MEGA MAN X: THE SOUND OF MAVERICKS
By Erico
CHAPTER ELEVEN: MISGUIDED MADNESS
"Excuse me? What did you say?" Cristoph raised his glasses, still comfortably surrounded in his seat of the GDC.
X didn't waver from his stance on the floor, all eyes focused on him.
Some were sympathetic.
Others disbelieving.
Others still were filled with mistrust and hatred.
Like Cristoph's. But X could see past his mask.
The mask that glimmered brightly in all its fallacy, as Cristoph played up the elder jolly man act to the full extent anyone could.
"I will repeat myself, Councilman Cristoph." X said calmly. "I SAID…that the Maverick Virus has returned."
The light buzz before turned much worse with X's confirmation.
Cristoph chuckled, shaking his head.
"X, I find it difficult to believe that. The Hunters themselves have confirmed that a little more than a year ago, in the final hours of the Fifth Maverick Uprising, a duel was held between Sigma and yourself and Zero. You defeated him then, and because he had no means of escape, he could not possibly continue to exist. Further evidence in the diaries of Cain labs and Hunter main referendum shows that wherever the Maverick Virus exists, there is always Sigma, in some form or another."
Cristoph settled back in his chair and put his glasses back on.
"We are very disbelieving about this kind of thing, X. For all we know, this could be nothing more than a ploy, an attempt by you, and I suspect others in your organization from stopping the deadline." Cristoph leaned forward, smiling jovially over his sinister intents.
"Am I correct in that belief, X?"
X struggled to hold his emotions, his anger against this bullheaded man in check. He opted to remove his helmet and take out the stress by means of expelling heat from his head.
"No, Cristoph. This is no ploy. This is the real thing."
Silence hung in the room. All eyes suddenly identified the rage that passed between the eyes of Cristoph and Commander X.
"Do you have any evidence to the contrary?"
X thought long and hard. The only evidence they held that proved the Virus had returned was not only held deep within the mind of the mind of the person who had been infected, Wycost--but it also cast a very sour note on the Hunters that Cristoph would play out fully.
Even an ex-Hunter is a Hunter to a biased human's eyes. Wycost would be no different.
"I have no evidence that the Hunters would care to bring to light at this time." X finally said softly, admitting defeat through gritted teeth.
Cristoph smiled, another victory under his belt.
"Well in that case Commander X, the Ultimatum still stands. The Hunters have 16 more days to decide which 3 Units shall remain."
X didn't respond to Cristoph's final comment.
He snapped his helmet back over his wavy black hair and turned around from Cristoph, his back turned to the man whom he despised.
And then X vanished in a bolt of blue fire, flying up through the domed ceiling above.
"Well, I think that takes care of that." Hazil said placidly. Running his fingers over his Medical Console, he nodded to Zero and Doan standing nearby.
Doan hadn't left the room since his Revenant scan of Wycost. It made Hazil ponder questions, but he had more important things to do.
"Time to wake up Bastion. Stand back everyone…" Hazil hit the final command on his console, activating the de-stasis procedures on the bed that Bastion lay on.
Bastion's eyes fluttered open, slowly at first and then with greater acuity.
He frowned at first, then set his jaw and pulled himself from the cot.
"How long was I out?" Hazil smirked.
"Ten years."
"WHAT?!"
"Just kidding, bub. Three days, thereabouts. It took me a bit longer to fix up your war wounds, especially when I was working on Wycost as well."
"Wycost…" Bastion flexed his hand, slowly feeling his arms move after his long sleep. He frowned and looked over to Wycost, fully repaired, but still lying dormant.
"Why didn't you wake him up?" Hazil folded his arms and set his jaw.
"It's kind of against company policy to pull a reploid out of stasis when he's still maverick." Bastion's eyes flashed brightly for a moment, then dimmed to their normal stance.
"How bad is it?" Doan looked up from his place beside his sleeping friend and frowned.
"VERY." Bastion blinked, finally noticing the newcomer.
"Doan? You're with the 17th…what are you doing here?" Doan didn't respond, so Zero took over.
