MEGA MAN X: AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE
By Erico
CHAPTER THREE: 3…2…1…ZERO?!
"Watch your head, Chill!!!" Flame called out. Chill quacked in surprise and ducked down, lying flat on his belly. A powerful plasma blast seared the wall overhead, and Chill sighed in relief. The larger Flame Mammoth blew off a blast of flaming gas towards the opposing forces on the other side of the room.
"Quack! It's no good, boss! They got us pinned down!" Sigma blocked another plasma blast with his green beam saber, a new weapons system based off the design licensed to Lucasfilm Inc.
"I'd like to know how they got to this military weapons depot in the first place…" Sting hissed.
"It seems they attacked a police car, then used their laser pistols to break into here." Launch grunted.
"And now they're toting arm cannons. Launch, set out a cover spread!" Launch nodded his massive bulbous head and raised his upper set of arms. With a single thought, he fired off two short bursts of non-explosive smoke missiles. They spiraled into the empty space between the mavericks and the Hunters and began to pump out white steam that clouded the room.
"Now, Sting! Infiltrate!" Sting lashed his tongue out in an affirmative and morphed, his outer shell shifting to the color match of the white smoke. Stealthily, he crept into the smoke and waited. Then Sigma smiled as he heard the mighty power of Sting's Iron tongue lash out and smack away a few of the plasma weapons.
"Good. Chill, roll in. All others… with me!!!" Sigma charged ahead, his saber ready for some unlucky mavericks' beheading. Chill quacked and got on his belly, pushing himself towards the enemy. His destabilizing tactic would act much like bowling-he knock them over. Spark Mandrill charged ahead with a Dash Punch, while Launch prepared for an energy drain by jumping in the air and spinning downwards.
The initial group fell quickly, but as the smoke cleared another threat presented itself. A massive hovertank activated, with all hatches sealed.
"Oh, no…" Chill quacked. The mighty weapon of war rolled out of its hangar and started towards the cluster of Maverick Hunters.
"This batch is craftier than the last one. We'll have to do a massive all-out attack." Sigma yelled out, priming his beam saber. Spark clenched his fists for an Electric Spark, and the others prepared similarly. The tank turned its mighty cannon and fired a shot at the cluster. The Hunters moved out of the attack, but the blast sent them sprawling. It seemed for all the world that they were helplessly stuck…ready to be destroyed by a ruthless bunch of mavericks in a military weapon.
But then a bright flashing red ball crashed through the ceiling and smashed against the hull of the craft. Not only did it create a massive, smoldering dent where it had landed, but it also destabilized the gyroscopic orbiters and sent the tank crashing to the ground. Then a lightning quick spinning object emerged from the hole and skimmed the surface of the tank, emitting grinding noises as the mighty Boomerang Cutter ate its way through the hull like a can opener through tinfoil. Two figures stood by the tank, firing away at the now beached behemoth, that of Armored Armadillo and Boomer Kuwanger, smiling broadly as they attacked the whale tank.
"Hey, would you guys mind giving us a hand in this?" Kuwanger joked, priming his slicer for another spin. Sigma chuckled and leapt from the ground, driving his plasma blade deep into the power drive unit of the craft. The effect was instant, as the entire thing began to overload.
"All right troops! Move out!" Sigma cried as he pulled his saber back and backflipped towards the enormous hole in the wall of the facility the mavericks had made. His troops followed in quick pursuit, and not soon enough. Armored Armadillo was the last to emerge, narrowly avoiding the hot gases behind him. Sigma stared down at the ground digging fool.
"I assume you put the Rolling Shield around the tank so that nothing in the base was harmed?" Armadillo flashed a grin and a funky hand signal. Sigma nodded solemnly.
"That's good. Excellent work, troops!" Sigma's victory cheer was halted when suddenly a powerful blast shot out of the hole and struck him backwards several feet, skidding along like a skittering pebble across still water. The troops turned to face the new threat that emerged heavily from its alcove.
It was far different from anything they had seen before, and it frightened them. An enormous shape…a walking hulk of metals and duraalloys, short stubby legs and powerful bulky arms.
