MEGA MAN X: THE SOUND OF MAVERICKS
By Eric Lawson
CHAPTER SEVEN: CONFRONTING THE NIGHTMARES
Bastion awoke with a start, a sudden intake of breath his only indication of fright. His eyes flew wide open, and he scanned the room fearfully. He blinked, then began to breathe deeply. In his last few moments of stasis, Bastion had dreamed a pair of figures were charging at him. Their eyes spouted fire, their hands were misshapen clawed things.
And the fact that they both held lit twin beam sabers didn't help much. Bastion shook his head, instinctively reaching down to feel the wounds of that horrible night.
They were still patched up. He finally stopped his panic attack and shook his head.
"A dream based on truth is far more frightening than a surreal one." He looked over, to see Bristol still dozing, completely unaware of the fact that he was up and running…
And fully aware of how important his existence was to her. It sent a twinge down his spine, an odd sense that he couldn't identify.
It was fear and joy, elation and frustration. It was a potent mix of every radical emotional response he knew. And no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shrug it off. It hung over him like a cloud, a cloud with a silver lining and a storm within.
He got up to his feet, and gently reached a hand down to touch Bristol's shoulder. He shook it gently, not enough to jar her awake, but enough to make her stasis cycle ask if she was done sleeping.
"Bristol, you up?" Bastion smiled softly and shook her again. "Hey, Bristol. Wake up already, eh? It's seven bleeding O' Clock."
Bristol stirred softly, her mind slowly reactivating all the way. Her main processor took over and she stretched her limbs out, making them move after a prolonged period of misuse. She shook her hair back, and finally opened her weary, bleary eyes.
Then they shot wide open in surprise. Bristol looked up at Bastion in befuddlement, and then it switched to elation.
"Bastion, YOU'RE ALIVE!" Bastion chuckled.
"Of course I am. Hazil fixed all my wounds up as good as new." A wince of painful memories shot into his head, and he hid the frown.
Maybe not all of them. There was still the psychological damage.
Bristol leapt to her feet, now smiling broadly, her eyes beginning to glitter in the Medical Bay's lights with the moisture they held. Taking not a second's pause, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly.
"Bastion, we were all afraid we lost you last night." She finally said, a slight tremble in her happy voice. Bastion blinked, trying to think back to his first diagnostic scan.
"Would this possible threat involve the fact my stasis circuits were out on the blink?" Bristol nodded.
"You were in a coma, Bastion." That made the proud Hunter shudder. A coma was not a nice thing, and when it came to both humans and reploids, it almost always lead to death. He had been very lucky.
"So how'd I snap out of it, then?" Bastion frowned. Bristol backed away and shook her head. Then it dawned on Bastion.
"Maybe it wasn't the wiring that woke me up." He blinked. "Last night, you pleaded with me to wake up." He ran a hand through his hair, realizing the full implications of his recovery. "And then I did. Bristol, science can't explain how I woke up." He lowered his hands and let his mouth slip into a half smile.
"But somehow I feel as if you played a very big part in it."
They looked at each other in a giddy stupor for what seemed like eternity.
And then the door hissed open. A grumbling Hazil rolled in, his head down.
"All right, Bristol. Let's leave the dead be for now. I have to get prepped." Bastion's face went super wide with a smile as he put his hands onto his hips, pushing himself to a full stance of pride.
"And just who's dead, Hazil?" Hazil's head shot up in the same stunned disbelief that Bristol's had, and his face went chalk white.
"Oh, sweet Malpractice settlements…BASTION!" Hazil backed away for a moment, his disbelieving eyes running a search over all the cots in the Bay. Hazil gasped one last time, then clutched his chest.
"There's no body lying where I left it, so I'm not seeing ghosts." Hazil raised his other hand, trembling as it was and pointed at the smiling Hunter. "But…Bastion, you were one fried puppy! You were stuck in a coma, AND I COULDN'T PULL YOU OUT OF IT!" Bastion chuckled.
"Someone obviously saved my bacon then. And I think she was the one to do it." Bastion motioned with his head of hair to the smiling Bristol. Hazil frowned, now at last over his stunned discovery.
"Bristol? How could she pull you from the great beyond?" Bristol shrugged, still smiling.
"I asked him to come back." Hazil raised his eyebrows, trying to correlate her statement with his personal memories.