"Apparently, these two tender turkeys knew each other from long ago." Doan didn't answer to that either. Zero brushed his hair back and frowned.
"They're almost cast from the same mold…Both of them don't talk much, and have a sucky bedside manner." Doan spoke up softly at the comment.
"But he's infected. And I'm not." Hazil waved his finger in the air.
"True, that." Hazil looked over to Bastion. "You gonna be all right for a while? Bastion blinked, then nodded slowly.
"I want to know everything involving how Wycost got messed up with all of this. Where that ship came from, and what it was doing in Calcutta, India." Zero motioned to the Medical Bay's exit door.
"Follow me. I'll grab ya some java, and give the whole kitn' kaboodle." Bastion nodded.
His right hand reached behind his back, silently acknowledging the empty spot below his saber recharger ports.
The spot that once held his Powerstorm Armor. Bastion's frown bloomed.
"Yeah…I'm coming, Zero."
Zero and Bastion quietly slipped out of the Medical Bay, leaving Hazil and Doan to look after Wycost.
Hazil sighed, looking at the unmoving form of Doan.
"How long were you planning to stay there again?" Doan turned, his face a mask of grimness.
"Until he wakes up." Hazil shook his head.
"Sorry, I ain't waking him up."
"Until you do, you won't be able to identify where…or what form for that matter, the Maverick Virus has taken in him." Hazil glared, showing his teeth.
"I still don't like it one bit, you know." Doan shrugged.
"You're the doc. It's your choice in the end." Hazil rapped his fingers on his other arm.
"Don't remind me."
Just then, Hazil's doorbell rang. The chime, specifically which identified someone was standing outside.
"Who's there?"
"Hazil, it's me." It was Bristol. Hazil acknowledged it and let the door to his Medical Bay open up."
Bristol walked in, looking a bit fatigued than before. But her right hand held a datapad…
"I've got some preliminary sketches…care to take a look?" Bastion said, her voice ragged. Hazil shrugged.
"Been a while. But sure…let's have a peek at Bastion's next generation Flight Armor." Hazil gently grabbed onto the datapad and downloaded the files onto his main desk console. Sitting down in the chair, Hazil brought up the stats.
He had to whistle loudly at what he saw.
"Geez…this is going beyond and above. 'Angel's Advantage' is what you chose to call this, eh?" Bristol nodded, leaning on her elbows as she looked at the schematics, slowly rotating on the screen in a 3-D model. Hazil looked at some of the stats.
"You know, a lot of this is almost conceptual design…untested." Bristol shrugged.
"You said you could build it, Hazil." Hazil blinked his eyes.
"I said I was good. This implies I'm a genius…" Hazil zoomed in on the wingtips.
"Bipolar Electrical Discharge Blasters…Thermodynamic friction rechargers, AND ELECTROMAGNETIC REPULSION ACTUATORS…all in the same damn package." Hazil slapped himself in the face.
"Bristol, this is genius here. We're talking YEARS beyond the previous set. I doubt even X's maker Light ever thought up something this intense." Hazil looked over at Bristol in a cross between wonder and admiration. "Have you ever done this kind of thing before?"
Bristol frowned, suddenly encountering the same dead space in her memory as before.
"Hazil…I don't know." Hazil groaned, mentally kicking himself.
"Ahh, geez. Forgive an old ailing reploid." Bristol shrugged.
"It's all right. Bastion helped me get over it." That name brought the glimmer back into Bristol's eyes. Hazil noticed it as well, rubbing his chin with a wistful grin.
"Aah, love. Bristol, I thank you much for the designs here. Now if you'll shuffle off, I'll see what I can do about making this myth a reality." Bristol shook her head back, letting her long blonde hair streaked with its rosy tint push off from her shoulders.
"No arguments there, luv. I think I'll go see about getting some refreshment in me reactor."
"If you're heading over to the Cafeteria, you'll find Bastion and Zero talking business." Bristol frowned.
"I'm not too fond of having him risking his life, Hazil." Hazil shrugged, frowning.
"It's what he came here to do. Risk his life to save the necks of everyone else on the earth." Bristol grabbed her saber, adjusting the beam for a small length.