"WHAT the Hell is that?" Flame spouted. It stood as tall as him, slightly more than Spark Mandrill. Kuwanger was the first to act as he pulled off his Cutter and aimed a throw.
"Who cares? It shot Sigma, which means it's TOAST!!!" the Hunters roared in anger and threw out their attacks. Spark used his Electric Spark Ground Punch, Kuwanger with the Cutter, Launch with the Homing Torpedoes, Armadillo with his In-armor Cannon, Chill with the Shotgun Ice, Flame with an oiling and then a mighty burst of flame that ignited the fuel, and Sting with a tri-shot of Chameleon venom. Each blast hit its mark, and a thick billowing cloud of smoke covered the target. They thought victory was in their grasp, but then the noise of pumping hydraulics ruined the dead silence and the terror emerged. The Hunters backed up a few steps and gazed in terror. This new…monstrosity wasn't stopping for anyone or anything…period. Even Sigma looked on in stunned reverence at the invincible creation before him.
In their stupor, none noticed a shadowy figure swoop overhead, nor the noise of metallic wings beating against air. But when a powerful blast of air known as the Storm Tornado sandblasted the enemy unit back several feet, they awoke. Sigma looked up and smiled when he saw Storm Eagle swoop down from his covert backup position high above and outstretch his talons as he dived down, moving faster than a bullet. His razor sharp toe talons clutched to the arm and shoulder of the figure piloting the massive hulk and threw him out of it. The screaming maverick skidded across the ground, losing speed, blood and armor all at the same time. Storm landed with a noble halt and closed his wings. He extended his beak and sniffed the air.
"For once, I wish you limeys could solve something with brains…not braun. What you should have been targeting was the driver…not the demon." Sigma shut his saber off and sheathed it, walking towards Storm.
"Good job, Storm. You've done your job well. And so have all of you." Sigma turned to face his grinning, weary reploid Hunters. "I think we all deserve a break. But first…I want to get some answers." Sigma turned and faced the running bunch of military brass that drove up in their hoverjeep. The leader, a two star general saluted Sigma then whistled in amazement as he saw the bloody aftermath.
"No damage was done to the equipment inside, except for what the mavericks were using. But I would like to know the deal on that terror over there." Sigma pointed to the hulking suit that slumped to a squat without activation. The general squinted and replied,
"That's our newest creation. We call it the Chimera. It's the first of a new line of tanks…riding armors. People…or reploids…get into the cockpit of that thing and drive it around. The arms have incredible hydraulic punching power, and the legs are improved with optional Acceleration Units like Jet thrusters." Sigma nodded.
"Not bad. Do you think the Maverick Hunter Headquarters could have a few?" The general took his hat off and scratched the glistening bald spot on his head.
"Well, considering how important your job is and also accounting for the deep thanks we owe you…you can take this one. Consider it our gift. We can always make more." Launch stared at the gruesome thing and scoffed.
"What self-respecting soldier needs that trash? And the coloring is all wrong. Blue and yellow? Gah. It needs to be purple and blue." Flame trumpeted a chuckle.
"And who made you an arts genius?" Sigma smacked Flame on the snout, causing him to whimper silently.
"No heckling fellow troops, Flame. Thank you general. We should be getting back now."
When the Hunters had gotten back, there was a little party that Flame and the cheerier of the lot, like Boomer and Chill threw. There was plenty of Budweiser-properly kept in biodegradable plastic containers. Of course, they couldn't actually get drunk-their internal fusion generators absorbed the alcohol and turned it into energy for the reaction. Flame trumpeted out a great bellow and slapped the drunken Chill across the back. Chill fell forward and skidded across the table, crashing into the ice sculpture X had made. X cringed as he saw his work destroyed in the blink of an eye by an act of stupidity. Cancer sighed and drew his hand over his face.
"X, I don't care what you may say. These guys are no better than Friday night Football Fratboys." The ultrasensitive hearing of Sting heard the remark, and he whipped his head around. With a mighty lick he expelled his Irontongue towards Cancer and drew him in towards the cluster of now giddy Hunters.
"Hey guys-Cancer wants to dance! Get the limbo beer pole set up!" Flame, Chill and Boomer gave a mighty huzzah of glee as they ran to Boomer's quarters to find the limbo setup they had created. If the limboer failed, they received a healthy dose of Beer down the throat. X shook his head and turned to Sigma, who stared blankly at uncaringly at the sight.
