Chapter 13: A Bug's Tricks And A Crab's Claws
Alex shrank back into the underbrush as waves of flame scorched the ground where he had once stood only moments before. Flashing his Sabre on, Alex leapt from his cover as it was incinerated by the high-powered weapons of the Chimera mech, and the pilot inside eagerly intent on taking the young Hunter's life.
Alex stood his ground as the mech fired, expecting Alex to dash to the side. Alex dashed forward under the mech's fire, coming up in front of it and bringing his Sabre up and slashed upwards, cleaving the mech evenly in half and dashing to the side as flame engulfed the once proud machine. Wiping his brow, Alex continued forward into the forest, and the awaiting Maverick general.
Chain-gun fire riddled the ground at Alex's feet as he nimbly dodged the three Bee Bladers overhead. The Aphid knows I'm here, thought Alex, jumping to avoid missile fire, he sent a welcoming party of three Bee Bladers just for me.
Switching to his missiles, Alex let loose a barrage upon the first Blader, tearing it to shreds and engulfing it in nuclear fire. Leaping onto the back of the second Bee Blader, Alex let the third's weapons systems lock on to his temporary residence, and leapt off as it started firing. The second Blader was torn apart by the third, and Alex let loose a second barrage of missiles at the remaining Bee Blader, engulfing it in flame and bringing it crashing to the ground at his feet.
"Aphid!" yelled Alex, standing in a clearing, "You know I'm here! And I know you're here! Face me!" The bushes rustled behind the battle-ready Hunter, and a voice responded from the underbrush. "Very well, dear Hunter, very well." Green covered, from his powerful Dash Boots to his shoulder mounted missile pods, stood Artillery Aphid, battle-ready and just as eager.
"Very impressive, Hunter. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Artillery Aphid, sole survivor of Sigma's attack on San Jose in the first uprising, and the only Maverick in Sigma's army not infected with the virus."
Alex morphed his hand into a Buster at this news. "What are you talking about?" "When Sigma attacked, I knew he would win. And I knew I was not powerful enough to win, yet. So, I created my own version of the virus, one that did nothing but gave Sigma the impression that I was under his control. And so the fool has steadily made me stronger, unknowingly sealing his own fate, and I will have my vengeance. Unfortunately for you, my dear Hunter, you are a hindrance. Sure you understand."
Alex leapt clear as missiles showered the wall next to where he had been. "Two can play at that game, Maverick!" yelled Alex, switching to his own missiles and firing off a pair. Artillery had anticipated this, and fired off a pair too. Missiles met missiles as both shots blew harmlessly in the open space between the two of them. "Impressive Aphid," said Alex, directing his remaining missiles into a charge shot, "let's see you counter this one!" Alex unleashed the shot, and two missiles flew out. The Aphid laughed out loud, preparing to do the same. In mid-flight, the missiles split into four pieces each, in a move the Aphid could not avoid.
Artillery Aphid scrambled away and hit the wall. Bracing himself for the impact, Artillery Aphid's body was showered in explosions, knocking him onto his back and leaving his power reserves at 50% capacity. Alex slowly walked over, towering over the Aphid in a stance of victory.
Alex raised his Buster, but hesitated as electricity flashed between the Aphid's antennae, growing steadily in intensity until it was a continuous stream. At this point, light flashed and a wave shot forth from Artillery Aphid, hitting Alex dead on with the exception of his Buster, and disabling all the hit machinery. "Welcome to paralysis, dear Hunter," coughed the Aphid, slowly rising to his feet, "I call that my Wave Blast. It will take your systems approximately one minute to repair themselves, but you'll be dead long before that."
Artillery Aphid continued to cackle, and Alex slowly charged his Spike Cannon, readying himself for a shot. "And now dear Hunter, it is time for you to die." "Not today Bug-Boy!" yelled Alex, firing the fully charged shot upon the helpless Maverick.
The effects were incredible. A giant sized Spike shot forth, striking Artillery Aphid full in the stomach. Aphid was thrown back into the wall hard, impaled on the giant spike like a rare bug pinned to a display case.
His systems finally restoring themselves, Alex slowly walked over to the pinned Maverick, rubbing his aching muscles. "It's over Aphid, you lost." "Well…fought Hunter," gasped the dying warrior, "and in…parting, I leave…you a gift. Crunch…Crab, has new gas shipment…you…must stop him from…getting it to Sigma." "What?" exclaimed Alex in disbelief, "you mean he has more of that nerve gas?" The pained Maverick shook his head slowly, pain coursing through his body. "Listen to me Hunter…Sigma…must be stopped…promise me…you'll kill him…for all those that have gone before. Sigma must…die." "I will do my best Aphid, you have my word." "Then…all is as…it should be. Please Hunter, finish…it…take my weapon…and end my pain."