Lighting the hot pink blade up, she glared at Hazil.
"Then I guess I'll just have to keep protecting him." Hazil chuckled.
"Well, you certainly have the hidden talents to do so. Just remember…you aren't a sanctioned Hunter." Bristol snorted.
"Sanctioned or not, I could mop the floor with half the blokes in this place." Hazil winced, rubbing the back of his head.
"No kidding. Now get outta here…I still got three projects on my hands." Bristol frowned.
"Three?" Hazil raised the correct numbers of fingers, deadpanning the statement.
"THREEEE…One involving Wycost's cure, two is Bastion's new Wings, and three is another project I have in the works for our good friend X." Bristol folded her arms.
"Are you going to tell me about it?" Hazil clacked his tongue.
"I don't think it'd be in our best interests. Let's just say that there will still be some protectors of the world, even if the GDC carries through on its threat."
Bristol sighed.
"You are a walking question mark."
"And you're one that throws people across the room." Hazil snorted. "Now get outta here…you're jangling my nerves."
Bristol quietly scampered out of the Medical Bay, in much better spirits than before.
Hazil annoyedly turned back to Doan, putting his arms at his sides.
"Are you ever going to…"
"NO."
Wycost was still fighting.
Inside his body, beyond the ability of scanners to pick up, his sleeping mind nonetheless tried to overcome the virus.
It had mutated from before. No longer was it just a mass of blackness, a jumbling of wires and moaning faces.
Of course, those were all subconscious images made by Wycost's mind to try and identify the Virus.
It was different now, though. It was more than wires…it was light.
Dark light. A light that drew in all others, pulsating out a horrendous sound.
The Virus was more. It had many forms now…Wycost could hear that thought coming from its sinister insides.
On the astral plane of diminished mental existence, a gigantic whiteness, Wycost stumbled along.
He couldn't run. He couldn't dash. His boots were scarred and chipped, the fuel lines severed. His energy was severely diminished.
But he ran…He ran because that was what he had always done.
He ran, and then he turned around and fired. That was his strategy.
It usually worked. It was different now.
He was afraid to fire his Buster.
The Virus had destroyed his courage, his hope…The Virus had mutated into Wycost's nightmare.
Every time he turned to fire at it, to fight back with all his mind's might, the Virus transfigured itself into new forms.
Images of his friends.
Of Bastion.
Of Isaiah.
Of Doan.
The three individuals from his life.
Doan, and his past.
Bastion, and his Hunter days.
Isaiah…his shortlived career in URFAWP, and the final confrontation that brought him to his knees.
Wycost groaned, barely dragging his feet along. He was almost crawling, for he was so tired.
And the Virus spoke.
Taunted him. Beckoned him into the darkness.
Don't fight me, Wycost…It is a futile effort. Give into my power.
"Never…" Wycost wheezed, trying feebly to pick up his pace. That damnable voice had been hounding at him for…days now?
Wycost couldn't tell. All sense of time had vanished.
All he could see was the here.
The eternity of silence, and a foe that he could not defeat.
Wycost felt an emptiness inside, and he knew what it was saying.
How long can you hold out, Wycost? How long?
Wycost knew it wasn't for much longer.
He was losing.
Perhaps he deserved to lose. His life had done nothing.
All his life, he had worn his armor.
All his life, he had kept his Buster.
All his life…he had taken life.
And that makes you no better than me now, doesn't it?
"Shut up…" Wycost muttered. He turned around, glaring at the black shimmering mass behind him. "SHUT UP!"
The mass chuckled, long and echoing in the infinity realm.
I can wait for as long as I need to, Wycost. I can hold out. You are weak…you will crumble.
Wycost fell to his knees again, feeling weak again.
What shook him the most is that he knew the Virus was right.
He would lose.
Wycost slumped onto the unseen floor of his mind, his inner consciousness at last succumbing to the doubts.
For the first time in his life, Wycost cried.
He cried long and hard.
And then he passed out.
Far under the ground of the Siberian surface, Pharaoh Man sat in front of a computer console, steadily watching the maintenance data scroll across the screen.
