THE TENTH DISK
By blackhart
copyright MM Abacus Fiction, revised 6/26/2001
Chapter Fifteen
Zero
What was that? I asked myself. When Wily looked at me like
that...something felt...weird... Right now, though, it didn't matter. Sigma had
a bone to pick with me.
I narrowed my eyes. "You possess my friend, almost change history
and get us all killed, and then you expect me to want to go Maverick again?
Again I bring to your attention your recklessness as a virus, Sigma. But if
you really expect me to come over to your side ever again, you're bent!"
"Your life will eventually be the factor that changes this war, Zero,"
he snarled.
I smiled. "But if I can extinguish yours, mine won't matter," I said. I
tapped a hidden button on my Z-Saber to ignite it. Hearing it hum, I raised it
up, level with my nose. "Mark my words, Sigma, I'll see the end of you," I said
as the saber's dim glow reflected off my eyes. Fixing my gaze again on him, I
pointed the saber in his direction. Glancing ever so slightly left, I saw no
guards at the entrance of his hiding place. I'd chance it.
I buried my right foot in the dust as I took a fighting position. I held
my saber loosely as I jabbed it forward to attack, but veered to the left
quickly, using my foot to kick sand in Sig's eyes.
As he growled and cursed, I dashed as fast as I could to the
fortress. Double jumping to hop in the door, I rolled into a tight ball to absorb
the impact easier. I rose to a crouch and took a sweep around. Nothing. No
security cameras, no droids, no nothing!
"Well, this is just strange," I whispered. Thinking twice, I ran back
and bolted the door. Sigma's fist made quite an impression on the metal
alloy. It'd take him five, ten minutes tops to get through. That was plenty
of time to get a few errands run.
* * *
X
I smiled as I saw the crisp uniforms our three newest Maverick
Hunters had chosen. Iris dressed in red and blue. She wore a helmet, but let
a ponytail hang out the back. Her armor was modeled after Zero's, only
blockier, and her gloves were laced with gold trim. She kept a light blue cape
and black boots, and sported blasters embedded in her palms. On her left
breast, there was, laser-monogrammed, the Greek letter Pi, in recognition of
her past with Sigma.
Roll chose purple and gold for her outfit, with an energy saber as her
primary weapon. Without a blaster or any other weapon, however, she'd have
to rely on her hands and feet to take out baddies, a fact which, when asked,
she seemed confident and fairly happy about. Like Iris's letter, Delta was
there, emblazoned on Roll's chest.
Enker, formerly Epsilon, wore a traditional arm cannon on one arm,
and held his Tengu blade in the opposite hand. Green and blue seemed to hold
his fancy, as did his long, flowing black cape. His spindly legs led to two
greenish-blue boots, and Epsilon was printed on his right cheek in dark blue.
They'd chosen well in the style department, I'd give them. In weapon
choices, I'd give them nothing less than ten out of ten, either. Every weapon
they'd picked, even the Tengu blade, was supremely efficient and deadly. If
there were any mistakes to be made, or anything to screw up, it'd have to be
something other than the weapons. They were too good to blame.
Additionally, all of them had a mid-air dash attachment installed in their leg
jets, and they'd taken some time to train with it.
Changing my subject of thought, I fixed my gaze ahead, to our
destination. Sigma's fortress hung in the distance, in the Grynchon valley
lake. I shouted excitedly to the pilot to punch the throttle. After feeling the
ship lurch forward faster, I sat down again and made polite conversation with
the others as I thought about our newest Hunters. Sure, they can fight, but
I'm worried about what could happen to them on the battlefield. Reploids
that have been Mavericks recently are easier for Sigma to infect and
possess, if he chooses. I'll keep a sharp eye on them, I thought, especially
Iris. There's a warrior right now waiting for his girl, and it wouldn't do any
good for him to have two Irises die on him in such a short time.
* * *
Zero
I'd hacked into the main computer in the fortress and gotten the
location of the disk I was looking for. It was in an extraction chamber (big
surprise there).
I heard the door being ripped off its hinges, and decided what to do
quickly. Pulling open the air vent above my head, I hopped inside and quietly
shut it behind me. Sigma burst into the room about two seconds later.
Activating my saber, I used it to light the way before me. I had to stay
absolutely quiet; noise carried easily through the shafts.
What I had managed to download from the computer in the last room
to my arm's mini-computer, I used as my map. I followed the disk's signal as
best I could. Left, left, right, left. So many turns I lost count. Eventually,
though, I ended up very close to the blip. Checking out the nearest vent, I
saw the room I was looking for. Deactivating the saber, I kicked open the
vent and landed almost silently on the chamber's floor.