"That's something no civilization or scientist has ever been fully able to explain in scientific terms." Hazil nodded, still disbelieving the most rational theory behind his recovery. "But religion has been able to take a few cracks at it, as jumbled and illogical as it can get at times."
He finally shook his head.
"Bastion, you nearly gave me a heart attack there. I suggest you go and take your friend Bristol, and go get chummy with all your pals again. They'll be as shocked as I was." Bastion grinned.
"Wow. A chance to walk out of here and be among the living? I'll take it!" Bastion and Bristol tromped out of the Medical Bay, all smiles at long last.
But Hazil had a different thing to do at the moment.
Rationalize the impossible. He rolled over to his desk and lowered his frame down. Setting his head in his hands, he shut his eyes.
"It's been thought for a while now that people have guardian angels." He opened his optics. "Why should reploids be any different?" He looked over to his door, then looked back to his computer. Work to do.
"Bastion, I have an odd feeling that Bristol's presence in your life has become far more therapeutic than any surgery I can undertake." He grunted. "But at least I'm still a doc." He grinned. "The patient lived."
"Hey, have some praise for the walking dead here!" Bastion laughed loudly as he stepped out of the door of the Medical Bay. Grim faces registered shock at the outburst, and then they all turned. Some slowly, some in a massive spin of power. But all who walked the hallways of HQ were stunned beyond belief.
Then the happiness sank in. One by one, the Hunters and technicians and support crews all grinned from ear to ear. Some laughed loudly, some cried. Others shook their heads, too stunned to smile.
Bastion had returned from the dead. And then just to be sure, Bastion's comm buzzed.
"Bastion? You there?" It was X. Bastion slapped the tiny comm on his wrist and returned the verbal response.
"I think so, unless this is all a dream. Which I doubt, because my side still hurts a little." X whistled loudly, then laughed.
"My God. Hear that Cain? Our plucky friend is alive and well after all! Pop the corks on the Champagne and call CNN. They have a story to swallow. One in which we are all happy fellows." Cain came on the line, grumbling slightly.
"On a more serious note, Bastion…now that you're back, I'll need you to come down to my office and tell us what you can recall of your attackers. Jad, Kol and Gavin arrived far too late to identify anything about it." Bastion's happy expression clouded over as he grimaced.
It wasn't a happy memory he kept from that incident, and it still scared him. For that one brief moment two nights ago, his skills had failed him, and he was almost destroyed. They had spared him only because superior forces approached them that night.
If he had been alone…
There would be no Bastion. He would be dead. End of story. And their words haunted him.
"You should have never gotten in our way, Hunter…" Bastion knew it within him. He was a marked man. From this point on, he'd always have to watch himself. They might be after him.
"Bastion?" Bastion blinked and brought himself back to reality. Bristol looked up at him, a face of concern easily visible. "Bastion, you looked a bit zonkered right there. You all right?" Bastion nodded slowly.
"I'll be all right. Gotta get to Cain's. You coming along?" Bristol smiled.
"Always."
Wycost had been a bit more secluded than usual. Ever since the great leader of URFAWP himself had called every single locale to announce the Hunter's Ultimatum, he'd been like that.
"Twenty Five Days." Wycost muttered softly. "Twenty five fargin days until the Hunters go belly up." Leaning on the table, Wycost didn't bother to touch his breakfast. He didn't need it, really. It was just one of the things that URFAWP and the Hunters did to try and make reploids feel more human. Using his fork, he pushed the runny eggs around his tray, not really looking at them, but letting his sunglass covered eyes stare off into space.
Wycost wished he could call Bastion, just to see if things were still all right. But he was in URFAWP, and URFAWP didn't allow outside calls or communications. The 'team leaders' kept saying it was to keep the reploids focused on their mission of peace.
"It's a way for them to keep in control. Team leaders? Bastion and I would both know they're master sergeants."
Isaiah chose that time to plop down beside his moody friend. He frowned as he saw Wycost's uneaten food.
"Wycost, you've been like this for six days. It's time you stopped moping about and got back to being your normal grouchy self." Wycost ignored him, and Isaiah glared even more angrily. "Hey, are you even listening to me?!"
Still no response from Wycost. So Isaiah chose the direct approach. He flung his hand out with lightning speed, snatched Wycost's ever present shades from his head and held them aloof from his compatriot.