"Sewage drainage system: Normal. Electrical wiring and generators: Normal. Incoming call: Nor…"
Pharaoh Man caught himself, frowning at the new data stream that had popped up on his screen. "Incoming call?" He reached over to the castle comm system and flipped the switch.
"Doctor Cossack, sir. Please report to the main control room at once."
Cossack rolled into the main chamber where Pharaoh was located on a small electric scooter.
"Don't bother, Phare. I also picked up the incoming transmission." Pharaoh nodded his head.
"Shall I trace its source?" Cossack glinted his eyes through his glasses and grinned.
"Of course." Pharaoh Man's gloved metallic fingers danced across the keys, his optics zooming in on the screen.
"Herm…Tokyo, Japan. Seems to be the Hunter Base from the looks of it." Cossack grinned.
"Aah, that would be our friend X. It has been a few days…" Cossack nodded his head. "Well, patch it through!" Pharaoh hit one final key, acknowledging with a grunt.
"Commlink open."
The image that appeared on the quasi large screen in front of them wasn't X, though.
It was an image of a gray haired scowling individual. Cossack frowned.
"Da? How may I help you?" The person on the other end of the line grunted.
"I take it you're Cossack…" The person looked over to the garbed robot beside the Russian Scientist. "And you…you gotta be Pharaoh Man."
"That is correct." Pharaoh Man stated flatly. Cossack leaned down, staring into the face.
"Who are you?" The person in MHHQ raised his eyebrows.
"What, X didn't tell you about me? I'm Hazil…the guy designing your 'bot's upgrades." Cossack remembered the name and nodded.
"Aah, yes. I was wondering when you would be calling. So, when will you be dropping by?" Hazil coughed loudly, looking over his shoulder.
"Probably not today. But I'll show up when I can…without warning. I have all the stats on your best 'bots that X wanted to upgrade for active duty, it's just I'm a wee bit busy trying to figure out how to save one of our own at the moment…not to mention I've been given the impossible task of designing a pair of Next Generation Flight Wings." Cossack chuckled.
"You keep busy then." Hazil scratched his head.
"VERY. And the most incredible part is that no one else knows I'm doing this for you." Cossack nodded.
"Your GDC would not smile on this at all, I think." Hazil sighed.
"No kidding." Hazil looked up. "I gotta break off the commlink…any longer and our systems might decide to trace the call. Nowheres in Siberia raises some eyebrows." Cossack raised a finger.
"One last question: How do you keep so active in your old age?" Hazil grinned from ear to ear as he shook his finger back and forth like a pendulum.
"Simple, my great robotics genius: I'm a reploid." Hazil ended the connection, and darkness filled the screen.
Cossack stood stunned for a few moments, and then Pharaoh turned to face him.
"If company's coming, I should have Dust Man and Toad Man really clean up this place." Cossack raised an unsteady hand and patted Pharaoh Man on the shoulder.
"You do that Phare…you do that." Cossack turned about, stumbling back to the elevator to his lounge.
"I think I'll just go take a nap for a while…" Cossack uttered softly. Pharaoh Man nodded, letting a smile cross his face.
"You do that, Doctor." Pharaoh Man imitated Cossack, even using the same words. He suddenly shifted his glare into a glance of consternation, wondering why he had smiled.
He shook his head.
"Perhaps the Doctor is right…" Pharaoh Man left the smile reassert itself.
"Perhaps I am becoming more human."
"Overview of all current data…" Bastion said, barely holding his rage in check. Zero sighed, acknowledging the sour mood of his companion.
"All right, Bastion. I'll tell you again." Zero brought up his datapad for a refresher on his info, then looked into Bastion's eyes.
They were burning a bit brighter than usual. The Desert Hunter was angered…
Either from the loss of his wings, or Wycost's return…or more than likely, both.
"When Wycost left the Hunters, we lose all trace of his whereabouts. When we see him next in Calcutta, India, he's on a transport registered to URFAWP, under the control of one J.K. Horn, a retired weapons designer and engineer." Bastion scratched his head.
"I'm sure I've heard that name before…" Zero snorted.