"Aren't you going to stop them Sigma?" Sigma shook his massive head.
"X…believe it or not, I don't want to. They need to unwind. Do you know what they got put through today? Torture." Sigma looked down at X with a sad stare. "We put our lives on the line nearly every day. I think the least we all owe them is a chance to recuperate and hope for a normal life." X nodded. X was a pacifist, and did not like to fight. But he fully agreed on the damaging effects of war on the psyche, and did not object to Sigma's claims. Sigma sighed.
"This is a bit too much for me. I'm going to go walk it off." X started to stop the lumbering Sigma, but then held himself back.
Even the leader of the Maverick Hunters needed a break now and then.
Sigma wandered through the streets of New Tokyo, a blank stare covering his internal disputes. Everyone…everyone he passed stared at him in horror, disgust or annoyance. Reploids did not…it was only the humans. They seemed to squawk at him,
"You monster! The sight of you sickens us!" Sigma clenched his fist in anger. Here he was, assigned and expected to protect their scrawny lives and uphold the law…and all that the humans ever gave him was scorn and mistrust. He almost wanted to choke one of them…their sheer audacity flared his circuits. But then he would calm down and listen to reason. Not only did he have an image to uphold, that not all reploids were bad…but he also had a force to lead.
Just then his head turned as he heard a sound…the baleful wail of a creature in pain. Sigma turned about and plodded down the corridor of the dank alleyway he had entered. And what he saw disgusted him.
Humans…human adolescent boys were torturing a poor and defenseless dog. It was weak and beleaguered, ragged and emaciated. But then a gleam caught his eye and he realized it for what it truly was.
A robotic dog, colored purple with a massive neck plume and a frame that showed pride and power. But now all that Sigma saw was a pack of hooligans torturing this creature.
"Come on, you hound! Get up and fight!" one taunted, waving a baseball bat around. The dog growled angrily and tried to spring up. But another boy brought down a heavy club, smashing him back to earth. Sigma grimaced as he saw the damage being done to the creature…and he could take its pain no more.
With quiet steely determination, Sigma walked up to the horrifying scene and tapped the nearest one on the shoulder.
"Hey man, get the F*** outta here!" the teen growled. Sigma frowned, and then pulled out his beam saber, lighting it up with a flick of the power switch. The all too familiar sound blared into the hallway, bouncing around like an echo that wouldn't die. The boy froze, then slowly turned around.
Sigma stared at him, his face a mask of rage and anger and pent-up frustration. His saber gleamed menacingly, at his side in hand, but ready to spring up and end the teen's life if need be. The teen pulled down his dark glasses and tried to gulp down his fears, but his throat had run dry. Doing the only thing he could, the teen turned about and shakingly tapped the others into an about face. The lot of them suddenly turned from cruel monsters into quivering masses of flesh and fear, and Sigma growled deeply.
"I suggest the lot of you push off…NOW." Sigma suddenly swung his saber in a wide arc as proof, scorching a deep gash into the metallic wall beside him. That was all it took for the demons of destruction to flee, leaving bats, sunglasses and fake Mohawk wigs behind. Sigma sighed, then sheathed his blade. He hated to draw his weapon for anything besides a maverick's death, but this time the gravity of the situation had warranted drastic measures. Sigma knelt down beside the whimpering dog and lifted its muzzle with one hand. The mighty beast looked at him with clouded eyes, then swallowed and began to lick Sigma's hand.
Sigma smiled warmly, but he knew the creature was in sorry shape. The truth of it was, the dog was many times older than Sigma may have guessed…for lying, wounded before the Hunter was a relic of the past…Treble, the mighty fighting dog of Bass, the robotic nemesis of the famed Mega Man.
Some would have called it fate that such a link would occur, but all Sigma saw was a wounded creature with intelligence that needed his attention.
