Elegy of Falling Snow
Chapter 1: Newton's Cradle
How did it come to this?
Axl's heart raced, his entire body was tense, and his mind was blank except for that one thought, over and over and over again.
Escaping from the Crimson Palace's storeroom was the safest bet for him. However, it was still not easy. Even if he knows the security inside out, Axl is definitely not in top condition.
The mental image of Red Alert's Eight Generals being completely controlled by this mysterious "Professor" could never leave his head.
He can't forget. He must not forget. No matter how much he wants to, no matter how much his heart aches, he can't forget.
He must not falter. This… has to be done; otherwise sooner or later he will be just like them. Robbed of free will, not so different from a toy robot.
Soon he arrived in front of the door. Technically, he can just tap out using his access card. But… his exit will be swiftly tracked. He will be quickly found out, and everything will be over.
He needs to use the old exit system. It was relatively slower and more convoluted, but it was always useful for when the access card systems are out of service.
Upon approaching the door, he waited for each core to light up, from purple to red. Once a core lights up, he shoots it. He did the same thing two more times. For an expert gunslinger like him, it should've been child's play. But his arms were trembling the entire time, and the trigger finger felt so heavy—
Once the door opened, he transformed into a small bee mechaniloid, and flew as far from the Crimson Palace as he could. Axl didn't make a single sound, but his entire being is quaking with anguish. He has to admit that the home he knew and loved was gone. His A-Trans wore off a few distances after he left Red Alert territory, and he was forced to land. Biting his lip so he won't make a sound, he ran and dashed.
The only one that could help him in any way would be the Maverick Hunters.
Rapidly, his mind scrambled to come up with what-if scenarios.
Will he really be killed on sight? Will he be able to convince the Hunters to let him in the operation? Should he tell the truth, or come up with a lie based on his appearance?
But if he pretends that he's just a kid, he would not be taken seriously. Besides, with his full armour, his lie cannot hold ground. No one would believe him.
He does wear ordinary clothes that can be switched to if he removes his armour. But if he pretends to be a civilian, it might… end with him drifting. The Hunters will dismiss him and tell him to go home. But where is he supposed to go home to?
Axl wanted to scream. But instead, he gritted his teeth and tightly balled his hands into fists. And then, he ran faster and dashed longer.
The highway he was running in was quiet. Ahead of him, he could see that it was under repair. No vehicles were passing through, and it looks like the maintenance reploids are not present as well.
Maybe their shift had ended. Or it hadn't started. Regardless, no one was there to see him cry. He couldn't scream just yet; he needed to save his breath. But letting the tears flow out provided him enough relief for the time being.
Axl sobbed as he ran away. When the tears blurred his vision, he would wipe it. His mind was divided between the long winding road ahead of him and the sorry state of his home.
X's retirement had caused a spike in crime rate. As Red had predicted, it meant more work and more money for Red Alert. But soon it was too much. They were not the only bounty hunter organisations around.
Before this, every bounty hunter gangs have their own territory and regular customers. For everyone's continued survival, all bounty hunters have an unspoken agreement to "stay in their lane." But soon some groups wanted more.
The power vacuum left by X's sudden retirement had meant more money for everyone. In the end, the prospect of even more money, more territory, more power, more more more – tempted some bounty hunters into sacrificing the peace.
It was inevitable that soon, Red Alert would be roped into gang wars. And those gang wars were hotspots for the Maverick Hunters to kill at least two birds with one stone. A few times, those gang wars would be crashed by Hunters who proceed to kill every bounty hunter in sight.
All in all, it was a bloodbath for everyone.
Red had tried to reason with the other bounty hunter groups to stop all this gang war. Some agreed with him, but more of them disagreed. And so the bloody conflict continued. A few bounty hunters even went as far as targeting Red Alert's regulars directly.
Axl already understood why the world governments deemed bounty hunters as Mavericks, but seeing a reminder of that… hurt him deeply.
As Red Alert's numbers started to thin, everyone grew weary. But suddenly Red took in a mysterious individual who only called himself the "Professor".
A few Generals objected to the sudden decision. But the Professor was able to upgrade most everyone except for Axl. Those upgrades proved to be very useful – they were able to keep casualties to a minimum and even won a few battles.
Given their desperate circumstances, everyone had no choice but to keep him in. The Professor refused money. But in exchange, he wanted Red Alert to provide with his "research" which he was strangely vague about.
In hindsight, it was really like a deal with the devil.
The sun had just set when Axl left Crimson Palace. He didn't know how long has passed or how far he had gotten. But the sky was still dark when Axl's legs felt too sore for him to run or dash. After jumping over a roadblock, he could only walk a few steps before falling to his knees.
"Hah… hah… hah…"
Axl's arms and shoulders were shaking with exhaustion. He was on his hands and knees, but he didn't feel safe enough to sit down properly and relax. His heart was still racing, and his head swam.
"Somebody… please tell me I'm through with the worst of it… anyone…"
His voice came out as a whisper. Axl hadn't even screamed, but his throat felt so heavy. In fact, his entire body felt heavy. He wanted to just sleep there so badly, but he hadn't gotten anywhere—
CLANK CLANK CLANK…
A chill ran down Axl's spine. His mind going blank, he quickly got back up and turned to his back. In the distance, he could see Red Alert's very own Mega Scorpio advancing towards him…
AUTHOR'S NOTES: exposition, exposition, exposition. I hope you can bear with me - MMX7's script is all over the place, so I have to... assemble it in a linear manner for ease of reading. This story might jump perspectives on occasion (I can see the next chapter starting or even wholly written from Zero's perspective) but it is, at the core, an Axl story. I want you as the reader to understand his viewpoint the most.
Also, this is a whole new story. But I liked PMGR's format, so I will be following it. Not to the letter, but broadly the same. Same boss order, a lot of similarities in its "canon," etc.
FFN won't register my double spacing, so please forgive the formatting.
One more thing... I am also not the same person I was 5 years ago. I'm a different writer now, I have a different point of view in life now, and I have gone through 5 more eventful years compared to my past self.
What I'm trying to say is that this story is going to get real Depresso. Please brace yourselves. And if you cry, I will gladly drink your tears. huehuehuehuehuehuehue