"More than likely one of his propaganda commercials." Bastion shook his head.
"Afraid not…even before that. Before I joined the Hunters, I think I had heard of him. I just can't pin it down." Zero leaned back into his seat, propping his chin on a hand.
"Just what did you do before you joined us? Your reports weren't too clear about last place of work. All you put down was 'Mideastern Affairs." Zero smiled just a bit, hoping to eke an answer.
Bastion shook his head, smiling back with the same icy eyes.
"Sorry, Zero. But I don't think even you need to know what I did before I joined you…its not too pretty a history." Zero harrumphed.
"Can't be any worse than mine…" Bastion nodded.
"Perhaps…perhaps not. In any case, we've both moved past it." Bastion raised a hand. "So where were we?"
"We don't know what Wycost was up to, but somehow he made it onto an URFAWP transport. The first option is that he was infected someplace else, and only hopped on board to spread it…" Bastion grimaced at the thought.
He didn't like to think Wycost would rationally do that kind of thing.
"That option is out of whack, limeys."
Bastion and Zero swiveled in their seats to face an approaching Bristol, frowning slightly.
"How so, Bristol?" Bristol flopped down besides Bastion, sighing.
"I caught up to him as he was just walking out the doors. The stupid bugger hadn't even bothered to consider his options after he resigned…" Bristol snorted. "I suggested URFAWP, if he was looking for a change of pace. I believe that he joined up."
Zero let the comment fall to the floor, then he set his jaw.
"That opens up a whole new can of worms there." Bastion gritted his teeth.
"That means the problem is in URFAWP itself." Zero nodded.
"It would seem so." Bastion picked himself up.
"Then there's only one course of action left to us." Bristol looked at Zero, his eyes once more blazing. "We go and talk to URFAWP's founder, Horn. If he's hiding something, he won't be for much longer. I think it's time we got some definitive answers about how URFAWP works…"
Zero stood up.
"I'm coming with you then." Bristol heckled, whipping her saber off of her arm.
"Count me in too, luv." Bastion frowned.
"Not this time, Bristol. Before, I knew what to expect. I'd rather have you stay here."
"But…"
"No buts, Bristol." Bastion said pleadingly. "For once trust my judgement on this." Bristol set her jaw, staring at Bastion for a long moment.
Finally, she succumbed.
"Very well…" She whipped her head up to look at Zero. "YOU…You make sure nothing happens to him now then." Zero cocked his right hand into a gun and winked.
"No problem. That's why I'm the best."
Bastion and Zero walked out of the cafeteria, making tracks to Hazil's lair for some field repair gear, namely a charged Sub-Tank for each of them.
They walked in silence for a time, then Zero turned to face Bastion.
"Bristol seems to worry about you a lot, Bastion." Bastion nodded.
"She does do that." Zero continued on, prodding further into his doubts.
"Almost as if she was afraid to lose you…as if she loved you."
Bastion stopped midstep.
He turned and faced Zero with cold eyes, chewing on his lower lip. Finally he nodded.
"You are observant." Bastion and Zero continued to plod along down the hall, the incident over with.
"I have some experience with it." Zero muttered, bringing back sad memories of long ago. Bastion harrumphed.
"Really? The Crimson Hunter in love?" Zero bared his lower teeth.
"Is that so hard to believe?" Bastion shrugged.
"Maybe. Give me a name."
"You want a name?" Zero said softly. His eyes shut for a moment, and he clenched his right fist for a moment. Finally he opened his eyes. "Fine. She was known as Iris."
"Iris…" Bastion let it roll off his tongue. Then it hit him.
"Woah…you mean the one from the Repliforce that…"
"That I killed. YES." Zero muttered softly. He let his other hand clench up as well.
"It was my job, you understand. I was a Hunter, and we considered the Repliforce mavericks. The events on the Final Weapon showed we were right in our guess…Sigma was behind it again."
"Still, Zero…" Bastion muttered. "You gotta admit that's pretty screwed up."
"I think we're all screwed up in some way or another." Zero finished.
Bastion thought it over.