"Well, boy." Sigma chuckled. "I suppose we should get you back to my base. Doctor Cain should be able to fix you up. Maybe you could join me when I got destroy mavericks, eh?" Treble had been programmed to recognize certain commands, and DESTROY was one of them. Instantly, a gleam of happiness filled his eyes, and he ruffed softly in response. Sigma laughed. "So you like that, huh boy? Hmm…" Sigma took his other hand and scratched Treble behind the purple mane of his beck, and Treble growled happily in response, crooning his neck towards the soothing and loving hands of his new master.
"Boy..that won't do for a name. We need something special…something that says you're tough. How about…Velguarder?" Treble turned his wolflike snout towards Sigma, and let out a loud howl of approval. Sigma smiled again.
"Velguarder it is then. Come on Velguarder…let's get you home."
While the big part of the elite Hunters were still partying into the wee hours of the night, Sigma, Mandrill and Storm were in a room staring at a schematic. Storm stared at it proudly, while Spark gave a cry of approval. Sigma's mind was elsewhere, worrying about his new pet. Even if Cain was doing everything in his power to help Velguarder and prime him for battle, Sigma had a right to be worried.
"So, this is your airship project?" Sigma asked. Storm nodded and Spark did the same. Spark and Storm had been working in tangent to come up with this, still sharing the intense bond that they had…the bond of family. After all, they had come from the same Military installation. The diagram was huge, and it looked to be a very formidable ship. Storm chuckled.
"I designed this thing to take a beating. The shield plating is made from very durable metalloys. The drive system is pretty normal, fusion powered. But there are two things that make this quite different. One; it carries overhead plasma guns for air attacks, and a neat little package that Sparky here designed. I assume the entire bugger will be on shedule." Storm's English accent was unmistakably present and he sniffed, giving the topic to Spark Mandrill. Mandrill raised one gigantic fist and extended a finger, pointing to the bottom of the craft.
"Down here is a cargo lift. But what's impressive is that it carries more than cargo. Storm and I designed a new Maverick Hunter design to fit this. Hunters would drive vehicles with powerful plasma guns on board, and be dropped off and picked up by the crane. We call these hod rods 'Road Attackers.' And more importantly, it'll support your Chimera Tank when we get it . I judged the size and realized they were exactly compatible. Storm, as the chief engineer and qualified pilot would be in command of this airship. The rest of us would work for setting up the dropoff weapons, like the Road Attackers. You could even replace the reploid drivers with programmed drones for the vehicles." Sigma nodded.
"This thing isn't gonna be cheap, and Cain'll bitch and moan for a while. But he'll fork up the dough for it. So, what are you going to call this dreadnought of the air?" Storm craned his neck out and smiled happily.
"I hoped you would bring that up. This weapon in our arsenal…meet the Death Rogumer."
"May 16th. It's been two months since Sigma took control of the Maverick Hunters and he and his troupe have been able to prevent any further injury to the population. Everyone is starting to breathe a little bit easier…." Cain's recording was interrupted as Cancer, X and Sigma all cam running into the medical bay. Sigma spoke first, nearly running over the two smaller reploids.
"Doctor Cain…is Velguarder ready yet?" Sigma's face showed worry and concern for his pet, and Cain clipped off his audiodiary once more.
"Yes, Sigma. Velguarder is as good as new. His systems intrigue me, for even though he is not a reploid, his intelligence is nearly on par. The only thing he can't do is make his own decisions. It's like he was built to take orders…orders of destruction. Seriously, I was talking about you and when I said 'kill' the bugger nearly ripped my hydrospanner to shreds!" Cain smiled lightly, for the shock he'd gotten from that outburst still had him shaking in his boots.
"Well, I guess that means that Velguarder here is going to be a great addition to the team then!" Sigma chuckled. "I assume you got my list of functions I wanted to give him?" Cain nodded.
"Yeah, yeah…flame-thrower and whatnot. Chill Sigma. Velguarder will be just fine." Just then, the alarms went rocketing off and Sigma's smile vanished. Cain raised his head worriedly, but Sigma frowned.
"I'll take care of it, Doc. You fix Velguarder up." Sigma walked off, and the others followed, leaving Cain alone again. He frowned, then clicked his recorder back on.
