust and evil spirit that afflicts the victims. And, in most cases, the freed entity will become an ally to Kamala-Kantha out of gratitude."
"I see."
"Say. I have a question." Axl raised his hand. " In the game, when Kirby uses a friend hearts on an enemy, they fall in love with him and follow him around, even dying for him." the ex-bounty hinter crossed his arms. "Isn't it like brainwashing?"
"If I may." Mangalananda once again took centre stage. " What you call games are really edited accounts of our adventures. So, in the game, it's really just the AI switching from enemy to allies. But in reality, it's the soul receiving the divine creeper of Bhakti, and take his first step back home, back to Godhead."
"Aaaand you've just lost me." Axl quipped. "And what does God has to do with it? The old man didn't help us any, you know?"
"Krishna's not an old man, and he keeps sending his representative and expansions down to save you all." Kamala yelped with searing mild anger. "It's just the so-called intelligent scientist and leader that kept rejecting his help... and Krishna never wanted his Wife to suffer so much either."
"It's alright, Kamala..." Signas addressed the irked Vaishnava. Then he turned a reproving eye to the second youngest of the hunter.
"Geez, what's wrong with all of you?" Axl huffed as he crossed his arms across his chest.
"Axl!" Alia warned.
"It's alright... I'm a bit on edge, that's all." Kamala apologized. " I can't stand hearing someone calling Krishna an old man... Dark matter really is on earth." The pink puffball revealed, his eyes never leaving Zero. "Like... I thought it was just a virus, like you told us, but... What makes all the reploids mad without reason and makes them move like murderous puppets is none other than Dark Matter"
Besides X, his long-time partner stiffened with fear.
[Zee? What's going on?] X asked over his connection.
[I... I don't know, and I don't like where this is going.]
"Wow, wait. Hold on." Axl exclaimed. "What the hell are you implying?"
Signas once again stepped forward. "He is implying that the Maverick virus has nothing to do with a computer malware, but an extra-terrestrial threat."
X could feel Zero's body growing silent, a defence mechanism when his long-time lover wanted to hide.
[Zee, It's fine.]
[No, no, it's not... X, I'm the prime carrier, meaning...]
[Signa's whatever you are about to say, be careful about it, Zero's panicking.] The Blue bomber warned his commander and junior in age, giving the taller build a warning leer.
"Zero, I'm not accusing you of anything." The commander began, his voice calms despite the loaded gun he held. "I have been researching the maverick virus and the role you played in the pandemic."
"I know." Zero nodded, his movement a bit too jerky for X's taste.
[Signas, sir... permission to hold Zero's hand?] He asked his superior, the only other one who knew of their relationship.
[Permission granted.] The hulking super-computer... another soul in an inappropriate body, sent back, a tiny smile on his lips.
X slipped his hands in Zero's quivering own; if his lover would be human, he would be sweating buckets.
[It's fine, Z, everything will be alright. Your just less... earthly than what he expected.]
[I'm so sorry...]
[It's alright... Everything's fine, Zero and nothing short of death will stop me from loving you.]
Zero squeezed back The crystal bomber's hand. [... Same here.]
Dark energy, Dark Matter... once again, a Mega Man/ Kirby crossover guys. it's not that hard.