"Yeah…you're right there." Bastion motioned to the wall. "We're here." Zero shook his head, trying to shake off the bittersweet memories of Iris.
"Good. I think if we'd kept up this little talk any longer, I might have blown a fuse."
"You're a reploid: You don't have fuses."
"Bastion, do you have arms?"
"Yes…"
"If you want to keep them, I suggest you shut up now."
"I'm shutting up."
"Huh?" Allegro checked his bleeping monitor.
He frowned.
"Andante man, get up. Our wild haired Hunter's on the move…" Andante pulled himself up from the easy chair in a smooth motion.
"Where to?" Andante asked, his eyes quietly brewing up for battle. Allegro checked a few figures, then voiced his guess.
"It seems like somewheres in the Caribbean to me." Andante folded his arms, running a self diagnostic.
"We're both repaired from our last major conflict. If our Hunter is going where we hope he is…"
"If he managed to trace where that ship came from, he'll more than likely be going to visit the snake's head right now."
"And when we follow him…"
"When we follow him, we put an end to this ONCE AND FOR ALL." Allegro growled.
"Activate your warp circuits and program them to follow our Hunter's energy tracer."
"Do I need you to tell me that?" Allegro spat out. "I'll see you on the other end of the loop, bro."
"No arguments there, Allegro." Andante muttered softly. "No arguments there."
Their desert abode's shield went down for just a moment, allowing enough time for them to warp out of it in bolts of transmuted fire.
The snake would pay…NOW.
"You sure this is the right place, Zero?" Bastion asked, adjusting his left shoulder applet. Zero nodded slowly, motioning to the giant mansion in the center of the Caribbean Island they had warped to.
"No duh, bub. That's J.K. Horn's place...doubtful even we would have found it, save for our really big and expensive toys which track radio signals." Bastion nodded, checking his saber.
"All right then. Our friend Horn has some explaining to do...especially involving why his transports to Calcutta were carrying mavericks...and my ex-Hunter Wycost with them." Zero bared his teeth.
"I have a sneaky suspicion that Horn's been playing the world for fools...by God, if he's managed to resurrect Sigma, I'm gonna pound him into atoms."
"Just chop his head off and suck down his vital fluids." Bastion chirped, walking up ahead. "That seems to make you a bit happier." The sun beat down on the island, not a cloud in the diamond blue sky above to stop its rays. A few palm trees here and there adorned the stone pathway, but other than that, it was an uneasy...and silent walk. Finally, Bastion reached the gate of the mansion's outer wall, and rang the doorbell beside it. It seemed a little out of place to him, on an island which was practically unfindable. But then, he knew nothing of Horn. He knew only that URFAWP was involved somehow with Wycost's condition...and the Maverick Virus.
"Coming, coming!" A scratchy but amiable voice cried out from behind the gate. Hobbled footsteps danced across the sandstone walkways, and finally a figure approached the gate. Holding a tropical drink in his right hand, his eyes covered by a set of blue blockers, and dressed in shorts and a Hawaiian T-Shirt, the figure did indeed represent as Zero had said, 'A Florida Senior Schmuck.' But the figure frowned when he saw who was knocking on his door.
"Aah, Zero. I see you have returned from the HQ to visit me once again. And who is this? A new friend?" Horn flashed a smile. Neither Hunter responded. Bastion's right hand went up to the back of his head, as if he was scratching an itch. In truth, he was making sure he could access a beam saber quickly, if need be. Horn frowned at the morose display.
"Hmm...Not in a good mood, I see. Well, come on in then." Horn unlatched the gate entrance and silently walked back to his pool behind the giant house. Zero and Bastion followed. Zero spoke first, both Hunters standing up as horn settled back into his hammock.
"Horn, we've come across some disturbing information most recently." Zero growled, making no mistake in showing Horn his attitude. "It doesn't do much to make you look innocent either." Horn yawned, batting away a mosquito that flew too close to his drink.
"Oh, really? Just what would that happen to be now?" Bastion had had enough. This crazy old reploid was on his nerves long before...and this tore it. Bastion yanked Horn up from his hammock with one smooth motion, pulling the reploid to eye level. Horn's shades fell off and the URFAWP founder began to word a protest.