"I am a little worried about X. He seems unsure of his place in life and what Dr. Light had planned for him. But given time I'm sure he'll find his way…"
"What's happening?" Sigma asked as he stormed into the War Room, the giant central area of the Maverick HHQ that held monitors and alert systems galore. Sting crawled down from the wall and shot his tongue out towards the alarm, shutting it off with a pull of his Irontongue. Sigma winced at the sickening sight, but there was no time to straighten out the flaw. Storm walked up to him and handed him a disturbance report. Sigma grabbed the paper and scanned it quickly.
"Maverick disturbance, American Desert. Hmm. And worse yet, native populations are getting the tar beat out of them. Storm?" Storm cawed out his reply.
"Yes, Commander?" Sigma handed the sheet back and wiped the synthsweat from his face.
"Have the 4th Unit take care of it. They should be up to it, and Garma will like the challenge." Karma was a friendly Hunter, one of the few who were human. But his incredible endurance gave him the power he needed to overcome it. "And have some scouts follow them." Storm clacked his heels and saluted sharply, then turned away to transmit the Unit Enable code. The code that would send Garma to go fight the maverick threat.
"How far are we now, boss?" The question rang out from one of the back lines in the caravan of Garma's 4th Unit. Garma brushed back his long black hair and frowned.
They had arrived in Las Vegas, at the Hunter Depot that had been set up. To maintain a very quick response, they would warp to a pre-destined Hunter base and from there go to the trouble site. This saved time and allowed them to stock up on weaponry and prepare for the battle. The idea was that sometimes just warping in was trouble.
"It's not far now, soldier. Just button your trap and make sure you have that X-Buster charged!" Garma chuckled as he turned on his own and began to charge it.
X-Busters, Heart Tanks and Sub-Tanks were all now common Hunter Technology. Because Cain had the original plans for them, he and his techies had been able to create the versatile devices that every reploid was compatible with. But humans could only use X-Busters. That was why the Maverick Hunters as a whole were trying to discourage human soldiers. But a few veterans like Garma remained, steadfastly stating that a human was stronger than any machine, no matter how advanced it was.
"One mile to go, boys. You all set?" Garma called over the convoy's comm. The large troop carriers slowed down and then they were within range. The 4th Unit unloaded from their vehicles and walked towards the desert community, a blotch on someone's map. But it had a good sized population of 250, and of those many had been killed. The threat was there, and therefore so were the Hunters.
"All right men. Spread out and destroy." Garma's words were solid and unwavering. Some maverick would pay for its crimes today. The small town had very little for streets, but enough so that the wary troops paired up. The 4th Unit had experience, and although not as good as Sigma's elite, many in the Hunter forces knew this was a Unit no one would want to cross. The meaning of human and reploid existence did not matter. All that mattered was that they relied on each other to complete their mission and stay alive. And when it was over with, their Unit's cohesion did not end. Many was a time in New Tokyo that Cain had to pay off a disgruntled bar owner for brawl damages.
The day was still young, about Ten in the morning. And shadows played over the energy efficient adobe domes like pictograph movies. One pair of shadows crept along a roadway between streets…only to be shadowed by another that swooped down upon them with savage fury. The two cried once, then never cried again.
Garma's head swiveled in alarm, and he motioned for the men with him to follow him to the battle site. But when they got there, the battle had ended. Only two broken bodies-one human, one reploid-remained. Garma averted his eyes in sorrow, but did not remain quiet for long. He raised his Buster and checked the power level. Level three, it could go no higher. Just then, a swift rustling caught his ear, and he swiveled about and squeezed off the shot. A blurry red figure skittered away, and the shot soared through the air harmlessly until it hit a building, charring the wall black. The rest of his team turned and began to fire as well, but Garma shouted a cease-fire and they stopped.
Garma's blood pumped, his heart beating out of his chest. The quiet calm of his persona was gone, for now a true threat was there to face. It had avoided his shot, an enormous blue blast. But for how long he could hold out against this threat…he did not know.
Just then, more screams accompanied the silence, and Garma was brought out of his stupor. With a hand signal, he and his men scurried off to the threat.
"Commander Sigma!" Storm barked out from his post. Sigma looked over and Storm lifted his earpiece. "There's an incoming call from the 4th Unit comm system. I believe it's Garma." Sigma ran over to Storm and took the receiver, holding it to his head.