I looked up to the direction I thought the extractor was in, but saw
only a red gloved hand. My curse was muffled as the palm closed around my
head and lifted me into the air. I kicked and struggled, but Sigma held firm.
"I thought you'd be here," he said as he used his other hand to reach
around my throat.
"Lucky guess," I rasped as he tightened his hand. "So it ends for me
here, Sigma?"
He smiled as he dropped me to the floor. "It ends here, but not this
way."
"You're toying with me, being sporting," I coughed as I rubbed where
his hand has grasped my neck. "It's not like you."
"And you thought I'd just take you out immediately? No, Zero. For
all the trouble you've managed to give me, your death will be highly glorified
among Mavericks. I want it to last. I'm surprised you don't know me any
better."
I slipped a hand back to where I'd clipped my saber, pulled it free, and
ignited it. "You should've gotten rid of me when you had the chance, virus!"
I rushed towards him, saber poised for attack. He held a surprised
look on his face for a quarter of a second, then donned his evil smirk again.
His eyes gleamed red. Oh no you don't, I thought. I'm not gonna be
charbroiled Hunter. I continued running, forming a plan on the way. I hit the
floor quickly, using my momentum to slide through Sigma's legs and behind
him. I swung my saber up, hoping to get a hit at Sig's head. Bracing my hand
so I wouldn't accidentally lose the saber, I followed through, closing my eyes
for the impact and hit...
Air.
"Whoa!" I said, losing my balance and stumbling forward. "Thanks a
lot, Wily," I muttered.
"Speed is a wonderful thing," came Sigma's voice. I whirled my head
around to meet eyes with him. He had drawn his own energy sword, and was
leaning on the wall, arms folded. "Would you care to try again?"
I smiled. "I'm surprised you don't know me any better, Sigma." I
raced again, slicing horizontally this time, trying to rip open his stomach.
He smiled evilly, side-stepped quickly, and stuck out a foot. Oh ho,
so that's the way you're gonna play... I began to charge a shot from my
cannon, then dash jumped over his tripping foot, reversed in the air, and let
fly with a plasma bolt.
He stood there for just a moment, before raising a hand, meeting his
palm with the energy blast, and tossing it back at me twice as fast.
Fortunately, I'd fallen from my jump faster than he'd calculated, and the shot
missed.
Raising from my crouch (after that jump), I gazed into his eyes for
just a moment, trying to pry open his mind. What was he thinking about?
Why the growing evil smile on his face? What did he know that I didn't?
His eyes flashed brown for a moment, and I knew. I fell back, giving
myself time to catch my breath. Swinging my saber backwards quickly, I
built power for the blow I was planning to deliver. Suddenly, a flash of light
and an explosion from behind me told me I'd been careless with my blade.
I glanced backward, seeing only a holographic projector, now
damaged beyond repair. Turning my line of sight forward once again, I saw
the tenth disk, still encased in its protective glass covering, fizzle and
dissolve.
"A hologram..." I muttered. "Great."
Sigma was now smiling more heartily than ever as he talked.
"Correct, Zero. So perceptive... You'd've thought the lack of security
would've tipped you off."
I narrowed my eyes. "So what's left for you, Sigma? There's no
reason to kill me because there's no significance to this place..."
"But your body is still healthy," he said with an evil grin. "I could take
it as I did X's. And there's another added bonus for me: I know you. You were
a part of me for a while, Zero. I could go for years, maybe even decades,
before anyone suspected anything. My ties to you, while cut, still have roots
deep down in there somewhere," he said, pointing to my chest. "And those
roots run deeper than Pi's, Delta's, or even Epsilon's."
"It's Iris, Roll, and Enker now," I said as an afterthought.
"Iris, is it? Thinking of your past love, my friend? Wistful of wars
past, wars lost?"
"Not of wars past, Sigma. Of feelings past, of loved ones lost." I
raised my head. "Why am I telling you this? You wouldn't understand."
"Iris was a part of me too, Zero," he said quietly now. "I can feel
what you did for her. You can be with her again, the real Iris...if you become
part of me again."
My ears perked. He wasn't saying what I thought... Was he?
"She longs for you, every waking moment she has in my personality,
I swear. All you have to do to be with her again is to submit."
I lowered my head so he couldn't see my face. A single tear spurted
from my left eye.
I growled, raising my head. "Not happening. Suicide'd be more
favorable than that."
He lost the quiet voice and went back to his familiar boastful,
arrogant, and booming voice. He nearly deafened me: "Well, I can keep that
body of yours intact, consenting or no," he yelled angrily as he began to walk
towards me.
I concentrated and hopped back an inch or two, trying to activate
my self destruct command. I couldn't let Sigma get me, too... Couldn't go
back...