That made Wycost move. He leapt up, his fists clenched as his body morphed into a fighting pose.
"Watch it bub." Wycost growled. "No one messes with my shades and gets away with it." Isaiah frowned and crossed his arms, still holding the shades with one pair of fingers.
"Just great. You've even regressed. Tell me, Wycost: Why is it that your first reaction to any situation is a violent one?" Wycost's flaring eyes snuffed themselves out, and he blinked for a moment.
He looked around the mess tent. Everyone else had silenced themselves, quietly looking at the display with a cross between scorn, sadness and annoyance.
Wycost let his body relax, releasing the tension in his limbs. Unclenching his hands, he sat back down. Isaiah snorted.
"See? That wasn't so hard." Isaiah dropped the glasses back on the table, where Wycost snatched them back up. Putting them back on, Wycost looked around the room, silently challenging anyone watching to make a move.
The room resumed its normal activities, and Isaiah sat back down.
"Wycost, you aren't in the Hunters any more. You're in URFAWP, and URFAWP's number one objective is to stop violence…not create it." Wycost shrugged.
"I left the Hunters because there was no place for me there anymore." Wycost took off his glasses and looked deeply into Isaiah's face. "Two reasons I was no longer welcome: I didn't get promoted, and I didn't have a purpose there anymore. The flame in my heart that was my drive to destroy the mavericks left me." Isaiah nodded.
"Why did the flame die?" Wycost sighed.
"Revenge for my dead friends could only go so far, Isaiah. It took a year after I finished what I set out to do to realize it, but I did." Wycost slipped his glasses back on.
"Once Sigma had been destroyed, my penance was paid. I saved the world from the fate my friends suffered. After that was done…" Wycost shrugged. "The motivation was gone." Isaiah nodded sagely.
"War is caused by hatred. Without it, you could no longer wage war." Wycost finally took a sip of his black coffee.
"Exactly. So I decided to come here." Wycost grimaced, both at the bitter drink and the situation. "And I've discovered I don't belong here either, Isaiah. I think the least I can do is leave URFAWP, return to the HQ and say hello to my friends before I vanish from public view." Isaiah frowned.
"What?! Leave URFAWP?" Wycost nodded.
"War was the only thing I was good at. Now that I am no longer a part of that, what am I good for? Isaiah, I was a fool to think peace would be something I was good at." Isaiah ruffled his hair.
"All right, fine. But make me this one promise, Wycost." Wycost finally focused his full attention on the plucky reploid of wisdom. "We're next in line to be shipped off to Calcutta five days from now. Stay in URFAWP until that mission is over with. If you still feel the same after doing actual fieldwork…I won't hold it against you. Hell, I'll even resign with you." Wycost frowned.
"I thought you liked URFAWP more, Isaiah." Isaiah shrugged.
"Wycost, I've been hanging with you for a while now. And I know within the pit of my being that were I to keep my eyes off you for even a second, you'd manage to goof up and get yerself hurt." Wycost chuckled a bit, and Isaiah stuck out his hand. "Five more days?"
Wycost grasped Isaiah's hand firmly, shaking it.
"Five more days, Isaiah." Wycost grinned. "Then all bets are off."
"There were two of them." Bastion said solemnly. With the voice recorder going, X, Zero, Cain and Bristol listened intently to his monologue. The Trio had met with Bastion, but had opted to get some more training in at the rec room instead of going to Cain's office. "I didn't even notice their approach, because the first time I realized they were there was when one of them spoke up." Bastion's brow was furrowed, his eyes shut. His teeth gritted occasionally, for the memory of that night was powerful within him.
Cain sat placidly, his only indication of emotion the stance of his hands on his desk. Zero leaned up against a wall, listening for the description. X pondered his time with a hand pulling on his chin, and Bristol had her arms folded as she stood, ears focused on his voice.
"I turned with my blade lit. I deflected the first one's slice, but then he attacked with the other end of his saber. Both him and his cohort had TWIN beam sabers. No matter how well I could manage against one blade in my surprise…two was too much. He gashed my side with the upswipe, which sent me sprawling to the ground." Bastion took in a ragged breath, his head shaking angrily. "Then the monster jammed one end of his weapon into my stomach like an overglorified spear." Bastion wiped his eyes.
"Had the Trio gotten to me even a few seconds later, they would have found me in the same condition as the reploid who had run from me."
