Chapter 14: The Bladed Badger
Deep within the swirling sands of Moscow lies a cave, hidden from view by the numerous sand dunes, leaving only a small entrance untouched. Traveling through this opening, our cave widens into an expansive metropolis of lava flows and crevices, its sentries covering their assigned areas with a vigil. And back in the farthest corner of this sprawling cave, a Bladed Badger sits, watching the arrival of a crimson coloured Hunter with evil glee. And he laughs.
Zero squinted against the harsh desert sun, eagerly looking for the entrance to the Badger's base, and a respite from the glare of the desert sands. Well, I'm here, thought Zero, his Sabre at the ready, now where the hell is he? As if in answer to the Hunters unspoken question, a low rumbling sounded behind him, and Zero turned to see three tanks appear from the ground, and begin to charge their weapons systems.
Zero leapt to the side as laser fire incinerated the ground he had just inhabited. Leaping forward, Zero raised his Sabre and charged the nearest tank. Contained plasma met reinforced titanium as Zero's Sabre slashed through the tank on a diagonal slash, cleaving it neatly in half and riddling the surrounding sand with shrapnel as it blew.
Zero leapt onto the second tank, blowing its hatch with his free hand while attracting the attention of the third with his other. Reaching into the interior of the second tank, Zero grabbed the pilot and leapt clear as the third tank's weapons completely incinerated the second. Dashing at the third tank as it charged its laser, Zero stuffed the Maverick pilot down the barrel and leapt clear as the weapon overloaded. The energy, having nowhere to go but backwards, tore the third tank apart in a vicious backblast of weapons fire. "So much for the silent stealth approach," muttered Zero, entering the whole the tanks had come from. 1 minute and three busted tanks later, Zero was on his way.
Alex paced back and forth nervously, arraying the different weapons on his desk. This was the heavy artillery Zero had asked for. Arrayed on the table were weapons of war Alex prayed he would never have to use again. 8 fully charged Sub-Tanks lay on the table, a necessity if they were to complete their mission. Next to these lay four heavy plasma grenades, each able to tear apart a chimera mech on contact. And lastly, two high-powered jetpacks lay on their sides, ready for instant use. Alex hoped it would be enough.
Looking into the well-lit interior of Blade Badger's fortress, Zero was surprised by the lack of defenses that he could see. There were none that he could spot, other than a pool of magma stretching for about thirty feet, stone pillars spaced 5 feet apart in between. At the end of the pool lay a steep wall, easily climbable. It was almost disappointing.
Slipping his Sabre back into its charger, Zero leapt onto the first of the stone pillars, and his eyes widened in surprise as it sunk under his weight. "Out of the frying pan and into the fire…" muttered Zero as he leapt the remaining pillars, latching on to the wall at the end. "You're going to have to do better than that, Badger," muttered Zero, looking down. "Never mind!" Lava rushed up at Zero from the ground as The Crimson Hunter leapt frantically from one wall to the next, heaving himself over the side as the lava shot up from the walls he had just scaled, missing him by mere inches.
Sighing, Zero slowly turned only to stare into the guns of a chimera mech as it fired its weapons. The beam hit Zero a glancing blow on his side, ripping away some of the metal as his systems worked frantically to repair the extensive damage. Draining a Sub-Tank, Zero leapt back and let loose a blast from his Frost Blaster, coating the mech in ice and bringing it to a full stop. Slashing upwards, the two frozen pieces fell back, breaking apart as they hit the ground.
Zero walked on for what seemed like hours, expecting an attack from every side but never finding one. Reaching a clearing, Zero's attuned systems picked up on nearby danger and he unconsciously smiled, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the agile Maverick coming towards him. "Welcome Hunter, I've been waiting for you."
"Blade Badger," growled Zero, reaching for his Sabre and flicking it on in a flash of green. "The one and only!" Blade Badger smiled. "I assume you are here hoping to get Sigma's location out of me. Rest assured, you won't be receiving it." "O?" answered Zero, his grip tightening, "and why is that?" "Watch and see, Hunter, watch the weapon of your doom."
Blade Badger's hands flashed, and three Beam Daggers sprung forth from his fist, forming a protective triangle around a single metal blade in the middle of his fist. Repeating the process with the other fist, Blade Badger slipped into a fighter stance, grinning evilly. "Come Hunter," said Blade, motioning to Zero, "come and meet your death."
Sabre met Dagger in a flash of sparks as each fighter put the other through their paces. Zero leapt back and dashed low, bringing his foot out and around in a powerful trip. Blade leapt forward and shot his foot backwards, avoiding the Hunter's attack and catching Zero in the back with his own foot, sending him backwards.
"Very good!" laughed Blade, "I haven't had this much of a challenge in competitors for a long time." "For a minion of a maniac you talk a lot," retorted Zero, "Are you going to keep laughing or can we get on with it?" Zero dashed forward with his Sabre raised, morphing his hand into a Buster and charging it at the same time. Sabre once again met dagger and as the two beams fought for control, Zero brought his Buster up and fired, the partly charged green blast catching Blade straight in his unprotected stomach.
Blade was thrown back by the powerful blast and Zero wasted no time. Dashing forward, Zero grabbed Blade and flung him into the air, firing off ten rapid-fire shots that caught the flying Maverick in the back. The badly damaged Maverick crashed to the ground in a heap, and slowly rose, an evil glint in his eyes.
"Very good, Hunter. I hadn't expected to have to use this.' Blade reached to the ground, grasping a handful of debris in his hand and throwing it into the air in a cloud of rubble. Blade fired off the two centre blades into the midst of the debris and laughed.
"Witness the power of my Multi-Blade!" screamed Blade as the first of the metal pieces hit the debris, connecting with a rock. To Zero's horror, both blades split each time they hit something in the air, filling the air with deadly blades and flying at the staring Hunter at high speeds.
Steel blades hit reploid armor as the many blades pinned Zero to the wall, his Buster arm hanging limply at his side, pointing to the ground. "It seems I have won this round, Hunter," cackled Blade, looking down upon the pinned Hunter. "Maverick, I'm just getting started," retorted Zero, silently switching to his Exploding Ears.
"Here's one for the history books Maverick!" yelled Zero, firing three Exploding Ears into the ground. The blast threw him clean into the air, freeing him and giving him a lethal edge. Sailing through the air, Zero landed behind the surprised Badger and threw his foot out, catching Blade in the back and throwing him into the wall. Blade turned and was caught full in the chest by a powerful stream of Zero's Frost Blaster, freezing him solidly to the wall and leaving him at the Hunter's mercy.
Zero brought the green blade of his lit Sabre under Blade's chin, twisting it menacingly in the air. "Your computer password, Blade. NOW." "5..2,4,6,7," sputtered Blade Badger, the full severity of his situation finally reaching him. "Thanks," answered Zero, acquiring the helpless Badger's weapon as he stood up. "This will just take a second."
Zero's hands flashed back and forth over the consoles of Blade's computer, eagerly searching for the location of Sigma. "There he is!" exclaimed Zero, transferring the information onto a disk and storing it in his armor. Walking back over to the frozen Maverick, Zero waved to draw his attention. "You have five minutes before this place blows, Blade. Make the best of them." "Damn you Zero!" yelled Blade helplessly as The Crimson Hunter's body left the doomed Badger's abode in a flash of red warp particles.
Sigma's brow creased as the last of his generals flashed off of his screen in a brilliant display of orange flame. The Red Demon knows we're here, mused Sigma, rubbing his chin, I think it's time we brought X into this little game. Time indeed…