Then the world faded away.
By blackhart
copyright MM Abacus Fiction, revised 6/26/2001
Chapter Fifteen
Zero
What was that? I asked myself. When Wily looked at me like
that...something felt...weird... Right now, though, it didn't matter. Sigma had
a bone to pick with me.
I narrowed my eyes. "You possess my friend, almost change history
and get us all killed, and then you expect me to want to go Maverick again?
Again I bring to your attention your recklessness as a virus, Sigma. But if
you really expect me to come over to your side ever again, you're bent!"
"Your life will eventually be the factor that changes this war, Zero,"
he snarled.
I smiled. "But if I can extinguish yours, mine won't matter," I said. I
tapped a hidden button on my Z-Saber to ignite it. Hearing it hum, I raised it
up, level with my nose. "Mark my words, Sigma, I'll see the end of you," I said
as the saber's dim glow reflected off my eyes. Fixing my gaze again on him, I
pointed the saber in his direction. Glancing ever so slightly left, I saw no
guards at the entrance of his hiding place. I'd chance it.
I buried my right foot in the dust as I took a fighting position. I held
my saber loosely as I jabbed it forward to attack, but veered to the left
quickly, using my foot to kick sand in Sig's eyes.
As he growled and cursed, I dashed as fast as I could to the
fortress. Double jumping to hop in the door, I rolled into a tight ball to absorb
the impact easier. I rose to a crouch and took a sweep around. Nothing. No
security cameras, no droids, no nothing!
"Well, this is just strange," I whispered. Thinking twice, I ran back
and bolted the door. Sigma's fist made quite an impression on the metal
alloy. It'd take him five, ten minutes tops to get through. That was plenty
of time to get a few errands run.
* * *
X
I smiled as I saw the crisp uniforms our three newest Maverick
Hunters had chosen. Iris dressed in red and blue. She wore a helmet, but let
a ponytail hang out the back. Her armor was modeled after Zero's, only
blockier, and her gloves were laced with gold trim. She kept a light blue cape
and black boots, and sported blasters embedded in her palms. On her left
breast, there was, laser-monogrammed, the Greek letter Pi, in recognition of
her past with Sigma.
Roll chose purple and gold for her outfit, with an energy saber as her
primary weapon. Without a blaster or any other weapon, however, she'd have
to rely on her hands and feet to take out baddies, a fact which, when asked,
she seemed confident and fairly happy about. Like Iris's letter, Delta was
there, emblazoned on Roll's chest.
Enker, formerly Epsilon, wore a traditional arm cannon on one arm,
and held his Tengu blade in the opposite hand. Green and blue seemed to hold
his fancy, as did his long, flowing black cape. His spindly legs led to two
greenish-blue boots, and Epsilon was printed on his right cheek in dark blue.
They'd chosen well in the style department, I'd give them. In weapon
choices, I'd give them nothing less than ten out of ten, either. Every weapon
they'd picked, even the Tengu blade, was supremely efficient and deadly. If
there were any mistakes to be made, or anything to screw up, it'd have to be
something other than the weapons. They were too good to blame.
Additionally, all of them had a mid-air dash attachment installed in their leg
jets, and they'd taken some time to train with it.
Changing my subject of thought, I fixed my gaze ahead, to our
destination. Sigma's fortress hung in the distance, in the Grynchon valley
lake. I shouted excitedly to the pilot to punch the throttle. After feeling the
ship lurch forward faster, I sat down again and made polite conversation with
the others as I thought about our newest Hunters. Sure, they can fight, but
I'm worried about what could happen to them on the battlefield. Reploids
that have been Mavericks recently are easier for Sigma to infect and
possess, if he chooses. I'll keep a sharp eye on them, I thought, especially
Iris. There's a warrior right now waiting for his girl, and it wouldn't do any
good for him to have two Irises die on him in such a short time.
* * *
Zero
I'd hacked into the main computer in the fortress and gotten the
location of the disk I was looking for. It was in an extraction chamber (big
surprise there).
I heard the door being ripped off its hinges, and decided what to do
quickly. Pulling open the air vent above my head, I hopped inside and quietly
shut it behind me. Sigma burst into the room about two seconds later.
Activating my saber, I used it to light the way before me. I had to stay
absolutely quiet; noise carried easily through the shafts.
What I had managed to download from the computer in the last room
to my arm's mini-computer, I used as my map. I followed the disk's signal as
best I could. Left, left, right, left. So many turns I lost count. Eventually,
though, I ended up very close to the blip. Checking out the nearest vent, I
saw the room I was looking for. Deactivating the saber, I kicked open the
vent and landed almost silently on the chamber's floor.