"Canark." Zero harrumphed softly. Bastion nodded slowly, his face filled with pain.
"That's all I remember. Then they warped me back to HQ and Hazil stuck me in stasis for emergency surgery." Cain waited a brief moment, then turned the recorder off. He placed his chin into his clenched hands and breathed through his nose, pondering the clues. X finally spoke up.
"A pair of figures, presumably reploid, armed with twin beam sabers."
"Tinted dark purple, almost black." Bastion added.
Zero's eyes flared intensely for a moment, and one of his fists slammed into the wall. Everyone in the office looked over to him, and the flash of recognition on his face.
"What is it, Zero?" Cain asked softly. Zero blinked for a moment, then nodded his head.
"Bastion's attackers sound remarkably like that mysterious pair of reploids that have been popping in on some of our recent missions. One taller than the other, and they both carry TWIN beam sabers. And even the same tint as Bastion described in their blades." X perused that thought.
"You know, TWIN beam sabers isn't exactly an accurate term. I suggest we start calling it a beam staff." Zero nodded angrily.
"Anyhoo, X! Even their attitudes correllate with Bastion's account. Cocky, self centered and all important. Always saying we get in the way. Bastion's attackers said that." Bastion suddenly felt a sense of dread envelop him, and then it all seemed to fall into place.
"That could be them." He finally uttered. Cain shrugged.
"It's the best we have to go on, anyways. And now we know they present a serious threat." Cain nodded. "It all seems to fit. We have two reploids armed with rather nasty beam saber weapons, going after mavericks, Hunters and regular reploids alike." Cain shook his head, his eyes wide open. "Hunters, this is more than a maverick threat. This is a threat of SERIAL KILLERS. Highly dangerous, ultimately unpredictable, and with no trail to follow." Cain suddenly felt his head begin to throb. "This is without chalking up the other cases in Tokyo that we've found of reploids with their heads melted by saber wounds." He looked around the room grimly. "I think it's safe to say they stand a very good chance of being responsible for those as well."
"So now we have to find them." X said softly. Cain nodded.
"It's the Hunter's top priority, X. Without Sigma or the Maverick Virus to threaten earth, it seems our last days of existence will take on a different role." Cain looked around, then winced and put a hand to his head. "You all shuffle on out of here now. I got a headache, and you're all good boys and girls, able to accomplish this."
They gave him the respect he requested and pushed off from his room. In the silence, Cain swallowed another aspirin tablet and breathed deeply.
"Twenty five days." Cain shook his head. "Nothing is clear anymore. Not even who our enemy is."
"I feel it is imperative to warn the honorable delegates of the Global Defense Council about the danger that the entire reploid race holds to humanity!" Cristoph said loudly. In yet another biweekly session of the GDC, the leader of the reploid haters in their ranks was once more grandstanding, waving his arms furiously despite his age.
"Disbanding the Hunters was a logical step to ensure humanity's survival, but it is far from the last. If we are to continue on fruitfully, earth must realize that creating reploids in the first place was a terrible idea, and that we must correct this error by halting all production of reploids." That set up a loud murmur in the chambers. Gorab, head of the GDC, had to bang his gavel several times to halt the rumblings. Setting his icy gaze on Cristoph, he shook his head.
"Representative Cristoph, I think the majority of the GDC and the WORLD, for that matter would disagree with you. Reploids are a valued part of our society in the world, plagued with the same problems humanity holds." Cristoph held his ground, staunchly standing in the center of the arena. Gorab continued, letting his powerful voice carry over everyone.
"Reploids are able to perform tasks in dangerous situations, far beyond humanity's ability to do so. They have created some of the greatest scientific theories of all time with their combination of human ingenuity and processing speeds, and they serve the world community as faithfully as humans do."
"But-" Cristoph started abruptly. Gorab silenced him with a mighty slam of his wooden hammer.
"I am not finished, Councilor." Gorabracked his knuckles, and bored his flaring eyes down into the white haired man. "Humanity is no better than they are. Some members of our race naturally are more violent than others. In this day and age, street gangs still walk about with their protection rackets, and serial killers are as prevalent as ever. The difference between reploids and humans is this; They become violent towards society for two reasons. One, they are infected with the Maverick Virus, and then the commands to wreak havoc are hardwired into them. Or two, prejudiced humans and prejudiced society pushes them over the brink."