"Garma, is that you?" Sigma asked. "Report." There was quiet on the line, and then a weak cough and a shudder Sigma could feel through the line. His face dropped, for something had gone wrong. He knew it.
"Sigma…Garma here. Crazy red maverick…picked us off in pairs…" Sigma stopped Garma midsentence.
"WHAT?! Are you alive?" Garma wheezed, and then Sigma could hear him draw in a breath…a breath of fear.
"No…no please…stay away you mon…" Sigma shut his eyes, trying to stop his tears as he heard Garma having the life choked out of him by the maverick. And then the line went dead. Sigma let the earpiece and microphone drop to the floor, the tiny wiring clattering on the marble with dead silence. Storm looked at his leader in consternation.
"Sigma…what happened?" Sigma shook his head and opened his beady eyes, now black with rage. He let his foot drop on the phone, and the metal crunched loudly. Sigma checked his saber, and then walked towards the door. But he stopped halfway and answered Storm's question.
"Garma's Unit…has been destroyed."
20 Minutes later, the two scouts in brown coloring were waiting behind a stone, looking in awe at the structure before them. They did not even hear the sound of plodding boots growing louder and louder, until a voice rang out.
"What's our current situation?" they turned about and nearly swallowed their tongues in amazement. Sigma stood tall, and his face was in its calm state.
"Commander Sigma!" One burst out.
"Where's that red maverick that wiped out Garma's Unit?" Sigma asked. The two scouts quickly raised their hands in military salute, and one of them spoke up timidly.
"In…inside. He's inside." Sigma looked to where he pointed, a dark opening into some sort of place.
"You may leave now…"Sigma spoke quietly, but then his voice's volume raised again. "I'll take care of this personally." The two scouts looked at him in stunned amazement.
"By yourself, commander?" the first scout asked. Sigma nodded, for he knew why he was doing this solo.
"I don't want any more of my people being sacrificed!" Then Sigma started walking towards the heavy doors that led to his foe. The two scouts stopped looking at Sigma for a moment, to stare in wonder at the building. It was covered in stone, and hadn't been bothered in a while. It looked to have been sealed up for some time, but had recently been opened. And minutes ago, the red maverick was wandered inside. The weird thing, the oddest about the entire shebang was a massive skull etching above that seemed to glare down at them ominously.
Sigma opened the metal doors, and sunlight poured into the dark interior. As his eyes grew accustomed to it, he walked inside, then halted when he saw the maverick.
It was faced away from him, but when Sigma had entered, the figure had turned and grunted in surprise. Sigma's face widened as the red demon charged at him, screaming at the top of its lungs. Sigma smiled, loving the fact he would be able to avenge his fellow Hunter's deaths when he crushed this terror's life from his mechalungs. In the blink of an eye, Sigma activated his Warp Boots, instantly shifting away from the maverick's path and to the side. The maverick halted where it stood, then turned around and tried to hit Sigma with a roundhouse kick. Sigma quickly moved away from the attack again, and the maverick's boot crashed through the near wall like tinfoil. Sigma couldn't help but be amazed as he halted in his new position and stared at the warrior, walking through the dust cloud it had kicked up.
It was beautifully built, its every feature seeming to indicate without a doubt its intent. This maverick was designed to be a war machine, from its pointed Helmet to the spiked kneepads. And everywhere on its body the streamlined red and white. Only the maverick's chest plate had any difference, with two green spheres built in. And a massive braid of golden hair hung behind him, jerking back and forth in tune with his head. Sigma smiled for a moment, pitying the fact that such a wonderfully crafted form would have to be obliterated.