Alex nodded and slowly walked up to the impaled Maverick. Alex placed his hand on the Aphid's head, gaining his powerful weapon, the Wave Blast. Charging his Buster to full power, Alex nodded his head. "Thank you Aphid, go now to your rest. God knows you've earned it." Artillery Aphid smiled weekly, and welcomed the blissful darkness as supercharged plasma engulfed his body.
"Rest in peace my friend, and thank you," whispered Alex, his molecules rearranging themselves into warp particles. Alex warped from the Cuban rainforest to Maverick Hunter HQ in a blaze of blue and yellow, and the dire position awaiting him there.
"Doc, bad news," reported Alex as he entered Cain's office, "Sigma has more of that gas that I destroyed, and it's at Crunch Crabs. I can't go get it, I need to rest." "Zero already went, but he didn't know about the gas." "What? Do we have any way to contact him?" "No, we'll have to hope Crunch Crab is as stupid as he looks, and hope that Zero can take care of it."
Zero waded through the shallow Caribbean waters with his Sabre at the ready, eagerly looking for his enemy. Zero's eyes scanned the waves, remembering the last time he'd been here. Crunch had never believed in minions, and it didn't look like much had changed.
The ground shuddered violently under Zero's feet, and a smile slowly spread itself across the Hunter's features. "Hey Crunch, it's been awhile…"
"ZERO!" yelled Crunch Crab, bursting from the ground, "you dare to come back after the beating you suffered last time?" "Stop flattering yourself, crabface. If memory serves, the last time we fought, you limped out of here with what was left of your tail between your legs. I've come back to finish the job. By the way, the limp any better?"
"You arrogant piece of scrap-metal!" yelled the insulted Maverick, "How dare you insult me so?? You will pay for that! And this time, your stolen electric weapons won't work." Crunch Crab pointed to his shoulder. "This armor's top notch." "Really? Well, let's see how it fares against contained plasma, shall we?"
Crunch charged, claws outstretched, as Zero nimbly darted to the side. Spinning around, one of the Crab's claws connected with Zero's back, sending him sprawling. The other crashed down on his stomach, winding the already dazed Hunter and leaving him greatly weakened.
Crunch cackled as Zero rose to his feet, a pained expression on The Crimson Hunter's face. "You're stronger than before Crunch, but you still choose not to have a gun. Or did Sigma not let you have your own wittle Buster?"
"Ha!" retorted Crunch, his laugher never letting up. "I simply choose to have no weapon for you to steal. Now, may we continue?" "Gladly."
Zero activated a Sub-Tank, and lunged at the shocked Maverick, Beam Sabre outstretched. Crunch Crab's screams of pain echoed across the sand as Zero relieved the Maverick of his claws. "Ha!" laughed Zero, "5 years and you still have learned nothing. You remember your failure in the First Uprising don't you? When you and I had that little chat about our friend Sigma while X was busy with Chill Penguin. Yeah, I used the same move. And it just worked again."
Zero hacked away at Crunch's armor, relieving him of any protection and forcing the Crab to scream even louder. Slipping his Sabre into its charger, Zero's hand morphed into his Buster, and he began to charge the lightning shot.
"You weren't even worth my time," spat Zero, his Buster's whine growing in intensity, "time to send you back to Sigma's merry playground. You can meet him down in hell, where I'm sending you both." Crunch Crab laughed, his merriment echoing across the beach. "Ha! Poor Zero, you don't know what a mistake you have just made. I was a distraction! Did you honestly think I thought I would win? Stupid Hunter." "What are you talking about?" demanded Zero, fear rising in the pit of his stomach. "While we were busy fighting, my shipments of nerve gas were slowly making their way to Sigma's. They should be there right about now."
"Damn you Crunch!" screamed Zero as his shot reached its full charge, "Tell Hellfire Hare Zero gives his regards, when you see him!" Zero unleashed the charged shot, and liquid electricity shot forth, encircling Crunch Crab. The contained electrical storm vaporized his body completely, the only remnants of the former Maverick a pile of black ash, mixing with the sand to be lost forever.
Zero cursed aloud, and warped back at full speed, fear for the world engulfing his body.
"We have a problem Doc, Sig-" "We know about the gas Zero, where is it now?" "Sigma has it, it got there while I was fighting Crunch. Now it's ready to be unleashed on the world at a maniac's command. And there is still a Maverick general to be taken care of, never mind finding out where Sigma is." "I can help with that," said Alex, leaning forward, "While at Artillery Aphid's, I hacked into his computer. It seems he had tracked all the generals, but hadn't found out where Sigma is yet. The most powerful general, Blade Badger, is the only one who knows where he is. And he's the only one left. He's in the old KGB base in the deserts of Moscow, and will be hard to beat."
"Alright guys, here's the plan. We are going to need heavy artillery to pull this off. Cain, you and Alex make preparations to invade Sigma's. I'm going to get Blade Badger. Once I've gotten rid of him, Alex and I will take that bastard Sigma down and save the world. Just another day in the Hunters. Let's do it!"