"If I may speak, sir-" The Turkish Councilwoman Seenam spoke up. Gorab nodded his head at her. Seenam tilted her head at the now fuming Cristoph and focused.
"Cristoph, all of the GDC agreed that with the threat of the Maverick Uprisings ceased, the Hunters were a dangerous commodity. That part of your regimen we carried out efficiently, because we felt it important. But if you believe the only way to move on now is to doom a race that is tarnished only by acts it was forced into doing because of intense hatred, then you live a secluded life. Perhaps it would be better if we all wore tan with Swastikas and started saluting you, HERR Cristoph?" Seenam's fiery voice carried over, and the room now stood completely hushed. Seenam continued.
"Many years ago, it would not have been possible for me to represent my country. Women were still viewed in my society as inferiors." Seenam nodded. "Times have changed, Cristoph. Reploids are not the danger in the world now. The danger is hatred and prejudice." Cristoph's face shook angrily, the blood boiling within to turn him a beet red. Seenam finally smoothed her dress down and shook her head.
"I think we have all heard enough talk about this issue of Cristoph's. Agreed?" A unison hand tally in the GDC clinched it, and Gorab motioned for Cristoph to sit down. But even as he walked back to his seat, his heart bubbled with rage for these fools.
"Oh, you're all wrong." Cristoph growled softly. "You're all wrong."
"So, our dear buddy Bastion returns at last!" Zero chortled. With his X-Buster activated, he stepped away from the target range to meet with Bastion, and the ever present Bristol.
Bastion ruffled his hair back and looked about the Rec Room of the HQ with a wistful smile.
"Been a while since I've been here." Zero shrugged.
"A few days. And let me tell you, I'm glad you're back. Keeping tabs on the 21st is NOT my idea of a fun time. Especially those three new ones I recommended to your Unit-you know, the Trio." Bastion raised an eyebrow.
"Jad, Kol, and Gavin? They acting up again?" Zero wiped a thin layer of sweat from his brow, finally taking off his helmet.
"Let's just say they're not the most predictable of people." Bastion sighed.
"Even then Zero, they're still good." Zero nodded.
"Yep. You do well by your Unit, Bastion." Zero looked over at the range again, wincing as Jad and Kol blew a chunk of wall out along with the target. Bastion raised a hand.
"Let me handle 'em." Zero grunted, bowing down.
"Oh, by all means." Bastion nodded slightly to Bristol, who remained by the entrance and watched in interest. Walking to the range, he checked on the pair, lightly tapping them on the shoulder. They started for a moment, then turned and grinned from ear to ear.
"Awlright!" Jad chortled. "The bossman, comin' to show us the rooopes!" Kol smacked Jad in the back of the head.
"Forgive him, Commander. He still thinks you like 'Makin' Copeees!" Bastion rolled his eyes.
"I don't copy stuff, Jad. I save it to memory. In any case, see that target there?" He pointed his index finger at the now obliterated range circle and the chunk of wall also destroyed. Kol and Jad shook their heads slowly. Bastion snorted.
"The object of shooting your Busters at that is to maintain a steady rate of fire at high accuracy. NOT to charge your blaster up, pop it off and wish for half the shot to hit." Bastion shook his head. "Ahh, geez. It's things like this that keep us from going to the Bowling Alley on weekends. Do me a favor and don't waste our slush fund budget on wall repairs." Jad nearly choked on a chuckle, and Kol ribbed him to stop it. Jad howled in pain and kicked Kol in the shins, who then responded with a crack to Jad's jaw. Bastion finally decked them both with one massive double fisted barrel punch. Wincing and lying on the ground, they looked up sheepishly. Bastion rolled his eyes again.
"All right. I have a feeling that skirmish was created by Kol trying to stop Jad from saying something stupid. Which you do often enough to warrant it. However, I really do wish you'd stop the fisticuffs. Save it for when you two have to rely on each other for survival in a fight." Jad nodded.
"Ahh, shoot. Kol here knows that when push comes to shove-"
"As it often does!" Kol pointed out with a bluster. Jad snorted.
"Anyhoo, he knows that in a pinch, I'd do everything in my power to help him out. We're team members, for cryin' out loud! The Dual Busters of Death!" Kol hooed in response, and they high fived. Bastion groaned.