Sigma let out a cry and charged the crimson maverick with his full fury, but the maverick followed suit. They met in the middle of their arena, and the red demon was the first to launch his attack, a series of punches that Sigma avoided by extreme body contortions. But then Sigma backed up and swung his right leg out to attack. The red demon tried to block it, but Sigma's power proved too much, and the red maverick crashed through the wall to Sigma's left., destroying some sort of tubing along with the wall. Now the dust hung heavy in the air, for the titanic battle was devastating their area. The old building would not take much more of this. Sigma began to walk towards the maverick, but the red demon would not give up and he leapt from his crash site. With his same fury, the crimson maverick began to go after Sigma with another flurry of punches. Sigma dodged them all, then reached out and grabbed an arm. With massive strength, Sigma swung the maverick into the air, smashed him against the floor, and then flung him at the ceiling headfirst. The maverick crashed through the brittle construction, and hung motionless for a few moments. Sigma smiled, thinking that he had won. But his smile was wiped from his face and the demon stole it. The maverick raised his arms and pulled himself down from his position, a wide smile on his face as he yanked a portion of metal beside him from the ceiling. Sigma couldn't believe what he saw. The beast was actually ENJOYING this? The creature dropped down from the ceiling and threw his debris at Sigma. Sigma batted it aside easily, but he knew why the maverick had thrown it. His left hand swung up, only to crash against the demon's right. They looked at each other in anger, until their systems sent out a powerful discharge that separated them. Sigma tried to slow down, but the maverick would not let up, starting again with another flurry of punches, but this time the two were so close that Sigma could barely dodge them all. With a leap of avoidance, Sigma jumped up to the rafter above. The maverick looked up and then backflipped to the one in front of Sigma's girder easily. Sigma pulled his beam saber forth and activated it, the green blade spitting fire into the air. The maverick reached beside him and grabbed a metal rod, bringing it forth into a dueling stance with a cold smile and two hollow eyes. They both leapt into the air and met halfway, each striking with their weapon. The maverick expertly blocked the saber with his rod, while at the same time preventing the saber from cutting his weapon into harmless scrap. They fell down, striking, parrying and dodging the other's blows like duelists who had known each other their entire lives.
They landed, and jumped backwards. Then with another warcry, they reassumed their battle charging at one another. Sigma smote the first blow, his saber slicing down with vicious power and splitting the maverick's rod in two. The maverick smiled eerily still, and charged at Sigma. Sigma reared up for another downwards hack, and then the two met.
A flash of light…and then a scream. Sigma's scream, as his left arm fell to the ground still clutching the lit saber. The maverick had done the impossible…harmed Sigma. And worse yet as the power and electrical energies discharged from the wound, Sigma soon found himself in a very real and very alarming danger. The maverick smiled again and began to walk slowly towards Sigma, a small rumble of laughter in his throat. Sigma trembled and quaked as he stared in fear at the oncoming foe.
The silence of the moment was interrupted, and two shadows danced across the wall. One attacking, and one defending. Finally, a weakened Sigma fell to the floor with a cry of pain, and two huge gash marks streaked across his face and over his eyes, with one huge chunk of synthskin missing also. The maverick knelt down, grabbing Sigma's right arm and his head by the chin, squeezing it up in a powerful headlock, one in which Sigma knew he was doomed to die like Garma.
Whoever built this…maverick…was strong and Sigma knew it. Strong in hatred and strong in his crazed mind. But his thoughts began to blank out, and at last the only thing Sigma could do was listen.
Listen to the maverick's continual laughter, growing louder and louder until he reared his head back with a loud final laugh…and then the sound of an airpipe being choked off.
Sigma felt his restraints go slack, and then vanish. He took a few breaths to get his fusion generators pumping out more energy, and then looked behind him. A gigantic W was flashed across the maverick's crystal control chip cover, and he was grasping his head like he had a horrific migraine. His eyes were shut, his mouth was open, and the maverick's scream of pain was loud and earsplitting. Sigma took his chance and with a mighty roar clenched his right hand into a fist and swung it at the mavericks' head.
The punch broke through the crystal, shattering tiny bits of plastiglass all over the floor. The maverick fell backwards to the ground, in stasis and fitfully sleeping. Sigma did not take the time to look at his fist, for if he had he would have noticed something sinister, something black and something living…living only for the purpose of death seep into his systems, finding a new host in Sigma instead of the maverick before him.
Outside, the scouts looked on in worry. There had been much noise that came from the inside of the building, and not all of it friendly. The first scout looked up as his ears picked up plodding footsteps. A dim figure emerged from the door, wearily trudging along in a jog.
"Look, it's Commander Sigma!" the scout cried. The other one looked over and then stared at his associate.
"Incredible…now I'm CERTAIN there's no one who's a match for the commander…wha?!" the scout froze as he saw the full form of Sigma for the first time. Sigma was clutching at his left arm socket…an empty arm socket, and his entire face had been mangled.