I looked up to the direction I thought the extractor was in, but saw
only a red gloved hand. My curse was muffled as the palm closed around my
head and lifted me into the air. I kicked and struggled, but Sigma held firm.
"I thought you'd be here," he said as he used his other hand to reach
around my throat.
"Lucky guess," I rasped as he tightened his hand. "So it ends for me
here, Sigma?"
He smiled as he dropped me to the floor. "It ends here, but not this
way."
"You're toying with me, being sporting," I coughed as I rubbed where
his hand has grasped my neck. "It's not like you."
"And you thought I'd just take you out immediately? No, Zero. For
all the trouble you've managed to give me, your death will be highly glorified
among Mavericks. I want it to last. I'm surprised you don't know me any
better."
I slipped a hand back to where I'd clipped my saber, pulled it free, and
ignited it. "You should've gotten rid of me when you had the chance, virus!"
I rushed towards him, saber poised for attack. He held a surprised
look on his face for a quarter of a second, then donned his evil smirk again.
His eyes gleamed red. Oh no you don't, I thought. I'm not gonna be
charbroiled Hunter. I continued running, forming a plan on the way. I hit the
floor quickly, using my momentum to slide through Sigma's legs and behind
him. I swung my saber up, hoping to get a hit at Sig's head. Bracing my hand
so I wouldn't accidentally lose the saber, I followed through, closing my eyes
for the impact and hit...
Air.
"Whoa!" I said, losing my balance and stumbling forward. "Thanks a
lot, Wily," I muttered.
"Speed is a wonderful thing," came Sigma's voice. I whirled my head
around to meet eyes with him. He had drawn his own energy sword, and was
leaning on the wall, arms folded. "Would you care to try again?"
I smiled. "I'm surprised you don't know me any better, Sigma." I
raced again, slicing horizontally this time, trying to rip open his stomach.
He smiled evilly, side-stepped quickly, and stuck out a foot. Oh ho,
so that's the way you're gonna play... I began to charge a shot from my
cannon, then dash jumped over his tripping foot, reversed in the air, and let
fly with a plasma bolt.
He stood there for just a moment, before raising a hand, meeting his
palm with the energy blast, and tossing it back at me twice as fast.
Fortunately, I'd fallen from my jump faster than he'd calculated, and the shot
missed.
Raising from my crouch (after that jump), I gazed into his eyes for
just a moment, trying to pry open his mind. What was he thinking about?
Why the growing evil smile on his face? What did he know that I didn't?
His eyes flashed brown for a moment, and I knew. I fell back, giving
myself time to catch my breath. Swinging my saber backwards quickly, I
built power for the blow I was planning to deliver. Suddenly, a flash of light
and an explosion from behind me told me I'd been careless with my blade.
I glanced backward, seeing only a holographic projector, now
damaged beyond repair. Turning my line of sight forward once again, I saw
the tenth disk, still encased in its protective glass covering, fizzle and
dissolve.
"A hologram..." I muttered. "Great."
Sigma was now smiling more heartily than ever as he talked.
"Correct, Zero. So perceptive... You'd've thought the lack of security
would've tipped you off."
I narrowed my eyes. "So what's left for you, Sigma? There's no
reason to kill me because there's no significance to this place..."
"But your body is still healthy," he said with an evil grin. "I could take
it as I did X's. And there's another added bonus for me: I know you. You were
a part of me for a while, Zero. I could go for years, maybe even decades,
before anyone suspected anything. My ties to you, while cut, still have roots
deep down in there somewhere," he said, pointing to my chest. "And those
roots run deeper than Pi's, Delta's, or even Epsilon's."
"It's Iris, Roll, and Enker now," I said as an afterthought.
"Iris, is it? Thinking of your past love, my friend? Wistful of wars
past, wars lost?"
"Not of wars past, Sigma. Of feelings past, of loved ones lost." I
raised my head. "Why am I telling you this? You wouldn't understand."
"Iris was a part of me too, Zero," he said quietly now. "I can feel
what you did for her. You can be with her again, the real Iris...if you become
part of me again."
My ears perked. He wasn't saying what I thought... Was he?
"She longs for you, every waking moment she has in my personality,
I swear. All you have to do to be with her again is to submit."
I lowered my head so he couldn't see my face. A single tear spurted
from my left eye.
I growled, raising my head. "Not happening. Suicide'd be more
favorable than that."
He lost the quiet voice and went back to his familiar boastful,
arrogant, and booming voice. He nearly deafened me: "Well, I can keep that
body of yours intact, consenting or no," he yelled angrily as he began to walk
towards me.
I concentrated and hopped back an inch or two, trying to activate
my self destruct command. I couldn't let Sigma get me, too... Couldn't go
back...
Then the world faded away.