"All right. I give up." He looked about, still unsure of something. "Say, where's Gavin?" Jad blinked, then smiled and pointed behind his commander. Bastion frowned, then widened his eyes in recognition.
"Oh." He turned a full 180, his face switching to smile mode. Gavin stood with his arms at his sides, watching in mock interest. "Gavin me boy! You been keeping these two in line while I was under the knife?" Gavin grunted.
"If it's possible. I dun my best, coach." He looked over to a training room and grinned. "Hey, boss! You interested in having a friendly little duel with me?" Bastion widened his eyes for a moment, then nodded.
"I could use the practice. Don't expect to win, though." Gavin jawed his disapproval.
"Oh, we'll see. Give it a break, gramps. Time to let the young wolves lead the pack!" Bastion growled, but his face still held happiness. Gavin was prodding him into action, not actually threatening him.
"Oh, you think, eh Gavin? Let this old warhorse show you just what's what!" As Bastion and Gavin ran off to the training room, Jad grinned.
"You know what I was gonna say when you punched me?" Kol shrugged.
"What?"
"I was gonna say, most of the wall damages done are by our mysterious friend Bristol."
"I got three to one odds Gavin whips Bastion soundly!" Jad hollered. "Any takers?" The uproar on the walkway above the medium sized dojo was a mad pack of Hunters, as everyone made a bet on the winner of the small training session.
Below, Bastion examined his opponent with careful eyes. Arms at his side, he finally raised them.
"All right, Gavin. First things first. Hand to hand combat." Gavin nodded happily, then tucked himself into a fighting pose. Bastion nodded.
This was not going to be Martial Arts. This was gonna be a street fight, which is usually the only kind of fighting one engages in on the field.
Gavin came at Bastion with a first solid burst from his Dash Boots, priming himself for a body slam. Bastion readied himself, then dashed to the side at the last moment. He raised his hand and solidly thwocked it against Gavin's back as he went, sending the Hunter sprawling.
Laughter erupted above, and more money was wagered on Bastion. Gavin picked himself up with little fanfare, now snorting angrily at the ease of which Bastion had silenced him.
"Not bad, Commander." Bastion shrugged, watching Gavin's eyes for his next movement. Gavin took to the air, dashing against and then off the wall. With a downwards tackle, Gavin prepared to slam into Bastion full force. Bastion sidestepped it again, but this time Gavin was expecting it. Upon landing, he activated his thrusters again, charging at Bastion in an attack that was pure surprise.
Bastion frowned, then realized there was no stopping the next blow. Gavin wanted to meet fist to fist, he was fine with that.
Gavin came at Bastion with a low kick to the midsection. Bastion deflected it easily with a left fist slam, then went at Gavin with a thruster enhanced dash punch. Gavin ducked under the blow, readying a double fisted slam to Bastion's gut.
Bastion jumped up into the air, dodging the blow even before Gavin had unleashed it. Landing behind the Hunter, he turned and took one final dash to his opponent. A dizzying jump kick into Gavin's backside sent him sprawling once more, and after only four seconds of combat, it was over.
More cheers for Bastion, who stood with one hand at his side, placidly watching Gavin pick himself up from the blow.
Bastion raised his other hand and pointed.
"Your problem is, Gavin-you forget subtle movements can be just as effective as large, frontal ones." Gavin growled.
"So you took me out in hand to hand. We still have a saber duel to accomplish today." More yells of approval from above. Bastion looked up in annoyance, then shrugged.
"All right." He reached for his saber, pulling it from his socket. He didn't light it right away, instead feeling its solid weight in his hands. "You want to have a duel? I'm fine with that." Gavin yowled his affirmation, then yanked his own saber free from its recharge port on his back. Unlike Bastion, Gavin lit his saber instantly, bringing the orange blade to life. He held it with both hands, his eyes peering around the tint, staring bloody murder into Bastion's eyes.
Bastion lit his, then brought it up to the same position as Gavin's, overlapping the orange blade with his on his line of sight.
Then he froze. Bastion, seeing only an angry being staring at him, and a purple blade in his face, suddenly lost all control of his voluntary servos and wiring. The room faded away from his perspective, and then it was only him and the angry figure staring at him.
"No-oh, no." Bastion gasped. Terrible images of his attack flashed across his mind, and he was unable to stop it.
Gavin charged, screaming at the top of his lungs at Bastion as he raised his blade into the air. Bastion made no move to stop the attack or avoid it.