"Take that red maverick…to the repair center….and call Doctor Cain…I wish to have that maverick studied…" Sigma's voice came haltingly and painfully as he jogged along.
"Commander…are you okay?" the first scout asked. Sigma's face flared up in anger as he looked at the scout, then looked away. With a swat of his right arm, Sigma pushed the scout aside.
"SILENCE!!!" Sigma yelled out. The two scouts looked at each other, then at Sigma. And lastly to the interior where the maverick lay, sleeping. Sigma looked back for one moment, a strange look in his eye.
"And I'm giving you an order here…you don't speak a WORD about his being maverick, got it? NOT A WORD. As far as anyone's concerned, he's a reploid who's lost everything by the maverick attacks here." The scouts looked at Sigma in shock, for mavericks were disposed of. Something was odd in Sigma's attitude, but they would not question his orders.
After all, he WAS the leader of the Maverick Hunters.
"Hey…hey, wake up!" the groggy reploid was shaken vigorously by X, and his eyes refused to obey.
"Let me sleep, ma…"
"Ah-ah, pal. Time for wakey-wakey!" X reached back and smacked the reploid in the cheek lightly. That woke him up.
The red reploid shot forth, his face with anger. X jumped back quickly, but he never took his eyes off the reploid.
"All right, pal. You got some questions to answer!" the red reploid growled. "Such as why the Hell you thought you needed to slap me." X grinned sheepishly, and shrugged.
"Sorry. My name is X…" the red reploid stared at X for a moment, and then laughed loudly.
"Oh, geez. Can you imagine what a FIELD DAY I'd have teasing you on that point?" X frowned.
"Enough of that, buster. Can you tell me your name?" The red reploid thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Yeah. I'm Zero Omega…." He was interrupted by a sliding door as Cain walked in, accompanied by a recharged and rebuilt Sigma, who was staring into space blankly.
"So, your name is Zero, eh? Well, that's good. At least you've retained your thinking and memory. I am Dr. Cain, the political and medical leader of the Maverick Hunters. This is Maverick Hunter Headquarters?" Zero squinted for a few seconds, then looked at Cain with a blank look of confusion.
"Mavericks? Hunters?" Cain's mouth curled into a frown.
"Hmm.. he's missing some pretty important info. But from the looks of it…I'd say he had amnesia." Sigma looked at him.
"What, you mean he's forgotten it?" Cain nodded.
"More like shut it out. I mean, this poor fellow just went through Hell over there, with that maverick that you disposed of. He's shut it out, trying to prevent himself from going nuts in fear." Sigma frowned, and looked at Zero.
"More like he's trying to hide himself…" Cain looked up at Sigma.
"Eh? Whadidya say there?" Sigma looked down.
"Nothing…just mumbling. Tell me Doctor…these scars, there's nothing you can do about them?" Cain shook his head.
"Of course I can fix them, Sigma." Sigma looked into a shiny scrubbed metal plate that held operations tools, and squinted.
"Just fix the cheeks. Leave the eyescars alone." Cain raised his left eyebrow.
"Leave it alone?" Sigma nodded.
"Call it a scar of remembrance…the only maverick that was a challenge, and I defeated him." Sigma nodded. "I'll keep them."
Sigma turned and walked out, leaving behind Cain and X to their new companion, Zero Omega.
"So…Zero. Tell me, what do you want to do now?" Zero looked up, his eyes filling with excitement.
"Well, from what X-Box tells me here, you guys are fighting against reploids like me who've lost a few french fries from their happy meals." Cain nodded.
"Er…yes, that's true. Interesting analogy."
"Anyhoo, I figure I'd kinda like to try and be a Hunter myself." Zero got up. "As a matter of fact, I think I'll start training now." Zero got up and walked out of the medical bay. X shook his head.
"Damn. I thought for sure Zero would want to be like me and Cancer…" Cain smiled.
"Uninvolved?" X nodded. "X, we all have to make our own choices in life. All fate does is present them to us. A series of forks in the road, each fork leading to a different end." X sighed.
"Somehow, I think any fork involving fighting comes to an unhappy one."