"Not a word out of you, Horn." Bastion growled, his voice low in his throat. "I've had it up to here with your bull. A good friend of mine who was in your organization is half dead and infected…and you'd best come clean about Sigma and the Virus." Horn blinked.
"Sigma? VIRUS?!" Horn shook his head. "I'm afraid that I don't have the foggiest notion about what you a..." Horn's robotic optic suddenly zoomed in on Bastion's face as Horn froze his sentence. Bastion suddenly felt like he was being examined. He didn't like it. Bastion threw Horn back into his hammock, spinning the reploid out of balance and making him land hard onto the patio. Horn climbed up to his feet, still examining Bastion in wonder.
"You...you look familiar to me, Hunter...I'm almost sure that I've seen you somewhere be..." Suddenly, Horn's good eye bulged out in shock, and his fist clenched up. "Merciful Menoras..." That phrase echoed into Bastion, a remnant of a time long before his Hunter days...A time of darkness. Horn's shaky hand raised to point at Bastion, still glaring down on him. "You...YOU...You don't have your helmet on anymore, but I'd recognize those eyes anywhe..." Horn gasped for air, suddenly wheezing. "Jehovah preserve me...You've come to take me to my death!"
Zero shook his head at Horn's startled speech, looking at Bastion for an answer. Bastion set his arms to his side and nodded, his eyes suddenly taking on a darker, more sinister glaze.
"Well, well...So I finally meet one of the technological geniuses behind my enemy's forces."
"Bastion, what the HELL are you two talking about?" Zero glared. Horn looked over at Zero, still shaking in fear.
"Don't you GET IT, MAN?!" Horn was almost in tears now. "It's HIM! The Desert Fire..." Bastion nodded. "Yes...I'm Bastion. The Desert Fire."
Silence reigned over the patio of Horn's secluded mansion. Only Horn's ragged breathing and the surf could be heard.
Zero finally ended it.
"All right…BASTION, WHAT THE HELL IS HE BLABBING ABOUT?!" Bastion guffawed, still glaring at Horn.
"A lot, Zero. His organization put Wycost in critical condition…but even before that, he made his living making weapons for the Israelis. Weapons which were used against me, and the others who I worked with." Zero shook his head, not believing what he was hearing.
"If his weapons were used against you…" Zero began to pale. "Geezus…"
"Oh, you can say it." Bastion chirped angrily. "I was built, born and raised in the Arabic Confederation, for the Islamic Jihad against the infidels of Israel." Bastion waved his hand. "Or so they said. In the end, I realized it for what it was; another pathetic war started over humanity's inability to play nice. But Horn here…" Bastion lit a saber, holding the purple blade in his right hand. "Horn's a different matter."
Zero stepped up to Bastion, his own blade menacingly lit, his eyes burning.
"Despite the past, we need him alive to talk."
"Talk about WHAT?!" Horn sputtered, raising his hand aloft. "I LEFT the military, fer chrissakes! As far as I'm concerned, you two just showed up out of the blue, waving your beam sabers about and scaring the living daylights outta me FOR NO GOOD REASON."
Horn picked himself up, finally taking his glasses off. Bastion froze as he saw the unnatural optic. Horn nodded, his glare powerful.
"That's right, Hunter. Back in your glory days, you gave THIS to me." Bastion glared back, his grip tightening on his lit saber.
"Consider it payback for all my friends who were shot up by your gadgets."
"Why you…"
"ENOUGH!" Zero bellowed, finally stomping between the two old enemies. His eyes burned hotter than theirs combined as his long blond hair bounced onto his back.
"Here's what's gonna happen. Bastion, you're gonna put that saber back in your holster and BACK OFF. Horn, you're coming with us to the HQ in Tokyo for a run of sixty-four questions."
"The snake's head is not going anywhere."
All eyes turned up in surprise to the new angered voice.
High above, a pair of figures stood out from the blazing sun, darkened and unseeable in the glare.
But their weapons were noted.
Both carried dark purple black beam staffs.
Finally, one leapt down, screaming a powerful war cry as he charged at Zero and Bastion.