Gavin came closer, closer, hurtling across the chamber with ease. He brought his saber down, slamming it into Bastion's own blade. The blow jarred the saber loose, and it clattered onto the floor, automatically shutting itself off.
Bastion slumped to the floor, his eyes staring off into nothingness. His body trembled, his voice waned in and out of hearing.
"No-no-stay away!" In the dead silence, Gavin blinked in confusion, stepping away and putting up a defensive posture in case Bastion was trying to trick him.
But he finally shut his blade off. Then the muttering started. Everyone watched in surprise and stunned amusement at Bastion's display.
It continued. Bastion fell onto his side, still shaking in fear, his voice getting thicker with sobs as he pleaded to have it stop.
"Have what stop?!" Zero grumbled. X jumped down from above, landing lightly beside the quivering Hunter. He looked down at the glazed face of agony, then up above. His face went dark.
"We need to get him to Hazil-NOW!"
Hazil watched with angry impatience as the scanner slowly winded down from Bastion's survey. The Hunter, now in stasis once more lay silent on the table, an unmoving figure to his own fears. X and Zero, as well as Bristol waited with tense moods for the completion.
Finally, his console beeped and Hazil brought up the screen. He looked over it with quick eyes, then sighed.
Pushing himself away from the console, Hazil faced the waiting onlookers and shrugged.
"So why did you bring him to me?" Zero nearly coughed up a hairball, and X slammed a hand to his head.
"Hazil! He went dead limp in the training room, shaking in fear." Hazil snorted.
"Are you all that dense?" Hazil waited, but got no response. Finally, he spoke up again. "Listen. There's nothing physically wrong with this guy. I should know, because I fixed all the major stuff, and Bristol somehow worked her magic on his stasis controls. What's wrong with him is psychological."
X finally nodded, realizing what the grumpy practitioner was saying.
"So, Bastion froze up because of-"
"A blasted flashback to a very painful time. Most likely the attack he suffered four days ago. Tell me, just what was happening to him when he-hmm." Hazil tapped the side of his head. "Bristol, can you think of a term?"
"When Bastion sighted a banshee, froze in fear and curled his tail to the Queen's coattails?" Bristol said quietly. Hazil clenched his teeth and nodded.
"Exactly. So? You two gonna give me an answer, or try and beat me in a staring contest?" Zero finally grunted and leveled his gaze at the doc.
"Bastion and Gavin were facing each other in a training session. Gavin lit his blade, Bastion did as well, and then he just froze." Hazil whistled.
"Shoulda known so. Bastion got nailed by a beam staff, right? It makes sense seeing another blade weapon would set him up for a psychotic nightmare."
X shook his head.
"So what do we do now?" Hazil blinked his eyes shut for a moment, then spoke up.
"Simple. Until such a time as he is able to wield his weapon in full use of his faculties, I'm sticking him on the injured list. The 21st will have to go on for a while without him, but they'll live." Hazil frowned. "Worst case scenario, they don't have a leader for the remaining 25 days the Hunters are in operation."
"Any cures?" X shot back quickly. Hazil scratched the back of his head.
"I have a few ideas already. But mainly, it's up to him. He has to overcome the memory, he has to regain himself. It's up to him to Face the Nightmares." Hazil looked over to the sleeping Hunter, then shrugged. "So, who's gonna take him back to his room?"
Bristol walked beside him, quietly putting her hand on his.
"I'll do it." She said softly, almost too soft to be heard. But they heard it. Hazil nodded, X set his jaw and Zero snorted. But they didn't argue.
Bristol picked Bastion up, heaving his frame onto her back. With one smooth motion, she set him into a carrying position and began to walk out the door. Zero looked over to X and tapped him on the shoulder.
"You wanna go do some training?"
"No. I don't feel like it."
"Fine. Howabout a drink?"
"You buying?"
"Yeah."
"Grape soda, then." The two Hunters left the Medical Bay, and then only Hazil remained.
He waited for a moment, and then rolled over to his console.
"Computer." It bleeped for a moment, then went silent. "Bring up design schematics for Bastion's beam saber." It did as was told. Hazil silently scanned the images, then nodded.
"Twenty five days." He rubbed his eyes with a hand. "Bastion, if this works, you owe me big. It just may be the one thing that keeps you from going to the unemployment lines."