When he landed, Bastion recognized him.
It was the same hotheaded pest who kept showing up on their missions and wreaking havoc.
"Stupid Hunters…" The reploid spat out, charging at Bastion with his staff. "We thank you for leading us to the snake's head. But you had best shuffle off now…Or pay the same price he will."
Bastion deflected the high swing cut from the staff, then whipped out his other saber, attaching them at the hilts and making his own double bladed weapon.
"The only place Horn is coming is back with us. We have some questions about why URFAWP's ship in India was carrying mavericks." Bastion grunted as he dueled with the other reploid, neither giving in in the slightest degree.
Zero had his hands full with the second reploid that had appeared, charging down with the same dedication, but much less fanfare.
He was however, a tad bit stronger, keeping Zero well on edge by keeping him on the defensive.
"You two are trouble, you know that?" Zero retorted, slamming a staff strike back at the taller reploid with his own single bladed beam saber. The tall one didn't smile, and he barely talked. He only growled back.
"Just fight, Hunter. Fight or get the Hell out of dodge. Your choice."
"This is just too pathetic." Horn finally yowled.
All eyes turned to face the crazed scientist reploid in front of his mansion's back door.
This time, he was chugging about what seemed to be a kind of energy rifle.
With unfeeling eyes, Horn popped off two shots.
They struck the Hunter's attackers, dispersing in a paralyzing electrical field that caused the reploids to scream out in pain, and then finally enter automatic stasis.
Zero didn't let his guard down for a moment, now facing Horn.
"What's the deal, Horn?" Zero muttered slowly, his eyes not wavering from the barrel end of Horn's paralyzing blaster rifle.
Horn shrugged, dumping the device at his feet.
"It seemed like you two guys needed some help…" Horn stared back at Bastion, letting the disgust in his voice become apparent. "Even you, Desert Fire." Bastion slammed his saber hilts back into their recharger ports, flexing his gloved hands.
"Stuff it, Horn. So now what are you gonna do?" Horn sighed, putting his glasses back on.
"There's not much I can do. Obviously, there is something wrong with URFAWP…horribly wrong." Horn looked down at the sleeping attackers from the sky, their beam staffs finally extinguished, though still in their hands.
"I know these two individuals, Zero. And even you…"
"The name's Bastion." Bastion said calmly, his arms folding into a defiant pose. "You said you knew them."
"Of course I do." Horn said softly, kneeling down beside the shorter one. "These two are from URFAWP…But I lost track of them about six months ago. We all believed they had been killed."
Horn looked up, a puzzled grin on his face.
"I guess we were wrong. I'll be more than happy to answer your questions. If you say that Wycost was found in India, and Maverick to boot, I'll believe you. He was on the roster for the team heading there." Horn picked himself up, brushing the sand off his shorts.
"I keep close tabs on my teams, and for some time now, there have been random occurrences of certain reploids in my organization that have just vanished…like these two." Horn shrugged. "I guess if what you're saying is true, then it's far from random anymore."
"One more question before we shove off, Horn…" Zero quipped. Horn nodded his head.
"Yes?"
"You said you knew these two. What are their names?" Horn grinned.
"Oh, they're twin reploids…brothers, if you will. Don't ask me where they picked it up, but their names are Allegro and Andante." Horn's smile vanished.
"Although I don't know why they'd try to kill me…" Bastion snorted.
"I'm surprised there isn't a bounty on your head, Horn."
"Don't push me, Bastion." Horn said, raising a finger. "I may be willing to cooperate with your investigation of the Calcutta incident, but I'm not too happy with you." Horn shrugged. "Some time from now, you and I will settle the score."
"Count on it." Bastion spat back, cracking his knuckles.
Zero picked up the weighty Andante, lofting him onto his back. He looked at the old enemies, shaking his head.
"You two should learn to get along better. Your rage is Misguided Madness…and if you're not careful, it could get you killed."
Bastion shrugged.
"For the time being, Horn and I will cooperate. Our differences don't enter into this new problem. Deal?" Horn nodded.
"Deal."
For the time being, old enemies were new allies.
But times change.